AOCAF Cup 49 - Rosters/RP/Scores Thread

[Krytenia]

Beating The 'Blaydes Gives Navas A Semi
by Trevor O'Carroll in Ceilerden, Audioslavia

THREE for three. Three times, Krytenia and Starblaydia have met in the last eight, and all three occasions have seen the men in sky blue and white progress at the expense of their neighbours. That's not to say it was easy; it took the full one hundred and twenty minutes - plus penalties - to separate the two sides, but in the end it would be the Aces who came up trumps.

The atmosphere in the Silver Jubilee Stadium could be best described as "unusual". Sure, there were baying mobs of both fans, clad in sky blue and white or white and purple, cheering their teams (and booing throughout Starblaydia Triumphant and Celesta respectively); in between, though, a large contingent of neutrals, including a fair portion of Audioslavian fans who would have been quite happy for some freak accident or act of nature to take out the entirety of both teams. Still, though, the crackling sparks between the two sets of fans, and the two sets of teams in this ancient and fierce rivalry, were tangible.

The game, unsurprisingly, started in tense fashion. This was, after all, the first time the two sides had met since Krytenia's return to international football eight years previously. Lucas Cable and Dario Navas had both set their stalls out to contain in the early stages, with passes and tackles exchanged in the fashion of heavyweight boxers using the jab to feel out their opponents. The ball spent almost the entirety of the first half within ten yards of the centre circle, and the chances that did come were less than brilliant. Valrauncion shot straight at Jerzy Makuszewski; Jason Copeland, meanwhile, flashed a shot that had the beating of David Heaton but drifted well wide of the goal. The only other moment of note came in the middle of the park, where a clattering tackle by Samuel Alinas on Derek Williams led to a heated verbal exchange and a yellow card for the Avidia United man.

As the match looked to splutter on towards half-time, though, Starblaydia kicked into life and created the opening goal. Williams' pass released Vaino Nieminen down the right, and with captain Michel Demetrius stumbling, the Hernsworth man had room to find Copeland with a beautiful cross. Heaton was caught in two minds, Copeland out-jumped Alfie Xousa, and Starblaydia's number nine nodded into the unguarded net before being lost in a violet ocean of celebrating team-mates. A goal in this calibre of match, after all, is something to treasure.

The goal seemed to spark the Aces into life, and they began to put themselves forward with more energy and vigour. Their usual output of attacking ability, Armando Ortega, was finding it heavy going though; Marco Lopez is no fool, and was doing a sterling job of containing the youngster. Krytenia decided to pour forward at the expense of expanse, with Marco Angelo and Liam Larsson cutting inside to attempt to free up Ortega and play that free-flowing football that we have come to expect from the recent iterations of the Krytenian national team. Starblaydia's defence, though, had the measure of their opponents, and the Aces' only further chance of note was a long-range Alex Sampson effort that forced a decent save from Makuszewski. All this meant that the Men in Mauve were the happier going into the dressing room at the break.

The second half followed an unsurprising pattern. Krytenia looked to expand the midfield, pulling Ortega back from his usual attacking midfield role into a more central position to allow Alinas to put is some forward movement; Starblaydia, meanwhile, played with patience, allowing the Aces to stretch themselves before hitting them on the counter-attack. It's sometimes a tricky strategy to pull off against a Krytenian side that just look so comfortable in possession in midfield, with their intricate short passing and silky footwork, but if there's one team that's going to have the Aces' number, it's Starblaydia. Captain Kai Rodriguez marshalled his troops excellently; when that didn't work, Makuszewski was on hand to snuff out chances from Valrauncion or Sampson. There's a reason the Vecchio stopper is well-regarded on this side of the Beck; many consider him the second-best goalkeeper in the world...after Heaton, of course.

As the hour mark came and went, Navas decided it was time for a change of tack. With Demetrius struggling, the Krytenian manager decided to roll the dice and hope for box-cars, giving Adrian Anuzzi a run-out and pushing Liam Larsson inside to create a 3-4-1-2 formation. The tactic worked; with an extra body in the middle to contend with, Lopez couldn't put his entire attention on Ortega, and the young tiger was loosed from his cage. With eighteen minutes remaining, the Aces finally carved out a proper chance as Ortega and Larsson combined for a one-two before releasing the onrushing Angelo with a slide-rule pass. The winger shot well...too well, in fact. Angelo could only watch as his shot crashed into the bar before looping harmlessly into the crowd behind the goal.

