Elenrod: Question: What’s black and white and red all over? Answer: Eriador battered by Hithlum, with Elrond more than black and blue from Túrin’s rocket. Meanwhile, Valimar huffed and puffed until they were blue, but AC Bel blew them down. Elsewhere, Valinor derby couldn’t be settled in ninety minutes, but Curufin’s goal proves golden as FC Val’s quest for gold continues. And speaking of gold: Ar-Pharazôn scores against TiG, but PhantomWolf and BoroWolf shine. All that, and more, in this colourful edition of
The Matchday.With us today is red-faced Maikalomion, who got Eriador-Hithlum wrong.
Maika: Well, I did get half the scores right.
Elenrod: You and your excuses. And with us is pale-faced Adam, who was in awe of AC Bel’s performance.
Adam: I knew they’d win, but I did
not see a hammering.
Elenrod: And also on this week’s panel is Felagundion, who’s green with envy at the teams still in tourney. Who did you watch?
Felagundion: Armenelos-TiG. Of course, they lost. Tar-Míriel is out.
Elenrod: Commiserations, Fel. Well, to start off, let’s discuss the game at Vinyamar, Eriador v Hithlum. According to the stats, Eriador had a slight advantage in possession, 53% to Hithlum’s 47%. But why weren’t they able to score.
Adam: They did put the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside. They were probably hoping for an early goal so they could force Hithlum to open up and be vulnerable on the break. As it was, they were the ones more vulnerable on the counter due to Morwen and Hador’s runs.
Felagundion: Their legs probably haven’t recovered from that Barad-dûr game, and then they had to chase and battle a bunch of energetic players. You can see after the goal that they were just sitting on the ball, catching their breaths, because none of the midfielders or full-backs could make runs.
Maika: Eriador play a man-marking system, which is amazing, considering the amount of stamina needed to keep up with the athleticism and movement of modern footballers. Usually, you apply man-marking only at limited times or on limited areas of the pitch, like AC Bel’s standard high pressing game or what Valimar did in the opener of their quarterfinals match—more on that later, of course. But it’s tiring to man-mark for ninety minutes, let alone for a hundred and twenty, or, worse, for two straight matches. You can see it on the defenders’ faces when Túrin made that run that led to the goal. Arwen was too gassed to get in front of him, and none of them had the alertness to clear the rebound that Beleg slotted home.
Adam: Isildur just doesn’t have the work rate of Wiki. He and Glorfie were instrumental last year in disrupting opposition build-up plays, easing the defensive burden on everyone behind them.
Elenrod: Well, Glorfindel now plays on the line of attacking midfielders, although he still plays like a wide forward.
Felagundion: Also, may I just say, through gritted teeth I must add, that this was exactly the type of game you wanted Hithlum to win if you wanted them to win the cup; a close, cagey game where chances are hard to come by and the other team have a combative midfield and forwards who can do heinous things on the break. They weren’t dominated in the middle of the park, and they weren’t caught out by any dangerous counterattack.
Elenrod: Adam, you were on the post-game press conference. How did Eriador feel after the game?
Adam: I can show you a clip of my exclusive interview with Elrond.
Elenrod: That would be great.
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Adam: Elrond, if I may ask, why do you think you lost this game?
Elrond: We didn’t create enough chances to score. I know you’d be pointing at how we just came from a very exhausting victory over Barad-dûr, but I think we had enough time to recover. Maybe I was too conservative with my setup—I should have given my full-backs greater license to advance, for example. Hithlum were going to get shots no matter how we set our defences up, so a more adventurous approach on our part would have given us the win.
Adam: But you had one less shot than Hithlum had. Don’t you think it has more to do with the lack of composure of your finishers?
Elrond: No, I don’t think so. Isildur and Glorfindel are talented forwards, and, even though we’ve played NogWight in midfield, he used to be a striker for Tol-in-Gaurhoth.
Adam: But Isildur has never been a prolific scorer, and this is statistically Glorfindel’s worst season playing for you.
Elrond: Next question, please.
Adam: What changes will you make to this team to give you a chance to go back to the finals?
Elrond: Not much. Glorfindel and Gil-galad told me they’d be here again next year. In fact, Gil-galad told me that he’s been making some good progress with a relation of his that seems to be leaning towards a return to this region.
Adam: What does that mean?
Elrond: He hasn’t told me yet, either.
Adam: And your attackers? Will you make changes there?
