Cosmos FC win cup
Written by Editor Saturday, 18 June 2011 18:03
New champions emerged in the shape of Cosmos FC as the Mauritian Football Competition took to new grounds.
This year, the tournament was moved to Charlton Park in South East London instead of the Norbury power League. MFC organisers had decided on the change of venue due to unavailability, but the move had proved to be fruitful with larger grounds and changing room facilities for the players. There was enough space for all stalls and teams tents around the football pitches.
Despite the delay at the kick off , the tournament seemed to have run very smoothly in most areas.
Cosmos started off with a surprise win over reigning champions Blue Marlin by 3-2. The game was very evenly matched up until added time when the referee awarded a penalty to Cosmos. Then came Plaine Verte, which they breezed past with a comfortable 2-0 win and finally drawing with new comers Port Louis Starlight 0-0.
Unlike previous competitions, Cosmos qualified with ease into the knockout stages as they seemed more focused and determined.
In the Quarter Finas, they came up against Skylarks which seemed harder to break down and finished the match 2-2 but won on penalties 4-3 to play against London Yara in the semi-final. Due to the delay at the start of the tournament, the games were played with shorter intervals, so Cosmos had not much time to recover after winning their semi final match 1-0.
The final was against Rhino, a team well experienced in finals. With fatigue, an additional factor in both teams, the game was played with much caution, but Cosmos fought hard and eventually broke down their opponents and scored the only goal in the match. Rhino tried their hardest to come back into the game but alas the game was up as the champions elect had shut up shop. As the final whistle blew, euphoria erupted as their fans invaded the pitch with joy.
As at most football tournaments, there were some discussion points. Mainly, the qualification of 4 teams in one group. Real Maurice, Club des îles/Chagos, Hans Clavisque and London Yara which were from Group 3. The rules released by MFC stated that the top two teams would qualify and two of the best losers with the highest points or goal difference would also go through to the Quarter Finals.
Hans Clavisque ended up third on four points where as London Yara and Blue Marlin were on three. BM were apparently through and had been informed to get prepared for the Quarter Finals. However, in a unexpected turn of events in the final match of Group 3, London Yara who lost their first two games with no goals scored, won against Hans Clavisque by the perfect score 3-0 to qualify on goal difference. A small argument broke out between the managers when the MFC committee annouced that BM were out despite finishing third in their group with the highest points and goal difference in their group. Committee members had a brief meeting to discuss the situation, and the final outcome was to qualify the four teams from one group which was in accordance with the rules provided by the MFC on the day. The point raised was that the rules available to managers was different to those handed out on the day. It was an unusual position to be in, but in the end things seemed to dither out and the tournament went on smoothly.
There Mauritius News Sportsmanship Award which was referred to simply as the ?Challenge cup?, went to Skylarks. Mr Vishnu Sooboodoo, Chairman to the Mauritius Football Competition said ?I accept full responsibility as an omission on my part. Usually, I would have prepared this presentation in advance but since I arrived back late on Saturday, I did not have the time to do so. I should have referred to Mauritius News in the Sportmanship Award?
Overall, the competition was a great success with the community coming together for a great day out on what was a beautiful day. The committee members were very pleased with the outcome and success on the day and will look forward to making it even bigger and better next year.
