Nargothrond vs Minas Tirith, Pelargir Park
Minas Tirith supporters comprised barely more than half the stadium. With the proximity of another Arda Cup host site, some of the locals have chosen to watch Gondor in Dol Amroth (some of them believe that Gondor have a better chance of qualifying for the bracket stage). Of those who chose to go to Pelargir, some ten thousand Gondorians bought tickets for the game between Tirion and the Sea instead. While it was possible to watch both matches live (Minas Tirith vs Nargothrond ended twenty to thirty minutes before the kick-off of the Sea vs Tirion), it would be a tricky proposition, considering the distance between the two stadiums and the traffic jams that came with an Arda Cup matchday. Besides, the price of a ticket for Tol Eressëa’s mobile stadium almost was twice the cost of a ticket of the same class for Pelargir Park, and only a few could afford tickets to both games.
The other half of the stadium was composed of various Nargothrond fan groups. There were the Noldor from the House of Finarfin, who either travelled by land or aboard the floating isle (aside from the stadium, Tol Eressëa Mobile also carried lodgings for guests as well as restaurants and tourist shops.) A small band from Angband who made the journey to Pelargir to cheer Glaurung on were looked upon with suspicion, while a larger party of Bëorians who were there to support Barahir, Baran, and their founder, were treated with much respect by the Third Age Edain.
On the pitch, the players of Minas Tirith showed similar respect to their forefathers. Bëor’s hand was heartily shaken by all eleven players, and Telumehtar Umbardacil managed to secure Barahir’s promise to exchange shirts with him once the game was over.
Now, the game: the first twenty minutes was a midfield battle for possession, with the two teams hardly creating any scoring chance. With Glaurung dropping deeper to become a fourth central midfielder, Nargothrond outnumbered the Stewards in the centre of the pitch; they saw more of the ball and kept it for longer periods of time. After twenty minutes of chasing after the ball in vain, Minas Tirith conceded the midfield and formed two banks of four in front of their penalty area. They hoped to use Nargothrond’s high defensive line to their advantage, playing long passes behind the defence that Boromir I could run on to.
But Nargothrond were successful with pressing from the front, recovering the ball quickly after conceding possession. Minas Tirith gained just a few chances to test Nargothrond’s high line. Whenever Minas Tirith got a ball behind Baran and Arminas, Orodreth rushed out of his box to claim most of them. The best Minas Tirith chance of the half came during the thirty-third minute, when Boromir I got a foot in a long ball from Ecthelion II, but hit his shot directly at Orodreth’s face.
As for Nargothrond’s chances, the right flank looked promising. Cirion, like all Men of pure-blooded Númenórean descent, was athletically fit, beyond that of normal Men, but Gwindor made him look like a turtle, driving past him at will and forcing Ecthelion II to cover for him. This left Eärnur all alone to deal with Finrod and the threat of Glaurung, Nienor, and Finduilas running past him. Thankfully, the midfield protection offered by Tarondor and Eärnil II held fast.
Shortly before half time, Gwindor went on another flank run, easily beating Cirion again and forcing Tarondor to get between him and the goal. Gwindor played a short pass to Glaurung, who turned on Eärnil II. Tarondor recovered too late, and he was booked for tugging at the dragon’s tail to stop his charge. Glaurung laughed mightily at the Man’s cheek and shared a fist bump with him as the half-time whistle was blown.
During the second half, with Tarondor more reserved due to fear of a second yellow card, Glaurung became a bigger threat on the attack. His turn and tailer barely a minute after restart was blocked by Eärnur and kicked clear by his father. The clearance fell only as far as Finduilas, who fired a lateral pass to Barahir, charging from Nargothrond’s back line. With Finrod at the near post, Gwindor at the far post, and Glaurung romping through the middle, the Minas Tirith defenders were unsure who to guard. Who will he cross for? A simple shoulder turn by Glaurung caught the eye of the defence—was he angling for a piledriving tailer? But Barahir’s low cross only went as far as Finrod—the King of Nargothrond stabbed it in past a distracted Denethor II.
A goal down, Minas Tirith could no longer afford to sit deep and wait for counterattacking opportunities. They were forced to go forward, giving Glaurung even more space between the lines. He became the focal point of Nargothrond’s offence, the way it was meant to be last year. He snouted in a Gwindor cross around the hour mark, then pounded in a Finduilas through ball in the seventy-third minute. Half of Pelargir Park were silenced by the dragon’s rampage, and Nargothrond played keep ball the rest of the way. Minas Tirith no longer had the energy to chase after the ball, and contented themselves with taking it easy in preparation for their next two games. Their remaining opponents didn’t feature a speedster and a ferocious beast, after all, and they might have a better chance against them. At least, that’s what they believed that day.
