Arda Cup Football 2013 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Nilpaurion Felagund · 08-28-2013, 11:05 PM

Weathertop Arena
Eriador vs Barad-dûr

The Arda Cup returns once again to the home stadium of Eriador, Weathertop Arena. Sitting on a saddle between Amon Sûl and Fortress Hill, the 95 000-capacity stadium is an engineering marvel of the Northern Kingdom, a footballing jewel of steel and glass.

There remained a few hours before kick-off, and yet Weathertop Arena was already filled to the brim, with seventy-five thousand Eriador supporters, including the famed Northern Wall supporters’ group, chanting, cheering, and banging drums. Not to be outdone, Barad-dûr sent a twenty-thousand strong contigent of Orcs, Trolls, Black Númenóreans, Haradrim, and Easterlings, all determined to make the atmosphere as favourable to Sauron as possible.

When the teams walked into the pitch, there was loud applause from most of the audience, but some wondered why the Northern Wall was quiet. Soon all eyes turned on them when, as one, they all raised a black card, turning their sections into a wall of black. A second later, some black cards were replaced with white, and on the wall of black there appeared the emblem of Elendil, seven stars and one white tree. Another second, and above the tree and the stars appeared the Arda Cup, the long-desired treasure that they came close to last year. Most of the other Eriador supporters applauded the fine choreography, and even some of the Mannish Barad-dûr supporters appreciated their display. But they believed that, while the Eriador supporters showed such co-ordination in the stands, their own team were more co-ordinated on the pitch. Eriador’s front four struggled to combine against so-so defensive teams, putting just four past their three opponents, whereas the Sauron-led front line scored the same number of goals against their opponents, which included a cup favourite in FC Valinor. With their improved defence, they could frustrate Isildur and company, and with their still-potent offence, they could surely put one past Elrond.

[Eriador in white and black; Barad-dûr in red and black.]

The first half of the game was a cagey affair, as expected of a knockout tie, when teams are more concerned with conceding a goal than scoring one. With Eriador’s three offensive midfielders marked closely by Barad-dûr’s midfielders, play remained confined mostly in the middle of the pitch. Isildur, frustrated with the lack of service he was receiving, dropped deep to receive the ball, and in his place as leader of the line moved in Glorfindel. But the Númenórean was shadowed by Pallando, and the Noldo was double-marked by Sangahyando and Alatar. Any attempts by NogWight or Arveleg to play either of them in were cleared comfortably by Fellbeast #1 or Grishnákh.

It was the same story when Barad-dûr had the ball. Since their three midfielders were marking their Eriador counterparts, none of them was free to move the ball forward when they recovered possession. Berúthiel, who was playing higher up the pitch than the other midfielders, tried to drop deeper to receive the ball from them, but Eriador’s left-back Arwen shadowed her and gave her no time to turn with the ball. The few times Barad-dûr got the ball to Sauron, he was guarded tightly by Arador and Araphant, and his attempted forward passes were intercepted or blocked before they could reach Castamir.

The only free players on either team were on the same side of the pitch: Eriador right-back Asfaloth and Barad-dûr left-back Fellbeast #2. But both were poor on the ball, easily conceding possession whenever they were closed down by the opposing midfielder on the same wing. At one point Asfaloth tried to play a one-two with Arveleg to release him behind Herumor, but his pass was a touch too heavy and it zipped past Arveleg’s feet for a throw-in.

When one recalled the metaphor of football as chess on grass, this was perhaps one of the images that comes to mind—a closed game, with pawns (midfielders) locked tightly against each other, allowing no space for either side to break through and allow the stronger pieces (forwards) to threaten the enemy’s position. The only noteworthy moment of the half came when Sauron abandoned trying to get the ball to Castamir and drove forward himself—he dribbled past Araphant with ease, but when Gil-galad stepped up to check his run, he was unable to get past the Elven-king despite his shoulder drops and step-overs, and Araphant recovered to take the ball from him.

Soon the half-time was blown. Both sets of supporters were relieved not to have conceded, but they were clearly worried about where the game’s breakthrough would come from. The two teams’ most creative outlets, Sauron and Glorfindel, were double-marked for most of the game, and none of the other players stepped up to take their place. Some Barad-dûr fans pondered whether Alatar could move forward in support of Berúthiel, outnumber Arwen on the right wing, but that would leave Glorfindel with only Sangahyando to track him. Alatar’s timing of his forward run must be perfect.

