The Ballkickers 1 had become living proof that you could finish first in your division and still carry a chip on your playoff shoulders.

“I don’t think we deserved to lose both games during the season but fair play to them,” declared captain Steven Mootin in the wake of a 2-0 victory against FC Zyara. “The game itself was tight at the beginning, but as soon as we got the first goal from Yves Nakatala-Bukaka, the game opened up and we had quite a few chances to double the lead before the second goal (mine) actually came.”

As promised, the Ballkickers 1 corrected a regular season habit of conceding too many goals and shut down their B Division archrivals with some solid defensive pay in the second half. “Our goalie made maybe 1-2 saves the entire game. It’s very satisfying to get a win over them and confirm that we deserved to be champions this year.”

In the Division A championship, South City FC manhandled AS Football Club 9-4 on the strength of a Vincent Bourbonnais hat trick and a pair of Christopher de Guise beauties. The teams had drawn twice during their regular season meetings.

FC Wahdat, meanwhile, managed to weather a two-goal performance by Fahim Hissami to beat FC South Shore 3-2 in shootout, capturing the Division C crown.

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