The
stage was set, let's get the action underway.
It was a very even contest and there was very
little to choose between the two teams as you
would expect from two teams competing for glory.
Ed Cotter gave FC Maroon the lead in the first
half with a stunning strike from distance that
clipped in off the post. Old Boys Magic Blue
Dublin were back level though and it was a 6
th tournament goal from Michal Cedrowski – he
was now just one goal behind the tournament
top scorer (Carlos Perez Tornay of CE Llefia).
There
was to be no further addition to the score in
the second half which meant a penalty shoot-out
was required to decide this one. As debutants
we had no idea of the credentials of Old Boys
Blue Magic Dublin but we did have some history
for FC Maroon. Their record read:
2016
Riga Tournament, Trophy Final: Lost 3-2 to Aliance
(Lat)
2018
Gdansk Tournament, PQF: Lost 6-5 to Deportivo
Dooradoyle (Ire)
2019
Barcelona Fives, PQF: Lost 3-1 to Paralytic
Athletic (Eng)
2020
Warsaw Tournament, CSF: Lost 3-2 to Yac Club
(Eng)
History
was not on FC Maroon's side. FC Maroon were
to take the first penalty and up stepped Ed
Cotter. With four goals to his name today, and
after a false start, he duly put the English
team 1-0 up. Jakub Kociemski was up first for
the team from Dublin and quickly levelled the
score at 1-1. Robbie Todd was up next for FC
Maroon and restored the lead at 2-1. Jaroslaw
Skowronski then sent the goalkeeper the wrong
way but dragged his shot onto the post and out.
Captain
Max Hill had the chance to win it for FC Maroon
but he saw his penalty saved by Mariusz Kupisiak.
FC Maroon still had the lead but they had lost
the advantage. Michal Cedrowski, 6 goals today,
stepped up to send us into sudden death. However,
James Smith had other ideas – he guessed the
right way, blocked the shot and was engulfed
by team-mates as FC Maroon celebrated victory.
A first penalty shoot-out win in our tournaments
and a first Plate Trophy.
First
of all we offer our consolations to Old Boys
Blue Magic Dublin on a fine campaign – they
could not have got much closer to the Plate
winners' trophy. It was a great performance
and a pleasure to host the team and their supporters.
Huge
congratulations go to our 2021 Barcelona Fives
Plate champions though – FC
Maroon. A first eurofootballfives.com
trophy and maybe a stepping stone to a Cup win
next time!