The second half had barely begun when what they had predicted came to pass—Glorfindel lost possession as he tried to make his way past his markers, and Alatar was off like a bolt down the right wing. Berúthiel moved infield, giving Arwen a horrible choice: let Alatar continue his run, or leave Berúthiel unmarked. She chose the latter option, moving out to check the Blue Wizard’s run. Alatar then laid off the ball to the open Queen of Gondor, who skipped past Arador’s sliding challenge and got into Eriador’s penalty box. She stopped when Aragorn stepped up to challenge her, but she back-heeled the ball to Sauron, who shot between Aragorn’s legs. It was a slow ball, but Elrond was unsighted by his own defender and late to make his save. However he managed to stretch enough to push the ball into the post with his fingertips. What a fine save by Elrond! And a marvellous effort by Sauron!

The first corner kick of the game happened after fifty minutes has passed. Berúthiel took it, a perfectly-taken kick that seemed to served the ball on a plate for Castamir. But Elrond got a palm on it before the Barad-dûr forward could connect with it. Elrond’s clearance fell to Aragorn, who sent the ball long to Isildur. The Eriador forward headed it into space—and there was Glorfindel to take it in stride. He dribbled past Alatar and rounded a fellbeast, but Grishnákh was there to stand as the last sentinel, covering the angles with his long arms. Glorfindel faked a shot and passed sideways to a charging NogWight. The Eriador midfielder booted the ball with all his might—over the crossbar and into the stands! The Eriador fans groaned, and NogWight struck the ground with both fists in frustration. He’d blown a clear chance in a game where they were hard to come by.

The rest of the second half resembled the first—a midfield slog where every pass forward led more to a clearance or interception than to finding a teammate’s foot. Eriador kept a lion’s share of the possession, but the biggest problem was that the players who had most time on the ball—Arveleg and NogWight—were excellent at link-up play, positioning themselves to receive a pass, finding the open teammate, and getting the ball to him, but didn’t have enough technical ability to dribble their way past a determined marker.

The second half ended with the game still scoreless. With both teams gassed out due to the chasing and pressing and movement, extra time also ended with little of note. The two teams have to be separated with penalty kicks.

Code:

Barad-dûr: 
Eriador:

Barad-dûr won the coin-flip, and they elected to shoot first. Sauron stepped up first, barely acknowledging Elrond as he placed the ball on the spot. After taking a few steps back, he charged towards the ball, then slowed down a step before taking his kick; Elrond dove hard to the right, then realised too late that Sauron was waiting for him to move. He then pinged the ball towards Elrond’s left-hand post, becoming the first player in the game to hit the back of the net.

Even some Eriador fans were impressed by Sauron’s penalty kick. They hoped that he was the best of them, and that none other of the Barad-dûr players could fool Elrond like that.

Code:

Barad-dûr: O
Eriador:

First to shoot for Eriador was Isildur. His was a fiercely-struck rising ball that clanged off the crossbar then crashed hard into the net before Grishnákh could move a muscle. Elrond shouted, ‘Isildur’, warning the striker that his shot was a risky one that could have missed the goal entirely. The son of Elendil shrugged, as if to say, ‘Well, it went in.’

Code:

Barad-dûr: O
Eriador:   O

Next up for Barad-dûr was Castamir the Usurper. Here we take time to evaluate that quality all top goalkeepers have: presence, the ability to affect a shooter’s psyche just by being there. Some goalkeepers have presence by dint of their appearance: Huan, Ungoliant, and Beor in bear form are examples of this. Elrond, on the other hand, forged his presence through reputation. He was a top-drawer shot-stopper with excellent reflexes and an uncanny ability to read plays. Most attackers who get into a one-on-one situation with him remember all this, conscious of the fact that they have only a few chances to score against him; this would sometimes cause them overthink their choices and blow their shot. This was exactly what happened to Castamir. Locking eyes with Elrond, he wondered where best to place his shot to fool him, decided to slot it to the right, then despaired as he scuffed his shot, with Elrond saving it easily.

Code:

Barad-dûr: O X
Eriador:   O

On the other hand, Grishnákh, despite his appearance, wouldn’t inspire fear in the Kings of Men and the Eldar. He was proving to be a good goalkeeper, but he had not yet built up a reputation. Glorfindel stepped up to the spot and completely fooled him with a left-footed shot that he sent right, with the Barad-dûr goalie diving the wrong way.

Code:

Barad-dûr: O X
Eriador:   O O

Eriador fans cheered. They could smell blood. If Elrond could make one more save, it would put tremendous pressure on Barad-dûr . The next to shoot for them was Alatar. He decided to forgo trickery, firing a powerful low shot for the left post that Elrond could not get to in time despite guessing the direction correctly.

