Burchadinger Cup II- RPs/Rosters/Results

[Burchadinger]

Cutoff for Leg 1 of the Ro16!

[Burchadinger]

Round of 16- Leg 1

North Chicanan 1-0 Cyborg Holland

Royalsoldiers 3-2 Polar Islandstates

Eastfield Lodge 2-2 Mangolana

Jeruselem 2-2 Swartaz

Novikov 0-1 Burchadinger

Kazzoria 1-1 New England and Maine

Flynns Isle 1-0 Johz

Green Jello Salad 1-2 Astograth

[Jeruselem]

Princess Shay and Princess Sofia talking about their first leg draw

Shay: We sure make life hard for ourselves.
Sofia: They were trying but they aren't used to all this pressure
Shay: Thank God it's a two legged quarter final
Sofia: I don't like this two legged final business
Shay: I dunno, I don't like extra time or penalty kicks either
Sofia: These girls aren't very fit you know.
Shay: They spend more time reading than playing football you know
Sofia: They barely last 90 minutrs
Shay: They just need to get used to it
Sofia: We're the defending champs, we can't look like fools how.
Shay: Maybe if they gave me a better team for this cup, it'd be different
Sofia: I guess we didn't bribe the clubs enough money to release their players
Shay: Football is big money, well that's why we're rich
Sofia: It's an expensive business too
Shay: Anyway, we still need improvement
Sofia: Yes, our defense is too slow.
Shay: They aren't used to finals pressure but they'll be ready
Sofia: I would have preferred a school girls football team who play competitive school football
Shay: But it's the school holidays now
Sofia: I'm here, I could at home partying every day
Shay: You're here because you want to party after the cup is over
Sofia: There's always party somewhere in this world
Shay: We're here to play football not party
Sofia: Those Nuns don't party much either
Shay: Well, they aren't suppose to be doing things Nuns don't do
Sofia: We used to have fun Nuns, like that Sister Kate and her cousin Sister Kelly
Shay: I wouldn't call those two Nuns
Sofia: Yeah, but they could play football.
Shay: Nevermind, we're stuck now.
Sofia: Hopefully God will help us beat swartaz
Shay: I can't see any outstanding teams in this cup
Sofia: Yes, it's going to hard to pick a winner.
Shay: That's our job, we maybe struggling but we have to fight on.
Sofia: What you think of East Lodge?
Shay: Well, they have a good team but I don't see any of teams being really dominant at all
Sofia: Well, hopefully it's us.
Shay: One game at a time, three more games left.
Sofia: Or one
Shay: We are getting better.
Sofia: I hope so, Jeruselem hasn't won a cup of any sort for ages.
Shay: Yes, this is the last one we've won.
Sofia: We must not lose it, there's little else we have at the moment

[Polar Islandstates]

So we held no fear, that's nice. We attacked fast and hard, and showed our opponents no respect, that's good. We scored twice, without the presence of Timo Skye, that's promising. We conceded three times, not so great.

On the bright side, Sol thought, we're only down by one goal going into the second leg, but there's some serious team building required here. After such a promising start, we now haven't won in three games in this tournament.

Where is it all going wrong? The formation has obviously had to move around a bit due to injuries and suspensions, but that shouldn't mean the players' heads drop like this. Not this far. As soon as Royalsoldiers scored that equaliser, that was it. Heads were down, they scored again, and again, and only a determined effort from Ackermann-Finn reduced the deficit. Morten needs to work his man management magic. Man magicment. His head's in the clouds at the moment though, that Mrs Figgis character is proving a major distraction for him. Maybe I should buy him a top saying "cross-stitch sucks" or something, Sol mused. Either way, Morten needs to be back at his loudest, and Timo back at his most influential if we're going to win this. Back to a full strength team in theory.

I mean, going home after the second round wouldn't be a disgrace for the team. Not as such. This is our first ever competitive tournament. But our press are so demanding. They've looked at the other teams and decided we should be able to compete the whole way through. Being aggressive and holding no fear is one thing, actually being a serious threat is entirely another. No, the players aren't used to this kind of focus on them. Even the SKFJC players when they played FC Mildrid won't have felt this kind of media attention.

