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As kick-off approached for the second round matches in group H and the stadium filled up with spectators, the afternoon sun shone on the hill of Bree behind the stadium, colouring the city-walls in scarlet and rose. The first match this beautiful summer's night was to be the battle of the Dunedain: Romenna out of Numenor versus Amon Sul of Arnor who had their ancestral home not so far from Bree itself. In the stands and outside the stadium the atmosphere was great, as the travelling supporters of the two teams got along admirable, each group praising the top quality of the opposing team. When the teams came out of the tunnel the atmosphere between the players seemed amiable too, and would most likely remain so after the game, but during the 90 minutes of play they fought a very tough, physical game.

Match 3: Amon Sul vs Romenna

Amon Sul was desperate to get a win tonight, but they also had the utmost respect for this Numenorian team, and were reluctant to commit too many players to risky attacking moves. And as Romenna were content to play safe, confident that their rock-solid defensive line in front of the imposing Elros could deal with anything thrown at them, and in hope that their more desperate opponents would eventually open up or make mistakes, goal scoring opportunities were at a premium in the first half. The offense of Amon Sul mostly relied on long balls towards Elendil the Tall, but although he did manage to win some headers, he lacked the support to make anything with it, and Elros was fairly undisturbed.

Just before the break, an Amon Sul mistake proved decisive, just as Romenna had hoped for. Aravir had a lapse of concentration in front of his own penalty area and Tar Palantir pounced on it, winning the ball and getting to the byline. His cross was headed back by Tar Meneldur and Tar Miriel met the ball with her right foot, rifling it into the net.

This goal opened up the match in the second half, as Amon Sul were forced to take more risks. Elendil had plenty of support now, but in front of him there was still the stout Romenna defence and Elros, and plenty of backtracking midfielders. Amon Sul found it desperately hard to break through this wall of meat, and mostly had to settle for long distance attempts. With 20 minutes to go Elendil got the chance he was looking for when two Romenna defenders collided in the box. The ball fell perfectly for the striker, but Elros managed to make a fantastic block with his right leg. The last 15 minutes was frantic, as Amon Sul attacked with full force, but the feeling among the neutrals was that Romenna were more likely to grab another goal on the counter-attack, than Amon Sul were to equalize. Arathorn were to get a last chance to beat Elros in the dying minutes, but once again the heroic keeper made a good stop, the last work he had to do tonight.

As the full time whistle rang, the Romenna supporters celebrated by unfurling a huge banner of their hero Elros. They were now almost certain to advance to the knock-out stages. Although Amon Sul still had a mathematical chance to make it if Bree beat Valimar later on, they knew that this adventure most likely ended here and now.

Amon Sul 0-1 Romenna
shots 9-10
on target 4-4
GOALS:
*43, Romenna (Tar Miriel, Tar Meneldur)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Amon Sul- Aravorn, Arasuil
*Romenna- Tar Elendil

Match 4: Bree vs. Valimar
The match against Valimar was do or die for Bree, as Romenna was on six points already. They needed a win or at the very least a draw against a seemingly impossible opponent and as kick off approached, a multitude of feelings competed with each other in the camp of the home team. There was fear, and awe, and a sense of hopelessness, but also a feeling of relief. No-one expected anything of them now. They had nothing to lose. If they went out and played their hearts out, but lost, no-one would blame them. And why not? Maybe they could even win the match. After all, when it came down to it, it was eleven against eleven out there, and even the Valar were not flawless. And when the Bree team entered the stadium, and were greeted with with a great big cheer by the home town supporters, their fears were swept away like leaves in the wind, and determination took its place. If they were going out, they would go out with a bang. The Ainur would have to fight for this!

This new-found spirit really took Valimar by surprise too. Initially they looked rather complacent, expecting an easy win, but instead of lambs meekly lining up for the slaughter they were met by a team that played as one, ran like devils, and jumped into every challenge as if their life depended on it. Bree very nearly took the lead twice in the opening ten minutes and had they done so things might have gone otherwise. First Nob ran bravely between Allatar and Pallando and receiving the ball in his stride he took a snap-shot that unfortunately didn’t make it past the webs of Ungoliant. Then the flamboyant Bombadil showed his undeniable class by turning past a Balrog on the edge of the penalty area and curling a shot that had Ungoliant beaten but snuck just past her right-hand post. Valimar was in shock, and Melkor felt he had to do something about it. He had a quiet word with his Balrogs, and one of his instructions was obviously to give Tommy Bomber, as he is know in some parts, some special attention.

The Balrog with #2 on his jersey started to follow Tom around, while the #3’s shadow was upon the Barrow-Wight. But taking Tom Bombadil out of a game is not an easy task, and his Shadow had it up to here keeping up with the erratic and annoying little man. When the Balrog was made to look like a fool one too many times he tried a crushing tackle, but Tom playfully skipped it with the ball at his feet. Now suddenly the Balrog was wielding a fiery whip of many thongs, and as Bombadil ran past him, the thongs caught one of his legs, felling him to the ground with a shriek. The crowd looked for the referee, but saw to their amazement that he had somehow collided with Melkor in the middle, and by the time got back on his feet, the whip had already vanished in a cloud of smoke. So it was the he could only apologize to Bombadil when the Bree star showed him the charred remains of his right boot and leg protection. Tom himself appeared unruffled, but had to leave the pitch to get his gear replaced.

The Bree-players were outraged, and Merry was booked for protesting, but as soon as play got under way Melkor took advantage of the chaotic situation. He spotted Tulkas making a strong, deep run and lifted a perfectly weighted ball over the Bree defense and onto the feet of the Vala, who controlled it and smashed the ball past Old Man Willow. When Melkor came up to him to celebrate the goal, Tulkas refused to embrace his old enemy however, and moved his hands as if clinking a heavy chain, a gesture not lost on the former Dark Lord. Team captain Eönwe did not look too happy about how the goal came about either, but played on nevertheless.

Now Bree were finding it harder to make their mark, as the goal, and how it came about, was a tough mental blow. They had certainly not given up, and still tried their best, but when Tilion made it two before half-time the crowd's belief of a miracle was quickly fading.

Hope was rekindled right after the break though, by none other than Tom Bombadil, now equipped with new boots. He once again broke away from his Balrog marker and this time his curling shot was inside Ungoliants right hand post and too hot to handle for the arachnid. The home-crowd celebrated the goal as if they’d won the whole tournament, and Bree got revitalised, once again causing trouble for the Valimar defence. Sadly the joy wasn’t to last long. The nail in the coffin came in the 58th minute as the fire in Arien’s eyes blinded Barliman, giving her plenty of time to set up the shot that ended this match.

Bombadil tried to rally his men once again, but this proved too difficult even for him against a Valimar team now playing on full cylinders. The home team had been eliminated. As the tears welled up in the Bree players’ eyes (excluding the B-W, who was dried up in that respect) the crowd would not stop clapping. They were proud of their home-town heroes.

Bree 1-3 Valimar
shots 9-15
on target 3-8
GOALS:
*19, Valimar (Tulkas, Melkor)
*41, Valimar (Tilion, Eonwe)
*46, Bree (Tom B, Goldberry)
*58, Valimar (Arien, Tilion)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Bree- Nob, Merry
*Valimar- Balrog #2

Standings: Group H

Team................W D L GF GA P
1) Valimar......... 2 0 0...6 - 1 6 Q
2) Romenna.......2 0 0...3 - 1 6 Q
3) Bree...............0 0 2...2 - 5 0
4) Amon Sul........0 0 2...0 - 4 0