Tuesday, December 15, 2009

CFC Won Olympia College Ipoh: Extreme Knockout Futsal Tournament 2009!

Canning FC

After a long 3 years ever since Canning FC (CFC) grabbed the Champion titles from "The Kejohanan Futsal Kelab Sukan Komuniti Dun Teja in Ipoh" and "MCA Road To The World Cup Futsal Championship in Alor Setar", they have just added in another futsal title just before the 2009 Season comes to an end yesterday. CFC's midfielder Alexander Lim registered a team of 6 players into the knockout format futsal tournament which was organized by Olympia College Ipoh at the Sunway's Extreme Park with a registration fee of RM50 per team. CFC's winning team comprised of:

Canning FC Winning Team


1. Lim Ming Xian (GK)
2. Alexander Lim Kok Soon (13 - Captain)
3. Keith Chan Mun Pan (25)
4. Jason Chai Nyin Cheong (88)
5. Stanley Choong Jin Lai (No Number)
6. Vincent Lim Kok Fong (16)

The tournament which started from 9am to 2pm on the 12th December 2009 (Saturday) saw 16 teams from different races. CFC were the only Chinese team apart from a team of Koreans who should be a group of students studying at Olympia and Ipoh International School. There were like 3-4 Malay teams and the rest were Indian teams. A draw was made in front of all of the teams' captains and CFC were drawn to play against MD Perak Tengah. Each match was 7 minutes per half. The results and brief reports of CFC's journey to victory are as below:


FINAL 16: CFC 5 - 2 MD Perak Tengah
Alexander Lim (2 goals)Keith, Kok Fong & Stanley Choong (1 goal)

CFC players were having difficulties in this very first match because they were still not used to the Extreme Park's articifical grass as they played most of their futsal friendlies at Sportsplanet Menglembu's Decoflex surface. CFC conceded first when Nyin Cheong tried to dribble upwards but got pressured and the ball stolen by the opponent to make a fast attack towards CFC's empty backline. Stanley equalized later on but CFC again conceded when Ming Xian's short pass was intercepted by an opposing player and slotted past him easily. After the 2nd half, CFC started to get back the feel and played much better. Alexander Lim scored 2 goals with a perfect pass by Kok Fong and another thunderous shot past the goalie. Keith scored from the right flank in style and Kok Fong also scored to make it 5 - 2 for CFC as they also received cheers and supports from a group of Indian players.


FINAL 8: CFC 4 - 1 Gopeng City B
Alexander Lim & Stanley Choong (2 goals)

After the first match, CFC players started to play as good as they usually did. CFC's defence were better and only conceded a goal in this match. Both Alexander Lim and Stanley scored a brace each to secure a comfortable win into the Semi-Final where the stress level increased as they knew they'll be meeting the toughest opponent of the tournament.

SEMI-FINAL: CFC 1(4)(2) - 1(4)(0) AAFC
Nyin Cheong (1 goal)

*SEMI-FINAL: PENALTY SHOOTOUT*
CFC 4 - 4 AAFC
Stanley Choong - Scored Opponent 1 - Scored
Keith - Scored Opponent 2 - Scored
Alexander Lim - Shot Saved Opponent 3 - Shot Saved
Kok Fong - Scored Opponent 4 - Scored
Ming Xian - Scored Opponent 5 - Scored

*SEMI-FINAL: COIN TOSS (BEST OF 3 TOSSES)*
CFC's Captain Alexander Lim 2 - 0 AAFC's Captain
1. AAFC chose "Tails", result was "Heads" (CFC won first round!)
2. Alexander Lim chose "Heads", result was "Heads" (CFC won second round & got into the Final!)

