Thursday, September 1, 2011

Mauritian Futsal Cup 2011 Cancelled

MKS Melbourne regrets to announce that the Mauritian Futsal Cup 2011 has been cancelled due to the low number of teams registered.  However, MKS Melbourne encourages teams to continue their training in preparation for the next tournament, the Champions Cup 2011, which will take place in mid-November.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Mauritian Futsal Cup 2011 Announced!

Although the inaugural MKS Melbourne Shield has barely passed and even though the usual post-tournament multimedia fanfare is not yet completed, MKS Melbourne has announced the second Mauritian Futsal Cup as they believe it is important to run the tournaments at similar times each year to build consistency in the MKS Melbourne tournaments and community.

Building on the success of the MKS Melbourne Shield, MKS Melbourne will be once again hiring professional referees to officiate the matches.  The winners and runners-up will be awarded medals.  The winners will also have their team name etched upon the Mauritian Futsal Cup trophy, an honour which only The Replacements has managed to date.  However, with the emergence of the inaugural MKS Melbourne Shield champions, Gajack United, and recent changes in the MKS Melbourne team rankings, this will be a hotly contested tournament.

The Mauritian Futsal Cup Trophy


The details of the tournament are as follows.

Tournament details
Mauritian Futsal Cup
5-a-side futsal tournament
Saturday 3rd September 2011
0800 - 1700

Important dates
12 August 2011: Team registration opens
19 August 2011: Team registration and payment deadline (early bird discount)
26 August 2011: Team registration and payment deadline

Team registration
To register your team, please use the link provided on our our Facebook page.

Team size
Team sizes are strictly limited to the following.
Minimum: 5 players
Maximum: 8 players

Tournament format
The exact tournament format will be confirmed at a later date as it depends on the number of teams competing. However, in general, the tournament will consist of:

1. Qualifying round - a single round robin competition. All teams will participate in this round.

2. Elimination round - a knock-out competition. Only a number of top ranked teams from the qualifying round will progress to this round.

Please note: MKS Melbourne reserves the right to alter the tournament format without notice.

Tournament Rules
The tournament rules will be follow the MKS Melbourne Futsal Tournament Rules.

Referees
MKS Melbourne will now be providing referees to officiate all matches of the tournament.

MKS Melbourne Website and Blog
Website: www.mksmelbourne.org
Blog: blog.mksmelbourne.org
Please monitor the website and blog for updates.

Enquiries
Please send all enquiries to:
infoATmksmelbourne.org
(replace "AT" with "@").

As always, MKS Melbourne is looking forward to a great and successful tournament and wishes all participating teams the best of luck!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The First MKS Melbourne Shield Champions

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.

Milli Takim
Fesse Plate United
Dodos (formerly Pression FC)
Sowmai FC (formerly Nioukyen FC)
Wolves FC
Impact
Black Hawk United (formerly Dark Hawk United)
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.

RankTeam NamePlayedWinsDrawsLossesGoals ForGoals AgainstGoal DifferencePoints
1Milli Takim75112571816
2Sowmai FC74301551015
3Gajack United74031410412
4Black Hawk United740387112
5Fesse Plate United731387110
6Dodos7223111018
7Wolves FC7043618-124
8Impact7016225-231

The qualifying match results are as follows.

Round 1

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Milli Takim41Gajack United
2Fesse Plate United10Black Hawk United
3Dodos30Impact
4Sowmai FC00Wolves FC

Round 2

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Black Hawk United20Milli Takim
2Gajack United30Impact
3Fesse Plate United11Wolves FC
4Dodos11Sowmai FC

Round 3

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Milli Takim80Impact
2Black Hawk United31Wolves FC
3Gajack United12Sowmai FC
4Fesse Plate United01Dodos

Round 4

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Wolves FC07Milli Takim
2Impact15Sowmai FC
3Black Hawk United10Dodos
4Gajack United01Fesse Plate United

Round 5

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Milli Takim11Sowmai FC
2Wolves FC22Dodos
3Impact04Fesse Plate United
4Black Hawk United13Gajack United

Round 6

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Dodos34Milli Takim
2Sowmai FC41Fesse Plate United
3Wolves FC14Gajack United
4Impact01Black Hawk United

Round 7

MatchTeam 1Team 1 ScoreTeam 2 ScoreTeam 2
1Milli Takim10Fesse Plate United
2Dodos12Gajack United
3Sowmai FC20Black Hawk United
4Wolves FC11Impact


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.
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!


MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 Runners Up: Milli Takim

MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 Champions: Gajack United
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.

