2023 Krakow Trophy 6-a-side Football Tournament Tour Report Cup Semi-Finals

Results

Moles Salah (Eng)	0	V	1	Big Time Krakow (Pol)
Mngball FC (Eng)	7	V	1	Krwiodawcow Cracovii (Pol)

We were at the 2023 Krakow Trophy Cup Semi-Final stage and from the 12 teams who started the day we were down to the final 4. Any 4 of the teams looked capable of victory. We had previous eurofootballfives winners – Skidmarks & RAF, Plate winners Turn Down For Watford and Cup Semi-Finalists, Colonel Getafe.

Up first was RAF versus Colonel Getafe. RAF have quite the record in our events. They won the 2015 Algarve Open and 2019 Lisbon Tournament Plate. They were runners-up at the 2022 Lisbon Tournament and recently had 4 Cup Semi-Final defeats at the 2019 Mallorca Fives, 2022 Amsterdam Sixes and both their squads at the 2023 Lisbon Tournament. They were desperate to collect that second Cup title but faced quite a challenge in Colonel Getafe to reach their first Cup Final outside of Portugal.

Colonel Getafe played at the Amsterdam Sevens last year and reached the Cup Semi-Finals before a narrow 1-0 loss prevented them reaching the Cup Final on debut. Here in Krakow it was RAF who drew first blood. Tiago Nogueira had been their main man in front of goal today with two hat-tricks to date. He added his 7th of the tournament to put RAF ahead. Colonel Getafe were soon level as Teddie Hanifan levelled the match at 1-1.

We were still level at 1-1 as we kicked off the second period with the game delicately poised. Mid-way through the second period, as tensions were growing, Jaime Matos saw the red mist and then saw a red card as he was dismissed from the field. This always looked like it could be pivotal. Colonel Getafe wasted no time in taking advantage as they were soon 2-1 ahead thanks to a strike from Ben Watson. Time was running out for RAF and with a man down they were struggling to make headway against the English side who were managing the game well. That was until the final moments when RAF had a free kick on the edge of the area. A goal here could earn them a draw and a penalty shoot-out but Colonel Getafe saw out the danger and the referee blew for full-time soon after.

What a result for Colonel Getafe! RAF's search for a second title would go on.

In the highly anticipated 2nd Cup Semi-Final, Turn Down For Watford met Skidmarks in a match that promised intense competition with a spot in the final on the line. The first half proved to be decisive, with all the goals being scored during this period.

Turn Down For Watford had been the team of the morning with the longest 100% record lasting 4 games. Following Plate success at the 2022 Amsterdam Sevens they had qualified for the Cup competition for the first time with us.

Skidmarks had qualified for the Cup for the 10th time in 12 tournaments. On those previous 9 occassions they had gone on to reach the final 6 times, had 2x Semi-Final and 1x Quarter-Final defeat. Of those 6 finals they were winners at the 2011 Valencia Fives, 2012 Krakow Trophy and 2019 Budapest Fives. If they could go onto win today's tournament they would become the fourth team in history to have won four titles or more in our events.

Turn Down For Watford got off to a flying start in the match, with Jase Opuku-Afriyie opening the scoring to give his team an early lead. Opuku-Afriyie continued to make an impact, doubling his tally before halftime, setting the tone for Turn Down For Watford.

As the game progressed, Rich Lyons contributed to Turn Down For Watford's dominance by scoring his third goal of the tournament, extending the lead to 3-0. Jase Opuku-Afriyie, who had already shown his goal-scoring prowess at the 2022 Amsterdam Sevens by winning the golden boot, completed his hat-trick with another goal. The match ended with a convincing 4-0 victory for Turn Down For Watford, who displayed their top form and secured their place to take on Colonel Getafe for the title. They would take momentum forward in their quest for the tournament's top prize.

Skidmarks, despite their efforts, were unable to overcome Turn Down For Watford's strong performance. The most experienced and mature squad in the tournament suffered early injuries which perhaps caught up with them a touch towards the end.

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