Arda Cup Football 2011

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

8/16 in the last round, that was terrible! Ah, well--that's still half correct, and TTN got just twelve, which still leaves a respectable gap between our styles of journalism.

Now, before I get to my predictions, I'd like to take this chance to CURSE WESTERNESSE FOR KNOCKING NÚMENOR OUT!!! You'll get your just desserts, you wait and see!

Round of 16 predictions:

A1 Doriath >>> H2 Minas Morgul

Túrin has battled Morgoth's forces during the height of his control of Beleriand with lesser help than his current squad. I'm sure he'll manage to beat this bunch of wannabes bad guys in his sleep. With one foot tied behind this back. (C'mon, Doriath! Tirion'll be waiting for you in the finals!)

B1 Wilderland <<< Valinor

Regarding their next match, Arien has been reputed to say, 'You bring dragons? Against me? Is this some manner of joke?' We agree, Arien. We agree.

C1 Angband >>> F2 Tol Eressëa

Let's see. On one hand we have the Iron Hell, on the other the Elf Boat Island thingy. So, yeah, totally obvious. (No offence, Ulmo, but, you have, you know, no offence. )

D1 Eregion > E2 The Forest

In the blue corner, we have Elrond's 'Holly' streak (broken at 18)! In the red corner, we have Bombadil's playing streak (2 games and counting)! LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

E1 Tol-in-Gaurhoth >>> D2 Barad-dûr

ShastaWolf's his usual psychic self, and the rest of the pack's just as sharp. After this match, it will indeed be Barad-dûr's Last Alliance.

F1 Westernesse <<< C2 Anfauglith

Ten - nil to Ard-galen!!! How's that for karma, golden boy?!?!

G1 Pelóri >>> B2 Misty Mts

Remember what I said in my last article, about Eönwë against a land feature? You know what's goin' down. That's right, a beatdown of cosmic proportions! (Sorry, Saruman, you're not big enough to make Manwë choke.)

H1 Lothlórien <<< A2 Tirion

Fun fact: Galadriel has never won in any contest against Finrod. Be it rock-paper-scissors, 2008 Arda Cup group stage matches, whatever. Even shiniest hair--Galadriel started using Finrod's shampoo after she lost to him. As for Fëanor? His father and father-in-law will give him a good hard lesson in how terrible life is. Should never have left Tirion, pal. (Well, at least you got your hair, harhar.)

[Nogrod]

Valinor at Wilderland


A Game of Wits and Physics


So this was it then. The Gladden Fields stadium stood now proudly in between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood and sucked in the sunlight from behind Mirkwood in the morning when the stadium was empty – and had an early twilight as the sun disappeared behind the mighty mountains towering in the west when the crowds started gathering into it. So when the game was beginning at 9 pm, it was already getting dark – Sauron had thought of everything people were able to realize on hindsight.

And when the sky at last turned into black just about the kick-off, the odd “blueish-greyish” lights that were turned on to light the stadium when the teams ran in to the field weren’t exactly welcoming for anyone with good intentions. It was, well, creepy to a human or a hobbit, but just cozy and welcoming for a warg, an orc, a dragon… and the wizards cared not about such little things as lighting. Sadly for Sauron’s possible schemings with the stadium, they were meeting no human or “later/east-elven” team this evening, but a team packed with Valar, Maiar and the very firstborn of the firstborn.

As group-winners Wilderland were going to host a knock-out game against a runner-up from another group – and it is easy to see Sauron didn’t exactly smile when he saw the picks for the groups and their order. And there were no sly tactics to be played on that front as they would meet anyway an opponent from group G having two of Valier-teams in it. So he had most probably just wished for luck to the two Beleriand-based teams while cursing how Manwë had his hand everywhere, even in the AFA board of directors. That had to have been a calculated move…

But here he was and there was nothing he could do about it. And the worst thing from Sauron’s POV was that he had to face Valinor; a team with tremendous attacking power, possession-bound and enforcing playing-style. Had Manwë and Tulkas a deal on this? If forced to face a Valinor-based team, he would have liked to challenge Manwë and his defensive and conservative game countering them with an all-out attack – but against all previews Pelori had beaten Valinor and well, the rest is history.

But Sauron never gives up and rises again like a phoenix from the dust – and he intended to do just that this time as well. His team had a flexible tactics and he was ready to use that as a weapon against the Valier led by Tulkas. And after looking through the dvd of the Pelori vs. Valinor –game for ten times he knew what to do.

The AKM managed to sneak a microphone into the Wilderland lockers just before the game and here’s what Sauron was telling his team:
“Okay, listen. They play fast and let the ball do the work with their even spreading along the pitch. We can exploit that, like Pelori did, by building up superior numbers in the attack. But that means we need to cut their passing-play. We need to cut-cut-cut! Do you understand? I want everyone to do whatever you can to cut any pass that comes anywhere near your place in the field. And that means you Smaug and Scatha as well: you can not afford to play the forward divas in this game, I want to see you sweat going after the passing-lines, do you hear me? Everyone runs for the passes like mad, do you understand? We are physical enough to outrun them, anyday. We’re strong, we’re relentless, we’re tough! Right? We’ll show those High Elves and Maiar and Valar what we are!

But be careful with the passes yourself – the first passes after a steal should be the safest ones: when we gain the ball, we don’t want to lend it back to them immediately and we need to build pressure safely gathering a superior attacking force against their defenses. That way we’ll score, and they will lose. So two styles: without the ball I need to see you running the heck out of your feet or wings, with the ball we build pressure with sense, aiming for an advance in numbers on their half of the pitch. Understood?”


~*~

From the fifty-thousand seats about 5000 were taken by the elves of the west (with some Valar and Maiar), another almost 10 000 were crowded by elves, men and dwarves of the surrounding areas – and the rest 35 000 were occupied by orcs, goblins, wargs, dragons… So when the dull blueish-greyish lighting went on with the teams coming forwards the feeling was, well, “intimidating” might do for a word here. The orcs and goblins were banging their drums and shields so loud it blocked one’s ears, the wargs were howling, the dragons were roaring – and they easily overpowered the few elven songs the smaller part of the crowd tried to put up against the general cacophony.

And it became an inferno just a few minutes into the game.

Like expected, Tulkas was infuriated and beat his team to some real attacking football. They clearly wished to close the game in the first minutes – such was the fury of Valinor coming forwards. But Wilderland players had listened good for what Sauron had said and especially the Maiar-wizards were very good in cutting the passes, and Sauron himself was running up and down the field pressing the Valinor players and calling others to follow his example – and soon enough Alatar cut a pass by Yavanna in the midfield and sent it safely to Pallando who was alongside her, who in turn realized Smaug was within his reach. Smaug took the high pass spreading his wings and brought it down from the heights and reeled it down just behind Indis and Vairë – seeing that Sauron was running there. And Sauron just smashed through the defenders and hammered the one-timer in from just inside the box with such velocity Ingwë had no chance to take it.

