3 rounds completed with 4 to go. At the start of Round 4 it was FC Miracle (Hun) versus Dickie Dogs (Eng). The Hungarians were not only unbeaten but had a 100% record with 3 wins from 3 games. They had scored 8 goals and were yet to concede. Another team yet to concede were Dickie Dogs although they had a game in hand over their opponents as they sat in third on 4 points from a possible 6. FC Miracle knew a win here could virtually secure their place in the Cup as it would put 8 points between them and the team in third place.

From a Dickie Dogs perspective, they would be looking to close the gap on the two teams above them. They could go into second place with a win of their own and just 2 points off top spot and still with a game in hand on the league leaders. This was the proverbial 6-pointer.

The two teams had not yet met in our events but they came close. They both competed at our 2018 Algarve Open but were on opposite sides of the draw. In Group A, FC Miracle finished 2nd of 7 teams with 5 wins out of 6 only losing to Mini FC (2x times winners of the Algarve Open) with a goal difference of 13-3 before defeating 4x eurofootballfives.com champions FC Mahou in the Cup Semi-Finals and finishing in second place after losing the Cup Final to Mini FC, 2-0. In Group B, Dickie Dogs recorded 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats with a goal difference of 5-5. They beat Los Amblos 2-0 in the QF, Gosham Rangers 1-0 in the SF before a 2-0 loss to Water Boy in the Plate Final.

Both teams were gunning for gold rather than silver today. Janos Molnar opened the scoring for FC Miracle and with their defensive record many may have thought that was all 3 points. However, Dickie Dogs had other ideas. Justin Lebbon fired home a free-kick via a deflection and they earned a very respectable 1-1 draw. It was a fantastic result and kept Dickie Dogs in third place. FC Miracle remained in first place.

Game 12 of Group B was Mitre Vets FC versus AFC Shooters. Mitre FC Vets had performed well so far with a win-loss-draw record and showed their battling qualities last time out recovering from a goal behind twice. They were now up against AFC Shooters who were looking to get off the mark in Group B.

AFC Shooters last appeared with us at the 2022 Lisbon Veterans Tournament with two teams. AFC Shooters 1 started in style with a 4-1 win over Southgate County Brewers and a 2-0 win over ACE & The Swagmen. A narrow 1-0 loss to eventual champions FC Mahou preceded a return to winning ways (3-1) against The Maulers. They finished in second place in Group B to qualify for the Cup competition. They drew 1-1 with FC Dad but lost an epic penalty shoot-out, 8-7.

AFC Shooters 2 also began well with a 3-1 win over Santa Maria before a 1-1 draw with FC Dad. A 2-1 win over Los Amblos and a 0-0 draw against The Warriors followed. They lost their final group game (3-0) to Les 5 Salopards that saw them slip to third in the table and miss out on the Cup. In the Plate Semi-Finals they lost 4-2 to ACE & The Swagmen.

Back in Barcelona in 2023 this game belonged to AFC Shooters. Goals from Noof Ousellan and Kaleem Aftab combined with a Steve Comber clean sheet secured them a 2-0 win and three points. They rose a place in the table to sixth whilst Mitre Vets FC were now down to 5th .