Quitting Man City for Brighton was right call, Hong Kong Soccer Sevens star says
- Luca Barrington also reveals Brighton had practised for the unusual sudden-death situation that kept them alive in the Sevens
- Premier League club will face Leicester City in quarter-final on Sunday as seven British clubs reach last eight
A midfield prospect who quit Manchester City for Brighton & Hove Albion revealed his team came prepared for their unusual route to Sunday’s HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens quarter-finals.
English Premier League side Brighton flirted with a group-stage exit, needing a late goal from ex-City teen Luca Barrington to rescue a draw in their final game against Yokohama F. Marinos.
Those two teams then played a four-v-four playoff to separate them in the group, and after Brighton won it, Barrington revealed he and his teammates had trained for that unlikely outcome.
It showed, as they prevented their Japanese opponents touching the ball and pushed goalkeeper Hugo Fisher into an outfield role. That made room for Barrington to curl in a golden goal – a far cry from last year when Barrington and co found no way past Tai Po in four-a-side overtime before exiting on penalties.
“We practised the 4v4, in case we ended up in exactly that situation,” Barrington, 19, said. “It was a good experience. It is about the use of the extra man. You have to win the ball from the kick-off, and once we did, it was our game.”
Barrington said a surprise opening loss to Hong Kong Rangers delivered a “kick up the backside”. The Seagulls acted on it and approach their last-eight clash with Leicester City in a hopeful mood.
“I don’t think we were ready at the start … the season is over, and you have to try to regain your momentum,” Barrington said. “It is completely different playing on AstroTurf and in this heat, but when the first game was done, we immediately said, ‘How do we get better?’
“We’re going in the right direction, and I think we can win the tournament.”
Barrington was part of Manchester City’s under-18 Premier League title-winning team in 2021-22, but left soon after for Brighton. The South Coast club have established themselves in England’s top flight while providing a platform for emerging talent.
“I looked at the pathway, and Manchester City have a lot of top players,” Barrington said. “I still had a few years left on my contract, but thought about where I could see myself playing first-team football more quickly. I have been on the bench a couple of times for Brighton, and that would not have happened at City.
“I look back now and think it was a good decision. I want to get my career started as soon as possible. It’s not a case of rushing anything, because you don’t want to be there before you are ready. I think Brighton are judging when and where will be right for me to come on [in senior games], because it is tough in the Premier League.
Manchester-born Barrington was hot property when he opted to leave Pep Guardiola’s City, but said Brighton were the “obvious choice”. He was in the senior squad for games against Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur this season.
“The first thing that shone was the number of young players they get on the bench,” Barrington said.
“The senior players teach you so many things about football. People like Lewis Dunk, Pascal Gross and Adam Lallana, who have all been playing at the top level for a long time. You learn so much, so quickly.”
