Leicester City and Aston Villa lead the way at Hong Kong Soccer Sevens

The opening day of the main competition at the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens ended with two familiar names moving ominously into prime position to launch another assault on the title as Aston Villa and Leicester City both claimed top spots in their respective groups.

Each unbeaten on a searing hot Saturday, Leicester topped their group without conceding a single goal, and Villa claimed seven points from a possible nine to ensure they also moved into the quarter-finals of the main draw as group winners.

Joining them in the last eight are Glasgow Rangers, Cagliari, Hong Kong Football Club Captain’s Select, Hong Kong Football Association under-23s, Marseille and West Ham.

Leicester, the 2013 champions, were in imperious form in front of a packed Sport Road crowd and will face West Ham in the last eight on Sunday after comfortably disposing of HKFC Captain’s Select, Kashima Antlers and Wellington Phoenix.

“It’s been a good day. The lads were terrific,” said Leicester youth team coach Ben Petty. “We started well and asked them for a progression in each game. We have lads who’ve never played this [format] before, but I think everyone has seen that we’ve grown with every game.

“We have an opportunity to have a rest now and come back fresh for tomorrow.”

Defending champions Aston Villa’s only hiccup on an otherwise solid day was a 2-2 draw against HKFA U23s.

Aston Villa captain Harry McKirdy was again in sparkling form, grabbing three goals for the six-time Hong Kong titlists, who face a last-eight clash against Italian side Cagliari.

“I thought we started the tournament well,” said McKirdy, who is participating in his fourth Hong Kong Soccer Sevens and was leading goalscorer last year.

“The second game was a shame – a bit of inexperience, a bit of naivety. It was disappointing to concede late on.

“We came out and we knew we had to win the next game. Leverkusen were a strong team, but we were outstanding. I don’t think they had one shot on target. We dominated them and made a statement for tomorrow.”

Elsewhere in the quarter-finals, Rangers will face HKFA U23s, while Marseille will meet HKFC Captain’s Select.

In the Masters section of the tournament, local outfit Yau Yee League Masters were the surprise package as they secured a vital win over the HKFA Chairman’s Select to book their place in the final four.

They will now face defending champions Citi All Stars in Sunday’s semi-final.

HKFC Masters will meet Wallsend Boys Club in the other last-four match.

Playon Pros were the biggest casualties on Saturday. The Hong Kong debutants, made up of ex-professionals and former internationals, fell to a surprise defeat against Wallsend, which means they will contest the secondary Plate final on Sunday.