Only 7 minutes had been played and the home team was in the lead. And the crowds made such a noise it was probably heard as far as in Lothlórien.

Valinor continued with their style of play and actually managed to build a few decent attacks – but Wilderland had a few dangerous counters as well. And when 25th minute had passed Pallando cut a nice pass in the midfield again – turning it to Alatar this time. Alatar was pressed by Olwë, but he managed to dribble him out of the situation and to send in up to Sauron who made a brilliant one-touch turn-pass sending the ball towards the goal he had seen from the corner of his eye Smaug was flying into. And Smaug didn’t bother to land first but swept his tail from mid-air homing the ball with such a thunderous speed there was nothing the defenders or Ingwë could do.

There was a hoard of protests after the goal. Tulkas called for a red card to Smaug, Arien was especially heated and tried to argue with the referee only to be carded for that. The referee stood staunch on it: the linesman had seen Smaug had touched the ground with his left wing as he winged his tail and thus it was not against the rules and the goal stayed. You can just imagine the ear-piercing noise the home-crowds made during and after these procedures. Multiply it with a gazillion and then you’re near it. After 26 minutes of the Wilderland was leading 2-0!

If there would be time-outs in football, Tulkas would have taken one immediately, but now they had to stay cool for twenty minutes and not allow a goal more. So he yelled orders left and right, his head red from it: “Possession, possession! No hazard passes! Press but do not leave your place!” And Valinor managed to settle the game down for the rest of the first half with both teams having a few decent chances of scoring. But as the referee whistled the half-time, there was no mistaking. Wilderland was leading with two goals.


On the second half the crowds saw a more concentrated and aggressive team Valinor. Wilderland still managed to steal some passes and were able to build up a few nice attacks, but it was clear Valinor was now having the upper hand on the pitch. After 18 minutes of play into the second half Valinor was finally rewarded for their effort. With a quick turn-over Vairë sent the ball over half the field to Miriel who continued it with one-touch pass forwards to Arien who was running through the flank - and from a close angle she hammered the ball in from between the legs of Grimbeorn. The home fans protested and called it an off-side but the linesman stayed calm and kept his flag down.

After the Valinor goal Sauron rallied his team to a more aggressive counter-play trying to cut Valinor’s passes even more aggressively. It did help at first, but then it led to a few cards given to Wilderland players and when Pallando slided badly late over the ankle of Nerdanel and got carded, the things got grim for Wilderland.

It was only 8 minutes to the full time and Valinor got a free kick from 22 meters, around the left corner of Wilderland box. First it seemed Nerdanel was unable to continue with the game but biting her lip she nodded to the referee and expressed her wish to continue with the game. Seeing that determination, Tulkas asked her to give the free kick. She accepted, whispered something to Yavanna when no one paid attention and started to settle the ball.

The defensive wall was built, Grimbeorn yelled his advice to them, Miriel and Arien elbowed room in the the wall, the referee had to order the wall back and back again as they tried to advance tip-toeing forwards… the crowds were for once silent watching in nervousness… Olwë and Yavanna started running to different angles when Nerdanel started towards the ball. The wall was moving prematurely as they tend to move, but with three different lines of attack there was a spread in the wall. Suddenly Nerdanel made a full stop just before the ball and chipped it left towards advancing Yavanna who volleyed it from the run – and in just barely hitting the post. The game was drawn!


It meant overtime – and in the last instance a shoot-out.

The overtime began more or less like the second half: Valinor was slightly on top of it but Wilderland’s sudden cuts of their passing created some dangerous situations on the other end. But little by little it started to look like team Wilderland was wearing themselves off. They had run like madmen all the time and with the overtime taking it’s toll they were really tired. Valinor in turn had let the ball do most of the work and seemed to have energy-reserves still and the game was turning more and more towards the Wilderland goal. The homecrowds saw it and started a loud supporting row to boost their team. But it was not enough.

The Great Warg was just late of the situation with heavy feet and made a sliding tackle on Arien after she had already passed the ball forwards. It was a clear free-kick and a tougher referee would have shown him another yellow for that. But it was a free kick from the middle of the pitch, about 25 meters form the goal. Very dangerous indeed.

Arien insisted on taking it herself… and she hammered it in to the upper-right corner of the goal, plain and simple! 24 minutes overtime Wilderland was defeated. She was the hero of Valinor this day. Two goals and some real effort & bravery.

The home crowds were so disappointed with the goal they started throwing anything they had at their hands to the pitch: weapons, kitchenware, clothes, bottles, fast food wrappings, leaflets, fan-stuff, pebbles from the ground, you name it. The teams and referees tried to get into cover and dashed for the tunnel leading to the lockers but a few players got hit with a stray bottle or a pebble.

That was enough for Tulkas and he roared so loud it beat the noise of the thirty-thousand disappointed orcs making a fuzz. Arien starting to glow brightly was no little aid to that performance as the orcs and wargs tried to get away from the brightness of her. And when Vairë stood forth starting to silently mumble something about the fate, the home crowds just ran away in panic.

There would be some consequences of that incident. That much is clear. But because of it, there was no after game press conference. And only the AKM was able to steal one comment from Tulkas as he rushed into the tunnel more or less enraged.

The AKM: ”A comment?”

Tulkas: “Idiot!”

We’ll leave it open, whom did he mean…


Valinor 3-2 Wilderland (OT)
tot shots 17-16
on target 7-8
GOALS:
*7, 0-1 Sauron (Smaug)
*26, 0-2 Smaug (Sauron)
*63, 1-2 Arien (Miriel)
*82, 2-2 Yavanna (Nerdanel)
*24, 3-2 Arien
YELLOW CARDS:
*Valinor- Vaire, Arien
*Wilderland- Bolg, Great Warg, Scatha, Pallando


Valinor goes through to meet the winner from the game Doriath vs. Minas Morgul.

[the phantom]

Minas Morgul at Doriath

Doriath had played host to various group and playoff contests in recent years, but it wasn’t anything quite like this. Their first concerns had always been impressing visitors with the beauty of their underground arena and being gracious hosts, but this time it was a party, for their team was playing, and they were streaking out of the group stages with the best differential in the tournament!

Standing in the path to the quarterfinals was Minas Morgul, a team that there was no reason not to hate according to most of the Elves- other than their keeper Earnur, but surely there must be something wrong with him if he chose to play there, they figured.

A few hundred men, mostly from Umbar, travelled in support, and these were treated at least decently, for despite their leanings they bore themselves well for the most part, though their faces were often sneering.

