JNJ Corporate 5-a-side Football Tournament Bratislava 2014 Tour Report Group A Round 3

Results

Tekkers Lovakia (Eng)	2	v	0	JNJ Serbia (Ser)
JNJ Russia A (Rus)	2	V	0	JNJ High Wycombe B (Eng)
GBS Reds (Cze)	0	v	3	JNJ Middle East (UAE)

Round 3 began with Tekkers Lovakia taking on JNJ Serbia. JNJ Serbia brought a 100% record into the game and were looking good to qualify for the Cup competition for the third successive tournament. Tekkers Lovakia had just defeated the defending champions though and would represent a tough challenge for JNJ Serbia.

A win for either team would see them top the table – for Tekkers Lovakia it would be a one point lead over their current opponents. For JNJ Serbia it would be a chance to open up a 5 point lead (pending other results in Round 3) and really take control of Group A.

The game did not start well for JNJ Serbia though as they found themselves 2-0 down early on. Josh Lynn scored twice for Tekkers Lovakia and they were in the driving seat. As you may expect in a top of the table clash tensions were running high and this became a tetchy and feisty affair. After a bit of nonsense the game fizzled out and finished at 2-0 to the English team.

Tekkers Lovakia moved to the top of the table after consecutive wins against the 2013 champions and today's league leaders – they were emerging as a team to watch for the title. JNJ Serbia should not be too disappointed though – there was still 6 points to play for and two wins would see them qualify for the Cup.

Game 8 saw JNJ Russia A took on JNJ High Wycombe B. This was a big game for JNJ Russia A. In Prague 2012 they won all 5 group games, in Budapest 2013 they won all 5 group games and after an opening victory here in Bratislava they had just tasted their first defeat in the group phase of a JNJ Euro Soccer Tournament – how would they respond?

JNJ High Wycombe B would surely not have wanted this fixture as they faced a potential backlash from JNJ Russia A. This was hardly the ideal game to try and secure your first points of the day. This was especially true given the fact that in this same fixture last year JNJ Russia A emerged as 5-0 winners.

The pattern of the game followed that of the Budapest 2013 fixture as JNJ Russia established a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to Stanislav Martynov and Vladimir Doroshenkov. The second half was more even but the damage had been done in the opening period as the game finished 2-0.

JNJ Russia A's challenge was back on track as they moved to within a point of 1 st place and shared 2nd position in the table. For JNJ High Wycombe B it was a third defeat on the day.

To complete Round 3 was GBS Reds versus JNJ Middle East. The two teams were desperate for the points for different reasons. GBS Reds needed a win to move into fourth place as they looked to move into the Plate qualification places. JNJ Middle East needed a win to stay in the mix for Cup qualification following wins by Tekkers Lovakia and JNJ Russia in Round 3 so far.

JNJ Middle East had taken the lead in both their previous games to date and they kept that record going when Matt Tominey's third in as many games put them 1-0 up. In their previous two games they had taken a 1-0 lead in to the interval but they were to have the luxury of a 2-0 lead in this game as Basit Altaf added a second.

In the second half 2-0 became 3-0 when Peter Lane (who had previously captained JNJ Medical in Prague 2012 and Budapest 2013) sealed victory for the team from Dubai.

It was a great victory for JNJ Middle East and they joined a 3-team tie for second place in Group A. In fact, only one point separated the top four teams so it was anyone's guess which teams would make the Cup from here. At the other end, GBS Reds hopes of qualification from the group were hanging by a thread – they were 5 points off qualification with just 6 points available.

Table

Team	Pld	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Agst	Pts
Tekkers Lovakia (Eng)	3	2	1	0	6	2	7
JNJ Middle East (UAE)	3	2	0	1	6	2	6
JNJ Serbia (Ser)	3	2	0	1	6	3	6
JNJ Russia A (Rus)	3	2	0	1	4	3	6
GBS Reds (Cze)	3	0	1	2	2	7	1
JNJ High Wycombe B (Eng)	3	0	0	3	1	8	0

Click on links below to proceed to

site disclaimer | contact us