Luke Ballinger breaks 50 as England see off Sweden

Sunday 01 Mar 2015
Luke Ballinger darts past Simon Chekroun

England made amends for their 3-1 defeat by Sweden on Friday night with a crushing 7-3 rout over the same opponents just 24 hours later.

England 7-3 Sweden

Futsal International
Copper Box Arena, London
Saturday 28 February 2015

In front of a 1,430 record crowd for a Futsal international in this country, England treated the fans at the iconic London 2012 venue the Copper Box Arena to a thrilling display.

And aside from the collective glory of turning the tables on their Scandinavian opponents, England were able to toast Luke Ballinger, who scored a hat-trick to become the first player in a Three Lions shirt to pass 50 career goals.

London 2012

London 2012's iconic Copper Box Arena

The hosts got off to a blistering start, taking the lead after three minutes through Manchester's Stuart Cook. Ballinger grabbed his first after five minutes, his second barely 100 seconds later, before Guillermo Wallace made it 4-0 with nine minutes on the clock.

Dana Kuhi grabbed one back for Sweden, but their comeback was short-lived as Agon Rexha got in on the act soon after.

England Futsal line-up ahead of their second meeting with Sweden in two days

England Futsal line-up ahead of their second meeting with Sweden in two days

Ballinger completed his treble, and fired home England's sixth, on 32 minutes, before Sweden grabbed two consolation strikes through Sargon Abraham late in the game.

But there was still time for Rexha to fire his second, and seal a handsome win for Peter Sturgess's side.

England: 1 James Dalton (GK; Baku United), 2 Ben Mortlock (c; Loughborough Students), 3 Agon Rexha (Baku United), 4 Doug Reed (Baku United), 5 George Nash (Loughborough Students), 6 Raoni Medina (AGBU Ararat Nicosia), 7 David Jennings (West London), 8 Luke Ballinger (Chippenham Town), 9 Will Rooke (Loughborough Students), 10 James Webb (Loughborough Students), 11 Richard Ward (Sheffield FC), 12 Stuart Cook (Manchester), 13 Jordan Parker (GK; Manchester), 14 Guillermo Wallace (FS Nazareno).

England goals: Cook 3, Ballinger 5, 7, 32, Wallace 9, Rexha 25, 37.

Head coach: Peter Sturgess.

Sweden goals: Dana Kuhi 23, Sargon Abraham 35, 35.

Attendance: 1,430


By James Callow Content manager