The Orcs on the other hand- King Thingol had declared that they should be allowed to live at least, but they weren’t showed much kindness beyond that. Any Orc walking about Menegroth could count on being stopped and searched on nearly every block, as the rangers and wardens of Doriath were all dedicated to ensuring that there would not be a single weapon-carrying Orc within the stadium for the match nor in the pubs before, during, or after. “We don’t care that they’re here so much, but they can’t be trusted to keep the peace,” said one official.

But the trip from Mordor is a lengthy one, and not even five thousand total Orcs showed up to be harassed by the Doriath troops, making the policing job simpler than they had hoped for, and guaranteeing a substantial home field crowd. From pre-match interviews it was clear that the Witch King had noticed a lack of die-hard travelling fans, and had something to say about it.

“Apparently we weren’t thrilling enough in the group phase to get everyone on board... Apparently Doriath is so good that we don’t have a chance... And apparently most of our so-called fans are worthless!” he shouted at various media gathered for the pre-game press conference. “With these players and ME at the front, how could they bail on us and write us off?! And even were it hopeless- miracles can happen! Not to mention we’ve been playing our hardest for this squad. All teams ought to receive better support than this, just for the love of the game and for the pride of you homeland.”

His bitter words did nothing to change the makeup of the crowd, however, and the game kicked off with a nearly unified stadium singing the fight song of Doriath. Minas Morgul tuned it out though and pressed forward, taking the initiative against their foes who seemed perhaps nervous and over-pressured by expectations. Already in the first two minutes Beruthiel managed to release Castamir to the corner of the box, but lucky for the home team Carcharoth closed quickly enough to limit his angle to the far side and forced him to go near and Huan read things well and made the stop.

Not long after that some nice passing led to King Dead having room to try a drive to test Huan again, and the keeper barely got up and over for it, tipping its course up just enough to have it rebound out off the crossbar. The crowd was rather silent at this point, as things were not going as planned! But the rebound came out to Luthien who immediately sent it forward and to the side she was facing where Mablung was dashing, and the pass led him perfectly and he had green space ahead down the side. Turin and Hurin were charging down the middle with him, and only Nazgul #2, Angamaite, and Sangahyando were with them.

Mablung angled in as he approached the other end but instead of taking it closer he suddenly sent one into the far side of the box, for he had seen Turin peel from the middle towards that side and the defenders were late reacting being occupied looking at the ball and Hurin. Angamaite ran full out for the spot but the pass was over him and coming down exactly the right spot to allow the tall Turin an uncontested header. Earnur knew it was simply a guessing game, for with Turin’s power from that close a range there would be no time to see it and react. Spotting Nazgul #2 running in towards the post farthest from Turin, Earnur guessed near post. But the stern head of Turin sent it instead high to the far side of the middle, and too fast and near for Nazgul #2 to help, and the home team was in front!

The crowd fell back into their celebratory ways quick as lightning, and their confidence grew all the more. “Even if we’re outplayed we’ll win! Our keeper is just that good, and even with limited chances Turin’s just too dangerous!” But the Witch King and his side maintained their composure and picked up where they’d left off with their quality play, putting the pressure on yet again. Witch King himself put one over top of the goal, and at 20 minutes Castamir redirected a corner just wide. And then- Minas Morgul’s hopes were crushed yet again!

Elwe gained possession by the end line and sent it over to Luthien who sent it down the middle where Melian controlled it and turned past her defender with a burst of speed. Already streaking ahead of her was Beleg and Eol near the sides and Turin and Hurin in the middle and she followed in their wake. As the offense closed on the box everyone expected her to give it up and the defenders continued to concentrate on the forwards rather than the ball. Finally at 40 meters Fuinur and Herumor closed on her, but she faked a pass to freeze them and split them in a flash and then brought her foot back for real at the top of the box.

Eol flashed into the picture from the left going along the sideline and she chipped it to him high. The pass was perfect to beat the defenders but Earnur was coming and would surely snatch it or at least block it coming off of his head, as his arrival would be only microseconds late. But the creative craftsman Eol had the pass angle judged brilliantly and faked a header and pulled his head down and away from the net at the last instant, allowing the pass to buzz a fraction of an inch over him without contacting him at all, and the ball spun lazily beyond the reach of a shocked Earnur who could only watch it fall against the inside of the post and bounce into the goal for the 2-0 lead!

The crowd applauded and screamed loudly for Eol, appreciating the fine work he had done that would not show up on the stat sheet. There were many cheers for Melian as well- they were thrilled to see their defense organizing queen get a goal!

The first goal had not shaken Minas Morgul, but this one did. Awe was evident on the faces of many of their players. How could they defend a team when even their defenders were that skilled with the ball and so quick and offensively efficient? Play was under way again and Doriath now owned the ball, content to take their time with a two goal lead and the defense sagging off of them. But as the half was winding down Minas Morgul became more aggressive and Doriath moved to one touch passing and started moving it up and back more quickly to keep the defense running.

Then with five minutes left they got it to Eol in his corner and the defenders closed in to apply the pressure. Eol worked it sideways towards the net to draw the defense then sent it back out with his heel to a lonesome Mablung who immediately boomed one low towards the opposite side, curling into the box. It looked like it might get through without anyone touching it and the jerseys all flowed towards the opposite side, but Carcharoth dashed to the edge of the box and made a mighty leap into the air. The ball struck him firmly upon the back of his head and bounced down and back the way it came, where the only player that hadn’t gone off in the other direction, Beren, was waiting to meet it with a thunderous boot before it even touched the ground! Earnur managed only to get a couple fingertips on it and it was 3-0 Doriath!

During halftime the Orcs began filing out already- they could not watch any more. Many of the black Numenoreans stuck around, but looked quite depressed. The wood-Elves and men of Dor-Lomin on the other hand got the ale flowing and the food circulating as soon as the second half started and were already in post-game celebration mode, singing songs of victory. And they had good cause- for Doriath was owning possession yet again, and Minas Morgul could do little about it.

This went on for some time with Doriath taking some speculative drives when finally at minute 67 they went with full-on pressure and the crowd was rewarded with icing on top- a goal by Mablung fed by Turin, a reverse of the opening tally. Doriath had a commanding four goal lead! It was all but in the books!

Doriath treated the final 20 largely as a practice, kicking the ball away to Minas Morgul and allowing them to test their defense. The Witch King was enraged to be treated in such a fashion, but he was powerless to do anything about it, as his team could hardly manage more than distant snipes, as every player had a defender draped on him that he could not shake off.

Finally the refs declared it over, and Minas Morgul exited quickly, ashamed to be seen. But no one was paying the least bit of attention to them- all eyes were on the magnificent team from Doriath, who trotted off the field lazily acknowledging the cheers of the crowd as if they had done nothing to celebrate about. This was a confident bunch with high expectations of themselves, and the crowd loved it!

