ARDA CUP Football 2012

[the phantom]

Lothlorien Set To Host

It had been some time since the Golden Wood had hosted Arda Cup games, and many felt a visit to Lothlorien was long overdue. The image of the stadium at Caras Galadhon was recognizable all over Middle Earth, built to resemble the surrounding forest. Pillars of smooth silver-grey supported soaring spans of blended green and silver, while the walkways were all the golden color of fallen leaves. And more often than not on game-days crews of elves went over the entire grounds sprinkling actual mallorn leaves on the ground, driving home the effect even more.

But if that wasn't enough, a true mallorn grew at each of the four corners of the stadium- some of the largest in the land. Their massive trunks rose up alongside the pillars, dwarfing them with their mighty girth. When they at last emerged above the top row of the arena, their boughs spread in all directions, and they stretched over several rows of seats inside the arena. Those seats which were not covered by the true mallorns were given the same effect, with delightfully woven green and silver tarps stretching in various angular shapes across from height to height.

The capacity was not quite so great as some of the other football centers, but at 75,000 it certainly was enough to host. Ticket allotments had been sold through vendors affiliated with the visiting clubs, but it remained to be seen how many out-of-forest guests would show and how many seats would be left over for the locals, though probably at least 10,000 as that number had been reserved for sale at the home offices.

It was also unknown which squads would receive the most support. Erebor certainly had a shorter trip than FC Valinor, but the host elves might balance things out. And Minas Tirith and Eriador had a somewhat equal distance to travel, so that one could very well end up even.

Gondolin Also Prepared

It came as no surprise that the Hidden Kingdom was chosen as a neutral site host for the Arda Cup. There were few locations in Arda that could compete with Gondolin in terms of lodgings and facilities and sheer attraction as a travel destination.

The stadium was large and masterfully built- gleaming white and sitting on the edge of a cliff above the plains of Tumladen. Lodgings were all in close proximity to the arena, and there were plenty of them, though some fans would doubtless choose to rent cottages on the peaceful plains, or mountain cabins in the surrounding foothills. Though it would leave them with a tidy horse-ride to get to the match, the picturesque setting was well worth the extra effort.

The main path to Gondolin, coming in through abandoned stream tunnels to the southwest, was guarded well with several security checkpoints, but they kept traffic moving fairly well. The one or two treacherous paths from the northern mountains were unlikely to be attempted by anyone, but to be safe small contingents were patrolling, just in case any traveling parties were stranded- and making sure no trouble-makers were sneaking in illegal goods.

Locals were hoping that some extra tickets would be available to them, particularly in the case of Real Valinor versus Rohan, as both squads had some distance to travel. AC Beleriand however was almost guaranteed to show up in force, so extra home tickets were going to be tough to come by, which was unfortunate as AC featured three players with Gondolin ties- Ecthelion, Fingolfin, and Eol. Needless to say the stadium was likely to be on their side.

[Nogrod]

Quarterfinal Erebor vs. FC Valinor @ Lothlórien


It was gametime!

The stadium was full to the last place, well it was clear to everyone it was overbooked. On the top of the stadium, behind and above the highest rows of benches loomed the eight dark riders with their beasts and some two dozen Great Eagles. Many could have been intimidated by the eight, but the presence of the eagles did wonders. And when the special quests were introduced the crowds got quite relaxed indeed. For Oromë was there to see his great white horse play, and Mandos, Vairë and Estë were there as well to witness Lórien’s game now that their teams had been already relegated from the tournament. Some whispered that Manwë himself would be present with Varda, but if they were, they were there incognito.

The teams were introduced player by player as they had finally reached their opening positions. And it was a sight! Let’s see the line-ups before going into the game.

On FC Valinor’s side.

At goal the huge hound Huan whom a faint-hearted would not even dare to approach, let alone to try and get a ball behind him.

On defence. At the bottom, in a kind of an libero-role, Nahar, Oromë’s great horse: taller than any seen in the ME, swift and muscular, as frightening as Huan. In front of him Penlod, the lord from Gondolin, the tallest of the Noldorin. There was no easy way behind these two in the middle.

At left Indis the Fair, Galadriel’s grandmother, proud and beautiful as ever. At right Maglor, son of Fëanor, a bard and poet, from his fëa more like his mother maybe, but in stature and countenance no less intimidating than his brothers up front – and everyone knew what this dark and strong elf was able and what was his inheritance.

On the midfield. Turgon’s always dangerous daughter Idril the Silverfoot on the left. You never knew how fast he could be and where. On the right the high commander Argon, Indis’ grandson: as royal and fair the old Noldorin would be.

In the middle there were the two Valar. On the left Yavanna herself, the great favourite of the homecrowds and one of the real threats to any defence. On the right-center spot Lórien, another great favourite of the homecrowds, a master of spirits.

On attack. Celegorm and Curufin, Fëanor’s sons. Wild, tall, proud and… well the words fail here in front of their charisma. Standing at the center-ring opposed to Smaug one tended to notice them first and the huge dragon only after them. That should make plain what is meant.

Team Erebor then.

At the goal the huge skinchanger Beorn, almost half a bear even in his human form. If a normal person wouldn’t want to get into closer dealings with Huan, he would be wise to stay away from Beorn as well.

The defencive line boasted three Great Eagles, the brothers Windlord and Wide-Wing and their friend Sky-King. It was clear that Huan’s words about them as a real challenge were not only sweet-talking. It would take even the champions of FC Valinor some effort to get past these defenders.

In the middle, in front of the Eagles the last lord of Dale, Girion, the grand-grand father of Bard the Bowman.

On the midfield, left-side, Dain Ironfoot, the great warrior and king under the mountain. On the right side Bolg the leader of the Misty Mountain orcs in the Battle of Five Armies who had since made it good with Beorn…

On the center midfield, as the so called “number ten”, Bard the Grim Sniper – as the elves called him. A devastating weapon behind the forwards trio ready to shoot accurately with even a slightest of chances.

