[the phantom]

Minas Morgul at Doriath

Doriath had played host to various group and playoff contests in recent years, but it wasn’t anything quite like this. Their first concerns had always been impressing visitors with the beauty of their underground arena and being gracious hosts, but this time it was a party, for their team was playing, and they were streaking out of the group stages with the best differential in the tournament!

Standing in the path to the quarterfinals was Minas Morgul, a team that there was no reason not to hate according to most of the Elves- other than their keeper Earnur, but surely there must be something wrong with him if he chose to play there, they figured.

A few hundred men, mostly from Umbar, travelled in support, and these were treated at least decently, for despite their leanings they bore themselves well for the most part, though their faces were often sneering.

The Orcs on the other hand- King Thingol had declared that they should be allowed to live at least, but they weren’t showed much kindness beyond that. Any Orc walking about Menegroth could count on being stopped and searched on nearly every block, as the rangers and wardens of Doriath were all dedicated to ensuring that there would not be a single weapon-carrying Orc within the stadium for the match nor in the pubs before, during, or after. “We don’t care that they’re here so much, but they can’t be trusted to keep the peace,” said one official.

But the trip from Mordor is a lengthy one, and not even five thousand total Orcs showed up to be harassed by the Doriath troops, making the policing job simpler than they had hoped for, and guaranteeing a substantial home field crowd. From pre-match interviews it was clear that the Witch King had noticed a lack of die-hard travelling fans, and had something to say about it.

“Apparently we weren’t thrilling enough in the group phase to get everyone on board... Apparently Doriath is so good that we don’t have a chance... And apparently most of our so-called fans are worthless!” he shouted at various media gathered for the pre-game press conference. “With these players and ME at the front, how could they bail on us and write us off?! And even were it hopeless- miracles can happen! Not to mention we’ve been playing our hardest for this squad. All teams ought to receive better support than this, just for the love of the game and for the pride of you homeland.”

His bitter words did nothing to change the makeup of the crowd, however, and the game kicked off with a nearly unified stadium singing the fight song of Doriath. Minas Morgul tuned it out though and pressed forward, taking the initiative against their foes who seemed perhaps nervous and over-pressured by expectations. Already in the first two minutes Beruthiel managed to release Castamir to the corner of the box, but lucky for the home team Carcharoth closed quickly enough to limit his angle to the far side and forced him to go near and Huan read things well and made the stop.

Not long after that some nice passing led to King Dead having room to try a drive to test Huan again, and the keeper barely got up and over for it, tipping its course up just enough to have it rebound out off the crossbar. The crowd was rather silent at this point, as things were not going as planned! But the rebound came out to Luthien who immediately sent it forward and to the side she was facing where Mablung was dashing, and the pass led him perfectly and he had green space ahead down the side. Turin and Hurin were charging down the middle with him, and only Nazgul #2, Angamaite, and Sangahyando were with them.

Mablung angled in as he approached the other end but instead of taking it closer he suddenly sent one into the far side of the box, for he had seen Turin peel from the middle towards that side and the defenders were late reacting being occupied looking at the ball and Hurin. Angamaite ran full out for the spot but the pass was over him and coming down exactly the right spot to allow the tall Turin an uncontested header. Earnur knew it was simply a guessing game, for with Turin’s power from that close a range there would be no time to see it and react. Spotting Nazgul #2 running in towards the post farthest from Turin, Earnur guessed near post. But the stern head of Turin sent it instead high to the far side of the middle, and too fast and near for Nazgul #2 to help, and the home team was in front!

The crowd fell back into their celebratory ways quick as lightning, and their confidence grew all the more. “Even if we’re outplayed we’ll win! Our keeper is just that good, and even with limited chances Turin’s just too dangerous!” But the Witch King and his side maintained their composure and picked up where they’d left off with their quality play, putting the pressure on yet again. Witch King himself put one over top of the goal, and at 20 minutes Castamir redirected a corner just wide. And then- Minas Morgul’s hopes were crushed yet again!

