Cup of Harmony 58 [Everything Thread]

[Barunia]

BaruniainSports.com.bu

Cup of Harmony 58: Group C in doubt after big guns fail
Article by Kitty Smith

When the Suns walked out onto the pitch for their first game of the 58th Cup of Harmony, it was with the knowledge that their group had already thrown up a few surprises. While the Suns had a bye on day one, bottom seeds San Jose Guayabal defeated Brenecia 3-0, while Astograth beat top seeds Jeruselem 5-2. With the big teams failing to build an early lead, Barunia had a chance to get ahead of the game.

Facing off against Brenecia, the Suns looked good at the start. The midfield was working overtime, but despite plenty of excellent chances none of the forwards could find the net. The Barunian defence, not used to playing out on the wings, soon had cracks beginning to appear as a mistake from Lucio David left Macbeth to cross through to Brad Kuepper, who scored the first goal of the game. A second was scored shortly afterwards, again by Kuepper, who managed to outpace Julian Millet. After the first half, Suns coach Stephen Wiggens made the decision to rest Millet, moving David to cover Kuepper and sending on Tommy Clinton.

Switching to a 5-4-2 in an attempt to block the holes in their defence, the Suns were unable to make much headway forward. After Kuepper scored his hat-trick, volleying an excellent cross from Miriam Spitfire into the net, Wiggens seemed to be desperate. Immediately he changed the formation yet again, this time to a more familiar 4-3-3. In a bid to get back into the game, Wiggens pulled out all the stops, taking captain Harry Centena out and sending in top striker Victor Castolo. It made a difference too, with Barunia restoring some pride when Pablo Zokora scored from a Castolo pass. With the game almost over, Castolo came through once again, scoring his first international goal since the last Cup of Harmony with an excellent long range shot.

It looked like the Suns might have the momentum to steal a draw, but in the first minute of stoppage time their hopes were dashed, when Brenecia was awarded a penalty. Kuepper had been frustrating David all half, and as the two jostled for possession of the ball in the penalty box, David went in hard, connecting shin with shin and sending Kuepper face-first into the grass. Yellow-carded, the Suns defender could do nothing but watch as Ashleigh Twining stepped up to the ball and slotted it past Willans to clinch the game 4-2 for Brenecia.

Next up, the Suns will face Astograth. This team drew San Jose Guayabal 1-1 earlier, leaving both those teams at the top of the group with four points.

[Apox]

The team ran off the pitch to muted applause. The 1-0 victory over Maklohi Vai was very much the minimum the struggling national team had to achieve. The press were already prowling, flexing their muscles for when we tripped... and fell.

Dravid could tell the end game was coming, that much was clear. He knew the national team's history in this tournament. Round of 16. It represented the further they could seemingly go without getting knocked-out of a WCC competition. He wasn't much comforted that Welsh Cowboy had lost again, this was his problem. Hopefully, in their game against Maklohi Vai later on in the competition, they would lose, and, providing the team had a good run from here, beating Alitaba and German American States, they would be well poised to get top of the group.

What he feared, however, was second in the group. Finishing second would almost certainly hand Apox a tough opponent in the Round of 16 draw, where sods law would dictate that they face a team like ASMV, Saugeais or Taeshan. And, oh, there they'd go again, tumbling out of the Cup of Harmony at the Round of 16 stage again. And the team that would beat them would most likely go on and win the whole damned thing, so he could therefore only pray that it wasn't someone like Northern Sunrise Islands or The Licentian Isles. God, a loss to them and they'd never hear the end of it (the Vaporeons still hadn't gotten over the Vermouth Trophy victory from before qualifying.)

He'd appeared desperate in the last match, handing Olim Benzari his 106th starting cap, having to rely on someone aged 36 to shore things up. Sindelar had played quite poorly, a surprise for once, but luckily it hadn't mattered, and Jack Moses had thankfully found the net in the 70th minute, just as things were starting to get tense. He'd had a sleepless night before the match and was beginning to think they'd be a few more of them happening before the tournament was over.

[Hutt River]

Hutt River off to winning start

A competent, organised Hutt River proved too strong for a spirited Luzvimindia side at The Mill this afternoon as they ran in two second half goals to get off to a winning start in the Cup of Harmony

Hutt River made changes from the side that won in the final World Cup qualifier, starting in goal where Jack Stafford returned in place of Roland Zimmerman. The defence was reconstructed with James Soares joined by Max Fink and Daniel Southworth all three of whom had been unavailable last time due to injuries. Skipper Rolf Klaus moved into back into his favoured left-back position, Jim Bexley replacing him on the left wing. Luke Chantler joined Steve Gibson in the strike force, replacing Tyler Adams who had requested to be left out due to a back pain.

With captain Julius Hermano Rizal driving his team on Luzvimindia looked fluent from the start but Hutt River were matching them and it was them who created the game’s first chance of note. In the 6th minute a brief spell of pressure on the Luzvimindia goal ended with the ball being cleared as far as Robert Hall and from 22 yards out and slightly left of centre the midfield man hit a smart half-volley. It was a good shot and destined for the back of the net but keeper Gabriel Trillañes reacted well, diving to his left to push the ball away to safety.

The action switched to the other end where Ronald Ryan Biag picked up possession on the left prior to weaving past a couple of defenders on his way into the penalty area. This was dangerous but keeper Jack Stafford advanced quickly and got down bravely to palm the ball of Biag’s toes as the Luzvimindia man was about to pull the trigger. Great goalkeeping from Stafford although there was concern in the aftermath of the save as Hutt River's number 1 had to have treatment for the injury sustained while blocking.

A bright start then, and Klaus went close for Hutt River just before the quarter hour mark when his left-footed free-kick from the right curled wickedly on its way into the danger area and with Trillañes looking beaten the ball dropped just outside his right-hand post.

Much of the play was condensed into the middle half of the pitch after that as both defences held firm but Luzvimindia’s Rizal initiated a decent move in the 20th minute when he nudged a pass out left for Rommel Marvin Lim to pick up. Lim cut into the edge of the penalty area before drilling an inviting ball across the six yard box only for the danger to be curtailed when a team-mate committed a foul as he tussled rather too enthusiastically for possession.

