World Cup 62 - The RP thread

[West Angola]

MATCH COVERAGE: WEST ANGOLA AT EURA

Pre-Match: Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, and welcome to tonight's edition of the West Angolan Sporting Network. I'm Michael Davis, and with me here in the studio is my co-host Isaac Hamilton. This evening we'll be bringing you all the action in West Angola's crucial Group Five match against Eura, the group favorites and almost sure champions. West Angola sits second in the group right now, owing to an upset of Phoenigetuzstha, and needs to beat them a second time in order to secure a playoff berth for the first time in team history. Phoenigetuzstha defeated Birolika 3-0 earlier today, which means West Angola must upset Eura ro maintain their two-point hold on second place. If they lose, they will fall a point back into third. Either way, they will likely still need to beat Phoenigetuzstha in the match following this one, but could conceivably still qualify with a loss, although that would require a win tonight.

Let's now go live to John Usiak, who will be bringing you all the action live from Bastion as it unfolds. John?

Thank you Mike. West Angola was absolutely crushed in Namibe when they played "Eura" in the first half of qualifying, losing 3-0 against a team whose identity was concealed, and it is still not known exactly who played that night. Coach Phillip Garren was nearly sent off in that match as he argued vehemently throughout that the masked team should not have been allowed to play, and the match should in fact have been recorded as a forfeit win for West Angola. He looks more in control tonight, but questions still abound as to the identity of the Euran team who played in the first match. I’m not sure who’s playing tonight, Mike, once again their identity is concealed, but I can say there is a team here warming up, so the match most likely will go on.

I’m going to try to get a word with the referee, who I believe is over here, about the precedent for substitute teams. Let’s see, excuse me, excuse me, Mr. Plibbl- Oh my.- Ahh, it appears the referee is unavailable for comment Mike. Let’s move away quickly.

Alright, Mike. It looks like we’re set to get started, so I’ll stop talking for a while and let the match get going. I’ll break in periodically with my comments and analysis, but otherwise enjoy the game!

31st Minute: Mike, one of the Euran players just opened the scoring in what has been a very tight match. As inept as Kerys is, I can't fault him for not saving that shot, that was one of the best scoring attempts I've seen in my career. One of the Euran midfielders, let's call him "James," played an excellent ball and passed to one of the forwards, who we'll call "George". George wove through the defense like I've only seen a couple men do in my time covering the team, blasting a volley that curved from one side of the goal to the other while in flight, snapping the net back and putting Eura up 1-0 here in the first half. The solace for West Angola is that, by this point in Namibe, Eura was up 2-0 and was looking completely dominant in a match they won easily. Here, the two sides have played extremely well, and this appears to be a very evenly fought match. It'll be interesting to see how this ends up, if West Angola can break through the defense, we might see some scoring out of them this time.

48th Minute: There's the whistle, Mike, and the teams are heading for the locker room. Eura still leads 1-0, but this game could just as easily by tied or a lead for West Angola but for a few breaks that have gone the home team's way. Michael Larssen and James McDaniels have each had good scoring opportunities, but shots have glanced off the crossbar, or flown completely over the goal, or just stopped, as one shot by McDaniels beat the keeper but hit a bad spot on the pitch and died, failing to roll the final few feet into the goal. West Angola needs to keep the pressure up in the second half if they're going to win this match, needing a couple goals in order to give themselves the lead. It should be interesting to see how the teams restructure their strategies in the second half with a game as close as this one.

87th Minute: MICHAEL LARSSEN SCORES!!!!! Michael Larssen equalizes late in the match with a beautiful shot that absolutely froze the Euran keeper, whom we'll call "Hector." Larssen and McDaniels played very well, weaving back and forth and dropping off short passes to each other as they passed, a strategy which confused the defense and allowed Larssen to break through with an excellent shot past Hector. Larssen's goal brought the small contingent of West Angolan fans in the stadium to their feet, and the roar was as loud as I've ever heard a visiting team's fans yell, and Larssen's victory lap brought cheers from all corners of the stadium. A draw here would be a huge victory for West Angola, as they need to get whatever points they can tonight to keep themselves close to Phoenigetuzstha in the standings.

93rd Minute: Mike! West Angola has taken the lead! James McDaniels has just put West Angola up 2-1 with a massive goal to give the visiting underdogs a narrow lead and allowed them to glimpse victory for the first time in the entire match. West Angola's fans, silent for much of the match, have found their voice in the last five minutes. They are chanting the names of both forwards alternately, and are as lively as I've seen them on the road throughout the tournament. McDaniels didn't get to take a victory lap after his goal, he disappeared underneath a massive pile of his teammates, and every single person watching on TV wants to be in this stadium right now, celebrating with the team.

95th Minute: There's the final whistle Mike! West Angola has just won a huge victory over Eura! A dramatic upset of the group leaders has just allowed West Angola to hold on to second place, and the West Angolan fans in the stadium tonight are storming the pitch. I think I'm going to join them, Mike, so I'll send it back to you in the studio, goodbye from Bastion! YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post-Match: Well, there you have it ladies and gentlemen. With a gutsy 2-1 come-from-behind victory, West Angola maintains their hold on second place in the group and keeps their hopes to reach the playoffs alive in Group Five. With the final match in Group Five now complete, let's take a look at the standings for that group:

  Group 5                               Pld   W   D   L   GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 The FSSO                                11   9   1   1   29   10   19    28
2 West Angola                             11   8   0   3   20    9   11    24
3 Phoenigetuzstha                         11   7   1   3   30   15   15    22
4 Free South Califas                      11   6   2   3   23   14    9    20
5 Union Isle                              11   5   2   4   19   17    2    17
6 High Heels                              11   3   1   7   14   24  -10    10
7 Birolika                                11   1   1   9    4   24  -20     4
8 Charruterra                             11   1   0   10   6   32  -26     3

As you can see, West Angola, despite hanging on, still has only a tenuous lead. The key remains their match against each other, and both West Angola and Phoenigetuzstha face a must-win situation tomorrow night when they face off in Namibe. Now let's take a look at West Angola's remaining schedule, and how well they can hope to finish:

West Angolan Match Schedule:
1. vs. Charruterra (265) W 4-0
2. at Birolika (324) W 2-0
3. vs. High Heels (226) W 1-0
4. vs. The FSSO (5) L 0-3
5. at Phoenigetuzstha (38) W 2-0
6. vs. Union Isle (144) W 2-0
7. at Free South Califas (95) L 1-3
Off-Day
8. at Charruterra (265) W 3-0
9. vs. Birolika (324) L 1-2
10. at High Heels (226) W 2-0
11. at The FSSO (5) W 2-1
12. vs. Phoenigetuzstha (38)
13. at Union Isle (144)
14. vs. Free South Califas (95)

Won (8) Lost (3) Drawn (0) Should Win (1) Might Win (1) Toss-Up (0) Might Lose (1) Should Lose (0)
Should Win denotes 85%-100% Chance of Winning, Might Win denotes 61%-84%, Toss-Up denotes 45%-60%, Might Lose denotes 31%-44%, and Should Lose denotes 0%-30%

Projected Final Record: 10-0-4
Projected Group Finish: 2nd

So as you can see, West Angola can now lose to Phoenigetuzstha and still qualify, provided they win out except for that and Phoenigetuzstha doesn't beat Eura when they square off two days from now in Bastion. A West Angolan qualification would be the first in team history, and a second-place group finish would be their highest yet. Everyone in West Angola is hoping and praying for this to happen, and for all those at the West Angolan Sporting Network, for myself, Isaac Hamilton, and John Usiak, I'm wishing you good night, and God Bless!

[Bears Armed]

“Viktor Pilsner? That is you, isn’t it?” enquires the tourist[?] when he’d nearly reached the couple’s table. “I have a letter for you from” The male Bear makes a gesture in his direction that manages to convey the simultaneous messages “Sit down at this table” and “Stop talking”… and the man, who is sweating a bit despite the large fans that are turning overhead, promptly complies with these instructions.

The Bears both pick up copies of the menu and begin to look through these, while the man who's now sharing their table simply sips his sarsparilla. After a little while the band returns to the stand, and begins to play 'The Tarantella'. Viktor passes his menu across to the human, murmuring something quietly, and the man skims its contents briefly before passing it back with -- as careful observers might have noticed -- an envelope that he'd inserted between two of the pages. Perhaps fortunately, no officers from any Coalition forces are currently present in the place.
After a short discussion with his female companion Viktor holds his copy of the menu (without that envelope, which he has slipped into one of his jacket pockets) up in the air, to signal to the staff that they're now ready to order. A waiter comes over to them and takes down the details of what the Bears want, but the human who'd been sitting there decides against having a meal too. Once the waiter is out of the way again he excuses himself, and wanders off towards the back room and the gambling... Viktor shrugs.
"For his sake, let's hope that he's better with cards, or maybeso with the dice, than... Well, anyhows."

Meanwhile, inside the coffee-shop down the road, Hrrick is waiting for a meeting with the [human] owner of a rival establishment -- Signor Alfa-Romeo, of the 'Norwegian Blue' Café -- who had requested his presence there on "a matter of some importance".


And, out at sea, a tramp steamer called the ' Valettan Falcon', is gradually drawing closer to Marroq with a mixed cargo of cut timber, fuel oil (in drums), cooking oil (ditto), scaks of rice and of wheat-flour, a small amount of European-style clothing, tobacco (some of which, instead of being in one of the actual holds, is in a smaller compartment that "mysteriously" is accessible only through a trapdoor under the chief officer's bunk and is absent from the vessel's blueprints...), and sundry other goods with relatively low value-to-bulk ratios...


_________________________________________________________________

(OOC: No, the envelope that the tourist passed to Viktor doesn't contain the missing 'letters of transit'.)

[Aguazul]

"Okay," said Coke. "About the whole home stadium thing."

"Yes?"

"Port Lever FC, when they're playing their league games, they have a home stadium, do they not?"

"Yes, but..."

"No, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that even though they do, that doesn't necessarily mean that the national team should play there, because if the foreign teams were all showing up and descending upon the largest field in the country, the occupying forces just might notice."

"More or less, yes."

"Good! Because it's the obvious state of affairs. It's obvious to me, and it's obvious to you, and it'll be obvious to everyone, including the occupying forces. That's why we should go in and just do it under their noses."

"Go...and...what?"

"I almost think we should have the games pretty soon after the Port Lever games. Sneak the visitors in with the other fans, who are coming from all over anyway, just have them hide out in the clubhouse for a few hours after, then play late that night."

"Look, you recognize that there are fans from Aguazul who follow groups other than their own, correct?"

"Of course. Look at you, you're watching all these games..."

"If you're just trying to hide away and make sure no one from Aguazul sees that team Blackacre exists, it won't work. Besides, don't you want to inspire the people to rise up?"

"Of course! But you're the one who said we need to work out this stadium business in advance."

"There are other places to play. It's not standard, but in a case like this, I think we bid for sympathy and take the cause worldwide."

