Category: May

Leicester City Win Soccer Sevens

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Leicester City claimed the Soccer Sevens for a second time defeating defending champions Aston Villa 3-0 in Sunday’s final at Hong Kong Football Club.

The tournament’s leading scorer 18 year-old Josh Eppiah scored twice, while Joshou Gordon was also on target as Leicester produced a dominant performance to add to their 2013 title.

Eppiah’s brace took him to eight goals for the competition, edging Villa’s seven-goal Harry McKirdy for the top scorer accolade. The forward was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player to cap an excellent three days.

“I’m over the moon and proud of myself. I took my chances well but the team and the staff around me have helped,” said Eppiah, who also scored twice in the 3-1 quarter-final win over West Ham United and once in the semi-final victory against Glasgow Rangers.

“This whole tournament has been amazing and I’d love to come back next year because I’m still a youngster and have more years to come back and do the same as I did today,” Eppiah added. “The boys fought, held on, came back and in the final we were all up for it so we came out and gave it everything we have.”

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Six-time winners Villa had impressed on the way to the final defeating Italian debutants Cagliari Calcio 3-0 in the last eight and French newcomers Olympique Marseille in the semi-final.

But Leicester had also looked strong over the weekend after winning all five of their games, and captain Hamza Choudhury’s man-marking of McKirdy in the final proved key as the Foxes nullified Villa’s main threat before running out deserved winners.

Runners-up in the previous two edition, West Ham enjoyed success this time around by lifting the Shield following a 2-0 victory over Cagliari in the final. After being eliminated by Leicester in the Cup quarter-finals, the Hammers dropped down to the Shield and returned to form to beat local side HKFA U-23s in the semi-final, before Joe Powell and Jaanai Gordon netted in the final against Cagliari.

Tournament debutants Bayer Leverkusen were crowned Plate champions as goals from Julijan Popovic and Berkan Arik helped claim a 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix in the final. The German side defeated hosts Hong Kong Football Club and Kashima Antlers in the quarter- and semi-finals before seeing off the New Zealanders.

Citi All Stars retained their Masters Tournament title after Jamie Cureton scored his second goal of the game at the death to clich a dramatic 3-2 victory over Wallsend Boys Club in the final.

The match-winning strike capped an excellent weekend for the former Norwich City forward, who claimed the top scorer award with nine goals before being named the Masters Tournament MVP.

“We’ve played well throughout the entire tournament and from the second half [in the final] I thought we performed really well and deserved to win it,” said Cureton. “It’s my job to score goals, I didn’t expect to get as many as nine, but I’m very pleased. I came three or four years ago and we didn’t do very well, so I’m hoping the nine goals and winning will get me an invite again next year.”

Tournament debutants, and major disappointments, playonPROS won the Masters Shield after Emile Heskey scored a sublime free-kick to claim a 3-2 victory over Discovery Bay in the final.

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Additional reporting and images: HKFA Soccer Sevens

Soccer Sevens: Sunday 28 May, 2017

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The anticipation and expectation levels were high, the sun was out – but in truth much of the football was poor and rather dull over the first couple of days of the Soccer Sevens. And it showed on Sunday with the public stand only about half-full for the finals…
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Soccer Sevens Saturday Action

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Defending Soccer Sevens champions Aston Villa survived a scare before advancing to a Cup quarter-final against Italian newcomers Cagliari Calcio after topping Group C at Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday.

After defeating Singapore Cricket Club 1-0 in their tournament opener, Villa drew 2-2 with local side HKFA U-23. A loss to Bayer Leverkusen would have seen the six-time champions exit the Main Tournament, but Jordan Cox and captain Harry McKirdy scored to secure a 2-0 victory to condemn the German debutants to the Plate as HKFA U-23s also advanced to a last eight meeting with Glasgow Rangers.

“Leverkusen are a strong team, but we were outstanding, we dominated and made a statement,” said 2016 top scorer McKirdy, who’s appearing in his fourth Soccer Sevens. “We showed a togetherness in the end. We’ve been confident since we came out and we showed we are a strong team.”

