Domestic Sports Newswire of Naixi

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 8

We always love a Friday night doubleheader here in Naixi. With two simultaneous games to choose from, we'll have to start you off with the banana peel for one of the league's top three sides. Perhaps it was the wonderfully warm and dry springtime air in Chumeichang lulling them to sleep... or perhaps it was low self belief on account of the hammering they took a week before at the hands of Fuchou... either way, Nongmin found themselves in a hole a half hour into their matchup with Sheshou and didn't manage the game well at all after that. Sure, they equalized just before half time after Sa Kota Yue slipped in behind, nutmegged the Marksmen's keeper, and rolled the ball into the back of the net, but the Farmers' second half was awful. After vociferously protesting a 54th minute Chong Xian Ye goal that was ruled out for offside and getting half their squad booked, they just seemed to pout for the final forty minutes of the contest. They drew level on points with second place Fuchou - temporarily - but it's looking like Nongmin have lost their way a bit. It's not a brilliant result for Sheshou, either: that's the All-Whites' fifth draw of the campaign, and they aren't actually that far clear of the drop. Speaking of which... the other Friday night game was a real six-pointer at the bottom as Xue hosted Yanjiang in a surprisingly dry Futengma. The Lava Monsters will be pleased with how things went for the first eighty minutes of the game, as their defense finally looked somewhat organized and kept Zong Yuan Ti quite quiet. But they may possibly be annoyed with Wei Yan Lin, who definitely picked the wrong night to leave her shooting boots at home. If she'd finished one of her several chances, maybe we'd be talking about a different result... but she didn't, and the Snowmen scored a winner against the run of play in the 84th minute to send their supporters into raptures. The Blue and Green are now just two points from safety.

We spend a lot of time talking about Chongjibo's possession-oriented, high pressure, attacking philosophy, and with good reason. But one thing we really ought to give them more credit for is how astoundingly good their defense is. Lu Fang Huang's performances in particular have been stellar, even though he rarely has much to do. The Shockwaves got their business done early on a warm and sunny afternoon at the Huangse Migong, as Kian Zhi Yuan lashed one into the roof of the Baomao net on ninety seconds and then curled in another in the 23rd. It was the champions solidity and organization that caught the eye during the remainder of the contest, though, as the Black Cats slowly strangled. There's no doubt that Gui Fan Ren has narrowed the Shockwaves' shape in an effort to keep things more compact, and some purists have complained. But Ren's methods are causing clean sheets to stack up like dirty dishes in a university dorm; how can anyone in pink object? Speaking of clean sheets... consider this a trigger warning for those who like attacking football. The Saturday night game in Qiawutian, played in dry weather and mild temperatures, was frankly diabolical. The Avengers might have thought they'd got the poor performances out of their system after nuking Nongmin on matchday seven, but it's likely they were overconfident heading into matchday eight as their opponents (Zhayao) earned a reputation last season for being pourous at the back. The Avengers need to do better homework, as the Miners - while hardly perfect - have improved by leaps and bounds defensively, and stuck to their clear gameplan all night long. It was ugly and often cynical (see the last fifteen minutes if you want to see some of the most shameless time-wasting you've ever seen), but the Miners got it done as they kept it goalless and wrung a point out of a clearly superior Fuchou side. Credit to Zhayao manager Chun Lin for recognizing that the Burgundy might not have it in them to break down a tightly-packed defense.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, it was gorgeous and sunny in Chumeichang as Qiji hosted Aierlanren. The two mid-table foes both had a chance to leapfrog Baomao and rise to fourth after the Black Cats' defeat the day before, and you could plainly see the ambition as the match began with pulsating end-to-end action. The Wizards broke the deadlock with a goal in the third minute after yanking holes open in the famous Gold and White defense with scintillating passing action. The Irish wouldn't be intimidated, though, restoring parity two minutes later as Chin Chih Yap slalomed across the top of the Qiji box before bashing the ball as hard as she could to Lai Hung's left, nearly tearing the net as it went in. After that metaphorical exchange of gunfire - no, Sheshou weren't playing - the match settled down and the tactical battle was Kwang Chih Lo's to lose. The Wizards easily won the possession battle, but found the Irish back line impossible to penetrate.

It's now a seven-point gap between first place Chongjibo and second place Fuchou, and already it feels like the League of the Two Sapphires trophy is staying put. Next week will be a huge test for the Avengers as they take on the Shockwaves in the two clubs' first matchup of the year. Baomao hang on to fourth place following the Qiji-Aierlanren draw, and Zhayao happily stay in seventh after their antics in Qiawutian. Sheshou stay in eighth, and will be looking nervously behind them as Xue's victory at the Ruan Tu means they are gaining on the Marksmen.

MATCHDAY 8
Nongmin 1-1 Sheshou
Xue 1-0 Yanjiang
Chongjibo 2-0 Baomao
Zhayao 0-0 Fuchou
Qiji 1-1 Aierlanren

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team            P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       8  7  1  0  18   2  +16  22
02 Fuchou          8  4  3  1  20   4  +16  15
 3 Nongmin         8  4  2  2  17   9   +8  14
 4 Baomao          8  3  2  3   9  12   -3  11
 5 Qiji            8  2  4  2   8  10   -2  10
 6 Aierlanren      8  2  3  3   7   7   +0   9
 7 Zhayao          8  2  3  3   8  11   -3   9
 8 Sheshou         8  1  5  2   8  11   -3   8
09 Xue             8  2  0  6   4  17  -13   6
10 Yanjiang        8  0  3  5   9  25  -16   3

MATCHDAY 8
Zhanshi 2-0 Jingying
Baiyi 0-2 Xiniu
Yinying 1-3 Qi'e

League of Ascension Standings

   Team          P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          8  6  2  0  13   3  +10  20
 2 Xiniu         8  4  3  1  12   7   +5  15
 3 Baiyi         8  3  2  3   9   8   +1  11
 4 Zhanshi       8  3  1  4   9   8   +1  10
 5 Yinying       8  3  1  4  11  12   -1  10
 6 Jingying      8  0  1  7   2  18  -16   1

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 9

It was a little cool on Friday night, but it never feels quite as chilly when the rain goes away, as any Naixese can tell you, and that was the case at the Sha Dadao as the weekend got started with a top of the table clash between Fuchou and Chongjibo. The headline fixture offered the Avengers the chance to cut the points deficit down to four, but also put them in jeopardy of falling behind the Shockwaves by double digits. Things didn't begin well for Fuchou, as the Pink and Black once again got off to one of their trademark fast starts, running roughshod all over Vinicio Juapuala and the rest of the Avengers' back line for the first half hour. Iomelda van Hoogstraaten's rare foray into midfield led to her finessed finish into the bottom corner, and Chongjibo took the lead on 24 minutes. But the Burgundy actually dug deep and dispelled the growing frustration in the crowd by actually playing much better for the rest of the game. Jen Ta Jin scored against his former club and - surprisingly to some - declined to celebrate the 36th minute goal. He would have earned a brace in the second half, as well, were it not for some more goalkeeping heroics from Lu Fang Huang. In the end, it was a draw, and one that both sides will be relatively content with.

It stayed dry and warmed up significantly the next afternoon in Bao, over on the other side of the country. The hosts Yanjiang are winless in all competitions thus far this year, despite averaging over a goal a game in the league... that's a testament to how atrocious their defending has been. Did it get any better against visitors Qiji? Eh... you might have thought so on the basis of the goalless first half. But the Wizards were much better in the second half, and when you start to make a bunch of individual errors, as the Lava Monsters' defenders did, you're going to cough up a bunch of stupid goals. That's exactly what Yanjiang did, twice, and Qiji climbed into fourth, at least temporarily, as Aierlanren and Baomao were squaring off that night in Qiawutian. The weather stayed mild and dry at the Sha Dadao as these two mid-table rivals locked horns. The last time the Black Cats took on the Irish, they scored deep in stoppage time to qualify for the Challenger's Cup, and it seemed clear early on that Aierlanren felt there was a score to settle. In the 13th minute Chen Ling (a newcomer to the Irish setup) got into a ferocious argument with Black Cats center back Jun Ming after the latter accused the former of diving, and Ling was very lucky not to receive anything more than a yellow card as she shoved Ming hard in the chest. The first half continued in that fashion for a while, as neither team were particularly penetrative but both stopped the game frequently to swarm around the referee and point angrily at each other. After half time, though, the quality of the match improved noticeably. Kwang Chih Lo did something he almost never does, which is make attack-minded substitutions, and his uncharacteristic gamble paid off. Baomao began to find themselves under the cosh from about the 70 minute mark onwards, and Aierlanren found the breakthrough in the 75th through Ling. The former Yinying striker got her second in the 86th minute, and the Gold and White nabbed all three points. They're up to fifth, while the Black and Brown sink to sixth with Sheshou and Zhayao still to play.

So that takes us to our customary pair of simultaneous games, which on this weekend was played on a rainy Sunday night. The first game, again at the Sha Dadao, featured eighth place Sheshou versus ninth place Xue. A win would lift the Snowmen out of the relegation zone. Unfortunately for them, though, they were always plainly the inferior of the two clubs as the Marksmen the dominated possession and xG stats. They actually can count themselves extremely lucky that they kept the match level as long as they did, as the All-Whites squandered all of their first half chances and most of their second half ones. It was the 76th minute before Tak Hing Jin lost his patience with the stalemate and left his marker for dead. He slotted his shot to the Xue goalkeeper's right and gave Sheshou a deserved - if underwhelming - win. Meanwhile, in Chumeichang, Zhayao's defense did everything wrong versus Nongmin one week after it did everything right against Fuchou. Maybe they can blame the wet conditions? The Miners were actually great for the first 30 minutes of the contest, overrunning Nongmin's usually-impressive midfield and winning the war for possession. Lan Fang Fen capped it all off with another great long shot goal in the 29th minute. The Farmers took advantage of a passing error at the back, though, and had an equalizer on the board within ten minutes. The score stayed level for a long period after the restart, but it was impossible not to catch the vibe that another goal was on the way. Of course, it was a bit of a surprise when Kuang Yin Cao put Zhayao back in front in the 77th minute - we were expecting that side to concede, not to score themselves - but the Farmers didn't panic. They dialed up the pressure and the Miners' defense couldn't handle it. Chong Xian Ye equalized on 83 minutes after a scrum in the penalty area, and four minutes later Sa Kota Yue (who has got to have put herself in national team call-up contention with how she's playing) hammered the winner off the post and in. Nongmin rise to second, which they'll be happy with after the number of points they've dropped in the past month.

