FJ Competitons Summer Soccer 7s
YC&AC  Sunday 24th August 2014

After a short break throughout the Summer, FJ Competitions returned with a fantastic day of 7s action. Sitting in my office and going through the results the tournament looks like it mirrored the FIFA World Cup. Not in terms of dodgy referees, disappearing spray and close ups of the finest looking women the world has to offer, But results wise. Group matches with plenty of goals, knockout rounds decided on the dreaded PK’s and one of the favourites losing in the knockout stages by 7 goals!

So onto the action. 15 teams. 3 groups of 5. Bottom teams in each group would head for an early drink. Not to ruin it but King George continued their fine reputation of being the first team to exit the tournament but the last to leave YC&AC!

The first two matches saw last years winners Tokyo Hibernian defeat Nepal 4-0 and the Swiss batter local boys Yamate Orient 7-0. Group B saw two new teams participate in their first 7s tournament. Blamlaki Japan narrowly lost to Kanto Academica. The all Chinese team of CCJ showed that they could score goals and concede at the same time and were held to a 4 all draw against Inter Minatomirai.

Group C saw the British Embassy draw 1-1 with FC International and Pumas shock YC&AC 3-2. The next round of matches saw the final 3 teams kick start their day. Bloomberg lost to Swiss Kickers, the Vags defeated Inter Minatomirai and King George lost 4-2 to YC&AC.

Before the tournament started there were a few concerns with regards to the weather. People thought it would be too hot. The forecast said it would be cloudy and maybe a light shower mid morning. The closest it came to raining was when Groundstaff Chris said he would cool the pitch down before the tournament started by switching on the sprinklers. I said I will clear the pitch for him. He said not to bother as only two of the sprinklers work. One minute later a jet of water was hitting the FJ tent and soaking everything and everyone around it. An epic fail on all fronts. Sorry about this pointless paragraph but I always seem to write about the weather in these reports!

The group stages were running along nicely. Notable results were CCJ  beating all opponents 3-0 and gaining the extra bonus points. Hibs beating the Swiss 5-1, Swiss then defeating Nepal 5-1. The final group match saw FC International and King George battle it out to see who would finish last! FC International held their nerve and scored the all important 3rd goal in a 3-0 victory that saw them leapfrog the Embassy into the Cup competition.

After filling in the tables and a quick Cup and Plate draw it was time for the knockouts to start. CCJ scored a last minute equaliser to take YC&AC to PK`s. Satoshi and his team held their nerve to defeat CCJ 5-4. Pumas also drew 2-2 verses 7s regulars Bloomberg. Bloomberg stepped up and scored 5 to Pumas 4. The other results saw Swiss demolish one of the pre tournaments favourites FC International 7-0. The other match saw Hibs beat Kanto Academica 3 goals to 1.

With only 4 teams in the Plate, the semi finals saw Blamlaki reach the final after beating Yamate 2-0. British Embassy had clearly been busy during pre season as they destroyed Inter Minatomirai 6-1. The Cup semi finals saw Swiss defeat Bloomberg 3-1 and the Hibs v YC&AC went to yet another penalty shootout. What I remember of this was Luciano missing his PK and Satoshi scoring his to send the Hibs home.

So finals time. The Plate kicked off first and it was never really a contest. 3 early goals from the Embassy killed the game off. Blamlaki tried their best to get back into the match but the Embassy picked them off twice more on the counter. Final score. British Embassy 5 Blamlaki Japan 0.

The Cup Final saw Swiss and YC&AC both start slowly. It never really got going to be honest. Both teams looked tired and both kept their shape well. The capacity crowd of Sid, Juan, Kazu, his daughter and myself, were all saying “This is heading for penalties.” A few minutes later and it was PK time. After 3 straight shootouts where YCAC hadn’t missed they finally did at the wrong moment. Swiss won 5-4.

It was a great tournament to kick start the new season. A big thank you to the 4 referees Steve, Kazu, Juan and Jonathan.

I hope many of you will be able to join in our next 7’s Tournament at the Highland Games.

To view all the photos from the day please click HERE.

JB