World Cup 80 • EqueStar • Roleplay Thread

[North Prarie]

Anthony Labois @anthonylaboissports #FosbergOut RETWEETSFAVORITES 29,73752,722 8:39 pm - 30/4/18

Context: Labois is a leading sports blogger and writer within North Prarie. He writes for the Prariean sports blog Supporter.

[Filindostan]

FILINDOSTAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION
78 Calle Sturiaga, Benevido District,
City of San Marco, Filindostan

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

The Filindostan Football Federation is a body that governs the nation's footballing affairs and sanctions the development of its football clubs. Today, we will be taking steps necessary to improve our senior national team, and are announcing the departure of coach Willy Gurnawan and his coaching staff, after the national team's draw with Euran Oceania Territories, and from immediate effect.

This decision has been taken with careful consideration of the schedule of the national team. However, upon circumstances the federation cannot control, we have decided to terminate Mr. Gurnawan's contract. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Willy, his assistant Victoria Murielle Toledo, and his coaching staff, for their contributions to Filindostani football, that included a Baptism of Fire tournament win for the senior squad.

Ms. Bernadeth Marian Encarnado, current manager of the under-21 team, will be temporarily take over as caretaker manager until the Federation finds a permanent appointee. Individuals seeking a managerial role for the senior national team may send communications to the Federation via official channels.

sgd
Estrelitta "Estie" Barzagia
Chairman

[Kita-Hinode]

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union keeps winning and beats Nethertopia

Peregrinus City, Nethertopia - (NAP) After 6 games, the Alpine Union still haven't lost a game and, despite what a magazine from Razenthuria says, the Alpine Union deserves every of their wins. The Alpine Union travelled to Nethertopia, the former Baptism of Fire 41 co-host, and shutouted them 2-0. The Alpine Union attacked at the 27th minute when Sascha Welzmüller passed to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who dribbled and passed to Amelia Zalwowska who made a header pass to Jean-François Kleineheismann. Jean-François Kleineheismann heads the ball right into the goalkeeper's hands. At the 33rd minute, Bartosz Strzyzowski passed to Pawel Wawrzynkiewicz who dribbled with the ball and passed back to Sascha Welzmüller. Sascha Welzmüller made a long pass to Sarah Schroffenegger who dribbled and passed to Amelia Zalwowska who shoots and scores, 1-0 Bisons! And this is the score at the halftime.

Nethertopia attacked at the 49th minute when Player #8 passed to Player #10. Player #10 dribbles and passed to Player #9 but he's tackled by Krzysztof Januszkiewicz. It was a clean tackles and the plays continues. Przemyslaw Zawistowski takes the lose ball and passed to Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz who dribbled with the ball and passed to Amelia Zalwowska who dribbled and passed to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who shoots but he hits the cross bar. Amelia Zalwowska takes the lose ball and shoots over the net. The score is still 1-0. The Alpine Union attacked at the 65th minute when Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed to Sarah Schroffenegger who dribbled and passed to Cristiano Fernando who shoots. The goalkeeper tips the ball which goes behind the net and it's a corner kick for the Alpine Union. Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz takes the corner kick, he kicks the ball and it goes directly into the net! It's a corner kick goal for the Alpine Union and we're leading 2-0! At the 82nd minute, Bartosz Strzyzowski trips Player #11 in the penalty area and it's a penalty for Nethertopia. Player #9 takes the penalty, he kicks the ball and Zofia Kwietniewska makes a fantastic save to preserve the shutout. And the final score is 2-0 Alpine Union.

The Alpine Union has 5 wins and a draw in 6 games for 16 points and is tied with Valanora for the 1st place. Nethertopia and Damukuni follows in 3rd place with 10 points and 4th place with 8 points respectively. The Reprezentacja Alpejski's next game is at home against Damukuni. The game will be played at Tiger Stadium in Rockingham, home of the Chattahoochee Tigers. The Tiger Stadium is one of the largest american football stadium in the Alpine Union but it can also be used for soccer.

BOXSCORE
33rd minute: Amelia Zalwowska assisted by Sarah Schroffenegger
65th minute: Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz (corner kick goal)

YELLOW CARDS
Alpine Union: Sarah Schroffenegger and Bartosz Strzyzowski
Nethertopia: Player #2 and Player #7

RED CARDS
Alpine Union: None
Nethertopia: None

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Missing Soldiers Rescued, Death Toll Currently at 3

"In a surprisingly and almost satisfying development to the whereabouts of the stranded soldiers at the deserted island, several higher ups have announced that a rescue team was successfully able to save 27 out of the 30 soldiers from the crash. Information on the rescue is declared confidential for the safety of the population of Main Nation Ministry. What information is allowed to be revealed was that 3 soldiers still have died, despite the efforts of the rescue team. The following causalties were Private Sutherland Reginato, Pilot Kylie Kassis, and Cadet Henry Azuma. May their souls rest easily, as we will honor them even after death."

???

Cadet Henry Azuma mind was in shambles. The noise of white noise and static only filled his brain and ears, as he tried to open his eyes. There was some sort of light covering him. It wasn't the sun that was shining on him. The light was more white, where Henry realized he was staring at the moon. A moon at a nightly sky without stars. It was so beautiful, yet it was staring him down like a giant eye. He was relapsing into sleep, as if the way he had entered required all of his energy to enter this world.

When he woke up, his boots were out and his feet were at the end of a couch. His uniform was still on, and he heard the noise of what appeared to be a television. He was staring at a ceiling this time, where a fan was blowing air downwards. He turned to look over to where the noise was to see a little boy, his chest to the floor and his arms at his head, watching TV of random cartoons. "Hey kid? Where am I?" Henry sat himself up, as the boy looked over in surprise. "Mom! The dirty man is awake!" the boy yelled, where a woman appeared behind the couch to tend to Henry.

"You feeling a lot better, sir? Usually, tourists tend to go in the woods, despite our warnings."
"Wait, where am I?! Where's the rest of the others?!"
"Calm down! The Sheriff found you out in a clearing, unconscious. You need to get well and healthy."
"Hang on! Where am I?"
"You're in Hawthrone, Ohio."
"The hell is an Ohio?"

[Bostopia]

So, Laurryn took the road to her left, away from the madness of Melvin and ‘squid theory’ and what was undoubtedly yet another pencil drawing of what had supposedly happened the night that Emperor Boston had been kidnapped. As she walked toward the very last buildings in the business park, it became apparent that the road toward one of the last working docks in Port Flamerty wasn’t paved as well as the business park, nor were the pavements cleaned as often. Smooth slabs gave way to rougher concrete, while the grass which bordered the building side of the pavement suddenly turned into high chain-link fencing, preventing any would-be trespassers from getting in without a struggle.

The buildings themselves changed too, from clean, glass fronted office buildings, to the black/grey of large warehouses, looking slightly more foreboding than she had imagined this area would be. Thankfully, around a hundred yards down the road was what looked like a small pocket park created out of where a car park had once stood. It had been abandoned to grass and weeds some years ago, before the Council decided that it too needed to become a ‘pocket park’, which was the latest fad at the time. It wasn’t well used, but it had a bench or two and a small pathway through the middle of it, so it was good enough.

Every now and then the Council still bothered sweeping it too.

She picked her footsteps through some broken glass at the entrance to the park and found her way over to the bench, where she sat down facing the road and pulled a wrap she’d made that morning out of her bag. A thin slice of roast beef, red pepper, bit of salad, plus some salt and pepper, all wrapped in a tortilla. It didn’t taste too bad, wasn’t too expensive and was fairly easy to eat, so long as she remembered to take the cocktail stick holding it all together out first. It wasn’t long before she noticed three men heading from the docks, wearing dirty clothing and hi-vis vests heading over toward the same park that she was in, though coming from the opposite way she did.

Laurryn watched them and decided they weren’t a threat, just three guys, some thirty years older than her, looking for somewhere to eat as well. Though somewhat inconveniently, they took up a bench facing the road too, and not far from her, so her peace and quiet away from the office was short lived.

‘Dave’s a right prick’ said the first – ‘Aren’t all Daves pricks?’ the second responded. The third just laughed. ‘My next door neighbour’s a Dave’ he added, before pausing for tension and adding ‘he’s a prick as well.’ There was a few moments of silence before the second man asked – ‘What’s he done anyhow?’

‘Wants me to work Friday bleeding night. He knows that’s when I’m supposed to be playing.’ ‘Isn’t that when you’re footballing Gaz?’ the third voice asked. ‘Yes Phil. That’s what I said. It’s when I’m meant to be playing.’

Silence again. ‘Ah, right, yeah, you did say that.’ ‘Anyway, I tolds him, I can’t play Friday ‘cus I’m footballing, but no, he wants me to work. I reckon he’s got a tenner on the other lot. He knows they’ll boss it if I don’t play.’ ‘Gaz,’ the second man asked, ‘no-one bets on the games you play in. And aint you right-back anyway? You’re bossing nothing but the half time oranges from there.’ ‘Yeah, alright Andy, when was the last time you played anyway, with yer gammy leg!’

‘I’ll give you gammy leg!’ Andy yelled, yanking a piece of gammon out of his sandwich and lobbing it toward Gaz, who ducked, missing it by about an inch. This action of course, therefore didn’t alter the initial thrown trajectory or direction of the gammon, which sailed majestically through the air, only for it to smash into the already disturbed Laurryn, who dropped her half-eaten wrap out of shock. It landed in her rucksack, thankfully, but unfortunately, the contents spilled out inside of the bag. She turned to face the men.

Gaz responded first: ‘Oh-oh.’ The men turned to each other, half-hoping that if they ignored the very angry young lady, she would go away, while the other half of them still wondered if they had a chance of taking her out for a drink later. ‘We could do a legger?’ Andy suggested. ‘What, up and Jimmy do one, bruv? With your gammy leg?’ ‘Piss off Pete. You apologise to her.’ ‘What? Me? You lobbed it!’ ‘Yeah, and you said I had a gammy leg. Go apologise. Don’t even tell me it was banter.’

Pete sighed, stood up and turned around, expecting to see an angry young woman sat on the bench. Instead, she had walked off already, back down the road toward Westing ICT. Laurryn didn’t care anymore about the dirt on the road, or whether she was on the wrong side of town, what mattered was getting away from those three idiots and their meat-flinging ways. Her old bench by Melvin was preferable with this. At least she largely knew what she was getting with him.
By the time she got back to her usual bench, Melvin had put down his pencils and instead was listening intently to the radio, while holding his mobile phone in his right hand.

‘Hi Melvin’ Laurryn said, somewhat despondently, sitting down opposite him on the usual park bench. She poked one of his pencils with her finger, which he immediately put back in the right place. ‘Hi Laurryn!’ came an excited reply, oblivious to the day she was having so far. ‘I’m listening to the radio! There’s a man on there who’s an oceanographer and they’re having a phone in about… you know, the sea.’ Melvin glared out at the whitecaps breaking on the dark, fuel-filled waters again.

‘Alright folks, if you want to talk to Professor Kerns about anything ocean related, now’s the time to dial in to Free Flamerty Radio, on…’ Melvin had the number memorised by this point, as this wasn’t his first dial-in, but now was his moment, this was his opportunity to finally ask a respected scientist, an expert in the field, exactly what he wanted to know.

Laurryn sat and watched Melvin thump the numbers into his phone and then wait patiently as the phone rang. It answered and he gave a few details while a popular song of the day was playing on the radio. After three or four minutes, the voice of the man on the radio sprang back in. ‘Alright folks we have our first caller for Professor Kerns, Melvin from Port Flamerty is on line one, Melvin are you there?’

‘Hello’ Melvin’s response came, slightly more confidently than Laurryn expected. ‘My name’s Melvin and I’m from Port Flamerty’ he thought for a moment before adding ‘I’m forty-six. I have a question for Professor Kerns.’

‘Hi Melvin, this is Professor Kerns. Fire away.’

‘Would it be possible for a giant squid to kid-‘ Melvin’s voice suddenly cut out from the radio, the broadcast interrupted by an overexcited grown man, causing both Laurryn and Melvin to leap up off their seats.

