[the phantom]

--GROUP F--

The pubs around Taniquetil stadium were teeming with Elves, Ainu, and men the minute they opened for business. Everyone was excited for the games that would take place later in the day. Amon Rhud and Helm's Deep, losers of their first matches, both believed they could pick up a win and thus not be sent home without any points. Supporters of Taniquetil and Armenelos on the other hand discussed how they might go about taking complete control of the group in the second match.

For the most part things were civil, but arguments did break out here and there between the Valar's faithful supporters and the haughty fans of Armenelos.

"How can you honestly expect to contest with the Powers of Arda?"
"We've done it before, haven't we?"
"Yes, and you got crushed and drowned!"
"That wasn't the Valar who did that! They had to call on Eru for protection, because they knew they couldn't take us on!"
"That's not true! Manwe just didn't want to see blood shed in Valinor!"
"Oh, so it was all about protecting the Elves that lived in Valinor, huh? Then why was it that they didn't think twice about taking those same Elves to battle against Angband and spilling their blood then? Why didn't Manwe just call upon Eru then? Ha ha, because he didn't have to! He knew they could beat Melkor- but he didn't stand a chance against us!"
"You fools! You'll find out that isn't true once the Valar take the field!"

But the Valar were not due to take the field until the first match had been played, and hungry to see as much action as possible the majority of the crowds went inside for the first game between Amon Rhud and Helm's Deep.

The first half was showcase of good team play, but was not particularly exciting. Both teams gained only one quality shot, and neither converted. The ball rarely left the midfield as both teams seemed determined to not allow the other team to score.

The second half went the same way as the first half until minute 62. Nearly all of Amon Rhud withdrew towards their own goal as they had done several times, only this time the Helm's Deep defense drew in a bit farther than usual, while at the same time Grithnir and Asgon stayed fairly stationary up near midfield. And then suddenly as Forhend sent a pass to Forweg, Grithnir and Asgon took off towards the goal on the left side and Forweg boomed the ball down the field. Gram was able to contest the pass, but Asgon tipped it ahead and Grithnir kept going with it. Goldwine was far back enough but was too far towards the right to make it over in time and Grithnir beat Erkenbrand one on one for the game's only score.

"They played a fine game," said Eomund of Helm's Deep after the match, who knew his team was all but eliminated after the loss. "I mean, it wasn't long ago that they were legit title contenders back when Beleg and Turin played for them. They still know how to play some good football. We need to train harder during the offseason if we want to beat teams like this, and maybe even sign a couple of players back that were with us in our glory days- Eomer, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf.... we could really use them."

Amon Rhud 1-0 Helm's Deep
shots 8-6
on target 3-2
GOALS:
*Amon Rhud, 62 (Grithnir- Asgon)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Amon Rhud- Asgon, Forweg
*Helm's Deep- Brego, Fengel

As the crowd awaited the start of the Armenelos vs Taniquetil match, they grew restless. "Can we truly challenge the Valar?" thought the fans from Armenelos. "Was Manwe truly scared of them when their army showed up?" thought the fans of Taniquetil. As the teams set up to begin, neither looked nervous. Manwe looked completely serene, and Taniquetil fans took heart. But the kings of Numenor looked proud and unintimidated, and the Armenelos fans were boosted as well.

The whistle sounded and the match began- a match that will be remembered for years to come. As in the first game, Taniquetil came out rather defensively, and Armenelos took the initiative and went after them. After forcing a tough save from Mandos only 3 minutes in and shooting wide twice, Armenelos stunned the crowd in the 12th minute as Ar Pharazon punched in a pass from Tar Ancalimon. Many boos greeted Ar Phar as he bowed to the Taniquetil crowd and smiled. Only minutes later Taniquetil and their fans were sent reeling as Ar Pharazon scored yet again, this time off a corner by Ar Adunakhor.

Taniquetil managed to hold possession for a while after that, trying to get the game calmed back down to a comfortable pace, but they were constantly harassed by the Numenorean defenders and only managed three rather long shots before halftime.

After the half Armenelos charged forward again, and a mere three minutes into play Ar Adunakhor took a pass from Tar Minastir and sent a rocket past Mandos for a shocking 3-0 lead! Manwe called a time out for Taniquetil and spoke to his teammates for quite a long time as the players for Armenelos strolled around the field waving at the crowd. After the timeout Taniquetil tried to push the ball more aggressively, but the Armenelos defense frustrated them again and again, as they were no longer concerned about scoring any more goals they were able to concentrate all of their efforts on defense.

There were many words exchanged between the players and the ref began to hand out cards. At minute 69 the crowd's attention was attracted to the middle of the field as Yavanna was chasing after Tar Calmacil and attempting to kick him. Varda and Thorondor ran to restrain her and the ref hit her with a red card and sent her off- in the meanwhile Tar Calmacil was being patted on the back by his fellow kings for his successful provocation. What he did to her exactly is unclear, though on replay he can clearly be seen pulling up a clump of grass, ripping it apart, and saying something to her.

With a one man advantage, Armenelos had a fairly easy time holding the remainder of the game. Much of the crowd stayed in their seats even after the teams had exited, rooted to the spot by the dismal performance they had just received from their home team.

Armenelos 3-0 Taniquetil
shots 19-7
on target 9-1
GOALS:
*Armenelos, 12 (Ar Pharazon- Tar Ancalimon)
*Armenelos, 26 (Ar Pharazon- Ar Adunakhor)
*Armenelos, 48 (Ar Adunakhor- Tar Minastir)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Armenelos- Tar Calmacil, Ar Gimilzor
*Taniquetil- Thorondor, Aule, Varda
RED CARDS:
*Taniquetil- Yavanna, 69