Arda Cup Soccer 2008

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

• GROUP A, at Rivendell
  • Michel Delving > Rómena
    
    Michel Delving's defence consists mostly of players on the brink of retirement, plus the erratic Lotho, but they do have the stolid Samwise Gamgee, star goalie, who gained much experience during the Orodruin Invitational (III). Their front line is the class of their (Eriador) league.
    
    Rómena's backfield is not as solid as hoped for, but their scoring prowess remains top-notch. Although it is rumoured that Isildur, who faced problems during the Orodruin Invitational (II), will have a difficult time getting the ball past the faithful Gamgee.
    
    It'll be a high-scoring game, with Michel Delving edging out a narrow victory.
    
    
  • Fornost <<< Rivendell
    
    Fornost fans will be rather quiet as Rivendell sweeps the floor with their team.
  
  
• GROUP B, at Edoras
  • Mirkwood < Tol-in-Gaurhoth
    
    Mirkwood, a team struggling to keep itself together. Tol-in-Gaurhoth, one of the most favoured teams in this league. Surprisingly, it will be somewhat close.
    
    
  • Breeland < Edoras
    
    Edoras's excellent defending will counter Breeland's star striker Tom Bombadil. Éomer, Éowyn, and Eorl will be too much even for Old Man Willow.
  
  
• GROUP C, at Doriath
  • Alqualondë > Formenos
    
    Will history repeat itself? I doubt it--with the inclusion of the Halflings into the roster the Swans will gain a respite from doom, and Ossë, Maia wonder, will rip through Formenos's formidable defence.
    
    
  • Doriath >>> Isengard
    
    Totally one-sided. 'nuff said.
  
  
• GROUP D, at Osgiliath
  • Nargothrond >>> Umbar
    
    Total shutdown by the boys from the caves of Narog.
    
    
  • Lothlórien > Osgiliath
    
    Lothlórien 1 : 0 Osgiliath. Galadriel will be the first goalkeeper in Arda Cup history to score.
  
  
• GROUP E, at Gondolin
  • Erebor > Gondor
    
    Two solid teams battle it out, but the Dwarves's stouter defence will hold.
    
    
  • Gondolin > Túna
    
    In the history of the Gondolin football club only Angband has managed to score a goal against them. I doubt that Túna's front line just has what it takes.
  
  
• GROUP F, at Taniquetil
  • Amon Rhûd < Armenelos
    
    Ar-Pharazôn, justly renowned for being the only player to press Taniquetil's fabled defence to the breaking point, will break through Amon Rhûd's stalwart defence for a golden goal.
    
    
  • Helm's Deep < Taniquetil
    
    Helm's Deep, one of the most solid defensive team in Middle-earth. But not solid enough for the Valar.
  
  
• GROUP G, at Mordor
  • Hithlum >>> Moria
    
    The spotlight in this game will be on Fingolfin and Túrin. The Orcs can go shudder and the Dwarves can go weep (and the Watcher can go grope some Halfling), but I doubt that'll be enough against these two hard-chargers.
    
    
  • Minas Tirith < Mordor
    
    Men vs Nazgûl. The Wraiths win.
  
  
• GROUP H, at Angband
  • Brethil <<< Valimar
    
    Brethil just ain't fast enough to catch up with Tulkas and Eönwë's running game.
    
    
  • Angband >>> Annúminas
    
    The bad boys from the North are taking it all the way home.

[the phantom]

Ah, so you're up for being the ref again, Boro? Lovely. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do it myself.

How about entering a fantasy team, Boro. Or are you worried that it would impact your officiating?

[the phantom]

All right, the tournament will probably begin tomorrow.

Once again, here is the first round schedule of matches.

