World Cup 64 RP Thread

by **Alexanderburn** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:41 pm

Alexanderburn 2-2 Romantique Belle Vie
Schroeder (29'); Jameson (58')
Alexanderburn disappointed by "mere draw"

It is quite disappointing that the team lost in this home match! In fact, I believe that they should convert back to the old line-up!

The memorable moment of tonight's match: none. The fact that Alexander Nordaglio was starting as the goalkeeper had excited many, but they soon came to realize that the team has, so far, been better off with Dale Moulton, who has seen next to no time at all on the pitch despite his presence as the "second-choice goalie" for the past two years. Many believe that he simply offers a much more fresh perspective on how the game needs to be handled, especially in defensive terms.

"This team has been seriously lacking a strong and solid defense for a while," noted Moulton in an earlier interview. "With all respect to [Nordaglio], I just believe that I truly organize the defenders in a way that no other can do - that is in a very organized, efficient racehorse. One minute they can be preventing a goal and the next minute they will be setting one up for a striker. The problem before was that these defenders tried to, and in fact did, make goals, but that simply leaves my half of the field completely unguarded and endangered. It just simply cannot be."

It came as a surprise to all when Romantique Belle Vie took control of the game with an early 19th minute goal, but luckily the home team retaliated just a few minutes later, after which the RBV footballers came back with a response, leaving Alexanderburn down one goal at their own field. The second half resembled those of the beginning of the qualification round - boring and (practically) scoreless, that is - and it was definitely a gift that the ANFT scored shortly before the hour mark.

"I just want to see my side winning once again," said Jeanette Alderson excitedly. "My boyfriend and I have really missed van der Pol always leading the team to victory. It was a sight that we just loved to witness together, it brings back good memories." Disappointment was obviously expressed throughout post-game events as Alexanderburn defeated the RBV team at an away game in the first leg by a comfortable two-goal margin. Here are the stats and line-up:

0:1 - RBV player - 19'
1:1 - Marcel Schroder - 29'
1:2 - RBV player - 33'
2:2 - Hunter Jameson - 58'

STARTING LINE-UP (Alexanderburn @ Liventia)

Kidane / Massie
Frederiksen / Holierhoek (c) / Jameson
Fiedler / Collett
Doyle / Rittenhouse / Beller
Moulton

Modification: -3

Good luck Alexanderburn!

by **Equestrian States** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:54 pm

ESPN: Equestrian Sports Programming Network
Unbeaten Streak Reaches 20 Games as Ponies Cruise By Cowardly Pacifists

Cowardly Pacifists - 1
Unknown '62

Equestrian States - 3
Fire Dash '10
Apple Jack '21
Cloudchaser '45+2

Once more, the Ponies came into a match with more concern than would ultimately prove necessary. Expecting a grueling defensive battle with Cowardly Pacifists, Head Coach Twilight Striker started many of her regulars to give the Ponies the best possible shot of cracking the historically tough defensive wall of the Chickens (what we believe to be the team’s nickname, although the lack of a public roster has cast some doubt). It took just a few minutes for the Equestrian States to crush the rumors of a defensive battle, disassembling the Cowardly Pacifists’ defense with practiced ease.

Team captain and all-time scoring leader Fire Dash led the charge, burying a shot in the upper-lefthoof corner in the 10th minute to put the Ponies on the scoreboard. His goal was followed eleven minutes later by Apple Jack’s on a post-corner kick header. Throughout the first half, the Ponies were nigh unstoppable, puncturing the crumbling Cowardly Pacifists defense for shot after shot on goal. Inevitably, one of those shots would go in; and in the second minute of stoppage time before the half, Cloudchaser provided the dagger with a blistering drive straight through the keeper’s gloves from just a few yards out.

Seeing the 3-0 lead as insurmountable, Twilight Striker subbed in a number of her lightly-used players to give them more valuable experience leading up to the critical matches with Osarius, Lymantatia, and struggling Sargossa. Although the Chickens would attempt a late rally, scoring in the 62nd minute, the reserves were (for the most part) effective at holding their opponents at midfield and putting together several attacks of their own.

Despite Narrow Margin of Victory, the Equestrian States Clinches Playoff Berth

Mitumba - 1
Unknown '7

Equestrian States - 2
Sonar '15
Candace Rivers '61

After committing the minor blunder of overestimating her opponent, Equestrian Head Coach Twilight Striker nearly made the opposite error in a narrow victory over unranked Mitumba. Anticipating another easy victory, not unlike the 5-1 trouncing the Equestrians delivered in the teams’ first meeting, Twilight Striker had only a few starters on the pitch at the beginning of the match. However, the Mitumbans caught the Ponies off-guard by launching a number of furious attacks early on that culminated in High Soarin’ fumbling a save to give the underdog home team a 1-0 lead.

But the Ponies rebounded quickly after High Soarin’s blunder, with backup forward Sonar attacking in tandem with Apple Pie to even the score just eight minutes after falling behind. Despite the Ponies’ reserves’ best efforts, the Mitumbans put forward a staunch resistance throughout the remainder of the first half. The second half started with a short-lived attack by the home team that ended as the momentum swung firmly into the hooves of the Equestrians, where it would stay until the final whistle blew. Still needing a goal to pull ahead of their opponent, the Equestrian States battled for every inch, but the Mitumbans couldn’t keep up with the relentless pace set by the Ponies forever. In the 61st minute, an Apple Pie foul kick was deflected by Candace Rivers into the back of the net to give the Equestrians their first lead of the night, which would also prove to be the decisive blow.

As the final whistle blew, celebrations erupted across the Equestrian States as the Ponies’ win combined with the Bongo Johnson upset of Lymantatia assured that the team would make it at least to the playoffs. In the other three World Cups where the Ponies advanced to the playoffs stage, the berth was still in doubt until the final match. Although the Ponies have guaranteed that their match against Sargossa in three weeks will not be their last of the campaign, Twilight Striker has made it clear that she will not be satisfied by a mere playoff berth. “We still have three excellent teams that we have to play. But as it stands, the only way we can guarantee ourselves of a spot in the finals is by winning this group or at least being one of the best runner-ups. The Osarians are right on our hooves, and we can’t stop to celebrate until we’ve gotten past that hurdle.”

As Ponies Close on Finals Berth, Roster Must Narrow

With last night’s victory over Mitumba, the Equestrians wrapped up a playoff berth, putting the Ponies within prancing distance of a spot in the finals in Wight or New Montreal States. This qualifying campaign has the Equestrians now sailing in uncharted waters. With the very real possibility of the Ponies clinching a place in the World Cup, Head Coach Twilight Striker must begin to consider what her final roster will look like should the Ponies advance. Presently, the team has 31 players, which must be trimmed down to 23 for the finals. Who has the best shot at making the final team? And who is likely to be left behind? Read on to find out my thoughts, dear reader…

Safe

Through 15 matches, we’ve seen a relatively stable core group of players emerge as Twilight Striker’s favorites. As such, it’s entirely reasonable to assume that most (if not all) of this group will at least be on the Ponies’ squad should they reach the World Cup proper. In addition to the usual array of starters, I’m willing to bet that goalkeeper Gentle Breeze will be on the final team as well. In the few matches where High Soarin’ has not been Coach Striker’s go-to goalkeeper, the young pegasus has always been given the nod. With the only other goalkeeper on the team (Barrel Roll) seeing hardly any playing time, it seems unlikely that Gentle Breeze will not be on the squad as a reserve.

On the Bubble

Beyond a doubt, the fiercest position battles are currently being fought at midfield, where the Ponies have no lack of talent. Although all five likely starting roles have already been filled, there’s still plenty of space on the bench left. The most likely reserves at that position are Apple Pie, Carrot Cake, and Lightning Bolt, who have all played in several matches as substitutes or starters. At the forward position, it’s also reasonable to assume that Thunderbolt and Sonar will be tapped to take up the backup roles for Fire Dash and Thunderlane, as both players have capped and scored in several games thus far.

In Danger

Finally, we get to the bottom of the pile; the stragglers. As was mentioned earlier, goalkeeper Barrel Roll seems to be a long shot to make the team, having seen considerably less time than his fellow Equestrian keepers. On the defensive side of the ball, there are also many questions left unanswered, with the Ponies’ struggles in several matches at that position. In the finals, there will not be as much leeway as there has been in the qualifiers, and Head Coach Striker will likely have to pick between all-out offense and all-out defense on her final roster to give the Ponies the best chance at succeeding. If offense is the focus, I’d pick forward Katherine Everdeen as the most likely to pull into the final 23. But if Striker chooses to plug up the rear (and maybe even shift her formation a bit), then you should expect to see Antonio Randall or Blackmane on the bench in the finals.

Of course, the Ponies have to make it there first; but with a playoff berth in the saddlebags, an auto-qualifying spot seems to be not far behind.

Predicted Final Roster

Starters
GK - #1 - High Soarin' (Pegasus - Male) - 30 -

Cloudsdale Flyers
DF - #3 - Flitter (Pegasus - Female) - 24 -

Ponyville United
DF - #8 - Andrea Molovi (Human - Female) - 23 -

Stalliongrad HC
DF - #17 - Subtle Trix (Pegasus - Male) - 29 -

Cloudsdale Flyers
MF - #5 - Starlight Sparkle (Unicorn - Female) - 27 -

Ponyville United
MF - #9 - Rainbow Blitz (Pegasus - Male) - 20 -

Makosile United
MF - #2 - Cloudchaser (Pegasus - Female) - 24 -

Cloudsdale Flyers
MF - #11 - Rapid Dash (Pegasus - Female) - 27 -

Canterlot Royals
MF - #4 - Apple Jack (Earth Pony - Male) - 25 -

Appleoosa HC
FW - #10 - Fire Dash (Pegasus - Male) - 28 -

Ponyville United
FW - #7 - Thunderlane (Pegasus - Male) - 24 -

Stalliongrad HC

Reserves
GK - #21 - Gentle Breeze (Pegasus - Female) - 20 -

Ponyville Galaxy
DF - #6 - Stronghoof (Buffalo - Male) - 22 -

Stalliongrad HC
DF - #13 - Fight Night (Unicorn - Male) - 28 -

Fillydelphia HC
DF - #22 - Ironclaw (Griffon - Female) - 27 -

Everfree Forest HC
DF - #28 - Diamondheart (Dragon - Female) - 24 -

Fillydelphia HC
MF - #14 - Apple Pie (Earth Pony - Female) - 27 -

Appleoosa HC
MF - #31 - Candace Rivers (Human - Female) - 22 -

Fillydelphia HC
MF - #12 - Lightning Bolt (Pegasus - Male) - 22 -

Canterlot Stars
MF - #27 - Carrot Cake (Earth Pony - Female) - 31 -

Appleoosa HC
MF - #16 - Blazing Fire (Griffon - Male) - 29 -

Canterlot Royals
FW - #30 - Sonar (Bat Pony - Male) - 20 -

Matthew City Senators
FW - #23 - Thunderbolt (Pegasus - Female) - 22 -

Canterlot Stars

by **Jeruselem** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:58 pm

In Yesopalitha, afer Jeruselem lost to Yesopalitha 2-0. Michelle Salad and player Melony Buffers

Michelle: Hey, why did you get send off?
Melony: I don't know!
Michelle: Did you kick anyone?
Melony: No
Michelle: Did you insult the ref?
Melony: No

Michelle: What did you do?
Melony: Nothing!
Michelle: Surely you did do something
Melony: Well, I don't know
Michelle: I sent off the Princess to find out why
Melony: I'm sure she'll find out. She's like a dog with a bone.

Michelle: Surely the ref found something to complaint about
Melony: Well, a bug bit me on the boob and I had remove my top to get rid of it
Michelle: Ah, indecent exposure.
Melony: It wasn't small either. Nasty little blighter. Left a horrible red mark.
Michelle: You do have big boobs
Melony: So, he is gay or something sheesh!

Michelle: Well, I hope the Princess can sort it out
Melony: I hope so. I tell ya, this bug had really long fangs
Michelle: I understand. I don't like bugs either
Melony: I mean I'm fine with them as long as don't bite me
Michelle: I'm a insect magnet
Melony: Really

Michelle: Yeah, they like my blood
Melony: Maybe I got bitten by a booby insect
Michelle: Never heard of those
Melony: Anyway, it still hurts the bite
Michelle: Even now
Melony: Yeah

Michelle: Doesn't that bandage help
Melony: No, I can still feel the sting
Michelle: Nasty
Melony: That's after it got disinfected
Michelle: Oh well
Princess: Idiots

Michelle: Well? What the result
Princess: The officials refused to recind the red card until I showed them one the bugs
Michelle: Really?
Princess: Yeah one of them fainted
Melony: Oh thanks Princess, you're a genius
Michelle: How did you catch one

Princess: Well one decided to bite me. But no bug gets the better of Princess Katy
Michelle: Good work Princess
Melody: Did the bite hurt
Princess: Oh course it did. It bit me near my privates
Melony: Ouch!
Princess: I was really mad

by **Polar Islandstates** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:13 pm

Continued from here.

Sargossan Frigate Corraldo, Sea of Scotia. 18:42 CT.
"Sokhorosk Linii craft Southern Sun, this is the Sargossan frigate Corraldo, this is your final warning. Turn back or prepare to be boarded and searched. Any attempt to continue on your present course and not change bearing or speed will be interpreted as a sign of disobedience. This is the Sargossan frigate Corraldo, this is your final warning."

"...anything?"

"Nothing, Captain."

Captain Garcia swore inwardly. That was his second 'final warning' already. The guns were loaded, but he really didn't want to think about using them, even as a warning. The Sun was getting closer, and still no sign of any other Sargossan craft getting anywhere near him. He felt a bead of sweat dripping past his collar and down his back. Even worse, he felt his crew's piercing gazes all over him. He hot flushed and ran his mind around the same flowchart as before.

