Arda Cup Football 2010

[Nogrod]

So it was true. Behind all the general buzz around the Arda Cup and all the renovation going on Utumno had been rebuilt! Or re-dug. And like before, Melkor had managed to do it without the other Valar having the faintest idea what he was up to.

The Barren wasteland was reforested but it was growing more of moss and swamp than any of Yavanna’s beautiful creation.

Despite the intimidating journey to Utumno, the scary entry into the fortress and the bone-chilling architecture more than twenty-thousand diehard football fans and Gelion supporters braved the journey through the gates of Utumno and into the stadium a mile under the mountains. There were more than sixty-thousand orcs and other creatures of darkness there filling the rest of the seats cheering for the home team with drums, horns, fireworks, chants in dark language, screams, roars, fire and smoke…

Gelion showed respectful courage in the game and during the first half-hour they managed to freeze the game completely. Despite the efforts of Tilion and Gothmog Gelion defences held. Some Gelion supporters even started to hope that the growing frustration of the home team might after all lead them to pick cards and thus there opening chances for team Gelion to score. And like an answer to their prayers Melkor took a card from roughing. Beren had stolen the ball from him just as he was about to shoot, and when he caught the man there was Luthien running away with the ball. Melkor snapped taking Beren from his legs more or less intending to rip him in pieces. But the referee saw it all and happily for Beren blew his whistle in time.

But as soon as the hope had been kindled it was mercilessly killed. Tilion sent an angry shot towards the goal and hit the post only to be picked by Gothmog who just threw the defenders away from him and rammed the ball into the net with such might that Dior had no wish to stand in between the ball and the goal.

The second half was more or less the same. Gelion played bravely but it was clear which team controlled the ball and the game. Gelion had a few nice build-ups on the second half but in the end they only managed one shot towards Utumno’s goal and Ungoliant had no problems whatsoever to keep her goal untouched. On the other end of the pitch Melkor made it 2-0 on sixty minutes with a nice header from around the penalty-spot. Scoring despite Luthien trying to stop him seemed to make Melkor quite happy indeed.

So the game ended quite the way it had been anticipated. Gelion stood bravely but fell in the end to a superior team. No has yet scored a goal against Utumno.

Gelion 0-2 Utumno
tot shots 4-12
on target 1-6
GOALS:
*34, 0-1 Gothmog (Tilion)
*61, 0-2 Melkor (Gothmog)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Gelion- Bereg, Azaghal, Haldad
*Utumno- Balrog #2, Melkor

[skip spence]

The fair city of Tirion upon Tuna was the venue for this highly anticipated derby of the Undying Realm, a real prestige-match between the Ainur and the Noldor. This was also a clash of contrasting styles. Whereas hosts Tirion had a tradition of playing very offensive and attractive football, sometimes to the point of recklessness, their opponents Aman usually relied on a slow-paced and cautious game of possession football and on a miserly defence.

Too often in the past this strategy had made the Valar-led team vulnerable however, as they've struggled to change game-plan and really threaten in attack if their opponents had managed to score first. After a fair amount of criticism team captain Orome had addressed this issue by making the concessions necessary to sign Ar-Pharazon, one of the most feared strikers in the game. This came as a surprise to many fans and pundits as the Numenorian hit-man had been one of the most outspoken critics of how the game was played by the Valar, but his arrival had certainly added a well needed edge to Aman’s game in the Round Robin. At the pre-match press-conference many questions were thus directed at the striker and he was asked why he had signed for Aman and what his expectations were of the tournament. He answered:

”Simple question. I’m here to win the Arda Cup. No player has won back-to-back championships. If we win this year I will become immortal.” At this point Aman captain Orome looked rather uneasy. “You mean legendary, right?”, he said. “Quite so, quite so”, replied Ar-Pharazon with a rather annoyed look on his face.

Tirion however were tipped to win here at their home field where conditions favoured their highly technical and attacking approach to game. Every single strand of green grass on the pitch was in mint condition to avoid the risk that the ball might take an irregular bounce and ruin it for the home-team, and the stadium was filled to the brim with enthusiastic supporters. Prior to the match some pundits had pointed out that the Aman defence was not quite as solid as it used to be this year after the departure of Manwe, but then again, their offence had also improved. With Tirion being the top scorers of the tournament this affair therefore promised lots of goals, and the crowd was not disappointed in this respect.