‘It’s the third minute of injury time and Bostopia are on the advance, they’ve come from two goals down to level it up at two-all, the ball is played out from Marnfeld to Princes out on the right, Princes comes forward, taking the ball over the half way line, he plays a pass inside to Lampsworth, oh, it’s a lovely one-two as the ball is sprayed back out to Princes, he beats the Free Swiss States left back, puts in a fizzing cross and SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIL! IT’S IN! THE HEAD OF COOPER SAIL HAS PUT BOSTOPIA 3 – 2 UP IN THE DYING SECONDS! SURELY THEY’VE FINALLY WON A GAME IN QUALIFYING!’

Laurryn jumped into the air, not able to believe that football was finally back on the airwaves and the blackout was lifted, and neither that she’d just heard Bostopia win a match. Her day had actually got a little better.

Melvin, meanwhile, had sunk to his knees, fists clenched, arms raised above his head, though it wasn’t in jubilation. He had had his opportunity to finally ask whether Emperor Boston could have been kidnapped by a squid taken away from him by sport, which just didn’t seem fair. He stayed there for about five minutes, glaring out toward the horizon again, not bothered about the dirt build-up on the front of his polished black shoes, or on the front of his socks, or trousers. Slowly, eventually, he forced himself up off the ground, picked up his radio, and turned it off. Laurryn was long gone back into the office and listening to some very angry voicemail messages from a man who couldn’t figure out plug sockets by the time Melvin returned. They looked at each other for a moment – Laurryn swore later on she could actually feel his anger in that moment – then he wandered into the office and spent the rest of the afternoon in a sulk.

[Farfadillis]

"It's time for a double substitution. Zsolgar Zsase and Kósa Bajnok replace Groaré Sasca and Süns Söh. With Lázár Eleonóra still on the pitch, this marks the first time in history three Szoirsians play together at international level, breaking the previous record of two, established less than a month ago. Times are truly a-changin'."

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

Archard Rigozsoldos sat back and drank some more of his whiskey. He had played essentially no part in it, but he was proud nonetheless. Three Szoirsian players on the pitch, representing Farfadillis. Fifteen years ago, when he made his debút, it would've been unthinkable.

There are nine states in Farfadillis. Ferdullaele, Frion, Induja, Pacifista, Giotomalepá, Karuvis, Puerto Farolero, Ruland and Szoirsia. Some of them live and breathe football and have sizeable populations, like Ferdullaele and Puerto Farolero. Some others have the passion but not the numbers, like Ruland and Karuvis. Frion just has the numbers. The rest essentially never get represented in the Farf national team. It's a logical thing: they just never produce good enough players. Furthermore, Karuvis and Frion rarely ever produce good players. The Farf NT had been, until that point, essentially Ferdullaele + Puerto Farolero + Ruland.

It was precisely because of this that Archard felt immensely proud. Szoirsia was a pretty sparsely-populated state that had seen football sky-rocket in popularity some decades ago. The results could be seen now. Rigozsoldos had been the first "very good" Szoirsian player, leading René Skaé's efforts in the FFL. René Skaé, originally a club lurking in the lower tiers of the Farf football pyramid, had risen along with Szoirsian football. They were now firmly established in the top tier, and with things actually looking on the way up. He felt a part of this football revolution because he felt like a pioneer.

He was just a few years older than Lázár Eleonóra and had played alongside him. Lázár surpassed him soon and went on to become the first capped Szoirsian. He had now become a truly World Class player, arguably a top five winger in the Multiverse. But Archard had played no part in that, and he knew it.

He had played a part, however, in Zsolgar and Kósa's rise. As the two admitted to him when they shared a season at René Skaé, they had looked up to him in their early teenage years. Kósa was a centreback who really shouldn't have looked up to a striker like him, but the draw of having a single popular footballer share your ethnicity was probably too strong. Zsolgar, however, had evidently picked up some of his traits. He was very physical for a playmaker, just like he was physical for a striker. And he had a way of covering the ball that was very reminiscent of him.

In a country so multicultural and ethnically-divided as Farfadillis, how many players are from each state is a surprisingly touchy subject, believe it or not. The Rulandese seem to be more at ease when the starting line-up makes Farfadillis' NT a pseudo-Rulandese NT, while the Farolerans and Ferdullaelans unequivocally cheer for their players a lot more. Karuvans fanatised over Ror Jevdjevic-Hadsic because he had been a key player for long, while Szoirsians now did the same with Lázár Eleonóra.

Archard just kept smiling as he watched the game. He knew full well that, in a year or two, he'd be seeing a fourth Szoirsian player in that line-up. He was sure that Zsase would eventually take Sasca's place. He was even more sure that Bajnok would take Söh's. Eleonóra wouldn't be declining for another three years or so. And then there was Faragó rue Cazade, who at that point had made it very clear he'd one day be a key player for Farfadillis. He'd seen the kid play. He was on the same level Lázár was at his age, perhaps even better.

Oh, yes, Szoirsia would soon have roughly as many players as Ruland in the starting line-up, and he intended to enjoy every second of it. Szoirsia was here to stay.

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

"Bajnok with a well-timed tackle, and here comes the counter for Farfadillis. It's a pass to Zsase. Zsolgar holds onto the ball. He turns around. Lázár's running down the flank. It's a long ball to him. He's got acres of space. Lázár with the ball. He dribbles past the defendeeeeer. He shooooooots. GOL! GOOOOOOOOOL! Impressive technique and even more impressive finishing from the Szoirsian winger."

[United States of Devonta]

OCC: Credits to the Canterbury Tales for the idea

A Devontan Marines Tale

I have traveled many lands far and wide
Only Devonta's enemies I find
I still am in this very barren place
Stuck in some sweltering hot marine base
Through my service I’ve met many brothers
And I have lost some beloved others.
I have seen the atrocities of war
I listened as the artillery roared
It rocks through the mountains with a howler
As bombs were dropped by a prowling Prowler
I always have doubt the reasons we fought
But my weapon I hold onto so tight
It is the only way I can keep safe
Sometimes I feel a sense of profound chafe
And after I finally came on home
Mental and physical hardships I roam
Is it wrong that I came home safe and sound
While my brothers lay deep in the cold ground
My own personal war has just begun
But you'res may have already of been done.

[Qusmo]

The following is Cralt-Nirlo Fox's letter of application for the Filindostani national team managerial vacancy; it has not yet been released to the public.

Dear Chairperson Barzagi,

My name is Cralt-Nirlo Fox, & I would be honoured to serve as Filindostan's next national team manager. I have always been an aggressively-minded manager, & I believe that is just what the Pula Garudas need for the remainder of this qualification cycle. Gerry & the defense are not to blame, having maintained clean sheets in half their matches so far & never having conceded more than two in a single qualifying match so far. Instead, the next manager needs to find a way to coax Filindostanis into scoring. As I am sure you know, Filindostan has not yet managed to score multiple times in a single match, & they are currently in the midst of a 382-minute scoring drought. Filindostan’s performance against Euran Oceania Territories compared to other teams’ matches against the same opposition serves as an excellent example of this; Group 14 leaders Valanora gave Euran Oceania Territories a 7-0 drubbing, but the Pula Garudas were not able to manage a single goal against the minnows. That is what is wrong with Filindostani football today, & that is what must change.

Fortunately, that is something which I believe I can change. I was doubted throughout my tenure at KF Estraj. At 43, I was Pug Qusmyra’s second-youngest manager, & I had a squad that left something lacking to work with. However, in the inaugural season of top flight domestic football in my home nation of Qusmo, I guided Estraj to a 7th-place finish, when they were predicted to finish 13th. Estraj did not provide any opportunities for advancement, as they remain unwilling to invest further in a roster I can take further; thus, I decided to seek employment elsewhere. I was offered a job as Qusmo’s national team manager, but I declined, because I did not believe that Qusmo had what it took to compete on the international stage. On the contrary, I believe that Filindostan does.

I think that the evidence for this is Filindostan’s own history. The Pula Garudas have always put the attack first, & they have used that strategy to win Baptism of Fire 67 & to come a within a penalty kick shootout of claiming Campionato Esportiva XXI. Filindostan still has an opportunity to qualify to EqueStar 80, just as they nearly did for the previous edition of the World Cup; all Filindostan needs is a third-place finish to advance to the qualifying playoff, & they are still only four points behind third-place Nethertopia in Group 14 at the moment. As for its position in relation to other favourites to qualify, the Pula Garudas have kept within two points of Damukuni & are ahead of 95X in the standings. Filindostan can still do this. It just needs to hire the right manager, who is willing to make the right decisions to make Filindostan succeed.

I believe that I am that manager. We need to recognize what Willy Gurnawan has done right, & we must recognize what he & his staff have done wrong - & then work to improve it. The defense is solid, save for some daydreaming on the part of Alex Jampang & a poor showing against Savalen. We’ll have to make sure it locks down opposition attacks. The most pressing concern for me as a manager, however, is Filindostan’s own attack. Bochog has scored both of Filindostan’s goals in the entire qualifying campaign, yet Gurnawan did not want to start them. I recognize that others had hotter foots coming into the qualifying campaign, but Bochog has the hotter foot now, once we’re actually in the midst of that campaign. They must be put into the lineup. Finally, & most importantly, this team needs to work together. They need to understand that, despite their differences on a club level, they are all a part of the Pula Garudas now, & they are all representing Filindostan. Your next manager needs to make the team understand that.

Filindostan’s next manager will, doubtlessly, face untold challenges. You will need someone with the confidence to act boldly in quickly implementing the changes which need to be made, & you will need someone with the experience to implement those changes effectively. I presided over a primarily 3-5-2 system at KF Estraj, but I am willing to change this to accommodate the players, opponent, & situation at hand. What I have always held firm on, however, & what I believe can lift the Pula Garudas to success in this qualifying cycle, is a strong commitment to aggressive tactics & attacking football. With this, I believe that Filindostan can still be successful & can still qualify for its first World Cup this cycle. If you are willing to give me the chance to manage the national team, I believe that I can prove it.

Sgd.
Cralt-Nirlo Fox

[Petroslovania]

deleted

[Chromatika]

Matchday 6: Siovanija and Teusland 3–3 Chromatika
Goals: Mora '22, Croix-Pierre '59, Gail '82
Starting Lineup: Joy (C); Ruth - de Aea - Anderson; Kelly, W. - Mora - Armageddon - Kuzami - Croix-Pierre; Gail - Sierra.
Substitutes: McBee -> Ruth '52, Hellion -> Mora '63, Montague -> Armageddon '71
Game Summary: After the loss to Mriin, it was a bit of a worry that the team would fall into a bit of a slump. Letting in three goals to Siovanija and Teusland - Dinev, Romanov, and Leistner all scoring - put the Chromatiks a bit behind before Miranda Gail saved the seventh ranked team of the world a most embarrassing loss by scoring a beauty over Kleinmann's head to the left side of Venev to tie the match. Sierra's last-minute chance to have a dramatic win was saved by Venev. The result puts a huge emphasis on the next match - a home game against Kalumba, who somehow managed to tie against Mriin. Any result other than a win will put the Chromatiks a bit further back ahead of the group leaders. Mia Ria will be starting for the Chromatiks, trying to gain some major points in her quest to supplant Jillian Nier at goal.
Projected Starting Lineup: Ria; Morningstar - Aart - Damjana; Thorben - Sybill - Montague - Hellion (C) - Dragana; Victoriane - Andisori, K.

