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Match 3 of Group H: Havens vs. Sirion
At Dol Guldur the second round of the group stage was concluded last night. In the early game the Havens faced off against Tirion in what promised to be a wonderful matchup between two sides that really put an emphasis on beautiful in the beautiful game. And for the neutrals, the game lived up to all the the wildest dreams any football fan may have had. For the coaches the game probably resembled their nightmares rather, because during the first part of the match each team seemed content to commit as much as 7 or 8 players on full attack, thus giving their opponents ample space to counter-attack when the ball was turned over.

With the quality and pace of the attackers on the pitch, this meant plenty of goals. Havens took an early lead but in a frantic first half the initiative went back and forth quicker than a pinball, and the crowd barely had time to settle down before another one was scored. Already in the 33rd minute Miriel scored her third goal of the tournament, and the fifth of the match, thus giving Tirion the lead for the first time. This lead they held on to into the halftime recess, and early in the second half Mahtan the Smith made it four with a deflected shot that fooled an unlucky Olwe. The Havens tried to come back but Tirion had begun to control this match now, with Ingwe and Mahtan dominating on the central midfield and the defenders behind them gathered to take care of anything that came their way. This was to be Tirion’s day and as the full time whistle sounded the Aman side celebrated their second consecutive 4-2 victory.

Havens 2-4 Tirion
tot shots 14-19
on target 7-10
GOALS:
*6, 1-0 Uinen (Ar Gimilzor)
*12, 1-1 Finwe (Nerdanel)
*19, 2-1 Tar Minastir (Earendil)
*25, 2-2 Feanor (Finwe)
*33, 2-3 Miriel (Nerdanel)
*51, 2-4 Mahtan (Finwe)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Havens- Eriol, Lindo, Tar Aldarion, Amandil
*Tirion- Amras, Orodreth

Match 3 of Group H: Dol Guldur vs. Minas Anor
This was a huge match for the hosts as they’d lost to Tirion in the opening match. Minas Anor was arguably the weakest side in this group and a win really would be required for them to have a realistic chance of advancing to the knock-out stages. The crowd was confident. Dol Guldur had given Tirion a real run for its money and Minas Anor would not stand in their way now. But what they got was a cold shower. Already in the 8th minute Minas Anor took a shock lead and almost inevitably it was Naz #4 who scored against his former team-mates. The Nazgul did not celebrate the goal in front of his old fans but still the crowd booed him any time he got the ball.

Soon it got worse for Dol Guldur. Attercop was penalized for entangling Boromir in its web just outside the penalty area, and on the subsequent free-kick Minas Anor went two up to the dismay of the home crowd. Oropher could not hold a bouncing Siriondil shot and Boromir smashed the rebound into the roof of the net.

Minas Anor now seemed determined to defend their lead and did so with aplomb. Although Dol Guldur dominated in terms of ball possession they could not get into any good shooting positions and grew more and more desperate as time ran away from them. Minas Anor defended bravely and most attacking moves of Dol Guldur broke against the wall of flesh that they put up. With 20 minutes to go some Dol Guldur fans had already began to leave their seats and file for the exits. But suddenly, when all seemed lost, Beorn pulled a goal back out of nothing. On what looked like a harmless cross as he showed incredible strength to shake off a couple of defenders and make contact with a header that looped over Ecthelion and into the net.

Now the crowd woke up and so did the rest of the Dol Guldur players. Minas Anor defended desperately, all eleven men falling back into the lap of Ecthelion, but they had their backs against the wall now. Soon Dol Guldur was level to the delight of the crowd as Bolg took advantage of a chaotic situation in the penalty area to bundle home.

The last ten minutes of the game were highly dramatic. Dol Guldur pushed furiously for a winner but a desperate Minas Anor rose up once again and looked very dangerous on the break. The two teams exchanged goal scoring opportunities and the crowd went from heaven to hell and back again in an emotional rollercoaster. And there was to be a winner. Dol Guldur captain The Witch-King had had fairly quiet game by his standards but with three minutes left of the match he met a Radagast cross with his unseen forehead and directed the the winner past Echthelion. The crowd exploded in a roar that could be as far as Caras Galadhon in Lorien. Their heroes had come back from the dead tonight.

Dol Guldur 3-2 Minas Anor
tot shots 16-16
on target 9-8
GOALS:
*8, 0-1 Naz #4 (Boromir I)
*24, 0-2 Boromir I (Siriondil)
*71, 1-2 Beorn (Galion)
*80, 2-2 Bolg (Grimbeorn)
*87, 3-2 Witch King (Radagast)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Dol Guldur- Tomnoddy, Attercop
*Minas Anor- Dervorin, Falastur

Standings GROUP H:
Tirion (6 pts, +4 gd)
Havens (3 pts, 0 gd)
Dol Guldur (3 pts, -1 gd)
Minas Anor (0 pts, -3 gd)