Arda Cup Football 2011

[Nogrod]

Group A

The Ever-Cold Arena was packed and buzzing when the first game of the first group was about to start, and even if the official home team was not playing most of the spectators were strongly supporting either team. The air was filled with excitement and anticipation.

So when the players of Tirion finally poured into the field led by Aulë himself and the Leader of Noldor Finwë hand in hand, followed by Finwë’s son and three grandsons, and the White Lady of Gondolin… the crowds went just wild. This was what they had been looking for! Some players had been seen in press-conferences and others on practice-grounds – and a lucky one might had even gotten a glimpse of one of his heroes in the streets or taverns, but this was different. Now they marched to the field with their jerseys flying their colors, ready to take on the opponent for real.

The entry of team Doriath was no less impressive. Elwë Singollo and Melian led the team followed by Beren and Lúthien, followed in turn by Huan and Carcaroth shoulder to shoulder, giving the chills to the crowds with their fierce presence. There must have been many souls in the crowds who praised their maker being able only to watch the two from afar and not needing to face them oneself: some of those sitting on the first rows were not sure if buying those expensive seats was that a good idea in the first place. The last ones to enter the field were Húrin, Túrin and Beleg. The three men looked solemn, stern and focused. They got the stars’ welcome they duly deserved and acted like true stars by not showing any notice or appreciation to the rising levels of cheering around them. They were here to play a game.

And what a game it was! All possible sloppiness there might have been in the friendlies was blown away with the referee’s whistle and both teams played with full gear. It was such a different game!

Tirion tried to press with attack planning to give Doriath no room to breathe, but Doriath played back with holding the possession of the ball and letting it do the work thus frustrating the great efforts of Tirion’s pressure running to and fro. Some of the passing-combinations of Doriath were just breath-taking. And as soon as Tirion’s players felt they needed a breather after running wild after the ball Doriath punished them. It was like straight from the handbook. Mablung gave a pass forwards from midfield reaching Túrin who played wall with Beleg releasing himself from the defenders. And Túrin rarely misses when left face to face with a goalie inside the box.

Tirion came back to the pressure mode but Doriath continued evading their pressure with smart passing. And after another fifteen minutes Tirion’s players were feeling the pain in their legs and Doriath capitulated again. This time Lúthien gave a nice cross to Húrin who headed the ball in from the back-post.

Being two goals down Finwë rallied his team around him and they went for it 110%. It’s hard to say whether it was the extra-effort alone by Tirion or whether Doriath was feeling a bit too confident not to play it to the edge, but there was finally a shift in pressure and Tirion started to rain attacks towards Doriath’s goal. Just a minute before the half-time whistle they finally made it. The attacks of Tirion had ran towards the goal like waves, and this time Aredhel shot the ball from the right flank hard towards the center behind the defenses and Finwë took a spurt sliding for it leg on – and he managed to slide beside Elwë and hit the ball giving it a new direction Huan had no chances to follow.

Eöl had been running after Aredhel, trying to deny her passing the ball up, but when he failed and Aredhel’s pass led to a goal, some madness took him and he took Aredhel by the hair and started dragging her off the pitch. Luckily before any war between the teams, Melian and Elwë managed to force him to leave Aredhel alone. Some people would have thought it was worth a red card but the referee only showed him a yellow commenting something about it being a family affair.

It was only 2-1 on the half-time. And the tension was rising. The crowds were on fire.

On the second half Tirion continued with their pressure and they managed to force Huan into a couple of spectacular saves. The majority elves on the crowds were waiting for the equalizer both holding their breath at times and yelling and chanting wildly on others, but the longer the game went on the clearer it became that Doriath had chosen just the right tactics for this game. The Tirion squad started showing signs of wearing out from all the effort they had put in, while Doriath players had played it smartly. So when Doriath suddenly shifted gear after some fifteen minutes into the second half, Tirion had no way of countering.

On 62nd minute they then scored again, this time from a corner after some real pressure on Tirion’s goal. After a mess in front of the goal Beleg got the ball and passed it backwards to Túrin who was relatively free behind the rush in front of the goal and hammered a mighty cannon-shot into the back of the net from 18 meters leaving Orodreth no chance to even react to it.

There was some frustration in the faces of team Tirion but they fought back bravely. As the time ticked on it was nevertheless clear they were losing and some of the intensity of the game withered slowly. It was Eöl who sealed the final numbers shooting in a nice volley from a pass by Túrin from between the Tirion defenders. Even if the game had been decided already, the goal seemed important to Eöl as that way he kind of balanced his bad deeds on the first half. And those who saw the grin he flashed to Aredhel after the goal could see other meanings behind it as well.

It was a highly entertaining game full of great performances on both sides, but in the end it was a knock-out for team Tirion. And Doriath looks even stronger the media or the betting agencies have anticipated.


Doriath 4-1 Tirion
tot shots 18-13
on target 11-6
GOALS:
*17, 1-0 Turin (Beleg)
*33, 2-0 Hurin (Luthien)
*44, 2-1 Finwe (Aredhel)
*62, 3-1 Turin (Beleg)
*78, 4-1 Eol (Turin)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Doriath- Elwe, Eol
*Tirion- Mahtan, Caranthir



As the sun was withdrawing behind Taur-Nu-Fuin and the lights of the arena started slowly emerging the table was set for the main act of the day for the huge crowd of home fans. And one could feel the excitement. Whether one read the local media or listened to the people talking at local inns, it was clear the home team supporters were certain that the odd hobbits would be but a snack to their great team. But there was a nervous doubt there one could sense from behind the loud words… what if those halflings were of different make they seemed?

But when Maedhros and Fingon led their team to the pitch the nervous optimism turned into a carnival of song and cheer. This was it now!

There were not that many supporters of Shire-Bree Utd. on top of the thousand or so hobbits and men of Bree who had made the travel following their team. Some Doriath-supporters who bore a special grunt towards the easterlings and those elves who couldn’t stand anything to do with Fëanor and his offspring were seen to cheer for the hobbits, but to the most of the elves and men especially in the audience the hobbits looked like weird deformations of nature whom they found it hard to support in a game against noble elves and men of old.