---

Ratings for Siovanija and Teusland vs. Chromatika
Joy, S.: 4 - Letting three goals in is not a good look for Joy, who had a really easy time of things in the Chromatik League. Playing next to these second and third stringers has made things much harder on her.
Ruth, A.: 5 - Dinev made mincemeat of her in their goal, faking her out immensely. Lacked pace in bringing the ball up.
de Aea, H.: 3 - The youngster really struggled against the opposition, being stopped more times than one. He's a bit raw, and this will be an important match for him in the long run, but had a rough go.
Anderson, C.: 6 - Pushed the ball up nicely to the midfielders to lead to the goals that the Chromatiks scored - the best defender on the field this day for the Chromatik side.
Kelly, W.: 6 - An assist for Croix-Pierre, numerous forays into the defenders of the opposition. Decent pace.
Mora, H.: 7 - One of the best games in Hermaeus's young career as he scores off of a free kick and assists on Gail's masterpiece of a strike. Worked well with the defense as well in set pieces.
Armageddon, E.: 6 - The one-eyed general spent most of the game trying to contain the midfield and pass the ball up to the forwards, but lacked discipline in working backwards to help out the defense.
Kuzami, M.: 5 - Was outmuscled a few times as her small frame was jostled by some of the bigs and her pace wasn't able to separate her as much as she'd have liked. Needs to be allowed to play when there's more opportunity to make use of her quickness.
Croix-Pierre, A.: 7 - Showed all of her skills - pace, passing, and headers - as she scored off of header off a free kick by Whitney Kelly.
Gail, M.: 8 - Scored the goal that tied the match. Really showed her pace and how she could definitely play versus taller opposition.
Sierra, R.: 6 - Was mostly a decoy for Gail to do her work, though had a few shots on goal that were fine.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Daily 2018
BP at the one third pole: just off the pace.
by Mindy Cartwright
National Soccer Writer

The Commonwealth National Soccer Team earned their first clean sheet of the World Cup campaign with a dominant performance over Coldfield in front of 17,775 at Old College Park in Southend.

The victory kept Baker Park in firm control of the second spot in the Group 6 table, now having taken 13 points from the first six matches. The next two matches will go a long way to determining the ultimate result in the group with a trip to South Toronto followed by a home match against Kita-Hinode.

The lineup was again a different mix of experience and up & coming potential; Mollie Pelletier got her second start in goal, with Susan Brown, JC Bartok and Tyler Messer in defense, Amanda Hayes getting her first start on left wing, with Naroun Patel, Steven DiPietro and Brianne Whitestone manning the midfield, and Jamari Bozeman in support of the forward line of Alex Sandoval and Sabrina Patton, getting her first cap in the qualifying tournament.

Coldfield seemed a bit ill at ease in the first several minutes of the match; whether they were responding to the notoriously slow pitch at Old College Park or the relative lateness of the kickoff, the visitors always appeared to be a step behind the the BP pace. Patel made repeated use of Hayes down the left touchline, and she in turn pressured RB Nicholas Wedekind with her ball skill and pace. Bozeman also contributed the overload of pressure on the defensive right side of the Coldfieldians, which led to the first breakthrough, as the Brentwood Borough man collected a poor clearance by CB Ryder Barnes, and found Sandoval free 7 yards out, who made no mistake to the top corner; with 19 minutes gone, Baker Park looked to be on cruise control.

During a period of decreased forward attack from the Commonwealth side, Coldfield made a brief recovery; they strung together a series of passes to find an opening for F Dean Murray, but his finishing was a step slow, and Baker Park withstood the pressure. On 40 minutes, Coldfield made a substitution, with Robert Simmons coming off for Chris Kucera in midfield.

The halftime whistle was greeted with an unusually loud roar, as if the crowd were already anticipating a victory.

The Commonwealth resumed their high pressing at the beginning of the second half, and began to harass the Coldfield defense into poor decisions and hesitant commitment; Whitestone stripped LB Anton Hesse clean just 16 yards from goal and fed the ball to DiPietro, who blazed his shot over the bar. Hayes continued her mastery over Wedekind with a tackle and recovery that found Bozeman open, but GK James Miller made a great save.

Although it wasn't a Saturday in College Station, it was certainly Ladies Night, as Hayes and Whitestone controlled the perimeter, and on 55 minutes Patton got her first international goal, from a DiPietro pass that saw the 23 year old from Llewellyn Turnpike Ladies slot home a shot just inside the post, and it was 2-0.

Piet Van den Bloom came on for Sandoval in the 67th minute and set up the final Baker Park goal; an aggressive chase on Hesse forced the Coldfield LB to put the ball into touch, Whitestone then playing the throw-in back to Van den Bloom, who spun away from the defender and drew the defense to him. Patel broke open in the box and received the feed, then laid off for Bozeman, who rifled home his first senior team score to make it 3-0 on 76 minutes.

Tracey Vasillias came on to replace Haller in central defense and Seth Schmidt replaced Patton with 8 minutes remaining. Coldfield found it difficult to build any sort of attack and at the final whistle, the sides exchanged handshakes and the home partisans honored the team with a standing ovation.

___________________________________________________________________________________

meanwhile, the crisis in Banija still was a work in progress:

Chris McGee: "we have been shuttling supplies in on 8 hour intervals. So far there haven't been any air threats against the cargo flights. Dukuma seems to be fairly secure, and the operation of unloading the planes and refueling has gone without a hitch"

Rebecca Schoenlein: "What about the authorized flights into Istria? Are there any problems on the ground there?"

CMcG: "none. The government seems to accept the incoming flights as a sign of goodwill. Of course since we don't have anyone on the ground who can give us good intel on what exactly they are doing with the water once it's been offloaded, we don't know if they are hoarding it, or distributing it as to their whims."

RS: "and where are we at on the ship that was sunk? Have we spoken to anyone in Equestrian States as to where they are at the moment? Tom?

Thomas Dixon: "I've been on the phone with the Foreign Minister, and they are calling it an act of war. Of course the Banijan government are trying to play it as a rogue captain gone crazy. But it certainly is putting ES into an untenable position. And of course, it puts more emphasis on our relief, seeing as how we are now the only ones able to supply the islands."

RS: "I am going to authorize our fighters escorting the cargo flights to return fire if there are any Surface to Air encounters, and also any Air to Air engagement. Pilots are authorized to shoot to kill on any aggressive response, if fired upon first. Larry, where can we spare a squadron?"

Lawrence Reid (Minister of State for Defense): "I've got B group, B squadron who can be in place off the coast of the islands within 40 hours. Achilles, Odysseus, Eleanor and Reliant. I think that might be sufficient."

RS: "Tom, tell ES that we will provide their cargo ships with cover within 48 hours. Larry, get B squadron underway ASAP. We'll forward orders to them while they are underway."

[Mriin]

aroundthehorn.mrn

Sizzling Slick Style
Sidelines Stupendous, Silly Scoreline

It's about damn time the NT got some proper kits made. I can't believe they actually showed up to two World Cups wearing those ratty old things sewn by the UA Knitting Club (allegedly)! Aer sportswear of Gloriax have triumphantly announced their return to production, with these suave Mriinian designs the first to be unveiled:

Sweet, right? Everyone involved really outdid themselves--keeping the spirit of the old clean and simple designs while polishing it to the nth degree. The stately pinstripes show we're here to do business, while the brazen gold sash flaunts what we have. I imagine the bit of fire on the keeper kit was Don exerting some influence; it's a little tacky, but in a charming way. Zilia rocks it all the same, and there's a bit of class that comes from the clear Starblaydi influence.

Zilia's first appearance in it was rough, though--as she started wearing purple, all her sanity and wits seemed to vanish betwixt the posts. It was statistically the third-most difficult match we'd have in qualifiers, away to third seeds Kalumba. Kahali National Stadium is a curio these days, a tiny fifteen-thousand seater for a national team to be playing in--but then, it's an island nation even smaller than Mriin, so probably for good reason; I was lucky to nab one of the just 800 tickets made available for visiting fans. Those sorts of stadiums where nosebleed seats don't exist and everyone is so close to the action have an intoxicating intensity, and that seemed to resonate through to the players as it was an absurdly active, end-to-end match. Hell, Solara managed to run herself off the field, Mako coming in for her before the first half was even up! Although considering she'd already dumped in a brace by that point, there's not much to complain about. The Kalumbans certainly didn't take that sitting, with the young strike partnership of the Kahali Spears spearing the Mriinian backline and finding 1-on-1s with Zilia that evened things out.

2-2 is already an exciting scoreline, even when this team has had its fair share of 4-2 wins over the last few qualifications. But even that would be too tame for this game! Aldo started the second half with a clinical header off a ridiculously long rainbow pass courtesy of Malia; Ollie Roberts immediately thrust the momentum back in the home team's favor, dancing up the field to set up Piet Von Kruger for their second equalizer on the day. Scoring quieted down for a bit at 3-3, but the call-response was broken as Kalumba snatched their first lead in the eighty-third minute, the Mriinians somewhat caught off-guard by Godwin Kuli coming on to serve as a sweeper--instead of helping to lock things down for the draw, he managed to find a loose ball and send them back forward for one more glorious push. Jameson Slutei was the one with the final touch, using his speed to secure a good vantage. In all honesty that was one goal Zilia really aught to have saved--but, as no-one had quite noticed until her lacklustre dive at that very moment, she looked remarkably tired. Seems the Chromatika game had taken a lot out of her, which is a bit surprising as she's been a proper workhorse throughout our WCC campaigns. Kostin got called in for a rare few minutes as time wound down, just in case, but with that deficit the offense kicked into overdrive. The Kalumbans held out admirably, as the full brunt of a Mriinian attack is a crushing experience, but in the second minute of injury time Mari managed to jink inside Vincent Mkure and secure that singular point.

Next up we'll be hosting Aji No Moto, who are doing quite well for an unranked team so far: in fourth with ten points through six games. And, more importantly, they're probably the tightest competition we have for "coolest kits in the group"; it's vitally important we show our dominance in all things fashionable! We'll likely also see Mara Solaani make her first start in a long while, to give Zilia a bit more breathing space to recover, so keep an eye out for how she performs.

[Sargossa]

It was the room of a sportsman. Football shirts adorned the walls, intermixed by team photos and various small trophies and pendants. They looked modest, suggesting the owner had enjoyed a solid career as a professional footballer but never hit any glittering heights. The room was murky, the sole occupant’s face illuminated by the glow of a laptop screen and the cone of light emanating from a desk lamp. Raúl Churín made a note in his pad as, on the screen in front of him, footage from a Liga Nacional game played. By his right elbow, next to a cold and forgotten mug of coffee, his mobile vibrated into life. He glanced at the phone, noting the name on the display, and hit the loud speaker button.

“Evening boss, I’m looking at the footage now. I think Tito might be right about this kid. If the money’s not silly I think he’s definitely worth a punt.”

“I’m going to have to let someone else make that call.”

“It’s not like you to be so hand’s off.” Churín sound quizzical before, suddenly, the centavo dropped. “No way! They offered you the job?”

“Offered and accepted. The compensation’s being worked out now.”

“That’s fantastic, congratulations!”

“Thanks, but there’s more. When Rafa left his assistant coach left with him. So I’m going to be needing my own man in the dugout. So Raúl, fancy the challenge?”

Churín sat in silence for a moment. This certainly hadn’t been what he’d imagined for his future when he and a young Rodrigo Defederico kicked a ball about as part of the academy project at their hometown club Dunas Del Sol. When his own journeyman playing career came to end he found his way back to that very academy, as a coach. He impressed enough to be promoted, eventually become assistant coach to the reserve side. And when his former teammate Defederico took over at the club he promoted Churín again, to the first team staff. Now he was being offered a huge new challenge.

“I mean . . . wow . . . I don’t know. Yes. Yes, of course.”

“Excellent, good man. Someone from the Federation’s going to be in touch, to get the paperwork sorted. And i’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

They said their goodbyes and Defederico hung up. Leaving Churín regarding the empty room. He got up and took in the memorabilia around him. A huge smile spread across his face and his fists clenched.

“Oh fuck! I’m going to be assistant coach of the national side!”

As he heard the words said out loud the smile slowly vanished. Snippets of recent Sargossa games and images of the current Group 4 standings flashed through his mind as the fists unclenched as the hands came up to cover his mouth.

“Oh fuck. I’m going to be assistant coach of the national side.”

[Abanhfleft]

2024-25 Fleftic Football Season Review Part One

That was a pretty rocking start to the Fleftic footballing season, wasn't it? It had everything: goals, mistakes, cards, action all around. And as we all know here in Abanhfleft, if something starts off like that, things can only get even crazier. So let's get on with reviewing the next two matchdays of the Fleftic Premier League and the Ladies' Premier League.

