The giant slayers of Atoll football, Fehendhoo was an unlikely club to reach the Premier League. Their story is remarkable, meeting clubs bigger than them without fear and eliminating them all. And now should the big boys of Maldivian Football in the Premier League fear them?

They had no problem taming the giants Eydhafushi in the first milestone of their journey. Eydhafushi is no stranger to top flight football. The region’s giants were clear favorites. Fehendhoo somehow emerged victorious against Eydhafushi. Winning 3-3 on away goal rule.

With lot of Eydhafushi born players in their squad they now had to meet Meedhoo and Naifaru in the Zone tournament. Meedho had already knocked out Alifushi and were in a strong position to make the final round. Again a draw against Naifaru gave Fehendhoo chance to meet Meedhoo in the final match.

Fehendhoo defied the odds and beat R. Meedhoo to qualify to the final round.

The Final round is much trickier with four zone champions Foakaidhoo, Muraidhoo Fehfushi, Fehendhoo and last year’s Premier League club, Maalhos had to battles out a round robin. The top two qualifies to the semi-finals. That means the top two will be playing in the Premier League, against the likes of New Radiant and Victory.

Foakaidhoo hosted the final round. They had already won against Fenfushi in the opening match. Maalhos dominated Muraidhoo beating them 2-0. Fehendhoo’s first game was against the hosts Foakaidhoo.

It took about twenty minutes for Foakidhoo to be 3-0 up against Fehendhoo. It did not start well for Fehendhoo in front of the electrifying crowd. The fight back began, though losing 2-3 to the hosts Fehendhoo had gained confident in the second half of the match. Totally dominating Foakaidhoo missing several chances to equalize.

Their turning point was beating the favorites Maalhos 2-1. Up until that game Maalhos looked invincible not conceding any goal until that game. Maalhos without two key men. Striker Mohamed Jailam and Egyptian defender Hassan Mohamed fell to two early goals. They fought back but Fehendhoo held on bravely to send home the Premier League hopefuls.

Their target was to go as far as they could. Qualifying to the Premier League was unthinkable for one of the smallest clubs in Maldives. Fehendhoo has proved that’s size does not matter when your commitment is that high. They lost of Thimarafushi in the semi-finals, but does it matter when you have just qualified to the Premier League?

This season they are the only Atoll team in the Premier League to register a win after the first four games. They nearly disappointed Suzain’s Green Streets and aggravated TC Sports. Their win against Thimarafushi, a perfect revenge for the semi-final defeat came right after they held Victory Sports Club. Their coach Ismail Aneel, former Victory legend, said after the draw against Victory that the team performed with discipline and commitment. Their form is remarkable.

After the break they meet Foakaidhoo who themselves has had a few good games but few points behind Fehendhoo. Will the giant killers move up the table beating Foakaidhoo? We have two months to find out.

Photo: ImagesMV