Elenrod: Today: While FC Valinor supporters cross the sea in Tol Eressëa’s mobile stadium, FC Valinor fail to cross the Sea—or rather, fail to complete their crosses. Elsewhere, AC Beleriand prove that four is greater than three as they put two goals up to Armenelos’s one. So much for that countdown. In Ard-galen, Gwindor puts up a repeat performance of the Nirnaeth, running past people in Anfauglith and reaching the goal way ahead of everyone else. And finally, in Doriath, Maedhros single-handedly saves Inter from embarrassment as Lúthien defies her father once more. All that and more in today’s
Matchday. I’m your host, Elenrod, and joining us today is Beleriandic shield-maidens’ favourite pundit, Maikalomion.
Maika: Please don’t bring that up.
Elenrod: Hehe. Self-designated football historian Iorithil, from
Quenta Noldorin Sport, is also here.
Iorithil: Hi, Elenrod. And I must say I’m not ‘self-designated’; I do have a diploma from the Unseen University.
Felagundion: I bet’s the diploma’s unseen, though.
Iorithil: There is that.
Elenrod: And that’s the voice of someone paying off damages, Felagundion the blogger.
Felagundion: $5 000 down, $59 995 000 to go, is it?
Elenrod: Somewhere thereabouts.
Felagundion: I’ll be stuck here for 231 years . . . Unless I get a raise.
Iorithil: Going back to ‘self-appointed’, shouldn’t Maika be called a self-appointed tactician, then?
Maika: I don’t call myself a tactician; everyone else does.
Elenrod: That settles that. So, before we start, Iorithil, I heard that you have a book out.
Iorithil: Yes, it’s
Battles of Beleriand: Football in the First Age.
Elenrod: Tell us about it. I’m sure that’s the only reason you agreed to come to our show.
Iorithil: Haha. Well, basically, it traces the development of Beleriandic football from the establishment of Doriath to the War of Wrath. It also has my theory on why the current Beleriand team is split into the Inter and the AC side.
Elenrod: Fantastic stuff. But on to the games, eh? Let’s start with FC Valinor vs The Sea at the Tol Eressëa Mobile Stadium.
The Sea 0-0 FC Valinor
on target 2-4
tot shots 8-11
GOALS:
*
YELLOW CARDS:
*SEA- Uinen, Salmar, Vëantur
*FCV- Elemmírë, Thorondor
Elenrod: Was nil-nil a good result for either team?
Maika: It definitely was for the Sea. They just kept it tight at the back, denied Celegorm and Curufin breathing room, checked the runs of Yavanna and Argon. Of course, FC Valinor would still get their shots, even against the best defences, but Hyarmendacil just kept it clean. He looks to be a great signing for Ulmo.
Iorithil: They basically played a desperate rearguard action, fitting for an underdog in a knockout stage, like what Minas Tirith did against Barad-dûr back in the Third Age, when the Black Tower were still considered a powerhouse. I don’t think Ulmo and his lads would have conceded even if they played into extra time. With that said, if I were a fan of the Sea, I’d feel a little worried that my team showed not a hint of ambition in a friendly against a contender. Erebor’s defenders last year were slightly worse, but Smaug and company still went for it—with bigger stakes, too.
Elenrod: A gamble which they won. Now let’s move on to that magnificent match at the Armenelos Stadium: the home team taking on AC Beleriand.
Armenelos 1-2 AC Beleriand
on target 3-6
tot shots 12-14
GOALS:
*40, 0-1 Eöl (Fëanor)
*63, 1-1 Elros (Tar-Ancalimon)
*74, 1-2 Aegnor (Angrod)
YELLOW CARDS:
*ARM- Ar-Gimilzôr, Tar-Míriel
*ACB- Rochallor, Ulrad
Elenrod: This was promoted as the battle between the cream of the First and the Second Age. Well, whoever the marketers were, they got their numbers a little bit mixed up.
Felagundion: The usual suspects for AC Bel on the scoresheet, I see.
Maika: Yeah, they just tore Armenelos’s defence apart with intelligent movement. Fingolfin and the Balrog kept the wingbacks occupied, and Angrod, Eöl, and Aegnor pushed high up against the Númenórean back three. Then Fëanor just popped up out of nowhere and took Aegnor’s back-heel pass, forcing the defence to reorient and giving Eöl space to receive Fëanor’s pass and smash one past Tar-Atanamir.
Iorithil: The midfielders Ar-Gimilzôr and Tar-Míriel weren’t able to keep up with Fëanor. They had to stop him twice illegally. It was basically four-on-three every time AC Bel went for an attack, and their extra player happened to be one of the best strikers in Arda.
Elenrod: But eighteen minutes into the second half, Armenelos get their equaliser against a team who knew how to kill the game by keeping possession.
Iorithil: Well, basically, the Númenóreans are quicker, stronger, have more stamina than, say Shire-Bree players. They kept pressing the AC Beleriand midfield; Elros was especially effective in harrying Ulrad, who wasn’t entirely comfortable in his deeper role.
Maika: To be fair, neither he nor Denethor are still settled in their double pivot role behind the four attackers. At least they’ve started forming some division of labour—Ulrad was the one who moved forward more to link up defence and attack, while Denethor was more comfortable holding position in front of the centre-backs. But it was a coverage mix-up that led to Armenelos’s goal. Fëanor was shadowing Ar-Gimilzôr, while Denethor and Ulrad took turns marking Tar-Míriel while the other one kept an eye on Elros. But when the last Queen charged forward in possession, both of them moved up to stop her, leaving space behind for Elros to charge into. Tar-Míriel played a short lateral pass to Tar-Ancalimon who was already picking up speed. He ran past Fingolfin and crossed for the unmarked Elros, who just poked it in past Marach.
