[Boromir88]

Tirion at Lothlorien

This was to be a contest between some of the greatest Elves in the history of Arda. There was also a story line of reunions to be followed. Galadriel would be up against her brother, Finrod, and any enthusiast of Arda football will remember Finrod has so far gotten the better of Galadriel's Lothlorien. Then there was Feanor who had left Tirion last year, to only see them here, in the first round of the playoffs. Feanor's spouse and mother may have left, but his beloved father remains still. The two will likely desire to meet and talk before and after the match.

The Stadium of Dreams in Caras Galadhon was packed with mostly Elves from Lothlorien. Not many locals made the games for Dunharrow, but now that Galadriel finally delivered a playoff caliber team, they were as excited as anyone else to see their home town team in action. Over 12,000 Noldor from Tirion made the journey, and were anticipating a competitive, but overall friendly contest. There may have been some bitterness in the Tirion fans, with Feanor defecting from their team and be drawn into Galadriel's service. They reasoned his temper was not welcome in Tirion, and Galadriel would learn her will was not strong enough to subdue Feanor's rashness. Lothlorien would fall to the careful and steady Finrod, they were sure of it. Whatever the Tirion elves said to try to convince themselves, they were still enamoured by the skill of Fearnor. And truth be told, anyone would rather have Feanor on their team rather than Feanor playing against their team.

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As Boro88's whistle blew, starting the game, it appeared Galadriel had decided before she would play defensive and count on Tirion's over-aggression to catch them on counter attack opportunities. However, Finrod was resigned to playing a balanced game and would not make the mistake that Bombadil made, leaving his defense exposed, especially when it was Feanor on the other team. So, Tirion was holding most possession, looking for the lead, and whenever Lothlorien was able to try a counter, the balance of Finrod's plan made it easy for Aule's defense to stop any advance.

In the 16th minute Tirion gained the well deserved lead when Finrod fed Finwe with a tight pass. Finwe had a step on Celeborn, and was in close for a 1-on-1 against Galadriel. Galadriel was staring right into Finwe, trying to psych him out, but Finwe is a professional striker. He did not look at Galadriel, but instead stared straight down, made a clean strike and directed it to the far post beating Galadriel.

The Lady of Lothlorien was not happy with her husband or her defense on that play, as her brother yet again seemed to be getting the better of his sister. And the Tirion fans burst out in applause, blowing their horns. See, they were right, Finrod perceived the mind of Galadriel well. He knew how to beat it and Feanor was beginning to get flustered. Galadriel had ordered a lockdown in front of her net, and Feanor was looking quite alone up front.

Tirion continued to play the style that earned them the lead, and they were clearly looking to expand it. However, Finrod was not willing to commit greater efforts to expand their lead. Aule was doing just fine shutting down any counter attack, but knowing the extreme dangers in discounting Feanor's individual brilliance, Tirion would just stick to the game plan. If it's not broke, don't fix it right? However, in order to gain more goals, Tirion probably needed more players forward, as Gandalf was now up to the challenge at keeping Finwe and Aredhel at bay.

Tirion should have, and probably deserved a greater lead going into the break, but a spectacular display of goal-keeping by Galadriel in the final 5 minutes, kept the game 1-0. Finrod was content having the lead, while Lothlorien just looked relieved only to be down by 1.

Whatever fireworks were blasted off in the Lothlorien locker room at the half, they looked like a completely different team to start the 2nd. Many speculated that Feanor had appealed to Galadriel's desire to win by showing her that waiting for counter-attacking was simply not working against her brother's team. They were in front of a passionate Lothlorien crowd, and playing this negative brand of football. Lothlorien fans did not deserve this product, not with the talent the team had up front this year. Whatever was said, it was a whole new look to Lothlorien and it took Finrod and Aule completely by surprise.

Within 3 minutes Lothlorien was drawn equal. Legolas broke into the box, and Orodreth was anticipating him to shoot, but with a soft back-flip, he left it for Boromir, racing in right behind. Orodreth had no chance. He was getting ready to stop a precise shot to one of the corners by Legolas, not prepared to have to save a patented speeding bullet off Boromir's boot.

