Client News
High five for Villa after dramatic final
Hong Kong, 16 May 2010 - Aston Villa won the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens for a record fifth time on Sunday (16 May) with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Glasgow Rangers.
Villa raced into a three-goal lead and then held off a strong fightback from their Scottish opponents in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Hong Kong Football Club.
Two players with first team experience – striker Nathan Delfouneso and midfielder Marc Albrighton – made the difference for Villa.
Delfouneso put them ahead after just three minutes and Albrighton added a brace to stun a Rangers team who had entered the final without conceding a goal in the whole tournament.
But inspirational Rangers captain Andrew Shinnie – one of the stars of the weekend – netted a penalty on the stroke of half-time and added a stunning second soon after the break to set up a dramatic finale.
Delfouneso and midfielder Harry Forrester both hit the bar for Villa in a frantic last few minutes.
Rangers, for whom midfielder Shinnie finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with eight goals, had to settle for second best again after losing last year’s final to city rivals Celtic.
Villa academy manager Bryan Jones said his coaching staff had come up with a game plan and the players had executed it perfectly.
“We had seen Rangers play and we knew they were very strong in midfield, Shinnie is an excellent player, but we felt we could get at them down the wings and I think it paid off,” he said. “I thought our wide players were excellent, especially Marc out on the right.”
Jones said first team experience was not the only reason Albrighton and Delfouneso stood out during the weekend. “Marc and Nathan have also been to the Soccer Sevens before and that counts because seven-a-side is completely different. You can play in the Premiership and still struggle in this form of football.
“They know how to play it and I think their experience told in the end. We think they’ve both got a great future in the game.
“Martin O’Neill [the Villa manager] takes tremendous interest in the academy players and if I don’t text him in the next five minutes to tell him the result I’ll be in trouble! He’s very keen.”
Jones said Villa, winners of the trophy four times between 2002 and 2008, felt they owed it to the organisers to bring their strongest possible squad.
“We’ve been coming here for eight or nine years now and we’re so well looked after that we almost feel duty bound to bring one or two ‘name’ players to help bring in the fans. It’s our payback to the organisers,” he said.
Albrighton admitted Rangers had made Villa fight all the way. “It was a great team performance,” he said. “We made hard work of it but we got there in the end.
“Rangers beat us in the semi-finals last year so we knew they were a good side. After we went 3-0 up we got a little bit complacent but we saw it out and it was brilliant to get the victory.”
Earlier, Villa were superb in beating Ajax 3-1 in the quarter-finals, Albrighton scoring twice in-between a fantastic strike from Delfouneso. Forrester was the star of their 3-0 semi-final victory over West Ham United, netting the first two goals before Delfouneso tapped in the third after brilliant approach work from Albrighton.
Rangers had exacted revenge against Celtic for last year’s final defeat, winning their quarter-final clash 2-0 with a pair of Shinnie goals. Shinnie was also the architect of their 3-0 win over Sunderland in the semi-finals, earning and converting a penalty and slamming in a free-kick to give his team a two-goal half-time lead, then setting up Rory Loy for the third.
Soccer Sevens debutants Ajax gained some consolation for their quarter-final defeat by Villa when they beat Celtic 2-0 in the second-tier Shield final – Nathaniel Will and Vlatko Lazic getting the goals.
In the Masters Cup final, KFC Tokyo – a team of expatriate amateur players mainly based in the Japanese capital – secured a surprise 2-1 win over the Andy Cole Jura All Stars.
Manchester United great Cole put his team ahead with a lethal shot early in the game – his sixth goal of the weekend – but KFC Tokyo pulled level within a minute with a brilliant long-range strike from Malaysian midfielder Punanseveran.
French striker David Serene scored the winner with a superb solo effort and the All Stars finished with six men after ex-Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair was shown the red card by Premier League referee Martin Atkinson for two bookable offences.
“We’re very happy, we’ve been coming to the Soccer Sevens for a long time so it’s nice to finally win a trophy,” said KFC Tokyo captain Kirk Neureiter. “We lost in the Plate final four years ago so to win the Cup this time, especially against a team containing so many great players, is just a fantastic feeling.”
