RAIN UNITED
FOOTBALL CLUB
[ YOUNGSTARZ - CHAMPIONS ]
The youngstarz were an amazing lot with their determination, fighting spirits and high discipline performance to cap their first champion's trophy in the "Friendship Cup" which was held at the Woodlands on 25th & 26th November 2006.
Going into the tournament as an unknown and were the youngest team among the Under 10s' , the Youngstarz boys' did their parents proud pitting their skills and teamwork, against their more elite opponents. Their results were overwhelming and truly unbelieveable.
When the draw was made, both Chris and I knew we were in the toughest group among the other 3 groups. We decided to keep mum and instead motivated the boys to give off their best. Chris and I gave a game plan and decided to take each game at a time. We reshuffled our line-ups. There were a total of 5 teams in each group with the top 2 vying for the semis.
The Youngstarz took on the East Champions in PAC in their first match. Youngstarz won the game 1-0, thanks to a last minute 25m long range shot from Captain Lionel which was deflected into goal. It was a good start. The youngstarz were up against Putra next. The Putra boys consisted players from the SAF Warriors and both teams played to a goalless draw. The 2 teams knew each other strengths and weaknesses too well. Up next were Home United, the defending Champions. Needing a win to qualify, Youngstarz gave their best and were rewarded with another goalless draw. The muddy pitch took too much toil on the boys.
With 5 points from 3 games, Youngstarz were tie for the play-off with the other teams from other groups for the last semi-final slot. Home United had booked their slot in the group. At this stage, the thunderous rain came and the play-off were to be decided the next day. It was a blessing in disguised. I knew the boys were tired and I had another friendly game with Campaign at the CCK Pitch.
Youngstar gathered together on 26th November 2006 at 0730 am. The play-off and the finals has to be decided on this day. Youngstarz were pitted against David Lee's "Eurasian Association" and Fandi Ahmad's "17 Connection" for the last semi final berth. Both Youngstarz and 17 Connection beat EA 1-0 respectively. It was the deciding match - a repeat of the Diadora Cup Tournament where the Youngstarz was beaten on penalties with Lionel's missed.
This was the game Lionel had wanted when he stepped up to me and told me that he will give his best. The game started furiously with both teams exchanging attacks. There was plenty of tackles and pushings from both teams. At the end of the normal time, both teams were deadlocked. The penalty kicks has to be decided again. Parents from Youngstarz remembered the agony of defeat from the Diadora Cup. The players remembered it too. The final score will be decided after 3 penalties from each team.
Irfan took the first penalty and missed. Youngstarz were seen celebrating. Fahmi shot straight into the keeper. The tie was still level. 17 connection converted the next penalty to make it 1-0. Up next my fave player in Syakir, a solid defender whom I have known since his Warriors Kidz Budding Star days. He cooly level the score to 1-1 when he "whacked" the ball into the top right corner of the net. Justin, our goalkeeper dived correctly and made a supered save. It was up to Lionel next to decide the winner.
As he stepped up into the penalty box, Irfan decided to turn goalkeeper. I could not bear to see. The fans and parents from both sides were quiet. Both Lionel and Irfan have always been rivals on the pitch though they are good friends off it. I had reminded Lionel to stay focused. Lionel converted the winning goal with a solid strike onto the top left corner that Irfan couldn't do anything. All the youngstarz players rushed into the pitch and pile onto one another. Lionel stood still and cried. Lionel gave his reasons. Lionel had wanted the goal badly for his previous missed, he had wanted his team to advance to the semis, he wanted to level the score with Irfan. I was proud of him.
The final whistle was blown and Youngstarz marched into the semis. Lionel and the team went on to console the 17 conection boys. They received a standing ovation from the fans and the parents when they bowed. The match was like the final. It was by far the most exciting match in the tournament. Up next, the semi-finals.
The boys were motivated to go all the way. They had come so far this time and they do not want to lose it. In the semis, they were pitted against Home United. Both teams had played to a goalless draw in their earlier group match. The game again ended in a goalless draw and the penalties were to be decided. Justin was the "Man of the Match" with his 2 penalty saves while both Fahmi and Lionel converted the others. Unbelieveable, Youngstarz has marched into the final.
The final pit Youngstarz against Braveheart. The Braveheart boys, managed by former National goalkeeper in Yacob Hashim were the favourites as they had thrashed their opponents convincingly in all the matches that they have played. This was a game when we decided to deployed a "soaked and counter attacked" strategy. The Braveheart boys which were made up with combination of boys from Myanmar, Tibet, Africa and some local boys were far more experienced and bigger than the Youngstarz boys. The boys defended strongly most of the match and again, the penalties has to be decided.
By then, the Youngstarz has already participated in 2 other penalty shootout and were more composed. Fortunately for Youngstarz after they had missed the first penalty, Justin saved the next from Braveheart. Youngstarz converted the following two kicks while Justin save another to give the deserving CHAMPIONS to the YOUNGSTARZ.
Apart from winning the tournament. Youngstarz also created the tournament history by being the first team not to concede any goals in normal time en route to winning the tournament. They had kept a cleaned sheet in 7 matches. The parents were overjoyed and we rewarded the boys with a MacDonald's treat at the nearby shopping arena. The parents thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations together and it was a blessed day to see all parents and kids bonding together as one to enjoy the occasion.
There were lessons learnt and the boys were to resume their training to work on their physics and fitness to prepare for the upcoming and much tougher "Emperor's Cup" Tournament which will be held in Kuala Lumpur on 15th - 17th December 2006. In the meantime, the boys will enjoy being champions and will continue to do better for themselves.
Youngstarz, you have made it! Cheers!