A second tournament win for Rik Bland

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The 10th Brisbane Subbuteo Club Cup was a hotly contested affair in more ways than one. Played in steamy conditions of 34 degrees, the league was a very close run thing. Arch rivals Giuseppe and Rik were tied in the first round. It was Giuseppe who took the 3 points with a comfortable 5-2 win. In the second round, Gus managed his first ever competitive victory over Giuseppe, with a very tight 2-1 win. As the temperature increased so did the competitiveness. Round 3 saw four of the big guns fight out draws. This left Gus on top of the table with maximum points.

Round 4 was also a close run thing with 2 draws and a 3-2 win to Andrew B over Giuseppe. Round  5  finally brought Gus's undefeated run to an end at the hands of a ruthless Rik. Adam also stepped up the pressure with a 4-2 win over Andrew B. Unfortunately our veteran Rob had to retire after round 5, as the heat took its toll.

Round 6 was to prove a costly one for Giuseppe who fell to a 2-1 loss to Andy R, this ultimately cost him a place in the semi-finals for the first time. Gus managed a very narrow victory over Andrew B which was a great comeback after his wooden spoon performance in October.

Round 7 was a decisive one for the 2 Andrews who were battling out for a place in the final 4. Andy R just needed the draw, but Andrew B found his shooting form and notched up a very convincing 4-1 win with his new Man United team, and an awesome looking George Best. Adam beat Rik to finish top of the league table, Gus coming second followed by Andrew B and Rik 4th.

The first of the semis was a close battle between Andrew B and Gus. Andrew B took the lead early in the first half with Gus equalising just before half time. Andrew proved to be the stronger though scoring again in the second half. Despite a late flurry from Gus Andrew held out to reach the final.
The second semi-final was fought out between last month’s finalists. With Rik losing to Adam in his previous 2 matches, Adam was the favourite to progress. However, Rik had found his form and pulled off a very credible 3-0 win.

The final between Rik and Andrew B started off with both players being very careful. It soon hotted up though and Rik carried on with his rich vein of form by leading 2-0 at half time. Rik scored again to increase what looked like an unassailable lead but Andrew scored from a quickly taken throw in. The comeback wasn't to be however, and Rik secured his second trophy success with a late goal to win 4-1.