Maybe I should take them bowling, Sol pondered. Some kind of team building exercise. Build the team up again, and get back to winning ways.

One match more, one match more to do our best.

Let's go for it.

BURCHADINGER CUP II
Round of 16, First Leg

     Royalsoldiers     3 - 2     Polar Islandstates
          ('35) Hunt                       van Sorensen ('22)  
         ('48) Rider                       Ackermann-Finn ('83)
('73) Cyrus                                  
                                MoM          Patrick Ackermann-Finn

[Johz]

The Johzian Items
The Official Newsletter of the Parish of Johz
Web Edition

---

Over £300 raised!

Written By: Master Jonathan

In an impressive result on Saturday, not only did Johz make it through to the knockout stages, but also the Johzian Scouts, as counted by the Johzian Guides raised £315.62 towards the cost of a new roof for the stadium. This is being donated in entirety to the proper authorities, in the hope that the good people attending future matches will not be in danger of getting wet. The Chief Scout of Johz, a man named Mr Powell-Baden, admits that it is unlikely that rain will trouble the football-goers here, but reminds people that the motto of his troop is 'Prepared, Be', which is, entirely coincidentally, also his initials.

Mrs Figgis, when asked, noted that "this was truly an impressive collection, and [that she]thanks not only the extremely supportive, 251-strong Johzian crowd, but also the Eastfield Lodge team, who did pay up, albeit grudginly, on account of being foreign heathens. Mmm. Foreign heathens..." At which point she tailed off whistfully.

In other football-related new, it appears that Johz lost 1-0 to Flynn's Isle. This was a shame, although it can be rectified in the next match. We certanly hope so. The match was a disapointing one, although thankfully Arnold managed to put his boots on extremely, and he didn't shoot towards his own goal once. The Duncans up front managed to keep up a solid offence, until the referee informed them that they were generally not permitted to use such language. However, there football skills matched their talent in cussing, and the Flynn's Isle goalkeeper was forced to work extremely hard, although managed, in the end, to save all the shots.

More news came that night when Mrs Figgis was caught sneaking out of the hotel with a rather large bouquet of roses. While she did return to her room, the roses have gone missing, and anybody who knows their whereabouts is requested to alert Mr Palmer, head of the Johzian secret police. If all else fails, he is planning on bringing his elite team of trained sheep to track down the culprit.

[Polar Islandstates]

"Sol, we refuse to train like this." Teemu Hansen approached the national team coach, backed by the rest of the team, and stood with his arms folded, looking at the man.

"What? What are you talking about? Get back on the cone course."

"It can't be done Sol. There are sheep watching us."

"Sheep?"

"Yes, malicious looking sheep."

"Sheep can be malicious?" This was news to Sol, "Where?"

"Over there." Teemu pointed to the hill facing the Polar Islandstates training pitch in Burchadinger. Sure enough, Sol noted, there were three or four sheep there. All facing the players. And all chewing grass. In unison. It was more than a little bit off-putting.

"Okay, you may have a point. They do look a bit malevolent I suppose."

"We can't work like this. Can we go inside?"

"I suppose so, I'll grab the cones. Morten, you coming to help? Morten? Morten?" Sol prodded his assistant manager, but got no response. Morten continued to face forwards, plucking petals from the roses he held in his hands, and muttering something under his breath about knitting patterns and earl grey.

"He's no use, Sol. Come on, I'll lead the training. I'll rent us some bikes and we'll go do some fitness workouts in the hills."

"Thanks, Teemu. Guys? Teemu's in charge for the next hour or so."

"What are you going to do, boss?"

"I don't know. Find some mint perhaps, who fancies lamb chops?"

