Young Pros Secure Sevens Shield
Posted on: Sun 20 May 2012
City's young pros ended this weekend's Hong Kong Sevens with some silverware, after beating Chelsea in the tournament's Shield Final.
A dramatic extra-time golden goal from striker Tom Hopper secured the Foxes' triumph, as they finished a fantastic competition with a flourish in the Happy Valley.
City, who advanced to Sunday's knockout stages as Group B winners, had earlier been on the receiving end of a golden goal as they were beaten by Aston Villa in the quarter-finals of the Cup competition.
But their exit sent them straight into the Shield, where they beat a Hong Kong Select in a rain-interrupted semi-final before triumphing over Chelsea in the final.
The squad celebrate following the win over Chelsea, which secured them the Hong Kong Sevens Shield.
"It was a terrific end to what really has been an outstanding tournament," Academy Director Jon Rudkin told lcfc.com. "The lads deserve a lot of credit for the way they have performed throughout the weekend.
"Adapting to the seven-a-side concept and learning how to play in temperatures of up to 37 degrees has been a real challenge for the players and we've learned a lot about their characters throughout the trip.
"The defeat to Villa was our first loss of the competition and that in itself proved a different experience. In extra-time, the games were reduced to four-a-side, which was another amazing concept. We had the first attack and couldn't finish it. Villa then went to the other end and scored.
"But the lads learned from it, which helped us when the Shield final got to the same stage and this time we managed to come out on top."
Goals from Tom Parkes and Martyn Waghorn had put City in control of their Cup quarter-final, but Villa recovered impressively to snatch their victory in extra time.
That set up an extraordinary Shield semi-final against a Hong Kong Select side, which was halted by an incredible tropical storm which saw temperatures plummet to the mid-twenties and the artificial surface temporarily waterlogged.
After a 25-minute delay, goals from Pierre Larrauri and Waghorn secured the Foxes' place in the final.
There they had to twice come from behind against a talented Chelsea outfit as goals from Liam Moore and Hopper took the game into extra-time, where Hopper slotted his sudden death winner on the breakaway.
The squad's tour of East Asia returns to Thailand on Monday, where they will begin preparations for an 11-a-side game against Thai Premier League side Pattaya United on Tuesday.
