Cup of Harmony 49: RPs/Scores

[Polar Islandstates]

"Mr Jendris! Mr Jendris!" yelled the intern, running along the metal walkway high above the fermentation plant, "Mr Jendris!"

The intern reached the end of the walkway, and hammered on the door, the frosted glass laid into it shaking slightly and rattling, obscuring the words etched into it, 'Mr P. K. Jendris - CEO Grogg Beverages'. The door swung open, and a red-faced man chewing on a cigar opened it, looking down at the intern through narrowed eyes.

"Yes? What is it man? Stop hammering on my door!"

"Mr Jendris! It's the sales figures."

"Yeah? What about them?"

"I've got them to show you."

"I've already seen them you fool. They get sent to me every day by the sales manager. You're not the sales manager, so why are you here? I'm busy. Go away."

"I'm an intern, Mr Jendris, and a football fan, and I've been editing the figures to make sense of a few peaks in sales I thought would be there."

"Fiddling the figures? How dare you?! You mean to say the ones sent to me earlier have been tampered with? You're fired!"

"No! No, that's not what I'm saying at all, listen. The figures you saw were correct, but included the entire federation. I've picked a handful of locations to analyse in detail."

"Oh. Well then why didn't you say that, man? What does it say?"

"Sales in seven cities are up 200%."

"200%?! Which cities?"

"The ones hosting Cup of Harmony matches. Its all the fans. I made a quick call to the guys at Seasogs, and they're reporting the same thing."

"Thor's beard... Mytanars, I assume?"

"Not at all, just a lot of happy football fans here to enjoy themselves. Though, the Rhodesians in St Paul seem to have increased sales even further..."

"Well then, let's increase production! Pull the lever!"

"Yes sir!" cried the intern enthusiastically, pulling the nearest lever to him. A whistle sounded, accompanied by the sound of groaning and creaking machinery, and clashing gears. The CEO sighed.

"No, you fool. Not that lever. When I said 'pull the lever', I was talking about the one that would increase production. Not just any lever..."

"Oh."

"You should shut down the machinery with an emergency stop. That'll cost us at least twelve hours to get it all back up again."

"Oh. I really am fired this time, aren't I?"

"Yes. Yes you are."

How will Jendris get Grogg back up and running?
How much will Grogg supplies suffer?
Will the fans get their Grogg?
Will Seasogs sales sky-rocket in the lack of Grogg?
FIND OUT NEXT TIME!


LADIES AND GENTS.
THAT'S YOUR CUT OFF.

And here are your scores...

Group F
Civil Citizenry 1–1 Eastfield Lodge
Nicole Scherzinger 2–0 Western Cuba

  Group F              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Civil Citizenry        2   1  1  0    4   1  +3    4
2 Eastfield Lodge        2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
3 Nicole Scherzinger     1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
4 Ipeland                1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
5 Western Cuba           2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0



Group G
Rouge Pioneers 1–3 Saugeais
Sargossa 1–4 Osarius

  Group G              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Saugeais               2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Osarius                2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
3 Rouge Pioneers         2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0
  Sargossa               1   0  0  1    1   4  −3    0
5 Megadia                1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0



Group H
Rhodesiah 1–1 Mangolana
Octinstine 4–2 Homelands Our

  Group H              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Rhodesiah              2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
2 Mangolana              2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Octinstine             1   1  0  0    4   2  +2    3
4 Mapletish              1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
5 Homelands Our          2   0  0  2    2   6  −4    0



Group I
Gyatso-Kai 3–3 Jedi8246
Thatius 1–2 Kalumba

  Group I              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Jedi8246               2   1  1  0    5   3  +2    4
2 Kalumba                2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Gyatso-Kai             2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
4 Thatius                1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0
5 North Chicanan         1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

[Socialist States Owen]

The Emplor Blog Feed at #emplorsport
Live coverage of the Cup of Harmony
Group B
FSSO - Erathore

Pre match news: Lineups have been announced. FSSO hand surprise debuts to Colin Collymore, Bill Riley and Sammy Knowles. Erathore have one debutant in a similar experimental set up, although they have more regulars on the field today. Can't see us winning this one if Randall wants to throw out a few caps.

"#newstandfootie Parsons, Fessner, Kane - rival starting front line to the Sharp Needle combo?"

0 minutes: ...and we are off.

EPBC Sports Analyst Geoff Ryker: "Not much to seperate these teams, although I'd say Erathores higher rank and fielding of a slightly less experimental team is going to be key today. Nervous first few minutes too."

4 minutes: FSSO 1-0 ERATHORE (B. Riley)
Oh dear. The Erathi coach isn't happy. Brothers Tom and Bill celebrate by the corner as Bill scores 4 minutes into his international debut; superb 18 yard shot through the defence and the keeper.

15 minutes: It's hotting up here as the FSSO go forward and Paul Fessner comes close. Craig Castleton previously saved a Maliovo effort with ease.

16 minutes: FSSO 1-1 ERATHORE (Ringeril)
I spoke too soon! Ringeril places one past Castleton from the edge of the box. Without doubt Castleton will feel dissapointed he didn't get a hand to that.

31 minutes: Five minutes of quiet followed by a superb shot by Kane - blocked on the line. A goal before half time could be killer now.

37 minutes: Controversy! Debutant Colin Collymore shows his inexperience as he clearly fells Maliovo in the box, but somehow he got away with it. Lucky break for FSSO.

39 minutes: FSSO 1-2 ERATHORE (Di Santos)
Oof, karma strikes. Nao puts a great through ball past the three man FSSO defence and finds debutant Di Santos who scores with a composed finish.

44 minutes: FSSO 2-2 ERATHORE (Parsons)
What a splendid goal - a typical quick moving, stylish FSSO goal. Chad Parsons goes on a splendid run and 1-2's with Fessner, then finishes past the keeper with ease.

45 minutes: ...and theres the half time whistle. Erathore will feel they should be ahead - FSSO will feel they should be defending a bit better. This is a comedy of errors for both defences.

51 minutes: FSSO 2-3 ERATHORE (Ringeril)
Bugger. Ringeril is unlucky to hit the post from long range a few minutes previously, but he gets his second thanks to some torrid FSSO defending. Culnamo delivers a weak cross, both Kerr and Collymore ignore it and its volleyed home by Ringeril.

62 minutes: FSSO 2-4 ERATHORE (Ringeril)
Well, Erathore have started to get a bit comfy in midfield and they have made it count. Ringeril finishes neatly from 12 yards to complete his hat trick.

64 minutes: FSSO 3-4 ERATHORE (Feeney)
Immediate response from the FSSO courtesy of another sublime goal. Sammy Knowles, who has been outstanding so far, gets the ball from a header from substitute Daley's first touch. He then plays a gorgeous long ball forward which Kane cant reach, but right back Nick Feeney comes from nowhere and chips the keeper.

69 minutes: FSSO 3-5 ERATHORE (Nao)
Dear lord, the goals just won't stop coming. This one was almost identical to Erathores second goal, except for the players being reversed - this time, Di Santos sets up Nao, who chips Castleton. Castleton backtracks but the 30 year old isn't quite quick enough to reach it.

#9needle - "Watching the game from my hospital bed, come on lads! Chance to prove yourselves tonight. Cracking game."

