Arda Cup Football 2011

[Boromir88]

Group D
Group D has been rocked by doping allegations of the host team. This also effects Gondor, because if true, would Eregion have to forfeit their 2-0 victory in Round 1? That was the talk of Group D and mediat had swarmed around the lockerrooms for reactions from the clubs.

Arwen: I can't believe my father would cheat to win. I don't know how these rumors started, but they did not come from my team, no matter what you may have read elsewhere. We got beat by an Arda Class GK, there is no shame in that, and we have to concentrate winning Eriador now. This group is in our hands to take.

Aragorn: Are we playing Eregion this round? That'll be all.

The Mouth: Well I don't know much about the use of PEDs, that wouldn't surprise me much. But I do hear from good sources that Earendil is not playing well because his wife was seen wearing an Elrond jersey. Father jealousy? Everyone knows a mother will support her son more than the other man in the house.

In the mean time there is a game to be played, but everyone is waiting for the release of the next Underground to see what the Arda Cup Committee has to say about the allegations.

Match 3 - Eriador vs Gondor
The game was extremely even the full 90 minutes. They traded shots, goals, everything about the match brought it an exciting back and forth affair. Gondor would press, Arvedui would need to make a few saves, until the pressure paid off on the scoreboard. Then Eriador would press, Ecthelion II would have to make a few saves, until finally the pressure led to a goal. It was almost like a friendly, but the crowd actually did see skilled football. Eriador and Gondor were literally just that evenly matched.

So it was Gondor that started attacking first and in the 19th minute a good releasing pass by Arwen was banged in by Turambar. With the lead Gondor relaxed and Eriador was the team most often with possession in the opponents half of the field. Araphor has a long history of scoring crucial goals at the end of games, this one came with 2 minutes remaining in the 1st half. The Wight worked his way deep into Gondor's box and left it for Araphor. A finisher of Araphor's quality, there was no doubt to anyone in the stadium that one was going in. The half-time whistle blew and the teams walked off, agreeing that was a fair result.

The 2nd half was almost a mirror image of the 1st. 19 minutes in Gondor had the lead again, as Eldacar put in his 1st goal of the tournament. Gondor again relaxed and defended their lead. This time though, Eriador pressured a bit more. Araphor almost had his 2nd goal of the game but it was a brilliant hand save by Ecthelion, preserving the Gondor lead. But the rebound bounced perfectly to Aragorn, and the Gondor keeper had not recovered from saving Araphor's shot, it was 2-2., with under 15 minutes to go.

Knowing a draw would do them little good, since they would face Eregion in the last round, and either Gondor or Barad Dur could knock them out of the playoffs simply by beating the other, Eriador began looking for another goal. Though, there was something a bit frantic about their shooting in the last 10 minutes. Gondor's defense was holding well, but Eriador's shots were uncharacteristically wild, and Ecthelion II didn't even have to make a save in the last 10 minutes, since all Eriador's shots went sailing harmlessly off target.

Eriador 2-2 Gondor
tot shots 16-12
on target 6-6
GOALS:
*19, 0-1 Turambar (Arwen)
*43, 1-1 Araphor (Barrow-Wight)
*64, 1-2 Eldacar (Narmicil)
*77, 2-2 Aragorn (Araphor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eriador- Tom, Halbarad
*Gondor- Arwen, Narmacil

Match 4 - Barad Dur vs Eregion
The tension was thick before the kick off to this game, and a lot of it likely had to do with The Mouth's comments to the media before the game. Eregion fans did not take those comments kindly, so when the teams came out onto the field, the Barad-dur baddies were greeted with a host of boos (the Last Alliance crew, cordial clapping). The Mouth and his cronies were smiling, and security was looking nervous before the start.

However, as the match was going on, Gil Galad had maintained pretty good control over The Mouth and his crew. Maybe since The Mouth was in enemy land with very little support, he kept his followers fairly tame? Maybe he was just looking for some inspiration to spark a fire in his boys against Eregion? Who knows, only The Mouth knows, but like Gondor in Round 1, Barad-dur was not playing terribly against Eregion. They were able to get good pressure and create scoring opportunities. Yet again though, there was just no way Elrond was going to allow a goal this game. I don't think we've ever witness a GK this dominant in Arda before. I mean this is a whole knew level, even for Elrond!

And so as Barad-Dur was getting their opportunities, and seemingly holding most of the possession, Eregion fans were shocked (but pleasantly so) to see their team was up 2-0 at the half. It was almost like, they were so enamoured by Elrond's saves they forgot their team actually scored twice!

First goal was on a corner, in the 26th minute, that Figwit took and it found the head of Glorfindel, who was showing no fear in the face of the Nazgul and orcish defenders. The 2nd goal came when Glorfindel made a run into the box, with the ball, and the BD defenders collapsed, wanting to prevent the re-embodied Elf from shooting. But that left Elrohir, in the center, right outside the box to line-up his shot and make a good strike. Ohtar was blocked out by the crowded mess in front of him, and didn't see Elrohir shot until it was too late.

