City Top Group B On Day One In Hong Kong
The young Foxes won all three matches on Saturday without conceding in the scorching Happy Valley heat to put down a marker ahead of Sunday’s final day of action.
Striker Josh Eppiah, meanwhile, struck thrice on his return from injury to fire City into the quarter-finals in emphatic fashion.
Victories over HKFC Captain's Select, Kashima Antlers and Wellington Phoenix handed Ben Petty's side the best possible start amongst the spectacular Hong Kong skyline.
Despite an early start, City still had to cope with sweltering conditions as temperatures reached 28 degrees before noon.
Liandro Martis, Darnell Johnson and Lamine Kaba Sherif also scored on Day One of the Club's sixth year at the seven-a-side competition.
In the opener against Captain's Select, skilful forward Martis struck from outside the area in the fourth minute to give City an early lead and settle any nerves.
The frenetic nature of this unique tournament guarantees that a slender lead is always a precarious one.
Matches last just 14 minutes and are often chaotic, end-to-end affairs. On the back of that maiden victory, Kashima Antlers, a side City defeated on penalties last summer, were up next.
Within two minutes, Eppiah grabbed his first after industrious wing play from Martis afforded him with time and space to blast it beyond the shot-stopper from close range.
It got better for Leicester in the second period, too, as Connor Wood played in Johnson out wide to convert neatly.
Wellington were the final opponents of the day and, with Captain’s Select sitting above them in the Group B standings, they needed a positive result to progress along with City into Sunday’s knockout round.
They were ultimately frustrated, though, by another dominant Leicester display.
It took Eppiah just five minutes to score again. After picking up the ball from Johnson on the periphery of Wellington’s penalty area, the 18-year-old cut inside his man and drilled it into the bottom corner.
He was there again soon after to seize upon an error at the back to double City’s lead.
A curled finish from midfielder Kaba Sherif made sure of the result and ended a gratifying day in stylish fashion for the Foxes.
In Sunday’s quarter-final, Petty’s side will come up against one of West Ham United, Marseille, Kitchee or Yau Yee League Select for a place in the final four.
At the end of the day, Development Squad coach Ben Petty said: "It’s a good day. The lads were terrific. We started well and we asked them for progression in every game.
"We’ve got eight lads who have not played here before but everyone has seen how we’ve grown with every game.
"We’ve got the opportunity to rest now. It’s a searing heat here. Hopefully, we’ll be fresh again tomorrow. Hamza [Choudhury] has led the team terrifically well and the boys are all looking forward to it.
"There will always be a few surprises so I made it clear to them, we didn’t want to be one.
"The lads have been ultra-professional and we’re very proud of them. We’ve showed quality, we’ve got some top players at Leicester City."
Day One results: City 1-0 HKFC Captain’s Select (Martis 4’)
Iversen, Johnson, Choudhury, Knight, Martis (Wood 10’), Gordon (Sherif 12’), Eppiah (Pascanu 10’).
City 2-0 Kashima Antlers (Eppiah 2’, Johnson 12’)
Iversen, Wood, Knight (Pascanu 11’), Choudhury, Martis (Sherif 7’), Eppiah, Gordon (Johnson 9’).
City 3-0 Wellington Phoenix (Eppiah x2 4’, 5’, Sherif 11’)
Iversen, Wood, Pascanu, Choudhury (Knight 9’), Johnson, Gordon (Sherif 7’), Eppiah (Martis 7’).