On attack a trio of intimidation, sterness and power. Nazgul #7 on the left, the master of intimidation. Thranduil on the right, the stern leader of the Silvan elves. And in the peak position in the middle Smaug the Golden for whose brutal power nothing goes undetected.

It looked like a huge game indeed! This was what the Arda Cup was for! Great players, heroes and villains together enjoying the sports and giving their best. As said, it was gametime!


*~*

Erebor had clearly a premeditated plan to go for a full attack from the get go, going for the surprise-factor. And they actually did manage to put FC Valinor’s defence in some disarray for the first few minutes. FC Valinor clearly was not prepared to this kind of onslaught from the first minute. But as soon as Maglor had called the defencive lines to stand their ground and the midfield fell a bit to support them Erebor’s attacks were slowly suffocated. And little by little FC Valinor started rolling their own attacks to the other end of the pitch rising their whole field upwards, careful to keep the distances short enough in case of any unforeseen events.

Especially Idril’s dashes deep into the Erebor’s half were a constant threat to the otherwise fast but slow-turning eagles. And while the Erebor defences in the center had their hands full with Celegorm and Curufin, Yavanna made quick runs inside the box from left (trailing Idril) or right (sometimes supported by a run by Argon). The mighty Erebor defences were in trouble. Seriously.

At half an hour mark the game settled down somewhat as neither the initial pressure of Erebor or the forceful pressing of FC Valinor hadn’t produced an outcome. FC Valinor had forced Beorn into one parade-save from the top-right corner fisting the ball off after a mighty volley by Celegorm, but other than that FC Valinor had only managed a few shots just slightly wide or over the target. Curufin and Celegorm were unhappy as they thought they were not getting into good enough scoring-positions and so they started re-arranging their tactics on the fly.

Many judgements have been made thus far on dwarves’ talent or overall ability to play football – not all of them without justification it must be admitted – but the king under the mountain, Dain Ironfoot really did honour to his race this time forcing the homecrowds to just gasp in awe.

For it thus happened that Lórien rose up from the center with the build up as the new formation demanded, but on his side Argon was getting forwards as well, which he was not supposed to do, leaving a huge gap on the right side of FC Valinor’s lower midfield. Noticing that Dain rushed forwards into the empty space and when Landroval managed to snatch the ball away from Idril he immediately saw the situation and winged the ball fast forwards high in the air. Already when the ball was in mid-air Huan made a terrifying howl calling the defenders back but it was already late: while all the midfielders and defenders had to turn around before dashing back, the Grim Sniper was actually on the run already. With a one touch pass Dain sent the ball diagonally across the field only to land perfectly at Bard’s feet at the corner of the box with Nahar closing in at full gallop just the crucial few feet behind him. Had Bard tried to control the ball first Nahar would have been on him – so Bard just volleyed the ball as soon as he reached it. And it went into the back of the net! Even Huan had no chance to react to such a boomer!

And so, after 36 minutes of play Erebor was leading the game 1-0!

Maglor called his team to settle down for the last ten minutes to avoid any further mistakes – and Curufin and Celegorm didn’t seem to oppose their brother’s politics of keeping their goal safe for the last minutes of the first half either. And so the teams went into their lockers for the half-time in Erebor’s lead.

There was something to ponder for the statisticians: after the first half FC Valinor had the possession 62% vs. 38%. FC Valinor also had 7 shots vs. 4 shots by Erebor, and the “serious scoring opportunities” (as the statisticians count them) from those were blatantly 5 vs. 1. Yet Erebor was in the lead.


The feeling at the stadium was getting into a full peak when the teams came back for the second half: the Lothlórien elves were now mainly supporting FC Valinor and the northern guests were just going wild with pride and confidence their team would make it through the second half. The noise was just ear-breaking.

As soon as the second half got on the name of the game became quite clear. FC Valinor had gathered some dedication and rage in their lockers – like some northern people said, they had swallowed some snake-broth indeed! FC Valinor was fast, it was furious, it was dangerous – and the only thing Erebor could do was to draw back, try to put their feet and heads in between the ball and the goal and hope for the best… Even Smaug was eventually forced to draw back to aid the defence.

It was possibly the simple most one-sided top-match half of this tournament. Erebor managed five shots overall on the second half, only one of which was on target – and even that was an easy save for Huan as it was a desperate shot from 35 meters by Thranduil when Maglor was pressing on and he had to do just something with the ball when all the passing-lines were already shut.

But what did FC Valinor do then? Well a lot.

Already on 49th minute Idril broke free from her side and after drawing Beorn to her chipped the ball from the corner of the goal into the middle from where Celegorm dived for a header only to slightly miss the touch sending the ball over the goal hitting the crossbar.

Only five minutes later Yavanna sent Curufin free inside the box but his blast went wide by a margin.

A few minutes from that Celegorm played an intelligent wall-play with Yavanna enabling her to break free from the eagle-line but her power-shot was tipped off the goal by Beorn’s ghost-save.

On 64th minute Bolg got carded from tackling Idril pretty badly (what else he could do against her speed one might ask). FC Valinor got a free kick from some twenty meters from the goal between the center and the corner of the box. Celegorm took the shot and hit the crossbar again – but Yavanna dived to the rebound! Only to head the ball off hitting Meneldor on it’s way and resulting in a corner.

Curufin tried a sneaky one with the corner and sent the ball swerving towards the back post – it would have probably gone straight in had not Girion cleared it holding fast the far post while all the others were maniacally rushing after the ball or the possible trajectories it might take if someone headed it this or that way. As the ball flew over the field for a throw Beorn was seen shaking Girion’s hand and his grand-grand son hugged him passionately for saving the day.

The clock was ticking but FC Valinor was not letting it bother them. Erebor fell down and even lower down. At times it seemed all the eleven players were inside a twenty-meter radius from their goal defending it like a hedghehog. The northern supporters chanted and yelled their throats sore to boost their team to hold the all-out offencive back for the last twenty minutes. But the elven fans were also inspired by the sovereign exposition of skill, effort and fighting-spirit FC Valinor showed.

