Arda Cup Soccer 2008

[the phantom]

(special thanks to Nogrod for writing this match up)

MATCH 4, AT NARGOTHROND

The stadium beneath the hills, the arena of Nargothrond, was packing up with the optimistic home crowd. Nargothrond had been pretty impressive during the group phase and the Tuna team – even if these fellows of them had lately started to show some qualities – was generally looked upon as no more than a mouthful for the hometeam… The Nargothrond team would go forwards to the semi-finals and the crowd was there to witness that fact.

But the Tuna supporters were gathering in numbers to the stadium as well singing their “Pure elven race” –songs making the general athmosphere a bit gloomy. Some of the home team’s supporters started to chant songs about Orodreth being the little brother of Finrod and thence the team being the little brothers destined to lose the game. But it took no time from the Tuna supporters to start their counter songs about the ages of the respective family lines in the field that quite shut the mouths of those home team enthusiasts that had begun the whole affair.

The game itself was hard fought but a pretty clean one. It could be seen that there were two teams of elves – or humans near to elves – playing in the field. Only three yellow cards were shown the whole match. That tells a lot about the spirit of the game. It seemed that the crowds had more tempers than the players who quite cordially tried to measure their relative skills. But that doesn’t mean the teams played it soft. On the contrary: it was a real fight in the field, but a good spirited one as both teams appreciated one another and played it rough but fair.

To the cheer of the home crowd the Nargothrond team took the lead on the 27th minute when Glaurung irresistibly broke through the Tuna defences and scored from a nice pass from Finrod. But it was just a few minutes before the half-time that Tuna made the game even with Miriel dribbling the whole human defence of Nargothrond. It kind of fit the situation well that the releasing pass to Miriel was given by Finwë… The home crowd was aghast in front of the skill shown forth by the elders of the Eldar.

With the support of the home crowd Nargothrond came forcibly back in the beginning of the second period. On the 62nd minute Glaurung draw the defence on him and then passed the ball cunningly into an empty spot which was first reached by Finrod Felagund. And the crowd went just mad with the goal!

But slowly it started to get real to the home team supporters that the Tuna team’s oldies in their forward were sooo dangerous and the defence of the home team was not up to the challenge. Many a nail was bit as the game continued. Would their lead stand the attacks of the Tuna?

It didn’t. On the 79th minute Finwë broke through after a nice pass by Mahtan and made the scoreline even. Then the referee blew his whistle.

The game went into overtime and the home crowd was getting all the more nervous remaining silent most of the time. But the Tuna fans were chanting and supporting their team to the fullest. Few as they may have been, they clearly outshone the home team fans.

And on the 19th minute of the overtime Miriel finally silenced the home crowd for good giving the visiting supporters reason to chant ever louder. Nerdanel played a nice wall with Finwë and got rid of the defenders at the edge of the box but she didn’t shoot as all the remaining defenders and Beor at the goal thought, but passed it diagonally to Miriel who hammered the ball into the empty net with force.

The home team and the favourites were beaten. The skill of the offensive stars of Tuna had just outshone the home team and there was nothing to complain. Nargothrond was just not up to the challenge and lost.

Nargothrond 2-3 Tuna (Overtime)
shots 11-17
on target 5-9
GOALS:
*Nargothrond, 27 (Glaurung- Finrod)
*Tuna, 38 (Miriel- Finwe)
*Nargothrond, 62 (Finrod- Glaurung)
*Tuna, 79 (Finwe- Mahtan)
*Tuna, 19 OT (Miriel- Nerdanel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Nargothrond- Barahir, Bregor
*Tuna- Duilin

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[skip spence]

Much has been written elsewhere about the splendour of Gondolin and every lover of football owes gratitude to Turgon the king for easing the otherwise so strict travelling restrictions to and from Tumladen, thus enabling matches to be played at this fair venue. The visiting fans of Umbar, notorious for their irreverent behaviour, also came here displaying their best side and they marvelled at the high white walls of the city, the shining fountains and the images of the two trees in the king’s court. Few had expected Umbar to survive the group stages and the travelling fans were happy just to be here and watch their heroes play for further glory.

As the stadium filled up commentators noticed that many Gondolin-fans now were sporting Eöl-jerseys, a proof of the attacking midfielder’s increasing popularity. The Dark Elf, as he is known here, was not always a popular name in the gift-shop though. When news first came out that he would represent the city most fans were ill at ease, despite of his undoubted talents. Among other things, it was said he would be detrimental for team morale due to his documented dislike of the Noldor and that he couldn’t perform in sunny weather. So far these fears have been unfounded. In fact, during the group matches he had been perhaps Gondolin’s best player, scoring twice himself, setting up three goals for his teammates and linking wonderfully with his son Maeglin. He has constantly refused to answer any questions from the press however and doesn’t seem to celebrate his team’s goals with much gusto. But as long as he keeps delivering top notch performances on the pitch, the Gondolin fans are willing to forgive almost anything.

As the game kicked off Eöl was soon in the thick of the action again, this time for the wrong reasons. His strong run into the Umbar box was picked out by the ever impressive Turgon, and as Calimehtar came in for the challenge the Dark Elf went down like he’d been shot! Parts of the home crowd were appealing for a penalty while not a few of them stirred uneasily, some even booing. If there had been contact, it was slight indeed, and the home fans did not appreciate this kind of unsporting behaviour. Neither did the ref, who showed Eöl a yellow card for diving.

Now the pirates of Umbar had done extremly well to beat their great rivals Osgilath in the round robin, but they were having a difficult time making an impression in Gondolin. The home team’s sublime skill made it hard for them no get much contact with the ball, and when they did manage to get hold of it, they were quickly closed down and forced to try difficult passes and dribbles, often resulting in mistakes and turnovers. Cheered on by their supporters, Gondolin were getting a firm grip on the match and in the 27th minute they also took the lead. Idril dazzeled the crowd with some nifty footwork before delivering a hard, low ball towards the near post which Ecthelion pounced on, rifling a shot into the roof of the net from 5 yards out. 14 minutes later goalscorer Ecthelion turned provider as he unselfishly squared the ball to Maeglin who made no mistake with the open goal at his mercy, efter the two had beaten the Umbar offside trap for a clear run at goal. As the half-time sounded the anachronistic Mexican wave was rolling around the stands and extatic Gondolin fans were singing songs of impending glory.

If the Umbar-fans had any hope for a miracle, it was was soon to be shattered, as Gondolin were three goals up only four minutes into the second half. The goal came when Maeglin fired off a shot from distance that took a wicked deflection off his father’s back, leaving a dejected Pelendur with no chance to save. This was Eöl's third goal of the tournament, although he knew little about it himself. Now the game was in practicality over, and Gondolin eased off the pace somewhat, conserving enery for the later stages of the tournament. Umbar did manage to pull one goal back when Tuor - having had little to do all night - failed to handle a Queen Beruthiel shot that bounced awkvardly in front of him and allowed Castamir the Ursurper to pounce on the rebound. But it was little too late for the pirates, who now face the long journey back to their distant shores without the spoils. This Gondolin side however looks supreeemly confident, and they will be looking forward to their quarterfinal whether they play Doriath or Armenelos.

Gondolin 3-1 Umbar
shots 16-10
on target 8-6
GOALS:
*Gondolin, 27 (Ecthelion- Idril)
*Gondolin, 41 (Maeglin- Ecthelion)
*Gondolin, 49 (Eol- Maeglin)
*Umbar, 82 (Castamir- Beruthiel)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Gondolin- Eol, Rog
*Umbar- Nazgul #9, Angamaite, Brodda

[Nogrod]

The Armenelos stadium is situated just in the shadow of the tower and the citadel raised by Elros himself. The proud team of this magnificient city had humbled their opponents game after game admitting no goals this far in the tournament. They had promised to stick to the principle in the playoffs as well. But today they were facing a team which was also known for it’s defensive qualities, the infamous “girdle of Melian” being their last stand.

On the match-day the daily newspapers reported widely on the earlier play-off games and every single one pointed out to the number of first-born teams going forwards. “An end to the rule of the First-born!” shouted Armenelos Times in it’s front page. “Only elves and weirdos through this far!” screamed The Númenorian – pointing to the T-I-G team with the latter expression.

The around thousand supporters from Menegroth and it’s surroundings didn’t feel themselves so much welcomed but happily there were no serious incidents either. The elves were treated cordially by the organizers and the home crowds were behaving themselves for there was still the pride in them, and beating visitors with numbers wasn’t exactly honourable.

The game itself was pure Nirvana to the home crowd and a valley of tears to the guests. The home team took a complete control over the midfield from the very beginning and never gave it back again. That meant that the Doriathians had only a few decent attacks in the whole game as they were forced to play long passes to their forwards which the solid Armenelos defence handled with professional effectiveness.

