[Nilpaurion Felagund]

The tournament has lost half its teams again in the first round of the knockout stages. Favourites displayed strong showing, but some surprise names dropped out just after the initial hurdle. In this edition of the tactical review, we take a look at the playoff runs of Beleriand teams Doriath and Gondolin. Again, we look at their bright points, dark spots, and their possible actions for 2013.

Doriath

What They Got Right:
For a team hit hardest by the hard salary cap imposed this year, Doriath has managed to go far--surprisingly far, if you consider what the media had said about them. They were placed in a group with teams that had a defence stronger than theirs (Anfauglith), an attack stronger than theirs (Nargothrond), and a team just plain stronger than theirs (AC Beleriand), and still they managed to advance to the round of sixteen. How did they do it?

Simple: they have the right pieces at the right places, and they knew how to use them. Melian was the core of their defence--it wouldn't be a stretch to say the she was their defence. Holding Fëanor, Thuringwethil, and Glaurung to one goal each was a feat very few others could accomplish. In fact, since Fëanor's goal against Doriath was from the penalty spot, and Thuringwethil's goal came after Melian switched to left back, the only goal from open game that she conceded to those centre-forwards was Glaurung's.

Furthermore, they were a team of excellent passers from player #1 to #11, and it showed in whatever strategy they chose to play, be it possession or counter-attacking. Daeron in particular was intelligent in his passing, distributing efficiently to either wing. And speaking of wings, their fluid attacking trio of Mablung, Beleg, and Lúthien were superb in their interplay, compensating for their lack of a single striker who broke defences down single-handedly.

What They Got Wrong:
Unfortunately they ran into teams that had superior numbers in the midfield, and we were never able to see their passing game at its full power. Normally a team packing the midfield could be broken on the flanks, but this fact merely exposes a key Doriath weakness: their best centre-back (the one that kept the opponent's star scorer quiet) was also their best fullback (the one who helped in the attack with runs from very deep). Melian was asked to do too much in the back line--help contain the opponent's attack while helping her midfield maintain possession. We saw only one chance she created in her interplay with left winger Lúthien, the Mablung miss against Anfauglith. She could have focused on the wings had she a goalkeeper she could trust, but unfortunately Dior was not the one. A save rate of a little below 70%, to the tune of 8 goals allowed, would not do for a team who didn't have a suffocating defence, or a go-to scorer to claw back the deficit.

What Can They Do:
In making it to the bracket stage, they lost only $4 million, a sum they could easily make up by trimming some of their salaries. Furthermore, Elu Thingol might return to his home team, considering what he said after Wilderland's loss, and his height and power would help them either in the front or the back. However, their two wingers performed well enough this year (Lúthien's actual stat notwithstanding, she produced more chances than any other Doriath player) that the risk of them being lured by other Beleriand teams exists--especially Beleg, considering his long-standing partnership with Túrin.

Quotes:
Daeron: I think we surprised a lot of people with what we did this year. Hardly anyone counted on us to get out of our group, but we made it, and we came close to forcing Eriador to a shoot-out, even. Next year, with one or two more pieces, I believe we could go further.

Gondolin

What They Got Right:
No-one doubted what Gothmog and Maeglin can do, which is to score. After taking a friendly game to adjust, they did exactly that, accounting for fourteen of their team's sixteen goals in eight games, and assisting in the two others. Maeglin was a walking highlights reel, combining his father's craftsmanship with his mother's Finwëan grace and power. And Gothmog was the terror of centre-backs with his size and speed.

Their midfield was also useful on attack: Meleth shared the ball efficiently, Elemmakil sent quality crosses into the box for target-man Gothmog, and Duilin was a gem as attacking midfielder. He played killer balls into the box for the strikers and made late runs after the teams have focused on their intimidating forward duo.

What They Got Wrong:
For every goal they scored, however, it seemed that they conceded one in return (they had seven goals for and against). Their defence allowed almost fourteen shots per game. This would not have been a problem had Rog been in top form, but sadly he has never quite returned to his 2010 form (despite his slight improvement from his performance last year):

Rog's save rate:
2010: 85.19% (vs Ar-Pharazôn, Phantom, Túrin, Maeglin)
2011: 61.11% (vs Eönwe, Varda, Arien, Míriel, Nerdanel)
2012: 68.18% (vs Fingon, Glorfindel, Witch-king, Fëanor, Eöl)

What Can They Do:
A loss of $3 million is easy enough for the Hidden Realm to handle. Besides, Gondolin is a realm of great footballing talent (they have the Cup to prove it), so even if they lose one of their star forwards in the off-season, they surely have someone who could step up. They would need more help for their back line, however, and perhaps on goal, too, unless they trust the blacksmith to shake out of whatever funk he had sunk into. A small upgrade in midfield would also help--their holder Salgant was exposed by AC Beleriand's midfield for his lack of positional awareness, when he was supposed to be the one plugging the holes in their defence.

Quotes:
Maeglin: Despite the initial hiccup, and that was against Real Valinor, our team has done well enough for something that was built almost on the fly. We have other talents to draw from that are now playing in other teams, so we'll eventually find the pieces we need to go further into the tournament.