Hutt River were giving as good as they got at this stage and a couple of minutes later Craig Vevers and Max Fink demonstrated admirable tenacity to win possession and from the left the latter’s short pass inside found Jim Bexley. The Hutt River winger accelerated into the penalty area but he was prevented from getting in a shot in goal by a good defensive block. Ten minutes before the break John Statter did well on the right, working the ball inside for Vevers whose peach of a pass into the box looked destined to fall for Bexley until a defensive touch deprived Hutt River of a good goalscoring opportunity.

A decent half’s football came to an end without any goals being scored but there had been enough entertainment to suggest an eventful second forty-five minutes for a crowd that had just gone over 42,000 in Umber.

Half time: Luzvimindia 0-0 Hutt River

A promising display from Hutt River against and the battle of the half time team-talks definitely went their way. Within 2 minutes of the restart the lively John Statter made ground on the right and from his low cross Steve Gibson hit a decent shot on goal. Unfortunately for Luzvimindia the ball took a crucial deflection off Bexley leaving Trillañes wrong-footed as it spun into the back of the net.

From that moment Hutt River never looked back and Luzvimindia rarely got forward. Six minutes after Gibson’s opener strike partner Luke Chantler turned quickly in the box to put in a low shot that Trillañes saved and then Chantler tested the home keeper again with an effort from just outside the box. It wasn’t exactly wave after wave of attack from Hutt River but they definitely had a firm upper hand and their well-drilled defence rarely looked like being breached by Luzvimindia’s attempts to construct attacks, but when they did, Luzvimindia took their chances. In the 63rd minute a sublime piece of skill from Lim gave the number 11 a chance to advance but he tried a very ambitious shot from 40 yards out, which was unfortunately parried to a racing Laurel who tapped it in. The goal was certainly against the run of play but this only drove Hutt River on to find a second.

Despite offering not much as an attacking force, a hard-working Luzvimindia side was defending grittily and clear-cut opportunities for Hutt River had been restricted as a result. Nevertheless Bexley had taken a number of shots from distance and in the 73rd minute he was allowed time and space to try another one. This time his aim was perfect and the 24-yarder flew past Trillañes' despairing dive and into the back of the net.

With just under 10 minutes to play there was still theoretically a chance for Luzvimindia to drag themselves back into the game but in they struggled to find anything even vaguely resembling a convincing response. The home side became more disjointed after Hutt River's second goal of the afternoon and it was the visitors who looked far more likely to add to the scoring. With 7 minutes left Bexley’s simple ball out to the right found Gibson who advanced into acres of space on the flank before moving inside and flashing a low shot across Trillañes and just outside his far post. Seconds later Hutt River substitute Tony Nash held off a couple of defenders on the edge of the box and had time to regain his footing before trying a lobbed shot that Trillañes stretched to pluck out of the air. That was the end of the action and Hutt River celebrated a deserved three points.

Full time: Luzvimindia 1-2 Hutt River

The game showed that Hutt River can be a very good side with a solid defence well marshalled by left back and skipper Rolf Klaus and will certainly be in or around the mix of getting to the next round, but they are by no means invincible and the Luzvimindia manager, Nepomuceno, should be pleased with his side’s efforts in the game.

Bold denotes goalscorers. (Brackets) denote substitute.
Hutt River: Stafford, Soares, Fink (Mills '56), Southworth, Klaus, Vevers, Hall, Statter (Nash '79), Bexley, Gibson, Chantler
Unused substitutes: Zimmerman, Coleman, Hunt

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

DE PLACA
Currently celebrating thirty years of Sapatos Airlines

CUP OF HARMONY 58
An Huelandian Display as the Sunrisians beat New Sideburn 3-2

It seemed like that the Sunrise was once again heading to a loss, but a couple of changes on the main team proved that everything was pretty different than Matchday 1. The R&Bank witnessed, probably, one of the most exciting matches of the second matchday as the Vaporeons obtained a victory against New Sideburn, fellow Esportivans, at the Group H. An amazing display of football after the second half saved the team from a possible huge failure and maintained their hopes up.

On the start, however, the Sunrise was handing the game straight away to the hands of the Cormorants. It didn't help that Lucia Oakwood's star was shining more than the usual, as she progressed through a defense that wasn't managing to do anything right. It was hard to understand, honestly. Chances are that it was the New Sideburn team that didn't disappoint their crowd with a great performance on the first half and with two goals scored by Kearney and Thunder. But that changed on the second half.

Lynette Bourbon, fearing that the team wasn't offering any challenge offensively, a fear that was actually pretty justifiable since the team REALLY wasn't offering any challenge offensively, decided to add Duda's experience, Ricardo Carvalho's dribbling and Lucas Silva's youth talent to the mixture at the line-up. And boy, it couldn't have gone better. The team suddenly turned into a team completely different. Sunrisians call this the Huelandian Phenomenon, when a team suddenly takes a different, mostly free style of football, instead of keeping to the basics.

A quartet of dribblers automatically formed as Duda, Lucas Silva and the Carvalhos started to take less of an issue to bring the game to their opponent's face. Not too long after the second half started, Ricardo Carvalho would manage to steal a ball from Oakwood and then, it was the first star play. Ricardo would nutmeg Sleet before crossing it to Duda. Duda would then lift the ball over the head of Stokes before passing it to Mateus Carvalho, who with a great pace, caught up to the ball so that he could pass to Lucas Silva with some land advantage. Silva, seeing Riordan approaching him, made a volley back to an approaching Ricardo Carvalho who, with a header, managed to put the ball on the back of the net. A roar of applause and cheer popped up from the stands as Ricardo would then celebrate with this teammates.

It wasn't over. Lucas Silva would pick the ball after a failed counter-attack that was beaten by Netto Hikari and started to rush and dribble through the defense. A Rainbow Dribble over Oakwood, a body feint with a sidestep to the left, rouletting the ball around Yorke to finally get to the box and kick... Only to be tackled furiously by Stokes, which was one of those unexpected things that could happen on a football match. Why did she do that? Anyways, Sioux was chosen to kick and the feline-esque human converted with perfection to tie the game.

Still not over? Well, not by a small margin. Duda reached the ball after Mangalonga crossed the ball to him from the defense. As he was starting to be followed by Brigthley, Duda nailed a backheel pass to Ricardo Carvalho. Ricardo would then lift the ball with the side of his left foot and lob it to Lucas Silva. Silva would rush through the defense once again to finally pass it to Mateus Carvalho, who with a good, powerful kick, managed to score as Riordan's hand was just a tenth part of an inch from catching the ball. It was all over. New Sideburn was now on the fourth spot, in some sort of tie of points with Nouvel Ecosse and Vaugania, but with already two matches in and no victories.

