POWERCHAIR footballers Edward Common and Sam Smith have won gold representing England at the European Nations Cup in Finland.

The youngsters were part of the victorious squad, with Common scoring an impressive 12 goals throughout the campaign, including a hat-trick in the 3-0 semi-final win over Denmark, as well as five important goals from Smith.

Edward, from Hexhamshire, and Sam, from Wylam, both suffer from the muscle-wasting condition, Muscular Dystrophy.

The pair travelled to Finland last week as part of the England team hoping to secure the European powerchair Football Association Nations Trophy.

After games against Austria, Northern Ireland, Finland, France, Denmark and Ireland, the team accumulated sufficient points to reach the knock-out stages. And the team made it all the way to the final against France after a series of impressive performances.

In a close encounter, the final came down to a penalty shoot-out where England won 5-3 on penalties. France took a 2-0 lead but stuttered in the last 10 minutes of normal time to concede two breakaway goals from England’s Marcus Harrison.

Extra time could not decide the fate of the trophy and it came down to the tension of a penalty shoot-out. And it was England who kept their nerve to secure the overall victory.

England have qualified for the 2021 World Cup in Australia and both Edward and Sam will be hoping to make the squad.