Premier League Matchday Three
Sporting Ceneisis 2–1 Xemlice Rovers
Locomotive Imgortur 0–0 Bananas FC
Electric Yugal 6–0 Wanda Island Wanderers
Rosenpfelblatz North End 2–1 Athletic Dorfdifving
Fleftic Army 2–1 Sarvusdalamoive
Paulsen FC 1–1 Malabon SC
Admiral Porcusces 0–1 Riuwiee United
Ludogorets Markovsky 1–1 Gyouza Young Lads
Marinos Thimpodopoulos 9–0 All-Inclusive Haranguer
Rosenpfelblatz City 3–1 Arsenal de Releinthi

Like I said, Abanhfleft is a pretty intense league, right? Whoever said that this league is lacking in goals? At the rate the goals per game ratio is going right now, this could very well turn out to be the highest-scoring season in the history of the Fleftic Premier League. And the surprises! Oh, God, the surprises! How about that early Saturday game between Electric Yugal and Wanda Island Wanderers, for example? Everyone was expecting this to be an easy three points against a team that just barely survived the drop last season and this season has already endured one six-goal loss. Granted, Yugal recovered from that by administering a six-goal defeat of their own against Dorfdifving, but really, everything in this game was pointing to a Wanda Island victory. So it was to everyone's great surprise when Yugal not only won against the Wanderers, but they won in such a dominating fashion that everyone is wondering where the Wanderers have wandered off. Ricardo Tavarez scoring in the 8th minute? Sure, it was against the run of play, and Yugal and Tavarez got lucky with the flight of the ball, but it was just one goal. Wanda Island can come back from one goal down. And then Helmond Green scored the second goal, followed soon after by Tsunehide Kamakura, and pretty soon everyone was thinking that maybe this could very well be Yugal's day. Green's second goal, followed by two goals in two minutes by Topher Wockley and an unfortunate own goal from Wanda Island's Ed Pinkerton eventually left Wanda Island fans in tears as they left the Mercado Memorial Stadium in droves after their team turned in such a shameful display.

But that's not all the devastation we saw in the league today. If someone was asked about which game they would be most looking forward to in matchday three, they wouldn't point to the Marinos-Haranguer game as something that they would want to see. But, after what had just transpired in Port Thimpodopoulos this Sunday, people might just want to watch this game once again both for the sheer absurdity of the result itself and the manner by which some of the goals were scored. It would be unfair to say that All-Inclusive Haranguer in this game were positively inept, but they very well could have done themselves a favor by not letting the opposition hit them for nine. Hannes Schaepdryver was presented the match ball for his perfect hat trick on the day, and Schaepdryver's strike partner Friedemann Aleshire chipped in a brace as well although it has to be said that Marinos were already winners on the day when Aleshire scored his second goal.

Now, turning our attention to games where someone won without actually humiliating their opponents. In the late Saturday kickoff, Sporting Ceneisis triumphed over Xemlice Rovers even though Marcus Tabarez scored in the 80th minute for the visitors to make for a tense and tight finish. Hamish Muir helped Riuwiee United past Admiral Porcusces in the Sunday noon kickoff while Rosenpfelblatz City finally inflicted a first defeat of the season to the defending champions Arsenal de Releinthi even though the Gunners were able to claw back a single goal through Jake Pimentel.

Premier League Matchday Four
Xemlice Rovers 2–0 Arsenal de Releinthi
All-Inclusive Haranguer 7–5 Rosenpfelblatz City
Gyouza Young Lads 1–1 Marinos Thimpodopoulos
Riuwiee United 1–3 Ludogorets Markovsky
Malabon SC 4–1 Admiral Porcusces
Sarvusdalamoive 0–0 Paulsen FC
Athletic Dorfdifving 2–2 Fleftic Army
Wanda Island Wanderers 4–0 Rosenpfelblatz North End
Bananas FC 1–5 Electric Yugal
Sporting Ceneisis 3–2 Locomotive Imgortur

The Fleftic Premier League never ceases to amaze and shock its viewers both here and abroad. One need only look at the early Saturday kickoff for matchday four as All-Inclusive Haranguer played host to Rosenpfelblatz City for proof of this. At the start of the matchday, Haranguer were the only side in the top flight still yet to pick up a single point in their games, and with Rosen City running on a bit of good form, it looked very unlikely that the Sand Tigers would get that first point in matchday four and lift themselves off of the foot of the table. And yet once again it was the team with no hope of winning that actually got all three points. But unlike the last time this happened, Rosen City actually put up a fight against the Sand Tigers and really looked like the side that would score the next goal with the game at 6-5 in the final ten minutes. And it was a Rosen City player named Holland Emilianovski who did score, but unfortunately for City, Emilianovski scored in the wrong net and put this game in the history books as the second twelve-goal game in the current season. Is there at least one more such game waiting in the wings? There's no way to tell at the moment but the way things are going, it wouldn't be implausible.

This matchday was also not lacking in terms of big games. In fact, there were so many big games that they couldn't be all fit into a single weekend, and thus Monday Night Football featured both association and American football once again. But the biggest among those games was the Xemlice-Arsenal matchup. Remember that it was Xemlice and Gustavo Potter that put an end to Arsenal de Releinthi's dreams of achieving a second undefeated season last season at Oubie Park with Gustavo Potter's late goal, and some Arsenal fans still harbor a bit of resentment to the Roses so this was guaranteed to be a fighting match. And, wonder of all wonders, Xemlice won once again, thanks to an early Corey Wheeler strike and a header from Todd Powell. Over to the Sunday games, Riuwiee versus Ludogorets was arguably the pick of the bunch, and it didn't disappoint. Galahad Sekibo struck first for the home side in the 45th minute, right at the end of the first half, but the second half was all Ludogorets with Gregor Weinzierl, Pereira and Oleg Zyenalin all getting on the scoresheet. Wanda Island Wanderers recovered from their getting hit for six by Electric Yugal by scoring four past Rosenpfelblatz North End, although it took an own goal from Soren van Nyx before the floodgates finally opened for the Wanderers. And Sporting Ceneisis' three goals in the first half was enough to secure them victory at home against Locomotive Imgortur on Monday Night Football.

Ladies' Premier League Matchday Three
Keephall Valkyries 3–3 Arsenal de Releinthi Ladies
Ludogorets Markovsky Ladies 2–3 Sporting Ceneisis Women
Riuwiee United Women 1–1 Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies
Marinos Thimpodopoulos Women 3–0 Kimmirut Panhandle Women
Pawwazim Ladies 0–0 Xemlice Rovers Ladies
Sarvusdalamoive Ladies 4–3 Uthilmir United AFC

Once again we turn our attention to the Ladies' Premier League and right now, it looks as if Arsenal de Releinthi Ladies is actually stoppable, at least a little bit. Cecilia Johnson gave the Lady Gunners the absolute dream start with a goal right in the very first minute of gameplay, and Chelsea Stuart was able to make it two in thirty minutes before Keephall mounted the comeback of the LPL season in the second half, first with Dianne Vendetti imitating Johnson almost step-for-step for the Valkyries' first goal in the first minute of the second half and then Jasmyn Strnad and Sinead Rojas both striking within the span of four minutes. It was only through Jacqui Brownlowe's 78th minute goal that Arsenal Ladies were able to salvage a point in this contest. On one hand, the fact that Arsenal gave up a 2-0 lead is quite shocking to say the least, but conversely, the fact that they were able to sneak a point from under the noses of the Valkyries is supposedly the mark of a champion, the ability to create something out of nothing.

In the other "big" big match of the matchday, Sporting Ceneisis Women managed to win away to Ludogorets Markovsky Ladies. The Lady Blues hadn't always had the best of luck against the Lady Foresters when Ceneisis play Ludogorets at the Stadium of the Old Forester, but this time it was the Lady Blues that walked away with all three points. Goals from Ma Ailan and Jacqui Hastifer within one hundred seconds of each other gave Ceneisis a commanding 2-0 lead five minutes from half-time before Bogdana Kirillich made it interesting again for the Ludogorets perspective, and then Allison Torres finally killed off the game with a sweet strike in the 80th minute (it's always in the 80th minute that this happens, doesn't it?). On a side note, Sarvusdalamoive's 20-year-old forward Zoey McNair scored the latest goal in the current LPL season with her 96th minute strike, which secured victory for the Pinks against Uthilmir United.

Ladies' Premier League Matchday Four
Arsenal de Releinthi Ladies 4–2 Uthilmir United AFC
Xemlice Rovers Ladies 2–2 Sarvusdalamoive Ladies
Kimmirut Panhandle Women 4–2 Pawwazim Ladies
Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies 1–1 Marinos Thimpodopoulos Women
Sporting Ceneisis Women 0–1 Riuwiee United Women
Keephall Valkyries 2–2 Ludogorets Markovsky Ladies

Nothing much to report from the LPL on matchday four as there was little in the way of unexpected results. Arsenal Ladies strolled to an easy victory over Uthilmir United, and so did Kimmirut Women over Pawwazim Ladies. Rosen City Ladies and Marinos Women played out a score draw between each other, with Alex Rousseau and Miriam Hannibal netting for each team respectively. Pandora Reimfeller's 84th minute cross-cum-shot was enough for Riuwiee Women to walk away from Ceneisis Women with all three points. And Keephall managed to salvage a draw against Ludogorets Ladies after late goals from Toshiko Stefanik and Aika Prince.

And that's all for part two of our Fleftic football review. Tune in at this same time at the same place for more matchday reviews! Paalam!

---

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ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

WORLD CUP 80 QUALIFIERS: ABANHFLEFT VS COPPER CUPRUM
By Malik Qazizadah


The Abanhfleft women's national football team celebrate Chelsea Stuart's goal against Copper Cuprum in the World Cup 80 qualifiers. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

RELEINTHI - Abanhfleft's struggles to string together a good run of results suffered a fresh setback after a very late goal from Tyrone Zudazet saw the Copper Men take a well-deserved draw against the Lady Revolutionaries.

Abanhfleft was coming off of a morale boosting victory over West Angola from the previous qualifier and the national team manager Heinrich Wurzmann restored the starting eleven that started off this current qualifying campaign against Spaceania.

And while it didn't look like it at the start, Wurzmann's decision appeared to have paid off when Chelsea Stuart managed to get away from her marker to stroke home the opening goal of the game and give the Lady Revolutionaries the lead that their relentless pressure from the past ten minutes had merited.

Alexandra Rousseau then doubled the Fleftics' advantage just six minutes later with a bullet header from Lillian Prescott's cross into the box, and in the final minute of the first half, Rousseau could have and should have increased the Lady Revolutionaries' lead to three goals from Prescott's cutback, but this time the Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies striker could only send the ball just wide of the posts.

Once again, though, it became a game of two halves as Copper Cuprum came out of the locker rooms the more invigorated and motivated side, and this showed for the entirety of the second half, with the Copperite players fighting for 50-50 balls and generally making themselves a nuisance for the Fleftic team.

The Copper Men would finally get their just rewards for their efforts as an errant back pass by Dawn Jackson was picked upon by Aramok Todeyet who chipped the ball over Victoria Carter for Copper Cuprum's first goal in the game.

Following the Copperite goal though, Abanhfleft did regain their composure and began mounting attacks on the goal once again, and Adelaide Singh did manage to find the back of the net just four minutes after Todeyet's goal but the linesman belatedly raised his flag for offside, which would turn out to be the correct decision in the end.

Lazar Denisov also came close to scoring the equalizer as he sent his header just wide of the posts from Copper Cuprum's one and only corner kick, and Fleftic substitute Erin Jensdottir-Jennings blasted a shot over the bar of Enera Temoyo's goal in the 85th minute.

In the end, it was the two Copperite wingers Opatop Lazarovski and Tyrone Zudazet who combined to conjure up the second Copperite goal and the equalizer for the Copper Men; Lazarovski crossed into the box in the 89th minute and Zudazet controlled the ball magnificently before smashing it in on the half-volley to earn his country a massive point against their APOC Coalition ally.


Abanhfleft women's national team manager Heinrich Wurzmann: There is "intense" pressure to correct the course

Abanhfleft women's national team manager Heinrich Wurzmann: "Yes, we are under intense pressure to finally steer this ship back onto the right course, which is to win games and get into the qualification spots. Anything less than a win is not good. That's the simple fact. This job gets tougher by the minute, and the pressure is getting to us all. Inconsistency will get us nowhere."