It was a game against only one goal.

On 75th minute Yavanna discovered Argon’s smart run and passed the ball to him over and behind the defenders in full speed on the right. He took the control of the ball but it took just the precious second too much so that when he was able to shoot he had already drifted into a too slight an angle that Beorn could shut the shot away easily – trying to make a last second surprise-pass in the middle only ended in Gwaihir’s talons.

But only two minutes after that Argon was up again making some real damage! He single-handedly fooled first Dain an then Gwaihir on the right side of the pitch and closing in towards the goal centered it powerfully so that Landroval had no chance of cutting it… Curufin slided to the ball but was an inch late and the ball continued it’s path. Curufin kept sliding inside the net but Girion managed to boot the ball into the FC Valinor side of the field from where Huan brought it back.
That was the name of the game ten minutes before the final whistle: all the players, except Huan were on the Erebor’s side of the field.

At 83rd minute Lórien passed the ball from some forty meters forwards high in the air. Celegorm chested it down and chipped it diagonally forwards from just outside the box – Curufin rushed in for a volley only to boot it to the upper levels of the stadium. What a prodigal son he was, Curufin!

Two minutes after the previous, Penlod had risen from the left side. Pretending to center the ball Meneldor dived to shut the passing line but Penlod actually kicked the ball backwards with his heel – and lo and behold! – the Silverfoot was in full speed coming from behind him and took the ball with one touch booting it with the second touch –only to be just tipped away by Beorn! That was probably the closest one thus far for FC Valinor!

Five minutes of the game left and even the defenders of FC Valinor were up and actively creating mayhem – like we saw with Penlod just there. Few minutes before the final whistle even Maglor joined the attack as the second last one – they still kept Nahar around the center-ring just in case of a runaway ball that a speedy attacker might run for. It was now all or nothing – and the crowds were going nuts: the Erebor supporters were not believing they were winning the game and the elves were not believing FC Valinor was losing! But both made even more infernal noise as a result.

On 87th minute Maglor actually took the initiative and tried to force himself through the tightly packed defence only to be harshly winged down by Gwaihir who was clearly late of the situation when Maglor had managed to fool Bolg out. And it was true: the first card of the game! Such an intensive game with no cards dealt until three minutes from the end. It told everything of the game: hard, powerful, aggressive – but clean. Thus far, that is.

The free-kick was from a good position, about 18 meters from the goal. The three brothers were seen discussing it around the ball – well, arguing about it, it seemed – while the wall was being built with the aid of the referee inside the box, with both Argon and Yavanna trying to fit inside it. The three brothers all stood behind the ball some meters away from it when the referee whistled for a go.

Celegorm tossed Maglor away and glanced at Curufin, nodding to him. Despite the heavy toss Maglor kept his balance and continued walking sideways not looking back and cursing while he went. The two brothers exchanged looks and started running at the ball at the same time… Suddenly Curufin took a dash and got to the ball first only to trick-play it with the heel of his left foot and the point of his right so that the ball flew high up in the air. And it was an exact timing. The defenders from the wall started rushing forwards.

Curufin took a fast dash forward-right – Landroval and Girion went to close the passing line to him. Erebor had it now with Meneldor and Smaug closing in on Celegorm who was just going to reach the ball coming down; Bolg and Dain were keeping Argon and Yavanna away from the action; Bard was in close-quarters with Idril not giving her any room to breathe…

Celegorm reached the ball first. That was no surprise. He just hadn’t anyone to pass it except backwards as Erebor had closed every door. Celegorm caught the ball and glanced swiftly behind him before Meneldor and Smaug caught him. Turning forwards he saw Meneldor and Smaug pressing on him bending on the sides to be able to intercept a possible pass side- or backways. But as a gap between Smaug and Meneldor emerged, Celegorm swiftly sent the ball fast forwards slightly to the left.

And it was none else but Maglor who had sneaked forwards the seconds others had concentrated on everyone but him – and now he dashed to the ball. Landroval shrieked and made his best to turn mid air while Gwaihir answered the call leaving the guarding of Lórien behind… Girion stood helpless for a fraction of a second and then turned on his heels to follow Landroval. Beorn saw what was going on and closed the distance between him and Maglor trying to leave him as little angle possible to shoot it past him.

But Maglor did not take a shot. He passed the ball forwards-right – and yes, Curufin was now free and had dashed to the corner of the goal where he only had to put his boot in to the ball’s way to guide it in! FC Valinor had evened the game just three minutes before the end of the game!

The three brothers hugged passionately. All the tossing and “arguing” had been just a trick!

FC Valinor somewhat had the upper hand at the last minutes, but it was clear both teams were now concentrating for the extra-time. And that was to follow.

The statisticians were once again puzzled: how can a game be even when the other side has 74% of the possession, has 20 shots overall against 8 from the opposition, and shots on goal are 7-3. On second period alone FC Valinor made 12 shots and 5 of them went on target (posts and crossbars are not counted): that is more than many teams are able to accomplish in a whole game – and while the “serious scoring opportunities” were 5 vs. 1 after the first period, after two periods different statisticians saw them from 13 vs. 3 all the way to 15 vs. 2!

But the game was still 1-1 and it was the extra time.


After the few careful first minutes of the extra-time it was clear who was going for the goal. Unsurprisingly it was FC Valinor.

On 7 minutes into the extra-time Celegorm headed a cool center by Idril nicely via the ground but Beorn managed to stretch his leg for an astonishing reaction-save.

Few minutes later there was a great row on the field after Bolg had clearly kicked Nahar into his lower belly, in purpose. After that Nahar was more or less unstoppable and charged after Bolg around the field. Lórien was at the route Bolg tried to escape and managed to stumble him down with a kick to his side. As he was ready to cast a spell on Bolg suffering eternally of recurring nightmares, the referee finally caught the action and carded all three.

But if Bolg had wished he’d take some energy away from their opposition by his trick he was totally wrong. FC Valinor looked now doubly threathening, hard and unforgiving. And by Valar they scored after 16 minutes of the extra-time! Many thought it was finally some justice being delivered.

