Elenrod: Good evening, and welcome to
The Matchday, the show for discerning football fans. Normally we cover the Elvish Premier League, but it’s about time we have a go at the Arda Cup. I’m your host, Elenrod of TENT, and with me today is our resident tactics expert, Maikalomion.
Maikalomion: Mae govannen.
Elenrod: And ArdaCup.com’s columnist on disclaimers, Adam Smith.
Adam : Hi. Not the economist.
Elenrod: Not the economist. Blogger and hostage Felagundion is also here.
Felagundion: I’ve yet to decide if this is better than paying the damages.
Elenrod: It’s $60 million for hijacking our Group G matchday 2 broadcast last year, by the way.
Adam: Oof. I hope you have a Gondolin bank account.
Elenrod: Indeed. So, where do we start, then?
Adam: Gondolin-Tirion at Tumladen Park.
Gondolin 0-2 Tirion
on target 3-7
tot shots 12-15
GOALS:
*17, 0-1 Mahtan (Finwë)
*37, 0-2 Aredhel (Finwë)
YELLOW CARDS:
*GDN- Galdor, Salgant
*TIR- Caranthir
Elenrod: So, they held the game at Tumladen Park because the Song of Stone Stadium—
Felagundion: Stadium on the Rock.
Elenrod: Pardon?
Felagundion: Song of Stone Insurance is a Premier League sponsor, but not an Arda Cup one. So we should call it ‘Stadium on the Rock’.
Elenrod: Oh, okay. So, they held it at Tumladen Park because Stadium on the Rock will be used for most of Group B’s games.
Adam: Except one of the last group stage games, to comply with the Arda Cup rule on games on the last day being played simultaneously. That’s when they’ll use Tumladen Park again.
Elenrod: Right. So, Maika, what went wrong for Gondolin? Many have said that Gondolin lost because they sat back and preferred to play on the break instead of taking the game to Tirion. They do have the better midfielders, after all.
Maika : But it was the right tactic for Gondolin. Salgant and Duilin might be better passers, better at going forward, but they can’t shield their defenders well. And Gondolin’s back four aren’t really that good, and the only one who’s quality, Penlod, isn’t suited to playing a high line. He’s better off with his back to the goal where he can see the play before him, so his positional intelligence, his intercepting, and his aerial prowess can be brought to bear. But he’s not comfortable when he’s forced to turn and run after attackers.
Elenrod: So how
did Tirion score twice against a Gondolin side that set out to defend?
Adam: I noticed how Aredhel pinned back Penlod, leaving Aranwë to deal with Finwë. And he just dominated the poor father of Voronwë in the air.
Maika: That’s the advantage of having two genuine centre forwards up top. You can dictate the match-up to the opposing centre-backs. A lot of two-forward formations last year had only one centre forward who’s paired with a second striker who usually started from the wings and roamed around looking for space. You had Glorfindel, Eöl, Bombadil, and Maeglin playing that way. Anyway, Finwë was clearly Tirion’s avenue of attack. Rúmil and Caranthir peppered the box with crosses for him.
Adam: And their strategy was successful—two of his knock-downs were converted by Mahtan and Aredhel.
Elenrod: And then during the second half, I saw Penlod and Aranwë switch marking duties, and Finwë was silenced. Is that right?
Felagundion: That’s right. Finwë couldn’t win in an aerial battle with Penlod the Tall—at least, not comfortably.
Elenrod: So Gondolin were able to blunt Tirion’s attack. But how come they couldn’t get back into the game? What was the problem with their offence?
Maika: The defenders and Rog were terrible in their distribution, and Mahtan and Rúmil marked Idril and Elemmakil well. Remember, counterattacking depends on getting the ball as quickly as possible to the forwards, usually via long balls from the defence or wingers who scamper quickly up the pitch. Often Tuor had to win long balls on the flanks, where he was then trapped by the full-back, the wide midfielder, and the centre-back on that side of the pitch. He’s not bad with the ball on the ground, but he can’t dribble past three markers; that’s Maeglin’s specialty. But Maeglin can’t win long balls like Tuor can.
