Copa Gaveo IV (Everything thread)

[Slembana]

(From an IC (In Character) point of view, there was no delay.)

Matchday 6 results
Group A:
Amelio 1-1 Drachmae
Lunar Republic Islands 0-3 St Lucoa
Lymantatia 0-0 Anollasia
Group B:
Kingdom of Phoenixia 4-1 Estope
Thousandsuns 3-0 Free Swiss States
Maklohi Vai 0-0 Auremena

Matchday 7 results
Group A:
Slembana 1-4 St Lucoa
Amelio 0-2 Anollasia
Lymantatia 0-1 Drachmae
Group B:
Gaveo 1-0 Free Swiss States
Kingdom of Phoenixia 1-0 Auremena
Maklohi Vai 1-1 Estope

Tables will be up soon.

[Slembana]

Final group tables:
Group A:

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 St Lucoa                  6    6   0   0    25    3  +22    18
2 Slembana                  6    3   2   1    15    6   +9    11
3 Drachmae                  6    2   2   2     3    5   −2     8
4 Amelio                    6    2   1   3     9   20  −11     7
5 Lunar Republic Islands    6    1   2   3     5   10   −5     5 E
6 Anollasia                 6    1   2   3     4   12   −8     5 E
7 Lymantatia                6    0   3   3     3    8   −5     3 E

St Lucoa, Slembana, Drachmae, and Amelio are through.
Group B:

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Thousandsuns            6    6   0   0    18    2  +16    18
2 Gaveo                   6    5   0   1    13    6   +7    15
3 Free Swiss States       6    4   0   2     8    5   +3    12
4 Maklohi Vai             6    2   2   2     7    8   −1     8
5 Kingdom of Phoenixia    6    2   0   4     8   11   −3     6 E
6 Auremena                6    0   1   5     2   13  −11     1 E
  Estope                  6    0   1   5     2   13  −11     1 E

Thousandsuns, Gaveo, Free Swiss States, and Maklohi Vai are through.

Quarter-final ties:
QF1: St Lucoa vs Gaveo
QF2: Thousandsuns vs Slembana
QF3: Drachmae vs Maklohi Vai
QF4: Free Swiss States vs Amelio

[Maklohi Vai]

Maklohi Vai heads into the next round after qualifying by only a two point margin. The team finished at 2-2-2, the same as their opponents in the next round, Drachmae. Analyst Unolo Apunokani said, "This Vaian team may not be having their best tournament, but they're playing well enough that they have a decent chance to win this next match. In terms of winning In the semifinals, that will be harder, but not impossible. The main issue that this team has had is not executing their system, so if they can do that in the knockout rounds, they could do quite well."

[Thousandsuns]

1000suns move to next phase in Copa Gaveo IV

Thousnadsuns will face host, Slembana in the next round of the Copa Gaveo IV after an 90th minute strike by Mervin Davide saw them past Free Swiss States.

And Thousandsuns boss Igor Kapannakmenang is pleased to have seen his game plan succeed. "I'm very pleased, the team played well," the manager said. "Free Swiss States are a good side so our plan first and foremost was to stop them playing, and then we nicked it right at the end. "There was still ten minutes or so left after we scored, but the lads defended well from start to finish. It was good to keep a clean-sheet."

Match 5: vs. Auremena (3-0)
GK-Sam Moorton
DEF-Romeo Jeleniewski, Kristofer Donatis, Alphonse Condit, Jarrod Andrzejewski (c)
MID- Luigi Gonyo (Rueben Alzaga m75), Donte Kovack, Cartello Izzatoft, Cyril Paduano (Eli Buntrock m80)
ST-Ian Southwich, Elliot Notto

Yellow card- Kristofer Donatis, Alphonse Condit
Scorer- Cartello Izzatoft m23, Cyril Paduano m67, Ian Southwich m90
Man of the Match- Paul-Antony Ruise (Auremena)
Suspend next games-Kristofer Donatis

Match 6: vs. Free Swiss States (3-0)
GK-Morgan Delaplane (c)
DEF-Romeo Jeleniewski, Ike Panchik, Alphonse Condit, Jarrod Andrzejewski
MID- Cyril Paduano, Mitchel Wyand, Rueben Alzaga (Luigi Gonyo m79), Eli Buntrock
ST- Elliot Notto, Ian Southwich (Mervin Davide m73)