GROUP A, at Rivendell
Michel Delving vs Romena
Fornost vs Rivendell

GROUP B, at Edoras
Mirkwood vs Tol-In-Gaurhoth
Breeland vs Edoras

GROUP C, at Doriath
Alqualonde vs Formenos
Doriath vs Isengard

GROUP D, at Osgiliath
Nargothrond vs Umbar
Lothlorien vs Osgiliath

GROUP E, at Gondolin
Erebor vs Gondor
Gondolin vs Tuna

GROUP F, at Taniquetil
Amon Rhud vs Armenelos
Helm's Deep vs Taniquetil

GROUP G, at Mordor
Hithlum vs Moria
Minas Tirith vs Mordor

GROUP H, at Angband
Brethil vs Valimar
Angband vs Annuminas

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

After the group stages, wouldn't a bracket contest be lovely?

While I was heavily into StarCraft progaming, when StarLeague group stages are over we'd do bracket predictions, like this:


(Never mind the names, haha.)

And then for every correct prediction in the:

1st round: 1 pt
Quarterfinals: 2 pts
Semifinals: 4 pts
Finals: 8 pts

Then whoever gets the most points wins the famed No-Prize award (meaning you get nothing but bragging rights.)

But if you get your entire bracket correct, then that something really special.

So, can we have one? Pretty please?

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Enedwaith . . . standings and some statistics after Round 1:



Clearly, the biggest disappointments this round are:

• Angband's tie with Annúminas

  Angband's unnamed Balrogs better improve their playing. Not to take anything from the Dúnedain of Arnor--they played superbly--, but you expect Ainur to play better than that.

• Lothlórien's dismal showing against Osgiliath.

  Does anyone there besides Galadriel deserve to be playing football? Their attacking was dismal and their defence was so-so. At the rate they're playing now they'll be the doormat of their group, Umbar at least managed to score a goal against group favourite Nargothrond.

Michel Delving's game against Rómena was also a bit of a disappointment, but I have to admit, Rómena's defence is more solid than I thought.

And better luck next time, Swans. I guess the Hobbits still have to get used to playing with the Deathless.

Round 2 predictions will come later.

[the phantom]

--GROUP A--

The stadium at Rivendell was pretty well filled for the first match between Fornost and Michel Delving. Nearly all the Rangers had made the trek to the enchanted valley to support their team, and even more hobbits from the Shire had come, though they did not find the journey as pleasant. "There weren't enough inns!" was the general complaint.

But they had all found lodging in and around Rivendell and were rested and well fed, and ready to cheer on their teams. A great number of Elves were in attendance as well, eager to watch the match between these two as many of them had friends on the teams.

The whistle sounded and play began. Early on it looked as if the Rangers were having a tough time psychologically. The hobbits were quite aggressive and their opponents seemed unwilling to meet them head on, as they had in fact spent so many years protecting the hobbits from all manner of people and beasts. But at the 24 minute mark Ted Sandyman "accidentally" tripped one of the Fornost midfielders right onto his face, and this seemed to rile Fornost up enough to take the initiative. At 33 minutes Arathorn headed in a nice curving corner by Arahad and Fornost was up 1-0.

Immediately after the half the hobbits got the ball down in front of the Fornost goal, and after a couple of possession changes in which Fornost failed to get the ball away from their goal, Fatty led Merry with a nice pass right in front of the goal. Merry barely beat the goalie to the ball and managed to poke it away from him and then chip it in to equalize.

Neither team had great opportunities the rest of the game. At the 67 minute mark Fornost scored what would be the final goal of the game- Arahael redirected a pass from Arasuil. The only other occurrence of interest was at minute 61 when Fatty received a Yellow Card for wearing the wrong jersey. Instead of reading his name across the back, the jersey read "Frodo Baggins".

"We thought it might confuse the other team, and throw them off the scent of what we were up to," said Merry after the game. "Unfortunately we got caught. Oh well- at least we tried."

