England’s Partially Sighted squad fell to a 3-2 semi-final defeat against Russia at the IBSA B2/B3 European Championships on Wednesday evening.
Ian Bateman’s Three Lions will now play Italy for third place on Thursday, hoping they will be able to repeat their group stage victory over them.
England came into the game on the back of wins against Italy and Georgia and began the game positively in the opening exchanges before a goal against the run of play put them behind midway through the half.
That setback jolted England and their response was swift with Andy Cahill equalising a minute later from a well-worked move before a set piece just outside the area soon after led to Russia regaining the lead.
England continued to make and spurn opportunities in the closing minutes of the half whilst Dylan Malpas made a number of fine saves to keep England in the game at the break.
Throughout the second half, England dominated the exchanges and created a number of opportunities as the Russian struggled to keep pace.
The momentum was with England but there was a blow when the Russians again scored against the run of play with another set piece to extend their lead further.
England continued to push forward and pulled a goal back from another good move through Adam Lione with a handful of minutes remaining.
Spurred on, England pushed forward with greater urgency but were unable to draw level as the Russians held on for the win.
“To lose when we have dominated the game is particularly disappointing,” said Bateman after the game.
“However we have a great opportunity to still win a medal in our third successive tournament.”
The semi-final came on the back of a successful group stage, where England began the competition with a 4-0 win over Italy thanks to goals from Paul McHugh, Tom Lamb, John McDougall and Harry Gibbons.
That was followed up by a resounding 28-0 win against tournament hosts Georgia.
Squad: Steve Daley (captain), John McDougall, Dylan Malpas, Dan James, Jeremy Vernaeve, Harry Gibbons, Andy Cahill, Paul McHugh, Gareth Jones, Harry Macdonald, Adam Lione, Tom Lamb
