2017 Mallorca Fives 5-a-side Football Tournament Tour Report Cup Semi-Finals

Results

Forn De N'Aina (Arg)	2*	V	2	Blue Collar Revolution (Fra)
Valecuatro (Spa)	5	v	1	FC Broxelona A (Eng)
* Forn De N'aina won 2-0 on penalties.

We were at the 2017 Mallorca Fives Cup Semi-Final stage and from 18 teams who started the day we were down to the final 4. Before the Quarter-Finals we had 5 nationalities vying for glory – this was now 4 with Argentina, England, France and Spain still harbouring hopes of success!

Up first was Blue Collar Revolution versus Forn De N'aina. Blue Collar Revolution came into the game brimming with confidence and unbeaten so far today with 6 wins from 6 games. They had scored 20 goals whilst conceding just 3. In terms of results, they were the stand out team remaining in the tournament draw. They would fancy their chances against Forn De N'aina who they defeated 4-0 in the group phase.

Forn De N'aina finished third in their group and would certainly be the underdogs coming into the game. Although they finished third in their group they defeated Group A winners FC Maroon in the Quarter-Final. They should therefore not be under-estimated.

Forn De N'aina got off to the perfect start as it was they who took the lead thanks to Matias De Llano. His fifth goal of the day was a hugely important one. Could Blue Collar Revoltion hit back? If they could, they would have to do it from 2-0 down as De Llano doubled the lead for Forn De N'aina.

Blue Collar Revolution had been 2-0 behind in their group game versus Valecuatro and came back to win 3-2. They would have to do something similarly special here to stay in the tournament. Julien Hatton scored to reduce the lead to 2-1 and it was game on. The comeback was complete when Maxime Hatton scored the equalizer. Blue Collar Revolution were unable to go on and get a winner but they were still in the hunt for the title as the game finished 2-2.

We had another penalty shoot-out to look forward to. It would be Blue Collar Revolution to shoot first:

Thomas Bastien stepped forward for the French team but saw his penalty saved. Forn De N'aina had the chance to go ahead and they did. Maxime Hatton stuck out his right boot but the ball was hit low and had enough pace to hit the back of the net for 1-0.

Morgan Lebeurre was up next but he saw his penalty slide wide of the left-hand post. Forn De N'aine now had two penalties to book their place in the Cup Final. They only needed one as Matias De Llano sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.

It was a first Cup Semi-Final defeat for Blue Collar Revolution who had looked so good. Having come back from 2-0 down, penalties was a cruel way to go out. They ended the tournament undefeated in normal time and as the team with the best overall goal difference on the day. They showed they were certainly good enough to win a eurofootballfives.com title.

So, who would take their place in the Final from the second Semi-Final? The two teams set to do battle were Valecuatro against FC Broxelona A?

These two teams had reached this stage in identical fashions with both needing a penalty shoot-out to get through their Quarter-Final after a 2-2 draw. They both finished second in their group with FC Broxelona A gaining the greater number of points (10-9) but Valecuatro had the greater goal difference (+6 compared to (+3). Valecuatro were the top scorers of the two teams today but they had a weaker defence. This looked like it could be tight and gripping contest and we would not be surprised if penalties played their part in deciding the victor.

With the match underway it was the home team who went ahead in the first half. Juan Garcia Noguera was the top goalscorer at the 2015 Mallorca Tournament with 15 goals for Seleccion Balear. Playing for Valecuatro today he had 5 to his name before this sixture. His goal was the difference between the two teams in the opening period as the teams went into half-time at 1-0.

FC Broxelona A were England's last hope of success at the 2017 Mallorca Fives and they were still very much in this game. As the second half progressed things began to drift away from them and it was largely due to Juan Garcia. He added a second and third goal to complete his hat-trick. His 7 th and 8 th goals of the tournament essentially took the game away from Broxelona.

It was always going to be tough to recover from 3-0 down and as they chased the game they were always likely to leave gaps at the back. As they did so Manuel Pardo Exposito scored a brace to make the score look emphatic. FC Broxelona did have some joy with Aaron Sunnar finding the back of the net meaning every outfield player had scored during today's tournament.

The tournament was over for FC Broxelona A but they had been superb – they obviously came to win the title but it was not to be. Maybe they could take some consolation they were the leading English team on the day.

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