Abuja- Alpha Football Club beat Medical Strikers FC 4-3 on penalty kicks on Friday to emerge winners of the 2014 FCT Football League, after a 1-1 draw at full time.
In the final match played at the Area 3 Sports Complex in Abuja, Victor Amos opened scoring for Medical Strikers in the 43rd minute.
Habib Ojulari however drew Alpha FC level in the 60th minute.
In the ensuing penalty kicks shootout, Alpha FC scored four of their five kicks while the Medical Strikers could only score three of theirs.
Coach Philip Makanaki of Alpha FC later told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he was happy with the victory.
He said it was the will of God for his team to win the cup.
“I am very happy and it is the will of God for us to emerge as the winners of the tournament. Words cannot express how I feel.
“When my opponents scored the first goal in the first half, I was scared. Then, my boys equalised with a goal after a lecture I gave during the break and the game became balanced for both teams,’’ the coach said.
He however promised that his team would get better for the next edition of the competition.
“By the grace of God, we will not just win but we will be better. We will go back to the drawing board and recruit more players for the next competition,’’ Makanaki said.
Coach Ibrahim Bako of Medical Strikers also told NAN that he was not happy because his hard work was not rewarded with victory.
He said his team had been strong from the beginning of the tournament.
“I am not happy with the outcome of the match. We have been strong all through the competition and to lose at the end is bad for us.
“We did our best but the referees killed every effort made by my boys in favour of our opponents. This is bad officiating,’’ Bako said.
He alleged that the referees got instructions to favour the other team.
“If the organisers of this tournament will want to encourage people like us to continue, they have to talk to the referees,’’ Bako said.
The coach said grassroots football competition was an avenue to promote, encourage and engage youths, not an avenue to frustrate the young ones.
However, in his speech at the occasion, the FCT Football Association Chairman, Musa Talle, said he was happy that the competition finished well.
Talle said he was looking forward to the 2015 FCT Football League.
“I am happy the match ended well and nobody will question the officiating because the match was handled in a professional way.
“When we started this tournament, we had 48 clubs and there was no record of bad officiating. I just thank God that it has ended well,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the 2014 FCT Football League started in August.(NAN)