Our fourteenth ever Trophy Final now awaited us and we had been treated to some superb Finals before.

The first ever Trophy Final in eurofootballfives.com history took place in Berlin 2012 and was a dramatic affair as Hertha Beerlin versus FC Cobaltslautern went all the way to penalties. In fact, 7 of the previous 13 had gone to penalties and/or been very tight. In Valencia 2012, Sporting Abeergut held off a late rally from FC Dad to win it 3-2. At the 2014 Budapest Fives, Contejus Hurricanes (with a man sent off) held on to a close 2-1 win over Cava Sundays.

They had all been close affairs until 2014 when we saw Ziar Crew beat Fireball 5-1 in Bratislava and Elcombe Old Boys beat SV Zoo 5-0 in Barcelona. The most recent was a 5-2 win for Audley Witney over Hotpockets at the 2018 Gdansk Tournament which was the highest scoring Trophy Final. We have had Trophy winners from Belgium, England, Ireland, Latvia, Oman, Slovakia and Spain.

If we were looking for a form guide as a clue to how this final might go then here it is:

Retainers Academy

Played 6, Won 1, Drawn 0, Lost 5

Goal difference: -24 (3-27)

Top Scorer: Shaun Giles (2)

Previous finals: n/a

Rain Dragons

Played 6, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 4

Goal difference: +8 (5-13)

Top Scorer: Will Watkins, 4

Previous finals: 2016 Amsterdam Fives Plate – Runners-Up.

The stage was now set for Retainers Academy and Rain Dragons to set their own little piece of history. Who would be victorious?

With the game underway, it was Rain Dragons who struck first. Will Watkins was fresh from a goal and 2 penalties in the Semi-Final shoot-out. So, when Rain Dragons were awarded a penalty in the early stages of this final he was the ideal man to take it. Predictably he scored and his team lead 1-0.

Rain Dragons doubled their lead thanks to a goal from Yulong Meng. It got even better for them when Josh Curtis-Hale increased the lead to 3-0. It looked like the game was in the bag but that was not the case. Hew Twizel reduced the deficit to 3-1. It seemed to be a mere consolation but it became the start of a comeback when Hew Twizel scored again to reduce the lead to 3-2. It was game on again.

Rain Dragons though weathered the storm and sealed the match with a great strike. Josh Curtis-Hale scored a back-heel flick from a throw-in. At 4-2, the game was won for Rain Dragons.

Our commiserations go to Retainers Academy who gave it a real go today. For today though, we present you the 2018 Barcelona Fives Trophy Winners – many congratulations to Rain Dragons.