[the phantom]

The friendly between Mithrim and Eithel Sirion was a good contest, with both sides showing some good skill and teamwork. Mithrim saw more time with the ball on their shoes and got off some fine blasts, but Maglor was just on top of it stopping all but one try. At the other end Eithel made the most of their possessions, with the veterans up front knowing how to avoid a wasted chance and showing nice timing. It looked certain to end as a 1-1 tie, but with under five minutes Maedhros showed up his brothers and the others on the Mithrim defense, taking it in solo and sending it over to Fingon for the easy chip at the end.

Both sides seemed happy with the result, as it was obvious that the opponent had been on their game and yet had not taken the game over. And while they had not played lazy at all, neither team had worn itself down at all. "This was really a great game for everyone involved," said Hurin after the contest. "The teams and fans all get along well, so it was really just a nice chance to get together and make sure we were tournament ready. I hope to see them again in the playoffs!"

Gelion and Lorien had a similar sort of match, only with both defenses looking much more on form than the offenses facing them. In the end it was Galadriel able to stop one more shot than the other keeper, and so giving Lorien the win. "There are always things to fix," commented Galadriel following the match, "But the most important thing is coming out ahead on the scoreboard. If we can do this during the tournament, I'll be happy."

Gorgoroth and Misty Mts played a violent and at times dirty contest where the refs decided part way through just to let things go, as if they had called everything both teams would've been sent off the pitch. Castamir and friends showed a bit more polish on the offensive end than the opposing forwards and midfielders, and that proved to provide the one goal margin. In the aftermath of the bloodbath, head tournament official and referee Boromir the 88th gave a firm warning to both sides. "We let it slide today so as to allow you to get your practice in, but come tournament time we will not be so slow to pull out cards."

Ithilien had no luck following up their previous quality defensive performances, as the dragons and balrog up front for Thangorodrim were simply too much to handle when giving only friendly-level effort. After building their lead Thang surprisingly pulled back and tried some Ithilien-type defense, but found themselves completely unsuited for it and gave up a goal and nearly another before the match ended. "Now I know why we never play that style," laughed Ancalagon afterwards. "We just wanted to try it for fun."

Eithel Sirion 2-1 Mithrim
tot shots 11-14
on target 5-7
GOALS:
*20, 0-1 Turin (Hurin)
*58, 1-1 Gwindor (Hador)
*86, 2-1 Fingon (Maedhros)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eithel Sirion- Gwindor, Gundor
*Mithrim- Gelmir, Aradan

Gelion 0-1 Lorien
tot shots 8-6
on target 3-3
GOALS:
*74, 0-1 Celeborn (Haldir)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Gelion- Haldad, Amlach, Caranthir
*Lorien- Finglas, Amdir, Nimrodel

Gorgoroth 2-1 Misty Mts
tot shots 12-9
on target 6-4
GOALS:
*15, 1-0 Earnur (Grishnakh)
*31, 1-1 Azog (Gwaihir)
*44, 2-1 Castamir (Angamaite)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Gorgoroth- Grishnakh, Gollum, Gorbag, Earnur, Angamaite
*Misty Mts- Durin, Azog, William, Tom, Great Goblin, Bert

Ithilien 1-3 Thangorodrim
tot shots 5-21
on target 2-9
GOALS:
*22, 0-1 Scatha (DBane)
*40, 0-2 Ulwarth (Ulfang)
*63, 0-3 DBane (Ancalagon)
*79, 1-3 Faramir (Frodo)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Ithilien- Damrod, Samwise, Bergil
*Thangorodrim- Ulfast, Uldor, Glaurung