JEDDAH — A moment of magic by veteran goalkeeper Salam, who enjoyed an off-day till the last minute of the game, saved the face of TSS-ACC B and denied a gritty Makkah Indian FC, who fought gallantly with ten men for the entire second half, an upset win in the SIFF-Eastea Champions League Football Tournament at the Ministry of Education Stadium here.

The doughty Makkah men, who won the B Division championship last year and graduated to the A Division, withstood the pressure from the famed ACC and even threatened the rivals many a time through the dazzling show of former Gokulam FC Kerala star Rizwan.

Rizwan, who exhibited tremendous control and danced his way through ACC defense at ease several times, earned a penalty just a minute before the final whistle. And the crowd clapped as Rizwan himself picked the ball for the spot kick but a spring-footed leftie Salam dived to his advantageous left and denied the Man of the Match Rizwan and the fighting Makkah side a victory, ending the encounter in a goalless draw.

At the other end of the field, Makkah goalkeeper Mohammed Anfad was busy and proved to be a dependable keeper by making some brilliant timely collections and saves.

In a B Division match, ACC A and United Sports Club A drew 1-1 and shared points. Mohammed Riyaz of United Sports Club was adjudged the Player of the Match.

Goals were plenty in the C Division match as Falcon FC and FC Quwaizi drew 3-3. Afsah Pokanali was selected as the Player of the Match.

In the D Division for emerging Under 17 soccer players, a prodigal Jeddah Sports Club (JSC) after missing chance after chance in a barren first session got a break as the rival goalkeeper collected a freekick nicely from just under the crossbar and the ball got slipped out his hands into the goal. JSC then dominated and increased its tally to 2-0.

Shuhaib Ali and Mohsin Shoukath were the scorers. Shahid Abdul Rahman of JSC was selected as the Player of the Match.

Earlier, chief guest former Kerala State minister Adoor Prakash met with the players and awarded the Player of the Match prize.

Friday’s matches (from 5 p.m.): Barakkah Anakish FC vs. Talent Teens Football Academy (Div. D); United Sports Club B vs. Ayman Soccer Freakz Seniors (Div. C); Al-Hazmi Newcastle United vs. Rose Biriyani Rice Jeddah FC (Div. B); Royal Travels Real Kerala FC vs. Sharafiya Trading Zabin FC (Div. A). — SG