Baptism of Fire 34 (for WC47) RP/Roster/Scores Thread

[Isselmere]

Football Weekly Special

Isselmere-Nieland advances with win
Oscar Belham

Liventia - P00t3r posed little problem for the Eagles as they stormed into the next round with a strong 3-1 victory. Unlike Isselmere-Nieland's early performances, the entire side came out strong as Bogue and Arnásson combined with Huang and Stewart to tear P00t3r's back four apart allowing Claesburgh and Cohen to slip through the gaps.

But it was the centre-halves who provided the first goal. Bogue had won a corner after he and Huang had worked a beautiful give-and-go play down the right. Arnásson crossed the ball in from the corner, luring the P00t3r keeper into no-man's-land, before mab Costin unleashed a powerful header only to hit the defender guarding the left-post. Mab Wercus collected the rebound and swiftly slotted it into the top right corner.

P00t3r was stymied by Björnssund and Norton's domination of the centre field, with the former making strong challenges, including one in the 39th minute that will keep him out of the first game of the next round. Before that, however, Björnssund split the defence with a lovely ball that put Cohen one-on-one against the keeper. The striker feinted around the keeper and chipped the ball over the centre-half for his third goal of the tournament.

After the second half kick-off, the Eagles continued to put pressure on the P00t3r side, giving the latter no end of trouble. Eventually, the Isselmere-Nielandic dominance told as Norton lofted in a beautiful long ball to Claesburgh, who chested it down perfectly before blasting it into the net.

P00t3r provided little opposition until ten minutes before the end of regulation when a Bogue scythed down the P00t3r left-winger. From the free kick, a P00t3r centre-half leaped above Stewart to power a header from a free kick past a static Felsingborgin. It was an unfortunate end to what had otherwise been a superb match for the wing-back.

Next, the Eagles will be facing Parthenon, whose side placed second in Group E, in the round of 16 knock-out stage.

P00t3r 1 - 3 Isselmere-Nieland
(Defender 81') - (Mab Wercus 19'; Cohen 36'; Claesburgh 56')
Bookings:
(none) - (Björnssund 39'; Bogue 77')
Sendings off:
none
Suspensions:
Björnssund (2 cautions), Bogue (2 cautions)

[Toyur]

Toyurska Sportnyhet

FORTUNE SHINES ON BEARS
Despite conceding late, Toyur advance
by Anders Alfven

BOSTOPIA(TP) - The run continues in the 34th installment of the Baptism of Fire for the Toyur national football team, as they have advanced to the second round of the competition despite losing their lead late on, though a late goal in the other Group A match left the Bears in second place in the group.

Going into the final matchday, 3 teams had a strong shout for advancing. The strongest would have been Euro-Trash, entering the day at six points, one ahead of Toyur, who had 5 points, and two ahead of their opponents Carbonegro, who had four. Zerdonian also had four points but was at a negative goal differential and had no more games to play, while Gargorina had 3 points and was all but eliminated unless a series of small miracles occured, the stars aligned, and my mother cooked up a decent lasagna. All three events were unlikely. This meant that the match between Carbonegro and Euro-Trash had enormous consequences on who advanced, and due to permutations, Toyur had probably the best chance at qualification, whether it was in first or second. Still, Gargorina were up to the part of spoilers and gave the Bears fits all night.

Gargorina started the scoring in the 33rd minute, after a half hour of a tense defensive affair. The Gargorinian striker took advantage of a ball that ping-ponged through the box, after Markus Norström was unable to deal with a cross coming in from the left, leaving keeper Anders Eriksson helpless to see the ball fly past his stretched arm. Gargorina took a 1-0 lead into half time, but only after a Mattias Sjodin effort from 25 yards drifted inches over the bar after swerving wildly towards goal.

Toyur took the initiative in the 2nd half, drawing level early on. Magnus Gustavsson was sent through clear after a clever through-ball from Justin Tillström, with the forward avoiding the offside trap and punishing the Gargorina defence with a clinical effort across the keeper into the far right corner of the goal in the 51st minute. After Eklund hit the post 10 minutes later, Gustavsson struck again, skillfully taking in a swinging cross from Modin and slamming the ball into the near top corner, leaving the Gargorinian keeper rooted to his spot. Toyur topping the group looked good until the 84th minute, when a strong individual effort from a Gargorinian forward left Eriksson in no-mans land, giving the opposing forward an easy shot into an open goal. The draw meant that Toyur would advance no matter the result in the other match, but a late goal from Carbonegro gave them qualification over Euro-Trash, leapfrogging them into first place with a 1-0 win.

Manager Erik Larsson was pleased with the team's performance but told his team that they are only past stage one. 'It feels good to qualify out of that group, which was pretty tight the whole way through,' he said to reporters following the match. 'I've stressed to the team that the job isn't even half done yet, we still have a job to do to hopefully try to win this competition.'

The road will be tough, as they will have to play a strong team from the Babbage Islands in the second round. The Islanders topped Group C with a record of three wins, one draw, and no losses, and scored a staggering 11 goals whilst conceding only four. The game will be played in Reamontry with a crowd of 61,543 expected to be on-hand to witness the match, although just how many of those fans will be from either nation remains to be a mystery. 4,000 Toyur fans have made the trek for this competition so far, but more may join them as Toyur has progressed past the group stage.

