World Championship heartbreak for Blair Glynn and Scotland

That’s the view of Tranent’s Blair Glynn, who was part of the 23-man squad which reached the final of the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) World Championships in Sardinia, only to suffer an agonising 3-2 defeat to Colombia in the gold medal game on Monday.

Scotland put on a battling display in the group stages, defeating Italy (6-0), South Korea (7-0) and Chile (7-2) to progress to the semi-finals.

Father-of-two Glynn, 36, who works as a janitor at Macmerry Primary School, told Courier Sport before flying out to the tournament that he hoped to reach the final. . . and Scotland did just that by beating Japan 5-1 in the last four.

Colombia overcame Chile 7-3 in their semi-final and would prove a stern test for the Scots.

Scotland found themselves 3-0 down early in the second half on Monday; but despite managing to pull two goals back, they could not find an equaliser and Colombia were crowned champions.

Blair Glynn (centre) said he was proud of how the side performed in the tournament

Reflecting on the tournament, Glynn said he was happy with how Scotland performed but was gutted to fall at the final hurdle.

Speaking before flying home, he said: “Overall, we did well in the tournament. I don’t think the boys could have given any more out there.

“It’s been a fantastic experience and we’ve had some really good results in the build-up to the final. It’s just really disappointing that we couldn’t get it over the line and win it.

“To pull it back from three goals down to 3-2 showed good character and I think had we managed to take them to extra time we’d have won.”

There was a lot of support shown to the squad ahead of the final, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wishing the side luck on Twitter and thousands of people tuning in to watch the match live on the internet via YouTube.

Reflecting on the backing, Glynn said: “The support shown back home has been incredible: to have the First Minister wish us luck and to have the men’s national team follow us on Twitter is a great thing.

“I think this tournament has given a bit more recognition to the Scotland cerebral palsy team and, while we may have lost the battle in the final, we’re winning the war and raising the profile of the game for young people with cerebral palsy or who are suffering from being paralysed.”

The Scotland CP football team with their medals after the tournament

Greig Taylor, the team’s manager, said: “The side has come a long way in the last six years.

“We’ve had to rebuild the squad after losing a lot of our funding and we’re now partially funded by Scottish Para Football.

“So to go from having no team to reaching the final of a World Championships is a fantastic achievement for the boys.

“We’re starting to focus more on development now. We want to encourage young people to get involved with the cerebral palsy team and we’re launching a pathway system to the first team in the next few months and hopefully introducing a women’s pathway next year.

“This will allow us to develop young players and prepare them to move into the first team.

“This is a fast-growing squad and it’s only the beginning for us.”

Reaching the final means that Scotland now have enough merit points to qualify for the IFCPF European Championships next year, where they will face some of Europe’s best sides.

Taylor, who works full-time as a manufacturing technician, is a former full-time coach who has worked with the SFA and Manchester City, and said he could not wait for the challenges ahead.

He said: “It’s onwards and upwards from here.

“I’m really looking forward to the Euros and getting the chance to face top sides like England will be a great opportunity.

“The side is heading in the right direction and this tournament can be seen as a good thing when looking back.”