[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Elenrod: Dear viewers, your televisions aren’t broken. This is The Matchday: Extra Time. It’s basically the same show as The Matchday, just with a different name, because that’s the kind of imagination that you get here. Today: the cast of The Children of Húrin meet on a football pitch in High Faroth; you know one of Nargothrond and Hithlum will end in tears. Elsewhere: is it still a siege if both teams are on the defensive? Sauron’s Barad-dûr visit Eriador again after their Second Age encounter. Meanwhile, can anyone stop a fourth Valinor derby in two years from happening? Our panel discusses whether Tirion or Misty Mts have a hope in hell of doing so. All that and much, much more in The Matchday: Extra Time.

Iorithil: You’d probably need to catch your breath after that.

Elenrod: He’s back! After weeks of hiding, Quenta Noldorin Sport’s Iorithil is with us once again.

Adam: Do you have a new book out again, I wonder?

Elenrod: And you probably thought never the twain shall meet. It’s not an economist, Adam Smith.

Iorithil: Nope, no new book. Although I am in the process of writing one.

Maika: Haha, well, there goes my suspicion that you’re both just the same person.

Elenrod: Determined not to get left behind, our tactics guru, Maikalomion, is also here.

Felagundion: I am getting paid extra for this extra time, am I not?

Elenrod: Of course, you are, blogger Felagundion. Now, let’s discuss the upcoming last sixteen ties. Making our way through the bracket, let’s start with Valimar hosting Arnor. Hm, haven’t we seen this fixture before?

Iorithil: 2010 Arda Cup Round of Sixteen, Norbury at Valimar. The game ended 2-1, with Araphor scoring both goals, including the winner.

Felagundion: ‘Araphor scoring the winner’ is such a clichéd phrase.

Elenrod: Anyone thinks the same thing would happen?

Adam: It could, but I think it wouldn’t, for two reasons. Number one: Arien. Yes, she was in that ill-fated Valimar squad, but she hasn’t won the cup then. She’d drive Valimar forward, dropping deep to collect the ball herself if necessary. Number two, and more importantly, Wiki. By which to say he’d draw the righteous wrath of the Valar.

Maika: Well, if Arien does drop deep, she still has to depend on Irmo and Ingwë moving forward; otherwise they’d just be playing in front of Arnor’s defence. Isn’t the accusation levelled towards Manwë’s teams is that they lacked incision in the final third?

Felagundion: Manwë teams are such a pain to predict. They’re usually more talented than their opponents, but they can lose—have lost—for the silliest of reasons.

Elenrod: So, has the jury reached a verdict?

Adam: Arnor’s offence hasn’t impressed at all in that unflattering Group H, so I’d guess a safe 1-0 Valimar.

Elenrod: All right, then, let’s move on to our first grudge match. Dagor-nuin-Giliath or Dagor Bragollach—whatever you want to call it—, Angband visiting AC Bel’s Lakeside Arena at Mithrim. Can Morgoth pull out something extra to beat Fëanor’s steamroller?

Adam: There are two things two bear in mind here. Number one: AC Bel are better than Angband. Anfauglith are a tough team, but Inter, Dwarf U, and Gondolin are also good, so that’s three wins against good teams for AC Bel vs only one for Angband. Number two: AC Bel’s playing style eliminates a lot of the randomness that gives weaker teams a chance to beat a stronger team. Fact is, the only team they lost to last year, Real Valinor, were better than them, so don’t expect any sucker punches to knock AC Bel out.

Maika: There’s another team that AC Bel didn’t beat last year—Doriath drew with them after going behind by two goals. They exploited AC Bel’s weakness at the time, their lack of width, and crowded out Fëanor, Eöl, and Beren in the middle. Also, they had Beleg and Lúthien, players who were clinical in finishing the few chances Doriath had.

Iorithil: Ancalagon is also a clinical finisher, I think. Morgoth is, as well, at least on set pieces. And in open, play, they have pace through their spine of cat players in defence and midfield, as well as the excellent supporting striker Tevildo. Though Angband won’t have a weakness of AC Bel to exploit now, but they basically have a better defence than Doriath, anyway.

Elenrod: So Angband have a chance?

Adam: Everyone always has a chance against everyone else—that is, until AC Bel record 60+% possession and allow Angband to shoot only five times the whole game. I think 2-0 AC Bel

Elenrod: Felagundion, you were a little quiet back there. Maybe Real Valinor vs Tirion is more to your liking?

Felagundion: Not really. But if you want, I’ll chip in. Real beat Tirion last year. Tirion got much stronger, and Real were weakened—a little. But I expect the same result: 2-1 Real

Elenrod: Well, that was quick.

Iorithil: I agree with him. Real kept the spine of their championship team: Tulkas, Tilion, Nienna, Nessa, Nerdanel, and Míriel. Basically, those players were instrumental in beating five tough teams—and Rohan—in their championship run. And this new group has to be confident after finally not losing to FC Val after three tries.

Elenrod: And there’s a good chance they’ll be meeting again, what with FC Valinor facing Misty Mts in another round of sixteen tie. Maika, do you think Misty Mts have a chance? You have been raving a lot about their front four.

Maika: Haha, well, I said they could score against FC Val, but I also think FC Val could score three or four against them.

Adam: How about Argon, eh? What a player. He got his first Arda Cup cap last year after years of being ignored, and now he’s probably the most important cog in this FC Valinor machine.

Felagundion: I wouldn’t go that far. He has the same stats—three goals and an assist—as Curufin.

Adam: But good defences are already used to dealing with Celegorm and Curufin. And Yavanna seems to have hit a rough patch of form. Argon is their most consistent performer during the group stage. Well, him and the back four, I guess.