Elenrod: I guess that’s it for Gondolin-Tirion. How about Dagor Bragollach? Anfauglith vs AC Beleriand at Mithrim’s Lakeside Arena.
AC Beleriand 2-1 Anfauglith
on target 7-3
tot shots 17-10
GOALS:
*19, 0-1 Gothmog (Balrog #3)
*64, 1-1 Angrod (Eöl)
*78, 2-1 Aegnor (Fëanor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*ACB- Imlach, Ulrad
*ANF- Haldir, Balrog #2, Gelmir
Adam: The opener for that game was fantastic! Balrog #3 breaks up an AC Bel attack and sends a long ball forward. Then Gothmog and Ecthelion, both aerial experts, confuse Imlach and Rochallor by switching positions. Poor Rochallor ends up getting matched against the Lord of the Balrogs, who predictably wins the header. He turns on Fingolfin’s horse and slams a piledriver home. Poor Marach at the AC Bel goal never stood a chance.
Elenrod: But then AC Bel mounts a comeback in the second half.
Maika: Yes, and they also showed that they don’t miss Beren that much on offence. They fielded a 4-2-3-1, with Fëanor just behind Eöl up top, instead of the other way around as you’d expect. Anfauglith’s defence didn’t know what to do, especially with Eöl still running all over the pitch as usual. And Angrod and Aegnor were brilliant—they started out wide, as expected, but their runs were direct, goalward, like what Beleg and Lúthien did for Doriath last year. That front four just played their first real game—well, it’s a friendly, but at least it’s not a practise match—and they were already combining excellently. They’d be a handful for any defence in the tournament.
Elenrod: All right. Now, let’s indulge one of our guests here and move on to Nargothrond-Armenelos at the High Faroth Arena.
Armenelos 3-3 Nargothrond
on target 9-7
tot shots 21-17
GOALS:
*7, 0-1 Nienor (Gwindor)
*28, 1-1 Elros (Ar-Adûnakhôr)
*42, 1-2 Finduilas (Finrod)
*59, 2-2 Ar-Pharazôn (Tar-Míriel)
*72, 3-2 Ar-Pharazôn (Tar-Ancalimon)
*85, 3-3 Glaurung (Nienor)
YELLOW CARDS:
*ARM- Ar-Gimilzôr, Tar-Calmacil
*NGR- Arminas, Guilin
Felagundion: Finally!
Elenrod: So, Felagundion, tell me about what Nargothrond are doing just outside their gates.
Felagundion: Don’t mind if I do. They’re building a second stadium, Narog Bridge, in order to comply with Arda Cup’s new group stage hosting rules. They’re trying to win a hosting bid for the quarterfinals this year, but they want to host a group again sometime in the future.
Elenrod: Best of luck, then. So, the game. Six goals, thirty-eight shots—this was an open game.
Felagundion: A frantic one. Finrod said afterwards that they deliberately played that way—they wanted to test their attack-to-defence transition. It was still poor, but you can see some improvements—the previous Nargothrond back line would have conceded four or more to Armenelos.
Adam: And Armenelos look like a mess because they’re testing a back three, with Tar-Míriel and Tar-Ancalimon as wing-backs.
Maika: Wing-back is one of the most demanding positions in football. They’re listed as midfielders, but they have to help out both in attack and defence. That’s especially true in a 3-5-2, since the back three are all central defenders and the front two are both centre forwards. All of a team’s width, both at the front and the back, comes from the wing-backs.
Adam: That position requires a crazy amount of stamina to go up and down the pitch for ninety minutes, as well as crossing ability and positional sense to know when to go forward and when to stay back.
Maika: They’d probably try all their midfielders to see which pair works best. Except Elros; he’s their number ten, just behind Ar-Pharazôn and Ar-Adûnakhôr.