[Lanceo]

In an intense game that they had to win, the Lancish dominated Upper Orange 2-0 to advance to the second round. GK Jakub was superb, stopping all 6 shots he faced. The scoring for Lanceo came from Forward LD and MF Pandanus. In the 23d minute, Mel stole the ball and passed to Pandanus, who buried the shot in the left corner to put Lanceo up 1-0. Then, just before the half, LD fired home a PK to put Lanceo up for the game. After the game, Lancish players celebrated their big win.

[Bostopia]

Round of 16 Results - Bostopia

Carbonegro 2 - 2 LeDoucheland (3 - 3 AET) (LeDoucheland wins 3 - 1 on penalties)
Fson 1 - 2 Delaclava
The Babbage Islands 1 - 2 Toyur
Valipac 3 - 0 Lanceo

Quarter Final Draw/Bostopian Region Semi-Finals
LeDoucheland -v- Delaclava | New Stranway, Mannfield (Capacity 73,921)
Toyur -v- Valipac | Deepbay Stadium, Port Flamerty (Capacity 86,425)

[Liventia]

Liventian region quarterfinals (overall round of 16)
Vaarshire 5-2 Sibirsky
WaffenBrightonburg 3-2 Gillenor
Isselmere-Nieland 2-1 Parthenon
Queer Poco el Mono Ara 2-1 Upper Orange

Liventian region semifinals (overall quarterfinals):
Vaarshire v WaffenBrightonburg at the Colonial Stadium in CCL, cap 185000
Isselmere-Nieland v Queer Poco el Mono Ara at Grovers Park in Orean, cap 134601

[The Babbage Islands]

REAMONTRY, Bostopia (BPA) -- For The Babbage Islands, the Baptism of Fire is over.

The Bumblebee eleven were stunned 2-1 by Toyur in the first knockout round. The first Toyur goal came in the second minute of play, and it was apparent that the Babbagian confidence was shaken for the duration. Toyur went up 2-nil by the halftime break, and a 63rd-minute goal by Tony Martin was all the comeback the Islanders could muster.

The Babbage eleven finishes their first international event with a record of 3-1-1, outscoring opponents 12-6. Their next stop, after some time off, will be the World Cup.

[Isselmere]

Football Weekly Special

Eagles claim spot in quarterfinals
Oscar Belham

Liventia - Isselmere-Nieland managed to overcome a strong Parthenon side to secure a place in the Liventian region semi-finals of the Baptism of Fire. The ball spent much of the time in the middle of the pitch, with tenacious defending the order of the day.

Neil Fremont, who replaced the suspended Keith Bogue for the match received Isselmere-Nieland's first caution in the 14th minute with an il-timed lunge on Demetrios Phrixus, who fortunately escaped uninjured. Mark Dunston followed Fremont into the book in the 29th minute for dissent after the referee adjudged (correctly) that Brian Stewart brought down Pythagoras Lysimachus in a good position a mere twenty-eight metres from the net. Dunston may have erred in protesting too vigorously, but not in his caution as the wonderfully named Hyacinth Hippocrates slotted home a rebound from the free kick that had evaded Adalbjart Felsingborgin's outstretched arms.

From then on, Parthenon played a masterful counter-attacking game, crushing Isselmere-Nielandic hopes every time the Eagles approached the final third. At the break, the Isselmere-Nielanders' heads bowed low as they wondered how they might break through the superb Parthenon defence.

In the end, it was a superb volley from Dunston in the 64th minute that broke Parthenon's resolve. Parthenon still managed to threaten, however, with Lysimachus unfortunate to see his strike rebound off the post and into Felsingborgin's hands in the 70th minute and two minutes later to force the Eagles' keeper to make his best save of the tournament so far. Hermogenes Lycurgus missed the net by less than a foot from a very sharp angle in the 79th minute, while a corner sent in by Xenon Spyros was met by a gorgeous header from Kleitos Zephyr, only to have it just cleared off the line in the 83rd minute.

It was Claesburgh again who came through for the Eagles in the 89th minute with a superb run that split the Parthenon defence leaving him with only the keeper to beat, which he did with an unstoppable low belter to the far left corner.

Isselmere-Nieland go on to meet Queer Poco el Mono Ara at Grovers Park in Orean, Liventia.

Isselmere-Nieland 2 - 1 Parthenon
(Dunston 64'; Claesburgh 89') - (Hippocrates 32')
Bookings
(Fremont 14'; Dunston 29')

[Valipac]

Valipac shines in 3-0 performance against Lanceo

Manager Terry Scott congratulates the Lanceon manager for making it so far

Once more, Valipac was faced with a tough test to advance to the next round. Yet again, they responded. The players of Valipac worked effeciently as a unit in perhaps their best game yet as Valipac advanced to the quarterfinals of the Baptism of Fire following a 3-0 victory over Lanceo. The win sets up a quarterfinals match between Valipac and Toyur in Bostopia's Deepbay Stadium, which over 87,000 people are expected to attend. Cross, Fitzgerald, and Haynes all scored for the Valipacians, and Hyde recieved a yellow card. King recieved a red card, meaning he is banned from the next game.