Yellow card- Eli Buntrock, Romeo Jeleniewski
Scorer- Alphonse Condit m27, Cyril Paduano m56, Mervin Davide m90
Man of the Match- Rueben Alzaga
Suspend next games- Eli Buntrock

[Gaveo]

OOC: Note In the Auremena game Sebastian Cadiz scored 2, Cesar Milano 3 goals, and Santiago Rojas 1. In the Estope game Santiago Rojas scored 1.
IC:
Matchday 7
A rematch of the epic finale of Copa Gaveo III was won my Gaveo 1-0, with a goal from Santiago Rojas, once again Gaveo proves that this is their tournament by qualifying to the Final 8. We face a strong St. Lucoa team that has only given 3 goals! Lowest in tournament history. Can we even score? Anyways, back to FSS game we scored in the 76th minute and our side went wild, but to give the Swiss some credit they out played us it was only in the 65th minute on that we started to dominate. The Swiss had some major opportunities in the 7th, 19th, 77th and 89th minutes but were all blocked by Joaquin Cadiz. So we face St. Lucoa will we win? I think so...
Thank you Don Juan and no back to Politics...

[St Lucoa]

St. Lucoa Tribune.

Special Edition.

MATCH 1

"Today the St. Lucoa Tribune is proud to present a special edition of the newspaper. This edition will cover two football matches. The first being St. Lucoa against Lunar Republic Islands and the second against the mighty Slembana.

St. Lucoa were top of their group before the match against the Lunar Republic Islands began. A win would surley guarentee a place in the Quarter-Finals. The anticipation was building up, the fans, as always, were out in force. The fans sung the usual songs and then the game started.

St. Lucoa kicked off, they knew that they could afford to be less offensive in this match. The St. Lucoans played the ball between the back four for a few minutes, then tried some long balls up the pitch, but they could'nt seem to get anything going. In the 34th minute defender George Huntsley played a high ball up the field. LRI defender Abby BrightStar jumped to head the ball clear, but she jumped too early and the ball sailed over her. Joe Benson was quick to pounce on this mistake. He sprinted to meet the ball before the LRI keeper got to it. Benson was fast enough to beat the keeper to the ball and he calmly side-footed the ball in to the back of the net. 1-0 St. Lucoa and the crowd were having a party.

LRI kicked off, but like St. Lucoa in the first-half they could'nt get anything going. A few chances presented themselves to the LRI forwards, but none were taken advantage off, due to spectacular goal-keeping for Sanchez. Half-time and St. Luoca were 1-0 up. Haltberter came on for an injured Simonton at the break.

The second half was a carbon copy of the first. Few chances and overall a boring game. Until Simon Gillingham ran with the ball along the wing, he took the ball past LRI defender Pearlight Star. He whipped in a magnificant cross, which was head home by Haltberter. He celebrated in style, as he rarley even get a game for the side, but maybe after today that might change. 2-0 St. Lucoa.

LRI kicked off, but the St. Lucoan defence was shutting them out brilliantly. St. Lucoa sensed that the game was over, so they played defencive and conservative. It was not long until it was injury time. Shorprey seen Joe Benson make a clever run. Shorprey played the ball up to Benson, who controlled the ball with his chest. Benson let the ball bounce once, then he hit it on the half volley. An absoulute screamer of a goal, which surley is in contention for goal of the tournament.

Seconds later the final whistle went. St. Lucoa were surely throught to the Quarter-Finals. The crowd celebrated and so did the team, they had made history."

MATCH 2

"The stage was set for a great match. The unbeaten St. Lucoa against the hosts, Slembana. Slembana was the team to beat from St. Lucoa's point of view. For this match the crowd really were behind the team, as they did not stop signing for the whole game.

Slembana kicked off and they meant business. The St. Lucoan defence was tested every minute. Slembana's Eddie Barlow made lots of good runs, but most of the time the quality of the ball was poor. Barlow, however, managed to recieve a well timed ball. Barlow was one-on-one with Pedro Sanchez. Sanchez went low to the ground, but Barlow was smart enough to easily put it through the legs of Sanchez. A great goal, which was well deserved. Slembana, now faced a choice. Defend this early goal or press for another one.