A warning, then, for Starblaydia; a warning heeded, as Cable rang the changes, bringing on Stefani Negrini for the tiring Carmella Catanneo, who'd run her socks off for little reward. With Ortega once again shackled, Krytenia struggled to breach the purple wall. Less than ten minutes remained, and with a Krytenian attack leading only to a Starblaydi throw, Navas did something that many would consider blasphemous to this team. Nobody expected the fourth official's board to read "10" in red numbers - least of all Ortega, who looked genuinely shocked. Navas, though, had a plan. He'd seen that Starblaydia's second-half plan was to nullify Ortega...so what would they do with no Ortega to nullify? The green number "18", meanwhile, indicated a debut for David Holzmann up front as Krytenia switched to a 3-4-3.

Starblaydia, of course, took this as motivation to kill off the game. David Heaton had other ideas, as he saved low from a Copeland shot before smothering the rebound in front of Alberto Mattarino. With time running short, Heaton's distribution consisted of a hoof upfield; it was well-taken, though, by Sampson, who quickly laid off to Holzmann. His shot was well saved by Makuszewski's fingertips; sadly for the Starblaydi stopper, though, all this did was push the ball into the path of Anuzzi, who side-footed the ball home to put the scores level on eighty-six minutes.

Full-time, then extra time, came and went. Both sides were cagey in the added minutes; Starblaydia perhaps more so, the worry of a blatantly offside goal still on their minds after all these years. Not that there was any hint of anything untoward from the Cosumarite officials, of course, just perfectly healthy paranoia.

And thus, we came to penalties. Starblaydia had the honour of going first...then probably wished they hadn't, as Copeland thumped the post with his effort. Valrauncion would have no misfortune, thumping his kick into the top corner and leaving Makuszewski no chance. Mattarino, too, made no mistake, whilst Sampson had some good fortune when his penalty crashed in off the underside of the bar. Heaton attempted to second-guess Lopez, but was made to look a fool as he leapt high to his right whilst Lopez calmly placed the ball in completely the opposite corner.

Up for Krytenia's third was Daniel Holzmann, a man less than an hour into his debut. If there were nerves, he didn't show them as he thumped the ball past the Starblaydi keeper before he even had a chance to move. Williams, though, made no mistake with Starblaydia's fourth, leathering the ball into the bottom-left corner as Heaton, again, guessed wrong. Attention thus turned to Larsson. His penalty was well hit, and looked to be out of Makuszewski's reach; with cat-like reflexes, though, the keeper flipped his hand up to get a touch on the ball. The world almost appeared to travel in slow motion as the ball deflected upwards; it wasn't quite enough though, as to Larsson's relief the Starblaydia veteran's touch served only to send the ball into the roof of the net.

The pressure, then, was on Joachim Cayden. The defender had had a decent game, but none of that meant a thing at this point in time. If he missed this penalty, it was all over for Starblaydia. He shot low and hard; Heaton, however, guessed correctly and palmed the ball onto the post, and the tink that followed was the clanging chime of doom for the Men in Mauve. Heaton was immediately mobbed by the entire Krytenian squad; Cayden, meanwhile, looked a broken shell of a man as he trudged back to his dejected but sympathetic team-mates.

It seems a shame that this nerve-shredder of a game leads Krytenia only to two more games. It is an old friend and old nemesis that awaits next; the old friend being the combined might of Vilita and Turori, the old nemesis being the bane of Krytenia's existence, a semi-final. With Valanora following the big names heading home, though, there is light on the horizon. AOCAF XLIX is pretty much anyone's to take at this point.

