Albion Powerchair were knocked out of the FIPFA Club World Cup by French champions Villeneuve d’Escq at the semi-final stage on Thursday afternoon.
Despite valiant Baggies efforts, Julien Reiners’ three strikes set them back, before Bryan Weiss and Florian Lechantre added further shine to their scoreline.
Albion will now turn their attentions to a third-place play-off against Argentinian team, Tigres de Pacheco.
The Baggies took an early blow as Reniers drove into the bottom corner after receiving Bryan Weiss’ pin-point pass on the turn.
A tough challenge to overcome early on, and their French counterparts would’ve made it even bigger had it not been for Chris Gordon. The Albion Player/Coach got back just in time to block Youcef Ayad Zeddam’s effort as he bore down on goal.
Though Villeneuve d'Ascq were relentless in their attacking efforts, Weiss and Reiners combined again, with the latter prodding home his second of the afternoon.
Even as Albion began to gain momentum, Reiners grabbed his hat-trick as Ayad Zeddam’s cross-field pass left the forward with little work to do at the back post.
Some sensational football saw the Baggies back into the ascendancy late on, Matt Gilbert teed up Ollie Rock from distance, his thunderous effort nestled in the bottom corner via the post.
It proved to be nothing more than a consolation, as Weiss and Lechantre notched their first goals of the game – leaving Albion to compete for third place in the competition on Friday afternoon (2pm BST).
Albion: Gordon (c), Christer, Inel, Rock, Bates, Bolt, Gilbert.
