Welcome to the eurofootballfives.com Veterans Tournament Post-Tournament Report – Mallorca 2014. A great day was had by all under the glorious Spanish sun during the second edition of our Veterans extravaganza. Lisbon 2013 was a great debut but Mallorca 2014 took us to another level.

First up on Pitch A was The Blackouts (Ire) versus Son Veri Vets (Spa). The Blackouts were on debut and the second Irish team to compete in our Veterans Tournament after Intermore FC competed last year. Intermore FC finished 5th on that occasion – could The Blackouts exceed that?

They certainly started off in fine style as two goals in each half saw them overpower Son Veri Vets in this curtain-raiser. There were two goals each for Eoin McCormack and Ronan Gilligan to set them on their way.

For Son Veri Vets competing in their first eurofootballfives.com tournament it was a disappointing start. They had won, as Arenal Vets, the Wooden Spoon contest in the 2013 regular Mallorca Tournament.

The final team to get underway was Spanish team Palmesanos who were kicking off in eurofootballfives.com action for the very first time. They came up against The Blackouts who were looking to make it two wins out of two at the start of the tournament.

Palmesanos were proving to be tougher opposition than Son Veri Vets and goals were conspicuous by their absence. The two teams reached half-time at 0-0. Defences were on top in the second half two as neither attacking unit could find a breakthrough and earn victory for their team. It was a second sheet for Noel Holland in The Blackouts goal as the Irish team had produced a return of 4 points from a possible 6 at the start of Group A.

Palmesanos had begun their campaign with a solid 0-0 and given The Blackouts convincing opening 4-0 win you would think this had to go down as a point gained rather than 2 points lost.

Son Veri Vets second game was against Dickie Dogs. Son Veri Vets were looking to avenge opening game defeat against the team from England. In contrast, Dickie Dogs were looking to build upon a solid opening start to the competition and with a win could go top of the table.

Game 4 of Group A very much followed the pattern of Game 3 above whereby goals were hard to come by in the opening period and the teams could not be separated. We reached the break all level at 0-0. After the re-start the deadlock remained and we finished with a second successive goal-less draw. It was a marked improvement for Son Veri Vets who had banished their 4-0 opening loss.

For Dickie Dogs, they would have been hoping for victory to send them two points clear at the top but a draw saw them join The Blackouts at the top of the table – separated only by goal difference.

Norton Old Boys played their first eurofootballfives.com tournament in the 2010 Barcelona Fives missing out on the knock-out phase. 12 months later, in the 2011 Prague Masters, they picked up their first eurofootballfives victory and qualified for the Plate before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat to Czech team Fridays. In a very tough 2012 Mallorca Tournament Norton Old Boys third eurofootballfives.com appearance was a hugely successful one as they took an impressive victory in the Plate competition. In 2013 they found it tough in the Algarve Open finishing 6 th in their group before finishing the day on a high winning the Wooden Spoon Playoff.

This year will mark their debut in the Veterans Tournament. They had opened up with a 2-0 defeat to Dickie Dogs and were looking to bounce back when they met Palmesanos. The Spanish team had a point to show from their first game after a 0-0 draw.

After two 0-0 draws in a row it was a relief to see a goal in the first half here although we're sure Norton Old Boys would not agree as the drought was broken by Carlos Alomar Amoros. Julian Lopez Meija then added a double after half-time before Javier Alodear completed a 4-0 victory.

The win for Palmesanos meant we had a three-team tie at the mid-point of Group A.