"Claudia, look at yourself."

She paused, tilting her head down and squinting. "Beer goggles?"

"It has to be at home. We can't just have people watching on TV, they might as well watch Aguazul."

"They do watch Aguazul."

"Exactly! We have to give them a chance, to have their own team right there. And yeah, there are going to be risks, but..."

"But only to the people who know what they're getting themselves into. You can't bring a stadium full of fans who didn't sign on for revolution into the firing line, that's not fair."

"They will! Give them half a chance, and they'll be with us?"

"Half a chance? You think we haven't had half a chance before?"

"A full, you know what I mean..."

"That my old group, the generations before us, wasn't half a chance?"

"You were...unlucky. And disorganized."

"I'm a lot luckier than some of us."

"So lucky, yes, that you fled your homeland, and why? Because you couldn't play a silly game anymore?"

"A silly game?!"

"Okay, you know what I..."

"No. You think it's just a silly game. And you expect it, somehow, to change people's minds."

(Salomón 24, Carballo 43, Urquiza 62, Pedroso 80; forward 71)

[Armed Bears]

"And are our promised passengers ready to board?"

"They are, I think," replies that man, who then converses briefly in Arabic with the Reff elder in Arabic. The elder gives an order to one of his followers, who goes over to one of the cloth-roofed shelters and speaks to somebody there... and from out of that hollow climb eleven Bears, five adults and six children, who are dressed in ragged robes. They all look decidely nervous, except for the second-youngest of the children who simply seems curious instead, but at a gesture from the Reff they approach Algy who addresses them in the Ursine language. Thsi conversation goes awkwardly, becaue their native dialect is obviously quite different from any of the ones that he knows, but eventually they are confident enough in his good intent to board the plane.

Algy follows them aboard, pulling up the steps and closing the door behind him, and gives a "Hokay" hand-signal to a somewhat younger he-Bear who's waiting a little way inside.
"Get our new friends harnessed-up in and settled properly, Ginger, hrright? I'll take over the pilot's seat for the return trip, with Beartie as co-pilot. Take-off in maybeso eight moments"

"Hokay."

Algy then heads into the cockpit, leaving 'Ginger' to sort out the passengers whom it turns out don't understand any form of Ursine that he speaks very well either. Eventually, by means of gestures, he gets them to sit in some of the fold-down canvas seats that line one side of the mid-fuselage and to accept being strapped in place. They'd brought a few sacks and small boxes of possessions with them, and under his direction they placed those in a larger box that's fastened firmly to the both that wall and the floor before sitting down. As the plane begins it take-off run three of the adults begin an Ursion prayer, and all of the others quickly join in with this.

[Yelvoldia]

"We lost yet again, Bob."

"I know, John. That means we're well and truly out."

"Tell me you're joking, right?"

"I'm not."

"FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..."

"No need to get so upset, dude."

"I knew those badgers were shite! And McLeod failed to score for the second match running."

"Mate, what is it with you and our badgers? Why do you think they're shite? They're just as intelligent as you and I."

"They're badgers."

"And?"

"Er...I dunno."

"On the subject of the game, we lost to Cassadaigua. 4-0 at home. It was expected, though. It was always going to be tough against the people who are 11th in the world. We were always going to lose."

"Why couldn't we replicate our away draw with them the last time we played them?"

"That was a fluke."

"I guess it was. I was at the game, played at the National Stadium in Qervagrad, and it was terribly disappointing. We were all booing the players off the pitch, big time. Including me."

"Lucky you. Pity we lost."

"That was my second game watching our national team. The first was that 5-0 win at home to Mantwenic. Bye Bob."

"Bye John."

[Milchama]

"Sicoutimont!"

"Sicoutimont!"

"What a great game!"

"Yeah first we win, in another really close game and then Michael VII loses"

"I can't believe it"

"Well I can because it just happened"

"You know I'm saying that as a turn of phrase"

"Yes"

"So then don't give me so much crap for it"

"I think you need to be more specific in your use of language"

"No I don't. Look we both know that language is a metaphor that we use as an easy of symbol of communication but without any inherent or internal meaning. We also know that all metaphors have blindspots and therefore language has blindspots and will fail as a metaphor. This is why there are sayings like 'a picture is worth a thousand words' or 'words can't describe that.'"

"Sure, whatever. Look we need to stop getting into these philosophical discussions every time we discuss Milchama"

"Why I like it"

"I do sometimes but it gets annoying after awhile"

"Fair"

"So then let's look ahead"

"At what?"

"Well we have 3 games left in qualifying"

"Oh yeah"

"Those games"

"Right that's rather important"

"Exactly"

"So then let's focus there"

"When do we play Valladares"

"In two matchdays"

"Can we beat them?"

"Well we're at home, in slightly better form but I think what's more important right now is to beat Azox tomorrow so that we can maintain our position"

"Why?"

"Because if we draw Valladares along with winning our other two games we get to the playoffs"

"Really?"

"Yeah we're three points up on Michael VII, they can only get back to us if they win and we lose. We draw and we stay one point ahead"

"Which is all that's necessary"

"Exactly"

"So then we just need to not lose"

"Well actually we just need to win"

"That's obviously preferable, I'm just thinking realistically"

"Fair, however, we have 3 games left and they are all important and we need to treat them as such"

"True, I should not have gotten ahead of myself"

"Let's hope the Warriors do the same"

"Yeah"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Svengarda]

Extracts from HTV1 Sport coverage of Svengarda vs Slembana

Pre Match: Hello and welcome to HTV1, and we're live here at the Kalstrørm-Oss football ground in South Korska. We're just minutes away from kick off between Svengarda & Slembana. The reverse of this fixture saw a defeat for the Ice Hawks in a close game. But now the Ice Hawks are at home, and they will have every belief that they can go on and win today.the lineup for the Ice Hawks is as follows:

GK: Toms Holt

RB: K. Storstrand
CB: T. Thomasson
CB: T. Lindstørm (C)
LB:  G. Raske

RM: H. Lager
CM: B. Harmandsson
CM: S. Steffansson
LM: J. Vang

ST: S. Danielsen
ST: T. Waaserson

4th Minute: Long ball from Rawlinson, aiming for Dagens, but it's intercepted by Raske. Raske takes it forward, into the Slembanan half. Raske slides it into the path of Danielsen. He takes it round Adobe and into the area, Danielsen strikes! Ooooh..just over the bar. It just didn't dip enough. Goal kick Slembana.

19th Minute: Corner kick for Svengarda, Ruotsalainen to take it. He swings it in, flicked on by Vang! Steffansson gets to it! Oh great stop by Gapman, and it's away by Adobe. Now it springs a counter attack for Slembana, Kylx is through, past Lindstorm and in on goal. Round the keeper and this is surely a goal! NO! He's somehow...somehow missed....my word he's put it over the bar. He'd wheeled off to celebrate, only to accompanied by rapturous jeers from the Svenga fans. Oh dear. Kylx walks back, clearly annoyed with himself. He never misses those!

23rd Minute: Maxet has it now, and he shifts it out to Yalnif, and he takes it down the right wing. He plays it in over Olhouser, and Barlow picks up it, but in comes Luka Jarvinen, oh! Barlows down. Referee Longfellows points to the spot, and the Svenga players are swarming the referee, but he's not changing his mind. It didn't look like one, Barlow went down very easily. Kylx will take the spot kick, retribution for his frightful miss 5 minutes ago. Kylx against Holt. Kylx calms himself. Steps up! SAVED! My word what a dismal penalty. He tried to just roll it into the centre of the goal, Holt was having none of it and just stepped forward to gather it up. The day gets worse and worse for Val Kylx.

31st Minute: Harmandsson, the new favoured central midfielder, has it now in the centre of midfield. He passes it out to Jazēpz Vang out on the left, and then he knocks a clever ball back to Harmandsson who takes it to the corner of the area. He stops it, plays it back to Steffansson who takes one look and crosses across the pitch, finding Lager. Lager steps inside Potts and plays the ball to the far post! Danielsen's there, lays it back, and BERN HARMANDSSON IS THERE! Goal for Svengarda! 1-0! And the crowd are ecstatic. Harmandsson and Danielsen are over in the corner, milking the home fans applause! Super move from Svengarda finished off by an easy stroke from the man from Lapuna.

42nd minute: Free kick for Slembana. Kylx will take it. It's about 20 yards out, and slightly to the right of the D. There is a three man wall, plus a further 6 defenders in the area. Kylx whips it in, Barlow heads it down, Thomasson scrambles for it, but Valfern is charging in! My word! He's missed! Another gaping goal, all he had to do was keep it low, but he's ballooned it over the crossbar. Slembana just aren't firing today.

**Half Time**

49th Minute: Svengarda swarm forward again, this time with Waaserson with the ball at his feet. He approaches the area, and it's 2-on-3. He has Svein Danielsen in support. He dummies the pass and is into the area, and he takes a shot. Parried by Gapman, Danielsen with the rebound, but Adobe snuffs it out with a strong tackle. Almost 2-0 to Svengarda.

58th minute: Corner for Slembana. Dagens to take it. He slides it out to Tarnix, who lines up a shot, and it's brilliantly saved by Holt. But it's only as far Dagens again, who clips it back in. Kylx with the shot! Thunders off the crossbar and out of play. Just no luck for the young Kylx today.

64th Minute: Holt has the ball at the back and he rolls it out to Raske. Raske plays it central to Thomasson. He plays the long ball to Harmandsson, who plays it brilliantly through to Waaserson, but Adobe gets there ahead of him, and he looks to knock it back. Uh oh, he's put his foot under it! And its over the head of Gapman and it rolls into the open net! Awful for Adobe! Gapman just stands there, hands on his hips, staring into space. The Svenga players are celebrating in the centre circle, and that gives the Ice Hawks a vital cushion.

75th minute: Total domination for Svengarda here, as they come again at the tired Slembanan goal. They've run the defence ragged, and I wouldn't be surprised if they grabbed another goal. Waaserson has the ball on the by line. Brilliant twist from him leaves Rawlinson stranded as he darts into the area. He plays the ball across, but S. Danielsen can't reach it and it rolls out of play for a goal kick

83rd minute: Do Slembana have some life in them? They're on the attack, with Dagens controlling the ball well midway into the Svenga half. He chips it over to Kylx who takes it into the area. Takes a shot, and it richohets off Lindstørm. OH! It's a Slembanan penalty. Must have struck the hand. It happened so fast that I didn't see it, but Lindstørm seems fairly accepting of it. Can Kylx net this penalty and bring Slembana back into the game. He missed the last one, but can he score here? The Slembana section of the crowd are silent, but the 19,000 Svenga fans certainly aren't. He steps up! And MISSES! AGAIN! It's skied over the crossbar. Dear oh dear....

