Plate Semi-Final time and things were getting interesting. First up was LMH FC versus Shahs of Sunset. LMH FC had gone through a grueling Quarter-Final to reach this stage having drawn 2-2 and gone through on penalties. They would hope they could go one stage further for a debut European final.

Shahs of Sunset had a long and rich history in our knock-out phase. They had a more straight-forward route to the Semi-Final with a 3-0 win in the last round. In their previous 6 knock-out phases they had reached a Cup Semi-Final (x2), Cup Quarter-Final, Plate Semi-Final, Plate Final and Trophy Semi-Final but were yet to win a title. They did have a man with a winner's medal in their ranks though with Martin Weltman winning the Plate at the 2012 Algarve Open with Contejus Hurricanes. There was another Contejus Hurricane in the line-up, Freddie Milne, although he was not present on that 2012 sortis.

It was LMH FC who made the initial breakthrough in the match as Mark Hornsey scored his third goal of the tournament. LMH FC retained the lead until half-time. Shahs of Sunset had to find an equalizer in the second half and they did. In the shadows off the neighbouring Italian Embassy, it was Shahs of Sunset's Italian maestro Paolo Ferrari who equalized. The game finished 1-1 and we would need another penalty shoot-out. It was already our 5 th shoot-out of the day – quite a spectacle for those watching on.

Shahs of Sunset had been involved in 4 previous shoot-outs in our tournaments (won 2, lost 2) and would take the first penalty here. Anes Jusic was the man and went to his right but Johnny Lunn in goal stuck out a left boot to save it. It was advantage LMH FC and that advantage was hammered home when Roy Wheeler smashed his penalty down the middle. The strike ricocheted off Anders Schmachtenberg in the Shahs goal but he was powerless to keep it out.

Freddie Milne was the next man to take the walk from the centre circle to the penalty spot. He went to his left and Johnny Lunn stuck out a left boot to make the save this time. If he was to save the next one with his head would that be a “perfect hat-trick” of penalty saves? Let's not forget Johnny Lunn was a stand-in goalkeeper after Michael Grogan's injury sustained in the Quarter-Final shoot-out.

LMH FC were keeping the same penalty takers as the Quarter-Final and why not? They had scored every single one today. Rex Worth strode forward and rolled the ball into the right hand corner to make it 2-0 to LMH FC and send his team into the Plate Final.

The second Semi-Final was an encounter between VSG United and 3 Lions FC. VSG United had become the first team to reach a eurofootballfives.com Semi-Final (although Funfoot and Lilchicago were also shortly due to do so in the Cup Semi-Finals).

3 Lions FC were playing in a eurofootballfives.com tournament for the sixth time. They had qualified for the Cup twice and this was their fourth time in the Plate. They had now reached the Plate Semi-Finals on all 4 occasions. They were successful in the 2008 Barca Fives when they beat Prisoners 6-1 but had missed out at the 2011 Mallorca Tournament and 2015 Budapest Fives when they went out to FC Dukesfield and Budapest Celtic Tigers respectively.

In the first period there was nothing between the two teams and we reached the break level at 0-0. Captain Chris Baginsky, who had been ever-present in every one of 3 Lions FC's tours, was the man to grab the all-important first goal to break the deadlock in the second half. Stacey Cross, who was a veteran of their very first tour to Barcelona in 2008, added a second to seal the game. It was his fifth goal of the tournament and he was now just one goal behind the leaders in the top goal-scorer charts.