Lothlorien continued pressing and Tirion's defense was looking desperate and frantic. That desperation showed as Caranthir slid into his father just a few steps outside the penalty box. Boro88 signalled a free kick to Lothlorien, and it would be a yellow for Caranthir. Many fans of Tirion were not happy with the decision for a yellow, surely Caranthir had no intent to injure his father, and Feanor seemed more proud of his son by trying to stop him from scoring. Or maybe Feanor knew no matter what Caranthir tried, it wasn't going to stop Feanor from getting on the sheet. Caranthir had only delayed the inevitable, as Feanor was set to take a free kick from a dangerous and close position. And as reliable as always, Feanor bent the shot up over Tirion's wall of defenders and it was out of Orodreth's range.

By the time Aule got the defense calmed, only just over 10 minutes had gone by in the 2nd and Tirion was suddenly down 2-1. That lead was not enough for Lothlorien, and this is the dangers of Feanor when he was completely in the zone. He was simply unstoppable, and no other way around it. Not even another 10 minutes had passed from the last goal, and Feanor put in his 2nd goal of the match.

With the 3-1 lead, Lothlorien now withdrew and went into protect mode. But this time the Lothlorien fans were not disappointed, because they had just witnessed 20 minutes of the most offensive football they had every seen out of the Lothlorien team, and they were simply ecstatic. Legolas was actually seen getting his pack of travelling fangirls to start the Feanorian wave. Galadriel did not look thrilled as she was urging her team to stay focused, there was still over 20 minutes of game left and Finrod was not defeated yet.

In the group stages, Lothlorien was always able to comfortably hold onto big leads, but they had not played an offense anywhere near the talents of Tirion. And this time Finrod would be pushing in full gear, but really there was no other choice. It was do or die for Tirion, and they were not going to go down without a fight. Lothlorien missed their opportunity to deliver the killing blow as a 2-goal lead was not all that safe against Tirion. Now Aule and Caranthir began drawing closer, and in the 79th minute Aredhel brought the score to within 1, after Caranthir led her perfectly with a pass.

Anyone watching the game in the final 11 minutes would be tense and on the edge. Lothlorien was trying to hold on to the lead and found it difficult to switch gears to a more offensive plan. Tirion was going all out to get an equalizer and just get the game into overtime. However, Gandalf proved exactly why he was signed onto Lothlorien, as the defense was now suffocating. And others thought that maybe Tirion lost too much firepower with Miriel and Nerdanel's departure? Not trying to take anything away from Finwe, Aredhel and Finrod, but Tirion was lacking just that extra bit of skill that made them threats to score a goal at any time as Gandalf was locking down the box confidentally in the final minutes. Stopping any and all runs that Tirion could muster. Whatever one chooses to believe, all that matters to fans of the game was Tirion was defeated and Lothlorien would be advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time in Arda Cup history.

As Lothlorien exited the field, the home crowd was said to give a great applause to Feanor going into the locker room. Galadriel had always been the Lothlorien favorite, but had never gotten the team far until Feanor's arrival. So, one has to wonder if there was enough glory to go around for Lothlorien to advance further? Or maybe, just maybe, remembering Feanor's comments about the Valar before the tournament, there was enough fiery spirit to get revenge against Manwe in the next round? For Feanor had settled the score against Aule in this round.

Lothlorien 3-2 Tirion
tot shots 14-17
on target 7-8
GOALS:
*16, 0-1 Finwe (Finrod)
*48, 1-1 Boromir (Legolas)
*56, 2-1 Feanor
*63, 3-1 Feanor (Nimrodel)
*79, 3-2 Aredhel (Caranthir)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Lothlorien- Gimli, Amroth
*Tirion- Mahtan, Caranthir, Elemmakil

Lothlorien advances to the quarter-finals to play Pelori