In the attack the Armenelos team was as impressive. The home team scored twice in the first period. First Ar Gimilzor ran the ball in from a beautiful long pass from Tar Telperien who was still up after a corner kick. On 34th minute Tar Minastir was freed with Tar Ancalimon’s neat pass and he gave Melian no chance.

An interesting feature of the game was that Luthien had marked Ar Pharazon personally and managed to make him almost completely invisible for almost the whole first half. It was clear the goalmaker wasn’t happy for the overcoat watching and following his every step and effectively shutting him out from the game. So he went on playing rough with her, bumping and crashing with her whenever possible. In the end that paid off as his size and strength wore her down. On the 73rd minute Ar Pharazon got what he had yarned for the most: a goal in front of the wild-going home crowd. That goal finally ended Doriath’s hopes of getting back to the game and the last twenty minutes the teams mostly just passed the ball to and fro with no actual fighting over the ball anymore.

It was clear the better team, the far better team, won. And no one has yet scored a goal behind Elros! The team had stuck to it’s principle and the parties after the match at Armenelos were quite a sight! “Armenelos rules” was sang through the night in every pub and taverna of Armenelos.

Armenelos – Gondolin will be a classic! For example The Arda Kicker Magazine holds these two to be the best teams in the whole tournament. Sadly only one of them can go it all the way to the end.

Armenelos 3-0 Doriath
shots 16-8
on target 8-3
GOALS:
*Armenelos, 18 (Ar Gimilzor- Tar Telperien)
*Armenelos, 34 (Tar Minastir- Tar Ancalimon)
*Armenelos, 73 (Ar Pharazon- Ar Adunakhor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Armenelos- Tar Calmacil, Tar Atanamir
*Doriath- Saeros, Elwe, Mablung

[Nogrod]

There are only a few who have passed by the mighty gates of Angband and the towers of Thangorodrim and returned safe and sane. The Angband authorities had promised a safe return to every football fan wishing to witness the first ever international football match in the Iron Prison. But only a handful of visitors finally came, mostly adventurers and die-hard fans, and it’s rumoured that many of them will not be seen anymore.

But the mighty Númenorians of the north accepted the challenge and went into Angband to fight. Although it has to be said that even they were a bit uneasy as they walked to the greyish field – the previous gladiatorial arena turned into a soccer field – surrounded by more than a hundred thousand orcs and beasts of various kinds and facing the Angband frontline: Ancalagon the Black, The Great Gothmog and lord Melkor himself…

To the honour of the Númenorians it must be said they got there in the first place and played the full minutes and that even if they were the underdogs also in the game itself they never surrendered but played their best to the final whistle; they even managed four shots on the goal guarded by Carcaroth. But still that “best” wasn’t even near giving them any chances that evening in Angband. Without Aragost’s parade-savings the numbers would have been far worse.

The script of the game was clear from the first minutes onwards. Angband took the possession of the ball and seldom lent it back to the Númenoreans. Lord Melkor seemed to orchestrate the whole game; he was not only the conductor of his orchestra but sometimes it felt he was indeed composing the whole game, the events and movements within it as well.

The stars, the soloists who blasted the arena into an ear-deafening roar, were the greatest of the winged dragons and the lord of Balrogs. But they shone not only because of their individual skill and brazen style but also because of the trimmed team lord Melkor had organized to play behind them, supporting them and handling everything else but the scoring.

The two goals were a kind of mirror images of each other. On 32nd minute Ancalagon just bullied himself past Aravir and Argonui and Gothmog made the pass just in time to avoid the offside -call. Then Ancalagon took the ball with it’s back letting it roll down on it’s spine and finally blasted the ball in with a stupendously fast dribble of it’s tail from an angle Aragost anticipated the least. On 66th minute it was Ancalagon’s turn to break the offside-trap and send Gothmog free. His dribbling was also astonishing and some even say he used his wing in it while others doubt it because they don’t think Balrogs to have wings in the first place.

But the better team won once again and the Fornost players got safely out from Angband guarded by lord Melkor’s personal guard and accompanied to the gates by Ancalagon and Gothmog themselves. During the festivities after the game some three hundred orcs and lesser beasts has been reported killed this far. About the visiting fans no word has come yet.

Angband 2-0 Fornost
shots 16-9
on target 8-4
GOALS:
*Angband, 32 (Ancalagon- Gothmog)
*Angband, 66 (Gothmog- Ancalagon)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Angband- Balrog #3, Ulfast
*Fornost- Amlaith, Arassuil, Arahad


PS. tp, if you wish these to be in order I will remove this last one to be after your upcpmong last (game7) when I wake up... but I'm going to sleep now and thought someone might have time to check this...

[skip spence]

Football often gets publicity for all the wrong reasons, as a small minority of so called fans have tarnished the reputation of the great majority who only wants to have a good time and support their team. But football can also unite, and it was a heartwarmning sight when the travelling Mirkwood fans started to arrive at Lake Mithrim. Here were Woodmen, Elves, Orcs and even a few monstrous spiders singing and drinking together, all cheering for their interracial team. During the night before the match, Legolas fan-girls could be seen walking hand in hand with well-behaved Orc captains, and spiders were playing football in the parks, using all their legs trying to dribble off laughing Elves and men. If there only were more scenes like this in Middle Earth.

Most of the talk prior to the game had been centred around Turin though, as it always is whenever this man is involved. Perhaps the greatest mortal striker ever to have played the game, Turin can put the fear into any defence, and his fantastic goals against the mighty Angband, while playing for little leaguers Amon Rhud and Brethil, will always be remembered in the footballing community. Yet, the well travelled star has never won any titles, and despite all the bright promises his arrival to a new team often brings, his employers usually regret signing “The Black Boots” before the end of his stint. “Son of ill fate” he’s been called, and few are surprised these days if the striker suddenly miskicks a clearence for a spectacular own goal when it matters the most, strikes down a teammate or gets himself sent off when he would have been needed the most. Now, playing for Hithlum, Turin says that he is content and that his fans have nothing to worry about this time: “All that stuff is in the past, it matters not. I look ahead. Here at home in Hithlum, playing with my father, I’ve found harmony. Some say I’m cursed, but Hurin has told me that’s not true, and he’s heard it straight from the horses’ mouth, he says.” When asked if he would have liked to play with Morwen and Nienor too, the temperamental forward left the room with a fierce spark in his eyes and refused to answer any further questions.

Ahead of the match Hithlum was heavily favoured by the bookies and as play got under way it became clear that the Mirkwood defence were in for a hard day’s work against the all star line-up of the home team. Only a few minutes into the game Turin rattled the crossbar with a thunderous shot on the turn. Hithlum continued to come forward in wave after wave and in the 12th minute Hurin released Fingolfin with a clever through ball. The high king showed great composure in front of goal, chipping the ball over the legs of the onruhing Oropher and into the net.

Mirkwood did not give up so easily though. Urged on by their small but vocal supportergroup, they slowly began to work themselves into the game. Up front, Legolas, Thranduil and Scatha are a threat to any team, and now they started to see more of the ball. Legolas tried his luck with a few long-distance shots, and Scatha, the heavy centretank, was a real nuisance for the Hithlum defenders. In the 27th minute Mirkwood rolled up a great move. The ball moved from player to player as if tied to a string, and when Grishnakh was released by Legolas, Gundor came late for the challenge and tripped the long-limbed Orc inside the box. The referee had no hesitation as he showed Gundor a yellow card and pointed to the spot. It was a penalty kick! Scatha, having scored from 12 yards earlier in the Cup, seemed eager to take it but team captain Thranduil took the ball away from him and placed it on the spot himself. He took a deep breath and fired a low drive towards the left hand post, but Huor guessed correcly and palmed it away at full stretch. Scatha looked very upset while Thranduil buried his head in his hands. But in the meantime play was underway and Hithlum started a quick counterattack. Fingon got the ball on the right and advanced with it towards the box and the defenders who were backing down. He then played a great diagonal ball to the left for the unrushing Turin who with his first touch took the ball into the box, cut inside Galion with his second, and fired an unstoppable right-footed shot high into the far corner of the net with his third. With a fist raised in the air Turin quietly celebrated the goal, before being mobbed by his teamates.

Now there was little drama left in the game. Mirkwood continued to try, but their collective backbone seemed to have been broken by the second Hithlum goal, and their attacks were now mostly consisting of individual efforts. Scatha in particular semed unwilling to pass the ball to any of his teammates, repeatedly trying to dribble his way past the Hithlum defence without much success. Hilthum always looked more likely to score more goals than Mirkwood to reduce their lead, and in the 44th minute they did. Once again Turin was the inspiration as he left the Mirkwood defence for dead before delivering a pinpoint cross that his father easily headed home.

