AC Beleriand vs Shire-Bree United at Gondolin
After AC Beleriand’s thrashing of the home side in the previous round, many neutral observers expected Fëanor’s side to be met with much booing when they played their quarterfinal tie against Shire-Bree United in Gondolin. But the Beleriandic side entered the pitch to a rousing cheer from their supporters as well as from the home crowd. Certainly Ecthelion, Eöl, and Fingolfin weren’t names that the Gondolindrim could easily learn to hate, considering that they helped bring the Cup to the Hidden Realm.
The other team, the heretofore-unknown (to the Beleriandrim) Shire-Bree United squad, was greeted with a polite applause (and a wild cheering from a small section of the stadium). They had drawn even with Angband and Tol-in-Gaurhoth, two footballing teams that still commanded respect despite what had happened to them this year. This was a team that had gone through difficulty and came out not wanting. Surely they would put up a fight even against one of the tournament favourites.
In the centre circle, team captain Strider gathered his team, a collection of curious creatures (Bandobras the Perian, the Barrow-wight, the two Nazgűl, and the biggest enigma of them all, Bombadil) along with lesser Men, the Dúnedain, and the Noldo Gildor. It was far more diverse a union than the one Fëanor’s son Maedhros formed before the Fourth Battle of Beleriand, but they were united for roughly the same reason—victory against the odds. Strider delivered a rousing speech to motivate the team, punctuated by a ‘This day we fight!’ cry by all eleven players. When they broke up to take their positions on the pitch, there was a glint in their eyes. They’re not just happy to have gone this far; they can still go further.
Or so they believed, until the game actually began. AC Beleriand put on a display of dominating possession (the possession stat by halftime was 72-28) and turning it into goals. They made smart passes and refused to give Shire-Bree an easy turnover. When they lost possession, they applied pressure all throughout Shire-Bree’s formation, moving as a cohesive unit and forcing the Shire-Bree players into hurried passes, testing their first touch under pressure. Eöl took up position in the right wing to match up against Gildor, and Nazgűl #6, unsung hero of the game against Angband, was neutralised by Fëanor himself. The Ringwraith’s defensive partner Butterbur was repeatedly exposed for his lack of pace by the Fiery Boot’s array of ball-handling tricks. Shire-Bree United’s wing outlets on the counterattack, the Barrow-wight and Khaműl, were closed down smartly by Denethor and Fingolfin. Beren took up position at the tip of AC Beleriand’s midfield diamond, where he totally outclassed Ferny, and Ulrad went out wide to occupy Golfimbul. And Shire-Bree’s main threat, Bombadil, was nowhere to be found, presumably deep in discussion with Ecthelion about poetry in some corner of the pitch.
AC Beleriand’s efforts bore fruit just twelve minutes into the game. A threefold run by Beren, Fëanor, and Eöl into the box confused the Shire-Bree defenders, and, when Denethor brought up the ball from the midfield, the back line was in shambles. The Green-elf played an uncontested pass to the Dark Elf, and Eöl had too much space to take a power drive that was too fast and too strong for Halbarad to keep out.
AC Beleriand were not done. Less than twenty minutes after the opener Fingolfin beat Khaműl in a straight-line dash and sent a cross from the byline before Golfimbul could close in; Beren brushed past Ferny to head it in. Almost half an hour into the game and AC Beleriand was already ahead by two. Such was the mismatch between their attack and their opponent’s defence.
Normally even a two-goal lead wouldn’t be safe against Shire-Bree’s attacking power, but they were still starved of the ball. AC Beleriand’s midfield diamond, supplemented by Fingolfin and, at times, Eöl, held the ball well and played smart passes to each other when pressed. Shire-Bree United’s wing threats Khaműl and the Barrow-wight were forced to positions they were unfamiliar with just to maintain even numbers in the midfield. With their displacement, the Shire-Bree defenders lacked outlets to whom they could pass recovered balls and were forced to play long passes to the forwards. This would have been no problem had Bombadil’s head been in the game, but he was now discussing flower arrangement with Ecthelion and unaware of what was going on around him.
Five minutes before the half Fëanor put his dazzling ball-control skills on display once more as he dribbled Butterbur and Nazgűl #6 out of position before firing a snapshot that Halbarad managed to turn away. But Bregolas beat Gildor and Bandobras to the rebound and poked it in past a despairing Halbarad.
Half-time ended with only three Shire-Bree United attempts in forty-five minutes; they clearly lacked the drive and energy, especially on the attack. The handful of Hobbits and Dúnedain that made the journey to Gondolin hoped that Strider could snap Bombadil back to attention. Surely even a three-goal deficit would be easily made up if the strange man was on form.
For the first few minutes of the half it seemed that their predictions would be borne out. With Bombadil back in the game, Shire-Bree United retained possession better, and they gained some chances to put the AC Beleriand back line under pressure. But Fingolfin’s men rose to the challenge. Imlach and Rochallor made timely tackles on Strider, and, after a Bombadil solo run down the right wing, Ecthelion recovered from the misdirection well enough to clear Bombadil centring pass.
The thirty minutes of sustained pressure (yielding just six shots, the closest being a Bombadil bullet from outside the box that Marach managed to beat away) must have tired the Shire-Bree players out. They were becoming more laborious in their build-up, and AC Beleriand’s superior midfield slowly began to deny them the ball once again. Bombadil grew bored when all his efforts led nowhere, and he was soon spotted picking flowers in the precipice near the stadium. AC Beleriand’s passing killed the game once and for all, and Strider realised that his squad was up against a true championship contender, and that there was no chance of recovery. With ten minutes left, he shook hands with Fëanor, and the ball never crossed past the middle third of the pitch. Soon the final whistle was blown, and the AC Beleriand squad left to a standing ovation from their fans, some of whom raised banners with Shire-Bree United’s name crossed out, Real Valinor and FC Valinor written above it. They were marking out the path they knew their team would take to the championship, and the message has been sent: ‘Real Valinor, you’re next.’
AC Beleriand 3-0 Shire-Bree United
GOALS:
12, 1-0 Eöl (Denethor)
29, 2-0 Beren (Fingolfin)
40, 3-0 Bregolas (Fëanor)
Total Shots
16-9
Shots On Target
7-1
YELLOW CARDS:
1-0
AC Bel: Ulrad
SBU: –