The Semi-Final was definitely the most exciting and toughest match for CFC in the tournament. Everyone knew that the opponent was the best and toughest to play against because the players were quite aggresive and had good teamwork. CFC failed to find the net as each shot was blocked and saved while the opponents were physically aggresive, making it harder for CFC players to control the ball and get past the opponents. CFC conceded first again when Alexander Lim failed to block a long shot that flew past Ming Xian. Tension was critically high as CFC went into the 2nd half with 1 goal down and only have 7 minutes to not concede anymore but to score. Alexander Lim was fouled a couple of times when he was knocked down by the opponent. When CFC was given a freekick at the opponent's half with just only minutes left on the clock, Nyin Cheong was left unmarked at the left side and Alexander Lim quickly passed the ball to him. With a timely first-timed shot at the rolling ball, Nyin Cheong put the ball at the top corner to make everyone screamed and jumped in joy as CFC equalized. Right after the restart, Alexander Lim intercepted the ball and blasted a powerful shot at the top corner but only to be denied by the goalie's quick reflex save. The whistle was then blown for the penalty shootout.

Stanley was the first taker to shoot at the bottom left, followed by Keith who also shot at the same position. However, Alexander Lim's shot at the middle was saved by the goalie. It was all up to Ming Xian after that and with all the confident cheers from his team-mates, Ming Xian made a crucial save to keep CFC on the track! Kok Fong stepped up for the 3rd kick although he was still suffering from a slight injury on his right ankle, confidently blasted the ball at the back of the net. As Nyin Cheong wanted to take the 5th kick, the ref halted him and said only current players in the game were allowed to take the kicks. This meant that Ming Xian has to take the final kick. While the other CFC players were feeling doubtful for the inexperienced Ming Xian to kick a ball but at the same time were hoping and giving him the confidence, Ming Xian proved everyone's wrong when his shot hit the inner crossbar and over the line, scoring probably 1 of the best goals of the tournament! When the opposing goalie also scored the 4th goal, it was still a tie and the next format to determine the winner of a Semi-Final round should be the most hilarious and absurd format of the decade, a coin toss!

The ref stepped outside the court and only ordered the 2 teams' captains with the organizers to witness the coin toss. It was a "Best of 3 Tosses" to determine the winner. The opposing captain got to choose first and he chose "Tails". The ref flipped the coin and it showed "Heads", CFC won the 1st round! CFC's captain Alexander Lim was asked to choose in the 2nd round and he confidently chose "Heads" again and after the flip, it showed "Heads" again and CFC got the easiest win into the Final in history!

Canning FC With Gopeng Juniors A Prior To The Final Match


FINAL: CFC 6 - 1 Gopeng Juniors A
Stanley Choong (3 goals)
Alexander Lim, Kok Fong & Nyin Cheong (1 goal)

CFC had earlier watched this team played and thought they shouldn't pose any great danger. However, over-confidence aside and CFC stayed focus to play a very good defence cum fast passes and counter-attack strategy. Both teams shook hands and took pictures before the kick-off. CFC's Stanley scored the opener before minutes later, Nyin Cheong was elbowed by an opponent and was down on the ground. The opponents kept attacking and the ref didn't blow, resulting a goal for the opposing team. CFC stayed calm and slowly build up the attack which then saw Stanley grabbed a hat-trick for himself with fantastic tight angle goals, Alexander Lim with another 1st-timed thunderous shot from a rolling ball, Kok Fong's goal with his Anelka-liked precise finishing and Nyin Cheong who scored his 2nd goal of the tournament after his crucial Semi-Final's equalizer goal. Towards the end, CFC held most of the ball possessions and blocked all of the opponents' shots until the final whistle was blown.

Champion Prizes: RM500 Cash, Gold Medal & Certificate Of Participation


The CFC team was proud to be the Champion again especially when they were also the only Chinese team in the tournament. CFC brought home RM500 in cash, medals and certificates of participation while the 1st Runner-up received similar prizes except for RM150 in cash.

Canning FC Are The Ipoh Champs!

CFC would like to express their deep appreciation and huge thank you to those who supported the team, CFC's Manager Ivan Teh and CFC's Manageress Jessie Lim for dropping by to support, CFC's defender Adrian Choi for the photos and videos and also the very friendly Olympia College Ipoh organizers for holding the futsal tournament perfectly without delays and issues. CFC will be looking forward for more titles in the upcoming year! Thanks!

Canning FC Are The Best!