    ABANHFLEFT 2 - 2 COPPER CUPRUM
  STUART (27')       TODEYET (59')
ROUSSEAU (33')       ZUDAZET (89')

COPPER CUPRUM
GK: 1 Temoyo
RB: 2 Batuba (Itoro - 50')
RCB: 20 Tukuku █
LCB: 5 Chidagi █
LB: 3 Denisov
RM: 6 Toroto
CM: 7 Zuniga
LM: 8 Tofodo (Haroba - 59')
RW: 10 Lazarovski
CF: 12 Todeyet
LW: 11 Zudazet

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 1 Carter
RB: 2 Osgood █
CB: 4 Jackson (Hannibal - 64')
LB: 3 Valentine
RM: 5 Maynard
LM: 6 Choi █ (Erin - 78')
RW: 7 Prescott
CAM: 10 Torres
LW: 8 Singh
RS: 9 Stuart
LS: 11 Rousseau (McGinnis - 70')

MATCH STATS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 51%
Copper Cuprum: 49%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 12 (6 on target)
Copper Cuprum: 10 (5 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 7
Copper Cuprum: 1
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 20
Copper Cuprum: 24

[Nephara]

Nephara 2 - 4 Cereal Tvisledalen
(4-2-3-1) 20 - Mercator; 2 - Asante (s/o 17'), 5 - Konoval (c), 6 - Theuer, 3 - Lohengrin; 23 - Carrow, 15 - Shone; 7 - Saroszi, 14 - Moxham (18 - Brymora 18'), 16 - Staunton (11 - Strongbow 45'); 10 - Kendall (9 - Hawke 56')
Goals: Strongbow 66', Lohengrin 81'

Leona Rafford wasn't the sort to take much joy from schadenfreude. At least, not when it was someone she knew, and mildly liked. But, fuck, at least for once it hadn't been her.
See, what you had to understand is Nephara had a history with rightbacks. They weren't, by and large, very good. That means that the ones that were very good - hi Sasha Christener! - tended to overstay their welcome, hung around just that little too long before the manager sighed and tossed in a Gareth Westmead or a Markus Rhein for a few uneasy years in the spotlight. Good players, sure, but not winners. Not earners.
Rafford was an earner. There weren't many other earners around at the moment and indeed the question was starting to be asked; who exactly would be the next earner after her? Maybe that was going to be Ruon Asante! But not for the next while, since after the Incident against their last opponents he had a target on his back the size of Corvistone.
She'd been rested at the time, on home, and had laughed. Right up until they lost the fucking game. Murmurs of Tveidalen abounded, and Brandon did his best to put them to rest. "Anything can happen in ninety minutes," he'd insisted. "Champions are judged over tournaments." All outward calm. In the dressing room, Rafford had been told, he'd opened his postmatch team talk by ripping the door out of its hinges and hurling it across the floor... and then given them the calm, no-pressure, just-one-slip talk. No denying he had their attention, standing there, an island of calm with splinters of wood falling from his hands...
The message had been clear, and made its way along the line to those waiting at home. Waiting for the call. Like her.
She'd had her own controversy, of course. In a way, she could relate to poor Ruon and his wayward studs. But her controversies tended more towards the... off-pitch. Drink, sex, nightclubs, and fortunately never drugs. Which is to say she'd never been caught with drugs. She was 'difficult' to work with, and some people thought that meant she needed to be changed, moulded. Unfortunately, she'd had proud, overbearing hard-arses on her back for both club and country for a while now... but Brandon had learned where Brosque hadn't. Much as it might be a good idea to treat everyone the same, you just couldn't. Rowland demanded to be pushed to her limits every day of every week, Hawke would never admit it but needed an arm around his shoulder every now and again, Klein would always do exactly what was asked without complaint and never an inch further. All Rafford needed was a blind eye every now and then, and a bit of understanding. Then she'd run through walls for you.
And that was why she was still here against Flardania, through all the bullshit, despite a personality that seemed totally at odds with her manager. She was the best Brandon had, and so in Brandon's eyes earned a little slack.
It was time to prove why she was worth it.

NEPHARIM NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 4
Goalkeepers: 1 - Apostolos Tsattalios (Falourr, EUR), 12 - Gideon Fletcher (AFC Treason), 20 - Anthoulis Matraxis (Creed United)
Defenders: 2 - Leona Rafford (Crisisbless), 3 - Sieglinde Lohengrin (Crisisbless), 5 - Dieter Konoval (KT Moreazerua, AUD), 6 - Ryan Theuer (Falourr, EUR), 18 - Danijel Brymora (Brinemouth), 19 - Isidra Jeurissen (Cornellians, SCT), 22 - Trajan Bruyne (Mallox, COS)
Midfielders: 4 - Monica Rowland (Bastion, EUR), 7 - Adnan Szalai (Ulsa, EUR), 8 - Rusalka Klein (Crawford City FC, COS), 11 - Rowena Strongbow (Directus, EUR), 13 - Ishtar Fanaiyan (Eastweald, COS), 14 - Ursula Rowan (Cassandra City, COS), 15 - Circe Rosenthal (Marionville, SCT), 16 - Regatta Aspenwood (Handon United, SCT), 21 - Konrad Gosforth (Mâ Âlâmëómë, FFD, c), 23 - Servet Misidjan (AFC Treason)
Forwards: 9 - Estrella Hawke (Sabrefell Athletic), 10 - Heron Kendall (Port Sebastian, SCT), 17 - Dragan Stavanger (Tannenberg FC, VLD)

SCHEDULE
Lisander 1 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Audioslavia @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Tinhampton 0 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 4 - 0 Dalmat @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Frozen Forest 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 4 Cereal Isle @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Flardania vs. Nephara
Dance 2 Revolution vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Kopyk @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Nephara vs. Lisander @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Audioslavia vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Tinhampton @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Dalmat vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Frozen Forest @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Cereal Isle vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Flardania @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Nephara vs. Dance 2 Revolution @ Godswatch (Crisisbless)
Kopyk vs. Nephara

[Brenecia]

Sargossa 0 - 2 Brenecia
(4-1-4-1 / 4-4-2) 1 - Woodgate; 2 - Carrack (5 - Beath 65'), 18 - Heneghan, 6 - Szubanski, 3 - Quill; 4 - Gryphon (c); 7 - Crowther, 21 - Case, 8 - Hartsdown (13 - Wheeler 76'), 11 - Ashbrown; 9 - Riordan (17 - Bannion 68')
Goals: Riordan 53', Gryphon 71' pen

SPANG.
It was a horrible, horrible sound, as Gryphon's penalty struck clean and true... into the post. Away from home, in the crunch match of the group, Guerrero had stuck out a leg, Ashbrown had perhaps dragged her own and tumbled, the whistle blew and Gryphon confidently strode to the centre circle, their heroic captain. And she'd totally fucked it.
Nominally, there was some time left to go, but in first-half injury time? Yeah, no, the moment that shit was cleared the whistle blew again, and they slunk back into the tunnels.

Perhaps another time, they'd have been denied. Let Sargossa work their way back into the game. Woodgate had already been worked more than once, Sargossan physicality and power and raw sexual energy rampaging down the field... but no. Seconds into the second half, Falcon Case bodychecked Espina. They weren't going to go down that easy.
So they worked their way back into the match, forcing their way back into their hard-won ascendancy. Reid had told them that the world wanted them to fail, that nobody cared about little Brenecia, nobody wanted them in their grand World Cup, they had no name, no history... fuck that. Fuck all of that. They would grab the game by the scruff of the neck and win just by existing, outlasting their opponents, dragging them into the floor...
After eight long, agonising, dire minutes of Sargossa trying to play football and then getting kicked, Brae Crowther beat Valenzuela for pace, lofted in a beautiful cross into the centre of the box and Griffin Riordan leapt to meet it. 1-0. Riordan raced along the away crowd, shirt ripped off and thrown into the stands, a very exuberant way to time-waste as an alternative had to be found from the kit bag.
The match ground on, and something of the sting went out of the game, both in Sargossan attack and in Brenecian defence. Still time for Vecino to skim the outside of the bar with a thunderous strike, just given too much room as time stood still for a second - get a grip, Catherine! Gryphon berated herself. Saavedra came in off the bench and with his first touch lashed a vicious strike towards the top corner... but Woodgate, without a save to make for the last half-hour, sprang up and pawed the ball away, and that was when Sargossan hearts began to sink, when it became clear it was not their day.
And that's when it happened. Another run from Ashbrown, a jink inside past Guerrero and this time she was properly clattered by Gonzales behind. He protested, but this was far more a penalty than the last.
"I'll take it, Cath," said the substitute Bannion, well-meaning and desperately in need of a goal. She hustled over to grab the loose ball, took a look at her silent captain... then sighed, and tossed it over. There was something in her eyes.
She planted the ball on the spot, stepped back. Took a deep breath. Heard the whistle.
This time, she made no mistake.

BRENECIAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 4
Goalkeepers: 1 - Mathis Woodgate (Spartangrad, EUR), 12 - Rostyn Calhoun (Barbury Town, APX), 20 - Rosalind Buchanan (Lunas FC, PAS)
Defenders: 2 - Brun Carrack (Bengtsmark IF, BYN), 3 - Morwen Prentice (Westpike United), 5 - Chadwick Beath (Blue Coast 1981, PCR), 6 - Niko Szubanski (1830 Cathair, AUD), 18 - Russ Linvoy (Kirk Preston United, SCT), 19 - Siri Cattalock (CA Paulinthal, PAS), 22 - Garwyn Varney (Soldarian FC, VAL)
Midfielders: 4 - Catherine Gryphon (Cornellians, SCT, c), 7 - Brae Crowther (Chenoworth Harriers, NPH), 8 - Meghan Hartsdown (Kings Park, SCT), 11 - Tiferet Ashbrown (Kings Park, SCT), 13 - Corby Wheeler (Goldstaff City, COS), 14 - Claire Ruskin (Southern Star), 15 - Cu Roi Garrard (Rene Skae, FFD), 16 - Cathal Keynes (Snowden River), 21 - Falcon Case (Goodfeather FC, NPH), 23 - Catsidhe Alweather (Eastal Lunar, VIL)
Forwards: 9 - Griffin Riordan (Klyde, COS), 10 - Vesuvia Carrick (South Laithland, NPH), 17 - Aelfwynn Bannion (Goldstaff City, COS)

SCHEDULE
Brenecia 2 - 1 New Lusitania
Lochario 0 - 2 Brenecia
Brenecia 2 - 0 Indusse
Juvencus 2 - 4 Brenecia
Brenecia 1 - 0 Olastor
Sargossa 0 - 2 Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Stetzra
Brenecia vs. North NSW
Tobiasia vs. Brenecia
New Lusitania vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Lochario
Indusse vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Juvencus
Olastor vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Sargossa
Stetzra vs. Brenecia
North NSW vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Tobiasia

[Schottia]

Enrico Hanson-Conavacio

Part Seven.

Set Piece Duties.

Outside the Regional Academy, Central Handon.

Enrico strode up to front doors of Handon's Regional Development Side training facility with all the confidence and swagger of someone who owned the place. He had rejected his grandmother's offer to accompany him on the tram; he wouldn't have been seen dead with Old Mrs Hanson. Enrico Hanson-Conavacio was eleven going on twenty-one, he could take the tram by himself, and that is what he had told his grandmother.

His mother would have killed him of course, but what she didn't know she couldn't get mad about. Anyway, the trouble he had gotten in over incident with Mr Hughes and the axe eclipsed anything else he could possibly do. Like a political spin-doctor, it was probably a good plan of action to get as much shit out from under the rug, while his mother was distracted. His lifetime of mischief was slowly grinding the woman down; a couple more years and she would have just given up trying. Breaking his mother's resolve was a fine art Enrico had been perfecting for years.

The Regional Development Complex, was a large, modern looking building, situated just behind the University of Handon's East Campus. The sleek glass exterior glimmered the early morning sun, making it only just possible to see the expanse of training pitches, gymnasiums, and offices within. The Academy took players from the age of twelve upwards, and had its own secondary school and higher education programmes. The whole thing was an enormous operation, and the national academy set up had helped produce some of the countries best known stars. The fact that it catered for kids from such a young age made it the perfect place for the under-twelves to meet, and for the coaches to put them through their paces.