After one of the rare trials at attacking Erebor lost the ball somewhere half into the FC Valinor’s side of the field. Lórien took the ball and sent it immediately far up to Argon whom he saw was ready to make a spurt. And Argon did the run of his life ducking Landroval on his way and catching the ball before the end-line.
With a last second turn-pass – basically executing that from mid air as he had to jump for the ball unless it went over the line – he managed to center it and as the few defenders there were had been after him Yavanna was all alone in the middle to receive the pass. She took the ball in control by stopping calmly at the penalty spot. Beorn rushed forwards as soon as he realised the situation but Yavanna just passed the ball slightly sideways to herself with her left foot and chipped the ball out of reach of him and into the back of the net with her right!

FC Valinor was finally in the lead and the elven crowds were just going crazy. Fourteen minutes to go. FC Valinor had been the sovereign side thus far, but the lapse in the beginning. The tables had finally been turned.

Erebor did not mean to accept the loss and fought for the equalizer, but FC Valinor was not giving in an inch even if Erebor now came forwards with full force.

On the contrary, every time Erebor tried to attack FC Valinor sent Idril and Curufin – or Celegorm and Argon, or Yavanna and Nahar – a different pair every time into to the front with full speed dashes forcing Erebor to leave players to see after them and thus they never got the chance of building up an attack of a kind FC Valinor had played most of the second half. FC Valinor was keeping them at the bay with a counter-threat too serious to be ignored.

Three minutes before the end of the overtime there was one more clash of wills and personalities. Penlod and Smaug were reaching for the ball in the midfield and Smaug tailed Penlod away sending him into the ground. Not taking any more of that – and not willing to wait for the referee’s judgement – Penlod went on to challenge Smaug. To Penlod’s defence it can be said Smaug had pushed him all the game when the referee had not being looking, but yes, now Penlod had had it. Only the fact that Maglor and Lórien forced him off Smaug’s throat saved him from a red card. They both got yellow cards but the following free kick was given to Erebor as the “revenge” was deemed more unsportsmanlike than the original foul.

Nazgul #7 gave the free-kick from fifty meters trying to find Smaug’s tail from the edge of the box. But Nahar beat Smaug for it nice and clean. It was a perfect turnaround.

Nahar sent the ball flying forwards and Curufin, Celegorm, Yavanna, Idril and Argon all ran for it looking on their own routes for a great ending of the game. The elven crowds were cheering! This would be the final nail into Erebor’s coffin! 3-1 was on it’s way!

Idril got the ball farthest to the left and ran with it a moment before stopping – as Meneldor was closing in on her – and crossing it then to the center to Curufin who had now almost reached her level. Curufin sent the ball immediately forward-right towards Argon who was making way to the end of the pitch – and got the ball nicely before the end of the field on the right – and had time to decide what to do before Gwaihir was upon him. And he decided to dribble the great eagle – which he did! Getting rid of Gwaihir Argon centered the ball seeing both Curufin and Celegorm dashing towards the goal.

But somehow Gwaihir managed to put it’s wing in between while falling down from a too fast a turn. The ball went over the brothers and as a gift into the feet of Girion who did not mess around but kicked it far away from the Erebor side.

In the midfield Indis rose higher than Bard but due the contact she was not able to head it the way she meant and it went backwards, far away from where she meant it should go. Deep on the right of the FC Valinor’s side Thranduil took the ball and centered it immediately – amd Smaug was there to push free from the middle. With the FC Valinor defence a bit disarrayed as Nahar was not in his place and Penlod was understandably not willing to gather another yellow, Smaug actually got room to manouver just to tail the ball… into the net!

Erebor had drawn the game two minutes of the overtime left!!!

Nobody believed their eyes at first, not even the players. But after Smaug roared and the first Erebor players reacted to it starting to jump up and down, part of the stadium holding the fans of Erebor finally burst into cheering and a kind of hysterical laughter. They had been so sure down under that they would lose the game, but now it was once again anybody’s game! Erebor ruled!

The Lothlórien elves were just shocked – excluding those who actually cheered for Erebor. It had been a clear game after all the trouble and hardship in the beginning… and what now? A toss of a coin? Were there not the loud crowds cheering for Erebor the elves might not have realised how on the edge this was now.

But it was to be a penalty shoot-out.


Erebor 2-2 FC Valinor
on target 5-9
tot shots 14-23
GOALS:
*36, 1-0 Bard (Dain)
*87, 1-1 Curufin (Maglor)
*16, 1-2 Yavanna (Argon)
*28, 2-2 Smaug (Thranduil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Erebor- Gwaihir, Bolg, Smaug
*FCVal- Nahar, Irmo, Penlod



A report from the penalty shoot-out will be published later today.

[Nogrod]

Erebor vs. FC Valinor, penalty shoot-out.

While the players rested and concentrated on the following shoot-out the fastest minds already went through different possibilities… It was hard to believe Huan on the losing side when clashing with any other goal-keeper, but then again Beorn was the comet of this season and statistically better, and especially in this game he had been just phenomenal while Huan had been mostly jobless most of the game… What else?

The three brothers would score. It was a hard place for the elves of Lothlórien to admit that they now relied on Fëanor’s sons, but that was what they were doing. There were the two Valar as well. It would be hard to see Yavanna or Lórien not to score. So how about it got further? Argon was a great elf – and so was Idril. And Penlod was a real hero... and Nahar was such a creature no-one could stand against it. Yes we have it, the elves thought to themselves even if they knew someone would fail anyway. But they had such a tough bunch that even if one failed it should not matter.

Meanwhile most of the supporters of Erebor were too busy to celebrate the draw to concentrate on the penalty shoot-out to come, but those who realised what was coming the next were thinking more or less along the following lines… Now Beorn would keep them safe often enough to give their team a change to win: that was something they were confident on after seeing all his parade-saves in this game. But how would their shooters fare against Huan? Smaug sure was in the same league with the Hound, and so were the Great Eagles – those would fight it out at the same level. But how about Thranduil, the men, Dain and Bolg?
Now these were some anguish-begging questions. It was Huan after all they faced.

