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Aston Villa youngsters shine at Hong Kong soccer sevens

By Josh Tonti

HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MAY 27: Aston Villa's Corey Taylor (in purple claret) competes with HKFC U-23 Tsui Wang Kit and Lam Jordan Lok Kan (in white), for a ball during their Main Tournament match, part of the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens 2017 on 27 May 2017 at the Hong Kong Football Club, Hong Kong. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MAY 27: Aston Villa's Corey Taylor (in purple claret) competes with HKFC U-23 Tsui Wang Kit and Lam Jordan Lok Kan (in white), for a ball during their Main Tournament match, part of the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens 2017 on 27 May 2017 at the Hong Kong Football Club, Hong Kong. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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Aston Villa once again show their mettle at the annual Hong Kong Soccer Sevens tournament. The claret and blues progress to the quarter-finals where they will face Cagliari in defense of last year’s title.

Aston Villa finished the qualifying stage today on top of Group C after a pair of wins and one draw. For those unfamiliar with HK Soccer Sevens, it’s an annual 7-a-side football tournament typically reserved for youth teams across the globe.

Since 2002, Aston Villa have won the title six times, by far the most. Villa central midfielder Khalid Abdo was named player of the tournament in 2016. Other past winners include: Arsenal, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Leicester City, and Kitchee SC.

This season’s edition sees some of Europe and Asia’s brightest talents of display.

Group A: Rangers, HKFA Red Dragons, Cagliari, Hong Kong Football Club

Group B: Wellington Phoenix, Leicester City, Kashima Antlers, HKFC Captain’s Select

Group C: Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen, HKFA U-23, Singapore Cricket Club

Group D: West Ham United, Marseille, Kitchee SC, Yau Yee League Select

Harry McKirdy stole the show for Villa with three goals in three matches.

Highlights from the official Villa account are above. The claret and blues narrowly defeated Singapore Cricket Club before a 2-2 draw with HKFC Under-23s. To assure advancement, Villa need a single point in their final match; they did just that with an impressive 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Up next, a date with Italian side, Cagliari Calcio in the quarter-finals. Cagliari’s senior team finished in 13th-place in the Serie A table this season – a solid season considering they made the jump from Serie B one year ago.

Next: Scouting Aston Villa Target, George Boyd

Complete summary of the day’s play can be found here. Keep following to see if Kevin MacDonald’s squad can repeat as champions! Quarter-final kickoff is Sunday, 10:36am Hong Kong time, which is 3:36am U.K. time, and 10:36pm Saturday night in the U.S. eastern time zone.

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