The game started off well for Valipac, with a quick push on goal made in the first few minutes. A few touches from Haynes to Watts to Fitzgerald led to a quick shot by Fitzgerald, but the ball was fisted away superbly by the keeper. In the tenth minute, Valipac was on the break again, and this time it lead to a direct free kick from 20 meters out. Cross put the ball on goal beautifully, and the keeper's diving attempt fell just short. Valipac lead, one nil. Later in the first half, Fitzgerald chased down a long ball and evaded the defender for a one on one with the goalie. The goalie charged Fitzgerald, who drove the ball on goal. The keeper managed to get a hand on the ball and deflected it, but it still managed to roll in the net. Later still in the fortieth minute, Haynes connected with a diving header on a great cross by King, and put Valipac ahead by the final tally of three nil.

Although the scoring was complete, the second half was just as important. In the seventieth minute, King made a high tackle on an opposing midfielder and was red-carded. This means that he will be unavailable for the next match with Toyur, a harsh blow to Valipac's spirit. Scott made goode use of the substitutions, bringing on another midfielder, Joe Kay, for Cross and another defender, Mohammad Baker, for Fitzgerald, leaving the team to play a 4-4-1 for the final minutes of the match, while letting two of his goal scorers rest. Joshua Read also made his first appearance of the tournament, relieving Joe Alexander in the 75th minute. Haynes was booked in the 84th minute for a poorly timed tackle, but it will not affect his ability to play next week.

"Obviously, we aren't taking anything for granted," said Fitzgerald after the game. "We can't afford to overlook anyone, and it's important for us to stay focused and not look ahead to the semifinals or even the championship. I don't care that a lot of people have predicted us to play Isselemere-Nieland in the finals, or that we might have a rematch with LeDoucheland next round what I care about is preparing to play the squad from Toyur." Scott echoed his strikers words, saying that the team was "taking things one game at a time." He mentioned that it was "important that the team not get too caught up in the hype generated by the tournament" or else the possibility of a loss "greatly increased." He was disappointed in King's red card, and noted that Burke would wear the captain's armband for the match aganst Toyur.

[WaffenBrightonburg]

IBNN Sports News!

Head Coach Jorge Miller - white





" Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the international press corps,today I speak to you all about the match between WaffenBrightonburg and Gallartium of which we won 3-0, it was a rare game for us,we are normally a defence minded team,but this day,our offence awoke,and our defence as usual stayed strong.

Even His Imperial Majesty Janos II of Brightonburg calle me on the phone to tell me,that he enjoyed the game,it is my wish that our level of play stays like this,and we may have a shot at the cup!"

[Toyur]

Toyurska Sportnyhet

Justin Tillström, one of two scorers, playing for club side Tuleä

STRONG START PUSHES BEARS THROUGH
Two first-half goals enough
by Anders Alfven

BOSTOPIA(TP) - Toyur have advanced to the quarter-finals of the 34th edition of the Baptism of Fire, with a quick start being enough to eliminate the Babbage Islands in front of 61,543 at Sonfield Park in Reamontry, Bostopia.

Justin Tillström and Viktor Eklund scored for Toyur, with Tillström's stunning strike coming only two minutes after the opening kick-off. Tony Martin scored for the Islanders midway through the 2nd half to make things nervous for the Bears, but it turned out to be the last of the Babbage Islands' two shots on target all evening.

'We're absolutely thrilled to be moving on to the quarter-finals,' manager Erik Larsson said at the post-match press conference. 'We played a strong game from start to finish, I feel. We didn't give them many looks at the target and we kept to our guns. It will only get tougher from here, and Valipac will probably be our toughest test yet.'


Erik Larsson at the post-match press conference

Toyur could not have asked for a better start, and Justin Tillström found himself with some open space after an Anders Eriksson goal kick was flicked into the middle of the park by Kristian Olsen. Tillström carried the ball upfield before launching a left-footed rocket that swerved to the right of the Babbage Islands keeper Averill Robinson and into the top corner of the net. The Babbage Islands were clearly disheartened after the goal, and did not cause much trouble for Norström and company in the back apart from an Art Kelly shot from 20 yards that floated straight at Eriksson. Viktor Eklund increased Toyur's lead seven minutes before the break after Peter Modin's cross was met at the near post by Eklund and directed into the goal past a helpless Robinson.

Toyur played a picture perfect possession game for 18 minutes of the second half, until a poor backpass from Olafsson was intercepted by Tony Martin, who beat Eriksson with a low, well-placed shot. Despite the urgency of the situation, the Babbage Islands players did not play with much attacking intent, and it was only some timely clearances and goalkeeping from Robinson that kept the score at 2-1.

