Group G at Nargothrond
The High Faroth Arena was filled to the brim with the supporters of AC Beleriand and Anfauglith; there was no room for neutrals. The Elves supported AC Beleriand, and the creatures of Angband rooted for Anfauglith. The Bëorians lamented Rían’s choice of side, but they were all for Beren and Bregolas. The people of Hador felt sympathy for Marach and Imlach, but their hearts belonged to Galdor and Gundor. The folk of Haleth were not torn and cheered wholeheartedly for Haldir.
The two squads had already met before, a fiercely-contested friendly resulting in a scoreless draw. They had played with their cards close to their chests, and not even a player of Fëanor’s calibre could unlock the Balrogs’s defence in front of Ungoliant’s goal.
But this time AC Beleriand didn’t come to play. Assured of first seed (and avoiding Elrond’s Eriador in the first round of the knockout stages) even with a draw, they elected to keep the ball in the half-court line, not playing passes or bringing the ball towards the Anfauglith third of the pitch. Imlach to Bregolas. To Denethor. To Rochallor. Back to Bregolas. To Beren, who dribbled forward half-heartedly before passing back to Denethor.
Anfauglith tried to make a game of the proceedings, but they couldn’t take the ball away from AC Beleriand. No matter how hard they pressed, AC Beleriand simply retreated, passing to the open man regardless of position on the pitch. Anfauglith were basically chasing ten players with six, since their defenders refused to break formation, for fear of a sudden AC Beleriand attack.
AC Beleriand didn’t remain quiet forever, though, as Fëanor made his anticipated solo runs in the closing minutes of the half. The Fiery Boot left behind a trail of Anfauglith players in his wake as he forayed first through the centre and then down the left flank, carrying the ball at pace as if it were a puppy obediently following him. In both cases, however, Ungoliant was up to the task of saving his shots, and the half ended with both teams scoreless, but the AC Beleriand supporters were upbeat, chanting Fëanor’s name with fervour.
The second half began as the first had ended, with another Fëanor solo run down the right wing. It took a Borlach sliding tackle to deny him a goalbound shot. But after that initial frenzy AC Beleriand returned to their passive passing game. The nerves of the Anfauglith players were being stretched thin—they tried to chase the ball around, but they also had to be wary of sudden forward runs. It was more this nervousness, and less the physical effort of having to run all over the field, that tired them out, and the final blow was struck when, fifteen minutes before the time, AC Beleriand changed the game’s tempo again.
Imlach took a backward pass from Bregolas, and he passed it sideways to Fingolfin. Galdor and Rían plodded after the High-King, but a sudden burst of speed left the two behind. Balrog #3 went out to challenge him, but he passed the ball sideways to a charging Fëanor. Just outside the box, Borlach and Balrog #2 stood before the AC Beleriand captain. He faked a shot and then dragged the ball back, leaving a sliding Borlach behind. He turned on the Balrog and took a snap-shot, but Ungoliant got a leg in to flick the shot away. Beren had a foot in the rebound, but Balrog #4 headed his chip away. Anfauglith has denied AC Beleriand once again, but they have conceded a corner.
AC Beleriand players flooded the Anfauglith penalty box, leaving only Imlach and Rochallor at the half-court line. Beren took the corner, a short one to Eol, who quickly sent a cross into the box from an angle the Anfauglith players didn’t anticipate. Fingolfin was waiting at the near post, and he rose highest to guide the ball in past the legs of Ungoliant.
And that was the last straw. AC Beleriand’s passing killed the game; Anfauglith were simply too tired, too deflated to press AC Beleriand. The denizens of Angband booed loudly even before the final whistle was blown, but the AC Beleriand supporters cheered for their team. They chose a prudent approach; they didn’t need to win the game, and they got to rest in preparation for a game against either Gondolin or Inter Beleriand (or perhaps, though unlikely, even Eriador). And they saw that an on-form Fëanor was unplayable, even by one of the best defences in the tournament. Despite all the attention on the teams of Group D, they believed that Fëanor’s team was something special, and could go all the way.
AC Beleriand 1-0 Anfauglith
GOALS:
77, 1-0 Fingolfin (Eöl)
Total Shots
12-6
Shots On Target
5-2
YELLOW CARDS:
3-2
AC Beleriand: Fëanor, Ulrad, Fingolfin
Anfauglith: Rían, Gorgol
The home team Nargothrond was in last place, so to speak, in the race for the knockout stages. They were four goals down in difference, and they knew that their defence would have a hard time shutting down Doriath, who took two goals against AC Beleriand’s Fingolfin-led backline. Can Finrod, Glaurung, and Gwindor score five or six to qualify? Will Melian and Dior let them?
