The
first set of fixtures had been completed so
it was quickly on to Round 2. The opening game
of the round saw The Funky Shepherds taking
on AFC Underworld.
We
briefly touched upon The Funky Shepherds record
in Round 1 but let's give them the full rundown.
They made their eurofootballfives.com debut
at the 2016 Algarve Open. This was a very high
quality tournament and they were drawn with
the 2014 Mallorca Tournament Winners (Cheesecake
FC) and 2015 & 2018 Algarve Open Veterans
Tournament Winners (Mini FC). They finished
4th in their group that included a 2-0 win over
Water Boy (2014 Cup Final, 2011, 2012 &
2015 Cup Semi-Final, 2013 Plate Winners, 2018
Veterans Plate Winners). They progressed to
the Plate group where they finished 5 th . The
2017 Mallorca Tournament also saw them draw
a tough group which involved the future 2018
Amsterdam Fives winners, Melee FC. They finished
with 1 win from their 5 group games as injuries
took their toll and dropped out before the knock-out
phase.
AFC
Underworld had already begun the day with victory
and they quickly set about their task of making
it two wins from two. Pablo Oliver scored in
the previous game and he was on target again
here to put his team ahead. Arturo Prieto was
also in the goals against Jackson's Five and
he made it 2-0 to the Spanish. Pablo Oliver
had his name on the scoresheet not once but
twice in this game as his second goal of the
match ensured it was all three points for his
team. A clean sheet at the other end meant a
job well done! 3-0 to AFC Underworld.
The
second game of Round 2 was Ze'Argon versus Red
Light Runners. The former were looking to build
on an opening point, the latter were looking to
get another 3 points on the board.
We
briefly mentioned in Round 1 that this was the
third time that Ze'Argon (as the second squad
of Argon'ze) had featured in our tournaments.
So far, they finished 4th of 6 teams in Group
B at the 2017 Mallorca Fives with 1 win, 1 draw
and 3 defeats. They drew 1-1 with Mannenliefde
in the Quarter-Finals before exiting the tournament
on penalties. Here in Barcelona 12 months ago,
the Ze'Argon team produced 3 wins in the group
stage. They finished 5 th of 8 teams to qualify
for the Trophy knock-out tournament. They began
with a 1-0 win over Wonder Vision in the Quarter-Finals.
They then drew 1-1 with Leek High Boys in the
Semi-Finals but left the tournament after a 2-0
loss on penalties
They
fell behind here to a Dilsoz Mohammedi goal –
his first for Red Light Runners in our tournaments.
Ze'Argon were level though thanks to a Vincent
Cafiero goal. Red Light Runners regained the lead
through Cory Gallagher and also extended it through
Cory Gallagher to 3-1. Ian Ward put the icing
on the cake of a 4-1 win.
To
complete Round 2 we had Rubidium Loftus Cheek
versus Jackson's Five. Rubidium Loftus Cheek gained
a solid point in their first game and were looking
to add to their tally. Jackson's Five were looking
to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat to AFC Underworld.
Jackson's
Five (playing as Retainers Academy) featured for
the first time at the 2016 Amsterdam Fives. From
their 4 group games they claimed 2 wins and 2
defeats (one against the eventual winners and
one against the 2016 Krakow Trophy runners-up).
It meant they finished third and qualified for
Cup as one of the top two third placed finishers.
There was an 11-goal thriller in the Cup Quarter-Finals
but they went out 8-3.
They
then appeared at the 2017 Lisbon Tournament with
two teams – Jackson's Five were the more successful
of the two squads with 5 wins from 7 as they finished
joint second and 3 points behind the eventual
champions – Pangare Futebol Clube representing
Brazil. Jackson's Five went out in the Cup Quarter-Finals
1-0 to Portuguese side Indoorsoccer. Then came
their appearance at the 2017 Mallorca Fives earlier
this year which we touched upon in Round 1 where
they reached the Plate Semi-Finals.
They
were to produce their first win of the day here
in Barcelona and they did it in some style. Will
Sambrook was a man on fire (metaphorically, not
literally) in the early stages as he forged a
4-0 lead for his team. Mauro Hernandez built on
those foundations to make it 5-0 before Peter
Durling pulled one back for Rubidium Loftus Cheek.
Mauro Hernandez had the final word though as his
second goal completed a fine 6-1 victory.
