Albania beats Ireland in inaugural Copa N.Y.C. Final
New York, Aug 10 – The excitement of two weekends of intense tackles, penalty kicks, and goals came to a dramatic conclusion when Albania beat Ireland 4-1 in the finals of the inaugural Copa N.Y.C. soccer tournament.
“We had a great turnout at last night’s championship match and were blessed with great weather despite the forecast, allowing for a spectacular show of fierce competition,” said tournament co-founder Chris Noble on the Copa N.Y.C. website, www.copanyc.us.
The “Golden Ball” award went to NYC Albania team captain Rigels Qosa and the “Golden Boot” recipient was Dwayne Kellyman of NYC Jamaica.
Copa N.Y.C. started off with 16 teams that brought together former professionals and amateurs from across the world all living in New York City. But those teams were dwindled down to two for the final match played at the Maspeth’s Metropolitan Oval on Sunday, August 2, after Albania beat Argentina 2-1 and Ireland pounded Cypress 4-1 in double overtime and penalty kicks the previous day.
The winner received the “Mayor’s Cup” and, though Mayor Michael Bloomberg could not make the tournament, he invited Noble and the winning team to City Hall. The team will also be honored at a New York Red Bulls game on August 15.