Elwe gained possession by the end line and sent it over to Luthien who sent it down the middle where Melian controlled it and turned past her defender with a burst of speed. Already streaking ahead of her was Beleg and Eol near the sides and Turin and Hurin in the middle and she followed in their wake. As the offense closed on the box everyone expected her to give it up and the defenders continued to concentrate on the forwards rather than the ball. Finally at 40 meters Fuinur and Herumor closed on her, but she faked a pass to freeze them and split them in a flash and then brought her foot back for real at the top of the box.

Eol flashed into the picture from the left going along the sideline and she chipped it to him high. The pass was perfect to beat the defenders but Earnur was coming and would surely snatch it or at least block it coming off of his head, as his arrival would be only microseconds late. But the creative craftsman Eol had the pass angle judged brilliantly and faked a header and pulled his head down and away from the net at the last instant, allowing the pass to buzz a fraction of an inch over him without contacting him at all, and the ball spun lazily beyond the reach of a shocked Earnur who could only watch it fall against the inside of the post and bounce into the goal for the 2-0 lead!

The crowd applauded and screamed loudly for Eol, appreciating the fine work he had done that would not show up on the stat sheet. There were many cheers for Melian as well- they were thrilled to see their defense organizing queen get a goal!

The first goal had not shaken Minas Morgul, but this one did. Awe was evident on the faces of many of their players. How could they defend a team when even their defenders were that skilled with the ball and so quick and offensively efficient? Play was under way again and Doriath now owned the ball, content to take their time with a two goal lead and the defense sagging off of them. But as the half was winding down Minas Morgul became more aggressive and Doriath moved to one touch passing and started moving it up and back more quickly to keep the defense running.

Then with five minutes left they got it to Eol in his corner and the defenders closed in to apply the pressure. Eol worked it sideways towards the net to draw the defense then sent it back out with his heel to a lonesome Mablung who immediately boomed one low towards the opposite side, curling into the box. It looked like it might get through without anyone touching it and the jerseys all flowed towards the opposite side, but Carcharoth dashed to the edge of the box and made a mighty leap into the air. The ball struck him firmly upon the back of his head and bounced down and back the way it came, where the only player that hadn’t gone off in the other direction, Beren, was waiting to meet it with a thunderous boot before it even touched the ground! Earnur managed only to get a couple fingertips on it and it was 3-0 Doriath!

During halftime the Orcs began filing out already- they could not watch any more. Many of the black Numenoreans stuck around, but looked quite depressed. The wood-Elves and men of Dor-Lomin on the other hand got the ale flowing and the food circulating as soon as the second half started and were already in post-game celebration mode, singing songs of victory. And they had good cause- for Doriath was owning possession yet again, and Minas Morgul could do little about it.

This went on for some time with Doriath taking some speculative drives when finally at minute 67 they went with full-on pressure and the crowd was rewarded with icing on top- a goal by Mablung fed by Turin, a reverse of the opening tally. Doriath had a commanding four goal lead! It was all but in the books!

Doriath treated the final 20 largely as a practice, kicking the ball away to Minas Morgul and allowing them to test their defense. The Witch King was enraged to be treated in such a fashion, but he was powerless to do anything about it, as his team could hardly manage more than distant snipes, as every player had a defender draped on him that he could not shake off.

Finally the refs declared it over, and Minas Morgul exited quickly, ashamed to be seen. But no one was paying the least bit of attention to them- all eyes were on the magnificent team from Doriath, who trotted off the field lazily acknowledging the cheers of the crowd as if they had done nothing to celebrate about. This was a confident bunch with high expectations of themselves, and the crowd loved it!

Doriath 4-0 Minas Morgul
tot shots 18-12
on target 9-4
GOALS:
*10, 1-0 Turin (Mablung)
*22, 2-0 Melian (Luthien)
*40, 3-0 Beren (Carcharoth)
*67, 4-0 Mablung (Turin)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Doriath- Carcharoth
*MMorgul- Fuinur, Beruthiel, Nazgul #2

Doriath advances to the quarterfinals to meet the winner of Valinor vs Wilderland.