We began the third round of fixtures with a top of the table clash between Grant Thornton and Frank Hirth B. Both teams brought a 100% record into the fixture but for one, maybe both, that would end here.

A win for either team here would virtually guarantee Cup qualification so there was quite an incentive to go for the win. A draw would not be the worst result in the world giving both teams a 4 point cushion over their nearest challengers.

At half-time it was close run affair with the French team edging it 1-0. After the break Grant Thornton eased away from Frank Hirth B as they made it 2-0 and then 3-0. It was a superb result for Grant Thornton and the 2013 Mallorca Fives champions were beginning to look in imperious form.

Their goals were scored by Cedric Castarede (2) and Thibault Kerouredan. Cedric Castarede was the top goalscorer at the 2013 Mallorca Fives and already he was on five goals for the day – could another top goalscorer award be heading his way?

We went from a top of the table clash to a foot of the table clash for Game 7 in Group A. For the quality of a team like SV Zoo to be pointless at this stage showed the quality of Group A. Time was running out for them and Fred's Fairys to get their challenge underway in earnest.

The two teams found themselves reach half-time at 0-0. Whilst the prospect of a draw was certainly better than a defeat and a chance to get at least a point on the board, in the context of the group it was not much use. The teams needed to try and eek out a win if at all possible.

SV Zoo were the team to break ranks first as they went 1-0 ahead. The game gave them a boost in confidence and seemed to have the opposite effect on Fred's Fairys as SV Zoo opened up an unassailable lead. In the end they finished 4-0 victors. Stefan Raff scored twice and there was a first goal of the day for Jan Neubert and Johannes Filler – both scorers of goals in previous eurofootballfives.com tournaments.

Exeter Gently remained in 3rd place but had now been joined by SV Zoo on three points – although they did have a game in hand over their Group A opponents. That game in hand would be against the team directly above them in the table – Frank Hirth B.

A win for Exeter Gently would put them joint second and a Cup place definitely up for grabs. A win for Frank Hirth B would put them joint top and mean guaranteed Cup qualification for both them and Grant Thornton. It was not going Frank Hirth's way in the early stages though as Ken Ross gave Exeter Gently a 1-0 half-time lead.

Frank Hirth B changed gears after the break and secured an equalizer for 1-1. They then forged ahead to make it 2-1 before opening up a cushion at 3-1 and sealing the deal at 4-1. Harry Klingenspoor scored twice to move on to 7 goals for the tournament and there was also two for Mark Funnell to move on to 4 goals for the day.

The result decided the Cup qualification places in Group A although the Plate places were still to be decided.

Grant Thornton went into their final game of Group A already qualified for the Cup and needing just one point to secure the Group A title. A defeat would see them finish in second position behind Frank Hirth B on goal difference. For Fred's Fairys, this was not the opposition they would have picked for a game where they had to pick-up points to stake their claim for Plate qualification.

Fred's Fairys currently sat 3 points off the Plate qualification places and knew only a win would be good enough to join SV Zoo and Exeter Gently on three points. They would then need to hope that the final game was not a draw and they had superior goal difference to whoever lost that final fixture. That would all be academic if they failed to win here.

The odds were stacked against Fred's Fairys if you looked at today's table and today's results. If you also consider that Grant Thornton has never lost a group game in eurofootballfives.com competition then the odds were extremely long for Fred's Fairys. However, we often see upsets in our tournaments and had already seen one big one today (read on to see who it was).

There was to be no upset on this occasion as Grant Thornton were ruthless in wrapping up the Group A title. Final score, 5-1

Cedric Castarede was unable to add to his tally but Antoine Loscul (2), Cyrille Segalinim, Ismael Lemonnier and goalkeeper Mickael Martin all scored. Sean Randall scored the consolation for Fred's Fairys.

So up next was SV Zoo against Exeter Gently. Both teams were now guaranteed a place in the Plate with Fred's Fairys not winning above. However, each team still wanted to finish 3rd in order to secure a (theoretically) easier Quarter Final fixture and of course pride was at stake. For SV Zoo, they finished 3rd in the group phase 12 months ago and maybe it was their destiny to do so again.

SV Zoo had so far taken the lead in every single game today and that trend continued in this fixture as they went 1-0 up. There was still hope for Exeter Gently as twice SV Zoo had surrendered that lead today already – not in this game though. SV Zoo scored the crucial second goal and it set them up for their second win of the day. They went on to score a third and fourth as they secured their second 4-0 win in succession.

Stefan Fricke-Liebig scored a hat-trick for his fourth of the day and Johannes Filler added a second to his tournament total. SV Zoo would finish third, Exeter Gently claimed fourth.