The second half was slow-paced but still gave the crowd two more goals to cheer about. The first one came from Mirkwood and brought some hope back for their supporters, now getting along less harmonically in the stands. Scatha was the scorer and it was perhaps the best goal of the game. Mirkwood were awarded a freekick 30 yards out. Grishnakh rolled the ball a few yards to the right for Scatha who hit a ferocious, rising thunderbolt that hit the crossbar and went in behind a surprised and startled Huor in the Hithlum goal. There was no sign of joy in Scatha’s face however as he pushed the defenders away and gathered the ball to place in in the midcircle again.

But if the Mirkwood players and fans had hopes for a comeback, they finally faultered in the 72nd minute when Fingon scored his second goal of the tournament with a curling shot from the edge of the area. The match ended 4-1 and it had been a very impressive performance from Hithlum. Their defence looked solid and up front, few, if any teams, can match the brilliance of the black boots of Turin supported by Fingolfin the Brave, Fingon the Valiant and Hurin the Steadfast.

But now the dreaded Angband awaits. Hurin and Fingolfin will once again stand face to face with Morgoth, mightiest among footballers, while Fingon will clash with his nemesis Gothmog again. Turin will also be desperate for pay-back against Melkor, who’s taken so much away from him. Will they get their revenge, or will the Dark Lord prevail as he ever has in the past? Whatever the outcome, this clash of the titans is not to be missed.

Hithlum 4-1 Mirkwood
shots 21-11
on target 10-5
GOALS:
*Hithlum, 12 (Fingolfin- Hurin)
*Hithlum, 29 (Turin- Fingon)
*Hithlum, 44 (Hurin- Turin)
*Mirkwood, 59 (Scatha- Grishnakh)
*Hithlum, 72 (Fingon- Angrod)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Hithlum- Gundor
*Mirkwood- Nazgul #8, Muzgash, Grimbeorn, Galion

[Nogrod]

The Arda Kicker Magazine is dealing it’s points for performances on the first round of the play-offs.

Five stars go to:

Miriel of Tuna
Tar Telperien of Armenelos
Elrond of Rivendell

Three stars go to:

Hurin of Hithlum
Fingon of Hithlum
The Mouth of Mordor
Glaurung of Nargothrond
Finrod of Nargothrond
Aragost of Fornost
Oropher of Mirkwood
Beor of Nargothrond

One star will go to:

Gothmog of Angband
Ancalagon of Angband
Maedhros of Formenos
Fëanor of Formenos
Ecthelion of Gondolin
Maeglin of Gondolin
Turin of Hithlum
Finwë of Túna
Carcaroth of Angband
Elros of Armenelos
Melkor of Angband



The top of the AKM stars after the first play-off round is over is the following:

13 stars
Miriel of Tuna
Elrond of Rivendell

11 stars
Hurin of Hithlum
Tar Telperien of Armenelos

8 stars
Elros of Armenelos

7 stars
Maeglin of Gondolin
Carcaroth of Angband

Bubbling under in six points: Eöl, Huor, Celeborn, Erestor, Gandalf, Gildor, Tar Atanamir, Tar Ciryiatan… and in five: Ar Adunakhor, The Barrow Wight, Finwë, Huan, Scatha, Tar Palantir… and a countless number of lesser stars.

Stay tuned with the channel... erm... buy the next issue of the AKM!

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Bracket-Elf is here!

(I haven't information on hosts for the quarterfinals, so I wasn't able to make distinctions. )

EDIT: Hm, this is a better-looking bracket, I'll keep it.

[the phantom]

The quarterfinals are coming soon!

Two sites have been chosen to host the quarterfinals- Eithel Sirion and Romenna. These sites were chosen to host because they have good facilities and are accessible to fans of all four teams.

At Eithel Sirion-
Rivendell vs Tol-In-Gaurhoth
Angband vs Hithlum

At Romenna-
Formenos vs Tuna
Armenelos vs Gondolin

[the phantom]

The morning sun rose slowly above the sea and crept across the decks of the many boats anchored in the Romenna harbor. Shiploads of elves had been arriving from Valinor and Beleriand alike, knowing that they would be welcomed with open arms by the many elf-friends that populated Romenna.

But though the locals were cordial and polite, many of them could not bring themselves to actually sport the colors of the elf teams- not when a team from just down the road was still in the tournament. Whatever bad blood existed between Romenna and Armenelos was not enough to overlook the fact that Armenelos was still the capital of their homeland, and the players were royalty. And it felt especially awkward to root against Elros, the first king of Numenor.

And so it was that, though the elves were treated extremely well, the stadium was certain to provide a home-field advantage for the lads from Armenelos, who had yet to give up a goal throughout the tournament, and had scored as many goals as any other team. Gondolin would have their hands full in the night match.

But the first match of the day was between Formenos and Tuna. Newspapers approached the game from many sides. Some focused on Feanor, and whether he desired to "stick it to" the city he had been banished from. Others talked of old versus young, with the original kings Finwe and Ingwe playing against the later leaders Feanor, Maedhros, and Celebrimbor. But the angle most often focused upon was that of Feanor and his parents.

How would they feel playing against each other? Feanor missed his mother growing up, and developed a strong double bond with his father. Would he really feel like competing hard against them? Would they? Would they be distracted? Would not Feanor relish the chance to see his mother work up close, and see where he had inherited some of his prodigious skill from? And would not Miriel wish to look upon her son as he played, so very proud of his abilities?

With these questions weighing on their minds, the full capacity crowd waited anxiously for Formenos and Tuna to take the field.....

[the phantom]

The crowd applauded loudly for Formenos and Tuna as they jogged out of the tunnels. A few of the Gondolin fans supported Tuna, but most of them sided with Formenos as Aredhel was playing for them.

A few of the Tuna fans were somewhat rude to Formenos supporters, and some of them were inappropriate in turn, still bitter over the events surrounding the banishment of Feanor. But most of the fans got along decently, for many among them had been friends before Melkor's machinations had driven a wedge between them. They laid the blame for the unfortunate events at Morgoth's feet where it belonged and moved on, forgiving each other for anything that had happened with mercy surpassing that of the Valar who had enforced the banishment.

Before the match kicked off the teams shook hands quickly at midfield. Feanor and his parents hugged briefly, wished each other luck, and proceeded to their places.

The offensive prowess of both teams was quite clear from the start, with the players up front sending and fielding excellent passes and making fantastic moves, but the defense of Formenos seemed more up to the challenge. The sons of Feanor seemed determined to impress their mother and grandparents, and guarded them with great vigor and skill. Their crafty elders put a move on them now and again, but the athletic youngsters recovered quickly and used a few tricks of their own. Tuna gained more shots than Formenos, but their shots were constantly a bit more rushed than what they wanted.

After a couple of failed attempts by both teams, Formenos finally broke the game open in the 33rd minute as Aredhel curved a perfect pass from the right side to Maedhros running in from the left. That was all the scoring in the first half, though both had a good opportunity only to be stopped by the goalkeeper.

In the second half Formenos began to assume more control and holding the ball in the offensive zone. In minute 54 they worked their way aggressively forward and Amrod took a hard shot at the goal. The rebound came out hard and Maglor kicked it on the bounce right back at the goal, but it bounded off the crossbar and back, where it was met first by Feanor who headed it out of Orodreth's reach for the 2-0 lead.

Tuna, realizing time was running out, ramped up the attack. A couple of times they nearly got caught too far forward on a change of possession, but Formenos was called offsides. The second time the call was extremely questionable and the Formenos fans complained angrily, and they became even more enraged when Tuna's offense capitalized immediately as Nerdanel sent a perfect pass into Miriel who tripped up her defender with an ankle-breaking move and sent it expertly past the leaping Huan to cut the lead to a single goal.

But the players for Formenos remained controlled for the most part and began steadily working the clock down. They did a marvelous job at maintaining control for several minutes, but at minute 80 Amras made a rather ill advised pass and Finarfin pounced on it and sent it immediately forward to Mahtan. Mahtan crossed brilliantly to Finwe and he took it in past two of his grandsons and boomed a kick to the open net, but Huan reacted perfectly and smothered the shot and immediately boomed it back down the field. Maglor fought for control of it and poked it ahead to Aredhel who drew a defender or two and sent it over to Feanor, who seemed to decide that it was time to force the action. He ran forward against the three defenders that were back and worked his way through two of them. He collided hard with Elenwe right in front of the goal, but maintained control and got behind her. Orodreth leapt forward to snatch the ball away, but Feanor got his foot there first and poked the ball the only way he could before Orodreth crashed into him- sideways.

