Mohammed Shalmeen was the hero of the AAAK Rentals Blues Football Club of Nadi as they lifted the Vodafone National Club Championship title for the first time yesterday.

Shalmeen headed in a spectacular goal that saw Blues FC beat Rewa’s Raymonds FC 1-0 in the final at the Fiji Football Association ground in Suva.

Speaking to SUNsports, Shalmeen said the win would be remembered for a long time.

“I worked hard to make my way up with the club and I’m so proud today,” he said. The Nawaka villager started playing for the club at the age of eight.

“It was my childhood dream to win the NCC and I thank the club for giving me this opportunity and having faith in me.”

Blues FC are now $5000 richer from the win while Raymonds FC pocketed $1500.

What happened: The match started with the Blues FC going out on attack but superb goalkeeping by national and Rewa goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau kept the young Raymonds FC outfit in the game.

Blues FC had the services of six Nadi reps like William Valentine, Josefata Dugucagi, Alfaraz Ali and Samuela Tamanisau which gave them the edge in terms of experience.

Halftime: Blues FC 0-0 Raymonds FC

It was in the 68th minute from a corner kick Shalmeen squeezed in between Raymonds defenders and managed to head the ball to the back of the net for the winning goal.

Star Turn: The nippy striker played his heart out and was a threat to the opposition defence.

Big Play: Blues midfielder Valentine played a key role for the side as he fed quality balls to his strikers.

Comments: Blues FC coach Pranesh Amarsee said: “We’ve been playing in the club competition for many years and our hard work has finally paid off. We struggled a lot and made a lot of sacrifices to reach this far. We never lost hope and I thank our sponsor AAAK Rentals, players and officials for their hard work that resulted in our victory.”

Raymonds FC coach Nigel Khan said: “Reaching this far with our young players is a major achievement for us.”