JNJ Corporate 5-a-side Football Tournament Budapest 2018 Tour Report Group A Round 3

Results

Nordic Vikings (Scand)	0	V	1	JNJ High Wycombe (Eng)
EDC 1 (Ire)	0	V	2	JNJ Russia (Rus)
DePuy Synthes Switzerland (Swi)	1	V	0	Klopp & Co (Bel)

At the start of Round 3, we had Nordic Vikings versus JNJ High Wycombe. As we had 7 teams in each group and only 6 teams could play in each round, there would be 1 team each round having a rest. In Round 2 that was Nordic Vikings. They lost 2-1 to DePuy Synthes Switzerland in their first game – would that rest do them good as they looked for their first points of the tournament?

This was probably not the fixture they needed. They were up against the league leaders. JNJ High Wycombe were showing the form that made them champions at the 2014 Bratislava edition of the tournament. They were scoring goals for fun and were tight defensively. It was a tough proposition for Nordic Vikings.

However, Nordic Vikings performed admirably. They could not prevent defeat but they came as close as anyone today in taking points off JNJ High Wycombe. They were unable to penetrate the English team's defence as Will Frempong maintained his tournament clean sheet. At the other end they conceded just the one. The winning goal came in the second half. Tom Lee was the man who scored the winner.

JNJ High Wycombe marched on – 3 wins, 9 points. Top of the table in Group A.

On pitch C we had DePuy Synthes Switzerland (Swi) versus Klopp & Co (Bel) to look forward to. Both teams had a record of 1 win and 1 loss from their opening two games. A win for either would see them keep pace with JNJ High Wycombe and JNJ Russia above.

Momentum can be a big thing in these tournaments – if it is with you it can be irresistible as you get on a roll. If it is against you it can be very difficult to lift morale and get things back on track.

Klopp & Co had the momentum with them after a 3-0 win in Round 2. DePuy Synthes Switzerland did not as they had lost their previous game. So, according to our theory it would be the Belgians who should be on their way to victory but it was DePuy Synthes Switzerland who struck first.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man and that man was Nicolas Egger. He scored the goal that gave his team a first half lead. He was ably backed up by his goalkeeper and his defenders. Adriano Rao kept his first clean sheet of the day and DePuy Switzerland would end Round 3 in third place.

The final two teams to play in Group A, Round 1 were Maidenhead A and De Puy Synthes 2. Maidenhead A were on debut so we would very soon get our first glimpse of them in action.

De Puy Synthes 2 had traditionally played a supporting role to their first team over the last couple of years. On debut at the Bratislava 2014 tournament they struggled and finished 6th in their group. They were much improved in Prague 2015 and finished fourth in their group having won 2 of their 5 games before bowing out to JNJ Middle East in the Plate Quarter-Final. Could they continue their upward trajectory of form in Krakow?

If it was they would need to come from behind in this game as Vincent Tavernier struck the first blow and scored his team's first in the competition. It was not long before he doubled the dose and Maidenhead A were in command at the break, 2-0.

The second half was to get even better as Joshua Goodman opened his personal account to make it 3-0. Mauricio Correa put the icing on the cake as he made it 4-0. It was a great start to the tournament for Maidenhead A.

Table

Team	Pld	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Agst	Pts
JNJ High Wycombe (Eng)	3	3	0	0	9	0	9
JNJ Russia (Rus)	2	2	0	0	3	0	6
DePuy Synthes Switzerland (Swi)	3	2	0	1	3	4	6
Klopp & Co (Bel)	3	1	0	2	3	2	3
Beeston Operation Leeds (Eng)	2	1	0	1	1	1	3
Nordic Vikings (Scand)	2	0	0	2	1	3	0
EDC 1 (Ire)	3	0	0	3	0	10	0

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