Osarius (OSR) qualifiers
Champions’ Cup 51: Hastmead Diamante
Globe Cup 48: Utica United, Firewood City, Shanak FC
Cygnus Cup 26: Hastmead Diamante
Probably the most exciting title race ever concluded on a dramatic final day this season. The stakes were raised considerably, with the knowledge that only the Golden League champions would be granted entry to the TakilQuip Champions' Cup. Perennial contenders Firewood City, reigning champions Utica United and a resurgent Hastmead Diamante sat within two points of each other at the top of the table after twenty-nine games.
Golden League VI Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Firewood City 29 18 4 7 65 45 +20 58
2 Utica United 29 17 6 6 61 38 +23 57
3 Hastmead Diamante 29 16 8 5 60 39 +21 56
4 Shanak FC 29 13 7 9 59 51 +8 46
With all three travelling away from home for the final game of the season, at a glance, the odds appeared to be in favour of Utica retaining the title. The Tubrissians would be travelling to Violia -- fourteenth in the table, and safe from automatic relegation -- while Turic would host Firewood and Hastmead made a tricky journey to Callisto.
At the other end of the table, Violia were five points clear of relegated Littleshaw Village, but still in danger of being forced into the Golden Road Playoffs. A win over Utica for Violia would not only shake things up at the top of the table, but it would guarantee no Golden Road Playoffs yet again. After ten minutes, Utica were -- as predicted -- in the driving seat.
The situation at 15:11
Callisto City 0-0 Hastmead Diamante
Grasshoppers Turic 0–0 Firewood City
Violia FC 0–1 Utica United
S. Mora 9'
Last season's hero was on course to firmly cement himself in Utica legend, but things are seldom so simple.
The situation at 15:32
Callisto City 1-1 Hastmead Diamante
A. Milani 21' N. Armstrong 31'
Grasshoppers Turic 1–0 Firewood City
M. Marquez 26'
Violia FC 2–1 Utica United
B. Niccoli 19' S. Mora 9'
S. Arca 28'
Alberto Milani's opener in Callisto was cancelled out by a long range rocket from Nicholas Armstrong, and Violia reversed the situation at Violet Temple through Niccoli and Arca, to put Firewood -- despite trailing to a Miguel Marquez header -- in place to claim another Golden League championship. The scores would remain the same until half time, only to explode again in the second half.
The situation at 16:26
Callisto City 3-1 Hastmead Diamante
A. Milani 21' N. Armstrong 31'
E. Wilkinson 57'
H. Dominguez 61'
Grasshoppers Turic 1–1 Firewood City
M. Marquez 26' N. Maga 49'
Violia FC 2–3 Utica United
B. Niccoli 19' S. Mora 9'
S. Arca 28' A. Allen 47', 59'
A double from Ashley Allen seized control back for Utica, despite Nicolo Maga's equaliser. Elsewhere, Hastmead had collapsed dramatically, conceding twice in the space of four minutes. The lack of Ezio Grassi had seldom been a problem throughout the season, but Callisto seemed to have them completely under control. Hastmead's head coach, Benni Watson, was consulting with his assistant, though, and with a little under 25 minutes remaining, the Diamonds pretty much needed a miracle to win the league.
Twenty-five minutes later...
The situation at 16:52
Callisto City 3-4 Hastmead Diamante
A. Milani 21' N. Armstrong 31'
E. Wilkinson 57' Artemis Hue 68', 72'
H. Dominguez 61' Alicia Hue 90+4'
Grasshoppers Turic 1–1 Firewood City
M. Marquez 26' N. Maga 49'
K. Rees 81'
Violia FC 3–3 Utica United
B. Niccoli 19' S. Mora 9'
S. Arca 28', 90+3' A. Allen 47', 59'
After Artemis Hue struck twice to bring Hastmead back into the frame, Turic's veteran winger Kristen Rees effectively knocked Firewood out of the race, scoring an 81st minute penalty. Firewood were down to ten men against one of the best organised defences in the country, and there was little hope of a comeback. This left the title race down to just the two "youth" teams of the Golden League. Hastmead would still need a near-miracle to claim the title, as even a win wouldn't be enough for them unless Violia could level things. Samuele Arca's late equaliser in the third minute of injury time opened a door.
