Saltires are flying the futsal flag for Scotland
Futsal first at the Champions League
A Perth futsal team has created history by becoming the first Scottish club to clinch victory in a competitive European match.
PYF Saltires, playing in the UEFA Futsal Champions League qualifiers in the Netherlands, defeated Lynx FC of Gibraltar 5-1 to write their name into the history books.
“It’s an amazing feeling, ”Saltires manager Scott Ballingall said. “This has been the culmination of many years of hard work by so many people.
“On behalf of the whole squad, we want to say a big thanks to everyone who came across to watch.
“The noise they made each game was incredible and it was great to be able to share this experience with them.”
They travelled to the Netherlands ready to make the most of the experience - and returned as history makers.
Perth side PYF Saltires are reflecting on becoming the first ever Scottish club to taste victory in a European futsal competition.
The UEFA Futsal Champions League qualifiers provided the platform for the determined squad of 13 to proudly write their names into sporting folklore.
Travelling supporters in the town of Hoorn were made to wait until the last game of the preliminary group stage to watch their favourites celebrate a memorable win.
Connor McLaren, who hails from Auchterarder, scored a hattrick while Liam Kelly netted a double in a 5-1 triumph against Lynx FC of Gibraltar.
There were jubilant scenes of celebration between Perth players and fans when the fulltime whistle sounded at the Sporthal De Opgang.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Saltires manager Scott Ballingall said. “This has been the culmination of many years of hard work by so many people.
“The team put in so much work over the course of last season, into training over summer and when we were away. They were brilliant.
“Considering our squad was made up of eight players who have come through our academy - all local and average age of 21 - it’s a phenomenal achievement.
“We had spoken about making history in the last few months.
“Having retained the Scottish Cup and won the first ever Scottish league and cup double, making more history was something we knew we were looking to do.
“I can’t actually remember the game too well as it was very tense watching from the side.
“We knew if we could go into the last 10 minutes still in the game we would have a massive chance of finishing stronger and getting something from the match.”
Saltires lost out in their two other group games at the competition against English champions London Helvecia and section winners Hovocubo, who were the hosts.
Despite missing out on qualification, Ballingall knows the experience will prove to be beneficial for the club moving forward.
He said: “Each game was very tough but we performed well in four out of six halves. We’ve now shared the court with a futsal World Cup winner and some top, top players.
“There are things that we can take away as coaches to work on and we asked the players to take as much away from the experience as possible.
“And you could see some of that in the last game. The overall experience was brilliant and Hovocubo were great hosts.
“It was a first European experience for nine of the 13 in the squad and, from speaking to them, everyone wants to do it all again.”
Ballingall was quick to praise everyone for their support - including a loyal band of enthusiastic fans who made the trip to the Netherlands to watch the action live.
“On behalf of the whole squad we want to say a big thanks to everyone who came across to watch,” he told the Perthshire Advertiser.
“The noise they made each game was incredible and it was great to be able to share this experience with them.”
Saltires are already preparing for the start of the Scottish Super League campaign, where they have plans to retain their title.
“The plan now is to get back focused for the Scottish league,” said Ballingall.
“We trained hard for a couple of months before we travelled and we go again this week with our first game of the new season in two weeks’ time.”