The Sunrise on the other hand, acclaimed by their fans after such amazing display was now on second place, one point behind Saugeais, who managed to get a win over them on the first Matchday. But the Sunrise may have a chance to get over the team of Vincent Rose if they beat Chase Maupin and Nouvel Ecosse at the Gem of the Oceans Stadium, where the crowd is way more of a factor than anywhere else that the Sunrisians have played at this Cup of Harmony, with a capacity of 101,208 people, with probably a couple of more numbers for Pokémon, in case anyone wants to bring their pets.

A victory there is really important, as it could seal the passport of the Vaporeons to the next round, something that is still to be done in Sunrisian history as aside from Saugeais, the other three teams of the group are still with solely one point and are direct opponents of NSI.

NORTHERN SUNRISE ISLANDS - 3
Sioux (70'); Redwing, Hikari, McFlemming, Hawk; McCloud, Mangalonga, Di Luca (Duda), Nagatomo (Ricardo Carvalho (53')); Travis (Lucas Silva), Mateus Carvalho (85')

NEW SIDEBURN - 2
Riordan; Stokes, Yorke, Sleet; Oakwood, Brandon, Brigthley, Crowley, Parrett; Kearney(22'), Thunder(39')

OTHER NEWS
> An Egg FC somehow spawns at the debuting Sunset League Two
> Sunrise League Development Gold: "Lack of Team Chemistry could be the downfall to Project +90 on this more intense season"
> SGFL: A Sicoutian at the League?
> QHL could be signing up a partnership with Vulpine Sportif for their kits: "No other company tried that out anyways"
> Rikalde, the most expensive transfer is still raising some eyebrows at Jaunepont
> Pezcemá Golden Magikarps confirm signing of six players from the team that may have crippled Val Kylx

[The Licentian Isles]

Walking Down The Duchy Road

The best blog to ever cover Licentian football !!

Now, we’re properly up and running now. A good dominant win, even if the scoreline didn’t show, and we’re top of the group, and showing why we’re one of the top seeds in this tournament.

Honestly, I’m finding the Cup of Harmony a lot of fun. It’s not like the World Cup Finals, where we get beat up on for three games and then go home a bit demoralised. Here, we’re up against teams we can beat, we’re confident, and we are genuinely optimistic that we can go deep into the tournament, and maybe if we’re lucky, come home with a wee bit of silverware as well.

Here’s hoping.

Anyway, after ranting at William Čalrek distracted me last time I posted here, and the group stage draw keeping my attention before that, I haven’t really had that much time to discuss where we actually are. Because we’re in Group F, we’re in the Free Republics, which, quite frankly, I’m finding to be a pain in the arse. For numerous different reasons.

For one, this country, if you can call it that, is bloody huge. It’s a federation of something over 100 republics, over 4 continents; so, travel isn’t easy. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles between each ground, which really isn’t good for us footballers. We don’t like having to travel massive distances to get to a game, especially us Licentians; the Isles are tiny, and you could easily drive around the whole of Licentiapacisterra (the big island, that is) in under two hours, and it’s easy enough to get a ferry to St Bart’s Parish, whichever of the Islands you need, so we’re definitely in the worst place we could be travel-wise. It’s not like rail is an option either; it takes even longer.

Secondly, there seem to be a lot of stupid laws. I heard something about some Felixian journalist, Steven Smith or something like that, getting sued in one of the more traditional republics for “impugning the virtue of a lady”. What did he do ?? He called her, “a sad excuse for a reporter”. Now, whilst I won’t comment on Miss Hellstrom herself for fear of breaking another stupid law, it does seem a bit of a trumped-up charge, and to be honest, I’d be quite happy to help him get his fine together if he needed it. I don’t imagine a million Thalers is an easy sum of money to get hold of.

Thirdly, we’re a little too close to the madmen in Saintland for my liking. Although that arctic, backwards island is a few thousand miles from here, even being in the same region as them is a little too close for my liking. They’re madmen, and the people in the Free Republics seem to agree with them. They’ve even let them sponsor a stadium here, in Roxawa, where we’ll be playing on the final day, against Super-Llamaland. I’d encourage some of you Cyan-and-Gold out here to take some banners down there, protest against the “Church of Saintland”. Keep it on the down-low that I suggested it though; I don’t want to get locked up for libelling a god that doesn’t even exist. Even if he did, I’m pretty sure he’d be ashamed of “Sister” Maria Polus and her colleagues; there’s a line that religion has to toe, and the Sanctii just seem to ignore it.

Anyway, sorry for going off on quite a big tangent there; just felt I had to fill you in on how we’re surviving over here. I can’t wait to get to Falcus; they seem to be a little more sane over there.

We’re top of the group, quite deservedly, after we beat Callumackbar, a team who seem to be a little out of their depth in the Cup of Harmony. I got the goal that won the game in the 19th minute. It was a fairly simple tap-in past their ‘keeper, Javik Adnyamathanha, and then we just sat back, as Joachim normally has us do. There were a few chances, but we didn’t need to take them; they aren’t exactly the best on the attack, so it was fairly simple just to defend for most of the game, and take the best chance we got.

Next up, we have a game against Mangolana, which I expect to be one of our toughest games of the group stage. As I’ve said previously, they’re only ranked a couple of places below us, so we may be happy with a draw. However, we can’t slip up now; we need a win.

KAK

[San Jose Guayabal]

OOC: The lyrics of the song I put in the Audio RP are in this post (Translated from spanish to english by Mario Ventura, the original song composer, I have the respective copyrights of the song) So, for fair RP bonus attribution,the song comes from RL and is used to the NT of El Salvador.

http://chirb.it/9knLLL

"Arriba con la selecta SJG" (Let's go SJG)

Choir

Selecta
Today we only breathe
Selecta
Today everything is blue
As my flag,
as my Heart
And this blue fans sings.
Selecta
Today we only live
Selecta
Today everything is blue
As my flag
as my Heart
And this blue fans sings.

Today we all wear the shirt
And after the same illusion
Because all together we are stronger
in this Guayabalian heart

Here it does not matter where you come from
Neither do the preferences in football
Because together we make a difference
And blue dresses better.

Selecta
Today we only breathe
Selecta
Today everything is blue
As my flag,
as my Heart
And this blue fans sings.
Selecta
Today we only live
Selecta
Today everything is blue
As my flag
as my Heart
And this blue fans sings.