Toyur move on to play Valipac in the regional semi-finals. Valipac advanced with a convincing 3-0 win over Lanceo, however suffered a psychological blow, losing their captain Leon King to suspension after a red card. The match will be played in front of 86,425 fans in Port Flamerty in Bostopia, with the other regional semi-final pitting LeDoucheland against Delaclava. Due to the poor performance of the Toyur national ice hockey team, the game with Valipac can be seen on TSTV1.

[Liventia]

This is the quarterfinals RP cutoff for both regions of the Baptism of Fire tournament.

Liventian region semifinals (overall quarterfinals)
Vaarshire 3-3 WaffenBrightonburg (3-3 AET) (Vaarshire wins 4-3 on penalty kicks)
Isselmere-Nieland 3-0 Queer Poco el Mono Ara

The Liventian region final (Semifinal 1) will be played at CCL National Stadium, cap 385,000, between Vaarshire and Isselmere-Nieland. The winner will play the winner of SF2 in the grand final in Bostopia; the loser will play in the third place playoff in Liventia.

[Bostopia]

Quarter Finals - Bostopian Region

LeDoucheland 0 - 2 Delaclava
Toyur 0 - 1 Valipac

Semi-Final Draw

Delaclava -v- Valipac | Fort Boston Arena, Fort Boston - Capacity 91,093

The Final will be played at the Bostopia Stadium, Fort Boston (Capacity103,499), between the winners of the Regional Semi-Finals.

[Valipac]

Valipac advances 1-0 despite missing Captain Leon King

Manager Terry Scott urges his team on

Things are looking great for Valipac, as they managed to avoid stumbling to the team from Toyur and advanced into the Baptism of Fire semi-finals. The team is poised to receive Captain Leon King back from suspension, and it could not have come at any better time. The team was obviously missing his presence on the field. Burton did a decent job filling in for his position, and Burke did what he could as replacement captain, but his profound leadership and superb kicking abilities were definitely missing. It speaks volumes to the perseverance of the Valipacian team that they were able to endure the loss of their captain and still manage a victory.

The game was punctuated by long balls from the keeper or back lines of the respected teams, with neither team able to gain an upper hand offensively. The best chance for the Toyur squad to go ahead came in the 14th minute and represented the first real chance of the game. A long lead pass to striker Viktor Eklund found itself perfectly timed against the Valipacian offsides trap attempt. Eklund found himself in a footrace to get the ball close to goal for a shot. Aidan Wyatt tried to put pressure on Eklund from behind, but it was all up to the keeper to make the save. Eklund placed the ball in the near corner of the net, and only a fingertip save by Burke kept the ball out of the net. Despite the glorious save, the trouble was not over yet for the Valipacian side. The resulting corner from the save was launched into the box, and Charles Stone was in the right place at the right time for Valipac. He trapped the ball and was able to clear it away. Replays suggested that he used his arm to bat the ball down, but furious appeals to the match day official yielded no penalty kick for Toyur.

In the 34th minute, Valipac had their first true chance on goal. Freddie Cross, taking the direct free kicks in place of the suspended King, was given an opportunity just at the top of the 18 yard box. He drove the ball on goal, and for a moment it looked as if Valipac would go ahead by one, as the keeper for Toyur had been caught out of position. The shot bent a little too much, however, and clanged off the post. The leading scorer for Valipac, Nicholas Fitzgerald, ran down the rebound and directed it back on goal, but Anders Eriksson, the keeper, had managed to recover and punched the ball away, where it was cleared by Oskar Källström.

The sides went into halftime in a nil-nil draw, with both teams looking for a spark to ignite them. In the 63rd minute, Valipac found that spark. Nicholas Fitzgerald was driving with the ball when he fell victim to a brutal tackle from Paul Olafsson. Olafsson was awarded a yellow card for the tackle, and Valipac received an indirect free kick. Cross bent the ball into the box, and none other than tall Joe Alexander was there to head the ball on net. Eriksson dove to stop it, but the ball slipped past him for the only score of the match. Alexander, the unlikely hero, had scored for the first time in his international career, and the score marked the first score by a Valipacian defenseman in the tournament. Alexander received a yellow card for excessive celebration, but this was quickly forgiven by his manager, who understood the emotion of his situation.

The final thirty minutes played out with Valipac condensing their formation and attempting to stop any shots at goal. Toyur had seven shots within the final ten minutes, but none were able to sneak past Burke's watchful eye to equalize the game. When the game concluded, the Valipacian players were elated and rejoiced in celebrations, but first shook hands with their defeated opponents and congratulated them for one stellar game. Many players exchanged jerseys as a sign of the earned respect between the two sides. Now Valipac looks on to a semifinals matchup against Delaclava. One more win, and Valipac is in the finals. No one thought they would be saying that this time last year.

[Delaclava]

DELACLAVA STAR

Delaclava 2 – Fson 1

Geraldo Ayala and Stanley Ichtyelkov each scored goals, Graham Torres made 12 saves, and Delaclava overcame an early deficit to win 2-0.

Delaclava, for a change, started off strong, testing Maris Eltermanis early. However, Eltermanis pulled off a couple of saves and preserved the blank stalemate. Torres was also tested, but weathered Fson’s target practice until a Sigumond Paysden cross was left unattended, and Maksims Danilovs’s head punched the ball out of the air, past Torres and in for first blood. Delaclava’s defense picked up from there, although Jim Molina pulled up in the 37th with an ankle injury and essentially limped to the end of the half.

