[the phantom]

Group E

The fans of Mordor and Tol in Gaurhoth were in a foul temper after they discovered that the opening match of Round 3, their match, would be played at 5 PM. "This just proves that the host committee has been attempting to sabotage we baddie teams from the start!"

NogWolf agreed with his opponents on the point. "It's a well known fact that our squads prefer late matches, but in the first two round when matched up against the good teams they forced us to play our games at 11 AM or 3 PM. Now suddenly when it doesn't matter any more they're starting games at more usual times- 5 PM and 9 PM."

Though the squads were unified in their displeasure, it was unlikely there would be any sort of good feelings between the players on the field. Mordor needed a win to clinch a spot in the playoffs, as did TIG. It was possible that both could advance with a loss depending on the outcome of the second game, but neither was willing to leave things to chance.

The Werewolves started hectic and furious in front of the half-empty stadium, playing at a breakneck pace that took the crowd by surprise, and shocked the orcs on the field as well. In the opening four minutes they gained two nice opportunities, but Silent Watcher turned one aside and the other went flying past the post. NogWolf shouted to his squad that they needed to focus their will better to defeat the mental energy of the keeper, but while the Wolves collected themselves Nazgul #4 stole the ball away and sent it down to the rest of the Nazgul and Shelob, who had kept their heads during the entire ordeal.

TIG was unusually slow reacting- their fury had blinded them just a bit, and Nazgul #7 and #6 and Shelob were left facing only KuruWolf while NilpWolf and SkipWolf and the midfield raced to chase them down. Knowing what a rare opportunity it was Nazgul #6 refused to slow up to allow his teammates to join him more fully but instead rushed straight in against KuruWolf and the keeper.

KuruWolf played things well and didn't buy the ball fake and there was a terrific collision! It wasn't clear how it happened, but in the tangle of flailing limbs the ball popped over high towards the right post. ShastaWolf lunged for it, trying to beat the onrushing Nazgul #7 to it, but both arrived at the same time and the ball ricocheted off the keeper's hands, off the Nazgul's head, and straight back and slightly left onto the waiting head of the trailing Shelob who bumped it to the other side, giving the defense no chance to stop it.

The small group of Mordor orcs shouted and banged their noisemakers in approval. Only five minutes in and they were on the board again the vaunted Werewolves of Tol In Gaurhoth! Perhaps the Werewolves had only skated by the other teams because they were able to intimidate them. Mordor wouldn't let that happen to them.

But unfortunately for Mordor Tol In Gaurhoth was more than just scary- they were also fast and strong, and now they were plain furious. Only three minutes later NogWolf leveled the game with a thunderous volley off a Nerwen feed, and five minutes after that NogWolf turned assister, drawing the defense and sending it back to GwathWolf who put in a laser drive for the lead.

The Werewolves calmed down somewhat after gaining the lead, settling down to a more possession based game. But they still remained scoring threats, with InzilWolf going just wide off a corner and NogWolf nearly getting on the sheet again after PhantomWolf released him to face Silent Watcher and Gollum.

Finally at 35 minutes Mordor couldn't dodge the bullet any longer, as SallyWolf headed in a typically nice PhantomWolf corner, and Tol In Gaurhoth had a two goal cushion to be guaranteed first place in the group. Their Wight and Wolf supporters broke out the "Group E Champ" t-shirts they had overconfidently ordered and started chanting "Playoff bound!". OddWight and GreenWight struck up a merry tune on their instruments and soon it was a full fledged party in the seats.

Mordor ignored the activity and doggedly tried to push forward and claw back into the game, but NogWolf had his squad on full Wolf-to-Orc pressure mode and Mordor could barely get it across midfield.

At the start of the second half Mordor came out rested, but the initial push yielded only a couple long prayers and a lob of a drive that ShastaWolf caught easily, and soon Mordor found themselves trying to build from their own half again. The Orcs were just exhausted, and Shelob was barely moving. Only the Nazgul were still the least bit effective, being immune to tiring and bruising as they were, but four players isn't nearly enough to play with.