[German American States]

In With A Sputter
GAS loses their first match of the CoH to Welsh Cowboy

Welsh Cowboy 2 - 1 German American States

FALCUS- The States went into their first match of the Cup of Harmony Campaign in Falcus after a prolonged rest back in the States, but it seems like it has hurt them. The States lost a 2-1 match against newcomers Welsh Cowboy in a very sloppy game from the States that saw 3 German American players get booked.

The game was the first that the side had played after their devastating and controversial loss to The Archregimancy. Some speculated that either the team would be fired up or would would suffer from the loss. Regardless, the Eagles took on a Welsh Cowboy side that surprised group favorite Apox 1-0. Cowboy wore their Red Vulpines and the States wore their white alternates with the faded German Eagle on the front. The States seemed ready to bounce back, but that was not shown to be the case.

Cowboy struck after 13 minutes of slow-paced gameplay as Matthew Guval struck off of a header that put Cowboy up 1-0. The States had several counterattacks against the Welsh Cowboy defense, but all were stalled by fantastic defensive play. Cowboy struck again in the 37th, as captain Alec Vodeau was fouled in the State's box by Nester. Vodeau took the penalty and buried it behind the frustrated Joshua Klopp to make it 2-0. In the 45th minute, the States seemed to gain some momentum, as Krohn made a run down the right side. The KBFC product made a hasty cross, and it sailed over the head of Baumgartner who looked to head it in. However, center mid Daniel Bauer was there to clean up the mess with a volley shot and the States were only down by one heading into the half.

The second half saw Welsh Cowboy dominate possession in what seemed to be an attempt to play tikka-takka and stall. When the States seldom got the ball, they were met by the Cowboy defense. At around the 66th, the Eagles really got frustrated. The first yellow came then Karl Strauber made a desperation attempt to stop Vodeau as he took him out from behind. Vodeau had seemed shaken up, but he soon recovered and played on. Manager Karl Rheinhardt saw that his team was loosing grasp of the match, so he made three substitutes, Schneider for Strauber, Xaverius Breeding for Krohn, and Holz for Ruiz. This did not change the pace of the game, and Cowboy kept making runs. Schneider and Fischer both were booked, and the game ended a 2-1 loss.

Asked about the cards given, manager Reinhardt said that the team needs to get more disciplined and keep their heads in the game. This put the States down in fourth place. The virtually need to win out to advance. They play Maklohi Vai next matchday.

Staff Report

[Mangolana]

Mangolana Gazzette

Mangolana Set-up for First place Showdown

Mangolana's first Cup of Harmony win in a long time came the other day when the national team was able to defeat Callumackbar, or the "Backs" as they were called by the Mangolana supporters. Mangolana was easily able to dominate the match at Nicholls Enterprises Stadium in the Free Republics. The match's also came under a form of scrutiny when referee from the country of Falcus called and foul on the Mangolana defense five times throughout the match and another 4 on the Callumbackbar side. The Yellow card was displayed on three of the Mangolana fouls and all four of the Callumbackbar fouls. The referee, who was not named in the scoring sheets, also missed a illegal handball on the Callumbackbar goalkeeper Javik Adnyamathanha who visibly fielded the ball outside of the box with his hands, and then initiated to throw the ball down field. Even with the win in the match, Mangolana is expected to file a formal complaint with the WCC on the matter of the ref's actions in the match, and to get both teams yellow cards dismissed. This now really hurts Mangolana going forward as Three of their starting defenders now hold yellow's too their names and risk receiving another along with a one match ban to follow.

Mangolana has also filed a complaint with the Cup of Harmony organizers from Falcus and the Free Republics on the ref's actions as well. Their have also been reports in the media of other Referee misactions in other Cup of Harmony matches. Manager of the Mangolana National team did not wish to comment on the referee's for the tournament. Mangolana however has other things to focus on in their next set of games as Mangolana gets ready to take on the 38th ranked and top seed in the group The Licentian Isles, or the Cyan's as we have been known to call them. And themselves have been known to call themselves. Though, with their flag change, they no longer have the cyan color, so why their still called the cyan's escapes this reporters mind, but now we are getting off track, and this train has just gone off the rails, into the gutters, with mass explosions, huge death tolls, and a one legged donkey now having 5 legs thanks to the radiation fall-out from the blast site. Well... Moving on.

Mangolana was able to generate great offense in the match against Callumbackbar, having a majority of the scoring chances. The problem lies in the fact that Mangolana was only able to convert on two of those opportunities. This must be fixed for the upcoming match against The Licentian Isles if Mangolana wants to win and have a chance at winning the group and getting to the Knock-out rounds. Mangolana was able to score from some nice set-ups though as JD Fuller earned an assist on the first goal of the match as he played a flashy pass through the defense to the foot of Brett Mallon who was able to hammer the shot home and give Mangolana the early 1-0 lead. Mallon would earn the brace just before halftime when he headed home a indirect free-kick from Allen Fuller, who just signed the other day with the Valladares side AC Tallin. Mangolana would hold on for the win, and put this train back on the tracks and took the five legged donkey as the teams new mascot... Wait, What?!?!?!?!?!

[Super-Llamaland]

Group F
The Licentian Isles 1–0 Callumackbar
Super-Llamaland 1–0 Asløtten-Bëðerbørg så Česky

Group F Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 The Licentian Isles 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 4
2 Mangolana 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
3 Super-Llamaland 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
4 Åsløtten-Bëðerbørg så Česky 1 0 1 1 3 4 -1 1
6 Callumackbar 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3 0

Tigers take first game of Cup of Harmony
By Will Unilever, Leading Contributor

It was a good day all around as our Llamaland Tigers defeated the opposing squad 1-0. The opponents, Aslotten-Bederborg sa Cesky (with a lot more accent marks, but there are no accent marks in Llamanean English), did not score a goal the entire game against our suddenly-strong defense...

-From LlamaSports.net

[Tigers 1, Accents 0: Day Two at the Cup's Group F
Caspar Newcastle, Assistant Writer

In day two, I witnessed some excitingly expensive games. The Tigers' own game, a 1-0 victory over Aslotten-Bederborg sa Cesky, was electrifying, both teams getting chances before Trevor Duncan put away "That Team with a lot of Accents", as many of our readers have taken to calling them, with a seventy-ninth minute header. I also witnessed, for the equivalent of 450 Llamanean nuggets, The Licentian Isles defeat Callumackbar by a score of one to nothing. The Licentian Isles remain in first, while we have tied Mangolana for second...

