England Men’s Futsal made their return to home soil after a spell of five-years away, taking on Switzerland in the Futsal EURO qualifiers at Loughborough University on Monday night.
Amongst the history-makers were Ryan and Jack Walsh, both players for Maidenhead United in the National Futsal Series Tier One.
It was a sell-out crowd for the fixture, with the futsal community turning out in force to support a team who just five years ago had seen their funding completely cut by the FA and the dissolution of the whole programme.
The side were hoping to bounce back from opening defeat in their qualifying campaign, having fallen to a 5-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina the previous week, and they got off to the perfect start, with Liam Palfreeman emphatically slamming home at the back post after some excellent pressing play.
Switzerland were quick to pull one back through their captain, but it was England who went into halftime on top. Captain Stuart Cook was fouled in the area and experienced Russ Goldstein hammering home the ball from the spot.
The Maidenhead duo had more involvement in the second half, with Ryan Walsh also scoring his first England goal. Some smart movement saw him race down the wing after a neat one-two, toe poking an effort which deflected off an outstretched Switzerland foot and nestled in the back of the net to give England a two-goal cushion.
The younger Walsh brother entered the game between the sticks as the second half wore on, and made some impressive saves, as well as getting involved higher up the court to pin back the Swiss.
Despite Switzerland playing fly to try and get back into the game, another two goals for England saw the game finish 5-1; the full-time buzzer was met with jubilation from players and fans alike.
Domestic futsal is the next port-of-call for the Walsh brothers, who take on Manchester Futsal at Bradfield College in Reading on Saturday 22nd December in the National Futsal Series.
England then welcome Spain, who have won seven major UEFA titles and two World Cups, unsurprisingly sitting top of the qualification group. The game will once again take place at Loughborough University on Tuesday 4th February. More information can be found on England Futsal’s website.