As the ball trickled towards the far post, running nearly parallel with the goal line, the crowd screamed as three players raced towards it. It was between Ingwe, Duilin, and Maedhros. The defenders were slightly ahead, but as they approached the ball Maedhros slid beautifully and managed to get his toe on the ball and nudge it across the line.

The Formenos section roared and the more neutral fans from Numenor applauded the effort loudly. With the way their defense had been playing, Formenos had likely sealed the game.

Tuna gave it their best effort till the end, but they couldn't crack the defense of Formenos. The game ended as a solid victory for Formenos, and though disappointed, the Noldor of Tuna congratulated them and wished them luck in the semis. Feanor and his parents walked off the field together, his parents offering tips on how to continue his team's success on the field.

Formenos 3-1 Tuna
shots 16-15
on target 8-6
GOALS:
*Formenos, 33 (Maedhros- Aredhel)
*Formenos, 54 (Feanor- Maglor)
*Tuna, 69 (Miriel- Nerdanel)
*Formenos, 81 (Maedhros- Feanor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Formenos- Amrod
*Tuna- Duilin, Ingwe, Egalmoth

[Nogrod]

Beside the fortress of Eithel Sirion, into the fields where Gelmir had been decapitated a long ago, a great stadium had been built. It was a place both good and evil teams would honour and as such the most suitable venue for the matches between Angband and Hithlum and also between Rivendell and Tol-In-Gaurhoth.

A host of elves from all nearby realms of Doriath, Nargothrond and Gondolin had turned around to the ancient battlegrounds of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the birthplace of all those unnumbered tears they had wept ever after. It had been a hard choice for many of the elven football fans as to whether to take the long road to Rómenna and see Gondolin and Formenos – and even Túna – to play with the fallen Armenelos, or to get the nearer and easier access to the games and go for cheering for the teams of Rivendell and Hithlum. Quite a crowd had chosen the latter option. And all the people from Hithlum and Brethil, who were able, had come as well to witness the occasion.

The fans of T-I-G came next to the venue and one could notice them coming. Even if the elves and men had made it a cheerful entrance bringing colour to this barren place it was the T-I-G fans that brought the place alive. Led by The Saucepanman, Anguirel and Kuruharan the crowds sang the songs of the Barrow-Downs and Mithalwen was carrying the flag with Kath and Fëanor of the Peredhil. Valier, Naria, Glirdan and Farael were the fore-singers and Rikae and Macalaure led the performance-team with Legate, Lommy, Greenie, Rune and Aganzir performing stupendous acrobatics. And the most telling fact is the following: even littlemanpoet and Folwren had come, even if they walked just at ease in the back of the parade.

Boromir 88 was singing the loudest but sometimes the low voices of Oddwen and Nerwen overtook his. Durelin, Kitanna and The Ka were performing belly-dancing as the procession draw nearer and Eönwe, Shastanis Althreduin and McCaber were hooliganising the surroundings. There clearly had been enough ale on their march to the venue. Brinniel came in the end of the parade together with Sally and Emily. The duck honked all the time and both Brinn and Sally imitated it as they went, sending out a noise that overtook the songs every now and then. And Nilp shouted “Go Lhuna, go!” as he went.

It was a mighty entrance.

But then the Angband supporters came…

The rhythmic thumps of the feet were heard first. It made many an elf and a human to draw their swords. So familiar was that voice for those who had witnessed the wars at their home soil. But it was peace now, and football…

Still it was about beyond belief they should just wait and let the roaming orcs, wargs and other creatures of Angband to just come forwards and pack around. But they did that – with wavering hearts – and the Angband supporters filled their side of the stadium rapidly and organisedly, even overcoming the noise of the T-I-G –supporters. The great new stadium of Eithel Sirion was packed, all 80 000 spectators it could handle.

So it was all set for the match between Rivendell and Tol-In-Gaurhoth. But what would come of the evening match between Angband and Hithlum? The tensions were high but so were the expectations… One could feel them in the air.

[Nogrod]

Even if the T-I-G fans made a lot of noise and kept the spirit up with Angband fans joining their chants every now and then, and while the elves and men were indeed supporting the Rivendell team, there was a clear feeling that the first match of the day was an hors d’oeuvre.

But what an appetizer it was!

Rivendell was renowned for its defence and especially the skills of their goalie Elrond. T-I-G had not been been known as the master defenders but to this game they came defending as solid as any of the best teams in the Middle-Earth. So it was a game of offence in the end… which team could outscore the defences of the other team? That made it an entertaining game.

The game was very much even. The first half indeed ended with 0-0. Both teams had their chances but especially the saves by Elrond kept the numbers. At the other goal Draugluin was relatively untested even if it made a few important saves.

On the second half the T-I-G team just paced up and overran the Rivendell defences, and in the end Sauron headed in the ball passed by the phantom on the 61st minute. The T-I-G was leading and the roar of the T-I-G and Angband fans sent shivers to the elves and men in the audience…the evening was suddenly looking gloomy indeed.

But the stars wished it another way. Elladan and Elrohir came forwards playing it nice together as any skilled brothers would do and Lhuna was resorted to violence to stop their dribbling. It was a yellow card by the referee and a free kick from a dangerous position, about 35 meters from the goal.

Glorfindel and Valandil stood up to the free kick as the others took places around the box. Finally Glorfindel made the kick hammering it straight towards the T-I-G goal. The ball hit the rim of the goal and bounced back to Aragorn’s head. The game was even with only ten minutes to go. The son of Ararthorn had once again proved his qualities in a tight spot!

Even if T-I-G tried it’s best the last ten minutes the referee whistled the end of time and called for both teams to take a short rest before the overtime-play.

The overtime was quite one-sided as the Rivendell team just seemed to wait for the penalty shoot-out and trusted it all to Elrond. But meanwhile the T-I-G team ran on full offence.

And the offence brought results in the end. At the 27th minute of overtime Sauron got the ball near the end line by a pass by the phantom. He dribbled first Gandalf and then Erestor and was facing only Elrond who jumped forwards for the shot which never came. Sauron saw Elrond blink and waited the crucial second not to shoot but to pass the ball to Nogrod who had positioned himself in front of the goal. Nogrod had no trouble passing the ball into the empty goal and the T-I-G crowd just got wild.

The Angband crowds started to cheer as well and the tumult was all the louder after that. The men and elves in the audience felt themselves badly overscored in all the senses of the word.

The Tol-In-Gaurhoth –team, with all those odd players, had made it to the final four and the noteworthy elves and the heroes of Rivendell - namely the attackers like Aragorn, Boromir or Glorfindel who had not risen to their occasion this time - had been beaten. Only a few could believe it but that was the way it was. Also the best defence of the tournament – looking at it from the elvish point of view – was beaten, and that was not possible! But it was true. And real.

Rivendell was banished and the T-I-G would go forwards to the final four.


Rivendell 1-2 Tol-In-Gaurhoth (overtime)
shots 9-16
on target 3-8
GOALS:
*TIG, 61 (Sauron- the phantom)
*Rivendell, 80 (Aragorn- Glorfindel)
*TIG, OT 27 (Nogrod- Sauron)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Rivendell- Elrohir, Gildor
*TIG- Thuringwethil, Lhunardawen

[the phantom]

As the second match at Romenna prepared, the noise began to build. The elves from Gondolin joined by some of their brothers from Formenos and Tuna began singing lines praising Gondolin and its long-enduring beauty. But louder than these songs were those sung by the men of Numenor who made up the larger part of the crowd.

It started with pockets of hard-core Armenelos supporters singing various Numenorian anthems, and the less rabid men of Romenna slowly joined in, caught up in the spirit of the game, and soon all of the Numenoreans were united in support of the team from their land.

First out of the lockers was Gondolin, and the elves whistled and screamed wildly and the men clapped loudly. But then, out ran Ar Pharazon, Tar Minastir, Elros, and the rest of the Armenelos squad who had dominated the tournament so far, and the stadium shook from the yelling and stomping.

From the start it was obvious that Gondolin wanted to challenge the defense that had not yet surrendered a goal, and challenge it they did. Quick cuts, sudden runs, and precise passes the likes of which Armenelos had not seen in the tournament thus far caught them rather off guard, and their defense looked a bit panicky.

In only the 13th minute of the game Eol sent an excellent pass across the box and mighty Ecthelion drilled the ball past a helpless Elros and the elves of Gondolin blew horns and rang bells in celebration. The Armenelos defense could be cracked!

The Armenelos forwards, who had barely been within yards of the ball, berated the defenders and shouted at them to wake up and show some pride. For the next several minutes the defense tightened up and forced Gondolin to stay mostly in the midfield, and it was during this lull that the crowd for the first time had a chance to see what the forwards for Armenelos had been doing since the beginning of the game- crashing the defenders.