Doriath 4-0 Minas Morgul
tot shots 18-12
on target 9-4
GOALS:
*10, 1-0 Turin (Mablung)
*22, 2-0 Melian (Luthien)
*40, 3-0 Beren (Carcharoth)
*67, 4-0 Mablung (Turin)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Doriath- Carcharoth
*MMorgul- Fuinur, Beruthiel, Nazgul #2

Doriath advances to the quarterfinals to meet the winner of Valinor vs Wilderland.

[Nogrod]

Anfaughlith at Westernesse


The Brave Fight of the Undermanned Side


Before the first play-off game the people of Númenor had forgotten any possible rifts there had been between the supporters of team Númenor and team Westernesse Now Westernesse was their champion and the games would be held at the very same Armenelos Stadium, the Wembley of Arda.

In their usual way the Númenorians were confident their team would prevail whoever came against them, but Anfaughlith was one of the teams that did send some shivers into the backs of the Númenorians. The team had some really awe-inspiring players; like Gothmog lord of the Balrogs, the slayer of Fëanor, Fingon and Echtelion, with two others of his kin; but also Echtelion himself, the slayer of Gothmog in turn; and Maeglin the “sharp glance”; Fingolfin the “strongest of all”; Tuor’s father Huor; the mighty Gwindor…

Team Westernesse had more or less the top-stars of the island aided by the Gondorian lords from the days immemorial. But would it be enough against these heroes of the past? Some said an all-Númenorian team would have had better chances, but nonetheless the support of the home crowd was unreserved when the game came down upon them.

The old Armenelos Stadium took in about 60 000 spectators. The organisers had told twenty-thousand would go to Númenorians, another twenty-thousand to team Anfaughlith supporters and the last twenty-thousand would be up for grabs to anyone – and if there was not a full twenty-thousand coming to support Anfaughlith, they would sell the rest “at the door” to anyone willing to come in. That was accepted by the AFA authorities as it sounded like a fair deal – but in fact the Númenorians opened internet booking lines for those last twenty-thousand in Númenor and Gondor two days before opening them to every nation – and thus most of the seats were already taken when the selling opened for all, not to talk that all those “at the door” tickets went predominantly to Númenorians with their food baskets and wine skins queuing at the gates a fine five hours before the game while the hopeful football-tourists from outside Númenor were just having breakfast after having a nice night out.


~*~

So it was once again a feast and/of football at Armenelos Stadium, and the crowds were entertaining themselves with food and wine for hours before the game just to be together and to share the nice day-out. And with the tactics on the ticket-booth it was more than two thirds home-team supporters on the crowd – and they were enjoying themselves in the afternoon sunshine beside the towering presence of Meneltarma.

Anfaughlith came into the game with all the gusto their flaringly attacking game thus far should have predicted and the home team supporters had to bit their nails looking at the wave after another of dashing attacks by Anfaughlith, the Westernesse defenders having a hard time to push them back. And to the horror of the homeside-fans they scored after just 17 minutes of play. And what was the worst: Tar Atanamir was not infallible! He had to give in a goal! And only from the second shot of the game on target!

It was kind of a classic goal. After dribbling two midfielders Gwindor made a quick run on the left flank outrunning the defenders at first but when a few of them finally reached him a few meters from the corner-flag he sent a nice high pass into the middle – and Maeglin headed it in to the lower right corner of the goal despite Tar Palantir’s effort to deny him the header. Tar Atanamir had been following the situation at the left post so when the crossing came he was just too late – even if he dived bravely when he saw what was up.

After the goal Westernesse shifted into more aggressive tactics of cutting off the passing-lines and practically denied Anfaughlith from any major outbreaks on the first half. Gothmog had a few chances but the Balrog either sent the ball wide or into the hands of Tar Atanamir. But as the first half got older Westernesse started to gain the upper hand pulling their ranks together.

And they evened the game just before the half time! The dynamic duo Elros – Ar Pharazôn were at it again. This time Elros broke free dribbling Balrog #4 and went towards the goal from the edge of the box, but Rochallor galloped to shut him out. Just before Fingolfin’s best friend succeeded, Elros heeled the ball behind him and Ar Pharazôn was indeed trailing and shot the ball into the back of the net while Huor was still concentrating on Elros and Rochallor. The home crowds exploded with the equalizer and the songs suddenly caught the air and went on loud through the half time pause.

But even through their happiness, the home crowds realised there was another half to be played and just getting even was not enough – they had to win, as they thought their team would do, but Anfaughlith was just as tough an opponent the pessimists among the islanders had warned they would be.


The lay-Númenorians thought their team would just turn the game around on the second half, continuing from where they left in the end of the first half – but how wrong they were! Anfaughlith came to the second half with refreshed attacking-force and they really made the Westernesse defense to sweat. And to the horror of the hometeam fans they scored again after about fifteen minutes of play into the second half. Fingolfin got the ball passed neatly to him close by the post by his grand-daughter’s husband’s mother , and he was totally unguarded, and just passed the ball in as the rush was at the other end of the goal. Great pass by Rían and cool execution by Fingolfin while Gothmog, Maeglin, Ecthelion and others were making the fuzz elsewhere.

And Anfaughlith was not yet done. They kept attacking after the goal with even more energy: they had clearly decided to kill the hosts then and there, it was the time of their momentum. But neither would Westernesse give in – and with the ever-rising support of their home crowd they started pressing back. The last twenty minutes of the game were some of the most entertaining football this season’s games have had to offer: two highly skilled and attacking teams clashing against each other with full force!

At 63rd minute Maeglin hit the crossbar from 25 meters.

At 66th minute Ar Pharazôn’s shot from between the two balrogs went just an inch wide while Huor was decisively late.

At 67th minute Rochallor just ran over Ar Adunakhôr who was getting free from the defenders, hitting him into the back of his head with a hoof. That was unquestionably a straight red card and Ar Adunakhôr had to be carried outside the pitch to be looked after with the bleeding wound he got from the hit.

At 68th minute, from the ensuing free kick, Elros boomed a real cannon-shot a meter from the box only to be tipped away by Huor’s fingertips from the upper corner of the goal.

At 70th minute Gwindor and Echtelion made a nice wall-play setting Echtelion to a superb place to shoot, but at the last possible moment Elendil managed to slide the ball across the line.

At 74th minute Tar Telperion sent a long pass from the defense and Ar Pharazôn took the run for it but his shot was denied by Fingolfin forcing him out of balance.

At 75th minute the referee called for a free kick from Fingolfin’s error on midfield and Ar Adunakhôr re-entered the pitch with his head now bandaged. Elros took the free-kick fast when some of the Anfaughlith team members were still unawares. Ar Pharazôn received the ball and sent it forth immediately to Ar Adunakhôr who was running like mad towards the goal looking for a revenge. Balrog #4 shut his way but he turned around and passed the ball diagonally backwards to the feet of Tar Minastir who blasted the ball from top-speed into the back of the net. The game was even!

