Valimar Stadium
FC Valinor vs Hithlum
For the first time in the Arda Cup’s five-year history, the same arena would both open and close the tournament. The inaugural game of the 2013 Arda Cup, the Group A match between Armenelos and the Havens, was contested in the Valimar Grand Stadium, and the finals would similarly take place there. But before the eagerly-awaited tie between AC Beleriand and Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the teams they defeated in the semifinals would first fight to be the best of the rest.
Reaching the semifinals was a financial success for both teams—even the outlay for the fourth-placed team would be sufficient to cover their nine-digit wage bills. There is the matter of a $5-million difference in the amount received by the third- and fourth-placed team, but at this level of football, such a trifle does not matter. Or so the teams say.
‘We’re just here to win, to end the tournament in a high note,’ said FC Valinor’s captain Yavanna. ‘We’re still smarting from the loss to Fëanor’s AC Beleriand—on a different day, I believe we could have snatched a result—, but here is another game for us to play. We’ll do our best to win it, and then plan our campaign to win the cup next year.’
‘This is not exactly the game I wanted to play in,’ said Hithlum’s star forward Túrin, ‘but like Yavanna said, it’s a game to be played. Those familiar with my history, especially my old Mithrim teammates Curufin and Celegorm, know that I play to win every game.’
When the consolation match between the FC Valinor and Hithlum began, Túrin and the rest of Hithlum’s attackers made their presence felt. With the need to relieve pressure on their overmatched defence, Hithlum pressed high up the pitch and took the game to the Valineoreans, who defended resolutely and denied Hithlum easy chances, but were unable to make much headway up the pitch themselves. Húrin spurned a fine chance to put Hithlum in the lead six minutes into the game when, after being played through on goal by his son’s knockdown of a Beleg cross, shot straight at Huan instead of going for a curler.
After a rocky start, FC Valinor recovered their composure and began to play around Hithlum’s aggressive pressing. With two ball-playing centre-backs being marked by a lone centre forward (even one with Túrin’s boundless energy), they managed to find an outlet to play the ball forward to their midfield, who quickly got the ball to the wings. Once FC Valinor’s front four had possession, Hithlum immediately felt their bite.
In one sequence shortly after the half-hour mark, Eönwë played a long diagonal straight to Yavanna, who cut inside Galdor and dribbled past Aradan. After playing wall with Celegorm (while Curufin and Argon distracted the rest of the defence), she was one-on-one with Huor at the edge of the six-yard box. With the Hithlum goalkeeper closing in, the FC Valinor midfielder slid the ball between his legs and into the net to open the scoring.
One chance, one goal. Such was the difference between FC Valinor’s attack and Hithlum’s defence (which isn’t bad, but is clearly not good enough for the highest echelon of the game). After the goal, FC Valinor’s back six sat deeper and absorbed Hithlum’s attack, cutting off through passes to Túrin in the penalty area and turning Morwen and Hador’s dribbles aside. With the centre of the pitch clearly denied them, Hithlum played from the wings instead. Húrin was unable to get the better of Maglor whenever he tried to cut infield from the flank, but Beleg on the other side got more joy, beating Thorondor to the byline and swinging in crosses for the father-son forward duo. Shortly before the half ended, Hador made a late run into the box as Túrin and Húrin pushed the defenders back. Beleg’s cross fell to him, unmarked near the penalty spot, but he shot narrowly over the crossbar and the chance went begging.
When second half began, FC Valinor might have realised the danger of allowing Hithlum to attack with abandon, and pushed their back line higher up the pitch, moving Túrin further away from the penalty area but leaving space behind for pacy players to exploit. But with midfielders Elemmírë and Findis able to close down Morwen and Hador more easily, Hithlum were forced to initiate plays from much deeper in the pitch, which played into FC Valinor’s hands. They put on a clinic on high pressing; with Celegorm and Curufin closing down Hithlum’s centre-backs and Yavanna as well as Argon occupying the full-backs. Hithlum were unable to get the ball into the midfield, and the Valinoreans easily won the ball back, putting Huor under pressure.
There was one player who escaped the attention of FC Valinor’s pressing. Aradan, between the lines of the Hithlum defence and the midfield, was unmarked by any of the yellow-shirted players, and he had a lot of time on the ball to ponder his options. But the Hithlum holding midfielder wasn’t the best at creating chances; his diagonal passes to Beleg or Húrin were often wayward, conceding possession cheaply to FC Valinor.
At the hour mark Aradan overhit a long diagonal behind Maglor, and Huan easily claimed the ball, playing a short pass to his right-back. Maglor then skipped past Húrin, stormed forward, cut inside Arroch (just as Argon drifted to the touchline) then played a short low cross that Curufin easily stabbed home.
After the second goal, FC Valinor eased off the pressure, which proved to be a mistake with half an hour left for Hithlum to make a comeback. They would pay for this lapse after sixteen minutes. Beleg dropped deeper to allow Aradan to play a shorter pass to him, after which the Hithlum winger charged down the touchline and steamed past Indis. Hador, at the same time, made a run into the penalty area that distracted the defenders in the box. It was the reverse of Hithlum’s chance late in the first half, with Hador the decoy this time, and Húrin outmuscled Maglor and bundled Beleg’s cross into the net.
Hithlum’s goal angered FC Valinor, who attacked with renewed ferocity to grab a third goal that would kill the game once and for all. Their passing and movement were a little less fluid, and the chances they created weren’t clear-cut, but they pegged Hithlum back and denied them the chance to grab the equaliser. Curufin had a glorious chance eight minutes from full time, when a short Argon low cross found him with his back to the goal and he went for an audacious back-heel. Huor parried out the slow shot and sent it long behind Indis for Beleg to run on to, but Huan went off his line to clear the danger. The last eight minutes was spent with FC Valinor passing around Hithlum’s penalty box, with Hador pushing his midfield back to screen his defenders. Hithlum never really got into the game from that point on, and FC Valinor saw out their win comfortably. They have improved from their showing last year, but they hope to make that next step to become a true power of the game. As for Hithlum, it remains to be seen if they could keep their team together next year and improve upon it, or if the financial pressure would see them letting key pieces go.
But all those thoughts were set aside for later, for there was still one more game to see.
Hithlum 1-2 FC Valinor
GOALS:
34, 0-1 Yavanna (Celegorm)
60, 0-2 Curufin (Maglor)
76, 1-2 Húrin (Beleg)
Total Shots
14-15
Shots On Target
5-7
YELLOW CARDS:
2-1
HTH: Gundor, Galdor
FCV: Elemmírë