Trilution (Por) made their first appearance at the 2016 Algarve Open. They struggled in the group phase with 1 win from their 4 games as they finished fourth to progress to the Plate. In the Plate competition they came alive. The Plate was played as a second group phase. They secured 3 wins and 1 draw from their 4 games to win the Plate trophy.

At the 2018 Algarve Open they competed in the Veterans section. In the group phase they won 4, drew 1 and lost 1 as they finished second behind the 2017 Mallorca Veterans champions, FC Mahou. They qualified for the Cup and drew 0-0 with Mini FC in the Semi-Finals. They left the competition after defeat in a penalty shoot-out.

Today they recorded 4 points from a possible 6 and were top of Group D on goal difference. They were up against Bundy's Boys who had a 2-1 defeat and a 0-0 draw to their name so far. At half-time it was so far so good for the English team as they held the leaders goal-less.

After the break Trilution got the breakthrough with Nuno Pines scoring twice to secure all three points for his team.

The Funky Shepherds were the final team to play their third fixture. With two draws so far they were unbeaten but 5 points off the top but with a game in hand. This was their game in hand against Bundy's Boys.

Bundy's Boys were set to play their final group fixture. So far they had won just 1 point to show for their efforts but had remained competitive throughout. It was just a testimony to the strength of the group. A win would see Bundy's Boys move above their opponents and into third position and, most likely, a place in the Plate competition. If they drew/lost they were in a battle with Mavericks on who would finish 4th /5th and qualify for the Plate/Trophy. They needed to better Mavericks last result (which was also against The Funky Shepherds).

In keeping with the rest of the group this was another well matched encounter but The Funky Shepherds had the edge. Joe Beglarian put his side 1-0 up in the first half. James Ward doubled the lead with his second goal of the tournament in the second half.

The 2-0 win was just what The Funky Shepherds as it kept them in reach of the top two.

8 games completed, 2 to go. We would soon have our Group C winners confirmed. We had Trilution versus Parkwood B to entertain us. The two teams were tied on 7 points and the winner would go on to claim the Group D title. The loser might not even make the Cup with The Funky Shepherds hot on the heels of these two teams.

If the match ended in a draw we would have a very interesting situation should The Funky Shepherds win their last game as we would have three teams finish on 8 points. It would then come down to goal difference. Trilution would then be favourites as they were (7-1). Parkwood B would be vulnerable on (7-4) to The Funky Shepherds (4-2) with the latter needing a two goal win to go through.

Parkwood B certainly needed the win more than their opponents and things were going well for them when they took a 1-0 lead through Keiran Humphreys goal. It certainly meant a lot to them as they picked up 4 yellow cards in gaining and trying to retain the lead. Trilution hit back in the second period with Nuno Pines on target.

Parkwood B had proved they were adept at regaining leads today and they were to do so again when Keiran Humphreys scored his 6 th of the day to make it 2-1. Trilution were not to beaten though as Luis Palmeiro scored his team's second equaliser.

We went into Game 10 of Group C with The Funky Shepherds due to host Mavericks. Let's have a look at what was at stake:

The Funky Shepherds: Win and qualify for the Cup at the expense of Trilution. A draw or defeat would see The Funky Shepherds finish in third position and qualify for the Plate.

Mavericks: A draw or a win would see them move into fourth position and also qualify for the Plate. Defeat would see them finish in fifth position and proceed to the Trophy competition.

The Funky Shepherds seemed to have managed this tournament quite well. They secure draws against the top two teams in the league (other than themselves) and the fixtures had given them the bottom two teams to face at the end of the group. They won those games and secured safe passage into the Cup. They followed up their 2-0 win over Bundy's Boys with a 2-0 win over Mavericks. Their scorers in this game were the same as the previous win (Joe Beglarian & James Ward).

The Funky Shepherds would finish in second place – their highest finish in the group phase of one of our tournaments. Well done to them.