Code:

Barad-dûr: O X O
Eriador:   O O

Next for Eriador was Gil-galad. Like Sauron, he started with a fast approach but slowed down on his last step before taking the kick. Grishnákh dove right, then realised that he had been fooled when Gil-galad fired a waist-high shot dead center.

Code:

Barad-dûr: O X O
Eriador:   O O O

After Alatar the shooter for the Black Tower was his fellow Blue Wizard Pallando. Like Alatar, he decided to send the ball to the left. But his shot wasn’t powerful enough, and Elrond got a fingertip on it to push it past the post. Weathertop Arena exploded with cheers. What a save! The next shot for Eriador could win it!

Code:

Barad-dûr: O X O X
Eriador:   O O O

The new player, NogWight, walked out of the centre circle to take that lonely march to the penalty spot. The stadium was silent. Can he do it? What would he do? Eriador fans asked. They didn’t know enough about their offseason signing to trust him with what could be the final shot. Also, didn’t he miss that chance earlier…?

But NogWight didn’t miss this time, sending a rocket of a shot into the top-left corner, giving Grishnákh no chance to get to it.

Code:

Barad-dûr: O X O X
Eriador:   O O O O

He’s done it! He’s won the game! Elrond and the rest of the Eriador team chased after the Wight as he wheeled away from the penalty box into the touchline. Grishnákh refused to get up from the ground as the Blue Wizards went up to console him. Meanwhile Sauron’s eyes were locked on the Wight who had just eliminated his team, the player whose signature he almost had shortly before the tournament began. Would the results have been different had he been playing for him? He would never know.

Exit interviews shall be provided in The Matchday episode next week.

Barad-dûr 0-0 Eriador
(Eriador wins on penalties 4-2.)
Total Shots
7-9
Shots On Target
2-3

YELLOW CARDS
3-2
BDR: Fellbeast #2, Herumor, Angamaitë
ERD: Gil-galad, Aragorn

SHOOTOUT:
1-0 Sauron (goal)
1-1 Isildur (goal)
1-1 Castamir (saved)
1-2 Glorfindel (goal)
2-2 Alatar (goal)
2-3 Gil-galad (goal)
2-3 Pallando (saved)
2-4 NogWight (goal)