As the match got underway Tirion immediately went on the attack, and Feanor had a good early effort palmed away by Nienna. But the defensive shortcomings of the home team once again became apparent as Turgon was allowed to challenge the ball almost unopposed on a corner-kick, and his header towards the far post was flicked in by Nahar from two yards out. The home fans shook their heads in disbelief. In three of the four matches so far they had fallen behind early on to rather preventable goals. For how long would they remain unpunished by this negligence?

Any such question-marks were quickly forgotten as the home team soon overwhelmed the Aman defence, attacking with all ten outfielders on the pitch with great movement and pin-point passing accuracy. And only minutes after falling behind Tirion was level again. A breathtaking move where Tirion made more than 40 uninterrupted passes was capped off by a well taken finish from Finwe, the Tirion captain, assisted by his extraordinary son Feanor.

Tirion kept on attacking furiously, but then Orodreth made a mistake turning the ball over to Finarfin and Aman was suddenly on a break four against two. The Elf advanced with the ball straight down the centre towards in the gap between the two remaining defenders, and when Amras finally felt he had to step in to interfere with the run, Finarfin simply played the ball out wide where Ar-Pharazon came storming forward. The striker took a great first touch and with a delightful chip he beat the onrushing Aule in goal. Aman was into the lead once again and the numerous Ainur fans present celebrated wildly.

But Tirion just kept at it, losing none of its composure. Few has seen a side this confident going forward, and with the breathtaking skill of Feanor, Miriel, Finwe, Nerdanel among others Aman were soon defending desperately again, falling back almost into the lap of Nienna. And this proved costly as Feanor was allowed space to get a shot in from distance, and he hit it with such venom that not even the cat-like reflexes and agility of Nienna was enough to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net. But Aman was not out of it and Ar-Pharazon had a great chance to score again just before the break, but the Numenorian saw his shot drift just wide of the left hand post.

In the second half Tirion played somewhat more conservatively, with Finwe operating a little bit deeper in midfield and with one wing-back staying back if the other one rushed forward. Perhaps Finwe had told his team that they could simply not afford to concede any more goals if they wanted to win this match? But with players like Feanor on the pitch they remained a potent offensive threat, and not far into the second half, the Fiery Boot scored again. Orodreth got to the by-line and hit a low cross into the box which Nerdanel stepped over, and Feanor following up behind hit the ball crisp and clean straight into the roof of the net from 20 yards. The crowd was ecstatic to finally see their heroes taking the lead.

Aman still had chances to come back but when Miriel scored Tirions forth with less than 20 minutes less to play the match was over. It was an easy finish in the end for the nimble striker, as Nienna had spilled Finwe’s shot right at her feet in front of goal, but that effort will boost the confidence of Miriel, who has been accused of failing to perform in the big matches when it really matters, despite scoring for fun in the group-stage matches.

And so it was. Another 4-2 win for Tirion meant that the Noldor side was qualified for the quarter finals. That night the silver lantern of Ingwe’s lofty tower Mindon Eldaliéva seemed to burn with an added vigour, shining like a bright star far out to sea.

Aman 2-4 Tirion
tot shots 13-18
on target 6-9
GOALS:
*10, 1-0 Nahar (Turgon)
*16, 1-1 Finwe (Feanor)
*24, 2-1 Ar Pharazon (Finarfin)
*38, 2-2 Feanor (Ingwe)
*54, 2-3 Feanor (Orodreth)
*72, 2-4 Miriel (Finwe)
YELLOW CARDS:
Aman- Este, Turgon
Tirion- Indis, Amrod, Feanor

[the phantom]

Doubtless there was no other playoff location that featured such confidence from both sides entering the first round match. Barad-Dur had great talent and was led by a champ from the year before, Sauron, while Gondolin had looked nearly flawless at times this tournament (against Dale, Dol Guldur, and Wold especially).

