England 3-2 Spain  
Cerebral Palsy European Championships
Friday 28 July 2006
Dublin

England's tournament reached a crescendo with this magnificent win against the uncompromising Spanish, in the fight for fifth place.

England began well and bossed the early stages with Fox and Barker going close with half chances. As their initial impetus seemed to be ebbing England broke the deadlock, and it was the Benn-Fox combination which yielded the goal, Benn, wriggling into the 6 yard box to square for Fox who had a simple side foot finish.

Half time was seconds away with England cruising, when an innocuous ball drifted across the penalty area, striking the far upright, leaving the defence flat footed and allowing Clemente the easiest of equalisers.

Worse was to come for England as within 2 minutes of the restart Spain took the lead with a scruffy unnecessary goal. This could have been a signal for this young England team(5 of the starting 7 were teenagers) to capitulate, as no team has come from behind to taste victory in this competition. Instead they showed their undeniable character, rallying in fine style, with captain Davies driving them on from the back.

Wave upon wave of attacks rattled the Spanish into conceding a succession of corners and free kicks, the pressure from which they withstood until 9 minutes from time, when birthday boy Barker (19) pounced with a bullet header from another Davies corner.

Further drama came at the other end as Raynes pulled off a game saving stop to deny Clemente his second from a free kick, a save which seemed to guarantee a further 20 minutes of extra time. But there was to be no extra time as the most dramatic finish to this most compelling of matches arrived with just 13 seconds of normal time remaining.

Ben won a free kick 5 yards outside the angle of the box, an ideal position for Gary Davies to cross into the area. However the Skipper had other ideas, as he struck a delicious Beckhamesque curler into the top right hand corner of the net. The England team and bench were jubilant as seconds later the referee blew for full time, and this inexperienced squad had clinched 5th place.

If you are a 14 or over, male footballer with Cerebral Palsy, and think you have what it takes to make the England CP team, we want to hear from you. Call Andrew Hailwood the England CP Team Manager on 07984 003469.