Photo: Ed Packham
Among the throng of rising players and legends at the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens, was one of the domestic game’s hotshot strikers, Noah Baffoe. The affable striker’s hardwork, persistence and skills have seen him terrorize defences in HK over the course of the past few seasons.
Lee Man made their debut and were the eventual Seven’s Plate winners and of course, it would be Baffoe who would score the winning goal!
Baffoe offered high praise when asked about his experience at the tournament.
“The Hong Kong Soccer Sevens have been amazing! This is the first time in the tournament for Lee Man and we are enjoying it so much! It is a nice and beautiful tournament for all the fans and players.”
The goals keep flowing for Baffoe and he is as ambitious as ever and has set a high target for himself and Lee Man.
“Lee Man’s aim next season is to try to win all the titles as Lee Man are a large club and we have to be the same or even better to win the majority of the silverware!”
Fans will be eagerly anticipating to see if Lee Man can be Hong Kong’s top club next season.
Whatever the future may hold, fans can fully expect to see Baffoe hitting the back of the net with both his trademark guile and smile.
Sevens Photo Highlights by Ed Packham
A Great Day Out For Families
The soccer sevens is a fantastic day out for people of all ages. Over the course of three days, young fans can come up close and personal with their heroes given the proximity of the pitch and the stands. In amongst the crowd were the father and son duo of Alex and Owen Kot.
Owen is hugely passionate about the beautiful game and was delighted to see an exciting encounter between eventual winners Brighton and Dutch side, AZ Alkmaar.
“I enjoyed the game between Brighton & Hove Albion and AZ Alkmaar. It was very competitive. Both teams played good attacking football! AZ Alkmaar scored first but Brighton came back and scored at the last minute and they beat them 2–1. I really like watching a team come from behind to win. I support teams from the Premier League including Brighton, West Ham and Aston Villa.”
Alex Kot shared how he had the chance to meet the legendary Steve McManaman and mentioned that it was interesting to see the teams adapt their tactics and style of play for the sevens format.
“First of all, my son gets to play in the competition. I was first introduced to the HK Soccer Sevens a few years ago, and because of my wife’s SC status, we’re lucky enough to get invited to watch the invitation games as well. I’ve seen the tournament grow year by year. I felt there were more people attending compared to last year — at least where we were sitting, it was noticeably more crowded.
In terms of the football itself, I really enjoy seeing the goalkeeper come that far out — sometimes even further forward than an outfield player. That’s an interesting tactic I think you only really see in sevens football. It’s also a great occasion to watch young, up-and-coming players from the Premier League, the J.League, and European leagues.
But for me personally, it’s a special time to spend with my son, who dreams of becoming a professional footballer one day. This is great exposure for him! On top of that, I got to see my childhood football legend, Steve McManaman. That brought back some old memories of his dribbling as being nostalgic is something us middle-aged folks treasure from time to time!”
The tournament continues to evolve and develop so expect even more well-known teams and players to head to Hong Kong in future editions.
Hong Kong Sevens Results.