The 2nd half was pretty uneventful. Elrond shut down the offense completely, and Barad-dur tried to narrow the lead, but with each save by Elrond, the Eregion crowd cheered more wildly than the save before. 12 out of 12, no one has witnessed this before! Would anyone be able to score against Elrond!?

Barad-Dur 0-2 Eregion
tot shots 12-14
on target 6-7
GOALS:
*26, 0-1 Glorfindel (Figwit)
*43, 0-2 Elrohir (Glorfindel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barad-Dur- Nazgul #1, Fellbeast #1, Cirdan
*Eregion- Elrohir, Valandil

Group D (after 2 Rounds)
1. Eregion, 6 pts, (+4)
2. Eriador, 2 pts, (0)
3. Barad-Dur, 1 pts, (-2)
4. Gondor, 1 pts, (-2)

Round 3 Matches
Barad Dur - Gondor
Eregion - Eriador

Eregion has not only advanced, but has locked up 1st place. Eriador wins they advance. Eriador ties, or loses, the winner of Barad-dur/Gondor will advance. Eriador loses, and Barad-dur/Gondor draw, that's a messy 3 way tie for 2nd. First tiebreaker is goal differential, then most goal scores, and if there's still a tie, SHOOTOUT!

[Nogrod]

Group F


There were two things in the minds of the home crowds for round 2. Could Westernesse beat Tol Eressëa as confidently as they did to Tuor’s Mithrim – which in the end meant asking the question, how good Ulmo’s team actually was, could they even challenge the Dúnedain-heroes? The second one naturally concerned the chances of team Númenor to still qualify. To keep that hope alive they had to beat Mithrim, but even a confident win today wouldn’t let them off the noose which had been tied around their neck when they lost their first game against Tol Eressëa.

Especially the yellow papers speculated wildly with different scenarios. For if Westernesse won Tol Eressëa they could afford giving away just a big enough win to their brother-Númenorians on the last game as they would by then know the end result of the earlier match and thus secure two Númenorian teams to qualify. In the game day press-conference Ar Pharazôn, who was representing Westernesse because Elros was having a family-lounch, understandably denied the existence of any such plans – or that they would try to make as big numbers today as they could to make Tol Eressëa’s goal-difference worse. But he did it also in quite strong terms, saying the pride of the Númenorians would never give in fighting half-heartedly, even if against their own brothers and sisters. Some people thought that was kind of an odd remark and a little off to say the least, but no one could deny the truth of it.


~*~

The second match-day saw similar kind of festivities the first had. The families and parties had once again filled the Armenelos Stadium to the last bench for hours before the referee would blow his whistle to signal the first match started. They were having their food, wine and music under the slowly cooling afternoon sunlight enjoying each other’s company and the general carnival athmosphere – and of course behind all of it, the suspense and excitement of the games they would be witnessing today.

The crowds were not forced to stay under suspense for long though as the power-duo Elros – Ar Pharazôn made a beautiful combination-play outwitting the revered Ulmo’s defenses with some flashy passing. In the end Ar Pharazôn gave the final freeing pass to Elros from between Salmar’s legs and left face to face with Amandil on roughly at the penalty spot there was no way Elros would miss. And he didn’t. The crowds cheered wildly for the early lead when only 14 minutes had been played.

After the goal the game turned into a kind of war of attrition. Westernesse is known for it’s flexible and balanced game and with one goal ahead they naturally took their defense a tad more seriously – and as Tol Eressëa is a team that lives from defense whether in the lead or behind – the outcome was some very cool devensive play the coaches around Arda would have loved to watch hour after hour, but which in the eyes of a common football fan started getting a bit boring after a while.

But it was a solid fight. Both teams were earnestly trying to score but because of the rock solid downstairs both teams displayed most of the shots were shot from too far and from under too hard pressing by the defenders. Towards the end of the game it was getting clear though that Westernesse had more imaginative variations on their attack and well, just more quality, and they were able to slowly start asserting more pressure towards the Tol Eressëa backlines. Even the crowds woke up demanding a second goal.

And what was to come, was to come. A fair ten minutes from fulltime Tar Aldarion was forced to tackle Elros against the rules to deny him sprinting past him freely for a nice pass by Mardil. Elros thanked Mardil for the nice pass and asked him to give the ensuing free kick. While Ulmo’s defenses held Elros, Ar Pharazôn, Tar Minastir and Ar Adunakhôr tightly guarded close the goal, Mardil passed the ball sideways to on-rushing Hyermendacil who booted his heart out from 25 meters banging the ball into the back of the net leaving the unprepared Amandil no time to react. It was 2-0 and the Gondorians had scored for Westernesse, showing the homeside fans that the brothers were no pushovers but solid parts of team Westernesse. The Gondorian fans were just overwhelmed singing “Gondor, home of the brave” –hymn the rest of the match.