76 minutes: FSSO 4-5 ERATHORE (Parsons)
A scrappy FSSO goal - Parsons heads in a poor cross to bring the deficit back to one goal again.

79 minutes: The rested Del Nieran is on for the last ten minutes and the FSSO faithful become a bit quieter - but no Lee Sharp on yet for FSSO.

83 minutes: FSSO 4-6 ERATHORE (Del Nieran)
A lovely goal, and I think that will probably be enough to see Erathore to the end of the game. Nao, who has been brilliant today, is felled on the edge of the box and Del Nieran curls the ball into the bottom corner. Craig Castleton has had a poor game, not helped by a poor defence, and was almost exclusively at fault here - that shot was very, very stoppable.

84 minutes: Sharp is finally on. Like the FSSO fans reacted to Del Nieran, the Erathore fans seem unsettled now he's on. Could he salvage something here?

85 minutes: Kieran Kane comes painfully close to scoring with a superb free kick, but its just about tipped onto the bar by Erathore keeper Galonloth.

88 minutes: FSSO 5-6 (Sharp)
GET IN! Who else? Sharp collects a weak clearance 30 yards from goal, dribbles around Di Santos and then smacks the ball in with his first sight of the ball. Great goal, great player.

90 minutes: Theres going to be 4 minutes of stoppage time but Erathore are passing it about and the FSSO, rather strangely, are backing off from them. Maybe giving up too early? Still, the Cup of Harmony isn't a paticularly big deal in the FSSO so the party goes on after a thrilling game. They may be winning but the Erathi fans chants are put into the shade by the Fuzz army's defiant call of 'There's only one Lee Sharp'.

90+4 minutes: There goes the whistle. Well, how to describe that game? A wonderful display of attacking creativity and buccaneering spirit from both teams but horrific defending. Erathore, who have a shot at winning this tournament, will be seriously concerned with their defensive ills. The FSSO probably won't have the same concerns but Craig Castleton might never get a cap again after that. That's all from us, goodnight.

[Vilita]

MERMAIOADA GETS PERFECT BOOST FOR EPIC SWIM


Vilita Jungle Cats attacker Actalia Mermaioada got the perfect boost ahead of the "Swim to d'Ile" that the Aquatic Nut will attempt while the Jungle Cats have the week off after their opening day victory in the Cup of Harmony.

Mermaioada sat down for an interview ahead of this exciting event.



- Why Here, Why Now?

AM: I'm not really sure to be honest, we'd been put up in Côte-Est all week so I had a lot of time to think about it. It's been a while since my last good open water swim and with the winds in Cotdelapoms, it will be a good challenge.

- When did you make the decision to attempt this swim in the middle of the Cup Of Harmony?

AM: Well, to be honest I wasn't really seriously thinking about it until the group draw was made an Soli was saying we should drive up to the pitch in Île d'Elisabeth and familiarize ourselves. I asked how long it would take to get there and he was saying something like an hour, yet there I was looking out the window thinking that Island was too close for it to take an hour by car. So I was wondering if it might take me less time to swim there and he's though I'm nuts. He's right, it will take more than an hour, especially with the winds and current, but thats what really put the thought in my head.

- And right in the middle of qualifying?

AM: Well yea, It was a bit late notice to do it before the start of qualifying, have time to recover and arrange all the necessary support and approvals from the local emergency crews. Then once the tournament is over everyone will be headed home. So I figure we have a week off, why not do it then, plus, added bonus, get a news interview and maybe a few extra people will stick around and come watch our match, maybe a few of the guys can end up with a pro contract somewhere.

- Speaking of the match, you featured sparingly in qualifying, but impressed against Carasatoga, scoring your first career international goal. Any regrets now, taking this risk after having just impressed the managers and possibly getting your first real run in the squad?

AM: Regrets? Nah... I've committed to this before I've scored the goal, perhaps you could say that this is exactly the motivation I needed to make an impact for the National Team, I don't know. If I can make an impact on the pitch, go off and do an open water swim, then come back and continue making an impact on the pitch, maybe folks will stop questioning whether my water sports are harming my development as a National Team Player!

- Well there you have it, Actalia Mermaioada from Côte-Est getting ready for the big swim, Good Luck!

AM: Thanks! Oh, and Hi Mom!!!

[Cotdelapoms]

The Cotdelapoms groups are hereby CUT OFF!

MATCHDAY TWO
Group A
Triimoria 0–0 Bleak Rock
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk 0–2 Pasarga

Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pasarga                     2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Bleak Rock                  2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Triimoria                   2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
4 Silver Beach                1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
5 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk      1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

Group B
Erathore 0–2 Carasatoga
Brendino the 3rd 1–2 FSSO

Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vilita                      1   1  0  0    5   3  +2    3
2 FSSO                        2   1  0  1    7   7   0    3
3 Carasatoga                  2   1  0  1    5   5   0    3
4 Erathore                    2   1  0  1    6   7  −1    3
5 Brendino the 3rd            1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0

Group C
The Kiaser Colonies 0–0 Kazzoria
Michael VII 1–0 Cyborg Holland

Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kazzoria                    2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
2 Michael VII                 1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
3 The Kiaser Colonies         2   0  2  0    1   1   0    2
4 Cyborg Holland              2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
5 New Montreal States         1   0  0  1    2   4  −2    0

Group D
The Kytler Peninsulae 3–4 Milchama
Miley World 1–3 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega      2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
2 Milchama                    2   1  1  0    5   4  +1    4
3 The Weegies                 1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
4 Miley World                 1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
5 The Kytler Peninsulae       2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0

Group E
Darmen 1–1 Carmadin
Arcatea 2–5 Valladares

Group E                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valladares                  2   2  0  0    9   4  +5    6
2 Carmadin                    2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
3 Taeshan                     1   0  1  0    3   3   0    1
4 Darmen                      2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1
5 Arcatea                     1   0  0  1    2   5  −3    0

[Ipeland]

[Eastfield Lodge]

EL Online: Sports Center

Your one stop for sports news on the web.

Vladimir O'Shea tries to escape the execution block
(Article by Samner Diop [Critic], Edited by Timothy Jingle [Football Editor-in-Chief].)

Why hasn't he left yet? Seriously, what do the ELFA think they're doing, keeping him after he'd effectively staked his job on the team making it out of the qualifying round, who were subsequently eliminated on the last matchday because of results elsewhere in the group? My point is, he should have been fired as soon as the full time whistle blew in wherever Tretskivucia's last match was, if not earlier. He's been given an ultimatum, or so I here, that his job will be over if the team fail to advance past the quarter finals (which, by the way, an EL team has never accomplished). Which, in all honesty, is quite likely, given the wave of international retirements that there have been. Dimitar Klitschko was going to be dropped anyways after his horrendous display during qualifying. Robert Andrews has decided to retire after seeing Roman Qwivotic excel during qualifying; indeed, the Futuran-born player will be a pivotal figure for years to come. However, the deepest impact will be from our midfield, as Thomas O'Henly will finally leave the picture as vice-captain; alongside Dimitar, they were the last two links to the first Eastfield Lodge squad ever to play in an international tournament, so there ends a whole chapter of the team. Other retiring players are Sarah Douglas and Jane Williamson, who was the first woman to ever play internationally for the EL team.