08-28-2013, 11:05 PM	#11
Nilpaurion Felagund Scion of The Faithful Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: The brink, where hope and despair are akin. [The Philippines] Posts: 5,312	Tar-Eldar Network Television round of sixteen coverage Weathertop Arena Eriador vs Barad-dûr The Arda Cup returns once again to the home stadium of Eriador, Weathertop Arena. Sitting on a saddle between Amon Sûl and Fortress Hill, the 95 000-capacity stadium is an engineering marvel of the Northern Kingdom, a footballing jewel of steel and glass. There remained a few hours before kick-off, and yet Weathertop Arena was already filled to the brim, with seventy-five thousand Eriador supporters, including the famed Northern Wall supporters’ group, chanting, cheering, and banging drums. Not to be outdone, Barad-dûr sent a twenty-thousand strong contigent of Orcs, Trolls, Black Númenóreans, Haradrim, and Easterlings, all determined to make the atmosphere as favourable to Sauron as possible. When the teams walked into the pitch, there was loud applause from most of the audience, but some wondered why the Northern Wall was quiet. Soon all eyes turned on them when, as one, they all raised a black card, turning their sections into a wall of black. A second later, some black cards were replaced with white, and on the wall of black there appeared the emblem of Elendil, seven stars and one white tree. Another second, and above the tree and the stars appeared the Arda Cup, the long-desired treasure that they came close to last year. Most of the other Eriador supporters applauded the fine choreography, and even some of the Mannish Barad-dûr supporters appreciated their display. But they believed that, while the Eriador supporters showed such co-ordination in the stands, their own team were more co-ordinated on the pitch. Eriador’s front four struggled to combine against so-so defensive teams, putting just four past their three opponents, whereas the Sauron-led front line scored the same number of goals against their opponents, which included a cup favourite in FC Valinor. With their improved defence, they could frustrate Isildur and company, and with their still-potent offence, they could surely put one past Elrond. [Eriador in white and black; Barad-dûr in red and black.] The first half of the game was a cagey affair, as expected of a knockout tie, when teams are more concerned with conceding a goal than scoring one. With Eriador’s three offensive midfielders marked closely by Barad-dûr’s midfielders, play remained confined mostly in the middle of the pitch. Isildur, frustrated with the lack of service he was receiving, dropped deep to receive the ball, and in his place as leader of the line moved in Glorfindel. But the Númenórean was shadowed by Pallando, and the Noldo was double-marked by Sangahyando and Alatar. Any attempts by NogWight or Arveleg to play either of them in were cleared comfortably by Fellbeast #1 or Grishnákh. It was the same story when Barad-dûr had the ball. Since their three midfielders were marking their Eriador counterparts, none of them was free to move the ball forward when they recovered possession. Berúthiel, who was playing higher up the pitch than the other midfielders, tried to drop deeper to receive the ball from them, but Eriador’s left-back Arwen shadowed her and gave her no time to turn with the ball. The few times Barad-dûr got the ball to Sauron, he was guarded tightly by Arador and Araphant, and his attempted forward passes were intercepted or blocked before they could reach Castamir. The only free players on either team were on the same side of the pitch: Eriador right-back Asfaloth and Barad-dûr left-back Fellbeast #2. But both were poor on the ball, easily conceding possession whenever they were closed down by the opposing midfielder on the same wing. At one point Asfaloth tried to play a one-two with Arveleg to release him behind Herumor, but his pass was a touch too heavy and it zipped past Arveleg’s feet for a throw-in. When one recalled the metaphor of football as chess on grass, this was perhaps one of the images that comes to mind—a closed game, with pawns (midfielders) locked tightly against each other, allowing no space for either side to break through and allow the stronger pieces (forwards) to threaten the enemy’s position. The only noteworthy moment of the half came when Sauron abandoned trying to get the ball to Castamir and drove forward himself—he dribbled past Araphant with ease, but when Gil-galad stepped up to check his run, he was unable to get past the Elven-king despite his shoulder drops and step-overs, and Araphant recovered to take the ball from him. Soon the half-time was blown. Both sets of supporters were relieved not to have conceded, but they were clearly worried about where the game’s breakthrough would come from. The two teams’ most creative outlets, Sauron and Glorfindel, were double-marked for most of the game, and none of the other players stepped up to take their place. Some Barad-dûr fans pondered whether Alatar could move forward in support of Berúthiel, outnumber Arwen on the right wing, but that would leave Glorfindel with only Sangahyando to track him. Alatar’s timing of his forward run must be perfect. The second half had barely begun when what they had predicted came to pass—Glorfindel lost possession as he tried to make his way past his markers, and Alatar was off like a bolt down the right wing. Berúthiel moved infield, giving Arwen a horrible choice: let Alatar continue his run, or leave Berúthiel unmarked. She chose the latter option, moving out to check the Blue Wizard’s run. Alatar then laid off the ball to the open Queen of Gondor, who skipped past Arador’s sliding challenge and got into Eriador’s penalty box. She stopped when Aragorn stepped up to challenge her, but she back-heeled the ball to Sauron, who shot between Aragorn’s legs. It was a slow ball, but Elrond was unsighted by his own defender and late to make his save. However he managed to stretch enough to push the ball into the post with his fingertips. What a fine save by Elrond! And a marvellous effort by Sauron! The first corner kick of the game happened after fifty minutes has passed. Berúthiel took it, a perfectly-taken kick that seemed to served the ball on a plate for Castamir. But Elrond got a palm on it before the Barad-dûr forward could connect with it. Elrond’s clearance fell