Doriath elected to play on the break instead of contesting Nargothrond in the midfield, with Melian starting at central defence for the third time running. They knew that both teams had equal numbers and almost equal talent in the midfield, but the Nargothrond offence cannot be contained by their back four alone. As for their offence, they had no player of Thuringwethil or Fëanor’s calibre who could dribble out the defenders and force multiple markers. Their front line’s greatest strength was their ability to create space and exploit them, especially with Mablung playing the false-striker role to the hilt, dragging away central defenders and leaving holes for Lúthien and Beleg’s inside runs.
They almost rued their decision to absorb the pressure instead of pressing themselves when Dior was called to action after fifteen minutes of play. First he palmed away Glaurung’s tailer from a Gwindor cross, and then he punched Finrod’s volley of the rebound over the crossbar. It was a fine double save, but now Nargothrond have won a corner, delivered by Finduilas, and Glaurung poked the ball between Galadhon’s legs; Dior could only stand helpless as the ball crossed the goal line.
Doriath fielded a lopsided 4-4-1-1, with right winger Beleg as the only outlet for long balls behind Mablung (instead of central attacking midfielder Nellas). But it was his wing partner Lúthien who created Doriath’s first chance near the half-hour mark, when she intercepted a sloppy Orodreth pass and zoomed downfield. She took on Mîm and found space to centre the ball, and Mablung stabbed it in with Nargothrond keeper Bëor diving too late.
The half ended in a deadlock, which had been the case for all but one game in the group (the AC Beleriand-Doriath tie), and the spectators knew that whoever came out of the locker rooms with fury would win the tie. The almost forty-thousand home supporters chanted their lungs out, knowing that their team had created far more chances in the first half, and would continue to do so, but the Doriath faithful noticed that, while Nargothrond’s many chances yielded but one goal, Doriath with their few chances were level with them. Their defence was better, and so was their finishing; thus they believed that their team could outlast the Nargothrond pressure.
Three minutes into the second half the Doriath crowd uttered a collective groan that was drowned out by the home supporters’ cheers. Finrod sent an incisive ball through the heart of the Doriath defence, and Gwindor’s superb turn-and-finish proved too much for Dior to handle. Nargothrond needed three more goals, and they still had plenty of time. However, Doriath would not simply roll over and die. A few minutes before the hour mark Melian sent a long ball to Beleg, who moved forward while Mablung pulled back. The Nargothrond defenders were unsure whom to guard, and Beleg had enough space to pass to a charging Daeron, whose drive from thirty yards clanged off the side post and into the net.
Nargothrond would answer eleven minutes later, when Gwindor found space to send a low cross that Finrod hooked in. But Doriath would equalise again in the seventy-fifth minute, after Mablung, in a rare display of strength, outmuscled Baran and Arminas to head in Beleg’s cross. The Nargothrond fans were snacking on their fingernails—would fifteen minutes be enough? Can they stop Doriath long enough to get the four goal difference they need?
They were given a glimmer of hope when, in the seventy-seventh minute, Gwindor dribbled past Nimloth into the box and Saeros’s sliding tackle collided with the winger’s ankle. A yellow card for the defender, and a spot kick for Nargothrond. Finrod took the penalty, and he sent it zooming to the left. But Dior guessed correctly—he had saved the penalty! Doriath supporters heaved a sigh of relief and the Nargothrond crowd clutched their heads. It seems that it was not meant to be.
Their pessimistic observation was borne out when Mablung completed his hat trick four minutes from time, taking a long pass from Melian before rounding past the Nargothrond defenders in a rare display of ball control. Nargothrond wondered why they had to meet Mablung on his day, and Doriath hoped that he would enjoy more days like this one.
Doriath 4-3 Nargothrond
GOALS:
16, 0-1 Glaurung (Finduilas)
29, 1-1 Mablung (Lúthien)
48, 1-2 Gwindor (Finrod)
56, 2-2 Daeron (Beleg)
67, 2-3 Finrod (Gwindor)
75, 3-3 Mablung (Beleg)
86, 4-3 Mablung (Melian)
Total Shots
17-22
Shots On Target
7-9
YELLOW CARDS:
1-2
Doriath: Saeros
Nargothrond: Mîm, Arminas
AC Beleriand gets first seed, and, despite their head-to-head game, Doriath snatches the second seed from Anfauglith due to goals scored.
Exit interviews shall soon be provided in the ArdaCup.com Tactical Review.