It was obvious that the Numenoreans believed they could use their great size and strength to bang up the players for Gondolin, and they were doing everything they could to create hard contact between them and their opposition. A couple of times in particular it appeared that an Armenelos player purposefully turned his head so he couldn't see where he was going and charged full speed towards a place where he thought a Gondolin player might be found. But of course the players would act surprised when the contact happened, as if they were not actually seeking it, and they got away with quite a bit that perhaps another ref would have carded.

But as it was Gondolin withstood the assault for the time being and kept trying to press the attack. Towards the end of the half however their offensive players seemed to be worn out by their constant runs (which Armenelos had been defending better after the first goal), and Armenelos began to control the ball.

Finally just minutes before the half Armenelos had their shot and converted as Tar Ancalimon headed a pass from Ar Adunakhor, not into the goal, but across to Tar Minastir who put it in with a head bump of his own. Halftime came and the score was tied at 1-1.

During the half the fans from Gondolin seemed confident that their players had displayed the greater skill and would be rewarded during the second half, but the Numenoreans believed that they had weathered the storm and would come out strong in the second half.

But it was the fans of Gondolin that proved correct. As the second half started the players for Gondolin looked refreshed and extra quick, and Armenelos was forced back onto their heels. Eleven minutes into play, Idril sent a long pass to Maeglin, and he beat his defender and sent a lovely shot just inside the post for the 2-1 lead.

For the next ten minutes the defense of Armenelos continued to look ragged and pushed to the brink, but they did just enough to keep Gondolin from widening the lead and continued being extremely physical with them, even drawing a couple of yellow cards.

As time began running down Armenelos seemed to recover fully and began pressing the defense of Gondolin. At minute 79 the stadium erupted as Ar Pharazon forced in a corner from Ar Adunakhor and the score was tied! As the end of the game approached, Armenelos started to look a bit quicker than Gondolin over most of the field, and Gondolin tried desperately to score quickly and end the game. The crowd was against them and momentum had turned, and physically the rough play seemed to be taking its toll on many of them.

But the Armenelos defense held easily and overtime began after a break that, to the players from Gondolin, seemed all too short. But nevertheless the break did energize them, and they got off a couple of good shots early on in overtime, but Elros was equal to them and denied the hidden city the victory it craved. As the minutes ticked by Gondolin began slowing down again, and Armenelos pressed forward, smelling blood.

In the 21st minute of overtime the hammer fell- Ar Gimilzor sent it forward to Tar Minastir who spun round his defender and swiftly delivered a screaming kick to the top corner of the goal. The stadium exploded with sound as the fans of Numenor pounded drums and hammered their armored chests as they let loose with triumphant yells.

Gondolin still had eight minutes in which to score, but they never came close, as Armenelos closed in with more fire and energy than ever and suffocated Gondolin's attack.

Armenelos was through to the semis!

Armenelos 3-2 Gondolin (overtime)
shots 15-13
on target 7-5
GOALS:
*Gondolin, 13 (Ecthelion- Eol)
*Armenelos, 42 (Tar Minastir- Tar Ancalimon)
*Gondolin, 56 (Maeglin- Idril)
*Armenelos, 79 (Ar Pharazon- Ar Adunakhor)
*Armenelos, OT 21 (Tar Minastir- Ar Gimilzor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Armenelos- Tar Gimilzor, Tar Atanamir, Tar Minastir, Ar Zimrathan
*Gondolin- Meleth, Rog, Turgon

[Nogrod]

The new-built arena of Eithel Sirion was just packed full when the evening game began. Everyone wanted to see the game many newspapers had named the Nirnaeth Arnoediad II. And that really seemed to be the name of the game. It was the heroes of men and elves against the mighty legions of Angband. The number of the neutral onlookers were scarce indeed.

And the match was worth the legendary foresightings! Were there ever two teams that could play the game as hard and beautiful than these! Many spectators thought they were looking at the final match of the tournament… or at least they thought the justice would deal these two teams to be the two best. The crowd was totally taken into the game. And the teams didn’t play it safe but went on to attack all of the time.

Both defences played astoundingly but the forwards of both of the teams were even brighter. The shots on goal went even in the end while both goalies performed their best.

The Mouth hit the crossbar on the 15th minute and Fingon himself made a powershot to the post on 22nd. It was everyone’s game then; the attacks following one another to both ends.

Finally Turin broke through the Angband defences by a pass by Fingon and hammered the ball in behind Carcaroth the terrible. The elven and human crowds were overjoyed. But only ten minutes later – five minutes to the half-time – the Angband team retaliated. Melkor just did whatever he wanted and blew the defenders away and then passed the ball to Ancalagon who scored with a mighty flash of it’s tail no one would have wished to stand in front of.

So the Angband-team came to the second half the more assuredly – and with the help of their crowds – they got the ball rolling. They pressed on and were finally rewarded of it. Gothmog the Balrog-captain took Gundor and Hador from their place, making them sacrifice themselves, but cunningly passed the ball to Melkor before the two had a chance to turn back. And lord Melkor didn’t hesitate. That shot would have fell a troll with it. So no wonder Huor had no chance. Angband was on the lead at the 64th minute.

But the Hithlum team was not beaten yet! They rolled a counter attack after another and finally the skill of their forwards paid off. Fingolfin chipped the ball behind the mighty Balrogs to Hurin who was running at top speed towards the goal. He volleyed the ball in and Carcaroth could just watch it speed into the net.

The referee whistled for the game to be even and both teams had their fifteen minutes of concentrating. But the overtime gave the game no result… It was clear Angband was trying the more but Hithlum defences held. The Angband crowd and parts of the T-I-G ones yelled mightily but to no avail. The extra-time ended with no goals.



It was time for penalty shoot-outs then. The supporters of both teams bit their nails as both teams had the most frightful scorers in their ranks…There was a real silence at the stadium when the shoot-out began.



Ancalagon the Black just dropped the ball into the spot and grinned to Huor. The referee whistled and Ancalagon was about to turn around when he – in the midst of his movement – just thrusted his tail to hit the ball, sending it exactly to the low right corner of the goal. But Huor had anticipated that and he got his fingers to the ball which then hit the post and flew away. Ancalagon had missed! The human and elven crowd went crazy.

Then Turin came and set the ball down. The Great Wolf Carcaroth stood still earning the cheers of not only the Angband supporters but also many of those for T-I-G. Turin took only a few steps backwards and then ran to the ball… and it was in! Carcaroth had anticipated the shot and flew to the right angle but was a micro-second late. Hithlum was on the lead!

Gothmog the ever terrible came for his turn to shoot. Huor is a valiant man but even his legs were shaking in front of the lord of the Balrogs. Gothmog burst into fire sending heatwaves up to the twentieth row of spectators and hammered the ball in before Huor had a chance to do anything.

So it was time for Fingolfin to make his mark. He remembered he had faced Melkor himself in a single battle, so a wolf would not be too much of a problem. He looked to the eyes of Carcaroth as he backed away from the ball and then ran for it. But it was an easy save…. if there is one. Carcaroth flew to the left side of his goal and knocked the ball away. The Angband crowd that had been silenced by the miss of Ancalagon now bursted alive and cheered loud and clear.

It was lord Melkor who went to shoot the next. Huor stood at the goal like a man but that was the best he could do. “For Galdor! For Húrin!”, he shouted before the ball went into the net. Angband was leading two to one. But there was the evening-shot still and Húrin took the ball.

There was vengeance in the air. The whole stadium could feel it. All of the crowd stayed silent as he backed away from the ball and concentrated. “For my son! For all those years!”, he finally wailed and hammered the ball in without giving Carcaroht a chance.

The game was even when the Balrog #6 came forwards. He would scare the Morgoth out of Huor. And it looked like it. He took a few steps and then blasted a shot that would have killed a roaring bull. But it went wide! It hit the crossbar but went away!

Not afraid of Gothmog, Fingon rose to his chance. He would be the valiant one to bring home the victory. But the boo’s of the crowd and the pressure of the Angband-Team were just too much for him. It was an easy save for Carcaroth.

The game was still even...

Ulfast the traitor took the ball to give Angband the victory. Afterwards many have speculated whether there would have been better choices… for Huor caught it!

So it was not over yet! Hador came forth and took the ball. “It’s not only the Nirnaeth Arnoediad but also Dagor Bragollach you should remember! The times and families go farther you wish to remember… and you evil should perish!”

He took the ball and banged it in without a further ado.

Hithlum had won!

Angband had been defeated!