Barad-Dur supporters were quick to point out that at other times Gondolin hadn't looked so good, but Gondolin fans countered that it hadn't been necessary to go full bore every game and that would leave them better rested for a playoff run. Gondolin also had the advantage of their beautiful home field, but a much larger than expected party from Mordor was there, and a surprising number of them had tickets- certainly more than the original percentage allotment given to the away side. Many of the locals were very upset by this, but there was no foul play involved- simply the very deep pockets of Sauron's kingdom offering too many gold pieces for many ticket holders to resist.

And so it was that the stadium was split only about 60-40 when the highly anticipated match kicked off, and the group of men from Gondor and orcs and trolls from Mordor were making as much noise as the elves. But only for a very short while.

Gondolin came right out of the gate charging hard and looking dangerous, and the players from Barad-Dur and their fans were taken aback. The speed, the precision, the flare- it was simply too much. At eleven minutes Gondolin went up on the scoreboard thanks to Maeglin and Fingoflin and they pressed for more. Just before the half hour mark Aredhel was assisted by her husband, now working together again, and doing so beautifully. Just to make the point, they reversed their order and scored another goal before the half, and it turned into a party in the stands! This was what the elves had come to see!

After the half Barad-Dur made their best push yet, but time and again it was only Sauron who was able to make any progress against the defenders and Huor. In minute 58 he managed with a brilliant long run to save Barad-Dur from the embarrassment of getting shut out, but the three goal margin was quickly reclaimed by the Gondolin midfield tandem of Ecthelion and Glorfindel and Gondolin joyfully and skillfully kicked it around the rest of the game, with Barad-Dur unable to do a thing about it. They were simply outclassed here, and Sauron was sent home to dream up new schemes of claiming another Arda Cup, while Gondolin would advance to face Tirion in what was certain to be one of the most anticipated quarterfinal matches ever in Arda Cup.

Barad-Dur 1-4 Gondolin
tot shots 8-19
on target 4-10
GOALS:
*11, 0-1 Maeglin (Fingolfin)
*29, 0-2 Eol (Aredhel)
*43, 0-3 Aredhel (Eol)
*58, 1-3 Sauron (Isildur)
*65, 1-4 Ecthelion (Glorfindel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barad-Dur- Nazgul #7, Isildur
*Gondolin- Eol, Maeglin

[the phantom]

It was no surprise to Barrow-Downs supporters when their team earned the right to host a first round match. They were a contender every year, after all- one of the elite. But not a dynasty. For that, they had to win some titles first.

Nearly every Downs dwellers could be seen wearing green and gold upon black in the days leading up to the match. The words on their shirts read everything from "Go Downs!" to "This is our year!" to "Hail King Nog!" Gondor was well respresented, but they kept to themselves, wary of the extremely odd population of the Downs. It was a well known fact that many of the Downers changed into werewolves on a regular basis, and the Gondorians weren't anxious to rub elbows with such dangerous folk.

The stadium filled early the day of the match, and an exhibition match was played between many of the Downers who were not on the actual squad. The people of Gondor were astounded by what they saw, as the players on the pitch looked good indeed- good enough to compete in the Arda Cup surely. And these were the back-ups? As the match finished up the sky clouded over and it began to drizzle. The Downers laughed and spread out their arms, clearly enjoying themselves, while the men and women of the south huddled beneath their robes and eyed the Downers, thinking them weirder than ever.

Soon the stadium was filled to the brim and the two playoff squads made their way onto the field, while at the same time the rain really began to pour, and rolling thunder began to be heard in the distance. The home supporters screamed, shouted, blew horns, shook bells, clanged weapons, and beat drums. The noise was just deafening. Team Gondor did their best to take no notice of it, but it was clear that they were a bit taken aback, and were concerned by some of the more insane looking Downers waving huge Barrow-blades around in the air. Captain Nogrod approached the Gondor side and kindly informed them that the Downs crowd, while noisy, was never the sort to do physical violence to the opposition, but right after he left Phantom swept past and added, "Unless you tackle me or Sally too roughly, of course. Then you're all kinds of dead. The crowd really loves us, you see. Especially that group over there with the long bows."