KRYTENIA - 1 (4)
Anuzzi 86
(Pens: Valrauncion, Sampson, Holzmann, Larsson)

STARBLAYDIA - 1 (3)
Copeland 38
(Pens: Copeland (miss), Mattarino, Lopez, Williams, Cayden (miss))

[Vilita and Turori]

Eel-Cat Things to face Krytenia

Status as a Historical Footnote awaits

There was nothing long, or hard about the Vilita & Turori Eel-Cat things road to the AOCAF 49 Semi-Finals. When the group draw was made, it was immediately evident that the "Two V's" - Vilita & Turori and Valanora would easily progress from Group B.

In the end, Valanora struggled - but Vilita & Turori had little problems progress through as group winners conceding just 2 goals over the four match group stage campaign - a mark bested only by the ultra-defensive Greater Watford who conceded just 1 goal - though scored just 3.

For Valanora, a shock defeat to Lindmark on the final matchday nearly was their undoing but the former AOCAF and World Champions snuck through on a third-placed provisional advancement.

The final matchday was also interesting for Vilita & Turori - not because of the result, but because of the opponent.

The final matchday of the group stage saw Vilita & Turori square off against Tropicorp - the quasi-governmental entity located just to their south east.

Tropicorp's appearance in the AOCAF wasn't about winning, it was about learning. They didn't send in a team of experienced players, or people with lots of skill on the ball. I mean, sure, they were training together so as they did not embarrass themselves for one, and so they got good data for two, but thats what they were there for. To collect data.

They had ordered some shirts from JMC for the event but they weren't completed in time, so the guys from Tropicorp went on the field in white t-shirts with numbers painted on the back. In the rain, you could see right through the shirts onto the wired-up bodies of the imperfect specimen of scientists and data collectors from the coastal experimentation outpost.

By special request, Vilita & Turori were asked by one of the lead Tropicorp scientists - in secret - not to score any goals until second half stoppage time. They needed more data for how the players would change their game late in a match when a result was still possible but not yet achieved.

Knowing they were already sure to advance, and knowing that it was quite likely that the Tropicorp research would somehow benefit them down the line, Vilita & Turori obliged. 90 minutes came and went, and nothing had hit the back of the net.

Once stoppage time began, however, Vilita & Turori began peppering the goal and it didn't take long for them to put in the one that would win the game.

Expecting that Vilita & Turori had been sandbagging, the Referee blew the final whistle immediately upon the next kickoff, not looking for things to get out of hand.

The Eel-Cat Things had finished with a 3-1-0 record and 4 points clear of their rivals in Group B.

It was almost a similar story in the Second Round, where Vilita & Turori, heavily favored over the Western Sunrise Islands, were stuck in a level matchup throughout the 90 minutes and the full time whistle blew with the score at 1-1.

Once the extra time period began, however, it was all Vilita & Turori who would advance to the quarter-final on a 3-1 scoreline.

If they Eel-Cat Things were favored to win in the second round, then they were super-favored to win in the Quarter Finals when they squared off against Tallaga la Falla at the Lemmitania National Stadium. This time, there was no matadorian expose - the Eel-Cat Things scored early and scored often. Not as much as Osarius did against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, but still a lot. Vilita & Turori romped 5-1 in a rout setting up a Semi-Final clash with the winner of the epic Starblaydia v. Krytenia game. 1-1 after Full Time, 1-1 after extra time, it took Penalty Kicks to sort things out at the Silver Jubilee Stadium. It was a 5th-round miss by Starblaydi defender Joachim Cayden - his ball directed squarely off the post following a touch by the Krytenian netminder to send the Sky Blue army through to a Semi-Final where, once again, they will try to complete the story written partially by their ancestors so many eons ago.

There was a dream that was Krytenia. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile.

Will it vanish once again at the hands of Vilita & Turori, or will the tides of time finally come back around in Krytenias favor?

[Semarland]

Semarland advanced into the semi-finals of AOCAF 49 in dramatic fashion last night - a 5-2 win against Valanora after the game went to extra time with 2-2 the final score at the end of normal time. A mesmerising performance from Marc Strand was key as the 21 year old led Semarland into the semi-finals of the tournament - the furthest Semarland has ever gone aside from the Trindl and SHN Cups. A strong performance from Isaac Nketiah and Serge Mavididi and the Claro-Hunt twins in extra time was also to be noted as the future of Semarland looks to shape up nicely - with Martell Chalobah, Johan Huxley and Dequane Saint Etienne all impressing too alongside Tunji Tunde, though he isn't really a youngster anymore to be fair. Tunde controlled the midfield throughout the entire game and almost scored a scorcher too, with a curling effort tipped around the post by Valanora goalkeeper Aediron Galadirdren.