Rangers enjoyed a fine return to the competition after a two-year hiatus, winning their first two games in Group A to book their place in the quarter-finals with a game to spare. But the Scottish visitors were unable to complete a 100% record as Cagliari posted a 1-0 win to edge above HKFA Red Dragons into second place and a spot in the last eight.

“It was obviously good to top the group although it was a disappointing result at the end,” said Rangers captain Max Ashmore. “We’re in the quarter-finals so it will be good to get the experience. We’re confident. I think you can see from the first two games what we can do and we’re definitely more than good enough to win the tournament.”

A similar scenario played out in Group D as West Ham United, runners-up in the previous two editions, started the tournament with a win and a draw to seal their place in the knockout stage. But the Hammers lost out on top spot as French debutants Olympique Marseille followed up successive draws with an impressive 3-0 victory over the London side to finish top of the standings.

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The win earned Marseille a quarter-final meeting with HKFC Captain’s Select, with West Ham handed a meeting with Leicester City. Former winners Leicester were in dominant form after winning Group B with a perfect record, with hosts HKFC Captain’s Select joining the English side in the last eight after victory over Wellington Phoenix and a draw with Kashima Antlers.

In the Masters competition, Jamie Cureton scored five goals in two games as holders Citi All Stars progressed to the semi-finals as Group A winners following back-to-back victories on Saturday, with HKFC Masters finishing as runners-up.

Wallsend Boys Club topped Group B after picking up two wins from two on Saturday afternoon and, in turn, eliminating the star-studded playonPROS as Hong Kong’s Yau Yee League Masters claimed second place.

Citi All Stars continue their title defence against Yau Yee League Masters, with Wallsend taking on HKFC Masters for a place in the final. PlayonPROS will, however, return on Sunday to play fellow third-place side Discovery Bay in the Masters Plate final.

Additional reporting and images: HKFA Soccer Sevens

Soccer Sevens, Hosts Shine On Opening Night

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Hosts HKFC Masters made the perfect start to the Soccer Sevens with wins over former finalists USRC and defending champions Citi All Stars in Group A at Hong Kong Football Club.

The hosts began with a 1-0 victory over 2016 runners-up USRC before returning to secure a hugely impressive win by the same margin against Citi All Stars to leave themselves in a strong position ahead of the two remaining group games on Saturday.

In Group B, tournament regulars Wallsend Boys Club opened with a resounding 5-1 victory over HKFC Chairman’s Select. Wallsend looked set to also end the day on six points, but former Cagliari Calcio forward Daniele Conti equalised for KCC Veterans in the final game of the night as the tie ended in a 1-1 draw.

“I think we were a bit sloppy. They played a good game and made it difficult for us, but I think we gave the game away,” said Wallsend forward Daniel McBreen, whose side are above Yau Yee League Masters on goal difference at the top of Group B, “We’re still confident. We’ll just go out there and do what we can do and enjoy ourselves along the way.”

Citi All Stars started strongly as former Norwich City forward Jamie Cureton opened the scoring against Discovery Bay, before former Portugal international Luis Boa Morte coolly rounded the goalkeeper to seal a 2-0 win.

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But the defending champions were unexpectedly beaten in their second game when HKFC Masters produced one of the performances of the night to leave the defending champions with much to do ahead of their remaining two group games on Saturday. “It was tough out there and we’re all tired,” said Citi All Stars’ former Glasgow Rangers defender Marvin Andrews. “But we’ll get better and we’ll lift the title again this year.”

Making their first appearance at a tournament, playonPROS started sluggishly as the Yau Yee League Masters caught them off guard to claim a 1-0 victory. But the side featuring former England internationals Emile Heskey, David James and Des Walker, as well as ex-Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre and one-time Blackburn Rovers captain Colin Hendry hit back strongly with a 1-0 victory over HKFC Chairman’s Select to leave the side just a point off the top of the Group B standings.

“The second game went better than the first one,” said Heskey after scoring the winner against HKFC Chairman’s Select. “It was tough, it takes some getting used to with the weather and how to play on this pitch with just seven players. But we got to grips with it and I thought we did OK. We need to take our chances when we get them. In the first game we hit the woodwork twice, so I think we can score more goals.”

