Group B saw a 4-team group become a 3-team group with the early withdrawal of team Michael Collins from the tournament. Each team would therefore play the other teams ‘home' and ‘away' and get the bonus of an extra games action.

The two teams to get us started were Pilote Urbain and 3 Lions FC. Henry Craven of the 3 Lions had stated that they were often a slow-starting team in competition and it looked that way in this fixture as they gave away the early advantage to Pilote Urbain's Walter who put the Spanish 1-0 up in the first half. Strong defences were on top thereafter as the game continued through to full time with no further addition to the score. A great start for Pilote Urbain.

3 Lions FC would have the opportunity to put their opening game defeat behind them immediately as they took on the third team in this group – ABN Ammo. ABN Ammo were making their debut in eurofootballfives.com competition and started off solidly. 3 Lions FC continued where they left off in the second half of their game against Pilote Urbain and with neither team able to make the breakthrough they went into half-time level at 0-0. After three halves of football without a goal, the 3 Lions found their shooting boots in the second half. Luke Garvey broke their duck and Steve Evans added a second. ABN Ammo had no reply and the match finished 2-0.

ABN Ammo would complete the first round of games in this group against Pilote Urbain. A win for them would square the group with all teams on three points. If they were to do this though they would need to come from behind as Julien Greco put Pilote Urbain in front as they searched out their second successive victory. ABN Ammo fought back hard though and got on the scoresheet through Tony Artiga. The goal would not be enough to earn them any points though as James (one name, Brazilian style) struck the decisive blow for the Spanish team to earn the three points with a 2-1 win.

 
Results

Pilote Urbain (Spa)

 1

v

0

3 Lions FC (Eng)

ABN Ammo (Eng)

0

v

2

3 Lions FC (Eng)

Pilote Urbain (Spa)

2

v

1

ABN Ammo (Eng)

ABN Ammo (Eng)

0

v

5

Pilote Urbain (Spa)

ABN Ammo (Eng)

0

v

1

3 Lions FC (Eng)

3 Lions FC (Eng)

0

v

0

Pilote Urbain (Spa)

 

The two teams would meet again in the next Group B fixture and maybe ABN Ammo had spent all their effort into rescuing the last game. This time round they found themselves on the wrong end of a Pilote Urbain assault. The Spanish team were relentless as they racked up their third win in three games. Most of the damage was done by Cedric who found the net on four occasions. Julien Greco scored his second in consecutive matches and the game was all over. When the referee blew the final whistle it was 5-0 and Pilote Urbain had all but secured the Group B title.

The only team that could potentially stop them were 3 Lions FC. To do so they would need to win their last two games and significantly improve their goal difference. The first of these final two games would be against ABN Ammo. It would take a lot of character for ABN Ammo to respond to their previous game defeat and that is exactly what they showed. The ABN Ammo defence responded and held the 3 Lions FC attack at bay. At half-time they had produced a solid display and were 0-0 at half-time.

When these two teams met it was the second half when the two teams would be split. It was to be exactly the same routine again as 3 Lions FC broke the deadlock. This time it was Tony Shadbolt who scored the vital goal that would secure a 1-0 victory. The win for 3 Lions FC meant they had qualified for the Cup. ABN Ammo knew their destiny now lay in the Plate competition.

With 3 Lions FC and Pilote Urbain both safely through to the Cup they would meet in the final game to decide the destination of the Group B title. Pilote Urbain held the advantage knowing at least a draw would be good enough. In fact they could even afford to lose it as long as they did not surrender the goal difference as well. 3 Lions FC would have to win by 3 goals to leapfrog their opponents at the top of the Group.

Neither team wanted to lose and as the game went on Pilote Urbain were more and more secure in their position as neither team could find the back of the net. Half-time came and went with the game still at 0-0. As time ticked away it was looking less and less likely that 3 Lions would score the goals they needed. In the end it wasn't to be and the match finished 0-0. Congratulations to Pilote Urbain on their group victory and also to 3 Lions FC for making it through to their first Cup qualification.

 
Table

Team

Pld

Won

Drawn

Lost

For

Agst

Pts

Pilote Urbain (Spa)

4

3

1

0

8

1

10

3 Lions FC (Eng)

4

2

1

1

3

1

7

ABN Ammo (Eng)

4

0

0

4

1

10

0

 
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