With 7 games under their belts, the four teams who comprised the 2010 Krakow Cup Semi-Finals were now just two games away from the ultimate prize of being crowned champions. First up was the team who won the Group Azmot against 4th placed finishers Sherwood Forest. Azmot had won 6 in a row before losing their final group game which would give Sherwood Forest hope that the local team could be beaten.

When these two teams met earlier in the day there was very little between them and whilst Azmot won 2-1, Sherwood Forest had their chances particularly early on which could have changed the direction of that game.

With the semi-final underway it was a case of déjà vu as the team from Poland took the lead in the first half with Szymou Zelasko the goalscorer. Sherwood Forest continued to battle and were very much in this tie. In Round 6, when 1-0 down Ben Simon had a chance to equalize but found the midrift of Michal Ura in the Azmot goal. In this semi-final he had a pot-shot from distance with much better luck. The ball struck an Azmot defender and looped over the helpless Polish goalkeeper who could only watch the ball nestle in the back of his net. Simon had the equalizer and we were all square at half-time, 1-1.

The second half continued to be a tight struggle and there would be one further goal in this game. The decisive goal would come from the boot of Szymou Zelasko again as his strike and 6th goal of the tournament secured victory for Azmot and helped them claim the first berth in the final. The goal ended Sherwood Forest's chances of glory and ended their day. It was a fine debut for the team who would push the tournament's strongest team all the way on two separate occasions in this tournament. They could be rightly proud of their efforts and we look forward to seeing them back in action next year.

The second semi-final was also destined to be a close game with the teams finishing 2nd and 3rd in the group table. Both teams had been in eurofootballfives.com Cup Semi-Finals before with Over Crusaders II reaching this stage in the 2008 Amsterdam Fives before going out 5-1 to Olympic Phil Babb – a result that is certainly no disgrace as Olympic Phil Babb went on to win the Amsterdam Fives title that year and have followed it up with the 2009 Algarve Open and 2010 Prague Masters titles. The Biermeisters, with their FC Biermeisters Nord squad, also made the Cup Semi-Finals in Amsterdam but a year later in 2009 when they went out to Blazers Army on Golden Goal. They followed this up with a Cup Semi-Final in the 2010 Manchester Fives when they went out on penalties to Basford United. For one of these teams a first eurofootballfives.com Cup Final awaited.

As a pointer to form you could see FCB Dunkles were favourites courtesy of a higher league placing but Over Crusaders II had won 3-0 when the teams met earlier in the day and could also point to a win over Azmot on their CV. Those games were history though and it was the team who performed best in this fixture that would earn the right to meet Azmot in the 2010 Krakow Cup Final.

Over Crusaders II were up and running quickly and scored first through Andy Smith's 7th goal of the day to take an early 1-0 lead. It was a lead that they would keep until half-time and meant they had scored four goals without reply against FCB Dunkles. The Biermeisters were always competitive and never knew when they were beaten but they were struggling to work their way back into this game as Over Crusaders II continued to hold on to their lead deep into the second half. The clock ticked over to full time and still the Over Crusaders II held firm at 1-0 and only had to see out a minute or so injury time to make the Final. Henry Hollingdale of FCB Dunkles had other ideas though and what a moment to score your first goal of the day.

The goal was the last kick of the game and meant we finished 1-1 and would go into Golden Goal extra time. Over Crusaders II must be sick of the FC Biermeisters as they conceded two late goals against FCB Helles in the group stage and another one here. The goal was not deadly though as they still had the chance to make the final.

FC Biermeisters had reached Golden Goal extra time on 3 occasions in eurofootballfives.com final with mixed results. They had lost twice when FC Biermeisters Sud went out in the 2009 Amsterdam Fives Quarter-Finals to Dutch team Tom Tom One and in the same competition the FC Biermeisters Nord went out to Blazers Army in the semi-final. They successfully negotiated extra time in the 2010 Manchester Fives only to go out on penalties – could they get a Golden Goal winner at the 4th time of asking in this match?

Andy Smith of Over Crusaders II ensured this would not be the case as he struck the winning blow in the first period of extra time to send his team through to the final where they would play Azmot. It was tough on FCB Dunkles who had worked so hard to get back into the game and only to fall one hurdle shot. Congratulations to Andy Smith and his Over Crusader II team though.