St. Lucoa kicked the ball off, a few ball to Benson were atempted, but they were dealt with well by the Slembana defence. Peter Batson recieved the ball and was skillful enough to take it round Finlay Yalnif. Batson curled the ball to Benson, who flicked the ball goalwards with his head. The ball hit the inside of the post and sneaked in. St. Luoca were back in it. 1-1.

Half-time came and went and St. Lucoa were now doing all the attacking. Batson again was whipping in great crosses, but no-one was managing to get to them. Smith picked up the ball in midfield and seen Simonton run through Slembana's Callum Pots and Don Adobe. Smith played a beautiful through ball and Simonton hit it first time, to sent the ball toward the top corner. The ball had so much spin and pace on it that Keeper Toby Gapman was unable to reach it. Suddenly St. Lucoa were back in it. 2-1 St. Lucoa.

Knowing that Slembana would not just give up, St. Lucoa pressed for a third and in the 78th minute they got their third goal. When a free-kick was crossed in by Huntsley and was met by, none other than the star man, Joe Benson. Benson scored his second headed goal of the game. Slembana were furious, as they had given away a cheap and easy goal. 3-1 St. Lucoa.

When St. Luoca recieved posession of the ball the kept a hold of it, in an atempt to run down the clock. With seconds to go, Huntsley played a hopeful ball up. Slembana Defender Dennis Valfern lost his footing and tripped up, this allowed Smith to pounce on the loose ball. Smith needed no prompting to slot the ball home. 4-1 St. Luoca it ended and theis was a great victory for the team.

This victory has earned a place in history for St. Lucoa. Some said we would even progress from the group-stages. We have done so well. Our target was to reach the Quarter-Finals and we have accomplished that. Surley now, our target must be to win the tournament.

Jack Smith Reporting for the St. Lucoa Tribune".

[Amelio]

OOC: In the St. Lucoa game Amelio's scorers were Sebastian Buggati. In the Lymantatia game Sebastian Buggati scored 1 and 1 goal from Nello Fantoni and 2 goals from Mark Garza.
IC: Amelio and Drachmae tied in the Group A round 6 game 1-1. With a score from Nello Fantoni at the 9th minute. We were playing well and nearly scored in the 11th minute with a strong wicked kick from Sebastian Buggati and again 78th minute from Nello Fantoni. But the tying score came from a massive counter offensive from the Drachmaeians overwhelming our defense causing the goal causing a tie with only 7 minutes left in the game... We got only one point off of that game that Amelio should have won. In the second game Amelio got whopped by Anollasia team ready for war, scores in the 18th and the 61st minutes. Amelio just couldn't respond, so know we face the Free Swiss States, can we knock off the Champions? Stay tuned!

[Drachmae]

So we made it to the Final 8 can we go deep into tournament play? Maybe here is a recap of our previous games, we tied our first against a growing Amelio team 1-1. Nello Fantoni scored first in the 9th minute giving the Amelians the lead. We tried a couple of times so did our enemy but our tight and stingy defense held on in till the 83rd minute where we lead a massive counter-offensive Stelios Venijamin passing the seconded to last defender and forward passing it to Fotios Marinos which kicked through the Amelian goalie's hands, shocking the Amelio team and securing the tie. In the next game we won 1-0 to Lymantatia, where Forios Marinos scoring his 2 goal of the tournament and with that win Drachmae secures it's first berth to the Copa Gaveo IV: Slembana Edition playoffs can our captain, Forios Marinos lead us to glory we will soon find out!

[St Lucoa]

St. Lucoa Tribune.

"We have done it. We have made it to the Quarter-Finals, something which a lot of people said we would never do. St. Lucoa have perfromed great, not even losing a single match. In our Quarter-Final match we face Gaveo, who are a really good side. At this point every team that has qualified for the Quarter-Fianls looks like a great team. Like every other match, St. Luoca have nothing to lose. We can be certain that they will play their hardest, in what is sure to be, a very difficult match. The crowd will, of course, be right behing the St. Lucoans. Already tickets for the match have been sold out, as this is surley one of the most important macthes in St. Lucoa's history.

Everyone from the Caribbean and even Britain are hoping that St. Lucoa pull through. They have already made history, by getting to the Quarter-Fianls, but can they be remembered for the Under-dog team that won the Copa Gaveo IV? We will need to wait and find out.

