Jardo crowned the Unity champions!

LONDON APSA brought the International Unity Five-a-side Challenge to Newham and once again it was a great success.

Twenty teams from Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets entered the tournament to compete for the coveted title.

Jardo FC from Walthamstow were the stand-out side, as they breezed passed most of their opponents and won with a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the final.

Runners-up Dawat FC also put in some fine performances, and they were led well by Aqib Habib from Queen Mary University.

The man of the tournament also went to Dawat FC, with Tahir Qureshi from Manor Park, showing great discipline.

The group games were full of drama, with previous winners Leone Stars losing 3-0 to Merseyside, but still making the knockout stages.

Last years finalists, AC Milano were close to making the knockout stages again, only to be thwarted by a late goal from Upton Lane.

Former champions East London Elite cruised to a quarter-final place, while Jardo F were also undefeated and went through as group leaders.

The knockout stages were tense and hard-fought, as Elite went down 2-0 to Leone Stars, Dawat FC romped home with a 2-0 victory against tournament favourites Merseyside Boys, while Jardo beat Upton Lane 1-0.

Only one game was settled on penalties, as Luton FC were victors over Walthamstow Outlaws.

However, both semi-finals were settled on penalties with Jardo and Dawat triumphant.

The final was an intriguing affair, with players like Zubair Haleem, Tahir Quereshi, Titch Khan and Aqib Habib on display it was a mouthwatering prospect.

Jardo took the lead through captain Haleem and followed up with a penalty to go 2-0 up. Aqib hit back for Dawat with a long-range shot, but couldn't find the equaliser to take it to penalties as Jardo were victorious.