[North Chicanan]

Chicanan Daily Rabbler
I think our connections are working again

In The Quarters?
Hoops Win in Burchadinger Cup

Even Willingshire reporting

Paul Owen continued his impressive feats of scoring when we report on his actions while Damien O'Neill continues to build goodwill for the North Chicanan side as the Hoops scored a 1-0 victory over Cyborg Holland yesterday in Burchadinger.

Owen scored in the 36th minute off a deflected pass from Presten Villani, which appeared to be going further back towards Phoenix Longstreet before a header from Cyborg Holland deflected the shot into Owen's possession. A couple of quick darts later, the Hoops were up and would continue to press the advantage for the rest of the match, retaining possession for a remarkable 70% of the time.

O'Neill allowed for some substitutions in the match, bringing on Darrin Kifor and Daren Hill for Owen and Longstreet, with the duo almost scoring in the 80th minute. However a tricky offsides call negated the goal but it was an impressive return to international action for Kifor. The team continues to show promise under the 3-5-2 formation they have implemented, with more pressure being placed on opposing defenses and allowing for more creativity in the front-end for plays.

We think the second leg of the Round of 16 is forthcoming, with a positive result moving the Hoops on to the quarterfinals. The return match with Cyborg Holland will be shown live on Ch.2-2, the second HD channel for Ch.2. The game will also have a French broadcast on TeleSport 3.

[Astograth]

He licked his lips, measuring the player in front of him. This girl's name was Hunter, apparently, and her stupid nickname was "Jelly" or something. Urrustoy had a nickname too. "Butcher".

He guessed Hunter would try to feint to her left and then dribble right, and when he did exactly that he stuck out his leg. A fraction of a second too late, as his boot missed the ball and struck Hunter's shin, sending her rolling on the grass until the referee brought out a yellow card for Urrustoy. The big man bit his tongue and clenched his fists. It was no time to complain and get himself a red, not now. He muttered a curse as he stood back for the free-kick, remembering when he was young and didn't kick people as much. Good times, but they hadn't earned him a KPFA League Player of the Year award. Yes, life was better now. He was playing for the national team, after all.

He jumped as part of the free-kick barrier and heard the ball bounce off the guy to his right, whatshisface. Orbizo? Bah, he wasn't good at names or faces, and didn't care much for either.

Glad he hadn't been hit, he rushed off to the side as someone else had taken possession. Number 20. His name started with B, he was sure of it. Bala...Bela...Belarte!

"Belarte! Pass!" he called out. His teammate looked at him funny and knocked the ball on a few feet forwards of where Urrustoy was. He ran and took it in stride, proud and delighted to actually have it for longer than a second or two. He became suddenly terrified as someone ran up to challenge him, and promptly passed it back to "Belarte", who ran with it a bit longer and then passed it back, but slightly up the pitch now. Mortified, Urrustoy passed back. And then back again. And once more.

And suddenly he found himself near the penalty spot. Stunned, he stared blankly at the ball and the scrambling keeper until he remembered he was meant to shoot. With a ferocious strike he scored the transitory 2-0 and his third international goal.

[Burchadinger]

Cutoff! Let's see who goes through to the Quarter Finals!

[Burchadinger]

Round of 16- Leg 2

Cyborg Holland 0-0 North Chicanan (0-1 Agg)

Polar Islandstates 2-1 Royalsoldiers (4-4 Agg, 3-1 AET)

Eastfield Lodge 1-0 Mangolana (3-2 Agg)

Swartaz 1-1 Jeruselem (3-3 Agg, 1-2 AET)

Burchadinger 0-1 Novikov (1-1 Agg, 0-2 AET)

New England and Maine 0-2 Kazzoria (1-3 Agg)

Johz 1-4 Flynns Isle (1-5 Agg)

Green Jello Salad 1-1 Astograth (2-3 Agg)

[Burchadinger]

Quarter-Finals

North Chicanan vs Polar Islandstates
Eastfield Lodge vs Jeruselem
Novikov vs Kazzoria
Flynns Isle vs Astograth

[Johz]