Fornost 2-1 Michel Delving
shots 12-12
on target 5-4
GOALS:
*Fornost, 33 (Arathorn- Arahad)
*MD, 48 (Merry- Fatty)
*Fornost, 67 (Arahael- Arasuil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Fornost- Arador
*Michel Delving- Ted, Fatty, Gerontius

Much of the crowd left to get some food after the first game, but they returned in force quickly and the stadium was soon filled, and even overflowing into the aisles. There was much to talk about before the game.

Would Aragorn, Valandil, and Boromir be in awe of their forefathers? How would Elrond feel playing against the Elf-Friends from his own brother's kingdom? Were Elrond, Celeborn, and others still upset with Isildur for not destroying the Ring when he had the chance? And how would all of this impact them heading into the game?

But soon the time for discussion was over and play was under way. It was immediately obvious that it would be a defensive struggle. Time and time again when the ball made its way towards a goal the field cluttered up, the ball was surrounded, and soon the ball was headed in the other direction. Both sides competed hard, and though there was plenty of bumping and jostling both teams tried to keep things clean.

Just before the half Elendil managed to knock down a long pass and poked the ball ahead to a sprinting Isildur who had managed to get a step on Erestor. Celeborn came up to contest the pass and all three players collided, but Isildur somehow kept his feet as the other two fell and he blasted a shot to the top far corner of the goal. But Elrond guessed right on the kick and put just enough of a hand on the ball to deflect it up and over the crossbar.

Early in the second half Rivendell got their first real chance, but Boromir's rocket was tipped aside by Amandil. At minute 67 Tar Palantir sent in a beautiful corner and Elendil headed it into the empty net in front of him, but Elrond again came diving out of nowhere to bat the shot aside. The Romena section which had started to stand to cheer the goal sat back down with a groan.

Finally in minute 74 Rivendell broke the tie. Aragorn threaded a pass into Glorfindel, and Glorfindel put a spin move on his defender, faked a quick shot at the near post, and then floated the ball high to the opposite corner over the goalie who had bit on the fake. The crowd roared, quite certain that their defense could hold for 15 more minutes to clinch the victory. And hold they did. The Rivendell players left the field heads held high, knowing that they were in the driver's seat for the playoffs.

Rivendell 1-0 Romena
shots 6-8
on target 2-3
GOALS:
*Rivendell, 74 (Glorfindel- Aragorn)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Rivendell- Valandil
*Romena- Tar Aldarion, Tar Surion

[Nogrod]

The first game of the second round in Edoras was a real deathmatch between two teams that had lost their first games. A defeat in this game would practically end all the hopes for the losing side whereas a win today would keep everything in their own hands (a win in the last match would qurantee them a place in the next round).

Both coaches had clearly pressed the point as the teams played an outstandingly offensive game providing entertainment for a full house of football fans gathered to the stadium. It was a hot afternoon for the goalies on both ends of the field.

Like in its first game Mirkwood took the control of the game in the beginning with an aggressive playing style. The pressure lead to an early lead already on the 9th minute when Legolas headed the ball in from a corner by Thranduil.

Mirkwood never gave away the control of the game but with the individual skill of its few players and even some luck the Breeland team managed to stay in the game keeping the Mirkwood defense at its toes.

After quite a low key performance in the first game The Barrow Wight started showing his qualities and Tom Bombadill demonstrated why he’s thought to be one the best forwards there is in the northern Middle Earth. The Mirkwood side relied much more to a team effort as they seem to be having – against all expectations – quite a balanced team who despite the racial tensions seems to be quite proud and willing to play together for their homeland.

After Barrow Wight’s sensational cannonball he shot from 35 meters brought the game even, the Mirkwood team’s pressure led them to a lead once again before the half time after Grishnakh was passed free in to the box by a nice pass by Legolas.

But Breeland did hang on and equalized the game again after the second half of the game had been played for only four minutes. The dynamic duo of The Barrow Wight and Tom Bombadill fooled the whole Mirkwood defence and Tom ended it with a ferocious kick from his much feared yellow boot.

