Football: Second division PillayR Group Cup Victoria City beat Au Cap to claim cup |13 December 2016

Victoria City have claimed the PillayR Group Cup after defeating Au Cap 4-2 in the final at Stad Linite on Saturday afternoon.

The continuous downpour had made the pitch a bit heavy but there was bright sunshine when the match kicked off with a minute’s silence.

This game broke into life in the 12th minute from a poor clearance by City’s Elijah Lespoir straight to Dan Pharce who let fly a strong shot which goalkeeper Steve Morgan could only parry on his chest.

City responded in the 19th minute through Gino Naidoo’s stunning free kick which crashed against the crossbar before it was turned into corner by goalkeeper Rylan Leon. Hubert Jean floated the resulting corner which created havoc in the penalty area and captain Kelly Nibourette pounced on the loose ball to make it 1-0.

Au Cap had the ball in the net in the 22nd minute with Julio Denis’ header which found refuge in the net from Joshua Belmont’s cross but it was correctly ruled out for offside.

In the 28th minute, Au Cap missed a clear chance from captain Dean Balette’s free kick but Pharce and Daniel Onezime got in each other’s way as City’s defence stood static.

Au Cap though levelled the score in the 36th minute after City goalkeeper Morgan raced out of his goal but lost the ball to Pharce who played it to Julio Denis who was brought down by Rupert Pool for a penalty.

City though were furious with referee Alix Bonne for pointing to the penalty spot but Au Cap skipper Dean Balette kept his head as he stepped up to tuck the ball into the net for a 1-1 scoreline at half-time.

The Victoria-based team regained their lead three minutes in the second half from substitute Chris Azemia’s first touch as his inswinging corner beat goalkeeper Leon to make it 2-1.

City were now buzzing and in the 54th minute Jean exchanged passes with Azemia to open up Au Cap and it took a last ditch tackle to deny Jean from scoring.

From the resulting corner, Azemia almost scored a carbon copy goal with his curling shot but captain Nibourette could not force the ball over the goal-line.

City stretched their lead in the 56th minute as Abdul Jumaye dispossessed Denis to slip a pass to Jude Botsoie who coolly placed the ball in the far corner for a 3-1 score.

Au Cap reduced the deficit in the 61st minute when Sean Romain nicked the ball off Elijah Lespoir to dart towards goal and he then neatly finished off with a low shot past goalkeeper Morgan for a 2-3 score.

Both teams had chances to score. In the 73rd minute, City’s Gino Naidoo played a long ball to Botsoie who laid it to Azemia but his point blank shot was charged down by goalkeeper Leon.

Au Cap should have levelled the score in the 84th minute as Pharce’s through ball fell to substitute Evanio Annette who amazingly shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

City sealed the victory in the first minute of injury time from Azemia’s floated free kick which Botsoie headed home to make it 4-2 the final score as he bagged his brace with a glancing header.

The City players and fans rejoiced at the final whistle as they had secured their first cup this season where they had high hopes of a strong league run.

City coach Gerald Gonthier was quite satisfied with his team’s cup success though he felt they can play much better.

“We were below-par today compared to our semifinal win over Real Maldives.  I think that this is due to the fact that most of my players were a bit under pressure appearing in their first final.  However, we are glad to win this cup to save our season where we feel we could have done better but this cup is a consolation for our hard work and let us hope it serves as a motivation for next season,” coach Gonthier said.

As for Au Cap manager Nichol Dogley, he was gracious in defeat and felt it was a decent accomplishment for his young team and coach.

“I feel it was a balanced first half but we lost concentration in the second half and it cost us dearly as our opponents took control of the match. Our aim was to win this cup but it was not a bad showing and reaching the final is also an achievement for this young team,” the Au Cap manager told Sports NATION.

The PillayR Group cups were handed to the two sets of players by newly elected Seychelles Football Federation vice-chairman Dolor Ernesta.

Sports NATION would like to congratulate Victoria City on winning this cup.

R. J-L.