[the phantom]

The championship match between AC Beleriand and Tol-In-Gaurhoth was set to begin at 6:30- later than usual for a match in Valimar, but then this was not a normal game. It wasn't even a normal championship match, for it pitted two fantastic squads that were due for a title.

The Wights and Wolves of TIG had taken home the third place trophy before, and fell just one game short against Doriath two seasons ago. This year they've looked as good as ever, opening with a 2-0 win over Morgoth's Angband squad, then holding Imladris to 1 on-target shot in another 2-0 win, and finishing off the group in first with a 1-1 draw against Angfauglith. In the playoffs they've been solid, taking down Gondolin 3-1, Armenelos 2-1, and finally Hithlum 3-1.

AC has had a similarly stellar run. In group play they got past Gondolin 2-1, then beat Inter Beleriand 3-1 and thumped Dwarves United 3-0 to finish with the full nine points. They opened the playoffs with a hard-fought overtime victory against Angband 2-1, then blitzed Valimar 3-0, and lastly gutted out a win against the streaking FC Valinor.

In the lead up to the championship analysts have been split in their match forecast. Ar-Tar-Aradil of Westernesse Weekly picked AC last night on MESPN's round table, saying: "Besides the two finalists FC was the toughest out in the tournament, and AC took them down. They also took down Melkor when it really counted in the playoffs, and their win against Valimar was the most impressive thing I've seen from either side. Plus, how do you bet against Feanor and Fingolfin?" Meanwhile, Ruharg the Red has been TIG's biggest supporter. "There's one obvious thing to look at here- common foes. They've both played Gondolin and Angband and while AC just scraped by them both by one goal, TIG got them each by two goals."

Which analyst would earn bragging rights during the off-season? That would be up to the squads taking the pitch as the sun lowered to the western horizon. A very partisan crowd greeted them. A section of Wights and assorted beasts made a nice bit of noise, but the stadium was overwhelmingly behind AC Beleriand.

Thousands of Noldor from nearby Tirion were there to support Feanor and Fingolfin, and Angrod and Aegnor were cheered by the Noldor and a large section from Alqualonde. The Ainur were behind AC as well, partly in opposition to the presence of Thuringwethil and Draugluin on the TIG squad, and because AC had earned their admiration by dismantling their own beloved Valimar squad. But officially neither squad was the "home" squad, and the huge stadium bells would be used to celebrate the goals from both teams.

In warm-ups the arena was unusually quiet- both fan bases obviously wanted this title very badly. The Noldor felt the title was theirs by right- after all, in recent years Noldorin talent had gotten it done for Foremenos, Gondolin, and Real Valinor, but they were definitely wary of the Wolves of Tol In Gaurhoth who had come so very close in the past. TIG felt they were due for a breakthrough, but they were quite nervous about facing the attack of AC, spear-headed by the matchless touch and creativity of Feanor.

When the action finally started both squads were tentative and cautious. The midfielders and defenders from AC only just stopped themselves from making long passes forward- they wanted to be aggressive, but they had done their homework and recognized BoroWolf and NilpWolf were attempting to bait them into passes. While normal defenders wouldn't be able to play so far off their marks, the Werewolves could move with fearsome speed and turn a pass forward into an interception and an immediate counter back the other direction.

AC didn't take the bait, but tried to move the ball more methodically. They had some success given the skill of their players, but TIG was equal to them and AC could not gain any decent looks when their attacks reached the tipping point. Seeing that AC wasn't taking the bait and was playing smart, TIG decided to try and work a bit of offense themselves. GaladriWight moved forward to join the other Wight midfielders to gain numbers in the field's center, and they effectively held it, but Fingolfin and the Balrog were marking InzilWolf and PhantomWolf, while Rochallor galloped in pursuit of Thuringwethil, and Imlach moved smartly to any threat that he saw.

Seeing that AC seemed content to allow the TIG midfield to hold the ball, NerWight and SallyWight pushed forward to receive it, and when the ball was passed back to NilpWolf he started working upfield as far as AC would let him go before passing off to one of the Wights. Drauglin and BoroWolf were left back to handle any sudden attack by the AC quad, which they had to be nervous about, but they trusted their teammates not to allow an easy flip of the field.

At minute 25 AC was given a scare as LegateWight read NilpWolf's mind and received it from him and sent it on forward back to NilpWolf who didn't stop his run after passing it off, and NilpWolf received it in open space sprinting down the right side. Meanwhile PhantomWolf and Thuringwethil had pulled the defense a bit left and as NilpWolf sprinted past Denethor the defenders weren't sure how much to challenge the run, knowing he could hang it up to the other side, and the last thing they wanted was a ball in the air with only a couple defenders to challenge both PhantomWolf and Thuringwethil.