Enrico had always wondered where he would end up playing, and for whom. Eligible to play for Schottia, San Jose Guayabal, or Quebec, it was up the air for most of his childhood, until two of the three took themselves out of the running. In all honesty, he would have played for whoever were highest ranked, and would have had no qualms about switching. He had no loyalties, and he couldn't give flying-flip whether or not people liked him. Enrico was good enough not to be liked (or so he wholeheartedly believed). Whether he were liked or not, he was needed - he had an ability which he knew would render him indispensable. He had been brought up idolising wild eccentrics like his father, his "Auntie" Hazel van Robben, and latterly Corinne "CMB" Martel-Burns. But he would top them all though, he was going to be the biggest, the baddest, and craziest–

'Hey! Want to watch where you're blooming going?'

Enrico, daydreaming, was sent spinning to the grownd as connect with something hard, and found himself, much to his embarrassment, plonked firmly on his bottom. 'Watch where I'm going..?' The player got to his feet, fists at the ready.

'Yeah. You're marching along there swinging your arms like some sort of...' Enrico finally focussed his attention on the source of the upheaval, a small, blondish-pinkish-haired girl, who was currently nursing a bruised arm, picked up in the collision. She cut off mid-sentence; her eyes noticeably shifting to his clenched fists, as his posture clearly made her feel uneasy. '...Some sort of... nutter.'

'You're the one who wasn't looking where they were fucking going.' Enrico picked up his kitbag angrily. Did she not know who he was..? 'If you're going to fuckin– ' Enrico stopped mid-word as - with a roll of her eyes - the girl turned from him and headed through the doors and into the Regional Development Complex.

She walked away from him... She actually walked away from him. It wasn't through fear; it wasn't because being in the presence of a player of his ability could be intimidating; she just couldn't be bothered with him. As far back as he could ever remember, Enrico had never been shown such utter disrespect, and at that moment, he wasn't sure how that made him feel.


Inside the Training Complex

Tess Maitfield grimaced as she watched Enrico hit his free-kick, knowing that she was up next. The Manechester United starlet was at least fifteen centimetres taller than her, and had a leanness and a ranginess that made her feel like a little pudding by comparison. The coaches were currently deciding on set piece takers, as working with an entirely unknown set of players, they were keen to get the basics nailed down early on. At under-twelve level you couldn't expect too much, and the tournament was merely about giving the players some experience. In the two hours since they had arrived, the squad had already been told repeatedly that results weren't as important as what they took away with them and the knowledge they gained. When they asked the players to form a line, and show what they could do in terms of dead-ball skills, Enrico had strode to the front of the queue with an arrogance that just told you he was going to be good. It was exactly the same kind of pigheadedness Tess had seen outside in car park, and she was far from impressed. She had found out his name as the coach took a role call, and having spent time around the likes of Martel-Burns and Cedric Hache at Polaris, she knew exactly what to expect. She had no doubt that Enrico would have the identical, shallow, arrogant attitude. His free-kick had cleared the artificial wall though, and while it hadn't troubled the keeper, it did succeed in whistling past the post. Whistle? Whistle!!! Tess couldn't make a ball whistle supposing she duct taped a flute to it.

She closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose in discomfort, as the trainer indicated it was her turn to have a go. The worst part was, back in Ceni, she had actually been considered a good set-piece taker. She normally got the ball on target, and what's more, her father had even taught her to put a bit of spin on it. As for this, it was a whole different kettle of fish, and her fear that she had been playing in a bubble looked is if it were set to be realised.

'Right!' The coach shouted, snapping her out of her dream with a loud clap of his hands. He was a portly, middle-aged man, with short curly hair, who's name Tess had already forgotten. 'Tessa, come on, show us what you can do.'

Thankfully there weren't too many eyes on her, most of the other players were busy fawning over Enrico, who's blistering effort seemed to have confirmed what they already suspected - the boy was something special. Her teammate had taken a big run up, but Tess had never really used that technique. Somewhat bashfully, she took a few paces forward to stand almost directly behind the ball. Still, no one really noticed her.

'Okay Tessa, whenever you're ready please...' The coach's words were friendly, but it was clear he wanted her to hurry up.

She looked down at the badge on her dark green, Schottia training kit, hoping the honour of wearing it would stir something in her. There were no miracles though, no overwhelming feeling of butterflies or rush of adrenalin. Tess took a deep breath. The keeper was standing just right-of-centre on his line, with the wall cutting off the left hand side of the goal from where she stood. The logical shot would be to try and crack the ball high just inside the right post; that was what Enrico had attempted, and had he got his effort on target, then the pace would have been enough to beat the keeper. Tess was going to try something else though.

Taking two large steps forward, she swung her right foot, leaning back to get under the ball as much as possible. There was a heart-in-mouth moment as it was unclear whether to ball would clear the green, aluminium silhouettes that made up the wall. The wind rocked the structure as Tess' strike came close to making contact, but it was safely over. The keeper saw what she was up to, but he was caught flat-footed and reacted it too late, as the ball dipped just inside the left hand side of the goal. It might not have whistled, but it was in the back of the net.

Tess hadn't realised, but her heart had been pounding, and now that it was over, the drumbeat in her chest was finally dying back down.

'Not bad...' She heard one of the coaches mutter to another. '...take her name down...' His colleague said in return.

The Huntley resident could barely keep the smile off her face, as she was greeted with broad grins, congratulations, and handshakes from her teammates. All of them, that is, except a thoroughly put-out Enrico Hanson-Conavacio.

[Silver Beach]

The Silver Standard
Silver Beach's #1 source for news!

The Twelfth Silverian Winter Remembrance Day


Silverians remembering

ZION- The history of Silver Beach is quite a stunning history. The rise and fall of a great nation- one that rose by war, and one that, was ultimately crushed and drowned by the same fervor for war that had sustained it, as a functioning nation, for so long. One that saw the forced exodus of the Jewish people of Silver Beach, who, when Silver Beach was no more, assumed the name and called themselves the successor state of the Kingdom of Silver Beach upon landing in the region of Sonnel, in the port of Zion.

It was a very fascinating journey. After World Cup 66 Qualifying, the last major international sporting event that Silver Beach took part of, it was a long history of pain, and suffering, for the Silverians. Silverians of all races and creeds- from the dominant Shia, to the minority Jews, Sunnis, among other religions and faiths, suffered from an existential crisis, the worst Silver Beach had ever known- a nuclear winter.

Silver Beach, having shed their longtime nuclear weapons free status, ended up pursuing a nuclear arms race. They were able to build plenty of bombs- but stretched their capacity to serve as a functioning nation-state while doing so. And all this while, the state became more and more fundamentalist. They had laws that required members of cabinet to be Shia- that extended to being a member of Parliament, and then to being an elected official at all, and even to doing things like advancing in the military. They were building a state, and leaving the minorities behind.

That is when Jewish leadership, within Silver Beach, decided that they needed to seek out new land. Razi ben Naor, who was one of few that carried a old hebrew name, was the first man to support the findings of a new Jewish state. He said that a new state was 'paramount' for enforcing the rights of the Jews, and it had to be off the land of Silver Beach. The Sultan, surprisingly, wasn't entirely opposed to this move. Maintaining perfect religious harmony in the state was one of his goals, and as long as Silver Beach didn't lose more territory, he didn't have much to lose. He let them go.

Razi ben Noar gained more followers as time went on, and after fundraising at synagogues all over the country, they had enough money to venture. And they searched, and searched, and searched, for empty land across the multiverse. They went from region to region- an expensive adventure, it took a very long time. Ultimately, when they went to the Isles of Avon, they stumbled upon a portal, that took them to Drawkland. After being quite surprised at the change of scenery, they learned, from Drawk authorities, that they were on a planet named Sonnel.

They were able to rent three ships from Drawkian authorities, and after explaining their situation, they were invited to explore the planet, a place to find a new home for Silverian Jews. They searched many continents across the new planet. They quickly found that they were in the right place. There was quite a lot to see, and lots of beautiful land. But the best place they stopped at, was in the Southwestern region of the planet, the coastal borders off of the borders of Dubbo-Krish. The land was perfect- it was largely uninhabited, filled with rich soil, plenty of wildlife, and, most importantly, on the coast- which made sense for the seafaring adventures that Silverians were known for.

The decision was easily made. This would be a homeland for Silverian Jews. Now, of course, many were hesitant to actually moving. Who wanted to pick up their stuff and make a 3 month journey by boat to the Isles of Avon, and then go from Drawkland to their new home? But this was a move that they had to make for themselves. Slowly, and surely, multitudes of Jews started to settle in the new country. It was named New Silveria in honor of their homeland, and they began to make a name for themselves. They fished, they hunted, they took dominion. They set up synagogues, they established a flag and a government, and called themselves a nominal colony of Silver Beach- though, for all practical purposes, they kept independence.

Then, of course, was the beginning of the nuclear winter back home. Jews started to make the journey in droves to New Silveria- but it was too late. All of Vvarderenfell was swallowed in this nuclear winter. With the war breaking out, weapons were fired all over the region in a way that, practically, turned out to see that everyone became a loser. Silver Beach was hit with a total of 203 nuclear weapons- a beating that no nation, even this strong nation of 1.9 billion people, could withstand.

And, just like that- Silver Beach was essentially no more. They were hit 203 times, and fired a total of 117 nuclear weapons themselves. Those numbers were not good, though not that it mattered. Vvarderenfell, as a whole, was no more after that massive war. People could not survive. Those who did not die in the spate of attacks, of nuclear weapons flying all over the region that would cease to exist, found themselves living in what seemed to be a post apocalyptic world. The winter caused unbearable cold, and unceasing famine. It, ultimately, was not able to sustain life, and the people in the original country ended up dying out.

Those on the colony of New Silveria tried to send ships via the Isles of Avon, but ultimately, soon after the nuclear weapons started firing, it became too dangerous to send people to board ships from Vvarderenfell, and few could survive the three month journey. The homeland could not spare the ships, of course, as they were fighting for survival- once a nuclear war starts, it cannot be stopped. It taught the perils of nuclear weaponry, and the horrors it can cause- as the Kingdom of Silver Beach was, eventually, no more.

It was a time of serious tragedy. But with a segment of the Jewish population on Sonnel, there was going to be a continuation of the memory of Silver Beach. Once they confirmed that Silver Beach would essentially die out, the colony of New Silveria declared themselves the successor state of Silver Beach- the Hebrew Republic of Silver Beach, representing their roots as Jews. But, however, in declaring themselves the successor state, rather than as a new, independent state, they declared that, even in a vastly reduced territory with a vastly reduced population, that they would inherit all the rights and responsibilities of the Silverian state- from international obligations, to foreign embassies, and whatever else.

And, of course, the Hebrew Republic was born. We have been here, as the successor state, for twelve long years, taming and conquering this land. Building farms, setting up shop, building synagogues, government buildings, technologies, a port, etc... Everything that is necessary for the building of a functioning state. And, on this day, we remember our ancestors in our homeland- because they are us, and unless we maintain their memory, they will disappear into history. And with recognition of that status from Silver Beach's new neighbors, the new Republic was born.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

STELBURGER ZEITUNG

LATE EDITION -- SPORTS

GOLDHORNS GRAB DRAW WITH CHROMATIKA

It was a wonderful evening at the Nationalstadion in Stelburg, as Siovanija and Teusland grabbed a 3-3 draw with world number 7 Chromatika.

There was little pressure on the Goldhorns before the match. “Play our game, and go out to give the fans a good performance. That’s all I can really ask of the boys tonight,” commented Apostol Manevski. “Everyone knows they are a really good side, and our goal is to catch them off guard a bit and maybe steal a result off of them.” The captain, Miroslav Dinev, added to the comments before the match, saying “If we can build off our performance against Mriin, I think maybe we can surprise them.”

The Goldhorns came in off a solid 0-0 draw away to Cosneolta, but before that it was two straight losses. Despite winning the opening two matches of World Cup Qualifiers, the Goldhorns had not won since that point. The team, in fact, had scored only 1 goal in the previous 3 matches, Jurgen Stern’s strike against Mriin in the 4-1 loss. This gave the Goldhorns a brilliant chance to reset with a result against the 7th ranked side in the world.

Chromatika were also coming into the match looking for a bit of a reset, after a 1-0 loss to Mriin. They had to be hoping for a solid result against Siovanija and Teusland, huge underdogs in the match. Manager Apostol Manevski fielded a clear first-choice squad, with Daniel Pingov earning his third cap at centre-back. The only other change in the squad was Paulus Leistner returning for Alexander Geschke.

