The Seychelles team |20 January 2020
The Seychelles team
Football: Bangabandhu Gold Cup 2020
Seychelles drop first half lead to lose against Burundi
The Seychelles national selection at the Bangabandhu Gold Cup which is taking place in Bangladesh lost their opening match 1-3 against Burundi, after leading The Swallows during the first half of the match.
The Bangladeshi competition, also known as The Bangabandhu Gold Cup, is an international football tournament organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) as a tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is considered as the founding father of Bangladesh.
For their first match of the tournament, the Seychelles selection, under the guidance of coach Ralph Jean-Louis shocked their opponents with an opening goal in the 26th minute from Perry Monnaie, following a defensive mishap in the box by the Burundian defenders.
Seychelles managed to hold on to the lead until the half-time whistle, despite constant pressure for an equaliser from Burundi.
The Burundians levelled the match in the 53rd minute through Jospin Nshimirimana, before Amissi Tambwe gave them the lead in the 60th minute.
Barely one minute later, in the 61st minute Tambwe was on the score sheet again, giving Burundi a 3-1 lead, which they held until the end of the match.
With a maximum six points after two matches, Burundi have finished as group leaders, qualifying for the semifinals.
Seychelles and neighbours Mauritius will today fight for the second place in the group and the last semifinal berth.
In case of a draw, Seychelles will qualify on goal difference as Mauritius were beaten 4-1 by Burundi.
In the other group, defending champions Palestine have qualified for the semifinals as group leaders, after two wins in as many matches.
They have six points after defeating Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh on identical 2-0 scores.
The other semifinal spot in the group was to be decided last night when Bangladesh hosted Sri Lanka.
The semifinals of the tournament will be played on Wednesday and Thursday, while the final match will take place on Saturday.
Roland Duval