The first day of the 2022 FA Disability Cup was a huge success, with plenty of action taking place across a bright and sunny weekend at St George’s Park.
The sixth edition of the tournament consisted of six impairment-specific cup finals, three on each day, and all broadcasted live on BT Sport.
The partially sighted, amputee and blind finals were up first on the Saturday 11 June, with the cerebral palsy, Powerchair and deaf finals occurring on Sunday 12 June. Each athlete was a credit to their sport and provided huge inspiration to those both attending live on the day and the many watching at home.
2022 Results – Saturday 11 June
PARTIALLY SIGHTED FINAL – Birmingham Futsal 5-1 Merseyside Futsal
A comprehensive and well-deserved victory for Birmingham Futsal helped them win the Partially Sighted final for the second year running and become the first champions of the weekend. Birmingham skipper Luke Darnell gave the Blues a two-goal cushion at half time with a fantastic finish before the game was well and truly sealed in the second half with three further strikes.
AMPUTEE FINAL – Manchester City Amputees 1-0 Portsmouth Amputees
A narrow victory for Manchester City Amputees on their first attempt in the FA Disability Cup will have meant a lot to the team, due to their League Cup loss in the last 30 seconds of extra time against the same opponents just weeks earlier. Liam Burbidge’s goal in the second half settled a tight affair for the Citizens, but it was the impressive individual performance of Mickey Chambers which caught the eye and rightly earned him the player of the match award.
BLIND FINAL – Royal National College (RNC) for the Blind Hereford 2-2 Brighton and Hove Albion Blind FC (RNC won 1-0 on penalties)
After three years away from the sport, England’s highest capped para and blind footballer, Darren Harris, proved to be the matchwinner via a penalty shootout in an end-to-end game to bring the trophy to RNC Hereford. Recognised before the contest with a golden cap for over 150 appearances for England and playing well into his 40s for his country, Harris, who scored both his side’s goals in normal time, was the only player to convert from the spot after 40 minutes ended all square.
Source: The Football Association