From the first minutes it was clear the home team had adopted the conservative philosophy expressed neatly in the maxim “all play starts from defense and works through defense”. The hobbits tried to shift their game into it by running around wildly using their agility and small size to their advantage, but their eagerness turned out to be a great mistake. For the game had lasted only 12 minutes when Himring scored and rtook the early lead to the great joy of their fans in tens of thousands. The goal itself was beautifully crafted by Madhros and Fingon. It was clear to everyone witnessing the goal these two had played together for a long time, it was seamless co-operation totally disarming the hobbit-defenses.

While the hobbits tried to find new ways to open the Himring defense, the home team played it wisely not risking anything but building their attacks slowly and carefully. And it brought them another goal at half an hour’s mark when after some pressure around Shire-Bree’s box Fingon lent the ball backwards to Bór who found Ulfast from the side where he had sneaked while the hobbit defenders had concentrated in the center where most of the pressure had been. And let free with the ball about ten meters from the goal Ulfast booted it in leaving Butterbur standing.

The rest of the first half Himring were happy to just keep the hobbits at bay and securing a two goal lead for the half-time.

The second half was more or less the continuation of the first one. The hobbits tried different ways of breaking the solid defenses of Himring while Himring built their attacks slowly from the bottom. And there was no question which team had the better chances of scoring as Himring defenders constantly forced Shire-Bree to shoot from far away and from difficult positions.

On 67th minute the hobbits were given new hope when Amrod took a stupid yellow for a late tackle on Bandobras, and as that was his second he got thrown out of the pitch. But oit went completely the opposite way. Seeing they were one man short Himring started to play a bit more energetically and in just four minutes they scored their third goal of the night; this time it was Maedhros’ turn to do the serving while Fingon scored from close range.

They home team won 3-0 and showed the footballing world they are serious about qualification. The game between them and Tirion will be a thriller indeed. In the late night press conference Bandobras Took didn’t even try to to make excuses: “We were beaten and the better team won. We’re not going to sprinkle ash to our heads though but will give a better effort in the next one”. Interesting though, he was not willing to answer a question by the Bree Enquirer concerning the very bad performance of Butterbur on goal (3 goals allowed from 7 shots on goal), but told the media the conference was over on his part.


Himring 3-0 Shire-Bree United
tot shots 13-11
on target 7-3
GOALS:
*12, 1-0 Maedhros (Fingon)
*32, 2-0 Ulfast (Bor)
*71, 3-0 Fingon (Maedhros)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Himring- Amrod, Borthond
*Shire-Bree- Bandobras, Gerontius, Ferny
RED CARDS:
*Himring- Amrod (67, second yellow)

[the phantom]

Group E

There was much anger to be found in the ranks of Wights and Werewolves when the start times for the Group E matches were pushed earlier. Instead of 2 o'clock and 8 o'clock, the matches were switched to 11 and 4. "They're did that deliberately!" complained FormendaWight. "They know that Werewolves thrive when the sun sets, and that we Wights love to sleep all day and party all night!"

"Formy's quite right!" agreed The BoroWight. "It would be different if they had scheduled the matches at such times originally, but waiting to see who the homeside was playing and then making it a day game... Preposterous!"

Tol In Gaurhoth wasn't the only fanbase enraged by the early start. The few Orcs of Mordor that showed up also griped about things, pointing out that under their normal schedule they ought to be asleep until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. "The host committee really should be more considerate with their game times," said Mordor football enthusiast Mortakh. "Since the other teams have no troubles playing games later, why not do so? That way things would be fair for everyone."

But the complaints weren't going to change things for this round anyway, and so at 11 AM the opening match between Mordor & Nargothrond kicked off. The orcs and Nazgul looked a bit sluggish off the bat, and with little crowd support to jumpstart them things could've gone poorly for them, but fortunately Nargothrond didn't open too sharply either, and the Silent Watcher was on his game enough to turn away two early efforts from Finduilas.

As the first half wore on the fog cleared from the heads of orcs and slowly they began to control things. Just past the half hour mark they gained their first serious chance. Barahir was equal to Shelob's header, but the excitement of the near-miss seemed to spur the Nazgul out of their daze and Mordor became more dangerous than ever.

Shortly before the half they finally broke through, as they brought up their midfield to help apply the pressure and Gorbag turned a rebound around from just outside the box. The team on the field celebrated, but there was hardly a reaction from the crowd- most of the Mordor fans were stretched out on the tree-branch seats snoozing in the warm sun.

When the teams began the second half every last Mordor supporter was sound asleep, and Nargothrond took advantage stealing the spirit and momentum. At minute 67 they gained a well-deserved equalizer off the tail of Glaurung and it was anyone's game. The noise made by the men and elves woke the orcs in the crowd who were absolutely shocked to find the match in the final 35 minutes and tied at 1-1.

Even the best of people can be grumpy first thing after waking up, and orcs aren't exactly saints. In no time at all they were tossing things big and small down onto the field and shouting death threats, recalling their fury at the early start time. Team Nargothrond for the most part was stunned (and perhaps a bit frightened) by the sudden turn of things, where as team Mordor was buoyed up and found new energy, and in no time at all they were back ahead, as Nazgul #7 found Grishnakh beautifully!

Glaurung roared at his teammates in fury for losing their nerve, but the damage was already done, and Mordor organized a lockdown defense in front of Silent Watcher and hung on for a win in their opening match of group play.

Mordor 2-1 Nargothrond
tot shots 10-11
on target 5-4
GOALS:
*40, 1-0 Gorbag (Nazgul #6)
*67, 1-1 Glaurung (Finduilas)
*70, 2-1 Grishnakh (Nazgul #7)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Mordor- Snaga, Shelob, Gollum
*Nargothrond- Arminas

Nearly all of the Noldor and men of Beor filed out silently, but the section of Orcs stuck around and were soon joined by the Wights and Werewolves, who had apparently invited the creatures of Mordor to sit with them for the evening contest and party with them afterwards. Had Mordor lost perhaps the goblins would have left, but they were indeed in the mood for some fun after their victory and stayed put.

Small groups from Doriath, Mirkwood, and Brethil occupied the seats directly across from the riotous ghosts and ghouls, but the rest of the stadium was a sea of Hobbits and Ents and Huorns. With the stadium grown from living roots the way it was, the tree-people very nearly blended with the arena itself, making it look a bit empty. But the volume made it obvious that the place was filled. The laughing of Hobbits, the howls of wolves, the shrieks of Wights, and the hooming of Ents made for quite a racket, and the game hadn't even started yet!