MATCHDAY 9
Fuchou 1-1 Chongjibo
Yanjiang 0-2 Qiji
Aierlanren 2-0 Baomao
Sheshou 1-0 Xue
Nongmin 3-2 Zhayao

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team            P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       9  7  2  0  19   3  +16  23
02 Nongmin         9  5  2  2  20  11   +9  17
 3 Fuchou          9  4  4  1  21   5  +16  16
 4 Qiji            9  3  4  2  10  10   +0  13
 5 Aierlanren      9  3  3  3   9   7   +2  12
 6 Sheshou         9  2  5  2   9  11   -2  11
 7 Baomao          9  3  2  4   9  14   -5  11
 8 Zhayao          9  2  3  4  10  14   -4   9
09 Xue             9  2  0  7   4  18  -14   6
10 Yanjiang        9  0  3  6   9  27  -18   3

MATCHDAY 9
Jingying 0-1 Baiyi
Zhanshi 1-1 Yinying
Xiniu 0-1 Qi'e

League of Ascension Standings

   Team          P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          9  7  2  0  14   3  +11  23
 2 Xiniu         9  4  3  2  12   8   +4  15
 3 Baiyi         9  4  2  3  10   8   +2  14
 4 Zhanshi       9  3  2  4  10   9   +1  11
 5 Yinying       9  3  2  4  12  13   -1  11
 6 Jingying      9  0  1  8   2  19  -17   1

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 CASARAN ROUND 3

It may still technically be late spring in Naixi, but all of us are happy to pretend that it's summer already, as the weather has been delightful. With warm sun and increasingly long days, it takes a really dreary and dull game of football to keep you away from the park, and at least with regard to this latest round of cup fixtures, we haven't had many of those. So let's get started!

How does a goal have to be to count as early? Does the 28th minute count? A lot has been said of Chongjibo's predilection for early goals, but let's face it, it's their late-game management, featuring complete domination of possession and defensive solidity, that does their foes in. This game, a Chumeichang derby, followed that model to a T... we just need to settle this pesky early goal debate. Kian Zhi Yuan's direct free kick on 28 minutes put the Shockwaves in front, and then they smothered the Wizards for the final hour. In a marquee matchup between two League of the Two Sapphires giants, Nongmin were quite poor, but led for a majority of the game because of a goal scored against the run of play in the 29th minute. Their home fans might have thought they were headed for an undeserved win as Fuchou pounded away at the Farmers' defense, but despite all their recent struggles the Avengers have enough quality to decide a game with a moment of individual brilliance. Yue Hsieh's powerful header in stoppage time would certainly count as such, and she saved a point for the Avengers. In a Qiawutian derby between two quite friendly fan bases, Aierlanren could only hold on to their lead, acquired in the 13th minute through Chen Ling (who's having a really great year after a slow start, by the way), for 3 minutes, as Tak Hing Jin equalized in the 16th minute. Following that flurry of action, both teams seemed happy with a point. Zhayao were awful for most of their game with Xiniu (who play a division below the Miners), and the Blue Rhinos probably thought they were headed for a deserved victory, but the 21-year-old ball-winner Qi Chao Hark accidentally scored a remarkable equalizer in stoppage time as his cross to the back post looped over Lao Che Cai, who had drifted off his line. In Bao, the Termites of Baiyi will be kicking themselves that they never drew level with visitors Baomao, as they were really very good for the final forty-five minutes. But they'd gone into the half time break three one down, and just never mustered the needed effort to restore parity. Zhanshi were very happy to have reached the 70 minute mark at one all, but the visiting Snowmen of Xue found a rare spell of attacking verve as they took a lead and then doubled it with ten minutes to spare. Two missed penalties and a man advantage later, the Lava Monsters will be wondering why they didn't trounce Jingying by a wider margin, but a win is a win and they can still play their way in on the final day of the Casaran. Ditto for little Qi'e of Wanqianganga, who had started the Casaran terribly with losses to top flight clubs Zhayao and Aierlanren, but a fourth minute goal in Chumeichang was enough for them to park the bus for ninety minutes, eliminate Yinying, and stay alive.

Looking ahead to the final round of the Casaran, Xue have won their way into a very difficult tie with Chongjibo, but the six points they already have on the board may be enough to progress anyway. Qiji-Aierlanren, Baomao-Nongmin, and Sheshou-Zhayao are the remaining inter-top-flight matchups, and for all of them a draw could be enough... but is it safe to play for one?

Chongjibo 1-0 Qiji
Nongmin 1-1 Fuchou
Aierlanren 1-1 Sheshou
Zhayao 1-1 Xiniu
Baiyi 2-3 Baomao
Zhanshi 1-3 Xue
Jingying 0-1 Yanjiang
Yinying 0-1 Qi'e
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              G W L D PF PA  PD SoS SoV Pts
 1  Chongjibo 3 3 0 0 12  2 +10  16  48   9
 2       Qiji 3 2 1 0  5  2  +3  16  21   6
 3     Baomao 3 2 1 0  5  8  -3  12   9   6
 4        Xue 3 2 1 0  8  3  +5   7   9   6
 5 Aierlanren 3 1 0 2  4  1  +3  13  19   5
 6    Nongmin 3 1 0 2  5  2  +3  13  19   5
 7    Sheshou 3 1 0 2  7  5  +2  13  19   5
 8     Fuchou 3 1 0 2  8  4  +4  10  10   5
09      Xiniu 3 1 1 1  4  7  -3  19  22   4
10     Zhayao 3 1 1 1  3  3  +0  13  13   4
11      Baiyi 3 1 2 0  3  6  -3  15   9   3
12    Zhanshi 3 1 2 0  3  7  -4  11   0   3
13       Qi'e 3 1 2 0  1  4  -3   9   0   3
14   Yanjiang 3 1 2 0  3  5  -2   8   0   3
15    Yinying 3 0 3 0  1 10  -9  14   0   0
16   Jingying 3 0 3 0  0  3  -3  12   0   0

Next Round Schedule

Xue v Chongjibo
Qiji v Aierlanren
Baomao v Nongmin
Sheshou v Zhayao
Fuchou v Xiniu
Baiyi v Zhanshi
Qi'e v Jingying
Yanjiang v Yinying

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 10

On Friday night at the Sha Dadao, the Miners kicked off their game with cross-town rivals Sheshou on a five-match winless run in the league. So, needless to say, they really, really needed a victory in the brisk but dry early summer evening air of Qiawutian, but you'd never know from how they played in the first twenty minutes. Tak Hing Jin was excellent, continuing to make his case that he should be starting for Naixi (instead of his younger brother) and backheeling a low cross into the Zhayao net in the 12th minute. The Marksmen eventually let their grip on the wheel slip, though, and Lan Fang Fen Show began about halfway through the first half. The deep-lying playmaker assisted on the Miners' equalizer in the 41st minute and again provided the final ball for Kuang Yin Cao in the 47th. The lead secured in the early seconds of the second half, Zhayao bodied Sheshou out of the contest in the final forty-five. Now it's the All-Whites who will feel uncomfortably close to the drop.

The next afternoon, the Sha Dadao was the venue once again as the Black Cats endeavored to jump back above Zhayao in the table, who'd risen beyond them the night before. Their foe on the day was last-place Yanjiang, who made themselves a laughingstock with their grotesquely bad defending in the halcyon days of the league's first few matchdays. So it all should have gone Baomao's way, right? Errr... sadly for the Black and Brown, the Lava Monsters have improved defensively in the last month or so (even if they're still losing all the time), and the visitors from Bao took a one nil lead into half time following a 31st minute Wei Yan Lin strike. The Black Cats would level the affair six minutes after the break, but Yanjiang still ended up snatching a draw, and the embarrassing result means Baomao's anarchist fans are starting to grumble again. That night, we had lovely warm and dry conditions for a Chumeichang derby at the Huangse Migong. Would it be a fourth game unbeaten in all comps for the Farmers? Their fans would have loved for it to be so, and knowing that Nongmin were sitting second at kickoff put a bit of wind in their sails. But their opposition on the night was none other than the flawless leaders Chongjibo, who have taken the attractive, possession-based style of play they became known for last year and augmented it with an airtight defense in this campaign. Nongmin never had a chance, really. Chong Xian Ye struck the post in the 31st minute, which left the Silver and Red wondering if perhaps the game would have been different if he'd put it away. And Kian Zhi Yuan skied a penalty in the 66th, which raised hopes that at least a bore draw was in the cards. But no. The Shockwaves scored the only goal of the game in the 85th and continued their irresistible crusade for a second league title.

Lian Wei Chew's Fuchou have had a really tough time of late: that's beyond debate. Despite scoring goals with ease, the Avengers have drawn as many games as they've won thus far in the league. Not a great statistic. But on Sunday afternoon Chew's side were involved in one of two simultaneous games, and it was a meaningful game for the Avengers' manager as he was facing the club he used to be an assistant coach for, Aierlanren. He could make a statement against Kwang Chih Lo, his former mentor, and did. The eventual two-nil scoreline didn't do justice to how comprehensive the Avengers' victory was, as Yue Hsieh scored twice, once early (in the 4th minute) and once late (in the first minute of stoppage time). The versatile center forward really should have had a hat trick, and would have if not for the heroics of the Irish center back Hai Ying Fu, who headed a Hsieh shot off the line in the 52nd minute and blocked another Hsieh attempt in the 68th, while her keeper was off their line. A two nil win is still a win, though, and the Fuchou number nine would surely prefer the three points for her team than three goals for herself. Meanwhile, in sunny Chumeichang, Xue's run of passable form came to a screeching halt as they coughed up three first half goals to hosts Qiji. The funny thing is that they were much better in the second half, by which time it was far too late. In many ways the defining battle of the game was between the Snowmen's false ten Zong Yuan Ti and the Wizards' goalkeeper Lai Hung. Ti constantly pestered the Purple and White from the beginning of the second half to the end, but his speculative shooting and pressing off the ball were always matched by the technique and composure of Hung. Ma Huan Yep added a fourth goal to Qiji's tally in the 84th minute, and the visitors found themselves on the end of a thrashing. The Wizards, meanwhile, will be extremely happy to find themselves in fourth, four points clear of Aierlanren in fifth.

