CP round-up: Australia, England and Russia all win

There were 25 goals on the opening day of the 2015 Cerebral Palsy World Championships as England, Russia and Australia all recorded victories.

Following the opening ceremony that was attended by FA CEO Martin Glenn, St. George's Park chairman and chief executive David Sheepshanks and Julie Harrington and chief executive of the PFA Gordon Taylor – the action got under way.

And it was England who set the tournament alight with a resounding 14-0 win over Japan in the curtain-raiser.

Captain Jack Rutter scored a double hat-trick while James Blackwell, Ollie Nugent and Jake Brown all notched braces. 

There was also goals for Michael Barker and Emyle Rudder, who dedicated his strike to team-mate Ibs Diallo, the 14th member of the England squad who was cruelly categorised out of the tournament just two days before it began.

The second fixture of the day was a much tighter affair. 

Australia and Portugal, ranked 12th and 14th respectively, went head-to-head on Pitch Six.

And it was the Socceroos who came out 2-0 victors thanks to a second-half brace from James Turner.

Australia dominated much of the first half, but were unable to make a breakthrough against a resolute Portugal defence.

Australia celebrate after their 2-0 victory against Portugal

However, with only two minutes played in the second period, Turner broke the deadlock. 

Portugal goalkeeper Rui Rocha could only parry a David Barber long throw-in and it fell to Turner, who produced a composed finish from close-range to open the scoring in what was a feisty encounter at times.

With the sun still beaming down on the Staffordshire countryside, Portugal seemed to tire as they pressed for an equaliser without success.

And as the fourth official held a board aloft revealing that two minutes of added time would be played, Turner was again on hand to capitalise as Portugal pressed.

The number 11 received the ball from another Barber throw-in, before a quick turn of pace took him towards the Portugal box.

An Australia fan cheers her country on at St. George's Park

He took the ball wide to the left of the penalty box and calmly slotted home to secure the three points in front of a passionate gaggle of Australian supporters.

Four games were originally scheduled to take place on the opening day. 

However, following Iran's late withdrawal Russia v Republic of Ireland became the day's only other fixture, with Ukraine handed a walkover for their cancelled tie.

And Russia – world champions, tournament favourites and ranked number one in the world – made light work of Ireland with a scintillating display that saw them run out 8-1 winners.

Jack Rutter (L) and Jake Brown (R) celebrate as England cruise to victory

Goals from Dmitrii Pestretsov (2), Eduard Ramonov (2), Alexei Borkin (2), Viacheslev Lorianov and Alexander Kuligin secured the points for Russia.

But the goal of the game was scored by Ireland's Gary Messett who netted a sensational striek to level it at 1-1.

The midfielder advanced forward on the counter-attack and, after his initial through pass to a team-mate was intercepted, he pounced on the loose ball to unleash a venomous effort that flew into the top right-hand corner of the goal.

However, the luck was not with the Irish and any hopes of a tight contest were subsequently quashed as Russia continued to dominate proceedings and went on to record a comfortable victory.

There are four more games at SGP on Wednesday, starting with Group C at 11am as USA face Venezuela followed by Brazil v Scotland at 1pm. Group D action begins with Canada v Northern Ireland at 5pm and then Holland take on Argentina at 7pm.

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