The goal was built by some flashing performances of the top-players, but also due to the confusion, both of Elros’ fast kick and Anfaughlith facing the undermanned situation for the first time in the game when Ar Adunakhôr was finally able to return to the field and Rochallor was out for good. So Maeglin yelled at his team to regroup and Gothmog wasn’t quiet either. Rían and Azaghál were giving orders to others as well – and Huor gave his advice shouting from his goal. It was a chaos.

There was still 15 minutes to go and Westernesse took the advantage of the chaos. With one player advantage and the defenses in disarray they started hammering attacks after another towards the Anfaughlith side and dominated the game – giving the opponents no chance of making a counter-play. Westernesse was now playing it’s best game thus far, sent flying by the chanting and cheering crowds who had now risen to their feet from excitement. Even Maeglin and Gothmog had drawn back to support the defense as they left only Gwindor to look for a happy turn-over attack a bit higher on the field.

It was now a game played on one end of the pitch only, but the time though was running short for Westernesse and their supporters, minute by minute. It was a thriller!

If Anfaughlith could stretch the game to overtime they’d have a chance talk their regrouping with one player disadvantage. It looked grim but given a chance to try and deal with it was all they asked – and all they played for the last minutes.

Four minutes to go: Elros boots a mighty shot from the edge of the box but it goes just wide.

Three minutes to go: Anfaughlith tries to do some counterplay only to be robbed of the ball in midfield by Hyermendacil – who gives it to Tar MInastir who in turn lends it to the flank to Ar Adunakhôr who’s centering just misses the head of Ar Pharazôn by an inch.

Two minutes to go: Ar Pharazôn gets the ball near the corner-flag and passes it towards the goal – and Elros reaches from between the two balrogs for a header… and he hits it… and it is… a GOOOOOOOOOL!!!!
Westernesse scores two minutes before full time against the undermanned Anfaughlith! The people go wild in the audience. It takes a minute or two for the referee to get the game started again after all the jubilation. But the game is over even if the ref. allows four minutes of extratime (Ar Adunakhôrs injury, some fakedly long wailing from Anfaughlith players gone down after contact with Westernesse players, the end jubilation…). There just wasn’t anything Anfaughlith could have done when Westernesse took on a high-pressure defense-mode after their lead, not the least for being underhanded.

The home team won after a real fight, but even if the star players exchanged shirts amiably after the game – Huor’s and Rían’s shirts were almost fought over by the Númenorians – the Anfaughlith fans were disappointed and cursed the referee, even if they knew his decision to send Rochallor off was a fair judgement.


Angfauglith 2-3 Westernesse
tot shots 15-16
on target 9-6
GOALS:
*17, 1-0 Maeglin (Gwindor)
*41, 1-1 Ar Pharazon (Elros)
*59, 2-1 Fingolfin (Rian)
*75, 2-2 Tar Minastir (Ar Adunakhor)
*88, 2-3 Elros (Ar Pharazon)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Angfauglith- Azaghal, Gwindor, Balrog #5
*Westernesse- Tar Palantir, Malbeth
RED CARDS:
*Angfauglith- Rochallor (67, straight red)


Westernesse goes through to meet the winner from the game T-I-G vs. Barad Dûr.

[Boromir88]

The Forest at Eregion

The talk before the game at Eregion was mostly centered around none other than Bombadil. He had shown more interest in the games this year and than in the past. Many had speculated why and came up with just as many reasons as those wondering who Bombadil was. He was 'The Master', the Master of what though? The Master of the pitch? No one would dispute his skills, but Elrond and Eregion would have something to say to the newly appointed title for Bombadil.

There was a sliver of doubt in the hearts and minds of the Eregion fans though. Not only had they confidentally swept the group and were treated an extra delight by hosting another game in the beautiful Ost-in-Edhil Stadium, but Eregion had a better team effort than The Forest. There was no disputing this, when talking about The Master, there is always a sliver of a doubt.

Right before the match was ready to kick off, the Eregion fans reasoned that Bombadil's inspired play was due to not only playing in The Old Forest, but playing for his forest. So, how would his powers be outside his realm? And there was Elrond. Elrond was not going to allow a single player, no matter how good he was, beat them.

*~*~*

Elves, Men, Huorns, and even many Hobbits came to fill Ost-in-Edhil, and as the sun was setting the stadium was starting to let out it's radiant, warm, glow. Eregion were sure to be gracious hosts to The Forest, and the Ents appeared in good spirits, playing in the land of Holly. The stage was set, the atmosphere was intense, but welcoming, let the games begin.

It began with joyous songs from the Eregion crowd, urging their team on, but in the first few minutes the songs died down and they began to get nervous. Celebrimbor had no answer for Bombadil, and Eregion's defense was forced to it's back heels right at the start. It wasn't just Bombadil either, as Tom's singing eventually overtook the songs of the Eregion fans and Bombadil's teammates became inspired to push for the lead. Hey merry do! Hopalong me friends! Follow Bombadillo!

If the crowd was biting their nails and scratching their arms until they bled, you could not have seen it in Elrond's face. Despite Celebrimbor not being able to slow down Bombadil, Bombadil did not seem to have the extra gear to beat a GK like Elrond. They were foolish to doubt their Lord Elrond and with each calm, cool, professional save confidence was being restored in the home town fans.

For one of the rarest moments, Bombadil was beginning to show emotion and he was completely befuddled. Every match has defining turning points, which you usually don't find until after it's all over. This would be one of those defining moments. Bombadil judged with how stretched the Elven defense was getting, if The Forest swarmed and overwhelmed the area in front of Elrond, the great GK would eventually crack. The crowd began biting their nails, and getting nervous again, as The Forest was coming in an all out attack. Then in half a second, the silence turned into rioutous applause. Bombadil blasted a rocket towards the top right corner, but Elrond lept into the air to catch it! What a save!

When Elrond peculiarly passed the ball out to Asfaloth (normally Celebrimbor gets it), the Eregion team seemed to notice what their Lord did and what he wanted. The Forest team was caught forward, and Asfaloth is known for a mighty hoof. The great horse reared back and launched the ball into The Forest's half. No one was around Lindir when he collected it. The trees are a stiff defense, but sometimes too stiff, and when Celebrimbor rushed forward it was an easy 1-2 tap into the back of the net. The Old Willow was completely rooted and didn't even seem to give half an effort to save it.