Elrond: Hmm… Given our need to change things up front, there would be some… You know that I also have an eye on Arnor and Imladris, so our team and their teams often exchange talent, depending on our respective needs. But I hope that this squad remains intact coming into 2014.
Adam: Even NogWight?
Elrond: That’s a tough question. We still haven’t got a reply from AFA if he can stay or if he has to return to TiG or the Barrow-Downs due to residence restrictions.
Adam: Thank you for your time, Elrond. Good luck for next year.
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Felagundion: Wow, you got through five minutes without being declared
persona non grata.
Adam: I have experience interviewing stars, you know. There was that preseason interview with Fëanor last year, for example.
Elenrod: All right, moving along, let’s discuss their semifinal opponent—Tol-in-Gaurhoth, coming off that narrow 2-1 victory over Armenelos in their own stadium.
Adam: I bet Maika was salivating over that. 4-4-2 vs 3-5-2, then a 4-3-3 vs 3-5-2.
Maika: Well, yeah, the tactical adjustments played a part in the result, but it was a game of fine margins, that the turning point was PhantomWolf’s brilliance and BoroWolf’s stamina. In fact, here’s an interesting stat: Armenelos ran 106.3 kilometres in that game, and TiG 117.9. BoroWolf ran 11.5 kilometres—in essence, his effort was the difference between the two teams.
Felagundion: You can see that: by the eightieth minute, Tar-Ancalimon had enough of running after BoroWolf. He owned that right flank. His cross to Thuringwethil led to the opener; his tackle on Tar-Ancalimon led to PhantomWolf’s run that won the free kick; and, of course, he scored the winner.
Maika: PhantomWolf was also instrumental in BoroWolf’s dominion of the right flank—his runs dragged Tar-Calmacil further infield so he couldn’t help on their left, meaning that it was purely a battle between Tar-Ancalimon and BoroWolf for that side of the pitch, which the TiG right-back won.
Adam: Since we’re praising them for the win, of course it’s also essential that we criticise them for getting their first-half formation wrong. Perhaps they thought they could overwhelm Armenelos on the wings, but they didn’t count on the Royals being so good at keeping possession. If they stuck to their usual 4-4-2 diamond, with LegateWight as holder, NerWight and SallyWight as shuttlers, and PhantomWolf as number ten, and getting width from NilpWolf and BoroWolf’s runs, they could have dominated even that opening stage.
Maika: Well, that formation might have left them either lacking in width or very vulnerable at the back. It was slim, but Ar-Pharazôn and Ar-Adûnakhôr had the better of GaladriWight and Draugluin. One of NilpWolf and BoroWolf would have been forced to stay behind just so they could have spare bodies at the back.
Elenrod: Now that we’ve discussed both of their quarterfinal games, how do you think a semifinal tie between Hithlum and TiG would go?
Felagundion: That Hithlum front three looks super-scary. I don’t think we’ll see BoroWolf or NilpWolf going past the halfway line in this game.
Adam: And they have a midfield conundrum—do they change back to the diamond, meaning that Hithlum’s full-backs would be unmarked and free to double up on TiG’s full-backs, or do they stick to 4-4-2 and get outnumbered in the middle of the park? Letting Hithlum have a lot of the ball is, quite frankly, asking for trouble.
Maika: They could ask Thuringwethil to help the midfield; she’s played there before, after all. I don’t know why they didn’t think of doing that in the first half of the Armenelos game, but I guess it’s difficult to change things halfway through a half.
Elenrod: A result, anyone?
Felagundion: …
Adam: …
Maika: … I’m thinking a one-goal Wolves win, just because they’re slightly better across the board. Maybe
3-2 TiG.
Elenrod: Well, then. Let’s move on to the other side of the bracket. First off, there’s AC Bel’s 3-0 destruction of Valimar. How could Manwë ever concede three?
Felagundion: Well, first of all, he’s up against Fëanor. More importantly, though, they gambled in the first fifteen minutes of the game, they failed, and they paid for it.
Maika: Yes, it was that early spell that decided the game. Valimar unnerved AC Bel’s midfield in that fifteen-minute spell—they were unable to get the ball forward and looked under pressure. I think the intention behind that was correct—get the early goal so that AC Bel would be forced to chase the game. But they didn’t get that early goal, and Fëanor and Fingolfin exploited their high defensive line. Then by the second half, after another brief spell of pressure, the fatigue hit their legs and AC Bel scored a third that killed the game.
