[the phantom]

--GROUP F--

The stadium upon Taniquetil was half empty for the first game between Amon Rhud and Armenelos. The players from Amon Rhud seemed relieved, as they were used to a life of secrecy. But some of the Armenelos players were visibly offended by the seeming lack of interest in the teams. "What, just because we're mortals, we're not worth your time?!" shouted Ar Zimrathan as he passed a tv camera.

The fans that were present were happy they had attended, for they were treated to a display of fine teamwork and skillful ball control by both squads. Amon Rhud controlled possession early, but they were constantly having to retreat back to the midfield, unable to find cracks in the back line of Armenelos. In the 28th minute they worked the ball in as close as they ever had, and Algund put a move on his defender and kicked one towards the goal. Elros was there easily however and sent a pass deep to Tar Calmacil.

For the rest of the half Armenelos largely controlled the ball, and much of that time was spent on Amon Rhud's half. Amon Rhud did a fine job of halting runs and stepping into shooting and passing lanes, but they were largely unable to steal the ball away. After forcing Ebor to make a couple of saves, Armenelos finally drew blood in the 41st minute as Ar Adunakhor sent a shot in from the corner and Ar Pharazon redirected it into the goal.

During the second half the stadium began slowly filling in anticipation of the second match. As if putting on a repeat performance for those who had missed the first half show, the teams engaged in an eerily similar second half. Amon Rhud controlled the ball but were once again unable to get decent looks at the goal and found themselves in their own field most of the time. And then at about the 60 minute mark Armenelos began their control game, only with their skilled offensive players they were able to work the ball around close to the box quite a bit. In the 67th minute Ar Gimilzor, standing straight out from the goal, somehow threaded a pass to Tar Ancalimon who came sprinting in from the right and he wasted no time in blasting a shot. The shot ricocheted off the shin of the goalie and into the net, giving Armenelos the 2-0 lead.

Amon Rhud attempted to get the ball down the field, but Armenelos's defense held firm and when they took possession they just passed it around, quite content to sit on their two goal lead. As the final whistle sounded quite a few of the spectators booed the Numenoreans vigorously, and the Numenoreans responded by making obscene gestures at the crowd. They are likely to face fines from the Arda Cup Committee.

Amon Rhud 0-2 Armenelos
shots 6-9
on target 2-6
GOALS:
*Armenelos, 41 (Ar Pharazon- Ar Adunakhor)
*Armenelos, 67 (Tar Ancalimon- Ar Gimilzor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Amon Rhud- Avranc
*Armenelos- Ar Zimrathan, Ar Gimilzor

The stadium filled completely as the players from Taniquetil took the field and began warming up. The boys from Helm's Deep looked surprisingly calm as they took the field, despite being faced by the might of the Valar and their cronies.

"We at Helm's Deep are used to this sort of thing," said Hama before the match. "Standing firm and surviving against overwhelming odds is what we're known for!"

The match started, and the crowd was absolutely deafening as Taniquetil took immediate possession and then.... proceeded to pass the ball back to Vana in front of their own goal. The crowd grew quiet, and watched fairly silently as Taniquetil controlled possession for most of the first half and yet refused to advance the ball past midfield. Aule and Thorondor both tried to push things, but the offensive players for Taniquetil seemed content to let Aule's long passes sail just over them and let Helm's Deep take possession. Twice Thorondor went up past everyone by himself and gained control of a long ball and tried to pound in a long goal, but the goalie easily stopped the shot that didn't go off target.

When Helm's Deep had control they were the mirror image of Taniquetil, passing the ball around in their own zone, not wanting to challenge the defense of Taniquetil. When the first half ended, the stadium buzzed loudly with perplexed chatter. Why did both teams appear to be playing for a tie?

The second half was much the same. Helm and Eomund ran into Taniquetil's half and called loudly for the ball, but their teammates had trouble getting it to them. Helm earned himself one decent chance around minute 60 when he faked out Nessa and gained a clear lane to shoot through, but Mandos reacted well and caught the shot.

Then at minute 75, as if an alarm had gone off, Manwe and many of the other Valar seemed to wake up and began working the ball upfield, and actually working to beat their defenders one on one. At minute 79 Varda broke suddenly towards the goal and Manwe lobbed the ball beautifully out in front of her, and she proceeded to rise up above the defenders and poke the ball towards the goal. Erkenbrand managed to get a hand on the high shot as he leapt up and backwards, but the ball kept most of its momentum and hit off the crossbar and fell down across the line.

The crowd finally had a chance to cheer, and cheer they did. For the final ten minutes Taniquetil played solid defense and kept kicking the ball back down to the other end, and most of the crowd began celebrating the win they knew they'd earned, though quite a few of them remained subdued, a bit unnerved by the in-the-nick-of-time act pulled by Manwe and friends.

"This is football, not Beleriand!" said an irate fan after the game. "They don't have to play so defensively and wait till the last minute!"

Helm's Deep 0-1 Taniquetil
shots 4-6
on target 2-3
GOALS:
*Taniquetil, 79 (Varda- Manwe)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Helm's Deep- Walda, Hama
*Taniquetil- Nienna, Thorondor