Group C was really hotting up as we entered Round 4. We kicked off on Pitch A which was becoming a bit of a home ground for John Laing with their third game on a row on here. If it was their home ground it was becoming a fortress. They had enjoyed a stunning start to Group C with three wins out of three but this could be their biggest test yet as they faced the team in third place – Leave It FC.

Leave It FC had started modestly with two draws in their opening two games but were moving through the gears as they picked up their first win last time out. Both teams had identical defensive records with just the one goal conceded but the main reason John Laing were top and Leave It FC were third was the “goals for” column. John Laing had found the net 8 times to Leave It FC's 2.

Group C continued to host tight games and this was no different. Of the 12 previous games, 9 had been draws or settled by the odd goal with only 3 seeing a margin of two or more. This game would make it double figures for the draw or odd goal win.

It was John Laing who claimed the only goal of the game and Matthew Kemp was the man to score it. His team's superb start to the Barcelona Fives just got better and better – 4 wins out of 4.

As touched upon above, a common theme in Group C was how tight the games were but what happened on Pitch B in Round 4 was a very one-sided game. It was a rout and it came out of nowhere. The game was Skackney FC versus Argon'ze.

Skackney FC had seen mixed results with 1 draw, 1 loss and 1 win (in that order). Argon'ze had opened up with 2 draws but just tasted defeat for the first time. Skackney FC had scored at 0.67 goals per game, Argon'ze had conceded at 1 goal per game. The 7-0 win for Skackney FC was certainly atypical for Group C and these two teams so far.

It was an absolutely huge result for Skackney FC. Daniel Sinclair put them 1-0 up, Scott Munro made it 2-0 and then 3-0. Sam Harris got in on the act to make it 4-0, 5-0 and complete his hat-trick to make it 6-0. If Sam Harris was getting a hat-trick then so was Scott Munro as he was back on the score-sheet to make it 7-0. It was the record win for a kiwi team in eurofootballfives.com action after that 6-0 Fighting Pukekos win we referenced earlier in the report. The result saw Skackney FC rise to third place in the table.

What next for Argon'ze? I think the best thing is to forget this game ever happened, re-group and start again in Round 5. There was still 9 points on offer so they needed to recover quickly.

We moved onto Pitch C (or Campo C as the locals would call it) for the game between Elcombe Old Boys and Farcelona. Elcombe Old Boys record at these tournaments and Farcelona's results today would suggest this should be a home win. Elcombe Old Boys had not been at their absolute best yet though with 4 points from a possible 9 so far.

Elcombe Old Boys were imposing opposition and had a formidable record at the Barcelona Fives. Before today, since their first game at the 2013 edition of the tournament they had played 19 games with 12 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats. They had scored 45 goals and conceded just 11 with 11 clean sheets. They were on a run of 10 games unbeaten up to and including their penalty shoot-out Semi-Final exit at the 2015 tournament with 8 clean sheets in a row until the 1-1 draw in normal time. On that unbeaten run they had scored 31 goals without reply since Peter Werff scored for ADP Netherlands in Group A of the 2014 Barcelona Fives until Patrick O'Brien's goal for the Alabama Hotpockets in 2015 (in the Cup Semi-Final). It was a sensational record.

Today they had increased that unbeaten record to 12 games (in normal time) until their defeat in the last game to Me Toca Tirar. Farcelona had lost their first two games today heavily but had tighted up last time out and were showing that same resilience here against Elcombe Old Boys. Farcelona just missed out on a point in Round 3 going down 1-0 and the same fate was to befall them here. An Andrew Hampshire strike won it 1-0 for Elcombe Old Boys.

The game that would complete Round 4 and set the scene for the start of Round 5 would be Me Toca Tirar against Beercalona (Ire). Me Toca Tirar were well positioned in second place and had just picked up a good win over Elcombe Old Boys. If they were to win here and other results went their way they could well be top at the end of the game. At the very worst a win would see them consolidate second position.

Beercalona (Ire) only had the one point to show for their efforts to date but they had remained competitive throughout. They started off with a 2-1 defeat, drew 1-1 and then lost 1-0. They were due a change in fortune but against this strong team from Madrid they would do well to get a first win on the board here.

Everyone must remember Fernando Hierro of Real Madrid but another Hierro from Madrid was making a name for himself at the 2016 Barcelona Fives – Alejandro Del Hierro. Del Hierro scored his sixth of the tournament to make it 1-0 to Me Toca Tirar in this fixture. Of course Fernando Hierro was a defended but Alejandro Del Hierro was a goalscorer – more Alessandro Del Piero than Fernando Hierro. Is Alejandro Del Hierro the Spanish for Alessandro Del Piero?

Back to the football and 1-0 Me Toca Tirar became 2-0 Me Toca Tirar when Ignacio Mochales scored his second of the tournament and secured all three points for his team.