Adam: That strategy is probably the best way of beating a team as good at keeping possession as AC Bel, but it’s basically a coin-toss. Last year, Real scored after their early pressure and ripped AC Bel apart on the break for the rest of the game. This year, Valimar didn’t score, and they get picked open on the break.
Elenrod: That was rather unanimous. Well, then. The final quarterfinal game was the Valinor derby. FC Val gets the better of Real, again, with Curufin nicking an extra-time goal in their 2-1 victory. And to tell us about this one, calling all the way from Rómenna, Iorithil of
QN Sport. Hello, Iorithil.
Iorithil: Good morning, Elenrod.
Elenrod: Let’s get down to it, then. The Valinor derby: some people thought that the game was too open. A few even called it sloppy from both sides, relying too much on their talents and athleticism instead of a shared tactical philosophy and structure.
Iorithil: Well, yes, it was basically an end-to-end game, far too open for a normal knockout tie, but you know how these derby games take a life of their own. For one thing, the form book’s often thrown out the window. Well, both teams were in sparkling form coming into the game, but many believed that Real would be sharper, having beaten two genuinely good teams to get there, whereas FC Val strolled through their games. And another thing is, both teams want not only to win, but to win while imposing their style on the game.
Elenrod: So what styles do these two teams have? And did FC Val impose theirs on the game?
Iorithil: Well, the funny thing is, they basically both have broadly the same style. Everything starts from their Valarin defensive solidity and verticality. Remember that First Age
clásico when it took Valinor ages to attack Angband, and people had to wait for the last minute for a goal, but it took only one Manwë long ball to release Eönwë and score the only goal of the game? Now Valimar—Manwë teams in general—are the ones most faithful to this philosophy, but the Valinor teams adhere to it to some extent. It’s just that they married it to the Noldorin concept of possessiveness and creativity. This is why the attacking force of both teams has been built around a pair of Noldorin strikers. That Curufin goal was basically the combination of verticality—FC Val took just two touches from Thorondor’s clearance to the net—and creativity that epitomised both team’s philosophy—well, there was also the belief in individual talent that FC Val had.
Elenrod: Did the Valinor press think it was a fair result?
Iorithil: Well, for one thing, they’re glad it didn’t end in a penalty shoot-out, which is generally a disappointment for the Valinor crowd. And FC Val were slightly better in that game, so yeah, they thought it was fair.
Elenrod: Any prediction for their semifinal match with AC Bel?
Iorithil: I think AC Bel wouldn’t be drawn to FC Val’s franticness—they’d control the game with possession before slicing the defence open—so FC Val’s best chance is to do what Valimar did—high-intensity pressure to get the early goal, forcing AC Bel to play instead of keeping the ball. The early fifteen to twenty minutes is important—if FC Val get that early goal, I think they’ll win. If not, it’ll be difficult. I think they’ll do better than Valimar.
2-1 FC Val
Elenrod: Thanks for your thoughts, Iorithil.
Iorithil: My pleasure. Speak to you soon.
Elenrod: All right, then. Anything to add?
Adam: Nope.
Elenrod: I see. Well, before we go, what’s your favourite goal of the week?
Adam: Curufin’s winner. The way he rounded Tulkas, an Arda Cup-winning goalie, was just oozing with confidence. Stating the obvious here, but I think he’s the key to beating AC Bel.
Maika: Speaking of AC Bel, Fingolfin’s goal was a classic example of how their high pressing combines both defence and offence in one smooth play. Angrod nicks the ball from Elenwë in Valimar’s half and then start a four-on-four break that left Manwë helpless.
Felagundion: PhantomWolf’s opener was almost a perfect thunderbuster. Too bad it wasn’t from outside the area, but from the way he hit, I was certain that, had someone tried to block it, he would have died.
Maika: Speaking of that, an interesting stat: Túrin’s shot that broke Elrond’s finger and led to their opener was clocked at around 144 kph (90 mph). PhantomWolf’s shot? 186 kph (116 mph). So maybe you’re right.
Felagundion: Ouch.
Elenrod: You covered most of the good goals, so I’ll take something totally different. In fact, it wasn’t a goal. Did you see that
Glorfindel 180 turn on Aradan and Gundor.
Maika: Glorfindel’s close control is still something special, even if his stats this year are down.
Elenrod: I agree. And with that we’ve come to the end of yet another edition of
The Matchday. Many thanks to all of you, and we’ll be back after the semifinals. Speak to you then.