to Aragorn, who sent the ball long to Isildur. The Eriador forward headed it into space—and there was Glorfindel to take it in stride. He dribbled past Alatar and rounded a fellbeast, but Grishnákh was there to stand as the last sentinel, covering the angles with his long arms. Glorfindel faked a shot and passed sideways to a charging NogWight. The Eriador midfielder booted the ball with all his might—over the crossbar and into the stands! The Eriador fans groaned, and NogWight struck the ground with both fists in frustration. He’d blown a clear chance in a game where they were hard to come by. The rest of the second half resembled the first—a midfield slog where every pass forward led more to a clearance or interception than to finding a teammate’s foot. Eriador kept a lion’s share of the possession, but the biggest problem was that the players who had most time on the ball—Arveleg and NogWight—were excellent at link-up play, positioning themselves to receive a pass, finding the open teammate, and getting the ball to him, but didn’t have enough technical ability to dribble their way past a determined marker. The second half ended with the game still scoreless. With both teams gassed out due to the chasing and pressing and movement, extra time also ended with little of note. The two teams have to be separated with penalty kicks. Code: Barad-dûr: Eriador: Barad-dûr won the coin-flip, and they elected to shoot first. Sauron stepped up first, barely acknowledging Elrond as he placed the ball on the spot. After taking a few steps back, he charged towards the ball, then slowed down a step before taking his kick; Elrond dove hard to the right, then realised too late that Sauron was waiting for him to move. He then pinged the ball towards Elrond’s left-hand post, becoming the first player in the game to hit the back of the net. Even some Eriador fans were impressed by Sauron’s penalty kick. They hoped that he was the best of them, and that none other of the Barad-dûr players could fool Elrond like that. Code: Barad-dûr: O Eriador: First to shoot for Eriador was Isildur. His was a fiercely-struck rising ball that clanged off the crossbar then crashed hard into the net before Grishnákh could move a muscle. Elrond shouted, ‘Isildur’, warning the striker that his shot was a risky one that could have missed the goal entirely. The son of Elendil shrugged, as if to say, ‘Well, it went in.’ Code: Barad-dûr: O Eriador: O Next up for Barad-dûr was Castamir the Usurper. Here we take time to evaluate that quality all top goalkeepers have: presence, the ability to affect a shooter’s psyche just by being there. Some goalkeepers have presence by dint of their appearance: Huan, Ungoliant, and Beor in bear form are examples of this. Elrond, on the other hand, forged his presence through reputation. He was a top-drawer shot-stopper with excellent reflexes and an uncanny ability to read plays. Most attackers who get into a one-on-one situation with him remember all this, conscious of the fact that they have only a few chances to score against him; this would sometimes cause them overthink their choices and blow their shot. This was exactly what happened to Castamir. Locking eyes with Elrond, he wondered where best to place his shot to fool him, decided to slot it to the right, then despaired as he scuffed his shot, with Elrond saving it easily. Code: Barad-dûr: O X Eriador: O On the other hand, Grishnákh, despite his appearance, wouldn’t inspire fear in the Kings of Men and the Eldar. He was proving to be a good goalkeeper, but he had not yet built up a reputation. Glorfindel stepped up to the spot and completely fooled him with a left-footed shot that he sent right, with the Barad-dûr goalie diving the wrong way. Code: Barad-dûr: O X Eriador: O O Eriador fans cheered. They could smell blood. If Elrond could make one more save, it would put tremendous pressure on Barad-dûr . The next to shoot for them was Alatar. He decided to forgo trickery, firing a powerful low shot for the left post that Elrond could not get to in time despite guessing the direction correctly. Code: Barad-dûr: O X O Eriador: O O Next for Eriador was Gil-galad. Like Sauron, he started with a fast approach but slowed down on his last step before taking the kick. Grishnákh dove right, then realised that he had been fooled when Gil-galad fired a waist-high shot dead center. Code: Barad-dûr: O X O Eriador: O O O After Alatar the shooter for the Black Tower was his fellow Blue Wizard Pallando. Like Alatar, he decided to send the ball to the left. But his shot wasn’t powerful enough, and Elrond got a fingertip on it to push it past the post. Weathertop Arena exploded with cheers. What a save! The next shot for Eriador could win it! Code: Barad-dûr: O X O X Eriador: O O O The new player, NogWight, walked out of the centre circle to take that lonely march to the penalty spot. The stadium was silent. Can he do it? What would he do? Eriador fans asked. They didn’t know enough about their offseason signing to trust him with what could be the final shot. Also, didn’t he miss that chance earlier…? But NogWight didn’t miss this time, sending a rocket of a shot into the top-left corner, giving Grishnákh no chance to get to it. Code: Barad-dûr: O X O X Eriador: O O O O He’s done it! He’s won the game! Elrond and the rest of the Eriador team chased after the Wight as he wheeled away from the penalty box into the touchline. Grishnákh refused to get up from the ground as the Blue Wizards went up to console him. Meanwhile Sauron’s eyes were locked on the Wight who had just eliminated his team, the player whose signature he almost had shortly before the tournament began. Would the results have been different had he been playing for him? He would never know. Exit interviews shall be provided in The Matchday episode next week. Barad-dûr 0-0 Eriador (Eriador wins on penalties 4-2.) Total Shots 7-9 Shots On Target 2-3 YELLOW CARDS 3-2 BDR: Fellbeast #2, Herumor, Angamaitë ERD: Gil-galad, Aragorn SHOOTOUT: 1-0 Sauron (goal) 1-1 Isildur (goal) 1-1 Castamir (saved) 1-2 Glorfindel (goal) 2-2 Alatar (goal) 2-3 Gil-galad (goal) 2-3 Pallando (saved) 2-4 NogWight (goal) __________________ フェンリス鴨 (Fenrisu Kamo) The plot, cut, defeated. I intend to copy this sig forever - so far so good... Last edited by Nilpaurion Felagund; 08-29-2013 at 08:09 PM.

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