Australia's A-League club Central Coast Mariners was defeated by English Premier League club Aston Villa 1-0 in the final of the Philips Lighting Soccer 7s at the Hong Kong Football Club. Aston Villa, defeated 2-0 by the Mariners in Group D yesterday, overcame an exhausted Central Coast outfit, which had only one hour earlier earned their place in the final after a penalty shoot out win over Hong Kong's Happy Valley.
"It’s one step better than the last time we were here," said Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna after the match. "I think the fitness component got to us, as in the last two games we were a bit flatter and not as sharp as we have been, no doubt given that we’ve only been back at training for a week and a half," he told SportsAustralia.
Aston Villa: Robert Olejnik (gk), Eric Lund, Shane Lowry, Jonathan Hogg, Mark Albrighton, Zoltan Steiber, Tobias Mikaellson, Chris Heard, Damien Bellon, Yago Bellon. Central Coast Mariners: Matthew Trott (gk), Ian McAndrew, Bradley Porter (Neil Woodcock 17’), Nigel Boogaard, Matthew Osman, Alex Wilkinson (Adam Kwasnik 11’), Mile Jedinak, Matt Simon.
"It’s one step better than the last time we were here," said Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna after the match. "I think the fitness component got to us, as in the last two games we were a bit flatter and not as sharp as we have been, no doubt given that we’ve only been back at training for a week and a half," he told SportsAustralia.
Aston Villa: Robert Olejnik (gk), Eric Lund, Shane Lowry, Jonathan Hogg, Mark Albrighton, Zoltan Steiber, Tobias Mikaellson, Chris Heard, Damien Bellon, Yago Bellon. Central Coast Mariners: Matthew Trott (gk), Ian McAndrew, Bradley Porter (Neil Woodcock 17’), Nigel Boogaard, Matthew Osman, Alex Wilkinson (Adam Kwasnik 11’), Mile Jedinak, Matt Simon.