KFC Tokyo beat Singapore Cricket Club Tigers 1-0 in the quarter-finals and then edged out Hong Kong side Art Gallery 1-0 after extra time in the semi-finals.
The Andy Cole Jura All Stars won an all-Premier League quarter-final, beating the IP Global All Stars 7-6 on penalties. Ex-Watford striker Tommy Mooney put IP Global ahead only for Cole to equalise and with no further goals in extra time a sudden death shootout followed.
Both teams netted all their penalties until former England defender Des Walker slammed IP Global’s seventh spot kick against the post to hand Cole’s team victory.
Cole was on target again in the semi-final, netting in sudden death extra time to give his team a 2-1 victory over the HKFC Chairman’s Select.
A total of 32 teams took part in the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens – 16 in the Main competition and 16 in the Masters. The Main competition has become famous for unearthing the “stars of tomorrow” while the Masters section features former elite players from Europe’s top leagues.
SUNDAY – KNOCKOUT STAGE RESULTS
MAIN COMPETITION
CUP
Quarter-finals: Tai Po 0 Sunderland 3, Aston Villa 3 Ajax 1, Glasgow Rangers 2 Glasgow Celtic 0, Birmingham City 2 West Ham United 3 (aet).
Semi-finals: Sunderland 0 Glasgow Rangers 3, Aston Villa 3 West Ham United 0.
Final: Rangers 2 Aston Villa 3.
SHIELD
Semi-finals: Tai Po 0 Celtic 4, Ajax 1 Birmingham City 0.
Final: Glasgow Celtic 0 Ajax 2.
PLATE
Quarter-finals: Singapore Cricket Club 0 Yau Yee League Select 0 (pens 3-4), Eastleigh FC 1 Advance Double Flower 0, Tuen Mun 0 Hong Kong Football Club 0 (pens 2-1), Happy Valley 0 HKFC Captain’s Select 0 (pens 2-3).
Semi-finals: Yau Yee League Select 1 Tuen Mun 0, Eastleigh FC 1 HKFC Captain’s Select 0.
Final: Yau Yee League Select 1 Eastleigh FC 2.
MASTERS COMPETITION
CUP
Quarter-finals: Gallic All Stars 1 HKFC Chairman’s Select 2 (aet), Art Gallery 2 HKFC Veterans 1 (aet), IP Global All Stars 1 Andy Cole Jura All Stars 1 (pens 6-7), SCC Tigers 0 KFC Tokyo 1.
Semi-finals: HKFC Chairman’s Select 1 Andy Cole Jura All Stars 2 (aet), Art Gallery 0 KFC Tokyo 1 (aet).
Final: Andy Cole Jura All Stars 1 KFC Tokyo 2.
PLATE
Quarter-finals: Southampton Lloyds TSB All Stars 0 Nottingham Forest Mobsters 1, Bangkok Airways FC 0 Kowloon Cricket Club 1, Team Bondi 6 Bexton FC 0, Tai Po Veterans 0 Yau Yee Select Veterans 1.
Semi-finals: Nottingham Forest Mobsters 0 Team Bondi 1, Kowloon Cricket Club 1 (Yau Yee Select Veterans 1 (pens 0-1).
Final: Team Bondi 3 Yau Yee Select Veterans 0.
Further information can be found at the official website, www.hksoccersevens.com.
About IP Global
IP Global (formerly Intellectual Property) sources property investments in emerging and recovering markets. The company has a unique approach; assisting clients in constructing a property investment portfolio tailored to their specific investment strategy and budget. IP Global focuses not only on where to invest but also removes the difficulties that independent investors face when buying property.
IP Global educates investors with the market knowledge required for potential and future investments. The extensive due diligence service provided gives clients the assurance to invest in remote markets which otherwise would not be accessible.
IP Global was launched in Hong Kong in September 2005 and now has offices in Singapore and Dubai to support a rapidly expanding client base and global ambitions. Since inception, IP Global has transacted a total of over US$700 million in property on behalf of its clients.
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Released on behalf of the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens by Two Up Front – Asia’s sports PR specialists.