The Johzian Items
The Official Newsletter of the Parish of Johz
Web Edition

---

A Sad Day for Johz

Written By: Master Jonathan

Not once before has a team of footballers from the Village of Johz lost an international tournament. In what could quite possibly be the saddest moment since the last of the sliced bread was eaten up, the Village of Johz lost to Flynn's Isle, in an aggregate score of 5-1

The match started out relatively successfully, with a quick one-two-three-two-three-one-three between the Duncans up front setting them up for a truly amazing shot by Mr Duncan Snr. However, at this point he fell over and injured his back due to overexertion, and had to be subbed for Arnold. Sadly Arnold's pace and skill was not enough.

Within minutes of the kick-off from the first goal, an impressive winger from the Flynn's Isle team managed to race the ball up the side, before passing the ball to a waiting striker. Thus the scores were equal, and with Flynn's Isle already ahead due to the previous match, Johz's mood fell.

At this point, somewhere between the second and third goals, Mrs Figgis sneaked off somewhere unknown. If you know here whereabouts, please contact the head of our secret police department, Mr Palmer. Equally, if anyone knows the whereabouts of his highly trained sheep, he's getting really worried. Some of those sheep were raised by him from birth. His ducks, apparently, don't produce the same results.

The half-time break allowed Johz to recuperate, with Prof. Doom BSc B.Eng MICE designing an Evil and Nefarious Machine for allowing Johz to win. However, a brief discussion with the referee explained that to actually make the machine would be entirely against the rules, and indeed spirit, of the game. Mr Newman explained that he didn't believe in spirits, but this just made the referee angry, so we left him alone.

The final two goals came thick and fast, roaring their way past the Johzian goalline. A passionate defense by the defenders ensured that the final score remained final throughout the last thirty minutes, but the attackers could not make headway, and Johz are now out of the running.

Stop Press!
Mrs Figgis has been found, at the Polar Islandstates ground. She has been brought back, and she says that the foreign weather has clouded her judgement. She also notes that she wishes all the teams still in the cup the best of luck, except for Flynn's Isle. Indeed, the entirety of Flynn's Isle has been declared Dead in the Eyes of Mrs Figgis.

[Astograth]

His heart pounded, his ears rang. He ran into the penalty box just as his target beat Mendiroz and looked ready to shoot.

There he was again. In front of that girl, "Jelly" or something. Urrustoy knew his intervention was critical. If he didn't challenge her, she would score and draw the match. If he did and fouled here, it'd be a penalty and an early shower. Time slowed down.

He saw her eyes flicker, from the ball to him, to the space to her right, to the ball and to the right again. He knew what she was thinking, he'd seen it so many times before. She would drag the ball left and then kick it right, springing past him. So predictable.

Urrustoy reached out with his boot to Hunter's right, and met nothing as she went left.

Red with embarassment, he lashed out in desperation and met the back of her legs with his studs. Too late, he realized what he'd done. The referee pointed to the spot and sent him off without hesitation. The crowd jeered as he walked off slowly, his head hanging, some teammate saying something he didn't hear.

He saw the penalty converted from the bench, and went to the showers without looking back.

[Polar Islandstates]

Well, who knew?

Who knew that heartbreak could rally a team so successfully?

The grand return of Timo Skye was one thing, he was back to his old tricks up front, arguing with the officials and getting in the faces of defenders, and being in right place at the right time almost instinctively for his seventh minute goal that brought confidence flowing through the rest of the team. But it wasn't the biggest factor in this performance.

The passing of van Jendrisen was another factor. Twisting and turning and probing with his passing, always driving the team onwards.

But even that hadn't stopped the heads dropping when that blasted Hunt slid in at he far post to knock in the equaliser. That made it 4-3 on aggregate to Royalsoldiers, and would put the Terns out of the competition. Only a massive effort from Dmitri, Maarten, and Niko had managed to keep the scoreline like that until half time.

And that's when it happened.

