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the phantom · 06-24-2009, 01:08 PM

Tuna versus Mirkwood

The Elves and Ainur who were staying in and around Tirion could not have been more thrilled. They had witnessed the team from Tuna sweep through their group, and now they were awarded the chance to see yet another game!

It was a very small number of fans who made their way to Valinor to support Mirkwood. A couple dozen orcs (to support the Nazgul), a small group of woodmen (to support Grimbeorn), a small ship of Rohirrim (to support Fram), a couple ents (to support Treebeard), a few score of wood Elves (to support Thranduil and his lot), and a pack of spiders who were "Just here for the party!".

But the many thousands of other seats in the stadium were filled by supporters of Tuna, and the team hoped to draw energy from the crowd. As the home side stepped out onto the field, the crowd was louder than they had been for any of the group play games. The recess between the group stages and the playoffs had given their imaginations time to wander, and there was hardly a Tuna fan in the house who had not been thinking that their team could very well win the Arda Cup this year. They had the highest scoring offense in the tournament and the best goal differential, and they had reached the quarters last year. And this year their defense had been improved! Surely they were one of the favorites!

The game began and the crowd roared as Tuna immediately went on the attack. Five minutes in Nerdanel sent a great cross to Miriel, but Radagast was a wizard on defense and didn't let her take it cleanly. Treebeard came up in support and sent the ball back towards midfield where Fram won it and sent it towards one of the corners where Thranduil outfought Indis for control. He immediately charged towards the box, wrong-footed Ingwe, and blasted a shot past the onrushing Amras. Aule had the shooting lane covered however, but the shot was so forceful that Aule could not grab it cleanly and it squirted on towards the opposite side where Nazgul #6 was the first to it and gave Mirkwood the lead!

The crowd groaned. This was not the way to start! But Tuna could score a heap of goals, so things weren't too terribly dire. And indeed, Tuna went immediately on the attack again, and over the next few minutes Oropher had to make a couple of great saves to preserve the lead. But just when it looked like he couldn't hold on any longer, Grimbeorn managed to steal the ball away from Finarfin and the counter-attack was on yet again. The forwards from Mirkwood sprinted forward with everything they had, and their sudden speed and passing accuracy caught the Tuna defenders off guard and they could not recover in time to stop a thunderous tail shot by Scatha, and Mirkwood was up by two goals only 15 minutes into the match!

Tuna tried to go on the attack again, but now with a nice lead Mirkwood pulled back and concentrated wholly on defense, and even the potent offense of Tuna could not score. Radagast was quick and clever enough to contain Miriel for the most part, and the strength of Treebeard neutralized Finwe, while the tireless energy and rough play of the bear-man Grimbeorn put a stop to Nerdanel. And the rest of the team added their talents to the fray and the result was that Tuna slumped off the field at the half down two goals. Local newspapers and magazines already started trying out headlines- "Tuna Trapped!", "Trouble Upon Tuna!", and "Mirkwood Shocks World!".

But one minute after the break, those headlines were forgotten as Tuna finally broke through. Tuna attacked with speed and skill that Mirkwood had never seen, and Finarfin cut the lead in half! Again and again shots rained in, but fortunately for Mirkwood most were high or wide, and Oropher managed the ones that would have been equalizers. Mirkwood attempted to push the ball down-field themselves, but Tuna won it back every time and continued the pressure. "No way can Mirkwood hold us off forever!" cried the fans.

And they were right! With just over fifteen minutes left Miriel finally shook off Radagast and Finwe found her on the run and the score was even! The fans were out of control, urging their team to win it in regulation, but the Mirkwood team pulled themselves together and sent it into extra time.

When the extra minutes began, it was Mirkwood going all out attack to the surprise of Tuna and their fans. Twice in the opening minutes Tuna nearly made them pay with a quick counter, but Mirkwood managed to get it back and continued the pressure. And then, only five minutes in, King Thranduil headed in a perfect pass from Bilbo and the crowd noise went down to a low buzz.

The Tuna supporters round the stadium attempted to maintain hope. "Twenty-five minutes left- Tuna still has time to score." Mirkwood pulled everyone back to defend. "We have a great offense. We'll equalize." Mirkwood cluttered up the area in front of the goal. "There's still time. Twenty minutes." Nerdanel and Finwe were looking slower from their treatment by Treebeard and Grimbeorn. "Fifteen left. The offense can still come through." Mirkwood suffocated all attacks, allowing only long shots. "Ten left! Hurry!" Mirkwood gained possession and refused to give it back. "Come on! Time is running out!" Tuna controlled the ball and started the attack again, but Mirkwood held firm. "Noooooo!!!!"

It was over. The home fans covered their faces, or kicked their chairs, and some even wept. The fans from Mirkwood, however, celebrated together like they had never celebrated before! They had pulled off possibly the greatest upset in the history of Mirkwood!

