Amputee goalkeeper helps bring team to victory

Thomas Atkinson was told he would not be able to walk but now has 26 caps with England

A goalkeeper who was told he would never walk has defied the odds and brought his team to victory.

Footballer Thomas Atkinson was born without a left hand and had to have his left leg amputated when he was two years old.

Defying medical predictions that he would not be able to walk, he recently captained his Portsmouth team to a 3-2 win over Everton in the FA Disability Cup Final.

The 20-year-old, from Carlisle, saved the penalty that helped them secure the victory and was named man of the match.

"We walked into it probably the underdogs and then to come out as winners was absolutely incredible, and the way we've done it, wasn't easy," he said.

He said he knew the player taking the penalty very well as they had played together in the past, but he decided to take a risk and it paid off.

The footballer plays professionally in Poland and has played for England 26 times

He said: "He knows that I know where he goes [when taking penalties], so it was all a mind-game at the time.

"He normally goes to my left side, but I thought I'm being really energetic in my line and I'm moving around a lot and so I eventually stayed in the middle, and he thought the same, so happy days."

Mr Atkinson also has 26 caps with the England Amputee National team, which won the nations' league last year.

"Getting the first major trophy back to England for 30 years in amputee football was absolutely amazing," he said.

Mr Atkinson saved a penalty that helped his team win the FA Disability Cup final

That experience turned him into a professional footballer in Poland, where he said amputee football was "massive".

He now plays for Legia Warsaw, one of the biggest teams in the country.

He said it was his grandfather who predicted his success when he was just nine.

"When my granda was on his deathbed he was speaking to my dad and he was saying that one day I'm going to represent England," Mr Atkinson said.

"At this point I'd literally just been called up to train with the England junior team at nine-years-old and he made that prediction that I was going to go represent England."