Football: Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2023 Goalkeeper Michel saves Seychelles in goalless ‘home’ draw against Lesotho |24 March 2022
Goalkeper Michel was in fine form for Seychelles yesterday (Photo: Bouck Pillay Vythilingum, Le Mauricien newspaper)
Seychelles will have to go in search of a win in South Africa on Sunday to progress to the group stage qualifiers of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2023 after playing out a goalless draw against Lesotho yesterday at the Côte d'Or National Sports Complex, St Pierre, Mauritius.
Playing their ‘home match’ away from home as the country’s main stadium ‒ Stad Linite ‒ has not received the approval of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to host international matches as it needs further renovation and upgrading to fit the purpose, Seychelles will meet Lesotho in the return leg tie of the preliminary round on Sunday March 27 in Dobsonville, (Soweto), Southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. Like Seychelles, Lesotho does not have a Caf-accredited stadium.
Goalkeeper Alvin Michel was instrumental for Seychelles against the ‘Crocodiles’ of Lesotho as he made a string of saves including stopping a first half penalty to keep a clean sheet for Seychelles in the race for Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2023 group stage qualification.
Even coach Vivian Bothe had words of praise for goalkeeper Michel when he spoke to the Mauritian media. “Alvin has been in good form for us in the last games we have played,” said coach Bothe.
Commenting on the match, coach Bothe said: “I am satisfied with the performance of the team but we had to score at least a goal. A goalless draw is not a bad result and our objective remains qualifying for the group stage of the qualifiers.”
As for Sunday’s return match against Lesotho, former Seychelles international Bothe said “we will concentrate on our defensive duties and employ a counter-attack approach”.
It is to note that in 2016, Seychelles beat Lesotho 2-0 at Stad Linite on March 26 before losing 1-2 away at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru on March 29 in the group J qualifiers of the Afcon 2017 in Gabon.
One of Africa’s 12 least ranked teams, Seychelles will have to eliminate Lesotho inthe preliminary stages to progress to the main groupings draw of the 34th TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Ivory Coast.
The other five pairing are as follows: high-flying Afcon debutants The Gambia will play Chad, Sao Tome will face Mauritius, Djibouti will meet South Sudan, Somalia will face Eswatini and Eritrea will clash with Botswana.
In other matches played yesterday, South Sudan earned a 4-2 away win against Djibouti and Eswatini travelled to Somalia and collected a 3-0 win.
The six winners on aggregate scores will join 42 other countries in a draw that will produce 12 groups with the winners and runners-up qualifying for the next Afcon tournament in Ivory Coast in 2023.
The 24 players who have made the trip are Jerome Dingwall, Helton Monnaie, Julio Brown, Stan Esther, Don Fanchette, Benoit Marie, Perry Ernesta, Brandon Labrosse, Josip Ravignia, Dean Mothé, Gervais Waye-Hive, Warren Mellie, Kenner Nourrice, Juninho Mathiot, Thierry Camille, Dean Balette, Ryan Henriette, Alvin Michel, Elie Sopha, Hubert Jean, Ricko Julius, Colyn Francourt, Romeo Padayachy and Imra Raheriniaina.
The officials are Dolor Ernesta (head of delegation), Michael Delpech (manager), Vivian Bothe (head coach), Bruno Saindina, Rodney Choisy, Gerald Gonthier (assistant coaches), Juan Michel and Kenneth Henriette (doctor).
Gerard Govinden