The following rows should not be reported as not to encourage any more violence but let it be said a few got out from the stadium unbruised and they had a good time…



Angband 2-2 Hithlum (shootout won by Hithlum 3-2)
shots 15-17
on target 7-7
*Hithlum, 28 (Turin- Fingon)
*Angband, 40 (Ancalagon- Melkor)
*Angband, 64 (Melkor- Gothmog)
*Hithlum, 82 (Hurin- Fingolfin)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Angband- Ulfast, Balrog #5, Uldor
*Hithlum- Marach, Aegnor

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Ack! I do believe any slight chance of me snatching the win has vanished. I must say I was slightly disappointed with those I had expected big things from. Who knew that the pressure could get to even the most diabolical fiends?

[the phantom]

Do not fear, Eomer. There may yet be hope. We shall see when Nogrod comes out with the fantasy points. But just glancing over the thread it looks like several people lost half of their fantasy team or more, so this round will hurt others as well.

Who knew that the pressure could get to even the most diabolical fiends?

Well remember, diabolical fiends specialize in attacking opponents, as in stabbing and beating, and that is not allowed on the soccer field. With that strength taken away the playing field is much more level.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

[Nogrod]

The AKM has watched closely the matches of the second round of the play offs and has decided the following...

Five stars will go to:

Maedhros of Formenos
Tar Minastir or Armenelos
Elrond of Rivendell

Three stars will go to:

Hador of Hithlum
Melkor of Angband
Huan of Formenos
Fëanor of Formenos
Sauron of Tol-In-Gauroth

One star will go to:

Nogrod of Tol-In-Gaurhoth
Drauglin of Tol-In-Gaurhoth
Turin of Hithlum
Hurin of Hithlum
Huor of Hithlum
Gothmog of Angband
Elros of Armenelos


Update on the total tally coming tomorrow...

[Nogrod]

The crowds were flocking to the Stadium of the Sun in Minas Tirith. It was finally time for semifinals and the teams going to the finals would be decided on this day. Even if it wasn’t actually anyone’s homefield – and that was exactly why it had been chosen – all the tickets were sold well before the afternoon the first game got rolling, and a host of elves and men from up north from so much earlier times were packing the seats as well as those weird-folks from Tol-In-Gaurhoth.

The sun was shining and gracing the games with its presence and in it’s own way blessing the new stadium that was called stadia Anor. The expectations were high indeed as the people were looking forwards to see some of the best football Arda could provide today, and the games looked even as well. So everything could happen.

The first game was that between Formenos and Tol-In-Gaurhoth. The appearing into the stadium of Sauron himself caused some disturbance in the home crowds. Happily in that regard, the stadium was built into the Pelennor fields in front of the city - well, where would you fit a stadium of 100 000 people inside the terraced city with long cultural traditions the local museum department watches over jealously? So the people seemed to be in the end able to get over with his presence, for the sake of football that is.

It was a beautiful game. Like some commentators aptly described it as “chess on the green field”. But unlike chess games that are normally not found too compelling but only by the enthusiast of the game, even the lay-people who do not follow football too much were just drawn into the game and stayed in it’s grip to the very end.

The determination and concentration of both teams was just marvellous as they were very well aware of the other team’s capabilities, one mistake and the opponents would use it to their advance. But the astonishing combinations, the virtuoso-like dribbling, the unexpected passes that made the crowd to “ooh!” everytime just took one’s breath away. And even how masterful the attacking movements were, the other team seemed to always be up to it’s task in countering those moves with even more brilliant ones.

On half-time the game was still 0-0 but no one complained for the lack of goals. The crowds had seen football of the highest level today and they knew it.

Finally at 62nd minute there was a goal. After a small misunderstanding in the midfield between Eomer and the phantom, Aredhel managed to take the ball and as the T-I-G defences were just pulling their line up Aredhel’s fast pass surprised them on the move and the referee saw no offside there as Maedhros and Fëanor ran after the long pass. The defenders turned around and ran after them but were a step behind all the time. And forwards like Maedhros and Fëanor don’t let you get them… Even if Draugluin had played beautifully the whole game even he had no chance to match the elven lord and his eldest son with a ball alone.

But the goal only made the T-I-G team try harder. In about ten minutes they got their equalizer – and looking at the game it was an earned one. It was the phantom’s magic heel once again. Lhuna sent the ball to the edge of the box where the phantom took it down his back towards the goal and without even a glance he just passed it backwards with his heel. And Sauron had anticipated it throwing Curufin away from his way and hammering the ball in with a one-touch shot via the pole before the Formenos defenders had any chance to stop him.

But so it was that the great T-I-G was this day barred from further goals by the exceptional defences of Formenos and especially the mighty Huan who just stopped the rest. But Fëanor had his say on the game yet.

Just two minutes before the full-time Fëanor tricked the ball from Nogrod who had come down to aid the defences - but was no defender - quite easily. Fëanor then took two defenders with him and managed to get rid of them for the crucial second when he passed the ball backwards to Aredhel who had sneakily followed him - and the third defender was keeping Maedhros at bay! And Maedhros had just parked himself with Gwath so that Draugluin had no visibility whatsoever. Aredhel shot fast and accurately to the upper right corner leaving Draugluin no time to react when he realised what was happening.

The home crowds jumped up in joy and gave their loudest cheer to the elven team. Their favourites were winning in the end of the most exciting game of football ever played in Minas Tirith. That was a perfect afternoon for the Minas Tirithians.

T-I-G team fought bravely and played sensational football but in the end the Formenos defences led by Huan were just able to keep them at one goal for the first time in the tournament – and thanks to the forwards, especially Fëanor, they were able to outscore them by one goal.

So it was Formenos to the finals and T-I-G to the bronze-game.

Formenos 2-1 Tol-In-Gaurhoth
shots 15-13
on target 7-5
GOALS:
*Formenos, 62 (Feanor- Maedhros)
*TIG, 73 (Sauron- the phantom)
*Formenos, 88 (Aredhel- Feanor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Formenos- Curufin, Caranthir
*TIG- Thuringwethil, Nogrod

[the phantom]

After the expertly played first game in Minas Tirith the crowds could have gone home happy. But there was another match yet to played, and it had the attention of all in the city.

On the one side was some of the greatest men of the first age with the mighty elven lords that they fought alongside. On the other side- Numenorean royalty.

The many elves who had made the journey to watch the semifinals were behind Hithlum. The men in the stadium were split, but the greatest share of the Gondorians intended to cheer for their Numenorean fathers. And so it was that when the teams entered Armenelos nearly felt at home.

But Hithlum did not seem to care at all, and started the game off attacking with everything they had. Early on it looked like a repeat of the Armenelos-Gondolin game, where Gondolin surprised the Numenoreans early but Armenelos wore them down by the end. Only in this game Armenelos did not appear quite as panicked, having encountered a potent offense in the last match. But also it appeared that Fingolfin and the mighty men of the north would be less likely to be beat up or worn down by Armenelos. Hithlum kept the defense on its heels for most of the first fifteen minutes, and at minute 17 they drew first blood as Hurin found his son for the lead.

After this, for the first time in the match Armenelos began looking dangerous, but Tar Ancalimon botched their best scoring chance with a wide kick and Ar Pharazon's rocket was poked away nicely by Huor.

And then Hithlum came storming back up the field and pretty much controlled the rest of the half, adding yet another score in the 38th minute as this time Turin was the provider and Fingolfin headed it in easily. At the start of the second half Hithlum kept up the pressure, and only a fantastic save by Elros kept them from pushing the lead to 3-0. Hithlum was simply the better team it seemed.

But slowly and surely they were pushed back and Armenelos began seeing a bit more action. By minute 60 the game was being played mostly on Hithlum's side, and the supporters of Armenelos began chanting. It had taken longer than against Gondolin, but the fans were sure of what was happening. Hithlum had worn themselves out a bit, and Armenelos had been banging them up the entire game. There was going to be a comeback. The fans knew it.

At minute 69, everyone knew it as Ar Pharazon suddenly made the defenders look a bit slow with a brilliant solo run into the box, and dumped it off last minute to Tar Minastir who pounded it past Huor to cut the lead in half!

The next fifteen minutes featured great skill by the Armenelos forwards, moving the ball around and looking for the perfect opening, taking shots only when they liked them. Hithlum held a couple times, but at minute 84 their luck ran out as Ar Adunakhor was left free just outside the left corner of the box and he blasted a shot to the far side post to tie the game!

Those who had travelled from Numenor went berzerk, and the folks from Gondor celebrated a little less loudly, but quite vigorously all the same. The Hithlum defense and midfield largely had the deer-in-headlights look, but Turin and Fingolfin up front still looked determined and did their best to fire up the rest of the team. "This isn't over!" yelled Turin. "We can still win this!"

But as overtime began the crowd could see no truth in these words. Armenelos continued to look quicker and stronger- how could Hithlum hope to prevail in overtime? But as overtime played out it seemed that in fact Hithlum had no intention of prevailing in overtime, but rather hoped to survive it and hang their hopes upon their prolific kickers in a shootout.

