Dutchmen rule Soccer Sevens after Zeggen's sudden-death extra-time strike

AZ Alkmaar won the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens title yesterday with a 1-0 victory over Brighton at Sports Road as Kitchee SC claimed the women’s crown and Ampcontrol Discovery Bay clinched the Masters title.

Alkmaar goalkeeper Kiyani Zeggen netted two minutes into sudden-death extra-time with a stunning strike from distance to earn the debutants from the Netherlands the title in a dramatic finale to the main tournament.

"A great feeling,” Zeggen said of scoring the winning goal. “It was an exciting game, very close, and when I shot the ball and it went in, just the emotions were happy.

"When we came here at first we needed to practice our formations and the weather was also something [difficult]. I think we did great, we improved a lot in the tournament.

"This is my specialty, playing with the ball and being an extra player for the team so it was a great opportunity."

Brighton, the defending champions, had seen off fellow Premier League clubs Aston Villa and West Ham to reach a second consecutive final while newcomers Alkmaar dispatched Larne FC and Yokohama F Marinos in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.

Jamie Mullins went closest to giving Brighton the lead when his shot on the turn flew over the target with two minutes left in the first half while Alkmaar's Julien Oerip was denied a spectacular winner in the dying seconds of regulation as Steven Hall tipped his free-kick to safety.

The game moved into four-on-four sudden death extra-time and Zeggen, who had started the tournament as Alkmaar's back-up goalkeeper, stepped up to hit the winner.

Meanwhile, last year's runners-up Kitchee SC went one better in the women’s tournament by securing a 1-0 win over Wrexham AFC in the final.

Cheung Wai-ki's unstoppable right-foot strike from 20 yards out flew into the top corner with a little over five minutes left to give the Hong Kong club victory.

Ampcontrol Discovery Bay took the Masters title for the second time with a 3-0 victory over Wallsend Boys Club HK.