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Throughout the ages, the Dwarves of Khadad Dum have jealously hoarded their treasures behind strong gates of mithril, all to often shut to the outside world. Since the Kingdom was selected to host group A of Arda’s premier football tournament, these gates have finally been opened again, for the treasure the Dwarves now seek is one that cannot be found even in the richest vein of their ancient mines - a price more precious than true-silver, or the seven rings of old: the very trophy of trophies, the Arda Cup itself.

In order to compete for this elusive treasure the Moria team must first do battle with three highly skilled opponents. By the grace of Eru, the divinely talented Alqualonde have travelled back along the straight path, seeking glory once again in Middle Earth. From the cold and cruel Iron Mountains in the North, Angband has also come, a name rightly feared across the footballing world even without their legendary leader Morgoth, who’s surprisingly departed for rivals Valinor. The forth team in this tough group is Minas Tirith, led by captain and superstar Aragorn II, with more goals to his name than there are Orcs in Mordor. The Iron Hells will be slight favourites to win this group, but all four teams are strong, well capable of beating anyone on a good day.

For the opening match of the tournament, Angband was to play Minas Tirith. As the two teams passed the garlanded arch of the east gate of Moria, they first crossed the slender bridge of Khadad-Dum, and then matched a furlong into the mountain, and finally ascended two flights of stairs to find themselves in a vast pillared hall, lit by sunlight entering through deep shafts in the ceiling and countless torches burning fiercely with white and scarlet flames. The hall was fashioned so that the pitch of natural grass, which had been transported here piece by piece from the green valleys far below, could be seen in the bottom centre of it, like a radiant emerald more than a hundred metres below the ceiling and the top of the oval, marble stands climbing steeply along the walls. Here 70 000 Dwarves, Orcs, Elves and Men were seated, each one cheering for their favourite team. The stage was set for a feast of football, and what a stage it was.

Match 1: Angband – Minas Tirith

Finally the wait was over and right after kick-off the action was fast and furious. The mighty Angband immediately came racing out of the gate with wave after wave of furious attacks. Minas Tirith was hard put to defend their keeper, but with strikers like Boromir and Aragorn, they were always a threat on the counter attack. Angband struck first however and took a deserved lead in the 26th minute. Hurin, booed each time he touched the ball by a group of Dor-lomin fans who were present, showed his quality by beating Ondoher on the right and crossing into the box where Ancalagon the Black met the ball with a flying header that Ecthelion had no chance to stop. Moments later new signing Gwindor had an excellent opportunity to make it two, but he froze in front of goal, allowing Denethor to make the tackle. Instead it was Minas Tirith who scored next. Ulfast played a backpass towards his own goalie, but Aragorn, ever able to read the minds of his fellow Men, anticipated the move and came face to face with the red maw of Carcaroth, rushing away from his line to close the angles. The approach of the Angband keeper was so terrible it startled even the brave Aragorn, who could only toe-poke a weak effort straight at Carcaroth. The rebound however fell kindly for midfielder Mardil, who took a touch and send the ball into the open net past the stranded goaltender, making the halftime score 1-1.

After the break Angband went looking for a winner right away. Tevildo started to have a cat and mouse game with Earnil on the left, creating many chances for himself and his teammates. In the 55th minute he clawed himself past his marker and hit a volley that rocketed against the bar, and a few minutes later his cross was met by the head of Ancalagon, who again rattled the Minas Tirith woodwork. A Angband goal seemed inevitable, and in the 65th minute it finally came. Ancalagon, whose aerial strength was a nuisance all night for the Minas Tirith defenders, headed a long ball back to Tevildo, who faked a long-distance shot and with cat-like agility danced past two defenders to get himself into a good position in the penalty area. Gwindor, wide open in the centre, would have been disappointed not to receive the ball in the first place from his selfish and ball-hugging teammate, but when a shot finally came in from a tight angle Echtelion could not hold on to the ball, giving the Elf the chance to slide in and put the rebound into the net. Angband was rampant now and looked set to increase their lead ever further, but once again it was Ulfast the Accursed who let his team down. Already in the book for a late challenge in the first half, the Angband defender seemed to get provoked by a comment by Denethor, and responded by pushing the White City defender, who immediately fell to the ground, apparently in agonizing pain. The referee had no choice but to give Ulfast his second yellow card, despite the protests of his teammates, and despite the apparent ease in which Denethor got back onto his feet after the ref’s decision. This opened a window back into the game for Minas Tirith as Angband pulled back defending their lead with a man short. The equalizer came with ten minutes to play as Mardil sent an early cross into the area which did not look too dangerous, but Boromir managed to push himself past his marker and get a toe to it. Carcaroth blocked the shot and the rebound was a 50-50 affair, but Boromir fought bravely and hurled himself forward to get a second chance, and then a third, and finally, on the forth attempt he found the net, which proved to be the last significant event of the game. This Angband team without Morgoth has showed that it still has a very potent offence, but there will be question-marks regarding its defending in the matches to come.

