Football: Seychelles beat Maldives again to lift cup |02 December 2013

Mr Chetty and Bonne handed over the trophy to Ronny Hoareau

The Seychelles senior national selection beat ten-man Maldives national team 2-1 at Stad Linite to lift the inaugural Seychelles Maldives cup.

The Maldives were all fired up to avenge their loss on Wednesday as they put our boys under a lot of pressure in a match attended by the National Sports Council chief executive Giovanna Rousseau, the Seychelles Consul to the Maldives Lambert Bonne as well as the members of the football federation executive led by its President Elvis Chetty.

Despite Maldives enjoying a lot of possession, the Seychelles team almost broke the deadlock in a rare foray forward in the 22nd minute as Gerald Basset, the two-goal hero of the first match, put in a superb cross to Trevor Vidot but he could not direct his header on target.

Basset though had to be replaced four minutes later after he was elbowed by a Maldivian defender and he suffered a cut above the eye.  Basset’s Côte D’Or teammate Collin Esther came in to replace him.

The Seychelles team opened the scoring in the 43rd minute as Collin Esther collected a stray pass to release Captain Achille Henriette who charged on goal and was brought down on the penalty edge.  Referee Bernard Camille awarded a free kick and substitute Esther curled in a brilliant free kick into the net to make it 1-0.

On the stroke of half time the Maldivians almost drew level as Ahmed Zaad’s free kick hit the side netting.

The Maldives equalised in added time as the Seychelles team awaited the whistle for the end of the first half.

It all started from Senky Vidot losing the ball and captain Ali Ashfaq bore on goal and was tripped by a defender Bernard Marie for a free kick on the penalty area.

Captain Ashfaq’s stunning free kick crashed into the net past a stranded goalie Vincent Euphrasie to make it 1-1 at the break.

The Maldives squad suffered a major setback five minutes in the second half when Mohammed Arif was shown a straight red card by referee Camille for a high boot in the chest of Adrian Constance.

The man advantage suddenly swung the tide in Seychelles favour and in the 53rd minute Collin Esther pounced on a Maldives’ defensive error to slip past a defender but his goal bound low shot forced a good save out of goalie Ifrah Areef.

A minute later Esther missed another clear chance after some dazzling skill by captain Henriette to set him up but he fired wide to fluff a good chance.

However the Maldives captain Ashfaq, who will be plying his trade in Malaysia next season, showed his real class in the 62nd minute as he drifted past Constance and eluded Ronny Hoareau but his shot flew agonizingly wide.

Two minutes later, the Seychelles selection took the lead as Senky Vidot spread a pass to Esther who got the better of his marker to put in an inch perfect cross which captain Henriette rammed home at the near post to make it 2-1.

In the 75th minute Esther wasted another clear chance as he latched onto a through ball but in a one on one situation with goalie Areef, he amazingly placed the ball narrowly wide.

The Seychelles team continued to dominate proceedings and in the 81st minute Trevor Vidot made the most of a mistake to rifle at goal with goalie Areef way off his line but his shot flew wide.

In the end, the sending off proved the turning point of the match as Seychelles registered their second win in as many matches to lift the Seychelles – Maldives cup.

Captain Henriette was quite rightly voted the best player of the tournament as he scored twice in the two matches and was inspirational throughout the tournament.

The winning cup was presented to Seychelles’ stand-in captain Ronny Hoareau by SFF president Chetty assisted by Consul Lambert Bonne.

Seychelles’ coach Jan Mak was very happy with the results of our selection in this tournament when he spoke to Sports Nation after the encounter.

“It was a tough match as our opponent was determined to avenge their first defeat.  They were very aggressive especially in the first half.  But we played better in the second match and had possibilities to score many more goals to secure the game but overall I am happy with our win as we played better as a team,” coach Mak said.

SFF president Chetty also expressed his appreciation with the two victories on the trot.

“I am very happy with the two victories as it is our first win since the 2011 Indian Ocean Island Games.  We will start rebuilding our national team in January as we aim to defend our title at the next Island Game,” SFF president Chetty told Sports Nation.

As for the Maldvies coach, Ali Nashid, he was disappointed with the expulsion of one of his players early in the second half.

“The sending off incident was very harsh and I feel the official had to be consistent with his decisions which were not always the case today.  We met a Seychelles team who are fitter than my team as our season ended over one and a half months ago,” coach Nashid stated as he expressed his appreciation with the hospitality accorded to them on their visit here.

Sports Nation would like to congratulate coach Mak and his national selection on their triumph and hope it will be the stepping stone for their preparation to defend our island game crown in 2015.

R.J-L