"Captain?"

"Erm," he hesitated, "send them a final warning."

This wasn't going well. He was worried.

Kuril Square, Agheim. 18:44 CT.
"WHAT DO WE WANT?!"

"KŰLMSAAR!"

"WHEN DO WE WANT IT?!"

"NOW!"

The chants got louder, and the aggression more evident. Marius Eduardo was on a roll. Leading the chants, he was everywhere on teh front line, brushing up and pushing the thin blue line separating the KTP from the loyalists. Bottles where flying, fists were clenched, and the reservists in the corner were preparing for a charge. Excellent. They'd flatten the protesters and Marius could add 'police brutality' to his list of reasons the islands should leave the Federation.

Inwardly, he rubbed his hands with glee. Everything was falling into place.

Outwardly, he hung back and moved away from the front line. He climbed the palettes again and called for his fellow patriots' attentions. Eyeing the police preparing in the corner, he reached into his inside pocket and removed his little black book. And then, he preached. Marius Eduardo preached, and the people listened. They listened, and they reacted.

The police gritted their teeth.

Container Ship SL Southern Sun, Sea of Scotia. 18:45 CT.
Captain Van Eyck ignored the repeated hailings and checked the charts again, and logged the location of the Corraldo. The time was fast approaching for Van Eyck to make the move he was asked to. He looked up, and saw the Sargossan craft on the waves coming towards them.

"Klaus?" he said calmly.

"Captain?"

"Prepare to give the signal, on my mark."

"Aye, Sir."

Sargossan Frigate Corraldo, Sea of Scotia. 18:46 CT.
"Hail them one last time, Defederico. Final warning."

Aware that that was the fourth time he'd said those words, Captain Garcia sweated. He wasn't prepared for these wargames so early in his career. And yet, if he left it any longer, he'd be worried about the risk of not being able to hit the Southern Sun at all. He had orders, and he needed to uphold them.

"Still ignoring you, Captain."

Garcia slammed his fist down on the surface of the desk in anger. This was it, he had to make a decision he really didn't feel capable of doing. He looked at the men around him, many years his senior, and realised the choice was effectively made for him. If he wanted their respect, if he wanted to make an impact in the navy, if he even wanted a career at all, he had to do it.

"Very well. Fire a warning shot, Defederico, over their bow."

"Aye, Sir!"

And with a boom that resonated in the air, the front cannons of the Corraldo came to life and fired the first shots.

Kuril Square, Agheim. 18:46 CT.
Marius Eduardo had the crowd at his beck and call. More KTP activists were entering Kuril Square by the minute, despite the best efforts of the poor overstretched police force. That would be his first move if he was Governor of Kűlmsaar, he thought, more police. Lots more police.

Instead, he took advantage of the current force's misfortune and waved the frenzied crowd into action, a fervent heaving mass of muscle and bone. The energy in humanity was terrifyingly strong, sometimes.

"MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS," he shouted, "THERE IS GOING TO BE A REVOLUTION!"

Rabid cheers.

"YOU ARE ALL INVITED!" he yelled, waving his arms loft.

More deafening cheering. He had half a thought to march on the Governor's Palace if the force of the people was this strong tonight, but instead he focused on the preachings in his little black book, acting out the stages of the revolution he was imagining in great detail. Vastly different to the actual details of Stranglehold, of course, but much more inspiring for the people.

Getting into the spirit of things, he put his black book back in his inside pocket and continued to boldly ignite the crowd. He looked at the line of police separating him from the loyalists. How he wanted to smash their insufferable little treacherous heads and reveal them for the traitors and enemies of Sargossa that they were. How we wanted control of these islands to pass to Sargossa. How he hated the Federation.

One more round of speeches, he thought, and then we'll move. And he reached back to his top pocket for the little black book...

Federal Submarine UFS-Belligerent, Sea of Scotia. 18:46 CT.
"Thor's beard!" yelled Dreijer, standing up and throwing off his headphones across the desk.

"Sit down and shut up, Dreijer!" shouted his XO in return, before hissing, "We're in silent mode here, are you nuts?!"

"Stuff the silent mode, Sir," answered the communications officer, nursing his sore ears, "they're firing weapons up there! Damn near deafened me!"

"Weapons?! Who is?"

"The Corraldo, who else?" replied Dreijer, moving back to his desk gingerly.

"Thor's beard..." said the XO, wide-eyed, any news from the Sun?"

"Let me check," said Dreijer, sitting back down and replacing the headphones, though at a much lower volume.

The entire room was watching him, silently. The entire operation now depended on timing. If he'd missed the signal thanks to the gunshot then the Sun could be captured, or even sunk. His role was now more crucial than it had ever been.

There!

There it was. The signal he was listening for! A definite pulsating rhythm coming from the propellers of the Southern Sun; the signal that the time to surface was now.

"Signal!" he shouted according to drill, raising his hand dead in the air.

His XO nodded, and rung a ball twice with a button in the wall next to him that connected to the Captain and the engineers that acutally flew this thing. Soon, every man and woman on that submarine felt the same unmistakable feeling of rising to the surface where, if all was well, they would be joined by the Bravery on the other side, and they could finally co-ordinate with each other out loud.

The whole process took barely thirty seconds, and soon there were two charcoal grey conning towers flanking the hulking mass of the Southern Sun. Dreijer had no time to focus on a job well done however, and he went back to monitoring sounds for any torpedoes that may be set loose. There was no time to celebrate yet.

Kuril Square, Agheim. 18:48 CT.
Officer Hogdahl was facing the moment he feared. A rabid crowd and a gun that fired rubber bullets when he had had neither crowd control nor firearms training. Strictly speaking, he shouldn't have been handed the gun at all, but the numbers of police in Külmsaar meant that they simply couldn't cope without requiring some recruits from the academy to strap up and shut up.

He looked at it nervously in the corner of the square as the KTP whipped themselves into a frenzy in the middle of the square. They were itching for a fight, but Hogdahl couldn't help hoping they'd pick a fight elsewhere, or at least at a level that meant nobody needed to get hurt.

"FALL IN LINE!" his sergeant shouted, and Hogdahl joined his officers dutifully in a line behind the more experienced shield carrying officers.

The noise whirled around him as the KTP noticed the armed officers forming rank and advanced aggressively, their ringleader stood on palettes in the middle, urging them on. The cacophony grew louder still. Chants, songs, jeers, sirens. Flashing lights polluted his vision of the scene, reflecting and refracting around his helmet. The KTP grew ever closer, goading the police for daring to arm themselves against the people and trying to force a reaction from them. The bottles were flying, fists were being waved in the air, banners were billowing, and the atmosphere was electric.

Hogdahl was jostled from behind and risked a glance over his shoulder, more shielded police had closed around their rear, having been outflanked by the Külmsaari loyalists that were just itching to get their hands on the KTP. His heart was pounding, he could hear his own pulse in his ears, feel it in his nose. His breath grew shallow.

He saw the front lines of the KTP arming themselves with wooden poles from various placards, half bricks, half shields broken not ten minutes earlier, anything they could lay their hands on. Mentally, he urged them to put them down lest he and his colleagues be forced to use the flexiplastic batons that hung from each of their waists. And then he saw it.

Marius Eduardo, ringleader of the notorious KTP was stood on his palettes two or three feet off the ground, visible only from the waist up over the heads of the crowds in front of him like some twisted conductor of people. Catching Hogdahl's eye, he laughed, mocking the police for arming themselves, and he pointed a finger-gun at Hogdahl before 'firing' in slow motion and laughing once again. Hogdahl burned inside. And then Marius reached into his top pocket.

The noise. The sounds. The moment. The smile. The laugh. The finger-gun. The reaching into his pocket.

The conclusion.

It all happened so quickly. Seeing what was happening, Hogdahl acted without hesitation. Eduardo needed neutralising before he used his live firearm that would be firing very real bullets.

Hogdahl raised his rifle and fired, instinctively. Even in the deafening roar of Kuril Square, the metallic crack seemed to be heard above everything else.

Marius Eduardo hit the deck.

Red Room, Aasiaat. 17:52 BT.
"Hello? Yes? Live rounds?! I see. Very good. Keep us updated. Over."

"Harstad?" asked President Iversen-Eklund in the choking gloom of the Red Room.

"Harstad." confirmed Clograck, making notes on one of the many extended charts on the table between them. "Both subs have surfaced and sent their automatic signals from their towers. The Corraldo fired a warning shot over the bow of the Sun. Live rounds, we think."

"Live? Thor's beard..." said the President slowly, wondering if she'd just condemned innocent men to be blown up by a maverick frigate commander.

"No word of any further action from the Corraldo since the subs surfaced, but Van Eyck is in constant contact with the Aasiaat."

"I hope so."

An aide entered hesitantly at the side of the open meeting area, and handed a small print out to the President, who promptly swore.

"More rioting in Agheim," she said by way of explanation, "it never rains but it pours."

Sargossan Frigate Corraldo, Sea of Scotia. 18:53 CT.
"No reaction, Captain."

"Very well, Defederico. Hail them again, and if they ignore us again, prepare the front guns for a full assault." came the cold order from Captain Garcia, hoping he hadn't left things too late. "If she won't stop, we'll have t-... wait, are those submarines?!"

"Sir! Two subs surfacing!" came a call from down the bridge.

"Dios mio..." said Garcia slowly, getting up and looking out of the window at the bizarre scene before him. No wonder the Southern Sun's radar signal had seemed larger than it should have been.

"Captain?" said Defederico inquisitively, looking for an adjusted order.

Garcia just stood there, numb. He'd allowed two fully armed Polarian submarines to rush him, completely unaware, and now he ran the risk of losing this boat if he attacked.

"Sir?"

"Ah, erm, stand down, Defederico. We'll let her past."

"...but Sir!"

"Do you want to sink, Defederico? Or do you plan on taking on two subs and winning? We're still not technically at war, Defederico, and I don't plan to be the one to start one."

"Sir."

Dejected, Garcia sunk back into his seat with his head in his hands, not anticipating a good response when he confirmed to the admiralty what had happened. He'd failed. The Polarians had found a gap in the net, and he had been that gap. Who knew what weapons that boat was really carrying, light in the water though she did seem. He had a sudden realisation that his name was always going to now feature in the history books, and not for the right reasons. Stomach churning, he ordered his men to watch for any signs of aggression from the submarines, though he suspected they were just there as 'hired muscle', and left the bridge to think about what he'd done.

Like a sad puppy powering its ears, the Corraldo lowered its guns.

Kuril Square, Agheim. 18:55 CT.
The crowd around Marius hushed, brutally aware that their talisman had fallen. A group of men gathered around him, shaking his bleeding figure by the shoulders. No breath. Fingers hastily checked for vital signs. No pulse either. In the police ranks, Hogdahl was being hurriedly hidden away and removed from the front line, his gun taken off him.

Rubber bullets are only meant to injure when fired at the torso as they should be, but the ugly wound on Marius Eduardo told the story of a bullet that had entered through the eye and never come back out again. Marius Eduardo was dead.

As news spread like wildfire amongst the crowds in the square of Eduardo's death, hands searched his pockets for inspirational material. The hands of his close friend and ally, Petr Fontas, found their way inside Eduardo's jacket and pulled out a lifeless hand that was clutching not a firearm, but Eduardo's famous little black book. Fontas stood aloft dramatically and held the book aloft, smeared with Marius Eduardo's blood.

The people roared with an animal ferocity and charged at the police. Officer Hogdahl had put all of his colleagues in danger. With one rush of blood to his fingertip he'd taken a revolutionary movement and made them ten times more dangerous.

He'd given them a martyr.

The Governor's Palace, Agheim. 18:57 CT.
In his office, even Governor Rekish heard the crack of gunshot elevate and hang over the city like a cloak of shame. He stood up quickly and called in an aide.

"Gunshot? What's happening out there?! Find out what's happening in Kuril Square!" he demanded, "I want to know which side is firing!"

Not tonight, he thought, not when a voyage this crucial was happening out there on the waves. He feared a crucial and divisive split in the opinion of the citizens would do for the islands, and he feared it would happen before the Sargossan threat could be dissipated and the KTP's hopes crushed. He feared it would be tonight.

He also cursed his skittish mind for immediately thinking of an invading Sargossan force when he heard the gunshot, and got up to look out at the horizon for ships. Was it his imagination, or did some of those ships out there look closer than they did before?

He called for his aide again.

"I want every police officer and harbour guardsman we have out on duty tonight. We need to try and quash this." he said with authority.

"Of course, Governor," came the dutiful response from the aide, who was turning to leave just as Governor Rekish added another request to his list.

"Oh, and double security on the palace..."

Container Ship SL Southern Sun, Sea of Scotia. 19:02 CT.
Captain Van Eyck refused to leave his post, and continued to stare out of the front window, his jaw set with tension. His first mate, looking out of the back with binoculars, gave a verbal report instead.

"There's no sign of any pace from the, Captain," he said, "and their guns are lowering! Captain! Captain! we're past them! They're not following! We've done it!"

"We've done it so far," corrected Van Eyck, "we've still got to get to Agheim and dock there yet. What about the submarines?"

"Still there," answered another of his crew, "want me to give the signal to send them away?"

"Not yet," responded Van Eyck, let's wait until we're slowing for port, first. If they've got any sense the Sargossans will have subs we can't see as well, might be useful to keep a couple of our own on hand for now. I want things tight and I want things controlled. We've just run a blockade."

"Aye, Captain," said just about every crew member on the bridge, before his first mate added, "and well done, Patrick."

"Thanks," smiled Van Eyck for the first time since he'd been bombarded with flares in San Vega, "but we're not there yet."