There were two late changes before the start of the game - Marcel Labonne and Jakob Lindesfarne both pulled up in the warmup so Isaac Nketiah and Serge Mavididi were to start instead, with Saint Etienne and Demba Cisse on the wings and Tunde and Strand in the centre. Tunde and Strand provided plenty of creativity in the middle of the park but they didn't offer much defensively, with Tunde often aided by the more steely Labonne. Chalobah and the veteran Matthias Karbruck seemed competent enough to handle Allandren Fresco and Dûrdur Celetholtinu, particularly the latter. Fresco was tricky throughout the game, winding his way in and out of the Semar defence and almost netted two minutes in but Marco Valbuena managed to get his finger tips to Fresco's sizzling 25 yard strike and push it around the post for the corner, which was subsequently cleared by Chalobah, who found Demba Cisse but the 30 year old's run came to nothing after he was literally shoved away by Revhil Lardireil.

Cisse has a good physical presense but was struggling up against Lardireil, with Tipio Runen more of a winger that would be able to deal with the Hondo FC full back. Needless to say though, Cisse looked great on the ball and played in a number of pinpoint passes into the centre, linking up with Strand who saw his effort deflect off the boot of Galadirdren and spin out for a corner. Johan Huxley took it, and Serge Mavididi met it in the air with a powerful header that zoomed past Galadirdren and into the goal, giving Semarland the lead exactly twenty minutes. It was a real stun to Valanora, who hadn't expected Semarland to take the lead in such circumstances. Valanora manager Vanauraiiel Nardironel was quick to criticise Morlaithan Aldamiel after the game, deeming the AC Izotz Zubia centre half to not have marked Mavididi competently enough.

It was true - it could have been easily prevented but Valanora were quick to respond with Laborious Hawk flashing a shot wide after the Elves bombed forward after the restart. Captain Hawk also had a free kick narrowly go over Valbuena's crossbar after Matthias Karbruck brought down Ilglerdiriel Lithvathar on the edge of the box. The Vanorians were quick to call for a penalty but the referee made the right call in pointing out that it was a margin outside the box. It was a very good from Hawk, undoubtedly one of the best players in the multiverse, but the Vanorians were starting to show their frustration with Lithvathar and Lardireil both receiving yellow carrds before half time for fouls on Dequane Saint Etienne and Marc Strand - probably the chief tormentors of the Vanorian defence. Isaac Nketiah missed a good opportunity to double Semarland's lead when Strand played him through on goal, but the Handon United striker fired over Galadirdren's bar despite being in a one-on-one situation with the Valnora goalkeeper.

Gonmucaethor Mithlithelen replaced Dûrdur Celetholtinu at the restart after Telecontarë striker Celetholtinu had a poor first half. He was practically in Chalobah's back pocket for the majority of the game, only coming close a couple of times with Allandren Fresco the star player in Valanora's attack. And Fresco would get his long deserved goal just seven minutes after the second half restarted. Fresco cut in on the left hand side past Matur Eiriksson and bent the ball expertly around Valbuena who rushed off his line to attempt to close the Ibini FC frontman down. It really was a spectacular goal for Fresco but a typical one for a player of his calibre. But he definitely amazed all the fans in the Antzerkia. Fresco put Valanora up ahead in the 60th minute with a header from a Laborious Hawk cross - and suddenly it looked like it was going to go pear shaped for Semarland. Abel Nkutu was brought on for Dequane Saint Etienne to add some experience, with Saint Etienne picking up a slight knock after Rainyardil Toraandal seemed to have sent him crashing down to the ground.

