Albion reach semi-final, again...

While Albion were getting battered by Koln in some quaint German village stadium, watched by locals with moustaches and bad hair, the more serious side of football was already underway in deepest Leeds.

Boing FC, you may or may not know, are a team made up of Albion supporters. Coming from far and wide, the 20-man squad headed up to Worldnet 08, organised by the Internet Football Association.

And while Tony Mowbray's men slugged it out in Euskirchen, Boing FC were busy reaching the semi-final of the 64-team tournament held at the University of Leeds' Bodington Hall.

After a 0-0 draw against Rotherham - where, I'm told they had a good goal disallowed - the lads then battled out a 1-1 stalemate against Partick Thistle. This was followed by a narrow 1-0 win against Welling to finish top of their group.

Group of Death? Quite possibly.

In the knock-out stages they beat Castlerock (a semi-pro Irish side) 2-0, before dishing out a 1-0 battering through a golden goal, although by all accounts it should have been settled long before then.

Quarter-final opponents were Coventry City, who were seen off 1-0.

And then it all went a little wrong.

Sadly - and we must assume Mowbray doesn't suffer this problem - the excesses of Saturday night (footballers will be footballers), two players having to rush home, injuries and fatigue meant that the depleted Boing side were made to play semi-final opponents Preston immediately after a jaunt up a huge hill. Which is a bit harsh.

PNE were already warmed up and ready to kick-off by the time our lads completed their trek. Like I say, not a problem Mowbray necessarily had at Wembley.

They lost 4-1 to North End, who went onto lift the trophy.

Full credit to manager Richard Eades, captain Stuart Turner and leading scorer Ryan Trump (who also played in an England v Scotland game), as well solid centre-half Mark Currie and a goalkeeper called Knoxie, who, until the semi, had only conceded one goal.

A good effort, I'd say.