Mirkwood continued pressing and took the lead the third time at 64th minute. Nob was forced to tackle Legolas as he was about to break free from which he was rightly shown a yellow card. Grimbeorn shot the free kick hitting the post. Scatcha who had excelled in the first match was the first one to get to the ball and he hammered it past Old Man Willow who had no chance to readjust his position.

Many thought the game was packed but they were wrong. The duo BW & Tom did it once again. At less than ten minutes of the game left they forced their way through the Mirkwood defence and silenced it’s supporters by bringing the game even for the third time.

The crowd was entertained with great performances and a lot of goals and excitement, and both teams still had their dream alive of making it to the second round of matches. The somewhat feared clashes between the supporters of Breelanders (who called the Mirkwoodians “eastern mongrels”) and Mirkwood fans (who called the Breelanders “bun-hearted westerners”) happily never took place as both team and their supporters seemed to be happy with the result.

Breeland 3-3 Mirkwood
shots 14-19
on target 7-10
GOALS:
*Mirkwood, 9 (Legolas- Thranduil)
*Breeland, 24 (Barrow Wight- Ferny)
*Mirkwood, 38 (Grishnakh- Legolas)
*Breeland, 49 (Tom- Barrow Wight)
*Mirkwood, 64 (Scatha- Grimbeorn)
*Breeland, 81 (Tom- Barrow Wight)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Breeland- Sardoc, Nob
*Mirkwood- Galion, Grimbeorn, Lagduf

Many were afraid that the winners of the first leg of matches would be playing it safe today against each other. But they were proved wrong as soon as the game started. Both teams fought fiercely for every ball and tried to shoot always they had even the slightest chance of doing it.

The Tol-In-Gaurhoth team gave the home crowd shock-treatment by taking the lead already at the 8th minute. Sauron passed the ball backwards with his heel like he knew the phantom was breaking free. The phantom seldom misses a one on one with the goal keeper and it was no different this day.

With the backing of a roaring crowd the home team stood up and started to fight back. With Eorl controlling the team play Edoras rolled over the middle field and came nearer and nearer scoring a goal. After 31 minutes of play Eomer finally exploded the stadium with the equalizer they deserved. Just before the half time the crowd went totally mad as Eorl himself booted the ball in from in front of the goal after a nice pass by Eowyn.

The crowd sang songs of victory through the intermission.

But the Tol-In-Gaurhoth team was not ready to surrender that easily and from the very first minutes of the second half on, that became clear to the homeside fans as well. T-I-G forced the Edoras team to run for their lead by passing the ball ever faster and as both teams continued the hard game the home team started to wear down as the game went on. This was clearly visible in the number of bookings the homeside received in the second period.

At 59th minute T-I-G got it’s earned equalizer as Formendacil headed irresistibly a free kick given by Eomer in. The hometeam tried to turn into offence once more but it had clearly lost its legs and after just defending the beginning of the second period it seemed hard to them to change the tempo and focus of their play – even if Eorl’s great individual play gave some hard times to T-I-G defence.

And so it happened that at the 78th minute the amazing duo Sauron – the phantom whose passes seemed to find each other every time they were on offence together silenced the crowd once and for all by giving the T-I-G the lead.

Edoras threw in all it had to throw during the last minutes but the T-I-G team-defence held and the visitors took the valuable points.

With the win Tol-In-Gaurhoth secured it’s place in the second round of games that start after the group-phase. The enthusiasm could be seen in the faces of the many T-I-G supporters caught by the cameras after the final whistle. Mormegil, Feanor of the Peredhil and Boromir LXXXVIII (not to be muddled up with Boromir I or Boromir II) were passing a bottle of sparkling wine and singing while Valier and Naria were blowing empty ones trying to dance at the same time.