Container Ship SL Southern Sun, Sea of Scotia. 19:06 CT.
Lieutenant Papillon had heard the cannon fire, it was unmistakable, and he had spent a good ten minutes with his men trying to console them and tell them that full conflict was unlikely. He'd been proved right when the engine vibration noticeably slowed from a hasty top output to a more economical run with efficiency in mind. From the whining sound in the hull of the ship Papillon could also tell that the bubble ejection system usually used to give the Sun an easier path through the water had been turned on. This, after being turned off all voyage so far so as to create more noise to further disguise the presence of the submarines.

That, and the fact they weren't sinking, could only mean one thing, Papillon realised: that the plan had worked, and the Sun was through the blockade. Giving the orders, the Lieutenant prepared his men for the secretive disembarkment in Agheim and the period of laying low in a farmhouse in the hills that would be their secret home until such time as they were needed.

From the poems about biding time the officer-poet had written during the unusual voyage it was possible to tell that Papillon was prepared for a long and extended wait in the hills over several weeks before being asked to help out the local police and harbour guard on Külmsaar, if indeed they were called upon at all. However, the Grenlund cavalry soon realised that they underestimated just what a mess Külmsaar would already be in when they arrived.

Federal Submarine UFS-Belligerent, Sea of Scotia. 19:15 CT.
"Bearing has changed." said Dreijer of the dot he was following on his monitor. They've moved away. Could have been a whale?"

"Nothing else in the waters?" asked his XO.

"Not that I can see, Sir," replied Dreijer, "it's almost like they don't care whether we get past or not."

Red Room, Aasiaat. 18:20 BT.
"Clograck. Admiral, hello. Cleanly? Excellent, Admiral, thank you. I see. I'll pass it on, thank you."

"Well?" asked President Iversen-Eklund impatiently before the Defence Secretary had even put down the telephone.

"Wel, they made it through cleanly. The subs performed their tasks perfectly, and scared the Corraldo out of taking any firm action against them. They will also accompany the Southern Sun a bit further towards Agheim before submerging again."

"And that's not an act of war?"

"Well, if a blockade isn't one I don't see how breaking a blockade can be one either." shrugged Clograck. "There was news from Agheim, too. Though, you won't like it."

"Oh?" said the President nervously, fearing the worst.

"Riots are particularly bad tonight, with our sources indicating that a member of the KTP, possibly Marius Eduardo himself, has been killed, possibly by a member of the police." said Clograck nervously.

"Just what we need," said Iversen-Eklund, hanging her head in despair.

"Indeed," rued Clograck, "now we just need to see how the Sargossans will retaliate..."

by **Super-Llamaland** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:33 pm

Group 17
Geisenfried 1–1 Mashiki
The Alphabet Letters 1–4 Astograth
Melbergia 2–1 Super-Llamaland
Branta Island 2–4 The Babbage Islands
Arcquest 0–1 Kialga

Group 17 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 The Babbage Islands 15 13 2 0 36 11 +25 41
2 Astograth 15 11 1 3 26 10 +16 34
3 Geisenfried 15 9 5 1 25 11 +14 32
4 Mashiki 15 10 2 3 41 29 +12 32
5 Branta Island 15 7 2 6 21 19 +2 23
6 Melbergia 15 4 3 8 17 23 −6 15
7 Super-Llamaland 15 4 2 9 18 23 −5 14
8 The Alphabet Letters 15 4 2 9 16 33 −17 14
9 Kialga 15 2 2 11 13 25 −12 8
10 Arcquest 15 0 1 14 7 36 −29 1

We've quite obviously given up first place in this group. And second. And third. And fourth. Technically, we can still take fifth, but the odds of that are extremely low.

But sixth? We should have that. So why does Melbergia have it?

Well, because we just lost 2-1 to them. Urg. Now, the Llamas don't even have sixth place: and they are tied for #7.

There are two close races in this group: one for second, one for sixth.

The second-place race:

2 Astograth 15 11 1 3 26 10 +16 34
3 Geisenfried 15 9 5 1 25 11 +14 32
4 Mashiki 15 10 2 3 41 29 +12 32

Astograth has a 2-point lead and the best run differential. Mashiki has the best offense at 41. Geisenfried is more defensive, with just 11 goals allowed. However, while Astograth can clinch tomorrow with enough luck, we have to wait until then to predict this race.

6 Melbergia 15 4 3 8 17 23 −6 15
7 Super-Llamaland 15 4 2 9 18 23 −5 14
8 The Alphabet Letters 15 4 2 9 16 33 −17 14

The Alphabet Letters is losing in all three categories with a -17 run differential. Our Llamas have lost many close games, and lead in run differential. Melbergia leads both teams by a point. Once again, wait and see.

Tune in next time!

by **Qazox** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:43 pm

A 3-3 draw with Phalnia has all but ended any chances for Qazox to directly qualify for the World Cup, and now the Eagles sit 1 point behind Casssadaigua with 3 matches left, the last of which will be against the Dagans. After blowing a 3-0 lead at Gaveo last monday, Qazox came home to Rockport Stadium, adn for the first 15 minutes were blown out of the water, as Phalnia scored twice (9th and 15th) keeping the Rockport crowd almost silent. In the 24th minute, the crowd began to buzz after Charlie Wayne slammed home his first goal since the 1st Gaveo match to cut the lead down to 2-1. In the 36th minute, Wayne made it 2-all after converting a free kick that just squeaked by the keeper and off the left post. Phalnia re-took the lead in the 64th minute, but Kevin McLaren re-tied it at 3 in the 82nd minute. With so few games left, Qazox is in a must-win situation just to get into a playoff berth.

STATS
Possession
QZX 40.8%
PHL 59.2%

Shots
QZX 13
PHL 16

On goal
QZX 7
PHL 9

Corners
QZX 4
PHL 13

Fouls
QZX 12
PHL 5

Cards: Yellow: Remy Folk (Qazox) 40th; Charlie Wayne (Qazox) 73rd
Attendence: 82,904
Referee: Rebus Tursilio (Osarius)

by **Jeru FC** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:25 pm

Princess Melody and Melody Pond watching Jeru FC play

Princess: Hey, listen this new song by PSY
Melody: It's Korean right?
Princess: No, it's in Spanish ya dope
Melody: Yes, it is Korean
Princess: You knew that
Melody: What's a Mother-Father Gentleman?

Princess: No idea but it's cool song
Melody: Not my type of music
Princess: What, too partying and sexing?
Melody: I prefer my music more sedate
Princess: Hey, you should expand your horizons babe
Melody: I'm boring

Princess:
있잖아 말이야
너의 머리 허리 다리 종아리 말이야
Good! feeling feeling?
Good! 부드럽게 말이야
아주 그냥 헉소리나게
악소리 나게 말이야
Damn! Girl! I’m a party mafia!

Melody: Oh great, she's singing again
Princess: You're jealous, you can't sing
Melody: Well, I'm called Melody but I can't sing
Princess: Love the song, don't understand but don't care
Melody: Has our friend Park heard it?
Princess: Yes, he tried to explain the song

Melody: I'll stick my tastes
Princess: Christian gospel?
Melody: Not quite.
Princess: Can't wait for the video
Melody: Another dance move to learn
Princess: Oh course

Melody: Well, my dancing isn't flash either
Princess: You're pretty good at horizontal dancing
Melody: Hey, that's something different
Princess: You're just lazy
Melody: I'm allowed to
Princess: You're just a Mother-Father Gentleman.

by **Saintland** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:34 pm

Saintland rallies to defeat Kishrael 3-2

(SP) An overconfident Saintland National Soccer Team fell down 2 goals to nil early today at The Banana Nest in Kishrael. The Sanctii eventually regrouped in the second half and escaped Kishrael with 3 more points to remain in the hunt to qualify for the World Cup. That is all that matters as the Sanctii now have just 3 matches remaining in World Cup qualifying. They likely need to win all 3 in order to qualify for the World Cup. "This match was going against us in the first half. We simply came in here overconfident after that victory over Kinitaria and they got the better of us for 45 minutes. At the half, I focused the team and we were able to come back in the second half. My confidence that we would find a way to win never wavered. I put my trust in God and when God is with you, there is nobody that can beat you. Today, Kishrael discovered that. Tomorrow, Queer Poco el Mono Ara discovers that." - Prince Andreas

For the first 15 minutes, this match was bogged down in midfield. In the 15th minute, Georgius Catiotus stole the ball away from Yehuda Taputzov and sent it long to Prince Andreas. Prince Andreas found the pass and passed ahead to Stephanus Vagionius. Vagionius took a shot at goal. Menashe Shumron went the wrong direction and the ball sailed into the back of the net. However, the referee signaled for offsides as the home crowd erupted.

Kishrael would get their first serious scoring chance in the 21st minute. Bibras Tapuah beat out Matthaeus Belaeus and took a shot at the goal. Tapuah's shot hit the post. On the rebound, Yehuda Taputzov got to it first and sent it into the back of the net. Kishrael took a 1 to nil lead. Taputzov had scored the first goal for the home side. The heavily favored Sanctii were facing an unexpected early deficit.

In the 36th minute, things went from bad to worse for the Kingdom of Saintland's National Soccer Team. The Sanctii gave up possession in midfield. Eliyahu Netanya delivered a cross to Shimon Et Basat and Shimon Et Basat took a shot. Once again, Alessandro Seius was not in position. The Sanctii were down 2 goals to nil. The Sanctii got in a few runs into the Kishraeli box before halftime, but none of those resulted in a serious scoring opportunity. The score at halftime was Kishrael 2, the Kingdom of Saintland nil. This was a shocking result at the half.

After halftime, it would be a completely different match. The Sanctii came out with a different look as the Poenius brothers were removed. Paulus Gabinius and Ioannes Gratus came in and the Sanctii would go with a 3-3-1-3 formation in the second half. This change to a more aggressive style of soccer immediately paid off. In the 47th minute, Petrus Mamilius sent a pass forward to Prince Andreas. The Prince crossed it into Paulus Gabinius. Gabinius took a shot and he hit it hard. Menashe Shumron got to it, but he was only able to tip the shot and it still sailed into the goal. The Sanctii were now on the board. The score was 2 goals to 1.

In the 53rd minute, Kishrael had a shot at another goal. Melech Karpaty took a shot at the goal, but it found its way into the hands of Alessandro Seius. Seius booted it long to Silvester Flaccus. Flaccus passed ahead to Prince Andreas. The Prince found his way through the Kishraeli defense and faked a shot. Baruch Sinashin would opportunistically steal the ball away from Prince Andreas. Nothing would come of this scoring opportunity. Kishrael remained in the lead 2 goals to 1.

Numerous scoring opportunities resulted in nothing for either side over the following minutes. As the match entered the 70th minute, Kishrael still held a lead and seemed certain to get at least a point from this match. Prince Andreas passed into the box, finding Ioannes Gratus. Gratus took a shot and Menashe Shumron deflected it for a corner. Prince Andreas went up to take the corner. It found its way to Paulus Flaccus, who headed it into the back of the net. The Kingdom of Saintland was now tied with Kishrael.

For the remainder of the match, the Kingdom of Saintland was constantly on offense while Kishrael was constantly playing defense. Still, Sanctii opportunities turned into saves. Shots that could have gone in hit the post. 2 Prince Andreas corners were headed away to safety. The Sanctii proved unable to get the match winner until the 89th minute. Lucas Aufidius stole the ball away from Bibras Tapuah and booted it long. Aufidius decided to try a long pass to Stephanus Vagionius. The pass connected. Vagionius was through the defense and had just the keeper to beat. He hit a perfect shot into the top right corner. Menashe Shumron was just out of position and the ball found its way into the net. The referee signaled that Vagionius was onside and the Sanctii had their match winner! The Kingdom of Saintland now led 3 goals to 2. Although Yehuda Taputzov had one last scoring chance in added time, his shot was saved by Alessandro Seius and booted away to safety. The referee would blow the whistle for the end of the match. The Kingdom of Saintland had defeated Kishrael by a score of 3 goals to 2.

With the victory, the Kingdom of Saintland now has 31 points in Group 2. That is good for a tie for 3rd place with Krytenia. After Kinitaria's 3-3 draw with Audioslavia, Audioslavia now leads Group 2 with 36 points. Kinitaria is at 34 points. Tomorrow, the Kingdom of Saintland will host Queer Poco el Mono Ara. This is the first of 2 consecutive home matches at Royal Stadium for the Sanctii. Both of these matches will be extremely important for a team that still hopes to qualify for the World Cup. Even if they win out, the Kingdom of Saintland is not guaranteed a spot in the top 2. If Audioslavia wins their next 2 matches and Kinitaria wins out, those teams will be the top 2 in Group 2, even if the Sanctii win out, upset Audioslavia on the 18th match day and finish for 40 points. As the Sanctii play on Royal One tomorrow, the broadcasters will be alerting television viewers regarding anything that happens in the Audioslavian and Kinitarian matches. The Sanctii just need to take care of what they can control and pray for some help from the weaker teams in their group. Only then do the Sanctii stand a chance of finishing top 2 in their group. A 2nd place position would likely mean a playoff against some second place team from another group. Whatever happens, the SP will keep our readers informed about the events in World Cup qualification as the Sanctii play for a spot in the World Cup field over the next few days.

by **United Gordonopia** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:58 pm

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."
Psalm 23:4-

"Bloody hell. They won't listen. They won't fucking listen."

Neither the Capitol Police nor the Imperial Guard would heed Norm's warning. The match against Iturributa, Mathchday 16, would go forward.

"You've got to be able to do something..." John Branson implored, more distressed than Norm had ever seen him.

He had done everything in his power. After fighting for months to discover what exactly Kalinin's great plot against the Empire was, Norm had finally uncovered their target. Tomorrow, they would somehow launch an attack on the World Cup Qualifier against Iturributa. Empire Stadium. The heart of Gordonopia City.