In the end NilpWolf took the shot himself as the defense continued to sag off of him, but Imlach and Ulrad smartly took up the lanes enough to push NilpWolf right and leave his only option to be the near post, and despite the wicked power Marach had his head on straight and recognized it in time to deflect the shot into the turf, and Imlach turned and volleyed it high back to the center.

After that AC pulled Angrod back to be a bit more active in defending against the Wight midfield, and TIG appeared stumped as GaladriWight and BoroWolf continually passed it back and forth. PhantomWight trotted back towards the ball shouting something at NilpWolf, and he shouted back, and so on a couple more times- it sounded as if they were deciding on a new course of things. But in the midst of the exchange BoroWolf swung his leg back and rocketed the ball straight down the center.

The instant he kicked NerWight broke for the ball and she reached the exact spot where the ball came low enough to touch and she leaped to head it- but instead of passing it to SallyWight or InzilWolf on her flanks (and calling for the ball) she just bounced it on forward right over the top of two defenders. It looked like it was straight to Imlach, but Thuringwethil's shocking speed got her there first- she had been running for that spot ever since BoroWolf first sent his kick. She received it perfectly in stride, just barely ahead of Rochallor. With her first touch she sent it over Imlach who was frozen in his tracks, and on his backside she caught it on her foot again, nudging it left and over the top of Denethor who was rushing in to help. And before the ball came down to the grass and just before Rochallor ran into her from behind and just before Fingolfin came sprinting in from the opposite side she flung herself into the air in a whirling side-kick and sent the ball rocketing into the top left corner from about 20 yards out! TIG had the lead!

The TIG section of the stadium did their best to fill the arena with their noise as the rest of the crowd stared in disbelief. TIG had employed a perfect blend of strategy, touch, and athleticism- the ball never once touched the ground between BoroWolf's foot and the back of the net. It was truly a play to be admired, and the Elves and Ainur started to think that perhaps their squad was the underdog here.

For the 10 minutes that followed AC dedicated themselves wholly to possession and defense, determined to blunt the emotional flow from carrying the game away, and not willing to allow TIG to grab a two-goal lead by virtue of another fantastic effort. As the half approached AC finally turned their offense loose, trying to launch a flurry at the end to get a cheap equalizer. TIG seemed to know it was coming, however, and they went into full prevent and time-waste mode, meaning that whenever any TIG player managed to get a toe on the ball, instead of trying for the steal they simply tried to send the ball as far and deep as possible.

During intermission the TIG section of the crowd was loud and boisterous, and ordering far more food than was good for them. The rest of the arena didn't have much of an appetite, as things weren't going their way. They had faith that AC could score on anyone, but TIG had a superb defense, especially if they were to commit 100% to it. Scoring 2 would be difficult indeed. Some analysts calling the game in various booths were saying that AC now had the measure of TIG and would soon equalize things and have the advantage the rest of the way, but others were already calling for a second half shutout.

Both squads started the second half carefully, seemingly trying to draw out the other squad’s plans. But a few minutes in AC suddenly switched gears, and their passive possession transitioned into an attack from the rear. Fingolfin and Balrog#4 came straight through the middle playing a one-two and each time they were forced to pass TIG obviously expected them to send it off to the midfielders and break off the run, but the two of them advanced it from near their own goal all the way past midfield while the rest of AC hung back.

Finally TIG committed to halting them, but it required leaving Aegnor some room and Fingolfin slid it to him precisely, and as Aegnor charged in TIG turned to meet the new threat and watched as Aegnor passed it to the now free Eol who one-touched it back to Fingolfin who sent it right back to Aegnor. The path of the ball on AC’s foot was a whirling tornado, but continually churning forward. The numbers were even, but with the skill of teamwork of AC it was really like having the advantage, even as the spacing tightened on the approach to ShastaWolf’s goal.

Finally off a flip from Angrod it was the Balrog with a golden look at the goal, but as he shot it Thuringwethil came in as a near blur and got just the tiniest bit of her foot on the shot, which slowed the shot a surprising amount, for her talons were not retracted as usual and they grabbed at the ball as it passed. ShastaWolf leaped on the ball as it bounced awkwardly towards the left post, and the TIG section breathed a sigh of relief.