The second half started with Chad DeLeon replacing the injured Molina, and the switch seemed to rejuvenate Delaclava, who suddenly assaulted Fson with a number of shots. In the end, Delaclava got two shots on goal for the second half, but they made each one count. Mose Fuentes found Calvin Castillo in the right corner, and Castillo’s bullet of a cross was speared by Geraldo Ayala, and suddenly Delaclava was tied 1-1.

Fson put a shake into their defense with two substitutions, and it seemed to help at first. However, manager Nolan Wright shot a bullet through his Delaclava team by adding Kurt Holcomb to the lineup and removing David Ward. Delaclava suddenly moved the ball with greater skill, took smarter shots, and finally Stanley Ichtyelkov cranked a shot from 25 yards out into the corner. Delaclava celebrated, but not for long; there were twelve minutes to play.

There was no need to worry, however, as Delaclava easily handled what little energy Fson had remaining. A last-ditch effort by Fson to shake the team, putting in Leif Hanson for Kim Holmen, failed as the offense couldn’t generate anything with the new makeup of the offense. As what seemed to be the final insult, John Ewing cleared a Fson throw-in all the way into the stands as the whistle blew.

Manager Nolan Wright was clearly pleased, saying, “Fson was a tough team in group play, and for almost the entire game we handled them with ease. There wasn’t a single lagging person in Delaclava uniform, and they worked hard the entire game.” Co-captain Calvin Pope added, “With that kind of work ethic, attitude, and teamwork, we could easily win Baptism of Fire. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, but to know we are able is a great feeling.”

Fson 1 0 – 1
Delaclava 0 2 – 2

1st Half – FSO, Maksims Danilovs (Sigumond Paysden) 26th.
2nd Half – DEL, Geraldo Ayala (Calvin Castillo, Mose Fuentes) 57th. DEL, Stanley Ichtyelkov (Jamal Pacheco) 78th.

YELLOW CARD: DEL, Ewing 92nd.

SHOTS – FSO 8-8-16, on goal 7-6-13. DEL 5-11-16, on goal 4-2-6.
SAVES – FSO, Eltermanis 4-0-4. DEL, Torres 6-6-12.

LINEUPS – FSO, Maris Eltermanis; Pavels Kolcovs, Giulio Molinar, Borris Bogdaskins (David Magowan 67th), Jevgenijs Brovcenko; Sigumond Paysden, Ruslans Korolovs (Johan Fytus 67th), Artyom Bludnov, Maksims Danilovs; Kim Holmen (Leif Hanson 84th), Erling Knudtzon. DEL, Graham Torres; Jim Molina (Chad DeLeon 45th), Calvin Pope, Devin Santana; David Ward (Kurt Holcomb 71st), Jamal Pacheco, John Ewing, Mose Fuentes; Stanley Ichtyekov, Geraldo Ayala, Calvin Castillo.

[Delaclava]

-

[Toyur]

Toyurska Sportnyhet

Joe Alexander after scoring the winner for Valipac

CUP RUN OVER AFTER 1-0 QUARTER-FINAL LOSS
Controversial game knocks Toyur out of Baptism of Fire
by Anders Alfven

BOSTOPIA(TP) - The run is over for the Toyur national football squad after losing their quarter-final match to Valipac 1-0.

A tense affair was briefly marred by controversy as a corner kick in the 15th minute was knocked down by Valipac defender Charles Stone and cleared away from the penalty box. The Toyur players were furious with the match official, but his mind was not changed. Television replays show strong evidence of a deliberate hand ball from Stone. Manager Erik Larsson was disappointed about the call and the result, but he downplayed its importance after the match.

'It's disappointing to know that we may have been able to get a golden chance early on,' Larsson told reporters, 'but a penalty is not a guaranteed goal, and we had a number of other chances to score that we didn't capitalise on. They only got a few chances but scored, we had more chances but didn't put one away. We didn't do enough to win.'

The aforementioned corner was the result of a clever play from Viktor Eklund, delaying his run just enough to stay onside but his shot was just tipped wide by Burke in the Valipac goal. The first half did not have too much in the way of drama after that, although a Freddie Cross free kick hit the post for Valipac, and the rebound was cleared away.

The second half began much the way the first did, although in the 63rd minute the break came for Valipac. A poorly timed tackle from Paul Olafsson resulted in a yellow card and gave Valipac a free kick just outside the box, and the swinging cross met the head of Joe Alexander, a tall Valipac defender who was marked a little too poorly for Erik Larsson's liking, who was furious with his defenders on the sidelines. Alexander was booked for his celebration but it does not impact his availability for the semi-final. Toyur had seven opportunities at goal after this, but could not break down a resilient Valipac defence and sent Toyur home earlier than they would have hoped.

'We got some valuable experience and it should really help us in World Cup qualifying,' Larsson said. 'We won't be favourites to qualify by any means, but we should at least make some noise and improve our standing internationally.'

