Arda Cup Football 2009 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Nogrod · 06-17-2009, 05:19 PM

The last round of matches was highly anticipated. One could sense the excitement already in the morning walking at the roots of the mountain through the makeshift cheap-apartments built for the tourists to the games, or through the number of vendor-tents and take-away breakfast shops on carts. The home team had performed well so the mood of the supporters was hopeful and optimistic – even if nothing was certain as yet.

Nothing was indeed settled. Eregion had played such a beautiful game this far and they might beat Erebor, even with more than one goal. On the other hand Mordor had really not been the team people had anticipated it to be, so Osgiliath might beat it big-time and leave the home team to the group stage. And there were all chances for that as the Mordor team had nothing but their honour at stake. Mordor’s honour? So nothing at stake, deduced many.

So when the first match between Mordor and Osgiliath began the cheers for the goodies were not so hearty one might have presumed against a team from Mordor. And when Eldacar took Osgiliath into lead already at 25th minute the cheers were cordial at best. Those fast to count came up with it quickly: with this pace it would be 3-0 – and Erebor would need at least a draw against Eregion.

But the Mordor team soon showed some marks of coming alive. It looked like there was something called honour in Mordor – or then they just couldn’t bear watching the jubilant Osgiliath-players, their hated rivals.

At the same time the game got rougher. As the fast orc-forwards started to wreck havoc in the Osgiliath defences the defenders needed to take rougher methods into use to stop them. But if you play rough with an orc, you know what you’ll get. A host of free kicks were called and a total of nine yellow cards were given.

There were also some really beautiful team play and nice saves in the latter part of the first half. So it was a very entertaining game indeed. And it continued like that in the beginning of the second half, but slowly the balance of the game was turning more and more towards Osgiliath’s goal.

But then it came, like a lightning from a clear blue sky. In the middle of some real pressure laid by Mordor forwards and midfielders, Cemendur managed to steal a fast pass from Shagrat to Gollum and sent it immediately forwards, where with a lots of individual skill, Eldacar dribbled a few orc-defenders and ran away with it. He made it all the way towards the goal and made a powerful shot from ten meters… and Shelob got one of it’s feet in the way!

It was hard to say where the Uuuh’s and Oooh’s from the crowd came from; from disappointment or from instinctual joy for their own team’s chances. But there was the rebound… Eager to turn forwards Gorbag came a bit too riskily to the situation not just getting the ball away over the sideline asap to be safe but tried to turn before taking the ball. Falastur hit it right there and then, hammering the ball in with a slide from six meters. Even Shelob couldn’t react into that.

The rejoicing of the home crowd was noticeably subdued. To be frank the claps were mostly polite and only the Eregion and Osgiliath fans were shouting hurrays from the bottom of their lungs.

But team Mordor hadn’t yet played it’s last cards. After the goal Mordor went into full attack -mode forcing the whole Osgiliath team into defence. But even there amidst the crowded defensive-area the small and agile orcs led by Gollum got chances to shoot one after another.

Ten minutes to the final whistle it finally bore fruit. After something like twenty consecutive passes the Mordor attack had totally dissected the defences and Gollum’s last diagonal pass from the edge of the box reached Grishnak just inches out of the off-side in the middle and Romendacil being in a sideways movement Grishank had it easy to send the ball to the opposite end of the goal.

The instant reaction of the home crowd was a thunderous cheer which got subdued pretty fast when they realised what they had done.

There were no more goals in the game even if Mordor went for an equaliser the last ten minutes. Osgiliath defences tightened up enough after the goal allowed and managed to block the last Mordor advances.

When the final whistle blowed the Osgiliath team and it’s supporters knew their fate was now in the hands, well feet, of the Erebor team.

Mordor 1-2 Osgiliath

shots 11-10
on target 5-5
GOALS:
*25, Osgiliath (Eldacar, Ostoher)
*59, Osgiliath (Falastur, Eldacar)
*81, Mordor (Grishnakh, Gollum)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Mordor- Radbug, Gollum, Shagrat, Nazgul #4, Snaga
*Osgiliath- Anarion, Cemendur, Ostoher, Meneldil

The temperature at the plains rose steadily during the afternoon but started to cool down come evening, but the temperatures at the arena didn’t show any sign of coming down. On the contrary, the intensity of the hopes and fears was something you could almost touch in the athmosphere.