A couple AC players appealed to the ref regarding the legality of stopping the ball in such a way that would cause permanent damage to the ball, but the most the refs did was issue Thuringwethil a warning. Meanwhile BoroWolf was barking at the TIG attackers, feeling that the defense was left out to dry against the AC charge. Most of the TIG section agreed—if Fingolfin and the Balrog made a run from the back at least one of the athletes on the TIG attack had to come with them to help. Thuringwethil had seen the danger only just in time, and only her winged speed covered the necessary ground before it was too late.

As the game got under way again, AC’s players did not look too let down—they obviously hadn’t pinned all their hopes on one play. On the contrary, they were energized by the nearness of the goal and felt they could shake the Wolves and company with continued pressure. After another five minutes of testing and prodding and quality ball movement AC earned another chance—this time a header from Denethor after a sharp one-touch pass from Feanor. ShastaWolf shot like a ball from a cannon up to the top-right corner to bat the effort away. What other keepers were capable of such a quick and powerful spring? Perhaps Carcharoth and Huan could have saved the shot, but no others.

The stadium collectively groaned again when the shot was denied, and a few fans shook their heads slowly and lowered their gaze, hope seemingly leaving them. But once again the players from AC weren’t the least bit discouraged. The Balrog could be heard shouting to Fingolfin, “It’s only a matter of time!” TIG tried to wrest control of the contest their way again with a couple surprise long-balls to their forwards, but the Balrog got in the way of both of them and Imlach cleaned up beautifully and AC was right back into their offense.

Finally TIG opted for a bit of possession instead, but AC now had their players pressuring possession, even at the rear as TIG soon discovered. Angrod and Aegnor converged on NilpWolf from two sides, and the surprised defender sent it over to Draugluin without getting the time to check things carefully. As fast and athletic as wolves like Draugluin are they don’t have the soft touch of their Noldorin foes, and Draugluin failed to control the hot pass on the first touch, and as he tried to scoot the ball away from him on the second touch it was too late—Feanor was upon him. Feanor dashed madly by pursued by BoroWolf, and they bore down on ShastaWolf slightly from the left as Eol sprinted in from the right followed by GaladriWight. Feanor faked the shot then sent it forward to Eol, who instead of taking the shot as everyone expected sent it back off his heel to Feanor, who had frozen in place after sending his pass.

As the ball bounced to Feanor it was clear NilpWolf and Draugluin wouldn’t arrive in time to stop his shot, and BoroWolf and GaladriWight’s momentum following Eol had taken them in closer to goal than to Feanor. The TIG fans held their breath waiting to see what would happen, but the rest of the stadium was already rising into a roar. Feanor was approaching the ball with a clear view of everything and no one close enough to bother him. It was as good as in the net. BoroWolf and GaladriWight tried to block off the left side only leaving ShastaWolf to cover the right, but Feanor tipped the ball up with his right foot and snapped off a high left-footed shot from near his shoulder that went well over the leaping BoroWolf but with so much topspin that it dove down beneath the crossbar to sneak into the corner of the goal! The score was level with 20 minutes remaining!

ShastaWolf threw up his hands and hollered something at his defense, but it couldn’t be heard amidst the roar of the arena—all the fans coming fully to life at last! TIG had managed to suck the air out of the game for over an hour, but now it was an even contest with little time left, and every ball now had a chance to give AC the title. TIG had their own plans, however, and went into full-bore attack mode. Evidently it had been decided that AC had found their stride and was playing their best, thus they simply could not be allowed to control the outcome. Not only that, but most agreed that TIG had decided playing for a shootout was a bad idea against AC. They wanted the game to be over as soon as possible.

AC was almost overwhelmed initially, with PhantomWolf putting a perfect cross onto the snout of NilpWolf, whose effort was only just turned away by Marach. AC settled in after that, however, and they pulled back nearly all their help, except they kept Feanor and Eol at the top, threatening the counter. TIG gained a couple snipes from far out—their Wolves had the legs to make the attempt, but the shots sprayed off course. As time ticked past 80 minutes it appeared TIG was losing steam from their constant running and aggression, and AC started to gain ground, and finally TIG collectively retreated to receive AC’s last attempt to win it in regulation.

AC accepted the turn of fortunes and Fingolfin and Feanor signaled back and forth what strategy to employ, but as AC stalled passing the ball around at the rear, something happened. Imlach received it from the Balrog again, and as he had several times he turned to his right and sent it over to Rochallor, but just as he swung his leg back PhantomWolf, who no one had noticed creeping closer, made a furious beeline directly at Rochallor. Meanwhile, InzilWolf broke from midfield straight toward the AC goal.

