Ponies Looking for Win Against Vaporeons in Critical Fixture
by Steve McNotapony
at Elements Stadium in Ponyville, Equestrian States
Capacity: 48,750
Match Day 1 Results:
Equestrian States 4, 
Colombian Britannia 2
Northern Sunrise Islands 1, 
Alkoul 1
Iturributa 2, 
Welsh Cowboy 2PONYVILLE - Following a decisive Equestrian victory over an extremely unprepared Colombian Britannia squad, the Ponies will attempt to hurdle the biggest obstacle in the way of a third-consecutive World Cup finals appearance: the Vaporeons of Northern Sunrise Islands.
Originally, the top two seeds in Group 12 were scheduled to meet on the fourth match day, but a last-minute change of the fixtures (for reasons still unknown) saw the clash between the well-known teams moved up a couple weeks. So here we are now, with less than 24 hours separating us from the start of a match that could make or break either team's qualifying campaign. For the Equestrian States, the match presents an invaluable opportunity to establish a five point lead over Group 12's only other top 100 squad. The Sunrisians in contrast, come to Ponyville still recovering from a stunning draw against 304th-ranked Alkoul. For the Vaporeons, defeat would be a disaster, setting them far behind the group-leading Ponies in a qualifying campaign where every last point carries significant weight. A win for Northern Sunrise Islands, however, would put them just ahead of the Equestrians and could quickly make them the favorites to qualify from Group 12.
Though a draw would hardly be a bad result for the Ponies, Head Coach Twilight Striker has publicly stated her intention to play to win. "I don't think that a tie would exactly help us here," the unicorn manager said at a recent press conference, "We still have eight matches to play after the next one, and anything can happen. I'm not going to risk our chances of qualifying by not putting our best players forward in a match that very well could play a huge role in any tiebreaker a couple months from now. Gone are the days when the Equestrian States aims for anything less than three points in a match."
Few would doubt the Equestrian States have what it takes to win against Northern Sunrise Islands. In a recent friendly played prior to the qualifying draw, the Ponies cruised to a confident 6-3 victory, albeit with neither fielding anything resembling their current first team save for a few players from the Equestrian States. But the pre-qualifying friendly isn't the reason many analysts would predict three points for the Ponies, rather they would point to the near total lack of motivation or determination shown by the Sunrisians in their opener against Alkoul. Against the Equestrian States, such a lack of energy would be exploited left and right. If the Vaporeons put forward anything less than 100%, the result will be far worse than a 1-1 draw.
As for me, I expect Northern Sunrise Islands will show up eager to rebound from a disappointing first match, and will give the Ponies a good run for their money. However, in front of the usually fantastic crowd in Ponyville, I can't see the Equestrians losing. A draw is a definite possibility, depending on whether or not High Soarin' is at the top of his game, but the depth of the Ponies' at midfield and in the attacking third could overcome even a shaky outing by the Equestrians' aging goalkeeper. Steve McNotapony's Prediction:
Equestrian States 3, Northern Sunrise Islands 2Qualifying - Group 12 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1Equestrian States 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 3
2Iturributa 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
Welsh Cowboy 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
4Alkoul 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Northern Sunrise Islands 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
6Colombian Britannia 1 0 0 1 2 4 −2 0
Match Reports :: Pre-Qualifying Friendlies & Qualifying MD1
Cesar Milano '36 (J. Anderson)
Scaberius '2 (T. Zettner)
Ichi Tuzzio '3 (Mêndêlöíndçêl)
