Falcons Academy sealed their third straight ADIB Abu Dhabi Football League (ADFL) title after a tense penalty shoot-out victory to seal a 5-4 overall win over Diplomatic and Governmental (D&G).

Played at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, the match proved to be an entertaining match. Both teams were on top of their game and it was Falcons’ Bogdan Sendroin who broke the deadlock through a powerful left-footed shot.

It didn’t take long for D&G to get back on level terms as Khalfan Misbah found the back of the net just two minutes after the opener.

Misbah finished superbly with a classy flick to cap a remarkable goal for D&G. However, despite having been reduced to 10 men, Falcons Academy recovered to level matters.

With the game finishing 2-2 in regulation time, it needed a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

With D&G missing their second of three penalties, Mohamed Kamal, Falcons Academy’s goalkeeper, hammered home the winning spotkick to secure his side’s third ADFL title.

Ahmad Khalaf, Falcons Academy captain, was delighted to win such a close game and is already looking forward to next season’s campaign.

“It has been a fantastic tournament and it was well organised from the start, and was unbelievably competitive. We are ecstatic to have won (this competition) for a third year in a row and we are already looking forward to competing again,” said Khalaf, whose side picked up the winning cheque for Dh30,000 following their triumph.

Runners-up D&G picked up a cheque for Dh15,000, while University Sports Federation finished third and took away a cheque for Dh10,000.

In other awards, Irish Wolfhounds took the Fair Play Award, while Shaher Juma was adjudged as the Best Goalkeeper.