JNJ Corporate 5-a-side Football Tournament Prague 2012 Tour Report Group B Round 5

Results

Baltic Team	0	v	4	JNJ Belgium A Team
JNJ Wuppertal B (Ger)	0	v	1	JNJ Serbia
GBS Reds C (Cze)	2	v	1	JNJ Medical (Eng)

Round 5 of Group B began with the league table decider. It was bottom versus top as Team Baltic played host to JNJ Belgium A Team. All JNJ Belgium A Team had to do was avoid defeat and they would secure the Group B title. Team Baltic were without a point but in their last two games they had been unlucky not to get a result. Even if they failed to win this and finish 6th they were looking to qualify for the Plate as the best of the three 6th placed teams – they were in pole position for this compared to their counterparts in Group A and C.

The game followed the form book as the Belgium A Team scored two goals in each half to complete a 4-0 win. There were goals before half-time for Frank Cesar and Klaas Gevaert. After the break Roel Mannaerts and Kris Wauters both scored. It was job done for the Belgians and congratulations to them for winning the Group. The consolation for Team Baltic was they would indeed qualify for the Plate in the afternoon knock-out competition.

JNJ Wuppertal B and JNJ Serbia were two of the three teams on 7 points and hoping to qualify for the Cup. The possibilities were numerous here – a win would put the victor on 10 points and guaranteed to finish 2nd or 3rd. This would mean outright qualification in 2nd or qualification as one of the two best 3rd placed teams. A draw would mean both teams would qualify for the Cup in the above positions but only if GBS Reds C lost their final game. If GBS Reds C avoided defeat it would be JNJ Serbia and GBS Reds C through on goal difference. A defeat would mean missing out on the Cup unless GBS Reds also lost and then goal difference would need to be considered between the loser and GBS Reds to see who would finish 3rd in Group B and then this would need to be compared with the goal difference of JNJ Pinewood in Group A.

With all the above very complicated the teams just had to forget about the possibilities and play football. Both teams would go for the win but JNJ Wuppertal needed it slightly more due to the goal difference situation. Half time came and went and we were still level at 0-0. Not surprising for JNJ Wuppertal who had been 0-0 at half-time for four out of five games.

The game would not end 0-0 though and it was JNJ Serbia who emerged victorious as Aleksander Drobnjak scored his first goal since Round 1 and what a time to get it! It was a vital goal that ensured their Cup qualification. Sadly for JNJ Wuppertal B they missed out on the Cup but still had the Plate competition to look forward to.

The final game of Group B was GBS Reds C versus JNJ Medical. JNJ Medical would finish in 5th position regardless of this result so merely had pride to play for and the possibility of upsetting GBS Reds C. GBS Reds C very much had their fate in their own hands. As there was a decisive result in the JNJ Serbia versus JNJ Wuppertal B game they only really needed a draw to qualify as one of the best 3rd placed teams. A four goal win would see them finish 2 nd outright and a 3 goal win would be good enough if it was 5-2, 6-3 or better.

Things started poorly for GBS Reds C as Peter Lane put JNJ Medical ahead but we reached half-time in a happier position for the Czech team. It was 1-1 thanks to an equalizer from Marcel Ghezzo but their position was precarious. If they conceded now they could easily drop to the Plate. However, Ghezzo's 5th of the competition put those worries to bed as he secured a winner for the host team. Final score 2-1 and they finished 3rd ensuring Cup qualification on the way.

Table

Team	Pld	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Agst	Pts
JNJ Belgium A Team	5	4	1	0	12	1	13
JNJ Serbia	5	3	1	1	9	4	10
GBS Reds C (Cze)	5	3	1	1	6	3	10
JNJ Wuppertal B (Ger)	5	2	1	2	4	5	7
JNJ Medical (Eng)	5	1	0	4	7	10	3
Baltic Team	5	0	0	5	0	15	0

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