The semi-finals and finals can be seen on TSTV1, and the World Cup qualifying draw next week on TSTV3.

[Isselmere]

Football Weekly Special

Eagles soar into semi-finals
Oscar Belham

Orean, LIVENTIA - Isselmere-Nieland stormed past a strong Queer Poco el Mono Ara side that James Potherington admitted he had feared confronting. Although qualifying as the best third-placed side in the Liventia region, it qualified from what was arguably the most difficult group, Group A, that provided three of region's quarter-finalists as well as all three of Isselmere-Nieland's competitors in the knock-out rounds. "As expected, the Queer Poco el Mono Ara team came out strong and gave a good account of themselves," Potherington said after the match. "They came from a very tough group and proved today why they made it to the quarter-finals."

The Eagles attacked early on, cheered on by their supporters and the enthusiastic neutrals in the stands. In the twelfth minute, Keith Bogue bombed down the right wing, supported by Kevin Huang and Owen Claesburgh, only to be brought low by a crunching tackle by David Beecham that led to a caution near the corner flag. Replays demonstrated that the yellow card was harsh as Beecham stole the ball off Bogue's foot as the midfielder leaped belatedly to avoid the challenge. Mab Wercus came close to scoring from the free kick with a lovely volley after the ball had skimmed off of Tomasz Poborsky's head, but the Queer Poco el Mono Ara keeper, Petr Ollic, dove perfectly to snatch the ball before it snuck inside the left corner. Cohen had a good effort parried wide in the 27th minute as Magnus Björnssund's pass split the defence to leave Ollic alone with the Isselmere-Nielandic striker. A goal was not to be had as Ollic came out fast and strong to close Cohen down.

The Queer Poco el Mono Ara team was not just defending, though. In the 23rd minute, Ishmael Van Dyke latched onto a beautiful, long cross-field pass by Frank Le Tissier and looked certain to score before mab Costin snatched the ball away with a clever toe-poke as the striker was about to shoot. Van Dyke struck mab Costin's foot, instead, obliging the limping centre-half to retire, replaced by Sylvester Morrison. The 37th minute saw Alberto Xisco miss a sitter from a corner, blasting the ball high and wide as Felsingborgin was unable to keep hold of the ball.

Isselmere-Nieland took the lead in the 41st minute when Claesburgh connected with a long ball from Gunnar Arnásson to launch a screaming one-time volley into the back of the net from 28 yards; Ollic had no chance as the ball whistled into the upper right corner of the net.

Queer Poco el Mono Ara fought well to get an equaliser, but could not get the ball past the Isselmere-Nielandic back-four and keeper. Mab Wercus and Morrison blocked shot after shot as Huang and Stewart closed down the wings. Felsingborgin was forced to make several difficult key saves to allow the Eagles to retain the lead into the break.

Heartbreak came to the Queer Poco el Mono Ara side in the 62nd minute when Cohen found Björnssund in the box, seemingly with only Ollic to beat. Ruud Seedorf slid in with a clever challenge that took the ball away from the Isselmere-Nielander before connecting with the midfielder. Although it was ball before man, the referee sent off the Queer Poco el Mono Ara defender and pointed to the spot. Both sides were astonished by the call, with the possible exception of the combative Björnssund, but Cohen didn't allow the injustice to cloud his mind as he sent Ollic the wrong way from the spot.

Down two goals and to ten men, Queer Poco el Mono Ara had few opportunities to try to snatch back a goal. Norton replaced the limping Björnssund in the 65th minute along with mab Druist for the struggling Claesburgh. The two substitutes took the opportunity to heart, combining with Arnásson, Bogue, and Cohen to drag the reduced Queer Poco el Mono Ara defence apart. Spread out and unable to provide enough coverage for Ollic, the defence could do little against Norton's run into the box. A cross by Arnásson provided the centre midfielder with ample room and time to slot the ball home, which he duly did in the 73rd minute.

Isselmere-Nieland advance to the regional final against a worryingly powerful Vaarshire side.

Isselmere-Nieland 3 - 0 Queer Poco el Mono Ara
(Claesburgh 41'; Cohen 64'; Norton 73') - (none)
Bookings
(Björnssund 63'; Stewart 77') - (none)
Sendings off
(none) - (Seedorf 62')
Substitutions
Morrison (mab Costin 23'); Norton (Björnssund 65'); Mab Druist (Claesburgh 65') - ?

[Valipac]

The following is a partial transcript of the post-match press conference.

Joe Alexander is seated on the far left, with Manager Terry Scott directly to his right. Captain Leon King is in the middle, with Harry Burke and Nicholas Fitzgerald seated to his right respectively.

Reporter 1: "Brooke Elliot, Valipacian Star Newspaper. This question is directed to Joe Alexander. What thoughts were running through your head as you lined up for the free kick and immediately after you scored?"

JA: "Well, before the kick, we kind of huddled up on the pitch, and Freddie [Cross] looked at me and said, "It's coming to you." So I was just worried about getting into a position where he could get it past the defenders and utilize my height and jumping. Luckily I was able to avoid the man marking me, and just tried to give it the best header I could muster. It worked out well enough to get in the net. After that it was just pure elation I suppose. I need to be careful not to get a yellow card next game or else I would be out for the final or the third place game, but I'm not worried about it."

