England reach IBSA European Championship semis after comprehensive win over Greece

Friday 20 Sep 2019
England's Dylan Malpas and Roy Turnham celebrate at the IBSA European Championship

England secured their place in the semi-final of the IBSA European Championship on Friday morning, with a 3-0 victory over Greece.

The Para Lions went into their final group game knowing that a victory at the Tre Fontane Paralympic Training Centre in Rome would be enough to see them through.

And head coach Jon Pugh will be delighted with his team's approach as they dominated the game and collected the points to set up a clash with either Spain, Belgium or hosts Italy on Sunday afternoon.

It took 14 minutes for England to open the scoring and that opened the door for three goals before half time.

Brandon Coleman got the Para Lions underway, after driving home an angled and solid shot from the right to break the deadlock.

Captain Dan English then added a second goal, after collecting a pass from Roy Turnham's corner before dribbling past two defenders and into the area where he fired a shot into the top corner.

England weren't finished there either, as English's run from his own half took him deep into the Greek area, where defender Theodoros Siotas tried to tackle only to poke the ball past the keeper for an own goal.

Pugh used the second half to manage his players' minutes on the pitch, with all of the substitutes getting a chance to impress and the likes of Azeem Amir, Rainbow Mbungai and Sam Marsden having their first taste of the Euros.

Sunday's semi-final will be live on the FISPIC YouTube channel.

England: 1 Dylan Malpas, 3 Owen Bainbridge, 5 Dan English, 6 Robin Williams, 7 Brandon Coleman, 9 Roy Turnham, 10 Darren Harris

Subs all used: 7 Brandon Coleman, 10 Darren Harris, 4 Azeem Amir, 8 Rainbow Mbungai, 13 Samuel Marsden

Goals: Brandon Coleman 14, Dan English 18, 5 Theodoros Siotas OG

Coach: Jon Pugh

By Nicholas Veevers Content Manager - FA Owned Channels