When Tol In Gaurhoth bounded onto the pitch the Ents surprisingly let them be, letting their fans cheer them on. "We hardly know them," said one Ent. "I realize there's been talk of them threatening forest fires, but let's not be hasty to judge."

But the TIG fans showed no such courtesy, laughing and mocking the Forest squad as they made their entrance. They had signs spoofing Tom's peculiar manner of speaking, and all of them had sticks and twigs which they merrily declared were "Entings" before snapping them and tossing them onto the sideline.

At the start of the game in appeared The Forest was able to tune out the audience and focus on the task at hand, but they were unable to make any headway against the Werewolves on the field. As time approached fifteen minutes The Forest began to look overmatched and lost focus, and as a result the crowd started getting to them. In particular Saeros seemed completely lost, as to everyone's amusement MormWight and LhunaWight repeatedly called "Take it off!" and "Give us a show!" and "Show us some skin, Saeros!", making light of his shameful death in Doriath.

And quite soon the game wasn't being lost in only the stands but on the field as well as PhantomWolf received it from GwathWolf and sent one of his trademark drives in for the lead.

Bombadil energized his team to strike back, but Saeros muffed their best opportunity and ShastaWolf turned away Bombadil's strike and The Forest, disheartened, was pushed back. At 35 minutes TIG lit the scoreboard again- this time it was the cool head of NogWolf nodding in a nice cross from Inzil.

TIG then played the possession game for a bit, especially with SallyWolf and PhantomWolf giving it back and forth and attempting various ball-tricks. The two wolves were openly laughing as the whirled in circles around their Ent defenders, deriding Treebeard and his race for their lack of quickness despite their straight-line speed. The pair finally put a stop to their antics after being asked repeatedly by NogWolf and SkipWolf. But soon after PhantomWolf was chuckling again as NerWolf wove into the Forest defense like a squirrel through tree-branches and ended her solo run by chipping it past a helpless Old Man Willow for the commanding three goal halftime lead.

As the team started the second half it was obvious that NogWolf had instructed TIG to sit on the lead and play suffocating defense, and for the first 20 minutes they did, but predictably PhantomWolf got bored and started showing off again, doing whatever he could to make his opponents feel inferior. This delighted the Wights and Werewolves in the stands, and in no time they were screaming for more, and other players began joining in, most notably SallyWolf who continually threatened to douse Treebeard with lantern oil and NilpWolf who carried on with the tradition of mocking Saeros.

At minute 65 NilpWolf was carded for going a bit too far- he took a water cup that had rolled onto the field of play and chucked it at Saeros's head, exclaiming, "This look familiar?!" Fellow defender SkipWolf yelled at NilpWolf and told him to straighten up, but NilpWolf had gotten such a great reaction from the TIG fans that he couldn't help but continue pushing things.

But at minute 73 he paid for it as he was sent off the field for going up behind Saeros and yanking his shorts down around his ankles. NogWolf was furious, but his anger was completely buried beneath the approving roaring and howling of his teammates and their supporters in the crowd. Even the well-mannered and courteous EstyWight was laughing herself out of breath in the front row.

Bombadil attempted to spur his team to take advantage of the missing defender, but the rest of his team was entirely flat, as the Werewolves had convincingly got it into their heads that things were hopeless and they could not compete with TIG's speed, skill, and ferocity. Not to mention they were more than a little frightened of what TIG players or supporters might do to them if they didn't roll over and submit. What an embarrassing way to begin for the home team!

The Forest 0-3 Tol In Gaurhoth
tot shots 7-16
on target 3-8
GOALS:
*22, 0-1 PhantomWolf (GwathWolf)
*35, 0-2 NogWolf (InzilWolf)
*44, 0-3 NerWolf
YELLOW CARDS:
*The Forest- Skinbark, Haleth
*TIG- GaladWolf, InzilWolf, NilpWolf
RED CARDS:
*TIG- NilpWolf (73, second yellow)

[Nogrod]

Group F

The organisers of the games in Númenor had decided to open the gates of the Armenelos Stadium already on early afternoon to fill the stadium fluently and with easier pace as the stream of incoming spectators would spread more evenly. That was a fine idea, but the practice proved different. Huge queues started forming already around mid-day and when the gates were opened tens of thousands of football-hungry people had packed around the stadium trying to get in all at the same time. Even if the scene looked quite chaotic at times, the organisers aided by Armenelos City Guard managed to bring in enough order to avoid any major accidents.

Even with the crush at the gates, long queuing times and some unavoidable rows in the crowds, people seemed to be on a jubilant mood. Finally reaching their places and sitting down in the stadium parties opened their wineskins and brought forth the many imaginative snacks and pic-nic meals they had prepared for the occasion, trading and offering tastings to the next parties. The organisers had counted it wrong: the Armanalos Stadium was the place to be on this day, and when people heard the gates would be opened earlier they rejoiced with the news realizing they’d have a longer party at the stadium. When most of the Teleri and Gondorian supporters started to pour into stadium the normal one and half hours before the match they were totally surprised to see the stadium almost full already – and very much disappointed to find out that they had been left the farthest seats available with their ticket-classes.

As said on earlier reports, team Númenor was the official host of the group F, but in practice the group had two home teams. Most of the Númenorians cheered for both teams with as open heart, but many people had also taken their favourites. Some said that bringing Gondorians aboard was a bad idea and only a purely Númenorian team earned their full support. Others argued that the greatest heroes of Númenor played in the mixed team, and the Gondorians were their brothers, of the same blood after all. But only a few were willing to make it an issue to fight over.'

~*~


The first game between Westernesse and Mithrim sent the crowds into nirvana.

After just twenty minutes of gameplay Westernesse was leading with two goals to nil with Ar Pharazôn and Elros, more or less their greatest heroes, both scoring once. And when Ar Adunakhôr made an outstanding goal straight from a free-kick from about 25 meters just before the end of the first half the crowds just went mad. The editorial staff will wish to make their apologies for the language here, but there’s only one way of expressing the feeling in the crowds when Ar Adunakhôr hammered it in to the upper left corner of the Mithrim goal: they were peeing honey, and quite uncontrollably.