90+2 minute: Almost done here, a minute to go. Slembana with the throw in, and it's thrown to Dagens. He takes it along the wing, and crosses it in to Kylx, who traps it. Round Thomasson, and he slams it into the top left hand corner. A consolation goal for Kylx, who's had a dismal day. And there's the final whistle. A victory for Svengarda. They're already out, but it's good confidence building. A stunning performance, and the 2-1 scoreline flatters Slembana a bit, who were frankly poor.

[Krytenia]

Ug-Ug Know How To Pack Bags
By Rami Niblick in Emberton

IT was supposed to be the perfect marriage. The seamless perfection of Frosty Football, and the breathless energy of System Munitis.

It was supposed to be the appointment that finally got rid of the age-old Krytenian tag of "nearly men".

It failed, miserably.

With Krytenia standing eight points from salvation with three games to pay, the KFA and Ug-Ug decided to end their five-year association, by "mutual consent". Personally, I'm in the opinion that the mutual consent in this case was that Ug-Ug consented that the team were doing badly, and the suits consented that it was all the fault of the Frostican.

The Association, however, did have an unexpected trick up their sleeve. Taking over as caretaker manager will be former New Cefn Albion and Krytenia midfielder Rhydian Fallon. Fallon, 36, will have just three games to test his mettle before, as is grudgingly expected, the Aces make a rather unscheduled stop at the Cup of Harmony for the first time in almost eighty years.

[The Archregimancy]

Confidential Memorandum

From: Fr. Polycarp the Venerable

To: The Monastic Football Association,

Dear Brothers in Christ,

I join you in remembering today Saint Joannicius the Great, the Hieromartyrs Nicander, Bishop of Myra, and Hermas the Presbyter, and the other Orthodox saints and martyrs we commemorate this day.

As you know, it was with a weary heart that I consented to temporarily return from retirement to take charge of the Archregimancy's national team for the away match against Andossa Se Mitrin Vega while Fr. Basil stayed behind so as to avoid a repeat of the unfortunate 'bucket incident' that caused so much ill-feeling with the group's top seeds. Incidentally, given that a prominent referee has refused to convert to Orthodoxy because of Fr. Basil's behaviour, you may wish to consider whether his challenges to the sins and hypocrisy of his fellow man - while standing in a robust and long-standing Orthodox tradition - are perhaps counterproductive to our image in the non-Orthodox nations of Ordinary Reality.

I am pleased to report that, for the most part, we were given a surprisingly warm welcome by the heathens for yesterday's match, though a certain amount of crowd banter was directed towards our squad. This was only to be anticipated, and was accepted in the intended spirit.

As to the match itself, in all the time I have been involved in, or observing, World Cup qualification, stretching all the way back to World Cup 24, I have never seen a goal as blessed as ours.

We were outshot 25-2 by the Vegans; and neither of our shots were on-target. They hit the woodwork 7 times. Fr. Ephraim made 16 saves, some of them surely divinely ordained given that in most cases he seemed oblivious to the presence of the ball, so powerfully focused was he on his exemplary - if somewhat exhausting - prayer regime, which he refused to interrupt even for a football match against the second-ranked team in the tournament.

Given last night's events, the curious events of the previous matchday in Geisenfried, the fact that we have come away from four points from two tough away matches, the Vegans' unanticipated struggles against Equatorial Sarmen and the vile heathen unholy 'temple' of Bacon Strips, and the fact we currently sit top of the group....

Perhaps it is time for you to consider what must have seemed unthinkable when you picked the current squad:

Maybe God actually wants us to qualify, and however distasteful His will may seem to be in this case, it is our duty as Orthodox monastics to accept His will.

As Saint Silouan the Athonite once wrote:

The Holy Spirit sets us all on different paths: one man lives a life of silent solitude in the desert; another prays for mankind; still another is called to minister to Christ's flock; to a fourth it is given to comfort or preach to the suffering; while yet another serves his neighbour by his goods or by the fruits of his labour—and all these are gifts of the Holy Spirit given in varying degrees: to one man thirtyfold, to another sixty and to some an hundred.

If we loved one another in simplicity of heart the Lord through the Holy Spirit would show us many miracles and reveal great mysteries.

God is love insatiable.

My mind is arrested in God, and I leave writing....

How clear it is to me that the Lord steers us. Without Him we cannot even think a good thing. Therefore we must humbly surrender ourselves to the will of God, that the Lord may guide us.

I recommend that you pray henceforth for guidance on this difficult issue.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, even unto ages of ages,

Fr. Polycarp +

[Polar Islandstates]

Prologue
The Bjarnese Problem
The Boy in Blue
A New Partner
Detective Roadblock
Terrace Chants
The Bjarnarey Floater
Marian Nordberg
The Dockland Monument
The Seaman's Widow
The Spiral Notebook
Exclusion Zone


Shaking a Tail

“You two know each other?” said Klimpt, surprised.

“Oh yeah,” I replied without sounding impressed, “we go way back. Wait, how do you know him?”

“He’s been skulking around the office for days now, trying to find out what’s going on.” said Klimpt, folding his arms.

“Yeah, and a fat lot of good you’ve been.” interrupted Nordberg.

“Is he always this charming?” Klimpt snapped with a flick of his head.

“Pretty much,” answered Skye flatly.

“So, if you’ll just let me in on this great mystery of yours, Lillehammer, I’ll be on my way.” said Nordberg.

“Not likely.”

“Well why ever not? You’ve already taken on two other guys now, you must be looking for extra pairs of hands.”

I scowled at Nordberg. He really was the most smarmy of human beings. Klimpt and Skye hopped into the boat. I made to follow suit.

“Get lost, Nordberg,” said Skye, aggressively, “you’re bugging me.”

“Yeah, this is our case, not yours.” I added.

“Now listen, you,” said Nordberg, stepping forwards with a quick pace and a half and grabbing my coat collar in his fist. He leered closer to me. I could smell his rotten breath, he smelled like he’d been swilling the polluted waters and the musty smell coming off that stupid deerstalker was choking. With an evil glint in his eye he leaned even closer, and said, “if you don’t tell me what’s going on around here, I’ll just have to find out the hard way.”

Swinging round and catching me by surprise, he hung me over the side of the pontoon, only the strength of my coat collar keeping me above the cold waters of the lagoon.

“Yeah, right, we’ll see about that.” muttered Klimpt, and with a roar of the engine he kicked the boat into life, shooting forwards a few feet and slamming into the pontoon and sending both Nordberg and myself tumbling onto the planks. Scrambling, I broke free of his grasp and dived into the boat, landing at Skye’ feet.

“Go!” I shouted, but Klimpt didn’t need telling, and he was already gunning the boat back down the canal, twisting and weaving between the traffic just as he had done before.

I hauled myself up with the help of Skye’s outstretched arm and looked behind us. It would appear that Nordberg wasn’t to be denied this time however, and he had already half-inched another boat and was pursuing us down the canal. The lengths that he was going to in order to protect his reputation was scary. With a steely look on his face, he was piloting his own boat expertly, and it wasn’t long before he was catching us up. For all of Klimpt’s experience, the extra weight in out boat was playing into Nordberg’s hands.

We dodged and ducked and dived around other traffic in the canal, but Nordberg followed us all the way. Twisting through the Bjarnese canals we took all the shortcuts Klimpt knew, but whatever engine was on the boat Nordberg stole was out-muscling ours, and no amount of local knowledge was rectifying that. The engines roared with their chugging growl, screaming in protest at the work that they were being called upon to do. Twisting on the spot, Klimpt shot the boat forwards under a drawbridge that was closing ahead of us, only to see Nordberg just about make it himself as the bridge shut with a clunk.

“Any ideas?” I called to Klimpt, who was looking worriedly over shoulder with every corner.

“One!” he called, and made a beeline straight for the exclusion zone.

As we approached the zone, more and more police notices warned us of the canals that were closed ahead, and we swerved down a dead end residential area with several private jetties that were dark, hidden from the view of the main canal, and surrounded by struts that supported the houses around us. Quickly killing the engine, Klimpt dived down in the boat and beckon to us to follow.

Lying still, we could hear the approaching engine of Nordberg’s boat going slower as he wondered where we were. Waves lapped up against our boat, rocking us gently up and down. Through the struts that supported the buildings we could see his boat making its way slowly down an adjoining jetty.

Klimpt held his fingers to his lips, and slowly stood up in the boat as Skye and I watched.

“Where are you going?” I whispered hoarsely.

“Going to make a little phonecall.” he said, holding up his phone, jumping for a rope swinging from an overhanging balcony and shimmying his way up the building. With an ability that seemed innate to the native Bjarnese he quickly climbed the outside of the building, and was soon stood on a balcony on the highest floor, leaning casually and swinging his feet through the railings.

“Yeah, yeah!” he started saying, artificially loudly.

The engine in the next jetty was quickly killed.

“I know, yeah. That’s what I said,” continued Klimpt as Skye and myself made ourselves as low as we could in the boat, “I know, anyway, I’ve got these two detectives with me at the moment. Yeah, at my apartment, yeah. Er, now? Nah, don’t bother man. Tell you what, we’ll meet for a drink. Yeah? I can explain the case to you then. Yeah. The Cuttle Lodge? Say, five o’clock? Sounds good. See you later man, yeah. Bye!”

The engine in the next jetty started up again all of a sudden, and the boat made off. Nordberg had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

Standing up again, I cricked my neck and looked upwards. The owner of the balcony had come out to see what the noise was, and was standing with a rather unimpressed look on his face. Klimpt smiled sheepishly and swung down back to our level on another rope. With a flourish that Skye would have been proud of, he landed on his feet in the boat and swept his hair out of his face.

“There,” he said, “with any luck now Nordberg thinks I live here and that we’re all going to the Cuttle Lodge later tonight.”

“But we aren’t?” I clarified.

“Ha, no chance. But he’s after the information. He’ll be there.”

“There’s so many booths in that place it’ll take him ages to realise we’re not there. Especially if he’s trying to remain invisible himself,” Skye added with a smile.

“Ah, you know it, then?” said Klimpt.

“Aye, we know it.” I confirmed. “So, what’s the real plan?”

“Well, Skye found something out at the water authority building, didn’t you?” said Klimpt.

“Skye? You mean, Detectiveberg?” I winked.

“Oh, whatever. I’m not stupid,” said Klimpt, “anyway, Skye?”

“There’s meant to be another football match at The Barge tonight. There’s fans coming all the way from Torshavn for it.” said Skye, smiling.

“And?” I said, stumped.

“Well, it’s been cancelled,” added Klimpt, holding up his phone again, “I’m a season ticket holder for the Flotilla, I got the text earlier.”

“I’m still not following,” I said, looking from Skye to Klimpt and then back again.

“The reason it’s been cancelled is that the exclusion zone has been expanded to include The Barge.” said Skye.

“And that’s never happened before, certainly doesn’t on a normal gold transit.” added Klimpt.

“Conclusion?” said Skye rhetorically, “The heist must be happening tonight. Only the police could cancel a football match that quickly, the FPIFA certainly didn’t know anything about it, and if Jaffa-Jeremies was right then the base is next to The Barge. It’s the only reason the exclusion zone would have been expanded so suddenly.”