It was almost certainly an idle threat, but as the match began Gondor did look extremely uncomfortable defending against the pair of midfielders, clearly afraid of getting too close. And they paid for the space they allowed 25 minutes in when Sally was allowed to run free down the right side and sent one at the goal. The effort was deflected away by a defender, but Nogrod mopped up the loose ball and the home team was up by one! The rest of the half Gondor did their best to push back, and gained a couple of solid efforts, but the great warg in goal was on guard and in position each time.

During the halftime break the winds picked up and the lightning and thunder increased to a near constant flash and boom. A handful of Gondor fans left their seats for shelter, but the Downs fans stuck around and were not dismayed. As the second half kicked off things got worse, as decent sized pieces of ice began falling from the sky. The players from Gondor looked pleadingly at the refs, but the match went on and soon Gondor was in a two goal hole as Phantom was allowed a lane to approach and sent it off to Wilwa for an easy header.

The crowd grew louder and louder and the hail got larger, and lightning actually struck the Downs goal! The keeper, Eomerwarg, laughed heartily and leaped to the top of the net, waving his hands in a welcoming fashion towards the sky. He wanted another strike! The crowd began chanting, ""Tor-na-do! Tor-na-do!" and as if they were one single force they began running in giant circles around the arena, leaping from chair to chair in their respective rows. The Gondor fans cowered in their seats as the Downs fans whirled over them, stepping on the backs of their seats, armrests, and occasionally their heads. Upon reaching their original seats, the Downers stopped and began chanting again, clearly building up to another rush around the stadium. Gondor supporters turned tail and left- every last one. The conditions were insane, and the players and supporters of the Barrow-Downs were even more insane! They had not signed up for this.

The players from Gondor still tried to fight it out, but after Nogrod scored his second goal (again assisted by a free-roaming Phantom), the fight was out of them. Mercifully the refs called the game early, though it's possible they did not know what the actual time was, as the stadium's clock and scoreboard had been struck by another bolt of lightning and was no longer functioning, and the personal watches of the refs had been battered by hail and invaded by rain. It goes without saying that there was a party of epic proportions that night upon The Barrow-Downs. The people of the realm were crazy to be certain, but the happy sort of crazy.

Barrow-Downs 3-0 Gondor
tot shots 15-8
on target 8-3
GOALS:
*25, 1-0 Nogrod (Sally)
*49, 2-0 Wilwa (Phantom)
*64, 3-0 Nogrod (Phantom)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barrow-Downs- Wilwa, Steve
*Gondor- Eldacar, Fastred

[the phantom]

THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
The Phantom, "The Downer" Sports News

We all know what is going on in the Arda Cup, so I won't waste any time writing about that. It's only the biggest sporting event in Middle Earth! It's receiving plenty of coverage. What I want to talk about is a game withing the game that has been going on here on the Downs. I'm talking about the Arda Cup Phantasy Competition.

If you haven't checked the standings lately, guess who's back on top? None other than the winner from two years ago- Gwathagor. He vowed that he would be back with a vengeance this season, armed with new info and new stats and more dedicated than ever. But while he has been impressive, he has by no means run away from the field.

Only two points behind him is the early round leader and perennial competitor Nogrod. He had a bit of a down round in the playoffs (by his standards), but if that's the only bump in the road he experiences he'll be tough to beat.

Another player behind by mere single digits is none other than the Prince of Predictions- Boromir88. He gained more points than anyone in the first playoff round, thanks in part to his perfect predictions, and opponents fear him getting on a roll. If you'll recall, last year he was just ridiculous at this stage, predicting the exact scores of 7 of the 8 quarterfinal teams correctly! If he catches fire again- look out.

Lurking a dozen points off the leader is Skip Spence, and many think that he is still the favorite at this stage. He's the defending champ, and he loves to wait in the wings and storm to the lead in the final rounds, so he is exactly where he wants to be right now.

Just two points under is the extremely sneaky Nerwen- you don't want to overlook her! With the two former champs plus the co-mods in the front four, it'll be easy for them to focus on each other a bit too much and forget the very real threat of the lady down under.

