Post by marinermick on May 2, 2007 15:03:22 GMT 10
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS FOOTBALL CLUB MEDIA RELEASE, WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2007
HONG KONG BECKONS FOR MARINERS
The Central Coast Mariners are set to build upon the Hyundai A-League’s emerging reputation in Asia later this month, with their second appearance at the Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s tournament in Hong Kong.
Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna will lead a squad of ten Mariners players over three days of 7’s competition at Hong Kong FC Stadium, starting on Friday, 25 May.
The Mariners, one of sixteen competing teams, have been drawn in Group D alongside English Premier League challengers Aston Villa, tournament hosts and Hong Kong Premier Division side Hong Kong FC and City University of Hong Kong – the winners of the 2006/07 Hong Kong Universities Football League.
Other competing teams include European heavyweights Arsenal (England), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Celtic (Scotland) and PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), as well as giant South African club Kaizer Chiefs and AFC Champions League participants Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.
Each game of Soccer 7’s is played on a full sized football pitch and lasts for 14 minutes in total, with each seven minute half interrupted by a one-minute break. The offside law does not apply.
The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter finals, where matches last for 20 minutes in total, with teams pausing for a three minute break at half time.
The Mariners’ appearance later this month will be their second at Hong Kong’s prestigious annual invitational gathering, following on from their highly successful debut showing of two years ago.
On that occasion, the Mariners recorded an unforgettable 2-1 win over world football icon Manchester United en route to a golden goal semi final loss to PSV Eindhoven.
Having also recorded wins against two local selections and holding Celtic to a 0-0 draw, the Mariners’ return to Hong Kong is sure to draw plenty of attention from Soccer 7’s followers, which includes a significant television audience throughout Europe and Asia.
"We’re indeed delighted to be returning to Hong Kong, none of us who were there in 2005 will forget seeing ‘Central Coast Mariners 2 Manchester United 1’ on the scoreboard and we’re hopeful of emulating results such as that one later this month," said Mariners Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman.
"These matches, although not in the traditional eleven-a-side format, will be our first following the commencement of our full pre-season program and will provide some of our younger players with an opportunity to push their claims for a starting berth as we edge closer the Hyundai A-League season."
While Football Manager McKinna has yet to confirm his line up for the trip, players certain to be involved include recently re-signed youth international Bradley Porter and goalkeeper Matthew Trott, as well as 2006/07 squad members Nigel Boogaard and Matt Simon.
The match schedule for the tournament will be confirmed in the coming weeks, with the Mariners’ three group matches set to be played on the same day.
Upon returning to Australia following their participation in the Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s, the Mariners will commence their pre-season trial match program, starting with the third annual Central Coast Football Charity Plate at Pluim Park on Saturday, 9 June.
"This Hong Kong tournament provides us with a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our efforts of advertising the Central Coast region to an international audience," said Gorman.
"Representatives from Business Central Coast and Central Coast Tourism will be travelling with us throughout the trip in the spirit of promoting the Central Coast region in terms of tourism, business and lifestyle.
"We’d like to thank Hong Kong Football Club for inviting us to this tournament, we are of course honoured to accept their invitation and we look forward to putting on a good show against some of the world’s best young players in what is an extremely exciting tournament."
HONG KONG BECKONS FOR MARINERS
The Central Coast Mariners are set to build upon the Hyundai A-League’s emerging reputation in Asia later this month, with their second appearance at the Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s tournament in Hong Kong.
Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna will lead a squad of ten Mariners players over three days of 7’s competition at Hong Kong FC Stadium, starting on Friday, 25 May.
The Mariners, one of sixteen competing teams, have been drawn in Group D alongside English Premier League challengers Aston Villa, tournament hosts and Hong Kong Premier Division side Hong Kong FC and City University of Hong Kong – the winners of the 2006/07 Hong Kong Universities Football League.
Other competing teams include European heavyweights Arsenal (England), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Celtic (Scotland) and PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), as well as giant South African club Kaizer Chiefs and AFC Champions League participants Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.
Each game of Soccer 7’s is played on a full sized football pitch and lasts for 14 minutes in total, with each seven minute half interrupted by a one-minute break. The offside law does not apply.
The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter finals, where matches last for 20 minutes in total, with teams pausing for a three minute break at half time.
The Mariners’ appearance later this month will be their second at Hong Kong’s prestigious annual invitational gathering, following on from their highly successful debut showing of two years ago.
On that occasion, the Mariners recorded an unforgettable 2-1 win over world football icon Manchester United en route to a golden goal semi final loss to PSV Eindhoven.
Having also recorded wins against two local selections and holding Celtic to a 0-0 draw, the Mariners’ return to Hong Kong is sure to draw plenty of attention from Soccer 7’s followers, which includes a significant television audience throughout Europe and Asia.
"We’re indeed delighted to be returning to Hong Kong, none of us who were there in 2005 will forget seeing ‘Central Coast Mariners 2 Manchester United 1’ on the scoreboard and we’re hopeful of emulating results such as that one later this month," said Mariners Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman.
"These matches, although not in the traditional eleven-a-side format, will be our first following the commencement of our full pre-season program and will provide some of our younger players with an opportunity to push their claims for a starting berth as we edge closer the Hyundai A-League season."
While Football Manager McKinna has yet to confirm his line up for the trip, players certain to be involved include recently re-signed youth international Bradley Porter and goalkeeper Matthew Trott, as well as 2006/07 squad members Nigel Boogaard and Matt Simon.
The match schedule for the tournament will be confirmed in the coming weeks, with the Mariners’ three group matches set to be played on the same day.
Upon returning to Australia following their participation in the Philips Lighting Soccer 7’s, the Mariners will commence their pre-season trial match program, starting with the third annual Central Coast Football Charity Plate at Pluim Park on Saturday, 9 June.
"This Hong Kong tournament provides us with a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our efforts of advertising the Central Coast region to an international audience," said Gorman.
"Representatives from Business Central Coast and Central Coast Tourism will be travelling with us throughout the trip in the spirit of promoting the Central Coast region in terms of tourism, business and lifestyle.
"We’d like to thank Hong Kong Football Club for inviting us to this tournament, we are of course honoured to accept their invitation and we look forward to putting on a good show against some of the world’s best young players in what is an extremely exciting tournament."