Now the Elves, and Men close to Elves, in the stands were truly alive. They could not only breathe relief, but with the joy of leading 1-0 they could get back to their merry drinking and singing. Bombadil tried to make another push to get an equalizer, but with Eregion's defense calmed and gathered together, Eregion began getting the lions share of the possession in the later minutes of the half. Spectators were noticing, without saying a word Earendil appeared to be thanking his son and Celebrimbor for holding on and now it was time for Eregion's strikers to take control.

Breaking the treeish defense plus the stout Haleth was not an easy task. Still, it was The Forest's defense this time, which was getting pushed to the brink as they desperately wanted to just go into the half, keeping it a 1-goal defecit. Sadly, it was not to be. With 2 minutes remaining in the 1st, Glorfindel sniped a shot that Old Man Willow tried to swat away, but the ball bent around his branches and Eregion would walk into the lockers leading 2-0.

The 2nd half appeared to be a formality, as the life and spirit was sucked out of The Forest. How would they get 3 goals in 45 minutes off a goalie like Elrond? Bombadil gave it his best try to begin the half, but this time he could not sing his team into support. And even Bombadil was lacking the same lovably annoying tune to his rhymes. So, when Earendil capped off the scoring in the 68th minute, everyone knew that was the match (if they hadn't known that already).

Bombadil wasn't spotted in the remaining 20 minutes, but Elrond showed no desire to try another goal and simply held onto possession. It must be said that Tom showed a much greater interest in the games this cup, even if he'd be going out with a 3-0 defeat. It was just not enough to beat Elrond, when he's playing in front of his home crowd. A lot was made about Bombadil and The Barrow-wight parting ways, and now one has to wonder how long will it be before the Old tree is sent away to hibernate?

Eregion 3-0 The Forest
tot shots 15-12
on target 8-5
GOALS:
*24, 1-0 Celebrimbor (Lindir)
*43, 2-0 Glorfindel (Elrond)
*68, 3-0 Earendil (Elrohir)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eregion- Figwit
*The Forest- Haleth, Treebeard, Saeros

Eregion will advance to the quarter finals to play winner of Angband - Tol Eressea

[the phantom]

Tol Eressea at Angband

The Hells of Iron was no stranger to hosting football contests, and everyone assumed it would be business as usual for Morgoth’s football operations team, but it turned out that Angband did not wish to host in their home arena at all, but instead received permission to play their contest in the arena just south of Angband’s gates- Angfauglith, the arena they had played in for all of their group contests.

“It’s an easy hike for our supporters,” said Morgoth, “And we grew quite comfortable playing there over the past couple weeks. We’ve been performing well, so why change a good thing?”

Not surprisingly the game was set to be a late night affair, ensuring that all of Angband’s supporters could make the trek to the stadium in complete darkness and still have a bit of time left to work themselves into a frenzy. By the time the Angband fans arrived, however, they found a mass of people already surrounding the arena. The Elves of the Havens both of Middle Earth and the Blessed Realm had sailed in force along with many Numenoreans supporting Amandil and Tar Aldarion, and had massed in Hithlum, and throughout the day they had streamed down from the mountain passes and converged upon Angfauglith.

As the visitors Tol Eressea by the agreement set down for this contest had the rights to 20% of the tickets, but no one had expected them to bring enough fans for it to matter, and Morgoth had already laid plans to buy the tickets from the ones that did show up. But things did not go as planned at all. As the Orcs arrived and were greeted by the large and glorious host of Elves and Men, many of them felt instantly out of place and parted with their tickets a bit too easily, and the Numenoreans especially had plenty of cash to help persuade them. On the flip side, absolutely none of the ticket-holding faithful of Tol Eressea were willing to budge an inch on their ticket ownership, even in exchange for a fortune.

And so it was that when Morgoth and his team emerged from the tunnels they were greeted by half and half cheering and booing. Team Angband whirled around in amazement, checking to see that they were in the right stadium, but there was no mistake. Morgoth looked furious and wanted to know how it had happened, for he had been preparing for the game all evening and was not privy to events outside the arena. There was no time for conversations, however. Tol Eressea and the refs were already in position and ready to go, and with a grumble team Angband set up.

It was evident that out of the starting blocks Tol Eressea had some extra pep or Angband didn’t, for Tol Eressea kept things more on Angband’s half than their own, and worked it in for a handful of decent shots in the opening 20 minutes, to the delight of their fans. But their midfielders were unable to put them on target, and Ungoliant erased Uinen’s best opportunity, cutting off the angle nicely and keeping hold of it and not allowing a dangerous rebound.

At this point Angband’s thinking seemed to uncloud and they began playing smart for the first time, maintaining possession and testing Tol Eressea’s defense, playing up and back, side to side, waiting for someone to leave an opening to take advantage of. Even the best defenses make mistakes, and Angband had to be awake at all times to make sure they could capitalize on a mistake by a Tol Eressea defense that rarely made any.

Finally around 27 minutes Morgoth sent it to Ancalagon in the middle who popped it forward and right to Telvildo who managed to get just a step on Salmar. Telvildo controlled it and spun around his defender, forcing help, then sent it swiftly to the box. It was a laser pass on the ground and so tough to receive, but Ancalagon had a window and went for it, swiping it with his tail, booming a shot on first touch. The Angband fans started to rise, but groaned and seated themselves again as Ancalagon’s drive went perfectly straight to Amandil who blocked it then leaped upon it.

Morgoth shouted encouragement to his forwards. “Perfect! Just keep that up and we’ll get it in!” And three minutes later it looked like they may put it in finally, as Thuringwethil used some nifty moves to clear herself for a 30 meter blast, but Amandil dove and smothered it to keep his goal clean and the Angband fans groaned again. The Tol Eressea fans on the other hand cheered for Amandil, but not so enthusiastically as they had started the game. They were nervous.

And with good cause, for just a minute later they were forced to clear it out of bounds and Angband gained a corner, and on the corner Morgoth rose above the field and rang the post with a header, and straight off the rebound Telvildo headed it back at the same spot, only inches left so that instead of hitting the post it found the net, and Angband had broken the scoreless tie!

The North side of the stadium erupted, and the Elves and Men fell silent. Morgoth stood himself in front of the Tol Eressea side and shouted, “Is this what you came all this way to see?” And then struck with an idea, he continued, “But no- you didn’t come to see scoring, did you? Ulmo and his underlings are supposed to be the masters of defense, right? Well then,” he laughed evilly, “That’s what I’ll give you then. Masterful defense!”

And from that moment on, the game changed completely. Morgoth and his minions put on a clinic, running the clock with possession when they could, never risking a possession on anything less than a quality shot, and when Tol Eressea had the ball Angband was just too hot to handle.

Morgoth suspected Ulmo would try to get in on the action somehow to help put his team level, so he shadowed him personally. Thuringwethil was dropped back onto defense beside Carcharoth and they completely dominated Elwing and Earwen with their beastly speed and reactions leaving them no room to operate. And the Balrogs helped to choke of Uinen, their fires causing her to steam and lose control of her liquid movements.