Turns out there wasn't to be anything to worry about, for Semarland though. On the 80th minute, Semarland equalised through Marc Strand. With his back to Galadirdren's goal, he tapped it to Tunji Tunde who returned with a neat chip as Strand swivelled, cushioned the ball and half volleyed home into the far top corner. It was a brilliant goal to cap off a brilliant performance, with Strand literally running everywhere throughout the game and providing the Semar fans with the occasional (quite often) flash of brilliance. He couldn't notch a winner though, as the referee blew for full time sending the quarter final time into extra time. Valanora decided to regroup a little, bringing on Belltherdon Cularin for Espy va Drake who had looked anonymous throughout and Ainglad Gwavaul for Morlaithan Aldamiel, who was almost close to being sent off after a string of fouls on Nkutu, Strand and Cisse.

Semarland then took the lead once more four minutes into the first half of extra time, with Isaac Nketiah grabbing a goal. It came after some good hold-up play from Serge Mavididi, who swivelled and knocked it to his strike partner who slammed home into the roof of the net. The duo were brought off five minutes before the break through - the young twins Rene and Reiss Claro-Hunt replacing them with Andreas Jansen switching to a 4-3-3 with Abel Nkutu switching to the right hand side and Rene playing on the left, with Reiss in the centre, and Tunde, Cisse and Strand in midfield. The latter trio often gave support to the Claro-Hunt twins and Nkutu. Abel Nkutu hit the bar just before the referee blew for half time, as both teams began to tire out. The midfield changed again slightly in the second period - with Tunde protecting the defence and Strand acting as an attacking midfielder, with Cisse linking both together.

Strand would claim an assist three minutes into the second part as he set up Rene Claro-Hunt for his first ever international goal. Strand played an excellent through ball to the left hand side which found the 18 year old, who cut in and curled home much to the delight of the Semar fans. Not just delighted because this practically booked their semi final spot, but for Rene who had looked so impressive on his previous two appearances this AOCAF and to get his first of hopefully many national team goals. And he then showed he had the skill to assist again too - Strand finding Rene's twin Reiss who chipped sumptiously over Galadirdren for his second international goal. And that was it - the referee blew for full time and Semarland were heading to the AOCAF semi finals.

The Semars will face our beloved Calanian friends Osarius once more at the Arena Kirola in a few days time - with a prospect of ever Krytenia or the combined force of Vilita & Turori in either the final or third place playoff. Even if we lose it has been a fantastic achievement to get this far and Andreas Jansen and Tunde Ajayi should be very proud of their team.

Starting XI v Osarius: Marco Valbuena; Matur Eiriksson, Martell Chalobah, Jakob Lunds, Matthias Karbruck; Dequane Saint Etienne, Marcel Labonne, Marc Strand, Demba Cisse; Tipio Runen, Jakob Lindesfarne

[Audioslavia]

CUT OFF!

Scores imminent..

[Audioslavia]

Semi Finals
Vilita & Turori 1–0 Krytenia
Osarius 2–0 Semarland

---

AOCAF 49 Final

Vilita & Turori vs Osarius
^{at the Arena Kirola, Cathair, Central, Audioslavia}

[Osarius]

Azarai Robinson could be forgiven for sporting a more-than-slightly smug grin after his Firebirds beat Semarland for the second time this summer, booking a place in a second consecutive AOCAF Cup final. "They handled the pressure well," the Osarius manager said. "We knew what to expect, and we knew it wouldn't be easy, but the team executed."

For those who had seen Semarland's remarkable fight against Valanora in the quarter finals, the semi final was a relatively quiet game. The toll of extra time against a quality side like the Marauders was evident as the high energy Semar midfield looked visibly slower in the second half. "I do think they might have been a bit hungover. But I saw the quarter final. It's not surprising there'd be a few guys who were a bit leggy after that." Osarius assistant manager Reiss Ryerson conceded. "It doesn't sound like much, saying we played thirty minutes less... but at this level, thirty minutes is a long time."

The talk of tiredness is not to say that Semarland did not make it difficult for Osarius, however. Dequane Saint Etienne was lively throughout the first half, troubling India Turner repeatedly and testing Monteforte on no less than three occasions. "He's quick." Turner grumbled after the game. "Not my favourite opponent." Marc Strand and Marcel Labonne combined well in the middle, too, pressuring Munoz and Bailey whenever the Firebirds attempted to build an attack through the centre.

