Thusfar, the 'roos have been unable to re-secure second position in the 11th group, and are now facing near-certain elimination from qualification as the end is in sight and Eastfield Lodge continues to have a hold on the second position of the group. Today's match against Valanora did not help the 'roos at all, as the 10th ranked team in the world proved just too strong once again for the 'roos to defeat. The away match was going to be one of the most decisive moments for us in this group stage. Having beaten Eastfield Lodge, our priority targets, twice, has proven not to have helped us in gaining a significant advantage over them.
The away match versus Valanora ended up being more of a slaughter than an actual football game with a record number of cards being handed in any match the 'roos have ever played in, but like soldiers holding the barricades in a hopeless battle against an overwhelming force, it was a lost cause, no matter how bravely they fight back.
The match started out poorly enough. In the 18th minute, the Valanorans had taken the lead quickly with good passing techniques. Allandren Fresco found space for the pass and allowed Lucas Hearts to finish it off beautifully. To make matters worse, the second goal fell in a very short timespan after the first one, giving the Valanorans a 2 - 0 advantage over the visiting team, this time from a corner kick, volleyed in by Fresco who was left completely unattended by the defenders. A blunder by the 'roos which led to a wide margin early on.
The signal was clear now to the 'roos. Attack, attack with all might. They mounted up pressure, and retaliated hard, but to their own chagrin, they stumbled upon a wall of defenders and a keeper who was having a very good day. Then an attempted sliding challenge by Paetrov on Elenelwa failed. It resulted in a yellow card.
Another possibility arrived for a wide play into the penalty area. Paetrov runs with the ball with Elenelwa trying to take away possession, then a nasty hit of Paetrov's elbow in the face of Elenelwa led to his second yellow card and he was sent off. 34th minute, the 'roos are already down to 10.
Just before half time, a sliding challenge by Enda leads to an argument between him and Neltanta and is about to escalate as more players interfere in the argument. The referee intervenes quickly and has to separate the two in order to maintain the peace as players from both sides arrive at the scene to stop their teammates from doing anything stupid, but the verdict was already heard, and Enda and Neltanta received a yellow card each.
The second half wasn't much better. The 'roos did not concede any goals but cards continued to be passed onto players at an alarming rate, Enart Kerke looking anxiously from the sidelines at the unfolding match, waiting for that chance for the 'roos that'd bring them back into the game, but finding nothing but frustration.
Then some luck for the 'roos at last in the initial minutes of the first half when the 'roos, still one man down, received their opportunity from the cross by Dizau. It allowed for the header by Yamamoto who brought the scores to 2 - 1. The gap was smaller, but they were still long ways from getting a single point out of this match. The goal brought some motivation back into the match again, as getting level was once again in sight.
Attempt were made, but ended in nothing but frustration, and the 'roos nearly conceded another goal when the Valanorans made their own attempt at widening the margin. A harsh tackle on Fresco by Karp led to another yellow card and a free kick for the Valanorans from a very good position. The shot was taken, but miraculously the keeper managed to tip the ball over the bar for a corner, which was then cleared with a punch away from the keeper.
In the late minutes of the game, a nasty foul by Jevjøki, a completely mistimed tackle, led to another yellow card, marking the 6th one being handed out this game in total, and the 5th one for a players of the 'roos. The match ended in frustration with the scores remaining 2 - 1.
After this defeat, Eastfield Lodge managed to get way ahead of us, and things are looking grim as the 'roos are facing elimination. The chance is still there, but it is growing slim as more opportunities at gaining second place are closing down in the dying phase of the qualifications.
In order to forage enough points, the 'roos will have to draw and win at the minimum. Against the upcoming teams, Karlada and Zona Azul, both of which have already been eliminated, this should pose no problem. The real problem is that this can only be achieved if Eastfield Lodge loses their next match. Only then will we be able to collect together enough points for a place in the play-offs.
The next match the Eastfield Lodgers will be playing is against Triimoria. The Triimorians are one of the teams which still have a chance at qualifying, as long as the 'roos won't win their next matches, and the Triimorians themselves win both of their upcoming matches. Triimoria previously played Eastfield Lodge in an away match and managed to put up quite some resistance, though they still lost by a 1-goal margin.
The possibility still exists that the Triimorians win, which would open up the way for the remaining teams in the groups for the second spot. The chance, however, is slim, but this isn't the first time the 'roos had to rely on the performance of other teams in order to make it through despite the odds. To the 'roos, we wish the best of luck in the match against Karlada, and to the Triimorians, we wish you the best of luck even moreso against Eastfield Lodge.
Results Elsewhere
Chrinthanium 0-0 Triimoria
Eastfield Lodge 1-0 Zona Azul
Carpathia and Ruthenia 1-0 Numbadon
Group 11 Standings
Team P W D L For Ag +/- Pts
1 Valanora 14 11 2 1 25 10 +15 35
2 Eastfield Lodge 15 8 4 3 27 18 +9 28
3 The Kangaroo Republic 14 7 3 4 24 14 +10 24
4 Triimoria 14 7 2 5 24 17 +7 23
5 Carpathia and Ruthenia 14 7 2 5 17 13 +4 23
6 Chrinthanium 14 3 6 5 19 23 -4 15
7 Numbadon 14 3 3 8 15 21 -6 12
8 Zona Azul 15 2 4 9 12 31 -19 10
9 Karlada 14 2 2 10 14 30 -16 8
