The clouds cleared and the sun shone through onto what was a glistening Heartlands pitch. The footballing angels were smiling down today. It seems as though they too were pleased that football was back. It had been a month since this hallowed ground had experienced the greatness of MSC Football.

 There was a definite buzz around the place. The youth had a spring in their step and even Coach Mario, the young Claudio Ranieri, had a glint in his eye as he dreamed of silverware in the upcoming Salaam Cup. Coordinator Shenu Jaffer quipped, “When the seagull follows the trawler it is because they think Sardines will be thrown” 

Our Young Lions have a shot at history this Bank Holiday Monday- Masoomin Monday as the pundits have dubbed it. 35 of the sharpest, quickest and strongest young athletes will descend into London for what promises to be a thrilling and exciting day. 

The eldest of the young footballers were put through their toughest test to date. They were included in a 7-a-side round robin tournament with the rest of the adults who had be split into a further three teams.

 

The teams for the Friday session were as follows:

 

Young Guns

Aston All-Stars

B’ham Bullets

Clifton Chargers

Adam Mohamed

Mo Nassimzadeh

Mo Harji

Jaffer

Arif Mohamed

Faraaz Fazel (GK)

Masoud Nouri

Abdul Nassimzadeh

Abbas Mirza

Ali Taqi

Amir Hemraj (GK)

M.Abbas Rashid

Husnain Malik

Ali Hassam

Mohamed Sumar

Shahidali Alidina (GK)

Muhammed Kurji

Tharoo

Jetha

Sajjadali KG

Ali Rashid

Ali Dossa

Yaseen

Raza Hirji

Kumayl Ali

Mesum Ali

Hasan Agah

Humran

Muhammad Dhalla

Hussein Somji *

Pardhan

 

 

*Loyalties wavered like a young Sol Campbell. Represented both the All-Stars and Bullets.

 

With two games being played simultaneously the action was off and running. 

The Bullets and Chargers were part of a game that was testament to defensive solidity. Mo Harji marshalled his defence like a young Rio Ferdinand while Jaffer and Rash played with the grit and determination of the Huth/Morgan partnership. The game ended in a 2-2 Draw.

 The Young Guns took on the All-Stars and pre-match Mo ‘Hansen’ Nassimzadeh was quoted as saying , “you can’t win anything with kids”. The kids got off to a flying start and raced into a 3-0 lead, their performance showed shades of the Liverpool first half demolition of Arsenal in 2014. But unlike that Arsenal side, this All-Star team had the bottle to claw the game back to 4-4. With the game finely balanced and the clock ticking down a well worked team goal settled the tie 5-4 to the Young Guns.

The exuberance of youth faded after this as the Young Guns took on the supremely experienced Chargers. With Raza ‘Stevie G” Hir-G dictating the play from deep and Abdul Nassimzadeh running the channels with the pace of a Middle Eastern Arjen Robben they had the majority of the chances. Despite the youth showing their defensive skills and energy, the Chargers were well worth their 1-0 victory.

The All-Stars suffered a demolition at the hands of the Bullets. Despite Mo Nassimzadeh’s effort in the middle of the park that would even have made Roy Keane crack a smile. It was a 4-0 victory to the Bullets who put in a classy performance. Masoud Nouri dictated play like a young Andres Iniesta and Yaseen, Sumar and Jetha combining as potently as MSN.

In the final set of games the All-Stars took on the Chargers. Some good play saw the All-Stars create some good early opportunities. Ali Hassam took aim but Shahidali Allidina produced some world class saves; Chris Kamara could hardly believe it, “Unbelievable Jeff!”. Against the run of play the Chargers took the lead after some incisive counter attacking play. In an effort to solidify their lead they deployed Mohamed ‘Mitro’ Jaffer up front and that move instantly paid dividends as he slotted home with all the composure of a seasoned veteran.

 The Young Guns took on the Bullets, this game had an exhibition feel about it as the Bullets picked up where they had left off with the All-Stars. A resounding 4-0 win with all the flicks and tricks of the Brazilian team circa 2002.

 With that resounding victory the winners of the day on Goal difference were the Bullets, with the consistent chargers level on points in the tightest race since that Aguero moment. The youth came in a respectable third with the All-Stars failing to live up to their billing despite valiant efforts otherwise.

That concludes this edition of the Football Observer. Please tune in for a Special Edition where we will cover the Salaam Cup breakdown for the youth and join us for another fantastic session of Football at Heartlands this Friday.