LOGISTICS company MRM ‘B’ of Kuala Lumpur won the Veterans trophy at the 22nd Penang Sports Club-Cheetah International Soccer 7s when they came from behind to beat GAP FC Jakarta in a dramatic final at Western Road today.
They won 9-8 in a sudden death penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in extra time.
Dr Pandiraja (right) presenting the Veterans’ trophy and mock cheque to MRM ‘B’ team manager Prem (second from right).
The match was keenly and evenly contested. After four minutes, the Indonesian players took the lead through Wijay with a powerful shot that gave goalkeeper Kathirevel Gunasegaran no chance at all.
MRM ‘B’ fought harder in the second half and were rewarded when Samuel Raj, a former Penang state player, calmly equalised with a close-range shot just two minutes before the end.
Without any further goals, the match went into extra time.
When both sides could not break the deadlock after six minutes of extra time, the match was decided on penalty kicks.
Tension ran high as a few fans by the side-line had to be calmed down by the organisers, while tournament director Datuk Mohd Junid Mohd Noor and C. Nadarajan, who was in charge of technical, had to enter the field to control players from both teams from a free-for-all.
After the order was restored, the match finally ended when GAP FC Jakarta’s Fadley Haree struck the post with his shot.
MRM players jumped with joy as they celebrated their victory.
The match concluded well as players and officials from both teams embraced the spirit of sportsmanship.
The icing on the cake for MRM was when Kathirevel was named the man of the match for his spectacular performance in making some crucial saves, although his own penalty kick was saved by his counterpart. But he made amends by blocking his counterpart’s subsequent attempt.
Kathirevel received his award from Nadarajan.
GAP FC Jakarta was eyeing a double as they had earlier captured the Masters’ trophy with an emphatic 4-1 victory over ADE H&A of Kuala Lumpur.
Striker Edu Juanda scored a hat-trick for the Indonesian visitors, first by netting two goals to give GAP FC a 2-0 lead in the first half.
Halim Yusof pulled one back for ADE H&A shortly into the second half, but Gunawan quickly hit back for GAP FC to lead 3-1.
The match was effectively over when the skilful Edu let fly another telling shot to complete a hat-trick and give GAP FC a 4-1 victory.
Edu was deservingly named man of the match and he was all smiles when he received the award from Nadarajan.
Hosts Penang Sports Club had something to cheer about when they won the Grandmasters category by beating Port Rangers 1-0 in the final.
Former Penang state player Thoong Chee Eng scored the solitary goal.
The man of the match for the Grandmasters final went to former Penang state player S. Gobiraj, who was once the Panthers’ technical director. Gobi received his award from Nadarajan.
Those who did not make it to the main category finals were provided opportunities to play in the plate events.
Penang Sports Club president Lee Aun Tiang presented the medals to the winners and runners-up of the plate events.
Dr Pandiraja expressed his heartfelt to thanks to all the teams, sponsors, and the club for supporting the tournament.
“Everything went smoothly. We have got a record of 56 teams for this year’s tournament and they played hard. There were many exciting matches. I am glad this tournament has turned out to be a big success,” Dr Pandiraja said.
Penang governor Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, who is also the patron of Penang Sports Club, graced the event on Saturday to officiate the opening of the two-day tournament.
Also present was state Sports and Youth Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee.
Soon said he hoped that the enthusiasm shown by the veterans would inspire more youngsters to keep improving their skills.
He also praised the organisers of the PSC-Cheetah International Soccer 7s for contributing to sports tourism.
Story and pix by K.H. Ong