Crossing his arms behind his head, he leant back in the boat and put his feet up. Both Klimpt and Skye were clearly very happy with their pieces of detective work. The egos and charisma flying off the pair of them was almost overpowering.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked. “I think I know what’s going to happen when they get back to the base.”

“Well, time for me to really make a phonecall.” said Klimpt, holding up his phone once again.

Dialling a number, he held his phone up to his ear and waited for it to connect. He sat down on the seat at the back of the boat, and looked from me to Skye. His contacts were pulling us through.

“Hello? Henning? Hi! It’s your cousin, Kjartan. Yeah, hi. Listen, are you on duty tonight? Still operating in Norscelt? Good, good. Listen, Henning, I’ve got some information that you and the rest of your boat may find very interesting…”


The story will continue in... The Heist, pt I.

** ** ** ** **




I think it's fair to say that results have been rather hard going recently. Our defence has been well on top since the match against Conclespia, but unfortunately for us in two of the last three matches, the opposition defence has been equally on top. I'm not sure whether this is coming as a result of fatigue in the ranks, or perhaps a little self-doubt has snuck into the changing room, but this is my job to fix it. Going forward, we have looked more than a little lacklustre as of recently, and our jitters in front of our own home crowd are self-evident in the results we are posting. One goalless draw in Kiryu-shi aside, we have a 100% record on the road with no goals conceded, and that is a record that anyone would be proud of. However, two goalless draws at home are not characteristic of the Terns, and failing to find the goal twice against Kiryu-shi and Triimoria is simply not good enough. The only two goals we've conceded all qualification so far have also come at home against Conclespia, but we're already gone over that match.

The point is, that match against Kiryu-shi was our shot at re-taking the lead in the table. As things stand, it was a chance lost. We now have to wait and hope that Kiryu-shi mess up in one of their last few matches. To have qualification out of our hands at this point is simply not acceptable, and with Kiryu-shi currently having the better goal difference, I simply have to energise our forward lines.

Taking a look at our last three matches, we see the following:
Hutt River vs Polar Islandstates
Polar Islandstates vs Rhodesiah
Conclespia vs Polar Islandstates

As for Kiryu-shi, we see:
Kiryu-shi vs Eastfield Lodge
Triimoria vs Kiryu-shi
Kiryu-shi vs Cuboneland

In Rhodesiah and Conclespia, we are facing the only other two nations left with a chance of qualifying besides ourselves and Kiryu-shi, and with Kiryu-shi facing three of the bottom four over the next three matches, you'd have to say that we have the harder run in.

My task for the next three matches is clear. The one match against Conclespia aside, there has been nothing wrong with our defence all cycle, and the key for us will lie in our attack. Diedrich Kvitchenko and Ellis Elmsvikur have each become rather goal-shy in recent weeks, and our over-reliance on Alexsandr van Sorensen to drag us into each match is slightly concerning. We have looked out of ideas at times when faced with a defence as tough to crack as ours, and it may well be that the fearlessness of the younger players such as Illich-Svitych, Saarinen, and Cornelius could be what wins us matches.

Either way, I have to hope that you do not lose patience with us. We are going to try our best. The Terns have not failed to qualify for a World Cup since the first time we made it in, and I'm in no mood to throw away all of Sol's work like this. Stick with us, Ostkurven, we're going to do our damnedest to push Kiryu-shi all the way. Per tenebras ad lucem.

Schwartz Out.

[Ossidiacqua]

There was a twanging noise, and then a sharp thud.

With a sigh, Yoann Vega stood up again after throwing himself under his desk and picked yet another crossbow bolt from out of the the wall behind his desk, snapped it, and put it in the bin with the others. The wall behind him now looking like a moderately used dartboard, he decided enough was enough, and moved his desk and chair away from his window. As an afterthought, he also closed the shutters on his windows and lit the gas lamps. Loathe though he was to close off the beautiful view over Sant'Elia that his office afforded, this was a crucial time in the preparation for La Renaissance, and the assassination attempts were becoming a major distraction.

The team were in a position that they had never been in before. Three matches to go and they were technically still in with a chance of qualification for the World Cup proper. Such a feat would rely on a strong result when they made the trip to a New Montreal States side that was being marshalled by the formidable Sol Kirkkegaard, as well as a series of goofs from the unbeaten Mytannion. So, whilst looking unlikely, there was always hope, and the streets of Sant'Elia were abuzz with talk of the team. Truth be told, nobody had scored as many in their group as the Acquans had so far, and so there was that off-chance...

Another crossbow bolt thunked against the boards of the windows. Vega tutted. He had no idea what kind of shower Re had sent after him this time, but if they honestly thought that any old crossbow ammunition could slam through a windowblind then he feared for the future of the assassination industry. Even he knew that that kind of tactic would never do, and he'd only ever been a low-level spy, not a fully equipped and trained assassin.

Attempting to get back to his tactical diagrams, Vega began studying the likely formations of Wihsirmir Taoul di wer Qumadosfan. He could hear footsteps on the ledge outside his window however, and the noise was distracting him. Just as he was about to knock whatever assassin was outside off his tower there was a knock at the door. Hesitating as he tried to decide which to deal with first, Vega eventually went with answering the door. Who knew, it could be Alessio Cardinale.

He was to be disappointed however, and as he opened the front door he could only see a large box obscuring the face neatly of whomever it was that was carrying it.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Erm, cake delivery!" said the errand boy enthusiastically, thrusting the box into Vega's hands and rushing away quickly before his face could be seen.

Vega sighed again, another assassination attempt. He lifted the box to his ear. Ticking. How predictable.

Walking straight to the window, Vega threw open the wooden blinds with a flourish, and handed the box to the cloaked figure on the ledge, who was frozen in a pose that looked deeply uncomfortable, surprised at Vega's sudden appearance.

"Here, hold this." said Vega flatly, handing the box to the assassin and then closing the blinds quickly.

"Er..." started the other assassin, not getting a chance to finish.

Vega sat down just as a dull explosion shook the outside of the building, shaking paster dust down from the ceiling and landing on the papers on the desk. A series of pinging noises off the masonry outside and the sounds of wood being dug into confirmed Vega's suspicion that the box had been full of ball bearings waiting to explode, and the muffled thud that followed a few seconds afterwards confirmed that the assassin on the ledge had indeed fallen.

Without wanting to check, Vega sighed wearily and brushed the dust lightly off his desk.

He picked up his quill, and began to write a letter...

'Dear Senor Barbiusa,

It is my understanding that your company offers a fine masonry cleaning service...'

[West Angola]

Isaac Warren was somewhat recovered from his injuries, which it turned out were not as serious as first believed. The final diagnosis had been a moderate concussion and a few internal bruises, which was much better than the internal bleeding and ruptured organs the first responders had feared. He'd been transferred to the mobile hospital that came with the team wherever they went as a means of protecting him from another assassination attempt like the one that had been attempted the night before the match against Eura. From inside the unit, he had watched the entire match on live TV, but a nurse had turned it off following James McDaniels' goal that put West Angola up 2-1 in stoppage time because Warren had been jumping around so much she was afraid he would rupture an organ for real!

Warren had spent the night hooked up to an IV, and had been cleared for release following the team's return to Namibe, and had been able to attend the victory party in the team hotel that night. It was teetotal as usual, following the tradition set by the team's first coach, Peter Warren (no relation to Isaac), of not drinking any alcohol until the team qualified for the World Cup, but soda and cheese was popular in the country anyway. Said soda was flowing freely now as the team celebrated their success with heavy drinking that wouldn't leave them hungover the next day. Warren made sure to congratulate everyone there, especially Jacob Kerys, who needed every bit of encouragement he could get. Not many people understood Kerys, especially not John Usiak, the blowhard from the WASN, but Kerys was in fact a very good keeper. His drawback was his insecurities, and when he missed a save he got frustrated and missed further saves, creating a downward spiral that made defenses dread penetration.

The party was going very well when Garren pulled out a massive whiteboard, which he set up on a tripod. With a marker, he drew up a chart of the point totals for West Angola and Phoenigetuzstha, as well as their chances for the next couple of matches. Garren narrated as he drew:

"We and Phoenigetuzstha are separated by just two points, and we play them next. Here's how we've stacked up against common opponents so far:"

                                   Phongetztha	    W. Angola
1.	Charruterra:			6		6
2.	Birolika:			6		3
3.	High Heels:			3		6
4.	Eura:				0		3
5.	Head-to-Head:			0		3
6.	Union Isle:			6		3
7.	Free South Califas:		1		0    
22		24

"If we lose to them tonight, we still play Union Isle on the road and Free South Califas at home. We should be able to win both of those if you guys play your best. Phoenigetuzstha plays Eura and High Heels, so they should go 1-1 over the final two matches. Essentially, it's not the end of the world if we lose to Phoenigetuzstha tomorrow night. If they beat us, they'll take a one-point lead over us for second, but should give it right back if they lose to Eura in the next match. If we win out after losing, and they lose to Eura, we'll still qualify. That said, I'm sure none of you want to be up late worrying over a game two thousand miles away that you can't control if you can help it, so let's beat Phoenigetuzstha tomorrow and lock up that playoff spot!"

Garren's speech was met with rousing cheers from the entire team, but those were quickly superseded by groans when he spoke again a few seconds later:

"I'm glad you all agree, which means you also agree that you need a good night's sleep. So get to bed, all of you! Be assembled in the lobby by 8:30 AM!"

Protesting good-naturedly, the team began to file out of the conference room and head towards the elevators. Suddenly, a commotion erupted out in the lobby, and everyone either stopped where they were or filed in there to see what was going on. Warren pushed his way through the crowd to see who or what had arrived, and couldn't believe what he saw...

[Birolika]

National Sports Bulletin

*Crackle of interference before a voice bursts out of the headset*

Announcer: This is radio BSN and up next is the news from the sporting world with John Horace.

*Sporty, cinematic, theme music.*

John Horace: Hello and welcome to today’s edition of the Sports Bulletin, today we follow the Birolik national team as they come to the end of a brutal and unrewarding qualifying campaign. Two weeks ago we saw them take their first win with a shock result against West Angola, then last week a close game against the FSSO. This week they took on Phoenigetuzstha in a game that has no effect on us as we are already stuck to the bottom of the group, however it would have an effect on the top four teams if Birolika took a shock. However things were disappointing as ever, here is an extract from the match commentary:

And here comes Abbas with the ball. He makes his way down the middle, Felt steps up to challenge him. Abbas takes it past him. He's on the edge of the box now, he whips it in and... punched away by Porter. Skaller takes the ball, he's tackled by Hairus! Hairus crosses it in again, Opsitin gets to it... It's a goal! Well that really does it for Birolika, 53 minutes in and they're 3-0 down to their rivals. Game over.

