MUKAH: If the just concluded Sarawak Cup 2017 is anything to go by, the football powerhouse seemed to have shifted from the southern to the northern region of the state. For years until recently, it was the teams from southern part of Sarawak, especially Kuching and Samarahan who were the dominant sides of this beautiful game of Sarawak.
However, the final showdown of that Sarawak’s most prestigious tournament on Saturday afternoon saw the teams from this upper part of the state – Miri and Bintulu – squaring off against each other, an indication of the northern domination, at least for this year’s Sarawak Cup. And the entertaining match which ended in a penalty shootout, to determine the champions after they drew 0-0 in the full time of play and extra time 1-1 was another indication of the equal strength of Bintulu and Miri – with only the lady luck to favour the latter who eventually won 5-4.
The presence of all the teams from the northern regions, namely the two finalists and Limbang, in the quarter-finals of the tournament which was staged in this fast growing town of Mukah showed the rise of football in the northern region.
And they entered the semi-finals in style, as Limbang crushed Serian 4-1, Miri defeated Sibu 2-0 and Bintulu beat Samarahan, 2-0. These northern region teams would be the archrivals to watch out for by other divisions in future tournaments. As the champions, Miri took home a cash prize of RM18,000, Bintulu as runners-up received a cash prize of RM12,000.
Meanwhile, the Kuching team were third to receive a cash prize of RM8,000 and Limbang team were fourth to take home a cash prize of RM5,000. Fairul Adi from Miri squad was named as the best player, while the top scorer was Roslan Unus. also from Miri. Miri goalkeeper Abdul Razak Jamaat was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Miri also won the best team award (Fair Play). All the prizes were presented by Sarawak Football Association (FAS) president, Dato Posa Majais. For the development of the state football in general, the scenario could be a positive distribution of the football might of Sarawak as the game was no longer dominated by one team or region, especially the state capital, which had been the powerhouse for decades.
Nevertheless, it was not so long way to go for the central regions, Sibu being the only team from the region that made to the top eight teams and was only shown the exit by the champions Miri. As for the host team, Mukah, Sarawak Cup remained an elusive title for them since they took the title in 1989, when this division was still a district of Sibu Division, though during the pre-tournament the locals believed that this was the time for Mukah to regain the title.
The positive side of the tournament for the division was that the newly-completed Mukah Mini Stadium was packed with spectators with overflowing crowds to the surrounding areas(beyond the grandstand) of the stadium until the road side, especially at the final.
Normally, the local fans would not go to the venue to watch in full force if their team were not playing on that occasion.
The cars were not only seen at the parking spaces or road heading to the stadium but also up to1 Km away on both sides along the main road. Thanks to the authority, the policemen and RELA members for keeping the traffic flow smoothly.
Kudos also to Football Association of Sarawak(FAS) and local Mukah Division Football Association(MuFA) for bringing this great tournament to this football craze town of Mukah and it is hoped that the stadium would be upgraded from time to time to meet the public expectations, particularly in tandem with the local aspiration to attain the Smart City status in the near future.
