AC Beleriand vs
Inter Beleriand
[Projected formation.
AC Beleriand in red and white;
Inter Beleriand in blue and yellow.]
Formation:
A formation battle tends to be of greater importance if both sides wish to play proactive football—the spare man in the midfield is especially important when pressing to recover the ball, as well as when trying to get out of opposition pressing. Inter Beleriand’s preferred strategy is to sit back and attack on the break, so the midfield battle is less important than how effective both sides would carry out their strategies.
Tactics:
The more important tactical questions, then, are:
a) How would AC Beleriand break down Inter’s defence?
Inter have solid full-backs but defensively suspect centre-backs—Dwarves United forward Legolas managed to gain a few chances against them despite his lack of support. AC Bel would occupy Baragund and Lúthien with Angrod and Aegnor, leaving Eöl and Fëanor to play through Gorlim and Haldad. Ulrad’s forward runs and Denethor’s long passes from the midfield would help force Inter’s midfield to close them down, giving Fëanor additional space in the hole. Another attacking option AC Bel have is their full-backs, but they must be careful about the timing of their forward runs (Inter’s wing play on the counterattack is excellent). And advancing both of them at the same time looks out of the question—with Maedhros and Fingon occupying both centre-backs, AC Bel would have no spare man at the back.
b) How effective would Inter’s transition from defence to attack be?
Inter can sit back all they want, but their best way of getting a goal is to exploit AC Bel’s high defensive line with quick passes from the defence. Maedhros can exploit Rochallor in the air, and Fingon can attack Imlach with his pace. If Fingolfin and Balrog #4 are caught too high up the pitch when Inter gain possession, then Haleth and Beren would have space to run forward and outnumber AC Bel’s defence.
Prediction:
Inter are too good on the counter to be shut out. Imlach and Rochallor looked defensively solid last year because of their effective partnership, but they don’t have the individual talent to deny Maedhros and Fingon one-on-one. With that said, AC Bel would control the game—Denethor, especially, now looks comfortable in his deep-lying role, spraying forward passes to their wing players. Also, Eöl and Fëanor will run circles around Gorlim and Haldad, defenders who struggled against Legolas. Anything other than an AC Beleriand win seems unlikely.
AC Beleriand 2-1 Inter Beleriand
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Dwarves United vs
Gondolin
[Projected formation.
Dwarves United in black and white;
Gondolin in blue and white.]
Formation and Tactics:
Gondolin’s 4-4-1-1 would have a slight disadvantage in midfield against Dwarves United 4-5-1. Maeglin would have to drop a few metres deeper to help maintain possession. In Dwarf U’s last match, Inter flooded the midfield with Fingon dropping deep and Beren moving infield from the wing, giving them a comfortable 4 to 3 advantage in the centre of the pitch. Gondolin, however, couldn’t replicate this tactic—Idril, their more central-minded wide midfielder, is needed to defend against Dwarf U’s strong left wing (with Telchar and Celebrimbor on that side), whereas Elemmakil is a natural wide player and plays poorly when fielded in the centre.
Inter controlled the game vs Dwarf U because they used their spare player intelligently. Left-back Lúthien, with no one to mark, moved higher up the pitch and essentially replaced Beren as wide-left midfielder, giving them an additional attacking player to help break Aulë’s defence down. Gondolin, on the other hand, might regret their lack of attacking full-backs. Look at part of the pitch closest to Rog—Gondolin have four players in an area where Dwarf U only has one. While Egalmoth would be needed to help Idril defend Dwarf U’s strong side, Galdor is clearly a surplus. Would he then push forward when Gondolin is in possession? And if so, what could he contribute to Gondolin’s offence?
Prediction:
Gondolin look like they’ll have a harder time than Inter breaking Dwarf U’s defences down. They don’t have an attacking full-back to break them down the flanks, nor the midfield advantage to play them through the middle. With that said, their front five have enough individual talent to take Dwarf U on—if they commit a lot to their offence, a strategy that would then give space for Dwarf U to play their counterattacking game. With the home crowd spurring Gondolin on, this looks set to be a game of two halves—a passive first half and a crazy second half.
Dwarves United 1-1 Gondolin