-from SoccerLlamaland.com

The Trevor Duncan Header, or Why We're in Second

-by Jon Heiltunio, Popular Author

Seventy-eighth minute. 78:25, reads the clock. 6:42:55 local time, says my watch. (Scratch that...6:42:59...no, 6:43:02...) The Tigers have the ball, Bobby Crosby to be exact. Johnny Rushmore is checking in for subs, however, so Crosby's time left is short. Crosby rifles a pass to a midfielder, Xavier Platona. It's 78:43 now. Oh, wait! Platona's shooting on the goalie in this nil-nil duel! Of course, he's going to shoot it right at the goalie, but somehow the ball ends up dropped on the six-yard line. 79:02. Platona gets it back! And now he crosses it...backwards...to Trevor Duncan...

79:05: Duncan leaps into the air, head back. The ball is whistling towards him.
79:06: Here comes the ball! Back goes Duncan's head. The pass is spot-on, and his forehead connects with the ball.
79:07: The ball is propelled forward and slightly left. The goalie was going right, but the header causes him to slip and change direction. Here comes his hands, but is it...
79:08: Yes. The ball lands in the back of the net...
79:09: The crowd erupts.
79:13: I start cheering.
80:19: The cheers die down.

[Sangti]

Michael's Condominium, Ciudad Sangti
20 June 2015
9:00 PM

While the pair are continuing their planning for the hosting, they entered a betting game on one of the games in Matchday 2 of the Cup of Harmony.

(Michael first, then Robert)

"Sangti will not play today."

"Well, the two favorites are at it. They face each other."

"You mean Milchama and Filopines?"

"Yeah."

"I would love to have them destroy each other into a draw."

"Yeah."

"I'm betting for Milchama, they will win it."

"So that means I would be rooting for the Filopinians."

"But why are we doing this again?"

"Because Sangti's not playing tonight."

"Do we EVEN need to bet for Sangti's games? Like betting against them would be a very bad idea."

"Probably."

"Eh?"

"Probably."

"Let's just bet on how the Agilang DIlaw fare on the Cup of Harmony."

"Sure. I'm predicting for a group stage exit."

"YOU ARE SO DAMN PESSIMISTIC. I think we should hope that Sangti will advance. Right?"

"In a group with two powerhouses? NO."

...

The next two hours were wasted on their arguments about Sangti and the Cup of Harmony, that they forgot to watch the game between Filopines and Milchama. They surfed the internet and saw the result.

"Looks like I lost the bet." Robert said. "I think I would be a servant for one whole day. Bleh."

They even forgot to do their job when the progress report is just four days away.

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC: I feel pretty bad (cold, work issues, etc.), so this is subpar, especially when compared to Para's masterpiece.

Lumako Kurukapai's Matchday 2 Review

[San Jose Guayabal]

---

SJG is near to clinch a second round spot!

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Oh yeah , also says the header is close to achieving SJG history by reaching the second round of a tournament KPB scoring for the first time in its short history, what is it that SJG need? simple, score points , just add a tie and thus give a great step to secure the ticket to the second round , and if victory is achieved , virtually SJG would qualify to the second round , but the goal of this day is not easy , is nothing more nor less than Jeruselem , a rival historical class has classified the honorable and respectful figure of 35 WC 's. Very respectful, but SJG will hit the courts focused on the objective pursued , win and qualify to the second round .

Let's summarize about Jeruselem : They have classified 35 WC 's, instances have reached the quarter-finals as a team with a tactic very similar to ours, with 4-4-2 while SJG uses a 3-1 - 3-3 offensive projections , but without neglecting the defense so far in tournament, SJG has the best defense in group C , it has only conceded one goal and scored four .

All the people support SJG at this time , so let boys win has been said.

[Alitaba]

(Taking a break from the RP arc, actually thirteen minutes away from server downtime, so won't be able to write it.)

Monologue

We never expected to win a single match in the Cup of Harmony.

We never expected to even get a single point in our group.

We will never expect to progress out of the group stages.

But... how?

Even I would be clueless on what happened on Matchday 1.

Alitaba scoring two goals against a defensive juggernaut in Maklohi Vai.

Maklohi Vai was a shadow of themselves during that match.

It was a lucky win.

But against Apox?

I think we will lose that one.

Yes. I am pessimistic as of now.

But what can I do? The Manggugubat are the second worst team in this tournament.

I would laugh at myself when Alitaba wins that match.

[Jeru FC]

Princess Katy and Jeru FC player Dream Lord

DL: Good morning Princess
Katy: How is our champ?
DL: I'd feel better if we did something together
Katy: Keep dreaming
DL: Good dreams they are
Katy: Anyway, this delay in the games. Making me impatient

DL: Mum says I got letter for Jury Duty
Katy: Well you clearly can't turn up as you're a billion miles away
DL: I know, but she phoned the Sheriff and they didn't believe her
Katy: So you need a letter to prove you can't be there
DL: I need to find a Justice of the Peace
Katy: Well, you don't need one if you have a Princess to write one for you

DL: Thanks!
Katy: Just tell me to who send the letter to
DL: Yeah thanks, say how are we going send the letter ...
Katy: Don't worry, we got super fast Internets
DL: Yes, silly me
Katy: I'll even use my official seal to make sure. I wouldn't want you on a jury anyway

DL: Why is that?
Katy: You think weird
DL: I guess I do. What does your seal look like?
Katy: A naked woman riding a unicorn
DL: I thought that was your sisters
Katy: No, that's a naked woman with a snake coiled around here

DL: Oh, that your Mum?
Katy: A naked woman with a dragon
DL: I like that, this naked woman stuff
Katy: I'm sure you do
DL: You'll always have a fan with us lot
Katy: I guess that's good

[Vaugania]

OOC: In my last RP, "Infernus of a Tuesday" was meant to translate as "hell of a Tuesday", not "I'm going to burn all of the things". I apologize for any confusion.

The camera began the recording by zooming in on a fire in a nice little hearth in someone's den. In the flames you could see a few crushed up Saints with the RepublicSoft logo clearly visible. Little shards of broken glass lay at the base of the logs and nothing could be heard expect for the crackle of the fire. The image remained for a few moments as if to set the scene.