Morten, with his head up in the clouds, and his eyes on someone in the crowd behind him was so far useless in bellowing the tactics devised by Sol, and without his leadership qualities the team had struggled. But Morten had not ran down the tunnel at the half time whistle, he ran up into the crowd with a bunch of tulips and an eager look in his eyes.

Five minutes later, after Sol had spent some time trying to lift the team, Morten had entered the changing room holding a bunch of stalks. His eye had developed a twitch and was muttering something about flowers that were unsuitable purpose.

The team loved this, and started teasing him mercilessly. This brought them together magnificently and then went out with their head's held high.

Quite frankly they annihilated Royalsoldiers for the rest of the match. Stern defending meant Skye was denied until the 80th minute, but the Terns were in the ascendency as they went into extra time.

Morten came to his senses for that particular team talk and stood up to start shouting from the edge of the dugout. Sure enough, half of his comments seemed to be about never using a coaster ever again, or burning all his woollen goods, but the supporters soon spotted it, and it wasn't long until songs praising the return of their enforcer in chief were raining down from the stands. When Lindegaard rose tallest from a van Jendrisen corner to knock in the winner in the 113rd minute it was just desserts for a surging return to form.

The Twitchers in the stands partied long into the night in Burchadinger that night, even longer than the folks back home did. And with the eyes of a nation looking towards Burchadinger, sizing up future opponents North Chicanan, and barely even daring to dream those dreams of dreamy dream times, the Terns go soaring on.

BURCHADINGER CUP II
Round of 16, Second Leg

Polar Islandstates     3 - 1     Royalsoldiers     
AET, Agg 5-4
('7) ('80) Skye                       Hunt ('26)     
('113) Lindegaard                                        
Timo Skye          MoM                   

[Kazzoria]

New England and Maine 0-2 Kazzoria (1-3 Agg)

The two students stumbled drunkenly out of the bar. They had never tasted alcohol before being Kazzorians, and were now enjoying it very much. They stumbled back onto a bench before getting back up and stumbling back to their youth hostel.

"Why the hell don't we have this stuff at home?"

"Cos they is fascist gits ya know."

"Oh yar. I thinks dees rebellions are good."

Of course most of the people going to football these days were rebel supporters and the national teams were all rebels. They just hid it very well and the government didn't look into it much due to the money they were bringing in. In they end they found themselves fall into their beds, they were going to have sore heads for the game the next day.

***

They woke up sore headed and jammed a few aspirins in before getting up. They then got themselves up and into their replica kit before heading out to the bar for an early drink. They grabbed a packet of crisps and headed out for the city seeing all the touristy sites and scenes. After that they headed back to the pub for another drink and a packet of crisps.

"This games going to be great. I hear they are a very rubbish team."

"Well we drew with them in the first game, maybe we'll manage something this time though."

They soon headed off for the stadium picking up a bear and a matchday program. They both were very excited. Nothing discouraged them as the strode into the stands. Not even the heavy smell of piss stopped them. They took their seats and waited for the game to kick off.

***

It was coming up for half-time and it was 0-0. They were nervous, both of them. If it was 0-0 at half-time they were unlikely to score. Fred then broke through the defence and took a shot. It bounced of the goalkeeper and back to his feet. They were both shouting at Fred to score. He managed it and the whole crowd jumped up and shouted in happiness. It was 1-0.

The second half began and they were both singing with the rest of the crowd and it seemed like they were in for a good game. Kazzoria spent almost the rest of the game on the attack and then Betty the alcoholic came onto the pitch to replace Dave they emo. She managed to break down the defence and made a great pass to John the champagne enthusiast who scored it.

