The eurofootballfives.com circus rolled back into Hungary as we kicked off the 5th edition of the Budapest Fives. It was a joy to be back in this stunning city and back at the first class football venue that had been our home here since 2011. With teams from Argentina, Belarus, England, Hungary and Spain set to do battle who would be victorious at 17.00 this afternoon?

To kick us off we had Argentina (Arg) versus Fritzl Palace (Hun). Argentina made their debut at last year's 2014 Budapest Fives and became the second team to represent a South American nation in our tournaments (after Quayaquil 100% represented Ecuador at the 2011 Mallorca Tournament). They returned to the tournament with unfinished business from last year.

In 2014 they started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against two-time eurofootballfives.com champions FC Radbroke. Two successive wins followed before defeat to Budapest Celtic Tigers threatened to thwart their progress. A final game victory, 3-1, ensured they would qualify for the Cup in 2nd place in their group. In the knock-out phase they defeated another two-time eurofootballfives champion in Skidmarks, 2-0. A narrow 1-0 victory over home team Csabagyongye ensured they would reach the Final. A 0-0 draw saw an epic penalty shoot-out decide the tournament but they were on the wrong-side of a 6-5 scoreline.

They began against Fritzl Palace (more on them anon) in what promised to be a heavyweight opening fixture. The two teams proved to be evenly matched and at half-time the teams could not be separated as goals from Miguel (Argentina) and Matthew Wedlake (Fritzl Palace) ensured it would be honours even in the opening period.

1-1 at half-time became 2-2 at full-time as Dani (Argentina) and Wedlake again for Fritzl Palace meant the two teams would share the points from this opening encounter.

It was Spain versus England in match #2 of Group A as Naranjitos and Maverick FC took to the field.

Naranjitos were making their 3rd eurofootballfives.com appearance on the 9th May and their first outside of Spain. They made their debut at home in the 2014 Valencia Fives finishing 3rd in their 5 team group but just 2 points separated the top 3. They qualified for the Cup where eventual winners Sparta knocked them out 5-3. 6 months later and 350km up the Spanish coast they competed at the 2014 Barcelona Fives. They finished 3rd in their 5 team group again and this time they qualified for the Plate. In the Quarter-Finals they beat 2008 winners Rapid Bosco Navas 2-1. In the Semi-Finals they defeated Missing Magpies 3-1 before a 2-0 success in the Plate Final over Red Cow Belgrade.

Maverick FC were making their eurofootballfives.com debut and over the course of today their on field prowess would write their future introduction on these pages. It was a slow start for Maverick FC though as they fell behind to a strike from Javier Sanchez Flores. The Spanish team doubled their advantage before half-time and it was Sanchez Flores again who put Naranjitos in pole position for all 3 points.

After the break Sean Barwick reduced arrears to 2-1 with Maverick FC's first goal on the European stage and it was game on. It would not be enough to rescue a point for the English team though as Naranjitos held on to complete a 2-1 victory.

The final team to begin their Group A challenge was Budapest Celtic Lions of Hungary. They had a huge eurofootballfives.com history having entered the fold back in 2011 here at the Budapest Fives. On debut the “Tigers” squad lost on penalties in the Cup Final. They then made a bid for glory at the 2012 Barcelona Fives and 2012 Budapest Fives. In Barcelona they had 2 teams reach the Cup Semi-Finals but both the Lions and Pumas squads missed out on the Final on penalties and Golden Goal respectively. In Budapest they came very close again with the Tigers squad getting to the Cup Final but again settling for Runners-Up medals as Romania's ABC United took the winning trophy. The 2013 Budapest Fives wasn't too successful with all 3 of their teams crashing out in the QFs (1 Plate, 2 Cup) but success wasn't too far away as they claimed their maiden title in the 2013 Krakow Trophy! In 2014 they competed in three tournaments (Valencia, Budapest and Bratislava). In Valencia the team was on a stag weekend but reached a Plate Final, going down 4-1 to Saipan FC. In Budapest last year, they had two teams reach the Cup QF (they drew each other). The Lions squad progressed but was knocked out by CIS Committee in the Semi-Finals. There was a second Plate Final appearance of the season but it was a second Runners-Up finish as the Pumas lost the Final 3-2 to FC Radbroke. They took 2 squads to Bratislava with the Lions and Tigers finishing 3 rd and 4 th in their groups to both qualify for the Plate. There was to be a third Plate Final of the season as the Lions squad reached the Final. They got closer to victory taking the game to penalites but it was a third Runners-Up finish as GSF Drunkerz took the trophy.

Argentina had already begun their campaign and warmed up with a 2-2 draw against Fritzl Palace. It was to be a third drawn half in succession for the South American men as the two teams ended the first half level at 0-0.

After the break the deadlock was broken by Ronnie Vass who put the Budapest Celtic Lions ahead. As the half progressed it looked like the home team were destined for all 3 points but Argentina had other ideas. Miguel popped up with a last gasp equalizer to make it 1-1 and the game resulted in a draw. It was another drawn half for Argentina as they finished unbeaten from their first two games but with just 2 points to their name. Budapest Celtic Lions were off and running but will feel they missed out with the late nature of the equalizing goal.

Fritzl Palace was back in action again against Naranjitos in Game 4 of Group A. Earlier we promised more on Fritzl Palace so let's preview them properly here. They made their debut as recently as the 2014 Bratislava Fives and they made a great start to eurofootballfives.com life. They won their first two games and four out of their five Group C fixtures to finish joint top of their group with Shahs of Sunset (Cup Semi-Finalists here in Budapest in 2013 - lost to eventual winners Team Bear). They ended up finishing 2nd on goal difference which was crucial as it meant met CIS Committee in the Cup Quarter-Finals. Fritzl Palace was a 4-0 scalp by the Belarus team on their way to overall tournament victory.

They had begun with a solid opening point here and would now look to kick on their Group A challenge. They were up against the Spanish team in the group who already had a victory over English opposition to their name. If Naranjitos could repeat that they would open up a healthy lead at the top of the table.

It was Fritzl Palace who took the early advantage though as Nathan Turner put his team 1-0 up. Turner was a new addition to the squad since Bratislava and his inclusion was already paying dividends. It was a lead Fritzl Palace would keep until half-time.

In the second period Fritzl Palace doubled their advantage. It was Matthew Wedlake who scored it and was his 3rd strike in 2 games. When Ryan Rook made it 3-0 it was game over and the points would send Fritzl Palace to the summit of the Group A table. For Naranjitos it was disappointment but they were only 1 point off the top with plenty to play for in the remainder of the group phase.

Maverick FC took to the field for their second fixture of the tournament looking to bounce back from opening game defeat. Although they'd gone 2-0 down they'd recovered to 2-1 so would at least have some upward momentum going into this fixture. The reverse was true for Budapest Celtic Lions who had looked on course for a win when leading 1-0 but had to settle for a draw after a last minute equaliser. Could they put this disappointment behind them and kick-on?

A slow start had ultimately proved the downfall for Maverick FC last time out and they conceded first again here as Kevin Vernooij put the local team ahead. There was just the one goal in it at the start of the second half but Budapest Celtic Lions extended their lead to 2-0 when Imre Kormendy fired home. 2-0 became 3-0 as Ronnie Vass's second goal in as many games looked to have settled the tie.

Tom Lothian scored the next goal of the game to make it 3-1 and when he made it 3-2 the result was in the balance again. Budapest Celtic Lions must have had that sinking feeling and been concerned about letting another lead slip away but this time they had enough in the tank to hold on and complete the victory. For Maverick FC they had left them too much to do and had just fallen short of grabbing a point.