Armenelos seemed to realize this and tried to end the game in overtime, but the Hithlum defenders always seemed to do just enough to muddle things up and clear the ball back downfield. Twice Armenelos had decent chances, but Huor saw both openings well and positioned himself for the save. Time ran out, and the shootout commenced- Armenelos first.

Ar Pharazon looked angry that the game was not over already as he took his place, and he channelled that anger into the ball and sent it screaming in for the 1-0 lead. But kicking after him for Hithlum was Turin, and so it was no surprise that the score was soon 1-1.

Next up was Tar Minastir and Fingolfin, both of whom made excellent kicks, only to watch the keeper make a diving stop. After two rounds, it was still 1-1.

Tar Ancalimon shot next for Armenelos, and the crowd groaned as he sent his shot wide of the post. With a chance to take the lead, Hurin stepped up and delivered a bullet to the lower left corner, but Elros finger-tipped it into the post and away from the goal to preserve the tie.

As Ar Adunakhor set the ball down, the stadium went silent. Each side had only two kicks left, and the score was tied. The silence was broken like a thunder-clap as Ar Adunakhor's kick screamed past Huor and nearly shredded the back of the net. Armenelos had the advantage!

But Fingon had been in tight spots before, and he calmly delivered a perfect shot to even the shootout at 2-2 with only one kick left for each side!

Ar Gimilzor went low and left, but Huor went low and left as well. Save!

And then Hador stepped up. Their last game against Angband had ended in a shootout, and it had been Hador scoring the winning kick. And so with the game on his shoulders yet again, Hador approached the ball and banged it low and left. Elros leapt left as well and got a hand on the ball. The ball deflected upwards, but not enough! It hit off the crossbar and bounced down hard on the inside of the goal line!

Hithlum had won in shootout yet again! They were through to the finals!

Armenelos 2-2 Hithlum (shootout won by Hithlum 3-2)
shots 19-18
on target 10-8
GOALS:
*Hithlum, 17 (Turin- Hurin)
*Hithlum, 38 (Fingolfin- Turin)
*Armenelos, 69 (Tar Minastir- Ar Pharazon)
*Armenelos, 84 (Ar Adunakhor- Tar Ancalimon)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Armenelos- Tar Ciryatan, Ar Gimilzor, Tar Ancalimon
*Hithlum- Marach, Hurin, Gundor, Angrod
SHOOTOUT:
Ar Pharazon, Armenelos- GOAL
Turin, Hithlum- GOAL
Tar Minastir, Armenelos- SAVE
Fingolfin, Hithlum- SAVE
Tar Ancalimon, Armenelos- MISS
Hurin, Hithlum- SAVE
Ar Adunakhor, Armenelos- GOAL
Fingon, Hithlum- GOAL
Ar Gimilzor, Armenelos- SAVE
Hador, Hithlum- GOAL

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

Mithalwen was carrying the flag with Kath and Fëanor of the Peredhil. .

Or that was an impostor... Mithalwen hates Association Football with a violent passion and would sooner rip off her own arm and beat herself to death with the wet end.

[skip spence]

In a clearing in fair Neldoreth a great stadium had been erected by the Dwarves of Nogrod and the Sindarin Elves. The two peoples had been working in tandem, complimenting each other with their own special talents and the end result was an architectural feat to be marvelled at, rivalling even Menegroth a league away up the river. It was an huge eliptical arena with two tall towers in each end in the shape of great holly trees; from its emerald crowns jewels gleamed in likeness of radiant red berries. Here the stage was set for the climax of Arda Cup, the two concluding matches of the tournament, beginning with Tol-in-Gaurhoth’s match against Armenelos for third place. The following day was the day of the final between Hithlum and Formenos.

Kick off for the third-place match was set at 3PM but just as the stadium started to fill up and the dignitaries sat down in their honoury seats (Melian and Luthien were here, but not Thingol who refused to watch the ‘baseborn mortals’ of Armenelos who had beaten his Doriath with relative ease) news came in that the T-i-G team was delayed and would not make it on time. A courier told the officials that the team bus had broken down on the way to the stadium. The horses pulling the cart had panicked for an unknown reason and even managed to cut loose and escape leaving the team stranded. The game had to be postponed an hour so that the T-i-G players could make their way to the stadium by foot. When they finally arrived however they had left their uniforms in the bus which was still at the side of the road. After a brief discussion if was decided to postpone the match a further hour, as no team was allowed to play without uniforms. Just as the crowd started to tire, the Armenelos players came out of the tunnel two hours later then planned. Ten minutes later, after game officials had threatened that T-i-G could forfeit the game, team captain Nogrod finally entered the pitch, followed by his teammates.

As the two teams lined up and the referee was about to blow his whistle a male streaker suddenly came onto the field. Any suggestions that this was one of the local Elves who had lost a bet were quickly dismissed. This was not one of the fair folk – no siree - and as there were women and children in the stands officials rushed out to restrain him. The man, later revealed to be T-i-G supporter Rune son of Bjarne, showed skill and pace by elluding the security personel for quite some time; also, they looked quite reluctant to grab hold of him. In the meantime various objects (rolls of toilet paper, love-letters, bras, undies, red roses, make-over books) were thrown onto the field by the T-i-G supporters in the stands. Before the streaker was taken care of – harshly - and the trash cleared off the field, another 25 minutes had passed and the red sun was already in a haze far into the west. Finally the match could begin.

At the start of the game there still seemed to be one team only on the pitch. Armenelos, who were very disappointed to have lost their semifinal, looked determined to show the world they had been unlucky and were very much running the show early on. T-i-G on the other hand seemed determined only to delay the game even more, taking every chance to hold on to the ball and run the clock down. When Tar-Ciryatan showed his frustration by tackling Eomer from behind, the T-i-G player went down seemingly with life-threatening injuries and had to be stretchered off. As play eventually got under way however he was soon back up on his feet and ready to play to the dismay of the Armenelos supporters. Scenes like this were repeated again and again and the referee had to book serveral T-i-G players for timewasting. Suddenly Armenelos took the lead when Ar-Pharazon the Golden struck from close range. As the Numenorians celebrated their T-i-G counterparts seemed more interested in the evening sky above them than the match they were involved in and most likely losing. While the sky went from a hazy red to a pale pink, Armenelos took a two goal lead after a solo run by Tar- Ancalimon. Shortly after, The Phantom got himself carded for timewasting as he tied his shoestrings instead of taking a throw-in. What were they thinking? At halftime, the T-i-G players shrugged nonchalantly and cast glances at the darkening sky. The sell-out crowd couldn’t believe their eyes.

During the halftime break the sun finally vanished behind the distant horizon and the sky darkened. Thankfully the stadium was equipped with several phials sent by Galadriel and a multitude of Noldorin lamps by courtesy of the Feanorians, so the nightfall was no threat to the continuation the match. The crowd was distressed however by the change of weather as a shadow seemed to have fallen over the stadium. Dark clouds gathered and it became increasingly difficult to breath. Soon it started to rain and thunder was in the air. But as the two teams came out and started to play, little seemed different on the field. Armenelos was still much the better team, while T-i-G just loitered around. After ten uneventful minutes a gust of wind ripped the black clouds apart in the east, revealing a full moon on the rise. The wind howled in the trees and a nearby lightling strike lit up the faces of the players and the crowd, who shuddered without knowing why. Was that eerie howling really the wind? No, now the cry of a lonely wolf could clearly be heard. And there was a response on the pitch! Lhuna was crouching on the grass and howling at the moon. Hideous thick hair started to grow on her hands and face, grotesque fangs and claws became visible in the moonlight. The petrified Armenelos-players stood silent and watched in horror as the other T-i-G players also transformed into wolf-like creatures. The seams in their jerseys almost cracked as the muscles underneath bulged, but the elastic uniforms stayed on and so did the boots. Now the crowd finally understood why T-i-G had been stalling the game: they were waiting for the full moon to rise! Now it was time to play ball!

As the forth referee searched the rulebooks for any mention of whether werewolves were allowed to play or not, the werewolves on the pitch showed Armenelos how to play. With their superhuman powers they were unstoppable, absolutely unstoppable. The match finished 2-3, but T-i-G could have scored five or six. They were all over their opponents, jumping higher, running faster, tackling harder and ripping them to to shreds if they dared to come too close. The Phantom, Eomer and Nogrod each got on the scoresheet, but all T-i-G players had good opportunities to score. Eomer’s goal was just insane: he jumped a good 3 metres straight up and hit the ball out of mid air with a bicyclekick, nearly ripping the net apart behind the Armenelos goalie. The heroic Elros appealed to the referees that this could not be allowed, but the referees were just as afraid as all the others and did not dare to oppose the ferocius wolves.