Angband 2-2 Minas Tirith
shots 15-9
on target 8-4
GOALS:
*26, Angband (Ancalagon, Hurin)
*38, Minas Tirith (Mardil, Aragorn II)
*65, Angband (Gwindor, Telvildo)
*79, Minas Tirith (Boromir I, Mardil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Angband- Ulfast, Gwindor, Balrog #5
*Minas Tirith- Denethor II
RED CARDS:
*Angband- Ulfast, 74 (second yellow)

Match 2: Alqualonde – Moria

As the host team entered the field the noise in the great hall was deafening. From the deep places below there was a drum-beat: Doom, boom, doom, it went, driving the Moria supporters into a frenzy. The Dwarves were beating hammers onto anvils while the Orcs were singing harsh songs of ridicule, and the Alqualonde players were looking rather daunted as they came out in their bright jersey. As play came underway, it became clear that Moria was determined to keep it that way, playing a very rough and physical game to disturb their more technically gifted opponents. As the size of the pitch was intentionally made rather small, Alqualonde found it hard to find space for their usual passing game, and the five man midfield of Moria, led by the imposing Durin’s Bane, completely dominated the proceedings, leaving the Elves with very little time on the ball. Alqualonde quickly reverted to plan B however and started to play long balls up towards target-player Cirdan, who had a great height advantage over the diminutive Moria defenders. In the 17th minute Cirdan also gave the Aman side the lead, as he towered above Durin and scored on a looping header. His effort was applauded by most of the Dwarves, who were appreciative of his long and well-kept beard, but the Orcish hooligans in the stands got furious when they saw it, and quite a few scimitars were produced that had somehow been snuck past security. On the field Durin and Durin’s bane got into a heated discussion over the marking on the goal, and a riot seemed inevitable, but much thanks to the fence separating the Dwarven and Orcish supporters everything eventually calmed down enough for play to continue.

The Moria team now seemed on the brink of losing control, and was rather lucky not to get a few red cards as the tackles got more and more brutal. But they also started to create some real chances. As the crowd got behind their team more and more, the goals also came. In the 31th minute Durin’s Bane easily brushed aside Frodo in the penalty area, and squared the ball to Narvi, who scored from close range. Right after half-time they took the lead, as Azog scored with a screamer from just outside the penalty area. Alqualonde had not given up though, and even though Gwaihir had managed to contain Cirdan in the air, they started to play better and better as the match progressed. Having missed a few good opportunities to score already, the equalizer came in the 62nd minute when Osse rose like the crest of a foaming tsunami-wave, and nodded his wife Uninen’s cross into the net. Now it looked like the match had ebbed out, and another draw was on hand, but with ten minutes to play, a piece of individual brilliance settled the contest. Narvi found Durin’s Bane in the centre, and he took on the Alqualonde defence on his own, beating one, then two, then three players. Frodo made a last ditch attempt to stop the Balrog, but it was a task beyond him, and he could only watch as the ball was rifled into the back of the net. The supporters went wild and as the full time whistle blew, celebrations that will go on well into the night started. The Moria crowd was well pleased with what they had seen tonight.

Alqualonde 2-3 Moria
shots 10-10
on target 4-6
GOALS:
*17, Alqualonde (Cirdan, Idril)
*31, Moria (Narvi, Durin's Bane)
*49, Moria (Azog, Thorin)
*62, Alqualonde (Osse, Uinen)
*80, Moria (Durin's Bane, Narvi)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Alqualonde- Eriol
*Moria- Ohtar, Thorin, Thror, Durin, Balin

Standings: Group A

Team________W D L GF GA P
1) Moria______ 1 0 0 3 - 2 3
2) Angband___ 0 1 0 2 - 2 1
2) Minas Tirith_ 0 1 0 2 - 2 1
4) Alqualonde _ 0 0 1 2 - 3 0