We began Group C with RAF2 versus FC Shark.

RAF (playing under various names) had always been strong in our tournaments. They made their debut at the 2015 Algarve Open playing as Futeboladas and surged to victory. They finished 2nd in their group with 4 wins out of 5 to RC Lens. They won a 4-3 thriller in the Cup Quarter-Finals against Algarve Stars before a 3-1 win over Why Always Morris in the Semi-Final. They then met RC Lens again in the Cup Final. RC Lens won the group game (2-0) but Futeboladas won the game that really mattered (3-0) to collect the title.

They have been unable to recreate that title success since but have come close on a couple of occasions. In the Algarve 2016 saw them finish 3 rd in the Plate plus a hat-trick of Cup QFs in 2017, 2018 & 2019. The 2018 Barcelona Fives also saw a Cup QFs and they won the Plate here at the 2019 Lisbon Tournament. So, 5 out of 7 Cup qualifications made them a team to watch out for in the group phase.

We will preview their opponents, FC Shark, in more detail in Round 2 but they found this a tough opening encounter. The Portuguese got into their stride more quickly than their opponents and were amongst the goals early. Tiago Sousa in particular as he scored an opening brace. Gonzalo Fernandes and Cristiano Silva then chipped in with a third and fourth.

A perfect start for RAF2.

The last team to get underway was Riises Pieces as they took on RAF2. Riises Pieces were the second squad (or maybe first squad?) from The Basemen stable. It was the first time they had competed with a second squad in our events so interesting to see if they had gone for two equal teams or a traditional A and B team set-up. They had the uneviable task of meeting a team who were already in the groove after a 4-0 win.

RAF2 continued where they left off from their opening fixture as they were playing confidently. Tiago Sousa was clearly a man to keep an eye on today. He scored twice in the first game and bettered that tally here with a hat-trick. 5 goals from 2 games is impressive by anyone's standards. In terms of the result, those goals were the difference between the two teams as we finished at 3-0.

The result sent RAF2 to the top of the table.

The second round of fixtures continued with FC Shark versus CDAL.

At the 2017 Mallorca Fives, FC Sharkpicked up 2 wins and 3 defeats to finish fourth of six teams. They qualified for the Plate Quarter-Final and produced a fine 4-0 win against Het Sterretje (Hol). They faced English opposition FC Broxelona B in the Semi-Finals and won 3-1. In the Plate Final they defeated another Dutch team (Mannenliefde) via a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Fresh from glory they travelled to the 2018 Gdansk Tournament. They got off to a fine start with a 3-2 win over Monaco Tiny Gdanskers and a 0-0 draw versus Bialoazzuri FC. They then lost 2-0 to The A Team of France before finishing with a 2-2 draw v Deportivo Dooradoyle and a 5-1 win v Audley London FC. They finished third via goal difference to qualify for the Plate. A 2-1 in the QF v Fail Madrid and a 1-0 win in the SF v Red Cow Belgrade set them up for a crack at a second successive Plate trophy. A 3-1 victory versus Freshers FC secured just that. A hat-trick in Lisbon?

To do so, they would need to avoid qualifying for the Cup. Although it was not part of the plan, defeat to RAF2 and then to CDAL would help in that respect. Obviously, they would love to qualify for the Cup but they had a terrifyingly difficult start against two high quality local teams. RAF2 were good but maybe CDAL were that bit better. They raced into a 5-0 lead (Goncala Machado, Ruben Cacais, Weventon x2, Diogo Canina) before FC Shark could cheer their first of the day courtesy of Chris Breen. CDAL did have the final say though as Goncalo Machado finished what he started, 6-1.

Game 5 of Group C was to be an all-England contest between Southgate Rascals and Riises Pieces. Portuguese teams had been dominant so far with 4 wins out of 4. Both teams had suffered 3-0 losses in their opening games so this was an opportunity to bounce back quickly.

It was Riises Pieces who made the best of the early exchanges. Antony Lenihan opened the scoring for his team before captain Robbie Heywood contributed a second. At the mid-way stage of the game it looked like the 3 points would be theirs.

Southgate Rascals had other ideas though as they reduced the deficit to 2-1 with Cameron Wallis opening his personal account and his team's account for the day.

Time was ultimately against the Rascals as the Pieces held it together for a first three points of the day.