Middle-Earth Football World Cup 2007

[Sleepy Ranger]

Group C
Niggle's Parish 0 - 1 Numenor
(Tar-Miriel 32nd)

Numenor scored the only goal of the game which came in a very one sided one half. In the second half Numenor seemed to be taking it easy and letting things happen at their own pace. That one goal however was the result of some superb play. Erendis began the move which ended up consisting of perhaps a dozen quick passes until the ball finally wound up at the feet of Tar-Miriel after being knock on by Tar-Ancalime.

Tar-Miriel first took a fake shot, sending the keeper the wrong way after which he flicked the ball into the goal putting Numenor ahead. After this Numenor did get another brilliant chance when Tar-Miriel crossed in for Ar-Pharzon. The midfielder let the chance go running as he failed to put foot to ball. Niggle's Parish never looked capable of scoring, not even when they got near goal. Numenor did enough to win, no more no less.

Shots: 5(2) - 1(1)
Posession: 58 - 42

Group E
Fangorn 0 - 0 Tol In Gauroth

Horrible game. Total sleeper. I pity the fans who turned up to see this drivel. The tone was set for the game when Ugluk got SENT OFF in just the 10th minute. Things did not seem to get any better for the game as Ranger picked up a yellow card soon after. Just before the break things got ugly and in the heat of the game, Cobbler made a viscious challenge which earned him a red card.

More or less the only chance of the game came when Werewolf leaped at Quickbeam and took him down. The referee was forced to flash another red card and Fangorn had a penalty. Ordinary Villager had to be the stand in goalkeeper. He did not really have to do anything as Treebeard shot well wide and well over. Truly horrible match.

Shots: 1(0) - 2(0)
Posession: 45 - 55
Bookings: Ranger
Sending Offs: Ugluk - Cobbler, Werewolf

***

Numenor did what they had to to win. They played safe and it paid off. Good for them. I'm sorely disappointed at the Fangorn - T.I.G game though. It was a pain to watch.

[Sleepy Ranger]

Group F
Bree 0 - 0 Wooton Major

Wooton Major did very well to hang onto a draw here. Bree should kick themselves for not winning this game considering the chances they created. I'll admit that none of the chances looked threatening at all but on account of the shots they took... I think they should be looking at replays of this game for a long, long time. There isn't much to report except that watch out for an flying balls, some of them still haven't been recovered.

Shots: 21(6) - 3(2)
Posession: 65 - 35

Group G
Rohan 0 - 1 Gondor
(Faramir 82nd)

Rohan dominated most of the posession but failed to use it effectively. Gondor had the best chances despite lacking posession. I don't mean a small difference, I mean a huge difference. Rohan just held the ball for most of the game but whenever Gondor got on the ball it looked like a certain goal. As the scoreline suggests they hardly touched the ball at all.

I've never understood posession football. How is holding the ball supposed to win you the game? Gondor had the right idea, you take the ball, make a kamakaizee run towards the opponent's goal and score. They just that. With the scores locked in the final ten minutes, Faramir knicked the ball off Eomer from his own box. From there the Gondorian made a fantastic sprint all the way to the edge of the Rohan box from where he lashed in a mean drive which nearly tore through the net. Despite the stats, the better team won this game.

Shots: 4(2) - 6(3)
Posession: 66 - 34

***

Both matches were fairly odd. Bree should have capitalized, they may well pay the price for failing to win this while someone needs to teach Rohan how to play football. They kept the game for most of the match but you don't win by passing in midfield. Gondor on the other hand, even with such little posession they played some electrifying football.

[Thenamir]

Wouldn't it have been more sporty to pick up others than the current leaders of the +- board?

I thought "sporting" (as in the Englishism "give 'im a sporting chance") meant that you were at least trying to win...

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Thenamir

I thought "sporting" (as in the Englishism "give 'im a sporting chance") meant that you were at least trying to win...

Touché.

[The Saucepan Man]

Group C: Numenor 1 - 0 Niggle's Parish

Numenor hardly raised a sweat in beating the hopelssly outclassed Niggle's Parish. Tar-Miriel and Tar-Ancalime played well up front, although Ar-Pharazon must have been hoping the ground would swallow him up after that mis-kick. This result assures Numenor a place in the next round, but they now have to play the highly impressive Nargothrond to decide who get's top spot in the Group.