The two goalies took it towards the goal walking silently side by side – with Beorn in a full bear-shape going in all fours as well. Reaching the goal they turned to face each other and leaned their foreheads slightly on each other to show respect. After that Beorn retreated to the side of the goal slowly transforming back to a human form while Huan took himself between the posts. Erebor would shoot first.

Smaug came forwards and settled the ball into the spot. Then it retreated somewhat to the right to let it’s tail fall in perfect position to hit the ball. The two beasts stared each other to the eye for a moment while Smaug waved it’s tail to and fro in the air. The air was thick with anticipation. There wasn’t even a sigh in the crowd as everyone held their breath.

Suddenly Smaug’s tail swang in a mighty loop. Huan saw the trajectory of the ball to come clearly and dived for the upper-left corner, but just as the tail would have hit the ball Smaug pulled it up and moved it’s hind-leg in astonishing speed chipping the ball to the lower-right corner while Huan was already diving left! It was sensational!

But Curufin didn’t let the show-off bother him. If they had counted on someone scoring from the Erebor side Smaug sure was the pick. Setting the ball Curufin took a few steps back, nodded to Beorn with a determined expression. There was no emotion on his face.

A short run and a shot – like a bull’s hit! The shot was so powerful Beorn just hadn’t time to react to it before it was already in the back of the net, in the upper-right corner going in slightly touching the crossbar and swerwing through the net to bounce back into the field. Unlike Smaug, Curufin didn’t celebrate the goal in any way but only walked back his face as neutrally grim it is possible to have. But the crowds were cheering even wilder than with Smaug’s goal. They were surely being entertained!

The shoot-out was even 1-1.

Passing Curufin in the midfield Thranduil seemed a bit nervous. King and all he was, but Curufin was an old and great Noldorin lord whose stupendous skill and confidence just outshone him on every measure. But he bit his lip adjusting the ball to it’s place. Fëanor’s sons or not, the Great Hound or not, he would show what the Silvan elves were made of. Mostly to entertain himself and to build self-confidence he took a few dancing moves away from the ball, made a twist around and then rushed for the ball.

Huan jumped forwards to beat the angle and stretched it’s claws… and he tipped the ball – but not enough! The ball swerwed from the touch and flew inside the goal just inches away from the post! Dropping down all the air had already ran away from the ball and it had to be replaced by a new one. Meanwhile the referee gave Huan a warning that should he destroy a ball a second time the shot would be declared a goal whether it went in or not.

Thranduil was waving his hands in the air while walking back to the center of the field, but Celegorm looked like a copy of his tight-lipped brother walking slowly to the penalty spot. Like his brother he took only a few steps from the ball, nodded to Beorn and then dashed for it.

Beorn had suddenly a crazy idea and went for it on instinct. It was argued a lot afterwards whether he stole the jump going for it already before Celegorm’s boot hit the ball (even if the video replays after the game showed it quite clearly) – but he did go towards the upper-right corner thinking Celegorm would copy his brother in that as well. And he fisted the ball off! Celegorm had been denied! The Erebor fans were exstatic!

Erebor led the shoot-out 2-1.

Bard had the whole stadium watching on him as he walked to the spot. The pressure was high: scoring now would put Erebor a big step forwards to victory while missing would mean losing the gain they had just made with Beorn’s dashing save. But Bard the Bowman was not nicknamed “the Grim Sniper” for no reason. He made a stupendous curve-ball shot and while Huan did dive into the right side of the goal the ball changed it’s trajectory in the middle of the flight and suddenly started swerving towards the center. Already mid-air Huan had no chance to change his own flight, and even if he made a brave try to reach the ball with his feet it was a lost case for him. Bard scored!

Now the concept of a curve-ball (or a “banana-shot”) sure is familiar to all football fans, but to be able to make the ball swerwe that much in as short a distance than a penalty shot was something no-one could have foreseen anyone could deliver. There was something magical in this Bowman to be sure. And Smaug indeed was one of the first to congratulate him for his feat.

But if the Erebor fans had been overwhelmed by their players thus far yelling and chanting like mad men the elegant and graceful presence of Yavanna just silenced them once and for all. The lightness of her steps on the grass, the grace of her movement, the lightness of her being, the age and wisdom in her eyes… it was, well otherworldly in every possible sense of the term. Beorn felt really uncomfortable in between the posts when she glanced at him after setting the ball to the spot.

And it looked like Yavanna had called the grass to grow roots around Beorn’s ankles as when she finally set into motion and shot the ball – accurately to the lower left corner of the goal – it seemd Beorn just froze and only managed to move slightly towards the ball when it was already crossing the line. It was time for the elves to go crazy in the stands! Following the example of Oromë the crowds stood for a standing ovation for Yavanna. And she did curtsey to the fans left and right as she walked back to the center of the field.

Erebor was still in the lead, 3-2 now.

When the Nazgûl #7 walked to the spot the other ringwraiths up over the stadium let out a shrilling scream that silenced the crowds once again. The Eagles gave them an evil eye and the Nazgûl seemed to get the hint. But the mood was set.

Huan concentrated on his goal. He psyched himself into the shot… he had faced Melkor himself, the Balrogs… and now what was this guy, a mere corrupted human servant of a servant of Melkor, Sauron, a maia like himself… Would another maia be scared of his corrupted animal servant? These guys had the show, it had to be admitted, but no, he would stop this guy and even the game.

As soon as the Nazgûl had set the ball Huan started staring at him, challenging him with his burning eyes. And little by little the Nazgûl felt the pressure heavier and heavier. He went for a shot but Huan was faster – diving into the exactly right side and gripping the ball firmly in between his claws, being careful not to blow the ball this time. That was a sensational save, vintage Huan! And Erebor was denied the first time.

