As the 2018 Mallorca Tournament Quarter-Finals were about to get underway we were down to the elite 8 teams in the tournament with Ecuador, England and Spain each represented.

We started on Pitch A with Bar Maruru versus Yac Club Reserves. Bar Maruru were the number 1 ranked team in the group phase. They won Group A with 13 points from a possible 15 and had the best goal difference of the morning (16-2). They were the top scorers and had the second best defensive record.

As you can see Yac Club Reserves faced a formidable task. The Yac Club team had only lost 1-0 to Bar Maruru in the group phase. Could they help their Reserves team plot a famous victory?

Preparations did not go well with further injuries and illness to an already struggling squad in terms of fitness. Bar Maruru probably didn't need much assistance but they took full advantage.

Juanjo Vanrell in particular was running hot in front of goal. He scored a hat-trick to send his team through to the Semi-Finals. Pacquiao scored the second goal of the match as Bar Maruru ran out 4-0 winners.

So, who would meet Bar Maruru in the Semi-Final? It was PVDC Eindhoven against Urbansport. This was a game between a strong and steady PVDC Eindhoven team who had kept 4 clean sheets in securing 3 wins and 1 draw in the group phase. Urbansport's results had been up and down – 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats. Big wins and heavy defeats. You were not quite sure what you were going to get with Urbansport.

If you were reading the report from Group A you will have read that the Spanish have played in the tournament as Valecuatro, Inter/Seleccion Balear and Urbansport.

Their record has read:

2015 Mallorca Fives: Won the Plate as Seleccion Balear

2017 Mallorca Fives: Won the Cup as Valecuatro

2017 Mallorca Tournament: Won the Plate as Inter Balear

2018 Mallorca Fives: As Inter Balear, 1 draw from 5 games. Out in the group phase.

2018 Mallorca Fives: As Urbansport – won group, reached Cup SF (but lost 7-0).

Their games had traditionally been high scoring but this game was low-scoring – that may well have helped them. It kept the focus to reduce the volatility and erraticism. It may well have suited PVDC Eindhoven too – having conceded just the 1 so far they knew if they could score at the other end it may well get them through to the Semi-Finals.

Just the one goal decided this one – Domingo scored twice in the group phase but his third of the day was undeniably the most important. Final score, PVDC Eindhoven (Eng) 0-1 Urbansport (Spa).

Quarter-Final three was Burritos FC versus Fiorentina Turner 1. This promised to be the closest Quarter-Final tie yet as it was the second placed team in Group A versus the third placed team in Group B.

Burritos FC finished second in Group A with a haul of 7 points, 4 goals scored and 5 conceded. Although they finished third in Group B, Fiorentina Turner 2 had the better record – more points (8), more goals (15), less conceded (4).

Burritos FC also had a bit of a hoodoo to overcome in the Quarter-Finals of our tournaments. On debut in 2013, both their squads went out at this stage in Barcelona. 12 months ago they went out on penalties to Lilchicago at the 2017 Vilnius Tournament. Although the 2016 Lisbon Tournament went straight to Semi-Finals, Burritos went out at the first knock-out phase (to the eventual winners it must be said). Could Mallorca end this unwanted record?

Fiorentina Turner were in a similar situation – they reached the Cup Quarter-Finals at the 2017 Barcelona Fives and went out to a good Danish Dynamites team, 2-0.

It was Fiorentina Turner 1 who established the lead as the free-scoring Harry Boys and Matt Perry continued to find the back of the net. It was the former who made it 1-0, the latter who made it 2-0 and then the former again who made it 3-0. Burritos got back into it with Matthew Lee reducing the lead to 3-1. It was a fine day for Lee who scored 4 in 6 but it could not prevent his team bowing out today.

The final Quarter-Final was Ecuador 100 versus Yac Club. Yac Club had produced their best group finish in our tournaments. They had reached the Quarter-Finals in Riga 2016 and Barcelona 2017 but both of those had been in the Trophy competition – our third tier competition. Today, they were competing in the elite top tier Cup competition.

Ecuador 100 in their seventh tournament were playing in their third Cup Quarter-Finals. Despite debut in 2012, it took them until 2015 to reach the Cup. They lost their Quarter-Final then (2-1) to Policia Local de Palma. Two years later in 2017 they drew 1-1 with Melee FC and went through 2-1 on penalties. Incidentally, Melee FC were our 2018 Amsterdam Fives winners so this was quite a result.

Today Ecuador 100 were unbeaten and had won 4 games in a row. They were strong favourites having won Group B and playing against the fourth placed team from Group A. Yac Club competed well in this game but they didn't quite have enough to lay a glove on the Ecuadorians.

In the end, a double from Jon won it for Ecuador 100. There was no way back for Yac Club on what had been a personal best achievement for them in our tournaments. Sadly though, it was the end of their day – on the pitch at least.