PlayonPROS sit a point adrift of the leaders and one ahead of KCC Veterans with HKFC Chairman’s Select propping up the standings having yet to get off the mark. Yau Yee League Masters, meanwhile, won one and drew one to end the day level on points with Wallsend at the top of the table.

Additional reporting and images: HKFA Soccer Sevens

Hong Kong Women Tour Spain Ahead of World Cup

Hong Kong set off for Spain today as preparations continue for the World Cup in August. Coach Jo Hull’s 26-woman squad will play two matches, the first a warm-up game on 30 May and the second an official test match on 3 June.

The tour comes 18 months after Hong Kong’s first Spanish visit, which at the time was the national team’s first tour outside of Asia. The squad includes 14 returning members from that tour. Hong Kong lost both matches, giving Hull an important benchmark against which to gauge her side’s development ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in July.

“Our first tour to Spain was a real eye-opener for the team to play at that level against a World Cup calibre team. We chose Spain for that reason. They’re a mid-tier World Cup team, they aren’t in our pool and they will definitely give us a good match. They play a sevens-style game but also are strong in contact and in the offload. They’re very similar to what we can expect from the teams in our pool at the World Cup,” said Hull.

The squad includes 14 forwards and 12 backs with five of the squad in line to make their Hong Kong senior debuts: Agnes Chan Tsz-ching, Eunice Lai Ming Yan, Tsang Sin Yan, Pun Wai Yan and Laurel Chor Lik Fung.

Hong Kong prop Lee Ka-shun carries the ball with support from captain Chow Mei-nam

Spain are an experienced side, regularly competing in European competition and frequently playing teams from the Women’s Six Nations competition. They edged Scotland to qualify for the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

“We are under no illusions ahead of this tour,” said Hull, “Spain have a mature programme that has been running for a long time now and is clearly successful in both sevens and fifteens. We know that they will come at us hard, which is absolutely what we want out of this tour.”

The coaching team have some clear objectives for the Tour: “The biggest thing is to continue to implement what we have been working on in training, especially our efforts to play a higher-tempo game. We managed that a bit against Fiji and Japan in the World Cup qualifiers last December and are looking for the team to make strides in this area in Spain.

“We’ve been working hard on our fitness and our efficiency at the set piece and that is what we will be putting to the test in Spain.”

With some key players left out of the Tour, including sevens captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi and hard-tackling centre Adrienne Garvey, Hull noted that the selection for Spain is another important opportunity to look at the players in the wider training squad.

“We’re using Spain as another opportunity to look at several players to see what they can offer. Across the squad, we’re looking for those multi-functional players who are able to play more than one position to get the best players on the pitch at the same time.”

For Hull, the tour provides an excellent opportunity to prepare for the even bigger challenges that await at the 12-team World Cup where Hong Kong is pooled with Canada, New Zealand and Wales.

“The biggest thing for us is to get to the World Cup having been able to say that we’ve done everything we could in terms of our build-up, both in games and training, with a focus on quality and not just quantity.

“We’ll continue to assess as we go, with an aim of trying to stretch our players as much as we can. We aren’t expecting or demanding a complete performance by any means. Spain is another step on our journey to the World Cup,” added Hull.

Hong Kong Squad for Spain Tour

Chow Mei Nam (Captain), Royce Chan Leong Sze, Chan Tsz Ching, Cheng Ching To, Cheung Shuk Han, Ho Hoi Lam, Lai Ming Yan, Lau Nga Wun, Lee Ka Shun, Pun Wai Yan, Amelie Seure, Winnie Siu Wing Ni, Karen So Hoi Ting, Tsnag Sin Yan, Chong Ka Yan, Laurel Chor Lik Fung, Jessica Ho Wai On, Rose Hopewell-Fong Siu Lan, Kwong Sau Ran, Lee Tsz Ting, Mak Ho Yee, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Poon Pak Yan, Rebecca Thompson, Colleen Tjosvold, Lindsay Varty.