As news filtered through to the away supporters' end at Callisto, the travelling Hastmead fans rallied their team for one final push. Benni Watson, realising the opportunity, decided to risk everything on one last gamble, sending everyone forward for a corner kick in the final minute of injury time. Kira Jackson's floated corner was too high for Ruby Fletcher to claim, and it pinballed around the box before falling kindly for Alicia Hue to poke into the roof of the net.
Golden League VI Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Hastmead Diamante 30 17 8 5 64 42 +22 59 TQCC
2 Utica United 30 17 7 6 64 41 +23 58 GC
3 Firewood City 30 18 4 8 66 47 +19 58 GC
4 Shanak FC 30 14 7 9 61 52 +9 49 GC
5 Greeningham City 30 13 8 9 59 49 +10 47
6 Grasshoppers Turic 30 13 7 10 32 29 +3 46
7 Real Jraxville 30 13 7 10 44 42 +2 46
8 Trothwands Evolution 30 13 6 11 49 48 +1 45
9 Callisto City 30 12 4 14 50 50 0 40
10 Kart Hago 30 12 3 15 57 67 -10 39
11 Iton Valley FC 30 10 7 13 51 54 -3 37
12 FC Masaka 30 10 5 15 44 51 -7 35
13 Priesthood of Baal 30 10 5 15 56 75 -19 35 GRP
14 Violia FC 30 9 3 18 59 70 -11 30 GRP
15 Littleshaw Village 30 6 7 17 24 44 -20 25 R
16 Paper Tree Town 30 6 6 18 29 48 -19 24 R
Earlier in the year, the league cup final had been contested by two emerging contenders, making a pleasant change from the usual few teams who had dominated the showdowns at Mount Crown Stadium for years.
Shanak had overcome several obstacles and picked up two impressive wins, over Firewood in the quarter finals and a two-legged, extra time win over Turic in the semis to reach the first trophy game of the Scalone era. Opposite them, the mega-rich Jraxville had a much longer route to challenging for honours. Their owners investing slowly and wisely since the initial spending spree didn't work out, the fans patiently waiting for the rebuild. Their two legged win over Greeningham City in the semi finals was throughly convincing, and came on the back of a confidence boosting elimination of Utica in the quarter finals. Pundits' opinions were split almost evenly between the two options as the day approached.
Shanak FC 3-1 aet Real Jraxville
A tightly contested game ended 1-1 after ninety minutes, with Antonia Flores' goal cancelling out Adone Illuminato's opener. Ikenna Enyeama's side then managed to kick into another gear in extra time, with Illuminato completing a superb hat-trick to claim the first trophy of the season and launch himself into discussions for a place in the national team.
The OmniCup, however, enjoyed no such fresh-faced final. Firewood would feature, yet again, this time against Hastmead Diamante. Mixed emotions for the Hastmead boss, who spent the bulk of his illustrious career at Firewood, and was cheered roundly by both sets of fans during the team introductions. His opposite number, former Firewood teammate Reiss Ryerson, had enjoyed a brilliant debut season, but Watson made no secret of his intention to crush his friend's side to "return Hastmead to the top, where we should be".
The two bosses enjoyed a mentor/student relationship for some years at Firewood, with Watson's superior tactical knowledge proving extremely useful for Ryerson during his formative years, but the younger man claimed "the student is now the master", setting up perhaps the friendliest rivalry-slash-not-really-a-grudge match in Osarian football history.
Firewood City 1-3 Hastmead Diamante
In the end, the master remained the master. Just as he had against Callisto the previous week, Benni Watson made a tactical change that ultimately decided the game. The introduction of Fabrizio Rabuano allowed Watson to shift the forward line and push Renato Serra higher up on the left flank. With Serra pinning back Abreu, the Firewood midfield lost support on one side. Angelica Capiello and Nicholas Armstrong were then able to fully take control of the midfield battle, overwhelming the unsupported Roque Acosta. When Capiello teed up Kira Jackson to make it 2-1 in the eighty-fourth minute, the game was practically decided. Artemis Hue finished the job three minutes later to complete an impressive, if dramatic, double for Hastmead.