Anyways, onto more recent events, we're in aforementioned Cup of Harmony, which is being held in two nations newer yet much more successful than us: Polar Islandstates, who managed fourth in the last World Cup and are close again this time around, and Cotdelapoms, who have also achieved qualification. So how ironic is it that the Cup for non-World Cup qualifiers is being hosted by two World Cup qualifying teams? We've been drawn into Group F, in Polar Islandstates, with the likes of Nicole Scherzinger, Western Cuba, Civil Citizenry and Ipeland. We've heard of all four teams, and have played Western Cuba and Civil Citizenry on a few occasions. The NS and Ipeland matches (MDs 3 and 1 respectively) should be easy, but knowing how badly the team fail against lowly opposition, it's all up in the air. The bigger matches will be the real test of whether Vladimir O'Shea deserves to stay in the managerial office or not, with CC on MD 2, and Cuba on MD4. Keeping with the trend from qualifying, we have our bye day on the last matchday, thus adding the pressure.

This is your friendly neighbourhood critic Samner Diop, hiding in a basement somewhere in Dillvill trying to hide from rioters, signing out.

---

Samner read his own signature and sat back in his chair, sighing. Since the attack on Dylan Bell earlier in the year, the whole city became a battleground between those sympathetic with the DFA and those happy with the status quo. The issue had divided the police and the army as well, with both sides having weapons no ordinary civilian street battle would have. He was loving this chaos, and he knew Thomas Brembes would have been proud of his prodigy, had he been around. Unfortunately, he was caught up in the street battles, and was hit by a molotov cocktail whilst rallying the crowd.

As a self-proclaimed critic of the EL team, he was sort of expected to be at the Cup of Harmony, wherever the team where. He was going to go, but he had his plans, involving taking some of the DFA's operatives and making their plight an international phenomenon. The Nicole Scherzinger match would be the ideal target, knocking out the team's confidence prior to the last matchday with Western Cuba, thus giving him so much material for his online pursuits, whilst also achieving his primary situation. He knew where they were staying, he just needed to get there...

---

Team to play Nicole Scherzinger: Starting XI

Goal Tally CoH49:
Thomas Graham: 3
Hadia Ahmad: 1

[vs. Civil Citizenry: Thomas Graham (38'); Ackleigh (82')]

[Jedi8246]

The Rise of the Locust: A Short Story
I thought I was safe. All the signs indicated there was nothing to worry about. Ha! Those signs were fuckin' wrong! To believe that I nearly died due to some god damn error in the process. Laziness or incompetent, who knows. Those workers weren't supposed to matter. They were supposed to simply follow the duty of making caution signs. But nobody does their job anymore. But alas, I think you have no clue of whatI'm talking about. Starting a story with a statement such as the above is sure to elicit confusion. Let's start at the beginning. (Stereotypical I know.)

My name is Tom. I work at a bioengineering facility in the country. It was place so far from civilization due to the often dangerous conditions of our work. We of course take the necessary precautions (Like god-damn signs!), but one can never be too careful. We wouldn't want to let something loose in a populated area now would we? The irony. In any case, I worked there for the past ten years. I started at the bottom of the ladder as an assistant. But as in most things, with time I worked my way up. I began to handle more and more complicated projects. I have worked on a variety of different experiments. We made potatoes that grew faster and under harsher climate conditions. We turned oranges purple (Yeah. I didn't get the point of that either) and fused together cats with dogs (Wasn't pretty). Hell we even made squirrels that could actually fly. No matter what limits we pushed though, we kept things safe. Nobody got hurt. All was well. Until Project 9H. The Locust Replicator. (Damn signs!!)

Before I continue, here are a few things about the locust. They are basically grasshoppers. There are some behavioral differences that make them different, but taxonomically they are the same. I never understood our obsession with classification. The other scientists found this weird, but I hardly cared. Another things to know about locust is that they reproduce extremely rapidly. They have the right weather, and bang!, a whole swarm of them is flying around. They damage crops, make loud annoying noises and are generally ugly. I was not looking forward to working on this project. Especially with terrible goals. The idea was to make them to be able to carry poisons and carry those along to their offspring. Some military bull-crap. Our experiment focused on making their reproductive capabilities even faster than they already were. Mighty stupid if you ask me. But things stayed safe. Until the goddam signs.

Our facility keeps signs on the lab doors to indicate whether they were safe to enter or not. It worked pretty well before now. We had capable staff in charge of making sure the signs indicated the proper thing. We had no casualties and no real damage. Ah, life was good. Until now. Unfortunately, our company decided that paying people specifically to manage lab safety was costing them too much. So the sign people were cut. The duty was reassigned to the Mexican janitors. Already I saw problems. They didn't understand English at all. The signs on the lab doors contained pretty specific details in English. But despite that, the janitors were able to keep the signs proper for about a week. Unfortunately, that would not last.

A week after the janitors took over the lab signs, disaster struck. During the locust experiments, we kept the locust population we had in a contained area of the lab. This allowed precise work. However we quickly discovered that the experiments stressed the locust a bit. Being cramped in a tiny space for too long was leading to them swiftly dying out. So a solution was made. The locust would be allowed to occupy the lab when nobody worked in their. It was fine if they were left significant food and everything was cleaned up. The locust couldn't spread the poison in them onto non-biological tools. When we first came in the day, we would use a special signal to lure the locust back into the containment area so we could work. The signs were used to keep track of the location of the locust. Thus our problem.

It was close to the end of the day when it happened. We had all gone for the day and left the locust out in the lab. WE had set the lab sign to DO NOT ENTER. The janitor however was walking by and couldn't understand what the sign said. He looked in the lab and saw that it was dark. Thus he thought it empty and put the sign to SAFE. The next morning, horror struck. One of my female coworkers had not been in the previous day. She arrived early that morning for reasons we shall never know. She must have seen the sign bearing SAFE and walked right in. Right into the swarm of locust. They poisoned her quickly and were let loose. We made good efforts to attempt to stop them. But locust that can reproduce hyper fast weren't going to be stopped by gas.

So here I am. I barely escaped the swarm of locust. They escaped the lab of course. These locust have swarmed across the US, ravaging crops and killing people, while growing in size. It's unfortunate. The entirey of North America will we wiped out by killer locust. And it's all because of signs. I wonder when they will come for me. They left the lab the opposite direction of my home. It could be awhile still before they arrive at my home. I still have time- What was that? I thought I heard wings. NO!! IT's a loud buzzing noise. They are coming to kill me!! Please God!! AHH!!!! ......

[Kalumba]

The Herald

Report by Bruce Mtwetwe

Well an interesting start to the CoH, we sit second in the group behind Jedi8246 after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Gyatso-Kai in our first match, but we picked up some form to defeat Thatius by two goals to one in our second game. However we face a stern test when we come up against North Chicanan and Jedi8246, especially the later who made a great start to the tournament by defeating thirtieth ranked NC. This is sadly a bad sign for us as we will now have to defeat both side to stand any chance of progressing but that shouldn't be past the boys.

