ROVERS REACH NATIONAL FINALS

Grimsby's regional qualifying league for the FA National Futsal Finals enjoyed a dramatic finale.

Fulstow Rovers secured a place in the tournament with a last-gasp equaliser against title rivals Magpies in the final game of the season.

Martin Simons' late goal earned Fulstow a 4-4 draw to hand them the Grimsby Championship on goal difference.

The Magpies, who had earlier squandered a three-goal lead, looked to have reached the finals when Dean Wilkinson scored three minutes from the end. But they failed to hold onto their lead as Simons equalised just moments later.

Fulstow captain Robert Cass could not hide his delight at winning the Grimsby League.

He said: "We are absolutely ecstatic to reach the National Finals. We only entered the league a year ago for a bit of fun, so it's been an amazing 12 months. Hopefully we can go on to win as many games as we can in Sheffield. We are all looking forward to it."

The Futsal finals are being staged at Sheffield's English Institute of Sport on June 18-20, with the winner representing England in the 2005 UEFA Futsal Cup.

Fulstow are one of 16 teams to qualify for the finals, following the completion of regional tournaments across the country.

Other qualifiers are from Birmingham, Bath, the Wirral, Suffolk, Derby, Sheffield, Pendle, Hull, Manchester, Gloucestershire, London, Oxford and Cumbria.