Tol Eressëa 0-2 Westernesse
tot shots 8-11
on target 4-4
GOALS:
*14, 0-1 Elros (Ar Pharazôn)
*78, 0-2 Hyarmendacil (Mardil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Tol Eressëa- Salmar, Ossë
*Westernesse- Tar Palantir



After Westernesse had given Mithrim a bashing on the first round many Númenorians hoped team Númenor would ignite similar kind of fireworks. But the older the first half became the weaker that hope became. Mithrim managed to force Númenor’s forwards to shoot from afar and were actually able to build up a few decent attacks themselves keeping the game pretty much even.

The second half seemed like a copy of the first at start, but then, like in the first game, it looked like the heavens deserted the Númenoreans again. It was a neat and slow build-up Mithrim gathered together moving the ball to and fro on the Númenorean half of the pitch looking for any holes in the defenses. And it took only a second’s lapse of concentration from Tar Calmacil – and the keen eye of Androg to notice it: Morwen sneaked off from her guard slipping behind him and Androg delivered the ball surgically accurate to her boot at the exact right moment giving her a chance to make a turn-around one-timer shot totally taking Silmariën unawares. And the visitors were in the lead! The stadium was silent, except the few thousand men (and some elves) from Beleriand who were shouting their throats sore from happiness and pride.

But the Númenoreans weren’t beaten yet. With the rallying call of Inziladûn’s daughter, the queen “fairer than silver or ivory or pearls” the Númenoreans started attacking stronger than before and the crowds were aroused into an ear-banging cheer and song to encourage their team. The minutes ticked away and Mithrim cling to their lead. The suspense!

Finally, when there was less than fifteen minutes to go, the stadium exploded. Tar Surion equalized with a header from a great corner by Tar Miriel.

And Númenor was not done yet! The craze of the crowd and the almost manic boldness of the great Númenorians was alight now – and even if Mithrim offered a stiff defense the waves of attacks roamed towards their goal And just four minutes before fulltime Tar Miriel hammered the ball in after a beautiful individual effort. Númenor would win! Númenor would win after all! The crowds were going nuts. The dream they had feared lost still lived on.

Mithrim 1-2 Númenor
tot shots 9-12
on target 4-5
GOALS:
*55, 1-0 Morwen (Androg)
*77, 1-1 Tar Surion (Tar Miriel)
*86, 1-2 Tar Miriel (Tar Ancalimon)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Mithrim- Sador, Asgon, Aerin
*Númenor- Ar Gimilzor


Group F (after 2 rounds)
1. Westernesse, 6pts. (+6)
2. Númenor, 3pts. (+-0)
3. Tol Eressëa, 3pts. (-1)
4. Mithrim, 0pts. (-5)

Last matches:
Tol Eressëa vs. Mithrim
Númenor vs. Westernesse


Westernesse has secured the qualification and practically also the peak position in the group (unless they lose to Númenor with 6 goals or more). The second qualifier is most probably either Tol Eressëa or Númenor. Tol Eressëa looks like favourites as they meet Mithrim in their last game while Númenor has to take on the impressive team Westernesse. Unless Westernesse plays too relaxedly as they don’t have anything at stake any more – or unless those unsportsmanlike allegiations are true and Westernesse wishes to aid their brothers and sisters to qualify.

[Kuruharan]

by: Kuruharan, The Underground

Bywater

The Underground recently obtained and interview with Boromir88, president of the Arda Cup to get his response to the doping allegations.

"The only PED legalized by the committee is 1 liter of ent-draught, and only players registered as Hobbits are approved to drink a liter of ent-draught before the tournament. Any non-Hobbit caught with ent-draught in their system will face the appropriate level of punishment.

1st offense is a fine, 2nd offense is suspension from the tournament the following year, and 3rd time offenders are permanently banned from all Arda Cup affiliated events.

Now, it is true by the Arda Cup's regulations that whole Miruvor is a performance-enhancing drug. However, any drink with under 2% miruvor content is qualified as skim miruvor and thus is an energy drink, not a PED. Each year, Elrond submits his batch of miruvor for testing, and if it 2%, or under, miruvor content than Eregion is in no violation of laws regarding PEDs.

We are awaiting the results of this years batch."

Forlong the Fat, lead attorney for the Gondor side had this response.

"When was this mysterious new rule regarding miruvor implemented? I've never heard of it before today? And why was only Eregion allowed this sweet deal and no other team had heard of it? And why was the testing not completed before the Arda Cup? At the rate we are going now the results won't be completed until months after the Cup is over.

I can assure the public, that in the interests of fair play and integrity, we will not cease our investigations until all our questions have been satisfactorily resolved.

Several members of the Barad-dur team, who just got their heads handed to them by Eregion, also weighed in on the topic.

Fellbeast #1 had this to say, "SHRIEEEEK, *snort* wheeeeeze *munch munch* SHRIEEEEK"

Shagrat echoed those sentiments. In part he said, "The fix is clearly in. Not only is the committee allowing certain teams to use PED but they are essentially refusing to look into the allegations. They have been bought."

Boromir88 allegedly tried to have both players dragged out back and shot. No word yet on whether he succeeded.