In our first game we were simply to slow to compete and couldn't keep up with the crafty play from GK and suffered for it. They scored an early goal and we were always chasing the game from there. But thankfully the wily old heads of Davis and Anderson were alert and scored an 89th minute goal which has caused a minor outcry for being not in the spirit of the game. Falling in the middle of the GK half Roberts won a free kick which anderson quickly took to Davis on the edge of the area, seeing a GK defender steaming accross he put his body in front of the ball and won the free kick. Before the GK defence could reorganis Davis had slid it past the last man into the path of Anderson who rolled it past the keeper who was protesting for both offside and the fact the GK team was not ready, but the goal stood and Kalumba escaped by the skin of their teeth.

In a better performance in our second game we took Thatius apart for 60 minutes but then lost impetus and almost the three points. Davis opened the scoring with a solid header from an Abouto cross which had caused panic in the defence. Roberts and Cheeter then began to dominate the midfield with some slick passing and opened Thatius up on two occasions and only alert goal keeping kept the socre at one-nil at half time. But in the second period Thatius made a bright start hitting the post from a volleyed effort but then Roberts went on a mazy run, turning three defenders before teeing up Davis at the back post for him to nod in.

With the game seemingly over Kalumba sat back and were instantly punished. Thatius won a corner and slammed the ball home from a header leaving 'The Tortoises' looking stunned. they crept back into their shells and Thatius were all over them. Thankfully 'Super Terry' Ottbourne was at his best to pull off some wonder saves and keep Kalumba in the game.

Now we go on from second in the group with two games to play, but is it beyond us already. North Chicanan will only improve and Jedi8246 will be looking to build on a bright start and we will have to win both our games against them. While North Chicanan are looking beatable we will have to play supremely well to beat Jedi8246.

[Mangolana]

Mangolana Gazzette

Owners to vote

Breaking news occured today, when the owners chose to opt out of the collective barganing agreement within the Mangolana premier league. With players recieving 70% of the revenue from SRI, the owners decided to use there 2 year clause to opt out of the agreement. This only effects the premier league though, as the Super and newly formed pro league have there own CBA's. Speculation among many insiders of the premier league is that this lock-out could possibly cancel the season, which would be the second whole season lock-out in 3 years. This would only mean bad news for the Premier league, with many teams currently struggling to draw the crowds they once did.

This past season, 12 of the 17 premier league team owners failed to sell-out at least one game, which does not bode well for the leagues popularity. Currently many Mangolana national team player play in the premier league, and without the league this year, many have said that they would leave the league and never return, and would play in foriegn leagues even if it ment less money. This would cause a heavy blow to the Mangolana Domestic Soccer, as the confederation has steadaly risen since its formation.

Without the league, it would also put teams in the Super and Pro league at a severe question area, of whether to continue by themselves as separate leagues or to fold up altogether. Either way, Another lock-out would not be good for the sport, or the nation economically, so heres hoping that this issue is resolved, Very Soon.

[North Chicanan]

Northern Daily Rabbler
Expectations Are Dropping

Welcome To The Hot Seat Rhys-Williams Lambasted After 2-0 Loss
Sahara Schmid, Livingston

While it would be fair to give Josiah Rhys-Williams some credit, it seems that the NCFA is not as incline to do so.

The coach spent the team's off day on the phone with the FA and with the press after the team's shocking 2-0 loss to Jedi82346 at the Cup of Harmony. With remaining matches against Kalumba, unknown Gyatso-Kai and fellow unknown Thatius, expectations for finishing first in the group just collapsed and the betters are seeing partial lines against failure to advance being purchased in a hurry.

"North Chicana loves a panic, right?" Rhys-Williams responded to questions from the National Post over his job security as he headed to training with the team, refusing to answer other questions. Usually outspoken Paul Owen did not take questions after practice, only saying any discussion of Rhys-Williams' ouster would be "preposterous."

Granted, Jedi8246 was considered a bit of a tough match although most prognosticators assumed Kalumba would be the Hoop's greatest threat to an undefeated run in group stage. Center House in Township reported that after the loss nearly NCP 15 million had to be paid out to bettors who went with the 50-1 odds the side would not go undefeated in group play.

The 30th-ranked side has now seen the betting widen substantially, with 50-1 odds of even qualifying at this point (Kalumba leads the betters at 11-1 with Jedi8246 at 25-2 and Gyatso-Kai at 40-1) which is far worse than bettors had for the Hoops during World Cup qualifying (no Betting House reported odds lower than 3rd after the 3rd game of play and most only started with a top-4 finish). While Rhys-Williams may be right the Northerns love a panic, the bettors see an impending collapse for the national team. And considering the rank of the side and the fact the team was considered one of the high seeds, the collapse could lead to a swift end towards Rhys-Williams' career for the national team.

The Hoops hope to remedy fears of an impending implosion tomorrow against Gyatso-kai. The team will be in the whites as the host side, and coverage in the Northern districts start at 6pm on City1.1 and CityD.1.

[Saugeais]

National Journal
SPORTS PAGE

Knights brush aside Rogue Pioneers, 3-1

There was plenty of action to behold in the Knights' match against Rogue Pioneers. And why not, the team wants to continue their string of good fortune. "It's great to have a spur of good matches thrown together," said striker Amaechi Olsen. "But we can never rest on our laurels. That's what we did in the Cup qualifiers and it hurt us in the end." Saugeais looked confident right from the opening, dispossessing the Pioneers after the first minute of play and mounting pressure right after that. The Knights launched 11 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of play, 5 of those off of corner kicks. And in the 17th minute, almost like clockwork, Amaechi Olsen slammed home a winner off of a Sasha Krause corner. Krause drilled a low line drive to the near post that Olsen managed to deflect away from the diving keeper and into the far side of the net for the score. After that first goal, though, Rogue Pioneers began to mount a little pressure on Saugeais, forcing the Knights to play cautiously. Metin Feik did manage to get himself carded by tackling Pioneers forward Alex O'Brien just outside the penalty area, but they didn't manage to score in the ensuing free kick. The two teams battled back and forth for the rest of the first half before a long ball forward was picked up by Dietmar Öztürk, who was well onside before the ball was kicked. Öztürk ran down the ball and went one on one with the Rogue Pioneers keeper, who was in the middle of the penalty area. Öztürk turned towards his left side, his strong side, and kicked a low ball underneath the diving keeper to put the Knights even further ahead, 2-0. "It's always great to be up at halftime, especially when you score just before you go in," said Öztürk. "We had all the confidence in the world, and from the way we were played it showed."

The second half started out on a sour note though. A missed pass from Thomas Quentin was quickly intercepted by Pioneers forward John Ryans. Going up against keeper Jenson Paulson, Ryans struck the same low ball Öztürk hit, and had the same results. Rogue Pioneers were now down by 1, and the Knights needed to rethink their strategy. "We couldn't sit on the ball anymore. We needed to attack," said manager Benoit Howard. And attack they did, keeping the ball on Pioneers' side of the pitch for 75% on the half. During one attacking movement, Dan Nagato received the ball inside the penalty area and was about make a move when Josh Herbinor, a Pioneers defender, tackled him hard. Nagato needed to be subbed out, and Herbinor received a yellow card, setting up a Saugeais penalty kick. Olsen stepped back, readied himself, and shot a bullet to the left side of the net. The keeper didn't even move, and the Knights were back up by two goals. But Saugeais weren't done quite yet. That goal put the game out of reach for Rogue Pioneers, but that didn't stop them from putting forth a valiant effort at the end. Sasha Krause did manage to foul a Pioneer player before the end of the game, and received a yellow card for it, much to the chagrin of the crowd. But it didn't matter, as the final whistle blew, and Saugeais gained three points.

