In
the highly anticipated 2nd Cup Semi-Final, Ball
Bashers met Sporting Armada in a match that
promised intense competition with a spot in
the final on the line. Ball Bashers were hunting
down a second eurofootballfives.com title but
had seen their form hit a dip as the day progressed.
They had won their first two games convincingly
(both 3-0) before 4 points from a possible 9
at the end of the group phase. Worryingly for
them they had fallen behind in all of those
games although had recovered the situation on
two of those occasions. If nothing else, it
showcased their powers of recovery.
For
Sporting Armada, it had been a pretty special
day so far with 4 good wins out of 5. The only
blemish being a defeat to Group B winners, Cruz
Del Sur. Sporting Armada had reached the Cup
Final of the 2022 Amsterdam Fives and were bidding
to reach a second final and hopefully go one
step further this time. They faced the challenge
of competing with a squad of just seven players
on a sweltering day, against the younger legs
of Ball Bashers.
The
match kicked off with high intensity and Ball
Bashers' Mati Ortiz made his mark early. Scoring
his sixth goal of the tournament, Ortiz put
Ball Bashers 1-0 up. Sporting Armada, not to
be outdone, equalized before halftime through
Tom Vivian, marking his first goal of the tournament
and what a time to get it - to keep his team
in contention. Half-time, 1-1.
As
the second half unfolded, the match remained
finely balanced. Ball Bashers' determination
to secure a final spot saw them push forward,
and their efforts were rewarded when Ben Williams
scored the decisive goal. Williams' strike gave
Ball Bashers a 2-1 lead that they managed to
hold onto until the final whistle.
Despite
their valiant effort and the challenge of playing
with a limited squad in harsh conditions, Sporting
Armada fell just short. Ball Bashers' victory
secured their place in the Cup Final, setting
up what promised to be an exciting conclusion
to the tournament.
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