Playing defensively against Westernesse is a bad idea as that allows the highly skillfull and physical Westernesse midfield and forwards to bring in wave after wave of balanced attacks forcing the defending team into a position of complete underdogs constantly occupying the receiving end. Although, and to be honest, it was not the tactical choices of team Mithrim that brought them down but the sheer difference in quality of the players. An exceptionally talented, tough and confident team could build up their own attacks against the balanced lines of Westernesse even from deep down their own half. But that is clearly not what Mithrim as a team is.

Many were afraid the second half would be a formality, and in a sense they were right, but the crowds did see some top quality football on the second half as well.
Mithrim pressed harder against Westernesse in the beginning of the second half and even got a few decent shots (if only two on target), but there was still no doubt as to which team ruled the pitch. Malbeth’s bicycle-kick goal at 62nd minute was one of the most impressive of the first round. Grithnir pushed Malbeth from behind unbalancing him just as the corner shot from Tar Minastir was coming towards the two. But somehow Malbeth managed to turn sideways while falling down and stretched out to make a perfect sideways bicycle-kick leaving both Grithnir and Tuor at the goal standing in confusion. To top the angst of team Mithrim the referee showed Grithnir a yellow card after the goal, truly earned.

So if Doriath showed they are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament in group A, one could say that team Westernesse also gave a tempest-warning of how deadly they are.


Mithrim 0-4 Westernesse
tot shots 6-18
on target 2-10
GOALS:
*14, 0-1 Ar Pharazon (Elros)
*19, 0-2 Elros (Mardil)
*38, 0-3 Ar Adunakhor
*62, 0-4 Malbeth (Tar Minastir)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Mithrim- Gethron, Grithnir
*Westernesse- Elendil



The expectations were high for the late night match after the glory of the first one and the home crowds chanted Númenorean songs, old and new, more or less without a pause the full 60-minute interval between the games. But the few realists started sweating as the game drew closer. As TTN had said in their pre-group analysis, Tol Eressëa’s defense led by Ulmo might just be a bit too tough a nut to crack for the team Númenor’s attack. And they were afraid TTN was right.

But the majority of the home crowd seemed to feel that Númenoreans would beat any team brought against them this magical night. Some of the more drunken parties (drunk not only because of the wine) were even boasting they could form a team of their own to bring down Pelori and Valinor. But happily, for the honor of Dúnedain, there were only few parties among the tens of thousands getting that loose, even if they were quite loud.

But any hybris there was died down pretty soon as the game began and it became clear to the supporters of the home team that Númenor would not beat Tol Eressëa in a way Westernesse slew Mithrim at the pitch just a moment ago. It was a real struggle of two very even-looking teams both trying to avoid errors and shutting off any attacks of the other early on only to be cut by the other one in turn. And so most of the game seemed to be played in the midfield, or safely keeping the ball on one’s own half. It was no high moment of football as a dynamic art – even if the game sure had it’s own dynamics.

Then, on 37th minute just before the break, the heavens fell down for the Númenorians. Uinen gave a swerving free-kick from about 35 meters and found Elwing’s head perfectly. Silmariën saw the header coming and dived to the farther corner of the goal assuming the natural outcome, but Elwing had a snap second to notice Silmariën’s intention and she managed to yank her head giving the ball a different angle and sending it down in front of the two closest defenders and bouncing through between them to the nearest corner of the empty goal.

Some yellow papers claimed the next day that after seeing Elwing’s performance Elros had sprang up from his seat and yelled feverishly “Go Mum! Yay Mum!”, but that surely can be dismissed as just one more trick to sell more papers. But whatever Elros’ reaction was, it was an impressive goal anyway and the crowds did cheer for it even if somewhat confusedly as it was made by their greatly revered lady, but at the wrong end of the pitch.

But the worst thing to the Númenorean team and fans alike came only after the goal. Tol Eressëa regrouped into a lockdown and held their defense tight from the midfield on allowing the hosts no chances as they always seemed to have all ten players under the ball. As the second half went on the Númenorians started to get frustrated and fex. both their yellow cards came there, out of frustration facing such a solid defense which didn’t even try to attack sparing all the players into defensive tasks. Near the end of the game even some of the crowds started booing but that had no effect. Tol Eressëa took a precious win looking at the qualifying and made Númenor’s path to the play-offs all the more harder.

The home crowds poured into the streets after the game with mixed feelings: like they had been on a rollercoaster-ride that first made them immensely happy but in the end left a bad feeling.


Numenor 0-1 Tol Eressëa
tot shots 9-7
on target 4-3
GOALS:
*37, 0-1 Elwing (Uinen)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Numenor- Ar Zimrathan, Vardamir
*Tol Eressea- Uinen

[Pitchwife]

"What did I tell you? The wolves won! Though, honest, I don't really get why, when they didn't kill anybody and even were outnumbered by the Forest guys after Nilp was killed by that guy in black. Who was that one supposed to be, anyway? A Black Beorning? Didn't seem to be playing for either team, did he?

Impartial? Ah, I get it - he's the Mod! Makes sense now, the way he was bossing everybody around. So Nilp wasn't killed but modfired, eh? What for, please - I'd say he was definitely participating! Confusing game, this. So they don't have to make kills but 'goals'? Put the ball into that framed net thingummyjig? Seriously, what kinda winning condition is this?

Anyway, the wolves won, which is all that matters - and quite impressively, if you ask me. I mean, they were at a clear disadvantage, with the village - er, Forest - knowing who they were from the start. Not that the Forest made much use of that. Played pretty wooden, didn't they? Some of 'em didn't move at all, you'd have thought they'd grown roots. Need to get more mobile, these guys.

Oh, and that Saeros guy shouldn't be such a sissy." *shouts at Saeros:* "Take it off! Swap shirts!"

[Boromir88]

Group D

Match 1 - Barad-dur vs Eriador
Like in many of the first games already, the Ost-in-Edhil stadium was sold out for Barad-dur vs Eriador. The rangers came out in droves to watch their Eriador, and a good company of trolls had come to watch Bert and Tom. But there was also a crowd of Eregion Elves who were anxious to see Gil Galad and Cirdan again. The atmostphere was generally friendly and festival amongst the fans, and the baddies of Barad-dur looked nervous. Only a small section of orcs and fell creatures (probably under 500) had come to watch them and one has to wonder how this would effect Barad-dur's play? Would they be discouraged by the lack of support or not be bothered?

