2014 Albufeira 5-a-side Tournament Tour Report Group A Round 2

Results

Sol Y Sombra (Spa)	V	3	Far Out FC (Eng)
Stand Cristina (Por)	V	0	AC Richmond (Eng)
Futeboladas FC (Por)	V	1	Water Boy (Por)

With their first games under their belts it was Round 2 for all the teams in Group A and time to settle in to the tournament. That was except for Sol Y Sombra who had missed their first fixture.

After an hour of chasing their team captain for news of their pending arrival we were told by their captain that Sol Y Sombra were withdrawing from the tournament. The Spanish team only had 4 players in hotel reception (1 injured) and the rest of the squad missing in action still from their first night out in Albufeira. We later learnt that the players had turned up safe and well on the Sunday….only 24 hours late. True Spanish “ mañana ” style.

It meant Far Out FC would collect 3 walkover points and so would all the subsequent opponents of Sol Y Sombra.

Next up on Pitch A was Stand Cristina versus AC Richmond. The Portuguese team had begun with a good point and would now look to kick on their campaign for the title. AC Richmond had got off to the worst possible start and were looking to bounce back.

The early signs were good for AC Richmond who were showing a great response to that early defeat. They held their opponents to a 0-0 scoreline at the break. Could they grab a winner after the break? Stand Cristina were yet to concede in this tournament so it would be tough and ultimately proved to be beyond AC Richmond. Stand Cristina kept their second successive clean sheet of the tournament.

As good as Stand Cristine were at the back, they were struggling in front of goal and were unable to breach the AC Richmond defence as the game finished 0-0. A second successive draw was thwarting the Portuguese team's progress in Group A. For AC Richmond it was a welcome performance and a point to respond to the early defeat. They had 3 games left to push on.

To complete Round 2 we had Water Boy versus Futeboladas FC. Water Boy would take to the pitch for the first time today. They are very experienced in our tournaments – debuting in 2011 where they drew a tough group which included Dutch side Athletico Do Hollande and it was a credit to them to finish 2nd . A 1-0 Cup Quarter-Final followed before losing in the Semi-Finals 5-1 to Cheesecake FC. In 2012, they proved just as strong winning their group which featured 2011 Krakow Trophy winners, Apsley House. In the Cup Quarter-Finals they endured a tough 0-0 versus Parry St Germain emerging victorious 3-2 on penalties. They then went out in the Cup Semi-Finals again, 4-0 to the eventual champions ManDem United. In 2013, they had a less successful group phase coming 4th out of 6 teams but in the knock-out stages found their form and went on to win the Plate competition beating Dutch team United Colours of Benetton 2-1 in the Final. How would they get on today?

Their opponents Futeboladas FC had taken a 0-0 draw in Round 1. Goals were conspicuous by their absence in the first half and the two teams reached the interval all square at 0-0. The best chance arguably falling to Mario Sebastiao (Water Boy) who had an early chance when one-on-one with the goalkeeper but the Futeboladas #1 was out quickly to block the effort.

In the second half, the game was to bear witness to a goal and when it arrived it came from Victor Reis whose goal claimed all 3 points for Water Boy and earned them their first win in actual play. They now had 6 points and were joint top.

The defeat left Futeboladas FC in 4th position but with 3 games to go in Group A all was not lost.

Table

Team	Pld	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Agst	Pts
Far Out FC (Eng)	2	2	0	0	9	0	6
Water Boy (Por)	2	2	0	0	4	0	6
Stand Cristina (Por)	2	0	2	0	1	1	2
Futeboladas FC (Por)	2	0	1	1	1	2	1
AC Richmond (Eng)	2	0	1	1	0	6	1
Sol Y Sombra (Spa)	2	0	0	2	0	6	0

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