No rest for the weary, though, as Saugeais will play against top seeded, but bottom of the table, Sargossa next match. The Corsairs lost their first match today against Osarius, whom the Knights are currently tied with at the top of the table. While Sargossa hasn't had much success on the pitch recently, expect striker Celso Esquivel to be a difference maker and cause some chaos among the Saugeais back line.

[Silver Beach]

Lulika City

Peter Morath was the new Chairman of the Silver Beach Royal Soccer Association Board(SBRSA), which meant that he was pretty much the most powerful man in Silverian soccer. He was a legend to Silverian fans, successfully lobbying to compete at its first world cup tournament many years ago, and even though he missed the Baptism of Fire, Silver Beach has been playing in World Cups ever since, and were even rated in the 50s. They have not had success at tournaments like the Cup of Harmony, but the popular coaching legend was adored by Silverian fans.

His latest move was not the greatest one in moral standards, but it was the move that he felt would best help the team. It was obvious they needed a new coach. Romeo Juliani couldn't inspire his players, and they lost 1-0 at home to an unranked squad. Peter Morath would have had him fired on the spot, but firing a guy in the middle of world cup qualifying just is not the best idea. Peter Morath immediately heard that Theodore Czacki was available as a manager, as he was leaving the Stachland national team. Morath, getting some support from other board members, handed out a multi-million dollar deal to Theodore Czacki, and all it needed to be done was signed, to secure the first foreign manager of a national sports team. Theodore Czacki just needed to officially sign it, and things became far more complicated after Romeo Juliani's untimely departure.

How did Romeo find out about the hiring? He was not supposed to know. Peter Morath had made the board swear not to leak to anybody who would be the next manager of the national team, and they had done an excellent job from keeping this way from the hounddogs in the Silverian press. Peter Morath was contemplating all that, when his Chief of Staff walked into the room.

"Peter!" Said the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff was a 48 year old caucausian male, with a goatee. He was a fan of country music, and conservative politically and morallly. He was from a rural area of Silver Beach. "I have news regarding Mr. Juliani, and 1st the letter from Theodore."

"Yes George, I saw the letter from Theodore." Said Peter Morath. "The letter said he wants to sign with Silver Beach now, and I told him explicitly that we must wait until Silver Beach is done with the 49th Cup of Harmony. He knows, I don't know why he's so restless. But we must make sure the press does not find out. If Romeo is proven right, then we have huge trouble on our hands."

"Yes, but Peter. Mr.Juliani released a statement, saying that we were backstabbers that didn't keep our word to him. He is just going to insult us now, but the fact that he is speaking truth, a truth that is well-hidden however, worries me. We kept a good cover, you personally conducted interviews with 3 other managers, all from Silver Beach. I think you need to reconcile with Mr.Juliani. Take him to a Silverian group matchup." Said George, the Chief of Staff.

"What??" Cried Peter Morath. "Why would I do that?? The benevolent little twit comes out and throws my board under the bus, insults me, and snoops to discover me, and I should take him to a game? Why would either of us what to do that?" Said Peter Morath.

"Because, you want to be right in the eyes of the people. Show that the board doesn't hold any grudges. Pubicly invite him to a game. Pay for the trip and his expenses. It will show soccer fans across the country that you are innocent, and we will fool them once again that we did not break any laws."

*sighs* "Fine." Said Peter Morath. "But don't expect me to enjoy this. The embarassment I get to suffer when Romeo says no in public... And then I get to watch Silver Beach vs. Triimoria live, but be bored because I'm alone in a French-speaking city of Montreal, of all places." Peter Morath, after finishing, sent out his Chief of Staff, picked up the phone, and dialed a number he though he would never have to dial again, Romeo Juliani's number....

[Michael VII]

MICHAEL VII FOOTBALL

VICTORIOUS! Our boys come away with 1-0 win over Cyborg Holland, move to 2nd in Group.

It wasn't pretty, but it was well worth watching. Michael VII came away with a decisive 1-0 win over Cyborg Holland in the 49th edition of the Cup of Harmony, Michael VII's first match in such tournament, that was won in the 69th minute from a penalty by Allen Willie from a somewhat controversial decision by the referee. Young Gregory Lukas was the victim of this penalty as he took out Michael VII forward Juan Beyer in the box. All the fans were screaming the Michael VII fans cheering, and the CH fans going mental at the ref after video review showed Lukas getting a lot of ball in that challenge. Following all the action in the box, including Lukas' ejection from the game, Allen Willie came up to take the penalty from the spot, and a matter of seconds later..."The ball was in the back of the net! Perfectly placed in the top right corner above the Goalie's glove to open the scoring! Willie has done it for Michael VII!" And the rest is history. Willie's goal put the boys up 1-0, which ended up being the winning score as the defensive pressure from Michael VII forced Cyborg Holland into making a lot of mistakes and allowing for Michael VII to get 75% possession in the last 20 minutes. No other instances of note occurred until the final whistle where multiple fans of opposing teams broke into a brawl that was quickly halted by the police. Michael VII finished off their lap of honour to thank the fans for coming out, as the lone goal puts them only one point behind in the division, behind only Kazzoria by one point with a game in hand. Funnily enough, we play Kazzoria next in what could easily be a top of the table clash that could ultimately decide who goes through from Group C!

Score Summary
Michael VII 1 -A Willie 69' (Pen)
Cyborg Holland 0 -NO SCORING

Booking Summary
Michael VII 2Y 0R -J Beyer 25' (YC), S Peter 54' (YC)
Cyborg Holland 1Y 1R -R Grapf 39' (YC), G Lukas 68' (RC)

Now, here's to beating Kazzoria tomorrow! *All drink a round*

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Well, nobody can say the Kytlerians aren't scoring anymore.

A one-goal defeat to Milchama would probably have been taken as roughly in line with expectations; for that goal to be the odd one in seven, however, was not even on anybody's minds. It was a 109/3 chance with one leading Kytlerian bookmaker.

But odd things can happen in these competitions, and the Kytlerian defensive attitude is very often secondary to the all-out attack beloved of many other nations. In a clash of styles to rival any of this competition, attack turned out to be the best form of defense, as two Cameron Upson equalisers and a Sven Vandenburgh screamer proved insufficient to overcome goals from four separate Milchamans. The Kytlerians are now effectively eliminated already, but few expected them to progress through a tricky group after the government cracked down on the exportation of RPDs, preventing vital supplies from reaching the players in Cotdelapoms. Critics have suggested that the RPDs are being stored up for the lacrosse team, and the export ban will "conveniently" be rescinded after the World Lacrosse Championships currently taking place in The Kytler Peninsulae; however, it is understood most of this criticism is emanating from Civil Citizenry, who have accused the Kytlerians of developing a new RPD called "Biaz" for the competition, something still denied by the University of Zube.

