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AUTISM TEAM REACHES SEMI-FINAL
Sunday, June 11th saw our Autism FC team compete in their very first Scottish Cup tournament which brought to an end a tremendous first season as a team.
The Saints in the Community players travelled to Broxburn to take part in Team United’s annual Scottish Cup tournament being held at Broxburn Athletic’s, Albyn Park. Wearing the St Johnstone Football Club badge and accompanied by our coaches, players competed in the competition alongside Autism League premiership opposition and Monifieth Athletic.
Ten teams competed in the 7-a-side tournament, with two groups of five competing for a place in the quarter finals, semi-finals and ultimately the Final.
The day kicked off with the Saints in the Community players being placed in a group with fellow Autism League premiership sides, Rangers, Hibernian, Greenock Morton, and Edinburgh South. The players put in a number of fantastic performances which saw them come out of the group stages with wins against both Edinburgh South and Morton, a draw against Hibs and a last-minute defeat to last year’s winners Rangers - scoring an impressive 16 goals along the way. These results climactically saw our Autism FC team top their group on their way into the Quarter Finals!
Quarter Final opposition was in the form of Hutchison Vale who proved to be tough opponents. Both sets of players battled well which eventually saw the 14-minute game end with nothing between the two teams. Extra time brought around another 7-minute half for the players with golden goal being the decider. The 7-minute half was action packed and would ultimately be enough, with the Trust's players finding that all important winning goal! Onto the Semi Finals!
Autism League 2023 champions, Drumchapel United, were the semi-final opposition for the Saints in the Community players. Another action packed 14 minutes saw nothing separating the two teams, with another bout of golden goal required. This time however, nothing could separate Drumchapel and Saints until the third period of extra time where Drumchapel grabbed the winning goal to send them through to the final. A remarkable 35-minutes of football played between the two teams, an incredible effort from everyone!
This year’s final saw Rangers and Drumchapel United battle for the Scottish Cup trophy. With our players staying behind after a long day of football to watch the final, the two teams from Glasgow played out the final with Rangers coming out victorious, securing back-to-back Scottish Cups.
Players were joined by their families on what was a sensational day of football. Medals were presented to every player in attendance with photos being taken of the squad and the Autism Scottish Cup lifted by Rangers - congratulations!!
The Scottish Cup brought to a close a brilliant debut season for our Saints in the Community players. After only 6 weeks together, our players were introduced into the competitive Autism league set up in September 2022, with the season ending in May 2023. The team finished in 6th position with 31 points after the 20 league games played. A fantastic debut season from the players and we’re incredibly proud of them all!
We look forward to seeing what next season has to offer.