We arrived at the Plate Quarter-Final stage and we would shortly see eight teams reduced to four teams. The first two teams to do battle were SV Zoo and All of Ronan's Men.

SV Zoo were somewhat specialists at this level having won the Plate competition at the 2012 Krakow Trophy. There was even some banter that they deliberately lost their first two games to make sure they didn't qualify for the Cup. They finished the group phase in style with two 4-0 wins in a row.

All of Ronan's Men were resurgent. Having lost their two opening games (both 9-2) they marked an incredible turnaround by beating the (then) league leaders 4-2 in their final group game.

With the match in action, SV Zoo took a 1-0 lead for the fifth time today (Johannes Filler scoring the goal). Having gone on to win two games today and gone on to lose two games today this could go either way. Ultimately it went neither way as we finished 1-1 thanks to a Ronan Silke equalizer in the second half.

Two periods of Golden Goal extra time ensued with no further addition to the score and the dreaded penalty shoot-out awaited. It was All of Ronan's Men who emerged victorious 3-2 as they became the first Irish team to win a penalty shoot-out since Italia '90 and SV Zoo became the first German team to lose a penalty shoot-out in the history of the world – ever.* (*Disclaimer – these facts are almost certainly not true).

It was a tough exit for SV Zoo who are always a great joy to host in our tournaments and we look forward to seeing them at the 2014 Barcelona Fives in October.

The second Quarter-Final saw Deportivo Dooradoyle versus Ben's Bellends. Deportivo Dooradoyle were no strangers to Plate action having reached the Plate Final in the 2011 Amsterdam Fives and 2013 Barcelona Fives. They had tasted Plate Quarter-Final defeat before as French side CFC B beat them in the 2012 Algarve Open. Could Ben's Bellends emulate CFC B?

We expected a close game but Deportivo Dooradoyle eased away from their opponents in the early stages and never looked back. They came into the game having only narrowly missed out on the Cup so maybe they drew some confidence from that and they lead 3-0 at the break.

In the second half they scored three more but there was some consolation for Ben's Bellends as Duncan Rudd got on the scoresheet. Ben's Bellends would sadly exit the tournament but we hoped they enjoyed the day and the tournament experience.

Deportivo Dooradoyle were through though with goals from Keith Lynch, Sean O'Donnell (2), David Daly and Wayne Wallace (2).

Doddsy Stag A against Exeter Gently was Quarter-Final 3 and it would guarantee an English team in the Semi-Finals.

Doddsy Stag A came into the game on a good record with two wins out of three and only a narrow defeat in the other fixture. Their record on paper would make them favourites going into the game but Exeter Gently were no pushovers and so it proved when they went 2-0 up. Doddsy Stag A pulled a goal back before half-time to ensure we would have a delicately poised second half to look forward to.

The fourth goal of the game was arguably the most crucial and it was Exeter Gently who scored it through Dan Woods to go 3-1 up. Doddsy Stag A never gave up and reduced it to 3-2 but time was now against them and Exeter Gently had done enough to seal their place in the Semi-Finals.

The other Exeter Gently goals had come from Ken Ross and Richard Sutton. Doddsy Stag A's last goals of the tournament came from Calum Britton and Crain Panton. They still had their B team to cheer on in the Cup competition though so the day was not entirely over.

The final Quarter-Final was Germany's Scandittack FC versus England's It's Back. The German team were making new ground having dropped down from the Cup competition last year (largely due to a squad depleted in numbers).

In their previous four tournaments It's Back had qualified for the Cup twice and the Plate twice. In their two Plate Quarter-Finals they had won one (5-1 v FC Dad, 2011 Prague Masters) and lost one (3-0 v Contejus Hurricanes, 2013 Krakow Trophy).

After the early exchanges in this one it looked like it could be a second Plate QF defeat as Scandittack FC lead through Thore Wilke. It's Back levelled things up through Jamie Hall and it was game on again at 1-1. There was to be a winner in normal time though and it was struck by Thore Wilke to send Scandittack FC through, 2-1.

It was game over for It's Back who may not have won silverware on the pitch today but can claim – with great pride – the title of best dressed team. Lads send in the pics of your evening suits and your arrival day fancy dress so we can prove to the world these title credentials.