It was kickoff and the game started out with both teams being pretty cautious, not wanting to commit a costsly turnover or be exposed to a dangerous counter. It's not a surprise seeing who captains both teams they would begin by probing and testing out the other without risking much. However, after the cautious trial stage, the game started speeding up, much to the likeness of the crowd. This was the football they liked seeing.

In the friendlies Arvedui had trouble keeping his troll defenders in line, and again it seems like this would be a problem for Eriador. As Bert just ran over Cirdan in an attempt to steal possession and it was an easy yellow for the troll (the troll fans in the stands cheered the play, thinking Bert had made a great defensive stop). The Mouth took the free kick and Fellbeast #2 came swooping in to knock it into the net giving Barad-dur the 1-0 lead.

Once Barad-dur grabbed the lead the game slowed down again, as the Dark Tower was defending it's lead more than pushing to expand it. The trolls had actually started showing a true ability to be able to play well in Arvedui's defense. However, another mistake by Bert would lead to another Barad-dur goal.

Isildur tried dribbling into the penalty area. There was contact and Isildur fell down, the Barad-dur supporters were screaming for a penalty and for Bert's 2nd yellow (which would send him away from the match). But the ref was unconvinced, as Isildur was clearly looking to get a foul, and Bert held his ground. However, Bert thought the ref whistled the action dead, and stepped away from the ball, just leaving it. Cirdan rushed in, knowing the play was still live, took possession and rounded Bert, he sent it to the right side, where Gil Galad was also rushing in. And the High King of the Noldor finished it. Barad-dur would lead 2-0 going into the break.

If you've ever heard the tale of two halves this is an example of one of those instances. It's not that Eriador played terribly in the first, it's just a few trollish mistakes led to 2 easy goals for the other team. So, if they could find a way to keep the pressure off their trolls and avoid those mistakes, than you thought Eriador would be able to get back into the match. And they did!

Gil Galad shut down the offense completely and went into an extremely negative scheme where he wanted to keep all 11 players behind the ball at all times. While it was hard for Eriador to break down Barad-dur defense, it was not impossible. As is so often the case, unless if you have a lockdown defense like Angband or Tol Eressea, holding onto a lead is more damaging than it is not.

Eriador got on the board in the 68th minute, by Halbarad cleaning up the rebound of Aranarth's shot in the 68th minute. Barad-dur still decided to protect their lead, and found it hard to switch gears to an offensive one. The Mouth was trying to push the action but his passes often sailed over Isildur, Gil Galad and Cirdan, who often retreated and let the Eriador defenders take possession.

As Eriador was holding most of the possession now, and looking for an equalizer, Arvedui pushed his lines farther upfield, including the defensive line. Aragorn didn't earn the nickname Striker without reasons, and when Amlaith took the ball up to mid-circle he spotted Aragorn making a run. The star King took Amlaith's looping pass, chested it down and with one swift touch drove it passed Ohtar.

The match ended in a draw and Barad-dur was rather lucky to escape with the point. Since by the strategy of their captain in the 2nd half they definitely deserved to lose. The Mouth led all the baddies off the field, while the Last Alliance Company met with Arvedui's squad at mid-circle and shook hands for the good game.

Barad-Dur 2-2 Eriador
tot shots 10-13
on target 5-6
GOALS:
*22, 1-0 Fellbeast #2 (Mouth)
*43, 2-0 Gil-galad (Cirdan)
*68, 2-1 Halbarad (Aranarth)
*80, 2-2 Aragorn (Amlaith)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barad-Dur- Nazgul #1, Isildur, Shagrat
*Eriador- Bert, Tom

Match 2 - Eregion vs Gondor
After an exciting 2-2 draw in the morning match, the crowd was ready for the afternoon game of their hometown heroes, Eregion, taking on the likeable and respected Gondor (especially since Arwen was captaining the team now).

The first half ended scoreless but the crowd was still buzzing with excitement, it was far from a snooze fest. Fans were seeing a real defensive masterpiece and it's not like the offenses were just staying back on their own side passing it to eachother. The offenses were truly working, but having to work hard to get chances. Gondor for the most part was attacking more, as Eregion looked to create counters. Eregion was able to get some good counter attacks, but it's difficult against Gondor's defense which is rarely ever caught napping, and even harder to beat their last line of defense, the GK Ecthelion. While Arwen was having an even harder time feeding the ball through Eregion's defense to her FWs.

So, despite the scoreless draw in the first 45, fans were still eagerly interested into the game. If the offenses were still able to get these chances off the flawless defenses, eventually a goal had to happen, right? Even with also the perfect goal keeping of Elrond and Ecthelion, surely a goal was coming.

Well, the Eregion crowd began their singing and chanting at the start of the 2nd and did not have to wait long to see that goal they knew was sure to come. Eorl had his best chance yet, and raised his arms up in celebration as he struck the ball hard to the right post, but Elrond jumped out of apparently nowhere to snatch it right out of mid air. Eorl exasperately breathed and threw his arms down, how was Gondor going to beat Elrond when he's playing like this?

Elrond spotted Gondor just a second late in back track and set up their defense so he threw it out wide to Erestor. Erestor made a deep run until Narmacil tried to challenge and take the ball away, but Erestor quickly sent the ball to Elladan. No one closed in on Elladan as no one anticipated he would shoot, and so he did. Ecthelion was too busy paying attention to make sure the dangerous strike forces Earendil and Glorfindel were marked, by the time Boromir I shouted "SHOT", it was too late, Ecthelion reacted too slowly and the ball snuck between his hand and right post. The stadium burst into more joyous singing and even the Gondorian fans had to applaud the goal.

Their team had been making a stellar effort, and there really wasn't much they could do than admit the facts that Elrond was an Arda class goal keeper and he was determined to keep his goal clean. And Gondor hadn't given up after the goal, since there was still a lot of time left and Eregion was surely going to go into all out defense now. Sadly, for the Gondorians, the other goal came by means of another Eregion counter attack. This one from precise, brilliant team work between Earendil and Glorfindel. If those two had their timing in sync, than Eregion could be quite a dangerous team, especially since it's certain you can always depend on the defense and their Master Elrond.