Whatever the out-come, it will be a great match and an estimated 10 million people around the world are going to be tuning in to watch the St. Lucoa and Gaveo match. We are all looking forward to it."

Jack Smith Reporting for the St. Lucoa Tribune.

[Free Swiss States]

A Look At Our Competition

St Lucoa: A surprise entrant, but they have more than proved themselves in the tournament. Of their six games thus far, they have won all six, only allowing three goals while scoring twenty two of their own. Easily one of the favorites.

Slembana: The hosts of the tournament, who will be playing on their home ground. The FSS and Slembana have played many times in the past, though the FSS has only ever lost one encounter, in the 1st Gaveoan Cup, which led to Slembana's taking home of the trophy. Tensions are high between the two nation's footballers, in no small part because of the FSS's own Nicholas Jayet, who often makes derogatory remarks towards the Slembanan team.

Drachmae: A young team, but one that has managed to claw their way into the quarterfinals. They'll have a long and difficult road if they want to get to the finals, though.

Thousandsuns: Possibly one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament. They have not only defeated our own team decisively, they also outmanuevered Gaveo. Thus, they have managed to already defeat last year's champions and the year before that. Another one of the favorites.

Gaveo: The tournament founders and namesakes. They came close to defending their title last year, and they managed to defeat the FSS by the narrowest of margins in the Group Stage. Another one of the favorites, though they will have a tough game against St Lucoa in the quarterfinals.

Amelio: The team we will play in the quarterfinals. A strong team, and one which in our present condition may match us. However, if the team is able to play up to their abilities, we can win this game and advance to the semifinals.

Maklohi Val: Another strong team, though they had to fight to make it through. Not a favorite, but a one we are watching.

[St Lucoa]

St. Lucoa News Network.

"Welcome to SLNN, before we start our main news segment, let's get a quick update on the St. Lucoan team and fans in Slembana. Over to you Phil"

"Hi Steve. The fans, today, have swarmed the streets. In most towns and cities the various cafes and bars are full. The local businesses are generating a lot of revenue. The St. Lucoa loyal are waiting. Waiting for the hour to come, when their team could make history. They are waiting for the match against Gaveo to start. It is still a few hours before kick-off, but already the fans are fired up. Today the St. Luocan players trained for only an hour. They had prepared themselves well though. The fans would be behind them all the way. It was reported that other teams in the Copa Gaveo thought highly of the St. Lucoa team. Teams like the Free Swiss States. For a legendary team like FSS to call St. Lucoa good was an honour for the players."

"The match against Gaveo will be tough. In fact any game now will be tough, as all of the teams in the Quarter-Finals are of good quality. St. Lucoa belive they can do it and so does every one of their supporters. Back to you Steve.........................."

[Thousandsuns]

Office of President

---

To 1000suns Copa Gaveo IV Staff/Players

Re: Copa Gaveo Incentive

I, President Sunspear like awarded generously for your all with 500,000 Teso cash, a 1000suns-Vempa and agricultural land of 5 acres for each person. May you all be able to play well and win the Copa Gaveo this time.

Regard


Ian Thorburgh Sunspear
President of Thousandsuns

[Slembana]

DBK Sports - Football - Slembana 1-4 St Lucoa

Written by Temi Temi Dagens

In our final group game in the fourth Copa Gaveo, we have crashed to a 4-1 defeat to St Lucoa. This means we finish second in Group A of the tournament, and will face Thousandsuns in the tournament's quarter-finals. Thousandsuns won all of their games in the group stage, which means it will be a tough game for us.

We kicked the game off, and tested the St Lucoan defence every minute. Our star striker, Val Kylx, saw a great low shot saved by St Lucoan goalkeeper Pedro Sanchez in the 5th minute, shortly before Joe Benson, St Lucoa's star striker, hit the post with a volley. Our other striker, Eddie Barlow, was making many good runs, but the quality of the ball was mostly poor. However, in the 15th minute, Barlow received a well-timed ball from Jyvx Dagens, our attacking midfielder. Barlow went one-on-one with Sanchez, who went low to the ground, only for Barlow to cheekily slot the ball through Sanchez's legs, putting us 1-0 up. We now had a choice: should be defend our lead, or press for another goal?

