National CP Cup

Sam Harris has joined the league in November 2025 as the League Journalist. Sam is 29 years old, with left side Hemiplegia. He has studied Sports Journalism at Press Association and covered Goalball for the International Blind Sports Federation (BSA) at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics. He will be providing match reports for the league games.

In January 2026 our league teams went head-to-head in Reading.

Sam Harris our League Journalist provides the following report:

READING TOURNAMENT

Norwich 4-1 SWCP

Norwich overtook Chelsea at the top of the table and remain unbeaten after a convincing win against SWCP.

Second-half goals from Liam Irons, Robby Newman, Karl Townshend and Reece McMillan cancelled out Lewis Tribe’s opener.

SWCP missed the opportunity to close the gap to their East Anglian counterparts and drop to fourth place while Norwich are now one point clear at the summit after a sixth win in eight games.

A free-kick from Tribe had given SWCP the lead after the Norwich keeper handled outside the area but Irons grabbed a deserved equaliser when SWCP failed to clear a cross and they took the lead when Newman fired in.

The points were sealed when Townshend’s shot from outside the area was too powerful for Kai Okada-Thomas to handle before a one-two between Will Schonfelder-Hornby and McMillan resulted in the latter’s diving header making it four.

Burton Albion 7-1 Brighton & HA

Burton moved up to third after a resounding victory against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Andy Riddle and Shaun Burrows both scored twice while Mark Kells and Noah Scott also netted with George Doswell scoring an unfortunate own goal after Saul Everson had given Brighton the lead.

It was welcome return to winning ways for Burton having picking up just one point from their previous tournament while Brighton suffered a third straight defeat and remain third-bottom.

The Seagulls had taken the lead as Everson slotted home but Scott equalised before goals in quick succession from Burrows and Riddle saw the Brewers lead at the break.

A great run by Riddle then forced Doswell to put through his own net and a sweeping team move was finished by Burrows for the fifth.

There was still time for a counter-attack which led to Kells getting on the scoresheet and Riddle grabbed his second to complete a comprehensive win.

Norwich 1-1 Burton Albion (friendly)

Burton and Norwich played out a hard-fought draw in a friendly.

Having both claimed convincing wins in the day’s league games, Burton struck first through Alex Turnbull before Bailey Flemming earned the Canaries a share of the spoils.

The draw was another encouraging result for the Brewers after having also held their East Anglian counterparts in the opening tournament of a season while it was only the third game Norwich have failed to win after also drawing against title rivals Chelsea.

Burton had started brightly, Turnbull hitting the post before he tapped in from close-range to give them the lead but they were indebted to goalkeeper Freddie Lamb for preserving the lead with a couple of fine saves.

Just as it looked like they would record an impressive victory when Liam Irons’ thunderous effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced clear, a surging run down the left-hand side by Reece McMillan gave Flemming the simplest of tasks at the far post to secure a deserved draw.

SWCP 3-4 Brighton & HA (friendly)

Brighton claimed a surprise friendly victory from two goals down against SWCP with Saul Everson scoring a late winner.

Jacob Bougas grabbed a brace either side of James Pierce’s strike before Everson’s heroics. SWCP had stormed into a commanding lead with fine finishes from Kai Okada-Thomas and Tom Hart and had regained the lead through Alex Woodgates before their late collapse.

Avenging September’s 8-0 thrashing in their previous meeting, and having picked up a solitary win this campaign, this result could give the Seagulls real belief for their remaining fixtures.

In contrast it capped a disappointing day for SWCP after their league loss to Norwich and they will be looking for a first win in four games in next month’s tournament.

They took the lead when Okada-Thomas fired home to cap an impressive team goal and after continued pressure, they doubled their lead through Hart’s well-taken finish.

Brighton halved the deficit with a fine curling effort from Pierce and were level just before the break when a stunning counter-attack saw Bougas slot in.

They fell behind though soon after the interval as a neat passing move ended with a confident Woodgates finish but Bougas found the bottom corner from long-range for his second and Everson completed a remarkable comeback.