Edoras 2-3 Tol-In-Gaurhoth
shots 18-16
on target 8-8
GOALS:
*TIG, 8 (the phantom- Sauron)
*Edoras, 31 (Eomer- Theodred)
*Edoras, 43 (Eorl- Eowyn)
*TIG, 59 (Formendacil- Eomer)
*TIG, 78 (Sauron- the phantom)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Edoras- Brytta, Aldor, Eowyn, Frealaf, Eomer
*TIG- Cailin, Formendacil, Thuringwethil


----------------------
B EDORAS

Mirkwood – Tol in Gaurhoth 2-3
Breeland – Edoras 2-3

Breeland – Mirkwood 3-3
Edoras – Tol in Gaurhoth 2-3


1. Tol in Gaurhoth 6-4 6pts
2. Edoras 5-5 3pts
3. Breeland 5-6 1pt
4. Mirkwood 5-6 1pt

The last matches:
Mirkwood – Edoras
Tol in Gaurhoth – Breeland

[Nogrod]

Like in Edoras, also in Osgilath the afternoon match was one between the losing teams of the first leg. But there the similarities seemed to come to an end. For as the crowds really got entertainment for their money in Edoras, there’s not much to tell the next generations about the match between Lothlorien and Umbar. Especially the Lothlorien team has disappointed both their fans and the great number of football cognoscenti who have bet their money on the team getting through from its group. After today’s match Lorien still has a chance to go forwards but the betting offices are giving one extremely high returns on that prediction.

The game was mostly lazy-paced. The Umbar offence showed some real promise at times but the Lothlorien defence led by Galadriel – which seems to be the only thing working in that team – managed to keep the Umbarians at bay for most of the first half. But just before the half time Nazgul #9 managed to pass the ball to Castamir who gave the southerners the lead with a splendid bicycle-kick even Galadriel was unable to catch.

As their only forward Eldarion was running in shadows Haldir tried to beat his team into making an effort on the second half but was mainly left alone in the offence. Umbar was the more active party on the second half as well but it seemed they were mostly happy with their lead and so most of the game was played in the middle field.

Securing one’s lead has proven a bad idea many times before and so it did this afternoon as well. Lothlorien got the equalizer as Haldir managed to beat his team into a few real efforts. Amroth made a good run at 70th minute and Haldir passed him a long ball behind the Umbar defence. Pelendur at Umbar goal had only needed to catch two shots in the whole game before Amroth’s breakthtrough and was totally unprepared leaving it an easy job for the Lothlorien midfielder to score.

Both teams maintained their chances of qualifying from the group-phase but with these performances it’s more than easy to predict that the evening game’s teams will be more probable ones to qualify.

Lothlorien 1-1 Umbar
shots 11-15
on target 4-7
GOALS:
*Umbar, 41 (Castamir- Nazgul #9)
*Lothlorien, 70 (Amroth- Haldir)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Lothlorien- Gollum, Rumil, Orophin
*Umbar- Sangahyando, Ulrad, Fastred

The crowd was waiting nervously for the evening match as the Nargothrond team had taken a convincing win over Umbar on the first round and the team was full of legendary players. The Nargothrond roster looked quite intimidating indeed.

Osgiliath took to defending from the opening whistle. It was the tactics they knew and they hoped that Nargothrond would get too confident on offence so that they could strike back with fast counter-attacks. But the Nargothrond team played a very disciplined game and didn’t fall for that so any time they lost the ball on offence they fell immediately back into defence and minimized the chances for any effective counterattacks.

But it was clear from the very beginning which was the team calling the shots in the field. Osgiliath defended bravely like in the old days when they had to do it for real – and like then the opposing forces just ran them over. Glaurung in fact did literally just that as using his size to his advantage he forced his way through the defence and hammered the ball in.

On the second half the script remained more or less the same. Nargothrond still played a highly disciplined game which gave also the Osgiliath team some opportunities to actually build up attacks. And Nargothorond also scored on the second half of the game. But if Glaurung’s goal was just brutal force and brazen aggressiveness then Beren’s and Gwindor’s goal on 60th minute was classy teamwork with a show of talent even the homeside fans had to acknowledge and cheer for.

