We had 8 teams whittled down to 4 as we reached the Semi-Final stage. The first Cup Semi-Final saw England take on Spain United on Pitch A.

Pitch A had been a happy hunting ground for Real BUILDers so far. They had played all of their games on Pitch A so far and had won all of them. They had been free-scoring with 24 goals and conceded 9 along the way. Spain United also boasted a 100% record so this would be a real heavyweight clash. The Spanish team had scored 17 goals today and conceded just 3 (all in their last game).

Both teams were playing in their first @eurofootball5's Cup Semi-Final and one more win would take them into a debut Cup Final. It was honours even at the break as a Darren Sooprayen goal (Real BUILDers) and a #5 goal (Spain United) cancelled each other out and we kicked off the second half level at 1-1.

Real BUILDers had the opportunity to go ahead in the second half when they were awarded a penalty but Darren Sooprayen saw his spot-kick saved. Moments later Spain United went up the other end and made it 2-1 through #5 again. That's how it finished and Spain United were through.

It was a particularly cruel exit for Real BUILDers who had been exemplary all day and then a crucial couple of minutes in the second half went a long way to deciding their fate. They were on the up and up in our tournaments though – Cup Quarter-Final in Lisbon 2015 followed by Cup Semi-Final in Amsterdam 2016. Could they go all the way next time? It had been done before with France's Grant Thornton exiting at the QF of the 2011 Valencia Fives, SF of the 2012 Budapest Fives before lifting the 2013 Mallorca Fives title.

It was great to catch up with Real BUILDers at the Post Tournament Social after the tournament and we look forward to their next European adventure.

The second Cup Semi-Final had a lot to live up to after the first Semi-Final. It would be contested by Benecke and Paralytic Athletic. With no disrespect to Paralytic Athletic, it was Benecke who entered the arena as favourites – 5 successive wins, 30 goals scored and just 6 conceded is the form that tends to make you favourites.

Could we be bigging up Benecke for a fall? Paralytic Athletic should back themselves though as they had a good record themselves – 4 wins in 5 games, 17 for and 8 against. They needed to summon all their powers to give Benecke a real run for their money.

The first goal in these games can often prove crucial and dictate the pattern for the rest of the match. It was therefore ominous for the English team when Imad Isco put Benecke ahead. Paralytic Athletic did not take long to hit back though as Jack Cuthbertson equalized. Benecke hit the front again with Dylan George's 12th strike of the day. Paralytic Athletic were showing incredible resilience and restored parity again when Jack Veness took his tally for the day to 6 and even this game up at 2-2.

The goals dried up in the second half as Paralytic Athletic battled hard to stay in the game. It was a tactic they themselves described as “anti-football” as they parked the proverbial bus. It was a tactic that seemed to work as the game finished 2-2 and they earned themselves a penalty shoot-out. No-one had run Benecke closer today and they had a chance of knocking them out.

It was Paralytic Athletic that would have the “honour” of taking the first penalty and the man to step forward was Jack Estcourt. He had 3 goals in the tournament today and agonizingly he saw his penalty fire just high and wide of the top right hand corner. Queentino Zinhagel stepped up Benecke and made no mistake to give them the advantage. Nanda McCarthy stepped forward and there was further agony for Paralytic Athletic as he saw his penalty saved. Dylan George – free-scoring in open play – had the chance to win it for Benecke but Joe Walker kept his team in it by saving the spot-kick. Jack Veness scored in normal time and converted his penalty to make it 1-1.

Benecke had another chance to win it and it all came down to Bilal Kaddouri versus Joe Walker – the penalty was scored and Benecke were through to the Cup Final but Paralytic Athletic had given them an almighty score. The English team were out but could be very proud of a fantastic debut in eurofootballfives.com competition.