With just two games to go for each team in the Plate group it was now or never to mount a challenge for the Plate. For The Funky Shepherds that chance had probably gone both mathematically and in terms of form. They had started the day superbly with 4 points from 6 but since then results had tailed off and in the last couple of games they had seemingly hit a wall. Could they get back on track?

Water Boy had put a disappointing morning of results behind them and picked up 4 points from 6 in the Plate Group and they were very much in with a shout of winning the Plate – three points here would be a must though. However, they had lost 2-0 to The Funky Shepherds in the very first game of Group A.

Water Boy would get their revenge this afternoon as the momentum of both team's form continued. Bruno Befinha scored his second in as many games to get the ball rolling before Luis Salguero made it 2-0 before half-time. In the second half, Manis Sebastian increased the lead to 3-0 to put the result beyond doubt. Pedro Vilheuna then put the icing on the cake at 4-0.

Water Boy went to the top of the table although The Avengers and Trilution did have a game in hand on them.

The action continued on Pitch B with The Avengers versus NVA. The Avengers currently sat in third position but they could go top of the table on goal difference if they could secure victory in this game. NVA had a tough game ahead of them as The Avengers were not only the highest ranked of all the Plate Group teams in the morning Group phase but they were also the Cup Winners here last year – such was the strength in depth of the 2016 Algarve Open.

The Avengers took the early initiative as Jose Miguel put them 1-0 up early on. At this stage they were on course for their third win in four games and it would be 10 points out of a possible 12 going back to their final Group A game. They had their goalkeeper to thank for the fact they retained their lead after making a great save to deny NVA an equalizer.

NVA would not have to wait too much longer though as soon after they did get back on to level terms thanks to a Daniel Weston strike. NVA went into half-time deservedly level at 1-1.

After the break it was familiar bad news for NVA fans as they missed out on points by the odd goal yet again. It was Jose Miguel's second strike of the game that earned all three points for The Avengers late on to secure all three points for the Portuguese – they went top.

It was judgement day in the Plate Group and in particular for Water Boy who had just one more game to go to stake their claim for victory in the Plate group. A win for Water Boy would put them on 10 points, eliminate Trilution as a challenger and the Plate title would come down to goal difference with The Avengers – should The Avengers win their final game.

For Trilution, a win would put them on 9 points and needing just a draw in their final game to win the Plate. A draw would take it down to a final game shoot-out between Trilution and The Avengers (although Water Boy would be thereabouts on points their goal difference would work against them).

So, it was win or bust effectively for Water Boy and after the first half of action we were goal-less at 0-0. Water Boy had one half of football left to try and win the Plate but their task was made much more difficult when Trilution took the lead through William Garcia's 5 th in 3 games. It looked over for Water Boy but Luis Salguero equalized to give them renewed hope.

At 1-1, Water Boy needed another goal that sands of time were running out of time. As they pushed forward Trilution almost won it when Miguel Cima hit the post late on – could that cost Trilution in the final shake up? The game finished 1-1 and Water Boy's exploits for the day were over. They currently lead the way on 8 points but their nearest rivals still had a game to play….against each other.

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In the penultimate fixture of the Plate Group it was The Funky Shepherds versus NVA. In terms of a top two finish to secure Winners or Runners-Up medals both these teams had run their race but this was still an opportunity to end the day on a high.

A win would see the victors finish in 4th position. Should the game finish in a draw then it would be NVA who would take 4th due to their superior goal difference. We witnessed an entertaining game with both teams going for the win but with neither team able to grab the lead. You felt whoever could get that first goal could well go on and wrap up a decent win with the psychological blow it may do for the opposition. That goal never came though and despite both teams efforts we finished at 0-0. The Funky Shepherds came the closest with Aidan O'Reilly hitting the post but it was not to be.

The Funky Shepherds started the day with two clean sheets and finished the day with a clean sheet. They were actually joint 4th in the tournament for clean sheets. For NVA, it was a nice way for Ben Brouner in goal to finish the day with a shutout.

We would like to thank both teams for joining us in Portugal. Both teams were on debut and had selected a particularly strong tournament for their first appearance. We hope to see you on tour again in the future.

What a game we had in store to decide the Plate competition of the 2016 Algarve Open. It would be The Avengers versus Trilution to decide the destination of the silverware. Before kick-off, Water Boy lead the way on 8 points (+5) with Trilution (+8) and The Avengers (+6) level on 7 points. What were the possible outcomes:

Trilution victory: Trilution would win Plate, Water Boy would be runners-up.

A draw: A three team tie on 8 points with Trilution winning the Plate via goal difference and The Avengers runners-up also on goal difference. Water Boy would miss out.

The Avengers victory: The Avengers would win the Plate, Water Boy runners-up.

Water Boy could do nothing to effect their fate but The Avengers and Trilution still had their destiny in their own hands. We reached half-time with the scores level at 0-0 and still everything to play for. As things stood, Trilution would be champions. It could just take one goal to change all that though.

We did get a goal in the second half and it was Vitor Silva for Trilution who scored it. The Avengers now needed to score twice without reply to take the Plate win. Vitor Silva scored again to make it 2-0 and with that the title was in the bag for Trilution.

Our congratulations go to Trilution for a superb Plate victory. 10 points out of 12 made them worthy winners and we offer our congratulations also to Water Boy who collected the runners-up medals. Our commiserations go to The Avengers who narrowly missed out on silverware. It just goes to show what a strong competition we had that last year's Cup winners were only third in the Plate.