Junior Soccer School League (JSSL) Singapore almost made a clean sweep of victories in the 13th edition of the Datoâ Chu Ah Nge International football tournament this evening (Sunday) at the Royal Selangor Club Sports Annexe in Bukit Kiara, when they wrested four of five titles at stake.
JSSL wrested the Datoâ Chu Ah Nge challenge trophy as overall champions for their triumph in the Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 and runner-up in the Under-8 age group categories.
They have won the overall trophy for the third consecutive year.
The Datoâ Chu Ah Nge Challenge Trophy is presented to the team with the highest cumulative points at the end of the tournament, where teams collect points for their finishing in each age-group category.
The rules for the tournament for this grassroots tournament requires participating teams, clubs and soccer academies to compete in all age group levels.Â
JSSLâs only lost in one of the five finals they entered when their Under-8 team  JSSL FC 2 team lost in the final to ATB Tun Razak by a solitary goal in a sudden-death play-off, where it was 3 versus 3. Mohd Hadif Muhd Nur was the hero for ATB.
In the Under-10 category, JSSL FC 2 defeated Subang Jayaâs Titan United in sudden death playoff after fulltime ended in a scoreless draw. In the exciting final it was the effort of goalkeeper Krish Shah who made a solo effort from his goal to the opposite end to set it up for Alex Darby to slot home the winner.
Penangâs Assumption FC who were in two finals â Under-12 and Under-16 â had to settle for second spot when JSSL defeated them in both finals. JSSL 2 defeated Assumption from Penang by a solitary goal respectively in each category.
Host Royal Selangor Club (RSC) Harimau in their only final in the Under-14 category, were denied victory when JSSL 2 defeated them with two goals from Max Mc Coy.
However, RSC had some consolation when Miguel Wenzel bagged two individual awards â Best Player and Top Scorer (8 goals) in the Under-14 category.
JSSL FC also had the distinction of bagging a total of 10 individual titles from the various categories Best Goalkeeper, Man-of-the match (final), Best Player and Top Scorer.
âIt was so close to complete a clean sweep but yet it slip away. We could hav set a rare record in the tournament. In any case, I think it is still a record having qualified for all five finals,â said Harvey Davis, the managing director of JSSL and head coach of the football school.
âWe have also won the overall Datoâ Chu Challenge trophy for the third consecutive year and bagging ten individual awards is also a big achievement of sorts,â said Davis who has been bringing his teams for the last nine years.
âIn the early years it was CIMB YFA who used to dominate this tournament, but over the years we have worked hard to rise.â
JSSL has 1,000 players in their academy and 250 player are elite players who train four times a week, while the rest train over the weekend.
Two players from JSSL, Ben Davis has graduated from the Dato Chu tournament to join the Fulham Under-18 team, while last yearâs Most Valuable Player of the tournament, goalkeeper Felix Goddard, has joined Manchester Cityâs Under-14 team.
A total 80 teams comprising local teams and overseas teams from Indonesia, China, and Singapore and 1,000 players competed in this two-day fun-filled football carnival for honours in the Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16, categories.
The tournament which began as a humble âin-houseâ football carnival for the clubâs Junior Soccer Development Programme (JSDP) comprising eight teams in 2005, over the years has grown to become an international tournament and rated among the best in the region.
The aim of the tournament is two-fold â the first objective is to create a platform for players in each age group to test their skills and gauge their development against other local and international players of similar ages, while the second is for coaches and academies to develop their skills in coaching children across a number of age groups and skills levels.
The tournament is organised by the JSDP under the auspices of the RSC Soccer Section. The programme was launched in March 2002 and currently has an estimated 200 children. Training sessions are held on weekends to guide, groom and train the children from the ages of 6 to 16, with the aim of developing them to become better soccer players and contribute towards the development of soccer in Malaysia.
The JSDP not only concentrates on developing junior soccer but also encourages parents to take an active role in the management of the programme, recognising that for a junior development programme to be successful, it must have the active and wholehearted participation of parents.
Several ex-internationals were present yesterday to lend support and motivate the young players and among them were Datuk N. Thanabalan, Datuk Santokh Singh and Teo Yit Huat.
Earlier in the afternoon RSC hosted children from the Damai Chempaka Childrenâs Home for lunch and presented the sports shoes as part of the clubâs Corporate Social Responsibility.
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RESULTS
Under-8:
Semifinals
ATB Tun Razak bt FCKL 1-0
JSSL FC 2 bt JSSL FC 1 2-0
Final: ATB Tun Razak bt JSSL 2 1-0
Best goalkeeper: Dalia Eliesa â ATB Tun Razak
Man-of âthe-match: Mohd Hdif â ATB Tun Razak
Best player: Reyess Shqeel â ATB Tun Razak
Top Scorer of tournament: Hasan Rehan â JSSL FC 2 (four goals)
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Under-10:
Semifinals:
JSSL FC 2 FCKL 0
Titan United bt EPS Brazil 2-0
Final: JSSL FC 2 bt Titan United 1-0
Best goalkeeper: Owen Shum â Titan United
Man-of âthe-match: Alex Darby (JSSL FC 2)
Best player: Jason Benjamin (JSSL FC 2)
Top Scorer of tournament: Yu Sato (Titan United) â 5 goals
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Under-12:
Semifinals:
Assumption FC bt SKBD Sea Hawk 1-0
JSSL FC 2 bt Titan United 1-0
Final:
JSSL FC 2 bt Assumption 2-0
Best goalkeeper: Khan Hardy (JSSL FC 2)
Man-of âthe-match: Yash Sharma (JSSL FC 2)
Best player: Zharif Zafran (Assumption FC)
Top Scorer of tournament: Zharif Zafran (Assumption FC)
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Under-14:
Semifinals:
RSC Harimau bt Assumption 1-0
JSSL FC 2 bt CIMB YFA 2-0
Final:
JSSL FC bt RSC Harimau 1-0
Best goalkeeper: Asheer Shafiq (CIMB YFA)
Man-of âthe-match: Johan Verdonk (JSSL FC 2)
Best player: Miguel Wenzel (RSC Harimau)
Top Scorer of tournament: Miguel Wenzel (RSC Harimau)
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Under-16:
Semifinals:
Assumption FC bt KB Saysa 1-0
JSSL FC 2 bt RSC Harimau 1-0
Final:
JSSL FC 2 bt Assumption FC 1-0
Best goalkeeper: Jonah Milanovic (JSSL FC 2)
Man-of âthe-match: Nicoco Beretti (JSSL FC 2)
Best player: Hari Mc Coy (JSSL FC 2)
Top Scorer of tournament: Hari McCoy JSSL FC 2) â 4 goals.
