Results
 

Fidelidade (Por)

2

V

1

Boa Hora (Por)

Melee FC (Eng)

2*

v

2

Cheesecake FC (Eng)

BUILDers (Por)

0

v

3

Indoorsoccer (Por)

Bubble Football (Por)

4

V

2

CCD Oieras (Por)

* Melee FC (Eng) won 3-1 on penalties.
 

As the 2015 Lisbon Tournament Cup Quarter-Finals were about to get underway we were down to the elite 8 teams in the tournament. There was a particularly strong local challenge with 5 Portuguese teams represented.

We started on Pitch A with Boa Hora versus Fidelidade. Fidelidade came into the game with a perfect record after the group phase. They had played 5 and won all 5 of their games scoring 13 goals and were yet to concede a goal. Boa Hora would have quite a task on their hands to advance in this tournament.

Boa Hora's record was pretty good themselves as they had won 3, drawn 1 and lost just the 1 game. They had also scored 13 goals but had conceded 3 goals. In fact, it was Boa Hora who scored first in this Quarter-Final and became the first team to breach the Fidelidade defence. Rafael Flaguerias was the man to score – it was his sixth of the day.

The pressure was on Fidelidade for the first time but they responded superbly as Alexandre Pinto equalized with his strike of the tournament. Vitor Deus also took his tally to 5 for the day when he put Fidelidade 2-1 up and the game was turned on its head.

It was a fine comeback for Fidelidade who had a Cup Semi-Final to prepare for.

 
 
 

Up next on Pitch B was Melee FC versus Cheesecake FC. This promised to be quite some game between two teams with a great eurofootballfives.com pedigree.

Melee FC had gone on to the Cup Final in their previous two appearances and so naturally enough had a 100% Quarter-Final record. Cheesecake FC had played in 6 previous tournaments and had reached the Cup on 5 occasions and had progressed on all 5 occasions. If you include their one Plate appearance they were 6 out of 6 at the Quarter-Final stage.

Looking at today's form and it was pretty even – Melee FC won a tough Group C losing just the once. Cheesecake FC also had just the defeat against a very strong Bubble Football team. So, the form was close on paper and close on the pitch – when the referee blew his whistle for time at the end of the first half it was still 0-0.

It was Cheesecake FC who broke the deadlock through Wes Armstrong and when Waseem Khalique made it 2-0 from the penalty spot it looked for all the world that Cheesecake would be going through. Melee FC staged a late late comeback and reduced arrears to 2-1 when David Stothard scored. Kevin Lewis then popped up at the perfect time to open up his account for the day and we were suddenly level again at 2-2. That's how it finished and penalties would decide this one.

Cheesecake had experienced three penalty shoot-outs in eurofootballfives.com competition and although they lost the first had been successful in their previous two. Melee FC had been in one before – interestingly also after a 2-2 Quarter-Final draw – which they won.

It was Melee FC to strike first and Chris Pilsbury was first to strike for Melee FC (as he did in the 2014 Amsterdam Fives Cup Quarter-Final) and he scored (also as he did in Amsterdam). Waseem Khalique was up first for Cheesecake FC – he scored a penalty in the game but this time saw his penalty saved by Fabio Zucchelli. It meant that Zucchelli had faced 3 penalties in eurofootballfives.com shoot-outs and was yet to concede. David Stothard then powered his penalty home to put Melee FC 2-0 up.

Mark Nordenfeld made no mistake with Cheesecake FC's second penalty to make it 2-1. Jack Dell scored the decisive penalty in Amsterdam last year and he had the chance to repeat the deal here in Lisbon. A false start with the penalty meant it had to be re-taken and build up the pressure. Jack Dell, cool as a cucumber, made no mistake as he slotted the ball home into the bottom right corner. Melee FC were through.

 
 
 

Quarter-Final three saw BUILDers take on Indoorsoccer. BUILDers had made a hugely impressive debut winning Group B and remaining unbeaten to date with 3 win and 2 draws. They could be the second English team to make the Semi-Finals if they could overcome their local hosts.

Indoorsoccer had also enjoyed a decent morning. They began with a draw and then won 3 of the next 4 games only losing once to Fidelidade who had a 100% record and were yet to concede so there was no shame in that.

Indoorsoccer finished Group A with 5 goals scored and 3 against. BUILDers had conceded the same but scored 11 goals and we thought this extra firepower up fron may prove the difference between the two teams but it was Indoorsoccer who had the greater cutting edge in this fixture.

There was very little between the two teams in the opening half and it was Ze Pedro who put the Portuguese away. After the break Gonzalo Barrunclio made it 2-0 and the game was beyond doubt when Francisco Almeida scored his second of the tournament.
 
 
 

The final Quarter-Final was Bubble Football versus CCD Oeiras. Bubble Football had the best record of all the teams in the group phase. They won Group D with a 100% record and a phenomenal goal difference of +20. They scored 21 goals and conceded just 1. It would be a brave man to bet against Bubble Football in this one.

CCD Oeiras could not be discounted though – they qualified from the Group of Death (Group C) with just one defeat but they also had 2 draws and therefore 2 wins. They had 10 goals for and 5 against. They would certainly be the under-dogs in this game.

The 2015 Lisbon Tournament had overwhelmingly been played in a great spirit and was competitive yet friendly. This game would mark the exception as although there was no major incidents it was played with a little needle – perhaps this was CCD Oeiras' best chance of disrupting their opponents.

CCD Oeiras fought hard but Bubble Football had just too much quality for them. They won each half 2-1 to round off a 4-2 victory. The goals were shared around with Ivo Simoes, Tiago Mendes, Bruno Mendes and Nelson Martins all scoring.

Gatalino Fravisc scored both goals for CCD Oeiras taking his tally to 5 for the day but he would not have the opportunity to increase his tally as we had to say farewell to them.

 
 
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