[the phantom]

@ Erebor

The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and men of Dale were nearly giddy with excitement leading up to their first round playoff match against Imladris. Team Erebor had been quite impressive thus far- they defeated the playoff-bound Dwarves United in the friendlies and in group play, split with an impressive Wilderland squad, earned a friendly win over Group B winner Eriador, and came out on top in Group C with room to spare.

Smaug and company had been efficient on the attack, and Beorn and his eagle defenders had done a nice job at keeping the opposition off the scoreboard. Erebor fans felt they had a right to be confident.

But their foes from Imladris had some confidence as well- having Erestor and Varda herself protecting Elros’s goal was nothing to sneeze at, and the children of Elrond certainly had some skill on the attack. But they were a bit concerned about the midfield game. Lindir, Figwit, and Gilraen weren’t ones to exactly strike fear into the hearts of opponents, while Erebor boasted King Dain, the merciless Orc-King Bolg, and the grim sniper Bard in the midfield.

It was this advantage that had most of the betting agencies leaning in Erebor’s direction, as well as many football experts on MESPN and other networks. But the game, as always, would be decided on the grass and not on paper.

Or not on grass, actually, but the grass-like carpet covering the Stadium Under the Mountain at Erebor. When Erebor won the right to host the contest, many thought they would opt to host the game in the stadium down in Dale, as it was more convenient for folks staying there and at Lake Town, but the Lonely Mountain ownership wanted the game at their own stadium- which to be fair was slightly larger, and certainly noisier.

As evening approached a steady stream of football fans flowed to the gates of Erebor, though far more were filling the seats from inside the mountain. There were small pockets of Imladris fans, but the crowd was as lopsided as could be in favor of the home side.

By the time the teams entered the field of play the audience was in an absolute fever, chanting and waving flags with confidence. The game started and their volume increased, and the team on the field didn’t let them down. Erebor controlled things from the word go, and Imladris was defending. Erebor possessed well, and made trial of Imladris’s defense from every angle.

But fortunately for Imladris, team defense was their specialty, and Varda and company did their job well enough to keep Erebor off the board, bothering and rushing the shots just enough, and just generally getting in the way. Twice in the opening 20 Imladris couldn’t keep the ball away from Elros, but their keeper showed his mettle and rose to the challenge.

As the half wore towards its end, things started swinging the way of Imladris, and the somewhat tired Erebor side had trouble getting the ball away. Twice Imladris earned corners and twice they got the ball between the posts off of it, but Beorn batted away both attempts and Erebor breathed a sigh of relief.

In the midst of holding off yet another Imladris attack in the closing seconds of the half, Erebor at last gave their fans something to celebrate. Gwaihir got in the way of a pass and Bolg cleaned up the loose ball, sending it forward to the dashing Thranduil. The Elven King hauled it in and sent it to the wing for Nazgul #7 who immediately recognized the opportunity as it arrived- Imladris’s back line held up to force the offside ruling, but the heady Nazgul immediately sent it into the box before Smaug crossed through. The dragon was perfectly level as it was sent, and no one had a hope of challenging his thunderous header. It was 1-0 to the home team!

The atmosphere at the half was festive. The fans were confident that Erebor had weathered the storm and the opposition would fold. Some of the cooler heads reminded their fellows that things rarely prove so easy in the playoffs of Arda Cup, but on this day there was no need for caution, as team Erebor busted out of the gates in the second half with a withering assault, and after but a few minutes it was 2-0 Erebor, with the previous distributor Nazgul #7 smartly volleying in a rebound!

King Dain and King Thranduil agreed to pull back and rest up for a bit, confident that their defense would hold, and hold it did. Erebor was not as gassed as they were towards the end of the first half, and so Erebor found little success with the ball on their feet. And many remembered well the words of the MESPN analyst who pointed out that Imladris was in fact more comfortable playing defense and counter-attacking.

As the minutes slipped past the Kings ordered Erebor back on the attack- but more reserved than before. There would be no aggressive runs, but rather careful trial of the Imladris back. Imladris took to the task with enthusiasm, thinking this was more suited to their style, but they felt foolish indeed at minute 69. Smaug was simply too large and physical to handle on the ground and too fast when in flight and he proved it with his second goal of the contest, this time off a feed from Thranduil.

With a 3-0 lead and 20 minutes left the crowd began celebrating in earnest. Imladris was not an offensive power, and the home defense was quality. It was in the bag. The more cautious among them perhaps thought of warning of early celebration, but remembering how Erebor had proved them wrong after the half they gave themselves over to blind optimism and joined in the party!

And that was the wise decision, as Erebor simply didn’t allow Imladris an inch. They played keep-away to force Imladris to pressure the ball, and when Imladris had it the eagles and Smaug swooped down at every opportunity, harrying the possession game.

Imladris kept trying doggedly until the very end and perhaps they felt they earned respect in that, but all praise was aimed squarely at Erebor. In dominating fashion they were through to the quarterfinals!

Erebor 3-0 Imladris
on target 8-2
tot shots 19-7
GOALS:
*43, 1-0 Smaug (Nazgul #7)
*52, 2-0 Nazgul #7 (Bolg)
*69, 3-0 Smaug (Thranduil)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Erebor- Landroval
*Imladris- Galdor, Gilraen