As the minutes ticked away it was clear that it wasn't happening, and that Tol In Gaurhoth would be sweeping the group. Recognizing this and knowing that if any more scores were going to happen it would be by the Werewolves, the Nazgul admitted defeat and shook with NogWolf effectively ending the game then and there.

The Orcs weren't pleased with the result, but understood that they'd been beaten. Their hopes now rested on Nargothrond in the evening match. Could they defeat the home side and release Mordor through to the playoffs?

Mordor 1-3 Tol In Gaurhoth
tot shots 9-15
on target 3-8
GOALS:
*5, 1-0 Shelob (Nazgul #7)
*8, 1-1 NogWolf (NerWolf)
*13, 1-2 GwathWolf (NogWolf)
*35, 1-3 SallyWolf (PhantomWolf)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Mordor- Nazgul #4, Shelob
*TIG- KuruWolf, NogWolf, SallyWolf

The Huorns and Hobbits were out in force for the evening extravaganza. With the loss by Mordor in the early match Bombadil, Treebeard, and The Forest now held their fate in their own twiggy hands.

But they were facing an opponent that still had something to play for. Mordor and The Forest were both sitting at 3 points and -2 differential (Mordor at 5-7), meaning that a 4-2 victory by Nargothrond would put them in a tie for second, while a three-goal victory would place them alone in second, as would a two-goal win scoring more than four goals. It would be difficult- but it wasn't impossible.

As the game kicked off to a constant humming and trumpeting of the thousands of Huorns in the stands, Bombadil and company looked sharp, dominating possession with their midfield and passing expertly up front. Within 20 minutes Bombadil himself put the home team ahead, and the humming of the Huorns increased in volume.

It became downright deafening at just under a half hour as Quickbeam snapped his springy leg with thunderous force into the ball and sent it screaming in past a helpless Barahir. At the 36 minute mark the Hobbits had to grab napkins and tear off pieces of their clothing to shove in their ears, as the Huorns and Ents hoomed their approval at Bombadil's continued fine play- this time feeding Thranduil expertly.

The tree-folk and Hobbits began singing in earnest during halftime and continued into the second half, where they gladly looked on as their squad pulled back and defended their lead. Surely they could keep the less than adept Nargothrond offense from putting up more than three goals.

And it certainly looked to be true at first, but an angry Glaurung whipped up his helpers on the other end and finally struck off a pass from Beor to close it to two. But the Forest didn't look too worried- there was less than twenty minutes left, however at the 86th minute things got just a bit scarier when Glaurung struck again, this time receiving it from Finduilas.

But Bombadil shrugged it off, as he knew there was not enough time for Nargothrond to score twice more, and right he was. The Forest was through to the playoffs!

Nargothrond 2-3 The Forest
tot shots 12-15
on target 5-6
GOALS:
*17, 0-1 Bombadil (Thranduil)
*29, 0-2 Quickbeam (RiverWoman)
*36, 0-3 Thranduil (Bombadil)
*71, 1-3 Glaurung (Beor)
*86, 2-3 Glaurung (Finduilas)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Nargothrond- Beor, Gelmir, Mim
*Forest- Saeros, Haleth

The eliminated squads, Mordor and Nargothrond, were quite displeased about their plight, and their players had quite a lot to say after the games. The Nazgul of Mordor were particularly displeased with their orc teammates- specifically naming Radbug and Snaga as weak links, and stating that Mordor would be back next year in a more formidable form.

Finduilas sounded confident that the proud realm of Nargothrond would be back and better the following year, and hopefully with its usual leaders Finrod and Orodreth, as she simply didn't feel comfortable taking their place.

Final Results, Group E

Tol In Gaurhoth 9 pts 9-1 (+8)
The Forest 6 pts 6-7 (-1)

Mordor 3 pts 5-7 (-2)
Nargothrond 0 pts 3-8 (-5)

After sweeping the group Tol In Gaurhoth will play the runner up from Group D in the first round of the playoffs, while The Forest will take on the Group D winner.