SV Zoo were back in action and having made a slow start they had turned things around quickly with a victory that saw them placed as one of three teams in joint second place on 3 points. Their opponents, Los Swallacticos, were in exactly the same position. A win here would see the victors join Monexy at the top of Group E.

It was a great start for Los Swallacticos as goals from Deaghlan O'Hagan and Ruairi O'Neill put them in charge at half-time, 2-0. It got even better for the team from Belfast as Ruairi O'Neill made it 3-0 after the break. Barry O'Neill made it 4-0 before Ruairi O'Neill completed his second hat-trick in as many games to complete a resounding 5-0 victory. Ruairi O'Neill was emerging as a man to watch for the top goalscorer prize.

Los Swallacticos were looking more and more like the team that won here 12 months to go and they had one game left to secure Cup qualification. For SV Zoo, the Cup looked beyond them but Plate qualification was still very much in their grasp if they could return to winning ways in their final fixture.

Missing Magpies had 3 points from their opening games as they went into the third round of fixtures. Their opponents were the high-flying Monexy who so far had a 100% record and scored a phenomenal 12 goals in 2 games whilst only conceding the one goal.

Monexy were on the winning trail once again when Volodymar Fenenko set them on their way. Yurii Tsymbal scored a second for the Ukraine team to make it 2-0 at half-time and a third victory looked almost assured.

Monexy were a very well-drilled and organized team and breaching the defence would be a tough task for Missing Magpies. It was ultimately a task that would prove beyond them and their fate was sealed when Andrii Vitoshynski scored for the third successive game to make it 3-0. Could anyone stop the Monexy juggernaut?

ACE & The Swagmen versus Los Swallacticos was the next game to be played in Group E. If Los Swallacticos could win they would re-join Monexy at the top of the table. This was the last group game for Los Swallacticos so they needed a win to give them any chance of making the Cup either as Group E winners (if Monexy slipped up in their last game) or most likely as one of the best second placed teams. A draw would secure second place for Los Swallacticos but probably miss out of the Cup and end the defence of their title.

ACE & The Swagmen were looking for their first win in the group phase of eurofootballfives.com competition and after 12 defeats they put in a performance that belied that record. There was just the one goal to split the two teams in the opening period and it was Los Swallacticos who held a narrow 2-1 lead. Deaghlan O'Hagan and Michael McCourt with the goals for Los Swallacticos.

James Larcombe scored the goal for ACE & The Swagmen – his second of the tournament and his eighth goal for ACE & The Swagmen in Europe. He was now the scorer of 8 of their 12 goals in Europe.

There was no addition to the score after the break as Los Swallacticos ran out 2-1 victors. It was a third successive win for them and they stood a great chance of Cup qualification.

Game 9 was SV Zoo versus Monexy. Monexy had a 100% record so far and if they could keep that going they would soar into the knock-out phase in fine style. They actually only needed a draw to win the group and could even afford a narrow defeat due to their impressive goal difference (currently standing at +14).

SV Zoo were currently sitting in joint third with Missing Magpies on 3 points. A draw or better would see them qualify for the Plate but defeat would most likely mean qualification for the Trophy competition.

You would think the odds were against the team from Berlin but they raised their game to give it a real go against Monexy. They fell behind in the opening period to an Artem Illichov goal but at 1-0 the game was still very much in the balance. After the interval, Monexy were unable to advance their lead and SV Zoo were in striking distance.

It looked for all the world that SV Zoo would equalize as they fashioned a golden opportunity. A great move lead to a superb ball across the penalty area. With the goalkeeper drawn out and no defenders in sight it was an open goal facing SV Zoo for 1-1. However, somehow the ball was lifted over the bar and Monexy survived. The game finished at 1-0.

Monexy had qualified for the Cup in style – they were the joint highest scoring team of the group phase and enjoyed the best goal difference of the group phase.

With 9 games down there was just 1 more to play in Group E as Missing Magpies met ACE & The Swagmen. For Missing Magpies it was a chance to secure third place in Group E and they needed just a point to do so. ACE & The Swagmen could make our job very difficult by claiming a victory and leaving three teams level on three points. This would mean goal difference would decide who would be in the Plate and who would be in the Trophy.

With the game underway it was Missing Magpies who drew first blood when Tom Bird opened the scoring. ACE & The Swagmen were looking a much better team at the end of Group E and having only lost 2-1 in the last game were showing they could compete in what was probably the toughest group of the day – arguably the fabled “Group of Death”.

In the second half Henry Prescod made it 2-0 to Missing Magpies and completed the win. Andrew Paine, in goal for Missing Magpies, became the first man to prevent ACE & The Swagmen scoring today and so we finished at 2-0.

Missing Magpies had secured third position and sealed Plate qualification. ACE & The Swagmen (along with SV Zoo) would proceed to the Trophy.