We were approaching the final stages of Group C and things were looking exciting at both the top and the bottom….and everywhere in between. The games and results were becoming increasingly important and no less so than Elcombe Old Boys against John Laing.

This was third (Elcombe Old Boys) versus first (John Laing) and if Elcombe Old Boys could win it would mean three teams level on 13 points – although Me Toca Tirar's result from Pitch B would be pending.

It would be interesting to see how John Laing would respond to losing their 100% record. They had failed to win for the first time and lost the lead in Group C (on goal difference) in the process. They were still unbeaten and still had a share of the lead of Group C though.

Both teams had very good records in the group phase of the Barcelona Fives:

John Laing: Played 5, Won 4, Drawn 1, Lost 0, For 9, Against 1, Points 13.

Elcombe OB: Played 17, Won 11, Drawn 4, Lost 2, For 33, Against 2, Points 37.

Naturally Elcombe Old Boys have more games as their experience dates back to 2013 and maybe that experience was telling in this fixture. Matthew Hall scored 6 goals last year but his first goal here today was all important as it gave his team a crucial lead. Alan Ritchie's second of the day made it 2-0 and secured all 3 points for his team. Elcombe Old Boys were gaining momentum at just the right time!

With the teams in third (Elcombe Old Boys) and first (John Laing) meeting head-to-head it was a great chance for the team in second (Me Toca Tirar) to take advantage. They would not have an easy task against the team in fourth position though – Skackney FC.

Skackney FC had lost just once themselves today and were on a fine run of form. Two games ago they picked up a big 7-0 win and in their previous fixture they became the first team to take points off the then league leaders John Laing with a 0-0 draw. That form continued into this game with Nikora Walters giving the kiwi side a 1-0 lead.

Me Toca Tirar were unbeaten up to this point and needed an equalizer to maintain that position – they got it through Nacho Monales, 1-1. Skackney FC forged ahead again as Dom Higgins made it 2-1 and the pressure shifted to the Spanish team to preserve that unbeaten record. Nacho Monales came up with the required goal again to make it 2-2.

In the end it would be Nacho Monales to break Skackney FC hearts as he completed his hat-trick to make it 3-2. What a great game!

Beercalona (Ire) versus Leave It FC (Eng) was sixth versus fifth in terms of league placings at the start of Round 6. A win for either you think would guarantee qualification for the knock-out phase although whether it would be Trophy or Plate would still be up for grabs. A draw would leave it as a three team tussle with Argon'ze for the two spots in the Trophy and give Skackney FC some breathing space above.

We often talk about momentum counting for a lot in these tournaments and to this end the momentum was with Beercalona (Ire) as they came into the game on the back of their first win of the day. Leave It FC were unbeaten in their first three games but had lost their last two.

It was Beercalona who took the lead with Paul Sherlock scoring for the fifth time today. Leave It FC hit back through Ketan Petal and it was game on. Paul Sherlock had been superb up front for Beercalona today and he was to make his mark again as his sixth of the tournament secured a 2-1 win for the side from Dublin.

Beercalona FC had hit the jackpot – 777. 7 goals for, 7 goals against, 7 points.

The penultimate game for Farcelona in the group phase would be against Argon'ze. It was a basement battle between the two teams in seventh and eighth. Farcelona had to avoid defeat to avoid elimination from the tournament (although they would still have another group game to go). With the bar currently set at 4 points for Trophy qualification they needed the minimum of a point here.

It was a similar situation for Argon'ze although they currently had two points to their name. A draw would see them move within a point of Beercalona above them. A win would see them move above Beercalona (subject to Beercalona's result against Leave It FC – details above).

Farcelona were still looking for their first goal of the tournament so it would be a crushing blow when Argon'ze took the lead through Gabriel Rogosic. Argon'ze had generally been pretty tight at the back (a rogue 7-0 defeat aside) as they had 2 clean sheets in those other 4 games. Sebastien Malignon went on to keep his third clean sheet of the day as Farcelona drew another blank in front of goal as Argon'ze picked up the win they needed.

Spare a thought for Farecelona as although they languished at the foot of the table it was their third defeat by the narrowest of margins, 1-0.