[the phantom]

Group B @ Weathertop

There were many opinions to be found in the various establishments near to Weathertop. The locals were quite positive, as the host team Eriador had the points lead and nearby Arnor had played them tough- not to mention Inter Beleriand and Gondolin had drawn, meaning that despite the loss they were but one point out of second place.

The Elves of Gondolin were quite optimistic as well, pointing out that the only reason they didn't defeat Inter Beleriand was due to some amazing saves by their own Turgon. "I think we're both going to advance," was the common refrain. "We got our toughest game out of the way and now both Beleriand-based squads are going to show these first-agers how to play.

The fans of Maedhros, Fingon, and Inter Bel were also confident about their chances, but perhaps a little less cocky. True, they had been out-shot by Gondolin in their opening match, but they didn't feel they'd been dominated in any way. "That's the way we play," said Fingon yesterday. "We'll let the opposition take what we feel we can withstand, and we capitalize with efficiency when we get our chances."

And indeed that looked to be the recipe in their early game against Arnor. The men of the North controlled most of the possession during the opening half, but Inter Beleriand managed to get on the scoreboard first thanks to a well-timed interception and quick pass the other way from Haleth, which found Maedhros too alone and close to goal for the star forward to make a mistake.

The Arnor crowd was still in it though, as they had witnessed their team's solid play up until that point and believed they would gain a deserved goal sooner or later. And they were right- the equalizer came just minutes before the first half ended. Isildur forced his way past two defenders and gunned a cross along the end line, which deflected off Brandir and was reacted to beautifully by Argeleb who sent the bounce into the back of the net.

Both teams started the second with some uncharacteristic mistakes, perhaps showing the nerves in a game they both wanted badly. After some sloppy passing Inter made their worst mistake at 53 minutes, when Balrog #5 didn't look carefully before sending the ball back and across to Haldad, and a dashing Araphor cut in front of him and fired a shot at the far corner after one touch. Fortunately for Inter the ball skimmed over the top of the crossbar, as Turgon was a bit unprepared and couldn't have stopped the ball had it been on target.

Just seconds later Arnor made a poor play of their own, only this one proved fatal. After a pass-back, keeper Arvedui sent the ball out to his defense, but unfortunately both Araval and Valandur thought the ball was for them. At the last second both of the converging men pulled up short to avoid a collision, and the ball passed right between them to a charging Hunthor, who wasted no time and sent it rolling to the right side of the box for the onrushing Fingon. Fingon kept his defender pinned on the outside and drove it near-post with his left boot, and the stadium suddenly fell silent, except for the group of Noldor in the eastern stands of course.

Inter Bel played it calm and confidently after that, running clock whenever possible and putting defense first. On two separate occasions their decision not to score more looked like it might doom them, but Turgon was equal to the challenge and stopped the flurry when his defenders got beat. Most impressive was his swat-away in the final minute off a header by Isildur.

When the final whistle sounded the Arnorians filed from the arena quite slowly, numbed by what they'd seen. They hadn't played poorly- in fact, they weren't entirely certain they hadn't played slightly better overall. But the fact was they were sitting with no points after the first two rounds.

Arnor 1-2 Inter Beleriand
on target 7-4
tot shots 18-10
GOALS:
*26, 0-1 Maedhros (Haleth)
*39, 1-1 Argeleb (Isildur)
*54, 1-2 Fingon (Hunthor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Arnor- Isildur
*InterBel- Balrog #5, Forweg

The Gondolin supporters filed their way into the arena with much shouting and singing in the early evening hours. Quite a few of them had been present for the morning game to see Turgon and his cousins play, and that match had put them in a very good mood, as it supported their theory that the Beleriand teams would be the ones to advance.

