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the phantom · 06-10-2010, 10:33 PM

The old Michel Delving stadium had been selected as the neutral site for the showdown between The Barrow-Downs and Vinyamar, and the hobbits were pleased indeed. Hobbits in general have never been invested in football to the same degree as Men, Elves, and Orcs, but they simply love big events- anything that provides an excuse for feasting and drinking.

As expected it was the fans from Vinyamar arriving first- an enthusiastic mix of Noldor, Teleri, Edain, and Dwarves. Many of them had little experience with hobbits and were keen on enjoying the trip and the hosts to the fullest extent. The Downer supporters, a smaller but extremely wild bunch, arrived the night before the match. Rather than stay in the inns, for the most part the Downers camped in tents in the hills surrounding Michel Delving, though they did at the least purchase a large amount of food and ale from the local merchants.

The stadium at Michel Delving was not large or modern, but the visitors from Vinyamar enjoyed it despite that, as it had a lovely comfortable flavor to it. There was something appealing about the way the aisles creaked, and the feel of the polished wooden seats, and the closeness of the field.

Many fans ended up stuck with smaller hobbit-sized seats, but as they planned on standing for most of the contest, it wasn’t really a problem. The north and west sides were filled up with Vinyamar supporters, while the east was owned by The Downs. The south was largely local hobbits, and it was unclear which team they were in favor of. The Barrow-Downs was more their neighbor, but they had very little in common, and in fact many Downs residents had been quite critical of the hobbits in the days leading up to the match, as they felt the hosts were favoring Vinyamar by holding the game during the day (at 1 in the afternoon, to be precise).

It was no secret that Barrow-Downs residents were night owls, and historically their team played much better in matches under the lights, even when they weren’t Werewolves. This worked well in the playoffs, as most every big-time game had a late kickoff time in order to occupy the primetime slot on the Palantir viewing networks. But the host committee had decided to go against the norm and have a game with the sun at its zenith, and most Barrow-Downs fans were quite certain that the decision was nothing more than an attempt to thwart their playoff run. Perhaps the hobbits had never forgiven them for the incident between Frodo and The Barrow-Wight?

But reasoning aside, it was a fact that in warm ups the Downs side looked a bit sluggish. Two seasons ago in the bronze match they had managed to delay the game long enough for the moon to rise, but with such an early start there was no way such a tactic would be possible this time.

As the ref made ready to start the game, it was clear that there were not enough players on the field. When the ref questioned nearby bleary-eyed Phantom about it, Phantom merely shrugged and replied, “Um, I guess we’re ready”, but defender Skip Spence, who had actually gotten a full night of sleep, cut in and pointed out that Sally, Mira, and captain Nogrod were nowhere to be seen. They were soon found however- asleep on the bench! Yawning they stumbled out to join their teammates, and the match began.

Not surprisingly it was Vinyamar who took the initiative early, working it in with great efficiency against the muddled Downers. Fortunately for the Downers, Steve and Gwath had woken up, and along with Skip they managed to do enough to keep Vinyamar from getting easy looks. When Eomerwarg was tested for the first time at the ten minute mark he looked bad indeed, nearly fumbling away an easy save into the goal, and a few minutes later he nearly mishandled a pass from his own teammate.

Skip and Fea in particular attempted to galvanize the squad, but they remained a step slow, and just before the half hour mark they finally paid the price as Duilin beat his mark and Tuor hit him with a pinpoint pass and the ball was nudged past the poorly positioned keeper. The Vinyamar fans and most of the hobbits cheered loudly. There was little reaction from the Downer section, as about half of them were passed out due largely to their extreme merry-making the night before.

The score did at the least seem to bring the Downs keeper and defense into full wakefulness, and Vinyamar was only able to gain one quality look the rest of the half, which was smothered by the warg. On the other side of the pitch though Sally, Nog, and Phantom were still not into the match and were being completely silenced by Ulmo and friends.

When the Downs returned for the second half, they looked much more awake, and they started hurling things into the crowd. The refs sprinted over to reprimand the team, but stopped when they realized that they were throwing things not at opposing fans, but rather throwing things to their own fans. In order to wake themselves and the crowd up the Downers had brewed some sort of drink in the locker rooms and were flinging water-skins filled with the substance. Head official Boromir88 wisely asked for a sample and sent it upstairs to be tested (it turned out to be primarily sugar and caffeine), but other than that he did not interfere.

As the minutes went by in the second half The Barrow-Downs began looking sharper and more energetic, and their section really began making some noise. Around minute 65 they gained their best chance yet off of a corner. Fea hit the side post on a header, and Nogrod smacked the rebound back at the goal, but Rog made a brilliant bat-away to preserve the one goal lead. The Downs supporters were quite let down by the two near scores, but captain Nogrod wouldn’t allow the team to droop their heads. “They can’t hold us off forever!” he shouted.

