HARTSHILL Strollers have won through to the finals of walking football’s equivalent of the FA Cup.

The outstanding achievement confirms the Dudley club’s status as one of the best in the country.

The over-60s team beat Bramcote Silver Badgers, of Nottingham, 2-0 in the Central Region semi-final of the Walking Football United (WFU) National Tournament.

The match took place at Burton-on-Trent las Sunday.

Sharpshooter John Cooper scored both goals.

The first half was finely balanced with neither side gaining the upper hand.

But the decisive breakthrough came just a minute after the interval when a defensive mix-up by Bramcote let in goal-poacher John Cooper to slot home.

After going ahead, Hartshill were never seriously troubled and – 10 minutes later – Cooperman fired home what turned out to be the winner.

The venue and date of the WFU finals have yet to be confirmed but will probably take place at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on Sunday, November 27.

The format will be a round robin mini-tournament of England’s four regional semi-final winners.

Barry Geyton, manager of Hartshill Strollers’ over-60s, said: “We are all delighted to have won through to the finals.

“The victory was a real team effort, not only in this tie but also in the previous rounds.

“We hope we can do well in the finals and even bring back some silverware. We regard ourselves as standard-bearers for walking football in the West Midlands and as ambassadors for Dudley.”