Albion have won the Hong Kong 7s for the first time after beating defending champions Aston Villa in the final.
A goal in each half from Louis Flower and Benicio Baker-Boaitey sealed victory for Albion, who stopped Aston Villa from winning a record-extending eighth title in the 25th edition of the tournament.
It was an impressive performance by our under-21s, who took a squad of ten players to the tournament but then lost Charlie Tasker to a minor thigh strain.
The competition saw teams play two seven-minute halves at the group stage with ten-minute halves in the finals.
Albion had finished second in Group B behind Hong Kong Rangers and they qualified for the knockout stages after defeating Marinos thanks to two goals from skipper Luca Barrington in a golden goal four-a-side play-off after both teams finished level on points and with the same goal difference.
Albion produced their best football of the tournament on finals day, beating Leicester City 2-1 in the quarter-final and Fulham 3-1 in the semis before easing past Villa.
"This has topped off our season to be honest," said Baker-Boaitey. "Last year we came here and lost in the semi-finals, so [head coach] Shannon Ruth told us this year we had to bring the trophy home."
Flower put Brighton in front in the seventh minute when he shot across Villa goalkeeper James Wright, and Baker-Boaitey put the result beyond doubt when he rounded Wright to score with fewer than five minutes remaining.
"I was struggling with an injury but I asked if I could have the last five minutes to see if I could change the game," said Baker-Boaitey. "I wasn’t thinking of going around the keeper, but I saw he was spread out already so I went around him and it was good to get the goal."
Moments later skipper Luca Barrington lifted the trophy as well as being named player of the tournament.
Ruth was delighted to be heading home with the trophy after watching his squad overcome a tough start to the competition.
He said, “On day one we weren’t at our best and it took the players a game or two to get used to the format, humidity and the uniqueness of the seven-a-side format. But on finals day I thought we were excellent. In the three games we were the better team and ended up having great control when it’s difficult to have in that format.
“Charlie couldn’t play and we had to be careful with Josh Duffus, Benni and Luca who were nursing different injuries. Those three showed good character to push through and they all worked very hard between the games to make sure they were available.
“The players showed excellent personality by recovering from not the best of starts to dealing with the pressure of a semi and final with a packed mini stadium. It has been an outstanding experience for our players for some many different reasons on and off the pitch. Most importantly it allowed us to continue to instil a winning mentality within our squad.”
Squad: Hugo Fisher, Jacob Slater, Charlie Tasker, Kamari Doyle, Luca Barrington, Caylan Vickers, Benicio Baker-Boaitey, Josh Duffus, Louis Flower.