As the second half neared its end, Ulmo ordered all out attack to try and gain the equalizer, but Angband denied them again and again, and rather than quickly countering they got the ball forward quickly and then held it as long as possible. The minutes ticked away and the Orcs started leaping up and down on their seats, gleeful at Morgoth’s mockery. The Tol Eressea fans held their faces in their hands, unable to view the evidence any longer- the proof that Morgoth and Angband could beat them at their own game.

Ulmo made one last desperate run, but Morgoth toed the ball away from him and one of the Balrogs was there to knock it high and forward, where it came down to Telvildo. As he jogged forward with it, the final whistle blew and it was all over. Angband’s defense had obliterated Tol Eressea!

Angband 1-0 Tol Eressea
tot shots 12-9
on target 6-2
GOALS:
*32, 1-0 Telvildo (Morgoth)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Angband- Drauglin, Ulfang
*Tol Eressea- Eriol, Osse

[Nogrod]

Misty Mts. at Pelori


The Scandal Refuses to Die Down


The first problem emerged as soon as the play-off pairs were announced. The friends and fans of Caradhras decided to take the trip to Valinor but Manwë and Námo declared it was against the will of Eru Ilúvatar himself that whole mountain ranges would shift positions for a sake of a single football match. And they were banned on moving anywhere after Caradhras – they were quite blatantly told to just watch the game live on MESPN.

But that wasn’t the only problem. This time Manwë and Námo made it clear in public that no balrogs, wolves, orcs, goblins, trolls or any other odd & evil creatures of old were allowed into Valinor – except as players for that short while the game lasted. And that would be a strict policy “enforced decisively” on the border control with any “straying undesirables”.

Many Middle-Earth media took this announcement as an insult – most strongly those of the more liberal mind-set of men and elves. But the Dwarven media was silent for days as they had not been mentioned… But it was about to break. And it did.

Tumunzahar Weekly, Firebeard Times and Khazad-dûm Guardian published a shared a bold and mocking open letter to Manwë asking whether the dwarves were officially counted as “undesirables”, or could the fans and supporters of Narvi & the dwarves of Moria make the trip without fear of being drowned or otherwise killed by the Valier-authorities. The answer was silence. Valinorian media explained the silence with “the disrespectful tone of the media-trick by the dwarves no decent Valar would pay heed to”.

But that explanation was not bought in Middle-Earth and many critical articles and blog-entries were written over the subject. In protest a host of dwarves from all over the M-E gathered in the Havens in their thousands as a check-out, and declared to the elves of Cirdan they had a right of passage because of the match between Misty Mts. and Pelori. A few hundred liberal activists from Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth joined the dwarves, calling for their dwarven rights and threatened to complain to Amnesty Interardan. The elves were reluctant to admit them into their ships, knowing the risks involved, but as soon as some captains decided the Dwarven gold and mithril was enough for them to take their chances, the seas arose into tumult and storm and there was no way they could make the trip.

Some of the most hot-headed dwarves then stole a few boats by night killing the elves guarding them – of which deed the activists separated themselves strongly. But anyway, it should be no news those boats never got far away from the port of Havens. The next morning Manwë made a press-release where he said that: “This unpredictability and harshness of the dwarves is just one of the reasons we don’t willingly admit them here at Valinor – and they have just showed it themselves to be true. Some things just are not going to happen whatever way you look at them. Eru’s song is the guideline for everyone to follow and we’re not willing nor able to do otherwise, whatever we or you others think.”

Saruman, of course, saw here a chance for bargaining, and announced Misty Mts. was not going to play at all unless their supporters were allowed to the venue to support them, but here his own team sadly let him down. Not knowing of their captain’s scheme, Landroval and Meneldor told the press how happy they were to play against Gwaihir and to see the land of the great Thorondor. And Durin’s Bane went on talking a lot about what it meant to him to go to the land of the creator of his grandfathers, the place he had never seen himself. And Caradhras was giving his own press-releases saying how wonderful it would be to meet the Pelori – the mountains.


~*~

The stadium at Valmar was buzzing with elves and Maiar – and a few of the Valar were also honoring the game with their presence. The only possible supporters of the visiting team were the eagles from the Middle-Earth – who had mixed feelings whether to champion Gwaihir, their leader, or his brother Landroval and Meneldor their mates – the Western Eagles had no problem in picking their favorites against the visitors even if they sympathized with their M-E –fellows. Also the few wizards were undecided as Saruman clearly was one of them, but he was a traitor as well and not that honored here in the West. So the fingers and toes of one would be enough to count the supporters of Misty Mts. from among the tens of thousands spectators gathered to the Valinor Arena.

And the stadium was roaring as the teams entered, hailing the home team Pelori who had beaten team Valinor in the last game of the group-stage. The crowds were confident Misty Mts. would be something the home team would just walk over. Even Saruman and Durin’s Bane seemed intimidated and nervous by the roar of the homecrowds – only Caradhras marched to the field proud and firm.

Team Pelori started the game in a typical way playing defensive and just trying to get the feel of the opponent. Misty Mts. knew they’d have their chance trying to hit into that with some really aggressive pressure-play from the very beginning, but Pelori managed to ward them off by holding the ball and annihilating the pressure with quick passing, forcing the Misty Mts. players to run for their life to try and exert the pressure – to no avail. On the contrary, the few counter-attacks by Pelori were getting close to a goal one by one.

To the honor of Misty Mts. it must be said they managed to keep Pelori away from scoring for half an hour, always finding someone who would end the passing-rally and turn the direction of the game for a while. But they couldn’t shut them out forever. After a lengthy build-up Pelori were playing their quick-pass game on Misty Mts.’ side of the field when Varda found a gap in Misty Mts. defenses – actually between Meneldor and Landroval – and Eönwë made a perfectly timed run into it receiving the ball from The Exalted just inside the box and comfortably hammered it in. The Herald was not used to fail on open positions like that one and Caradhras, even if he did fill most of the goal, was just such slow to move he had no time to react.

After the goal Pelori fell down to their infamous defense with the lead and just froze the game for the rest of the first half. The home-fans didn’t exactly love it but they appreciated it. This was the way their team marched from victory to victory. The half ended 1-0 to the Pelori.