And he was right. Despite the individual skill of the Ainu from the sea and their flawless teamwork defense for the entire game, perfection was not quite good enough to combat the will and skill of the Downs scorers. With just under ten minutes left Wilwa broke in from the top of the box, completely wrong-footing Salmar and Galdor, and getting Osse and Rog to move to stop her, at which point she sent it high towards Ulmo and Phantom on the other side- too high. The ball was up over the towering Ulmo’s head. But there was a blur of motion, and next thing the onlookers knew the ball was in the net!

Replay clearly showed Phantom leaping, placing a foot on Ulmo’s back, and using that to propel himself up into the air to meet the ball at around the twelve foot mark. The Vinyamar fans protested loudly about Phantom’s methods, but the score was tied.

As overtime began the Downers were looking to put an early end to things. Only five minutes in Wilwa hit Nogrod with a perfect cross, but Rog guessed right and gathered it in. The hobbits, elves, and dwarves sighed, while the wights groaned. Vinyamar took their turn in the offensive zone, but were unable to work it in against Skip and friends, and had to send it back to their rear line again and again to maintain possession. Halfway through the overtime the Downs took control again, and they gained a great opportunity at 24 minutes. Sally beat her mark and made a nice run into the box from the left, but as she sent her shot off Osse took her out from behind with a brutal tackle. He was judged to have gotten the ball first, but replay showed clearly he had gotten nothing except Sally’s ankles. It should have been a short-range penalty kick to the Downs!

The Downers in the stands got very hostile and started throwing things, and the refs stopped the game and sent security in to find the offenders. But the bombardment didn’t stop in the least, and instead the security guards (mostly hobbit shirriffs) were picked up and tossed onto the field. Shasta pulled out wads of fireworks from a bag and passed them around, and soon the field crews were kept busy stamping fires out all over the pitch. In the row behind Shasta, Nienna was passing around various paints and brushes and encouraging everyone to write profane messages upon the seats and walls. Lommy and Greenie, under cover of the chaos, made their way onto the field and attempted to stab Osse from behind. Thankfully they were spotted just before they pulled it off and the players from Vinyamar were rushed to safety into the tunnel beneath the hobbit section.

Head official Boromir88 finally declared via messages on the scoreboard that Vinyamar would be awarded a free kick from the top of the box if the Downer fans did not cease and desist immediately. This put a stop to the carnage, as none of the Downer fans wished to hurt their team. But just as play was about to begin again, a knife came spinning out of the Downer seats, accompanied by the cry, “For Lalaith!!” The knife stuck straight into the ball resting in Boromir88’s hands, and he immediately declared a short-range free kick for Vinyamar.

The Downs fans turned and in fury rushed the culprit- known Lalaith extremist Urwen, who likely saw the game as simply an opportunity to gain some media coverage for her Lalaith-centric agenda. But while they were busy committing various atrocities in the stands, Idril lined up for the kick. The Downs defense wasn’t completely set (understandably due to their emotional state), and Vinyamar took advantage by taking the free kick as quickly as possible and running a play rather than kicking it directly at the goal. Idril booted it with perfect pace past the left side of the wall and Egalmoth timed his run perfectly to not be offsides and beat everyone to the ball and thus was granted a free shot at the goal from point blank. Eomerwarg dove and took away the near post, but Egalmoth went the other way and Vinyamar had the lead with less than five minutes left.

In any other game the team from the Downs would have been provoked into a state of beautiful rage (especially in Werewolf form) and ended with a flurry of shot attempts, but the way this game had gone they pretty well went out without a fight. They felt in their hearts that this was just one of those things that was not meant to be, from the early kickoff time all the way to the misbehaving Urwen. Some days you don’t catch the right breaks at the right times, and so it was on this day.

On the other side the Elves and Dwarves celebrated wildly. This was beyond all of their hopes! In the words of one dwarf- “When we were contracted to expand and refurnish Vinyamar’s stadium, we were thrilled to have work, but if we would’ve known then what would happen… It’s incredible. We really fell in love with the original stonework of the Noldor, and the fine bones of Mount Taras, and then the actual team- the team! We dwarves are not as into football as Elves and Men for the most part, but we have certainly fallen in love with this squad. It really is inspiring to watch them play! I never imagined I’d end up adopting Vinyamar as my new home and following this team all the way to the semifinals.”

