Wes Brown is looking forward to taking on Manchester City on Saturday with the Barclays Asia Trophy at stake. Brown started the semi-final against Spurs in Hong Kong on Wednesday evening, scoring with a close-range header in a 3-1 win. Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini’s City faced Hong Kong champions South China, prevailing thanks to a single first-half goal from Edin Dzeko. “They’re probably the favourites but we’re playing well,” the defender said. “We’ve got some good new players and some good youngsters who are looking sharp. “Everyone gets on – it’s a good group and this is a game we’re looking to win. If we play well I’m sure we can.” Head coach Paolo Di Canio praised his players after they reversed a 1-0 deficit against Spurs. Cabral and David Moberg Karlsson were also on target in what Brown felt was a useful run-out. “Even when we went behind, we were always in the game,” he explained. “Our fitness showed and the new players did well; in the end it was a good match. “We’ve been training hard and working hard and I think that did help us in getting about on a tiring pitch. “We came through it well and scored some good goals.” The goal capped a good return for Brown, who missed the whole of last season due to injury. And the defender is hoping his hard work will pay off as he looks to put a tough year behind him. “It’s been difficult as I missed the whole year but I’ve done everything that’s been given to me,” he said. “I feel good and hopefully I can carry on from here.” Meanwhile Brown says the new signings out with the squad in Hong Kong have impressed, with four being selected in the starting eleven to face Spurs. Goalscorer Cabral, goalkeeper Vito Mannone, striker Jozy Altidore and winger Emmanuele Giaccherini all started the game. Moberg Karlsson came off the bench to bag a well-taken goal, while El-Hadji Ba and Valentin Roberge also featured as substitutes. “They are good players,” he said. “It’s always good to boost your squad and get quality in, which we have done. “It’s only a good thing, as last night showed. We’ve had two practice games but that was our first proper pre-season games and we did well – we should take positives from it.”
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 08:44:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015