Reporter #2: "Lydia Brooks, Lagrina Chronicle. Leon, how did you feel when that goal went in watching from the sidelines?"

LK: "Well, I was really excited for Joe. I mean, I couldn't be out there to help, so I was glad he stepped up in my absence."

Reporter #2 "And now that you've moved on, are you looking forward at all to the finals and a potential match against Isselmere-Nieland?"

LK: "I think I speak for everyone here and in the dressing room that we are taking things step by step, one game at a time. Right now we're only focused on Delaclava."

Reporter #3: "Riley Leonard, from VNN. Anyone can answer this question. What was it like playing out there without your team captain?"

HB: "Well it was different, for sure. Having Leon out there as captain really helps because he is able to communicate with a lot more people that might not come within earshot of the goal. He's also a lot closer if he needs to discuss something with the ref, where I have to come all the way out of the net to meet the ref."

TS: "Obviously when you lose a player of Leon's caliber, it's a tough loss for the team, and other players have to step up. Today, other players did, and that's why we'll be moving on today. Joe, Harry, hell the whole team deserves a round of applause. I think everyone individually stepped their game up to help make up for Leon's absence. If we can keep that level of play up, especially since he returns to the lineup for the next game, it will be tough to stop us going forward."

NF: "I'd love to echo the comments made by Terry. When you lose someone with the finesse passing abilities Leon's got, it becomes a lot harder to get all of those great chances on goal you see. Most of what you remember is myself, Zach, or Freddie putting the ball on goal, but what you don't remember is that all of that was made possible by a fantastic pass by Leon that started the break. He's also an exceptional kick taker, and although Freddie filled greatly for him, it will be nice to have him back."

Reporter #4: "Jake Houghton, from the Halita Times. A lot has been made of the supposed handball by Charles Stone. What do you make of it?"

TS: "I really did not have a good view on the play from my angle. I think that it's difficult to say the referee should have made a different call, because we don't know what angle he really had on the play. Someone could have been blocking his vision. That's the human element of football for you. As long as we have human referees, we will have to live and die by the calls they make. Occasionally, a mistake happens. It's part of the game."

JA: "I was on the back line with Charles, and I couldn't tell. Defending on the back line, sometimes an arm hits the ball, and sometimes it gets called, intentional or not. The call probably could have gone both ways, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Luckily for us, we got the call this time."

Reporter #3: "Leonard from VNN again. Looking ahead to next week, what are each of you thinking about the challenge Delaclava poses?"

TS: "Well, obviously they are a great team to have made it this far. They did something we didn't do as well, beating LeDoucheland two nil. Fuentes scored two goals for them against LeDoucheland, but I think that we need to focus on their co-captains, Ichtyelkov and Pope. They both really set the pace for their squad, and if they get going, their whole team gets going. Slowing them down is our number one priority."

JA: "As a defender, I'm probably a bit biased, but Ichtyelkov and Fuentes are going to be my top priorities. Terry has yet to tell any of us if we will be marking specific men or just our zones, but stopping those two is key to victory. Without them, their offensive attack will struggle and grind to a halt."

LK: "To me the key will be to dominate the midfield and the time of possession. Their potent attack means nothing if they can't control the ball. The way we play, with four midfielders and a striker who can pull back and still leave us with two, really helps us to accomplish this. I think that whoever controls the possession will be able to control the pace of the game, and thus will be able to win."

NF: "Well, to me, scoring goals is obviously my personal top priority. This game, however, I think it will be important that we give effort in all aspects of the game. This means playing tougher defense or pursuing the ball more to me, but it could mean something different to someone else."

HB: "I think everyone else have pretty much summed it up nicely. Other than that, I just need to be extra sharp, especially when defending free kicks and corners. A lot of our luck this tournament has been off of set pieces, so we need to be sure other teams can't find that same success against us."

Reporter #5: "Jodie Fletcher, Forsinthe Journal, with a question for Mr. Scott. There were rumors that near the end of the game Aidan Wyatt was injured. What can you tell us about this?"

TS: "Well, I can confirm that he was injured. I'm not going to tell you exactly what the injury is or the full scope of it, but I will tell you that we are about 75% certain he will be playing with us against Delaclava."

Reporter #5: "Alright, thank you. And Nicholas, we've noticed that you're still wearing the Manx solidarity bracelet. Any particular reason?

NF: A big grin crosses his face. "Sure, it's simple. We haven't lost since I started wearing it. Why ruin a good thing? I don't even take it off to shower."

End transcript

[Bostopia]

Semi Final - Bostopian Region

Delaclava 0 - 1 Valipac

Valipac win the Bostopian Region and advance to the Final of the Baptism of Fire, here in Bostopia. Delaclava will play in the 3rd Place Playoff in Liventia.

Final

Valipac -v- Vaarshire | Bostopia Stadium, Fort Boston - Capacity 103,499

[Liventia]

Semifinal 1 (Liventian region final)
Vaarshire 1-0 Isselmere-Nieland

Vaarshire win the Liventian region and move on to the grand final in Bostopia; Isselmere-Nieland will remain in Liventia to play in the third place playoff at Grovers Park, Orean.