After we scored, St Lucoa played a few balls into Benson, but our defence dealt with them well. However, in the 39th minute, St Lucoa's Peter Batson received the ball, and was skilful enough to take it round our right-winger, Finlay Yalnif. Batson curled the ball to Benson, who headed the ball goalwards. The ball hit the post, and went in, levelling the scores at 1-1.

After half-time, it was St Lucoa who were doing all the attacking. Batson was continuing to whip in great crosses, but no-one managed to get to them. In the 65th minute, Graeme Smith picked up the ball in midfield. Seeing Jacob Simonton running through two of our defenders, Callum Potts and Don Adobe (who is our captain), Smith played a beautiful through ball to Simonton. Simonton hit it first time, smashing the ball into the top corner of the net. The ball had so much spin and pace on it that our goalkeeper, Toby Gapman, could not reach it. It may have been a great goal, but we were in trouble, as we were losing 2-1.

Knowing that we just wouldn't give up, St Lucoa scored their third goal in the 78th minute, after pressing for one. George Huntsley crossed a free-kick into the box, and Benson met it with a header. The ball went in for Benson's second goal of the game (both being headers). We were furious, as we had just conceded a cheap and easy goal. It was 3-1 to St Lucoa now, meaning that we had been killed off, as there was just twelve minutes left to play.

After that goal, St Lucoa just passed the ball between themselves in an attempt to run down the clock. In the dying seconds of the match, Huntsley punted a hopeful ball down the pitch. Dennis Valfern, one of our defenders, lost his footing and tripped up, allowing Smith to pounce on the loose ball. Smith slotted the ball past Gapman to give St Lucoa a 4-1 win, completing our miserable day.

[Slembana]

Sorry about the late cut-off, dudes. I forgot all about this.

Results will be up soon.

[Slembana]

Quarter-final results
QF1: St Lucoa 4-0 Gaveo
QF2: Thousandsuns 2-2 Slembana (4-2 AET)
QF3: Drachmae 0-2 Maklohi Vai
QF4: Free Swiss States 1-2 Amelio

This means that the semi-final ties will be:
SF1: St Lucoa vs Thousandsuns
SF2: Maklohi Vai vs Amelio

This means that the winner of this Copa Gaveo will be a team who has never won it before!

[St Lucoa]

St. Luoca Tribune.

"What a day! The sun was shinning, the crowd was out in their massive numbers and St. Lucoa have progressed to the Semi-Finals. They have done it! Almost every edition of this paper has said that if St. Lucoa even reach the Quarter-Finals then the team can leave with their heads held high. Words cannot even decribe the level of noise that was produced before and after the game. The team have done so well, they have made history and they have done their country so proud."

"Today the teams both came out fighting. St. Lucoa kicked off and it was evident that they were nervous. Most of the team had never even reached a Quarter-Final in their playing career. George Huntsley tried to calm the team down, but still St. Lucoa made stupid errors. The major error was when the St. Lucoans allowed Gaveo's striker Sebastian Cádiz to win the ball. Cádiz took the ball around Huntsley easily and the striker let fly with a powerful shot. Sanchez was beaten, but he was saved, as the ball bounced off of the wood-work. Gaveo kept on the pressure, as they pushed futher up the pitch, but this would be their mistake. As Gaveo's players were too far up the pitch this allowed St. Lucoa to perform a quick counter attack, which was started by Batson. Peter Batson weaved in and out, beating several Gaveo players. Batson seen Simonton, who was lurking on the edge of the box. Batson played a soft ball to Simonton, who trapped the ball and played a short pass to Benson. Joe Benson fired the ball towards goal, without even taking a touch. Joaquin Cádiz had no chance, as the ball whizzed past him. Benson celebrated in style.

Gaveo kicked off and again they pressed hard. Once again the St. Lucoan defence failed to track the run of Sebastian Cádiz. The striker recieved the ball, but a poor first touch meant that Sanchez only had to bend down and pick the ball up. A good chance wasted. In the 45th minute St. Lucoa were pressing for a goal of their own. Smith recieved the ball from Gillingham. Smith then curled the ball towards goal, but the Gaveo keeper managed to palm it away, but only in the direction of Simonton. Jacon Simonton was faced with an easy tap in. 2-0 St. Lucoa. The whistle sounded for half-time.

