Arda Cup Football 2010

[the phantom]

Monster Magazine
Ruharg the Red, dragon of the Withered Heath

Well, I managed to go 6 out of 8 in the first round folks. Not terrible, but I hope to do better this time around. But really- who could have fortold that Norbury victory over Valimar? And as far as Vinyamar over Dol Guldur, well- I'll admit when I'm wrong. I undersold the tenacity of Mount Taras. Ulmo definitely has it going more than some of his passive cousins in Valinor, and Osse and Rog definitely have the fire and swagger. But-

Barrow-Downs 2-1 Vinyamar (overtime)

Though I admit I undersold the defense, I don't think Vinyamar has what it takes up front to score on the Warg keeper from the Downs and the experienced defense in front of him. Though they aren't Werewolves this year, I think they still have some of the same attitude and aggression, and I trust they'll get the job done. And even the Vinyamar defense won't be able to stop the scorers from the Downs forever.

Mithrim 3-0 Numenor

Numenor is the defending champ, has great team work, blah blah blah- they don't have that extra something! But Mithrim does. Turin has the will and rage that it takes to dominate in the playoffs, and so does daddy Hurin. Celegorm and Curufin are underhanded schemers and know how to make things move, one way or another. And the reaction and speed of Huan in goal is just unmatched.

Utumno 3-0 Norbury

Don't make me laugh. Melkor has one of the baddest collection of monsters ever, and he's got them under just enough control where they don't make silly mistakes. This team is going all the way.

Gondolin 3-2 Tirion

This is the match that everyone is looking forward too, and I can see the appeal (two teams very capable of scoring), but I think this match is ultimately pointless. The winner isn't going to get past Utumno. But for what it's worth, I think Gondolin comes out on top here due to them being overall the hardier, more fiery, and more competitive squad. Maeglin isn't afraid to betray a kingdom for his wants, and Eol will go to extreme lengths to take what is his. Ecthelion has guts certainly- the guy stabbed a balrog with his head! And Glorfindel dueled one on a peak. Fingolfin demanded a one-on-one with the most powerful being in Arda. Feanor can't overcome all of that surely.

Westernesse Weekly
Ar-Tar-Aradil of Numenor

Seven out of eight matches right last round! Looks like my theory about playing "mannish" football was correct. Let's see if I can keep it going.

Vinyamar 1-0 Barrow-Downs

It's a shame these two have to meet here, as I think both have the potential to go all the way. Vinyamar has played things properly ever since the friendlies, and the Downers have been winning me over as of late, proving that their reckless Werewolf days are behind them, and that they are dedicated to playing a mistake-free team based game. This game will be a beauty to watch (for those who truly appreciate the game), and in the end I think Vinyamar will be able to protect their goal by holding the ball for large portions of the game, and that their defense will be up for the challenge when they are tested.

Numenor 2-1 Mithrim

Now this one is really tough to call. I think Mithrim has the edge when it comes to talent, but Numenor has the champ attitude and the experience edge. Tar Telperien and friends should be able to slow down Turin and friends enough for Tar Atanamir to hold their score down, and I believe that Ar Adunakhor, Elros, and company at the other end can get one past Huan with their execution and saavy. The question is, who gets the deciding goal? I give the edge to Numenor, but it could go either way.

Norbury 2-1 Utumno

They shocked the world once. Why not twice? Remember two years ago Araphor, Arvedui, and others were playing for Annuminas and were placed in a group with Valimar and Angband, and they unexpectedly tied them both. This is a chance to repeat history, only replacing the ties with wins. These guys play well together and aren't intimidated by anyone, and won't give Utumno anything easy. I believe Norbury will frustrate Melkor's squad and cause them to make mistakes- pressing too hard, getting carded, etc.

Gondolin 3-2 Tirion

Both of these teams have talent coming out of the ears, and so in the end I think the team that wins is the squad that plays entirely together and stays in control of things. Feanor is notoriously streaky, and Miriel tends to fade away when things get tough, and the defense tends to focus on offense too much unless they have the lead. Now- if Tirion goes up by two early, then the game is over, but it's the same for Gondolin, and I like their chances better in a tie game going down to the wire, as Tirion's pushing tends to get them in trouble.

[the phantom]

The great arena by the docks of Eglarest was filled to the brim and even a bit beyond for the highly anticipated match between Mithrim and Numenor. The team from Numenor was largely the same team that had won the title the year before, while Mithrim was perhaps the most statistically dominant squad in this year’s tournament thus far.

Men and Elves had flocked down from the north to support the house of Hurin and the sons of Feanor, while an equal sized armada from Numenor streamed in from the west. Locals wished to see the contest, but there were very few willing to hold onto their tickets in the face of the prices they were being offered. In the end there were equal numbers of fans from both sides (around 35,000 each), and about 5,000 Elves from the Havens mixed in (and that isn’t counting the individuals who snuck in to stand in the aisles, or somehow managed to climb to the top of the walls surrounding the stadium).

Everyone was looking forward to seeing a hard fought game, but in the early minutes it looked as if they’d be disappointed. Mithrim came out extremely flat and Numenor owned the ball for the first 20-plus minutes, earning a couple of great opportunities that were barely turned aside by the great hound of Valinor, Huan. The valiant hound barked at his defense to get it together, and as time neared half an hour Mithrim finally got things on course and started shutting down the Numenor attack, and soon had the ball on the attack.

In minute 32 the deadlock was finally broken thanks to a brilliant run by Turin and Beleg. The best buds worked together as one entity, taking it right down the middle on the counter and putting it in for the lead. Numenor tried to swing things back their direction by upping the effort, but the sons of Feanor were by this point fully on top of things and Numenor simply did not have the speed or energy to attack them, and the half ended 1-0.

In the second half it was clear from the start that Mithrim was only getting better, while Numenor did not have that higher gear to kick it into. After building several nice attacks, fifteen minutes in Mithrim struck again, this time on a long-range thundering strike from Hurin, who, as usual, shouted “Day shall come again!” as he drove it home.

For the final half hour Mithrim went into a more conservative mode, holding the ball brilliantly and stopping every attack cold. Numenor simply did not have a player with the game-breaking ability necessary to kick the door down and storm the castle. As the final minutes ran off the clock the Numenor fans filed out, knowing the defeat was inevitable. The loss of Tar Minastir, Ar Pharazon, and Sauron was just too much to make up, or at least it was when playing a highly skilled and on fire team like Mithrim.

Mithrim was through to the semis!

Mithrim 2-0 Numenor
tot shots 12-8
on target 6-4
GOALS:
*32, 1-0 Beleg (Turin)
*60, 2-0 Hurin (Morwen)
YELLOW CARDS:
Mithrim- Hurin, Celegorm, Gelmir
Numenor- Tar Meneldur, Ar Zimrathan, Ar Adunakhor

[Nogrod]

There were some eyebrows raised when the MEFA authorities announced that the quarterfinal between Utumno and Norbury would be played at Utumno. The official explanation was that there were more seats available in Utumno than in Amon Sûl and all the other venues around were either taken (for pop-concerts, chivalry-games or horse-shows) or not allowing in a high-enough number of spectators.

The cynics were fast to make their points on various websites about MEFA paying back Melkor’s help in dealing with the problems at Goblin Town or then being pressured by him to stage the game at his own pit through any imaginable way of blackmail, corruption or threat; but the given reasons seemed to hold most of the criticism at bay. Still most of the “goodie” print-media thought of it as an outrage, even if Melkor promised a third of the seats to be reserved for those calling themselves goodies.


Prime time interview with Melkor, exclusive for the AKM.

The AKM: Anything you’d want to say about the MEFA decision to let you host this game?

Melkor: Actually no. The hosting of the games is the business of the MEFA and not me. I’m here to discuss about the game, not the location.

AKM: But don’t you think the location affects the game as well? It would be differen….

Melkor: Don’t you understand basic Westron? If you have something to ask about the game then get on with it, if not, then hush!

AKM: Well, okay… You are meeting the wonderboys of this year’s tournament. Do you feel they can threat you and your team?

Melkor: I’ve lived long enough not to underestimate anyone – what happened to my servant Sauron and so forth – but this time? No I don’t think so.

AKM: But they did beat Valimar? I would bet you were counting on meeting Valar in this game instead of the northern Dunedain. Don’t you give them credit for that?

Melkor: Yeah, they beat the blah-blahs… no big deal. Valimar looked decisive and whatever but they were playing a sissy game and it was just right they got beaten… although you seem to imply that I would have liked to drop them off the tournament personally?

AKM: Erm… well, kind of… So you’re mad at the Norbury team and will play rough on them?

Melkor: Hah, just wait and see. Football is more sophisticated than that.

AKM: So what is your sophisticated plan for the game then?

Melkor: Quite simple, really. First of all, once again we start from the defence and will not let them score, and that means taking Araphor out. Tilion will have a special duty today. Secondly we will overwhelm them in the mid-field; that is their weakest part and there we will strike turning the possession of the field to us. And thirdly, we’ll put some pressure on their defences, especially on Arveleg and Amlaith who seem to be their weakest links. We’ll score a few goals and give Ungoliant one more shut-out without stressing our players too much so that we’ll all be fit for the semis.

AKM: You seem confident enough…

Melkor: Naturally.

AKM: But you're wasting your best scorer Tilion into a guard-role? How will he take it?

Melkor: It's none of your bussiness. The interview is over.


Reasonable evil tops lame-duck goodies

Melkor’s plan seemed to bite to the detail. Tilion took Araphor under personal guardship following him everywhere he went and blocking all the lines of passing the ball for him. It was clear Araphor was getting frustrated of his personal guard but as that guard was of the quality he was, there was little he could do about it as long as Tilion didn’t break the rules… and he didn’t. Tilion played it super-cool. Araphor tried his best to upset him - some say he even tried to nauseate him with references to the role he had been given - but Tilion stayed calm all the game following Araphor the whole 90 minutes. No goals to Araphor and he didn't get to touch the ball but a few times, mainly ending up losing it to Tilion.

In the post-game press conference Tilion was quite careful with his words: "As the steersman of the Moon I'm used to following a premeditated path and not claiming individual freedom. It was no problem to me."

It was also pretty clear from the beginning that the mid-field of Argeleb, Tarcil, Valandil and Malbeth were no match for the opposing quartet of Balrog #5, Tevildo, Thuringwethil and Melkor. So the possession of the ball stayed with Utumno most of the time as the Norburyans just had difficulties to advance over the mid-field.

And laying pressure on Arveleg and Amlaith seemed to be pure genius. Already on the 18th minute Thuringwethil - in her vampire-mode - was breaking free just from beside Arveleg and being late he was forced to tackle him down against the rules just a few meters from the box.

It was actually one of the nicest goals in the tournament thus far. Tilion made a fake run to the ball jumping over it and Tevildo ran behind taking the shot – but it was not a shot but a quick diagonal pass to the left where Gothmog had advanced behind the defenders and had an easy job to put the ball in.

When Thuringwethil added the hometeam’s lead to 2-0 before the halftime it seemed the fighting spirit of the dunedain was lost.

They tried to make a comeback on the second half but the tough midfield shut away the passes and without Araphor the dunedain seemed weaponless. And that they were. Utumno played it easy the whole second half, saving the energy of their players but still keeping the Norbury attacks at bay. In the end Norbury only managed two shots on goal and those were easy for Ungoliant to catch. She is still keeping her goal untouched!

The homecrowds were pleased althoughthey would have loved a parade of goals. But as Melkor said - and which sounds reasonable - Utumno was clearly holding back and saving energy to the semifinal where they would meet either Gondolin or Tirion.

The critics say that will be the first real match Utumno has to play. Be what it may, Ungoliant has been just stupefying thus far - with the aid if the tight Utumno defence in front of her not allowing the opponents to shoot too much in the first place.

Norbury 0-2 Utumno
tot shots 5-14
on target 2-7
GOALS:
*18, 0-1 Gothmog (Telvildo)
*33, 0-2 Thuringwethil (Balrog #3)
YELLOW CARDS:
Norbury- Amlaith, Arveleg
Utumno- Telvildo, Balrog #1

[the phantom]

The old Michel Delving stadium had been selected as the neutral site for the showdown between The Barrow-Downs and Vinyamar, and the hobbits were pleased indeed. Hobbits in general have never been invested in football to the same degree as Men, Elves, and Orcs, but they simply love big events- anything that provides an excuse for feasting and drinking.

As expected it was the fans from Vinyamar arriving first- an enthusiastic mix of Noldor, Teleri, Edain, and Dwarves. Many of them had little experience with hobbits and were keen on enjoying the trip and the hosts to the fullest extent. The Downer supporters, a smaller but extremely wild bunch, arrived the night before the match. Rather than stay in the inns, for the most part the Downers camped in tents in the hills surrounding Michel Delving, though they did at the least purchase a large amount of food and ale from the local merchants.

The stadium at Michel Delving was not large or modern, but the visitors from Vinyamar enjoyed it despite that, as it had a lovely comfortable flavor to it. There was something appealing about the way the aisles creaked, and the feel of the polished wooden seats, and the closeness of the field.

Many fans ended up stuck with smaller hobbit-sized seats, but as they planned on standing for most of the contest, it wasn’t really a problem. The north and west sides were filled up with Vinyamar supporters, while the east was owned by The Downs. The south was largely local hobbits, and it was unclear which team they were in favor of. The Barrow-Downs was more their neighbor, but they had very little in common, and in fact many Downs residents had been quite critical of the hobbits in the days leading up to the match, as they felt the hosts were favoring Vinyamar by holding the game during the day (at 1 in the afternoon, to be precise).

It was no secret that Barrow-Downs residents were night owls, and historically their team played much better in matches under the lights, even when they weren’t Werewolves. This worked well in the playoffs, as most every big-time game had a late kickoff time in order to occupy the primetime slot on the Palantir viewing networks. But the host committee had decided to go against the norm and have a game with the sun at its zenith, and most Barrow-Downs fans were quite certain that the decision was nothing more than an attempt to thwart their playoff run. Perhaps the hobbits had never forgiven them for the incident between Frodo and The Barrow-Wight?

But reasoning aside, it was a fact that in warm ups the Downs side looked a bit sluggish. Two seasons ago in the bronze match they had managed to delay the game long enough for the moon to rise, but with such an early start there was no way such a tactic would be possible this time.

As the ref made ready to start the game, it was clear that there were not enough players on the field. When the ref questioned nearby bleary-eyed Phantom about it, Phantom merely shrugged and replied, “Um, I guess we’re ready”, but defender Skip Spence, who had actually gotten a full night of sleep, cut in and pointed out that Sally, Mira, and captain Nogrod were nowhere to be seen. They were soon found however- asleep on the bench! Yawning they stumbled out to join their teammates, and the match began.

Not surprisingly it was Vinyamar who took the initiative early, working it in with great efficiency against the muddled Downers. Fortunately for the Downers, Steve and Gwath had woken up, and along with Skip they managed to do enough to keep Vinyamar from getting easy looks. When Eomerwarg was tested for the first time at the ten minute mark he looked bad indeed, nearly fumbling away an easy save into the goal, and a few minutes later he nearly mishandled a pass from his own teammate.

Skip and Fea in particular attempted to galvanize the squad, but they remained a step slow, and just before the half hour mark they finally paid the price as Duilin beat his mark and Tuor hit him with a pinpoint pass and the ball was nudged past the poorly positioned keeper. The Vinyamar fans and most of the hobbits cheered loudly. There was little reaction from the Downer section, as about half of them were passed out due largely to their extreme merry-making the night before.

The score did at the least seem to bring the Downs keeper and defense into full wakefulness, and Vinyamar was only able to gain one quality look the rest of the half, which was smothered by the warg. On the other side of the pitch though Sally, Nog, and Phantom were still not into the match and were being completely silenced by Ulmo and friends.

When the Downs returned for the second half, they looked much more awake, and they started hurling things into the crowd. The refs sprinted over to reprimand the team, but stopped when they realized that they were throwing things not at opposing fans, but rather throwing things to their own fans. In order to wake themselves and the crowd up the Downers had brewed some sort of drink in the locker rooms and were flinging water-skins filled with the substance. Head official Boromir88 wisely asked for a sample and sent it upstairs to be tested (it turned out to be primarily sugar and caffeine), but other than that he did not interfere.

As the minutes went by in the second half The Barrow-Downs began looking sharper and more energetic, and their section really began making some noise. Around minute 65 they gained their best chance yet off of a corner. Fea hit the side post on a header, and Nogrod smacked the rebound back at the goal, but Rog made a brilliant bat-away to preserve the one goal lead. The Downs supporters were quite let down by the two near scores, but captain Nogrod wouldn’t allow the team to droop their heads. “They can’t hold us off forever!” he shouted.

And he was right. Despite the individual skill of the Ainu from the sea and their flawless teamwork defense for the entire game, perfection was not quite good enough to combat the will and skill of the Downs scorers. With just under ten minutes left Wilwa broke in from the top of the box, completely wrong-footing Salmar and Galdor, and getting Osse and Rog to move to stop her, at which point she sent it high towards Ulmo and Phantom on the other side- too high. The ball was up over the towering Ulmo’s head. But there was a blur of motion, and next thing the onlookers knew the ball was in the net!

Replay clearly showed Phantom leaping, placing a foot on Ulmo’s back, and using that to propel himself up into the air to meet the ball at around the twelve foot mark. The Vinyamar fans protested loudly about Phantom’s methods, but the score was tied.

As overtime began the Downers were looking to put an early end to things. Only five minutes in Wilwa hit Nogrod with a perfect cross, but Rog guessed right and gathered it in. The hobbits, elves, and dwarves sighed, while the wights groaned. Vinyamar took their turn in the offensive zone, but were unable to work it in against Skip and friends, and had to send it back to their rear line again and again to maintain possession. Halfway through the overtime the Downs took control again, and they gained a great opportunity at 24 minutes. Sally beat her mark and made a nice run into the box from the left, but as she sent her shot off Osse took her out from behind with a brutal tackle. He was judged to have gotten the ball first, but replay showed clearly he had gotten nothing except Sally’s ankles. It should have been a short-range penalty kick to the Downs!

The Downers in the stands got very hostile and started throwing things, and the refs stopped the game and sent security in to find the offenders. But the bombardment didn’t stop in the least, and instead the security guards (mostly hobbit shirriffs) were picked up and tossed onto the field. Shasta pulled out wads of fireworks from a bag and passed them around, and soon the field crews were kept busy stamping fires out all over the pitch. In the row behind Shasta, Nienna was passing around various paints and brushes and encouraging everyone to write profane messages upon the seats and walls. Lommy and Greenie, under cover of the chaos, made their way onto the field and attempted to stab Osse from behind. Thankfully they were spotted just before they pulled it off and the players from Vinyamar were rushed to safety into the tunnel beneath the hobbit section.

Head official Boromir88 finally declared via messages on the scoreboard that Vinyamar would be awarded a free kick from the top of the box if the Downer fans did not cease and desist immediately. This put a stop to the carnage, as none of the Downer fans wished to hurt their team. But just as play was about to begin again, a knife came spinning out of the Downer seats, accompanied by the cry, “For Lalaith!!” The knife stuck straight into the ball resting in Boromir88’s hands, and he immediately declared a short-range free kick for Vinyamar.

The Downs fans turned and in fury rushed the culprit- known Lalaith extremist Urwen, who likely saw the game as simply an opportunity to gain some media coverage for her Lalaith-centric agenda. But while they were busy committing various atrocities in the stands, Idril lined up for the kick. The Downs defense wasn’t completely set (understandably due to their emotional state), and Vinyamar took advantage by taking the free kick as quickly as possible and running a play rather than kicking it directly at the goal. Idril booted it with perfect pace past the left side of the wall and Egalmoth timed his run perfectly to not be offsides and beat everyone to the ball and thus was granted a free shot at the goal from point blank. Eomerwarg dove and took away the near post, but Egalmoth went the other way and Vinyamar had the lead with less than five minutes left.

In any other game the team from the Downs would have been provoked into a state of beautiful rage (especially in Werewolf form) and ended with a flurry of shot attempts, but the way this game had gone they pretty well went out without a fight. They felt in their hearts that this was just one of those things that was not meant to be, from the early kickoff time all the way to the misbehaving Urwen. Some days you don’t catch the right breaks at the right times, and so it was on this day.

On the other side the Elves and Dwarves celebrated wildly. This was beyond all of their hopes! In the words of one dwarf- “When we were contracted to expand and refurnish Vinyamar’s stadium, we were thrilled to have work, but if we would’ve known then what would happen… It’s incredible. We really fell in love with the original stonework of the Noldor, and the fine bones of Mount Taras, and then the actual team- the team! We dwarves are not as into football as Elves and Men for the most part, but we have certainly fallen in love with this squad. It really is inspiring to watch them play! I never imagined I’d end up adopting Vinyamar as my new home and following this team all the way to the semifinals.”

Barrow-Downs 1-2 Vinyamar (OVERTIME)
tot shots 12-12
on target 6-6
GOALS:
*29, 0-1 Duilin (Tuor)
*81, 1-1 Phantom (Wilwa)
*24, 1-2 Egalmoth (Idril)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barrow-Downs- Nerwen, Fea
*Vinyamar- Duilin, Osse

[skip spence]

The atmosphere was electric as Tirion and Gondolin, mightiest of Elven teams, made it out on the pitch here in the grand Tol Eressea Stadium, always green as if it were the first days of spring in the Elder Days. Of course no one knew about electricity at that time, but some it has been said it was this night the idea first arose. Gondolin, the Hidden Rock, was of old fashioned as an image of Tirion upon Tuna, and most of its residents came out of that fair city, so the two teams had an intimate knowledge of each other; they knew exactly how their opponents played, their strength and weaknesses, each player’s personal quirks and habits.

Most pundits also agreed that the two teams were evenly matched. Tirion had had some defensive issues, but their offence was unmatched by any other team in the past or present. Gondolin, under the new leadership of Fingolfin, also had a new-found attacking flair but without losing the defensive solidity his son Turgon had built up. But would it be enough to stop the lethal quartet of Feanor, Finwe, Nerdanel and Miriel? Everyone was dying to find out.

There was fire in the eyes of Feanor as he and Finwe kicked off, and the Noldor superstar was lucky not to get booked as he went in heavy and hard on his brother Fingolfin when he first got the ball at his feet. Or “half-brother” as the Fiery Boot was keen to point out in the pre-match press conference.

The high expectations ahead of the game were not betrayed. The match was played at a break-neck pace and the crowd gasped for breath time and time again as the players were outdoing each other in individual brilliance. And they were not denied goals for long. In the 12th minute Gondolin won a corner-kick. Captain Fingolfin took it and Aredhel, the White Lady, shook off her marker and made perfect contact with her forehead, sending the ball crashing off the crossbar and into the net, past a furious Aule in the Tirion goal. He was not at all happy with the defending.

Tirion was behind once again and once again they came roaring back. The Gondolin goalkeeper Huor was twice forced to palm behind in the 10 minutes following the goal, firstly from Miriel’s curling effort from the edge of the area and then later from Feanor's speculative but fiercely-struck 35-yard dipping drive. But suddenly Tirion was caught out on the break and Aredhel showed wonderful awareness by spotting Maeglin and lifting a perfectly timed ball over the Tirion back-line, releasing the Sharp Boot one-on-one with Aule, and he made no mistake, rounding the Vala and slotting the ball into the open net. The Gondolin players and fans celebrated wildly now, feeling they had a solid grip on the match, and they remained on top of things for the remainder of the first half.

In the second half Tirion came out like a team possessed, determined to make a match out of this. But Gondolin defended with applause, and remained dangerous on the break. In the 60th minute Eöl came inches from making it three as he hit the outside of the post with a header from a Fingolfin free kick. Seeing the hope of his team shattering, Feanor took it upon himself to make a difference, and the game looked set for a frantic finale when The Fiery Boot latched on to a knockdown by Nerdanel and let fly with a low shot that fizzed past Huor and into the bottom corner of the net.

Now Tirion was all over Gondolin like a rash, and they created chance after chance, despite some heroic defending by the Gondolin team. And with 15 minutes left of the clock the Tirion fans could celebrate the equalizer and once again, almost inevitably, it was Feanor who scored the goal, sliding in to finish a flowing move that had the Gondolin defender’s heads spinning.

Now the momentum was with Tirion who pushed furiously for a winner. In the 80th minute Huor made a great save, denying Feanor a hat-trick, and moments later, Mahtan headed just over from a corner kick. But there was to be heartbreak for the brave Tirion players. With only minutes left, Gondolin made a rare attacking move, and Maeglin whipped in a cross towards Glorfindel in the area, who was all alone against five Tirion defenders. There appeared to be no danger whatsoever, but inexplicably Aule, coming out to gather the ball, fumbled and spilled it right in front of the Gondolin midfielder, who had an easy task of putting the ball into the open net.

A shell-chocked Tirion could not believe their eyes. Feanor did not look happy, not happy at all. A Vala had let him down once again. The superstar tried to take matters into his own hands again, but he was now desperate, and trying to dribble past the entire Gondolin defense was too tough a task even for him. 3-2 to Gondolin it finished, and the Hidden Rock players celebrated as it they had won the final already. Aule however left the stadium with his head bent down, a sad sight for any lover of the beautiful game.

Gondolin 3-2 Tirion
tot shots 14-15
on target 8-7
GOALS:
*13, 1-0 Aredhel (Fingolfin)
*27, 2-0 Maeglin (Aredhel)
*62, 2-1 Feanor (Nerdanel)
*75, 2-2 Feanor (Miriel)
*86, 3-2 Glorfindel (Maeglin)
YELLOW CARDS:
Gondolin- Thorondor, Salgant, Ecthelion, Glorfindel
Tirion- Finwe, Amrod

[the phantom]

Many grand arenas love to boast of being “the greatest”, “the biggest”, and “the most beautiful”, but it is possible that such claims will soon come to an end.

Three years ago in a backroom deal Gondor was awarded the opportunity to host the semis and finals of the 2010 and 2011 Arda Cups, with the possibility of an extension. The Cup Committee was tightlipped on the specifics of the plan, but inside sources managed to confirm that Gondor had promised the construction of a new and glorious stadium to host the event.

Even more tightlipped was the Gondor Cup Planning Committee however, and as the months passed no one was able to get a bead on any plans for a new arena, and there were certainly no obvious signs of construction around Minas Tirith (at least on the scale of a stadium).

And then came the announcement this past March- the new stadium was complete! An extremely surprised populace asked the obvious question- where? The answer- Amon Hen.

Some ingenious chap had been struck with the idea that the magic of “The Hill of Seeing” would be perfect for a stadium. Tests were conducted, and the results were fantastic! Even though the full magic of the hill only worked at the very top, there was a sort of trickle effect down the rest of the slope, and the farther up the hill a spectator was the greater ability he had to surpass his natural visionary abilities.

And so it was that the stadium was built in a rather lopsided fashion into the northeast slope of the hill. At the top of the eastern end of the arena guests could look directly down upon the falls of Rauros, while the northern edge of the arena was lapped by the waves of the lake. That half of the arena was of more average size, seating around 40,000. But as the stadium circled towards the southwest, the top rose higher and higher up Amon Hen, thus the seating capacity of that half of the stadium was a whopping 100,000, making the arena by far the largest ever constructed.

But the planning committee had not been content to merely toss up a large stadium- it was beautiful and interesting to boot. The stadium acted as a tribute to football throughout Middle-Earth, with each section featuring the architecture, décor, and adornments favored by a group of football fans from a different location in Arda. The walkways, restrooms, eateries, and entrances beneath the sections also reflected the theme, and thus one could experience a part of what it was like to attend a football match in Angband, Mirkwood, Mordor, Gondolin, etc all in one stadium.

In the final month before the Cup workers labored night and day to finish work on the inns, rentable homes, and pubs around the shores of the lake, as well as the dock at the foot of Rauros and the cunning lifts that had been constructed to quickly take guests up through the cliffs from the docks to the lake.

On a less football related note, the investors on the planning committee were hoping to permanently develop the area in order to come out ahead on the venture, and given the lovely setting they seemed likely to succeed, as the lake promised summer boating and swimming, and soon after the cup rafting trips on the Anduin and rock climbing ventures into the Emyn Muil were scheduled to commence. In addition, ski runs were said to be in the works on some of the higher hills for attracting winter tourists.

[the phantom]

Nearly all the prognosticators were backing Mithrim and nearly all the money was moving in that direction, so oddsmakers were offering excellent numbers for Vinyamar in the lead up to the first semifinal, and the supporters of Vinyamar were more than happy to oblige by placing all their pocket change on their team. And why not? They were after all the only team left in the tournament that had not suffered a single loss in friendlies, group play, or the playoffs.

The supporters of Mithrim seemed to give little respect to this stat however, and could be heard far and wide guaranteeing a beat-down. After all, since group play started their defense, led by the sons of Feanor and Huan, had looked just as formidable as Vinyamar’s, while their feared trio of Turin, Hurin, and Beleg up front had put up four more goals than the team they now faced. This combination of defense and offense had boosted them to the best goal differential in the tournament- an excellent +11 through five matches.

When presented with this stat in interviews, players from Vinyamar seemed unmoved. Typifying their responses was captain Ulmo yesterday. “At this stage a one-goal victory counts for just as much as a two-goal victory. We do what is necessary to advance and that is all one can ask of a team. Not to mention the stat is slanted due to different competition faced. I think our first round opponent was just a bit tougher, and so was our quarterfinal match. And in group play, we were definitely facing stouter defenses overall.”

The Elves that showed up to watch the match were divided in loyalties between the sides, with Beleg drawing most of the woodland Elves while the Noldor of Vinyamar along with Ulmo and his Maia helpers drew slightly more Noldor than the sons of Feanor. The men and women however were more on the side of Mithrim, as Tuor was the lone man for Vinyamar while Mithrim featured Turin, Hurin, Morwen, Aradan, and Androg. And as expected a large group of dwarves had turned out to join their relatives in rooting for Vinyamar.

But not all the crowd had a preference, as there were several thousand “baddies” there to enjoy the match- orcs, trolls, werewolves, and even a few dragons. There were also many attendees from Gondor that did not have a strong rooting interest and thus could be won over through the course of the match.