Now those are the Downers who currently look to be in the best shape right now, but the next ones down- Shasta, McCaber, Sally, and others are technically within striking distance if the leaders mirror each other too much and run into bad luck, while those behind hit their predictions and pick up a few pre-tourney prediction points to put them over the top. Teams Magnum and Ben Jonson however need a downright miracle, as their owners have chosen the odd strategy of leaving disqualified players on the roster rather than replacing them. Perhaps it's a clever ploy of some sort?

But anyway, it looks to be an exciting race to the finish in the game within the game, and it is difficult to say who holds the advantage at this stage. We'll just have to watch and see.

[Nogrod]

We here at the AKM have been looking through different stats and considering the fitness of the key players now as the stakes get higher. Especially we have been looking at the difference between the overall stats versus those of playing against sturdier opponents (the difference between the overall stats vs. the stats from the first play-off round & against the other team going through from the group phase).


Vinyamar – Barrow Downs

The AKM truly acknowledges the criticism made by the Two Towers Network for not taking Vinyamar’s defence seriously enough thus far. It is a solid one and a touch tougher than the BarrowDowns defence. Even if their stats do fall considerably when counting only the tougher matches they are the top of the tournament in defence save for Utumno.

But if Vinyamar looks better in defence then they have little to boast on offence. With Wilwa (3+2) aiding the veterans the phantom (1+4) and Nogrod (5+1) the BD looks clearly the more dangerous side. Their efficiency in scoring is one of the best in the tournament – but they should create more chances to score; only Norbury, Vinyamar and Numenor create less chances! To their relief Vinyamar creates even less scoring opportunities though.

An interesting question also is will Ulmo step up his game when it matters, like he did in the game against Dol Guldur – or can he outscore Nogrod who seems to be in flames scoring twice against Gondor in the first play-off round? And how many reserves the teams have to step in in time of need? On Vinyamar side Idril can surely perform, but especially Tuor and Penlod have been disappointments thus far. How will Fea perform? Or Nerwen? Will Sally find her gusto? Wilwa? the phantom?

Summa summarum: It is a tough game to call. The stats give the BD a slight edge but there are great chances the game ends 1-1 and then it will be a question of individual merit (or failure) to decide the game. Also on that the AKM turns towards the BD as slight favourites – unless the game is decided by a failure in goalkeeping, for there Rôg surely has shown much better quality than Eomerwarg.


Mithrim – Numenor

It is clear Mithrim is the favourite of this game as they tend to score twice the goals Numenor does while letting in the same amount. But there are a few ”buts” one should consider before making any bigger bets on the game.

First of all there is a surprising weakness in the Mithrim team and that is indeed Huan! He has more or less respectable overall saving percentage of 81,8%, but when looking at the tougher matches only the number comes quickly down to 71,4%!

Secondly there is the question of Turín. He has made 4+1 thus far but can be moody as was seen in the last game. So a lot depends on the humour of Turín no one can predict for certain in advance.

But then there is the fact that the Mithrim defence led by Curufin and Celegorm is just a superb one – and add to that the fact that Numenor is the worst offencive team still in the competition and you could start seeing why the scales will turn into Mithrim’s favour. And whatever the problems Mithrim might have with Turín, they have still Beleg and Hurín who can turn games themselves without the unfortunate son.

Summa summarum: Even if Numenor has stepped up their performance as the games have grown older it looks it would take a miracle for them to beat Mithrim. Numenor has a tough defence but it is far from the quality of last year whereas Mithrim boasts a wide range of scoring talent. So in the end it’s more or less maths… Numenor wil not create the chances to test the possibly unsecure Huan but Mithrim wil have chances enough to score once or twice. Mithrim wins 2-0 or 2-1.



Utumno -Norbury

It is clear that Norbury is the number one surprise this year: throwing Valimar out from the games is just a rare treat. It was talked before the tournament that Norbury might get better with their opponents being the sturdy northeners they are, but few would have guessed they would end up in the quarterfinals. So next target Utumno?

