Goals, Goals & More GOALS!
Wednesday 1st March 2017 brought more goals then any Match of the Day you would’ve seen this season! Crystal Palace DS (Downs Syndrome) Eagles invited Fulham FC Badgers to a friendly match; the occasions involved 3 small games, a presentation and produced a strong friendship between both teams.
The DS Eagles have been training together just short of two years and have had very little competitive football so when Fulham agreed to come and give us a friendly match we were over the moon to show them how much we have developed.
Fulham have been putting on Downs Syndrome Sessions for 10 years now and this was easy to see; from the word ‘go’ all the Fulham Badgers were in their positions and keen to get hold of the football.
Crystal Palace took the lead with a brilliant long-range shot hitting the top corner after taking the ball around 2 players! Both teams brought a lot of skill and were delighted when both sets of supporters gave supportive encouragement to all playing. It felt like every goal was a match-winning goal! Players showed great respect and congratulated the opposition on scoring super goals.
All 3 games were consistent of goals and naturally celebrations closely followed, some even slid on the floor and punched the air, Wilfred Zaha style!
We learnt a lot from the friendly and it has given us a chance to set new targets and goals for all our players starting at our next training session.
We are now planning on producing our first ever Downs Syndrome Tournament so keep an eye out for more information. To show your support or even if you think you may be able to help out on the day in any way please get in touch.
For more information on the Friendly Match, or any other aspects of our Downs Syndrome program, please contact Julian on 020 8768 6047 or admin@palaceforlife.org