MATCHDAY 10
Zhayao 2-1 Sheshou
Baomao 1-1 Yanjiang
Chongjibo 1-0 Nongmin
Aierlanren 0-2 Fuchou
Qiji 4-0 Xue

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team            P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo      10  8  2  0  20   3  +17  26
02 Fuchou         10  5  4  1  23   5  +18  19
 3 Nongmin        10  5  2  3  20  12   +8  17
 4 Qiji           10  4  4  2  14  10   +4  16
 5 Aierlanren     10  3  3  4   9   9   +0  12
 6 Zhayao         10  3  3  4  12  15   -3  12
 7 Baomao         10  3  3  4  10  15   -5  12
 8 Sheshou        10  2  5  3  10  13   -3  11
09 Xue            10  2  0  8   4  22  -18   6
10 Yanjiang       10  0  4  6  10  28  -18   4

MATCHDAY 10
Yinying 1-2 Jingying
Qi'e 7-1 Baiyi
Xiniu 3-0 Zhanshi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team          P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e         10  8  2  0  21   4  +17  26
 2 Xiniu        10  5  3  2  15   8   +7  18
 3 Baiyi        10  4  2  4  11  15   -4  14
 4 Yinying      10  3  2  5  13  15   -2  11
 5 Zhanshi      10  3  2  5  10  12   -2  11
 6 Jingying     10  1  1  8   4  20  -16   4

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 11

A single game was played on Friday night, and attendees had to take a bit of a road trip out east to get to it, as Yanjiang hosted Fuchou at the Zidan Jie. Because of clashes between the Avengers' tangerine away kit and the hosts' home and away strips, the Lava Monsters had to debut an olive green third kit. While we don't want to give you spoilers, we suspect Yanjiang might be using it again soon. Eh, who cares about spoilers! Let's get into the match action. It's difficult to know what's more astounding - the fact that bottom feeders Yanjiang managed to run up a three nil lead over second-place Fuchou, or the fact that once the Lava Monsters began to bottle it, the Avengers couldn't finish the job of drawing level. Just like a week prior, Yanjiang's defense was very good for the first half, and just like a week prior, they took a one nil lead into half time (thanks to a Wei Yan Lin strike). What was different this time, though, was that a warm rain began to fall quite heavily in Bao during the interval, and Fuchou's defense didn't seem to have worn the right studs. Vinicio Juapuala was particularly dreadful, and he was at fault for both the Lava Monsters' second and third goals, scored in the 48th and 57th minutes respectively. Jen Ta Jin seemed to be the only Fuchou player with the mentality for the (admittedly rare) occasion of being three nil down to a relegation battler, as he tallied a brace with goals in minutes 66 and 83. Neither he, nor any of the other Avengers' attackers could find a third, though, as Fuchou dropped all three points. Take nothing away from Yanjiang - their valiant attempt to throw the result away notwithstanding - the win takes them off the bottom of the table for the first time in a long time.

On Saturday afternoon, we moved to the Huangse Migong as third-place Nongmin looked to take advantage of Fuchou's flub. The visitors were Aierlanren, whose patchy and inconsistent form has them solidly in mid-table. The first minutes of the game, played under the hot early summer sun, seemed uneventful at the time, but a 7th minute coming together between the Irish winger Chin Chih Yap and the Farmers' defensive midfielder Tan Hung Xun ultimately had game changing consequences. Yap felt Xun had fouled her, but her protestations were deemed dissent, so she went in the book early. It didn't dampen her spirit, as she provided a scintillating through ball to Chen Ling for the opening goal of the game in the 19th minute. But the Farmers were quick to react. They'd just lost to Chongjibo a week before and they weren't about to accept zero points from a possible six. Sa Kota Yue restored parity 73 seconds after Nongmin had conceded. We went into half time level, but then early in the second half came a major incident. After Chong Xian Ye got clear of a full back on Aierlanren's right, the Farmers' number nine tore along the touchline then cut inside to put the ball on his stronger right foot. Yap came screaming in with great recovery speed, but Ye's touch inside put her off balance, and she came sliding in at just the wrong time. Ye collapsed in a heap on the edge of the box. It was a flagrant second yellow for the Aierlanren attacker, and possibly a penalty. VAR ultimately decreed that the foul had been outside the box, but that did nothing to prevent Yap from being issued a red card, nor did it prevent Tan Hung Xun from giving the Silver and Red the lead with a curving shot from the resulting free kick. Aierlanren would play a woman short in the second half, and Nongmin would extend their lead further (twice). The big win puts Nongmin second. That night, in Qiawutian, it stayed dry but temperatures dropped dramatically. Something about Chongjibo's energy levels just seemed wrong from the start, and the hosts Zhayao had a jubilant crowd (fresh off of watching their Miners defeat Sheshou a week prior) cheering them on. The beginning moments of the game were characterized by the conservative approach adopted by the Red and White, but as the minutes ticked by it became clear to Zhayao manager Chun Lin that a bit of courage was warranted. With an hour played, the tide began to turn against the champions and league leaders. In the 64th minute, Kuang Yin Cao made a fool of the normally astute Iomelda van Hoogstraaten, and his ball to the underlapping midfielder Qi Chao Hark was inch perfect. All it took was a slotted finish from Hark, and the Miners had a lead they would never surrender. This is becoming a rather fun good-natured rivalry between two fan bases that are politically simpatico, as almost exactly a year ago we had the same result, with Pei Hsi Dai's improbable brace humbling the Shockwaves at the height of their power. As for this year, it's the first loss of the campaign for the Pink and Black. (There's never a great time in any football season to lose, but if there is one, this would be it, with title rivals Fuchou also choking the night before.)

The next evening, we had two games happening at the exact same time. The first, held in the eastern city of Futengma, was played under miserable conditions. Sure, the temperature was hovering around 65°F/18°C, and sure, the skies never unleashed any of those dreaded rains. But the smoke wafting in from the smelting plant across the street from the Ruan Tu was particularly awful, and the visitors Baomao seemed rather undone by it. The locals, who are used to it, simply made liberal use of the shop on the basement level of the stadium, which led to a different type of haze (perhaps a purple haze, even) wafting around the stadium. Like Zhayao 420 hours before - sorry, typo, 24 hours before - Xue capitalized on an intangible home field advantage. Manager Zhi Gang An deserves enormous credit, as well, as he surprised Baomao at kickoff by going to three at the back and pushing Aríela Hjörleifsdóttir up into attack. 25 seconds into the contest, the Black Cats' defense was at sixes and sevens as the teenage Græntfjaller launched a deadly cross from the byline and Zong Yuan Ti headed it in. It took over an hour for the Snowmen to add to their lead, but Baomao accomplished absolutely nothing in the meantime, so when Ti scored again in the 69th, it made it two nil, and that was the ultimate scoreline. The Blue and Green moved back into ninth, after a brief spell on the bottom, and are now just two points from safety. Meanwhile, at the Sha Dadao, there were no clouds of smoke hanging over anybody, but tell that to Sheshou fans, as they had to watch their Marksmen make it three games without a win. The All-Whites avoided falling behind early against visitors Qiji, despite the Wizards completely dominating possession and having by far the better scoring opportunities. But it was pretty obvious from the start of the second half that Qiji wanted it more, as they wanted to draw level with Fuchou on points and extend the gap between themselves and fifth-place Zhayao to four. Sheshou, for their part, somehow got even worse after half time. The Purple and White nabbed a more than deserved lead in the 47th minute, and doubled it in the 58th. It's a result that will force everyone to start taking the Wizards seriously as a top side, and will unambiguously thrust the hapless Marksmen, who seem robustly incapable of winning any game anywhere against anyone, into the relegation conversation.

MATCHDAY 11
Yanjiang 3-2 Fuchou
Nongmin 4-1 Aierlanren
Zhayao 1-0 Chongjibo
Xue 2-0 Baomao
Sheshou 0-2 Qiji

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       11  8  2  1  20   4  +16  26
02 Nongmin         11  6  2  3  24  13  +11  20
 3 Fuchou          11  5  4  2  25   8  +17  19
 4 Qiji            11  5  4  2  16  10   +6  19
 5 Zhayao          11  4  3  4  13  15   -2  15
 6 Aierlanren      11  3  3  5  10  13   -3  12
 7 Baomao          11  3  3  5  10  17   -7  12
 8 Sheshou         11  2  5  4  10  15   -5  11
09 Xue             11  3  0  8   6  22  -16   9
10 Yanjiang        11  1  4  6  13  30  -17   7

MATCHDAY 11
Jingying 0-4 Qi'e
Yinying 0-4 Xiniu
Baiyi 1-0 Zhanshi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          11  9  2  0  25   4  +21  29
 2 Xiniu         11  6  3  2  19   8  +11  21
 3 Baiyi         11  5  2  4  12  15   -3  17
 4 Zhanshi       11  3  2  6  10  13   -3  11
 5 Yinying       11  3  2  6  13  19   -6  11
 6 Jingying      11  1  1  9   4  24  -20   4

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 12

Zhayao, fresh off two stupendous wins (one of which was over the champions), were really great to watch all night long on a cool Friday evening in Qiawutian, and Miners fans can pretty reasonably feel like the way the night ended was unjust. Kuang Yin Cao was hauled down in the box by Hai Ying Fu in the 14th minute and it's anybody's guess why neither the referee nor the VAR officials thought it was a penalty. The team in red went from thinking they should have been one nil up to - three minutes later - being one nil down, as Chen Ling did what she usually does (bust offside traps) and chipped a shot over the Zhayao keeper to put the Irish in front against the run of play. The Miners were just as good in the second half, and made good on their lovely build-up play as Cao toe-poked an equalizer into the back of the net on 62 minutes. But then... more controversy. Lan Fang Fen's 67th minute long ball over the top for a Zhayao winger looked like it was going to create a one-on-one with the Irish keeper, but then Fu "got her legs tangled" with her opposite number's and both players went tumbling to the turf. The incident was a bit suspicious, and opinions are split amongst the pundit class as to whether it should have been a red for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity, but the referee again decided to give Fu the benefit of the doubt. You sort of sensed that it wasn't going to be Zhayao's night after that, and indeed it wasn't as the Miners' periodically unreliable defense allowed an Aierlanren winner on 75 minutes. The two Qiawutian rivals are now level on points in the middle of the table.