The Eriador crowd arrived a bit later. The Arnorian supporters still looked downcast from the early result, but the Elves of Rivendell and the orcs and men of Angmar looked ready to party. The orcs particularly could be seen trading barbs with the Gondolin fans-
"Our Witch King is going to shred you guys!"
"Ha, you wish! We've got Maeglin and Gothmog. If it's a scoring contest, we win!"
"Witch King has your own Glorfindel up front with him!"
"Psh, our front two are still better!"
"Even if that was true, we've got Elrond in goal! End of story!"

When the match kicked off it was a great contest indeed! Both teams flashed some high-quality skill, and the opposition made some athletic plays to fend the attackers off. At the 15 minute mark the Gondolin fans rose out of their seats as Maeglin made a crafty run and found Gothmog's head, but the shouts died on their lips as Elrond guessed right and batted it away.

Instead it was Eriador drawing first blood- and it hurt for Gondolin to see their own son Glorfindel scamper in and slot it past Rog for the lead. Thirteen minutes later Gothmog was frustrated again by Elrond, as his rocket of a drive was tipped off course by the diving Elf-lord. But Gothmog's groan of frustration quickly morphed into a bellow of delight as the deflected ball bounced off the post and the "keen-boot" Maeglin deftly volleyed it out of the air and into the near side, leaving Elrond no time to react. It was tied!

Fans of both squads continued to talk smack during halftime, but it was more in good spirits than it had been in pregame, as the crowd could not help but be put in a good mood by the fine play they were witnessing, and grudging respect was growing even with the most hostile supporters.

The second half began and the crowd was treated to more of the same. Glorfindel sped past nearly the entire defense, but Aranwe came sliding in with a perfect tackle to prevent the one-on-one with the keeper. Then Duilin sent a long cross from nearly midfield that curved in perfectly to Gothmog and looked to have Gondolin ahead, but Malbeth saw it coming just in time and with a mighty leap touched it just enough to send it too high for the Balrog Lord to control.

After nearly 20 minutes of exquisite back-and-forth, the tie was finally broken. Arassuil sent the corner in for Eriador- Witch King was held up and Glorfindel was bracketed, but somehow the defense lost track of the tall Gil-galad, and he struck true with his noble brow. Eriador was up!

As the minute mark passed into the seventies Gondolin began to get more aggressive, but Eriador played soundly and kept the duo of stars contained. At minute 76 it looked like Gondolin had finally won the battle when a corner ricocheted about awkwardly and fell right to Egalmoth, but his point-blank effort was spectacularly smothered by Elrond, and the lead held.

At last in minute 80 the scoreboard was lit again, but not by the aggressors. In their committal to the attack Gondolin had tired themselves out and had also left themselves open to Eriador's counter, and a rather tired pass near midfield was intercepted by a sneaky Arassuil, who had been baiting the opening. He got there first and immediately touched it forward and left. First there was the barely-onside Glorfindel, and with Witch King sprinting down the center they were free for a 2-on-1 with Rog. Rog guessed shot left, Glorfindel went pass right, and just like that Eriador had a commanding two-goal lead!

The Witch King supporters in particular could be heard shouting jubilantly, as he had backed up all their pre-game talk by putting his name on the scoring list. The Gondolin supporters hung their heads. They couldn't be angry- they were getting beat fair and square on the field, and the thought just made them sick. A few optimistic souls still hoped for a comeback, but the wiser ones knew that Gil-galad, Asfaloth, and the men of Arnor weren't going to make a mistake at the back, and even if they did- Elrond would be there to clean it up.

And indeed, that is how the contest ended- at 3 to 1. Eriador was already guaranteed a playoff spot, while Gondolin trudged from the stadium but one point out of last place.

Eriador 3-1 Gondolin
on target 6-5
tot shots 14-12
GOALS:
*22, 1-0 Glorfindel (Arassuil)
*35, 1-1 Maeglin (Gothmog)
*64, 2-1 Gil-galad (Arassuil)
*80, 3-1 Witch King (Glorfindel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eriador- Gil-galad, Asfaloth
*Gondolin- Pengolodh, Elemmakil, Egalmoth