After the re-start St. Lucoa held on to the ball when ever they could. Gaveo again got a few chances to go ahead, but Sanchez proved his worth by saving all of them. In the 66th minute Shorprey bombed up the wing and took the ball past Sebastian Riveros and Bru Yo Chan. Shorprey then atempted to play a through ball to Benson, but defender Michael Blue got in the way. The ball bounced off of Blue's leg and it travelled goal-wards. Gaveo Keeper was too slow to react. The ball sailed past him. An own goal. 3-0 St. Lucoa and the game was over.

gaveo were down, but not out. They again tried to score. A few good moves were created by the Gaveo midfielders, but the St. Lucoan defence was resiliant. In the 87th minutes St. Lucoa had a throw-in near in the Gaveo half. Gillingham took a long throw and sent the ball in to the box. Benson headed the ball, but it smacked off of the post. It fell to Huntsley who smashed the ball, but the Keeper saved it. There was carnage in the box, until eventually Benson toe-poked the ball home. It was a scrappy goal, but St. Luoca will take any goal.

Moments later the final whistle blew. The boys had done it. They had recahed the Semi-Finals. It was a grand and proud day for St. Lucoa football. The crowd were so pleased and so was every St. Lucoa supporter back home."

Jack Smith Reporting for the St. Lucoa Tribune.

[Thousandsuns]

Thousandsuns advance to semi-final

Slembana - The Thousandsuns booked a place in the semi-final of the Copa Gaveo IV Championship, today, after beating host, Slembana 4-2 after extra time.

Elliot Notto performed well at the games contributing two goals for Thousandsuns, in the 6th and 18th minutes respectively. In the second half, the Slembana team got its act together to narrow the gap but their efforts were easily thwarted by the squad managed by Igor Kapannakmenang.

On the other hand, Mitchel Wyand, added to the woes of the Slembanan team when he scored Thousandsun's third and forth goal in the 105th and 109th minute.

Match QF2: vs. Slembana (2-2/ 4-2 AET)
GK-Morgan Delaplane (c)
DEF-Romeo Jeleniewski, Ike Panchik (Kendrick Knoepke m81), Alphonse Condit, Jarrod Andrzejewski
MID- Cyril Paduano, Mitchel Wyand, Rueben Alzaga (Luigi Gonyo m90), Donte Kovack
ST- Elliot Notto, Mervin Davide

Yellow card- Mervin Davide
Scorer- Elliot Notto m6 & 18; Mitchel Wyand m105 & 109th
Man of the Match- Elliot Notto

[Maklohi Vai]

The Wakai Inquirer

Final: Drachmae 0-2 Maklohi Vai

Today, Maklohi Vai advanced to their first ever football semifinal. It is truly a historic day for Vaian sports. Forward Tumo Makanopalani scored both goals, at 14 and 53, and throughout the game the Vaians controlled the pace and overall feel of the match. Makanopalani said, "This will really give us a boost for WC quals. We've been really inspired by this CG, so I know the guys will get a boost for both this semifinal and the World Cup quals. We're just thrilled."

Notice: Yes, the team is playing in both tournaments at the same time. And no, it's not time travel. It's a method devised by Vaian scientists that is too grand to be released to the public. It just works.

[St Lucoa]

St. Luoca Tribune.

"Today will be the day where St. Lucoa will either progress to the Final of the Copa Gaveo or they will be eliminated, only to return for a 3rd place play-off. The atmosphere is unusual, as it is a mixture of excitement and fear. Already some of the fans have arrived at the stadium in which the encounter between St. Lucoa and Thousandsuns will be held. No doubt that the St. Lucoa fans will be cheering on their team as they have done all tournament. Today I had the honour of speaking to a few of the first team players and here is what the had to say."

"Well obviously Thousandsuns are a good team, I mean they would need to be if they have reached the Semi-Final. We can only try our best. I'm sure if we played our hearts out and we were defeated then the fans would go home happy. But if we played half-heartedly and lost, then that is a different matter. In my opinion I think we can do it. We've done so well in this tournament, every player had pulled their weight. We did'nt even expect to proceed past the group-stage. Win or lose, we will go home with our head held high." ---------- Manager John Fairbanks

"We can do it. We need to do it. We need to win this game, not only for St. Luocan football, but for the travelling fans who ahve followed us through thick and thin. We need to do it for them. The fans are like the 12th man on the pitch for us. They are with us every game, they support us anywhere and they give us the drive to do well. St. Lucoa will pull through.. We must." ----------- Defender George Huntsley

Jack Smith Reporting for the St. Lucoa Tribune.

