HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens: Hong Kong Rangers Set for Semi-Final Clash with Aston Villa
The Hong Kong Rangers have made it to the semi-finals of the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens, where they will face off against defending champions Aston Villa. This comes after the Rangers’ impressive unbeaten group campaign, which saw them defeat Brighton & Hove Albion and Japanese powerhouse Yokohama F. Marinos.
Hong Kong Rangers celebrate their victory
The Rangers’ semi-final spot was secured after Yakubu Nassam Ibrahim’s goal knocked Newcastle United out of the competition. Newcastle, whose senior team recently tumbled out of European competition, struggled to match the Rangers’ intensity in sweltering conditions.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, marched on after winning all three of their Saturday matches, beating Glasgow Rangers 2-0 to edge closer to a second straight title. Omari Kellyman, player of the tournament in Villa’s triumphant 2023 campaign, flashed home a fabulous effort in the opening half of their last-eight encounter.
Aston Villa celebrate their victory
Todd Alcock’s late goal underlined Villa’s superiority, and guaranteed Hong Kong Rangers their sternest test of the weekend. However, there was a promising sign for Rangers in the sight of the excellent Kellyman struggling to move freely after sustaining a knock against the Scottish team.
In other matches, Brighton & Hove Albion shattered six-man Leicester City’s resistance with the final kick of the game to book a semi-final with Fulham. Leicester played most of the match a man down after Silko Thomas’s red card for a professional foul.
Brighton & Hove Albion celebrate their victory
Kamari Doyle levelled for Brighton, before master-of-the-late-goal Luca Barrington fired past goalkeeper Brad Young for the last-ditch winner. Barrington’s final-kick equaliser against Yokohama on Saturday kept Brighton in the competition, before the midfielder’s golden goal sunk the Asian team in a 4v4 playoff.
Fulham could brush off a penalty miss from Callum Osmand in their 3-1 quarter-final cruise past West Ham. Indeed, such was Fulham’s dominance that goalkeeper Alfie McNally was on target, along with Callum McFarlane and Connor McAvoy.
Fulham celebrate their victory
The semi-final matches are set to begin after 3:30 pm, with Hong Kong Rangers facing off against Aston Villa, and Brighton & Hove Albion taking on Fulham.