Since coming to the realization only days before, Norm had frantically worked with those who could put off the match, or prevent the strike in some way. For some damn reason they were too stubborn.

"The Caps told me that they can't delay the match on circumstantial evidence. Even coming from an Arbitrat. For Christ's sake I even managed to get Gable to talk to their chief and he point blank refused. I guess popular outcry is more important to avoid than a god damned terrorist strike."

While Norm could see how one could view the evidence with some suspicion, given that there were no documents specifically naming the stadium nor the match as the target, the sheer bull-headedness when faced with Norm's warning was stunning. When told they should test the stadium for explosives, the Capitol Police had said that they had already made sweeps before the new pitch was installed, and that no one could have gotten into the stadium without their notice. While an Arbitrator's word could usually sway opinion, it was not technically law outside of their specified sphere of command, and since the security of the Capitol Metro Area was the domain of the Capitol Police, notwithstanding compelling evidence, Gable could do no more than request some sense.

"So how did it go with the shields?"

Norm replied, "At least they had the sense to admit there was some evidence there. They agreed to keep the Emperor off of the field and in a private box, and apparently they'll arrange for some more security at the match in case they're planning an in-person strike. Beyond that, though... no, they won't even delay the game."

John's face did little to hide his somber mood. He had spent day and night with Norm attempting to forestall M16, yet it would happen. Perhaps they would get lucky, and the token security would stop it in the act. More likely, the pair would have to watch as their nation was attacked. All because some damn cops had flipped at the thought of Force's instincts encroaching on their domain.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

Norm thought. He hadn't wanted it to come to this. He had labored tirelessly, forgoing rest and relaxation to nip the tragedy at the bud. Now he was faced the inevitable.

"Pray, John. Pray and plan. Hope that we're wrong, and prepare to bring the wrath of God almighty to Kalinin if we're not."

by **Filopines** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:20 am

Smart, Dumb and Funny PART 13
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

*at Kate and Rachel's apartment*
Rachel: I'm bored.
Kate: Me too.
Rachel: Wanna get a dog?
Kate: Ok.

*at pet shop*
Rachel: Dog please.
Employee: Wait a minute. (puts hand under table and grabs a dog) Here you go. (places dog on table)
Rachel: Thank you. Here's the money. (gives money to employee then picks up dog and walks out of store)

*at Kate and Rachel's apartment*
(Rachel holds the dog and strokes it's back while Kate is staring at the door without moving)
(Luis walks through door)
(Luis sees Rachel and Kate)
Luis: I'll just come back later.
(Luis leaves apartment then goes into own apartment)
Luis: Rachel and Kate got a dog.
Julie: I wanna see!
(Julie leaves own apartment then enters Kate and Rachel's apartment)
(Julie looks down)
Julie: Hey, I heard you guys got a (looks up and sees Rachel and Kate)......dog. I need to go, uh... clean my uh.... paragon. (runs out then stops in own apartment) What's up with them?
Luis: I don't know! We gotta take them to a doctor.

*at Mark and Aaron's apartment*
(Mark and Aaron watching TV)
Aaron: You know what I wanna be after I retire from football?
Mark: What?
Aaron: A flower.
Mark: Uh....
Aaron: Just kidding! You should have seen your face!
Mark: (nervously laughs) Yeah. That was a good one, Aaron.
Aaron: I wanna open a bar. You and me, drink appletini! Did you hear that rhyme? Maybe I should be a poet! No. That's for wimps.
Mark: That's actually a good idea! Doesn't your uncle own a bar? You could just take over when he's too old.
Aaron: Oh yeah. You're smart.
Mark: (under his breath) Yeah and you're dumb.
Aaron: What? You're lucky I'm not smart enough to hear that.
Mark: (mouths) What?!
Aaron: You know, we should never tell Kate about this.
Mark: Why?
Aaron: Remember last time she got drunk, we missed that concert?
Mark: Oh, yeah. Boy, was she hammered.
Aaron: Tell me about it.
Mark: I took advantage of it, you know. (puts up four fingers) Four times!
Aaron: Nice! (hi fives Mark)

*at the clinic*
(Kate, Rachel, Luis and Julie in the waiting area; Kate and Rachel sit straight and still without blinking and Luis and Julie twiddle their thumbs)
Luis: This was a bad idea.
Julie: Why?
Luis: I mean, come on. They'll get past it. It's just a phase.
Julie: No, they need serious medical help. It took us ten minutes to convince them not to bring the dog here.
Luis: They're crazy all the time.
Julie: This has happened before, when Kate, Rachel and I were in high school.
(flashback to Kate, Rachel and Julie in high school)
Julie (narration): It was the end of the day on a Friday. We just got out of class when these three guys asked us out.
Kate: Oh my God. I think Charles, Mitch and Joel are coming here.
Julie: What's so great about them?
Rachel: They are like, the hottest guys in school! I'd sew them in my sweater. (closes eyes) Oh, yeah!
Kate: Oh gosh, they are coming here. (screams)
Charles: Hey, girls. Me.
Mitch: Mitch.
Charles: And.
Joel: Joel.
Charles: Would like to go out with you Saturday night. Me and you, Kate.
Mitch: Me and you, Rach.
Joel: Me and you, Jules.
Charles: So how about it?
Julie: (scoffs) No.
Rachel and Kate: YES!!!
(Rachel and Kate stop moving and stop blinking)
(end of flashback)
Julie: So that's how it happened.
Luis: You three have a weird life.
Doctor: Kate Marshall and Rachel Giroux?
Julie: That's us.
Doctor: Who are you?
Luis: We're their friends.
Doctor: Oh, come, come.

*at Aaron's uncle's bar*
(Aaron opens door and door makes bell sound)
Aaron: Hey! Uncle Donnie!
Uncle Donnie: Aaron, my boy!
Aaron: Uncle Donnie, this is my roommate and teammate, Mark.
Mark: Nice to meet you. (shakes Donnie's hand)
Uncle Donnie: I've seen you on the television. You're a good player. (taps Mark on the upper arm)
Mark: Thanks. Always nice to meet fans.
Aaron: Shut up now, Mark. Uncle Donnie, I've been thinking, when you get too old to run the bar, how about I take over?
Uncle Donnie: Old?! I'm not old!
Aaron: I never said you were. I mean, WHEN you're old.
Uncle Donnie: Oh. (laughs) You had me worried there, Aaron. Yeah, you can have it.
Aaron: Oh, ok. Is it alright if me and Mark work just for today? For practice, you know.
Uncle Donnie: Sure. Go ahead and put on some aprons and make random mixtures.
Aaron: Thanks. (jogs to behind bar)
(Mark follows Aaron)
Mark: Nice guy, huh?
Aaron: Only cos' you're here.
Mark: Really? He just seems so nice.
Aaron: When it's only family, he's a complete psychopath.
Mark: How weird. Look, a customer!
(customer sits down)
Mark: Hi, sir. What would you like to order?
Customer: Look, there's only one thing worse that being a loser. It's being one of those guys that sits in a bar, telling the story of how he became a loser, and I never want that to happen to me........Here's how I lost my job last week. So I walk in....
(inaudible)
(30 minutes later)
Customer: (cries) And that's why my wife ate that live bird she thought was a potato.
(Mark and Aaron asleep with their heads on the table)
Uncle Donnie: Aaron, Mark! Wake up! There's a customer!
(Mark and Aaron jump up)
Uncle Donnie: Come on, guys. I'm so sorry, sir. What would you like?
Customer: Appletini and a maitai, please.
(30 minutes later)
(Mark, Aaron and Uncle Donnie asleep with their heads on the table while customer talks and cries inaudibly)

*at the clinic*
Doctor: So, what seems to be the problem, girls and boy?
Julie: These two here, Kate and Rachel, won't move anything but their legs when they walk and their arms to pat the dog.
Doctor: Interesting. This might help it. (clicks fingers in front of Kate and Rachel's face)
(Kate and Rachel jump up)
Rachel: What happened?
Luis: I......DO not know.
Kate: My head hurts.
Luis: Kate, Rachel, do you like dogs?
Kate and Rachel: No?
Luis: Thank you, doc. Let's go, girls.
Doctor: You are very welcome.

*at Donnie's bar*
(night time, no customers and Uncle Donnie, Mark and Aaron still sleeping)
(Luis and Julie walk in talking and laughing, see the three sleeping then walk out straight away)

(OOC: For the people who read my RP's, I wanna get your opinion by telegram. Do you think it's good? Which is your favourite episode? Who is your favourite character? Who do you wanna see more of? Any ideas for next matchday? Any questions will be answered.)

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:37 am

The Inevitable Syndicate 5 - 2 Nethertopia
Syndicate: Pratt 16' 34' 45+1' Mitchell 55' 72' / Nethertopia: Unknown 22' 81'
Tensions all around as the Syndicate pulled a bit of a whitewash and narrowly missed elimination last night in their game against Nethertopia. Those three points were really needed, and Pratt and Mitchell helped us pull off victory by scoring some key goals. Pratt started up the machine early, and powered some goals in in the 16th and 34th minutes, while Nethertopia only managed to score one goal in the entirety of the first half, in the 22nd. Pratt also managed to put one away in extra time, one minute after the first half. In the second half, it was Mitchell's turn at goal, in a methodical play that really made the team look like they worked together extremely well. I wouldn't be surprised if it was discovered that the team were the robo-things from Vilita in disguise! Nethertopia managed to score in the final ten minutes of the game, but by this point we were tearing away, and there was no way they were going to catch up. So far, wishful thinking has proved successful, so hopefully our match against Hyskigland can result in a win.

Chapter i. Negotiations
Chapter ii. Raiders of a Lost Art
Chapter iii. Some Assembly Required
Chapter iv. The Syndicatian Intelligence Agency
Chapter v. Hidden in Plane Sight
Chapter vi. Cramming & Planning
Chapter vii. Pharaohs and Prophecies
Chapter viii. From Fligsive With Love
Chapter ix. Casino Generale
Chapter x. Split Up and Look For Clues
Chapter xi. The Temple of Raresh
Chapter xii. That’s No Room...
Chapter xiii. Diplomacy is the Best Policy
Chapter xiv. Ahlenfi Knows All
Chapter xv. An Irate Emir

Administrator Kidnapped

AHLENFI---- What was meant to be a peaceful diplomatic meeting ended in chaos last night as the Administrator of the Inevitable Syndicate, Andrew Browne, was kidnapped by an unknown group of terrorists in Hashbi. The Government has reported that the Administrator’s whereabouts are unknown, however it is known that he and two other Syndicatians who were present at the dinner have been unable to be contacted since last night.

Local sources reported a black van driving away from the embassy at a breakneck pace after the dinner was held. Ahlenfi police were contacted, but seemed hesitant to appear on the scene. Whether this is related to the chief of police’s recent murder is unknown, but for now the Syndicate is in a state of emergency. IneviPol have been dispatched to both Hashbi and Fligsive in order to locate the whereabouts of the Administrator, and to protect his wife and children.

We will give you more on the news story as it develops.

Sarah Jensen
ILN News

by **West Angola** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 5:52 am

Benguela, Portuguese Colonial Fortress, 1894
Luke Parrish slammed his fist onto the table, startling one of the comm operators. “Damn them! Damn the Portuguese, damn their cavalry, and damn Blyr’s men!” He was faced with a near-impossible choice: either siphon off troops to save Blyr’s 3rd regiment and prevent a gap in the middle of the line, a move which would drain his reserves, or allow the men to be massacred, which would likely result in both him and Blyr being flanked. Either choice had a large chance of resulting in his defeat, and he couldn’t afford to not do either. Weighing his options, he made a quick decision, the situation necessitated speed. When offered a choice between a possible and an assured failure, always take the possible one, Parrish began dictating a message to three of his reserve battalions:

“All three units will move north to section A14 to reinforce the 3rd Luandan Regiment and prevent a breakthrough by enemy cavalry. This section must be held at all costs, do not allow the enemy to annihilate this unit or exploit the breakthrough. End Message.”

Parrish angrily turned on his heel and strode out of the tent. He needed to clear his head and observe things for himself.

The battle for Benguela raged on. To the south, Portugal succeeded in massing its forces for one massive push along the line, hoping to smash the rebels and open up a corridor for reinforcements. Commanders such as John Gutelle remained blissfully ignorant of the Portuguese preparations for the attack, deluding themselves and their men into believing that Portugal was still committed to the piecemeal strategy, feeding in their units one by one and blunting their effectiveness to the point that they were nearly useless. As the eleventh hour for men like this drew near, they continued to believe that their position was utterly secure. Fortunately, others along the line, including Colonels Renault and Orien, had correctly recognized what Portugal was planning, and were ready for a hard fight. Portugal might be able to break through the rebel lines, but they would have an extremely hard fight of it.

To the north, General Blyr continued his drive towards the city, completely unaware of the cavalry units that had sliced his entire left flank off from his army, leaving him vulnerable at his weakest point. The cavalry units that had established the breach had not yet attempted to engage him, and were instead concentrating on maintaining surprise until a more complete force could be established to commit the actual strike. Instead, the units were concentrating on widening the breach by annihilating the isolated Third, forming a noose around the stricken soldiers and beginning to draw it tight. Even as Blyr continued to push further towards the fortress itself, he marched his army into increasing danger, exposing himself more and more to a devastating flanking maneuver, one he wouldn’t even know was coming until it was too late.

