Kelab Bola Sepak Abdul Rahim Hassan Penang (KBRH) hogged the limelight in the 19th RSC-Dato’ Chu Ah Nge International Junior Football Tournament at the grounds of the Royal Selangor Club Bukit Kiara Annexe today.
The Penang outfit that is based in Tasik Gelugor, won the Under-8, Under-10 and Under-14 titles, but lost to Penang Indians FC 1-0 in the Under-16 final. Pravinesh Ravindran scored PIFC’s goal in the last minute of regulation time.
Abdul Rahim Hassan FC’s success story and journey in the tournament dealt a severe blow to six-time champions Junior Soccer School and League Singapore (JSSL). The Singaporeans won the only gold medal in the Under-12 final following a 1-0 victory over Bintang Biru.
Their performance, however, fell flat in the Under-10 and Under-14 finals, losing to KBSAR 2-1 in both events.
ARHFC also bagged three awards in the tournament. Aakif Al-Kasyaf was adjudged the Best Goalkeeper; Muhammad Mifzal Zahin (Man of the Match Final), and Muhammad Iffat Wafiuddin (Tournament Best Player) while Bintang Biru’s Ayden Firas was top scorer (6 goals).
“This is our second time we are competing in the tournament after making our debut last year. We did not fare too well last year, but I must congratulate all the players, team officials and parents for the support in this edition of the tournament. It has been an amazing experience,” said Rahim, who formed the academy in 2017.
The former Penang state player said he aims to take the teams to compete in the Garuda Cup in Indonesia, and several other tournaments in Thailand and Singapore as well following the good performance in the RSC-Dato’ Chu Ah Ngee tournament.
“I want to deeply extend my appreciation to Mr Gerald (Rakish Kumar), the organising chairman, for giving us the opportunity once again to compete in this tournament. Although, we did not do well last year, our performance speaks volume of our commitment on the field this time,” he added.
Meanwhile, JSSL Director of coaching Jeffrey Lightfoot, said although they could only win one gold medal, he is proud of all his players for their performance in the tournament.
“Each time we play here, it only gets exciting. The challenge gets greater playing against strong Malaysian and Indonesian teams. That is why we always enjoy playing in this tournament. Perhaps, the players have learned a lot from this experience,” added Jeffrey.
He stressed that the main objective of the soccer school is to provide the players good exposure by competing in high-level competitions.
Meanwhile, Tengku Shakirinal Shah/Tengku Sulaiman Shah FC (TSS FC) completed its journey in the tournament by taking home a silver medal in the Under-8 category. The team lost 1-2 to Kelab Bola Sepak Abdul Rahim Hassan.
Host Royal Selangor Club also gave a much-improved performance this year. They finished fourth in the Under-12 competition after going down 2-0 to KIFC JB in the bronze medal playoff, and finished third in the Plate Under-14 match playoff.
This year, 100 teams from Singapore, the Maldives, Indonesia, Nepal and Malaysia competed across five age categories – Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, and Under-16.
The tournament also aims to foster fellowship through friendly competition among clubs and academies that focus on grassroots development.
(All Results)
Under-8 Final: Kelab Bola Sepak Abdul Rahim Hassan Penang 2 TSS Selangor 1; 3th-4th: Villareal Malaysia 1 Bintang Biru 0.
Plate Final: Cubs Blue FC 3 JSSL FC2 2; 3th-4th: Woodlands Lions FC 1 Royal Selangor Club 0
Under-10 Final: Kelab Bola Sepak Abdul Rahim Hassan Panther (2) JSSL FC1 (1); 3th-4th: Assumption 3 Kelab Remaja Shah Alam 0.
Plate Final: Lions 16 (3) JSSL FC2 (2); 3rd-4th: RSC Harimau 2 Serendah Red Eagles 0.
Under-12 Final: JSSL FC1 (1) Bintang Biru (0); 3rd-4th: KIFC JB 2 RSC Harimau 0.
Plate Final: Adventures Football Academy 1 Lions Blue FC 0; 3rd-4th: Tangsel Junior A (2) Destiny FDC 1.
Under-14 Final: Kelab Bola Sepak Rahim Hassan Penang 0 JSSL FC2 0 (KBRH win 2-1 on penalties);3rd-4th: Woodlands Lions FC 2 Bintang Biru 1.
Plate Final: KIFC JB (1) JSSL FC1 (0); 3rd-4th: RSC Harimau (2) JSSL FC3 (0).
Under-16 Final: Penang Indian FC 1 Kelab Bola Sepak Abdul Rahim Hassan Penang 0;3th-4th: JSSL FC2 5 Myskill 0.
Plate Final: Destiny Eagles 1 KIFC JB 0; 3th-4th: Kelab Bola Sepak KR7 1 PTL FC 0 (full time 0-0)