Next, the camera panned out to reveal the full den. There were some bronze eagle statuettes on the mantle and bookshelves packed to the brim. The room itself was maroon and seemed to had a cozy feeling. To the left of the fireplace, there was a brown leather recliner. A rather comfy looking one at that. In that chair, there was a man. The man sat there and had a pleasant smile on his face. His legs were crossed and his hands were neatly folded in his lap. His gray hair was balding, but he didn't seem elderly. The camera again stayed still for the moment to again set the scene.

"Hello, Free Republics," the man began, "I am Halvard Egeland, Secretary of Sports for Vaugania. My job is to be in charge of all of the Olympic delegations and sports teams as well as coordinate funding from the government if private donations don't cover all of the cost it takes to run these teams. As you probably understand, my job is rather important to the athletes and sports fanatics of my nation. Some of you may be familiar with my letter to the whoever gets sports related mail in your country. I was protesting the venue for our Matchday 3 contest against New Sideburn in the Church of Saintland Stadium. I found it rather insulting that my nation would be placed into a match against that team in that nation given our history with the CoS and New Sideburn's history with the Sanctii. Your people refused and I am now going to follow through on my warning."

Wind blew through his scalp as he sat their in the den. The flames of the fire were blown towards the right of the image. Egeland rose from his chair and straightened his black and gold striped tie. He walked off to the side and the camera followed his movement. The den set slowly moved out of image as Egeland's true location was revealed. He was at the top of a cliff and there was a mobile crane with a bucket on it. The bucket hung over the edge off the cliff above the turbulent waters and jagged rock below.

"Welcome to North Point, New Iskander," Egeland began, "Inside that bucket are 24,995 Saints. If you're wondering why not an even 25,000, that's because 5 of them contributed to that warm fire you saw earlier. And because your government has refused to move our match against New Sideburn in the Cup of Not Harmony, all of them are going to drop down off of this cliff into the water and rock. Did I mention that those rocks are rigged with some explosives? No? Well, we're going to blow them up too."

The camera moved over to the cliffside and took a look down. It could be seen that there were in fact explosives all done up. The camera moved it's focus to the crane as the countdown began. 5...4...3...2...1...DROP!

Saints came crashing down. It was like an avalanche of tech flowing down from the air. Saints bounced off of rocks, plopped into the water, were utterly destroyed, then came the final kicker... BOOM! The explosives went off and rock and Saint fragments went everywhere. Egeland moved back in front of the camera following his destruction extravaganza, "Maybe one day we can be friends. Maybe there will be some point in time where we find this all to be petty. that there was no need to throw sand in each others faces. But unfortunately, that time, is not this time. I would wish you luck in all of your endeavors, but that would make me seem nice. Until next time, this is Halvard Egeland signing off."

[Iturributa]

Annoying fad, this, isn't it?

[German American States]

Deleted

[San Jose Guayabal]

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More curiosities of SJG and its people, part two.

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Following part one , which was a success at national and global level and by popular demand , we will continue with fun facts SJG , Part 2 : ( start from 11 to 16)

11 - In SJG , people too stupid and asks questions that would fill with laughter at a person , for example when you fall , someone will , that instead of helping , they ask , do you fall? .

12 - People in SJG , is hardworking , but it is very common that when you get angry , throw a fart is always a sign of anger .

13 - The gossip among women is very common , so that even have made ​​things closely , even in public television.

14 - Ethnicity " Altaic " SJG , usually sacrifice chickens in trouble signal when the NT lost a game ( Just was just banned )

15 - The guayabalians , people are very friendly and hygienic , but sometimes when they greet you with a handshake , indicating they were the bathroom and is likely to fill you hand something unpleasant,

16 - SJG has a stadium that will host one of the parties to qualifying for the WC 67 , notable for having no drinking water stores.

[Falcus]

MD3 Results from Free Republics:

Group E
Felix 2–3 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega
Qazox 0–1 Free Republics

  Group E                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Free Republics                3   2  1  0    5   2  +3    7
2 Andossa Se Mitrin Vega        2   2  0  0    5   3  +2    6
3 Felix                         3   1  0  2    4   6  −2    3
4 Albaie                        2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
5 Qazox                         2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

Group F
Callumackbar 2–2 Super-Llamaland
Mangolana 0–1 The Licentian Isles

  Group F                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Licentian Isles           3   2  1  0    5   3  +2    7
2 Super-Llamaland               2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Mangolana                     2   1  0  1    2   1  +1    3
4 Åsløtten-Bëðerbørg så Česky   2   0  1  1    3   4  -1    1
5 Callumackbar                  3   0  1  2    2   5  −3    1

Group G
Crystal Empire 0–1 Estope
Jeru FC 0–1 Paradystopia

  Group G                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Paradystopia                  3   3  0  0    3   0  +3    9
2 Iturributa                    2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Estope                        2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
4 Jeru FC                       2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
5 Crystal Empire                3   0  1  2    0   2  −2    1

Group H
New Sideburn 1–2 Vaugania
Nouvel Ecosse 1–4 Northern Sunrise Islands

  Group H                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands      3   2  0  1    7   5  +2    6
2 Saugeais                      2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
3 Vaugania                      2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
4 New Sideburn                  3   0  1  2    5   7  −2    1
5 Nouvel Ecosse                 2   0  1  1    3   6  −3    1

[Free Republics]

MD 3 Results from Falcus:

Group A
Luzvimindia 1–0 Gregoryisgodistan
Hutt River 0–4 Taeshan

  Group A                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Taeshan                  3   3  0  0   10   1  +9    9
2 Hutt River               2   1  0  1    2   5  −3    3
3 Luzvimindia              3   1  0  2    2   3  −1    3
4 Eastfield Lodge          2   1  0  1    4   7  −3    3
5 Gregoryisgodistan        2   0  0  2    2   4  −2    0

Group B
Maklohi Vai 2–2 German American States
Alitaba 0–1 Apox

  Group B                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Welsh Cowboy             2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
2 Apox                     3   2  0  1    2   1  +1    6
3 Alitaba                  2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 German American States   2   0  1  1    3   4  −1    1
5 Maklohi Vai              3   0  1  2    3   5  −2    1

Group C
Astograth 2–3 Barunia
Jeruselem 2–0 San Jose Guayabal

  Group C                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Astograth                3   1  1  1    8   6  +2    4
2 San Jose Guayabal        3   1  1  1    4   3  +1    4
3 Brenecia                 2   1  0  1    4   5  −1    3
4 Jeruselem                2   1  0  1    4   5  −1    3
5 Barunia                  2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3

