On Saturday 4 September 2010, 14 teams came together to contest the Champions Cup 2010 tournament, with each team looking to engrave their name on the new trophy. What was touted as being the biggest and most exciting MKS Melbourne futsal tournament degenerated into what turned out to be a disappointing event for some competitors and the tournament organizers. The Champions Cup 2010 tournament marked a black day on the MKS Melbourne calendar.
The tournament was marred by inconsistent levels of refereeing, low level of sportsmanship from some teams, a general lack of respect from some teams and individuals towards other teams, players, and referees, and many players and teams verbally expressing their ire. MKS Melbourne can only express disappointment as their hard work and preparation has resulted in what has been the worst MKS Melbourne futsal tournament to date. However, as always, looking to improve the tournament, MKS Melbourne are reviewing the details of the events and are calling for constructive feedback from teams and players involved. It is then anticipated that MKS Melbourne will address the issues in the next tournament.
Even though the tournament was disappointing in many respects, futsal was played on the day and the results are what they are. Of the 14 teams, there were 7 Mauritian teams (50%):
- Nioukyen FC
- United
- Deux Lagrain Gauche
- Club Maurice
- Dark Hawk United
- Undefeated FC
- Wolves
and there were 6 non-Mauritian teams (43%):
- Not Quite Right
- Milli Takim
- Entourage
- FC Goons
- All Out FC
- Docklands FC
The one remaining team was The Replacements, who can be considered Mauritian-based due to being initially formed by a majority of Mauritians. However, the Champions Cup 2010, two Mauritian players, Nicholas Sin and Michael Whan Kan were unavailable, thus, other players were recruited to fill in. Previous Mauritian teams such as Short Notice and Pression FC were not able to enter a team in the tournament.
The tournament began with a two-group qualification round. The top two teams of each group proceeded to the semi-finals. Group A was composed of the following teams:
The Replacements
Nioukyen FC
United
Deux Lagrain Gauche
Not Quite Right
Milli Takim
Entourage
Group B was composed of the following teams:
Club Maurice
Dark Hawk United
Undefeated FC
Wolves
FC Goons
All Out FC
Docklands FC
The individual match results for Group A are as follows:
Round 1
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | The Replacements | | | Bye |
| 2 | Nioukyen FC | 1 | 1 | Entourage |
| 3 | United!!! | 0 | 1 | Milli Takim |
| 4 | Deux Lagrain Gauche | 1 | 0 | Not Quite Right |
Round 2
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Entourage | 0 | 1 | The Replacements |
| 2 | Bye | | | Milli Takim |
| 3 | Nioukyen FC | 3 | 0 | Not Quite Right |
| 4 | United!!! | 1 | 1 | Deux Lagrain Gauche |
Round 3
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | The Replacements | 3 | 0 | Milli Takim |
| 2 | Entourage | 3 | 1 | Not Quite Right |
| 3 | Bye | | | Deux Lagrain Gauche |
| 4 | Nioukyen FC | 2 | 0 | United!!! |
Round 4
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Not Quite Right | 0 | 5 | The Replacements |
| 2 | Milli Takim | 2 | 1 | Deux Lagrain Gauche |
| 3 | Entourage | 2 | 1 | United!!! |
| 4 | Bye | | | Nioukyen FC |
Round 5
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | The Replacements | 3 | 0 | Deux Lagrain Gauche |
| 2 | Not Quite Right | 0 | 1 | United!!! |
| 3 | Milli Takim | 2 | 1 | Nioukyen FC |
| 4 | Entourage | | | Bye |
Round 6
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | United!!! | 0 | 1 | The Replacements |
| 2 | Deux Lagrain Gauche | 0 | 0 | Nioukyen FC |
| 3 | Not Quite Right | | | Bye |
| 4 | Milli Takim | 0 | 1 | Entourage |
Round 7
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | The Replacements | 1 | 1 | Nioukyen FC |
| 2 | United!!! | | | Bye |
| 3 | Deux Lagrain Gauche | 0 | 1 | Entourage |
| 4 | Not Quite Right | 2 | 1 | Milli Takim |
The individual match results for Group B are as follows:
Round 1
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Club Maurice | | | Bye |
| 2 | Dark Hawk United | 1 | 0 | Docklands FC |
| 3 | Undefeated FC | 1 | 0 | All Out FC |
| 4 | Wolves | 0 | 2 | FC Goons |
Round 2
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Docklands FC | 0 | 3 | Club Maurice |
| 2 | Bye | | | All Out FC |
| 3 | Dark Hawk United | 3 | 3 | FC Goons |
| 4 | Undefeated FC | 3 | 1 | Wolves |
Round 3
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Club Maurice | 1 | 1 | All Out FC |
| 2 | Docklands FC | 1 | 1 | FC Goons |
| 3 | Bye | | | Wolves |
| 4 | Dark Hawk United | 3 | 0 | Undefeated FC |
Round 4
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | FC Goons | 2 | 3 | Club Maurice |
| 2 | All Out FC | 1 | 0 | Wolves |
| 3 | Docklands FC | 0 | 2 | Undefeated FC |
| 4 | Bye | | | Dark Hawk United |
Round 5
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Club Maurice | 2 | 0 | Wolves |
| 2 | FC Goons | 0 | 4 | Undefeated FC |
| 3 | All Out FC | 0 | 1 | Dark Hawk United |
| 4 | Docklands FC | | | Bye |
Round 6
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Undefeated FC | 1 | 1 | Club Maurice |
| 2 | Wolves | 0 | 3 | Dark Hawk United |
| 3 | FC Goons | | | Bye |
| 4 | All Out FC | 2 | 0 | Docklands FC |
Round 7
| Match | Team 1 | Team 1 Score | Team 2 Score | Team 2 |
|---|
| 1 | Club Maurice | 2 | 1 | Dark Hawk United |
| 2 | Undefeated FC | | | Bye |
| 3 | Wolves | 2 | 1 | Docklands FC |
| 4 | FC Goons | 1 | 2 | All Out FC |
Teams in both groups were fairly well matched and the games proved to be tough encounters. The Mauritian Futsal Cup 2010 champions, The Replacements showed their worth and finished first with 16 points. Newcomers Entourage and Milli Takim also played well, with Entourage managing to knock Mauritian Futsal Cup 2010 semi-finalists Nioukyen FC from the second spot and earning themselves a position in the semi-finals.