The situation in the separated Third Regiment was even worse. The unit had quickly found itself completely surrounded and prevented from rejoining Blyr both by the cavalry forces and the dense foliage of the jungle. Colonel Reoliu had been killed, shot through the head attempting to send out one final distress call to Sien’s headquarters, and now acting-commander James Larssen was pinning all his hopes on that call, one he was not even sure had been heard. Sien’s three battalions were forced to fight their way through the tightening ring of Portuguese soldiers to reach the stricken unit. After nearly half an hour of tense, close quarters, hand-to-hand fighting in the jungle, the men succeeded in opening a gap through the noose and making their way to the desperate Luandan regiment. Captain Larssen had been so overcome with emotion at the arrival of their saviors that he’d greeted First Lieutenant Kevin McDaniels, the commander of the three battalions, with a bear hug and a kiss on either cheek, an occurrence both denied vehemently for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, back to the south of Benguela, Parrish’s forces had their hands full. Portugal had successfully brought what remained of their forces together for a massed frontal assault, and were beginning to strike at multiple points up and down the line. Parrish had returned to the communications tent, trying to stay abreast of the situation. The reports coming in from his regimental commanders now were nothing like they had been earlier, men like Gutelle, who had confidently predicted victory just hours earlier, were falling to pieces, while the ones who had seen the attack coming were holding together, trying to keep the attackers from breaking through. Parrish began hurriedly dictating replies, firing off orders to reinforce weak sections of the line, trying to manage his me to keep some back to forestall disaster. Things quickly grew grim, Portugal had caught two of the regimental commanders completely off guard, which meant that a full quarter of Parrish’s men were being driven back, in danger of being cut off.

At the height of the battle, the key began clicking at a new station, and the crewman managing the station sprinted over once he had the readout. “It’s from the Luandan unit, sir.” Grabbing the paper, Parrish breathed a sigh of relief. Thrown off guard by the arrival of reinforcements from an unexpected direction, the Portuguese cavalry, already dismounted (and thus fighting out of their element), had been routed by the now-doubled amount of rebel soldiers. With aggressive fighting, as well as no small amount of luck, Captain Larssen and Lieutenant McDaniels (Parrish had chuckled at this combination, Small world…) had managed to drive back and rout the Portuguese, eliminating the breakthrough and closing the gap in the line. With one massive part of the Portuguese battle plan eliminated, the only hope for opening a reinforcement gap to Benguela was driving back Parrish’s forces to the south. With one crisis resolved, Parrish returned his attention to the one that was far closer to home. He quickly resumed dictating replies, trying to stop, or at least hold off, the doom of the rebellion…

NAMIBE CHRONICLE

WEST ANGOLA EDGES WEST ZIRCONIA AS FIELD NARROWS

WEST ZIRCONIA- Last night, in a crucial road match, West Angola snatched three points with a 1-0 win over West Zirconia. Peter Wilson scored the lone goal of the match in the 51st minute, and West Angola’s defense kept the Zirconians from equalizing, with Keeper Blake Green stopping a pair of late shots by Alun Lydiate and Steve Allerton to give West Angola a key win as the number of teams remaining in the hunt for a qualification narrows. The crowd gathered at Memorial Square in Namibe let out a massive cheer as the final whistle blew, and as the results from around the group flashed up on the big screen, and it became clear that West Angola held a three-point lead for second place, the good feelings in the square spiked dramatically.

The latest set of results reveals a rapidly narrowing field within Group Three. Liventia, a familiar name to many international football aficionados, is the latest casualty, being eliminated after a disappointing campaign that saw them perform far worse than expectations. Bears Armed has locked up the first place spot in the group with an impressive campaign, but behind them there are still several teams in the hunt for that second place slot in the playoffs. West Angola is currently second with 33 points, but just behind them sits Ossidiacqua with 30 points, who holds the added advantage of having already played Bears Armed, whereas West Angola must play host to the group’s juggernaut in their next match. If West Angola can manage a draw against the Ursines, it will be an event to be celebrated, but in all likelihood West Angola is going to have to hope for some upsets below, while avoiding falling victim to such themselves.

Also in the hunt for second is West Zirconia, the team West Angola defeated last night. With 28 points, they would need West Angola to lose more than the one match they are expected to drop against Bears Armed, and hope that Ossidiacqua drops a match to one of the lower-ranked teams in the group. All three teams could still grab the spot, and West Angola is going to need to muster all of its savvy in order to avoid an embarrassing upset that would leave them sitting in third place and hoping for a Cup of Harmony bid for the third Cup in a row and fourth in the last five. Remaining on West Angola’s schedule are: Bears Armed (4-0 away in last meeting), Alexanderburn (4-3 at home), and Runimia (2-2 away), and if West Angola can avoid an upset, they should finish 2-0-1 for a final record of 12-3-3, the best mark the team has ever had. With that record, the worst West Angola can finish is a tie for second with Ossidiacqua, which would likely come down to goal differential (West Angola’s is +14, and Ossidiacqua’s is +11).

by **Apox** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:26 am

An Adventure In Old Guard - Part Twelve

Back inside the warehouse, the figure who had appeared in the doorway flicked the switch to the lights, temporarily blinding Clement as his eyes re-adjusted from the darkness. By the time Clement could see properly again, the figure, who had now revealed himself to be the man from the assembly hall, was sitting down opposite him on the other side of the desk, lighting a cigar that was clamped between his teeth. A short silence followed before he looked up and saw Clement staring angrily at him. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and merely said;

"You're in my office." Clement was taken aback, was that a serious statement.

"I didn't ask to be," he replied, angrily. The man smiled and leant back in his chair, opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Clement, "And who are you?"

"Me? I'm Richard the Strong, soon to be you overlord. Under that buffoon Askain of course." Clement sighed, he thought Lord Askain was too frail to be an effective leader. Not that he was an effective leader when he was the actual leader of Old Guard, only two years ago now. "Did you like that little display in the assembly hall, to warm the troops up," Clement didn't dignify that statement with a response.

"Hmm," sighed Richard, leaning further backing in his chair, and taking another puff of his cigar, "No doubt by now your police friends will be arriving." he said, flicking on the radio on the desk, as the sound of Jon's voice filled the room from the speakers mounted on the walls,

"We've got to get Clement out, Kali if you could focus you fire on the doorways." Clement was aghast, wondering how much of their plans Richard and the revolutionaries had heard.

"Oh, come off it Clement, we're not stupid. And your signal was so easy to hack, child's play really. You didn't think you could just sneak in here, did you?"

"Why did you let us in then?" asked Clement,

"Fun really, although it is a shame that friend of your's David escaped, he will have to be found," he was interrupted by the radio, "...and David and I will head in,"

"...or maybe not," he said, a slightly deranged smile spreading across his lips. "And then you can watch as the revolution turns this country back into what it should be. A dictatorship."

***

Kali and the police force had rushed into the compound, tying up and gagging the security guard at the gates, before running down or travelling in police cars to the outside of the building. They had quickly created a semi-circular barricade around the outside of the building, using police cars and the cars already there as cover. However, there was no-one to be seen, and a group of 4 officers, two armed with assault rifles, had headed forwards towards the building, to the main door at the centre of the building.

Jon, Jennifer and David had all arrived at this point and were parked around 30 metres back from the police blockade, while remaining contact with Iskander and the SPECTRE who were round the other sides of the building.

"Guys, the police are in place and about to enter the building, we may need back-up."

"Copy Jon, the SPECTRE and his troops are moving up. I'll be standing by in the A.S Sapphire, guns ready."

Jon put the receiver down just in time to see all hell break loose. The four policemen had reached the doorway, when the leading one smashed open the window, unleashing a hail of bullets on the policemen, including from above. Two of the policemen were instantly killed, another wounded and one pinned down to the side of the building. Luckily, before being hit, the wounded policeman had been able to throw one of his smoke grenades inside the lobby area, which was now pouring smoke out of it. As this happened, a figure appeared on the roof, and shot what appeared to be a RPG down at the police force waiting below, causing one of the police-cars to violently explode, showering burning debris over the police officers surrounding it. Jennifer quickly began reversing the car away from the battlefield, as he shouted into his radio receiver,

"We require back-up, they've got serious weaponry! Urgent assistance required!"

German American States 0-0 Apox
Are Apox stumbling at the finish line? That is the question we want to know, after going without a loss in the first 13 games of qualifying, we now find ourselves drawing to lowly ranked German American States, after our first loss of the campaign and manager Numba's tenure as Apoxian manager, meaning we've picked up just 1 point out of a possible 6 in the last two games. However, that point turned out to be enough to ensure we get at least a play-off place, which in itself is the best we've ever done. However, having lead so confidently for most of the campaign, it would be a shame to see us fall to a play-off place, and we need to win our next match against Tyrants, and then hope to continue our good form against The Inevitable Syndicate and Western cuba, a win against either after a win against Tyrants would secure the top spot of the group and see Apox qualify for their first World Cup, and become only the second Esportivan nation to qualify, after Licentiapacisterra in WC 61 and 62.

Team Sheet from the Match
GK - Will Hewitt
RD - Hans Nielsson
CD - Dan Weekes
CD - Fronden Abel
LD - Jennie Scott
RM - Olim Benzari (c)
CM - Will Fich
CM - John Carpenter
LM - Fari Y
CF - Keri Ularu
ST - Tom Olfa

by **Blouman Empire** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 7:14 am

THE EMPIRE TIMES

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

12/12

First Name: Sir Nathan
Surname: Kolson KCD CBE OP
Position: Manager
Town of Birth: Pilson
Nation: Truingren
International Games Managed: 42

Bio:Sir Nathan Kolson KCD CBE OP is one of Blouman footballing legend not only as a manager but also as a player having won a total of 43 titles. He is the only person to have won the Blouman Champions League both as a player and as a manger has been showered with a number of accolades. Sir Nathan started his career at Jollipville Athletic when he was signed up as a 13 year old and spent his formative years in development also in his team included a number of other greats including James Hogg, Gary Hargravet and former International coach Harry Malsomp. It was while in this youth team that he won his first title the U15 Imperial Cup and it was Sir Nathan's header in the final minute that put Truingren in front to win the game, it would be the first many. Jollipville promoted Sir Nathan up to the senior squad at the age of 18 but was quickly loaned out to 2nd tier side Frolsen United for the year in his 21 appearances with the team he scored a total of 11 goals and helped them to win promotion despite his desire to stay with Frolsen Jollipville refused to extend the loan and instead put him on the first team where he played a total 6 games. His second season with the club allowed him to shine where he started in almost every game and in midfield helped direct Jollipville Athletic to win the Truingren Super League, he helped the team win the title a further two seasons running. A number of other teams took notice wanting the then 23 year old was sold off to Saint Edmunds and quickly became the fan favourite, his ability to control a game bought much success to the club in the 5 years with the club he scored a total of 73 goals and won the Holchmain First League twice, the HAF cup three times and FFB Cup once. As he contract came to an end he was keen to move to a larger club and was picked up by his Jollipville Athletics crosstown rivals Jollipville United. This caused great resentment amongst a number of former teammates and fans with one former teammate stating "The man is nothing but a tart forgetting his loyalties and those that made him who he is today for a bigger salary". His first game against his former club saw a number of items thrown at him from the stand and was involved in a brief scuffle with a Athletic player. Despite the apparent slight made to his former club Sir Nathan bought to his new club what he was famous for and bought to the club the Truingren Super League title twice running along with a his first Blouman Champions League title. After three years with the club he moved to Northport despite his age of 32 he continued to be a heavy presence in every game he played. His 3 years at Northport saw a further Blouman Champions League a North Braxon A league title and a NBAF Cup added to his list of accolades. His five year contract was cut short after three when his left hamstring ruptured effectively ending his playing career. Throughout his playing career he represented Truingren for 120 games and scored a total of 32 goals, he was also appointed as Captain for four years. Throughout this time he won the Imperial Cup a total of 5 times a record no other player has managed before or after. After his retirement Sir Nathan was made an Officer of the Order of the Pine for his contribution to sport and culture that exhibited throughout his playing career.

Sir Nathan only stayed away from the game for 5 years returning this time as a manager for Maidstone Town in the Truingren National League he managed to get the club promoted to the Super League after two seasons but was dismissed during his fourth as the team floundered in the lower third of the table. He secured a position as manager for Lincoln Upon Isar also in the Super League with this club he had more luck making them a top four side and winning the TFA Cup for the club. After his 3 year contract expired he made a move to his first club Jollipville Athletic whom he stayed with for 8 years in this time he managed to win the Truingren Super League 5 times, the TFA Cup 3 times and the FFB twice. During this time he was made a Commander of the Most Honurable Order of the Blouman Empire for his contribution to sport. He moved onto Braxon City for a reportedly K15million a year plus bonuses and he didn't waste any time with his new club winning the treble in his first season with the Braxon Premier League, BFA Cup and Royal Telecom Cup. Over the next 9 years Sir Nathan would bring in a further 3 Braxon Premier League titles, 3 Blouman Championship Cups a BFA Cup and a FFB Cup winning a total of 12 pieces of silverware over a total of 10 seasons. At the age of 64 Sir Nathan announced his retirement from football, the announcement bought about a number of praises and accolades for the manager. The FFB moved him into the Hall of Fame and elevated his status to a living legend, Prince Luke II of Braxon dubbed him a Knight Commander of the Illustrious Order of Saint David and both Braxon City and Jollipville Athletic unveiled statues at their grounds honouring the Sir Nathan.

Sir Nathan only spent a year in retirement before being approached by the FFB to fill in the spot as manager of the international team that had recently been vacated. Sir Nathan eagerly took on his new role at the start of the 63rd World Cup qualifiers and has begun to develop the team into a strong and competitive team. While the team has yet to win any title Sir Nathan believes it is only a matter of time before the team brings home some silverware and regularly qualifies for the World Cup.

by **Cassadaigua** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:25 am

19 Arrested at Concord Heights Stadium During Win,
by Kristen Sharper, Concord Heights Times- senior Sports Editor

First, the good news. Last night, the Dagans looked to avenge the one result that will come back to haunt them if they fail to secure 2nd place by a margin of two points or less. Catholican Catholica was in town for the game, sporting a very weak 0-3-12 record, sitting at the foot of the table. However, one of those draws game against Cassadaigua when the team met in the highly religious nation earlier in the qualifying campaign. That score was 4-4, and unquestionably the worst game that goalkeeper Lauren Kearns has had in quite a long time, whether representing the national team, or her club team. Certainly many fans look at that draw and think that if we had those two other points, we’d be in very good shape right now. Ironically, in the rematch between these two sides, the team Cassadaigua is most concerned with, Qazox, (we see you Gaveo and Leorudo and have some concerns about you, too!), had their worst result of qualifying, only managing a 3-3 draw with Phalnia. This is why you never get bent out of shape over one bad result when you have an 18-game qualifying session, as the biggest threats are bound to have a bad result, too.

