The 2018 Veterans Tournament Plate Final would be contested by Dickie Dogs and Water Boy. This was our sixth Veterans Plate competition so who could follow in the foot-steps of €agles 3:36 (Mallorca 2014), Norton Old Boys (Algarve 2015), Futsal Peoes (Lisbon 2016), Inter Balear (Mallorca 2017) and Jims40yearoldveg (Lisbon Sept 2017) in order to take the cherished trophy.

Let's have a look at the two teams' road to the final;

Dickie Dogs: Played 8, won 4, drawn 2, lost 2. They had scored 8 goals along the way and conceded just five. It was a very solid performance losing only to defending champions FC Mahou and their opponents in this Plate Final, Water Boy.

Water Boy: Played 8, won 5, drawn 2, lost 1. They had scored 8 goals and conceded 3 so far. Their only loss was to Trilution back in their second game and they took a point from FC Mahou.

There was little to choose between the two teams – even when you look at past history it was 1 win to Dickie Dogs in the 2015 Algarve Veterans and 1 win to Water Boy in the 2018 Algarve Veterans. This was Dickie Dogs third Plate Final and they had finished runners-up in both of those. Water Boy knew how to win as they won the 2013 Algarve Open Plate. They have also tasted defeat in finals though in the 2014 Algarve Open Cup Final and have Runners-Up medals in the Plate from the 2016 Algarve Open.

With the game underway it was Water Boy who established a 2-0 lead. Goals from Pedro Lamy (6 for the tournament) and Pedro Vilhena (2 for the tournament) put the Portuguese team in control. The highlight (if that is the right word) was Water Boy scorin direct from a corner in a way that left Dickie Dogs stunned - "it went straight in at head heiht; an absolute rasper." Quote, Ian Hall, Dickie Dogs.

With 8 games under their belts it was going to be a tough ask for Dickie Dogs to respond under the heat of the Portuguese sun. Provided they could keep it tight at the back they needed two to take it into a penalty shoot-out (and we all know how good English teams are at penalties!).

The teams played out the second half with no further addition to the score. Water Boy had done the damage in the opening period and were worthy winners on the day. We wish them many congratulations for their second set of winners medals at our tournaments. No doubt, there will be more to come in the future.

For Dickie Dogs it was disappointment to fall just short but it had been a great performance from them today. For this season they had to be content with Runners-Up medals but maybe it will be winners medals and trophies waiting for them next time. They are certainly due a win.

We leave the Plate competition for today though by celebrating our winners – huge congratulations to Water Boy!