[the phantom]

“Remember three years ago…” was the most commonly heard phrase when folks were discussing Arnor versus Valimar. Valimar had won their group while Arnor had finished second, Valimar was ahead on differential while Arnor was behind, Valimar had played tougher competition, etc… All of the arguments favored Manwe and company, and yet “remember three years ago” kept creeping into the picture.

The team-names weren’t exactly the same then (Norbury instead of Arnor), but many of the players were the same. Six of Arnor’s players were on that Norbury squad, and five of Valimar’s players are the same, including Manwe, Namo, and Arien. There was just too much similarity to get through analysis without bringing it up. But could the men of the North really pull it off again?

Most thought not, and some for a surprising reason—The Witch King. As a rule his presence had improved the squad, but most thought the Valar would not look kindly upon his presence. Part of the reason the Arnorians had been able to upset Valimar previously was they had made certain the Ainur were at peace and not feeling riled by the presence of evil or bad sportsmanship, but Witch King wasn’t exactly a cuddly monkey. “The defenders and Manwe in goal will see him coming at them and be inspired to really play their A-game,” said MESPN’s Philip McPhantom. “And at the other end—Arien should be able to provide their jumpstart.”

And most of the fans crowding into the grand arena of Valimar were hoping he knew what he was talking about…

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The men of Arnor were just as organized and focused as Valimar feared they would be. They defended doggedly, made the smart passes, and they had a smart adjustment—placing Witch King in a more passive role in the midfield and hoping he wouldn’t offend Manwe from there, and also he encouraged his very small group of Orc-supporters to wear festive garb and refrain from shouting profanities.

But despite these carefully laid plans and good execution, the beautiful faces that filled the arena didn’t look fretful, because Valimar was still controlling the game. They looked just sharp and professional, always a step ahead, and it was only a matter of time before the game was in hand.

Arvedui was sweating between the posts as Vaire sent one just over, Irmo hit a post, and Arien forced him to make two tough saves. The Valimar faithful were just grinning ear to ear and gasping with every attempt, and just after half an hour they were finally able to celebrate in full as the scoring was finally opened—Arvedui only barely deflected an Arien shot with the tip of his foot, and Irmo knocked the rebound down with his chest and immediately sent it in for the goal!

The Arnor squad gave each other reassuring nods and put on grim smiles—they were doing things right, and just had to hope that Valimar couldn’t sustain their level of play. But after the goal Valimar continued owning things like it was their destiny, and before the Dunedain could escape into the halftime break Valimar struck again. Ingwe sent in a picture perfect corner topspin corner that curled down precisely where Arien was headed, and she rose up and met it at the top of her leap and sent the ball forcefully into the back of the net!

During the break the section of Arnorians started pulling out their comfort food and favorite depression-breaking drinks already. Their squad was quality, but scoring two or three against Valimar seemed out of the question. Their entire plan had been to make the first half be fast and uneventful to shorten the game, and they had failed. And the smiling, singing Valimar fans knew it too.

When the second half started it was almost a slap in the face to see Valimar now sending around time-wasting passes and doing with precision what Arnor had tried to do the first half. Now it was Manwe wanting time to move quickly and uneventfully. Arien wasn’t entirely pleased to be reigned in, but she assented to the change of course gracefully. Realizing the way things were and seeing the minutes slip away Elendil and friends began to get more aggressive with their passes, trying to send through-balls from the back. Araphor and the front midfielders started looking for any opening through which to send a miracle shot, but they were for the most part deflected before they reached Manwe, or floated harmlessly by well away from the goal.

Finally as time neared 70 minutes the Witch King asked for the okay to be aggressive for himself, and seeing no other options the rest of the team agreed to it. As he had tried nothing the entire game (and Valimar knew exactly why), they just let him run right past on the right side, almost as if he was a passing bird that had wondered onto the field. Argeleb sent it forward at the perfect moment and hit Witch King in full stride, and he was headed towards Manwe one on one as Namo and Este rushed up from behind.

Just before Namo and Este converged on him he sent a drive—but no! It was a brilliant fake, and both defenders bought it as did Manwe, and seeing Araphor rushing in from the corner of his eye Witch King sent it over and forward and from point blank Araphor finished efficiently. Valimar’s lead was down to one goal!

A couple of the Valimar players looked worried, but Namo and Manwe calmed them, saying that Arnor had used the only trick they had in reserve, and that they would not threaten again. And to make this prediction come true Valimar somehow raised their quality of play, despite the fact they’d been playing as well as ever. Arnor could get nothing done at all as time approached 80 minutes, and Witch King found himself perpetually shadowed. After time passed 80 minutes Manwe, leaving nothing up to chance, asked Arien to come back and stick to Araphor like glue. His reputation for late-game heroics could not be ignored.

With the whole team focused on keeping the ball away from their goal, it was just too large an obstacle for Arnor to overcome, particularly as they grew less sharp through their frantic desperation. Soon the bells were ringing and the crowd was singing and the players were joining in. Arnor had battled bravely but Valimar just proved too much for them to handle.

In postgame interviews, the Valimar players expressed hopes that Angband would be their next opponent. “We’d love the opportunity to oust Morgoth,” said Arien. But Manwe assured everyone that they would plan to give it their best effort no matter who the opponent was. During the Arnor interviews, the players seemed mostly pleased with their year. Malbeth had this to say: “We made the playoffs and only lost narrowly on the road to a team with a payroll 34 million higher than us. That’s hardly failure. We’ve got a good core here and I imagine most of us will be back next year, with just a tweak here and there.”

Arnor 1-2 Valimar
on target 5-8
tot shots 14-17
GOALS:
*32, 0-1 Irmo (Arien)
*41, 0-2 Arien (Ingwe)
*69, 1-2 Araphor (WitchKing)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Arnor-
*Valimar- Elenwe, Este