English Premier League still rules Hong Kong as Aston Villa win Soccer Sevens
- Villa beat Tai Po in cup final, but Hong Kong club impress as they knock out Leicester City and Brighton & Hove Albion
- Omari Kellyman scores twice in the final and the 17-year-old revels in emulating former Villa star Jack Grealish by finishing as leading scorer
It is 12 years since the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens produced a Hong Kong winner, but Tai Po went close to ending that run on Sunday before Aston Villa issued a reality check.
The Soccer Sevens had last had a local finalist in 2014, when Kitchee lost to Manchester City, and one had to go back to 2011 to find Hong Kong-based champions, when Kitchee triumphed over Celtic.
Tai Po did their bit for the host city by setting up a rematch with Villa, whom they had beaten in Saturday’s group stage. But their trajectory contrasted with that of their opponents, who improved with each round and cruised to a 3-0 victory with the tournament’s leading scorer Omari Kellyman contributing a brace.
Frustration saw Tai Po reduced from seven players to five as Lee Ka-ho and Luizinho were dismissed, but the men in green had already contributed more than their share of the weekend’s thrills and spills at Hong Kong Football Club.
The previous day, they had been well worth their 1-0 victory over Villa, then in Sunday’s quarter-finals they halted a Leicester City team fancied to make a dent on the knockout stage. Kitchee, too, overcame English opposition in the shape of Queens Park Rangers, before falling to Villa.