Group E: Fangorn 0 - 0 Tol in Gaurhoth

It's hardly surprising that this game was so dreadful, with Fangorn's slow and ponderous attack and Tol In Gaurhoth's inexperience and poor team spirit. Ugluk's aggression is one of the things that makes him such a great player, but it also earned him a red card in this match. I still think that Fangorn would have done a lot better harnessing his strength and aggression up front. With two TiG players also being sent off, Fangorn should have done better, but they lacked the pace to make use of the extra space. This result puts Misty Mountains through in top spot and Fangorn still have the opportunity to progress. On the evidence of this performance, however, they may be hard pressed to do so. Unlikely as it may have seemed at the outset, I can see Old Grey Hill beating Tol in Gaurhoth to snatch second place in the Group.

Group F: Bree 0 - 0 Wooton Major

It's no surprise that Bree kept a clean sheet as they have a great defence. It is surprising, however, that they weren't able to snatch a goal or three here, particularly with The Old Master, Tom Bombadil, up front. With all those shots, they really really should have put at least two or three of them away. They should still go through to the next round, but they could have secured their place with a better performance here.

Group G: Gondor 1 - 0 Rohan

Unlike the match commentator, I do understand possession football. Teams that can't keep the ball are never going to win trophies (*coughEnglandcough*). Hoever, Rohan showed here that possession is only part of the equation. You need to be able to use it. They have the players to do that, so I can't for the life of me understand why they never perform as they should. A brilliant piece of individual play from Faramir showed Rohan exactly what you should do with the ball when you get it and earned Gondor the victory. The forthcoming match between Gondor and The Inklings will determine second place in this Group (and my money's still on The Inklings), while Edoras beckons for the Riders of Rohan.

Yellow Boot Trophy competition update

No major changes from the last update, just a few additions to the 'one-goalers':

Mormegil (Nargothrond) - 5
Aragorn (Arnor) - 3
Mablung (Doriath) - 3
Hurin (Gondolin) - 3
Farmer Giles (Ham) - 3
Melkor (Angband) - 2
Thuringwethil (Angband) - 2
Sleepy Ranger (Barrow-Downs) - 2
The phantom (Barrow-Downs) - 2
Tailbiter (Ham) - 2
JRR Tolkien (Inklings) - 2
Dwalin (Misty Mountains) - 2
Dark Lord (Mordor) - 2
Finwe (Tuna) - 2
Rune Son of Bjarne (Barrow-Downs) - 1
The Saucepan Man (Barrow-Downs) -1
Tom Bombadil (Bree) - 1
Turin (Dor Lomin) -1
Bard (Erebor) - 1
Skinbark (Fangorn) - 1
Turgon (Gondolin) - 1
Faramir (Gondor) -1
Christopher Tolkien (Inklings) - 1
Amroth (Lothlorien) - 1
Gandalf (Lothlorien) - 1
Stone Giant (Misty Mountains) - 1
Witch-King (Mordor) - 1
Shagrat (Mordor) - 1
Durin’s Bane (Moria) - 1
Felagund (Nargothrond) - 1
Atkins (Niggle’s Parish) - 1
Tar-Ancalime (Numenore) - 1
Tar-Miriel (Numenore) - 1
Guest (Old Grey Hill) - 1
William (Rivendell) - 1
Gilraen (Rivendell) - 1
Roverandum (Roverandum) - 1
Frodo (Tol Eressea) - 1
Pippin Took (The Shire) -1
Finarfin (Tuna) -1
Maedhros (Tuna) -1
Fairy Queen (Wooton Major) - 1

[Sleepy Ranger]

Alright! The final round fixtures are here. I'm hoping that I could get a couple of volunteers to help me right the match. The only requirement is that you have decent knowledge of the sport. I'll send you the match details along with notes on the match. All you have to do is put in paragraph form. While it doesn't seem like much, it would really be a big help.

Also, do let me know (by PM) which matches and how many, you wish to cover.