The Nationalstadion was once again in full spirit before the match, the 75,000 capacity prepared to support the underdog in the match. The anthems were sung, ‘High Mountain Skies’ being belted out by the crowd. The match was underway. Early on, Siovanija and Teusland actually matched up well with the Chromatiks. Ivo Romanov in particular made some solid runs in the opposing half, and the backline looked quite solid. Raphael Klopfer made an excellent tackle to deny a clear opportunity for Andrea Croix-Pierre, and the Goldhorns were off to a solid start.

Siovanija and Teusland would fall behind, however, in the 22nd minute of the match. Klopfer was caught slightly out of position, and made a poor tackle on Rowena Sierra. Klopfer saw yellow, and the Chromatiks had a free kick just outside the box. Hermaeus Mora hovered over the ball, and lined up his shot. The Goldhorns formed a wall, but it was not enough. Mora’s strike flew over them and straight into the top corner, beating Venev. Chromatika led 1-0.

Many onlookers felt as if that would be the end of the match, and Chromatika would pull away. Siovanija and Teusland, however, refused to give up, and kept pushing. An equalizing goal came just before half-time. Lutz Daschner took the ball up his side of the park, and got the pass in for Paulus Leistner. The FC Kaiserhaven winger took the ball further upfield, before playing it in to Miroslav Dinev. Dinev had only Aiofe Ruth to beat, and did it with some solid work on the ball. Dinev got past Ruth, and then had a clear shot at the net. His strike was just out of range of the keeper, and the score was knotted up at 1-1.

The Goldhorns were quite thrilled with their position at the half-time whistle, having really put in a solid performance. Apostol Manevski was without a doubt the happier manager at the half, and was quite impressed with the overall effort of the players. The Goldhorns didn’t make any changes at half, Manevski clearly preferring not to tinker with the team. Coming back out for the second half, Chromatika were clearly inspired and had upped their performance.

The Goldhorns were under siege early on, with Chromatika really pushing the defenders to their limit. Daniel Pingov and Raphael Klopfer held true through it all, however, and kept them out for the first minutes of the half. Set pieces were constantly an issue for the Goldhorns throughout the day, however. Mora had been a threat to the Goldhorns all day, and many of the defensive problems for the Goldhorns were caused by free kicks. So when Daniel Pingov fouled Mora just outside the box, the Goldhorns were understandably worried.

This time, however, it was Whitney Kelly over the ball. Kelly’s ball was delivered well, and found its way to the head of Andrea Croix-Pierre. Croix-Pierre got a solid touch on the ball, directing it into the goal and past Viktor Venev’s last-ditch diving attempt. Again, Chromatika went in front taking a 2-1 lead at the 59th minute.

Surely, now, that would be it for the Goldhorns. The boys really pulled together, however, and picked up the pace afterwards. Siovanija and Teusland had dug deep, and found a bit more energy within themselves. The lads were clearly willing to do anything it took to tie the match, anything it took to please the home crowd. It wouldn’t be long before the match was again evened.

Daniel Pingov collected the ball, moving it to his partner Raphael Klopfer. Klopfer was really on-mark with his forward balls on the day, and this chance was no different. Klopfer’s ball landed in front of Ivo Romanov, and he pulled the ball forwards. Making a brilliant run towards the goal, Romanov was showing real skill as he brought the ball up. Sensing an opportunity, he unleashed a shot from just inside the the box. It was a curler, straight into the top left corner, and Romanov could be quite proud of his great strike that evened the match again.

And the Goldhorns didn’t stop there. Just minutes after the tying goal, Siovanija and Teusland grabbed the lead in the match. Romanov was on the ball again, and he got it over to Viktor Dimitrov in the middle of the park. Dimitrov worked his way forwards, and played a through ball in for Paulus Leistner. Leistner took a touch around the keeper and then knocked the ball goalwards. It was a goal, and the crowd were in raptures as the Goldhorns took a 3-2 lead.

Any dreams of a win on the day, however, were quickly crushed by Chromatika. There was a real sense of urgency to their play after going behind, and it was Mora once again on the ball. Mora moved the ball over to Miranda Gail on the wing, and she took an absolutely brilliant strike over the head of Dietmar Kleinmann and past Viktor Venev. The score was 3-3. Chromatika almost won the game late, but Rowena Sierra’s chance was saved only by a brilliant reaction from Viktor Venev in goal.

The final whistle blew, and Siovanija and Teusland had achieved a wonderful 3-3 draw with Chromatika. “It’s a huge result for us. We won’t make any DVDs or anything like that, but this one is quite special. A draw with a top 10 team in the world in our first shot at these Qualifiers, the boys can be quite proud of their performances today,” Apostol Manevski said in an excited post match interview. “The lads will go back to their clubs now, hopefully inspired by this, and we’ll be back to continue on our campaign.”

Next up for Siovanija and Teusland is a date with the American Eastern States away from home. American Eastern States had participated in the Baptism of Fire as well, not making too much noise, however in Qualifiers to date they are 2-0-4, including a 1-0 away win over Cosneolta. “It’s a test for us obviously, and we want to do our best to go over there and get a result,” commented Viktor Venev.

3 matches remain for Siovanija and Teusland in the first set of Qualifiers, with Kalumba and Abristan also awaiting the Goldhorns before the midway point. That Kalumba match will take place at the Olimpski-Stadion, the first match for the Goldhorns at the stadium. The Stelburger Zeitung will continue to provide coverage of the World Cup 80 Qualifiers.

Siovanija and Teusland 3-3 Chromatika

Siovanija and Teusland XI (4-2-3-1): Venev; Kleinmann, Klopfer, Pingov, Daschner; Kramer (Antonov 75’), Brotzmann; Leistner, V. Dimitrov (Stern 75’), Romanov; Dinev (Aberbach 84’)
Goals: Miroslav Dinev 42’, Ivo Romanov 68’, Paulus Leistner 73’
Match Notes: The points are shared at the Nationalstadion, as Siovanija and Teusland played world number 7 Chromatika to a 3-3 draw. Ivo Romanov had a particularly brilliant day up front for the side, scoring a wonderful goal in the 68th minute to equalize. The backline was again solid, while keeper Viktor Venev made several strong saves including a late reaction to deny Chromatika the win. Next up for the Goldhorns is the American Eastern States.

[Barunia]

Buckley & Brown's Travel Guide to Havenia, Barunia

Porthaven

Getting around the city
Porthaven has a highly effective public transport system. Key to the whole system is the underground rail network, which links the outer suburbs to the central hub, as well as further afield. The system is built around a central hub of large interchange stations, with branches off in various directions. A circular rail line connects all the branches to each other. There are bus stops outside every underground station, with buses leading to both residential areas and areas of interest. Bus and rail information is available from any underground station.

Barunia uses an electronic ticketing system called T-Pass, which provides locals with a certain number of free train and bus rides each year. The freebies are not available to non-Barunians, although visitors can still make use of the technology to make their travel smoother and quicker. A tourist version of the card, called TouristPass, can be purchased at most stations. The price is T50, but if you return the card after your stay you will receive T40 back. The card must then be pre-loaded with enough money to cover your journey. A journey of one stop will cost you T2.10, while a journey of ten stops, such as from the city to the airport for example, will set you back T8.35. Bus fares cost T0.70 for a short journey, with longer routes costing more. A copy of the current (2018) fare chart for TouristPass cards is at the bottom of this section.

The city is also bicycle friendly, with bike paths along the side of most major roads, as well as through other parts of Porthaven. If you are travelling through Porthaven by bike, there are some things to consider. First of all, helmets are mandatory, and fines do apply if they are not worn. Also, when riding on the road you must obey all road rules as if you were driving a car - this rule is regardless of wether you are riding in a designated bike lane or not. Designated bike lanes are indicated by a pink line next to a white line on the edge of the road. Cyclists should ride on the portion of road towards the pink line.

Another great way to move around Porthaven is simply on foot. The city boasts plenty of public footpaths and plazas to accommodate pedestrian traffic, and many attractions are within walking distance of public transport, so nothing is too tiring. Travellers with mobility difficulties will also find Barunia an easy place to move around, thanks to a focus on inclusive civic design. Barunia is quite proud of its inclusiveness, and all travellers should find the majority of the city accessible.

Fare Chart - Train
Cost per stop
1 stop	2.1o
2 stop	2.79
3 stop	3.49
4 stop	4.18
5 stop	4.88
6-8 stops	6.96
8-10 stops	8.35
11-12 stops	9.74
12-15 stops	11.83
15+ 15.30

[Drawkland]

I feel like I'm a trailblazer. Perhaps that's a little excessive, I know. As far as this team is concerned, however, that's exactly what I am. I was the first to go abroad after the national team was formed for multiverse play. I'll probably be the first of the Kick Corps to retire.

It's a weird thought to be done with this game. To be fair, I never expected to have a sporting career, much less a long and successful one. Now that it's starting to come to a close, though, I'm not too sure how I lived without it. It's apart of me now. When I started as a young lass in Cove Port, all I wanted to do was to play the sport of my hometown team. The Cove Port Cruisers may not be the best team in the DLK, far from it really, but I still fell in love with them. They were my team. And I just wanted to do what they did.

That's why I played ball in high school. Bean Gray isn't known to be the biggest high school in Cove Port or the best at sports, but I made do. I learned the ways of the game, I learned how to be flexible. Consistency is not something very abundant there, the coach was a very aggravated woman who would move people all over the place, kicking girls off the squad and bringing new ones in. She was never satisfied. I was lucky enough to be on her good side, and so my position on the team was never in jeopardy. With other players moving all around the field in starting positions on a weekly basis though, I had to be flexible with where I was on the field. Left side, right side, straight down the middle, attacking, defending, whatever. I had to do it all because I had no choice.

That's probably why I initially didn't get any recognition. Scouts couldn't really pinpoint exactly what kind of player I was, because I was no real player. I had no prototype. I was just kinda there on the field, doing my thing, doing whatever my team needed, just being flexible. I ended up going to Cove Port National College because it was in town and they had the program I liked. I walked on to their soccer team, which wasn't hard considering most of their talent was home-grown, and therefore, mediocre. Just like me at the time, really.

Just like my high school, CPNC's team was in constant turmoil. Because of the state of the college's significance in the collegiate world of Drawkland, all the good players transferred to better colleges to pursue more fame and success. Others were cut because they simply weren't improving after a few seasons. The coach of that squad had watched me a few times at Bean Gray and knew I was flexible in the midfield, and so she too moved me all around. In college though, I really hit my stride. I was never good enough to garner national attention, and it doesn't help that Cove Port National College is, *ahem*, pretty bad. I'm used to rooting for bad teams though.

I ended up graduating from CPNC with my degree and was looking around for work that summer when I received a call from my beloved team, the Cove Port Cruisers. My heart jumped when they delivered the news. After the draft, they still seemed to have a hole at the midfield position thanks to a shoddy draft class. They'd seen me play in town at CPNC and decided I was worth a shot. I said yes, a million times yes, I couldn't contain my excitement. This was a dream come true.

There with the Cruisers, I was presented with something I had never experienced. A chance for consistency. All they needed was to plug a hole at Left Midfielder that had happened due to injury. I decided I would give it my best shot. I'd never stayed in one starting position longer than a month at a time. It was almost surreal, not having to rethink my approach all the time and just be able to play the game so it would come even more naturally. And that's where I excelled. That is where I gained national attention, coming from being an undrafted, un-thought of free agent signed just to fill a temporary hole on a mediocre team to a budding star. It turns out all I needed was consistency.

Many teams tried to sign me over the years. Tear me from my childhood love: the team that went from being the club that defined me as a person, as a fan, to the club that I defined for fans around the nation. I was the Cruisers, and nothing could change that. Everybody knew that the black and green jersey with the 4 on it meant Talla. There was nothing that could tear my heart from this club.

Then came the national team. I was one of the first players DISC called when they decided to assemble the Kick Corps. I rejected the offer at first, because I wasn't so sure it was what I wanted to do. They promised me the starting Left Mid position if I ever came. They said something about my nationwide appeal, and of course my good skill at the position. After watching the team in the Global Cup of Soccer, I was hooked. I wanted to be apart of it. For the Independents Cup the next year, I decided to hop on and try my best. I felt bad for Ella Cornelius, but they did technically call me first.

