Equal 3rd for Australia at 7's tournament

The Qantas Young Socceroos (1991 age group) has finished the IP Global International 7’s in equal 3rd place with Aston Villa, after losing a tense semi final game against eventual tournament winners Celtic.

The Qantas Young Socceroos (1991 age group) has finished the IP Global International 7-s in equal 3rd place with Aston Villa, after losing a tense semi final game against eventual tournament winners Celtic.

Having negotiated the group matches with no problems, the Under 18 Australian side, coached by former Qantas Socceroo captain Paul Okon, faced a match up with local Hong Kong Premier League side Tuan Mun ProGoal.

Goals from captain Daniel Bowles and Thomas Taylor saw Australia win 2-0 and advanced to a clash with Celtic, whom had also won all three of their group games and then secured an easy 3-1 win in their quarter final against Citizen FC.

In a closely fought game, Celtic-s winning goal game from a penalty kick just after half time and despite a storming finish by Australia, who created a number of good opportunities, the Scottish side were able to hang on for the narrow victory.

Celtic eventually beat their Scottish arch rival Glasgow Rangers in the final, 1-0.

Okon was pleased with how the boys played, especially given they have had little time to work as a team, compared with their big name club rivals, who had just finished their season and were a mixture of 18 and 19 year old-s.

The tournament was used as part of the preparations for the AFF U19 Championships that are being held in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in August.