Next
up on Pitch C was the clash between Los Amblos
and The Warriors. T hese two teams had been
drawn in the same group for the fourth tournament
in a row between Mallorca 2017 and Lisbon 2022.
At last year's Mallorca Veterans they avoided
each other but were back in direct competition
in Porto.
At
the 2017 Mallorca Veterans Tournament they met
in their respective final fixtures of Group
B – it was a closely fought game which saw Los
Amblos (playing as Crabtree Amblers) win 1-0.
Ade Chester was the man on target. At the 2018
Algarve Veterans Tournament it finished all
square at 1-1. Mike Petevinos put Los Amblos
ahead before James Newton levelled thing up
for The Warriors. At the 2019 Alicante Tournament
it was another 1-0 win for Los Amblos thanks
to a James Myers goal this time. The Warriors
turned the tables in the 2022 Lisbon Veterans
tournament as a Mark Brooksby double won it
for his team, 2-0.
The
Warriors came into this game joint level with
Polonia Limerick at the top of the table. They
were currently in second on goal difference.
A draw would put them back on top but, to satisfy
title aspirations, they really needed the three
points. Los Amblos had lost 3-1 to Polonia Limerick
first time out but then drew 2-2 with Bure Park
Old Boys in their previous fixture.
At
the end of Round 3, these teams were in 1st
and 6th place respectively but on the field
these two teams were very closely matched. This
game was perhaps a good example of how close
all teams in the SuperVets category were. Every
game had been competitive to date. In fact,
there was nothing to divide the teams in this
match as both the first half and second half
came and went with no score. We finished 0-0.
A result that would preserve The Warriors unbeaten
record, preserve their tournament clean sheet
but would perhaps be damaging to their title
charge.
|