But the 2-0 lead seemed to relax the Nargothrondian discipline a bit. Awakened with the newly found cheering and singing of the homecrowd the Osgiliath team turned into open offence and started creating some nice opportunities. Those were paid at 72nd minute when Eldacar finally got into a runaway with Falastur against a lonely defender Bregor. He made a late sliding tackle on Falastur who nevertheless managed to pass the ball to Eldacar who then beat Beor on the goal. Bregor was booked with a yellow card afterwards and the homecrowd was wild with joy.

The homeside goal woke the Nargothrond team and they played securely keeping the homeside at bay for the last minutes of the game.

The win for Nargothrond means they’re secured to qualify. Osgiliathians gained a lot of self-confidence after being able to play a decent game against such an opponent a will be hard for Umbar to beat on the last round. And with a win on that game the Ogiliath team qualifies.

Nargothrond 2-1 Osgiliath
shots 10-8
on target 4-2
GOALS:
*Nargothrond, 35 (Glaurung- Finrod)
*Nargothrond, 60 (Beren- Gwindor)
*Osgiliath, 72 (Eldacar- Falastur)
YELLOW CARDS:
Nargothrond- Glaurung, Bregor
Osgiliath- Narmacil


-----------------------
D OSGILIATH

Nargothrond – Umbar 3-1
Lothlorien – Osgiliath 0-1

Lothlorien – Umbar 1-1
Nargothrond – Osgiliath 2-1


1. Nargothrond 5-2 6pts
2. Osgiliath 2-2 3pts
3. Lothlorien 1-2 1pt
4. Umbar 2-4 1pt

The last matches:
Umbar – Nargothrond
Osgiliath – Lothlorien

[the phantom]

--GROUP C--

As the crowds gathered in Doriath, the Noldor who had come to support Formenos were ushered immediately into the controlled atmosphere of the stadium as angry residents of Doriath shouted threats and threw bottles- far too many of the bottles completely empty, "And the threats as well!" remarked one of the Formenos supports.

Though the first round game between Alqualonde and Formenos was a grudge match with ugly history behind it, the crowd did not get out of hand due to the fact that there were fairly even numbers. The Alqualondians dared not attack their foes. But as the games were being hosted in Doriath, their fans had no such population limitations.

Before the first game opened up King Elwe took the field and gave a fine speech. "We were all caught in Melkor's foul web! Even I, your king, sent a man, Beren, purposefully to his death. I am as guilty of murder as the Sons of Feanor! Will you mistreat me?" Elwe continued, asking the crowd to put their hurts behind them, and show themselves to be a wise and goodly people.

In large part the Sindar were calmed, but there remained pockets of drunk unreasonable fans which would surely cause trouble during the second match. But the first match proceeded without any problems, and the crowd was largely on the side of Alqualonde, including King Elwe who cheered his brother on from the stands. Both teams played good solid football the first half, but neither could get on the scoreboard due to a couple of fine saves by both keepers.

But things changed quickly in the second half, as Lindo sent one over to Gil Galad and he went straight around his defender and pounded a goal in as help didn't arrive quick enough. The crowd cheered loudly and Alqualonde, their morale boosted by the goal and the support, went on the attack yet again. The Isengard defense held at first, but at minute 62 Uinen passed the ball to her husband and Osse thundered a powerful kick right between two defenders and into the goal.

Isengard began playing more risky after that, but it paid off at minute 71 as Ugluk received a pass and beat two defenders to an open shot and cut the lead to 2-1. But that was all that Saruman's team could muster, as Saruman himself was for nearly the entire game shadowed by Frodo who frustrated the wizard time and time again.