[Jeruselem]

Coach Princess Shay and player Princess Sofia

Shay: Well, these girls are getting better.
Sofia: Yes, we're now peaking at the right time
Shay: Although we play East Lodge who aren't going be easy opponents
Sofia: They didn't pick us to make this far
Shay: But we are here
Sofia: The girls have more self-belief now in their own ability
Shay: They just need more time to become women and learn about themselves
Sofia: Motherhood is a real test of character
Shay: Well, but we're talking about Nuns who will never be Mums
Sofia: Our goal scoring isn't up to scratch still.
Shay: At least we're doing alright in defense
Sofia: Still, you can't win a game if you don't score enough goals
Shay: The girls are still learning being Nun on the football field means nothing if it's a competition out there
Sofia: God can't do your work for you, God gave us talent to do his work
Shay: Yes, that's it. God doesn't want lazy people
Sofia: So why are we here?
Shay: I don't know
Sofia: It's more than just playing football
Shay: Football is just a means of keeping us from being bored
Sofia: It's obvious, men need to have fun.
Shay: So us Dallas girls are sex toys?
Sofia: It's not all that bad. We'll never be unemployed.
Shay: Well, I guess so but surely there's more than that.
Sofia: Men of God need to be tested, and what better test of a man than one of us.
Shay: I'm sure we're more than objects of desire.
Sofia: Surely it's true, look at our family.
Shay: Well, let's think about football until it's all over.
Sofia: Say, when are you having kids?
Shay: Well, I've got one right now. It's just hard to see.
Sofia: Good thing come in small bundles as they say.
Shay: You're not exactly tall yourself.
Sofia: Not my fault, blame Mum.
Shay: None of these Nuns will be like us
Sofia: Maybe it's a good thing

[Burchadinger]

Well, due to the game being inaccessible yesterday, the whole tournament has been moved forward a day. QF L1 results coming soon.

[Burchadinger]

Quarter-Finals- Leg 1

North Chicanan 1-1 Polar Islandstates

Eastfield Lodge 1-2 Jeruselem

Novikov 2-2 Kazzoria

Flynns Isle 0-1 Astograth

[Jeruselem]

Sister Beryl and Princess Sofia after their first leg 2-1 win over East Lodge

Beryl: Hey, you trying to kill yourself?
Sofia: Me? Never
Beryl: I mean, you nearly got kicked in the head scoring from that diving header today.
Sofia: Well, a calculated risk. Yes, could have been kicked in the head.
Beryl: You were lucky
Sofia: No, I bet the East Lodge defenders though no one is suicidal enough to go for a header like that
Beryl: Even we thought you were nuts
Sofia: No one wins wars playing safe, one has put their body on the line to win.
Beryl: we wouldn't think of something like that.
Sofia: We need commitment, even if it means getting hurt.
Beryl: But this is only football
Sofia: Oi, it's not just football. Football is more than just sport Sister.
Beryl: You sure take all this seriously
Sofia: I'm not here for a holiday. I'm here to reclaim our title.
Beryl: I suppose it's only one we have left.
Sofia: Yes, yeah it is.
Beryl: I don't why we are here
Sofia: Mainly because the clubs didn't release players to come defend our cup
Beryl: So it's all about money and power
Sofia: well, yes. But we're still representing our country, we can't let our nation down.
Beryl: We're not that good really
Sofia: You're not the worst team around either.
Beryl: Surely we don't measure up to legendary team who won this cup last time.
Sofia: Forget about that, we're here to make our legend.
Beryl: I hope we don't let everyone down. We're doing our best.
Sofia: we're still in the finals. A lot of people wrote us off as useless pack of stupid girls.
Beryl: I guess we aren't useless
Sofia: Just keep on working hard and don't be afraid of the opposition.
Beryl: We're learning on the job. We haven't been outside Jeruselem before.
Sofia: Well, welcome to the real world.
Beryl: It isn't as scary as we thought. Lot of nice people here.
Sofia: I only wish I was allowed to party
Beryl: You shouldn't, we're working here.
Sofia: You know us Dallas girls, partying and work go hand in hand.
Beryl: Yeah but you party too hard and do stupid things.
Sofia: That's why I'm here in the first place.
Beryl: I guess every chooses their own way to live.
Sofia: I'd never survive with you Nuns.
Beryl: You get bored a lot.
Sofia: I was born for action not talk.
Beryl: I guess we all need people like you.

