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ABANHFLEFT SURVIVES POLAR ISLANDSTATES, WINS 2-0
By Luke Edwards
TABECK, STARBLAYDIA - We are now through to the Round of 16, and the pressure on the Young Revolutionaries to redeem themselves after their shameful exit in the last edition of the tournament is weighing heavily upon their shoulders. It didn't help that they were facing against Polar Islandstates, a team which they have no experience playing against. They surely would have wanted an easier draw, such as Schottia, Wolfbenz, Vermark, or maybe Venta de la Mesilla once again. But the Young Revolutionaries sucked it up and made lemonade out of the lemons that had been given to them by the tournament, and delivered an emphatic 2-0 win over the Chicks in Starblaydia's Bekkside Arena.
These were the starting lineups of the game.
ABANHFLEFT - STARTING LINEUP
GK: Carlos Cohen
RB: Florence Patterson
RCB: Kristin Pittmann
LCB: Ainsley Gibson
LB: Shelly Murray
RDM: Cedric Pearson
CDM: Lea Choi
LDM: Sarita Cairo
CAM: Rory Edwards
RS: Yoshinobu Mori
LS: Karen Villegas
POLAR ISLANDSTATES - STARTING LINEUP
GK: Gunnsteinn Moskowitz
CB: Iosef Miroshnichenko
CB: Iosef Winter
CB: Victor Otkupshchikov
RDM: Teitur Ronkainen
CDM: Karl-Franz Klemmensen
LDM: Eirikur Sigurdsson
CAM: Johannes Skjoldebrand
CAM: Sim Lefebvre
ST: Johannes Huso
ST: Kjartan Grndstrom
You will notice that Carlos Cohen is back between the goalposts, but Lea Choi is back in the CDM position for Joe Warren, who also suffered another injury in training. It's yet another pulled hamstring, and this time we're sure that Joe Warren is now absolutely and irrevocably out of this tournament. Polar Islandstates' lineup appears unchanged, deciding to go with their full first team in this crucial round of 16 side.
Gameplay began in the Valhallans' favor, with the two-man team-up of Johannes Huso and Kjartan Grndstrom making ferocious shots to welcome back Carlos Cohen into the tournament. But the youngster from Sporting Ceneisis stood firm against the onslaught, never giving an inch against Huso's fancy shots or Grndstrom's brute and straightforward attempts. His opposite number between the Valhallan goalposts wasn't so lucky, though. Gunnsteinn Moskowitz was beaten twice by the Young Revolutionaries, with the first goal coming from a sublime kick from Yoshinobu Mori from an acute angle that had the perfect curve to just get grazed by Moskowitz's fingertips and then slip into the goal in the 40th minute. Twelve minutes later, in the second half, substitute Luĉjo Kleinmann nodded in a corner from Karen Villegas that was also just beyond the reach of Moskowitz. The Valhallans tried hard, very, very hard to get back into the game, but Carlos Cohen, working together with his defenders, served to deny the Chicks any hope of even just a consolation goal, and after 3 minutes of stoppage time in the tail end of the second half, Polar Islandstates had been eliminated by the fighting Young Revolutionaries.
Abanhfleft's quarterfinal matchup will be against Taeshan, which survived their matchup against the Equestrian States with a goal in extra time. Once again, it's a nation that we have not yet played against in any conceivable amount of time, but Celerino delos Reyes is confident that his boys and girls can handle the veteran side.
ABANHFLEFT 2 - 0 POLAR ISLANDSTATES
YOSHINOBU MORI (40')
LUĈJO MIĤAELO KLEINMANN (52')
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