We'll have four matches played together now. Moria vs. Angband, I reckon if Moria can get over their teamwork issues they may actually threaten Angband but in the end I can see Angband picking up the three points regardless of what happens. Tuna take on the Shire in the next fixture. The Shire made it to the semifinals last time around but have failed to impress in their first match, whereas newcomers Tuna have been on fire. Can the Shire pick themselves up? Phantom says no.
Mordor will still be hurting after their loss at the hands of Roverandom and I'm certain they'll be looking to murder whoever they face. I pity Tol Eressea, they'll be lucky to make it out alive. In the final fixture the Barrow-Downs take on the Inklings. Both teams won their first match 2-0 and I reckon this match will probably decide who tops the group.
***
Group A
Moria 1 - 3
Angband
(Durin's Bane 23) (Melkor 64, 83, Thuringwethel 72)
Moria did not seem to have any team work issues at all in a brillant first half display. They managed to outclass Angband several times and created some breath taking chances including a good freekick which resulted in a goal. Moria's first chance came around the tenth minute when
Balin headed just over the goal after a fine cross from
Azog. Only moments later
Azog went for the fancy and bycycled the ball over the goal. Much to the relief of Moria,
Durin's Bane found the back of the net with a sweet curving free kick that swerved past an outstreched
Glaurung.
After the break Angband came out guns blazing, desperate to try and get the match back in their control. So far Angband had not done much wrong but Moria were just fantastic. However in the second half the Morian defence began to get a bit edgy and more or less stopped playing as a team. The midfield held solid though and prevented any real threats from developing. Around the 55th minute
Melkor blazed a long effort just over the crossbar. The rather unkempt Angband supporters began to boo their team.
Finall at the 64th minute their attacks paid off and
Melkor found himself clean through after a pass from
Thuringwethel. He calmly slotted in to bring the scores level. Not even ten minutes later
Gothmog's shot struck the post but the rebound was shuffled in by an alert
Thuringwethel, who scored her second goal of the tournament. Angband were back in control of things. The match decreased in tempo a bit and the Moria team began to disintegrate, their teamwork all but lost.
Melkor capped off the win with a cheeky penalty after he was brought down in the area by
Oin.
Shots: 5(2) - 6(4)
Posession: 49 - 51
Group B
Tuna 2 - 1 Shire
(Finwe 10, Maedhros 15) (Pippin 87)
Tuna started off the match superbly. Right from kickoff,
Finwe and
Feanor began to play some nimble one-two's to blitz past the Shire defence.
Feanor then played the ball front for
Ingwe who had burst forth. The midfielder's shot whizzed into the goal only for the linesman to raise the flag. Goal disallowed due to offside.
Aggrivating as that is, Tuna kept their heads up and played good football. It did not take long for them to score.
Maedhros' tenth minute corner provided the break through. The defence failed to clear the inswinging corner on the first bounce and it proved fatal as
Finwe latched onto it and struck in beautifully. Only five minutes later, a poor clearance landed at
Maedhros' feet. The midfielder struck the ball from about 30 yards out, his shot seemed to take a deflection off of
Tom Cotton on the way in but the Tuna midfielder was given the goal.
Tuna relaxed after the early two goal lead. While they could have pressed on to score more they decided to sit back and keep their players rested. Smart tactic, as an injury or suspension could prove very costly. The game was played out slowly, with Tuna seeing most of the ball and dictating tempo. The Shire hardly got a look in at all, it really does make one wonder if Frodo and Merry were perhaps not the driving force behind their success all along. However right towards the end, around the 87th minute a rather soft tackle by
Amrod earned him a yellow card and Shire a penalty.
Pippin converted it but in all honesty you have to question the referee's judgement.
Shots: 5(4) - 2(1)
Posession: 59 - 41
Bookings: Amrod
Group D
Mordor 4 - 0 Tol Eressea
(Dark Lord 3, 56, Witch-King 60, Shagrat 81)
The first half was oddly quiet apart from a third minute goal scored by
Dark Lord. It was the
Witch King who did most of the work here, dribbling past the Tol Eressea defence and faking out their goalkeeper, instead of taking a shot though he pulled the ball back for
Dark Lord to tap the ball into an open goal. One goal, one shot. The Mordor fans are ecstatic after having to go through the painful experience of fourteen shots with no goals. Tol Eressea did not commit to attack even after going down while Mordor found it hard to find rhytym.
Everything changed in the second half though as Mordor began to unleash hell on their opponents. About ten minutes after the restart a fantastic cross in from
Gothmog was headed in by an enthusiastic
Dark Lord to double the lead. Only minutes after this goal, at the hour mark,
Gothmog sent in a swinging cross upfield which was volleyed in by
Witch King to solidify Mordor's lead. Only moments later
Dark Lord came within touching distance of a hat trick but his shot fizzled wide of the left post. Mordor mellowed out a bit but still had room for one more goal.
Near the 80th minute they won a corner.
Snaga lofted the ball and
Shagrat knocked it in with full force to wrap up an easy day's work. Mordor completely bull dozed Tol Eressea, sending out a clear message that they can crush just about anyone they want quite easily.
Shots: 15(10) - 2(0)
Posession: 64 - 36
Group G
Barrow-Downs 4 - 1 The Inklings
(Sleepy Ranger 44, 47, Saucepan Man 51, Phantom 60) (Christopher Tolkien 88)
The first half started out quite slowly with both teams sizing each other up. The Inklings had the first chance when
Formendacil was judged to have pulled
C.S Lewis' shirt, earning him a yellow card and the Inklings a penalty. Everything went wrong though and
J.R.R Tolkien's spot kick was punched out by the
Barrow-Wight who then held onto the ball firmly when
Charles Williams headed the rebound goalwards.
The 'Downs managed to begin a brilliant move towards the end of the half which involved
Phantom,
Feanor and
Sleepy moving the ball among themselves. Finally,
Phantom sent the ball towards
Saucepan Man who lobbed it into the box for a diving
Sleepy Ranger to head into the goal. The crowd was ecstatic as the 'Downs went in ahead.
Only minutes after the restart
Sleepy Ranger doubled the advantage, when together with
Saucepan Man he moved goalwards. The young striker played the ball front to
Saucepan Man who had made a run into the box. Instead of shooting he selflessly snaped the ball back for
Sleepy Ranger who lashed his foot forward knocking the ball in for his brace. Only minutes after that goal,
Sleepy Ranger turned creator and curved in a ball for
Saucepan Man to volley in. The Barrow-Downs seemed to have run away with it at 3-0 but there was still a lot of football to played.
However at the hour mark it looked buried and done with as
Glirdan broke forward to play in
Saucepan Man who held up the ball for
Phantom. The midfielder did what he does best and drilled in a low shot which nearly knocked over
Adam Fox. The Inklings did have something to sing about at the end of the game though as
Christopher Tolkien picked up a loose ball after the 'Downs defence failed to clear a corner, and tapped it past a rather disappointed
Barrow-Wight. None the less, that's three points for the 'Downs.
Shots: 8(6) - 5(3)
Posession: 59 - 41
Bookings: Formendacil
***
We've had a rather exciting day of football here with a bunch of penalties as well. There were no real upsets on the day except perhaps the upset fans after a Shire loss. However, I reckon that will leave a smiling Phantom. Angband did very well to stay calm after going down and made a fantastic comeback. Tuna should have pressed on for more but I can understand why they would have wanted to play it easy. Mordor demolished Tol Eressea much as I had expected. The 'Downs won by quite a margin and to be honest, it is not something I had expected at all.