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The atmosphere was electric as Tirion and Gondolin, mightiest of Elven teams, made it out on the pitch here in the grand Tol Eressea Stadium, always green as if it were the first days of spring in the Elder Days. Of course no one knew about electricity at that time, but some it has been said it was this night the idea first arose. Gondolin, the Hidden Rock, was of old fashioned as an image of Tirion upon Tuna, and most of its residents came out of that fair city, so the two teams had an intimate knowledge of each other; they knew exactly how their opponents played, their strength and weaknesses, each player’s personal quirks and habits.

Most pundits also agreed that the two teams were evenly matched. Tirion had had some defensive issues, but their offence was unmatched by any other team in the past or present. Gondolin, under the new leadership of Fingolfin, also had a new-found attacking flair but without losing the defensive solidity his son Turgon had built up. But would it be enough to stop the lethal quartet of Feanor, Finwe, Nerdanel and Miriel? Everyone was dying to find out.

There was fire in the eyes of Feanor as he and Finwe kicked off, and the Noldor superstar was lucky not to get booked as he went in heavy and hard on his brother Fingolfin when he first got the ball at his feet. Or “half-brother” as the Fiery Boot was keen to point out in the pre-match press conference.

The high expectations ahead of the game were not betrayed. The match was played at a break-neck pace and the crowd gasped for breath time and time again as the players were outdoing each other in individual brilliance. And they were not denied goals for long. In the 12th minute Gondolin won a corner-kick. Captain Fingolfin took it and Aredhel, the White Lady, shook off her marker and made perfect contact with her forehead, sending the ball crashing off the crossbar and into the net, past a furious Aule in the Tirion goal. He was not at all happy with the defending.

Tirion was behind once again and once again they came roaring back. The Gondolin goalkeeper Huor was twice forced to palm behind in the 10 minutes following the goal, firstly from Miriel’s curling effort from the edge of the area and then later from Feanor's speculative but fiercely-struck 35-yard dipping drive. But suddenly Tirion was caught out on the break and Aredhel showed wonderful awareness by spotting Maeglin and lifting a perfectly timed ball over the Tirion back-line, releasing the Sharp Boot one-on-one with Aule, and he made no mistake, rounding the Vala and slotting the ball into the open net. The Gondolin players and fans celebrated wildly now, feeling they had a solid grip on the match, and they remained on top of things for the remainder of the first half.

In the second half Tirion came out like a team possessed, determined to make a match out of this. But Gondolin defended with applause, and remained dangerous on the break. In the 60th minute Eöl came inches from making it three as he hit the outside of the post with a header from a Fingolfin free kick. Seeing the hope of his team shattering, Feanor took it upon himself to make a difference, and the game looked set for a frantic finale when The Fiery Boot latched on to a knockdown by Nerdanel and let fly with a low shot that fizzed past Huor and into the bottom corner of the net.

Now Tirion was all over Gondolin like a rash, and they created chance after chance, despite some heroic defending by the Gondolin team. And with 15 minutes left of the clock the Tirion fans could celebrate the equalizer and once again, almost inevitably, it was Feanor who scored the goal, sliding in to finish a flowing move that had the Gondolin defender’s heads spinning.

Now the momentum was with Tirion who pushed furiously for a winner. In the 80th minute Huor made a great save, denying Feanor a hat-trick, and moments later, Mahtan headed just over from a corner kick. But there was to be heartbreak for the brave Tirion players. With only minutes left, Gondolin made a rare attacking move, and Maeglin whipped in a cross towards Glorfindel in the area, who was all alone against five Tirion defenders. There appeared to be no danger whatsoever, but inexplicably Aule, coming out to gather the ball, fumbled and spilled it right in front of the Gondolin midfielder, who had an easy task of putting the ball into the open net.

A shell-chocked Tirion could not believe their eyes. Feanor did not look happy, not happy at all. A Vala had let him down once again. The superstar tried to take matters into his own hands again, but he was now desperate, and trying to dribble past the entire Gondolin defense was too tough a task even for him. 3-2 to Gondolin it finished, and the Hidden Rock players celebrated as it they had won the final already. Aule however left the stadium with his head bent down, a sad sight for any lover of the beautiful game.

Gondolin 3-2 Tirion
tot shots 14-15
on target 8-7
GOALS:
*13, 1-0 Aredhel (Fingolfin)
*27, 2-0 Maeglin (Aredhel)
*62, 2-1 Feanor (Nerdanel)
*75, 2-2 Feanor (Miriel)
*86, 3-2 Glorfindel (Maeglin)
YELLOW CARDS:
Gondolin- Thorondor, Salgant, Ecthelion, Glorfindel
Tirion- Finwe, Amrod