TABS A emerge champions of Junior Football tourney
KOTA KINABALU: It all boiled down to a thrilling finale at the Junior Football Tournament organised by Belia Sepanggar at Padang Kontena Yayasan Sabah near here, on Sunday.
Tunas Asas Bolasepak SAFA Bandaraya A (TABS A) emerged as champions, but not before slugging it out in the final of the tournament featuring under-12 teams from nearby districts.
TABS A had to dig deep to overcome disappointment from earlier in the match where steady nerves later proved vital to their victory in the shootout.
They edged Akademi Tunas Kota Kinabalu A (ATKK A) 5-3 on penalties after both sides drew 1-1 in regulation time.
The victory came as a huge relief to redeem a second half blunder that nearly jeopardised their chances of winning.
Azam Saat scored in the first half to steer TABS A on course for victory. But later a dreadful owngoal prevented what could have been a straight forward 1-0 win.
The mishap brought ATKK A back into the game and the match eventually went into penalties to decide the winner.
TABS A booked their place in the final by winning an earlier shootout (4-2) with SK Tempasuk after both sides drew scoreless at full time.
Meanwhile, the other semi-final match saw ATKK A beat Malta 2-0.
Eight other teams took part in the tournament, namely TABS B, ATKK B, Akbul Jr A, AKbul Jr B, Mengayau FC, Ken Shellito Academy, Melawa FC and SK Tambulion.
Meanwhile, organising chairman Djoehan Damo thanked all the teams and hoped that their support would continue in future.
"This is our small contribution to the development of football that rightfully must be started at grassroots level.
"Greater participation and more grassroots programmes will have a positive impact and help the development of football with more effect," said Djoehan.