Nioukyen FC: Chasing Victory

After an excellent start in the Mauritian Futsal Cup (MFC) 2010 which was their very first entry into an MKS Melbourne futsal tournament, Nioukyen FC returns with their line-up unchanged:

• Melvin Lim Shung (captain)
• Sebastien Lan (vice captain)
• Gerald Wong
• Derek Lee
• Kenny Woo
• Jason Woo

At the end of the qualifying round in the MFC 2010, Nioukyen FC was placed second, 2 points behind The Replacements, the juggernauts of the tournaments.  Nioukyen FC can also boast about having the best defence as they only conceded 4 goals in the entire tournament.

However, even with these impressive feats, they were hard pressed to win the MFC 2010.  Finish in second place on the ladder meant they squared off against the third-placed team, Club Maurice.  These two teams were both part of the big four of the tournament and were both on 14 points.  Only goal difference could separate the two teams, with Nioukyen FC proving to be better with 7 against Club Maurice's 4.

Having already defeated Club Maurice 2-0 in the qualifying round, Nioukyen FC headed into the semi-final with confidence.  However, the match was a very intense event with both teams scoreless at the end of normal time.  This was even though Nioukyen FC was awarded a penalty on the buzzer.  Failing to convert the penalty kick to a score on the board, Nioukyen FC drew the  game into extra time.

In the extra time period, Club Maurice took the lead, however, Nioukyen FC responded and equalized with only 30 seconds left in extra time.  With the teams on an even score at the end of extra time, a penalty shoot-out was necessary to separate the two.

The penalty shoot-out went against Nioukyen FC and they lost 11-10.  Once again they were part of semi-final match, but were unable to proceed to the final.  Having been in this position three consecutive times (they lost to The Replacements in the semi-final of the RMIT Soccer Challenge 2010), they are now prepared to go one step further.

They are particularly keen to play against The Replacements, the reigning champions, and Club Maurice, another of the top four teams.  This time, Nioukyen FC has made it clear that they will not settle for second fiddle behind neither The Replacements nor Club Maurice.  They want "Nioukyen FC" as the very first team name engraved on the virgin Champions Cup trophy!