Lauren Kearns was much better in this game, and although the final score of 1-0 indicates a close game, the Dagans goal came in the 13th minute, by Chloe Szuma, so there was always a sense that the team had the game under control. The defense did an excellent job of preventing the Catholican Catholica shooters from getting any real good chances, and towards the end of the match it seemed as if Mark Viera, who had two goals in the first game against us, was just putting “a prayer” on net and hoping for divine intervention that it would go in. Kearns had to make a few saves, but all of the variety that you expect any goalkeeper who plays at this level, to make. The biggest scare for Cassadaigua came in the 53rd minute when defender Adrienne Geraci limped off the field, and was replaced by Olivia Norman. Thankfully, Geraci is ok, and was seen back on the sideline towards the end of the game. She will play in the next game, which is obviously very important, on the road in Gaveo.

Unfortunately, the game is not the only thing there is to report. It appears as this new men’s movement that preaches tactics of violence to reach their goals, were very disruptive during the match. In the parking lot, it seems as though setting cars ablaze is becoming one of their favorite tactics, as a total of eleven cars destroyed, leading to the arrest of five men. Within the stands, several fights broke out the led to arrests. One trouble group, of seven teenage boys, all between the ages of 13 and 16, ganged up not on a woman, but on two men dressed up in Orthodox robes in what was described as a vicious attack. The attack was witnessed by many, and instead of trying to help the older men, some decided that it would be best for them to take out their camera phone, record the attack, and post it on popular video-sharing websites. This violent group is not only speaking out against women, but also seems to have a hatred towards Male Equality Now (MEN), feeling they have been too soft, or “unmanly”. The investigation of the death of Sherrianne Trotwell has uncovered that there was a rift within MEN, with a separate sect branching off and promising the kind of thing that we have been seeing over the last couple weeks. There is no apparent leader of the group, and still no formal organization, which makes it hard for authorities to track them down. All of those that have been arrested have refused to provide any helpful information, while saying that this is still just the beginning.

by **Saintland** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:56 am

Following their victory over Kinitaria, the Saintland National Soccer Team took a flight to Kishrael.

Josephus Flaccus - Why do we even have to play this match? We're going to win. They aren't any good.

Prince Andreas - Don't take them lightly, Josephus. They have played in the Cup of Harmony before and they can beat us.

Marcus Jucundius - Come on, Andreas. Don't take things so seriously.

Alessandro Seius - You're both making a big mistake. They know what they are doing.

Stephanus Vagionius - Anyway, why didn't those crazy women show their face today?

Paulus Gabinius - They were probably arrested without anybody knowing about it.

Prince Andreas - My father does not make secret arrests.

Georgius Catiotus - I'm certain they weren't arrested. If they were, we'd hear about it.

Josephus Flaccus - If they were arrested, we'd probably be able to see them get what they deserve in the St. Petrus Square.

Prince Andreas - Yes, my father does plan on performing part of their punishment in public when they are found.

Alessandro Seius - Do you think they decided it was better to wait and surprise us when we least expect them?

Silvester Flaccus - Probably.

Lucas Aufidius - They can't become too predictable. If they did, it'd be easier for the King's Governnment to catch them.

Stephanus Vagionius - Lucas, I think you're right.

They continued to chat during their flight to Kishrael, mostly discussing things other than soccer. They arrived in Kishrael and were stunned to be down 2-0 at the half. Prince Andreas spoke to the team at halftime.

Prince Andreas - During our flight, I warned you that Kishrael could beat us if you did not take this match seriously. So far, they are well on their way to doing so. With half of our match over, we are down 2 goals to one of the weakest teams in our group. We cannot afford to continue playing like this. We have to win the remainder of our matches to earn a top-2 position in this Group and have a shot at a playoff to qualify for the World Cup. This is our 23rd match in the last 5 weeks. We have not worked this hard and we have not traveled the world just to squander all of it against one of the weakest teams in our group. We did not defeat Krytenia and Kinitaria only to lose to Kishrael. We are coming out in the second half with 3 strikers. Nicolaus and Ioannes are going off. We need scoring threats right now. We need 3 goals in the next half. Defense, you need to shut down their attack. Don't let them threaten Alessandro too many times. We can still win this match and we must still win this match. Otherwise, everything we have worked for over these past few weeks has been in vain.

At this moment, Prince Andreas did not know whether his team would respond favorably or not, but as he went back onto the pitch for the second half, he hoped for the best.

Royal One - Postmatch Interview

Following Saintland's come-from-behind victory, Royal One was broadcasting the Postmatch show from their studio in St. Petrus.

Abraham Volusenus - The Kingdom of Saintland comes from behind to defeat Kishrael. Today, I once again have the privilege of interviewing his majesty King Paulus XV.

The King was already seated across from Abraham Volusenus.

King Paulus XV - I'm always happy to speak with Royal One.

Abraham Volusenus - Your Majesty, the National Soccer Team has now taken 25 points from their last 10 matches. Are you satisfied with their performance in their first World Cup qualifying attempt?

King Paulus XV - No need to be so formal with me, Abraham. To answer your question, I think the Prince has done an excellent job leading this team. I'm proud of his performance in this tournament, but I still want them to finish what they started.

Abraham Volusenus - That's understandable. Today, Kishrael took a 2 goals to nil lead in the first half. Were you worried?

King Paulus XV - I hope that is a lesson to them. I've always taught my sons that they should treat every opponent as a tough opponent. When you take your opponent lightly, you end up down 2 goals to nil against a bad team at halftime.

Abraham Volusenus - So, you're saying they were taking Kishrael lightly?

King Paulus XV - The Prince appeared to be taking them seriously, but some of the players on that team seemed to be treating this match like it was a foregone conclusion that they would win. I'm glad my son Andreas straightened them out at halftime.

Abraham Volusenus - Let's discuss some other subjects for the moment. Currently, your son Josephus is captaining the National Field Hockey Team in something called the World Championship in Field Hockey over in Liventia. That tournament aired for a few days on Royal Five and has taken the last few days off. Are you satisfied with his performance so far?

King Paulus XV - Yes. It is impressive that they could learn a new sport on a week's notice and still finish tied for the lead in their group halfway through group stage.

Abraham Volusenus - Why would you enter the National Ice Hockey Team in a field hockey competition?

King Paulus XV - The Summer Olympics gives out medals in that sport, so I want my Kingdom to win a medal in it.

Abraham Volusenus - That's a good enough reason. Meanwhile, in Sicountimont, Philippus Vagionius will lead a team in the Beach Soccer Cup.

King Paulus XV - I sent a team of prospects to that tournament to get some international experience. Their performance in Sicountimont will determine whether they are considered for the World Cup 65 and Summer Olympics squads.

Abraham Volusenus - Meanwhile, your son Petrus struggled at the Baptism of Iron. Do you believe he can adapt to international gridiron in time for the World Bowl?

King Paulus XV - For the past week, the gridiron team has been practicing, trying to learn Petrus's complex offense. I think he'll play more like himself in the World Bowl.

Abraham Volusenus - With the possibility that the Sanctii will be participating in a playoff, there is a very real chance of a stadium conflict between the National Soccer Team and the National Gridiron Team. How do you intend to handle this?

King Paulus XV - The National Soccer Team has first priority for use of Royal Stadium. If the National Gridiron Team needs to play simultaneously with the National Soccer Team, they will play at Royal Park.

Abraham Volusenus - You're going to put a gridiron match in a baseball park?

King Paulus XV - It isn't ideal, but it would be just 1 match.

Abraham Volusenus - You have also entered the Kingdom of Saintland in the Rugby Union World Cup. If that tournament starts before the end of the World Bowl, where will the National Rugby Team play?

King Paulus XV - Regardless of when that tournament takes place, they'll be playing their home schedule in Via Damascus Stadium.

Abraham Volusenus - So, the National Rugby Team does not get to play in the capitol?

King Paulus XV - St. Paulus is the largest city in the Kingdom. I think the people of St. Paulus should get to host some international competition. As you know, its easy to travel between cities in my Kingdom because of the Royal Railroad.

Abraham Volusenus - As we've discovered, there are countries that do not invest in public transportation infrastructure, preferring to use automobiles.

King Paulus XV - The automobile is prohibitively expensive, dangerous and it damages the environment. I'm glad that form of transportation never took off in the Kingdom of Saintland. Automobiles encourage selfishness and individualism. Those vices lead to a society devoid of community. Such a society is one where the people are lonely and grow to resent one another. This leads to divisions and to the breakdown of society.

Abraham Volusenus - I am grateful to live in a Kingdom where we are friendly toward our fellow men. Do you believe the sense of community and the cohesiveness of our society contributes to the success of our sports teams?

King Paulus XV - I am certain that it does. In the Kingdom, our athletes are team-centered, not self-centered. I am especially happy that we have avoided the professionalism that plagues foreign sports.

Abraham Volusenus - How can some countries pay their athletes at levels that put them among the wealthiest 1% in that nation?

King Paulus XV - Some foreign lands are overrun by greed. Since they reject God's True Church, it is no wonder that their land is overrun by sin.

Abraham Volusenus - That's definitely true. I have time for just one final question. How do you expect the National Soccer Team to perform against Queer Poco el Mono Ara, Backyard Sports and Audioslavia?

King Paulus XV - I will tell Andreas when he gets home that I expect him to lead his team to victories in the 2 remaining home matches. I don't think it is realistic to expect a road victory over the defending World Cup champions, but I want the team to try their best to shock the world. I want somewhere between 37 and 40 points out of this tournament.

Abraham Volusenus - We'll have to leave it at that. I thank you, Your Majesty, for joining us today.

King Paulus XV - It has been a pleasure to talk with you, Abraham.

The King leaves the studio.

Abraham Volusenus - As always, King Paulus XV is a man of the people. That's all the time we have today. The Nightly News is next.

by **Mashiki** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:01 am

The bench was not exactly the greatest place for Dilio Menz to be. He wanted to be out there, playing for his country, and trying to qualify for the World Cup, but after the incident in St Bradley's, he'd been sent to the stands, forced off for 3 games before he could play again, after he assaulted an official. He knew that it was he and he alone that had brought this pain upon himself, and it was only he that could prove himself again. He'd tried to appeal after that game against The Babbage Islands, but he was denied. They went on to lose the game 2-0, and Dilio had got especially unhappy with the result, and curse at the linesman and officials before storming down to the changing rooms. But he wanted to change more than anyone, and going to the next match in The Alphabet Letters, would be where he would find out if the team were up to the task of qualifying without him.

The Alphabet Letters is a relatively new nation in Rushmore, so once again the team didn't have to travel far to the game. The home team were optimistic, and knowing that if The Babbage Islands won they would need to win in order to have a chance of still qualifying, although for them it was probably completely improbable of them qualifying. Going into this game, Mashiki were still holding on to 2nd by a point, and would most probably need to win in order to keep hold of it. Before the game, Dilio brought himself to his seat, knowing that this would be the first of 3 games in the position that he was in. He hadn't watched a match in a stadium since he was a young boy, and was really used to being on the pitch and being the player rather than the spectator. Then the whistle blew and the match began...

Mashiki showed their dominance early on, with an attack straight from the off, and only just missing out on the early goal when Papovska struck wide. But the dominance looked sure to pay off, and it did. Aeon Rushidos with a spectacular solo run before slotting calmly into the bottom left corner. 1-0. Then a big streak of bad luck followed as Mashiki hit the woodwork 4 times in the rest of the half, including twice in 1 minute. At half time the score was still 1-0, and Maha told them to hold their ground and not to try and take any unnecessary risks. Then the second half began, and Maha's words went out the window immediately as Nemi Willard dived in two-footed into Xavier, the opposition forward. It felt weird playing against these players, because they looked like humans, but they really didn't seem to get injured, and they hadn't made a substitution throughout the entire qualifying thus far, as well as there being no injuries for them. But this time the player fell, as he was through on goal, and consequently resulted in a red card. The challenge had just got harder.

After the red card, The Alphabet Letters took their free-kick, and after a freak deflection off Harvis Rinkervic, it trickled into the open net, leaving Akarbe Walenga hopeless. 1-1. With 85 minutes played, it looked as if the game was heading for a draw, but then in another counter-attack, Harchelivak brought down Xavier again, this time as a corner was coming into the box,. The referee pointed straight to the spot, and after a slight delay due to Harchelivak being injured in the process, he was shown a yellow-card, and the demon that was Xavier took the penalty, finishing off what would be a great day in The Alphabet Letters' footballing history.

Mashiki may have lost, but Maha Bubuneski was not:

"Look, I know you've just lost, but look on the bright side, Geisenfried drew their game against low-ranked Melbergia, and with an Astograph win, it means there are 3 teams on 28 points fighting for 2nd place. We can still do this!"

After this short statistical speech, the Mashik players were upbeat once again about things, and with their next game against another 200-plus ranked team, they should be able to come back from this defeat. And so the team travelled back to Guadir with higher hopes than before, but also knew that this scenario may mean that they would have to rely on other results. Arriving at Midrifts, the stadium that Menz played in for his club, he took his seat in the stands once again. The second time out of three, and the whistle blew.

