[Boromir88]

Friendlies - Round 4 Results

Anduin vs Lothlorien

In the 1st half both teams pretty much as to be expected, and at least fans saw a fairly good first 45. Anduin held the majority of possession but they had no space to shoot, or whenever they did it was from an unfriendly angle. It appears after 4 friendlies the Lothlorien defenders have finally become accustomed playing together and stopped all Anduin's attacks before anything formed. Lothlorien's first half goal came from none other a quick counter started by Feanor and finished by the precise boot of Legolas. After the goal Galadriel really pulled back her team and even stopped going for counters.

There is no story for the 2nd half as the teams decided there wasn't much else they could accomplish before the tournament and decided it was better to save energy.

Anduin 0-1 Lothlorien
tot shots 7-9
on target 3-5
GOALS:
*31, 0-1 Legolas (Feanor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Anduin- Beorn, Rumil, Orophin
*Lothlorien- Boromir II, Amroth

Barad-Dur vs Gondor

This was a peculiar game, even if the Gondorian fans were frustrated Isildur chose to stay on with Gondor's enemies, the Gondor players would still be cordial and respectful to one of their forefathers (and his friends). Although there wasn't much love they held for The Mouth and his cronies. At first Gondor was content with the half time score and just planned to coast the rest of the way.

However Gondor became increasingly annoyed with The Mouth's trash talking and once the trash talking turned into hard fouls (on the Nazgul #1's foul he accused Arwen - or "she-elf" as he addressed her - of flopping). But Eorl decided to respond to the unsporty play by rallying everyone behind Gondor's Queen, and he was able to make the score line 3-1. The Mouth attempted to taunt even more and beat his cronies into mounting a comeback, but much to The Mouth's dislike, Gil Galad ordered his friends to remain back.

Barad-Dur 1-3 Gondor
tot shots 10-17
on target 4-7
GOALS:
*19, 0-1 Eldacar (Ostoher)
*36, 1-1 Gil-galad (Shagrat)
*43, 1-2 Turambar (Arwen)
*64, 1-3 Eorl
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barad-Dur- Nazgul #1, Fellbeast #1, Cirdan
*Gondor- Narmacil, Arwen

Eregion vs Eriador

At kick-off Elrond and Aragorn were very pleased to see eachother again and embraced at mid circle. The game began slow as the squads looked like they were in a warm up and stretching, which is what you would see BEFORE a game, not during one. The match did pick up in the 2nd half but once the teams traded goals they called it a day, lazily running out the clock.

Bert received another yellow card, but like previous ones it was a strange way to get a card. Bert was literally stretching his leg out as Earendil was trying to make a run, and just outside the penalty area Earendil accidentally tripped over Bert's foot. After the game a confused Bert tried to explain what he was doing: "Cap'n Arvedui says to play defence for 'im I can't just squash em into jelly. 'E says you 'ave to be limber an' always stay be'ind the ball. I wus tryin' to stay limber, because Cap'n says I don wanna pull a muscle or sumfin'. I don get 'is defence, I get yellows for bashin' people and I get yellows for not bashin' people. If I'm gettin' yellows both ways, I'd rather get em by bashin' people."

Eregion 1-1 Eriador
tot shots 10-11
on target 5-5
GOALS:
*50, 1-0 Elrohir (Glorfindel)
*76, 1-1 Aragorn (Halbarad)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Eregion- Glorfindel, Lindir
*Eriador- Barrow-Wight, Bert

MMorgul vs MTirith

This was perhaps one of the more brutal friendlies of all the rounds. These teams don't like eachother and if this friendly saw 8 total cards (and a horse sent off), just imagine the carnage when they meet in Group H.

Minas Morgul benefitted more from the chaos, as that was their style and clearly Minas Tirith was playing out of their element. Instead of the normal controlled, minimizing mistakes style Minas Tirith prefers to play, or responding in the way Eorl did in Gondor's match, they became blinded with anger, which led to bad turnovers and one of their defenders being sent off the field. Minas Morgul was finally able to get an opponent to play to their low level of dirtiness, and once you fall into the Witch-King's snare, it's game over.

Minas Morgul 3-1 Minas Tirith
tot shots 15-10
on target 8-6
GOALS:
*38, 0-1 Tarondor (Eowyn)
*44, 1-1 Beruthiel (Castamir)
*66, 2-1 King Dead (Nazgul #3)
*77, 3-1 Beruthiel (Witch King)
YELLOW CARDS:
*MMorgul- Sangahyando, Beruthiel, King Dead, Nazgul #2
*MTirith- Imrahil, Eowyn, Firefoot
RED CARDS:
*MTirith- Firefoot (72, second yellow)

Misty Mts vs The Forest

The teams were quite content with their play, and where they stood at the end of 3 rounds, so in the 4th round they both just relaxed. Although the crowd was still able to see a couple good goals and the masterful ball skill of none other than Bombadil. For an unexplained reason Bombadil was fully engaged in this game too, so perhaps we are seeing signs that the yellow-booted madman will have his head in the match once they begin for real? If so, Mordor, Nargothrond and T-I-G, will all have real cause for concern.

Misty Mts 2-1 The Forest
tot shots 11-8
on target 6-5
GOALS:
*30, 1-0 William (Watcher)
*52, 2-0 Azog (Narvi)
*78, 2-1 Thranduil (Bombadil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*MistyMts- William, DBane, Chief Wolf
*Forest- Skinbark, River Woman