And the table was now set. Win or draw for Erebor would mean they would go through from the group-stages. Losing with one goal while making at least one themselves would get them through as well. Losing 1-0 would lead into – well people were not quite clear about it; a coin-toss, a rematch? But losing with two goals… that would not be an option – even if it was what everyone was afraid of could happen.

The home team started spiritedly and went aggressively into the tackles and tried to take the time and space out from the other team forcing them into rushed decisions and faults. The home crowds were cheering fanatically and Eregion soon realised this was the strongest opposition they had met in the tournament. Eregion was actually the weaker side in the field for the first fifteen minutes being forced into defence and not getting any decent build-ups into making.

But when the starting frenzy of the home team dried slowly down the thing people had feared (and the pessimists calling themselves realists had predicted) just stroke them. It was probably Eregion’s first decent attack in the whole game – and they scored!

It was a nice straightforward goal. Elladan made a good run on his side and passed the defender taking him, then a short run towards the goal along the end line and a nice diagonal chip backwards to Gil-Galad rushing forwards and heading the ball irresistibly in.

But the crowds were immediately awoken again when Bolg sent an angry shot from 30 meters which Elrond just barely managed to tip outside the goal resulting in a corner kick for the hosts. The game was on again. But admittedly it became a bit more even for the rest of the first half.

The home team had clearly decided on the half time to even the game at the first moments of the second half. And they did come in to the second half like a whirlwind. Like in the beginning of the first half the Eregion team was forced to make hasty decisions with the incessant all-around pressing. And then it happened…

Erestor was receiving a pass as the lowest defender but saw Nazgul #7 already coming for him leaving him no time to take the ball into his control when it came to him. He had glanced left to see Celebrimbor advancing slowly and tried to pass the ball to the left with a one-time touch – but the Nazgul managed to put his feet in the ball’s way changing the angle it flew. And Smaug who was running to pressure Celebrimbor noticed it in time and rushed to the middle in a flash and without any niceties shot the ball in. Elrond had no chance. It was like a penalty-shot. A penalty-shot, shot by Smaug.

The crowds had had occasions for cheering and bursting out during the tournament but this was just ear-deafening! It was 1-1! The home team was taking on Eregion evenly and what was the best, they got their precious goal! Now even 2-1 defeat would give them the second place in the group!

Clearly the intensity of the game went down after the equaliser. Erebor took it a bit more easily but neither did Eregion seem to press on with full speed. And soon it became visible that the home team was wearing down a bit due to those maniac-periods they had played. And at 72nd minute the visitors went one goal ahead again. Eärendil gave a beautiful free kick finding Glorfindel from the point and heading the ball stylishly with a ground-bounce over Bain who was trying to make a flying catch on the header he saw coming.

The game ended 2-1 and Erebor was qualified beside Eregion who won the group with a clean sheet. There was much rejoicing and the parties lasted through the night in all goodwill and joviality. Even some of the orcs were in a pretty good mood: Bolg, Nazgul #7 and Smaug would be on the next round while the Osgiliath-team would be not. Of course they were disappointed on how their own tournament went, but anyway better to see Erebor going forwards than Osgiliath.

There were some scattered skirmishes mainly between the orc and dwarf supporters during the ealy hours but the dwarven guards dealt with them effectively as ever.

