Football: 2016 African Nation Champions qualifiers - Seychelles succumb to Mozambique |22 June 2015

Seychelles lost 1-5 to Mozambique in the 2016 African Nation Championship (Chan) first leg match which was played in the central port city of Beira on Saturday afternoon.

The country’s team kept their opponents at bay for the first half hour but then conceded three quick goals and team manager Michel Albert told Sports Nation that the goals were due to a lack of concentration.

Mozambique striker Luiz opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and teammate Reinaldo made it 2-0 three minutes later before they got a third before half-time for a 3-0 lead at the break.
Luiz grabbed his brace in the 49th minute but La Passe’s Achille Henriette cut the deficit with a goal in the 70th minute for a 1-4 score.

The Mozambicans sealed the victory with a fifth goal for a 5-1 scoreline which more or less guarantees the Mambas qualification for the next round. They will be travelling here for their return match on July 3.

As for Seychelles team manager Michel Albert, he was not happy with the performance of our team.
“We did not play well as we lacked concentration and we gave them two goals due to sloppy mistakes and I’m very disappointed with our performance,” he said.
The Seychelles squad are due back in the country today to prepare for the second leg match which will be played on July 3 at Stad Linite.

Speaking to Xinhua, Mozambique's acting coach Mano Mano said: "I am very happy. It was an excellent exhibition from our players but of course we must continue working for the second leg.”

The Chan finals will be played in Rwanda next year and the 16 national teams who will qualify only feature players from the respective national championships.

R. J-L.