[the phantom]

Nearly all the prognosticators were backing Mithrim and nearly all the money was moving in that direction, so oddsmakers were offering excellent numbers for Vinyamar in the lead up to the first semifinal, and the supporters of Vinyamar were more than happy to oblige by placing all their pocket change on their team. And why not? They were after all the only team left in the tournament that had not suffered a single loss in friendlies, group play, or the playoffs.

The supporters of Mithrim seemed to give little respect to this stat however, and could be heard far and wide guaranteeing a beat-down. After all, since group play started their defense, led by the sons of Feanor and Huan, had looked just as formidable as Vinyamar’s, while their feared trio of Turin, Hurin, and Beleg up front had put up four more goals than the team they now faced. This combination of defense and offense had boosted them to the best goal differential in the tournament- an excellent +11 through five matches.

When presented with this stat in interviews, players from Vinyamar seemed unmoved. Typifying their responses was captain Ulmo yesterday. “At this stage a one-goal victory counts for just as much as a two-goal victory. We do what is necessary to advance and that is all one can ask of a team. Not to mention the stat is slanted due to different competition faced. I think our first round opponent was just a bit tougher, and so was our quarterfinal match. And in group play, we were definitely facing stouter defenses overall.”

The Elves that showed up to watch the match were divided in loyalties between the sides, with Beleg drawing most of the woodland Elves while the Noldor of Vinyamar along with Ulmo and his Maia helpers drew slightly more Noldor than the sons of Feanor. The men and women however were more on the side of Mithrim, as Tuor was the lone man for Vinyamar while Mithrim featured Turin, Hurin, Morwen, Aradan, and Androg. And as expected a large group of dwarves had turned out to join their relatives in rooting for Vinyamar.

But not all the crowd had a preference, as there were several thousand “baddies” there to enjoy the match- orcs, trolls, werewolves, and even a few dragons. There were also many attendees from Gondor that did not have a strong rooting interest and thus could be won over through the course of the match.

And early on it was Vinyamar that looked set to win them over, as their movement was just beyond skilful. They gained only one quality look in the opening minutes, but they held the ball with relative ease, shortening the game and making Mithrim chase the ball around the pitch. The only thing that saved Mithrim early on was Celegorm and Curufin completely denying any sort of action in the corners, forcing Vinyamar to try and take it up the more muddled middle.

In the 25th minute Morwen deflected a risky pass towards the front and on the bounce Gelmir sent it immediately towards the right corner where Hurin tracked it down with a great first touch and dashed in leaving Salmar in his dust. The hero of Arnoediad then sent the ball skidding right across the face of the goal out of the reach of Rog, hoping a charging Turin or Beleg could deflect it in. Turin got a foot on it, but Osse came sliding in from the left and managed to deflect the shot and it bounced just a couple feet wide of the post.

On the corner sent in by Beleg Turin again had a shot at it, but Rog read it well and gathered in the header and the threat was over. It was then Vinyamar’s turn to go on the attack, and as usual they built it up slowly and carefully, until minute 33. The up front players for Vinyamar had been passing it back swiftly on nearly every touch, but Idril managed to surprise the defense and catch them flat footed when instead she took it and immediately made a run down the middle. The sons of Feanor came from the sides to cut her off, but she had broken through too quickly and they didn’t have the angle, giving her a clean shot at the keeper. She sent a drive low to the right, and Huan dove for it, barely tipping it with the tips of his claws, deflecting it just enough to hit the inside of the post and careen away to the left of the goal. Unfortunately for Huan, Celegorm had just vacated this area to try and contest or rush Idril’s shot and Tuor was first to it and wasted no time in sending it into the left side for the 1-0 lead!

Mithrim’s forwards looked determined to strike back, but the defense of Vinyamar maneuvered with skill and experience and turned aside every attack and the half arrived with the score still at 1-0.

The second half was much the same, with Vinyamar holding possession for frustrating amounts of time while not allowing Mithrim much in the way of scoring chances. Morwen and Curufin both forced Rog to make a save, but both shots were rather distant speculations and not enough to challenge a goalie as hot as Rog.

When the clock showed under twenty minutes to play the Mithrim supporters started getting extremely nervous, but they soon found relief. No surprise it was Turin, one of the most feared strikers in the game, who broke through. The goal was set up much the way their last serious threat had been- Hurin made a nice move from the corner and sent it into the box. Turin won position and used his height and strength to rise clear of the defense and nod the ball beautifully down onto the right side of the line and in.

Vinyamar surprisingly showed little disappointment, and Ulmo could be heard encouraging his squad. “They’re a great team. We knew they’d fight back. Now we just have to throw the final punch. We’re still okay. We can win this!” And the team obviously bought into his words, as they showed just as much confidence as ever in the final minutes of the half, forcing overtime to the delight of the impartial observers. Happy shouts of “Extra football!” could be heard throughout the arena.

During the overtime Mithrim looked a step slower. Perhaps they had tired themselves out in their efforts to gain the equalizer? Whatever the cause, Vinyamar looked extra sharp to begin the period and steadily built the attack. They gained a corner at minute 7, but it was just out of reach of Ulmo who came forward to use his height on the play. Minutes later Vinyamar had another nice look off a longball won by Duilin and sent swiftly out front to Penlod, but his quality header was grasped by Huan in a great save by the hound.

But at minute 16 the squad from Mount Taras could be denied no longer, as Penlod got his head on yet another Duilin cross. He placed it expertly into the near top corner and soon found himself mobbed by teammates. It was Vinyamar out front once again, and Mithrim had less than 14 minutes to score against one of the stingiest defenses in the tournament.

The ending was less than dramatic, as Mithrim never seriously threatened to equalize. Turin’s turn and power drive from 35 yards that zipped past the right side of the goal was as close as they managed, and Vinyamar and their fans were soon free to celebrate this unexpected and well-fought victory. They were through to play for the Arda Cup championship!

Mithrim 1-2 Vinyamar (OVERTIME)
tot shots 13-9
on target 6-5
GOALS:
*33, 0-1 Tuor (Idril)
*72, 1-1 Turin (Hurin)
*16, 1-2 Penlod (Duilin)
YELLOW CARDS:
Mithrim- Morwen, Beleg, Hurin
Vinyamar- Tuor, Galdor