HKFC Soccer Sevens: event in Hong Kong helps English Premier League kids grow up, Fulham coach says
- ‘It is fantastic for the players to experience international travel, to face different teams, with different styles,’ Cottagers coach Hayden Mullins says
- Host of Premier League clubs feature at end-of-season tournament, with Newcastle, West Ham, Brighton and Aston Villa also in hunt for trophy
Fulham under-21 head coach Hayden Mullins said the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens would help his players “grow up”, on and off the field.
The seven-a-side format is an outlier in world football, but Mullins, a former Premier League midfielder with West Ham United and Portsmouth, insisted playing with reduced numbers on a large-scale pitch provided a crash course in various footballing qualities.
Mullins was also using the Hong Kong trip to discover how his players managed a “test of character”, having travelled 6,000 miles directly after a 10-month campaign.
Fulham beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 in the under-21 Premier League Cup final last week, but began slowly in Hong Kong. They snatched a draw with Glasgow Rangers before beating Hong Kong under-20s and hosts HKFC to secure a spot in Sunday’s quarter-finals.
“We are always judging the players, and when we are away they have to correctly represent the club,” Mullins said.
“You see who can handle the demands, because it is tough. There is a lot of travelling, and a lot asked of them, because of the number of games. At the end of the season, it is a test of character.
“It is fantastic for the players to experience international travel, to face different teams, with different styles, in an unfamiliar format. Off the pitch, we are looking for them to grow up a bit, and we are pleased with what we’ve seen, so far.”
Callum McFarlane’s last-kick leveller salvaged Fulham a point against Rangers. Callum Osmand, who netted a hat-trick in the under-21 cup drubbing of Tottenham, netted twice as the Londoners improved to beat Hong Kong under-20s 3-0.
The Cottagers recovered from 1-0 down to beat HKFC in their closing game, through Osmand’s winning strike, and set up a last-eight clash with Mullins’ old employers, West Ham.
“There are so many benefits from this format,” Mullins said. “It creates a lot of one-v-one duels all over the pitch.
“Communication is key, you almost follow your man all over the pitch, so players have to talk to each other. That is valuable for us because ours are quiet at times.
“It is good learning for the goalkeepers, too. They have to come out and use their feet, because we want them high [up the field] and playing passes in the midfield position. On top of all that, the heat is completely different from anything we are used to.”
Mullins said Fulham’s first-team staff were monitoring the young crop in Hong Kong.
“We try to get them ready for first-team football, whether that is at Fulham or elsewhere,” Mullins said. “We celebrate loans in the Championship, League One, League Two and the National League.
“We cherish players going into our first team … but it is equally a win for us if we get individuals ready to go out and handle the rigours of the English league.”
Mullins was talking hours before the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City. He played in the Wembley showpiece for Portsmouth in 2010, losing 1-0 to Chelsea, after missing West Ham’s 2006 final against Liverpool because of suspension.
He also played in an FA Youth Cup final, for first club Crystal Palace against Leeds United in 1997.
“I reached two finals as an older pro, but missed one through my own fault,” Mullins said.
“It is a fantastic competition, and those finals were the best two days of my career. Playing in 2010 was very special, but is such a long time ago. My players here probably think it happened in black and white.”
