Football: Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) Cup |20 January 2024
Au Cap qualify for next round with 6-3 win over Baie Lazare
Championship side Au Cap have moved into the next round of the Seychelles Football Federation Cup with a 6-3 win over League One team Baie Lazare on Wednesday at Stad Linite.
In the opening six minutes of the game, Au Cap looked menacing from set pieces forcing their opponents to react, but four minutes later Baie Lazare failed to punish them when their forward could not finish off their counter and the ball was cleared by the Au Cap goalkeeper.
Hungry to move to the next round of the SFF Cup, Au Cap took the lead early in the 16th minute from a curler from outside the penalty box by Dyan Hoareau.
Baie Lazare did not take long to respond as they equalised just two minutes later. Ramio Meme beat the Au Cap offside trap to connect to a fantastic through ball played by his teammate to tie the score at 1-1.
In the 27th minute, Baie Lazare stunned their opponents as they took the lead after Au Cap failed to clear the ball from a set piece. Randolph Aglaé’s cross was met by Tevin Gonthier who propelled the ball into the net to give his team the upper hand (2-1).
Six minutes later, Au Cap were awarded a penalty and Elias Larue confidently beat the Baie Lazare goalkeeper to pull the two teams level at 2-2.
Au Cap maintained their momentum and missed a good opportunity in the 40th minute, but three minutes into added time before the half-time whistle, Tyron Thomas stretched their lead to 3-2 with a screamer.
Two minutes into the second hand, Au Cap doubled their advantage when Elias Larue perfectly set up colleague Janny Nourrice to score (4-2).
Baie Lazare were given a lifeline in the 58th minute when Darrel Nolin scored from the penalty spot to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
Au Cap waited for 31 minutes to regain their two-goal advantage when Gervais Cupidon added his name on the score sheet in the 89th minute (5-3). On the last action of the game Au Cap FC rubbed salt into their opponents’ wounds whey they scored another goal by Harrick Desaubin to close the match on a 6-3 score to move to the next phase of the SFF Cup.
Speaking to the media, head coach of Baie Lazare, Eddy Naiken said his team’s performance was not bad at all.
“Especially in the first half, the lads played very well. It was as if they were a Championship side,” said Naiken who added that they will now be focusing on their league campaign and this match was bonus for them.
As for Au Cap head coach Roger Labonté, he said his team were a bit sluggish early in the game but managed to do the essential which was to win.
“A knockout tournament is very difficult as every team comes all out and plays very strong,” said coach Labonté.
Neil Sirame