Minas Tirith 0-3 Nargothrond
GOALS:
52, 0-1 Finrod (Barahir)
59, 0-2 Glaurung (Gwindor)
73, 0-3 Glaurung (Finduilas)
Total Shots
12-25
Shots On Target
4-10
YELLOW CARDS:
1-0
MTI: Tarondor
NGR: -
Tirion vs The Sea, Tol Eressëa Mobile Stadium
And now all eyes were on the River Anduin. The silhouette of the moving island was illuminated by fireworks and the light of buildings of Avallónë. Those who stood upon the shores of the river could hear a roar from the stadium, a scream of celebration, a cry of awe. No one who saw the mobile stadium remained unmoved by it.
Inside the arena, the ten thousand Gondorians who bought tickets for the game were praising Eru that they did. Tol Eressëa didn’t have the affluence of Menegroth, nor the grandness of Armenelos, but . . . the history. The grass that covered the pitch has been the same one upon which the first international game of football was played. It never grew too tall, nor did it wither even during the darkest hour of the Blessed Realm. The soil beneath it never got chipped; it never got too dry, or too muddy. It was just right for football. Football was meant to be played upon it.
Then the players of Tirion and the Sea walked into the pitch, and even the most callous Gondorian was moved to reverence. There was the Vala Ulmo, one of the Powers of the World, and with him were his Maiar and some of the greatest among the Men of the West. And on the other side, Finwë, High-King of the Noldor, and with him were some of the most famous names of the Eldar. Football was meant to be played here, and they were meant to play football here. At least, that’s what they thought.
The game, of course, was meant to start. Tirion moved forward with intent, and the Sea defended resolutely. The ball moved quickly, from Rúmil to Aredhel to Mahtan, testing, probing the defence of Ulmo and looking for a foothold, a patch of space from which to start things. But the two holding midfielders, Voronwë and Tar-Ciryatan, were smart to occupy those spaces. Time and time again, Tirion’s advance was rebuffed, and the ball went back to their midfielders, and the dance began anew.
Mahtan, Tirion’s left midfielder, preferred to play through the centre, so to offset this loss of width the left-back Caranthir moved forward to provide attacking options. But in one sequence of play, he was caught too high up the pitch when Mahtan misplaced a pass to Aredhel. Voronwë took possession, scanned the pitch, and found Tar-Minastir making a run behind Caranthir. The Elf from Gondolin sent a long diagonal towards him. Caranthir tried to run back, and Amras closed in on Tar-Minastir. But with his first touch Tar-Minastir sent a cross-field pass to a running Tar-Aldarion on the opposite wing. Easily beating Irimë to the byline, he sent a cross into the box; his grandfather Vëantur, charging from the midfield, beat Amrod and met it with a thundering header for the opener.
The Tirion faithful groaned, while the supporters of the Sea let out a thunderous cheer. Ulmo’s defence was enough to keep even FC Valinor scoreless; surely, a one-goal lead would be enough for them to win.
Finwë, however, was not fazed. He whispered a few words to Aredhel and dropped back closer to the midfield; Tirion returned to the formation they used against Angband.
There were doubts as to the efficacy of Finwë’s strategy among the more tactically astute sections of the crowd. Tirion were already enjoying a considerable possession advantage over the Sea (54-46), so what was he improving by being further away from goal?
It was space. Football was a battle for space: which part of the pitch would you give your opponents? Which part of the pitch is the opposition giving you? Can you create chances from that space?
Aredhel was left alone to battle with Ulmo and Ossë, but now Finwë had a little more space to win headers and play penetrative passes to Aredhel and Mahtan from the midfield. Neither Voronwë nor Tar-Ciryatan could do anything, as he simply outleaped them to headers and outmuscled them on the turn. After Mahtan came close to bagging the equaliser with a stunning volley of a Finwë flick-on (requiring a superb reaction save from Hyarmendacil), Ulmo himself stepped up from the defence to mark Finwë. This turned out to be a mistake—Finwë flicked on another Rúmil cross for Aredhel. The White Lady of the Noldor had too much space to pick her shot, and she sent a peach of a curler past Hyarmendacil. The Sea’s defences were finally breached, and Tirion got their equaliser with a little over half the game left to play.
But Tirion did not press their advantage. After the break, both teams played more conservatively: Caranthir no longer moved forward to join in on the attack, and concentrated on his defensive duties, and Ulmo left Finwë alone in the midfield, concentrating on shutting down Aredhel and Mahtan’s runs from the midfield. Both teams still managed to create chances, but they were long prayers or tame shots easily snuffed by the goalkeepers. Neither team changed gears, seemingly happy with a draw at this point.
The Sea 1-1 Tirion
GOALS:
24, 1-0 Vëantur (Tar-Aldarion)
42, 1-1 Aredhel (Finwë)
Total Shots
12-13
Shots On Target
4-4
YELLOW CARDS:
1-1
SEA: Tar Meneldur
TIR: Amras
Code:
------------ W-D-L Pts GD
Nargothrond 1-0-0 3 +3
The Sea 0-1-0 1 0
Tirion 0-1-0 1 0
Minas Tirith 0-0-1 0 -3
W-D-L: win-draw-loss
GD: goal difference