The Scottish National Cerebral Palsy Football team returned home from the International Trophy CP Football Ciutat de Barcelona organised by the Catalan Sports Federation of Cerebral Palsy (FECPC) with a very creditable third place finish after four days of competition.
Scotland were drawn in a tough qualifying group against Argentina, Denmark and CP United. The Scots got off to a flying start with a solid 6-3 victory of the CP United club side.
In their second fixture they faced a more difficult test against an Argentinian side currently ranked 5th in the World. The Scots have been out of the international picture for the last two years and this lack of match experienced showed with a 6-1 victory to Argentina.
This put the pressure on the Scottish team for their final group match against Denmark. However, the Scots rallied and secured a deserved 5-0 win against the side ranked 18th in the world.
This result meant Scotland were drawn to face the SW CP United in the 3rd/4th play-off match. The Scots had grown in confidence as the competition had progressed and this was demonstrated with a comfortable 9-0 win over the English club side.
This was an excellent return to the international scene for the Scottish National Cerebral Palsy Football team and we now hope to build on this success and see Scotland back competing at World and European Championships.
The following players were named in the squad to compete for Scotland in Barcelona;
Barry Halloran, Motherwell
Martin Hickman, Glasgow
Scott Martin, London
Lewis McIntyre, Kilbarchan
Jamie Mitchell, Livingston
Mark Robertson, Roslin
Robert Millar, Dunoon
Blair Glynn, Tranent
Stephen Young, Dunfermline
Ross Russell, Bishopbriggs
Blair McGregor, Glasgow
Dean Thornton, Glasgow
Ian Paton, Kilmarnock
Matthew Wynne, Eaglesham
The players were supported at the competition by Head Coach Greig Taylor, along with Assistant Coaches Graeme Robertson and Scott Christie.
Our sincere thanks go to the Scottish FA, NorDan UK Ltd, The Blue Eyes Sports Foundation and Fresh Interior Solutions for their generous support of the Scottish National Cerebral Palsy Football team.
If you are interested in getting involved with the Scottish National Cerebral Palsy Football team or providing much needed funding to help the team achieve their goal of World and European competition, please contact Gavin Macleod on 0131 317 1150 or at gavin.macleod@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
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