Pitch A was due to host Wonder Vision versus Club Esportiu Llefia but it was left vacant as Club Esportiu Llefia had now departed due to injuries. The retirement handed a 3-0 walkover to Wonder Vision. We are sure Wonder Vision would have preferred to pick-up the points on the field of play but what can you do – c'est la vie?

As it happened, the win had a huge boost for Wonder Vision's hopes of qualifying for the Trophy and extending their stay in the tournament.

Deportivo 2.0 had played in three Barcelona Fives tournaments and this match would mean they will have played Elcombe Old Boys in all 3 tournaments.

As the Depo All Stars they met in the group phase of the 2013 event with Tim Romback and Peter Lewis goals for Elcombe Old Boys giving them a 2-1 win (Kevin Shine scored for Depo). In 2015, the teams met in the Cup Semi-Finals with Deportivo 2.0 playing as the Alabama Hotpockers. Marcus Faure (Elcombe) and Patrick O'Brien (Alabama) goals meant it was honours even but the Alabama Hotpockets went through 3-2 on penalties. Patrick O'Brien's goal ended Andrew Gartshore's record run of 8 clean sheets. Elcombe Old Boys did also have a 3-0 win over Deportivo 2.0's sister squad (Depo Legends) in the group phase of the 2015 event (Andy Hampshire & Matt Hall x2 with the goals).

Here on the pitch in 2017 there was much at stake for both teams. Just 1 point separated the teams at kick-off. Elcombe Old Boys were joint-top, second on goal difference and a win would secure their place in the Cup. A draw may be enough but would require defeats for Danish Dynamites and FourInTina. A defeat would see them miss out (unless both those other teams lost and Danish Dynamites lost by 2 more than Elcombe Old Boys).

For Deportivo 2.0 they needed to win to virtually be assured of their place in the Cup. They could still miss out if Danish Dynamites and FourInTina both won and Four In Tina eclipsed their goal difference. A draw would be enough if FourInTina lost and Danish Dynamites lost by 3. A defeat would definitely mean Plate football.

It was Elcombe Old Boys who got the result they needed as they got revenge for their Cup Semi-Final exit in 2015. They preserved an unbeaten record (in normal time) against the Irish team as they ran out 1-0 winners. Andy Hampshire was the man with the goal – his fourth of the tournament. It was a third clean sheet in a row and fifth win a row for Elcombe Old Boys. They had qualified for the Cup and they had successfully negotiated the group phase on their title defence.

With all the results in, Deportivo 2.0 would eventually finish in fourth position and qualify for the Plate.

The final match to be played on Pitch C in the group phase was to be FourInTina versus P Slayers.

FourInTina came into the round as one in four teams separated by just 1 point at the top of Group D. They were a point behind the top two and behind the other team on 12 on goal difference. They needed to win and hope that one (or both) of Danish Dynamites and Elcombe Old Boys would fail to win. They would also have to better the result of Deportivo 2.0 or, if both won, improve their goal difference compared to the Irish team.

P Slayers could now only finish fifth at best. A win would secure that. If they lost/drew and Fail Madrid 1 then Fail Madrid 1 would climb above them and slip to sixth. If they lost and Fail Madrid 1 and Club Esportiu Llefia both won they could slip to seventh. Although, we now knew that Club Esportiu Llefia had to withdraw due to injuries.

The form book of recent games suggested a FourInTina win and the action on the pitch matched this. Kieran Kendrick was the main man in this game as he scored four goals. In the middle, Lloyd Hubbard grabbed his second of the tournament. FourInTina must have been mindful of goal difference as they put P Slayers to the sword.

As things turned out, other results conspired such that FourInTina would finish in third place and qualify for the Plate. P Slayers would finish fifth and play in the Trophy.

The final game of the group phase at the 2017 Barcelona Fives and the 112th game of the tournament was Fail Madrid 1 versus Danish Dynamites. All eyes were on the top of the table and to see if Danish Dynamites could make it through to the Cup competition by winning Group D.

Danish Dynamites had their fate in their own hands. If they were to win this game results elsewhere would not matter as long as Elcombe Old Boys did not win by more 2 more than they did. Danish Dynamites would then win the group. Any form of win would see them guarantee a place in the Cup in either first or second. A draw or defeat would leave them vulnerable to FourInTina and Deportivo 2.0 to climb above them and they would then drop down to the Plate.

Fail Madrid 1 were currently in sixth and could potentially climb to fifth with a win. If they lost, they would be looking over their shoulder to Wonder Vision and Club Esportiu Llefia behind (who were due to meet).

Danish Dynamites came into the game on a great run of 2-0, 5-1 and 2-0 wins and they were scoring for fun again. Jesper Frisch broke the deadlock here to make it 1-0 and the Danes never looked back. Jens Bodker Knudsen, Martin Frisch and Kasper Moller made it 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0. Jens Bodker Knudsen completed the victory to make it 5-0.

The result ensured that Danish Dynamites would win Group D – many congratulations to them on a great achievement. Fail Madrid 1 would miss out on the knock-out phase down to goal difference.