AC Beleriand vs Erebor at Amon Hen
There were still four teams in the competition, and two games yet to play, but if you ask all forty-four players, only two teams are playing in the game that matters. The other one is just a consolation game for those who were good, but not quite good enough.
One bad day, said Fëanor in his semi-final post-game interview. One bad day by his team was all it took to deny them the Cup. It wasn’t a matchup problem against Real Valinor: he knew that Fingolfin and Ecthelion were good enough to stop his mother and wife, and Rochallor and Imlach have muzzled centre forwards like Arien before. His midfield was sharper than theirs. And he knew that he was better than his sons, who had carved up Tulkas’s defence twice before.
He refused to listen to those who pointed out that Ulrad, the player at the tip of their diamond midfield, was exposed for his lack of offensive awareness. (Denethor, and even holding midfield Bregolas, had completed almost as many forward passes as the outlaw.) He denied those who told him that AC Beleriand had no plan B beyond sending the fullbacks forward, hardly a prudent course of action against teams with wingers as talented as Míriel and Nerdanel. Then again, he has never listened to any counsel other than his own, both to the good and ill of those around him.
Smaug would blame bad luck for their loss to Eriador, though many would say that they have already used up their luck against FC Valinor. Due to some bracket jinx, Erebor had to meet two teams with elite shot-stoppers in straight games. But after having overcome Huan in the quarterfinals, Smaug argued that that they could have similarly beaten Elrond. Yet the Peredhil overcame his dragon troubles (he was eliminated last year by an Ancalagon goal, and a Smaug goal proved to be the winner in Eriebor’s friendly match against Eriador) in dramatic fashion when he denied Smaug an equalising penalty in the dying minutes of extra time, sealing a narrow victory for Eriador.
The two centre forwards would not feature in the main event, true, but they understood the significance of their undercard match. If they cannot be the best, they can at least be better than another team. The spirit shown by the twenty-two players on the pitch and the chanting of their supporters in the stands combined to give the match an atmosphere approaching that of a championship tie. The stadium was evenly split between the two teams, with AC Beleriand’s more extensive fan base making up for Erebor’s proximity to the stadium. The dragon and the Noldo shook hands in the centre circle before moving to their respective positions, and, soon, the opening whistle was blown.
From their semi-final tie against Eriador’s 4-1-3-2, it was made apparent that Erebor’s midfield three could not hold the ball indefinitely against a four-man midfield. And it was exactly what AC Beleriand had, a diamond midfield that was the core of their having the highest possession rate among all teams. Nazgûl #7 tried dropping deeper to help control possession, as he once did against Eriador, but Ecthelion simply followed him there, enabling AC Beleriand to maintain their numerical superiority in the midfield. The ball stayed longer in Erebor’s side of the pitch, and after seven minutes Beorn had to bat away the first clear chance of the game after Eöl took Fëanor’s lay-off and fired a snapshot before Gwaihir could close in. Five minutes later Ecthelion sent a cross zipping across the face of the goal, but Bolg managed to deny Beren a run for a header and Fëanor was bodied well by Girion; the ball ended up getting cleared by Meneldor.
So far Erebor has only mustered a Smaug shot from range, but they didn’t have enough of the ball to create more chances. In the twenty-second minute Fëanor finally opened the scoring when he intercepted a passing error from Dain (meant for Girion), rounded Beorn, and tapped the ball into an empty net.
After the opener, Erebor pressed fiercely for an equaliser, but they were still being starved of the ball. Possession was AC Beleriand’s best defensive weapon as well as the sparkplug of their offence.
If we have the ball, you can’t score against us. And we have a chance to score against you. Such was the philosophy of Fëanor’s squad, and they were unlikely to change it when it has brought them this far. Ulrad, despite his offensive shortcomings at his position, made his value clear as an advanced ball-winner. After stopping an AC Beleriand offensive effort, barely had Erebor recovered the ball when Ulrad tackled Girion, Meneldor, or Dain to regain possession, allowing his teammates to reset their attack. This repeated pounding on the Erebor box resulted in a second goal for the Beleriand side, and Fëanor had a hand in it once more, turning creator this time. Eöl sent a through ball into the penalty area for the Fiery Boot, but Landroval recovered to deny him a clear shot at goal. Instead of pressing the issue, he sent a back-heel pass to a charging Beren, who had his own clear shot. The One-handed powered the ball past Beorn’s outstretched hand and into the net to double AC Beleriand’s lead four minutes before the break.
If Erebor were to make a contest of this, something clearly needed to be done to AC Beleriand’s passing game. It had killed two matches before, with Anfauglith and Shire-Bree United unable to recover the ball while retaining a coherent back line against counterattacks; thus they never gained a chance to threaten Marach’s goal seriously. Fortunately, Erebor had a defence and a goalkeeper they could trust. So, during the restart, Girion advanced to the midfield, turning Erebor to a 3-4-3, matching three eagle defenders against two crafty forwards. The evening out of the midfield numbers allowed the Lonely Mountain a fighting chance at the possession, and they gained more chances in the first fifteen minutes of the second half than they had in the entire first half. But even with more of the ball, Smaug and company still had to deal with one of the best back four in the tournament, having once denied Glaurung, Thuringwethil, Gothmog, Maeglin, and Bombadil.
Twenty-five minutes have passed, and the score remained two-nil. Erebor was running out of time, and they were still unwilling to push everything forward; Fëanor gave them a scare and almost got his second goal of the match after Fingolfin booted a recovered ball downfield towards him. He sent Meneldor the wrong way and turned on Landroval, but he contrived to fire wide from fifteen metres. Fortunately for Erebor, AC Beleriand’s back line was slowly turning timid. Rochallor and holding midfielder Bregolas were already in the book for rash challenges on Smaug and Bard, respectively, and they were fearful of getting their second yellow card. Fifteen minutes from full time, Thranduil made a run down AC Beleriand’s right flank. After forcing the right back Ecthelion and centre back Imlach to commit, he then sent the ball cross field to Nazgûl #7, who had enough space to cross (Fingolfin had tracked back to help Rochallor cover Smaug after Imlach left the dragon to track Thranduil). Fingolfin tried to recover, but he ended up getting caught between two chairs, marking neither the Ringwraith nor the dragon, and Smaug outmuscled Fingolfin’s steed and smashed a tailer past Marach.
Surely, fifteen minutes was enough to get an equaliser, thought the Erebor faithful. They had already exposed AC Beleriand’s back line with their fluid ball movement, the same thing Real Valinor had done. But Fëanor had different plans; he ordered his midfield back to help in defending, assigning Beren to mark Erebor’s number ten Bard. Denethor guarded Thranduil, with Ecthelion moving to help on Smaug. The two forwards remained downfield to provided counterattack opportunities, giving Erebor second thoughts about an all-out attack. Their attack completely neutralised, Erebor were unable to create another clear chance, and after their one last push, with even the eagles helping on the attack, was denied soundly by Fingolfin’s back line, the final whistle was blown. AC Beleriand could now claim to be the third-best team in 2012. It was hardly good enough for Fëanor and company, but, as some of his teammates conceded, it was a good enough start for their team.
AC Beleriand 2-1 Erebor
GOALS:
22, 1-0 Fëanor
41, 2-0 Beren (Fëanor)
75, 2-1 Smaug (Nazgûl #7)
Total Shots
14-12
Shots On Target
6-4
YELLOW CARDS:
2-2
AC Bel: Rochallor, Bregolas
Erebor: Meneldor, Gwaihir