World Soccer – August 2019

osts Mauritius were denied their

first Indian Ocean Island Games

title since 2003 as holders

Reunion won an incredible shoot-

out that saw the two keepers save

eight out of the 10 penalties.

Jean Michel Fontaine opened the scoring after 11

minutes for Reunion and though Adrien Francois

levelled, Mauritius could not find a winner. Extra-time

produced no further goals before Reunion’s Mathieu

Pelops saved five successive spot-kicks.

Mauritius’ Christopher Caserne also stopped three

but could not take the game into sudden death as

Bertrand Bador slotted home to take gold.

The win was a fifth football title for Reunion at the

multi-sport Games which also featured Comoros,

Madagascar, Maldives, Mayotte and Seychelles.

The Games offer a rare international outing for two

of the islands, as Reunion is only an associate

member of CAF and not in FIFA, while Mayotte is

unrecognised by both.

Mayotte had not played since 2015 but began the

tournament with a 2-0 win in Group B over Comoros,

while Reunion brushed aside the Maldives 4-0. The

two sides then met and Reunion edged home 1-0

with a goal from Assoumani Akbar. Comoros stayed in

the running for a semi-final place by beating Maldives

3-0 and then surprised Reunion 1-0, only to miss out

on goal difference. Mayotte took the other semi-final

spot with a 3-1 win over the Maldives.

More had been expected of the Maldives, who in

2018 beat India 2-1 to win the 2018 SAFF Cup, but

coach Petar Segret was forced to bring a weakened

team. The domestic league only restarted in June

after a six-month delay and Segret, who brought a

squad of rusty under-23 players, said: “We feel sore

we cannot get better results but accept the quality of

the other teams like Reunion is better than ours.”

In Group A, Mauritius had started with a nervous

1-1 draw against Seychelles. Ashley Nazira opening

the scoring for the hosts with a header but Colin Bibi

levelled. Bibi was one of six players from St Louis

Suns in a squad of 20 brought by 2011 winners

Seychelles whose coach Gavin Jeanne also relied

mainly on local players.

The draw put extra pressure on Mauritius coach

Akbar Patel, whose side were watched by acting

president Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory for the

Group A decider against Madagascar.

Despite bringing a development side, the surprise

2019 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finalists opened

the scoring, but Nazira equalised in the 59th minute

to secure a semi-final with Mayotte.

Patel’s side struggled to break down the 2015

runners-up and the game finished 0-0 after 90

minutes. With the game heading for penalties, Kevin

Perticots scored from the spot with five minutes left

to take Mauritius into the Final.

In the other semi-final, Reunion savaged the

Seychelles 4-0.

After bad weather in Curepipe, the Final was

shifted to Flacq, where the 1,750-capacity ground

was increased to 5,000 by using temporary seating

• which included swathes of plastic chairs on the
  athletics track around the pitch.
  The chairs were soon abandoned and the crowd
  swarmed around the touchlines but Jean-Pierre
  Bade’s players held their nerve. With few other
  outlets, Reunion will be focused on retaining their
  crown again in the Maldives in 2023.

Reunion take gold

Keepers on top in Final shoot-out

senior and under-23 teams.

WORLD CUP: The draw for the

next stage of the Asian qualifi ers

throws up some politically sensitive

games, with North Korea and South

Korea drawn in the same group, as

are Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Thursday July 18

EUROPA LEAGUE: Connah’s Quay

Nomads win 2-0 at Kilmarnock to

overturn a 2-1 defi cit from the fi rst

leg. Hajduk Split lose 3-1 at home

to Maltese side Gzira United and go

out on away goals after a 3-3 draw

on aggregate.

ITALY: Juventus sign centre-back

Matthijs De Ligt from Ajax for an

initial fee of €75m.

Friday July 19

AFCON: Twenty-nine years after

their first title, Algeria are African

champions again, beating Senegal

1-0 in the Final with a goal from

Baghdad Bounedjah.

NORTH KOREA: Pak-hyon Il gets

WORLD SERVICE

Upset...Connah’s Quay Nomads (in red)

H

Through...Red

Star of Belgrade

Decider...Mauritius (in

red) take on Madagascar

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Indian Ocean

Island Games

STEVE MENARY