The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Team from March achieve their big goal in Sweden
A team from March are celebrating European success after winning a big international goalball tournament in Sweden.
Fen Tigers won the gold medal at the Malmö Open for the first time after finishing runnersup in the big event in 2018. A total of 25 countries took part.
Fen Tigers got off to a flying start and went on to top their group with six wins from six games. The run included an impressive 13-7 win over tournament favourites Rostock from Germany.
In the quarter-finals, the Tigers knocked out last year’s gold medallists, the Swedish side Linkopings, 9-3, in what was a repeat of the 2018 final.
The semi-final then saw the Cambridgeshire club record another convincing 9-3 victory, this time over Finland’s Old Power.
In a close-fought and tense final, Fen Tigers took an early lead and defended cou- rageously to overcome the Serbian side GK NAIS 2-1.
Fen Tigers’ Joe Roper also finished as the top goalscorer for the competition, finding the net an impressive 30 times.
The Fen Tiger squad was Dom Roper, Marc Powell, Joe Roper, Dan Roper and coach Georgie Bullen.
Speaking about the tournament, Bullen commented: “I am immensely proud of the team. They genuinely deserve the success. After claiming the silver medal last year, we were determined to go one better and bring gold back to the UK this year.
“The performances of each member of the squad was incredible. They formed a dauntingly solid unit in defence, whilst their attack was emphatic.
“The accuracy and successful execution of the gameplan was a joy to watch. It was a real testament to working as a team.
“We are now hoping to try and raise funds to enable us to travel in 2020 to defend our title.”
■ Goalball, originally devised as a rehabilitation programme for injured soldiers returning from World War II, was one of the hits of the London 2012 Paralympics.
■ Goalball is played by two teams. Each team has a maximum of six players each, with three players being on court at any one time. The object of the game is to score a goal by throwing the ball so that it crosses the goal line of the opposing team. The ball must touch the floor in each third of the court or a penalty is awarded.
■ It is open to both male and female visually impaired athletes, and sighted players can also play. All players wear eyeshades.
■ Goalball is played on an indoor court that is 18m long and 9m wide.
The court has tactile markings (string that is taped to the floor), which enables players to orientate themselves on court.
■ The ball contains internal bells, which enables players to track the ball during play