The Energy & Utilities heat got off to a flying start on Thursday with the opening two group games providing 16 goals between them.  In what was described as a “fun, good-spirited afternoon, with a lot of good extras” which included a Q & A session with Business Fives ambassadors and Hearts & Hibernian legends Gary MacKay and Pat Stanton.

Prior to the semi-finals players used the opportunity to probe the former players come avid fans and authorities on their respective clubs on the fate and expectations for the season head.  With Pat Stanton describing recent developments at Hibernian as having an uplifting effect on the supporters and the club as a whole.  Both praised the female presence in the boardrooms as having a positive impact on the clubs and cohesion between the two at board level has trickled through to the fans.

Another participant described the day as “well organised and there was a relaxed atmosphere throughout the tournament.”  That relaxed atmosphere was partly down to the players enjoying the on-site services of tournament massage partner, Massage and Glow.
Ian Esson, Scotland Partnership coordinator for the tournaments charity partner, the Trussell Trust was on site to address the players before the tournament started.  Ian provided an overview of the fantastic work are involved with helping families and individuals via the UK’s largest network of foodbanks saying it was “great to have the support of Business Fives to help stop UK hunger”.

On the pitch the proceedings weren’t quite as relaxed with the RPS Group derby the pick of the first round of league match action where offices Ratho v Kirkintilloch faced off.  You can relive all the action here with the Kirkintilloch office taking an early 2-1 lead only for the impact of Ratho based Project Engineer Blair Matthewson to prove decisive with the Ratho office running out eventual 4-2 winners.

Meanwhile Edinburgh based law firm Maclay Murray & Spens laid out an early warning signal to the rest of the teams by comprehensively beating Energy Saving Trust 9-1 with Solicitor Steven King helping himself to 4 goals.

The Energy Saving Trust dusted themselves off to narrowly miss out on a victory against EDP Renewables, who won their first outing 3-2 with signs of early promise.  The full match can be found on line here.  MMS overcame RPS Ratho 3-2 in the adjacent group game, a result that went a long way to deciding the pecking order of the group.

EDP Renewables started to step up a gear winning 7-2 against RPS Kirkintilloch with fine individual displays from James Brian and Michael Brown.  Energy saving trust again put up an encouraging display but losing out 5-3 to RPS Ratho and you can watch all the action here.

In what turned out to be a dressed rehearsal for the final Maclay Murray & Spens enjoyed a 4-1 victory over EDP Renewables with Steven King and Euan Watson amongst the goals.  Relive the action here.  In the other tie RPS Kirkintilloch faced up to Energy Saving Trust in their penultimate group game, securing their passage into the semi-final with 5-1 win.

With group position dictating the pecking order for the semi-finals the final group games were played out at a frantic pace with RPS Ratho overcoming EDP Renewables 4-1 and RPS Kirkintilloch beating Maclay Murray & Spens 3-2 in a thrilling affair.

With both RPS Group teams buoyant after showing signs of title winning form there was a real chance of an all RPS final when both sides missed each other in the semi-finals, a risky strategy that may not have been dictated directly from head office.  However, it was Maclay Murray & Spens and EDP Renewables who ran out victors 6-0 and 3-1 respectively to book their place in the national final at Hampden alongside 1825, a Standard Life company and Santander.

The final was played in good spirits with Maclay Murray & Spens grabbing an early lead through the prolific duo of Euan Watson and Steven King who helped himself to a hat trick with an early injury to EDP Renewables key player James Brian hindering their performance eventually MMS ran out 5-2 winners to be crowned Energy & Utilities Heat champions 2016.

The Presentation was co-hosted by Gary MacKay and Pat Stanton with both commending all the players in the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout the day.  Steven King picked up the top scorer for the heat with an impressive 14 goal haul.  The next industry sector to play for their place t Hampden is Housing & Property taking place on 28th July.

Keith Fitzpatrick, Senior Engineer, RPS Group said “Business Fives was a fantastic event and was organised superbly. The event offered a great opportunity for team building and business networking.  The event covered everything you possibly could want with a tournament, good communication, excellent organisation and welcoming staff.  This was a unique event and we at RPS wish it success in the future with the hope to return next year and make the finals.”

The Scottish Energy Association® (SEA), is the membership organisation for the energy industry in Scotland. SEA supports power and energy organisations working in Scotland, across the UK and internationally.

SEA is dedicated to strengthening commercial ties and represents more than forty of the industry’s leading players, assisting members in offering them an informed voice across the industry on energy matters to legislators, regulators, decision makers and the media.

Our aim is to represent members, focus on collaboration, liaise with academia, promote skills, inform stakeholders and act as a gateway to improving industry, media and consumer dialogue within and beyond Scotland.