We were at the 2016 Lisbon Veterans Tournament Cup Semi-Finals stage and from the 12 teams who started the day we were down to the final 4. There was a nice balance in the line-up with 2 teams representing Portugal and 2 teams representing England in the mix.

We began on Pitch C with Sago versus The Warriors. Sago had begun the day in imperious fashion winning their first 4 games although they were held by Stilton Rovers in their final game. They had scored 12 and conceded just the 1 goal on their way to the Group A title.

The Warriors had a slow start taking just the one point from a possible 6 but then embarked on a run of 3 successive victories to take second place in Group B and only missed out on the group win because of goal difference. Momentum was often a big thing in these tournaments and momentum was with The Warriors.

The Warriors had experience of our Semi-Finals and won their previous Semi-Final 1-0 versus Ashtead Vets. That was in the Plate 12 months ago in the Algarve but their Lisbon Semi-Final was on the bigger stage in the Cup competition. Once the action got underway it was the home side who took the lead when Luis Felix struck his second of the tournament.

As the game progressed it was Sago who eased away from their English opponents as Rui Gomes made it 2-0 before Ricardo sealed the job in a 3-0 win. There was to be no second European final for The Warriors but they had performed well again in Portugal. Sago marched on to the Cup Final…..

So, who would take their place in the Final from the second Semi-Final? The two teams set to do battle were Tanagra against Stilton Rovers.

Tanagra emerged from the group phase as the Group B champions. They started off like a runaway train with 3 wins in a row before stumbling over the line taking just 1 point from the last 6 available to finish top on goal difference. They failed to score in their last two group games which may offer hope for Stilton Rovers.

Stilton Rovers had an early setback with a 1-0 opening defeat before claiming 3 successive victories and then coming from behind to take a good point against Group A winners, Sago.

Both teams had scored 10 goals today and after an even first half they each took their tally to 11 goals. For Stilton Rovers, Peter Ciezak took his personal tally to 5 goals which would see him finish joint top in the goalscoring charts of the Veterans Tournament. Tanagra's goal was scored by Rondolfo Tarques.

In the second half the next goal of the game was always likely to prove crucial. It went to Jacob Hugo of Tanagra and the Portuguese team never looked back. The onus was then on Stilton Rovers to attack and Tanagra proved very adept of taking advantage of the gaps. Jacob Hugo went on to complete a second half hat-trick and Rondolfo Tarques added his second of the game for good measure.

We had to say farewell to Stilton Rovers - we thank them for supporting the tournament and it was a great debut. The last result was not representative of their performance overall but you may as well go out 5-1 trying to equalize than losing 2-1 and going out with a whimper. It was a pleasure to host you in Lisbon.