Without further ado, onto the final fixtures. (These matches are to be played over the next two days)

Group A
Angband vs. Valinor
Moria vs. Erebor

Group B
Lothlorien vs. Tuna
Shire vs. Brethil

Group C
Nargothrond vs. Numenor
Buckland vs. Niggle's Parish

Group D
Tol Eressea vs. Roverandom
Mordor vs. Dor Lomin

Group E
Misty Mountains vs. Fangorn
Old Grey Hill vs. Tol In Gauroth

Group F
Wooton Major vs. Mirkwood
Bree vs. Gondolin

Group G
Inklings vs. Gondor
Barrow-Downs vs. Rohan

Group H
Arnor vs. Ham
Rivendell vs. Doriath

[Sleepy Ranger]

Here we are with the final round for Group A. The matches will be played simultaneously so that the results are not influenced. Angband have already qualified while both Valinor and Moria are in a must win situation. Erebor should make ith through with just a draw as many people have predicted that Valinor do not stand a chance against Angband. We'll have to see how things work out.

Group A

Angband 0 - 2 Valinor
(Eonwe 15th, Tulkas 36th)

Angband started off the match quite comfortably, creating the first chance of the game when Ulfang shot just wide of target. They maintained decent pressure for a while but then to everybody's shock Valinor scored a goal. Tulkas managed to get a pass forward after he was superbly marked out. The defenders failed to deal with the pass as it wound up with Eonwe who lofted in a shot despite being closed down. Angband nearly equalized moments later when Melkor blazed a header wide.

Much to everyone's surprise Valinor did the impossible, they scored again. This time Eonwe crossed in for Tulkas who headed the ball down and then volleyed it in quite powerfully putting Valinor in quite a good position. Angband seemed to be quite frustrated and weighed down. This was emphasized when Gothmog made a rash challenge earning him a yellow card. The half ended with Angband down two goals.

Angband played with a fire in their belly through out the second half managing to break on goal several times. They played masterfully but Valinor defended as if their lives defended on it. Angband looked good enough not only to equalize but also to go on and win it, instead poor finishing handed them a two goal loss.

Shots: 9(3) - 3(2)
Posession: 55 - 45
Bookings: Gothmog

Moria 1 - 0 Erebor
(Balin 5th)

What an amazing start for Moria. Durin headed the ball towards Balin who took it past a defender with his first touch and then blazed in a fantastic shot. Game on! The rest of the half was pretty fiercly contested. Both teams managed some very good build ups both unfortunately failed to really threaten.

Erebor completetly dominated posession in the second half but really failed to do anything with it. The second half was of fairly poor quality with neither team really creating anything. The match drew to a close with Moria ahead thanks to an early goal.

Shots: 4(2) - 4(2)
Posession: 40 - 60

***

Quite a shocking day. Both teams that were desperate for a win, Valinor and Moria, managed to win. Now let's see how things turned out, here are the final standings of Group A.

Group A
1st- Angband (6pts, +1)
2nd- Valinor (4pts, +1)
3rd- Moria (4pts, -1)
4th- Erebor (3pts, -1)

Valinor have managed to qualify, beating the team on form. They may have done quite bad in their first two matches but they've done the hard part to make it through. Angband and Valinor will be going on to the next round.

[Sleepy Ranger]

This group is closed. Nargothrond and Numenor have six points each and book have book their berths in the next round. Their match will be a face off for top of the group while Buckland taking on Niggle's Parish will be a fairly insignificant event. None the less, the match must be played. Now, to the games!

Group C
Nargothrond 0 - 0 Numenor
Buckland 0 - 0 Niggle's Parish

Both games were fairly boring events. Nargothrond and Numenor seemed relaxed and neither tried to attack at all. They both played good holding football, building up in midfield but never really going forward. As for the other match, that was even more boring. Honestly, neither team wanted to be out there. They didn't really play well at all, with the ball being out of play most of the match. Neither of the games had anything really noteworthy happen. I was very surprised that Nargothrond did not attack but what does it matter, they've topped the group anyway.

Group C
1st- Nargothrond (7pts, +5)
2nd- Numenor (7pts, +4)
3rd- Buckland (1pt, -3)
4th- Niggle's Parish (1pt, -4)