Tuna 2-3 Mirkwood (OVERTIME)
shots 20-13
on target 8-6
GOALS:
*6, Mirkwood (Nazgul #6, Thranduil)
*14, Mirkwood (Scatha, Legolas)
*46, Tuna (Finarfin, Nerdanel)
*73, Tuna (Miriel, Finwe)
*OT 5, Mirkwood (Thranduil, Bilbo)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Tuna- Mahtan, Amras, Nerdanel
*Mirkwood- Radagast, Thranduil

06-24-2009, 01:08 PM	#98
the phantom Beloved Shadow Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Stadium Posts: 5,971	At Tuna... Tuna versus Mirkwood The Elves and Ainur who were staying in and around Tirion could not have been more thrilled. They had witnessed the team from Tuna sweep through their group, and now they were awarded the chance to see yet another game! It was a very small number of fans who made their way to Valinor to support Mirkwood. A couple dozen orcs (to support the Nazgul), a small group of woodmen (to support Grimbeorn), a small ship of Rohirrim (to support Fram), a couple ents (to support Treebeard), a few score of wood Elves (to support Thranduil and his lot), and a pack of spiders who were "Just here for the party!". But the many thousands of other seats in the stadium were filled by supporters of Tuna, and the team hoped to draw energy from the crowd. As the home side stepped out onto the field, the crowd was louder than they had been for any of the group play games. The recess between the group stages and the playoffs had given their imaginations time to wander, and there was hardly a Tuna fan in the house who had not been thinking that their team could very well win the Arda Cup this year. They had the highest scoring offense in the tournament and the best goal differential, and they had reached the quarters last year. And this year their defense had been improved! Surely they were one of the favorites! The game began and the crowd roared as Tuna immediately went on the attack. Five minutes in Nerdanel sent a great cross to Miriel, but Radagast was a wizard on defense and didn't let her take it cleanly. Treebeard came up in support and sent the ball back towards midfield where Fram won it and sent it towards one of the corners where Thranduil outfought Indis for control. He immediately charged towards the box, wrong-footed Ingwe, and blasted a shot past the onrushing Amras. Aule had the shooting lane covered however, but the shot was so forceful that Aule could not grab it cleanly and it squirted on towards the opposite side where Nazgul #6 was the first to it and gave Mirkwood the lead! The crowd groaned. This was not the way to start! But Tuna could score a heap of goals, so things weren't too terribly dire. And indeed, Tuna went immediately on the attack again, and over the next few minutes Oropher had to make a couple of great saves to preserve the lead. But just when it looked like he couldn't hold on any longer, Grimbeorn managed to steal the ball away from Finarfin and the counter-attack was on yet again. The forwards from Mirkwood sprinted forward with everything they had, and their sudden speed and passing accuracy caught the Tuna defenders off guard and they could not recover in time to stop a thunderous tail shot by Scatha, and Mirkwood was up by two goals only 15 minutes into the match! Tuna tried to go on the attack again, but now with a nice lead Mirkwood pulled back and concentrated wholly on defense, and even the potent offense of Tuna could not score. Radagast was quick and clever enough to contain Miriel for the most part, and the strength of Treebeard neutralized Finwe, while the tireless energy and rough play of the bear-man Grimbeorn put a stop to Nerdanel. And the rest of the team added their talents to the fray and the result was that Tuna slumped off the field at the half down two goals. Local newspapers and magazines already started trying out headlines- "Tuna Trapped!", "Trouble Upon Tuna!", and "Mirkwood Shocks World!". But one minute after the break, those headlines were forgotten as Tuna finally broke through. Tuna attacked with speed and skill that Mirkwood had never seen, and Finarfin cut the lead in half! Again and again shots rained in, but fortunately for Mirkwood most were high or wide, and Oropher managed the ones that would have been equalizers. Mirkwood attempted to push the ball down-field themselves, but Tuna won it back every time and continued the pressure. "No way can Mirkwood hold us off forever!" cried the fans. And they were right! With just over fifteen minutes left Miriel finally shook off Radagast and Finwe found her on the run and the score was even! The fans were out of control, urging their team to win it in regulation, but the Mirkwood team pulled themselves together and sent it into extra time. When the extra minutes began, it was Mirkwood going all out attack to the surprise of Tuna and their fans. Twice in the opening minutes Tuna nearly made them pay with a quick counter, but Mirkwood managed to get it back and continued the pressure. And then, only five minutes in, King Thranduil headed in a perfect pass from Bilbo and the crowd noise went down to a low buzz. The Tuna supporters round the stadium attempted to maintain hope. "Twenty-five minutes left- Tuna still has time to score." Mirkwood pulled everyone back to defend. "We have a great offense. We'll equalize." Mirkwood cluttered up the area in front of the goal. "There's still time. Twenty minutes." Nerdanel and Finwe were looking slower from their treatment by Treebeard and Grimbeorn. "Fifteen left. The offense can still come through." Mirkwood suffocated all attacks, allowing only long shots. "Ten left! Hurry!" Mirkwood gained possession and refused to give it back. "Come on! Time is running out!" Tuna controlled the ball and started the attack again, but Mirkwood held firm. "Noooooo!!!!" It was over. The home fans covered their faces, or kicked their chairs, and some even wept. The fans from Mirkwood, however, celebrated together like they had never celebrated before! They had pulled off possibly the greatest upset in the history of Mirkwood! Tuna 2-3 Mirkwood (OVERTIME) shots 20-13 on target 8-6 GOALS: 6, Mirkwood (Nazgul #6, Thranduil) 14, Mirkwood (Scatha, Legolas) 46, Tuna (Finarfin, Nerdanel) 73, Tuna (Miriel, Finwe) OT 5, Mirkwood (Thranduil, Bilbo) YELLOW CARDS: Tuna- Mahtan, Amras, Nerdanel Mirkwood- Radagast, Thranduil __________________ the phantom* has posted. This thread is now important.