[Polar Islandstates]

Coming from behind, again. We've really got to stop doing this to ourselves. The fans are cheering us though, nice to know they're on our side here. We can beat this team, I know we can. With a bit of good fortune and a lot of determination, we can do this. By the looks on the faces of my team-mates, I think they agree.

Wonderful to have Timo back, obviously, he draws defenders from all over the place towards him, leaving me plenty of space, but I do rather want to catch up on his international goal tally a bit. He's infuriating like that.

And what a team talk that was. I'd forgotten how loudly Morten could shout. Sol just sat there, thinking about tactics, but Morten, wow, that guy doesn't half make you want to play your heart out for him.

Now, let's see. Stand facing Timo, kick the ball when the referee says. Whistle. Go! Knock, Timo looks around, don't run with it, please Timo. Please Timo. Good. Teemu has it, across to Petter. Wait, this rings a bell, what was it Sol said at half time? What was that move he said? 'Straight from the kick off, do a something-something but ending in a something instead of something.' Dammit. That's no use. I should have listened better.

Steffan has it now, advancing slowly. Timo makes a run, draws a defender and leaves me in space. Should I run into it? No, wait, Ole has darted on the overlap in front of Steffan, draws another defender. Just as well, the original gap is full now.

Wait, I remember now, I think. I run in here, sprint now. Ole slams the ball across, jump, swing, the most beautiful contact with the volley, what a line that ball is taking, crash. Dammit. Cross bar. Timo knocks back the rebound, hammered straight off the line by that Ullong fellow. Straight towards me! Duck! Too late! BAFF!

Why is Timo hugging me? Ouch. Why am I on the floor? Did I score? Oh my god! The ball flew straight off my nose and into the net! That doesn't happen very often. Get myself up. Applaud the fans. Look at Sol. Slightly baffled laughter. Fair enough. Not sure that's exactly the tactic he had in mind but ah well. One to tell the grandchildren. They all count, I suppose.

1-1. Let's do this. three halves of football left...


Mother of god, does my nose hurt though.

BURCHADINGER CUP II
Quarter Final, First Leg

    North Chicanan     1 - 1     Polar Islandstates
               ('17) Owen                       Ackermann-Finn ('46)     
                         MoM          Steffan Pekarik

[Kazzoria]

Novikov 2-2 Kazzoria

The two students went to bed sober, or what felt like sober to them. They had decided to limit themselves to only 12 glasses of beer a day and their bodies were growing depressed with the lack of alcohol. They went to bed and woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. They got up and went out to the pub. They took their first drink of the day in 5 second, gulping it down like it was water. They then headed off for the town looking for a matchday program and somewhere for lunch. They found themselves at a chain called "McPedro's smoky food bar". They gulped down some smoky sausages before heading off for the game.

"I really hope we can beat Novikov."

"I don't think we will, they're a really good side."

"I guess it is true they swept Burchadinger out of the way. But we can do match them right?"

The question was rhetorical so they carried on. They soon found themselves taking their seats and one of them was reading a newspaper article on the likely fixtures for the next round:

North Chicanan vs Polar Islandstates
It seems almost obvious that Polar will take this one. They had a good group stage and beat Kazzoria and Royalsoldiers, both good teams. They look like they could go all the way if they win this one. North Chicanan meanwhile beat Cyborg Holland after extra-time after two goalless draws. They don't look strong enough should they make it to the next round.
Eastfield Lodge vs Jeruselem
It looks like it'll be close, but Jeruselem won the last cup and this cup could result in the same... erm... result. Eastfield Lodge are also a good side and could challenge them to something here. This will be an exciting game to watch for the neutrals me thinks. Jeruselem beat Swartaz, a very strong side, last round so they will have a psychological advantage. Eastfield Lodge will have less of one as they played the minor side Mangolana.
Novikov vs Kazzoria
Being a Kazzoria fan I might be a bit biased here, but they are looking like a strong side this cup. Novikov will of course be a difficult team to face, but they will be tired after their struggle against the Burchadingan side. Kazzoria meanwhile have pretty much had a rest with an easy game against New England and Maine. It will still be an exciting game to watch though.
Flynns Isle vs Astograth
The Flynns Isle just bulldozed Johz out of the tournament with a 4-1 victory. But Astrograth look like the better team even with their minor victory against walkovers Green Jello salad. They might be down, but Astrograth can probably still win their game.