Additional reporting and images: HKRugby

New Zealand Food and Wine Connections @ Seafood Room – 25 May, 2017

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New Zealand Food and Wine Connections held at the Seafood room saw a range of Kiwi products showcased including meat, seafood, wines, beer and fruit and vegetables. Some are already available locally including the rather nice Te Mana lamb and the nicely marbled Mt Cook salmon which is tasty as sashimi but melt in your mouth delicious when lightly cooked. Lots of quality NZ produce to enjoy.
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Mariko Hill Relishing HKCC Willow Wielders 8th Straight Title

Although only 21 years of age, Hong Kong women’s captain Mariko Hill has won more titles than most would dare to dream about in a whole career.

For the eighth straight season, Hill was a part of the victorious Hong Kong Cricket Club Willow Wielders team that won the Women’s League. Prior to being knocked off this season by the HKCC Cavaliers in the women’s T20 league, the Willow Wielders had also won seven straight titles in the short-form format. Tally that up and it’s 15 senior titles that Hill has been a part of.

“Winning eight in a row is a great achievement not only as an individual but as a club as a whole. We are probably one of the first teams to achieve this and shows how consistent we are,” Hill said.

“Definitely ranks up there with one of my proudest achievements, we actually didn’t realise it straight after the game but when you think about it, eight years in a row is incredible. We also won seven T20 leagues in a row, which would have been eight if we weren’t beaten this year, so it’s quite remarkable.”

“Over time one of the things that we struggled with was people coming in and out but after a while we’ve built team unity and cherished the time we do get with each other. The coaching staff across those years has helped build that unity and work on our skills.”

Although only 14 when she first came into the team, Hill made an impact from her very first season in 2009-10, scoring a century during that season against Little Sai Wan. Now a genuine all-rounder, she’s a vital cog of not just the Willow Wielders, but also the Hong Kong women’s set-up, which was reaffirmed when she was selected as the tournament’s best batter for the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers Asia in 2016.

While captaincy duties with the Willow Wielders fall to Sara Young, Hill still plays a key role as a leader within the team.

“It’s different now, I used to be the young one that just turned up and had fun on the field but now being a senior player and Hong Kong captain and a role model, you need to bring a bit of maturity. But that’s not to say we don’t still have fun!”

“We were all quite new a few years ago so it was quite tough as a few of us had to dig deep but looking at the team now we are quite experienced. Particularly Ashley Hung – she’s come a long way from where she was a few years ago and become one of our main bowlers. Each player knows their roles now and we are more structured with our batting and bowling plans.”

So what’s the secret to the Willow Wielders success? Hill hints it might lie off the field as much as it does on it.

“Since Jasmine (Titmuss) came into the HKCC set-up as a coach, she’s brought the spirit of the game a lot more and we’ve really bonded as a team outside of cricket as well with dinners and people enjoying things rather than just cricket itself. This year meant a lot to all the club members after Anita Miles’ passing so wearing the club jerseys meant a lot to us.”

“There’s a lot coming for women’s cricket, the Hong Kong women’s squad have a lot of players from both our side and the HKCC Cavaliers, which shows the club have a great programme.”

And Hill will only have a short off-season with the Hong Kong women’s squad setting themselves for two important tournaments in the second half of the year. She wants to make amends for the disappointment of 2016 World Cup qualifiers where the team started with two victories only to lose their next four and miss out on progression.

“Looking back at last year we didn’t graft it out, but we can take that into account and go forward,” Hill said. “We don’t want that feeling again of disappointment so I’m looking forward to it.”

Aside from the World T20 qualifiers, the women’s squad will also host Japan, Korea and China in the East Asia Cup, which will be hosted by Hong Kong in September.

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

Trafalgar Mongkok Grand Opening – 22 May, 2017

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The third in Trafalgar‘s burgeoning fleet dropped anchor in Mongkok recently at 12-14A Yim Po Fong Street and celebrated it’s arrival with a Grand Opening party on the 22 May with free flowing local brewed ales and ciders. A good time was had by all!
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