Eregion 2-0 Gondor
tot shots 10-12
on target 6-6
GOALS:
*51, 1-0 Elladan (Erestor)
*74, 2-0 Glorfindel (Earendil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eregion- Elrohir
*Gondor- Folcwine, Eorl

[Nogrod]

Group G

At the time of pre-game press conference there had been no sign of any dwarven supporters from Nogrod in Valmar, or anywhere in Valinor. That had understandably given birth to all kinds of rumors. The fact that one of the most believable ones was that three ships of them had set sail from the Havens already the previous week was not exactly toning the other rumors down. One could easily dismiss rumours which claimed the Valar had asked for Ulmo to sink the ships into the sea, or that Manwë would have personally destroyed the ships with a blazing thunderbolt (or given that for Tulkas to handle, like another rumor claimed). Even if the dwarves were not of the original creation and none had visited the Blessed Realm, they were no creations of Melkor or in any other way servants of evil – and thus killing them was in no way a believable explanation. Or that’s at least how the local media reasoned.

But what had happened, or had nothing happened at all? That was the question which took over the press conference to the seeming annoyance of the organisers who would have rather discussed the great shape teams Pelori and Valimar on. Let’s peak in for a short moment.

Estolad Evening Star: So, does anyone here know about the fate of the three ships carrying dwarves from Nogrod? Where are they now?

Namo: Now there’s no evidence those ships ever set sail so it’s impossible to make any judgment at this point. It’s hard to pass judgements over entities you’re n ot sure exist in the first place – and rumors are no evidence.

The AKM: But it would seem odd that the Nogrodians would not be willing to come as their two great champions Telchar and Gamil Zirak are playing. And no one sighting them here would point towards there being something fishy in here, knowing the conservative nature of Valinor…

Namo: Now even if speaking of the intentions of someone who is not here to speak on his or her behalf is somewhat dubious and nothing one could use as evidence, I can see your meaning. And if we wish to dwell into speculation I do admit it would be easy to suppose some dwarves would have wished to do the trip. But we all know there are so many different ways in which a trip may fail, be slowed down or be just cancelled; accidents, financial problems, weather… But as I said, that’s all nothing but speculation.

Estolad Evening Star: But the hosts of ships of men and elves from Beleriand did manage to come! Isn’t it a bit odd only the dwarves didn’t make it?

Namo: Now you are basing your question again on the unproven assumption there was a ship of dwarves in the first place. And like I said, I do like facts more than assumptions without evidence.

The AKM: Let me put you a different question. We all know you and Manwë are the ones delving deepest in the vision of Ilúvatar. And many say you know almost all there is to know about the destinies of Arda and in the end you declare them according to your understanding of the Vision. Now team Beleriand is the most remarkable showcase of inter-racial comradery and bonds between different races who have bled together in the defense of the good against evil. Now surely Ilúvatar would not discriminate one race of heroes while embracing the other two. Now would He?

Namo: The mind of the One is hard to interpret for even those who have the best capabilities for it. So do you, Mr. Journalist, think you understand Ilúvatar’s vision?

Estolad Evening Star: Forgive me my boldness, but was that a confession?

Namo: Unfathomable are the ways of Ilúvatar…


The reader is free to make her /his own inferences from there.


~*~

It’s clear the press conference didn’t ease the tension over the issue. Actually it did provoke quite an unique protest from the team Beleriand as coming to the arena they all wore black ribbons, like honoring the memory of the deceased, in their left arms – and they wore them the whole game.

After a pretty careful start Pelori went into lead when only 12 minutes was played. From a nice pass from Varda, Eönwë forced himself free from between the Beleriand defenders and hammered the ball into the net with real power-shot. The crowds were pleased and relaxed as the haunting thought that these visitors from the east could have gained some extra-powers from their protesting felt now like something they had feared in vain.

But lo and behold. Telchar and Gamil Zirak called the team together with the help of Aegnor and Angrod. And as the game continued, the home crowds soon learned that the team Beleriand was capable of more than just protesting with their arm-bands as they suddenly looked very much focused and determined to give the best they could. It was clear the local media had not talked about their stamina in vain for they really gave a hard opposition to the home team who was so used to calling the shots in almost any game. But now the game was very much even.

Even with the extra-tension and effort in the field it still was not exactly the fastest or most flashing football on Arda due to the conservative and defensive playing-style of both teams – for even if rallied on a cause the Belerianders didn’t overdo it but still played from the defense on. Both teams had a few really good scoring opportunities but the crowds had to wait until the very end to see something more.

With only a few minutes to go the home crowds started feeling secure of the win when Aegnor silenced the whole stadium in disbelief. Very fittingly it was actually Gamil Zirak’s goal. It was he who took the defenders with him, got released from their pressure enough to chip the ball sideway to release Aegnor all alone at the corner of the goal where it was an easy task for him to just pass the ball in with no defenders around and Manwë being seriously late.

There were only two minutes on the clock and it was one all!

And it remained thus. Beleriand had robbed a point from Pelori thus making the group a lot more interesting as it is not anymore that certain Pelori will qualify. Surely the oddmakers would still see them as the more probable candidates of the two, but at the moment their performance is even. Whichever of the two teams plays better in the future has the claim for qualifying. Unless Gondolin breaks in and shuffles the deck once more.

That was what the evening game could reveal.


Beleriand 1-1 Pelori
tot shots 9-10
on target 4-4
GOALS:
*12, 0-1 Eonwe (Varda)
*88, 1-1 Aegnor (Gamil Zirak)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Beleriand- Telchar, Marach
*Pelori- Irmo


The elves (and maiar) of Valinor outnumbering all others in the stadium were getting a bit nervous when the evening match was about to begin. Their walk-in-the-park group had turned into something different: a competitive group where even Middle-Earth teams seemed to have a chance. And they were little by little waking up for real to the fact that over half of the team Gondolin were last year’s silver-medalists and players like Turgon and Thorondor weren’t exactly weak links either. So, talking about them as a tough team was no talking-point only or a nice admission to some weaker side, but something that was true.