In Group B, the teams were even more evenly matched. Club Maurice, the Mauritian Futsal Cup 2010 runners-up were in jeopardy to qualify, however, they managed to defeat Dark Hawk United 2-1 in round 7 to move to top spot in the group. They qualified with 14 points with Dark Hawk United hot on their heels with 13 points. Second place was a tightly contested position between Dark Hawk United and Undefeated FC. Both teams earned 13 points, however, Dark Hawk United qualified with a goal difference of 7 compared to Undefeated FC's 6.
At the end of the qualifying round, the Group A ladder was as follows:
| Rank | Team Name | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|
| 1 | The Replacements | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 16 |
| 2 | Entourage | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 3 | Nioukyen FC | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Milli Takim | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 9 |
| 5 | Deux Lagrain Gauche | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 5 |
| 6 | United!!! | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 4 |
| 7 | Not Quite Right | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 14 | -11 | 3 |
The Group B ladder was as follows:
| Rank | Team Name | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|
| 1 | Club Maurice | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 14 |
| 2 | Dark Hawk United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 13 |
| 3 | Undefeated FC | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 13 |
| 4 | All Out FC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| 5 | FC Goons | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 5 |
| 6 | Wolves | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 12 | -9 | 3 |
| 7 | Docklands FC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 1 |
With these results, The Replacements faced-off against Dark Hawk United in the semi-final and Club Maurice played against newcomers, Entourage in the other semi-final match. Both matches were worthy semi-final matches and they both were prolonged into extra-time to determine a winner.
The matches were almost repeats of the Mauritian Futsal Cup 2010 as The Replacements defeated Dark Hawk United 3-1 and Club Maurice and Entourage drew 1-1 at the end of extra-time. Club Maurice found themselves in a semi-final penalty shoot-out once again, and once again, they managed to get through, beating Entourage 3-1.
The semi-final results were:
- The Replacements def. Dark Hawk United 3-1
- Club Maurice def. Entourage 1-1 (penalties 3-1)
The Replacements and Club Maurice proved themselves to be the top two teams once more and were now in the finals to determine who would win the Champions Cup 2010. As in the Mauritian Futsal Cup 2010, Club Maurice pushed hard at the start and took an early lead due to goal-keeper and captain Kenny Lam's long pass and which was converted to a goal upfront by one of Club Maurice's strikers.
Club Maurice played with determination and with a lot of heart and The Replacements found it hard to penetrate Club Maurice's defence and found themselves many-a-times defending against their counter-attacks. However, an opportunity appeared when the referee awarded a free-kick to The Replacements as he judged that a Club Maurice player slide-tackled too closely to one of The Replacements' players. This was seen as a controversial decision by some and this was further compounded when The Replacements took a quick free-kick with resulted in a goal.
At the end of regular time, the scores were leveled at 1-1. With the Champions Cup 2010 on the line, the teams pressed on hard in extra-time. An opportunity arose once more as one of The Replacements' players and one of Club Maurice's players clashed and The Replacements played on to score the final goal of the match and tournament.
The final match results were:
- The Replacements def. Club Maurice 2-1
Champions Cup 2010 Winners and Runners-up
As some saw this as another controversial decision, the tournament ended on a sour note. The awards ceremony proceeded in a mechanical and lackluster fashion with all teams eager to head home after the long hard day.
Champions Cup 2010 Winners
At the end of the day, after was all over and done with, MKS Melbourne was disheartened with the way the tournament ended. Through the tournament teams won and loss matches, however, one cannot help but to feel that at the end of the day, it was futsal that lost. The social and friendly competitive atmosphere that had been the hallmark of MKS Melbourne futsal tournament was not present. It was a disappointing end to all involved in the tournament, from teams to players, to referees, to spectators, and to organizers.
MKS Melbourne are investigating the issue and are requesting constructive feedback from the teams involved in the tournament. They seek, together with input and assistance from the teams, to bring MKS Melbourne futsal tournaments back to what they once were, and then to keep on improving to move on to better times.
MKS Melbourne would like to thank all teams for their participation and referees who did their best to oversee the matches. MKS Melbourne would also like to thank David Young for video recording the matches of the tournament for everyone's benefit. Thank you to all spectators for attending and supporting their teams.