This game was a much more exciting one, but at first it was for all the wrong reason, as early in the game the Kialga strikeforce poached two quick yet skilful goals, one a pot-shot from long-range, and the other a quick counter before rounding the keeper and finishing in the bottom corner. But Mashiki were having none of that, and quickly fought back before half-time with two goals of their own, one an own-goal by Kialga's right back, and the other a Papovski strike from outside the area.

At half-time, the team were given a major talking-to, with the basic gist of the speech being that he would not lose to two 200-plus ranked team in a row, and he wanted a win, expected a win. The teams came out for the second half, spurred on by the home support. Sat next to Dilio Menz was Nemi WIllard, the suspended player from last game.

"We should win this, right?" Nemi asked.

"It's not a question of whether we will win it, the question is whether we want to and have the spirit to. It's not all about how we play, how we play differs depending on how we want to play."

"Wise words man.. Wise words..."

The second half, started with a quick goal from Papovska, resulting in a lead for the out-of-sorts and out-of-spirit Mashik side. But all they wanted to do now was hold on to the lead that they already held. And after holding possession for nearly the entire second half, Mashiki won the game 3-2. However, because of Goal Difference, they'd now dropped down to fourth place, even though they were on the same number of points as Geisenfried and Astograph. They were still in the chase...

by **Barunia** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:02 am

GAME FIFTEEN
Joric Ruskin
Joric opened his eyes. He was in a hospital bed. He supposed he must have been evacuated here after getting hit. But where was here? And how long had he been out? He noticed a nurse on the other side of the ward, and managed to attract her attention. He was on Marion Island, far away from the fighting. He'd been here fo two weeks. Two weeks. Joric glanced over at the clock by on the wall. The game should be on about now, against….who? His days were all mixed up. Lalo Limahina? No, that was the day he'd gotten hit. Taeshan were next, but of course he'd missed that game, so it would be …..Kaledor. Joric asked the nurse to turn on the television on the wall, and settled back to watch the game.

Pacifique Tsebo
Pacifique came from a culture that believed in curses. Although h had stopped believing in them, he was beginning to wonder if the Suns were cursed. After last week's loss to Taeshan the Suns had dropped to fourth place, but where hoping to climb again with a win over Kaledor. Only, that was not looking likely. No matter what the Suns did, nothing seemed to work for them. Castolo alone had hit the post at least five times, and he was the only Suns striker to come close to the goal. Pacifique was also having a bad game, mistiming a vital slide tackle and getting a yellow. What's more, he conceded a free kick that Kaledor scored off. Even that goal showcased the Sun's bad luck, with the ball ricocheting off the gloves off Tobias Forrest, onto the crossbar and then back into the net.

After that, things started to go down hill for Barunia. Pacifique was up in midfield, on the attack, and passed the ball to Pablo Zokora, closely shadowed by his marker. Pacifique watched Zokora sidestep the man, and saw his leg bend sideways as he came down on the wrong angle. He crashed to the ground, screaming in agony.
Pacifique shook his head. Zokora had been stretchered off and would probably miss the last vital games of the qualifiers. Surely it couldn't get any worse, he thought. A few minutes later, it did, with Kaledor scoring again.

Joric Ruskin
Two-nil. What a score to wake up to, thought Joric, as the game on the TV ended. He was feeling down after the loss. Cheer up, he told himself, it can't get any worse. He'd never been more wrong in his life.

An hour later, a doctor was telling him he that his legs had been damaged beyond repair. One had been amputated, and the he would never regain full function of the other. Joric didn't believe him at first, he knew his right leg was still there. he could feel it. But then the doctor was telling him about something called phantom pain, and when he worked up th courage to look down Joric found out it was true. His heart sank. He knew he would never be able to play football again. For the first time in a long time, he cried.

by **The Archregimancy** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:05 am

MONASTIC
QUARTERLY

The Magazine for Monks

Fr. George the Caring Answers All Your Monastic Quandries

Dear Fr. George,

I have recently been leading a major Archregimancy-wide campaign denouncing our national football team for the sin of pride this Great Lent. While I reached a compromise with the Monastic Football Association regarding balancing humility and celebration, many of my supporters continued to campaign for our national football team and the MFA to show less pride in their accomplishments. Various scriptural passages have been used in support of our concerns about pride.

But I now fear that I was wrong; so very, very wrong.

Last night I agreed to watch the home match against Bearded Moose alongside two members of the MFA so that we might better discuss how to lessen tensions between my supporters and the MFA.

And I've never seen anything quite like it.

To come down from 4-0 down at half-time to win 5-4... When Fr. Theophilus' third goal went past Predragic's outstreched hand in the 2nd minute of injury time to complete both his hattrick and the comeback, well... who could not be moved. Even more telling was that the opposition consisted of the meek - the salt of the earth, if you will - such as grocery shop owners, students, and pastry makers. It was a magnificent effort by the losing side, proving that both the meek and those which are persecuted for righteousness' sake can sometimes emerge victorious.

But how do I now publicly admit my mistake to my followers?

Yours in Christ,

Fr. S the S

Dear Fr. S the S

I must confess I do not watch this "football", nor do I know what a "Bearded Moose" is - so I am unable to offer you much in the way of specific advice. We'll just have to focus on the general admission of error.

I suspect you may be expecting me to reinforce you, perhaps congratulating you for your humility, and then reassuringly quoting from the Psalms by noting "In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds." But in fact the more appropriate quote is no doubt "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves".

That you're aware you've made a mistake is a start. Yet does not Scripture say "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed"? In other words, you're going to have to monk up and tell your followers that you made a mistake. Just summon them together and tell them. You don't need a sermon, you don't need a long-winded speech quoting Scripture at length, and I'm not even sure you need to involve your spiritual father.

Just admit your mistake.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. G.

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:26 am

Hello!

I am naming Ion, and I am being ear flute player for Sbrskj Krk Trkrj (or, as you are saying in your language, "Let Us All Rejoice in Harmonious Melodies of Glorious Motherland").

Some are asking me 'Ion, how are you playing ear flute? Is not better to be playing flute through nose?' I am then doing the scoffing at them for their ignorance. Everyone is knowing that nose is not best way for the playing of flute as it is being impossible to blow through nose when a cold you are having. Also, which I am not having experience of this, I am hearing that musicians who play the rock and rolly often like to be doing the partying hard, which causes nose to drop off due to sniffing of white powder. While I am not personally liking the dried grated parsnip I am not knowing why the white powder would cause the nose to drop off; perhaps the dried grated beet they should be using instead?

As you are likely knowing, last night Let Us All Rejoice in Harmonious Melodies of Glorious Motherland the beating of San Potato were doing by score of 2-1. This means place in World Cup we have qualified for! This is filling me with feeling of friendship and harmony.

Not by coincidence, "friendship and/or harmony" is theme that Harmony International, an organisation from Equestrian States that peaceful resolution of conflict is promoting, has asked Let Us All Rejoice in Harmonious Melodies of Glorious Motherland to write song about!

Here is our song for friendship and harmony! We hope it is pleasuring you!

Friendship and harmony are wonderful
Friendship and harmony are promoted by the World Cup
Friendship and harmony are promoted by Sbrskj Krk Trkrj
Friendship and harmony are promoted by Harmony International

But what are the things that are bringing friendship and harmony?
Is it the winning of a football game
As when Equestrian states beat Mitumba 2-1
Or when Holy Empire beat San Potato by same score?
Do Mitumba and San Potato now feel friendship and harmony?
I think they do not.
Losing at football does not bring friendship and harmony.

Friendship and harmony are wonderful
Friendship and harmony are promoted by the World Cup
Friendship and harmony are promoted by Sbrskj Krk Trkrj
Friendship and harmony are promoted by Harmony International

So let us look for other things that are bringing friendship and harmony!
Like when we are repairing the beet steel bridge again
Or when it is time for communal milking of goats
Or when it is time for drinking fermented beet mash together
Or when whole world is hearing Slobbodovanian folk music
For the very first time.
These are things which bring us friendship and harmony!

Friendship and harmony are wonderful
Friendship and harmony are promoted by the World Cup
Friendship and harmony are promoted by Sbrskj Krk Trkrj
Friendship and harmony are promoted by Harmony International

Competition
Let Us All Rejoice in Harmonious Melodies of Glorious Motherland wish to be pleasuring you! Commission them to write new famous song for your nation! After each matchday, you may suggest topic for new song by Let Us All Rejoice in Harmonious Melodies of Glorious Motherland!

You set theme for song, and band write song for best idea each matchday - which will also include the result of your nation's most recent match. You can suggest song as many times as you like. Song theme need not be about beets. Let Us All Rejoice in Harmonious Melodies of Glorious Motherland look forward to pleasuring you!

by **Zwangzug** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:35 am

In her desk in Marsey, Morgan Stantoras looked up to watch the TV. Zwangzug had pulled out a victory over Soviet Canuckistan, with Yuuki Nakano scoring the only goal early in the second half. That brought Zwangzug's cumulative total, at both ends, up to twenty-eight. Really, a mid-table team (as they certainly were) were the sort to expect minimal values for, were they not? Evenly matched with their peers, in practice if not on paper, not about to win blowouts but not getting blown out either, if they could help it. Still, there were more defensive teams out there.

It was not a particularly famous win...well, in and of itself. Maybe Sbrskj Krk Trkrj could hype it up some, make something of the cold weather? On the one hand, the Canuckistani whatever-they-were, probably something rather cold. Coming to visit, the antisocial socialists, drilled in the cold mountains, ready to rise back into the top half.

It hadn't been the most heated game, literally or figuratively. But one point was one point. No, one point was three points! She had got to get used to international football.

Such a pity it was hard to watch on TV. So boring. No statistics to count, nothing much to focus on. Which didn't mean she didn't like football. Far from it. She loved going to football games.

It was all about the overall experience...

Dear Hanji Ju’Karra,

Hello! On behalf of myself and my fellow restauranteurs, I'm contacting you about opening a branch of Peak'n'Break in your new stadium. We in Zwangzug had at first been tentative about this project, recognizing that our economy is not particularly astounding on the world scale. Nevertheless, we hope that you are interested in representing a diverse group of worldwide tastes.

Of course, every culture is different, and eating and drinking styles will vary. In Zwangzug, at least, we have little tolerance for people sitting around and drinking in bars--whatever it is they have to whine about--so we would not serve alcohol at this branch. On the other hand, we appreciate hearty breakfast fare at all hours of the day--particularly baked goods. Peak'n'Break looks to introduce the tradition of wonderful game-time muffins (and cinnamon rolls, donuts, French toast...whatever "French" is) to Andossa Se Mitrin Vega as well! Because whether your game starts at 1:20 pm or late in the evening, everyone deserves the chance for tasty breakfast treats!

We are excited by your environmentally-friendly designs, and would be more than happy to adapt some of our wind-farm setups to minimize our wasted energy.

So remember, when life feels like a mountain, rise to the challenge! And reach your peak with Peak'n'Break.

~Morgan Stantoras, Peak'n'Break

by **Kalumba** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:44 am

Ambubwe sighed as he slogged onwards into the thickening bush, he had run out of curses for his gang. Yes they had brough some food and as usual his copy of The Herald, but on sighting him they had cried out and the elephant which had finally been sighted stampeeded and would now be many, many miles distant and as such many hours of slogging through thick bush under the blazing sun.

As he strode on he chewed on a chunk of biltong and opened the newspaper to the sports page anticipating bad news.

The Herald
Report by Bruce Mtwetwe

So end any wild dreams of qualification. A heart-wrenching defeat to Eastfield Lodge has put an end to our qualification campaign, but we still have our pride after a 4-3 defeat to the team ranked 81st in the world. The game was a far better one for a neutral, or Kalumban, fan than the previous encounter between these two teams when Kalumba were comprehensively beaten by three goals to nil.

And although we never led we showed that we are capable of competing once again on the international stage and the decision to return to international competion was the correct one. The game began in the magnificent Lodger City Memorial Stadium, and the travelling Kalumban fans were in excellent voice, and gave the team the confidence they needed to go out and play.

But once again our vastly superior opponents showed just why they are now six points clear of us in the group, and through the genius of Harkness in the midfield went two goals up with just fifteen minutes on the clock. Despite close attention from Anderson twice Harkness was able to wiggle free and spray the ball all over the pitch with pinpoint accuracy. The first goal came ater he lifted the ball over the top of our back four and Jenny did well to beat Ottbourne at his far post. The second was much the same, although this time Kalumba had a very good shout for offside turned down by the linesman.

But with the risk of another embarrassment like that against group leaders Saugeais, manager Davies made a bold move and replaced the ineffectual Anderson with the more creative Rowlatt and his bravery was soon rewarded when Cheeter slipped in Davis and the veteran striker made no mistake rifling past the keeper low into the corner. With half time fast approaching Davis crashed a header against the bar from an Abouto cross and we went in at the break very much in the game.

But just after the restart Eastfield Lodge extended their advantage to two goals again, once again with Harkness being the creator. A quick one two with Vastra and he slid the ball in for Jenny who on a hatrick fired low passed Ottbourne, only for the ball to come back off the left hand upright but sadly for Kalumba Rory was on hand and hammered home the rebound. But still Kalumba did not lose hope and straight from the kick off Abouto found himself in space and swung a glorious cross to the back post which was met by a towering header from Davis to bring us right back into the match.

But the game was far from over going into the last ten and Eastfield Lodge pressed on to try and secure the win, while Kalumba were searching for an unlikely equaliser. But it was the home side who struck with Harkness' excellent performance finally being rewarded with a much deserved goal. As usual it was all his own work, and was also the goal of the game, picking the ball up in the centre circle he drove forward and unleashed an unstopable shot into the top corner of the net. With just a few minutes remaining and the game beyond them Kalumba managed to grab a consolation goal, with Davis completing an international hatrick, and make the final minute very uncomfortable for Eastfield Lodge although we couldn't muster a chance.