Horace: And with that we once again were beaten, just as we have eight other times this campaign. If we lose our next match that will pu us in the ten defeats club along with 10 other teams from around the world stage. However we have done better than Nopspri, The Naughty Monks and The Jahistic Unified Republic who have all gone the whole campaign without winning or drawing. Of course a win in the last game would have put Charruterra at barge pole length in what is know as in Birolika as "The Wooden trophy and the Trophy that isn't to be spoken of in polite society (or the Crap cup for the less delicate). The Wooden trophy is second last and the Crap cup is for last. At the minute in our group we are on 4 points and second last while Charruterra are 3 points in last. Of course neither side is likely to pick up anymore points before we come to face each other in the final game so the final game would be the turning point in this years qualifying. Now back to today’s match and I'm joined by Rex Malone, wonderkid Birolik forward with 7 appearances (5 from sub) and 1 goal under his belt. Now what do you say to the fact that in the rivalry match against Phoenigetuzstha could have led to a result?

Rex: Well to be honest any game could end in result for us, we just weren't up to it on the day. In the end I think we can take a few positives, but in all honestly it was poor; I'll admit it. As to a rivalry spurring us on, it has only come to light as a rivalry recently and I think it's mostly a media invention to give us rival and even if it was real it would have spurred on Phoenigetuzshta.

Horace: OK, moving on what do you think of the lack of goals scored this campaign? Of course I'm not really referring to you as your still a youth prospect and have proved you can stick a ball in the back of the net, but for the rest of the team are you concerned by the lack of goals?

Rex: I certainly am, of course we wouldn't like to admit it but the attackers have been letting us down. That goalless stretch from the first to the 9th game was too long and more should be done to fix it. Looking at the table High Heels have conceded as many as us, however they have 6 more points, why? Because they have put in ten more goals and taken two wins because of it, we should be doing that. I'm looking forward to being older and better and being able to right this problem.

Horace: Well thanks for you insight Rex and now it's time for some statistics heading into the last few games:

Group Stats

Best Goal Average In Group 5: Phoenigetuzstha at 2.727 goals per game
Worst Goal Average in Group 5: Birolika at 0.364 goals per game
Best Goals For to Goals Against Ratio in Group 5: The FSSO at 2.9:1
Worst Goals For to Goals Against Ratio in Group 5: Charruterra at 0.188:1

Birolik Stats

Points per game: 0.364 per game
Goals for to Goals Against Ratio: 0.167:1
Passing Percentage: 57%
Key Goalscorer: Peter Yook with two goals
Key Playmaker: Orick Blaines with two assists
Best Passing Percentage on Team: Ernest Felt - 73%
Best Tackler: Wesley Caverick - 67%
Worst Passing Percentage on Team: Liam Tyler - 37%
Best Goals to Game Ratio: Rex Malone - 0.143:1

[Tryienne]

Tryiennian Sport Administration.
Sunday 4 November 2012.

The room was filled with chatter, until a man walked in.

"Okay, fellas, we have to turn this thing around!"

He carried a copy of the Roma Major Sport Issue and threw it on the ground.

Yet another World Cup Fiasco for Tryienne?

The whole room stopped with talking and pointed their attention to the man.

"We're now fifth in our group, but it isn't enough to turn them around! This article doesn't state that we are qualified, but we have to do something!"

[Kiryu-shi]

On an undisclosed practice facility near the Sakaino National Football Stadium

In the early morning fog, you could hardly tell that the Sakaino National Football stood next to the ocean. From where J.J. Erickson stood in the center of the primary practice field, he could just make out the top rim of the stadium highlighted by the security lights installed ever since that first match at the stadium four years ago ended in violence. Erickson didn’t quite understand how football ever brought about that level of turmoil and conflict, especially considering the current political climate where there seemed to be so many more important things to worry about.

Not that he necessarily agreed with the construction of the stadium. As beautiful as it looked in this faint early light, he had to say that there was a lot more ambiance, in his opinion, at the old facility. Although he had to admit, playing in front of the Ostkurven at the Nasjonale Stadion was an experience to remember. Almost reminiscent of playing at the Stadii se Draggonnii Arcea in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega during World Cup 59. Although this time the match had ended with the Kiri on top of the standings, going toe to toe with one of the best nations in the world.

While it was true that the Polarians had struggled to score in recent matches, taking a pair of points away from one of the best teams in the world was never a bad result, especially when it meant that the Kiri were in commanding position for the rest of qualifications. If they won out, they would be in the World Cup…

It was frustrating how dysfunctional the Kiri offense had been recently itself, now going on three matches since they were able to score more than one goal, but it was clear that the coaching staff situation was getting to Tziganes and her running mates at the top of the formation. It was incredibly simple, as far as Erickson could tell; passes were simply far too predictable when they managed to make their way into the final third of the pitch, and they did not have as many people moving around to create space as they needed. They were told to make sure to play simple, effective football, but it simply meant that their passes were not connecting at all. Not that it was entirely unexpected, going against this squad, but there were problems that needed to be solved if they were to make it to the World Cup.

On the other hand, the way in which the defense handled the prolific players on The Terns was impressive. For yet another match Will Feingold was able to dominate the defensive side, disrupting their attempts to consistently feed the ball to Alexsandr van Sorensen. It seemed as though Joachim Schwartz couldn’t quite adjust his tactics as he kept on relying on van Sorensen throughout the match. And Feingold completely neutralized the most dominant offensive player on the pitch.

Feingold seemed to be at the ball every time the Polarian offense made its way up the field, never allowing them to maneuver in free space, moving faster laterally than what seemed possible. And in what was the greatest sign of the success of Feingold was the way in which van Sorensen got frustrated by the end of the match, repeatedly trying to take on too much as time dwindled down. And Feingold was regularly there to be the one to poke the ball away or just to get in his way. While it wasn’t enough to spark any big offensive play and a goal, it was just enough to keep the scoreboard clean, and it ended with Maggie Giles not even being tested with a single difficult save. Overall, a satisfying game to be a part of.

The sun was just starting to come out and highlight the stadium, and at any moment J.J. Erickson was going to be joined by the rest of the team. The squad would be playing two of the next three matches at home, where they had yet to allow a single goal. And they would likely need to take all nine points to be able to avoid a playoff match, with Polar Islandstates unlikely to drop any more points. Erickson made his way to the sideline, ready to talk to his team, ready to make sure that they were ready for Eastfield Lodge, and ready to make sure that they were fully present in this moment, not paying too much attention to how many points they needed or what was going on elsewhere in the group.

And this team was his team. No matter what the other coaches said about it, when it came down to it, he was the one to talk to the team with three games left and a slim one point lead in the standings. He was the one to rally, he was the one to keep the team ready, he was the one to make sure that the tactics were sound. And if the team lost any of the next three matches, he was the one whose career would be in shambles, no doubt.

[Mytannion]

Mytanars continue good form.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 | FOOTBALL | by Ondřej Klepáček

Robin Hjik's winner meant Mytannion won their fifth game in a row.

A side that has seemingly specialised in late goals this qualifying campaign got yet another late one as Robin Hjik, Mytanar national team captain, struck with a fantastic volley from the edge of the box, to win the game against Wihsirmir Taoul di wer Qumadosfan 2-1. The Mytanar side couldn't afford to lose the game, with New Montreal States in such good form even after losing to Mytannion, any slip-up by the Hoops would leave them out of contention for automatic qualification to the 62nd World Cup.

They are likely to clinch the play-off spot, being three points ahead of Ossidiacqua and holding head-to-head tiebreakers over La Renaissance, but the manager, Sergyei Arefev, and his team have already outlined their goals for this tournament - and they want automatic qualification to the World Cup proper, rather than having to go through the lottery of the play-off.

This was a game where Mytannion were challenged a bit more than they had been in the past few encounters, Wihsirmir Taoul di wer Qumadosfan were well organised in this game and Mytannion had finally come up against a team that was similar to themselves - prepared to sit back and soak up the pressure and then try and hit the opposition on the counter attack. They were more well organised than in the first encounter between the sides also, more difficult to break down and gain chances against. It was very frustrating for the Mytanars as they played it around the penalty area trying to find an opening to exploit but failing to do so.

The first goal came from Wihsirmir Taoul di wer Qumadosfan, too, as they broke down the right wing through Ysuluth L'skel, the right-sided forward getting the ball first as it was hoofed away by the defender and then L'skel skinned Martin Latka who didn't have the pace to keep up with him. L'skel cut inside slightly as he went on a more direct route to the goal - Lavrentii Aliev was haring back following Qumadosfanii centre forward Quiathoth D'kal but it was two against one and Aliev may have made the wrong choice as he went to L'skel who simply squared the ball to D'kal who then just simply slid the ball past Kondrat Istomin to put the away side 1-0 up at Maine Road, Thessia.

A small pocket of 2,700 Qumadosfanii fans went mental and the majority of the stadium stayed silent, a small portion of fans immediately showering the away players with coins and other projectiles.

This goal pushed the Qumadosfanii team on and they really began to put pressure onto the Mytanar defence, who actually dealt with this better than they did the fast breakaway that led to the first goal of the game. This was their favourite way to play - on the defensive, stopping the opposition, then moving forward at speed - and it showed eventually. Just before half-time, Martin Latka headed the ball away to Robin Hjik who began the counter attack, the team captain sped away, showing great acceleration even at 35 years of age.

The father of three sent a long ball down the left hand side, looping over the Qumadosfanii back line and Igor Artemiev was the one who gave chase - the Olympic Thessia striker given the opportunity to start with v Tuhinju rested - Artemiev latched onto the pass and then looked up, looking for options in the middle. Iivari Kaitanen once again was the one who timed his run to perfection in behind the defence and simply tapped past the goalkeeper. It was what Kaitanen is known for, the late curved run behind a defender and then first time shot. 1-1. Game on for the Mytanars.

Arefev must have given a really good team talk because the Mytanar team came out after the half with what seemed to be fire in their bellies as they went after every ball with determination and held no prisoners as they slid into tackles. Dennis Adkvissen got a yellow card for one particular tackle, and nearly got a red for another tackle that was perhaps worse than the first but it turned out that Turnok Flamebeard, Vegan referee may not have seen the incident properly, his view obscured by players but Adkvissen got away with it, something which could be seen from the relief on Arefev's face after he watched the incident on one of the screens that were given to him by one of his assistants on the bench.

Arefev winced at the replay. He made comment on the incident after the game. "I have to admit that it was a dangerous challenge on Dennis' part and he was very lucky to get away with it but obviously we're glad that he did. I wouldn't be surprised to see the NSWC take retrospective action on the challenge but we'll see what happens."

Luckily, Adkvissen was on the pitch to actually start the move that resulted in the winning goal. Adkvissen tackled D'kal out on the right and then zipped a pass down the field to Dobroslav Stojanovic who began to speed away down the right side of the field, he cut inside and chipped a cross into the middle, where Salum Merec met the ball sweetly with his head - the ball looked destined to go into the bottom corner but was poked away by a defender, the ball wasn't fully cleared and it bobbled over to Hjik who volleyed it home first time with a rifled effort that nobody could touch as it flew into the top corner.