I was the oldest player on the squad - well, despite you know who - and I felt like a mother to all these other girls. I had a good 6 years on the oldest of them, and I felt like I should be mentoring them in some way. It turned out that many of them had watched me as they were playing in college, wanting to be like me. Many of them weren't getting national attention when they first started in college, and seeing someone like me, a nobody turned somebody, tearing up pitches around the country, they wanted to be that. They wanted to be me. They saw in me what I saw in the Cruisers way back in my childhood. It inspired me. I needed to be the best I could be for these young women around me.

Soon after I started playing on the national team, the Cruisers' front office and I got a call from Handon United. Handon United, one of the strongest clubs from the up-and-coming Schottia. At first I was loath to leave the team I had called mine for so long, but then I realized what I needed to do. I had listened to what some of the girls in the Kick Corps locker rooms had said. Some were afraid to go abroad. Afraid they wouldn't fit in, wouldn't play as well, would be embarrassed, bring shame to our nation. I knew that every one of them had the potential to be stars even abroad, but many of them wouldn't do it. I knew that I had to blaze the trail. They trusted me, they took all my actions to heart, at least I hope so. That's why I decided to go.

The ceremony for me leaving Cove Port was full of tears and the thanks of thousands of fans. I appreciated every one of them, because I once stood where they stood. I played at Handon for a handful of seasons, enjoying the good success they had in a change of pace from old Cove Port. And slowly but surely, most of the girls on the Kick Corps spread their wings after me and dispersed throughout the lands of sport.

My time at Handon wouldn't last forever, though. Eventually they, too, had to change things around at the club. For once in my life, I was the odd one out who they didn't need anymore. And I respected that. I was placed on the transfer list and picked up by Langtree United from Mercedini. They weren't exactly a powerhouse like Schottia or anywhere else, but I knew my age. Most clubs would shy away from a player over the age of 35, even if she's a Drawkian. I landed at Langtree with optimism. It reminded me of my mother, her maiden name was Langford. I was gonna succeed there, and it was gonna be great. I was the first Kick Corps player to play in 3 different leagues over the course of a career.

Now the twilight of my career is coming. I don't know what I'll do after I retire, or even when I will. I still have gas in the tank, that's for sure. I want to win something with the Kick Corps before I go, but if I don't ... that's totally fine. I was probably born a little too early to be in the prime of this team, but that's fine by me. I never had goals of winning prizes and titles all my life. Come on, I was a Cruisers fan. Your expectations have to be left at the door there.

This cycle likely won't be my last. And until I'm not longer playing this game, I want to do my best to help this team. With Ellzidan gone, they've needed a solid presence in the midfield to direct them. Kaitlyn Axelson, while she is a great player, is pretty inexperienced. These past few weeks of qualifying, I've been the one helping lead this team, with a few others. They at least trust and respect me, maybe not the way that they do for Ellzidan, but enough to be serviceable. I know what it's like to be on a team that loses major players. I know what it's like to have to step up. I know what it's like for there to be inconsistency. It can be scary, it can be hard, it can be tough.

You just have to be flexible.

[Ethane]

ENTV

---

Explosive Sports News
Football - World Cup 79

[Home] [Cricket][Baseball][Basketball][Tennis][Other Sports]

FAE To Invest In New Stadium
by Danny Alexander

2 years ago, The Viewfinder published a damning report on the Football Association of Ethane. It reported on the lack of investment at the grassroots level, as well as corruption and the top of the food chain. The FAE had 'failed to understand the need for and deliver the grassroots programmes that formed a part of the organisation's remit.'

Because of this report, a number of higher-up figures in the FAE resigned, including Henry Carter, the President, because of a backlash against the organisation's leadership by the general public. The new President, Gerald Harwick, took over with the mandate to transform the FAE to better suit the needs of the nation it worked for and received funding for.

One of his first actions was to set up an accountability unit to keep him in check, marking a clear division between his administrative tenure and the past administration of the FAE.

However, he also launched a large-scale investment scheme called 'CornerFlag', to encourage young people to participate in sports and provide more funding to sports in impoverished communities, teams, and schools. This is all part of a large-scale long-term plan, expected to take up to 20 years. Harwick has set in motion the transformation of the footballing structure in Ethane, of which the changing of the league structure was one of the first actions he took.

The most notable project from the CornerFlag programme is probably the investment in a new stadium in Deloitte. The FAE and Deloitte Football Club have partnered together to build a new ground for the football club in Deloitte, which will also act as a second national stadium to host sporting events. It is supposed to bolster the economy significantly, especially because along with this stadium is coming a number of other developments, such as a new train line, new commercial centre, and a new small airport. This should revitalise Deloitte, one of the more impoverished cities within Ethane.

The stadium name hasn't been decided upon yet, but reports suggest the stadium is going to be very unique in its design. Apparently, according to leaks from the FAE by unknown sources, the stadium is going to be built in an old quarry, so the seats and the pitch will be effectively built into the side of a mountain. It is said to be able to hold 80,000 people, according to current plans.

The FAE is hoping to have the stadium ready for about 3 or 4 years time. They are planning to use it from World Cup 82 onwards. The idea of this stadium isn't to replace the King Edward VI National Stadium in New Sarum, but to act as a second national stadium so that the Red Kites can host football matches in more than one stadium when hosting teams during the world cup qualifying campaigns.

[The Sherpa Empire]

----֎-֎-֎----‭

‭"These Ko-orenites are so arrogant," said Fareed Aziz. He was on a plane on the long flight to New Gazi, and Ashok Walia was sitting next to him.

‭Walia looked up and said, "What?"

‭"They're talking about their match with us like it's some kind of embarrassment that they didn't beat us."

‭Walia shrugged. "Some people are like that."

‭"Yeah, I know," said Aziz, "but it's still annoying. It's like, just because we haven't played you before doesn't mean we aren't any good. You know?"

‭"Just ignore them," said Walia. "I'm sure someone in the Empire is complaining because we didn't win that game."

‭Aziz didn't have a good answer to that. He looked over to see what Walia was doing, and saw some kind of messageboard or chat on the screen. "What's that?" he asked.

‭"Oh, it's a site called NationStates. It's this game where you run a fictional country, and then there's a forum. It's fun."

‭"You mean like everyone makes their own country, or you all run the same one?"

‭"Everyone makes their own," said Walia. "You can make your nation anything you want. You can make a real country like Razenthuria, or you can make stuff up like Bhutan as an independent country, or having your nation run by robots. This one guy has the Sherpa Empire and he's posting the most terrible RPs. It's like he doesn't know what to write and he just keeps posting anyway."

‭"Why does he keep posting then?" said Aziz.

‭"I don't know, man," said Walia. "I just don't know."

----֎-֎-֎----‭

[Mattijana]

Your MattiSprak Culture Guide To Mattijana

Page 1, History

<------Page 2, Local Information

What to do in Mattijana (other than watching the football, obviously):

As you now know, Mattijana is a country with a rich culture, fascinating history and incredible natural beauty, so a visit should take in more than just the hotel, stadium and airport. Here's the best of what you can see and do in our country.

Around Petrovijanka:



As Mattijana's capital city, much of Petrovijanka is based around the Mattistaja (parliament building) in Staja square, the site of many decisive rallies during the cooperative revolution. The city follows a ringed system from there and is a nice walking environment with much of the beautiful old town pedestrianised and the PetroviOtok present just to the East of the main square. Many coffee shops, bars and casual restaurants can be found, with the best, and those populated by more locals, one or two streets back from the main square. Apart from the football, attractions are numerous.

A three-tiered bridge from the west side of the PetroviOtok to the mainland is one highlight, with market shops on street level, independent food outlets on the bottom level and an art gallery on the top floor. Another is the OtoksGarijo, a large park at the south end of the island which has a number of floral gardens as well as an excellent view looking down the river.

Petrovijanka has few well-known attractions, but this is arguably to its benefit as instead of wandering around from A to B with a camera, you can simply wander around, get a feel for the charm and buzz of the place and have some really good coffee...and cake. A layered coffee, fudge and meringue cake called a KaffjenKuche is a local speciality.

Around Burges:

As Mattijana's second city, Burges is a bigger location based around the Sava Juliana river, in the centre north of the country. Like most Mattijanan cities, there is a stone-based old town, as well as numerous historical monuments. The ZentralesTurm is a large stone tower in the city centre built for no apparent reason, but offering superb views of the city and its surrounding area.
Ballajas, bread rolls with a variety of savoury fillings are the national Mattijanan dish and are derived from the area around Burges, As a result, the best ones can be found in restaurants in Burges.

Around Snezn:

Due to it's position in the far north, Snezn is chilly, even in mid-summer. Highs typically peak at around 15 degrees C, so for those of you used to warmer climates, pack some coats and woolly hats, particularly as winds can also be cold and strong.
Despite a tougher climate, Snezn is a delightful small city with a beautiful old town and a rich history based around the city's status as an old trading post, shipping hub and now cultural centre for the northern lifestyle and cuisine, which is more basic and nordic, but still wholesome. The maritime museum is worth a trip, as is the Jarburgshut, the oldest brewery in Mattijana that offers tours and tasting sessions.

Around Revinka:

Revinka is Mattijana's party city, boasting the best weather and some of the best beaches in the country along with a multitude of beachside bars, cafes and restaurants. In addition, the old town, placed behind the old port and now marina is as stunning as any around the nation, with the town wall largely preserved.
Revinka is also the place to go for fish and seafood cuisine as well as being the home town of the RevinkaSaft beverage company that will this year be making an appearance at the AVBF festival in Neu Engollon. Wines and Liquors are the speciality, although non-alcoholic versions are also available.

Around Puljanka:

If Revinka is the beach club of the south, Puljanka is its stately home. The small city, situated a little way inland from Revinka is more known for being the home of Mattijanan Cricket and is a little more modern than the likes of Petrovijanka and Revinka, with surviving architecture dating back only around 400 years. The city contains a lot of green space that is centred around the PulaGarijo, a beautiful urban garden that hugs the banks of the River Pul for most of the way through the city.
Despite Puljanka's more affluent past, recent history means that prices are much the same as in every other Mattijanan town and there are all manner of excellent and affordable restaurants dotted around the city. Cuisine is mixed, with some fish from the coast and the river Pul on the menu, as well as pork, beef and veal dishes with meats from the surrounding area.

Around half an hour's local train from the city centre is the DomCastel, a medieval castle perched on a cliff edge in the foothills of the ZentraleAlpe mountains.



Around Weststrand:

The most Germanic of Mattijana's cities, Weststrand is situated on the west coast of the country and is part of a more rugged section of coastline extending for hundreds of kilometres. As a result, the weather is generally windier than in most locations, with rain coming off the sea regularly.
The town itself has a more colonial feel to it, with imposing buildings on the seafront giving way to narrow, but buzzing backstreets containing a number of quirky independent shops. Watersports are also popular in the area. Cuisine is largely seafood-based, with mussels a very popular choice in the region.

Elsewhere:

If you're into winter sports, or just fancy a mountain break, take a trip up into the ZentraleAlpe, with the city of Matbirjke at their centre. Ski excursions can be booked at a number of international and domestic tour operators. Alternatively, hiking and mountain biking can be done after matchday 11 once the ski season comes to an end.

If a beach break is what you fancy, many can be found down in the warmer climes of Antalja, the island off the south coast of the country. Many of these are unspoiled, if a litte way away from civilisation.

Up north are the Rekvadas collection of hills, a haven for nature-lovers, but also speed freaks as the Kopylov InternazionRing is situated here, near the town of Kranjagrad, around an hours drive from Burges. Further west is the DevrasSee, a large natural lake which is also a peaceful spot for a small break, as well as a great site for watersports.

Our People:

Mattijanans are in general a curious, lively and interesting group of people, if a little crazy to those from more conservative nations. Recent events mean tourists are made very welcome, but will probably face a lot of questions about their homeland and what they make of where they have visited. Feel free to start a conversation, but bear in mind that people from the south of the country are generally more open than those from the north. Popular topics are sports, travel and food. Politics is generally avoided unless something very important has recently occured.

Language skills are of course useful if you plan to visit. Take a look at the next page to learn a bit of the local lingo.

----------> Page 4, Language Guide