After Newcastle United Under-21s progressed into the Main Cup quarter-finals at the Hong Kong Citi Soccer Sevens, Amadou Diallo believes the squad have more to offer heading into tomorrow's knockout stages.
The young Magpies, aiming to win the competition for an unprecedented third time in its 24-year history, finished second in Group C after holding Hong Kong Football Club, securing a 1-0 win against HKFC Captain’s Select following by a narrow 2-1 defeat against Leicester City at the Happy Valley in Hong Kong.
Diallo netted both goals for United’s second-string, a close-range finish against HKFC Captain’s Select before breaking the deadlock against the Foxes via the penalty spot and the 20-year-old winger was delighted to contribute towards Newcastle's passage into the last eight of the seven-a-side tournament.
“It’s been a good day for us all," Diallo told nufc.co.uk. "We got through and it was our first time playing in this tournament. Each game we play, we’re learning and we now want to try and bring more in the knockout stages.
“The first game against Hong Kong was seeing what the games are about. I thought we played a bit safe and could have taken more risks but going into the next one (against HKFC Captain's Select), we took more risks and it paid off.
“It was good to get the goal, a good pass from Hunts (James Huntley). It was important to get an early lead, especially in these types of games, and we were able to wear out the opposition by keeping the ball. We were talking beforehand on trying to get an early goal to see the game off and get the win. It was a good game plan to do that in these kind of matches.
“We made another good start against Leicester and I was pleased to get the penalty, with good play from Hunts and Alex (Murphy) which helped me towards scoring."
Newcastle's youngsters have been handed a quarter-final clash against their Aston Villa counterparts on Sunday (kick-off 3.18am BST) after the Villans topped Group A.
After falling to a late defeat against Leicester, conceding in the final seconds of the 14-minute contest, Diallo is hoping the loss can serve as inspiration as they aim to lift the trophy for a fourth time since 2012 on Sunday.
“It’s definitely a motivation because you don’t want to lose a game," he added. "Going forward, we’ve got more fire to do more and make sure we don’t lose again because that will cost us now, with us being in the knockout rounds.
“We’re looking forward to the final day. Everyone has to do their part for the team - work hard, score goals and defend our box well so we can try and win the trophy.”
Photograph courtesy of HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens