Middle-Earth Football Tournament

[Gothmog]

Me, too, prefer results that reflect the true performance of the teams. If we have to sacrifice the videos, so be it (downloading my first right now).

And Saucy: Great song! I don't know the original, but your lyric is great!

[The Saucepan Man]

For those who don't know the original song:

Three lions lyrics

It was the England Football Team anthem for the 1996 European Championships, and has become somewhat of a standard among fans. It is also a great song.

[Sleepy Ranger]

and I'm your host, Sleepy Wan-Rangeobi. We have quite an exciting line up of matches for you today but first we have some important announcements to make.

-The young Barrow-Downs striker, Sleepy Ranger will miss the next match due to an injury sustained during a practice session.

-Shire's star player, Pippin Took has been getting into hot water with team's management and new captain, Gandalf. As a result the team has suffered a significant drop in morale.

-A decision that shocked the entire football world, Bree's captain, Barliman Butterbur has decided to retire from every stage of the game. Despite being cleared for play for their upcoming game against Gondor, Butterbur stated that age has finally caught up with him and he plans to take a behind the scenes job. He also said that their current run of luck wouldn't last forever and a win against Gondor was highly doubtful.

Thats all the news for now, football fans. Today will be the beginning of the knockout stages, which will start at 4pm EST. Please tune in next time for more updates on the World Cup.

[Sleepy Ranger]

Match 1
Live from Greenwood's Park

Mirkwood 2 - 4 Valimar

This match was a heated competition in the beggining but after the first few goals Mirkwood seemed to be out of it. Varda opened scoring with a low kept shot in the 31st minute which was followed up by an own goal due to a mistake by Thranduil. Ending the half at 2-0, Mirkwood seemed to be out of form. In the early minutes of the second half, Yavanna scored a header from a well taken corner, taking the score to 3-0. Mirkwood's first goal came in the 67th minute, when Legoals found himself with the ball in front of an open goal, their comeback however was short-lived as Varda slotted in a penalty in the 71st minute, effectively stealing the match. Legoals scored a second in the closing stages of the match but this served little purpose other than saving face.

Overall, it was a comfortable win for Valimar.

Match 2
Live from The Dark Grounds

Numenor (4)0 - 0(5) Angband

This was a close fought match with ended in favor of the favorites in penalties. What was thought to be a very physical contest ended up in being a slow paced and defensive game for the first 45 minutes at least. Both teams were reluctant to move front in the first half. The second half however was an entirely different story, there were several sliding tackles, several falls and almost a fight on the ground. However, there were very few shots at all. The match was deadlocked all the way through extra time and surprisingly neither team had been carded or injured. The match went 5-4 in favor of Angband in the penalties.

At the end of the day I'd say Angband earned a well deserved victory and may pat themselves on the back if they can still move their arms.

Match 3
Live from The Citadel

Gondor 2 - 0 Bree

A comfortable two goal walk-over by Gondor though it seemed Bree would take the match, their inability to convert any of their chances led to another Gondor victory. The first goal was scored by Bormor who pulled off a spectacular bycycle kick which left the crowd in awe. The Gondor fans were rather loud and rash and kept security on their toes tonight. A complaint has been lodged against such behaviour and a reply from the Middle-Earth Football Association is awaited. Gondor's second goal was by fan-favorite Faramir who knocked in a high, chipped shot over the keeper's head. The Bree team were down after the retirement of their captain and this effected their performance on the field.

Gondor is still maintaining its hold as one of the top teams in the tournament and doesn't seem to be about to drop that place any time soon.
---

Nargothrond vs. Moria shall be up later today

[Sleepy Ranger]

Match 4
Live from Khazad-Dum

Nargothrond (7)3 - 3(6) Moria

This was a very narrow match and was snatched away by Nargothrond in penalties. Nargothrond opened strongly and took the lead thanks to Finrod in the 5th minute after which they shifted to a defensive mode of play. The managed to hold of many brave plays by Moria until the 87th minute when Azog recieved a long pass from Balin to equalize. The two teams went into extra time at 1-1 and Moria continued to take the game to Nargothrond, a beautiful shot by Balin from 30m out sailed over the keeper's head and into the back of the net. After this an attempted pinball play backfired when a defender go in the way and cleared the ball which was picked up by Turin who ran in unopposed to level the score again. After this Moria began to slip, a hard challenge on Finrod in the box resulted in a red card for Gothmog and a penalty for Nargothrond. Turin took an easy shot to take the game 3-2 but in the close minutes of the second half of extra time Azog managed to break free and shoot an easy goal past Nargothrond's keeper.

The score was 3-3 after Extra Time and this match went into penalties. After several saves and misses the match went 7-6 in Nargothrond's favor.

Overall, this was a very hard-fought contest and both the teams played well. Its really a pity only one could win.
---

Doing the rest of the matches now

[The Saucepan Man]

Sleepy?

[Sleepy Ranger]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

Sleepy?

Yes, I'm here. Sorry school has been keeping me busy. The next week is relatively easy on my schedule so we'll have some updates.