After FC Ferrand beat SCO Kartiers Nord 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Arene du Sud in Paita, Universite needed an outright victory over Olympique to get their hands on the title.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the side, chasing their first title, as a late equaliser dashed all chances of an historic victory for the Eric Michalak-coached side.
“There was a lot of stress,” FC Ferrand coach Daniel Kausue says of the wait.
“We are used to having to wait until the last minute to see what will happen. It’s a great joy for for us all.”
Olympique’s goal came from a penalty ten metres out from the goal, Ludovic Boit stepped up and converted to great cheer from the Ferrand fans in the stands.
And if the players from Olympique had caused an upset in the final act of the championship, they weren’t alone.
SCO Kartiers Nord were expected to be easy pickings for Ferrand, but they piled the pressure on captain Nikolas N’Godrela and his teammates.
At 3-2 they missed a chance to equalise five minutes from the final whistle. Ferrand added another to take the score to 4-2, before SCO Kartiers Nord pulled one back with 1’18’ left on the clock. The side continued to press to the end but couldn’t overcome the eventual champions.
In the final match, with Universite needing a win, and Olympique wanting to end the season on a high, both sides had everything to play for – but it was the final four minutes that contained the most excitement.
Lucas Sarvanu scored on the break for Universite to give his side a 4-2 lead, but just seconds later Ludovic Boit converted from the 10m penalty spot for his third goal. A short time later Boit had his fourth and the two sides were back in line.
The young Universite side weren’t going to give up and quickly turned the tables as Romain Guitton blasted in for his hat-trick just seconds before Boit fired home his fifth for the night and leaving Universite with a heart breaking, title-dashing draw.
“I understand their disappointment,” Olympique coach William Bret said of their opponent.
“It’s part of the game, it’s the cruelty of sports. If we hadn’t of made two or three blunders this season, we could have been champions.”
The exciting end to the Super Ligue season only adds to the anticipation for next weekend’s Coupe de Caledonie final which will see Universite take on Super Ligue champions FC Ferrand.
The final will be held at Salle Anewy in Noumea, on Saturday, 30 November kicking-off at 6pm (local).
For more on New Caledonia football go to www.fedcalfoot.com

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