Barrow-Downs 1-2 Vinyamar (OVERTIME)
tot shots 12-12
on target 6-6
GOALS:
*29, 0-1 Duilin (Tuor)
*81, 1-1 Phantom (Wilwa)
*24, 1-2 Egalmoth (Idril)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barrow-Downs- Nerwen, Fea
*Vinyamar- Duilin, Osse

06-10-2010, 10:33 PM	#108
the phantom Beloved Shadow Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Stadium Posts: 5,971	more quarterfinals... The old Michel Delving stadium had been selected as the neutral site for the showdown between The Barrow-Downs and Vinyamar, and the hobbits were pleased indeed. Hobbits in general have never been invested in football to the same degree as Men, Elves, and Orcs, but they simply love big events- anything that provides an excuse for feasting and drinking. As expected it was the fans from Vinyamar arriving first- an enthusiastic mix of Noldor, Teleri, Edain, and Dwarves. Many of them had little experience with hobbits and were keen on enjoying the trip and the hosts to the fullest extent. The Downer supporters, a smaller but extremely wild bunch, arrived the night before the match. Rather than stay in the inns, for the most part the Downers camped in tents in the hills surrounding Michel Delving, though they did at the least purchase a large amount of food and ale from the local merchants. The stadium at Michel Delving was not large or modern, but the visitors from Vinyamar enjoyed it despite that, as it had a lovely comfortable flavor to it. There was something appealing about the way the aisles creaked, and the feel of the polished wooden seats, and the closeness of the field. Many fans ended up stuck with smaller hobbit-sized seats, but as they planned on standing for most of the contest, it wasn’t really a problem. The north and west sides were filled up with Vinyamar supporters, while the east was owned by The Downs. The south was largely local hobbits, and it was unclear which team they were in favor of. The Barrow-Downs was more their neighbor, but they had very little in common, and in fact many Downs residents had been quite critical of the hobbits in the days leading up to the match, as they felt the hosts were favoring Vinyamar by holding the game during the day (at 1 in the afternoon, to be precise). It was no secret that Barrow-Downs residents were night owls, and historically their team played much better in matches under the lights, even when they weren’t Werewolves. This worked well in the playoffs, as most every big-time game had a late kickoff time in order to occupy the primetime slot on the Palantir viewing networks. But the host committee had decided to go against the norm and have a game with the sun at its zenith, and most Barrow-Downs fans were quite certain that the decision was nothing more than an attempt to thwart their playoff run. Perhaps the hobbits had never forgiven them for the incident between Frodo and The Barrow-Wight? But reasoning aside, it was a fact that in warm ups the Downs side looked a bit sluggish. Two seasons ago in the bronze match they had managed to delay the game long enough for the moon to rise, but with such an early start there was no way such a tactic would be possible this time. As the ref made ready to start the game, it was clear that there were not enough players on the field. When the ref questioned nearby bleary-eyed Phantom about it, Phantom merely shrugged and replied, “Um, I guess we’re ready”, but defender Skip Spence, who had actually gotten a full night of sleep, cut in and pointed out that Sally, Mira, and captain Nogrod were nowhere to be seen. They were soon found however- asleep on the bench! Yawning they stumbled out to join their teammates, and the match began. Not surprisingly it was Vinyamar who took the initiative early, working it in with great efficiency against the muddled Downers. Fortunately for the Downers, Steve and Gwath had woken up, and along with Skip they managed to do enough to keep Vinyamar from getting easy looks. When Eomerwarg was tested for the first time at the ten minute mark he looked bad indeed, nearly fumbling away an easy save into the goal, and a few minutes later he nearly mishandled a pass from his own teammate. Skip and Fea in particular attempted to galvanize the squad, but they remained a step slow, and just before the half hour mark they finally paid the price as Duilin beat his mark and Tuor hit him with a pinpoint pass and the ball was nudged past the poorly positioned keeper. The Vinyamar fans and most of the hobbits cheered loudly. There was little reaction from the Downer section, as about half of them were passed out due largely to their extreme merry-making the night before. The score did at the least seem to bring the Downs keeper and defense into full wakefulness, and Vinyamar was only able to gain one quality look the rest of the half, which was smothered by the warg. On the other side of the pitch though Sally, Nog, and Phantom were still not into the match and were being completely silenced by Ulmo and friends. When the Downs returned for the second half, they looked much more awake, and they started hurling things into the crowd. The refs sprinted over to reprimand the team, but stopped when they realized that they were throwing things not at opposing fans, but rather throwing things to their own fans. In order to wake themselves and the crowd up the Downers had brewed some sort of drink in the locker rooms and were flinging water-skins filled with the substance. Head official Boromir88 wisely asked for a sample and sent it upstairs to be tested (it turned out to be primarily sugar and caffeine), but other than that he did not interfere. As the minutes went by in the second half The Barrow-Downs began looking sharper and more energetic, and their section really began making some noise. Around minute 65 they gained their best