Last but not least, we come to Group D where the group began with Selga (Lat) versus Paralytic Athletic (Eng). The home team were making their debut in our tournaments so we would get our first glimpse of them in action soon.

Paralytic Athletic (Eng) began their association with eurofootballfives.com in July 2016 at the Amsterdam Fives. They secured 3 wins and 9 points from their group fixtures as they finished 2nd in Group A. They qualified for the prestigious Cup competition and claimed the scalp of Spider Man 1s in the Quarter-Finals with a 1-0 victory. They were up against a very good Benecke side in the Semi-Finals and took the game all the way to penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time. Benecke went on to win the shoot-out and then the tournament.

They followed up Amsterdam with an appearance at the 2017 Budapest Fives. It was another strong group performance that saw them unbeaten with 3 wins and 2 draws. They finished joint top of Group B in terms of points (with 2016 Krakow Trophy winners, Tinniedad & Tobacco) but were second on goal difference. In the Cup Quarter-Finals they drew 2-2 with the defending champions (Meglepetes) and went through 2-1 on penalties. In the Semi-Finals it was a 0-0 draw against Budapest Celtic before going out on penalties this time. It was déjà vu for Paralytic Athletic. Will it be third time lucky in reaching that debut European final?

It was so far so good after their first game. Two quick-fire goals in the 3rd minute put them in control with Jack Veness and Alex Wood both on target. Mid-way through the second half Connor O'Reilly completed a routine 3-0 victory. Paralytic Athletic were up and running in Riga.

Match 2 in Group D saw 3 Lions FC meet Deddington Sea Squirrels as two teams familiar with our tournaments would meet face-to-face for the first time.

It is appearance number 7 for Chris Baginsky's 3 Lions FC who made their debut in the 2008 Barca Fives. They came very close to going home with a trophy when they finished runners-up in the Plate competition. They were on fire in the knock-out stage with a 4-1 win over the CSF in the quarter-finals and a 6-1 win over the 2008 Prague Masters Plate winners, Prisoners, in the semi-finals. They then fell at the last hurdle against Czech team DHL Prague 3-1 in the final. They returned to action in the 2009 Amsterdam Fives where they were outstanding in the group phase winning 10 points out of 12 to take Group A (only a 1-1 draw with the CSF prevented a 100% record) before a surprise Cup quarter-final exit.

Their next appearance was at the 2011 Mallorca Tournament where they finished 3rd in their 6-team group. They went on to the Plate Semi-Finals where they lost narrowly (2-1) to eventual winners FC Dukesfield. After Mallorca, was the 2014 Berlin Fives where 3 wins out of 4 in the group stage saw them qualify for the Cup before they succumbed to the eventual champions, Hasanheide Hotspur, in the Quarter-Finals.

The 2016 Budapest Fives followed where they drew a tough group that featured 3 x eurofootballfives.com winners CIS Committee (Blr) and 2 x eurofootballfives.com winners Budapest Celtic (Hun). They finished 4th to qualify for the Plate competition. They beat Maverick FC 4-1 in the Quarter-Finals before succumbing to Budapest Celtic who they met again in the Semi-Finals. Their most recent appearance came at the 2017 Vilnius Tournament where they finished 3rd of 5 teams with 1 win and 2 draws in their 4 fixtures. In the knock-out phase they beat AFC Shooters A 2-1 in the Quarter-Finals, 2-0 against VSG United in the Semi-Finals and met LMH FC in the final. They lost 1-0 in the final to pick-up runners-up medals for the second time in their eurofootballfives.com careers.

We'll preview Deddington Sea Squirrels in more detail as we progress with this report. They made a runaway start in this game as Jonathan Simon Norris scored twice in the opening couple of minutes. Roy Vissers pulled a goal back for 3 Lions before Deddington Sea Squirrels opened up a comfortable lead. Josh Pascoe and Mark Cook scored to make it 4-1.

In the second half Chris Baginsky pulled a goal back to make it 4-2. It was “a real fluke, Chris tripped up and it went in” – not my words but the words of his team-mate and close personal friend Stacey Cross! Mark Cook completed the victory for Deddington Sea Squirrels as he made it 5-2 with a minute left on the clock.

The final team to get underway in Group D was Riga Spartans. They were up against Selga who already had a 3-0 loss to their name so would be desperate to bounce back and get some points on the board.

Riga Spartans, like Selga, were on debut in our events so we would get our first look at how they might fare in today's event. It was a tough start as Selga scored in the 3rd and the 4th minute to take control of this game. Janis Weilands had the honour of scoring his team's first goal in our tournaments. They did not have to wait long for the second with Maris Upeniegs doubling the advantage.

2-0 at half-time became 3-0 at full-time with Arnis Miezis completing a very good 3 points for Selga. Not only had they claimed their first win but they had wiped out their negative goal difference from their first game.

There was still time for Riga Spartans to find their feet in this tournament.

Paralytic Athletic were next in action against 3 Lions FC as the “home” team in this tie. They were looking to make it 2 from 2 with back to back victories. 3 Lions FC were looking to avoid making it 2 from 2 by avoiding back to back defeats. It would not be easy against a Paralytic Athletic team who had an excellent group record in our tournaments.

2016 Amsterdam Fives

Played 4, Won 3, Drawn 0, Lost 1. For 16, Against 8. Points 9 (2nd of 5 teams)

2017 Budapest Fives

Played 5, Won 3, Drawn 2, Lost 0. For 5, Against 1. Points 11 (2nd of 6 teams)

Overall Group Record

Played 9, Won 6, Drawn 2, Lost 1. For 21, Against 9. Points 20

If you add in their 3-0 win this morning they had taken 23 points from a possible 30 on offer. It was impressive stuff and it was set to continue. They were 1-0 up at half-time and 3-0 up at full time to collect another victory.

Connor O'Reilly was the man to write the headlines with a hat-trick which took him to 4 goals for the tournament. Paralytic Athletic were top of Group D.

The game that brought us to the halfway stage of Group D was Deddington Sea Squirrels and Riga Spartans. The former came into the game on the back of fine opening victory. The latter were looking to respond to an opening game defeat.

Deddington Sea Squirrels were in Latvia for their second eurofootballfives.com tour. This time last year they were in Poland for the 2017 Krakow Trophy playing as the Sea Eagles and Sea Otters. The Eagles squad won 2, drew 2 and lost 1 on their way to 3rd place in Group A. The Otters won 3, drew 1 and lost 1 on their way to 3rd place in Group B. Both teams would qualify for the Plate Semi-Finals.

The Sea Eagles won their Semi-Final 4-1 over Belgium's Trinacria. The Sea Otters were hoping to set-up an all-Deddington final but Fylde FC A had other ideas with a 7-1 victory. The Sea Eagles fared better against Fylde as they played out a 2-2 draw in the Plate Final. Penalties would decide the Plate and it was Deddington Sea Eagles who were victorious to pick-up silverware on debut.

Instead of the Plate, it looked like Deddington should be aiming for the Cup here in Riga. With a 5-2 win under their belts they hit the front here with Jonathan Simon Norris scoring his third of the tournament. The goal afforded Deddington the lead at the change of ends.

Riga Spartans were improved relative to their opening game and they scored their first of the tournament with Seibin Xavier finding the net. Alas for the local team it would only be a consolation as Josh Pascoe scored what ultimately proved to be the winner. His second in as many games ensured it was 6 points from a possible 6 for Deddington Sea Squirrels.