The high tempo approach employed by Andreas Jansen was clearly causing problems for Osarius, leading Roberto Cormega -- who was commentating for OSN -- to remark on it. "It's a similar kind of style to teams like Polar Islandstates for example. The kind of team that Osarius have never quite been comfortable against." He said. It's reasonable to think that, with a fully fresh eleven, Semarland may well be competing in the AOCAF final.

It's not like the Semars controlled the game, though. There were plenty of opportunities for the Firebirds. Monroe was a constant threat, making direct runs whenever in possession, much to the chagrin of Norregaard. The Wye United fullback conceded four free kicks in the first half, eventually being cautioned after fifty-three minutes. Alan Drummond drew a foul from Labonne on the half hour mark, before putting the free kick inches wide; Valbuena rooted to the spot. Aaliyah Johnson would also threaten, forcing a spectacular double save out of the CSKA Quebec goalkeeper on the stroke of half-time.

Despite all this, the game remained scoreless until the sixty-second minute. Aaliyah Johnson stung Valbuena's palms from close range, winning a corner. Monroe floated the kick over, and Gianluigi Calabrese's thunderous header put the Firebirds in front. With the first goal on the board, the tone of the game noticeably shifted, with Osarius slowly asserting themselves more and more. By the time Jerome Monroe picked out Darik Samuels at the back post in the seventy-sixth minute, Osarius were firmly in control of the game.

The Firebirds' opposition in the final will be the combined team of Vilita and Turori. A familiar foe. The two sides have faced off against each other in two AOCAF finals previously, winning one each. "It's a final. There are no easy finals." Robinson said, when asked if he was concerned about the opposition. Last time the Firebirds and Eel-Cat Things went head to head in an AOCAF final, eight years ago, Osarius came out on top after a penalty shootout. However, six years before that -- also in Audioslavia -- Vilita and Turori dismantled an Osarius side containing seven of the eleven players who started the final of World Cup 70. "That was a really strong team, but somehow they crumbled in the final. Two years ago we had a really strong team, but we couldn't finish the job. Tomorrow we have a really strong team, but we can't crumble, we have to finish the job." Robinson said.

[Audioslavia]

AOCAF CUP FINAL

Vilita & Turori 0–1 Osarius

Congratulations to the winner, commiserations to the loser (and the 29 other nations who didn't win the tournament).

[95X]

Following the 95Xers blowout loss to Valanora that eliminated 95X from the tournament, the team's players gathered a final time in Audioslavia before heading back. They knew they did well on their own, but the lack of Xi Foureleven was felt in more ways than the score sheet. She was also the team's best defensive player as evidenced by possession stats, where opponents averaged two-thirds of the time on offense. Most intangibly, they all agreed that if a single one of them were 'religious,' they would describe Xi Foureleven as the team's "heart and soul."

None of the players blamed another or even themselves for being younger and less experienced or older and less nimble. It was just a different team chemistry that couldn't be matched on practice fields.

"But, that's okay," one of the younger female teammates said. "She's like, ageless, so her kid will probably play alongside her someday."

Bo Foureleven glared at them following that statement, looked down at the table they were assembled at, then said "actually, I'm kinda sorry I got her pregnant right now."

"Don't be!", several of the females immediately replied in unison.

Alessandra Leadbetter added, "and, as her teammate at Oceanside as well, I'm happy she's happy with you."

"Well," Bo continues, "it's not that. It's that she wanted me to tell all of you that when she returns for AOCAF 50, it'll be her last."

"WHAT?!" the other twentytwo players exclaimed. "No," and "that can't be" went around. Several of the younger players teared up, as Xi Foureleven had played for longer then they'd been alive.

"Yes," Una Solo added, "she told me something to this effect privately at one point."

"This was going to be her last one," Bo concluded, "but she wants to retire from the (National) Team as a player, not as someone who has to be wheeled out for safety reasons."

"But," Stacey Sunset began to ask, "if she were young for an indefinite period of time, wouldn't she dominate soccer the entire time?"

"Would you?" Bo responded.