Game
6 of 15 in Group D was to be New Wave Funk (Eng)
versus Rain Dragons (Eng).
The
Rain Dragons debuted at the 2014 Amsterdam Fives
when they had two teams under the names of Big
Dogs and Damn Big Dogs. They both played in Group
B and finished 2nd and 3rd with Big Dogs missing
out on winning the group only on goal difference.
Both teams headed out in the Quarter-Finals with
Damn Big Dogs succumbing to the eventual champions
Athletico Do Hollande and the Big Dogs missing
out to Return of the Dancing Horses III.
They
returned to Amsterdam as The Rain Dragons in 2015.
A successful group phase saw them finish second
in Group B with 3 wins and 2 draws in 6 games.
The tournament was then curtailed by Storm Zejko.
2016
saw them visit the Amsterdam event for a third
time. They began well with a 1-0 win over We Pay
People but then struggled with a small squad and
some injuries. Three successive defeats meant
they finished 5th to go through to the Plate competition.
Their form improved in the knock-out phase with
5-2 wins in the Quarter-Finals over Mixed Up and
Semi-Finals over Wizards of WhatsApp. With 3 wins
over Dutch opposition they would fancy their chances
of a fourth over Team Koopman in the Plate Final.
The game finished 4-4 and penalties would decide
the Plate title. The shoot-out was one of epic
proportions finishing 10-9. Sadly for the Rain
Dragons they were on the wrong end of the result.
In
2017 they switched Amsterdam for Budapest. It
turned out they drew a tough group with the eventual
winners, the 2016 Krakow Trophy winners and others
with a strong record in our events. They performed
well with 2 wins and 2 draws from their 5 games
and finished fourth on goal difference. They qualified
for the Plate and saw off Seagulls FC in the Quarters
before going out to Budapest Celtic Greens in
the Semis.
Rain
Dragons collected a defeat in their first game
here in Barcelona and, sadly for them, it was
to be another defeat in their second game too.
New Wave Funk were flying after a 4-0 opening
win. Goals from Barney Wilde and Nick Moore helped
them make it 2 wins out of 2 – they were joint
top.
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