GAP Football Club of Jakarta clinched the Veterans’ trophy at the 23rd Penang Sports Club (PSC) International Soccer 7’s 1-0 in a hard-fought final against Niranjini FC at Western Road on March 3.
Dedy Trapilo scored the solitary goal from close range in the second half to give GAP FC the victory. The Indonesians finished runners-up in last year’s tournament to MRM ‘B’ of Kuala Lumpur in a dramatic sudden death penalty shootout, losing 8-9 after a 1-1 draw in extra time.
Although he was beaten by Dedy’s shot, Niranjini goalkeeper Nathan Muniandy played an outstanding game by saving at least two brilliant attempts earlier. It is learnt that Niranjini is a team from Johor but all its players hail from Penang.
The match was momentarily held up because of fan disturbance, but order was quickly restored by the match officials and organisers.
In the Masters’ final, Royal Selangor Club emerged the champions when they beat GAP FC Jakarta 2-1.
GAP took the lead with a goal from Tobar before Saravanan Subramaniam equalised for RSC in the first half.
Then, Prabahar Maruthamuthu struck home with a left-footed volley late in the match, arguably one of the best goals in the tournament, to give RSC the victory.
In an exciting Grand Masters’ final, SC Melaka defeated newcomers Ark 7 Veterans from Singapore 2-0 with both goals coming in the second half.
Tok Beng Yeow converted a penalty after Lee Thin Choy was brought down in the box before Phuah Eng Keong went on to seal the match with a timely strike.
A record 62 teams took part in the two-day tournament, which first attracted 12 teams twenty-three years ago.
RESULTS:
Main event:
Veterans:
Semi-finals: GAP FC (Jakarta) bt IRC Negeri Sembilan (Seremban) 3-0; Niranjini FC (Johor) bt Penang Sports Club (Penang) 1-1 (9-8); Final: GAP FC (Jakarta) bt Niranjini FC (Johor) 1-0.
Masters:
Semi-finals: GAP FC (Jakarta) bt MRM (Kuala Lumpur) 3-0; Royal Selangor Club (Kuala Lumpur) bt ADE H&A (Kuala Lumpur) 3-1; Final: Royal Selangor Club (Kuala Lumpur) bt GAP FC (Jakarta) 2-1.
Grand Masters:
Semi-finals: Ark 7 Veterans (Singapore) bt IRC Negeri Sembilan (Seremban) 3-0; Club SC (Melaka) bt Penang Sports Club (Penang) 1-0; Final: Club SC (Melaka) bt Ark 7 Veterans (Singapore) 2-0.
Plate event:
Veterans:
Semi-finals: Jurong Weston (Singapore) bt Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 3-2; Bali Bulldog (Bali) bt PISS (Penang) 3-0; Final: Bali Bulldog (Bali) bt Jurong Weston(Singapore) 1-0.
Masters:
Semi-finals: Selangor All Stars (Selangor) bt ARK 7 Veterans (Singapore) 1-1 (6-5), IRC Negeri Sembilan (Seremban) bt Black Eagles (Sabah) 2-1; Final: Selangor All Stars (Selangor) bt IRC Negeri Sembilan (Seremban) 3-1.
Grand Masters:
Semi-finals: Port Rangers (Klang) bt SRC (Singapore) 2-0, UKRC (Selangor) bt Black Swans ‘B’ (Australia) 2-1; Final: Port Rangers bt UKRC (Selangor) 3-0.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Kevin Vimal