This
game promised to be a close one and it would be
a brave man to pick the winner. West 1 Three drew
first blood when Osman Haider struck in the first
half. It was a lead they would maintain until
half-time. Midway through the second half and
it was still 1-0 although that was all about to
change. Steve Fawbert of FC Pirenore chose the
perfect time to score his first goal of the tournament
as he put his side back on level terms, 1-1.
The
goal seemed to re-energise West 1 Three and they
turned it on in the last few minutes of the game.
It was not long before Mourad Jarraz put West
1 Three back in front with his fifth goal of the
tournament. As FC Pirenore hunted down a second
equalizer it was Osman Haider who extended the
lead for West 1 Three even further to make the
score 3-1. 3-1 was the final score and West 1
Three would take their place in the 2009 Barcelona
Fives Plate final.
FC
Pirenore were out but had added a lot to the tournament
on their debut. On another day in another tournament
they could have progressed much further with a
bit of luck on their side.
Premier
Medical and Dynamo
completed the semi-final line up. Premier Medical
were rejuvenated with two successive wins scoring
six in the process and conceding just one. Dynamo
themselves had just picked up a 3-0 victory.
With both teams in goalscoring form it was perhaps
a surprise to see a first half when both goalkeepers
held sway. In the second half though the goals
flowed and there were three of them. Sadly from
Premier Medical's perspective they all came
from Dynamo. In a sensational second half display
Gary Moore bagged himself a hat-trick which
put him on six for the tournament and top of
the tournament goalscoring charts.
This
quartet of Plate semi-finalists was arguably
the strongest we'd ever had and it was a credit
to the teams who performed so admirably under
the Barcelona sunshine. Congratulations to all
but only two could progress.
