[The Saucepan Man]

Group C: Numenor 1 - 0 Niggle's Parish

Numenor hardly raised a sweat in beating the hopelssly outclassed Niggle's Parish. Tar-Miriel and Tar-Ancalime played well up front, although Ar-Pharazon must have been hoping the ground would swallow him up after that mis-kick. This result assures Numenor a place in the next round, but they now have to play the highly impressive Nargothrond to decide who get's top spot in the Group.

Group E: Fangorn 0 - 0 Tol in Gaurhoth

It's hardly surprising that this game was so dreadful, with Fangorn's slow and ponderous attack and Tol In Gaurhoth's inexperience and poor team spirit. Ugluk's aggression is one of the things that makes him such a great player, but it also earned him a red card in this match. I still think that Fangorn would have done a lot better harnessing his strength and aggression up front. With two TiG players also being sent off, Fangorn should have done better, but they lacked the pace to make use of the extra space. This result puts Misty Mountains through in top spot and Fangorn still have the opportunity to progress. On the evidence of this performance, however, they may be hard pressed to do so. Unlikely as it may have seemed at the outset, I can see Old Grey Hill beating Tol in Gaurhoth to snatch second place in the Group.

Group F: Bree 0 - 0 Wooton Major

It's no surprise that Bree kept a clean sheet as they have a great defence. It is surprising, however, that they weren't able to snatch a goal or three here, particularly with The Old Master, Tom Bombadil, up front. With all those shots, they really really should have put at least two or three of them away. They should still go through to the next round, but they could have secured their place with a better performance here.

Group G: Gondor 1 - 0 Rohan

Unlike the match commentator, I do understand possession football. Teams that can't keep the ball are never going to win trophies (*coughEnglandcough*). Hoever, Rohan showed here that possession is only part of the equation. You need to be able to use it. They have the players to do that, so I can't for the life of me understand why they never perform as they should. A brilliant piece of individual play from Faramir showed Rohan exactly what you should do with the ball when you get it and earned Gondor the victory. The forthcoming match between Gondor and The Inklings will determine second place in this Group (and my money's still on The Inklings), while Edoras beckons for the Riders of Rohan.

Yellow Boot Trophy competition update

No major changes from the last update, just a few additions to the 'one-goalers':

Mormegil (Nargothrond) - 5
Aragorn (Arnor) - 3
Mablung (Doriath) - 3
Hurin (Gondolin) - 3
Farmer Giles (Ham) - 3
Melkor (Angband) - 2
Thuringwethil (Angband) - 2
Sleepy Ranger (Barrow-Downs) - 2
The phantom (Barrow-Downs) - 2
Tailbiter (Ham) - 2
JRR Tolkien (Inklings) - 2
Dwalin (Misty Mountains) - 2
Dark Lord (Mordor) - 2
Finwe (Tuna) - 2
Rune Son of Bjarne (Barrow-Downs) - 1
The Saucepan Man (Barrow-Downs) -1
Tom Bombadil (Bree) - 1
Turin (Dor Lomin) -1
Bard (Erebor) - 1
Skinbark (Fangorn) - 1
Turgon (Gondolin) - 1
Faramir (Gondor) -1
Christopher Tolkien (Inklings) - 1
Amroth (Lothlorien) - 1
Gandalf (Lothlorien) - 1
Stone Giant (Misty Mountains) - 1
Witch-King (Mordor) - 1
Shagrat (Mordor) - 1
Durin’s Bane (Moria) - 1
Felagund (Nargothrond) - 1
Atkins (Niggle’s Parish) - 1
Tar-Ancalime (Numenore) - 1
Tar-Miriel (Numenore) - 1
Guest (Old Grey Hill) - 1
William (Rivendell) - 1
Gilraen (Rivendell) - 1
Roverandum (Roverandum) - 1
Frodo (Tol Eressea) - 1
Pippin Took (The Shire) -1
Finarfin (Tuna) -1
Maedhros (Tuna) -1
Fairy Queen (Wooton Major) - 1