"We understand, also, that Margaret has been summoned and kept in check through the recalibration of chaos theory mechanisms within the host stadia," mused a professor at the university's Margaret Institute, whilst probably recovering from a potent cocktail of Verbosita, vodka, and purified meow mix. A statistician within the institute has suggested that "scorination" mechanisms may have been changed, but this is highly controversial as the idea of scorination would appear to reduce the players on the field to robots controlled by the whims of "comparatively simple random number generators that can run on any home computer or even smartphone in just a fraction of a second - which would appear to be ludicrously implausible," according to Bay City Herald sports journalist Michael Barton.

[Vilita]

MERMAIOADA COMPLETES MOR ELESBED SWIM

Despite tough conditions, trek from Côte-Est to Île d'Elisabeth succesful

It was about that time. Dawn was breaking in Western Rushmore, TV cameras await at the jetty. Actalia Mermaioada went over to the life boat for one last set of direction from the support team. They had started the day in Île d'Elisabeth and crossed the same path, in the opposite direction, that Mermaioada is about to cross. Mermaioada, for his part, had spent the past 3 days preparing in Côte-Est. The support team recorded moderate winds, less than earlier in the week, and no obvious sign of major marine life. They showed a hand drawn map showing location of buoys that will help direct the swimmer in the shortest path to the shore of Île d'Elisabeth.

After breaking off that meeting, the Support Team powered off about 100 yards from shore, awaiting Mermaioada getting in the water. There was not much of a crowd to send him off, but he was hoping he might be received by some kind of reception on the other side. One last thought about whether it was the right thing to do, and then quickly Mermaioada dove into the Mor Elesbed.

The first half hour went about as would be expected, although Mermaoiada did feel a bit more dehydrated then expected and slowed briefly to down a bottle of water from the support boat. That next hour was a very good pace as Mermaoiada was already about 5km from Côte-Est after about 90 minutes. The pace slowed the next hour, perhaps showing that the Vilitan National had pushed to hard the first 5km. Additionally, the winds started to strengthen considerably out in the very middle of the Mor Elesbed and it was requiring a lot more effort for Mermaioada to maintain a true course toward Île d'Elisabeth. Even the support boat was experiencing considerable drift.

A second scare at this point was the huge cargo ship that passed dangerously close to the swimmer and support boat, with little the two could do to get out of its way had their paths crossed more succinctly. Worse yet, while having temporarily stopped swimming to avoid the cargo ship, Mermaioada appeared to have felt something brush against the leg that could not be identified, adding an additional level of fear for the rest of the trip.

Nearing the coast of Île d'Elisabeth, the winds started to die down a little bit and Mermaioada grabbed a gel pack from the support boat for an added boost in the final hour, to ensure coming in with a strong finish. Arriving at the shore if Île d'Elisabeth in under 5 hours was a relief for the Vilita, who was received by about 80 onlookers including 15 Vilita National Teammates and 2 Media crews. The most important thing of course was ensuring to get the Vilitan warm and hydrated after the trek that, while had its scares, ended up being fairly uneventful.

After the swim, Mermaioada felt alright, but did not expect such a battle through the middle of Mor Elesbed. When asked about the time, Mermaioada said it was a decent time, but could have been better with less wind and better preparation, but for Mermaioada, it was fun to go out and swim outside of Vilita, and more importantly, use it as motivation to come back in the next National Team match and help the team to a victory, in order to prove that the Aquatic Sports are not harming his ability to be useful to the Vilitan National Team. Mermaioada also hoped that news of the swim would make the local sports section, perhaps ahead of the performances of Vilita's Group B Oppositions Matchday 2 Results!!

"Aquatic sports don't get a lot of respect" Mermaioada was quoted as saying. "So if by doing this swim, at the same time as the Cup of Harmony, means that some Footie fans will take a temporary interest in Aquatic Sports, then job done. If a few of them take a permanent interest in them, even better."

[Kazzoria]

The Kaz Banshee
Kazzoria are (literally) the best

It's official for once! Kazzoria are literally the best and we have statistics to back it up! Just look at the stats; Kazzoria are not only the highest rated team in the group; but they are also top of pool one! They were even ahead of Cup of Harmony regulars Pasarga, the college dropouts of football so to speak. So with Kazzoria being the best surely they can dominate the cup of Harmony? Don't answer that...

Kazzoria so far have played two games, winning one and drawing another. The draw was with the Kaiser Colonies, one of the better teams in the group. It was luck on their part anyway and it should have gone our way! Meanwhile the win was against the new Montreal states and it was a good game at that. New Montreal States went 2-1 up at half-time (mostly through luck) but then we came down on them like a hammer and pwned them! The new squad still consists of deities and it was Horus who scored a brace followed by another goal from Brian, almighty diety of low-budget television. The final score was four-two to Kazzoria and all the 14 fans were jumping about cheering a little bit (except the one who was dead). So Kazzoria are currently in first in the group, although Micheal Vii have a game in hand and are on three points. Maybe we can have a comeback after that shocking qualification campaign.

The current Kazzorian squad isn't quiet as strong as last years, but they still are pretty good. In previous years we have thought we would manage a Cup of Harmony victory and then crashed out in the first knockout round. Maybe this was just the way of things, and maybe it still is, but now we could possibly even make it to the semi-finals? Of course this year the aim is a title, but of course it's not entirely impossible for them to crash and burn but it is equally possible that there will be a good result.

Next we have Micheal VII and this is a very important match. If Kazzoria win then we have power over the rest of the group and go into an undisputed first place. But if we lose we could fall a few places. So it's pretty important as an early game and if we win it then it is possible we willl take the group by the neck.

Here is the rooster:

Name			Position	Job
1: Anubis		Goalkeeper	God of the dead/embalming
12: Dave		Goalkeeper	God of train spotters
2: Osiris	 	Centre-back	Old god of dead and new king of gods
3: Jim			Centre-back	God of unidentified smells
4: Ma'at		Full-back	Goddess of justice
5: Horus		Full-back	God of Pharoes
13: Pete		Centre-back	God of 70's disco pop
14: Apep		Full-back	Snake of evil
22: Bert		Centre-back	God of J-walking
6: Hathor		Centre-mid	Goddess of music
7: Bob			Centre-mid	God of Vandalism
8: Isis			Winger		Goddess of Magic
15: Tim			Winger		God of oddly shaped nik naks
16: Thoth		Centre-mid	God of Wisdom
17: Amun		Winger		God of Creation
21: Kevin		Winger		God of elastic bands
9: Bastet		Striker		Goddess of cats
10: Brian		Wing forward	God of low budget TV
11: Bruce		Wing forward	God of pensioner gangsters
18: Sekhmet		Striker		God of destruction
19: Set			Wing forward	God of chaos
20: Ammit the destroyer	Striker		Eater of evil souls

[Darmen]

Darmen struggles in Draw with neighbors Carmadin

Despite an early goal provided by Zach Preston in the twelth minute, Darmen struggled both offensively and defensively to keep the game from ending in a draw. The back line looked in total disaray, and Darmen was lucky to only concede one goal.

Captain Zach Preston said, "Obviously Carmadin is one of our biggest rivals, as they share a border with us. The draw wasn't what we wanted, nor was it what we expected. But I can say that we will defeat Carmadin when we face them in the first ever Copa de Mercury."

