[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