Felagundion: Then, predictably, Armenelos still haven’t solved the problem of being outnumbered at the back, and Aegnor and Angrod play a pretty one-two—well, more like a one-two-three—to retake the lead.
Elenrod: Remarkable. Okay, moving along, let’s cover the events at Ard-galen Arena, where Anfauglith hosted Nargothrond.
Anfauglith 1-2 Nargothrond
on target 4-6
tot shots 10-16
GOALS:
*17, 0-1 Gwindor (Finrod)
*39, 0-2 Gwindor (Nienor)
*66, 1-2 Gothmog (Rían)
YELLOW CARDS:
*ANF- Gelmir, Haldir, Balrog #2
*NGR- Barahir, Arminas
Felagundion: Adam discussed Haleth of Inter last time, but I think the best winger right now is Gwindor. He prefers to start on the right, but he’s genuinely two-footed; he can cross or finish with either foot. He can make byline runs, inside cuts, off-ball direct runs, anything. And he’s burned every left-back he met.
Iorithil: What about Beleg and Lúthien? I think Beleg’s slightly better than him, though he’s not as ambidextrous, and Gwindor’s slightly better than Lúthien going forward, but, basically, those three are in that highest tier.
Maika: Míriel and Nerdanel are both inside forwards, not wingers, so they don’t count. Thranduil, Khamûl, and Argon aren’t as all-round on attack as those three. Of course, the latter two are better defensively than Gwindor.
Elenrod: Well, Gwindor’s ‘defence’, as I put in air quotes, is more about making sure the full-back has no breath to spare going forward, so winded is he chasing the wily Noldo around.
Felagundion: Haha, that’s it.
Maika: Well, if Nargothrond have one of the best wingers, they also have one of the worst holding midfielders I’ve ever seen. I’ve given Salgant of Gondolin a lot of stick, but at least he can run and poke the ball out of people’s feet. But Bëor . . . when Nargothrond tried to defend their lead with half an hour to go, Rían just skipped past Bëor to feed Gothmog. He just couldn’t catch up to her.
Felagundion: It’s generally a bad idea for any Nargothrond squad to defend a lead, despite the slightly improved defence this year. It’s just in our kingdom’s philosophy. I mean, we build a hidden city, but instead of just staying there, both of our rulers wanted to go out and play with visitors.
Elenrod: Just an inexplicable state of affairs. Anyway, we finally move on to Inter Beleriand-Doriath at the Menegroth Stadium.
Inter Beleriand 1-0 Doriath
on target 5-3
tot shots 14-10
GOALS:
*72, 1-0 Maedhros
YELLOW CARDS:
*INB- Hunthor, Haleth, Baragund, Gorlim
*DOR- Galadhon, Elwë, Galathil
Elenrod: This was a far less exciting match than the previous Inter match, or indeed the time they met in a friendly last year, where Lúthien and Maedhros both scored a brace.
Maika: Doriath had more of the ball, mainly because they had more midfielders, but they had no idea what to do with it. Speaking of Beleg and Lúthien, I’m sure Melian sorely miss them. Only Mablung, Thingol, and Daeron offered anything going forward.
Iorithil: Basically, Inter were more purposeful in possession than Doriath. With Beren, Haleth, and Lúthien, they had ways to get the ball up quickly to their forwards. They won more corners and free kicks from dangerous areas.
Elenrod: And it was one of those free kicks that Maedhros converted for the game’s only goal.
Felagundion: There was some simmering tension between some of the players—remember the incident between Saeros and Beren last year? But they managed to keep it clean—most of the bookings were from fouls to stop counter-attacks, just impedance of play and not attempts to injure other players. In the seventy-first minute, off a Doriath corner, Haldad makes a long clearance and Beren takes the ball forward. Galathil was the last defender between him and Dior because Melian was in the Inter box when corner was taken. It was nothing nasty; he just tugged on his shirt, but it was a yellow card and a free kick.
Maika: Maedhros takes that thirty-yard free kick beautifully—it barely goes over the top of the wall, and just barely slips under the crossbar. Dior couldn't get to it because he’d bump his head otherwise.
Elenrod: Magnificent stuff. Now, before we go, I’ve read some scandalous, almost libellous, remarks from a certain print journalist covering the Arda Cup, labelling us a bunch of ‘entertainers’.
Felagundion: That
is libellous. I don’t think we’re entertaining enough to be called entertainers.
Elenrod: That’s true. But c’mon, lay off the jealousy. I know that, despite last year being our first year covering the Arda Cup, we almost got more predictions correct than the rest of our fellow broadcasters combined. I mean, sure, it’s hard employing a controversial journalist who won’t shut up, who has to be constantly warned to watch his language, and who probably wouldn’t otherwise get a job anywhere else, but we have one, too, in Adam Smith. Who’s not an economist.
Felagundion: Maybe AK[[[censored:
Matchday director]]] wish that, instead of the real experts they have, they can get self-appointed tacticians and football historians like we do. It’s always much more fun to play pretend. Well, if they offer to cover my damages, I can pretend to be one for them. I can even write an article about the history of the hurry-up defence.
Iorithil: It’s ‘hurry-up offense’, mate. And wrong football.
Felagundion: He even knows his gridiron. Somebody give this Elf a medal.
Elenrod: Haha, indeed. And with that, we’ve come to end of our program. Many thanks once again to Maika, to Felagundion, and it was a pleasure having you with us, Iorithil.
Iorithil: Likewise. I hope I can get invited again
Elenrod: I sure hope so, too. Have a great week, everyone. Bye ‘til then.