Darmen now finds itself sitting in fourth place, with only two games remaining. Manager Mikael Gibbons said, "The outlook doesn't look good. Thankfully though, Carmadin is in second place, and they only have two points. So hopefully we can win our final two games, and pray that Carmadin either loses one of their games, or draw both of them."

Darmen will also have to watch Taeshan very closely, as they could be the team to spoil Darmen's hopes of advancing to the Round of 16. Gibbons said, "They're a dangerous team, and a win against them would help us a lot."

Gibbons also announced that Charm Vue would be playing in place of Dustin Nguyen in Darmen's next game against Taeshan, which is tonight.

[Ipeland]

[Taeshan]

An Essay On Why You Should Care
By Me

So you say to yourself, Hey why should i care about some soccer tournament in some far off land when i could just sit here at home and not worry about anything, and jsut get on with my day? Well sir i hate to say it but in many ways you are right, but you are also wrong. Soccer is very important thing involved in the history of Taeshan. It was the second international thing that the nation entered after the WBC. It is deeply rooted in are culture, and i mean who outside of Taeshan knows about any Taeshani sports club that doesn't play soccer. How many people outside of the nation know who the Wiechester Wonders are? But how many people outside the nation do not know who Atlantea Hurricanes are, who the Phoenix are, who Brian Ying Uing and Zeke are. With many of the nations outside Taeshan that have been around for very long times starting to fade, Taeshan needs to take its spot in the forefront. We can change the fact that we are just a mediocre nation. We can be great, and it all starts with soccer. A little ball in a net may not do much, but it can put aflame the fire in the worlds belly. A spark to light the flame of the world.


OOC:FYI to all people Style Modifier is now -5...As changed to and by cdp

[Polar Islandstates]

The need to compensate for the ever so slightly late CUTOFF tonight means no accompanying RP tonight, apologies.

Blame public transport. Or more specifically, idiots that can't use it.

Scores soon.

EDIT, and here they are!

Group F
Eastfield Lodge 1–0 Nicole Scherzinger
Ipeland 1–1 Civil Citizenry

  Group F              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Eastfield Lodge        3   2  1  0    5   2  +3    7
2 Civil Citizenry        3   1  2  0    5   2  +3    5
3 Nicole Scherzinger     2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
4 Ipeland                2   0  1  1    2   4  −2    1
5 Western Cuba           2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0



Group G
Saugeais 0–0 Sargossa
Megadia 5–4 Rouge Pioneers

  Group G              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Saugeais               3   2  1  0    6   1  +5    7
2 Osarius                2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
3 Megadia                2   1  0  1    5   7  −2    3
4 Sargossa               2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
5 Rouge Pioneers         3   0  0  3    5   9  −4    0



Group H
Mangolana 2–2 Octinstine
Mapletish 1–3 Rhodesiah

  Group H              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Rhodesiah              3   2  1  0    6   2  +4    7
2 Mangolana              3   1  2  0    5   4  +1    5
3 Octinstine             2   1  1  0    6   4  +2    4
4 Mapletish              2   0  0  2    2   5  −3    0
5 Homelands Our          2   0  0  2    2   6  −4    0



Group I
Jedi8246 1–1 Thatius
North Chicanan 6–3 Gyatso-Kai

  Group I              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Jedi8246               3   1  2  0    6   4  +2    5
2 Kalumba                2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 North Chicanan         2   1  0  1    6   5  +1    3
4 Gyatso-Kai             3   0  2  1    7  10  −3    2
5 Thatius                2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1

[Valladares]

Valladares Sports Network

IT'S FLYING TIME

Les Gones go to bye day with two wins in the pocket, dominating Group E

By: Alan Rosero,
Blogger from "The National Kickoff"

WORCESTER, COTDELAPOMS (VP) - Well, our first two matches couldn't have been better: two thrashings of Darmen and Arcatea, an already-opened gap in the first place of the group, and a team that is starting to recover its offensive memory. Can we ask for something better in this Cup of Harmony?

Of course we can. Despite having drilled Darmen four times, and Arcatea five times, our defensive sector conceding two goals in both games still leaves much to be desired. Maybe they are becoming too old to run like they used to? If there's something José Marín must improve before re-appearing in competition against Carmadin, is improving that defensive line. A clean sheet would be appreciated, you know?

Darmen and Arcatea no match

Yes, no match for the top seed in this group. Obviously both teams were a question mark in Marín's memo, as this was the first time Valladares were playing both teams. And what was the outcome? The good guys (namely, us) won, as expected. But they had lots of problems to win. Lots of defensive ones. Yes, our offensive exploded in both games, with Jefferson Ospina and Miguel Flórez scoring hat-tricks against Darmen and Arcatea, respectively, but what about our defensive line? We could appreciate almost the same things in both games: Carvalho, Perrin and Edwards too slow to nullify attacks, and Lamont and Ricardinho too slow to retreat and support the three defenders. With that we won't go farther than the first knockout round, although we can have some hope if the forwards continue sharp and destroying defenses in ballistic fashion.

I thought I would never say that, but Darmen managed to earn some respect from my part. That team was too difficult to attack until the 30th minute, when they conceded the first goal and unfortunately collapsed. Despite that, they impressed us and managed to keep us in a pinch with those two goals. They only lacked more luck to make things even more difficult, and this shows they must be taken into account as a "wildcard". Don't expect them to go any farther if they face us again, though...

Arcatea? Pfft...that team only had two moments of instantaneous luck. For the rest, they didn't even show a single good argument to tickle "Les Gones". They were destroyed with total justice. For the next time, don't forget to add water to that instantaneous luck jar!

Who's next? Ahh...Carmadin! (one moment...who are them?)

Carmadin. Currently in second place of Group E with two draws, and could cut the gap with us to 1 single point should they win their next match. They don't seem to be so dangerous, although the first thing to improve before the match against them is obviously our defensive line...maybe it's time for some "roster renovation"?

And what will be the objective for the match against them: qualification. Nine out of nine points in a group of five teams with a single match to play guarantee qualification, and if the rest of teams keep taking points from each other, they won't do nothing but help our cause. So please draw while we rest!

One more thing before ending today's post. Keep sending your reasons to my e-mail, like I said in my last post! There are two tickets for the first Supercopa Valladar match waiting for an owner...and the lucky one could be YOU! Don't waste any time and enter the contest now!

MD1: Valladares 4-2 Darmen
MD2: Arcatea 2-5 Valladares
MD3: BYE
MD4: Valladares vs. Carmadin
MD5: Taeshan vs. Valladares

[Cotdelapoms]

We are cutting off the Cotdelapoms side! Expect a fun RP shortly, but it's been a rough 24 hours for me as well.

