Going into the final round of games, at the top there were two teams battling it out for the final Cup qualification place. FC Mahou had qualified already – although we did not yet though whether it was in first or second.

Trilution were currently in second place, they needed a win to claim the Group B title. A draw would guarantee second place. A defeat would see them slip to third if Water Boy won with a 5 goal swing in goal difference.

Dickie Dogs could finish anywhere between 4th and 6th depending on this result and others in the final couple of games. They would hope to finish as high as possible to secure an advantageous draw in the knock-out phase. They currently occupied 4 th and a win here would secure that.

Trilution were unbeaten today with 4 wins out of 5 and 8 goals scored for the concession of just two. It was Dickie Dogs who took the lead thanks to a Neil Ainger strike – it was a goal that would have been welcomed by all Dickie Dogs plus Water Boy and FC Mahou. The partisan support was certainly on the side of the Dogs.

As Trilution pushed for an equalizer they conceded a late second. Neil Ainger was on hand to finish for his third of the tournament and secure a great 2-0 win. A memorable performance from Dickie Dogs. A hammer blow to Trilution.

Up next was Mavericks versus Gosham Rangers. The win for Dickie Dogs above had taken them out of reach of these two teams. The highest these two teams could finish was fifth with the winner of this game taking that honour.

If the match resulted in a draw then Mavericks would take fifth, Gosham Rangers would be in sixth and potentially face elimination should WEEDS Youth win their final game by 6. So, a draw would probably be enough for these two teams.

Defeat for Gosham Rangers would leave them vulnerable though as any form of WEEDS Youth win would see WEEDS climb above them. Defeat for Mavericks would not be so serious for them as they were on 4 points with a goal difference of -2. WEEDS Youth were currently on 1 point with a goal difference of -10.

Those were the scenarios. On the pitch with the game underway it was Mavericks who took the lead with Manish Madhvani scoring his second of the tournament. His first goal had earned full value and all 3 points for his team. Against Gosham Rangers it would not quite possess the same value. Gosham Rangers found an equalizer through Jake Alford. A very important goal that earned them a point and may well have killed off WEEDS Youth's hopes of qualifying for the knock-out phase.

After 6 games each, the teams could take a well-earned break before the Quarter-Finals.

The final game of Group B was Water Boy versus WEEDS Youth.

Water Boy had been handed an unexpected lifeline by Dickie Dogs in their quest for Cup qualification. Trilution's defeat meant Water Boy were just 3 points behind. If Water Boy won it would come down to goal difference. Trilution were 8-4, Water Boy were currently 3-2. Water Boy needed not only to win but a significant win.

WEEDS Youth were not mathematically out of it but realistically this would be their final game of the contest. They were three points behind the Plate qualification mark and needed to win by 5 goals. In other tournaments that may well have been possible. However, the Algarve was a relatively low scoring tournament and only the group winners FC Mahou had managed to score 5 today. Water Boy had also only conceded 2 in 5 games so it would take something special from WEEDS Youth.

With the match under starters orders it was Pedro Lahmy who put Water Boy ahead. If they didn't concede, they needed three more to dispose Trilution from second place. They did concede though, coach Luke Walden leading from the front with the strike that made it 1-1. The goal earned his team their second draw of the morning.

In the context of the group the draw helped neither team. It meant after 21 games, FC Mahou would qualify as Group B winners along with Trilution in second. Water Boy would progress to the Plate along with Dickie Dogs, Mavericks and Gosham Rangers. WEEDS Youth were eliminated.