On 16 July 2011, 8 teams faced each other in the inaugural MKS Melbourne Shield, a new tournament initiated by MKS Melbourne. Although there were considerably less teams competing than in previous recent tournaments (there were 14 teams in the
Champions Cup 2010), the competition was just as fierce if not fiercer. Some would also argue that the level of futsal was also greater than previous MKS Melbourne tournaments.
The tournament consisted of a single group single round-robin qualification round. The top four teams from the qualification round then proceeded to the elimination round, which consisted of semi-finals and a final match. The teams involved in the tournament were as follows.
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| Milli Takim |
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| Fesse Plate United |
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| Dodos (formerly Pression FC) |
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| Sowmai FC (formerly Nioukyen FC) |
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| Wolves FC |
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| Impact |
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| Black Hawk United (formerly Dark Hawk United) |
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| Gajack United |
There were a lot of unknowns in the tournaments as three big teams, The Replacements, Club Maurice, and Undefeated, did not participate in the tournament and there were a number of newcomers, Fesse Plate United, Impacted, and Gajack United. It was difficult to pick a winner at the start and it seemed like it could have been anyone's tournament.
Qualifying Round
In the early stages of the qualifying round, Milli Takim, Sowmai FC, Gajack United and Dark Hawk United began to establish themselves as the top four teams. In the end, Milli Takim emerged at the top of the table with 18 points, having only been defeated by Black Hawk United and drawn by Sowmai FC. Sowmai FC was only 1 point behind Milli Takim at second place on the ladder, followed closely by Gajack United and Black Hawk United.
The results for the qualifying round are as follows.
| Rank | Team Name | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|
| 1 | Milli Takim | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 7 | 18 | 16 |
| 2 | Sowmai FC | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| 3 | Gajack United | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Black Hawk United | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 12 |
| 5 | Fesse Plate United | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| 6 | Dodos | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 8 |
| 7 | Wolves FC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 18 | -12 | 4 |
| 8 | Impact | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 25 | -23 | 1 |
The qualifying match results are as follows.
Round 1
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Milli Takim | 4 | 1 | Gajack United |
| 2 | Fesse Plate United | 1 | 0 | Black Hawk United |
| 3 | Dodos | 3 | 0 | Impact |
| 4 | Sowmai FC | 0 | 0 | Wolves FC |
Round 2
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Black Hawk United | 2 | 0 | Milli Takim |
| 2 | Gajack United | 3 | 0 | Impact |
| 3 | Fesse Plate United | 1 | 1 | Wolves FC |
| 4 | Dodos | 1 | 1 | Sowmai FC |
Round 3
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Milli Takim | 8 | 0 | Impact |
| 2 | Black Hawk United | 3 | 1 | Wolves FC |
| 3 | Gajack United | 1 | 2 | Sowmai FC |
| 4 | Fesse Plate United | 0 | 1 | Dodos |
Round 4
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Wolves FC | 0 | 7 | Milli Takim |
| 2 | Impact | 1 | 5 | Sowmai FC |
| 3 | Black Hawk United | 1 | 0 | Dodos |
| 4 | Gajack United | 0 | 1 | Fesse Plate United |
Round 5
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Milli Takim | 1 | 1 | Sowmai FC |
| 2 | Wolves FC | 2 | 2 | Dodos |
| 3 | Impact | 0 | 4 | Fesse Plate United |
| 4 | Black Hawk United | 1 | 3 | Gajack United |
Round 6
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Dodos | 3 | 4 | Milli Takim |
| 2 | Sowmai FC | 4 | 1 | Fesse Plate United |
| 3 | Wolves FC | 1 | 4 | Gajack United |
| 4 | Impact | 0 | 1 | Black Hawk United |
Round 7
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Milli Takim | 1 | 0 | Fesse Plate United |
| 2 | Dodos | 1 | 2 | Gajack United |
| 3 | Sowmai FC | 2 | 0 | Black Hawk United |
| 4 | Wolves FC | 1 | 1 | Impact |
Semi-Finals
The first semi-finals match saw Milli Takim face Black Hawk United once again. Having previously defeated Milli Takim, the odds were in Black Hawk United's favour. However, Milli Takim had shown themselves to be a strong contender with 5 wins, including a trashing of 8-0 and 7-0 of Impact and Wovles FC respectively. In the end, Milli Takim were able to defeated Black Hawk United when it matter most. Defeating Black Hawk United 2-1, Milli Takim secured their well-deserved place in the finals.
In the second semi-finals match, Gajack United was pitted against Sowmai FC, one of the established MKS Melbourne teams. Sowmai FC was 3 points above Gajack United on the ladder. Both teams had 4 wins, but having drawn the remainder of their matches, Sowmai FC was the only undefeated in the qualifying round. However, in the tightly contested semi-finals match, Sowmai FC's were unable to assert their superiority to see them through to the finals. Gajack United defeated Sowmai FC 1-0.
Finals
The first half of the finals match was tightly contested between Milli Takim and Gajack United. However, the match changed when Gajack United brought on their three substitute players to break the deadlock.
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| Gajack United and Milli Takim |
After having tired out Milli Takim defensively, Gajack United brought on more attacking player midway through the match. This would prove to be Milli Takim's undoing, especially since they had no substitute player for that match.
Gajack United quickly scored their first goal after their substitutes came. Their second goal came from their counterattack of Milli Takim's counter attack and shows how missing an opportunity can quickly turn against teams in the fast-paced game.
Milli Takim had a number of opportunities at the start of the match, but they were unfortunate not to have been the first team to score.
Being 2 goals down, Milli Takim pushed for a goal, but it was a hard ask with no substitute and they struggled upfront. Gajack United finally sealed the game with their third goal and went on to become the very first MKS Melbourne Shield champions!
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| MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 Runners Up: Milli Takim |
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| MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 Champions: Gajack United |
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| Gajack United and Milli Takim |
Team Rankings
The MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 saw some major changes in
MKS Melbourne team rankings. The leader, The Replacements retain top spot. However, Sowmai FC moves up from 4th position to 2nd position, dropping Undefeated FC and Club Maurice to 3rd and 4th position respectively. Black Hawk United also surpasses Undefeated FC and Club Maurice and is now ranked 3rd.
Milli Takim makes the biggest progress and moves from 10th to 6th position, followed closely by the newly crowned MKS Melbourne Shield Champions, Gajack United, who enters the rankings at 7th position.
New teams Fesse Plate United and Impact enter the rankings at positions 13 and 21 respectively while Wolves FC frops from 8th to 10th and Dodos drop from 7th to 8th position.
At the end of the day, MKS Melbourne was pleased in the manner in which the tournament ran. The addition of professional referees improved the consistency of the games and resulted in safer gameplay. MKS Melbourne would like to thank all participants, supporters, referees and others who have assisted in the organisation of the MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 tournament.
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