[Isselmere]

Football Weekly Special

Eagles crash out with first loss
Oscar Belham

Liventia - The Isselmere-Nieland supporters were out in force as their side suffered its first international loss today against a strong Vaarshire side.

Vaarshire heaped pressure on the Eagles from the start, but the defence weathered the storm. Vaarshire's Ryan Xavier struck the crossbar in the 13th minute and the post in the 25th. Valentine Naaktgeboren was not to be out-done, however, and lashed a superb shot towards the left corner requiring an amazing save by Felsingborgin in the 18th minute. The 34th minute saw mab Wercus clear the ball of the line from a belter by Samuel Gansevoort.

Mab Druist and Cohen had their own opportunities, but likewise could only either find the Vaarshire keeper, Daniel St. Paul, or the framework of the net.

Eventually, the pressure from Vaarshire told. Sylvester Morrison pulled down Xavier in the box in the 87th minute as the Vaarshire striker was about to shoot. Naaktgeboren converted from the spot, sending Felsingborgin the wrong way and the Vaarshire fans into ecstasy.

After the match, the Eagles and their supporters seemed aghast at the turn of events after having such high hopes.

"The better side today won, not much more can be said," Potherington admitted in the post-match conference before going on to praise his players for their efforts.

Vaarshire 1 - 0 Isselmere-Nieland
(Naaktgeboren 89'(pk)) - 0
Sendings off
0 - (Morrison 87')

[Valipac]

Valipac advances to the finals after beating Delaclava 1-0!

Alexander Marsden heads the ball on goal

The long and winding path of the Valipacian national football team within the Baptism of Fire comes to a close here shortly. Following a 1-0 victory over Delaclava, Valipac faces Vaarshire in the final. Having gone undefeated the entire tournament, with their only blemish being a draw with LeDoucheland in the group stages, Valipac looks set to win the tournament and become one of only 33 other nations who have already done so. A win would greatly boost the team's resume, as well as their KBP rankings as the group draw for the World Cup approaches. Standing in their way is Vaarshire - no chumps themselves - who just proved their worth by dispatching what many predicted to be the a better team in Isselmere-Nieland.

The game between Valipac and Delaclavia was fast paced, but surprisingly resulted in no scoring until the closing moments. Early in the first half, Nicholas Fitzgerald received a yellow card for a poor tackle. The card will not keep him out of the final, but it was enough to end his day early after only 30 minutes of play. Fitzgerald was replaced by the more than competent Lawrence Hart, but it was evident that Hart was not the playmaker Fitzgerald is. Aidan Wyatt played despite what has been revealed to us as a slight groin strain, but he hardly appeared hampered by it during his time on the pitch. Manager Terry Scott replaced him in the 67th minute with Mohammad Baker in an attempt to avoid overworking the healing injury.

Midway through the 12th minute, Zachary Watts recieved a driven cross from Valipacian Captain Leon King, but his header flashed just wide of the post. Delaclava took the goal kick quickly, and was rapidly on the counter attack. Keeper Harry Burke was forced to make a diving save on a shot from Fuentes, and the danger, however brief, was over. The back and forth pace of the game continued until the 40th minute when Delaclava managed a sustained offensive possession. A few crosses were negated by the strength of the Valipacian back line, and eventually a shot by Delaclavan co-captain Ichtyelkov flashed just over the crossbar with only seconds to go in the half. Burke put the ball deep for the goal kick, and the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the first half.

The second half was for the most part similar to the first in that neither side was really to gain an upper hand. Midfield play dominated the affair, with flashes of brilliant football being displayed from both sides, but nothing was sustained long enough for a true scoring opportunity. Finally, Valipac broke the tie in the 88th minute when a cross from Taylor Haynes found its way to Alexander Marsden in the box. Marsden headed the ball on goal, and the goalie managed to just keep it out, but the rebound fell right to Watts, who drilled the ball into the back of the net for only his second goal of the tournament. Celebrations ensued, but Watts was able to avoid a yellow card.

Within the final minutes, it was evident that the wind had been completely sapped from Delaclava's sails. The effort that they had displayed so pristinely for so long was all of a sudden non-existent. Valipac almost managed to score again when a defensive miscue let Freddie Cross have a clear path to the goal. Only a diving block by Delaclavan defender and co-captain Pope saved the goal and kept the game close. When all was said and done, only respect lingered between the two teams. There was no doubt that each player had left everything inside him out there on the field.

[Fson]

OOC: Aparantley i lost 2-0,


i didnt see this listed offically anywhere

[Delaclava]

OOC: Aparantley i lost 2-0,


i didnt see this listed offically anywhere

Fourth post on the fifth page. It's actually 2-1.

[Fson]

OOC: Aparantley i lost 2-0,


i didnt see this listed offically anywhere

Fourth post on the fifth page. It's actually 2-1.

ohhh..

well done good luck in the rest of this tourney,

Ill be rooting for you in the WC