The next evening, the long-sleeved jerseys had to be dug back out of the closet as it was unseasonably cold all across Naixi. (Thankfully, it was at least dry as the rain stayed away.) There were two matches taking place simultaneously, and in one of them, Yanjiang were hosting Nongmin in Bao. Believing it to be a good luck charm, the Lava Monsters once again used their olive green third kit, and given how the match panned out, they might be on to something. The home side, who shocked Fuchou seven days ago, were the better team all night long (dominating the possession battle and landing more shots on target). Frankly, it wasn't even that close, which is surreal as the Farmers were fresh off a rout of Aierlanren. But that was then, and this is now. The one silver lining for the Silver and Red is that they didn't actually lose the match; Nongmin equalized four minutes after Yanjiang's long-awaited opening goal in the 70th minute. It's odd to call a draw between a second-place team and a last-place team an unfair result for the last-place team, but that is sort of how it felt as the final whistle blew. For the Lava Monsters' manager Xiao Niao Ding, who was sacked by Nongmin during the offseason, it'll be a particularly frustrating moment... what a chance it was to defeat her former club! Meanwhile, at a frigid Sha Dadao on the other side of the country, visitors Qiji were certainly the form team - the Wizards went into the showdown with Baomao four matches unbeaten. The Purple and White really did start things out well, with inverted wingback Ma Huan Yep controlling the tempo of the match with his passing from midfield. But goalkeeper Lai Hung made an uncharacteristic error in the 29th minute, rushing off her line and fumbling a rolling through ball back into traffic instead of flinging her body on top of it. Black Cats striker Cheuk Yan Tsang tapped it in, and the mood changed. The Black and Brown's bundled-up fans began to sing and chant a little louder, and Baomao controlled the game for the final hour. Qiji's finishing deteriorated to the point at which Chun Hsia Teoh felt obligated to sub off her entire front line (which didn't work), and the hosts really began to turn the screw. Frankly, the Wizards were lucky to finish the match with ten men, as Yep scythed down a Baomao attacker in stoppage time with a two-footed challenge. It was an appalling incident that happily didn't end with anyone seriously injured, but questions must be asked of the refereeing crew that only a yellow was shown.

On Sunday afternoon, the weather finally warmed back up... isn't it supposed to be summer around here, after all? It did, of course, start raining in certain cities, and one such city was Qiawutian in Naixi's west, where the Avengers hosted the Snowmen. Given how unreliable Fuchou have been recently, there seemed to be no shame in taking a punt on a Xue upset - surely no such bets would be paying off, though, right? The Avengers couldn't lose two straight to the two worst teams in the League of the Two Sapphires, right? As a matter of fact... wrong! Xue reverted to their four-at-the-back defensive system, which threw Fuchou for a loop as they'd assumed the Snowmen would be utilizing a three-at-the-back shape, and on a wet pitch that must have reminded them of home, the Blue and Green won the possession battle and scored in the 16th minute. Futengma's wonderful little pothead football club ought to be deeply proud of themselves, as they've leapt out of the relegation zone, but unfortunately the big headlines are inevitably going to be about the Avengers, who are in a full-blown crisis. Something must be done, and now. Is Lian Wei Chew's job safe? That evening at the Huangse Migong, Sheshou looked much better, in the first half, at least. Tak Hing Jin missed a sitter in the 26th minute, and Lu Fang Huang had to come to the rescue after an All-Whites center back looked to be putting a header in the postage stamp after a 41st minute corner. But Gui Fan Ren appeared to recognize what the Marksmen were doing to keep the Shockwaves pinned back, and over the course of the second half the momentum shifted. Kian Zhi Yuan kept playing teammates in behind Sheshou's high line, which caused the Marksmen to drop a bit deeper, but this led to more space being available to Yuan, which led to more time on the ball for the Naixi captain. Finally, Yuan decided enough was enough. Drifting out wide, then exchanging passes with Iomelda van Hoogstraaten until a defender let him creep past, he shimmied around a center back, tossed in a few theatrical stepovers, then put his laces through the ball and crushed a shot into the goal. There were only ten minutes to spare, but Chongjibo fans won't care... a win is a win. The gap between the Shockwaves and their closest pursuers (Nongmin) expands to eight points.

MATCHDAY 12
Aierlanren 2-1 Zhayao
Yanjiang 1-1 Nongmin
Baomao 1-0 Qiji
Fuchou 0-1 Xue
Chongjibo 1-0 Sheshou

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       12  9  2  1  21   4  +17  29
02 Nongmin         12  6  3  3  25  14  +11  21
 3 Fuchou          12  5  4  3  25   9  +16  19
 4 Qiji            12  5  4  3  16  11   +5  19
 5 Aierlanren      12  4  3  5  12  14   -2  15
 6 Zhayao          12  4  3  5  14  17   -3  15
 7 Baomao          12  4  3  5  11  17   -6  15
 8 Xue             12  4  0  8   7  22  -15  12
09 Sheshou         12  2  5  5  10  16   -6  11
10 Yanjiang        12  1  5  6  14  31  -17   8

MATCHDAY 12
Xiniu 3-0 Jingying
Zhanshi 1-2 Qi'e
Baiyi 1-3 Yinying

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          12 10  2  0  27   5  +22  32
 2 Xiniu         12  7  3  2  22   8  +14  24
 3 Baiyi         12  5  2  5  13  18   -5  17
 4 Yinying       12  4  2  6  16  20   -4  14
 5 Zhanshi       12  3  2  7  11  15   -4  11
 6 Jingying      12  1  1 10   4  27  -23   4

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 CASARAN ROUND 4

The Casaran ended on a steamy and stormy summer Saturday, and some big names are out as a result of Round 4's matchups, while others have comfortably sailed through to the quarterfinals. Firstly, in Futengma, the Snowmen were like Icarus as they sailed to close to the sun and melted - Zong Yuan Ti's 38th minute strike had Lu Fang Huang beat, but it sailed a millimeter wide. Chongjibo sorted themselves out following half time and scored in the 67th and 75th minutes. Xue still went through, so it's no big deal for them, and Chongjibo will be pleased to have acquired twelve points out of twelve. In an uncharacteristic display of defensive vulnerability at the Huangse Migong, Aierlanren were shocking at the back and coughed up 29th and 49th minute goals to Qiji. Facing elimination, they did look much better in the final thirty minutes. Ling should have converted after a Yep error in the box in the 68th, and Yap scored in the 75th but VAR chalked it off. The Wizards had to dig deep to hold the Irish off, but they did and the holders are out. In a defensive affair at the Sha Dadao, Baomao and Nongmin both seemed to have a mutual understanding, as a goalless draw would have taken both clubs through. But the Black and Brown, who like their politically radical fans have something of a chip on their shoulder, saw a late opportunity to stick a finger in the eye of the big-money club who bought their best player (Tan Hung Xun) from them in the offseason. In stoppage time, the Black Cats pounced, and snatched a winning goal that sends them to third place (and a favorable quarterfinal with Xue). A great win for Baomao, but a pathetic, arrogant performance from the Farmers. Nongmin are out, and deserve to be. In Qiawutian, Zhayao "visited" Sheshou in a fixture that's favored the Miners thus far in the league (the Red and White have four points from a possible six so far versus the Marksmen). But they needed a win in this cup game, and you could see that weighed on them. Sheshou sat back, absorbed the Miners' attacks, and hit Zhayao on the break - twice. The All-Whites are through, having gone unbeaten in the Casaran. Thus far, they've looked noticeably stronger in the Zhen Li Jiang Cup than they have in the League of the Two Sapphires. Elsewhere around the grounds, the Blue Rhinos scored first and last, but those goals sandwiched a quartet of disastrous Lao Che Cai errors on either side of half time that gave Fuchou an unsurprising victory. It's an expected but very much needed win for the Avengers, who are in crisis following two consecutive losses in league matches versus teams in the bottom half. Zhanshi scored in the seventh second (yes, you read that right... it's the earliest goal in Naixese domestic football history) to go one in front of Baiyi, and then they hung on to that lead for way over an hour in front of a hostile crowd in Bao to go through (thanks in no small part to the failures of Aierlanren and Nongmin). Qi'e looked pretty unconvincing against an atrocious Jingying in Wanqianganga, but a spell of torrential rain just before half time led to a fluke own goal that sends the Penguins through (that said, their quarterfinal opponents will be the unstoppable Shockwaves). Finally, the Lava Monsters had a sliver of a chance to go through if they beat Yinying, but the Shadows (who were already out) ran riot in the first half, running up a three goal lead, and would have kept a clean sheet against Yanjiang were it not for an appalling bit of low-energy defending by Chun Lan Shao.

Despite how the Casaran began, we've got a big chunk of top flight sides who have crashed out. Nongmin, Yanjiang, Zhayao, and holders Aierlanren are done. The top six seeds in the quarterfinals are held by the remaining League of the Two Sapphires clubs, though, and you'd expect them to be huge favorites. Chongjibo should level Qi'e and Qiji should cast their spell on Zhanshi, which leaves the Baomao versus Xue and Fuchou versus Sheshou ties to be the preferred quarterfinal viewing for neutrals.

