Luminy Wolves (Fra)

2

V

2 **

Rapid Bosco Navas (Spa)

Black Sheep (Spa)

2*

V

1

Your Mum's Athletic (Eng)

Preston OAPs (Eng)

4

V

8

Equipo A (Spa)

Sesimbassa (Spa)

2*

V

1

Kings Old Boys (Eng)

* Black Sheep (Spa) and Sesimbassa (Spa) both won via Golden Goal.

** Rapid Bosco Navas (Spa) won on penalties

 

The first Cup Quarter-Final is a strong, strong contender for game of the tournament. It is not often a Quarter-Final match wins the award compared to a final but this was an absolute classic. The draw had meant the 2008 Barca Fives winners Rapid Bosco Navas would come face to face with 2009 Barca Fives winners Luminy Wolves.

After the group phase all the talk around the tournament was about the French. They were hot favourites for glory and adding the 2011 Barcelona Fives title to their 2009 Barca Fives win. It looked like everything was going to plan as Allan Gosselin gave the team from Marseille a 1-0 half-time lead. When Gosselin made it 2-0 in the second half it looked game over and you could be forgiven for thinking so. Maybe Luminy Wolves thought the job was done too.

Rapid Bosco Navas had other ideas though and showed you should never give up. Juan Martinez pulled one back to make it 2-1 and when Xavier Llimona equalized to make it 2-2 there was a major buzz around the tournament complex. The game drew in spectators from all the other pitches to witness this great spectacle and possibly a great surprise. The game finished 2-2 and two halves of golden goal extra time could not find a winner. We had reached penalties.

If we look back over the teams penalty shoot-out records in eurofootballfives competition everything favoured the French. Luminy Wolves won 2-1 against Bulgaria's Lozenetz City in the Cup Semi-Finals and also 2-1 in the Final against Goldsmith Williams of the 2009 Barca Fives. Conversely, Rapid Bosco Navas lost in the Quarter-Finals of the 2009 Barcelona Fives 4-3 to 3 Lions and then in the 2010 Barcelona Fives 4-3 to Anglo Knights in the Cup Semi-Finals. Would this be another penalty shoot-out exit for the Spanish?

Rapid Bosco Navas had the honour of taking the first penalty which was despatched with aplomb. Luminy Wolves first penalty was then saved by David Garcia Gallego. Rapid Bosco Navas made it 2-0 and they could almost touch the Semi-Finals. Gallego was the hero again as he pulled off another fine save before being engulfed by his team-mates. The big story of the day – Luminy Wolves were out. Rapid Bosco Navas had pulled off a great win, turned the penalty shoot-out records on their heads and blown the 2011 Barcelona Fives wide open!

 
 
 

With the French out, the tournament was there for the taking. In Cup Quarter-Final Black Sheep of Spain met Your Mum's Athletic of England. They had a tough act to follow the previous fixture but boy did they try. It was the Spanish who drew first blood as Nick Rickard gave the Black Sheep a first half lead.

Your Mum's Athletic did have a 100% record after 3 games until they met Spanish opposition in Sesimbassa. It looked like they may suffer two successive defeats against local teams. However, Your Mum's Athletic got a deserved equalizer as Matthew Totman scored his 7 th goal of the tournament. With the scores at 1-1 neither team could find the winner and we went into golden goal extra time.

With golden goal the name was always on a knife edge and it was a controversial moment that would see the Black Sheep win through to the Semi-Finals. The moment involved Black Sheep winning a free-kick and as the whistle went the game stopped. Quick-thinking Black Sheep captain Jack Foord took a quick free-kick and scored. Your Mum's Athletic were not ready but the referee gave the goal and in a split second the English team's day was over (on the football pitch at least). It was a very unfortunate way to go out…although the Black Sheep were not complaining!

 
 
 

If you were looking for goals in the Cup Quarter-Finals you needed to be on Pitch C watching Preston OAPs versus Equipo A. If you were you would have seen 12 goals. We thought four in the first half was good going but eight in the second period was sensational and a game not to be a goalkeeper!

At half-time the goals were shared out in favour of Equipo A as they led 3-1. Whenever Preston OAPs scored though, Equipo A had a response and as such they were unable to get back into this tie. The Spanish team eventually ran out 8-4 winners. This was the highest goal-scoring Cup Quarter-Final in our 29 tournaments to date. Incidentally, Equipo A were also involved in the highest scoring Plate Quarter-Final in the 2009 Barca Fives when they beat Pechakali 10-3. It has to be said, Equipo A games are never dull!

In terms of goalscorers there was a third hat-trick of the day for Chris Pye taking him to 13 for the tournament and leading the top goalscorer charts. For Equipo A there was 5 goals for Marc Cheucos that put him on 11 for the day but still with a chance to add to his tally. There was a third hat-trick in the game for Albert Marx Garcia – who was going to keep the match ball?

 
 
 

The final Quarter-Final would see Sesimbassa meet Kings Old Boys. Sesimbassa had played superbly in the morning and were yet to concede a goal. They were playing in their first Cup Quarter-Final having dropped into the Plate last year in the final game (on goals scored). Kings Old Boys were an upwardly mobile team from their Barca Fives 2009 debut (Plate Semi-Finals) when they made the 2010 Amsterdam Fives Cup Semi-Finals. They were bidding for a third successive semi-final.

In the first half Adam Edwards did what no-one else had achieved thus far and scored past Andreu Xufre. Unfortunately for Kings Old Boys it was not enough to give them a lead as Sesimbassa's Marc Jorge also found the net. The teams went into half-time all square at 1-1. In the second half neither team could forge ahead and the full-time result was also 1-1.

For the third in four Quarter-Finals we finished as a draw and entertained golden goal extra time. For the second time, we were to witness a golden goal and for the second time it was to go the way of the Spanish although in less controversial fashion than the 2 nd Quarter-Final. Although there was to be no controversy there was to be a touch of fortune as a Joan Domenech strike took a deflection and with the keeper going the wrong way he was stranded as the ball found the net. The nature of the golden goal meant there was no possible way for Kings Old Boys to bounce back.

 
 
 
Group Phase
 
 
Wooden Spoon
 
Plate Knock-out
 
Cup Knock-out
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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