Group A
Bleak Rock 1–0 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk
Silver Beach 2–1 Triimoria

Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Bleak Rock                  3   2  1  0    2   0  +2    7
2 Pasarga                     2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
3 Silver Beach                2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 Triimoria                   3   0  1  2    2   6  −4    1
5 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk      2   0  0  2    0   3  −3    0

Group B
Carasatoga 0–0 Brendino the 3rd
Vilita 0–1 Erathore

Group B                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Erathore                    3   2  0  1    7   7   0    6
2 Carasatoga                  3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
3 Vilita                      2   1  0  1    5   4  +1    3
4 FSSO                        2   1  0  1    7   7   0    3
5 Brendino the 3rd            2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1

Group C
Kazzoria 7–2 Michael VII
New Montreal States 1–0 The Kiaser Colonies

Group C                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kazzoria                    3   2  1  0   11   4  +7    7
2 New Montreal States         2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
3 Michael VII                 2   1  0  1    3   7  −4    3
4 The Kiaser Colonies         3   0  2  1    1   2  −1    2
5 Cyborg Holland              2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1

Group D
Milchama 2–2 Miley World
The Weegies 0–1 The Kytler Peninsulae

Group D                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega      2   2  0  0    5   1  +4    6
2 Milchama                    3   1  2  0    7   6  +1    5
3 The Kytler Peninsulae       3   1  0  2    4   6  −2    3
4 The Weegies                 2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
5 Miley World                 2   0  1  1    3   5  −2    1

Group E
Carmadin 2–2 Arcatea
Taeshan 1–0 Darmen

Group E                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valladares                  2   2  0  0    9   4  +5    6
2 Taeshan                     2   1  1  0    4   3  +1    4
3 Carmadin                    3   0  3  0    6   6   0    3
4 Arcatea                     2   0  1  1    4   7  −3    1
5 Darmen                      3   0  1  2    3   6  −3    1

[New Montreal States]

NATION STRUGGLES TO OVERCOME APATHY DURING BYE MATCH

Paladins slump even further to bottom of the group by staying idle

ALBIONPOOL - The Paladins got to stew in their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Kazzoria even further, sitting around and doing nothing as three of their fellow Group C teams pulled even further ahead. The table offers a neat little 4-3-2-1-0 descending point tally, certainly the most aesthetically pleasing of the nine groups in the CoH. At least it would be, if the Paladins weren't enmeshed at the bottom of it.

With three matchdays to make up a 3-point deficit, the Paladins will have a lot of scrambling to do if they hope to emerge from an Albionpool group featuring Kazzoria, who was recently revealed to be a pack of Egyptian deities. The NMS Patriarchate was declining to comment publicly on these recent revelations, although a source close to the Archbishop of Sorel was recently heard musing about the possibilities of sprinkling the pitch with holy water and seeing if this would affect the Egyptian pantheon. Although many of the gods are quite well-known, and may be powerful enough to survive even the God-Sprinkler 3300 (now with fully free, rotating heads!,) it is believed that lesser deities such as the god of "J-Walking" (some kind dance the kids are doing nowadays, we suppose) might be vulnerable if the grass were surreptitiously given a holy soakdown before Kazzoria's next pitch. Other potential victims include the gods of low budget T.V. and oddly shaped knick-knacks, although our source also indicated that the operations would have to avoid angering Bruce, god of pensioner gangsters, as the last thing anyone wanted was to piss off a bunch of grandmothers with Desert Eagles buried amidst their 20-year-old coupons and stale cinnamon-flavored breath mints.

Whether though chicanery, or the old-fashioned but still effective tactic of outscoring the opposition, the Paladins will have to step up and grab 9 points out of 9 to be sure of getting through.

GOALS

Ed 1
Craig McDougall 1

EDIT: Whoops, I lose.

[Triimoria]

Triimoria Informer

Yawn!

Bleak Game Against Bleak Rock!

Code: Select all

Triimoria                    0-0                    Bleak Rock

Bleak. That perfectly describes Triimoria's second game in the 49th Cup of Harmony. The play was bleak (mostly). The weather was bleak. The mood was bleak. Even the opposition was bleak! And so the game ended a nil-nil draw.
Well if one thing can be said for the game was that the first ten minutes promised so much! They were jam-packed with action and goal-scoring chances! Bleak Rock came right off the bat with a good chance. Guojon Ragnarsson was given the ball from the kick-off, he strode down the wing going past Forsyth with evident skill. We made it right to the box before cutting the ball back to starlet Rosenmeyer who hit an excellent shot that skiffed the cross-bar. Triimoria came back quickly and had a chance of their own soon after. Taking notice of Bleak Rocks lack of wide defenders Forsyth shot down the wing crossing the ball to the waiting Ozzaguira, who's poor header sent the ball far over the bar. The first ten minutes even had drama! A Blockhead counter-attack left Harris Maxwell as the last defender against Rosenmeyer. Maxwell cut him down. Take his legs from under him. It looked a definite penalty! Although the referee seemed to not notice! Rosenmeyer was instantly up calling for a penalty. Hot-head Maxwell seemed to be angered by this. He struck Rosenmeyer a hefty blow in the face! The referee DID see this however. Maxwell was off instantly. This is his second red in his career, and he's only been playing for a while! It was a highly unprofessional display from the young defender. Honestly the next thirty-five minutes were barren of anything of interest.
The second half was not improvement on the first. Same dull play. Same dull score. Occasional half-chances gave the fans optimism of a goal yet to come, only to be disappointed. The pick of the bunch however came on the 69th minute for Triimoria. Quitazotl came down the wing and with some skill went past the opposition defence, only to smack his shot off the post. So the match ended in a dull 0-0 draw.
Triimoria's next match is against Silver Beach. Hopefully it's an improvement on this game!

[Carmadin]

The Adventures of Ick and Oock
Messangers of Margaret, walking the Divine tightrope between IC and OOC

"hey! splendid! another draw!"

"is that all we can do?"

"apparently"

"well, we did better than a loss against Darmen"

"that's a plus"

"yes, i thought so to. everybody say thank you to Cotdelapoms' Xkorinate"

"

Thank You Cotdelapoms' Computer!!!

"ah, good, good"

"so, second in the group, how do you think we'll finish?"

"who knows? who cares? not me!"

"well, arent you nice and cheery!"

"thank you. It's one of my strong points."

"must you be so sassy?"

"hehe. he said sassy"

"so?"

"sassy sassy sassy"

"that, my good sir, is SPAM"

"oh well"

"see, sassy"

"is that even a word?"

"yes! of course"

"is it in the dictionary?"

"yup, of course"

"oh yeah? where?"

"here, of course"

"dictionary.com? nice"

"i know. so, let's talk CoH"

"has our roster been linked yet?"

"no, i don't think so....."

"well why ever not?"

"oh, i dont know, perhaps Mr. Cotdelapoms is a bit busy, running the second-biggest NS tournament"

"pssshhhhhhh, silly"

"well, no, not really."

"but anyway, can we pleaaaaaazzzzeeee get our roster linked?"

"only if were good"

"well, then we can just forget about it then"

"true, very true."

"oh well. if we keep this up, we'll go 0-4-0"

"4 points, yeah, that'll get us to the knockout rounds"

"oh, shut up"

"no! shant!"

"so rude"

"you know, this rp is just nonsense"

"no it's not! we are wonderful writers!"

"im sure we are"

---

"haha, we rped for the Darmen match, then, oh, this'll kill me!"

"what happened?"

"oh, haha we rped, saved it in the drafts, an, and then, the cutoff came!!!!"

"oh"





"alright, so, we played Arcatea."

"yessum we did. and, i am proud to say, we have our third draw of the CoH!"

"all right!"

"so, now what?"

"well, i would like to say one thing. we are undoubtedly going to beat Darmaen in the Copa de Mercury, no matter what he may say"

"yes, we have the Seendok Shells!"

"ha!"