Albion Blind won their maiden Bučovice Blind Cup title on Sunday, beating FC St.Pauli in the final to secure the prize.
The Albion Foundation’s Blind team travelled to Czechia to face off against six teams from across the continent in their first-ever entry into the competition, which began in 2013.
The Baggies began their campaign in the group stage, where they topped the group following consecutive victories over host team Avoy MU Brno and Fútbul Ciegos Madrid.
Those all-important wins, in which Albion didn’t concede a single goal, set them up for an exciting semi-final clash with their final group opponents, Madrid – securing their spot in the final with a 2-0 victory thanks to strikes from Efe Shimwell and Eesa Amjid.
German side St Pauli were the hurdle that the Baggies needed to jump before clinching the Bučovice Blind Cup title, and a tight encounter followed.
The Germans started the brightest, Rasmus Narjez forced a smart low save from Owen Locke in the Albion goal with his low-driven shot.
It then became the turn of Sven Bartels to keep her side in the game, she got down quickly to deny Shimwell's disguised effort as he marauded through the field.
The Baggies midfielder soon made amends for his earlier miss, and after a tussle with several St Pauli defenders, managed to strike from range which went under Bartels, nestling in the back of the net.
With their first attempt at the competition, Albion managed a historic tournament triumph, and head coach Paul Glover was delighted to see his side life another trophy – just three months on from their FA Disability Cup win.
“The main aim of the tournament was to come out and play some different teams," Glover said. "We managed to give some of the younger teams some minutes.
“We’ve got a really young squad and it was great to give them time together. It was nice to play against different clubs from different places and to solve those problems.
“We’re absolutely buzzing with the whole thing, the tournament organisers have been great and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”
To sponsor any of our Albion Blind players, please email paul.glover@albionfoundation.co.uk.