Group D
Silver Beach 2–1 Filopines
Sangti 1–1 Chiata

  Group D                Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Milchama                 2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6
2 Sangti                   2   1  1  0    4   2  +2    4
3 Chiata                   3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4
4 Silver Beach             3   1  0  2    3   5  −2    3
5 Filopines                2   0  0  2    3   5  −2    0

[Jeruselem]

Julia Dallas and Princess Melody Dallas in Falcus for CoH 58

Julia: I'm Julia Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem, I'm in Falcus and I'm again with the Jeruselem coach Princess Melody. Today we took on San Jose Guayabal in a big game. Astrograth took on Barunia in the other game. We don't have results from the Free Republcs where Jeru FC is.
Melody: Hey everyone
Julia: Big game and no Isabella Dallas or Digger Smith in the team
Melody: One is sick and well the other is out due to other reasons
Julia: Digger is great keeper even if he is bit weird
Melody: Yes but we had to fight on without those two

Julia: And we won 2-0, which is great since we beat one of the group leaders
Melody: Well, we should have won our first game in the first place
Julia: Others must be sweating as we've had our bye game and we have two full games left
Melody: Two wins, for 9 points is our aim in the group
Julia: A real hard game, and the SJG was working hard to beat us
Melody: No repeat of the Astrograth game this time round

Julia: The SJG coach thinks you're sexy
Melody: A lot of folk out there do
Julia: Don't you think it's demeaning?
Melody: No, appreciate your looks while you have it. It's not gonna last forever
Julia: Barunia beat Astograth 3-2 to make group C real close
Melody: Yes, all teams in group C have a chance but the byes are thing that will hurt some

Julia: We would discuss Jeru FC but we don't know what's gone on the Free Republics
Melody: No news from my sister as yet
Julia: What's happened to Astograth? They beat us, draw with SJG and lose to Barunia
Melody: They should have done better given three games, they have one game left
Julia: So the byes have helped us for once
Melody: I guess they did this time round

Julia: So next game, a must win to push us to 6 points from 3 games
Melody: Yes, and hopefully give us a top 2 spot in Group C
Julia: Group C is sure going to close one
Melody: We were down but not out
Julia: And your new single with your sister is now top 5 in Jeruselem
Melody: We got our music if we don't have football

Julia: See you all later for the next game!
Melody: Hang on, just got a message from sis in Free Republics
Julia: Good news?
Melody: No, Paradystopia beat Jeru FC 1-0 so Jeru FC have 1 point from 2 games to be 4th
Julia: That's real bad news
Melody: At least Jeru FC don't get paid in Chunks

Julia: Mean Paradystopia and Taeshan are into the next round
Melody: Jeru FC have two more games to win, they can finish on 7 points
Julia: Let's hope for the best
Melody: WE hope Paradystopia win their last game to help Jeru FC
Julia: Yes, it's helpful the leading team denies others points for you
Melody: They need a bit of help and luck there


OOC

Group C
Astograth 2–3 Barunia
Jeruselem 2–0 San Jose Guayabal

[Estope]

The Search for a Coach

Brian Monte, chairman of the Estope Soccer Association began his search for a replacement manager right away. After announcing his decision to fire long time manager Emanuel Inzer he expected people to be jumping all over this newly opened position. However he was sadly mistaken. No one contacted him or showed the smallest bit of interest in the new opening. Not only would nobody take the job, nobody would even interview for the position. Even Eli Gishal the interim manager declined to take over permanently. Monte had a list of potential managers already and so began to call them one by one. He had little luck. Most of the conversations went like this: "Hello [insert name here], this is Brian Monte from the Estope Soccer Association. We are currently looking for a new manager to take over *click* Hello? Are you still there there?" Slowly he went down his list of 52 names, crossing them off one by one as people kept turning down his offer. Basically every qualified individual in Estope to lead this midlevel national team would not take it. Internationally no one showed intrest either, possibly because of Estope's lack of history and little interest in soccer compared to most other nations. Now Monte was in a bind. He quickly wrote up a help wanted ad for all the Estope newspapers pleading for someone, anyone, to take over for the team. It went unanswered. He tried to contact assistant coaches, pro coaches, college coaches, high school coaches, and even a couple U-6 rec team coaches. No one would even return his call. Monte was baffled by the lack of interest. After all Estope soccer was in pretty good shape. They have a solid team that has a lot of experience and a fairly high ranking. They are playing in the Cup of Harmony and are still in contention to advance. They have the facilities and the money to take the next step as a program. The only thing that had to be holding potential managers from applying, aside from the horrid uniforms which Monte insisted could be changed, was the fans. They have extraordinarily high expectations and can turn nasty in a hurry. The fans regularly boo the team and call for the firing of the coaching staff. They take to social media to criticize every player and the manager after every loss or even close win. The fans will leave early if the team is losing. In order to get more applicants Monte had to get the fans to cooperate. In order to do this he had what he thought was a brilliant idea. Next game at half time they would do a drawing of all the fans in attendance and two lucky fans would get the opportunity to play the second half of the game. Is this legal? Monte didn't know and frankly didn't really care. This was a dynamite marketing strategy and he wouldn't let the opportunity slip away. This would put Estope on the cutting edge of fan interaction with the game. All he needed was for Gishal to get on board. Gishal couldn't care less since he was going to be gone next year and so agreed to let this marketing ploy go on. Would it effect the game? Monte didn't think that far in advance or even really think at all. Estope, despite all the negativity surrounding the program, is in prime position to advance. They just beat a very good Crystal Empire team 1-0. A loss to Jeru FC is already very likely and this move puts the team's chances even lower. Two even somewhat talented fans have no chance to keep pace with such a powerful team. Heck even the Estope national team would struggle against them. But Monte was thinking long term. He needed to gain the media's attention and put Estope soccer into the spotlight. Only by doing this could he have any shot of getting himself a new coach. The details were finalized and it was announced to the press that in the next game against Jeru FC two fans will get the honor to play on the field with the national team. This strategy will either allow fans a rare experience they will treasure forever or embarrass this team even more.