The match was stopped already in the 89th minute and no one blamed the ref for not adding on any injury time although several Armenelos-players now were bleeding severly. Sauron, the only player not to transform apart from Thuringwethil - who of course was beastly enough already - came and gathered the throphy. There was an eerie silence in the stadium as the wolves quickly left and disapearded into the forest. Moments later Mablung and Beleg arrived with hunters equipped with silver arrows but it was too late, the wolves and the third place throphy were gone.

Armenelos 2-3 Tol-In-Gaurhoth
shots 18-14
on target 9-8
GOALS:
*Armenelos, 27 (Ar Pharazon- Ar Adunakhor)
*Armenelos, 39 (Tar Ancalimon- Ar Gimilzor)
*TIG, 72 (the phantom- Sauron)
*TIG, 78 (Nogrod- Formendacil)
*TIG, 86 (Eomer- Lhunardawen)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Armenelos- Tar Ciryatan, Tar Ancalimon, Tar Calmacil
*TIG- Formendacil, Cailin, the phantom, Eomer, Nogrod, Hookbill, Thuringwethil

[Nogrod]

So it was the fairest dwelling of any king that has ever been east of the sea that was to hold the final match after Saturday's odd events. Even Thingol had come to the stadium for the final game and together with Melian they honoured the occasion by singing in the opening ceremony to the full house gathered to see the final under the great halls laboured by the elves and dwarves together in times long ago.



Menegroth was deemed by the MEFA authorities to be a symbol of friendship between races – even if the later history has kind of darkened the view – and looking at the homesteads and histories of the teams playing it looked very suitable indeed for gathering the maximum number of fans.


There was a host of crowd from the surrounding areas; from Hithlum, Gondolin and Nargothrond, from Brethil and Amon Rhûd, from Himlad and Taur-Nu-Fuin, and of course from Menegroth itself. Following Gondolin's example the authorities had done their best to aid bringing about the feeling of a sporting celebration and they had succeeded. Even after the earlier events the visitirs were yet again just stupefied by the joy and chanting around them, the free wine-stands beside the fountains of silver and the snack-bars (free as well) around the basins of marble. The woven hangings and the carved figures competed for the visitor's attention while the songs and pre-match speculations did their best as well to dampen the memory of yesterday.



There was a feeling of a great sporting event in the air once again.



And finally the hour came and the teams walked to the full-packed stadium to listen to the enchanting song sung by Thingol and Melian to open the game… After that the players shook hands and the captains exchanged small emblems and shook hands with the referees; Nienna the main referee and supporting referees Gandalf and Radagast. The crowds cheered in anticipation.



From the very beginning of the game it was clear the Formenos defence was playing an outstanding game. The feared Hithlum forwards were denied any opportunities and were kept in check from the first minutes on. The three brothers and their nephew just took away the time and space from the High King Fingolfin, Húrin and his son.



At the other end daddy Fëanor accompanied by his eldest son and the White Lady of Gondolin created havoc in Hithlum defences but Huor stood stern like a rock between the poles denying their efforts one after another. Huor made five saves before the half time while Huan only got one ball to catch!



Just a few minutes before the half-time the efforts of the Formenos team were paid off. Aredhel gave a corner and Maedhros came true to his nickname and rose the tallest of all heading the ball irresistibly into the net and giving the elven team the lead. And that was a justified lead.



The second half began with careful play by both teams but at the 60th minute the Hithlum team was kind of awaken – most probably because of the bellowing of their coach Rían. They were taking risks now. Húrin and the valiant Fingon started playing like forwards and the wing-defenders Galdor and "Hador the hero" started coming upwards with runs deep into the Formenos defence from behind the midfielders.



And they were beginning to make it… but on the 74th minute Formenos team hit back.



Fëanor had told his second son to take the place in the lead of the midfielders for a change and stay a bit higher as he had ran too much in the game and was looking like he was wearing himself down. He would himself take a place lower and run for the ball. Hithlum was pressing on in the Formenos area when after a shot Huan passed the ball fast to his master who immediately sent it to the lower midfield where Fëanor volleyed it up forwards to his son who was running already for the goal past the stupefied central defenders Marach and Gundor. And with his dad's beautiful long pass Maglor was free, one on one with Huor. And he didn't miss his chance. The elven crowds just went mad on it.



Any team would have laid their heads low and accepted the defeat. Two thirds of the crowd were roaring victory-chants, they were two goals behind with only fifteen minutes to go and the opponent's defences just seemed solid as a rock. But Hithlum would not bend nor break.



So the Hithlumians threw it all forth. And on the 83rd minute they actually got their reward. Although the manner it came about was quite unordinary.



Frustrated with yet one again attacking manoeuvre that had backfired and brought the ball back to the midfield, Túrin who got the ball from Fingolfin around 45 meters from the goal decided to just go for it. It was an absolutely ridiculous curving blast there ever was, but it went in! Huan had not anticipated the shot as he had been instructing the defenders just when the ball took off from the boot of Gorthol. He tried to make a save but was just a bit too late the ball flying past his paws by an inch.



The hope was rekindled in the hearts of the men and women in the crowds. There was a chance still.



But time was against the valiant heroes of Hithlum for against the organised and effective defence of Formenos they didn't stood a chance to score in the last ten minutes. So when Nienna whistled the game over the crowd exploded. Their favourites had won the Arda Cup 2008!



Led by Fëanor's fiery spirit the Noldo-elves had shown their qualities and were unquestionably the best football team in Arda. But the "never giving up" –attitude, the unbelievable stamina, the blazing attacking trio of Fingolfin, Húrin and Túrin, and the rough road the whole Hithlum team did go through would go to the annals as well. It may be that Armenelos, Tol-In-Gaurhoth or Gondolin had better teams but unlike them Hithlum went to the final and even if it got beaten it lost with honour.

Formenos 2-1 Hithlum
shots 15-11
on target 8-4
GOALS:
*Formenos, 40 (Maedhros- Aredhel)
*Formenos, 74 (Maglor- Feanor)
*Hithlum, 83 (Turin- Fingolfin)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Formenos- Curufin, Aredhel
*Hithlum- Hador, Fingon

[Nogrod]

The stars from both quarterfinals and finals are here added up...

10 points will go to
Huan of Formenos

6 points will go to
Drauglin of T-I-G
Huor of Hithlum
Túrin of Hithlum

5 points will go to
Fëanor of Formenos
Maglor of Formenos

3 points will go to
Ar Adunakhor of Armenelos
Aredhel of Formenos
Eomer of T-I-G
Elros of Armenelos
Sauron of T-I-G
the phantom of T-I-G

2 points will go to
Maedhros of Formenos

1 point will go to
Ar Pharazon of Armenelos
Fingolfin of Formenos
Lhunardawen of T-I-G
Hador of Formenos
Húrin of Hithlum
Tar Minastir of Armenelos



Also some special stars for the final games will be allotted.


The "deadly trio" of Formenos, namely: Fëanor, Maedhros and Aredhel will gain 5 stars from outstanding performance in both the quarterfinals and the finals. They really made a difference.

Hador brought a victory to his team in two subsequent penalty shoot-outs leading them to the final. He gets 5 stars.

The Formenos defence kept T-I-G at bay and managed to hold the feared Hithlum offence away from making goals. So to Huan, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin and Celembrimbor will be given 4 stars.

Huor saved his team with the overtime saves and the shoot-out victory. He will gain 3 stars.

Túrin and Fingolfin kept their heads up and beat their team to perform even if the situation seemed lost in both games: 3 stars to both of them.

Galdor, Hador, Húrin, Ar Pharazon and Tar Ancalimon gain 1 star for a good performance in the finals.

The Tol-In-Gaurhoth players were not given any stars because of the way they stole the bronze in illegal ways.


The final tally will come soon...

[Nogrod]

The winner of the Arda Kicker Magazine star-competition is:

19 stars
Huan of Formenos


The second place goes to:

15 stars
Huor of Hithlum


The third place is shared between:

13 stars
Elrond of Rivendell
Hurin of Hithlum
Miriel of Tuna
Turin of Hithlum


The followers up are...

11 stars
Elros of Armenelos
Fëanor of Formenos
Maedhros of Formenos
Tar Telperien of Armenelos

8 stars
Ar Adunakhor of Armenelos
Aredhel of Formenos

7 stars
Carcaroth of Angband
Drauglin of Tol-In-Gaurhoth
Fingolfin of Formenos
Hador of Hithlum
Maeglin of Gondolin

6 stars
Ar Pharazon, Celeborn, Eöl, Erestor, Gandalf, Gildor, Sauron, Tar Atanamir, Tar Ciryiatan, the phantom

5 stars
The Barrow Wight, Finwë, Scatha, Tar Palantir, Maglor


There will be a dream-team to come later - and the AKM trophies...