Xue 0-2 Chongjibo
Qiji 2-0 Aierlanren
Baomao 1-0 Nongmin
Sheshou 2-0 Zhayao
Fuchou 4-2 Xiniu
Baiyi 0-1 Zhanshi
Qi'e 1-0 Jingying
Yanjiang 1-3 Yinying
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              G W L D PF PA  PD SoS SoV Pts
 1  Chongjibo 4 4 0 0 14  2 +12  28  84  12
 2       Qiji 4 3 1 0  7  2  +5  24  36   9
 3     Baomao 4 3 1 0  6  8  -2  20  24   9
 4     Fuchou 4 2 0 2 12  6  +6  20  34   8
 5    Sheshou 4 2 0 2  9  5  +4  20  34   8
 6        Xue 4 2 2 0  8  5  +3  25  27   6
 7    Zhanshi 4 2 2 0  4  7  -3  14   9   6
 8       Qi'e 4 2 2 0  2  4  -2  12   9   6
09    Nongmin 4 1 1 2  5  3  +2  28  31   5
10 Aierlanren 4 1 1 2  4  3  +1  28  31   5
11      Xiniu 4 1 2 1  6 11  -5  30  22   4
12     Zhayao 4 1 2 1  3  5  -2  27  22   4
13      Baiyi 4 1 3 0  3  7  -4  27   9   3
14    Yinying 4 1 3 0  4 11  -7  23   9   3
15   Yanjiang 4 1 3 0  4  8  -4  14   0   3
16   Jingying 4 0 4 0  0  4  -4  24   0   0

Quarterfinals
* Team listed first plays at home in first leg

(8) Qi'e v (1) Chongjibo
(7) Zhanshi v (2) Qiji
(6) Xue v (3) Baomao
(5) Sheshou v (4) Fuchou

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 13

It has certainly been a wet week here in Naixi, to which we are not accustomed. Normally we're basking in the sun around these parts, but on Friday night in Qiawutian, you needed an umbrella. The football was worth watching, at least. Well, for the first thirty minutes or so. Both clubs seemed to be on the attack in the opening minutes, and both clubs beat one another's offside trap to score (Zhayao via Kuang Yin Cao in the 21st, and Yanjiang via Wei Yan Lin in the 31st). Sadly, the game won't be remembered for the positivity of play. Instead, it'll be remembered for a shameful brawl that began around the 70 minute mark and ended with a number of players laying prone on the grass. At first, the referee seemed committed to resolving the tussle by dishing out a couple yellows, but when VAR took a closer look, they noticed deep-lying playmaker Lan Fang Fen threw a punch at a Yanjiang player's throat. With the violent conduct irrefutably on record, the officiating crew upgraded Fen's card to a red. He's a massive loss for the Miners and he'll surely be suspended for several weeks.

You would have thought a four-two victory in the cup a week before would clear out the cobwebs and give you that needed confidence boost to pull you out of a rut. But when that swashbuckling win is over a club as lowly and unimpressive as Xiniu, it's easy to doubt that you've cleared a terribly high bar. Fuchou seem to have fallen into just such a rut of self-doubt, as against Qiji they were yet again the plainly inferior side in one of the two simultaneous Saturday afternoon matches. The pouring rain just kept teeming down in Chumeichang, and the purple-clad home fans were shouting olés to every completed pass. The one silver lining for the Avengers? They didn't actually lose. In fact, for about five minutes following Jen Ta Jin's 77th minute goal, they were actually up one-zip. Qiji's profligacy was an issue all game long, despite the way they dominated possession, and Wizards fans actually left the Huangse Migong feeling a little relieved that Ma Huan Yep rescued a point by lashing in an equalizer in the 82nd minute. Meanwhile, at the Sha Dadao, it was no drier as the determined Marksmen fought to jump out of the relegation zone. For Qiawutian rivals Baomao, who are currently comfortably blasé in mid-table, it was only politically-motivated hatred for Sheshou's far-right-wing fans that offered motivation. The Black Cats might have thought that they would be able to replicate the recipe they served up a week before in the Zhen Li Jiang Cup, when they humiliated Nongmin by winning the game one nil in the final minutes. Instead, the All-Whites flipped the script on them, as Tak Hing Jin's hard and low strike skidded underneath Hang Ki Tan's extended boot in the 85th minute and pulled Sheshou out of the drop.

Still more rain soaked the bright green plains of Naixi on Sunday afternoon, as the Snowmen hosted the Farmers in Futengma. You don't have to be some erudite student of history to know that Xue have improved vastly over the past few months. When you recall the hidings they had to endure in the early spring - Fuchou on Matchday 3, Nongmin on Matchday 4, Aierlanren on Matchday 7 - you truly do begin to admire the pressing, counter-attacking style the Blue and Green have begun to use. They sure looked good for most of this game (a rematch with Nongmin)... the crossbar at the Ruan Tu is surely still vibrating after Zong Yuan Ti's 53rd-minute shot bounced off of it (denying him the chance to score against his former employer). And Xue can legitimately boast that they didn't concede goal in open play. They did concede, though, as Chong Xian Ye tucked away a penalty in stoppage time, and that goal sealed a one-nil defeat. The Snowmen are back in the drop, though their good performance augurs well for the future. Nongmin, for their part, will take the three points and move on, as they temporarily reduce the gap between themselves and first-place Chongjibo to five. Speaking of Chongjibo - on Sunday night, it finally stopped raining! That's right, it was finally dry at the Huangse Migong... though something still seemed to be making the Shockwaves' machine a bit rusty. Aierlanren had a number of chances early on in the first half as they tried to rebound from their cup elimination a week before. Chin Chih Yap sliced a sitter wide after doing the hard part and leaving Lu Fang Huang in the dust (that was in the 6th minute). And, ten minutes later, Chen Ling was profoundly unlucky to have been given a yellow card for diving instead of a shot from twelve yards (video replays clearly showed the Chongjibo center back had made plenty of contact, and not with the ball). But the Shockwaves scored against the run of play in the 20th, which gave the Irish the undesirable task of prying open the notoriously well-drilled Chongjibo defense, and the Gold and White simply found that they didn't have it in them. The closest they came was a 73rd minute Yap free kick that forced a very good save out of Huang, but Aierlanren could push no further. Three more points on board for Chongjibo. Yeah, sure, we know, it's only the halfway point of the season... but surely the title race is over already, right?!

MATCHDAY 13
Zhayao 1-1 Yanjiang
Qiji 1-1 Fuchou
Sheshou 1-0 Baomao
Xue 0-1 Nongmin
Chongjibo 1-0 Aierlanren

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       13 10  2  1  22   4  +18  32
02 Nongmin         13  7  3  3  26  14  +12  24
 3 Fuchou          13  5  5  3  26  10  +16  20
 4 Qiji            13  5  5  3  17  12   +5  20
 5 Zhayao          13  4  4  5  15  18   -3  16
 6 Aierlanren      13  4  3  6  12  15   -3  15
 7 Baomao          13  4  3  6  11  18   -7  15
 8 Sheshou         13  3  5  5  11  16   -5  14
09 Xue             13  4  0  9   7  23  -16  12
10 Yanjiang        13  1  6  6  15  32  -17   9

MATCHDAY 13
Jingying 0-1 Zhanshi
Xiniu 1-1 Baiyi
Qi'e 3-1 Yinying

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          13  11  2   0  30   6  +24  35
 2 Xiniu         13   7  4   2  23   9  +14  25
 3 Baiyi         13   5  3   5  14  19   -5  18
 4 Zhanshi       13   4  2   7  12  15   -3  14
 5 Yinying       13   4  2   7  17  23   -6  14
 6 Jingying      13   1  1  11   4  28  -24   4

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 14

It's been a wet and cool summer so far in Naixi, so keep your bucket hat and sandals tucked away in your wardrobe. Instead, think about bringing a rain slicker to the football this weekend, and perhaps a gas mask as well, since our Friday night adventures take us to squalid, muddy, smoggy Futengma. In spotless dark blue kits, the home side looked out of place in their surroundings, but more than confident in the confines of the Ruan Tu as they ran up a two nil lead on visitors Zhayao in the first 45 minutes. Aríela Hjörleifsdóttir got her first goal as a Snowman... errrr, Snowwoman... Snowgirl... whatever. She scored in the 19th minute, then assisted on the 37th minute volley that doubled Xue's advantage. Were the Miners trailing by two? Yes. Were they missing their midfield passing maestro Lan Fang Fen (who'd been sent off a week prior)? Yes. But were they out? Not a chance. Qi Chao Hark is too busy making damn sure Run Ming Kwan has no choice but to bring him to the Copa Rushmori in a few months' time. The 21-year-old's missile halved the deficit in minute 58, and then he assisted on the equalizer on 63 minutes. Kuang Yin Cao, too, was irrepressible, as the sea of blue-clad defenders seemingly parted for him in the 74th minute for him to curl a wonderful shot under the crossbar and into the net. Zhayao's mighty comeback washes away the shameful memories of their draw with Yanjiang a week prior in Qiawutian, and now they're within striking distance of the IFCF spots. Snowmen fans, sadly, will be left with nothing to show for their team's splendid first half.

Ready for a shock? Chongjibo beat the living daylights out of Yanjiang on Saturday afternoon. I know, I know, it beggars belief that, in a contest between first versus last, the former absolutely demolished the latter. Actually, there was a brief bit of controversy to start the match; lightning strikes from a vicious thunderstorm in the area nearly forced the game to be abandoned before it even began. Luckily, the Zidan Jie never suffered anything more than a massive downpour, and only consequence was a mildly delayed kickoff. The short wait perhaps allowed Gui Fan Ren to overthink things, as Chongjibo were a bit ponderous for the first half hour. But (unlike the rain) the fog eventually lifted, and the Shockwaves constructed a sublime passing movement to yank the Yanjiang back line into a pretzel, and then simply slot the ball home in the 32nd minute. From there on out, the champions transformed themselves into a pink and black boa constrictor, running up impossible possession numbers and making the home side look like a pub team. Two goals, both created by Kian Zhi Yuan passes, were scored very late in the second half, seemingly hours after the contest was decided. They gave the scoreline the sheen of domination it deserved, but hardly had any further effect. The lifeless corpses of the Lava Monsters are floating down the river towards relegation, while the Shockwaves' armored tank brigade hurtles over the bridge and onward toward their inevitable repeat championship. That night in Qiawutian, the skies cleared and we at last enjoyed a pleasant summer evening. If only we could say the football was just as pleasant. On a well-watered pitch at the Sha Dadao, Sheshou's passing was orders of magnitude better than it had been in the reverse of this fixture (the Irish beat them two one), but Kwang Chih Lo's predictably negative tactics merely caused a dire stalemate. The first half, which featured a mind-numbingly paltry one shot between the two sides combined, was virtually unwatchable. It's hard to know who's more of a war criminal: the Sheshou fans who keep getting arrested for committing acts of terroristic gun violence, or Kwang Chih Lo. Okay, fair enough, that's a bit hyperbolic. Especially since the game did get better shortly after half time. Literally three seconds after half time. Directly from the restart, Tak Hing Jin noticed the Aierlanren keeper off their line, and launched an absurdly speculative long shot from his own half. It sailed into the net, and offers credence to the commonly uttered Naixese expression "it takes a miracle to score on the Irish." Sheshou honestly could - should - have won the match by a wider margin, as Jin missed a 72nd minute penalty. But the All-Whites still won, and are now well clear of the relegation zone, while Aierlanren are starting to get worryingly close to it again.

