Game 6 of Veterans Group A witnessed a top of the table clash between The Blackouts and Dickie Dogs. Both teams were unbeaten, both were on 4 points and both teams had yet to concede. With Palmesanos breathing down their necks the pressure was on to get a result and advance their claims for a place in the Cup competition.

It was The Blackouts who drew first blood (not in a Luis Suarez style we hasten to add) as Ronan Gilligan became the first man today to beat Steven “The Cat” Banks in the Dickie Dogs goal.

It was 1-0 at half-time and after the break The Blackouts went from strength to strength and didn't look back as Ronan Gilligan made it 2-0 and then 3-0 to complete his hat-trick. Ferghal Blaney added a fourth for good measure and The Blackouts had secured their second 4-0 win of the day as they sent a strong message to their Group A opponents.

After such a promising start for the Dickie Dogs it was a big blow but they still had one game left to decide their fate in this group.

Palmesanos remained in joint 2nd place and with a game in hand over their Group A opponents. That game in hand would be against the team they shared second place with – Dickie Dogs.

For Dickie Dogs it was a must not lose game. It was their final group fixture and their last chance to stake a claim for Cup qualification. A win here and anything less than a victory for Palmesanos in their final fixture would mean they would progress to the Cup. A win for Dickie Dogs and then a win for Palmesanos in their last fixture would mean it coming down to goal difference. From the Spanish team's perspective, if they could avoid defeat they would be confident of finishing in the top two although a win would see them go joint top with The Blackouts.

Palmesanos got off to the perfect start as Carlos Alomar Amoros put the Spanish team ahead. It was looking ominous for Dickie Dogs having gone win-draw-loss it would be easy for them to slip up here. However, they showed great fighting spirit and levelled things up at 1-1 through Neil Ainger's third of the competition.

As it stood a draw would probably not be enough for them to progress unless other results unexpectedly went their way. The Dickie Dogs could not claim the winner but did achieve a very good draw and capped a very good group performance for them – much improved compared to Lisbon 2013.

For Palmesanos, a draw was ok for them and they had one more game to settle their future in this tournament.

The Blackouts went into their final game of Group A knowing a win would seal the Group A title. A draw may well be enough to achieve the same goal but it would leave them vulnerable to a Palmesanos win leapfrogging them in the final Group A fixture.

The Blackouts opponents were Norton Old Boys who had just picked up a thumping 6-1 win. We know from 2012 that this team is capable of going on a winning run so The Blackouts would no doubt be in for a tougher game than they would have expected before the Norton Old Boys win.

The Blackouts were still to concede a goal in the tournament so when Darragh Cox put his team ahead the writing looked on the wall for Norton Old Boys. At half-time it was 1-0 and as the old adage goes “you are never safe at 1-0”. However, you are a bit safer at 2-0 and when Ronan Gilligan doubled the lead for The Blackouts in the second period it looked game, set and match to the Irish team and so it proved. Final score, 2-0.

Congratulations to The Blackouts who would qualify for the Cup competition as Group A champions. For Norton Old Boys they remained 4th and were hoping Son Veri Vets would not win to knock them out of the Plate places.

So up next was Son Veri Vets against Palmesanos. So, what would the teams need to do in this game to advance their tournament;

Son Veri Vets: It was a simple equation for Son Veri Vets – a win would take them into fourth place and qualify for the Plate. Anything less and they would finish 5 th and face elimination from the tournament.

Palmesanos: A win or a draw would see them qualify for the Cup in second position. They could even afford to lose as long as it was not a thrashing due to their superior goal difference compared to Dickie Dogs. They would have to lose by 7 to give up the advantage of goal difference.

Maybe, knowing that barring disaster, they were virtually through enabled Palmesanos to play with a certain freedom and as such they put Son Veri Vets to the sword with the biggest win in Group A. Since a creditable 0-0 against Dickie Dogs the Son Veri Vets defence had crumbled conceding 6 against Norton Old Boys and now 8 goals against Palmesanos.

It was 5-1 to Palmesanos at half-time and 8-1 by the end when the referee put Son Veri Vets out of their misery. The goals were shared around with Javier Alodear (2), Javier Olivas Garcia (2), Carlos Alomar Amoros (2), Julian Lopez Meija and Fernando Gonzalez Forteza all finding a successful path to goal.

Son Veri Vets could now enjoy all that the location had to offer – stunning beach, hot sun, café serving cold beer. Perfect.