Jun 23 – Gibraltar Takes Gold In Special Olympics Football Tournament
On the second day of the Special Olympics Gibraltar National Games 2017 the five-a-side football tournament kicked off and Gibraltar welcomed a side from Algeciras to compete against the teams from Barbate, the Isle of Man and the home team.
In the very hot temperatures in the Victoria Sports Complex the teams played a round robin tournament of six matches with twelve minutes each half. The Isle of Man got off to a great start with consecutive wins against Barbate (3 - 2) and Algeciras (4 - 0). They then had a rest while the Gibraltar team came on and made an even better start with a 6 - 0 win over Algeciras.
Gibraltar then played Barbate in a closer match but still emerged victors with a 3 - 0 win. By this time it was clear that the last match between the Isle of Man and Gibraltar would be the decider, but before that Algeciras and Barbate fought it out for the final medal position and with the match resulting in a draw Barbate walked out with the bronze medals.
In the climax to the competition, old adversaries Gibraltar and the Isle of Man had an exciting last game but the home side coped better with the conditions and scored four goals with one late goal for the Isle of Man coming as a consolation. So the Gibraltar team triumphed, with their gold medals subsequently presented to them by His Excellency the Governor. All agreed that the tournament, whilst closely fought, had been a great success bringing huge enjoyment to all those taking part.
The Games conclude with the swimming competition in the GASA pool at 6 pm on Friday.
Photos:
Top left: Manx athlete Thomas Hall chased by Gibraltar's Nolan Baglietto
Middle: Special Olympics Gibraltar receive their gold medals from HE the Governor
Below: The teams with HE the Governor
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