The next evening, we at last ran into our obligatory doubleheader, with two matches happening simultaneously. One took place in Chumeichang, and one took place in Qiawutian, but in both cities the night air was warm and delightful. Nongmin fans may have been turning up for their game at the Huangse Migong in short sleeves, but most were still shivering, right from the start, as they were squaring off with a local rival who certainly could qualify as a bogey team: Qiji. The first half was pretty even. In the 9th minute, Lai Hung was equal to a lethal outside-of-the-boot shot that she had to stick a foot out to stop, and Tan Hung Xun had to track way, way back to neutralize a Wizards three-on-one in minute 15. The Purple and White broke the deadlock in the 20th minute thanks to Ma Huan Yep's swerving strike from distance, but Nongmin responded in kind ten minutes later when Sa Kota Yue's quick thinking in the six-yard box allowed her tap in a loose ball while lying on her side. The second half, though, was really poor from the Farmers. The Wizards had the ball in the Silver and Red's half for virtually the entirety of the final 45 minutes, and by the end it was obvious that Jiawei Sangu's side was just hoping to escape with a draw. They didn't even get that, though, as Qiji scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time and won the game outright. The Wizards are now just a point shy of the Farmers in the table, while Chongjibo hurtle forward into the distance ahead of Nongmin, now well and truly uncatchable. Meanwhile, at the Sha Dadao, Cheuk Yan Tsang had Fuchou fans' heads hanging low as he thumped a shot into the roof of the net in the second minute. Fuchou, who have been in truly wretched form lately, really needed to pick themselves up and get back into it, and did. Yue Hsieh's crafty movement rewarded her with a chance to equalize in the 31st minute if only she could contort her body and lash the ball in the opposite direction of her body's momentum, which she accomplished, and the powerful number nine timed her run perfectly to get in behind the Black Cats' back line and drill a bouncing header into the grass and into the back of the net on 39 minutes. What a relief for the Burgundy as they end their slump and nab all three p- wait, what? Despite letting Fuchou go into cruise control in the second half, Baomao somehow found themselves an 84th minute equalizer. Mei Huo's squad may not be overflowing with quality, but it contains players who are more than the sum of their parts, and their fighting spirit is truly admirable. The Avengers, meanwhile, have slid down to fourth. How on earth does Lian Wei Chew still have a job?! Someone must put out this Fuchou dumpster fire.

MATCHDAY 14
Xue 2-3 Zhayao
Yanjiang 0-3 Chongjibo
Aierlanren 0-1 Sheshou
Nongmin 1-2 Qiji
Fuchou 2-2 Baomao

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       14  11  2  1  25   4  +21  35
02 Nongmin         14   7  3  4  27  16  +11  24
 3 Qiji            14   6  5  3  19  13   +6  23
 4 Fuchou          14   5  6  3  28  12  +16  21
 5 Zhayao          14   5  4  5  18  20   -2  19
 6 Sheshou         14   4  5  5  12  16   -4  17
 7 Baomao          14   4  4  6  13  20   -7  16
 8 Aierlanren      14   4  3  7  12  16   -4  15
09 Xue             14   4  0 10   9  26  -17  12
10 Yanjiang        14   1  6  7  15  35  -20   9

MATCHDAY 14
Baiyi 1-1 Jingying
Yinying 1-2 Zhanshi
Qi'e 3-0 Xiniu

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          14  12  2   0  33   6  +27  38
 2 Xiniu         14   7  4   3  23  12  +11  25
 3 Baiyi         14   5  4   5  15  20   -5  19
 4 Zhanshi       14   5  2   7  14  16   -2  17
 5 Yinying       14   4  2   8  18  25   -7  14
 6 Jingying      14   1  2  11   5  29  -24   5

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 15

More rain. Records will surely be broken for precipitation totals come the end of summer. Two games in the League of the Two Sapphires were marred by the misty sheets of water pouring down from the sky, one in Qiawutian, and one in Chumeichang. Nobody in either city has an ark handy, unfortunately. The Avengers have Yue Hsieh, though, for whatever that's worth. Despite Fuchou's struggles of late, she definitely seems to be having a better year personally than last year, and with former Burgundy boss Run Ming Kwan now in the dugout for the Naixi national team, you would expect she'll be in pole position to reclaim the number nine shirt for the Blues at the Copa Rushmori. Her 35th and 42nd minute goals sunk the "hosts" Sheshou, who had come into the match unbeaten in three across all comps. Fuchou's triumph ends their winless slide (at least for now) and they jump back up to second in the table, ahead of Nongmin on goal difference (again, at least for now). Meanwhile, at the Huangse Migong, the Snowmen were faced with the impossible: an away fixture versus Chongjibo. This Futengma-based club have had their moments this year, but this week wasn't one of them. The Shockwaves racked up over eighty percent possession over the course of the contest, and Xue had to resort to going route one every time they did win the ball back, such was the intensity of the Pink and Black's press. There were a few times when Zong Yuan Ti timed his run quite well, which caused the home crowd a little bit of stress, but Lu Fang Huang performed the sweeper keeper role with aplomb and, at the other end, eventually the Blue and Green's defense cracked. The Shockwaves notched goals in the final five minutes of each half to claim their twelfth win in their fifteenth league game this season. They have conceded just four times in those 15 matches.

On Saturday afternoon, tempers ran hot. Perhaps it was the scorching sun, which at last poked its way through the clouds around 10 AM and began roasting everything underneath it. At kickoff between Qiji and Zhayao in Chumeichang, it was 83°F/28°C. Or perhaps it was the aggressive approach Chun Hsia Teoh instructed her Qiji to adopt - clearly she had seen the tape of Xue's loss to the Miners one week before, and was determined to neutralize all of the components of Red and White's attacking arsenal. The tactic paid off within seconds of kickoff. Lai Hung won the ball fairly as she slid into Kuang Yin Cao's shins to clean up a through ball in the 2nd minute, but left a little extra in the challenge, standing up while Cao was still above her. The false nine leapt to his feet, getting right in Hung's face. She said something to him during their "conversation" - we television viewers have no idea what - and Cao lost it. He punched Hung in the head, in view of the referee, VAR, and everyone else, and a massive brawl broke out. Obviously, Cao was shown red once the professional-wrestling style melee was broken up, and the Miners had to play nearly the entire game a man short. That's twice now in three games that a Zhayao player has been sent off for violent conduct... surely Chun Lin has a disciplinary problem that needs sorting at her club. Anyway, the rest of the game obviously tilted Qiji's way, and the Wizards did score in the 25th minute, but all things considered, the Miners deserve credit: they scored shorthanded in the 69th minute, and then held on for a draw. That night in Qiawutian, temperatures cooled down to around 67°F/19°C, and we got to enjoy a game with fewer goals but fewer violent altercations. In what somehow turned out to be a relegation six-pointer, Aierlanren hosted Yanjiang in front of an apprehensive home crowd. The Irish had lost three straight across league and cup, and though they were taking on the team in last place, the fear was that the Lava Monsters were in better form. That fear was warranted, as it turns out. Chin Chih Yap's 70th minute one-on-one was the closest the Gold and White ever game to registering a goal, and they desperately needed it as Wei Yan Lin had ripped a shot into the Irish net in the 49th. But the Yanjiang keeper put the shot over with a valiant reflex save and gave the Lava Monsters a precious second win of the season. Because of their superior number of goals scored, they've jumped above Xue into ninth and are only three points shy of safety. And we once called them a laughingstock.

Finally, on Sunday night we concluded the weekend as we began it: with more damnable rain. The Farmers clearly arrived at the Sha Dadao determined to settle the score after their humiliating elimination from the Zhen Li Jiang Cup three weeks prior, and the damp pitch obliged their attacking play for the first half. Chong Xian Ye, clearly having watched Yue Hsieh's imperious performance on Friday, made sure he didn't miss when he had a chance to slot his chance away in the 23rd minute. However, buoyed by the noise made by their fierce anarchist and variously left-wing supporters, the Black Cats came out of the dressing room at half time breathing fire. Former Black and Brown star Tan Hung Xun made a terrible mistake in transition in the 48th minute, and the Black Cats' passing movement to set up the equalizer was as good as anything Chongjibo have produced in the last eighteen months. Baomao supporters left the stadium mostly elated to have got one over on the Silver and Red once again; the only sour note was that manager Mei Huo clearly made a tactical mistake by declining to pull Hang Ki Tan off the pitch in the final minutes. The center back had been shown a yellow in the first half, and was on thin ice with the strict referee. After a shirt tug in the 83rd minute to keep Ye from launching a cross into the box, Tan received his second caution of the match, resulting in the second expulsion of the weekend and guaranteeing that the tall defender will be suspended for the first leg of Baomao's cup quarterfinal next week.

