Results
 

Krakowcaine (Swi)

1

V

2

GSF Drunkerz (Svk)

Fylde FC B (Eng)

1

V

2

Big Time Krakow (Pol)

 

We had 12 teams at the start of the day and we had whittled them down to the 4 as we reached the Semi-Final stage. We had 4 different nations still in the hunt – England, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland.

The first Semi-Final featured Krakowcaine and GSF Drunkerz. Krakowcaine featured two men in their ranks who were part of the 2015 Mallorca Tournament winning team, Saipan FC. Barry Lysaght and Nacho Mochales could create history by winning a eurofootballfives.com tournament with two different teams. They would start as favourites with 1 draw then 4 consecutive wins today. They were the tournament top scorers and had the joint best goal difference of all the teams today (along with their Slovakian opponents).

GSF Drunkerz had the best defence in the tournament to date with just two conceded and they got off to the perfect start with the early goal. Martin Volek scored it and they could now soak up the pressure and look to hit their opponents on the break. Unusually for GSF Drunkerz it was a poor defensive moment that let Krakowcaine back into. Miroslav Saga, the talismanic goalkeeper for GSF lost possession in an advanced position and Nacho Mochales scored from half-way to equalize. You felt momentum would swing in favour of Krakowcaine but it was GSF Drunkerz who restored their lead. Jakub Mihalik and Jan Balat had already hit the frame of the goal before Tomas Carny scored his third of the tournament to put the Slovakians into a 2-1 half-time lead. It was a breathless first half and a strong response from the team from Bratislava.

The second half was defence against attack as Krakowcaine poured forward in search of an equalizer. GSF Drunkerz soaked up the pressure and looked to play on the counter. They did have chances on the break and remained dangerous. Krakowcaine's play became increasingly desperate as the game went on and they were playing with a huge intensity and urgency. They rarely got a clear sight on goal due to the frantic defending from GSF Drunkerz. Krakowcaine were really building the pressure though – could GSF Drunkerz hold on?

They could – it was a stunning victory for GSF Drunkerz. Krakowcaine had looked like they could go all the way today. It was a game worthy of a Cup Final and played with a great atmosphere from the spectators on the touchline.

 
 
 

The second Cup Semi-Final would be contested by FC Fylde B and Big Time Krakow. FC Fylde B reached this stage courtesy of becoming the Group B champions. They won 4 out of their 5 games with 8 goals scored and 3 conceded. They had the second highest points haul of all teams in the group phase. Big Time Krakow had a great start to the tournament with 7 points from 9 at the start. They stuttered a little at the end of the group phase with just 1 point from their final 2 games. They reached the Cup Semi Finals via a morale boosting penalty shoot play-off. Could this kick-start their early tournament form?

The game was a particularly close affair after the early stages. The teams matched each other stride for stride and we reached half-time with the teams tied together at 0-0. The deadlock was broken early in the second half with Carlos Diaz scoring his fifth of the tournament to give the Krakow-based team a vital 1-0 lead.

The second half then continued in much the same vein as the first. It was close and competitive with neither team really gaining the upper hand. You felt this tie would be settled by which team could take their chances when they appeared. Then, a throw-in caused confusion in the Big Time Krakow penalty area and after a few ricochets amongst a melee of players the ball found its way into the back of the net. The goal was recorded as an own goal. FC Fylde B wouldn't care though as they were level at 1-1. Game on.

As the second half wore on the next goal was increasingly likely to be the winner. When the next goal came it was Big Time Krakow who scored it as Adrian Paz scored the third goal of the tournament. Could FC Fylde B hit back again? The next big chance actually went to Daniel Tonev for Big Time Krakow but he put it over the bar. That would surely have finished the tie. As it turned out, Big Time Krakow had done enough as their defence remained strong enough to keep FC Fylde B at bay.

It was all over for FC Fylde B. It had been a fine debut and they still had interest in the tournament with their A team due to kick-off in the Plate Final in the next game on Pitch B.

 
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