And early on it was Vinyamar that looked set to win them over, as their movement was just beyond skilful. They gained only one quality look in the opening minutes, but they held the ball with relative ease, shortening the game and making Mithrim chase the ball around the pitch. The only thing that saved Mithrim early on was Celegorm and Curufin completely denying any sort of action in the corners, forcing Vinyamar to try and take it up the more muddled middle.

In the 25th minute Morwen deflected a risky pass towards the front and on the bounce Gelmir sent it immediately towards the right corner where Hurin tracked it down with a great first touch and dashed in leaving Salmar in his dust. The hero of Arnoediad then sent the ball skidding right across the face of the goal out of the reach of Rog, hoping a charging Turin or Beleg could deflect it in. Turin got a foot on it, but Osse came sliding in from the left and managed to deflect the shot and it bounced just a couple feet wide of the post.

On the corner sent in by Beleg Turin again had a shot at it, but Rog read it well and gathered in the header and the threat was over. It was then Vinyamar’s turn to go on the attack, and as usual they built it up slowly and carefully, until minute 33. The up front players for Vinyamar had been passing it back swiftly on nearly every touch, but Idril managed to surprise the defense and catch them flat footed when instead she took it and immediately made a run down the middle. The sons of Feanor came from the sides to cut her off, but she had broken through too quickly and they didn’t have the angle, giving her a clean shot at the keeper. She sent a drive low to the right, and Huan dove for it, barely tipping it with the tips of his claws, deflecting it just enough to hit the inside of the post and careen away to the left of the goal. Unfortunately for Huan, Celegorm had just vacated this area to try and contest or rush Idril’s shot and Tuor was first to it and wasted no time in sending it into the left side for the 1-0 lead!

Mithrim’s forwards looked determined to strike back, but the defense of Vinyamar maneuvered with skill and experience and turned aside every attack and the half arrived with the score still at 1-0.

The second half was much the same, with Vinyamar holding possession for frustrating amounts of time while not allowing Mithrim much in the way of scoring chances. Morwen and Curufin both forced Rog to make a save, but both shots were rather distant speculations and not enough to challenge a goalie as hot as Rog.

When the clock showed under twenty minutes to play the Mithrim supporters started getting extremely nervous, but they soon found relief. No surprise it was Turin, one of the most feared strikers in the game, who broke through. The goal was set up much the way their last serious threat had been- Hurin made a nice move from the corner and sent it into the box. Turin won position and used his height and strength to rise clear of the defense and nod the ball beautifully down onto the right side of the line and in.

Vinyamar surprisingly showed little disappointment, and Ulmo could be heard encouraging his squad. “They’re a great team. We knew they’d fight back. Now we just have to throw the final punch. We’re still okay. We can win this!” And the team obviously bought into his words, as they showed just as much confidence as ever in the final minutes of the half, forcing overtime to the delight of the impartial observers. Happy shouts of “Extra football!” could be heard throughout the arena.

During the overtime Mithrim looked a step slower. Perhaps they had tired themselves out in their efforts to gain the equalizer? Whatever the cause, Vinyamar looked extra sharp to begin the period and steadily built the attack. They gained a corner at minute 7, but it was just out of reach of Ulmo who came forward to use his height on the play. Minutes later Vinyamar had another nice look off a longball won by Duilin and sent swiftly out front to Penlod, but his quality header was grasped by Huan in a great save by the hound.

But at minute 16 the squad from Mount Taras could be denied no longer, as Penlod got his head on yet another Duilin cross. He placed it expertly into the near top corner and soon found himself mobbed by teammates. It was Vinyamar out front once again, and Mithrim had less than 14 minutes to score against one of the stingiest defenses in the tournament.

The ending was less than dramatic, as Mithrim never seriously threatened to equalize. Turin’s turn and power drive from 35 yards that zipped past the right side of the goal was as close as they managed, and Vinyamar and their fans were soon free to celebrate this unexpected and well-fought victory. They were through to play for the Arda Cup championship!

Mithrim 1-2 Vinyamar (OVERTIME)
tot shots 13-9
on target 6-5
GOALS:
*33, 0-1 Tuor (Idril)
*72, 1-1 Turin (Hurin)
*16, 1-2 Penlod (Duilin)
YELLOW CARDS:
Mithrim- Morwen, Beleg, Hurin
Vinyamar- Tuor, Galdor