Friday, July 15, 2011

MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 Trophy and Medals Revealed

With only a day to go, MKS Melbourne has finally revealed the trophy and medals for the inaugural MKS Melbourne Shield 2011.  The MKS Melbourne Shield will be will be awarded to the winning team tomorrow.  There are also individual medals for players of both the winning team and the runners-up.


The MKS Melbourne Shield and medals

MKS Melbourne wishes all competing teams the best of luck and looks forward to an enjoyable day of competition tomorrow!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 Tournament Format and Schedule

MKS Melbourne have announced the much awaited tournament format and schedule for the inaugural MKS Melbourne Shield 2011.  As anticipated, the tournament format is much the same as other MKS Melbourne tournaments.

The tournament will consist of a qualification round and an elimination round.  The qualification round is a single round robin competition in which every team plays every other team exactly once.  All eight teams have been placed in one group.  At the end of the qualification round, the top four teams will proceed to the elimination round, which is a knock-out competition (only winning teams progress to the next matches).

The match schedule is as follows for the qualification round.


Round 1
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Milli Takim
Gajack United
2
2
Fesse Plate United
Dark Hawk United
3
3
Dodos
Impact
2
4
Sowmai FC
Wolves FC
3

Round 2
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Dark Hawk United
Milli Takim
2
2
Gajack United
Impact
3
3
Fesse Plate United
Wolves FC
2
4
Dodos
Sowmai FC
3

Round 3
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Milli Takim
Impact
2
2
Dark Hawk United
Wolves FC
3
3
Gajack United
Sowmai FC
2
4
Fesse Plate United
Dodos
3

Round 4
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Wolves FC
Milli Takim
2
2
Impact
Sowmai FC
3
3
Dark Hawk United
Dodos
2
4
Gajack United
Fesse Plate United
3

Round 5
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Milli Takim
Sowmai FC
2
2
Wolves FC
Dodos
3
3
Impact
Fesse Plate United
2
4
Dark Hawk United
Gajack United
3

Round 6
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Dodos
Milli Takim
2
2
Sowmai FC
Fesse Plate United
3
3
Wolves FC
Gajack United
2
4
Impact
Dark Hawk United
3

Round 7
Match
Team 1
Team 2
Court
1
Milli Takim
Fesse Plate United
2
2
Dodos
Gajack United
3
3
Sowmai FC
Dark Hawk United
2
4
Wolves FC
Impact
3




One change that MKS Melbourne would like to point out to competitors is the addition of the "accumulated foul" rule (refer to rule 1.6 of the official rules).  MKS Melbourne are trialling the addition of this official FIFA futsal rule in an attempt to improve the tournament.

MKS Melbourne is putting the final touches on the tournament and will further communicate with team captains and vice captains before the start of the tournament.  In the mean time, MKS Melbourne advises competitors to ensure that they arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the start of the tournament (0900) and that the tournament is expected to end at approximately 1430.

MKS Melbourne looks forward to all participants enjoying a competitive but friendly tournament on the day.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Waka Waka Withdraws from MKS Melbourne Shield 2011

Due to player unavailability and recent player injuries, Waka Waka New Stars have been forced to pull out from the MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 tournament.  Waka Waka News Stars are obviously disappointed at not being able to participate in the tournament.

Along with Club Maurice, they are the second team to have pulled out of the tournament.  However, the MKS Melbourne Shield 2011 is going ahead as an eight team tournament.

Gajack United to Debut in MKS Melbourne Shield 2011

Gajack United is another new team to join the MKS Melbourne Shield tournament.  The team is a friendly indoor soccer team playing in Oakleigh and is composed of the following players:
  • Julien Venkatasamy (captain)
  • Danny Nu Nam Young (vice-captain)
  • Christophe Rivet
  • Kenny Hugget
  • Damien Duchenne
  • Jason Chien
  • Yohann Bancilhon
  • Gerald Henrisson
The team captain, Julien Venkatasamy, and vice-captain, Danny Young, are former Black Hawk United players, but have broken away to form their own team.  Gajack United's main aim in the tournament is to have a great time competing against other teams without compromising their opportunity to emerge as champions.

Although the team enjoys futsal as a leisure activity, they will be taking all teams seriously in the tournament and are looking to play consistently at their best.  The fact that this is their first MKS Melbourne tournament is not stopping Gajack United from setting their sights on being crowned champions as they believe they have the right assets to do so, especially with their winning mentality.

As with a number of other teams in the tournament, this previously unheard of team may well be the wildcard in the tournament.  Gajack United's first outing at an MKS Melbourne tournament may well result in them walking away with the very first MKS Melbourne Shield!