Hjik immediately ran to the stand behind the goal - the Kippax End, where he was mobbed by the fans he has made 364 appearances in front of. As he made his way back to the halfway line he pointed over to the executive boxes, where his girlfriend, Maria Hjik was - only a few days after giving birth to their third child.

There were only a few minutes left after this, which they closed out well. This result means that the Mytanars are still two points behind New Montreal States who sit top on 27 points after beating Thaulandi impressively, 3-1, at home. The New Montreal team have to play The Royal Kingdom of Quebec, Ossidiacqua and Wihsirmir Taoul di wer Qumadosfan in their final three games - the only one of the three that Mytannion can really hope to truly challenge them are Ossidiacqua and that may be a bit of a stretch. If none of these teams can get at least a draw, then Mytannion will have to settle for a play-off spot or even worse.

They will just have to win their own games and focus on what they themselves do rather than what others do - sentiments echoed by most players who we attempted to get interviews off before they got on the team coach away from Maine Road. Mytannion play Audioslavia next, a game which will be tough even if the Mytanars did completely destory the Audioslavians last time the teams met. The Mytanars will hope for a similar performance just to improve goal differential if nothing else.

[Kinitaria]

Match day at the Central Stadium in Mi'ato, Kinitaria. The tension builds as kick-off time approaches. This is D-Day for the home side. Defeat away to West Zirconia has put a huge dent in Kinitaria's qualification hopes, and if they're ever going to get back on track, it has to be now, against unbeaten Yesopalitha, a team which has already overcome Kinitaria 2-1 in the Sacred Heart. Ten minutes before the match, and home manager Kristijan Evinov is desperately trying to impress upon his team the importance of today's match - although it's not as though they don't already know by this point. It's been rammed into their heads by the manager, and indeed by the Kinitar media.

"Our aim is to get to the World Cup," a furiously gesticulating Evinov was telling his players, "that's the next step for us as a nation, and as a team. We are good enough to be at the World Cup, that's the standard we're playing at, and you know it. I know it. There's seventy thousand fans out there who know it. But these Yesopalitha players - they don't know it. They haven't seen you play at the standard you're all capable of. So go out there and damn well prove it to them!"

With a roar of enthusiasm, the chosen eleven made their way out into the tunnel, led by captain Doran Lupei, a loyal and determined centre-back who had given his all for the team since day one, and had been rewarded with the armband. Following him, Vacarestič, Sala, Sabčot, Petran... household names in Kinitaria to a man. Now it was time for them to show what they were worth. Onto the pitch they strolled, heads held high, oozing confidence, looking every inch like world-beaters. This was the stuff legends were made of. Game on.

The confident air around the Central Stadium lasted about six minutes, and that's including the anthem ceremony. There'd been about a hundred seconds of actual football played when Ivan Dostoevich cut inside on the left wing, weaved past Karl Sala's attempted scything challenge, and chipped a high ball up to Hilary Vander Rox, and the Yesopalithan midfielder chested the ball down before slamming a sweet volley past Costin Petran and into the back of the net. 0-1, two minutes, and Kinitaria found themselves in trouble.

Good footballers can dominate a match, it's true, but they also know how to respond to setbacks like this. It's fair to say that Kinitaria did not. The optimism of the capacity crowd inside the Central Stadium quickly faded as the visiting attack tore apart Kinitaria's defence time and time again. The choice to draft in young Ciprian Marin to the centre-back position proved a mistake, as he was given a torrid time by Nadya Dostoevich, who won every single ball and forced the young defender into making some poor errors.

It looked as though the pressure on Kinitaria's goal would soon tell. The home side held out, keeping the margin at one goal despite being battered continously for just over half an hour. But it was Nadya Dostoevich who would double Yesopalitha's lead with ten minutes to go before the break. It was Marin's mistake that led to the goal, the Kinitar defender playing an under-hit backpass which the Yesopalithan striker pounced on, slamming the ball past a wrong-footed Petran for 2-0. Kristijan Evinov looked the absolute picture of fury on the touchline and immediately hauled Marin off, to be replaced by Sebastien Sykora.

If the Kinitar boss was hoping that the substitution would spark new life into the Kinitar side, he was wrong. In fact, it swiftly got worse. Demoralised and out of shape, Kinitaria conspired to concede another shortly before the break, the home side caught with too many players forward which enabled an incisive Yesopalitha breakaway, Fantasia Cecile-Marie able to sidefoot the ball into the path of the unmarked Jane Vander Rox, who made no mistake and buried the ball into the bottom corner of the net. 3-0.

Kinitaria were sinking without trace. Meanwhile, on the touchline, Evinov had turned an interesting shade of crimson. The half-time whistle would blow to a backdrop of booing and jeering just seconds later, allowing the Kinitaria manager to get his team inside for a well-deserved rant. Sadly, we cannot reproduce Evinov's words verbatim. Suffice it to say, there was a lot of swearing, a lot of yelling, telling the players they were letting the nation down, letting themselves down, embarrassing themselves in front of the world. A fairly standard team-talk, then.

If Evinov was hoping that the boot up the proverbial would inspire a roaring start to the second half from Kinitaria, he was sadly mistaken. The team looked, if such a thing is possible, even more limp and uninspiring. They looked scared to venture more than 40 yards from their own goal-line. Yesopalitha looked in complete control of the game, and the almost inevitable fourth came when Isaac Jack-Bentley caught Petran off his line and lobbed the Kinitar keeper from fully 30 yards to make it 4-0 just after the hour. Game over, surely. The boos from the home end serenaded the team back to their starting positions, and they're not undeserved.

Yesopalitha surged forward once more in search of a fifth against their stricken opponents. Ivan Dostoevich had a cross blocked by Karl Sala, and the Kinitar left-back surged down the wing on his own, in search of someone to make the cross to. There was no-one in support, so he continued forward, Yesopalitha standing off him. Only one blue shirt in the penalty area, typical of the lack of urgency Kinitaria had shown all game, Sala swings the ball in, von Helz sticks out a leg and it's in the back of the net. 1-4. Sala will claim it, but it was diverted in for an own goal, and Naisi von Helz hands Kinitaria an incredibly fortunate consolation.

There's twenty minutes left and they're three goals up. Not wanting to risk another incident like that, the Yesopalithan line immediately drops back a few yards. Suddenly, Kinitaria find themselves with a lot more freedom. They're able to pass it about a lot more, keep a bit of possession, but the chances are not coming. There's no way to break through the packed Yesopalithan defence. It's time for long balls down the middle. Preda smashes one long, but it's not getting to Sabčot. Lupan Mihalcič practically bundles Michael Kevin off the ball, Jaiden Sinclair signals 'play on' much to Yesopalitha's frustration, but Mihalcič's shot is parried by Calhoun... off the back of Sabčot's head and in! He knows absolutely nothing about it, he's scored by standing there, but Kinitaria have cut the deficit to two and now we have a game on our hands!

Time for a change. Kinitaria have scented blood. Ineffectual midfielder Vadim Reneiči is sacrificed as Kinitaria go 4-3-3 with the introduction of Milan Beskid. They have the momentum, and the wingers surge forward to give them five outright attacking players. They're vulnerable to the counter-attack, but they trail 4-2, they've got to go for it. It's Preda's ball over the top, it's going to fall nicely for Vacarestič, smashed in from 20 yards, 4-3! The Central Stadium reaches fever pitch, Evinov gesturing furiously to get the game started again, nine minutes left and it's all Kinitaria, out of absolutely nothing.

But the fact is, Kinitaria still trail. Yesopalitha are forced into playing an ultra-defensive style, but they're still a risk on the break, and Nadya Dostoevich proves that when she storms forward to fire in a curling effort which stings the palms of Costin Petran. 4-3 might represent a heroic effort, but it's no good to Kinitaria. Time is running out. Two minutes to go. Anything goes for Yesopalitha to maintain their lead. Leon Cantacuzino shapes to shoot just outside the box, and is cynically scythed down by Michael Kevin. The crowd scream for red. Evinov screams for red. It's yellow, and a chance to defend this very dangerous free kick. Preda lifts it in, it's Sabčot with the header, it's there! Kinitaria have got out of jail, it's 4-4, Kinitaria are still alive, and the Central Stadium erupts!

The scores may be level, but Yesopalitha look very much a beaten side. Although they look like escaping with a point, it surely feels like two points snatched away from them. The board goes up. Three minutes of added time. The capacity crowd (you have to feel for those that left at 0-4) roars Kinitaria forward. Mihalcič hits the post. Then another dangerous free kick sails just past the post. Yesopalitha have endured the final surge, they've surely got away with a point. The three minutes are almost up. Twenty-one players in the Yesopalitha half. Petran hoofs the ball long, Galvin clatters into the back of Sabčot, the referee's not interested, Evinov is furious, the linesman's got his flag up, penalty!

It's going to be Luka Sabčot. It has to be Luka Sabčot. He was made for moments like these. The script is written. The Kinitar talisman hauls his side back from the dead, capping it all off with a last-gasp penalty to complete his hat-trick. That's how the stories work, isn't it? Kinitaria's hero places the ball on the spot and slams it against the post. Milan Beskid reacts quickest, smashes home from four yards, they've won it! The final whistle is blown seconds before the pitch is engulfed in a tide of blue and yellow who can't quite believe what they've just seen. Kinitaria's qualification hopes live on, and maybe - just maybe - Kristijan Evinov has been vindicated.

[Vilita]

Jaded rebounds at Lunar Park

It was a long trip back from the Northern Sunrise Islands and a tough result. The Jungle Cats, with Aranora Jaded between the sticks, had given away their buffer. They could no longer afford to drop points and still remain comfortably atop the Group 19 table. Those points were now dropped.

Jaded felt particularly responsible - giving up two late goals to concede the points. The first really wasn't something he could do much about. No one even really knows how the kick from Namine Nagatomo was even legal, but the bottom line is the ball went in the net and a 0 changed to a 1 on the scoreboard. The world did not end. The Jungle Cats still had the lead and still had 3 points in the bag.

It was the second goal that was a little harder to swallow as Mateus Carvalho - not Matthew di Martine as originally reported - broke free of the Vilitan defense before duping the goalkeeper by banking the ball off the inside of the upright in order to have it roll across the face of goal back into his own path to convert the tying goal of the match.

There was a weight on Aranora Jaded's shoulders, and that weight was two points and World Cup Qualification. The Jungle Cats still had the edge, but 3 of their 4 toughest opponents remained and there were no guarantees.

It was a long flight home, and he couldn't get a wink of sleep. He arrived home exhausted and passed out immediately.

When he woke up, a little less perturbed and a lot less exhausted, he finally checked his device. To Aranora's surprise, there was a message waiting for him. It was from Kaisa Cuban, the goalkeeper for High Heels. Jaded had sent her a message a few matchdays prior, but figured he'd done enough damage with his diatribe on heels that she was always going to ignore. He'd kind of put it out of his mind, but it was a very nice surprise to see a response - no matter the content...

