[Nogrod]

Gondolin, the town of legends, the city of heroes, the town of the lore, the city of unsurpassed greatness showed the Middle-Earth it had not been chosen as the venue for the Arda 2008 soccer tournament in vain. The opening ceremonies surpassed those of the crowning of king Aragorn back then and the number of the balloons left to float into the air were more numerous as the stand able to home over 50 000 spectators.

At that grand setting the first match between Erebor and Gondor promised to be a classic before the home team would take on Tuna. At least the crowd was waiting for one. And they were not disappointed.

The name of the game came obvious to the spectators from the very beginning. Gondor pressed but their shots were mediocre at best. Then again Erebor shot less but with a far superior quality. Thanks to Beregond the numbers stayed 0-0 up to the end of the first half. The most cheers were given to the deadly looking combo of Smaug, Bard, Beorn and Girion who at times seemed to make fun of the Gondorian defence. At 39th minute the combo finally made a result when Bard hammered the ball into the net after the releasing pass by Girion. It was a goal to be cheered for.

The Gondorian team came to the second half spiritedly and their effort was rewarded at the 56th minute when lord Imrahil managed to ram the ball in from a beautiful pass by Hirluin.

The game was even then and it promised to be a real thriller. But the defence of Gondor got into trouble late in the game not able to stand right with the imaginative and creative attacks they faced. They were unable to counter the dribbling of the Smaug, Bard, Beorn and Girion quartet, and then Golaskil tackled Beorn really bad as he was about to break free to score. It felt like metaphysical justice coming true when Beorn made the free kick and Smaug banged it to the bottom of the net with his tail.


Erebor 2-1 Gondor
shots 10-15
on target 4-6
GOALS:
*Erebor, 39 (Bard- Girion)
*Gondor, 56 (Imrahil- Hirluin)
*Erebor, 77 (Smaug- Beorn)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Erebor- Thror, Dain, Thrain
*Gondor- Minalcar, Golasgil


The anticipation for the second match was something everyone in the crowd could feel. It was going to be a match between real giants and the home crowd was both fearing and anticipating the outcome.

The game proved to be really entertaining. It was no midfield to and fro but the ball stayed mainly near the goals as both teams made their best to score. It was not that there were poor defences, it was just that both sides really went for the attack.

Miriel, who was one of the deciding factors in the game got the Tuna team in front with a great individual performance in the middle of the first period but Idril equalised the game with as beautiful solo performance. Basically the game was one between Eol and Nerdanel. The middle-field motors orchestrated the game and gave the defences hard times with all the talent up front on both teams keeping the goalies at their toes. And the shots were raining on them.

The Gondolin team came very aggressive to the second half and partly because of the pressure of their “gusto” and the home crowd Ecthelion managed to score shooting the ball irresistibly behind Orodreth after a nice releasing pass by Maeglin confusing the goalie to the other corner.

But the good feeling of the home crowd was soon brought down as Finwe headed the excellent pass by Miriel into the back of the Gondolin net. It was 2-2 with about twenty minutes to go.

The “Miriel-show” was something even the home crowd appreciated. She seemed to be everywhere playing tricks with the ball no one thought possible and creating opportunities for her team every once in a while. Against the finesse and quickness of the Tuna efforts laying mostly on Miriel and Nerdanel the robust forwards of Gondolin were able to shield the ball from the defenders at the other end. The Game went to and fro.

Finally the crowd exploded. Maeglin hammered in a shot that would have stunned a roaring bull ten minutes before the full time. It was no surprise that Eol had his mark on the goal: he dribbled two defenders and then passed the ball ingeniously to Maeglin who had sneaked behind the defenders. Orodreth had no chance.

The home crowd went wild and the team stood firm the last ten minutes. The crowd got home joyfully this day as the home team was victorious. The crowd was waiting for more.


Gondolin 3-2 Tuna
shots 16-18
on target 8-9
GOALS:
*Tuna, 21 (Miriel- Nerdanel)
*Gondolin, 41 (Idril)
*Gondolin, 49 (Ecthelion- Maeglin)
*Tuna, 68 (Finwe- Miriel)
*Gondolin, 80 (Maeglin- Eol)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Gondolin- Rog, Salgant, Eol
*Tuna- Guilen, Mahal, Duilin