SYDNEY Mulomulo successfully defended the M Iqbal Investments Ltd-sponsored Fiji Australia New Zealand Canada America (FANCA) International Club Championship (ICC) after defeating favourites Dannemora in the final following a penalty shootout at Prince Charles Park in Nadi yesterday.
After a scoreless first spell Dannemora dominated the opening moments of the second stanza.
Star striker Sheik Moshin who took out the golden boot award rose high above the Sydney Mulomulo defenders to nod in a timely cross from the right flank in the 34th minute.
Dannemora dominated possession for most parts of the second half but a lapse of concentration allowed Borbor Sam to find the equaliser late in the 60 minutes of mandatory play eventually sending the match into extra time.
The match ended 1-all after extra time sending the decider into a penalty shootout. Veteran goalkeeper Zuber Kaiyum proved to be the star for Sydney Mulomulo stopping two of five Dannemora’s attempts.
Sydney Mulomulo won the shootout 4-2.
Sydney Mulomulo coach Abdul Hussein, who is originally from Ba, said he was proud of his boys.
“Our management has done a lot of hard work to get this team to Fiji,” Hussein said.
“It was our aim to win the title back to back and now that we have achieved that.
He revealed that they changed their goalkeeper especially for the penalty shootout.
He said they brought in Kaiyum who was their veteran stopper off the bench.
“Zuber is a veteran and is good at stopping penalty kicks,” he said.
In the quarter-finals former Auckland City player Iwa Shakar proved to be the star for Dannemora scoring a brace of goals against Makoi. Sheik Moshin sealed the win for the visitors winning 3-0.
In the other quarter-finals, Sydney Mulomulo defeated Ba 6-5 in a penalty shootout, Meigunyah upset Ponsonby from New Zealand 1-0 while hosts Nadi defeated Navua in a penalty shootout after both teams were locked 1-all after extra time.
In the semi-finals Dannemora beat Meigunyah in a penalty shootout while Sydney Mulomulo defeated Nadi 2-0.
FANCA ICC organising committee chairman Javed Ahmed said they used a different qualification system for the quarter-finals.
He said 12 teams were divided into three groups and were then ranked from one to eight depending on their points and goal differential at the finish of the group stage.
Group stage results: Dannemora 4 Rewa 0, Nadi 1 Ba 1, Sydney Mulomulo 1Valevevu 0, Meigunyah Makoi , Nasinu 2 Varavu 0, Ponsonby 1 Navua 1, Ba 2 Rewa 0, Makoi 2 Valelevu 0, Navua 2-Varavu 1, Nadi 0 Dannemora 2, Nasinu 1Ponsonby 2, Mulomulo Sydney 1 Meigunyah 0.
