Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Male: AFC Challenge Cup champions Palestine enjoyed a clean sweep of the individual awards following Friday's final victory over the Philippines as midfielder Murad Said was named the tournament's MVP while striker Ashraf Al Fawaghra took away the top scorer accolade.
Al Fawaghra crucially netted his fourth goal of the campaign a minute before the hour mark at the National Stadium on Friday as Palestine secured a 1-0 victory in the final of the fifth edition of the AFC Challenge Cup to also secure qualification for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.
And having started in four of the five games during Palestine's unbeaten campaign, Said was crowned the best player at the final edition of the AFC Challenge Cup.
"These two players played very well in this championship," said Palestine coach Jamal Mahmoud.
"Before this tournament we lost about six players who were forwards and Ashraf Al Fawaghra and Abdulhamid Abuhabib, who normally play in the midfield, had to play as strikers."
Al Fawaghra opened his account as Palestine beat Myanmar 2-0 in their second game in Group A before netting both goals in the 2-0 semi-final win over SAFF champions Afghanistan.
And with Al Fawaghra netting the only goal of the final, the Palestine striker crucially moved ahead of Maldives captain Ali Ashfaq at the top of the goal scoring charts