Eregion 2-1 Erebor

shots 11-12
on target 5-7
GOALS:
*19, Eregion (Gil-Galad, Elladan)
*48, Erebor (Smaug, Nazgul #7)
*72, Eregion (Glorfindel, Eärendil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eregion- Glorfindel
*Erebor- Bolg, Thrain, Dain

Final standings: Group D

Eregion 9 6-2
Erebor 4 5-4
-------------------------------------
Osgiliath 4 5-5
Mordor 0 1-6

06-17-2009, 05:19 PM	#11
Nogrod Flame of the Ainulindalë Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Wearing rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves in a field behaving as the wind behaves Posts: 9,310	Group D at Erebor The last round of matches was highly anticipated. One could sense the excitement already in the morning walking at the roots of the mountain through the makeshift cheap-apartments built for the tourists to the games, or through the number of vendor-tents and take-away breakfast shops on carts. The home team had performed well so the mood of the supporters was hopeful and optimistic – even if nothing was certain as yet. Nothing was indeed settled. Eregion had played such a beautiful game this far and they might beat Erebor, even with more than one goal. On the other hand Mordor had really not been the team people had anticipated it to be, so Osgiliath might beat it big-time and leave the home team to the group stage. And there were all chances for that as the Mordor team had nothing but their honour at stake. Mordor’s honour? So nothing at stake, deduced many. So when the first match between Mordor and Osgiliath began the cheers for the goodies were not so hearty one might have presumed against a team from Mordor. And when Eldacar took Osgiliath into lead already at 25th minute the cheers were cordial at best. Those fast to count came up with it quickly: with this pace it would be 3-0 – and Erebor would need at least a draw against Eregion. But the Mordor team soon showed some marks of coming alive. It looked like there was something called honour in Mordor – or then they just couldn’t bear watching the jubilant Osgiliath-players, their hated rivals. At the same time the game got rougher. As the fast orc-forwards started to wreck havoc in the Osgiliath defences the defenders needed to take rougher methods into use to stop them. But if you play rough with an orc, you know what you’ll get. A host of free kicks were called and a total of nine yellow cards were given. There were also some really beautiful team play and nice saves in the latter part of the first half. So it was a very entertaining game indeed. And it continued like that in the beginning of the second half, but slowly the balance of the game was turning more and more towards Osgiliath’s goal. But then it came, like a lightning from a clear blue sky. In the middle of some real pressure laid by Mordor forwards and midfielders, Cemendur managed to steal a fast pass from Shagrat to Gollum and sent it immediately forwards, where with a lots of individual skill, Eldacar dribbled a few orc-defenders and ran away with it. He made it all the way towards the goal and made a powerful shot from ten meters… and Shelob got one of it’s feet in the way! It was hard to say where the Uuuh’s and Oooh’s from the crowd came from; from disappointment or from instinctual joy for their own team’s chances. But there was the rebound… Eager to turn forwards Gorbag came a bit too riskily to the situation not just getting the ball away over the sideline asap to be safe but tried to turn before taking the ball. Falastur hit it right there and then, hammering the ball in with a slide from six meters. Even Shelob couldn’t react into that. The rejoicing of the home crowd was noticeably subdued. To be frank the claps were mostly polite and only the Eregion and Osgiliath fans were shouting hurrays from the bottom of their lungs. But team Mordor hadn’t yet played it’s last cards. After the goal Mordor went into full attack -mode forcing the whole Osgiliath team into defence. But even there amidst the crowded defensive-area the small and agile orcs led by Gollum got chances to shoot one after another. Ten minutes to the final whistle it finally bore fruit. After something like twenty consecutive passes the Mordor attack had totally dissected the defences and Gollum’s last diagonal pass from the edge of the box reached Grishnak just inches out of the off-side in the middle and Romendacil being in a sideways movement Grishank had it easy to send the ball to the opposite end of the goal. The instant reaction of the home crowd was a thunderous cheer which got subdued pretty fast when they realised what they had done. There were no more goals in the game even if Mordor went for an equaliser the last ten minutes. Osgiliath defences tightened up enough after the goal allowed and managed to block the last Mordor advances. When the final whistle blowed the Osgiliath team and it’s supporters knew their fate was now in the hands, well feet, of the Erebor team. Mordor 1-2 Osgiliath shots 11-10 on