MATCHDAY 15
Sheshou 0-2 Fuchou
Chongjibo 2-0 Xue
Qiji 1-1 Zhayao
Aierlanren 0-1 Yanjiang
Baomao 1-1 Nongmin

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       15  12  2   1  27   4  +23  38
02 Nongmin         15   7  4   4  28  17  +11  25
 3 Fuchou          15   6  6   3  30  12  +18  24
 4 Qiji            15   6  6   3  20  14   +6  24
 5 Zhayao          15   5  5   5  19  21   -2  20
 6 Sheshou         15   4  5   6  12  18   -6  17
 7 Baomao          15   4  5   6  14  21   -7  17
 8 Aierlanren      15   4  3   8  12  17   -5  15
09 Yanjiang        15   2  6   7  16  35  -19  12
10 Xue             15   4  0  11   9  28  -19  12

Bet you thought you wouldn't ever see any words here. Surprise! It's time for a mid-season check in on how things are going in the League of Ascension. Remember Xiniu and Yinying from last year in the top flight? What are they up to? Any chance either will come back up and appear in the League of the Two Sapphires, Edition 3? Short answer: sure!

First and foremost, we have to talk about Qi'e (in English, that's the Penguins). The ambitious club from Wanqianganga, a city in the south-central area of Naixi, are by some distance the best club in the division. That is why, when the club survived the Casaran stage of the Zhen Li Jiang Cup, ardent followers of the Naixese second division weren't at all surprised. The Penguins have been blasting in goals for fun, and it wouldn't be completely unreasonable to see them breach the Shockwaves defense once or twice next week when they welcome the Pink and Black to Wanqianganga for the first leg of the quarterfinal between the two teams. Neither would it be completely unreasonable to confidently say Qi'e will be in the top flight next season, as the champion of the League of Ascension receives guaranteed promotion.

In (distant) pursuit are the Blue Rhinos of Xiniu, Chumeichang's vigorously apolitical team for moms and dads who just want a nice day out watching football. Relegation has rendered the Blue Rhinos completely unrecognizable, as Guan Cai Tsung and Lan Fang Fen were both sold off to higher-division clubs. The only man still standing is the disgraced goalkeeper Lao Che Cai, who was starting for Naixi not so long ago. With the Gan Liang era at an end, Cai can focus on his club career, which so far is going terribly. Xiniu have been quite decent thus far, and look like they'll be finishing second (worth home-field advantage in the promotion playoff against the third place team), but Cai has not been the Blue Rhinos best player thus far.

Yet further down are Baiyi (another team from Bao in the Naixese far east), Zhanshi (another Zhen Li Jiang Cup quarterfinalist), and Yinying (the club favored by most of Naixi's police officers). The Termites of Baiyi are the best positioned of the three to finish third right now, but with half the season still to go, anything could happen. Expect the race to get quite tasty, as the team that claims this spot gets the final place in the IFCF Liga B Champions Trophy - regardless of whether they ultimately go up or not. Sitting rock bottom of the Naixese football pyramid are Jingying, who may as well be using the ball boys as forwards, such has been their struggle to score goals in the League of Ascension. They did just win for only the second time all year, though, so maybe things are looking up? (Doubtful.)

MATCHDAY 15
Jingying 1-0 Yinying
Baiyi 2-2 Qi'e
Zhanshi 0-2 Xiniu

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          15  12  3   0  35   8  +27  39
 2 Xiniu         15   8  4   3  25  12  +13  28
 3 Baiyi         15   5  5   5  17  22   -5  20
 4 Zhanshi       15   5  2   8  14  18   -4  17
 5 Yinying       15   4  2   9  18  26   -8  14
 6 Jingying      15   2  2  11   6  29  -23   8

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 QUARTERFINAL LEG 1

On Saturday night, not more than 48 hours after the government's controversial moratorium on all alcohol sales, the quarterfinals of Naixi's premier domestic cup competition began. They were accompanied by probably the loveliest summer weather we have had yet this year, as temperatures averaged around 68°F/20°C and the skies stayed dry - so perhaps this means that the forces of the universe are telling us to celebrate this new era of temperance rather than dread it. In Wanqianganga, Qi'e acquitted themselves well (for most of the game, at least), keeping within touching distance for a majority of the second half after conceding twice in the first half. The Penguins' 77th minute goal, scored right as the game felt like it was beginning to open up, caused a euphoric rush to come over the home supporters. With the deficit cleft in two, it seemed as though the tie was about to get a lot more complicated for the Shockwaves... but Kian Zhi Yuan wasn't having it. The Naixi captain scored in the 82nd and 88th minutes, and that should be the end of that. At Zhanshi's tiny little ground in the Industrial Valley district of Qiawutian, the Orange and Blue scared the absolute shit out of Qiji, jumping out to a two nil lead. For many clubs, it would have been panic stations, but Chun Hsia Teoh didn't go that direction. She told her Wizards to narrow the back line a bit more and manage possession with a vice grip, and it worked. Two minutes after the Warriors' second goal, the Purple and White had made it two one, and the equalizer came just after half time. Under the cosh for the entire second half, Zhanshi's resistance finally failed in the 88th minute as Qiji claimed the late win. In Futengma, Xue's chilled-out supporters provided a template to other fan groups for the post-booze era: just smoke cannabis in the ground. The skunky smoke and mirthful laughter in the Ruan Tu seemed to make the Black Cats' players a bit woozy (though the small clique of away fans seemed to be having an equally good time). Of course, nothing could be done about the Snowmen's on-the-pitch struggles, as their attacks fizzled out and Cheuk Yan Tsang eventually put the anarchist visitors in front in the 85th minute. Finally, in the last quarterfinal we had a Qiawutian derby, as Sheshou took on Fuchou. Myriad pundits have demanded the sacking or resignation of Avengers boss Lian Wei Chew, and with good reason, but the first half was vastly improved at the Sha Dadao. Yes, the Marksmen scored against the run of play in the 14th minute, but seven short minutes later the All-Whites' lead was gone in a puff of smoke as Jen Ta Jin's shot from a tight angle ricocheted off the far post and into the net. If only - from Fuchou's perspective - the game could be measured on the first half alone. Following half time, Sheshou's far-right-wing fans succeeded in getting under the skin of the "visitors" as they chucked coins and other items onto the field. The match had to be delayed in the 63rd minute, and three minutes after that delay ended, Vinicio Juapuala's bad tackle on Tak Hing Jin earned the center back from Cardenao a straight red. The scoreline at full time was the same as the scoreline at half time, but for Avengers fans it felt like another waste of an evening.

Qi'e 1-4 Chongjibo
Zhanshi 2-3 Qiji
Xue 0-1 Baomao
Sheshou 1-1 Fuchou

MATCHDAY 16
Xiniu 6-0 Yinying

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          15  12  3   0  35   8  +27  39
 2 Xiniu         16   9  4   3  31  12  +19  31
 3 Baiyi         15   5  5   5  17  22   -5  20
 4 Zhanshi       15   5  2   8  14  18   -4  17
 5 Yinying       16   4  2  10  18  32  -14  14
 6 Jingying      15   2  2  11   6  29  -23   8

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 16

Gorgeous rays of a late summer sunset poked their way through the black and orange canopy surrounding the stands at the Sha Dadao as the Friday night showdown between local clubs Zhayao and Baomao began. The Miners had enjoyed a weekend off - having been eliminated from the Zhen Li Jiang Cup in the Casaran phase - while the Black Cats had gotten their engines purring in Futengma as they beat Xue in the first leg of their quarterfinal. For Zhayao, the extra rest time trumped Baomao's good form. The Red and White controlled possession for the whole first half (despite the absences of Lan Fang Fen and Kuang Yin Cao due to suspension), and nearly scored on a three-on-two just before half time (only heroics from center back Jun Ming kept it scoreless). The contest seemed to open up in the second half - Qi Chao Hark ended the Black Cats' hopes of keeping a clean sheet in the 62nd minute - but that also exposed the known flaws in the Miners defense. In the 83rd, with his back to goal, Cheuk Yan Tsang received a pass and flicked the ball up and over a Zhayao defender's leg to volley in the equalizer. It was a wonderful bit of skill that saved a point for the Black and Brown. Perhaps it wasn't deserved, but Zhayao can only blame themselves.

The next afternoon, under a bright blue sky and a nicely symmetrical plume of black smoke from the smelting plant, the Snowmen tried to halt their five-game winless run across all competitions. They seemed to have every chance of doing so at the outset, as they were taking on an Aierlanren hardly at the apex of their abilities. But it took until just before the hour mark before Zong Yuan Ti was able to find a way past the characteristically impenetrable Irish defense, and by then the Gold and White had scored twice, in the 16th and 52nd minutes. There was a glimmer of hope in the 88th minute when Hai Ying Fu picked up her second yellow of the game and had to take a slightly early shower, but Xue's brief man advantage was insufficient to alter the result. It'll be a relief to Aierlanren supporters, as their club is back up to sixth after leapfrogging Sheshou and Baomao. That night, in Chumeichang, Chongjibo will feel a little bitter about being held to a draw after some refereeing controversy. Their match, against local rival (but political ally) Qiji, was slow to get going, as the Wizards did extremely well to maintain their shape while holding no possession - something they aren't really accustomed to. Eventually, the Shockwaves demolished the defensive barriers keeping them from scoring, and knocked in the opener on 32 minutes, but just before half time VAR stopped the play for something that had happened on a Qiji corner kick. Evidently there was a single video shot showing contact between the ball and a Chongjibo defender's hand, and after the referee peeked at it on the video monitor, he pointed to the spot. Ma Huan Yep converted the chance from 12 yards, and amidst a hail of boos (not booze, that's banned now) from the fans in pink, the clubs went into half time level. In the 65th minute, Iomelda van Hoogstraaten slipped in a great ball for her striker, and the champions went two one up, but in the 73rd minute they had an opportunity to make it three one. They couldn't, because a Wizards center back's hand deflected Kian Zhi Yuan's shot wide. Amidst an outcry, the referee again went to the monitor at the recommendation of VAR. This time, he refused to give a penalty, his claim being that the Qiji defender had his hand in a normal position at his side and had insufficient time to get it out of the way. That destroyed Chongjibo's momentum, and Qiji equalized in the 77th.