"Thanks. Your last game was great too. Keep it up and keep in touch. Good luck!"

Jaded grinned a little. That was actually a nice message - promising! Thanks for what, though, he was thinking. It had been so long since he sent the original message, he couldn't exactly remember what he had said. He toggled through to find his sent messages. It was just chatting to her about a good result. Makes sense now.

How to respond? Jaded wasn't sure, but just let his fingers do the talking.

"Good to hear from you. Looks like our luck has turned in a bad direction - maybe we can help each other figure out whats wrong?"

He hoped it wouldn't be taken the wrong way. He figured, they were both goalkeepers, they could talk shop right?

Anyway, he hit send, then got ready to head back to Alikki-Corra for the days training session. Felix Terra was up next. The Jungle Cats had to win that one...

Lunar Park - Seraai, Vilita (129,000 Seated)
Home Club: Eastal Lunar FC
Lunar Park became the largest stadium in Vilita at the time of its construction. Although some stadiums have added poor quality seating to exceed the 129,000 capacity mark, Lunar Park offers quality seats all around the stadium, and onlookers sometimes get treated to events such as Rocket Launches and suborbital testing as the stadium was constructed by the Vilitan Space Program overlooking some of their active launch facilities. Lunar Park is the home of Vilitan side Eastal Lunar FC and hosted the final of the Cup of Harmony 50: Golden Edition as well as the final of the 37th UICA Series 'B' Champions Cup.

...and win they did. Despite the struggles against the Northern Sunrise Islands, Aranora Jaded was called upon once again as Jungrii Canopii frustratingly sat on the bench.

It was a better performance from the Jungle Cats who completed the Felix Terra sweep at Lunar Park in Seraai after winning the first match in Felix Terra by a 1-0 scoreline.

It all got started when Cristoh Nrubari broke free on the right hand side, making just his second appearance of the campaign, but leaving an impression on head coach Mitaroka with the determination shown on the opening goal. Unfortunately for Nrubari, he looked pretty lost and clumsy for much of the match, and any good vibes sent out by his 19th minute opener were probably well forgotten by the time referee Peter McPhearson from West Zirconia blew the half time whistle, at which point Nrubari was removed from the match in favor of Turorki Tide's Actalia Mermaioada.

Vilita appeared to be headed towards another tense finish against Felix Terra until Erocka Lorei stole the shower with a pair of goals either side of the half. Lorei lined up just yards outside the penalty area in the closing moments of the first half and expertly struck a bending ball to the keepers left post, banking it in off the upright to double the Jungle Cats advantage.

Then, just after the half, Tyaoino Munviola intercepted the ball from the Felix Terra attackers off the opening push forward and powered it up the field towards the opposition penalty area. Lita Adjei was storming into the penalty area to collect the ball and got past Julio Nordlun who clipped at his heels, fouling the Arcticala Inlet attacker who had broken clear of the goal. It was perhaps a little harsh, but it was a straight red for Julio Nordlun forcing Felix Terra to finish the match with ten men.

Erocka Lorei stepped up to take the penalty kick and converted calmly to give Vilita the 3-0 lead. It looked smooth sailing at that point but Aranora Jaded was kept napping... or daydreaming... or who knows what he was doing as Kenya Schissler collected the ball from the kickoff on the restart, dribbled 10 yards before looking up and balooning a long ball that didn't even bounce as it skied over a back-trolloping Jaded before sneaking just under the crossbar to cut Vilita's lead to 3-1.

But Felix Terra really never threatened more than that. Jomur Hulyer eventually put one more in the net for the Jungle Cats who ran out as 4-1 victors much to the delight of the home crowd at Lunar Park.

Vilita maintained its two point advantage over Saugeais, but with 3 matches to play - against West Guiana, the Atlantian Oceania rivals that held the Jungle Cats to the draw in the first half of qualifying, and, against Saugeais and Mashiki, the two teams chasing Vilita for a place in the World Cup Finals, Vilita is only going to have to get better from here if they are going to be headed to Carpathia & Ruthenia or Astograth for the World Cup 62 Finals.

	Felix Terra
:: Goalscorers :: :: 19' Cristoh Nrubari :: 42' Erocka Lorei :: 46' Erocka Lorei :: 70' Jomur Hulyer	:: Goalscorers :: :: 47' Kenya Schissler :: :: ::
:: Best Player: Tyaoino Munviola :: Worst Player: Cristoh Nrubari :: Shots on Target: 8 :: Corner Kicks: 7	:: Best Player: Maricela Magby :: Worst Player: Julio Nordlun :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 6

Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Aranora Jaded, [D] Niubo Deneli, [D] Sipaao Vereaoao, [D] Tyaoino Munviola, [DMC] Tujamu Treola, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Relmar Winauat, [MC] Manolis Kontalroma, [MR] Cristoh Nrubari, [FC] Erocka Lorei, [FC] Lita Adjei
BENCH::
[FC] Viji-mara Lawaai, [FC] Actalia Mermaioada, [M] Riksa Valjariia, [M] Rexii Tzikas, [U] Dronik Ratuva, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [GK] Jungrii Canopii

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Relmar Winauat >>> Riksa Valjariia
(45) - Cristoh Nrubari >>> Actalia Mermaioada
(81) - Sipaao Vereaoao >>> Rexii Tzikas

(For Future Statistical Reference)
GK :: Aranora Jaded 5

D :: Niubo Deneli 8
D :: Sipaao Vereaoao 8
D :: Tyaoino Munviola 7

DMC :: Tujamu Treola 7

ML :: Jomur Hulyer 6
MC :: Relmar Winauat 5
MC :: Manolis Kontalroma 7
MR :: Cristoh Nrubari 6

FC :: Erocka Lorei 8
FC :: Lita Adjei 7

Vilitan Subs Bench:
FC :: Viji-mara Lawaai DNP
FC :: Actalia Mermaioada 6
M :: Riksa Valjariia 7
M :: Rexii Tzikas 5
U :: Dronik Ratuva DNP
D :: Ritopa Simafela DNP
GK :: Jungrii Canopii DNP

Group 19
Felix Terra (340)
West Guiana (88)
Saugeais (25)
Vilita (17)
Royal East America (316)
Bergnovinaia (47)
Northern Sunrise Islands (155)
Mashiki (131)

MD 1: v. Royal East America
MD 2: @ Bergnovinaia
MD 3: v. Northern Sunrise Islands .
MD 4: @ Felix Terra
MD 5: v. West Guiana
MD 6: @ Saugeais
MD 7: v. Mashiki

MD 8: @ Royal East America
MD 9: v. Bergnovinaia
MD 10: @ Northern Sunrise Islands
MD 11: v. Felix Terra
MD 12: @ West Guiana
MD 13: v. Saugeais
MD 14: @ Mashiki

[Socialist States Owen]

Thousands arrested after West Angolan fans storm pitch
Clint Covey reports from Bastion Arena


A mounted police officer politely motivates a fan to return to his seat outside of the ground

The Euran Government has stated that it requires immediate talks with the West Angolan government after the entire 5,000 fan contingent of away fans at an international football match were arrested following a pitch invasion, despite 900 of the fans being hospitalised and 120 being in a 'critical' condition.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ashford Harker has said that there would be "severe ramifications" after West Angolan fans poured onto the pitch after the final whistle when their side beat the FSSO in a surprising 2-1 victory in Bastion. "We love football in this country and always treat away fans with the utmost dignity," commented Harker in an official statement, "however we cannot accept thousands of fans nearly causing loss of life by pouring onto the playing field. Three Euran players and four stewards were injured in the incident and all 5,000 away fans have now been interned. I cannot confirm how many will face criminal charges." The game itself was a good match, although West Angola would snatch all three points and end Eura's unbeaten record in the last minute after a below par performance from the home side. However with three games still to go and Eura holding a four point lead at the top of the group, the World Cup 60 runners up are still favourites to qualify automatically.

The West Angolan team and coaching staff meanwhile were temporarily asked to remain behind last night after the incident, before being allowed to return on the first plane home. Harker reasoned that "while the behaviour of their fans is unacceptable and must be crushed by the mighty boot of Euran justice, their players and coaches have done nothing wrong other than take home a well earned three points against our national side." The incident itself occurred immediately after the final whistle blew, when the front rows of the West Angolan support decided to storm onto the pitch. Stewards quickly hurried both teams down the tunnel for their own safety, before the police engaged fans - regardless of age or physical ability - with tasers, batons and tear gas. Nine home fans were temporarily remanded in custody after they tried to counter the away support, but were released on the grounds that they were simply "defending the dignity of the state and motherland."

Briefly the away support resisted on the field, before being surged back towards one end of the pitch. The police then received reinforcement and began "whaling" on the crowd, according to eyewitnesses, neutralising any and all resistance by injuring those who dared resist beyond the ability to move. However things took a turn for a worse when approximately 30 foreign fans remained defiant in the corner and began throwing objects at unarmed stewards. Armed police briefly opened fire, and the government refuses to confirm whether or not baton rounds were used or live rounds - and where this group of 30 fans have now been taken. Soon after a massive convoy of police vehicles arrived and took away the entire away contingent in an arrest process that took two hours - by then, the rest of the stadium had long emptied out. Bastion Arena is expected to be closed for two weeks while a police investigation takes place.

Domestic press reaction, including this paper, has been mostly supportive of the state response against the barbaric away support. The Brigham Times sums up popular opinion; "We all love a good game of football - it's a shame we lost the game the other night, and you would expect the away fans to be delighted to get such a good result. But as our players went to shake hands and the fans began to applaud their team, the savage West Angolans stormed on to the pitch with reckless abandon. The police were perfectly justified in their response to quell such thuggish behaviour." Foreign response has so far been muted (though that is expected to change). The government of Astograth tells us that they are "in full support of its ally using whatever forces it requires to ensure order." As expected, the insignificant neighbour of Astograth - Iturributa - disagreed, their President Ruisko Garbalena labeling the actions of the Euran state as appalling.

In the meantime, the West Angolan Ambassador (this paper presumes one exists in this country) will be summoned this morning to the Embassy Communion Service building in central Bastion to hold immediate talks. Topics of conversation are likely to include in what ways the West Angolan state will have to embarrass itself to get its citizens back, and to what extent they believe that Mytanar women are a bit skanky.

[Darmen]

Darmen eliminated from First place contention, can still qualify through playoffs

With three matches left before the fat lady sings, the All Greens are in a good position to qualify for their first ever World Cup. The All Greens, only two points behind Equestrian States, sit in thrid position in Group Nine. Following a disapointing three to one loss to United Gordonopia, the All Greens rebounded with a six to one victory over Gangnam at home. Tor Tong Lee returned to his usuall self, scoring twice in the first half, and assisting Luca Cormio for his second half goal.