chance yet off of a corner. Fea hit the side post on a header, and Nogrod smacked the rebound back at the goal, but Rog made a brilliant bat-away to preserve the one goal lead. The Downs supporters were quite let down by the two near scores, but captain Nogrod wouldn’t allow the team to droop their heads. “They can’t hold us off forever!” he shouted. And he was right. Despite the individual skill of the Ainu from the sea and their flawless teamwork defense for the entire game, perfection was not quite good enough to combat the will and skill of the Downs scorers. With just under ten minutes left Wilwa broke in from the top of the box, completely wrong-footing Salmar and Galdor, and getting Osse and Rog to move to stop her, at which point she sent it high towards Ulmo and Phantom on the other side- too high. The ball was up over the towering Ulmo’s head. But there was a blur of motion, and next thing the onlookers knew the ball was in the net! Replay clearly showed Phantom leaping, placing a foot on Ulmo’s back, and using that to propel himself up into the air to meet the ball at around the twelve foot mark. The Vinyamar fans protested loudly about Phantom’s methods, but the score was tied. As overtime began the Downers were looking to put an early end to things. Only five minutes in Wilwa hit Nogrod with a perfect cross, but Rog guessed right and gathered it in. The hobbits, elves, and dwarves sighed, while the wights groaned. Vinyamar took their turn in the offensive zone, but were unable to work it in against Skip and friends, and had to send it back to their rear line again and again to maintain possession. Halfway through the overtime the Downs took control again, and they gained a great opportunity at 24 minutes. Sally beat her mark and made a nice run into the box from the left, but as she sent her shot off Osse took her out from behind with a brutal tackle. He was judged to have gotten the ball first, but replay showed clearly he had gotten nothing except Sally’s ankles. It should have been a short-range penalty kick to the Downs! The Downers in the stands got very hostile and started throwing things, and the refs stopped the game and sent security in to find the offenders. But the bombardment didn’t stop in the least, and instead the security guards (mostly hobbit shirriffs) were picked up and tossed onto the field. Shasta pulled out wads of fireworks from a bag and passed them around, and soon the field crews were kept busy stamping fires out all over the pitch. In the row behind Shasta, Nienna was passing around various paints and brushes and encouraging everyone to write profane messages upon the seats and walls. Lommy and Greenie, under cover of the chaos, made their way onto the field and attempted to stab Osse from behind. Thankfully they were spotted just before they pulled it off and the players from Vinyamar were rushed to safety into the tunnel beneath the hobbit section. Head official Boromir88 finally declared via messages on the scoreboard that Vinyamar would be awarded a free kick from the top of the box if the Downer fans did not cease and desist immediately. This put a stop to the carnage, as none of the Downer fans wished to hurt their team. But just as play was about to begin again, a knife came spinning out of the Downer seats, accompanied by the cry, “For Lalaith!!” The knife stuck straight into the ball resting in Boromir88’s hands, and he immediately declared a short-range free kick for Vinyamar. The Downs fans turned and in fury rushed the culprit- known Lalaith extremist Urwen, who likely saw the game as simply an opportunity to gain some media coverage for her Lalaith-centric agenda. But while they were busy committing various atrocities in the stands, Idril lined up for the kick. The Downs defense wasn’t completely set (understandably due to their emotional state), and Vinyamar took advantage by taking the free kick as quickly as possible and running a play rather than kicking it directly at the goal. Idril booted it with perfect pace past the left side of the wall and Egalmoth timed his run perfectly to not be offsides and beat everyone to the ball and thus was granted a free shot at the goal from point blank. Eomerwarg dove and took away the near post, but Egalmoth went the other way and Vinyamar had the lead with less than five minutes left. In any other game the team from the Downs would have been provoked into a state of beautiful rage (especially in Werewolf form) and ended with a flurry of shot attempts, but the way this game had gone they pretty well went out without a fight. They felt in their hearts that this was just one of those things that was not meant to be, from the early kickoff time all the way to the misbehaving Urwen. Some days you don’t catch the right breaks at the right times, and so it was on this day. On the other side the Elves and Dwarves celebrated wildly. This was beyond all of their hopes! In the words of one dwarf- “When we were contracted to expand and refurnish Vinyamar’s stadium, we were thrilled to have work, but if we would’ve known then what would happen… It’s incredible. We really fell in love with the original stonework of the Noldor, and the fine bones of Mount Taras, and then the actual team- the team! We dwarves are not as into football as Elves and Men for the most part, but we have certainly fallen in love with this squad. It really is inspiring to watch them play! I never imagined I’d end up adopting Vinyamar as my new home and following this team all the way to the semifinals.” Barrow-Downs 1-2 Vinyamar (OVERTIME) tot shots 12-12 on target 6-6 GOALS: 29, 0-1 Duilin (Tuor) 81, 1-1 Phantom (Wilwa) 24, 1-2 Egalmoth (Idril) YELLOW CARDS: Barrow-Downs- Nerwen, Fea Vinyamar- Duilin, Osse __________________ the phantom* has posted. This thread is now important.