A series of strong performances by the team in the World Amputee Football Championships, held in Alsager, ended with England finishing the tournament in fourth place.

That was despite having got off to a poor start in their opening round-robin matches, in which they lost twice.

The highlight of the round-robin section was a thumping 8-0 win over USA.

That result helped ensure England qualified for the semi-finals.

Andy Brittles, co-organiser of the event and an England player who works at Moss Farm, said: "The whole tournament was a great success and the quality of the football played was very high indeed.

"All the players learnt a lot from the experience and we proved we can compete with the best in the world."

Andy, 37 and from Holmes Chapel, was in the England line-up which was defeated in the semi-finals by eventual winners, Russia.

England lost the match 3-0.

But the England players will have taken great heart from the fact Russia went on to win the final by an even greater margin, defeating Uzbeckistan 4-0.

In the third and fourth place play-off England, like their able-bodied equals, suffered the heartache of a penalty shoot out defeat against South American opposition.

The Amputees were beaten 4-3 on penalties by a technically gifted Brazil team, the match having ended 1-1 after extra time.

The tournament also helped to raise the profile of the amputees game.

A feature on Granada News highlighted the lack of support the team has received from the Football Asoociation and it is hoped increased financial backing will enable a similar event to be staged next year.

England's next international trip is to Russia in December.

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