Rapid Bosco Navas were back in action against FC Maroon. The Spanish team had qualified for the Cup in 7 successive appearances from 2008 until the last 2 years when they'd had to settle for the Plate. Today, they were back on the trail of Cup qualification. Their full record reads:

November 2008: Winners.

June 2009: Won their group before losing on penalties in the Cup quarter-finals.

November 2009: Finished joint top of their group before going out in the Cup QF.

June 2010: Finished 2nd in their group before losing on penalties in the Cup Semi-Finals.

April 2011: Runners-Up.

November 2011: Finished 2nd in their group behind eventual winners Midshires FC. Then, went on and Lost 3-0 in Cup Semi-Finals to Hungary's FC Miracle.

April 2012: Finished joint top of their group before losing to Hungary's Budapest Celtic Pumas via Golden Goal.

October 2013: Finished fourth in their group and knocked out in the Trophy Semi-Finals.

October 2014: Finished third in their group and knocked out in the Plate Quarter-Finals.

FC Maroon were finding life difficult this morning – before kick-off they were two men down due to illness and picked up an injury in the previous fixture which meant they were down to the bare bones in terms of numbers. It is to their credit that they remained particularly competitive in this game. In fact, at half-time there was nothing to split the two teams – a Matt Alawi strike for FC Maroon and a Luigi Beatus strike for Rapid Bosco Navas cancelled each other out.

In the second half Rapid Bosco Navas scored the “go ahead” goal (as our American friends would say) courtesy of Rafa Martinez. It was his fourth of the morning and it was a strike that would earn his team all 3 points.

Hardly Athletic had 4 points from their opening games as they went into the third round of fixtures. Their opponents were Dynamo Fucdarest 1 who were only one point behind. A win for Hardly Athletic here would see them join Rapid Bosco Navas back at the summit of Group E. Dynamo Fucdarest could go second with a win of their own.

Hardly Athletic lead the way at half-time as they had now done in all 3 of their games. Tom Nash scored for the third successive game to put his team in the ascendency. There had been plenty of goals in the second half of Hardly Athletic's games (3 in each of the previous two games) but this was a more sedate affair and the team in yellow claimed their second clean sheet of the day to see out their second victory of the day. It was a fine win that had sent them to a share of the lead in the table.

For Dynamo Fucdarest 1 it was a narrow defeat but a defeat nonetheless. The result ended their chances of Cup qualification but, subject to other results, they were still in a good position to qualify for the Plate competition.

Walthamstow Warriors versus FC Maroon was the next game to be played in Group E. We often see in these tournaments that too many draws can seriously hamper a team's progress up the table and as a result we've seen unbeaten teams not qualify for the Cup. With 2 draws to their name so far Walthamstow Warriors would hope to turn draws into victories to avoid the same fate – a win here would see them 1 point off top and Cup qualification very much in their own hands going into their final fixture.

FC Maroon made their debut in the 2013 Lisbon Tournament. They were arguably the unluckiest team of the tournament with two victories to their name in the group phase before going out on goal difference. If we had a fair play award they would have won it – agreeing to play a Portuguese team who were late for kick-off when they could have claimed a 3-0 walkover which would have seen them go through. This game against the Portuguese ended in defeat and it was their opposition who went through on goal difference. FC Maroon – we salute your sportsmanship. They were also pretty unfortunate at the 2014 Budapest Fives where just 1 defeat saw them finish 5th in the group with a haul of 6 points that included draws with 2009 Valencia Fives winners (9 Nana Budds) and 2015 Budapest Fives winners (Csabagyongye). In the Trophy competition they defeated Stanford FC 3-1 in the Quarter-Finals before a 2-0 Semi-Final defeat to eventual winners Contejus Hurricanes.

They were also unlucky today with illness and injuries. This was the last group game for FC Maroon so they could do with a change of fortune going into the knock-out phase. It was almost certain that FC Maroon would play in the Trophy competition this afternoon but a positive result here could well see them avoid the extra game of a play-off. It started well for FC Maroon who took the lead through Matt Alawi who had now scored in 3 consecutive games. It was a lead they were to hold until half-time

In the second half it got even better for FC Maroon who went 2-0 up and it was than Matt Alawi again with his fourth strike of the day. Walthamstow Warriors came storming back with Dennis Ahadzi restoring parity before Joe Bardwell (2) and Tommy Lambourne capitalized on a tiring FC Maroon side. Final score, 4-2.

It was a vital comeback for Walthamstow Warriors who kept their Cup hopes alive.

Game 9 was Rapid Bosco Navas versus Hardly Athletic. It was a top of the table clash between two of the three unbeaten teams in Group E. At stake for the winners was Cup qualification and the Group E title. Should the game end in a draw then Hardly Athletic would stay ahead of Rapid Bosco Navas on goal difference but the two teams would be vulnerable to Walthamstow Warriors climbing above them should they win in the final game. If there was to be a losing team in this fixture the likelihood is that team would be playing Plate football this afternoon but could possibly make it through to the Cup as a best second place finisher should Walthamstow Warriors lose their final game and results in the other groups go their way – simple, eh?

The first half showed why these two teams were level at the top with very little between them and Rapid Bosco Navas shaded the opening period. Danielinha Gomez and Luigi Beatus goals put them 2-1 up. Will Stone's goal for Hardly Athletic meant this tie was far from over.

It's always difficult in these games when you trail by the odd goal as you need to press forward to chase the game but then you are always vulnerable to the counter – especially in a game you really need to win. You just have to go for it and Hardly Athletic went for it. It was Rapid Bosco Navas who scored the next goal though as Danielinha Gomez made it 3-1. When Noel made it 4-1 to Rapid Bosco Navas the Group E title was in the bag. It was their first group win since June 2009 (although they had finished joint top missing out on goal difference a couple of times).

Hardly Athletic would now have to wait and see what Walthamstow Warriors would do to decide their fate.

With 9 games down there was just 1 more to play in Group E as Dynamo Fucdarest 1 met Walthamstow Warriors. For Walthamstow Warriors it was a chance to seal Cup qualification – a win would take them into second place on 8 points and with Groups A, B and C already finished we knew that 8 points would be sufficient to qualify as one of the three best second placed finishers. Anything less and it would be the Plate for Walthamstow Warriors.

For Dynamo Fucdarest 1 they were currently occupying 4 th place and would go through to the Trophy as things stood. A defeat or a draw would see that remain the case but a win could see them climb above their opponents into 3rd place and claim a place in the Plate along with Walthamstow Warriors (although Walthamstow Warriors would slip to 4th they would go through to the Plate as the best 4 th placed finisher).

Walthamstow Warriors looked to put any thoughts of that happening to bed early as they raced into a 2-0 lead with Joe Bardwell scoring his 5th and 6th of the tournament. Incredibly, they were his 33rd and 34th goals in eurofootballfives.com competition in just 4 tournaments – an amazing feat.

After the break a Tommy Lambourne double made it 4-0 and Walthamstow Warriors had secured second position and sealed Cup qualification. Dynamo Fucdarest 1 (along with FC Maroon) would proceed to the Trophy.