Dewhirst: 'My best day ever in an England shirt'

England CP’s Sam Dewhirst was full of emotion after the Para Lions booked their place in the IFCPF EUROs Final against Ukraine after cruising past the Netherlands in a 3-0 victory.

Dewhirst was the hero, scoring just before half time and twice in the second half to bag himself a hat-trick.

And he had high praise for his team-mates after reaching the Final against Ukraine which will take place on Saturday 23 August.

“Unbelievable feeling – probably my best day ever in an England shirt,” he said. “To get a hat-trick is unbelievable, but every single lad was superb out there today.

“We’ve had tough games against Holland in the past but today we stuck together, stuck to the plan and we are in another final, time to go for that gold.”

Having scored each of England’s three goals, Dewhirst talked through each opportunity.

“To be fair all the goals were quite close range and obviously a penalty is a penalty,” he explained.

“I anticipated the first one, same with the second one really, and then as soon as we won that penalty, I was all over it.

“I took a penalty this morning in practise – I knew I was going to bury it.”

The Para Lions’ preparation for the Final will continue at St George’s Park where England have been based throughout the tournament.

And Dewhirst asserted the team must be better in the opening stages of the game compared to the last time England faced Ukraine in the group stage, which ended in a 1-0 defeat.

“If we play similar to how we played against Ukraine the other day, minus the first 20 minutes, we’ve got a proper good chance,” he noted.

“Second half we were on top, I thought personally. We just need to do the same, recover properly – we have the best facilities possible at St George’s Park, it’s perfect for us.

“On home soil we couldn’t ask for anymore. We’ve just got to put everything in on Saturday night.”

And Dewhirst encouraged fans to get down to Loughborough University to cheer on the Para Lions.

“Whatever you can do, if you can get down, if you can support the lads online, in-person, just do whatever you can,” he said.

“It will be a great game, great occasion and it will help us and CP football in England to find loads of opportunities for young kids who struggle with Cerebral Palsy to play the sport they love.

“Just come down and watch the lads – it might change your life, you never know.”