Good start in Hong Kong

West Ham United performed well on Saturday in the Hong Kong FC IP Global Soccer Sevens tournament.

Reserve-team manager Alex Dyer has travelled with a youthful squad to the tournament being staged at the home of Hong Kong FC in Happy Valley this weekend. Bondz 'Gala is captaining the West Ham side, with he and Hungary Under-21 goalkeeper Peter Kurucz the most experienced of the Hammers contingent. The rest of the squad includes Ashley Miller, Matthew Fry, Callum McNaughton, Conor Okus, Oliver Lee, Nick Barrett, Daniel Kearns and Anthony Edgar.

Competing in Group B, the Hammers were 3-0 winners against an Hong Kong FC Captain's Select in the first game, with Edgar on target twice before Miller rounded out the scoring. The Hammers repeated the same scoreline against Sheffield FC - this time Edgar, Miller and Lee found the net.

In humid conditions, they then came unstuck against the Australian Institute of Sport Under-18s, going down to a 1-0 scoreline. That defeat confirmed the runners-up spot and means that Dyer's side will take on Scottish side Rangers in the first quarter-final to be staged on Sunday - with a chance still of taking the overall cup competition.

* Jordan Spence was an unused substitute as England U19s won 4-1 against Slovakia on Friday night in their second game of the four-nation mini-tournament being held in Bradford. The group winners will qualify for July's UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Ukraine with the Young Lions facing a decisive fixture with Scotland, who are level with the hosts on six points, in Sheffield on Monday. Jack Collison played 80 minutes for Wales in a 1-0 home friendly win against Estonia in Llanelli on the same night.