"We're in a good position, but we need help from our opponents," said Manager Tim O'Donahaue. Equestrian States will face Weatherdon tonight, while the All Greens will take on East Shippensburg. The two matches following that will see Equestrian States face United Gordonopia and Gangnam, while Darmen will take on The Scandinavian Islands and Qazox.

"We know it's possible, and we're burning rubber chickens all the time when we're not training, but we need help from some other teams. Both Weatherdon and United Gordonopia need to defeat Equestrian States, I don't expect them to loose to Gangnam, and we need to win our final two games against the easy teams, and at least come away with a point against Qazox," said O'Donahaue, smiling after the five goal win against Qazox.

"Even then," O'Donahaue continued, "We can not end up tied with Equestrian states. The first tie breaker is head to head, and they've got us there."

The Scandinavian Islands and United Gordonopia also have a slight chance to claim second place in Group Nine and secure a spot in the playoffs. But their paths to that position in the table are quite narrow.

"Really, it's a two horse race," said Captain Tor Tong Lee, who for the first time in a couple of games had a good showing. "And between the two teams, Equestrian States has the easier path to take. We need some help, but it is possible."

Darmen will take on East Shippensburg tonight. In the last meeting between the two teams, Darmen won 4-0. This matchup is on the road however for the All Greens, and will be much tougher for a the squad.

[Mesoland]

(OOC: I return to school tomorrow and will not have time to post detailed newspaper-style articles any more, so expect a lot of these sort of RPs in the coming days.)

"Second time unlucky, so it would seem"

"Fourth place now. We can't win the group and we'd be delusional to even think for one moment that we can get second."

"We're playing Timfen next week, you'd hope for a win there."

"They've been playing pretty well recently, Giazanba needs to field his best squad."

"Aye, it'd be nice to move into third and stay there."

"Those pesky Soviets will give us a good run for our money."

"That would be expected given their KPB position."

"Obviously forgetting World Cup 61..."

"We were exceptionally good during WC61, one of the most marvellous performances I've ever seen a team put in during qualifying."

"It seems that our table movement has hindered us."

"Not sure about that, I think it's just that we had a very inconsistent group last time."

"Unlike this year."

"Yes, with the Jahistics losing every game, Bears Armed winning every game and so on."

"We've lost to the right people and beaten the right people this year, unlike last year when we beat all of the wrong people yet managed to lose to the wrong people."

"Yes. We did the double over Queer Poco el Mono Ara but lost twice to unranked Slembana."

"Slembana are turning into a fairly decent team, aye?"

"I'd certainly agree. They weren't nearly as successful as us during last year's competition, however they've been punching above their weight."

"For sure."

"So, your predictions for next Wednesday, following our 2-1 victory over Fanchnopolis this evening?"

"I'm going to say 1-1, on the basis that we can't seem to keep a clean sheet and their form has, as aforementioned, been decent."

"Fair enough. I'm going to say 2-1 to the blues, with Nukaba scoring both."

"Ah yes, Nukaba. What a player."

"Indeed, a legend of the Meso game already."

"Now playing his club football in Farfadillis. He was the top scorer in their league, you know? 52 goals!"

"Christ!"

"I know. His club finished third, which is, of course, an excellent position to have ended the season in."

"Definitely. Right, we're going to take a short advertising break and we will see you in three minutes."

"We have an exclusive interview with Beritata Nukaba himself coming up, so don't go anywhere!"

[Farfadillis]

(Ran out of RPing ideas and decided to do something inspired in Astograth's RL WC Archive, but with another format and another tournament to be respectful to him. I hope you don't mind Asto. Also, the most importaant part will be a link to an image that is really long and that would be too hazardous to post here, and would take me more than the cut-off. It won't caus any probalems if you read it on a separate link, though.)

Somewhere in RLStates, one of the most important sporting regions, South América, was about to start the Copa América, or CA43, what you prefer.

WFE (after CA43 finished):



So, the CA was about to start, who would win?

The CA. (the most important part of the post :|)

Note: I know the post is short, but I hope you enjoy how I pictured the CA. Although I feel that you need to have seen it to undertsnad some things. At least I know Asto will. :P

[Apox]

A Footballing Round-Up
The Supersonic Blog

Well, what a time we've been having since the World Cup restarted for the second half of Qualifying. After that momentous win after we hosted Thatius in a tricky home game.

Legalese 3-2 Apox
However, the next game, and as yet uncovered game was against group leaders Legalese who proved to be a tough challenge, especially taking them on away, a 3-2 loss being the outcome, the same result as the previous leg. However, the spirited team did not give up without a fight, even after conceding from a Garry Maharry free-kick which managed to beat William Hewitt to the goal. Thankfully, Apox equalised just 5 minutes later, Ken Rickwright curling the ball into the net from a long range effort. Unfortunately, just before the break, Legalese scored once more, Jack Wayne scoring on this occasion.

Both teams came into the second half fighting for control of the game, and as expected, Legalese took the opportunity to score in the 63rd minute, substitute, Titus Armistead scoring with his first touch of the ball, angling his header expertly into the net. However, Apox did manage to gain a consolation goal in the 80th minute, Chris Maarsden netting with a volley. A spirited effort by Apox, however, not enough to challenge for an unlikely play-off spot.

Team Sheet
GK - William Hewitt sub Joleon Small 77'
RD - Fronden Abel
CD - Chris Neguwa
LD - Jennie Scott
RM - Olim Benzari
CM - Ken Rickwright (c)
CM - Tom Mills
LM - Fran Gracie
ST - Chris Maarsden
ST - Dravid Scott
ST - Marlon Vetta

Apox 4-3 Aguazul
We really weren't expecting a result from this game, and were really using it as good match practise for playing against higher ranked teams. To go away with a win is remarkable and the manager and team should be praised for their glorious efforts to bag a good result, and move us into 3rd place in the group.

The game started eventfully, with Aguazul grabbing an early goal with Arturo Benavides slotting in a long range effort. Luckily Dravid Scott was on hand to equalise 7 minutes later, a traditional long range effort that landed in the top right corner. Marlon Vetta scored in the 39th minute, giving us an unlikely lead going into the second half.

Aguazul were having none of it though, and Escobar Lanos equalised with a header off a corner only 3 minutes into the second half, giving the travelling fans hope. However, Chris Maarsden was on hand to slot in a cross from Dravid Scott that seemed to loop forever in the air, before grounding in the net. 5 minutes later, Fari Y took a corner, which Chris Maarsden scored in again, sending the home ground into cheers of jubilation. 4-2, surely we would win? Almost not, for Ansuro Sarmiento scored from a free-kick to give the fans hope, but the confused Aguazulean team couldn't quite get there to score an equalizer and a stunned Apox emerged victors from the bout.

Team Sheet
GK - Jarvis Staniels (c)
RD - Jack Forster
CD - Dan Weekes
LD - Jennie Scott
RM - Olim Benzari sub Fari Y 60'
CM - Ken Rickwright
CM - Will Fich
LM - Cas Newan
ST - Chris Maarsden x2
ST - Dravid Scott
ST - Marlon Vetta

New York State 0-1 Apox
A large number of fans made the trip out to watch Apox win in quite a boring 1-0 win over New York States who played an incredibly defensive formation to stop a large number of goals being conceded, a Fran Gracie header being the only thing that separated the two sides.

Team Sheet
GK - Jarvis Staniels (c)
RD - Jack Forster
CD - Chris Neguwa
LD - Jennie Scott sub Oley Williams 73'
RM - Olim Benzari
CM - Will Fich
CM - Fran Gracie
LM - Cas Newan
ST - Chris Maarsden
ST - Keri Ularu
ST - Marlon Vetta

After those two victories, our chances in the group look exciting indeed!

  Group 15                              Pld   W   D   L   GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Legalese                                11  10   1   0   30   12   18    31
2 Aguazul                                 11   8   1   2   24   13   11    25
3 Apox                                    11   7   0   4   25   20    5    21
4 Slembana                                11   6   0   5   18   19   -1    18
5 Thatius                                 11   5   2   4   23   15    8    17
6 Svengarda                               11   4   1   6    9   12   -3    13
7 New York State                          11   1   1   9    7   20  -13     4
8 Nopspri                                 11   0   0  11    5   30  -25     0

Hopefully normal Supersonic service should be resumed next week when we finish transferring to a new database. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Blog Out

[19th Century Beards]

Man arrested, two injured after 19th Century Beards clash

A world away from the recent crowd trouble in the FSSO, a man was arrested today after a brawl outside a local pub next to Ribble Park after 19th Century Beards were thrashed 5-1 by number 4 in the world Babbage Islands. Two people were also reported as injured.

The man, 32 year old James Smith of Kingsway Lane, a worker in the Ministry of Finance, has been charged with assault after an eyewitness saw him bite off part of a man's ear and stamp on his head outside the Ribble Arms at 7:30pm yesterday evening. Both Smith and the victim, Carl Burke, 22, a cousin of 19th Century Beards player Mattie Burke, were part of the 450 home fans who watched the game, and both went to the pub after to have a drink. The eyewitness said he saw Smith and 3 others 'start on him [Burke]' as he went up to the bar to order some drinks for a group of friends, and push him out onto the street, where he saw Smith push Burke to the ground and stamp on his head, knocking him unconscious. The group then proceeded to kick the unconscious man for two minutes, and when he came to consciousness, Smith proceeded to force Burke back onto the ground, biting part of his ear off in the process.

Burke is currently in hospital in a stable condition. Doctors say he will be kept in the hospital for another few days where they will run tests on his ear to see whether it can be sewn back on, a standard procedure for all surgeries involving sewing parts of the body back on, only two of which have been completed so far. In another incident at the same pub, a man, believed to be from The Babbage Islands suffered a minor injury, and was released from hospital early this morning, after receiving treatment for a broken toe.

The Minister of Crime, a position almost no-one knew existed due to the fact that this the first arrest in over a year, and the total number of police is 16, Jane Thompson, said "We are disappointed in the recent assault that happened yesterday was not spotted by the policeman controlling the area. We will increase the number of policemen around this area up to three, and may consider placing them inside the Ribble Arms in case of any further incidents." Police officers have welcomed this move, maybe because they want to have a drink while on the job.

As for the football, 19th Century Beards were played off the park, as expected when coming up against world number 4. Each of the Bumblebees five forwards grabbed a goal each. Right forward Sergio Flores Cotto gave the traveling Bumblebees fans something to celebrate after scoring in the 18th minute with a cheeky lob over Thomas Smith. Then Emily Howell curled a lovely free kick into the top corner to make it 2-0. It was 3-0 before half time, Vigdís Stefánsdóttir tapping in from a corner. The Beards managed to grab a goal back after the restart as centreback Jack Major's header was just out of reach of the fingertips of Kaitlyn Miller. Bearchán O'Dea restored the three goal lead minutes later, firing a powerful shot past Smith. Amado Cavazos made it five for the Bumblebees with a close range effort. The game ended in controversy however after Paul Milne was dubiously sent off after being given a second yellow.

[Wight]

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