Misty Mts. came to the second half enraged. They had been wronged before the game when their fans were not allowed into Valinor, they had been humiliated on the pitch with their opponents just toying with them… Could Durin’s Bane take that kind of treatment in the land of the maker of his kind? Could Narvi face one more humiliation against the dwarves? Could Azog just take in the dissing Valinor showed against his kind? Could Landroval and Meneldor see any righteousness in the way they were treated in comparison to Gwaihir? Could Caradhras stand the mocking in front of his brothers and sisters looming in the horizon outside the stadium? Could the Watcher just swallow the name and treatment of an odd-weirdo? How was it with the pride of the Chief Wolf, or the Great Goblin? Weren’t they proud and independent heroes each and every one of them? Wasn’t there an honor they needed to display? Wasn’t this the time they needed to stand tall and fight back – and show the vain Valar what they were made of? (We omitted William from the list for obvious reasons) Yes, it was the tongue of Saruman that got them into fury during the half-time.

And Saruman really rallied the team behind him. Misty Mts. came into the second half with fury and pressed strongly, forcing the Pelori to a more defensive position they liked. Narvi hit the rack after just a few minutes into the second half. Durin’s Bane boomed a cannon that hit Nahar sending it tumbling down – and it took a few minutes for the referees and first-aid troops to bring the horse back to it’s feet. On the next offence Saruman dribbled himself free from Gwaihir but his shot was denied at the last instance by a sliding tackle by Mandos. Just a moment later Azog was getting into a firing-range but after shoving Nienna down the referee whistled a free kick for Pelori…

Manwë didn’t exactly lose his cool but it was easy to see he was annoyed and displeased of what he saw in front of him when he shouted his orders to the players on the field. And they did pull themselves together at last coming back to their usual organized game. And boringly enough they scored from the second full attack they built-up after the panicky ten minutes in the beginning of the half. This time Varda was stuck beside the corner flag on the right flank Landroval closing on her. She made a quick pass backwards to Eönwë who volleyed the ball towards the left flank where Lórien was getting ready for a shot - but Ilmarë emerged from behind Meneldor and made a diving header to cut the pass and into the goal – totally surprising Caradhras. A handy performance from a maid!

But Landroval protested heatedly. He said Ilmarë had dragged his wing down unbalancing him before diving for the header thus denying him a chance to reach for the ball. The referees were unfair as they didn’t call off clear fouls made by the home team, but were whistling anytime one of his own team even touched one of the opponents. Hearing the complaining Gwaihir flew in and started publicly patronizing his brother for whining and bad conduct. At that point Meneldor couldn’t stay calm but got into the argument as well actually pushing Gwaihir back with his right wing and calling him a “blind self-righteous puppet of Manwë”. That did it for Gwaihir who pushed Meneldor back and started calling him names we can’t reproduce in this family-friendly site. But seeing his brother pushing his mate with blow after blow of his wings Landroval couldn’t but join the fray to help his friend. The wings were beating and the beaks were hewn dangerously as the three eagles were at it. The referees tried to separate them in vain – basically they lacked daring, authority and force to do that. But Manwë did that for them, growing in size towering the whole stadium and picking Gwaihir from the neck like a sparrow and carrying him away in between two of his fingers. Namo and Oromë had come to the situation and were giving Landroval and Meneldor the kind of looks saying “you better not follow them” that they thought it better not to.

The referees held council while Manwë had some serious words with Gwaihir, and Landroval and Maneldor were cooling down under the watchful eyes of Namo and Oromë. The final verdict was a yellow card to each of the three. And that probably was a wise decision from the referees as if they had shown them all red cards as the incident would have called for, Misty Mts. would have been reduced to one man short and they – like all their supporters and all the media – could have blamed everything on the referees if Misty Mts. lost the game. So instead of drastic measures they only carded the three.

But the steam was out of the match when it finally continued. Saruman and his team saw the impossibility of the situation being two goals down against such a mighty defence and ball-controlling machine while Pelori had no reason to stretch the lead any further. And seeing how the incident with the eagles had ended made even Durin’s Bane to think twice before starting any mayhem: the sight of a 35 feet Manwë carrying Gwaihir away was intimidating enough.


~*~

So Pelori won the game 2-0 and will continue to the quarterfinals. And even if it could be fairly said that a better team won, there was much left to grudge and to speculate upon. Here are a few comments from the media straight after the game.

Tumunzahar Weekly: "The despotic rule of Manwë must end! Arbitrary premises are no grounds for systematic killing or oppressing of other races. It has been an endemic fault in the world from the very beginning and this year’s Arda Cup has shown once more how thwarted it has become. Staying behind the gibberish of Eru’s vision is just cowardice hiding the real reasons that stem from vanity only. Why is Aulë so quiet – has he abandoned us or has his silence been forced upon him?"

The Armenelos Times: "The presumptuous behavior of the Valar must end! The current going is just insulting all the races great or insignificant. In next year’s Arda Cup let the Valinorians fight it out between each other and then come down from their heights to the play-offs into the M-E. That way we remove the hosting problem and all the races can enjoy football. Even better though would be the opening of the realm of Valinor to all at last with no reservations whatsoever! What is it they try to conceal there anyway?"

The Beleriander: "The West behaves scandalously and that needs to stop. Maybe teams from the west should be just banned from the tournament? Arda Cup would be much fairer and more inter-racially binding without them. The whole idea of bringing races together in the name of fair competition, even mixing different creatures together, has it’s greatest enemy in those who pray they are interpreting the holy visions of Ilúvatar himself! What an outrage! We hold the lands were our forefathers died holy, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t let others to join us in festivities of peace for tomorrow in here. Inclusion is the way to peace and happiness, not exclusion."

Imladris Enquirer: "It is clear there are things that should be changed. It is totally unbearable to hear the news year after year about the mishaps happening to footballing tourists to the West – not to talk of some pretty straightforwards talk we have heard this year about the races welcome and the “undesirables” – the term itself mocks any moral person’s conscience. Just throwing it out as an idea that could be developed or challenged, how about the Valar would be spread the next year – like there would be no “Valinor-based”-team but the Vala who wished could still play in any team they wished to play for, as long as they didn’t have a clan there to call it a Valinor team?"

Moneybags Daily: "The current system of the Arda Cup seems to be at an end and new openings are required. How about we leave this buddy-buddying and anti-meritocratic scheming behind and leap into modernity making the Arda Cup a market-based enterprise like all other facets of our culture? So let those who have capital buy the teams for them and forget these race and age things. A football team should be as any other business: pick the right talent with the right price and you succeed. And to the aficionados afraid of our suggestion, pay heed to this as well: a smart investor takes notice of certain players performing profitably together and causing losses when in the wrong envirovment… so you romantics might get your fair share as well while we wealthier people would have some real opportunity to make some serious bucks."


Misty Mts 0-2 Pelori
tot shots 10-14
on target 4-6
GOALS:
*33, 0-1 Eonwe (Varda)
*65, 0-2 Ilmare (Eonwe)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Misty Mts- Watcher, William, Landroval, Meneldor
*Pelori- Ilmare, Gwaihir


Pelori goes through to meet the winner of the match between Lothlórien and Tirion in the quarterfinals.