Without downplaying the great descendants of even greater men it is hard to see them beating Utumno. They will force Utumno to play it for real and Melkor will not have it easy this time. Gothmog’s waking-up in the last game promises good for the Utumno team – and if Tilion can come back with the drive he had in the first games… well then it is goodbye to Norbury how brave they ever are.

Really. No one thought they would beat Valimar but it was a possibility. But by all means Utumno looks ten times sharper this year than Valimar. Ungoliant has a clean sheet thus far and it remains to be seen whether Araphor can break that spell, but it looks clear he cannot score two goals which Utumno will probably make.

Summa summarum: Norbury gave spice to these games and they really made a difference but Utumno is just too big and ugly for them.


Gondolin – Tirion

Had it been any other team facing them on the quarterfinals the AKM would have wished team Tirion the best luck to the final. But of all teams Gondolin will be the nightmare to Tirion and the game will be a real treat. There’s no saying who will win this one.

Tirion’s weaknesses can be summed up in three words: defence, defence, defence. Thus far they have outscored all their opponents, but now they face a team that can both defend and score. Tirion’s strength can be summed up in four words: Feänor (4+3), Finwë (4+3), Miriel (4+2) and Nerdanel (2+4).

Meanwhile back in the jungle Gondolin beat Barad Dûr 4-1 in the first play-off match coming back to their astonishing performances they made during the friendlies. So they too can score four goals in a game but unlike Tirion they always defend effectively: the difference in goals allowed between the two teams is astonishing indeed. But to be frank, it is also true that looking at Gondolin’s games against tougher teams Huor’s performance isn’t that spectacular anymore (even if it’s still better than Aulë’s).

Summa summarum: The AKM thinks both the teams should be in the semifinals but now it clearly is impossible: a great team will be relinguished after this game. The game will end either 1-1 or 2-2 and it will go on overtime. On overtime either team can win, but if it goes to the penalties the AKM predicts that Tirion’s phenomenal shooting capability will outdo any defect in Aulë’s goalkeeping. But it will be anybody’s call.

[the phantom]

There are a lot of competitive juices flowing regarding the Downs Phantasy Challenge. Here are just a few quotes from some of the participants taken from their weekly media meeting.

Boromir88- Highest point output last round, baby! I'm on a roll. Come next round, that point lead is MINE!

Magnum- Well, darn it! Why didn't anyone tell me my players were out of the tournament!

Shasta- I'm going to come back and win this thing. I have forseen it.

Eonwe- I'm totally going to win the award for coolest team name. And I'm going to beat Morm, if it's the last thing I do.

Morm- I'm going to stomp Steve into the ground. Heck- I'll use my modding skills and edit his posts to give him a really garbage squad.

Fea/Nienna- Great performance last round from us. We're totally going to pass Eomer, Morm, and Steve. And this is our first time! We're just naturals at this.

McCaber- The Next-to-Last Alliance is determined not to live up to their name and finish next to last.

Wilwa- Muffins smash cupcakes any day of the week! Muffins don't need frosting to be awesome. Muffins have substance!

Sally- Muffins are for every day. Cupcakes are super special, for special stuff, and they get decorated cool. Muffins can go jump in the blender for all I care.

Eomer- Is there seriously only one Warg in this tournament? Ridiculous. They're clearly the best footballers in Middle-Earth.

Gwath- Guess who's back on top, people! Um, no, not Nog. Nope, not Boro eith- NO not Skip. I was trying to imply that- NOOO, it's NOT Saucepan Man. IT'S ME!!! ME!!!

Skip- I'm right where I want to be- comfortably within striking distance, and strike I will! Remember, the Phantasy trophy is sitting in my living room. I'm still the champ.

Lari- I know you people think I'm crazy for leaving "dead" players on my team, but when all the current playoff squads get disqualified for using banned substances, their points will be voided out and the teams will be replaced with teams featuring MY players. Ha! Crazy like a fox.

Nogrod- I've been leading the whole way, and it took a terrible round for me to drop into second. No worries. I'll be back on top in no time.

Nerwen- Let those boys think they've got this thing. It'll only make it hurt worse when I slip past them at the end. Mwu ha ha ha ha!!!