Alqualonde 2-1 Isengard
shots 12-10
on target 6-5
GOALS:
*Alqualonde, 47 (Gil Galad- Lindo)
*Alqualonde, 62 (Osse- Uinen)
*Isengard, 71 (Ugluk- Quickbeam)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Alqualonde- Elwing
*Isengard- Deor, Ugluk

As Formenos took the field for the second game, bottles and even a few knives came flying out of a couple of sections close to the tunnel. As the guards converged on the problem areas the Formenos team perplexingly did a lap around the field, staying rather close to the crowd the entire time, though keeping their faces turned away. Several times they passed a trouble spot and objects flew at them, and the guards in that area would converge and arrest the offending parties. When they finished the lap they were battered and bruised, and many of them cut, looking in no condition to play, though at least the worst fans had been found out and removed.

But then eleven more players wearing Formenos uniforms trotted out of the tunnel, shook hands with the squad already on the field, and the first group went back to the locker room. The confused referee made his way over to the Formenos bench, and there he was informed that the first group had merely been decoys wearing Formenos uniforms sent out to reveal the worst behaved fans and get them arrested.

And then Doriath took the field. The crowd whooped and hollered, certain that their King and Queen, aided by some of the finest players in the kingdom, could deliver a win.

Formenos took possession and passed the ball around the midfield, and the crowd still cheered. They pushed the ball into the offensive zone and passed it around, and Doriath could not get the ball away from them, and the crowd grew slightly quieter. At the ten minute mark Maedhros boomed a scary kick just over the crossbar and things grew quieter still. Doriath took possession a couple of times but were not able to cross midfield, and the crowd noise lowered to a murmur.

Aredhel passed to Feanor and he lined a kick up that Melian barely tipped in order to make it hit the sidebar and rebound away. The crowd grew silent for a moment, but Doriath pushed the ball away from the goal and the crowd began building up a cheer. And then at the 22 minute mark Feanor stole a pass, put a move on a defender and ran into the right side of the box. Two defenders and Melian converged and at the last minute Feanor sent a behind the back heel pass out in front of the far post, and his eldest son Maedhros came sprinting in from the side and slid into the pass and pushed it across the goal line with him.

The crowd watched in silence (apart from the small Noldorin section) for the next several minutes, as Formenos continued to control play. Doriath twice took shots at the goal, but they were prayers from a considerable distance that did not disturb Huan in the least.

At minute 37 Maedhros broke free and pounded a monster kick directly at Melian, betting she'd guess one way or the other. But instead she held her ground and stopped it. But so forceful was the kick that she was unable to control it, and the ball got away from her, and first to it was Aredhel who wasted no time in chipping the ball into the open net in front of her. The crowd merely stared as Formenos went into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

As the second half began, it was apparent that Formenos was happy with their lead and more than willing to conserve energy and just play keep-away with the ball in their own zone. They were largely successful until the 68th minute, when Daeron managed to get a toe on a pass and deflect it forward. Mablung snagged the deflection and got a pass through to Elwe, who quickly hung one up for Beleg to head in. But Huan ran out to cut off the angle and took Beleg's shot directly to the midsection and then jumped on the ball before anyone could get the rebound.

Feanor ran back and berated the Formenos defenders and they really picked up their play after that, never allowing Doriath to have possession in the front part of the field. Some of the depressed crowd actually began filing out with fifteen minutes still left in the game, and because of it they missed their team's only goal, though it wasn't anything to be proud of. Mablung sent a hard shot at the goal and, as seen on the replay, it ricocheted off Beleg's shoulder, completely changing course, and Huan could not prevent it from sneaking in off the sidebar.

Gifted with a chance to pull the game even, Doriath immediately tried to push the ball into the forward zone, but Formenos, taking no chances now, sent the ball down the field to their skilled up front players, and Formenos held the ball in Doriath's half for the remainder of the game to take firm control of Group C.

Doriath 1-2 Formenos
shots 7-15
on target 3-8
GOALS:
*Formenos, 22 (Maedhros- Feanor)
*Formenos, 37 (Aredhel- Maedhros)
*Doriath, 82 (Beleg- Mablung)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Doriath- Daeron, Saeros, Elwe
*Formenos- Caranthir, Feanor