Melwood Boys FC edged Penang Sports Club 6-5 on penalties to retain the UKRC Soccer 9s title in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR: Melwood Boys FC of Kuala Lumpur showed grit and determination to retain the UKRC Soccer 9s title after edging Penang Sports Club 6-5 on penalties after a scoreless draw at the UKRC Field this afternoon.
The match was a repeat of last year’s final, which Melwood Boys won 1-0. This year’s decider was much tighter, with the teams deadlocked after regulation time. Both teams then opted to proceed directly to a penalty shootout instead of playing extra time.
There were only seven teams in this year’s competition, forcing the organisers to adopt a single round-robin format instead of the traditional two-group format.
“It’s great to retain the title, especially under the new rule this year that allowed teams to field three players aged 45 to 49, instead of the traditional over-50s format,” said Melwood Boys president M. Hari Chandran.
“In the end, we decided to field only one younger player, and the move paid off as we retained the crown with a hard-fought victory.
“It was not easy as Penang Sports Club only had two matches before the final, so they had a longer rest period today. However, they did most of their work the day before.”
Penang Sports Club were the only unbeaten team after the group stage, winning five and drawing one of their six matches. One of their victories came against Melwood Boys, whom they beat 2-1 with a last-minute goal.
The Penang outfit played four times on the first day and twice before the final, while Melwood Boys had three league matches on each day.
Melwood Boys pocketed RM3,000 for their victory, while Penang Sports Club received RM1,500.
Meanwhile, in the Plate final, Interact Recreation Club of Negeri Sembilan edged hosts UKRC 5-4 after the teams agreed to go straight to penalties.
Bangkok Bitcoin of Thailand won the Fair Play Trophy, the K. Suppiah Memorial Trophy, named after the founder of UKRC.
Interact Recreation Club’s Ben Edo Osagie was the tournament’s top scorer with 12 goals, earning the Uncle Lee Memorial Trophy.
Results
Day 1
Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 0 Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 3
Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 0 Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 4
Penang Sports Club (Penang) 0 The Malacca Club (Melaka) 0
UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 3 Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 0
Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 3 Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 1
Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 1 Penang Sports Club (Penang) 2
Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 1 Penang Sports Club (Penang) 2
The Malacca Club (Melaka) 0 UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 2
Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 0 Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 2
Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 0 Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 3
Penang Sports Club (Penang) 1 UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 0
The Malacca Club (Melaka) 7 Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 1
Day 2
Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 1 The Malacca Club (Melaka) 3
Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 2 UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 0
Penang Sports Club (Penang) 2 Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 0
The Malacca Club (Melaka) 0 Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 3
UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 2 Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 1
Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 0 Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 3
Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 8 UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 0
Malaysian Grasshoppers (Kuala Lumpur) 0 Penang Sports Club (Penang) 2
Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 1 The Malacca Club (Melaka) 0
Final
Melwood Boys (Kuala Lumpur) 0 Penang Sports Club (Penang) 0
Melwood Boys won 6-5 on penalties
Plate final
Interact Recreation Club (Negeri Sembilan) 5 UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 4
Interact Recreation Club won on penalties
Awards
Top Scorer (Uncle Lee Memorial Trophy): Ben Edo Osagie (Interact Recreation Club, Negeri Sembilan), 12 goals
Fair Play (K. Suppiah Memorial Trophy): Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand)
Final standings
P W D L GF GA Pts
Penang Sports Club (Penang) 6 5 1 0 9 2 16
Melwood Boys (KL) 6 5 0 1 14 2 15
Interact Recreation Club (NS) 6 4 0 2 17 6 12
UKRC (Kuala Lumpur) 6 3 0 3 7 12 9
The Malacca Club (Melaka) 6 2 1 3 11 7 7
Malaysian Grasshoppers (KL) 6 1 0 5 5 14 3
Bangkok Bitcoin (Thailand) 6 0 0 6 1 20 0