The game started with both teams looking at how the other played. Valinor was having more of the ball but Gondolin answered flexibly to their moves holding them away from any serious scoring opportunity. The game gathered pace as the half went on but it stayed pretty even, Valinor shooting a bit more than Gondolin mostly due to their greater amount of time with the ball.

But just before the half-time Arien offered the home crowd a relief heading in the well-marked pass by Nerdanel after a short corner. Valinor was in the lead! But even in their joy many of the spectators supporting team Valinor realized that the overpowering happiness for the 1-0 just betrayed their innermost insecurity. It was not that easy they had thought beforehand. The goal and their own reactions hammered it in.

The second half continued quite evenly even if Gondolin seemed to be a bit more active in the beginning of the period trying to go for the equalizer. And to the horror of the home crowds they finally did it on 63rd minute! With a quick “change of direction” –play Idril managed to send Duilin free running the right side. When Vairë and Indis rushed after her noticing their mistake both Egalmoth and Turgon ran through the center facing only Tulkas and with the advantage that they saw the situation all the time while Tulkas needed to glance aside every now and then while he backtracked and tried to keep an eye on both attackers. And so Duilin sent a meter high pass from the side just as the two defenders were getting at her – and Turgon dived for it head on from Tulkas’ right while Egalmoth took a tight curve to steal his attention – and Turgon headed the ball past the stupefied Ingwë. And it was clear Tulkas wasn’t too happy either.

But the crowds were totally lost, biting their nails. Was this how it was going to be?

Tulkas was of the different opinion and Valinor started to move the ball even faster than before. Slowly the confused crowds started to wake up for a new hope and started supporting their team from the bottom of their hearts. And it was not long when the ball was in Gondolin’s net. Galdor had to stop Nerdanel against the rules when she was breaking free from him to reach a ball coming from Miriel. He was duly carded and Valinor was given a free kick from quite near the corner of the box. Arien and Nessa ran towards the ball from different angles, Olwë made a side run towards the corner of the goal, and Yavanna being at the side of the wall ducked down. Things were happening. But Estë had just rested beside the ball and suddenly as Arien was just about to reach the ball, she chipped it a meter sideways to Miriel who shot a real beauty from standing legs to the upper right corner of the goal. So while everyone thought the players doing the runs were those about to do something it was the two still-standing ones who scored! That was so cool even the elves from Gondolin and Vinyamar joined the standing ovation.

There was still time and Gondolin didn’t give in. But their promising chase got a sad ending when Olwë managed to steal the ball from Salgant in the midfield and sent it forth to Arien sensing the steal and already running full speed onwards. He was forced to shoot from 20 meters though as Thorondor was closing on him. Rôg kneeled down to safely pick the ball coming straight towards him rolling on the ground when it slipped from his fingers, took a swerve from his shoulder and bounced over him… and into the goal!

The crowds were relived and danced and sang and cheered to no end. It is not possible to reproduce the f-, s- and h-words springing from the mouths of team Beleriand players to tell what they seemed to feel at the moment.

Just ten minutes left with two goals down against a Valier-team the Belerianders realized it was too tough a job and they seemed to give it just a half-hearted effort to go for a goal. Had they not been upset for such a cheap goal they might have played differently, but now it felt like they had sold their city.

So the Blessed Realm got one victory in the end – even if they had been anticipating two easy ones. But even if Gondolin managed to play evenly against Valinor for long periods all the stats tell one that Valinor earned it’s victory. One thing for the speculators opened though – and that would concern betting on both of the two teams of the latter match.

Rôg was one of the top two goalies in last year’s tournament but began this season with a very bad performance gaining only 66,7% saving percentage against Hithlum. Now some said it was because Turgon had decided to leave the defenses without support to test them – and to give Rôg a true warm-up, but many thought Rôg was just rusty. And the following friendlies seemed to show the latter explanation to be the correct one as he really stepped forwards and played the next three games with almost 82% saving-ratio which is not stellar but on the top ten anyway.

But now he was playing badly again! The third goal went straight to him and some said that also the first header by Arien could have been saved by a goalie who was in top shape. Or was it that Rôg just couldn’t face the sun? Maybe the great blacksmith who had only stared at the fire and Balrogs couldn’t stand the sun? These are feeble excuses as one can see. Maybe he is past his prime then? Or maybe he will come back after the first match like he did in the friendlies?

Be it as it may, Rôg’s saving percentage in the game was a lousy 57%. Sure Valinor makes quality shots and all that, but depending on the reason for his bad numbers either Gondolin could be much stronger if he pulls himself together or Valinor is not that good if he is really playing badly in general. that remains to be seen.


Gondolin 1-3 Valinor
tot shots 9-16
on target 4-7
GOALS:
*41, 0-1 Arien (Nerdanel)
*63, 1-1 Turgon (Duilin)
*72, 1-2 Miriel (Este)
*79, 1-3 Arien (Olwe)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Gondolin- Turgon, Galdor
*Valinor- Tulkas, Este

[Boromir88]

Group H

Match 1 - Lothlorien vs Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul fans had shown up by the tens of thousands to watch the matches in this group. In fact, had it not been for the strong number of Rohirrim locals to see Shadowfax, or the band of Gondorians to see Boromir II, Lothlorien fans would have definitely been outnumbered. The stadium was split 50/50, which would sure to make an interesting match.

To everybody's surprise Lothlorien started out as the aggressors. Well it was more like Feanor, toying with Minas Morgul. Galadriel refused to lend her star FW any support as he dashed to and fro playing keep away for several minutes. Then something awoke in Boromir II, spiritted on by Feanor's skill, he suddenly charged forward and when Feanor found him with a perfect pass, Boromir made his trademark shout "FOR GONDOR!" as he struck the ball. Earnur was stunned and Boromir rifled it past him. Then he ran over to the section of Gondorians. They pulled out their plastic replicas of Boromir's horn, and began blowing into them. The noise was a loud, constant buzzing that greatly annoyed the Minas Morgul section.

After the goal, Galadriel gave a stern glare to Feanor and Boromir, as if to say "ok, you've had your fun, now come back and defend." Thus, Lothlorien began defending their lead, and they were doing admirably. A mistake by the King of the Dead, led to a quick counter by Lothlorien. Castamir tried to play the ball to the Dead King, but somehow he missed it completely, it's as if the ball went straight through his foot. Feanor picked it up and broke forward with Boromir and Legolas. Boromir got it and tried to rifle another one past Earnur. But this one hit the top post and richoted almost straight down, however Legolas was there to ever so delicately nudge it over the line, giving Lothlorien the 2-0 lead.

