As we moved beyond the half-way stage of Group A we had second placed Bure Park Seniors entertaining fourth placed Peebles All Stars. Bure Park Seniors had been dealing in “one-nil's” so far. They had been on the correct end of two of them but had been on the wrong end in their last venture on Campo C.

Peebles All Stars had started off with two defeats (0-1, 1-3) but had just secured their opening point following a 0-0 draw with Legends of the Vale. Could that be the springboard for their campaign with three group games still to go?

When the two teams met in the very first game of the Veterans tournament it was 1-0 to Bure Park Seniors. The two teams could not be divided in this return fixture and had to settle for a point each.

In the context of the group it didn't really help either team as they remained in second and fourth positions.

7 games down, 5 to go as we looked to establish which two teams would qualify for the Cup competition and which two teams would progress to the Plate competition. The next two teams to take the field were Policia Local de Palma and Legends of the Vale.

Policia Local de Palma were currently top of the table on goal difference but had a game in hand on Bure Park Seniors. A win here would open up a three point gap and ensure Cup qualification with two games to spare. It would not be easy though as they faced a team who took 2 points off them earlier in the day.

Legends of the Vale could make it very tight at the top with victory here. They came from a goal down against the same opposition earlier in the day. This afternoon though it was they who took the lead. Steve Finner provided the assist in the return game, he was on the scoresheet himself this time.

Defensively Legends of the Vale were looking strong as Ian Channing and his defence kept their second successive clean sheet. It was an excellent 1-0 win to the English team.

Policia Local de Palma returned to the pitch for game #8 of Group A. They had just missed out on the opportunity to open up a 3-point gap at the top of the table. They would now have another chance against Peebles All Stars.

Peebles All Stars had steadied the ship after two opening defeats. Two clean sheets for Joe Fernand and two successive 0-0 draws gave them a platform and they were seeking their first win. If they could achieve it the league table would look very interesting with just 2 points separating all four teams. If Peebles All Stars were to lose then they would start to be cut adrift at the foot of the table.

It didn't start well for our Scottish friends as it was the Spanish who forged ahead. When the Policia went 1-0 up it looked like they had recovered from their blip in the previous game. However, Peebles All Stars had other ideas!

Two quickfire goals turned 1-0 into 1-2 with Ronnie McEwan, making his debut in our Veterans events, equalizing for 1-1. Then Scott Hutcheson, veteran of all 3 eurofootballfives.com tours, put his team 2-1 ahead and a famous victory was on the cards. The game finished 2-1 and defeating the league leaders was a fine way to get your first 3 points on the board.

Legends of the Vale came into the game on the back of 4 points from a possible 6 that had put them in contention of the Cup qualification places and the Group A win. They were just two points off the league leaders with two games to play. They were up against one of those teams above them, Bure Park Seniors.

Bure Park Seniors came off the field in their previous game level on points with Policia Local de Palma but with their Spanish rivals having a game in hand. The Policia had played twice since Bure Park Seniors last took to the field and lost both of those games. It was now Bure Park Seniors who had a game in hand and could move 3 points clear at the top with victory here. A win would secure them safe passage to the Cup competition.

Bure Park Seniors may well have been confident having secured a 1-0 win over the same opponents earlier in the day. They were to better that result here – Ian Mansley and Chris Weedon each scored their second goal of the tournament. At the other end there was a fourth clean sheet in five games for the defence. Final score, 2-0.

We now had just two games to go in Group A – one game each for the four respective teams to put some final points on the board. First up was Legends of the Vale versus Peebles All Stars. The two teams could each realistically harbor hopes of reaching the Cup – they needed to win here and hope Policia Local de Palma lost their final game.

The two teams sat in fourth and third positions respectively. Both teams had 1 win and 2 draws to show for their efforts, both teams had a goal difference of -2, both teams had picked up excellent wins against Policia Local de Palma. When the two teams met face-to-face earlier in the day they drew 0-0. Could they be separated this time?

The short answer to that is no. The two defences were on top again as we played out another 0-0 draw. The result meant that the two teams would remain in third and fourth positions. Although they had identical goal difference and identical head to head records it was Peebles All Stars who claimed the higher group finish courtesy of goals scored. Both teams would qualify for the Plate competition but could be proud of their work in the group phase.

The biggest beneficiaries of the 0-0 draw in the game above were Policia Local de Palma. It meant they could not be caught in second position and, as such, they would qualify for the Cup in second place at worst. Bure Park Seniors could crown a fine day's work so far by avoiding defeat. Avoiding defeat would give them the Group A win.

For Policia Local to win the group they would just need to win. A one goal win would equalize the goal difference and they would top the group on goals scored. A bigger win would see them take Group A on goal difference.

Policia Local de Palma had won their group twice before in our tournaments – at the 2011 and 2013 Mallorca Tournaments. Bure Park Seniors had yet to win a group phase in our events….until now.

An incredible fifth clean sheet in six games was enough to do it as the game finished goalless. Winning the group was not only important for pride, honour and sense of achievement. It was also important as it provided a (theoretically) easier place in the Semi-Final draw. They could go into the knock-out phase with confidence.