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The first round matches in Moria had perhaps been best the tournament have had to offer so far, and as the lucky fans with tickets made their way into the mountain they were full of expectations. The big event tonight was of course the showdown between the host team and mighty Angband. Could this interracial Moria team rattle the Power of the North? Without former stars Morgoth, Gothmog and Glaurung, the Iron Hells fail to instill the same kind of fear as they used to, and Moria might have a chance here to cause an upset. But before this highly publicized heavyweight-bout, a tasty hors d’oeuvre was on the plate in form of the Alqualonde and Minas Tirith evening match. There was a vocal section of White City-supporters present, and a few Elves cheering for the Aman side, but the stands were only filled to about 2/3 of the 70 000 capacity, as many of the local ticket holders got boozed up in nearby drinking holes ahead of the big game later on. Those who did show up were able to enjoy an excellent game of football.

Match 3: Alqualonde vs. Minas Tirith

After their loss to the host team on the opening day, Cirdan, Osse and other senior members of Alqualonde had gone out to express their dissatisfaction with how the team had behaved. They’d allowed themselves to get bullied, and it cost them the game. No more of that, they now demanded, and as the team got onto the field the players looked very determined to make a difference. Minas Tirith on their hand were happy to have taken a point off Angband, and anxious to get a win under the belt, something which would put them in a very good position to advance to the knockout stages of the tournament.

When Cirdan and Osse kicked off, the crowd was to witness a much improved Alqualonde team. The special brand of quick, technical football they were renowned for, but failed to produce against Moria, now gave the White City defenders plenty of trouble. But it takes two to tango, and Minas Tirith also played at their highest level, urged on by legendary captain Aragorn, who seemed able to raise his teammates’ game to its full potential and beyond. But it was the Aman side that were to draw blood first blood. Uinen delivered a freekick towards the near post that was glanced across goal by Cirdan, and at the far post Idril popped up to smash the ball into the net.

Some twenty minutes later Aragorn grabbed the equalizer after a piece of individual brilliance. From a modest position on the left he cut inside, accelerated past Eärwen, and blasted a rising thunderbolt from 25 metres which hit the bar and bounced down behind Olwë, then back onto the bar, and out in play again. The velocity of the shot was so high the Alqualonde keeper didn’t move, and there was some confusion as to whether the ball had crossed the line or not, but after consulting his linesmen the referee pointed to the mid circle. It was a controversial goal, but the Alqualonde players accepted the decision without question, which says a lot about their sportsmanship.

In the second half the two rivals continued to play dream football and the neutrals in the stands did not want to see either team lose the game. So also it went. Uinen gave Alqualonde the lead after a great run by Idril and that goal had looked like a winner, but after a strong, late surge by the White City, Telumehtar managed to even up the score with a close-range header from the impressive Mardil the Faithful’s cross. The match finished 2-2 and as team captains Cirdan and Aragorn swapped jerseys and shook hands in the mid circle they both agreed it was a fair result.

Alqualonde 2-2 Minas Tirith
shots 10-11
on target 5-5
GOALS:
*14, Alqualonde (Idril, Cirdan)
*35, Minas Tirith (Aragorn II, Boromir I)
*68, Alqualonde (Uinen, Idril)
*81, Minas Tirith (Telumehtar, Mardil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Alqualonde- Amandil
*Minas Tirith- Ondoher, Earnil II, Calimehtar

Match 4: Angband vs Moria

If Moria had intimidated Alqualonde they could do no such thing against Angband tonight. Already in the first minute of the game Ancalagon flattened The Great Goblin when the referee wasn’t looking, and that was just the first in a series of heavy hits. All credit to Moria though as they didn’t back down, but came after their more illustrious opponents with some of their own medicine. The match was rough and intensive and the crowd loved every moment of it initially. In the 20th minute the noise reached a crescendo when the ref pointed to the spot - Tevildo was judged to have pawed the ball in the box. Durin’s Bane wanted to take the penalty, but Durin grabbed the ball from him and placed it on the spot himself. Then he backed off three steps, took a deep breath and blasted it over the bar! In front of his supporters, now dead silent, the Moria captain tore his beard in disgust. Durin’s Bane did not look happy either, mumbling something to himself while smoke issued from his shadow.

That miss proved costly too. Angband now started to get a real grip on the match, and with every attack their confidence grew. The opening goal came just after the half-hour mark when Ancalagon fired in Maeglin’s low cross after a quick break. Tevildo had a great opportunity to make it two, but the Prince of Cats waited too long with the shot, having perhaps too much fun toying with the Moria defenders, and just as he was preparing to dispatch the killing blow, he slipped and the chance was gone. Angband was really overpowering Moria in the mid part of the game, and when the second goal came 15 minutes into the second half, it was only logical. Thurinwethil had gotten away on the right and his cross found a wide-open Hurin, who even had time to chest the ball down and finish the move with his preferred right foot. Durin’s Bane was flaming, accusing Durin and his backline of poor defending, but the Dwarf Lord responded by claiming that the Balrog didn’t backtrack quickly enough and that he was to blame for the goal. Obviously there is a lot of tension between those two.

Angbad was in cruise control now and Moria lacked the penetration to really threaten on the attack. As time was running out, another poor decision by an Easterling defender almost ruined the match for the Iron Hells however. Narvi held off Uldor with his back to the Angband goal, and the situation looked harmless enough, but out of the blue the defender kicked out at the Dwarf, sending him on a sky-ride. The referee did not hesitate as he reached for his card, and as the Angband player already was booked in the first half he was sent to an early shower. Bad got worse for Angband when Moria reduced their lead on the resulting free-kick. Durin’s Bane took it with phenomenal power, and although the Balrog claimed the goal it was later given to Azog, as the shot took a slight deflection on the foot of the Orc before hitting the net.

Moria tried to use their one man advantage to force a late equalizer, but when Hurin dropped down to the Angband back four to cover for Uldor, the Iron Hells were able to hold on fairly comfortably. With four out of six matches played, nothing is decided in this very tight group. Any team can still grab first spot, or get eliminated.

Angband 2-1 Moria
shots 12-7
on target 6-3
GOALS:
*32, Angband (Ancalagon, Maeglin)
*59, Angband (Hurin, Thuringwethil)
*84, Moria (Azog, Durin’s Bane)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Angband- Telvildo, Uldor, Ulfast
*Moria- Great Goblin, Durin’s Bane, Durin
RED CARDS:
*Angband- Uldor, 83 (second yellow)

Standings: Group A

Team..............W D L GF GA P
1) Angband......1 1 0.. 4 - 3 4
2) Moria............1 0 1.. 4 - 4 3
3) Minas Tirith...0 2 0.. 4 - 4 2
4) Alqualonde....0 1 1.. 4 - 5 1