We move on in the report to Group D. We began with Trilution versus Mavericks.

Mavericks made their eurofootballfives.com debut at the 2015 Algarve Open here in Portugal. They made a blistering start to life in Europe with a 3-0 win over Ireland's Depo Legends and 4-1 over compatriots, Whiteley FC. Their form then tailed off in the group phase finishing 4 th out of the 6 teams. They qualified for the Plate and after a 1-1 draw with AFC Shooters B they progressed 2-1 on penalties. Another 1-1 draw followed in the Semi-Finals against Skidmarks and another shoot-out victory (3-2) meant they reached a debut final. It was a step too far as they lost 3-0 to AFC Shooters A but picked up runners-up medals in the presentation.

They were handed a tough opening fixture in the form of Trilution as the Portuguese had done well in these events before. Trilution had the better of this game today too as they scored twice in each half to rattle off a 4-0 win. Luis Palmeiro and Aquino Novalo scored before the break. Nuno Pines scored twice after the break.

The last team to get their campaign underway was The Funky Shepherds as they took on Trilution.

The Funky Shepherds were the second team in Group B who had made their eurofootballfives.com debut at the Algarve Open. The Funky Shepherds did so in 2016 in what was a very high quality tournament and they were drawn with the 2014 Mallorca Tournament Winners (Cheesecake FC) and 2015 & 2018 Algarve Open Veterans Tournament Winners (Mini FC). They finished 4 th in their group that included a 2-0 win over Water Boy (2014 Cup Final, 2011, 2012 & 2015 Cup Semi-Final, 2013 Plate Winners). They progressed to the Plate group where they finished 5th.

These two teams met in the Plate group of that 2016 tournament and Trilution won the game, 6-0. The Funky Shepherds on their early showing were looking much stronger than 3 years ago and they held Trilution to a 0-0 draw at the break.

In the second half it got even better for The Funky Shepherds as they forced Trilution into an own goal. They couldn't quite claim the victory though as Paulo Marta equalised for the Portuguese. Nevertheless, it was a good point for The Funky Shepherds.

Maverick were next in action on Pitch D as they entertained Bundy's Boys.

As well as their 2015 Algarve Open appearance, Mavericks appeared at the 2016 Barcelona Fives. In contrast to the Algarve they got off to a slow start before picking up 4-0 and 3-1 wins over Real SoSoBad (Ire) and Giggs Boson FC (Eng) to give them hopes of qualification in our 32-team event. They then had to withdraw and so conceded 2 x 3-0 defeats which meant they slipped to 7th (of 8 teams) and miss out on the knock-out phase.

They then appeared at the 2017 Mallorca Tournament and enjoyed their most successful group phase yet. 3 wins and 1 draw from their 5 group games saw them finish second in Group A behind Lithuania's Lilchicago. They qualified for the Cup for the first time but went out at the Quarter-Final stage, 2-0 to Mallorca Look.

They were here in the Algarve for a stag weekend which would no doubt have an effect on their form particularly early on after an Albufeira Friday night. They lost their first game 4-0 but were more solid here. Bundy's Boys lost their first game narrowly 2-1. The teams drew 0-0 and would get their first points on the board.

The game that took us to the halfway stage of Group C was to be Parkwood B (Eng) versus The Funky Shepherds (Eng).

Both teams picked up positive results from their opening fixtures. For Parkwood B there was a 2-1 win to celebrate. For The Funky Shepherds there was a good draw against a strong opponent. Could either of these teams extend that positive start here?

The two teams played out a battling 0-0 first half as Group D was looking to be very evenly contested (aside from the very first game). After the break it was Parkwood B who forged ahead. Keiran Humphreys the main man in front of goal for them with his third of the day already.

The Funky Shepherds had drawn their opening game 1-1 and were to repeat the feat here in their second. James Ward scored the goal that pulled them level.