We arrived at the Plate Quarter-Final stage and we would shortly see eight teams reduced to four teams. We had a high quality line-up in the Plate with the teams generally well matched in the group phase and not too much to choose between them. We began on Pitch C with FC Tpaktop I versus Shrewsbury Townsend.

In their three previous appearances with us, Shrewsbury Townsend had reached the Cup once and the Plate twice. At the 2012 Berlin Fives they reached the Cup Final and both their Plate appearances ended in Semi-Final defeat. They'd played in two Quarter-Finals and had won both. They were looking to keep that record up to reach another Semi-Final.

It was FC Tpaktop I who got off to the faster start in terms of goals. They forged ahead and made it 1-0. Shrewsbury Townsend's form in the last four games was pretty good with 2 wins, 1 draw and just 1 defeat. The English team were level when Joey Massarella equalized for 1-1.

Should the game end in a draw we would need a penalty shoot-out to decide matters. That would not be necessary though as we had a winner in normal time. The winner was scored by Mohammed Brett's third goal of the competition as he sent FC Tpaktop I through to the next round. Our commiserations to Shrewsbury Townsend who had fought valiantly with a depleted squad. Who knows how far they good have gone with a full complement of players?

In the lower half of the Quarter-Final draw it was AC Motxto International versus FC Tpaktop II. The Spanish team would have fond memories of their Plate campaign at the 2018 Algarve Open. There was a 2-0 Quarter-Final win over Real de Groot (Hol) and a win on penalties in the Semi-Final against Elbersiktas (Hol). In the Plate Final they beat Pique Blinders 1-0 to spark wild celebrations.

They had been unable to recreate that success in their two subsequent campaigns at the 2019 Alicante Tournament where they exited at this QF stage in the Open Age category and the Semi-Finals in the Veterans category. Today the Spanish team had competed well with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats which meant 8 points and a goal difference of 0. FC TPaktop II were not too far off statistically with 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats which meant 7 points but they had a +1 goal difference.

We expected a close game and that's exactly what they got. There was only one goal to separate the two teams in a low-scoring affair. Artiom Vlasov had been on fine form today for FC Tpaktop II and his goalscoring prowess continued here as he proved to be the match winner again for his side. Combined with a solid defensive display, his goal sent FC Tpaktop II through to the semi-finals where they would join FC Tpaktop I. We had to say farewell to AC Motxto International for today but it was great to see them back on tour.

The final Quarter-Final saw Les 5 Salopards take on Mitre FC Vets. It was the third placed team in Group B (Les 5 Salopards) who only missed out on the Cup at the death of Group B taking on the 6 th placed team in Group A (Mitre FC Vets) who only reached this stage with a win in their final group match. On paper, Les 5 Salopards were certainly favourites although we all know the game isn't played on paper.

Mitre FC Vets exited the 2023 Barcelona Veterans at this stage so if they could progress from this tie it would be their best run in a tournament to date. Les 5 Salopards had reached Cup Semi-Finals in their first two campaigns with us (2013 Budapest Fives, 2022 Lisbon Veterans Tournament) and the Cup Quarter-Finals at their most recent event (2023 Mallorca Veterans Tournament). As such, the French team were much fancied for this tie.

It was Mitre FC Vets who drew first blood though. Steve Ashman was the English team's top scorer so far with 4 goals and he took his tally to 5 goals as he put his team 1-0 up. Mitre FC Vets were well and truly in the ascendency when Steve Ashman doubled the lead. Could Les 5 Salopards recover?

The comeback started with Naim Tarbi who reduced the deficit to 2-1. The teams were level when Nadir Tarbi scored his 8 th goal of the competition. The momentum was now with the French team but it was Mitre FC Vets who regained the lead at 3-2. Rakesh Pattani chose the perfect moment to pop up with his first goal of the day as his strike sent Mitre FC Vets through and Les 5 Salopards tumbling out of the tournament. It was a huge result for the English team.

We had to say farewell to Les 5 Salopards and we thank them for their continued support of our events. See you next time.