Just as Thuringwethil’s beastly speed had shocked the AC crowd in stopping the scoring opportunity earlier, PhantomWolf’s speed dropped jaws through the arena. There was simply no real way to prepare for such athleticism in practice, and though AC had faced speedy individuals along the way, no squad could compare to TIG for speed up and down the roster.

The ball arrived at Rochallor’s hooves just before PhantomWolf, but deftness was not the valiant warhorse’s forte, not to mention he was probably ever so slightly spooked by the Werewolf bearing down on him. After all, PhantomWolf had his claws out and was snarling as he came, and was looking directly at Rochallor rather than the ball, and some predatory-danger instinct within Rochallor was undoubtedly sounding an alarm. TIG had selected the perfect player to attack at the perfect time and in the perfect manner. The ball trickled away to Rochallor’s right, and before he could stretch to collect it PhantomWolf veered and swept it away first, booting it ahead of him and then catching up to it in full stride.

The TIG section leaped to their feet and started shouting! There would be no question of off sides, as PhantomWolf was farther upfield than anyone else! As PhantomWolf angled in at the left post InzilWolf approached from the right, Imlach sprinting straight down the middle to beat them to the box with Fingolfin a few yards behind. Finally the moment of truth arrived as they converged, and Imlach made his decision and veered straight for PhantomWolf. PhantomWolf made sure Imlach was committed then snapped his vision to the near post, approached the ball with purpose, and lobbed it up over Imlach to the far post. The keeper Marach had been momentarily frozen thinking PhantomWolf might shoot it, and so he could not beat InzilWolf to the point of attack. InzilWolf rose up uncontested and nodded the ball just inside the right post in front of the diving keeper! TIG had the lead with only minutes left!

As their supporters let out primal screams and embraced in the stands team TIG showed almost no emotion but grim determination, as if to say: “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time and we’ve done everything we need to do. Just a few more minutes of good play and all the work will pay off.” Now desperately needing a quick score AC threw everyone forward, and Fingolfin and the Balrog pushed up behind Angrod and Aegnor to help with the attack. If they conceded a counter then they did—losing by two goals wasn’t any worse than losing by one. They simply needed to score and that was that.

AC excelled in quick ball movement and precision passes through small openings, so even with everyone pulled back to defend TIG knew the game wasn’t in the bag if they allowed AC to come at them, so TIG played it smart, clearing the ball past their own end line whenever they were in doubt. Though it would be foolish for most teams to grant a ton of corner kicks, TIG felt that AC could not hurt them with a cross from the corner, as TIG had five Wolves and Thuringwethil that could own the air just as much as AC’s biggest mark, the Balrog.

The game and AC’s offense had to be continually reset for corners, and precious seconds ticked away. AC was aware of their aerial disadvantage and simply sent it short each time and attempted a flurry of passes to gain an open shot, but each time a TIG paw or foot got in the way and the ball ended up dribbling out towards midfield or shot out over the end line. Finally GaladriWight got in the way of an Angrod header and LegateWight booted the bouncing ball high to the opposite end of the field, and as AC began to give chase the ref sounded his whistle. TIG had withstood the final blows with authority, and at last the coveted Arda Cup was theirs!

The sagging and defeated members of AC Beleriand gave quick polite pats and handshakes to the TIG players and jogged off the field, leaving TIG free to bask in the glory of the title. The stadium bells and all the bells of the city sounded in unison, huge lamps sitting on the tops of every tall building in Valimar were reflected to shine at the stadium to give the arena a sort of halo of light, flags bearing the colors and devices of Tol In Gaurhoth were raised at points all over the stadium, and confetti rained down from the sky as huge eagles swept over carrying bags of the stuff! Valimar was doing this hosting thing right.

The TIG players motioned for their fans to join them on the field and the Wights, Wolves and assorted characters with them needed to second invitation, and soon they had surrounded the TIG players and had them lifted into the air, passing them about the throng so that everyone would get a chance to slap every player on the back. Every player on the field had done what was asked of them and had even gone beyond what could be expected. Discipline, intelligence, strength, speed, accuracy, strategy and selflessness had been on display in perfect blends. TIG had faced the best that Arda had to offer and emerged victorious!

AC Beleriand 1-2 Tol In Gaurhoth
on target 5-5
tot shots 14-13
GOALS:
*33, 0-1 Thuringwethil (NerWight)
*71, 1-1 Feanor (Eol)
*84, 1-2 InzilWolf (PhantomWolf)
YELLOW CARDS:
*ACBel- Rochallor, Aegnor
*TIG- NilpWolf, SallyWight