Jeruselem vs Polar Islandstates
Despite Polar Islandstates being a good side, they don't quite have the history or squad of the Jeruselem side. They might just be able to take it to the very last minute, but it will almost defiantly be Jeruselem making it through to the final of the Burchadinger cup.
Kazzoria vs Astograth
Astograth will hardly be able to make it out of the quarter finals. So it seems obvious that Kazzoria should be able to beat them. Of course I'm just probably being very hopeful, but with this squad Kazzoria seem like a very driven force. Yet they don't seem too serious which is always nice.

So it looks like a Kazzoria vs Jeruselem final. Bloody hell, I'm not predicting that.

The game against Novikov kicked off. John was quick of the mark and made a break through to score the opener. The Kazzorians then burst into relieved song. They had shown they could keep up with the best. Unfortunately it wasn't long until a Novikov counter attack led to the equalizer. Things were tense from then up until half time, but the Kazzorians saw it as a chance to exercise their vocal cords.

After half-time Novikov managed to score another quick goal. That then sunk the entire Kazzorian end into a humid silence. The game became cagey and the students were both biting their own nail with nerves. They couldn't go into the second leg one goal down, it wouldn't be good at all. Then suddenly at the last minute a ball from Dave the emo found the feet of Fred the angry commuter. Fred then took a shot from outside the box which found it's way into the back of the next. The students jumped up screaming with glee, the game was all to play for. It was then full-time and they went back to the hotel very happy. Then then drank some beer and were even happier.

[North Chicanan]

Chicanan Daily Rabbler
Testing...Testing...

Tie
Still in A Tourney, We See

Even Willingshire reporting

Paul Owen scored early but the Hoops couldn't press the advantage as they settled for a tie in the first leg of the quarterfinal round with Polar Islandstates 1-all.

The national side, apparently written off by some foreign media after a 1-0 round of 16 victory over Cyborg Holland (which we note we won the first game and settled for the tie which was fine in the second) played well for a half, using Owen's kick off a pass from Phoenix Longstreet to press the advantage on the rather surprised opponents. Polar Islandstates took one back at the start of the second half off a quick run from Ackermann-Finn. Both sides struggled to find an advantage in the second half, with only six more shots on goal between the two sides combined, while North Chicanan missed on seven shots during the first half.

"I'd rather have a win but the goal will help," national coach Damien O'Neill said after the game, "we can use the match to build on and prep for a big game and a shot at a semifinal appearance for the side." The club has had minor success since the horrendous debut at Warkus, having made the quarterfinals at their last two cups. The national side has been using the tournaments to develop the young team before the upcoming Baptism of Fire and World Cup 55 qualifying, in which the footys will hope to emulate their gridiron compatriots in making to the grand tournament in their first go-around. As well as maybe add a bit of spit-shine to the national record of old homeland Chicananda.

O'Neill went on to say that he has no plans on altering the side's formation for the second leg of the quarters, and expects the team to open up more and lessen their dependence on Owen for the scoring.

[Burchadinger]

Cut-cut-cutoff!

[Burchadinger]

Quarter-Finals- Leg 2

Polar Islandstates 3-2 North Chicanan (4-3 Agg)

Jeruselem 2-1 Eastfield Lodge (4-2 Agg)

Kazzoria 0-0 Novikov (2-2 Agg, 0-0 AET, 5-3 PKs)

Astograth 1-0 Flynns Isle (2-0 Agg)

[Burchadinger]

Semi-Finals

Polar Islandstates vs Jeruselem
Kazzoria vs Astograth