Elenrod: That’s enlightening stuff. But I hear Finrod also fielded an unusual shape.
Felagundion: Yes, he did. Finrod and Gwindor started as a front two, with Glaurung just behind them, so that the Father of Dragons could start in his preferred spot between the lines of opposition defence and midfield.
Maika: He’s their number ten, though he’s not much of a playmaker like a traditional number ten is. He’s playing more of a Bard role in last year’s Erebor, playing between the lines, then making sudden runs against overloaded defences.
Felagundion: And it worked, at least at first. Finrod went deep and Gwindor went right, to their preferred positions, dragging Tar-Palantir and Tar-Calmacil with them. Poor Tar-Telperiën was all alone dealing with runs from Glaurung, Nienor, and Finduilas.
Maika: Those two ladies are an excellent fit to Nargothrond’s system. They’re decent tacklers so they can help on the defence, and they have an instinct for making those sudden explosive runs at the right time.
Elenrod: But in the second half, Armenelos make their comeback with a Golden double.
Maika: Yes. Ar-Gimilzôr and Tar-Telemmaitë in the Armenelos midfield sat deeper to contain Nargothrond’s midfield runs. This defensive shift gave the wing-backs greater license to push forward, and they crossed for both of Ar-Pharazôn’s goals.
Elenrod: Then Glaurung’s equaliser happened.
Felagundion: Nienor sends a hasty cross right in the space between the triangle of Tar-Telperiën and the Armenelos midfielders. Tar-Telperiën moves forward to clear it, but on comes Glaurung, seemingly out of nowhere, to claim it. He flicks it upward a little, just beyond the Queen’s reach, turns on her, and then tails home a screamer. The stadium went wild.
Elenrod: I’m sure they did. Well, we’re almost out of time, so on to the last game: Inter Beleriand vs The Havens at Himring’s Ever-Cold Arena, another game of six goals.
Inter Beleriand 3-3 The Havens
on target 8-9
tot shots 17-18
GOALS:
*17, 1-0 Beren (Maedhros)
*31, 1-1 Eärendil (Eärwen)
*42, 1-2 Eärendil (Falastur)
*58, 2-2 Maedhros (Fingon)
*68, 2-3 Círdan (Olwë)
*79, 3-3 Fingon (Haleth)
YELLOW CARDS:
*INB- Forweg
*HAV- Mithrellas
Elenrod: If you squint hard enough you’ll see that it’s almost like the previous game we discussed. A striker scores a brace, but his team concedes a late equaliser.
Adam: Except the brace was completed in the first half. But yeah, Eärendil. He’s at the tip of the Haven’s 4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1- hybrid, with Círdan just behind him and Falastur and Eärwen taking the place of wide midfielders Angrod and Aegnor. And they’re almost as good as the ones they replaced, at least in this game. It was their crosses that Eärendil converted for his double.
Maika: And the combination between Inter’s front two and Beren was about as seamless as those of their rivals AC Bel. Well, the partnership between Maedhros and Fingon is almost telepathic by now—no surprise, as they’ve been playing for more than four years now.
Felagundion: The only time they weren’t teammates was the very first Arda Cup. That’s just… wow.
Elenrod: I agree. How’s that for commitment? I also saw that both teams’ supporting cast aren’t bad.
Adam: Yeah, Inter’s Haleth is a handful down the flanks; he’s just crazy fast in a straight-line dash. And Havens full-back Olwë times his forward surges well, so he doesn’t leave space behind him often and he with his daughter can overload the opposing right-back to get crosses in for Eärendil and Círdan.
Elenrod: Marvellous stuff. And with that we come to the end of our program. Tune in again next time for another
Matchday analysis of the friendlies, as well as our team previews and tournament prediction. Many thanks to Maika, to Adam, and to Felagundion. From all of us here: namárië for now.