The 2016 Veterans Tournament Plate Final would be contested by Crabtree Amblers and Pioes. This was only our third Veterans Plate competition so who could follow in the foot-steps of €agles 3:36 at Mallorca 2014 and Norton Old Boys at the Algarve 2015 in order to take the cherished trophy.

Let's have a look at the two teams road to the final;

Pioes: Played 6, won 3, drawn 2, lost 1. They had scored 7 goals along the way and conceded just one. They were perhaps unlucky to miss out on the Cup but put that disappointment behind them as they swept Dickie Dogs aside, 3-0, in the Semi-Final.

Crabtree Amblers: Played 3, drawn 1, lost 2. They started off superbly with two wins but two defeats threatened to de-rail their campaign. A draw in the final group game and a great 1-0 win over Mavericks in the Semi-Final saw them through to a final on debut. They had scored 3 goals and conceded 5 along the way.

Looking at the stats above you would probably make Pioes favourites. However, this was a remarkable final in the sense that we had the two teams finishing fourth in their group defeating the teams that finished third in the groups to reach the final. Maybe we should ignore the stats and the form book.

With the game underway it was Pioes who drew first blood. Bruno Bambo scored his fourth of the tournament for the Portuguese team. This sparked danger for Crabtree Amblers who had picked up all 3 of their victories by scoring first and seeing out the game as front-runners. In the two games they lost they had conceded the first goal – they would need to change that to take the Plate trophy.

Their task got more difficult when Rui Fernandes made it 2-0 for Pioes. Pioes had only conceded once today so Crabtree Amblers were really up against it. They were unable to find a way through the Pioes defence as the home team saw the game out to claim the Plate victory.

For Crabtree Amblers it was disappointment to fall just short but it had been a great performance from them today. For this season they had to be content with Runners-Up medals but maybe it will be winners medals and trophies waiting for them next time.

We leave the Plate competition for today though by celebrating our winners – huge congratulations to Pioes!