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WITH THE END of the AirAsia KL Junior League drawing near, there’s a lot for the FC Kuala Lumpur teams and coaches to focus on at this late stage of the year. A break in the calendar on 11 and 12 November though gave FCKL the opportunity to enter the CUKI Cup international youth tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Now in its 15th year, the CUKI Cup (formerly he Novotel Cup and Ramada Cup) sees participation from academies across Asia, with over 600 players in 2017 travelling from places like Beijing, Singapore, the Philippines and of course Malaysia.
The level of competition would be unknown therefore, but coaches Shazwan, Akim, Syazwan and Azizi were confident that they had solid teams who could put up a good showing.
And as players left the field after their first matches the coaches’ confidence appeared to be well placed.
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Four matches, three wins, 17 goals and only four conceded – FC Kuala Lumpur had announced their presence at the CUKI Cup.
The form continued through the group stages, with the Under-10s and Under-12s both topping their groups and the Under-16s finishing second to secure places in the Cup competition on day 2.
Sadly there was heartbreak for the Under-14s who, thinking they’d qualified for the Cup with a third place group stage finish, were later told that a result for another team had been entered incorrectly. The outcome: FC Kuala Lumpur were pushed down to fourth and into the Plate competition.
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WITH THE BELIEF THAT they were one of the stronger academies in the competition, FCKL took on their quarter finals full of confidence. The Under-10s got things off to a good start with an impressive 3-0 win, and the 14s put the previous day’s disappointment behind them with a 4-0 victory that sent them into the Plate semi-finals.
The Under-12s had a tougher contest, drawing 0-0 in normal time and losing out in the 3v3 extra-time. All was not lost though. As the quarter final loser with the best goal difference, the team still progressed to the Cup semi-finals.
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While the younger teams battled it out in the knockout stages, the 16s faced another round robin format, with three matches between them and the Cup title. Despite some strong performances they came up just a couple of positions short, finishing third overall. Though disappointed not to claim the title, the FCKL Under-16s can be proud of their performance over the two days.
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BACK IN THE KNOCKOUR COMPETITIONS, it was business as usual for the U10s and 14s with wins that put them into the Cup and Plate finals respectively. All eyes were on the Under-12s then.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the young team as they fell to a close 1-0 defeat. They would round out the tournament in a respectable fourth place.
All that remained then were the finals: the Under-14s in the Plate and the Under-10s looking to be crowned CUKI Cup 2017 champions. And, with the Under-14s doing enough to claim their title, the pressure fell on the shoulders of the Under-10s. Not that you could tell, as the players remained unfazed by conceding a crucial goal to iPlay Thailand.
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Ten minutes stood between them and a fall at the final hurdle but the team showed composure beyond their years, first picking up an equaliser and then scoring a second. An expected onslaught from the home team ensued but FCKL held strong in defence and hit iPlay on the counter attack to net a third goal and take the CUKI Cup 2017.
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It was an incredible performance from the Under-10s and one that fittingly brought to an end a hugely successful weekend in Bangkok for FC Kuala Lumpur.
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