Maika: That is true. They allowed only a little over eight shots per game, against teams that are technically offensive in style. Huan had to save just five shots the whole group stage—Arvedui of Arnor and Tar-Atanamir of Armenelos made that many saves per game.

Elenrod: Your call?

Maika: Hmm, I said Misty Mts could score against them, but I don’t think so. 3-0 FC Val.

Elenrod: And now we move on to a lesser rivalry: Barad-dûr at Weathertop, playing Elrond’s Eriador.

Iorithil: I have a feeling this is an almighty upset in the making.

Elenrod: Really, now, Iorithil? Why?

Iorithil: I watched your show last time, when Maika mentioned Valandil as one of their important players from last year. Of course, they also lost Wiki, Malbeth, and two of their attacking midfielders, Arahael and Arassuil. That’s a lot of corporate knowledge gone. Well, their defence is still top-notch, as you’d expect, but their defence-to-attack transitions look discombobulated.

Maika: Well, if NogWight grafts well into that system, he could help. He was a fine forward for the Wolves, good finisher, of course, but also excellent in linking up with the midfielders. With Eriador, he uses his positional intelligence and industry to link midfield and attack, driving them forward with his running and short passing. He hasn’t formed a seamless rapport with Glorfindel, Isildur, and Arveleg yet, but if they click…

Adam: But would Sauron give him time? Last year, Barad-dûr were full of energy, but it was all headless-chicken-running-around-the pitch style. This year they’re really snapping to tackles, pressuring ball-handlers, cutting into passing lanes, like what Sauron urged his 2011 Wilderland team to do against Valinor. And Grishnákh is still a pretty good goalie, even if he’s dropped off from his unsustainable preseason form.

Elenrod: So, what do y’all think?

Iorithil: Hmmm… 1-1, with Eriador edging it in penalties.

Adam: Sounds about right, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Sauron nicks a winner in extra time.

Elenrod: Next up is probably the marquee event of the last sixteen, in terms of goalscoring potential: Hithlum visiting Nargothrond at the High Faroth Arena.

Adam: Bookies are putting the over/under of total goals scored in this game at five. I wouldn’t be surprised if they repeated the seven-goal thriller they had in a friendly match last year.

Felagundion: Hithlum don’t have a midfield, and Nargothrond keep the ball well. I expect they’d score less than three goals.

Iorithil: The Túrin vs Glaurung angle is interesting, even if they’re on totally opposite sides of the pitch. Well, there’s also Nienor, Gwindor, Finduilas, Húrin, Morwen…

Maika: Remember how Gwindor burned Hithlum in that friendly Adam mentioned? I think he scored a first-half hat trick then. Reckon he’d do the same this year?

Adam: Arroch did a pretty decent job on Míriel. I think Nargothrond won’t have any single mismatch to exploit; they’d have to keep their offence flowing. That’s their forte, anyway.

Elenrod: And on the other end? Túrin is back, Húrin is there, and so is Hador. What would Orodreth and company do?

Felagundion: That’s a big question. They have the pace to exploit Nargothrond’s high line, and they’re superb finishers; excellent at set pieces, too. It’ll be defending from the front again for Nargothrond, preventing the ball from getting to Hithlum’s forward line through high pressing. Good news is, none of Hithlum’s back four is a good ball-handler, aside from the Balrog.

Elenrod: So what’s your call on this?

Felagundion: I fear Hithlum won’t be denied, but Nargothrond can control this game. 3-2 Nargothrond.

Elenrod: That’s it, then. Tol-in-Gaurhoth-Gondolin, anyone? Gondolin have to be pretty confident after their drama-filled victory over rivals Inter.

Iorithil: The way TiG are playing, it doesn’t matter which of Inter or Gondolin they face. It’ll be one-sided.

Maika: Yeah. The Wolves are excellent in all three areas of the pitch, and ShastaWolf bounced back from his horrible 2012 and is, once again, one of the best goalies of the tournament.

Iorithil: Considering how weak their side of the bracket is, I’d be surprised if they don’t make it to the finals. 2-0 TiG, but 3-0 is also possible.

Elenrod: Last we have Anduin hosting Armenelos. Armenelos lost top seed to Valimar by the narrowest of margins, but Anduin won their group quite convincingly.

Felagundion: Except against Mordor.

Elenrod: That is true, that is true. So, do they have a chance?

Maika: This is a pretty good Armenelos side. Anduin have talent, but most of this crew won an Arda Cup together. They’ve never been eliminated before the quarterfinals, except last year, and even then they gave the eventual champions Real a pretty good fight in that last group stage match. Ar-Pharazôn is golden again, and Elros has seamlessly slotted into that number ten role, chipping in a goal and two assists.

Adam: Yeah. It’s just their bad luck that it looks like they’d be meeting TiG next round. The Wolves have been their bogey team for quite some time now—2008 and 2011 come to mind. Otherwise, they have a good chance of beating Eriador and getting to the finals.

Elenrod: So the score?

Maika: 2-1 Armenelos. Anduin have a good attack, and a pretty solid defence. But Armenelos’ talent and experience should see them through.

Elenrod: And with that, we’ve come to the end of our program. Many thanks again to our panel. Iorithil, a pleasure to have you here.

Iorithil: I want to be back again next time.

Elenrod: And we’d love to have you again. Maika, what are your plans?

Maika: I’m going to Weathertop to cover Eriador-Barad-dûr.

Elenrod: And you, Adam?

Adam: I thought I was covering Nargothrond-Hithlum alone, but surprisingly—

Felagundion: The folks upstairs are letting me go with him.

Elenrod: Good for you, Felagundion. Have a fabulous week, everyone. We’ll meet again soon.