Argon came in turn and made it quick. Set the ball, a few steps back, short concentration, blowing out the extra air from his lungs, a dash… and a goal! Beorn was actually nicely with the shot but Argon just hammered it that powerfully he had no chance to really stop it.

The elven crowds were almost unable to control themselves. It was even again! FC Valinor had risen again like it had done in the game. And the farther the shoot-out would go, the better chances they had as they had a lot wider spread of quality. It was looking good once again for the Lothlórien elves and other supporters of FC Valinor.

The shoot-out was even 3-3.

The last shooters of the first round of five were ready to take their turns. And Gwaihir took to his wings making more like a longish jump to the penalty spot. The twenty plus eagles at the top of the stadium shrieked for support, and this time around the Nazgûl were not able to repay the “compliment” of silencing them. They just didn’t have the numbers or support by Sauron to do that.

It was once again a meeting of two great creatures highly mightier the men or elves. They eyed each other in a respectful way for a moment before Gwaihir took a few steps away from the ball concentrating on his shot now with eyes closed.

After flapping it’s wings around and about for a moment Gwaihir finally opened his eyes, rose up a little off the ground and dived forwards. He gripped the ball into his talons and swang himself in the air so that his head and upper torso went backwards but the talons and lower torso forwards – balancing the move with his great wings. And the ball shot off with a mighty velocity. Huan did actually get the direction correctly and dived for it – only to be just an inch late as the ball slipped through his outstretched claws.

Gwaihir the Windlord had scored! For the astonishment of all both the great Eagles and the Nazgûl were screaming for joy at the same time up over the stadium – and it must have been an interesting realization to them as well – they were after all supporting the same team but it had somehow been forgotten in the middle of all the security demands and all that jazz.

Maglor was the last shooter from FC Valinor’s side – and with Gwaihir scoring he had to score as well if FC Valinor was to stay in the game. Unlike his brothers though he smiled when he placed the ball to the spot and eyed Beorn curiously while taking his steps back. Beorn was a little confused as Maglor seemed at the same time so similar and yet so different from his two brothers: he had the same eyes of steel and pride and stature of a Noldorian lord of old, well of the descendant of Finwë himself, but there was playfulness, even humour in there one could not find in the eyes of some darker sons of Fëanor.

Maglor glanced at the upper-right corner of the goal his brothers had shot at and suddenly, noticing that Beorn had caught his glance, winked an eye to Beorn before laying his head low to concentrate. It made Beorn mad with frustration: was he being straightforward, bluffing, double-bluffing, triple-bulffing? Everything but the frist option seemed plausible – and he had no time to mull it over. Maglor had taken a longish distance to gather speed but he was on the move already building speed as he neared the ball.

Beorn thought feverishly… “in the end all this show is him trying to make me think he is different from his brothers so he wishes me to go for the other side – so I need to take the same one…” and Beorn jumped for it to the upper-right corner of the goal. Maglor shot the ball with power… into the left of the goal! He threw Beorn a smile before turning on his heels and walking relaxedly back to his team waving his hand casually in the air as he went. The crowds loved Maglor for that – and his cool finishing.

It was 4-4 after the first five shots.


From this on, it would be a game of sudden death with every round: if one scored and another didn’t, it was all over. The pressure was felt all around. And FC Valinor would be shooting first from now on.

It was Idril who walked trough the field next. The elves were holding their breath seeing Turgon’s fair daughter walk gently over the field her head held high. Silverfoot she really was. If Yavanna had walked through the pitch gracefully and lightly then Idril was, if possible, of even lighter feet. It was like her feet didn’t touch the grass at all as she more like slid over it.

She kissed the ball before putting it down to the spot and took a fair distance from it to gain speed. Beorn stood expressionlessly staring at the ball and Idril feet. Idril dashed forwards with incredible speed and shot the ball towards the lower right corner – but Beorn had hunched it right and dived to intercept the ball’s flight. The ball was coming in with such speed that even if he had gotten it right he was in time only to just tip it off the goal. But he did it! FC Valinor was denied the second time!

Erebor had their chance now. A goal now and they were through to the semifinals! Who would come to shoot for them? The crowds tried to look into the center of the field to see who would break from there and walk to the spot, but no one did. Instead Beorn himself was changing into a bear-form and emerged from the side of the goal to pick the ball.

Erebor supporters were going totally wild! Of course Beorn would be the shooter – and it would be so fitting for him to make the decisive shot! And in a bear-form! It was so exciting! And even Huan showed some signs of nervousness. A great bear was for him a much more worthy adversary than just a man, how great he otherwise was. There would be power in the shot and he had to do his best to FC Valinor a chance to continue the shoot-out.

The great bear roared and then charged. And the shot was a mighty one. It would have fallen anyone who tried to come to it’s way – but not Huan! Huan charged straight towards the ball at the moment it boomed from the bear’s foot – throwing his both fore-feet towards it he fisted it high in the air. The shot had been coming straight in the middle as Beorn had clearly thought Huan would dive for either corner – and if he wouldn’t the shot would be too powerful for even him to stop it. But he was wrong. Huan stopped it – and roared mightily for it making the elven spectators jump up in cheers and chants. Erebor was denied as well!

It was still 4-4.

Nahar emerged from the center and trotted to the spot. Now the crowds could find signs of weariness from Beorn’s countenance. The great horse would boot the ball with some worrying force as well. Beorn had thought it for a moment to take the shot in the bear form to be stronger to withstand it, but he would be so much slower in his first reaction as a bear he didn’t dare to try it. So feeling quite naked he stood as a human in between the posts looking at the great horse ready to charge at any moment. The crowds were holding their breath and Oromë was seen biting his nails in the audience.

Nahar sped into speed and booted the ball with ferocious force straight towards the upper-left corner of the goal. And Beorn hunched it totally wrong flying for the right side! But Nahar missed it! The ball went just an inch over the crossbar almost touching it as it went – but it had missed! The crowds awwed and sighed heavily. Oromë had closed his face into his palms.

