MALTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UNDER 9 TOURNAMENT The Malta International Airport Under 9 Tournament was held last Monday, 13th April 2009 at the Melita FCYN Grounds. The latter were also handed responsibility for the organization of the above-mentioned tournament which attracted the participation of twelve well-established football nurseries namely B'Kara, Melita, Valletta, Floriana, Paola Hibs, Pieta, Hamrun, Mosta, Zebbug, Tarxien, Lija/Iklin & B'Buga. The weather forecast for this hugely anticipated day was not very encouraging and regrettably for all stakeholders concerned, including players, coaches and parents, the Meteorological Office personnel got it right for once! However this was not going to hinder all the boys' enthusiasm. There were three groups with 4 teams in each group, playing on a round-robin basis, with the winner of each group and the best runner-up to qualify for the finals. Our first match was versus Zebbug, who according to reliable sources were going to be worthy opponents.....and indeed they were. We struggled against both Zebbug and the unrelenting weather conditions, but the first half ended two a piece. Upon resumption, Zebbug immediately took the lead but our gladiators fought back bravely to win the match emphatically 6 - 3. Game - Set- Match. Now it was imperative to take all the 3 points against Tarxien. All our players were on fire again as they strolled to a well-deserved 4 - 0 victory. Paola Hibs were next ..... all we needed now was the sharing of the spoils to secure top spot in Group C as Paola Hibs had earlier lost 2 precious points against Zebbug in a four-goal thriller. B'Kara took the initiative and an early lead but Paola Hibs got the equalizer their efforts deserved a few minutes later to set up a nail-biting finale. Once again, our young men withstood the pressure to consolidate their hard earned top spot. The draws of the two finals were to follow Mr Julian Jaegar, MIA CEO and the mastermind behind the creation of this tournament, pitted our team against our arch rivals Valletta whilst hosts Melita were due to face Mosta. Winners of both finals had indeed something to fight for.......Qualification to participate in the Vienna International Airport Tournament from the 21st to the 24th of May 2009. Our team looked to be cruising to victory with a well-taken goal besides missing a sitter. B'Kara were soon punished, though, for some lack of concentration as Valletta leveled the score. There was some sort of deja vu next as we took the lead and our foes once again equalizing. Nevertheless, the later stages of the second half were pretty much one-sided as B'Kara scored a couple of well-taken goals to send all our supporters into wild celebrations. V I E N N A -------- H E R E W E C O M E OLIVER MALLIA