[Stevencousin]

Match congestion may force Kapannakmenang to make changes

Igor Kapannakmenang took several questions about the next match and Thousandsuns from Goal.com, The 1000suns Football Post and The Football Gazette in the build-up to Thousandsun's Copa Gaveo IV Semi Final match against St. Luoca.

The 1000suns Football Post chose the main focus point for the conference with journalist Mohd Imran Roslan asking, "Bearing in mind your congested fixture list, will you consider resting any players in order to bring in fresher faces?"

Kapannakmenang's response was, "I will probably have to make a couple of changes, as there are some tired players in the team

[Slembana]

DBK Sports - Football - Thousandsuns 4-2 Slembana (AET)

Written by Aaron Dartmouth

We have crashed to a 4-2 extra time defeat against Thousandsuns in the quarter-finals of the fourth Copa Gaveo, which is being hosted by us. The loss is disappointing, as you'd expect.

We kicked the match off, and almost scored within the second minute, only for the brilliant Val Kylx, our star striker, to see a great dinked shot palmed away by Thousandian goalkeeper, Morgan Delaplane. Just four minutes later, Thousandsuns opened the scoring, with Elliot Notto, their star striker, backheeling brilliantly past our goalkeeper, Toby Gapman, from 20 yards. We tried to hit back immediately, with Eddie Barlow, our other striker, curling against the crossbar from 20 yards. Jyvx Dagens, our attacking midfielder, hit the post with one of his trademark free-kicks in the 12th minute, as we were dominating.

However, Thousandsuns went 2-0 up after 18 minutes, when Notto tapped in at the back post from a great Cyril Paduano cross from the right wing. Mervin Davide, Thousandsuns' other striker, hit the post with a great volley in the 35th minute. before Kylx saw a downwards header palmed away by Delaplane in the 44th minute. Our players were booed off the pitch at half-time, as we were surprisingly losing in front of our fans.

However, our luck changed for the better in the 55th minute, nine minutes into the second half. Kylx, who had just hit the crossbar from 12 yards, curled a brilliant shot with his stronger left foot past Delaplane, and into the top corner of the net. We tried to score an equalizer, but Delaplane was on fine form, denying our players with a whole bunch of saves. However, Delaplane was beaten for a second time in the dying seconds of the game. It was Barlow who scored the equalizing goal, side-footing a great shot from 15 yards past Delaplane, and into the roof of the net. This sent the game to extra time.

The first half of extra time saw us dominating, as we desperately tried to find a goal that would put us 3-2 up. However, in stoppage time at the end of the first half of extra time, Thousandian midfielder Mitchel Wyand looped a volley over Gapman, giving Thousandsuns the lead. Then, four minutes into the second half of extra time, Wyand scored again, lobbing the ball over Gapman from 30 yards. This made the score 4-2 to Thousandsuns, all-but killing the game off. However, we were still desperately hunting for a goal. In the end, we came just short. The 4-2 loss knocks us out of the Copa Gaveo. This is the first-ever Copa Gaveo in which we have failed to reach at least the semi-final stage.

[Slembana]

Cutting off. I've graded everyone's work.

I'm treating Stevencousin's RP as one of Thousandsuns, because the RP writes about Thousandsuns' players. As a result, I am believing Stevencousin to be a puppet of Thousandsuns.

[Slembana]

Semi-final results
SF1: St Lucoa 2-1 Thousandsuns
SF2: Maklohi Vai 3-0 Amelio

This means that Thousandsuns will play Amelio at the Atshakov Stadium in Yavelsk for the third place play-off, while the grand final, at the Royal Slembanan Stadium in Bafilo, will be contested by St Lucoa and Maklohi Vai.

[St Lucoa]

St. Lucoa Tribune.

"History was made today! St. Lucoa are in the final. A great performance by the boys in White had the crowd jumping like mad. Union flags were waving all over the place and the famous song were being sung at the tops of people's voices. Before the match many people claimed that this would be the match of the tournament. Both teams had a great record and the stage was set for one of the greatest encounters in football. It was St. Lucoa against Thousandsuns."