So Erebor was given a second chance to win the game. And both the players and the fans knew it well they couldn’t afford wasting too many opportunities to end the game as FC Valinor would come back to score sooner than later and then they would just have to score themselves as well with no chance of winning it at that round. So it was now or never.

Bolg walked slowly to the penalty-spot feeling the pressure in his back. The orcs in the audience were thrilled! It was great Bolg, son of Azog, who would nail it for Erebor! Most of the Silvan elves and dwarves were not that confident though. Especially the dwarves would have loved to rather see Dain taking the shot. But those were petty differences, they knew it. And so they all cheered for Bolg crossing their fingers for him. Even if many questioned why the Meneldor or Landroval weren’t given precedence?

Bolg took his time to settle the ball in the way he was happy with and took slow steps away from it. It was hard for Bolg to look at Huan whose fiery eyes challenged him. He was just one shot away from being the celebrity everyone would love and appreciate. Just one shot…

And he was on it! He booted the ball with all the might he had – and it flew high up over the goal to the high rows of the stands. The elves were laughing from relief but probably a little for the lousy performance on the orc chieftain as well. They felt so justified in their mock of the orc. To the surprise of many Smaug came to meet Bolg half-way back to the center and patted him on the shoulder.

But FC Valinor had ducked a defeat a second time. The name of the game should change now the fans thought. It had to.

It was even 4-4 still.

To the great joy of the homecrowds it was Lórien who would take the next shot. Irmo of the Valar would not let them down! Even Oromë looked relieved. Mandos, Estë and Vairë were cheering loudly.

The Master of Spirits approached the penalty spot slow and majestic worthy of his stature. He was not going to rush anything. After setting the ball and taking the steps back from it he finally turned his eyes to Beorn – immediately seeing his deepest hopes, thoughts and dreams. But he didn’t let them affect his game. That would have been cheating anyway, he thought.

But he did hammer the ball in with precision leaving Beorn no chance in saving the goal. Beorn was first almost going to dive for the right but changed course at the last moment and went left instead… only to see the ball flying securely out from his reach, just lightly hitting the left post. Even if he had went to the left immediately he would have had no chance to catch it. It was fast and accurate shot impossible to save.

The Lothlórien crowds went just mad and shouted the name of their namesake. Now this was what they had been looking for from the shoot-out! And now Erebor was between the rock and the hard place. Did they miss now, it would be all over.

It was Girion’s turn. And it was time for some serious nail-biting on behalf of team Erebor fans. How could a lord of Dale beat Huan himself? Yes rich and powerful man at his time, and the great grandfather of Bard, but still…

It was clear Girion had the pressure of his life on his shoulders when he settled the ball down and concentrated on his shot. Huan looked calm and focused.
Girion took only a shortish run and went for it… he had to score… he shot it low… towards the right corner of the goal… Huan dived to the right… but high! He tried to grasp the ball flying under him but couldn’t but slightly touch it with the tip of his claws. It was a goal! Girion scored! Erebor had ducked relegation!

And the game was still on… ninth shooters were coming forth.

It was even, 5-5.

A seriously tall figure of an elf took to the penalty-spot. Penlod the Gondolian was next. And the elves were cheering to their hero of the battle of Gondolin, although some exchanged curious looks as to why Huan hadn’t been unleashed yet; he sure would score. But Penlod was a mighty elf and the cheers for him were ear-piercing. And he looked composed staring at the beorning between the posts.

He took a longish run but just as he was coming to hit the ball he almost stopped. Beorn was already leaning on towards right going to dive – and seeing that with the help of his little trick – Penlod made an accurate shot to the lower left corner of the goal, almost more like a pass than a shot.

Somehow Beorn managed once again to change direction at the last possible moment… and he tipped the ball away! Unlike with Lórien’s powershot Penlod’s slower one gave him the slight chance to make it – and he did it! Erebor was once again having a chance to wrap it for themselves.

And when Landroval flew in the Erebor fans were once again having their hopes up. He would score just like Gwaihir did. They had felt they had not such a wide spread of talent FC Valinor had but now it looked they were ready for anything and everything.

Huan was ready for Landroval and the two beasts nodded to each other in mutual recognition. Gwaihir had tricked Huan on the first rounds and Landroval knew he wouldn’t be surprised that easily a second time.

Landroval closed his wings around him and fell silent, concentrating to his shot. Huan stood motionless staring at the ball. Suddenly Landroval opened his wings and jumped up and forwards dashing towards the ball. Huan’s every muscle was on alert as his body was ready to bounce anywhere a split-second’s decision would send it. Momentarily it looked like Landroval was falling to his side, but at the same moment people realised what it was: Landroval made the shot with a huge swing of his wing sending the ball booming towards the upper-left corner of the goal. And Huan reached for it like a spring that had been unleashed.

Huan’s claws hit the ball! There was a curious thudding sound when the sharp claws tore the skin of the ball apart. The air ran off from the ball with a whining noise and the ball… or what was left of it… dropped just inches inside the goal.
There was a total silence for a few seconds when nobody was quite sure what had happened or how the referee would interpret it.

But when the referee then showed with his hand that it was a goal the crowds broke into wild cheers or protests – depending on the side they were supporting. Curufin and Celegorm went after the referee so aggressively it looked like they were going to kill him right there and then, but happily Huan came to stop them and defended the referee from a plain onslaught. He made it clear that firstly what was left of the ball was inside the goal and that the referee had already warned him beforehand that if he tore one more ball into pieces after the first one he would judge it a goal whatever happened.

Some reports had it that Celegorm had yelled back at Huan that he had defected once again, but that report couldn’t be confirmed.

Be that as it may, Erebor had taken a sensational victory over the clear favourites FC Valinor who were now out from the games.

And Huan owed Beorn a pint of the best mead Lothlórien could offer…

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

AC Beleriand vs Shire-Bree United at Gondolin

After AC Beleriand’s thrashing of the home side in the previous round, many neutral observers expected Fëanor’s side to be met with much booing when they played their quarterfinal tie against Shire-Bree United in Gondolin. But the Beleriandic side entered the pitch to a rousing cheer from their supporters as well as from the home crowd. Certainly Ecthelion, Eöl, and Fingolfin weren’t names that the Gondolindrim could easily learn to hate, considering that they helped bring the Cup to the Hidden Realm.

