Handball: Mohan Women’s league |01 October 2019
The match between Super 8 and Durantha Brothers had to be postponed because of bad weather
MF Storm dethrone Au Cap Sisters despite loss
- Bad weather delay men’s crowning
MF Storm are the new Mohan-sponsored handball women’s league champions despite losing their last match against last season’s winners Au Cap Sisters at the Palais des Sports last weekend.
The Mont Fleuri-based side lost the match 18-22 to second-placed Au Cap Sisters, but were still crowned league winners due to their superior goal difference on the head-to-head rule.
They entered Saturday’s match as league leaders on 21 points, while Au Cap Sisters were second on 19 points.
A win would have seen them being crowned with an unbeaten league run, after they defeated their major rivals 24-17 in their first-round match.
Therefore, if Au Cap Sisters were to be crowned champions, they needed a win by more than seven goals which did not happen.
Both MF Storm and Au Cap Sisters concluded the league on 22 points.
One thing that should be clarified regarding the way MF Storm were crowned champions is that the title was decided on the head-to-head rule between the two teams and not on goal difference as it was being speculated. Even if this was to be the case, newly crowned champions would still have won the title as they boast a superior goal record – 231 for and 139 against – compared to 180 for and 120 against for Au Cap Sisters.
It should be noted that if the title was to be decided on goal difference, MF Storm would have still been crowned champions even if they had lost by more than the seven points which was at stake in Saturday’s match.
The seven points were purely based on the head-to-head rule between the two teams.
In the men’s competition, the decisive match between Durantha Brothers and Super 8 had to be postponed on account of bad weather.
It is still difficult to understand how come 26 years after it was built, the Palais des Sports at Roche Caïman, which is supposed to be an indoor facility, cannot operate during rainy days.
Nevertheless, the match will now be rescheduled and according to Seychelles Handball Federation (SHF) chairman Norbert Dogley, it is only tomorrow after meeting with the teams’ representatives and the referee’s commission that a decision will be taken on when the match will be replayed.
Still unbeaten with six wins and a draw, Durantha Brothers remain on track to defend their title won last year as they lead the five-man league table with 20 points, while Super 8 have won six games and lost one. They are second with 19 points.
A draw will crown Durantha Brothers champions, retaining their title for a third year in a row.
As for Super 8, only a win will guarantee them the league title.
R.D.
