The
first set of fixtures had been completed so
it was quickly on to Round 2. The opening game
of the round saw FK Aliance taking on Patagonia.
FK
Aliance had become the first team from Latvia
to compete in our events outside of our Riga
Tournament when they drew 1-1 with PVDC Eindhoven.
Their only previous eurofootballfives.com appearance
saw them compete at the 2016 Riga Tournament.
They played in a really tight Group A that featured
3x winners L'Albiceleste of France. They collected
3 draws and two defeats (both by the odd goal).
They finished fifth and qualified for the Trophy
competition. In the Trophy they saw off The
Crazy Gang (3-0) in the Quarters, crushed Riga
United (8-1) in the Semis before meeting FC
Maroon in the final. The Trophy Final ended
0-0 and required a penalty shoot to decide matters.
FC Aliance emerged victorious 3-2 on penalties.
The
Latvian team were up against Patagonia who won
their opener 2-0. Patagonia would not make it
2 from 2 though. Kristaps Tavlavicus scored
the only goal of the game in the first half
to give his team their first win of the day.
The
second game of Round 2 was Black Sheep versus
PVDC Eindhoven. The former were looking to get
another 3 points on the board, the latter were
looking to build on an opening point.
After
a 6 year hiatus, Black Sheep made a comeback a
t the 2018 Barcelona Fives last year. They started
off well with a 3-0 win over Rain Dragons but
then ran into the might of AC Mazi 1996 and lost
6-1. A 3-2 loss to New Wave Funk followed before
a 1-0 win over Wonder Vision. They finished the
group phase with a 4-3 defeat to Los Portugalitos.
It meant 4 th place out of 6 and a place in the
Plate. They fell at the Quarter-Final stage (5-4)
to CMTB Pumas.
Although
early, they were looking stronger this year. A
3-0 win first time up was now followed with a
4-0 win. Jack Stratford took his total to 4 goals
for the tournament, there was a first goal for
Josh Southall and Dani Conejo Rodriguez scored
for the second game in a row.
To
complete Round 2 we had RAF Fylingdales versus
Paralytic Athletic U23s. Both teams were looking
to bounce back from opening game defeats.
RAF
Fylingdales played in the 2013 Barcelona Fives
and drew Group E which featured the Plate winners
The Depo All Stars, 2 x Plate Runners-up and 1
time Trophy Runners-up Drunk Perfect, Plate Runners-Up
JF and the Pullbacks plus Elcombe Old Boys who
have a record of just 2 defeats in 19 games in
Barcelona. RAF Fylingdales went out in the Trophy
Play-off 3-0 to ADP Dream Team (Spa).
2017
saw them return to Barcelona Fives. They finished
fourth in their 8-team group with 4 wins and 3
defeats. It saw them qualify for the Plate competition
where they went out to the eventual Plate winners,
LT United of Lithuania, at the Quarter-Final stage.
They
were now in their third appearance at the Barcelona
Fives and although they suffered defeat in their
first game, things were looking a little brighter
when Jim Williams gave them a first half lead.
Paralytic Athletic U23s hit back though. Goals
from Stuart Shaw and Jonathan Clark turned this
game around. Paralytic Athletic walked off the
field with all 3 points in a 2-1 win.