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On Wednesday 17th March, the Annual MCASS 6-a-side football tournament sponsored by Sphere Group took place at JJB Soccerdome in Trafford. The event comprised 20 teams from firms of Manchester-based accountants. All turned up eager to place their firm’s name firmly on the footballing map.
Some of the biggest names in accountancy (and fair to say smallest in the footballing world) took place; BDO (2004 champions), Hurst & Co, KPMG, Deloitte, Hallidays, Josolyne & Co, Horwath Clark Whitehill, PWC, Champion (proved to be inappropriately named…), CLB, Hacker Young, Beevers & Struthers, Allens, Harold Sharp, Bennet Verby and Kroll.
The format consisted of an initial group phase, with five teams in each group, and only the top two proceeding to the knockout stage of the competition.
Each team had their individual strategies, one of which was to out gun the opposition by entering as many teams as possible. KPMG tried this but the results didn’t quite match the game plan, their furthest finish being the last 4 of the competition.
The defending champions and pre-tournament favourites BDO had seen their A-team successfully through to the last 8, despite seeing their B-team despatched at the first group stage hurdle. However, their attacking style of play came to their downfall in the quarter finals, losing 3-1 after conceding 3 early goals against the Deloitte B-team.
The final 4 of the competition saw PWC take on the Deloitte A-team, although I bet they wish they hadn’t. PWC struggled to compose themselves and within minutes the goals were flying in, securing at least second place for the Deloitte team. KMPG on the other hand were able to give the Deloitte B-team a real semi-final battle. A hard fought match saw Deloitte B-team walk away with a close 1-0 victory.
The final saw two teams with a limited amount of vocal support from fans, partly because both teams from the same firm competed against each other. The ill-named Deloitte B-team had looked impressive throughout the tournament, taking an early lead. Their keeper had been inspirational all night but was unable to stop the onslaught that followed. Two goals later and the Deloitte A-team had gone one better then their last year’s finish of beaten finalists.
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