Brighton play in Football Therapy Cup

Recently, a team of footballers from Brighton and Sussex Care took part in their fist cup competition. They sent us this report from the tournament, and you can find out more about their team in the latest issue of our Lifelines newsletter.

Lewes FC hosted the annual Football Therapy Cup on Wednesday 27^th April at their stadium, the Dripping Pan. With the team assembled, and a few adoring fans the first outing of Brighton and Sussex Care Football Club (BASC FC) was ready to go.

Our first group included Blackburn Rovers, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Arsenal. These teams all presented their own challenges. Our first match was Arsenal, and there were all very big, tough players. It was hard fought but we ended up losing 2-0, conceding a particularly difficult late goal in the second half. The team didn’t let this get them down, and we went on to play against a Brighton side that underperformed and were able to get a 0-0 draw against them. Finally, we played against Blackburn, and Derin scored our first goal of the tournament early on in the game. However, we became a little complacent and allowed two late goals to get past our defence, resulting in a 2-1 defeat.

We finished third in our group and progressed to the Plate Competition. The new group we were handed was Lawn Court, Birmingham Heads On, QPR & Langford Tigers. Our first game was against Birmingham, and Leon scored just before half time. Birmingham fought back hard but we were able to hold them off and stride towards our first competitive victory as a team! Next up were a strong QPR team, and it was one of the most physical games we had, with some really strong challenges made by both sides, but thanks to the efforts of our defence and a great performance all round we were able to hold them to a 1-1 draw. Lawn Court were next, and this was a little bit of a grudge match as our manager used to work and play with them! They were easily the strongest team that we faced, but we managed to hold them back well, only conceding two goals, for a 2-0 defeat. Finally, we faced Langford Tigers, who presented a real challenge, but we managed to overcome it and walk away from the match with another 0-0 draw.

All in all, the day was an amazing one for everyone involved, with all our players really giving their all, as well as making new friends and associates within Mental Health Football UK, including a few talent scouts for international and county level competitions!

We want to thank all the staff who made it possible, the tenants who came along to play with us, and the parents and tenants who came to support us in our efforts!