Crystal Empire 0–1 Estope

MD1: Friday, Oct. 4th: BYE
MD2: Sunday, Oct. 6th: Estope v Iturributa - LOSS - 2-3
MD3: Tuesday, Oct. 8th: Crystal Empire v Estope - WIN - 1-0
MD4: Thursday, Oct. 10th: Estope v Jeru FC
MD5: Saturday, Oct. 12th: Paradystopia v Estope
Round of 16: Monday, Oct. 14th: TBA
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, Oct. 16th: TBA
Semifinals: Friday, Oct. 18th: TBA
FInal: Sunday, Oct. 20th: TBA

[Jeru FC]

Princess Katy and Jeru FC coach Andre after Jeru FC lost 1-0 ...

Katy: Gee what happened?
Andre: I don't know, I guess the boys turned their brains off
Katy: We're supposed to be best seed in this group and look at us now
Andre: I think the bye kind of made them slack off
Katy: They always seem to be slacking to me
Andre: There's work slacking and then there's real slacking

Katy: The good news is you have two games to play
Andre: I think the boys have lost interest after failing to qualify
Katy: So it's like a holiday now
Andre: The holiday would be longer if they won a few games, but you know
Katy: I'm certainly not impressed by today
Andre: On the plus side, we lost by one goal only

Katy: Go back to a more aggressive formation?
Andre: Well, that didn't work last cup either
Katy: I see your problem
Andre: Oh thanks for helping out with the jury duty business
Katy: You failed too?
Andre: Me coach of Jeru FC rings up the Sheriff and they don't believe me even if you can see the guy playing football on TV

Katy: Jury duty dodging is a big sport in Jeruselem
Andre: I can imagine
Katy: Jeruselemites are too busy making money to be doing Jury Duty
Andre: I guess a letter from a Princess finally convinced them
Katy: Nazis run the jury system in Jeruselem
Andre: I guess they just doing their job

Katy: You just keep doing yours
Andre: I just need to get those boys motivated again
Katy: You tell them they'd better get their shit together from me
Andre: Your country isn't a real democracy is it?
Katy: Nope
Andre: Your queen doesn't seem to well, do a lot

Katy: She does, in the background. Keep the machine running
Andre: You're actually a possible claimant to the throne too
Katy: I sure am but my sister is there before but I don't want to be Queen
Andre: There's no lack of intelligent clever women in your family anyway
Katy: And good looking ones too
Andre: I've read Jeruselem has the smartest porn stars around

Katy: Lotsa money in porn. A lot of them are my friends from school too. I only associate with smart people unless it's jeru FC
Andre: The boys argue about who's the best whore a lot
Katy: Whatever floats their boats
Andre: They like floating those boays
Katy: Well, we'd better win now then
Andre: I hope so

[Silver Beach]

Lulika City News


Frank Bloom celebrates game winner in the 73rd minute of play
Silver Beach has first Cup of Harmony 58 win with 2-1 victory over the Filopines

After a tough 3-1 defeat to Sangti, where they allowed 3 second half goals to lose that game, and a crushing 1-0 loss to Chiata on the 2nd matchday, Silver Beach finally got its first victory of the tournament with a 2-1 victory over the Filopines, with a come from behind win with 2 second half goals to counter a first half goal from their opponents. While Silver Beach is in 4th place, and has just one match left to play, virtually guaranteeing that even with a win they won't make it through to the Round of 16, they have a strong victory to add to their name as they begin to bow out of this tournament, and ultimately start to try and get ready for the qualifiers of the 67th World Cup.

The Filopines dominated the first half, and easily could have been up 3-0 at halftime, but stellar play from the Silverian keeper Raymond Juna kept the game close, with The Filopines only scoring from the penalty spot in the 13th minute to have a 1-0 lead after the first half. The Filopines had 57% of the possesion in the 1st half, and more importantly, the ball was on Silver Beach's half of the field 64% of the time. The Silverians were outshot with only 2 shots on goal, both by captain Oscar Bestra, compared to their opponents having 7 shots on goal including the penalty kick by the half. Many thought that this game would end up playing out like the Chiata game, where Silver Beach would simply be worn down by their opponents and beaten slowly throughout the match, as Silver Beach could not muster up enough firepower to counterattack their weak defense throughout the tournament.

While the 2nd half looked to be like the rest of the campaign for Silver Beach, it changed when the Silverians stepped on the field. A halftime substitution of veteran winger Daren Khalil into the match for David Wilder seemed to inspire the national squad of Silver Beach. The veteran played the match of his life, knowing as he is thinking of retiring before the next World Cup begins due to his age, and his desire to keep playing with his home club in North Tasmania. Khalil set up the first goal for Silver Beach, sending the cross into the box in the 54th minute and having Frank Bloom put that one away with his head, where he celebrated his 1st goal of the tournament as he tied the game at 1 and gave Silver Beach life. The Silverians did not want to walk away from this tournament with no points, and they were looking for the full three against the Filopines.

The Kingdom of Silver Beach did not rest on its laurels and settle for one point, it attacked aggressively for the full three points, and it ended up paying off. Silver Beach flipped the story of the first half, having 5 shots on goal in the 2nd half compared to one on a free kick from 35 yards for the Filopines, and having 54% of possession, with the ball being on the opposing half 65% of the time. Philip Marlett was substituted into the match for his second last match as a member of the national team, and he played brilliantly, bringing the ball forward. He was fouled to set up a free kick for Oscar Bestra, who hit the crossbar on the free kick but Frank Bloom buried the rebound to give Silver Beach a 2-1 lead, their first lead of the entire tournament.

Silver Beach has decided that they will start Philip Marlett for his last competitive match as a member of the national team, meaning that Silver Beach will have 4 players who are at least 35 making their final starts for Silver Beach in a competitive match on matchday 4 against 1st place Milchama, who has taken maximum points from their first two matches. Silver Beach will be looking to send off their four veterans, literally in their last competitive matches for the national team, with victories against Milchama to actually give their team some sort of mathematical chance of getting into the Round of 16. As always, until the next match, go Silver Beach!

[Qazox]

QAZOX loses to CO-HOSTS

For the strangest attacking team in the NSverse, as it has been said seeing as Qazox has 5 defenders; back-to-back 1-0 losses is unsettling to say the least. How can such an aggressive team not score? Yeah, Kyle Bolton scored in the 56th minute on a 7-on-5 counter, but Qazox had the ball for 63%, had 16 shots (5 on goal), 8 corners and still lost.

So up next is ASMV, who currently have the 2nd spot in the group. Qazox needs to win out to even have a glimmer of a hope of a chance to make the Round of 16.