England Powerchair squad win Home Nations Tournament

England travelled north of the border to Scotland for the annual EPFA Powerchair Home Nations Tournament, held at the SportScotland National Training Centre in Inverclyde over the first weekend in May, and returned home with the title.

The Para Lions played four games across two days, with head coach Adam McEvoy team winning all four of their games as well as collecting a number of individual accolades.

England 4-1 Northern Ireland

We started against Northern Ireland, coming away with a 4-1 win in the opening game of the tournament. Dan McLellan opened the scoring from a corner and five minutes later Tyler Reeve scored, again from a corner which saw England 2-0 up at half time against a well-organised Northern Ireland.

A minute into the second half, McLellan grabbed his second goal following another set piece, this time a hit in.

All four subs then came on with Matt Gilbert and Oli Crawshaw making their senior debuts. With six minutes remaining, Reeve scored his second with a well-worked team passing move.

Republic of Ireland 1-3 England

The second and final game of the opening day started with a more attacking minded opponent. Dylan Kelsall opened the scoring in the opening five minutes from a free flowing passing move. Five minutes later, McLellan got his third goal of the tournament following a hit in and then after 13 minutes he got a second of the game and a fourth of the tournament after scoring on a successful break.

The second half edged in Ireland's favour and they were rewarded for their attacking efforts with a goal on 24 minutes. The remainder of the half passed with opportunities for both teams but no more goals. Again all four subs made an appearance in this game.

Scotland 0-6 England

This game saw a change to the starting line up which included Matthew Gilbert getting his first senior start. An equally contested first ten minutes was broken by an England opener, with Matt Gilbert scoring his first senior goal from a well-executed corner for 1-0. The remainder of the first half saw England dominate possession and opportunities on goal.

At half time, all four subs came on and made an instant impact with Dan Rigby scoring a minute into the second half from a hit in. A minute later, Dan McLellan scored again and then a minute later a fourth goal came when Reeve scored a free-kick. Our final two goals were scored by Rigby for a hat-trick, the first from open play and the second (Dan's third) was a free-kick.

The Final: England 5-0 Republic of Ireland

A dominant display from start to finish to seal the title, using all eight players in the match. England opened the scoring on eight minutes when a corner was finished by Reeve. A minute later, he scored again from outside the box for 2-0. England dominated in possession and shots on goal before adding a third from Kelsall slotting into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 at half time.

The second half saw all four subs come on, but the style of play remained the same as Gilbert grabbed a fourth following a free-kick routine before Rigby scored a fifth goal a minute from full time, again from open play.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, Powerchair head coach Adam McEvoy said: “We all know the talents and abilities of our more experienced players, so the Home Nations provides us with an opportunity to test and challenge some of our younger and highly talented players in an England environment.

"Our senior players have fully supported this decision, which speaks volumes about their professionalism and qualities as both footballers and individuals.”

England's team manager Craig Peattie added: "We've had time over recent camps to work with this exciting squad, a mix of young senior players and development squad players looking to make a statement for a place in the first team plans.

"The squad will aim to retain the Home Nations trophy while playing a dominant style of football, and this tournament will provide an environment for some new players to experience tournament football on and off the pitch."

All games were streamed live by the EPFA YouTube channel.

The Squad: Gregg Baxter, Oli Crawshaw, Ethan Fisher, Matt Gilbert, Dylan Kelsall, Dan Mclellan, Tyler Reeve, Dan Rigby