Well that ended Kalumba's campaign, but we survived until there were only a few games remaining instead of the halfway stage that many predicted us going out at. We have also seen a hatrick from our greatest goalscore Kevin Davis ad best of all we defeated The Sylvanaes Queendom 2-0 at Kahali National Stadium. The moment our unranked side beat that ranked 14th in the world with live forever in the collective memory of Kalumba and will long be celebrated as one of our greatest sporting triumphs.

by **Milchama** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:54 am

"See what I mean about the goal difference!"

"No, it's your fault"

"How?"

"You cursed us!"

"What?!"

"You put together a second place table eventhough we were in first and now we're in second"

"But we won our game 3-1"

"Sure but Margaret clearly wanted to punish us for showing weakness so Jeruselem won 5-0"

"Also, as my table clearly points out, we are still in a good position to qualify for the World Cup"

"Sure but as a second seed"

"Who cares? The draw is done by KPB ranks anyways, the only question is whether we qualify and as long we keep this up we'll qualify"

"Maybe"

"Maybe?! Definitely! We got this in the bag"

"Stop doing this, you'll jinx us!"

"First I'm jinxing by showing how bad we're doing and now I'm jinxing us by showing how good we're doing"

"Yes"

"That makes no sense"

"It does make sense. You don't try to invite bad fortune and predicting things as either too good or too bad invites bad fortune"

"Didn't we have this debate awhile ago?"

"I think so"

"And?"

"We decided that we were screwed no matter what so we could only talk about the past"

"Unlike Mark McGwire?"

"Yes"

"OK"

"Wait who is McGwire?"

"He's a reference to something that only like 2 other people will get and they won't read the RP but whoever does read the RP will get a small chuckle out of it"

"And?"

"One of those 2 people who will get the reference is NMS"

"Oh ok"

"Yeah, it'll work out"

"Wait, how will all of New Montreal States get the reference"

"Stop trying to bend my reality!"

"Ok"

"Thank you"

"You're welcome"

"So then?"

"Well we should just talk about the past"

"Like?"

"Milchama's 3-1 win over West Guinea"

"Screwed"

"Why?"

"We can't do that, the past is boring. All we do is win we need to talk about what that winning could achieve"

"But remember we can only talk about the past"

"I don't care!"

"I'm stopping this before we get cursed by Margaret"

"But Margaret doesn't exist"

"True"

"Ok then"

"Fine, I'm still superstitious and uncomfortable with that"

"And?"

"Let's end this in a public forum"

"Deal"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

by **Taeshan** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:20 am

Another match and the Knights have managed to be one of the first four to qualify for the world cup with an impressive 1-0 defeat of the visiting Hutt River team. With three games left the Knights have sealed the group and are on there way to New Montreal States and Wight. The match was another close affair but late in the evening the Knights assured themselves a victory with a brilliant goal from Brian Ibrahim pushing them to the World Cup finals. The Knights impressively took the game and will move on for the eighth time to the biggest of international stages. The Knights toughest problem for the rest of the season will be deciding who the fourth inductee into the international player hall of fame will be.

Now as you may now Taeshan manager Iarlaith Mag Aonghusa has announced a very interesting change to his lineup for the post already qualified games. He announced the starting lineups and the odd formation for the next round. Starting for the Knights will be 9 players who hadnt started for the regular starting 11. The starters will be Jacob Martin in goal, three defenders with Eddie Styles, Grant Wetter and Gloria Walters all getting the start. Playing in a faux wingback position will be midfielder Walter Palisades, the two central midfielders will be Tyler Icicle and Aaron Conrad, with Brian Kljestan as a faux attacking midfielder. Ender Wiggin will start as a true attacking midfield with a striking pair of Brian Ibrahim and Kyle Laravy. The two faux players will create a box play around the two central midfielders with both having the ability to push forward or push back or slide to their other wings. The Manager haws nicknamed the lineup the 3-4-1-2 (weird) formation. The Knights will look to use it for the final three qualification matches to get some of the fringe players more experience on the team.

Goalscorers
Ender Wiggin - 12
Brian Ibrahim - 5
Brian Kljestan - 3
Gwyn Juniper - 2
Aaron Conrad - 1
Seth Clapton - 1
Tyler Icicle - 1
Jeremy Jaffacake - 1
Kyle Laravy - 1
Lydie - 1
Xavier Ptolemy - 1

by **Vilita** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:38 am

3 Up, 3 Down

Jungle Cats Opened Campaign Perfectly in Build up to Turori Clash

The final matchday clash between the Vilita Jungle Cats and The Sondry Folk of Wight ended up having little consequence. The Jungle Cats were upset by Farfadillis and upended by Yesopalitha. They were not going to advance. It was a dark day for head coach Calaesa Mitaroka, who had just completed an unbeaten qualifying run en route to a local World Cup Final and a high ranking that would put the Jungle Cats in talks amongst the favorites to lift the World Cup trophy.

Of course, it was not to be. The Jungle Cats could only get a consolation victory over Wight on the final matchday, a somewhat subdued 5-3 match which may look like a thriller on paper, but the reality is, it was quite the opposite. Neither team was motivated enough to defend properly and the flood gates opened on both sides. Sure, it was a win on the day for Mitaroka and the Jungle Cats, but an entire World Cup cycle was lost.

It was a huge chance blown. This group - this Jungle Cats groups that was raised together, trained together - they were more networked than any Vilitan team at any other time in history. They were more familiar with each other than any Vilitan team at any other time in history. They were at their peak. Mid to late 20's. Would they get another chance? Would they have the chance to redeem themselves, and prove they were one of the best teams in the World? Would the Football Association of Vilita have the audacity to remove the leader from the pack and replace Calaesa Mitaroka with someone like a Mikala Abellan, the Strike FC head coach that returned the Venom to the spot light, a UICA Champions Cup runner-up performance and a pair of Stellar Division titles that moved Jungle Strike FC to the top of the all time titles-board, leapfrogging the Yeaddin Owls who had held the record for 35 seasons.

The answer, at least to the last question, was no. The 4th place finish in World Cup 62 followed by the unbeaten record in World Cup 63 Qualification were enough to let Mitaroka keep his job, despite the abysmal performance in Turori. Now, the task was to rebuild confidence in the players, rebuild confidence in the fans, rebuild confidence throughout Vilita that despite slipping down in the World Rankings, this Vilitan team is not only just as good as the one that nearly interrupted the best individual team performance in World Cup history against The Holy Empire in the World Cup 62 Semi-Finals, but that they were better.

Unfortunately, the first match of World Cup 64 Qualifying did nothing to reassure these notions.

Perhaps the other opposition in the group, namely Vilitan neighbors The Island Emirate of Turori, had the team and players distracted. Its possible. On Matchday 1, however, the opponents were Pzetrovlaskia and in order to qualify for, no less win the World Cup, the Vilitan's would have to be professional enough to take care of business against teams they had never faced before and had no scouting information on.

This was a good example of that, perhaps, goals from Uajiala Pulkki, Tujamu Treola and Erocka Lorei gave the Vilitan's a 3-0 lead going into the final 20 minutes. However, two pretty pathetic miscues by Aranora Jaded allowed low-ranked Pzetrovlaskia back into the game in a one minute span. First, Jaded bobbled an easy shot from 30 yards out allowing Gilb Harroww to react quickly and poach the ball into the back of the net.

Then, after coming way out of his goal to talk with Izmao prior to the resultant kickoff, Jaded could not get back in time before Viktor Kosinsky stole the ball and rocketed a looping shot from 40 yards that soared over Jaded's diving arms and into the back of the net. Just like that, a crusing 3-0 scoreline became 3-2.

Lita Adjei ended up netting what would be the winner to make the score 4-2 but Jaded again allowed a lapse in concentration to concede a goal on a corner kick, allowing the ball to sail over head when he could have punched as Queen Ledely was left to head in to make it a tense, but ultimately victorious finish for the Jungle Cats.

If anything came out of that match, it was perhaps that life in the Declasse had affected Aranora Jaded's concentration. For long periods of the Vilitan League season, the Arcticala Inlet goalkeeper was playing against locals and amateurs, not against International Caliber sporting professionals that could strike at any time when the opportunity presented itself like Viktor Kosinsky did to Jaded in the 72nd minute.

As such, Aranora Jaded found himself on the bench behind rival Jaqe Planst on Matchday 2 against Chunnan.

The performance of Planst was far and away better than that of Jaded, with the Cednia Beach AFC goalkeeper confidently gripping every ball that came into his box and ultimately pitching a shutout that propelled the Jungle Cats to the top of the table after a trio of goals came in. Riksa Valjariia, Erocka Lorei and Lita Adjei were the goalscorers for the Jungle Cats at the Tivali Ring Stadium in their first home victory of the new campaign.

The first match of substance of the campaign, perhaps came on Matchday 3 against Svengarda. Of course, everyone was talking about the following matchday - Turori was on the docket, momentum and valuable points towards qualification were still on the line in Svengarda.

Despite a star performance against Chunnan, Jaqe Planst found himself on the bench with Mitaroka opting to get a look at Yeaddin Owls goalkeeper Jungrii Canopii in what looked to be the duo to watch inbetween the sticks for the Jungle Cats.

At the half, the score was level at one a piece with Danie Izmao opening the scoring for Vilita but Vilitan-based Svengarda striker Truls Waaserson equalizing just before the half time whistle.

The match was tense for the opening half an hour of the second half of play, then the flood gates opened up. A goal from Kiroki Mitaroka was negated by the Svengarda response and the scoreline was 2-2. No sooner than the play was restarted, Resaie Kentiak put the Jungle Cats back in front. Svengarda pressed hard for an equalizer but the Counter Attack was on and it was the shock from Relmar Winauat that put the game out of reach, the Strike FC midfielder scoring his first ever international goal.

The Jungle Cats were perfect through the opening three games, but new territory awaited them. A match against rivals Turori. And this time, it counted...

	Pzetrovlaskia
:: Goalscorers :: :: 8' Uajiala Pulkki :: 13' Tujamu Treola :: 66' Erocka Lorei :: 86' Lita Adjei	:: Goalscorers :: :: 71' Gilb Harroww :: 72' Viktor Kosinsky :: 89' Queen Ledely
:: Best Player: Viliaka Morasita :: Worst Player: Jomur Hulyer :: Shots on Target: 7 :: Corner Kicks: 11	:: Best Player: Gilb Harroww :: Worst Player: Thor Obelisk :: Shots on Target: 5 :: Corner Kicks: 8

Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Aranora Jaded, [D] Sipaao Vereaoao, [D] Uajiala Pulkki, [D] Miiara Makose, [DMC] Tujamu Treola, [ML] Viliaka Morasita, [MC] Riksa Valjariia, [MC] Jian Lejsrma, [MR] Jomur Hulyer, [FC] Erocka Lorei, [FC] Lita Adjei
BENCH::
[FC] Sirkii Moliaudo, [FC] Actalia Mermaioada, [M] Kiroki Mitaroka, [M] Cristoh Nrubari, [U] Danie Izmao, [D] Kadi Molali, [GK] Nycflala Kater

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Uajiala Pulkki >>> Danie Izmao
(45) - Miiara Makose >>> Cristoh Nrubari
(67) - Erocka Lorei >>> Sirkii Moliaudo

	Chunnan
:: Goalscorers :: :: 9' Riksa Valjariia :: 37' Erocka Lorei :: 76' Lita Adjei	:: Goalscorers :: :: None :: ::
:: Best Player: Lita Adjei :: Worst Player: Viliaka Morasita :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 12	:: Best Player: Luke Farswa :: Worst Player: Cobert Monzala :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 2

Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Jaqe Planst, [D] Uajiala Pulkki, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Miiara Makose, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Riksa Valjariia, [MC] Manolis Kontalroma, [MC] Viliaka Morasita, [MR] Relmar Winauat, [FC] Erocka Lorei, [FC] Lita Adjei
BENCH::
[FC] Viji-mara Lawaai, [FC] Sirkii Moliaudo, [M] Cristoh Nrubari, [M] Kiroki Mitaroka, [U] Jawz Tiiaupila, [D] Tyaoino Munviola, [GK] Aranora Jaded

Vilita Substitutions::
(28) - Retiso Buran >>> Kiroki Mitaroka
(45) - Erocka Lorei >>> Viji-mara Lawaai
(59) - Viliaka Morasita >>> Sirkii Moliaudo

	Svengarda
:: Goalscorers :: :: 24' Danie Izmao :: 79' Kiroki Mitaroka :: 84' Resaie Kentiak :: 87' Relmar Winauat	:: Goalscorers :: :: 44' Truls Waaserson :: 84' Timo Laathi
:: Best Player: Uajiala Pulkki :: Worst Player: Ritopa Simafela :: Shots on Target: 9 :: Corner Kicks: 6	:: Best Player: Reko Saari :: Worst Player: Pal Lorsen :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 12

Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Jungrii Canopii, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Niubo Deneli, [D] Uajiala Pulkki, [DMC] Danie Izmao, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Viliaka Morasita, [MC] Rexii Tzikas, [MR] Resaie Kentiak, [FC] Sirkii Moliaudo, [FC] Erocka Lorei
BENCH::
[FC] Kristofer Kilpter, [FC] Actalia Mermaioada, [M] Kiroki Mitaroka, [M] Relmar Winauat, [U] Nycflala Kater, [D] Eda Shindhi, [GK] Jaqe Planst

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Viliaka Morasita >>> Kiroki Mitaroka
(45) - Danie Izmao >>> Relmar Winauat
(64) - Jomur Hulyer >>> Actalia Mermaioada

World Cup 64 RP Thread

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