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The stands in the great stadium of Either Sirion was a sea of silver and blue as the teams made it out on the pitch and the two captains, Elros and Maedhros, exchanged gifts and shook hands. On certain sections in the stands brass bands of Noldorian musicians were set up and they played triumphant songs out of Aman, adding that special touch of magic we’ve come to expect at this Northern stronghold. The Exiles felt no homesickness tonight. They were exactly where they wanted to be.

Numenor also had a fair number of travelling fans present, many of them with golden replicas of the Arda Cup trophy that they proudly hoisted in the air to demonstrate that they in fact were reining champions, but the Kings of Men were not favourites to win tonight. Eithel Sirion had impressed so far in the tournament, winning all three matches thus far and cruising through Group D. The Northerners were certainly in for a stiffer challenge tonight, yet without star players such as former Golden Boot winner Ar-Pharazon in Numenor, a balanced Eithel Sirion side was tipped to win tonight by most pundits, and the home crowd was hungry for glory and joy.

As play got underway, it quickly became apparent that Numenor had laid up a defensive game plan and were quite happy to let their opponents keep the lion’s share of ball possession, only striking out with quick counter attacks when given the chance. Yet quickly this plan backfired. In the 11th minute Fingon won a corner kick, and Gwindors delivery was perfect, whipping in a devilish cross into the box where Maedhros the tall rose above his marker and headed the ball past Tar-Atanamir and into the back of the net. The crowd was in seventh heaven and the trumpets rang out loud and clear.

This early goal was a real boost for the home side who grew in confidence and played some very neat football. Numenor struggled to get a hold of the ball and could have fallen behind even further if it wasn’t for a couple of good stops from Tar-Atanamir, first denying Maedhros and then Fingon. Yet right before the half time break Numenor was level against the run of play. It was a pretty scrappy goal as Elros bundled home on his second attempt but they all count and Numenor could now go into the recess on level terms with their opponent despite being on the back foot for most parts of the game thus far.

The second half was very competitive and roughly followed the same pattern as the first, but Numenor was getting into the match more now, and the impressive Elros really started to make his presence felt in the centre of the field, getting some crunching tackles in and distributing the ball well to his teammates. Eithel Sirion continued to attack, and the crowd got behind their heroes, but the break-though goal proved hard indeed to find, as Numenor defended with skill and numbers.

Both teams struggled to create clear goal-scoring opportunities and as the clock ticked in Eithel Sirion pushed more and more men forward looking for that illusive winner. They pumped ball after ball into the Numenor box but there the tall and kingly central defenders dealt with most of the crosses fairly comfortably.

The match looked set to go into overtime when out of the blue, Numenor scored again and put a big dent in the home team’s plan. Fingon will feel desperately disappointed because it was his mistake that led to the goal, as his sloppy pass in the centre of the field was intercepted by Elros when the Eithel Sirion players were all set on getting forward. The Numenor captain spotted Tar-Miriel rushing forward , and picked her out with a lovely sweeping ball and the midfielder in turn spotted Ar-Adunakhor's strong run and timed her through ball to perfection, thus releasing the striker on a one on one with Maglor. Ar-Adunakhor took one touch before lashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner, his third goal of the tournament. That finish would have made the Golden Boy himself proud.

Eithel Sirion tried to rally, but Numenor was not giving them an inch now, and what time there was left, quickly ran out. Even goalkeeper Maglor came forward on a corner kick late in the game, and there was a frantic finale to the game as Numenor was desperately hanging on with teeth and nails but Eithel Sirion could not find the goal needed to stay in the match, despite a few late half-chances.

The full time whistle sounded and Numenor could celebrate a place in the last eight with their travelling supporters. The home crowd applauded the winners respectfully but they were bitterly disappointed. What had just happened? The evening had started so well. Now all that was left to them was memories.

Eithel Sirion 1-2 Numenor
tot shots 14-11
on target 6-5
GOALS:
*11, 1-0 Maedhros (Gwindor)
*43, 1-1 Elros (Tar Palantir)
*85, 1-2 Ar Adunakhor (Tar Miriel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eithel Sirion- Fingon, Aegnor
*Numenor- Tar Miriel, Tar Meneldur, Ar Zimrathan