[skip spence]

The fair city of Tirion upon Tuna was the venue for this highly anticipated derby of the Undying Realm, a real prestige-match between the Ainur and the Noldor. This was also a clash of contrasting styles. Whereas hosts Tirion had a tradition of playing very offensive and attractive football, sometimes to the point of recklessness, their opponents Aman usually relied on a slow-paced and cautious game of possession football and on a miserly defence.

Too often in the past this strategy had made the Valar-led team vulnerable however, as they've struggled to change game-plan and really threaten in attack if their opponents had managed to score first. After a fair amount of criticism team captain Orome had addressed this issue by making the concessions necessary to sign Ar-Pharazon, one of the most feared strikers in the game. This came as a surprise to many fans and pundits as the Numenorian hit-man had been one of the most outspoken critics of how the game was played by the Valar, but his arrival had certainly added a well needed edge to Aman’s game in the Round Robin. At the pre-match press-conference many questions were thus directed at the striker and he was asked why he had signed for Aman and what his expectations were of the tournament. He answered:

”Simple question. I’m here to win the Arda Cup. No player has won back-to-back championships. If we win this year I will become immortal.” At this point Aman captain Orome looked rather uneasy. “You mean legendary, right?”, he said. “Quite so, quite so”, replied Ar-Pharazon with a rather annoyed look on his face.

Tirion however were tipped to win here at their home field where conditions favoured their highly technical and attacking approach to game. Every single strand of green grass on the pitch was in mint condition to avoid the risk that the ball might take an irregular bounce and ruin it for the home-team, and the stadium was filled to the brim with enthusiastic supporters. Prior to the match some pundits had pointed out that the Aman defence was not quite as solid as it used to be this year after the departure of Manwe, but then again, their offence had also improved. With Tirion being the top scorers of the tournament this affair therefore promised lots of goals, and the crowd was not disappointed in this respect.

As the match got underway Tirion immediately went on the attack, and Feanor had a good early effort palmed away by Nienna. But the defensive shortcomings of the home team once again became apparent as Turgon was allowed to challenge the ball almost unopposed on a corner-kick, and his header towards the far post was flicked in by Nahar from two yards out. The home fans shook their heads in disbelief. In three of the four matches so far they had fallen behind early on to rather preventable goals. For how long would they remain unpunished by this negligence?

Any such question-marks were quickly forgotten as the home team soon overwhelmed the Aman defence, attacking with all ten outfielders on the pitch with great movement and pin-point passing accuracy. And only minutes after falling behind Tirion was level again. A breathtaking move where Tirion made more than 40 uninterrupted passes was capped off by a well taken finish from Finwe, the Tirion captain, assisted by his extraordinary son Feanor.

Tirion kept on attacking furiously, but then Orodreth made a mistake turning the ball over to Finarfin and Aman was suddenly on a break four against two. The Elf advanced with the ball straight down the centre towards in the gap between the two remaining defenders, and when Amras finally felt he had to step in to interfere with the run, Finarfin simply played the ball out wide where Ar-Pharazon came storming forward. The striker took a great first touch and with a delightful chip he beat the onrushing Aule in goal. Aman was into the lead once again and the numerous Ainur fans present celebrated wildly.

But Tirion just kept at it, losing none of its composure. Few has seen a side this confident going forward, and with the breathtaking skill of Feanor, Miriel, Finwe, Nerdanel among others Aman were soon defending desperately again, falling back almost into the lap of Nienna. And this proved costly as Feanor was allowed space to get a shot in from distance, and he hit it with such venom that not even the cat-like reflexes and agility of Nienna was enough to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. But Aman was not out of it and Ar-Pharazon had a great chance to score again just before the break, but the Numenorian saw his shot drift just wide of the left hand post.

In the second half Tirion played somewhat more conservatively, with Finwe operating a little bit deeper in midfield and with one wing-back staying back if the other one rushed forward. Perhaps Finwe had told his team that they could simply not afford to concede any more goals if they wanted to win this match? But with players like Feanor on the pitch they remained a potent offensive threat, and not far into the second half, the Fiery Boot scored again. Orodreth got to the by-line and hit a low cross into the box which Nerdanel stepped over, and Feanor following up behind hit the ball crisp and clean straight into the roof of the net from 20 yards. The crowd was ecstatic to finally see their heroes taking the lead.

Aman still had chances to come back but when Miriel scored Tirions forth with less than 20 minutes less to play the match was over. It was an easy finish in the end for the nimble striker, as Nienna had spilled Finwe’s shot right at her feet in front of goal, but that effort will boost the confidence of Miriel, who has been accused of failing to perform in the big matches when it really matters, despite scoring for fun in the group-stage matches.

And so it was. Another 4-2 win for Tirion meant that the Noldor side was qualified for the quarter finals. That night the silver lantern of Ingwe’s lofty tower Mindon Eldaliéva seemed to burn with an added vigour, shining like a bright star far out to sea.

Aman 2-4 Tirion
tot shots 13-18
on target 6-9
GOALS:
*10, 1-0 Nahar (Turgon)
*16, 1-1 Finwe (Feanor)
*24, 2-1 Ar Pharazon (Finarfin)
*38, 2-2 Feanor (Ingwe)
*54, 2-3 Feanor (Orodreth)
*72, 2-4 Miriel (Finwe)
YELLOW CARDS:
Aman- Este, Turgon
Tirion- Indis, Amrod, Feanor