We were now past the halfway point in Group A as we entered Round 5. We had 5th versus 6th on Pitch A as Giggs Boson FC entertained Mavericks. The two teams currently occupied the Trophy qualification places (the third tier knock-out competition). A win here would push them up into the Plate places and still offer hope of Cup qualification particularly for Giggs Boson FC as they had 6 points to Mavericks 3 at this stage.

Giggs Boson FC had started the day off well with two wins but had since slipped to two defeats. We often talk about momentum in these tournaments and it's usually forward momentum regarding teams getting on a run of victories. Backwards momentum can be equally powerful and once on a bad run it can be difficult to arrest the slide particularly if heads drop. Giggs Boson needed to stop the rot here.

They looked to get off to the ideal start when Matt Hosier scored his second of the tournament to give his team the lead. Mavericks pulled it back level at 1-1 when Mark Adamson scored his second of the tournament. Adamson and Mavericks then turned the game on its head as his second of the game put Mavericks ahead.

Sam Russell scored twice in Mavericks victory over Real Sosobad and he scored his third of the day to help seal his team's second victory in Group A. Final score, 3-1. Mavericks moved level on points with Giggs Boson as the teams remained in 5th and 6th place.

The result of Leek High Boys versus Smithfields OAPs would go a long way to deciding who would join Naranjitos (assuming no late slip) in the Cup from Group A. Both teams came into the game with 3 wins out of 4 on 9 points. Smithfields OAPs currently occupied second position with a superior goal difference of +7 compared to Leek High Boys -1.

Both teams had conceded 4 goals today but it seemed the difference in the two teams was the attacking firepower of Smithfields OAPs who had scored almost 3 a game with 11 goals to date against the 3 goals of Leek High Boys.

Smithfields OAPs remained hot in front of goal with Jesper Frisch, Darren Harrington and Sean Sweeny all swelling their personal accounts by a goal each and helping to boost their team's points total to 12 with a 3-0 win. They were now on a run of 4 successive wins.

The game on Pitch C of Round 5 in Group A was the all-Spanish contest of Naranjitos versus Club Esportiu Llefia. Both teams played at the tournament last year but did not play each other. This was a game between a previous Cup winner (Club Esportiu Llefia) and a previous Plate winner (Naranjitos). History would make Club Esportiu Llefia favourites.

The results today would disagree with this as Naranjitos lead the way in Group A with 4 wins out of 4. Club Esportiu Llefia were 5 points behind and desperately needed the win to stay in contention to retain their title.

The game went with today's form rather than history as Naranjitos made it 5 wins out of 5 – their best start to a eurofootballfives.com tournament and they were now odds on favourites to qualify for the Cup for the first time since the 2014 Valencia Fives. David Moya Aparicio and Javier Sanchez Flores both added to their goal tally as the men in red and black won 2-0.

Club Esportiu Llefia now needed to win their last two games and hope Smithfields OAPs lost their last two games to have any hope of Cup qualification. You can see why only 1 team has ever retained a title in 10 years of eurofootballfives.com competition – it certainly isn't easy!

Game 20 of Group A was Ealing Expendables versus Real Sosobad – the teams in 7th and 8th at the start of the Round. Defeat here would pretty much condemn the loser to elimination. For the victor, it would be a great boost to their chances to qualify for the Trophy and an outside shot at the Plate. With Mavericks beating Giggs Boson FC on Pitch A a draw was in no-one's interests in the context of the league placings.

Real Sosobad were hitherto without a goal so far today but that was to change as Christian Graffe put the Irish team 1-0 up. As things stood, Ealing Expendables would be falling to the bottom of the table. Enter Simon Jago who turned this game around for his team.

Jago not only bagged the equalizer but he went on to score the winning goal that ensured his team would collect all 3 points. It was a vital comeback and a vital victory that saw them 2 points off the Trophy and 3 points off the Plate. With two games to go each in Group A there was definitely life in this tournament for Ealing Expendables.