target 5-5 GOALS: 25, Osgiliath (Eldacar, Ostoher) 59, Osgiliath (Falastur, Eldacar) 81, Mordor (Grishnakh, Gollum) YELLOW CARDS: Mordor- Radbug, Gollum, Shagrat, Nazgul #4, Snaga Osgiliath- Anarion, Cemendur, Ostoher, Meneldil The temperature at the plains rose steadily during the afternoon but started to cool down come evening, but the temperatures at the arena didn’t show any sign of coming down. On the contrary, the intensity of the hopes and fears was something you could almost touch in the athmosphere. And the table was now set. Win or draw for Erebor would mean they would go through from the group-stages. Losing with one goal while making at least one themselves would get them through as well. Losing 1-0 would lead into – well people were not quite clear about it; a coin-toss, a rematch? But losing with two goals… that would not be an option – even if it was what everyone was afraid of could happen. The home team started spiritedly and went aggressively into the tackles and tried to take the time and space out from the other team forcing them into rushed decisions and faults. The home crowds were cheering fanatically and Eregion soon realised this was the strongest opposition they had met in the tournament. Eregion was actually the weaker side in the field for the first fifteen minutes being forced into defence and not getting any decent build-ups into making. But when the starting frenzy of the home team dried slowly down the thing people had feared (and the pessimists calling themselves realists had predicted) just stroke them. It was probably Eregion’s first decent attack in the whole game – and they scored! It was a nice straightforward goal. Elladan made a good run on his side and passed the defender taking him, then a short run towards the goal along the end line and a nice diagonal chip backwards to Gil-Galad rushing forwards and heading the ball irresistibly in. But the crowds were immediately awoken again when Bolg sent an angry shot from 30 meters which Elrond just barely managed to tip outside the goal resulting in a corner kick for the hosts. The game was on again. But admittedly it became a bit more even for the rest of the first half. The home team had clearly decided on the half time to even the game at the first moments of the second half. And they did come in to the second half like a whirlwind. Like in the beginning of the first half the Eregion team was forced to make hasty decisions with the incessant all-around pressing. And then it happened… Erestor was receiving a pass as the lowest defender but saw Nazgul #7 already coming for him leaving him no time to take the ball into his control when it came to him. He had glanced left to see Celebrimbor advancing slowly and tried to pass the ball to the left with a one-time touch – but the Nazgul managed to put his feet in the ball’s way changing the angle it flew. And Smaug who was running to pressure Celebrimbor noticed it in time and rushed to the middle in a flash and without any niceties shot the ball in. Elrond had no chance. It was like a penalty-shot. A penalty-shot, shot by Smaug. The crowds had had occasions for cheering and bursting out during the tournament but this was just ear-deafening! It was 1-1! The home team was taking on Eregion evenly and what was the best, they got their precious goal! Now even 2-1 defeat would give them the second place in the group! Clearly the intensity of the game went down after the equaliser. Erebor took it a bit more easily but neither did Eregion seem to press on with full speed. And soon it became visible that the home team was wearing down a bit due to those maniac-periods they had played. And at 72nd minute the visitors went one goal ahead again. Eärendil gave a beautiful free kick finding Glorfindel from the point and heading the ball stylishly with a ground-bounce over Bain who was trying to make a flying catch on the header he saw coming. The game ended 2-1 and Erebor was qualified beside Eregion who won the group with a clean sheet. There was much rejoicing and the parties lasted through the night in all goodwill and joviality. Even some of the orcs were in a pretty good mood: Bolg, Nazgul #7 and Smaug would be on the next round while the Osgiliath-team would be not. Of course they were disappointed on how their own tournament went, but anyway better to see Erebor going forwards than Osgiliath. There were some scattered skirmishes mainly between the orc and dwarf supporters during the ealy hours but the dwarven guards dealt with them effectively as ever. Eregion 2-1 Erebor* shots 11-12 on target 5-7 GOALS: 19, Eregion (Gil-Galad, Elladan) 48, Erebor (Smaug, Nazgul #7) 72, Eregion (Glorfindel, Eärendil) YELLOW CARDS: Eregion- Glorfindel Erebor- Bolg, Thrain, Dain Final standings: Group D* Eregion 9 6-2 Erebor 4 5-4 ------------------------------------- Osgiliath 4 5-5 Mordor 0 1-6 __________________ Upon the hearth the fire is red Beneath the roof there is a bed; But not yet weary are our feet...