Welcome
to Barcelona! The stage was set for our 15th
Barcelona tournament and the
twelfth edition of the Barcelona Fives. This
annual event has been staged every year since
2008 and 2019 saw 24-teams assembled from Denmark,
England, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands
and Spain.
First
up on Pitch A was KLM (NL) versus FC Dad (Eng).
Both
teams were experienced in our tournaments and
we will preview each in more detail as we progress
with this report. FC Dad had competed here before
at the 2015 Barcelona Fives where they started
off with a resounding 4-1 win over ABCDE FC
before 2 defeats to Spanish and Irish opposition.
They completed their group with a 1-1 draw that
saw them finish as one of four teams separated
by just 1 point from 2nd to 5th. They ultimately
finished 4th and went through to the Trophy
where they went out to FC Seagrave, 2-0.
It
was not such a good start today for FC Dad as
one man stole the show for the Dutch team. Nick
Timpen was the hero as he bagged four goals
to set KLM off to a winning start.
The
first phase of the 2019 Barcelona Fives would
be decided on a group basis. There were 4 groups
with 6 teams. Each team played each other team
in their group once and, after which, depending
on their position would progress to the Cup (teams
in 1st and 2nd), Plate (teams in 3rd and 4th)
or Trophy (teams in 5th and 6th) competition.
We
would continue Group A with Club Esportiu Llefia
versus Ospina Coladas. Club Esportiu Llefia were
our winners here in 2015 so this represented a
particularly tough start for the travelling English
team. It was a challenge that Ospina Coladas were
up for and they gave as good as they got in the
first half. The team's changed ends tied at 0-0.
In
the second half we were to get a goal that would
settle this game in favour of the local team.
Sergio Rodriguez Viejo was the man of the moment
as his goal earned the maximum 3 points for his
team. He was ably assisted by Ramon Betat and
his defence who kept a clean sheet. Final score,
1-0.
FC
Miracle made a fine debut in our tournaments at
the 2011 Barca Fives. They began life with a 3-1
win over Futbol7 (Spa) and then a 4-1 victory
over Hiscox Bulls (Eng). A 2-2 draw with the 2009
champions, Luminy Wolves (Fra), kept their unbeaten
record going before a 3-0 win over Arse-A-Lona
FC. They finished second in the group on goal
difference behind the French team. The Quarter-Finals
saw a 2-0 win over Samurai Japan (Jap) and a 3-0
win over 2008 champions, Rapid Bosco Navas (Spa).
They ultimately missed out on winners medals with
a 2-1 defeat to Midshires FC in the Cup Final.
Could they go all the way in 2019?
They
had a tricky start against Paralytic Athletic
who had gone out to the eventual winners on penalties
in each of their last 3 campaigns. We therefore
anticipated a close game and that is exactly what
we got. There was nothing between the teams at
half-time or full-time. Final score, 0-0.
Only
time would tell if this was 1 point gained or
2 points dropped.
