A seventeen year wait for silverware at the HKFC Citi Soccer 7s is at an end after a victory, in a penalty shoot out against KCC, in the plate final yesterday. The team, lead by player-coach Warren Tilley of Colloids, captained by Kurt Lettani of French Kiss and managed by GAS player-manager and league secretary, Adam Wise, came third in their group of five after two wins on Friday evening, against eventual champions Citi All Stars and HKFC, and a 0-1 defeat to Wallsend Boys Club and a draw against Singapore Cricket Club on Saturday, catapulted them straight into the plate final on Sunday at 1254pm.
The squad which included 4 players from the first division, 5 players from division two and 2 players from division three, played well throughout against many former professional players and special mention must go to Squadron’s Gorka Garcia-Tapia, who was a constant danger when in possession and scored two fabulous goals, as well as Swiss XI midfield dynamo, Michael Daniel, who covered every blade of astro-turf on the hallowed HKFC pitch.
The final was a cagey affair and after 20 minutes of normal time, with chances for both teams, the scores were locked at 0-0. Penalties are never the greatest way of finding a winner in a cup final, however, after KCC scored their first three penalties, answered in kind by YYL’s Daniel, Short and Dray and the KCC goalkeeper pulled his penalty wide leaving Dominic Targett to finish with aplomb from 12 yards and give the title to the Yau Yee against a KCC team who played their part in ensuring the game was played in great spirit.
Big thanks as ever to HKFC for putting on another great event and to their sponsors, Citi.
Full YYL Squad Details:
Warren Tilley (Player-Coach) – Colloids FC
Kurt Lettani (Captain) – French Kiss
Eduardo Serrano Lobelo (Goalkeeper) – French Kiss
Michael Daniel – Swiss XI
Rudi Dray – Squadron
Gorka Garcia-Tapia – Squadron
Paul Short – GAS
Dominc Targett – Boca
Hui See Chau Walter – HKSS
Bikas Gurung – French Kiss
Barry Brown – Dynamo
Adam Wise (Manager) – GAS
Steve Cairns (Asst Manager) – GAS
Mark Tupper (Asst Coach) – Colloids FC
This weekend also saw the Yau Yee League Select drawn in a tough group alongside Wellington Phoenix, Stoke City and Eastern FC. Despite losses to Wellington and Stoke, the Select defeated current Hong Kong Premier League champions, Eastern FC, 2-1. The goals came from Select stalwart Jack Cullinane and KCC Knight’s Shane Jeffery. In the Plate Quarter Final, the Select were unlucky to lose 1-0 to HKFA U-21s, after hitting the woodwork and coming close on several occasions.
On behalf of the Yau Yee League ExCo, thank you to all the players and coaches involved in the Select team.
Yau Yee League Select Players:
Arron Martindale (GAS)
Daniel Sheen (HKFC Wanderers)
Helmut Mueller (French Kiss)
Jack Cullinane (GAS)
John Ramage (GAS)
Marcus Edh (KCC Knights)
Matt Zoeller (HKDC Mobsters)
Pedro Martins (USRC)
Shane Jeffery (KCC Knights)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Swiss XI)
Yau Yee League Select Coaches:
Chancy Cooke (KCC Knights)
Luca Merlone (KCC Dragons)
Byoungno Ha (Azzurri)
Alex Snow (KCC Knights)
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YYL Masters 2016 Plate Winners At 2016 HKFC Citi 7s
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