CAIRNS won its second consecutive annual Hmong Football Association carnival with a 2-0 win over Melbourne in yesterday's Grand Final at Endeavour Park.

The carnival, which featured teams from Cairns, Innisfail, Melbourne and Brisbane, is contested by teams representing Hmong communities.

Hmong refugees from South East Asia have made new homes in Australia and brought their love of the round ball game with them.

Past participants Tasmania and Sydney did not field teams at this year’s carnival, with the former citing a lack of numbers and the latter concerned its team was not strong enough to compete.

The carnival, which began on Friday, was contested in a round-robin format, with Cairns and Melbourne winning their way through to the decider.

Cairns took out the title in Brisbane last year, and with the competition format awarding host rights to the winning team, it will again host the event next Easter. In a physical and fast-paced decider, in which both teams played with passion, Cairns scored a goal in each half to secure the title.

The home side opened the scoring midway through the first half through a Chang Vi strike and then added a second soon after halftime when X Kue S capitalised on a fumble from the Melbourne goalkeeper to score.

Cairns was unlucky not to go further ahead in the second stanza with Chang twice denied sensational headers, the first hitting the post and the second drawing a reflex save from the Melbourne keeper.

Cairns midfielder Yang Tk was also unlucky not to add his name to the goalscorers’ list, his cracking shot from near the halfway line on the three-quarter sized field cannoning into the post.

Successful coach Yang said his team had played well in the hot conditions and would look to complete a hat-trick of titles next year.

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