The afternoon knock-out phase of the 2015 Budapest Fives began with the Plate Quarter-Finals. There would be just 2 Quarter-Finals as Budapest Celtic Tigers had earned themselves a bye to the Semi-Finals courtesy of their 3rd placed finish in Group B. Additionally, Budapest Celtic Pumas had to withdraw due to injuries so Narnajitos earned a 3-0 walkover to get them through to the Semis.

First up on the pitch was Maverick FC versus 3 Lions FC on Pitch A. Pitch A had been home to Maverick FC but it had not been a happy home as they finished 5th in Group A. Despite this, their domestic UK form was good (see below) so hopefully they would be able to discover this form in the knock-out phase.

For 3 Lions FC this was their 2nd Plate Quarter-Final – 7 years after their first one. On that occasion, in the 2008 Barca Fives, they won it 4-1 versus CSF (who are 4 times Plate Winners) and went all the way to the Plate Final. A repeat would do them just nicely here.

It looked good for the English 3 Lions as they opened up a 3-1 lead by half-time thanks to a goal from Konrad Chrzanowski and 2 from Andy Sproat. For Maverick FC, wearing a Dutch lion on their shirts, a goal from Sean Barwick kept them in the hunt.

When Taranjit Panesar made it 4-1 to 3 Lions FC in the second half the tie was over and it was 3 Lions FC who would progress to the Semi-Finals.

It was farewell to Maverick FC on the pitch who summed up their day with the motif “If goals were beers….”

The second quarter-final was to be Peckham Legends versus Fleet Street Elite FC as 5th from Group B entertained 4th from Group C. It was the first Quarter-Final for either team in our tournaments.

In the group stage Peckham Legends collected 2 points with 0-0 and 1-1 draws against the teams finishing 2nd and 3rd in their group. There was no shame in a 5-0 loss to CIS of Belarus and they also collected a 3-0 loss to 3 Lions. Fleet Street Elite FC collected 3 points with a victory over Budapest Celtic Pumas but had an extra defeat to their name. Both sides had a goal difference of -8 which meant we anticipated a close contest in this one.

Fleet Street Elite FC had other ideas though as they took command in the first half with both goals from Harry Milburn. After the break it looked like those goals were to be sufficient to see Fleet Street Elite FC through to the next stage. Peckham Legends launched a late rally though and goals from Edward Sterne and James Howden-Browne earned them a 2-2 draw. The tie would be settled with a penalty shoot-out.

All eyes were on the goalkeepers as they had a chance to emerge as heroes. So, would it be Adam Kerrins (Fleet Street Elite FC) or Glauco Bittencourt (Peckham Legends) to take the plaudits? Cometh the hour, cometh the man and that man was Adam Kerrins who saved both the spot-kicks he faced. Fleet Street Elite FC also bagged both their penalties including one from captain Darren Clarke who sent their team through to the Semi-Finals.

For Peckham Legends the tournament was over and, like the departing Maverick FC in the other Quarter-Final, the Peckham Legends had been a joy to host at the 2015 Budapest Fives. We look forward to seeing you on tour again in the future.