Actually, Thena, I thought that the phantom’s pre-tournament analysis was pretty much spot on, save that he over-rates Arnor and has a bee in his bonnet about The Shire (who, it should be noted, have not exactly acquitted themselves as well as might be expected thus far). It is a shame, though, that he is letting his blinkered view of Hobbits detract from his usually well-observed insight.
So, to the most recent batch of matches.
Nargothrond v Niggle’s Parish was completely predictable. Niggle and his players never stood a chance against a great attacking team like Nargothrond and Mormegil fully lived up to expectations. It doesn’t even surprise me that they let a goal in, even to a weak team like the Parish, as they are so focussed on attacking that they can leave themselves exposed at the back. This may cause a problem for them against stronger teams, but they will simply look to score more than they let in.
The Fangorn v Old Grey Hill match was a pretty dull affair. Fangorn really should have done better, but the fact that they let in a goal against a weak team like Old Grey Hill and managed to score only one against them underlines the tactical shortcomings of their chosen line-up.
I am disappointed that Gondolin let in a goal to a weak team like Wooton Major. Their defence should be much better than that. Corners can be a bit of a lottery, but they left the Faerie Queen totally unmarked. That said, credit must, I suppose, go to Ned for the quality of the corner. Gondolin will be happy to get a win under their belts, but they need to work on their set-play defence if they are to prevail against stronger teams.
Finally, the Doriath v Arnor game. As I have said, I consider Arnor to be over-rated and I think that they had rather let all the acclaim go to their heads. When things weren’t working out as they expected on the pitch, they got frustrated. Hence all the cards they picked up. I am disappointed that Doriath reacted in the way that they did, though, since they are a better team than that, but Huan can be a bit of an animal at times and Saeros definitely has an attitude problem.
Yellow Boot Trophy competition update:
After the first round of Group matches, the current holder, Mormegil, has reclaimed top spot. All is right with the world.
Mormegil - 3
JRR Tolkien (Inklings) - 2
Farmer Giles (Ham) - 2
Thuringwethil (Angband) - 1
Roverandum (Roverandum) - 1
Tar-Ancalime (Numenore) - 1
Stone Giant (Misty Mountains) - 1
Dwalin (Misty Mountains) - 1
Tom Bombadil (Bree) - 1
William (Rivendell) - 1
Gilraen (Rivendell) - 1
Tailbiter (Ham) - 1
Frodo (Tol Eressea) - 1
Rune Son of Bjarne (Barrow-Downs) - 1
The phantom (Barrow-Downs) - 1
Atkins - 1
Felagund - 1
Skin bark - 1
Guest - 1
Turgon - 1
Hurin - 1
Fairy Queen - 1
Mablung - 1