The fourth season of the GulfWeekly-sponsored Arsenal Bahrain Ladies League ended with a cup competition and the award presentations.
After some quick-fire qualification matches between the eight competing teams, the Plate Final for third and fourth saw St Christopher’s School Seniors triumph over Venus in a thrilling sudden-death penalty shootout.
And the final of the cup contest saw Eastern Flames steal victory over Joga Bonito in the same manner, with goalkeeper Yasmin Kechiea saving Joga’s fourth penalty to claim the trophy for the girls from Saudi Arabia. Being widely recognised as the league’s most improved team, the Flames were worthy winners of their first trophy.
During the presentations, each team received a framed squad photograph, and some FIFA-coaching guidelines on developing Ladies Football.
The league’s Fair Play Award, which is scored every week by the opponents of each side, was narrowly won by Joga Bonito, just ahead of the Arsenal Reds.
The Best Player accolade, again scored by the opposition and the referee after each game, was won quite handsomely by Leah Montenegro of the Flames.
The league winners Arsenal Yellow and runners-up Arsenal Red then received their medals and the coveted GulfWeekly trophy from GulfWeekly’s sports journalist Mai Al Khatib, along with special guests Shaikha Al Khalifa and Al Nood Al Khalifa who are both current members of the Bahrain National Ladies team.
The youngest player to score a goal in the league when she was just 11, Kia Hanahoe, was given the honour of lifting the GulfWeekly Premiership trophy on behalf of her Yellow team mates. She said: “I did not even expect to play that much because it is a women’s league but I really enjoyed it and can’t wait until next season.”
Club captain Sam Turner added: “I really did not expect the team to win the league. This season was the most competitive yet and with such a young squad I was expecting a year of development rather than success. However, the girls started with a win and grew in confidence and ability as the season progressed. Some of these girls will become superb players as they get older.”
Paul Shipwright, Director of Arsenal Soccer Schools said: ‘’We are very grateful to GulfWeekly for its support of the league. It is currently the only competitive league for women in the country and is hopefully helping females to develop in the game and get enjoyment from it every week.’’
Deena Rahman, head coach at Arsenal School Bahrain, who came up with the Ladies League concept and helped make it happen, said: “It is great to see so many ladies playing football in a competitive but friendly environment.
“The standard of play is improving every season, as is the number of females wishing to participate. Next season will see Desert Divas and RCIS added to the list of teams competing for the title and coveted trophy, while we are unfortunately losing the St Chris team whose members have an important study period in front of them which we wish them all the best with.”
*The new league season will kick-off on January 14.
Panel: Honours list
League Winners – Arsenal Yellow
League Runners-up – Arsenal Red
Cup Winners – Eastern Flames
Cup Runners-up – Joga Bonito
Plate Winners – St Chris Seniors
Plate Runners-up – Venus
Fair Play Team – Joga Bonito
Best Player – Leah Montenegro
*Any team or individuals wishing to get involved in the League should contact Deena on deena@arsenalschoolbahrain.com