The other team, the heretofore-unknown (to the Beleriandrim) Shire-Bree United squad, was greeted with a polite applause (and a wild cheering from a small section of the stadium). They had drawn even with Angband and Tol-in-Gaurhoth, two footballing teams that still commanded respect despite what had happened to them this year. This was a team that had gone through difficulty and came out not wanting. Surely they would put up a fight even against one of the tournament favourites.

In the centre circle, team captain Strider gathered his team, a collection of curious creatures (Bandobras the Perian, the Barrow-wight, the two Nazgûl, and the biggest enigma of them all, Bombadil) along with lesser Men, the Dúnedain, and the Noldo Gildor. It was far more diverse a union than the one Fëanor’s son Maedhros formed before the Fourth Battle of Beleriand, but they were united for roughly the same reason—victory against the odds. Strider delivered a rousing speech to motivate the team, punctuated by a ‘This day we fight!’ cry by all eleven players. When they broke up to take their positions on the pitch, there was a glint in their eyes. They’re not just happy to have gone this far; they can still go further.

Or so they believed, until the game actually began. AC Beleriand put on a display of dominating possession (the possession stat by halftime was 72-28) and turning it into goals. They made smart passes and refused to give Shire-Bree an easy turnover. When they lost possession, they applied pressure all throughout Shire-Bree’s formation, moving as a cohesive unit and forcing the Shire-Bree players into hurried passes, testing their first touch under pressure. Eöl took up position in the right wing to match up against Gildor, and Nazgûl #6, unsung hero of the game against Angband, was neutralised by Fëanor himself. The Ringwraith’s defensive partner Butterbur was repeatedly exposed for his lack of pace by the Fiery Boot’s array of ball-handling tricks. Shire-Bree United’s wing outlets on the counterattack, the Barrow-wight and Khamûl, were closed down smartly by Denethor and Fingolfin. Beren took up position at the tip of AC Beleriand’s midfield diamond, where he totally outclassed Ferny, and Ulrad went out wide to occupy Golfimbul. And Shire-Bree’s main threat, Bombadil, was nowhere to be found, presumably deep in discussion with Ecthelion about poetry in some corner of the pitch.

AC Beleriand’s efforts bore fruit just twelve minutes into the game. A threefold run by Beren, Fëanor, and Eöl into the box confused the Shire-Bree defenders, and, when Denethor brought up the ball from the midfield, the back line was in shambles. The Green-elf played an uncontested pass to the Dark Elf, and Eöl had too much space to take a power drive that was too fast and too strong for Halbarad to keep out.

AC Beleriand were not done. Less than twenty minutes after the opener Fingolfin beat Khamûl in a straight-line dash and sent a cross from the byline before Golfimbul could close in; Beren brushed past Ferny to head it in. Almost half an hour into the game and AC Beleriand was already ahead by two. Such was the mismatch between their attack and their opponent’s defence.

Normally even a two-goal lead wouldn’t be safe against Shire-Bree’s attacking power, but they were still starved of the ball. AC Beleriand’s midfield diamond, supplemented by Fingolfin and, at times, Eöl, held the ball well and played smart passes to each other when pressed. Shire-Bree United’s wing threats Khamûl and the Barrow-wight were forced to positions they were unfamiliar with just to maintain even numbers in the midfield. With their displacement, the Shire-Bree defenders lacked outlets to whom they could pass recovered balls and were forced to play long passes to the forwards. This would have been no problem had Bombadil’s head been in the game, but he was now discussing flower arrangement with Ecthelion and unaware of what was going on around him.

Five minutes before the half Fëanor put his dazzling ball-control skills on display once more as he dribbled Butterbur and Nazgûl #6 out of position before firing a snapshot that Halbarad managed to turn away. But Bregolas beat Gildor and Bandobras to the rebound and poked it in past a despairing Halbarad.

Half-time ended with only three Shire-Bree United attempts in forty-five minutes; they clearly lacked the drive and energy, especially on the attack. The handful of Hobbits and Dúnedain that made the journey to Gondolin hoped that Strider could snap Bombadil back to attention. Surely even a three-goal deficit would be easily made up if the strange man was on form.

For the first few minutes of the half it seemed that their predictions would be borne out. With Bombadil back in the game, Shire-Bree United retained possession better, and they gained some chances to put the AC Beleriand back line under pressure. But Fingolfin’s men rose to the challenge. Imlach and Rochallor made timely tackles on Strider, and, after a Bombadil solo run down the right wing, Ecthelion recovered from the misdirection well enough to clear Bombadil centring pass.

The thirty minutes of sustained pressure (yielding just six shots, the closest being a Bombadil bullet from outside the box that Marach managed to beat away) must have tired the Shire-Bree players out. They were becoming more laborious in their build-up, and AC Beleriand’s superior midfield slowly began to deny them the ball once again. Bombadil grew bored when all his efforts led nowhere, and he was soon spotted picking flowers in the precipice near the stadium. AC Beleriand’s passing killed the game once and for all, and Strider realised that his squad was up against a true championship contender, and that there was no chance of recovery. With ten minutes left, he shook hands with Fëanor, and the ball never crossed past the middle third of the pitch. Soon the final whistle was blown, and the AC Beleriand squad left to a standing ovation from their fans, some of whom raised banners with Shire-Bree United’s name crossed out, Real Valinor and FC Valinor written above it. They were marking out the path they knew their team would take to the championship, and the message has been sent: ‘Real Valinor, you’re next.’

AC Beleriand 3-0 Shire-Bree United
GOALS:
12, 1-0 Eöl (Denethor)
29, 2-0 Beren (Fingolfin)
40, 3-0 Bregolas (Fëanor)

Total Shots
16-9
Shots On Target
7-1

YELLOW CARDS:
1-0
AC Bel: Ulrad
SBU: –