[Boromir88]

Group D
Group D has been rocked by doping allegations of the host team. This also effects Gondor, because if true, would Eregion have to forfeit their 2-0 victory in Round 1? That was the talk of Group D and mediat had swarmed around the lockerrooms for reactions from the clubs.

Arwen: I can't believe my father would cheat to win. I don't know how these rumors started, but they did not come from my team, no matter what you may have read elsewhere. We got beat by an Arda Class GK, there is no shame in that, and we have to concentrate winning Eriador now. This group is in our hands to take.

Aragorn: Are we playing Eregion this round? That'll be all.

The Mouth: Well I don't know much about the use of PEDs, that wouldn't surprise me much. But I do hear from good sources that Earendil is not playing well because his wife was seen wearing an Elrond jersey. Father jealousy? Everyone knows a mother will support her son more than the other man in the house.

In the mean time there is a game to be played, but everyone is waiting for the release of the next Underground to see what the Arda Cup Committee has to say about the allegations.

Match 3 - Eriador vs Gondor
The game was extremely even the full 90 minutes. They traded shots, goals, everything about the match brought it an exciting back and forth affair. Gondor would press, Arvedui would need to make a few saves, until the pressure paid off on the scoreboard. Then Eriador would press, Ecthelion II would have to make a few saves, until finally the pressure led to a goal. It was almost like a friendly, but the crowd actually did see skilled football. Eriador and Gondor were literally just that evenly matched.

So it was Gondor that started attacking first and in the 19th minute a good releasing pass by Arwen was banged in by Turambar. With the lead Gondor relaxed and Eriador was the team most often with possession in the opponents half of the field. Araphor has a long history of scoring crucial goals at the end of games, this one came with 2 minutes remaining in the 1st half. The Wight worked his way deep into Gondor's box and left it for Araphor. A finisher of Araphor's quality, there was no doubt to anyone in the stadium that one was going in. The half-time whistle blew and the teams walked off, agreeing that was a fair result.

The 2nd half was almost a mirror image of the 1st. 19 minutes in Gondor had the lead again, as Eldacar put in his 1st goal of the tournament. Gondor again relaxed and defended their lead. This time though, Eriador pressured a bit more. Araphor almost had his 2nd goal of the game but it was a brilliant hand save by Ecthelion, preserving the Gondor lead. But the rebound bounced perfectly to Aragorn, and the Gondor keeper had not recovered from saving Araphor's shot, it was 2-2., with under 15 minutes to go.

Knowing a draw would do them little good, since they would face Eregion in the last round, and either Gondor or Barad Dur could knock them out of the playoffs simply by beating the other, Eriador began looking for another goal. Though, there was something a bit frantic about their shooting in the last 10 minutes. Gondor's defense was holding well, but Eriador's shots were uncharacteristically wild, and Ecthelion II didn't even have to make a save in the last 10 minutes, since all Eriador's shots went sailing harmlessly off target.

Eriador 2-2 Gondor
tot shots 16-12
on target 6-6
GOALS:
*19, 0-1 Turambar (Arwen)
*43, 1-1 Araphor (Barrow-Wight)
*64, 1-2 Eldacar (Narmicil)
*77, 2-2 Aragorn (Araphor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eriador- Tom, Halbarad
*Gondor- Arwen, Narmacil

Match 4 - Barad Dur vs Eregion
The tension was thick before the kick off to this game, and a lot of it likely had to do with The Mouth's comments to the media before the game. Eregion fans did not take those comments kindly, so when the teams came out onto the field, the Barad-dur baddies were greeted with a host of boos (the Last Alliance crew, cordial clapping). The Mouth and his cronies were smiling, and security was looking nervous before the start.

However, as the match was going on, Gil Galad had maintained pretty good control over The Mouth and his crew. Maybe since The Mouth was in enemy land with very little support, he kept his followers fairly tame? Maybe he was just looking for some inspiration to spark a fire in his boys against Eregion? Who knows, only The Mouth knows, but like Gondor in Round 1, Barad-dur was not playing terribly against Eregion. They were able to get good pressure and create scoring opportunities. Yet again though, there was just no way Elrond was going to allow a goal this game. I don't think we've ever witness a GK this dominant in Arda before. I mean this is a whole knew level, even for Elrond!

And so as Barad-Dur was getting their opportunities, and seemingly holding most of the possession, Eregion fans were shocked (but pleasantly so) to see their team was up 2-0 at the half. It was almost like, they were so enamoured by Elrond's saves they forgot their team actually scored twice!

First goal was on a corner, in the 26th minute, that Figwit took and it found the head of Glorfindel, who was showing no fear in the face of the Nazgul and orcish defenders. The 2nd goal came when Glorfindel made a run into the box, with the ball, and the BD defenders collapsed, wanting to prevent the re-embodied Elf from shooting. But that left Elrohir, in the center, right outside the box to line-up his shot and make a good strike. Ohtar was blocked out by the crowded mess in front of him, and didn't see Elrohir shot until it was too late.

The 2nd half was pretty uneventful. Elrond shut down the offense completely, and Barad-dur tried to narrow the lead, but with each save by Elrond, the Eregion crowd cheered more wildly than the save before. 12 out of 12, no one has witnessed this before! Would anyone be able to score against Elrond!?

Barad-Dur 0-2 Eregion
tot shots 12-14
on target 6-7
GOALS:
*26, 0-1 Glorfindel (Figwit)
*43, 0-2 Elrohir (Glorfindel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barad-Dur- Nazgul #1, Fellbeast #1, Cirdan
*Eregion- Elrohir, Valandil

Group D (after 2 Rounds)
1. Eregion, 6 pts, (+4)
2. Eriador, 2 pts, (0)
3. Barad-Dur, 1 pts, (-2)
4. Gondor, 1 pts, (-2)

Round 3 Matches
Barad Dur - Gondor
Eregion - Eriador

Eregion has not only advanced, but has locked up 1st place. Eriador wins they advance. Eriador ties, or loses, the winner of Barad-dur/Gondor will advance. Eriador loses, and Barad-dur/Gondor draw, that's a messy 3 way tie for 2nd. First tiebreaker is goal differential, then most goal scores, and if there's still a tie, SHOOTOUT!