Now Galadriel really believed the 2-0 lead would be sufficient and put an end to any counterattacks. While Minas Morgul was holding most of the possession, Lothlorien defenders had a pretty easy time of it, as Minas Morgul couldn't even crack the first line of defense, Feanor. Often times Feanor would steal it away, run around for a few minutes and pass it back to the defenders who also kicked it around for a while. It was a dreadfully boring end to the half.

The 2nd half was pretty much the same story as the end of the 1st. Minas Morgul couldn't keep possession passed Feanor long enough to get off shots, and Lothlorien refused to even attempt to expand their lead. Except for the occassional, solo-elf runs by Feanor where he attempted to take on the entire Minas Morgul defense or make up his own trick shot.

By the 80th minute Firienfeld had about half-emptied when Minas Morgul went into one of their classic late-game, manic periods. Last year they made a habit of being down for most of the match and storming back in the final 10 minutes. Minas Morgul came forwards in full force and it took the Lothlorien defense by surprise. They had a relatively easy day up to that point and, when all the force of Minas Morgul came in that first swift stroke, they overwhelmed the Lothlorien defenders and the Witch-King had an easy, open net, bringing the score 2-1.

However, after that first wave, Lothlorien adjusted and despite Minas Morgul sending even Herumor and Fuinur up to attack, it looked more likely Lothlorien would make it a 2-goal lead again on one of their counters. Feanor had a good chance in the 88th minute, but Earnur managed to come up with a good save. Thus the game ended 2-1, in favor of Lothlorien.

Lothlorien 2-1 Minas Morgul
tot shots 11-10
on target 7-4
GOALS:
*9, 1-0 Boromir (Feanor)
*23, 2-0 Legolas (Boromir)
*81, 2-1 Witch King (Beruthiel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Lothlorien- Haldir
*MMorgul- Castamir, Fuinur

Match 2 - Dunharrow vs Minas Tirith

After Minas Morgul's defeat in the first match, the mood in the stadium was festival and jovial. Obviously the Rohirrim would like their team to come away with 3 points in their match, but the fact that Minas Morgul was at the bottom with 0 was all too sweet.

It was a clean and fairly even and competitive match, but not one would remember as great or exciting. Judging by the play and the statistics of the teams, it would be hard to see either one advance, to be perfectly honest.

Brytta opened the scoring by heading in a corner delivered by Theodred in the 24th minute. Dunharrow pulled back to defend their lead and were able to do so successfully, in part due to some nice saves by Aldor.

Dunharrow began the 2nd ready to just defend and protect but in the 56th minute it cost them when Elfhelm cleaned up the rebound of Tarondor's shot.

As the game drew on it looked to all Minas Morgul fans Dunharrow and Minas Tirith made a secret deal at half time to end the game in a draw, so they could pick up a point and leave Minas Morgul at the bottom. However, they underestimated Dunharrow wanting to truly give their fans something to cheer about and that was a solid win, on the opening day of games, in front of their home crowd.

So in a short period where Dunharrow was actually forcing Minas Tirith to defend, and Minas Tirith looked more anxious to just hold onto the point then try to win the match, Theodred found Thengel completely unmarked and with under 4 minutes remaining in regulation gave his team the lead. Dunharrow was easily able to hold until the ref blew the final whistle.

Now there was a real reason for the Rohirrim to be excited. Their team was hosting, and they were tied with Lothlorien on top of Group H. Minas Morgul's defeat earlier in the day had become only the 'icing on the cake.'

Dunharrow 2-1 Minas Tirith
tot shots 9-12
on target 5-5
GOALS:
*24, 1-0 Brytta (Theodred)
*56, 1-1 Elfhelm (Tarondor)
*86, 2-1 Thengel (Theodred)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Dunharrow- Helm, Folca
*Minas Tirith- Denethor II, Firefoot, Eowyn

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Standings:



Power Ranking:

The ArdaCup.com Stats Report Power Rank shall return with the next issue.

Phantasy Numbers:

GOALS + ASSISTS
2+1
Túrin (Doriath)

2+0
Arien (Valinor)

1+1
Fingon (Himring)
Maedhros (Himring)
Durin's Bane (Misty Mts)
Thuringwethil (Angband)
Gothmog (Anfauglith)
Curufin (Hithlum)
Elros (Westernesse)
Boromir II (Lothlórien)

0+2
Beleg (Doriath)
Théodred (Dunharrow)

GOALKEEPER - SAVES
7 saves
1. Orodreth (Tirion) 7/11 - 63.6%

6 saves
2. Elrond (Eregion) 6/6 - 100.0%
3. Fram (Anduin) 6/8 - 75.0%
4. Tuor (Mithrim) 6/10 - 60.0%

5 saves
5. Huan (Doriath) 5/6 - 83.3%
6. Eärnur (Minas Morgul) 5/7 - 71.4%
7. Old Man Willow (The Forest) 5/8 - 62.5%
8. Imlach (Hithlum) 5/9 - 55.6%

GOALKEEPER - SAVE %
100.0%
1. Elrond (Eregion) 6/6
2. Caradhras (Misty Mts) 4/4
3. Amandil (Tol Eressëa) 4/4
4. Maglor (Himring) 3/3
5. ShastaWolf (Tol-in-Gaurhoth) 3/3
6. Tar-Atanamir (Westernesse) 2/2
.
7. Huan (Doriath) 5/6 - 83.3%
8. Aldor (Dunharrow) 4/5 - 80.0%

YELLOW CARDS
2 yellow cards
Amrod (Himring)
NilpWolf (Tol-in-Gaurhoth)

Erratum: On Cermië the first, Year 2011 of the Seventh Age, we have erroneously published the saves of GK Butterbur of Shire-Bree Utd as 8, due to an error in our records. The entry has been duly amended and we wish to apologise for the inconvenience the erroneous data may have caused. We thank Boromir88 of Two Towers Network for spotting said error, and would wish to offer him a job in our company, if we could afford him.