"The crowd were firing on all cylinders and even before the match they were making quite a noise. The whistle sounded for the game to kick-off and the noise which was produced was incredible. St. Lucoa had the ball for the first 10 minutes and they played their trademark defencive style. Every passing minute St. Lucoa were trying to wear down the opposition. The first chance came in the 22nd minute, when Gillingham played a low and fast ball up towards Benson. Joe Benson turned, but he was tackled well by defender Jarrod Andrzejewski . Thousandsuns themselves had a few good chances. The best one was when striker Elliot Notto made a neat little run between Huntsley and Shorprey. Thousandsuns player Cyril Paduano passed the ball to Notto, but he was too slow to react and Snachez, who has been solid all tournament, snatched up the ball. It was a pretty uneventful first-half."

"After the re-start Thousandsuns came out fighting, they knew that they had to put St. Lucoa away and fast. In the 65th minute Notto recieved a long ball from Cyril Paduano. Notto then skillfully took the ball around Gillingham and prepared himself for a shot. Notto fired a shot at Sanchez. The keeper dived for it, but it was no use, the ball had too much pace on it. A beautiful goal by Notto to give Thousandsuns a 1-0 lead."

"St. Lucoa knew they had to get their act together. Capatain George Huntsley rallied the team. In the 77th minute Shorprey won a free kick in the Thousandsuns half. Shorprey took the free kick and picked out Benson who was lurking in the box. Benson met the ball with his head and guided the ball towards goal. A few Thousandsuns players jumped for the ball, but it had too much height on it. Keeper Morgan Delaplane
dived for the ball, but he was unable to stop a great headed goal from Joe Benson. 1-1 and the crowd knew St. Lucoa were back in it."

"Thousandsuns tried to get a late goal, but the St. Luoca defence held strong. The Thousandsuns team then changed their game plan. It looked like they would try and hold St. Lucoa off until extra time. Everyone knew that Thousansuns were the masters of winning in extra time, everyone also knew that St. Luoca would be tired by extra time. St. Luoca had to finish it in normal time or else they would be in for a long haul. In the 2 minutes of stoppage time, Huntsley blasted the ball up field. Thousandsuns defender Romeo Jeleniewski tried to clear his lines, but Jeleniewski's header went straight in to the path of Smith. Greame Smith charged at the defence for a last ditch atempt to score. Smith seen Benson and passed the ball. Benson faked a shot and then layed it off the Simonton who curled the ball towards goal. It was like time had stood still. Everyone was watching the ball. Keeper Morgan Delaplane jumped to his right to try and get the ball, but by the time his was airbourne the ball ahd crossed the line. The roar from the crowd was the loudest I have ever heard. Simonton and his team mates could'nt believe it. Simonton rushed over to where the St. Lucoa fans were seated and slide on his knees in front of them. Everyone was going ballistic."

"Thousandsuns re-started the game, but within seconds it was over. The players shook hands and the crowd partied long in to the night. St. Luoca had done it. A team that started the tournament hoping to just reach the Quarter-Finals had reached the Final of the Copa Gaveo. It was a shock, some people had never even heard of St. Luoca before this tournament. They had done it!"

"The St. Lucoa team have done themsleves and their country proud. Everyone back home is hoping they will win. Come on lads, just one more game."

Jack Smith Reporting for the St. Lucoa Tribune.

[Maklohi Vai]

Maklohi Vai 3-0 Amelio
(OOC: I decided to write a ballad for the match recap, merely for variation)

And lo, the Vaian squad, valiant as they were,
did take the pitch today, of their intent they were quite sure.
And as they began the match, their hearts with power and strength,
there was no doubt of a Vaian win, just a matter of its length.
The first shot was a set piece, the second a liner from the box,
but in both ways Makanopalani scored, all the while eating lox.
And lo, with the salmon on the field, and the goals into the net,
there was little for the opponents to do except fret.
And after the break 'tween halves, once again a goal was scored,
Makanopalani had a hat on his head, for this trick was not one for the bored.
And quoth the end of the glorious match then did rush to cease,
And so the Vaian boys shall play again, and aim to play the crease.

(Makanopalani 6', 11', 54')