We then moved to a toasty but bearable Sunday afternoon, when two games were played simultaneously. At the Huangse Migong, both Nongmin and Fuchou were licking their lips at the prospect of gaining ground on Chongjibo and pulling away from Qiji, as both teams had dropped points (to each other) the day before. The winner would move into second, so the stakes were high. The Farmers certainly had the better first half, clearly amped up at the chance to test an Avengers defense stripped of its most valuable part (Cardenaoan center back Vinicio Juapuala, who is suspended). Unfortunately for them, Lian Wei Chew made a number of tactical adjustments to compensate, arranging a couple holding midfielders in a low block and trying to play on the break. It worked, and in stoppage time of the first half Jen Ta Jin exploited a mile of space in behind the Farmers' back line and scored on a breakaway. Jiawei Sangu must have ripped into his players at half time, as Nongmin looked vastly improved following the interval, and they equalized in the 49th minute, but Fuchou showed a bit of character that's been lacking recently. They doubled down on the low block, and Jin would get a hat trick by the end of the game, again and again plaguing the Farmers with his pace and timing. Meanwhile, in Bao, five points separated the Lava Monsters and the Marksmen, which at this stage in the season isn't really enough to merit calling the showdown between the two a six-pointer, but neither team won anyway, so it's a moot point. Sheshou scored in the 32nd minute, bringing a pall of disappointment over the home fans, but a vibrant second half performance from Yanjiang resulted in an 85th minute equalizer and a point that moves them ever-so-slightly further away from last place.

MATCHDAY 16
Zhayao 1-1 Baomao
Xue 1-2 Aierlanren
Qiji 2-2 Chongjibo
Nongmin 1-3 Fuchou
Yanjiang 1-1 Sheshou

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       16  12  3   1  29   6  +23  39
02 Fuchou          16   7  6   3  33  13  +20  27
 3 Nongmin         16   7  4   5  29  20   +9  25
 4 Qiji            16   6  7   3  22  16   +6  25
 5 Zhayao          16   5  6   5  20  22   -2  21
 6 Aierlanren      16   5  3   8  14  18   -4  18
 7 Sheshou         16   4  6   6  13  19   -6  18
 8 Baomao          16   4  6   6  15  22   -7  18
09 Yanjiang        16   2  7   7  17  36  -19  13
10 Xue             16   4  0  12  10  30  -20  12

MATCHDAY 17
Jingying 0-1 Xiniu
Qi'e 1-2 Zhanshi
Yinying 1-1 Baiyi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          16  12  3   1  36  10  +26  39
 2 Xiniu         17  10  4   3  32  12  +20  34
 3 Baiyi         16   5  6   5  18  23   -5  21
 4 Zhanshi       16   6  2   8  16  19   -3  20
 5 Yinying       17   4  3  10  19  33  -14  15
 6 Jingying      16   2  2  12   6  30  -24   8

[Naixi]

MIDWEEK MAKE-UP FIXTURES
Qi'e 7-0 Jingying
Zhanshi 2-0 Baiyi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          17  13  3   1  43  10  +33  42
 2 Xiniu         17  10  4   3  32  12  +20  34
 3 Zhanshi       17   7  2   8  18  19   -1  23
 4 Baiyi         17   5  6   6  18  25   -7  21
 5 Yinying       17   4  3  10  19  33  -14  15
 6 Jingying      17   2  2  13   6  37  -31   8

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 17

In Qiawutian on Friday night, Baomao were trying to extend a four-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, but the visitors were the invincible Chongjibo. Relations between the two clubs' supporters, like the air temperature during the game, are warm, but the Black Cats could only keep it level for 16 minutes before Iomelda van Hoogstraaten put the champions in front. The Shockwaves made it two in the 81st minute, and they temporarily moved 15 points clear of the Avengers at the top of the table.

On Saturday afternoon, again at the Sha Dadao, a Qiawutian derby would determine the size of Chongjibo's lead as second-place Fuchou "hosted" Zhayao. The Miners believed there could be a hole in the Avengers' defense - with Vinicio Juapuala still suspended - but with their own main attacking threat Kuang Yin Cao also serving a disciplinary ban, they could never find a way through. Jen Ta Jin ultimately decided the destination of the three points when he dinked a shot to the Zhayao keeper's left in the 64th minute.

The next evening, still in Qiawutian, the Silver and Red of Nongmin were three games without a win and were in danger of slipping into fourth. A trip to Naixi's largest city to face off against the stalwart Marksmen could easily go wrong, and in 6th minute, it definitely seemed like it was about to, as Tak Hing Jin drilled the opener into the roof of the net. Sheshou continued to dominate possession and outperform the visitors, but defensive errors gave the farmers a lifeline to fight back into it, and 18th and 74th minute strikes from midfielder Sa Kota Yue provided Nongmin with a vital victory.

On Monday night, we had two simultaneous games played on complete opposite ends of the country. In Qiawutian, Ma Huan Yep was poor for the Wizards all night long, but his worst action was a horrific back pass that was intercepted by Chin Chih Yap and tapped past a flailing Lai Hung in the 2nd minute. The home fans might have thought they were about to rack up a second straight win, but a half hour later the Purple and White had the match back on level terms. It's not a terrible result for the Irish, but they'll feel like they possibly scored too early. Meanwhile, in Bao, it was a bit cooler than in Qiawutian (though still acceptable at 58°F/14°C), as two clubs with utterly stalled engines tried to heat themselves back up. Just like the game occurring at the same time, the half time scoreline was same as the full time scoreline, as Xue scored from a corner in the 19th minute, but the Lava Monsters obtained an equalizer through Wei Yan Lin twenty minutes later. The draw is frankly a dreadful result for both clubs as they both lurch towards the edge - and the relegation abyss below.

MATCHDAY 17
Baomao 0-2 Chongjibo
Fuchou 1-0 Zhayao
Sheshou 1-2 Nongmin
Aierlanren 1-1 Qiji
Yanjiang 1-1 Xue

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       17  13  3   1  31   6  +25  42
02 Fuchou          17   8  6   3  34  13  +21  30
 3 Nongmin         17   8  4   5  31  21  +10  28
 4 Qiji            17   6  8   3  23  17   +6  26
 5 Zhayao          17   5  6   6  20  23   -3  21
 6 Aierlanren      17   5  4   8  15  19   -4  19
 7 Sheshou         17   4  6   7  14  21   -7  18
 8 Baomao          17   4  6   7  15  24   -9  18
09 Yanjiang        17   2  8   7  18  37  -19  14
10 Xue             17   4  1  12  11  31  -20  13

MATCHDAY 18
Zhanshi 1-1 Jingying
Baiyi 0-1 Xiniu
Yinying 0-2 Qi'e

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          18  14  3   1  45  10  +35  45
 2 Xiniu         18  11  4   3  33  12  +21  37
 3 Zhanshi       18   7  3   8  19  20   -1  24
 4 Baiyi         18   5  6   7  18  26   -8  21
 5 Yinying       18   4  3  11  19  35  -16  15
 6 Jingying      18   2  3  13   7  38  -31   9

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 18

The weekend began on beautiful late summer Friday night in Qiawutian. For the visitors Nongmin, the time was now to put a win on the board and give Chongjibo and Fuchou something to think about, as the two were to play on Sunday. Somebody was going to drop points. The Farmers, in many ways cursed with having to play first, passed the test. They started strong, scoring in the 8th and 23rd minutes and then managing their lead well. Tan Hung Xun put in one of those Tan Hung Xun-y performances, in the right place for all ninety minutes and snuffing out every Miners counterattack before it happened. Of course, Kuang Yin Cao was serving the last game of his suspension... who knows how Xun would have performed if she'd had to deal with her Blues teammate.

The next afternoon in Futengma, it was hot. Quite hot. Almost 79°F/26°C. Twenty-one players were sweating it out there (or maybe the perspiration was a reaction to some chemical in the smelting plant fumes?). One player, though, wasn't, and his name was Zong Yuan Ti. See, visiting Sheshou had struck first, in the 22nd minute, and they'd looked like deserved winners on the balance of play. But in the 80th minute, Xue won a free kick from 4 yards outside the penalty area. If somebody could put the right dip and swerve on the ball, there was every chance the Marksmen goalkeeper would lose sight of the ball in the smoggy air. Ti, eager to prove a point after being left out of the Naixi Copa Rushmori squad, curled in straight into the back of the net and saved a point for Xue. They're four points adrift. Is this the beginning of a great escape? That night, the other team struggling for air down in the drop played, but they looked like half the team the Snowmen are. Perhaps it was the long trip to Chumeichang away from their eastern home, but Yanjiang were disastrous in their match with Qiji. The Purple and White scored in the second minute, and if that didn't set the tone, the Lava Monsters' first half red card sure did. The Wizards then just put on a show in the second half, tripling their advantage and keeping the pace with Nongmin in the race for second place.

On Sunday afternoon, we had two great simultaneous rivalries. Honestly, League of the Two Sapphires officials, what were you thinking putting these two games on at the same time? Did you have heat stroke? We certainly did, as the temps continued rising along with tempers at the Huangse Migong. One can only wonder what would have happened if famed Cardenaoan hatchet man Vinicio Juapuala had been out there in the fray, but he was still serving a ban for his red card in the first leg of the Zhen Li Jiang Cup quarterfinal. "Professional wrestling" is probably the best way to describe what happened when Fuchou's penalty claims were ignored by the referee in the 17th minute, and the sense of injustice was further fueled by the fact that Kian Zhi Yuan slotted away the only goal of the game six minutes later while an Avengers midfielder was lying on the ground injured. The Shockwaves' lead atop the division has now ballooned to fourteen points. It may not be over, folks, but it's over, folks. Meanwhile, at the Sha Dadao, another hotly contested game played out in what's being called the East Qiawutian Derby. Baomao and Aierlanren may not be the best two sides in Naixi or even in Qiawutian, but every time they play we get a fascinating contest and a deafening atmosphere. This game was no different, though the Irish's 69th minute goal (nice) will probably not be what the match will be remembered for. That honor will go to the hilarious antics of Aierlanren's Hai Ying Fu, who was playing in her first game back after suspension from a red card on Matchday 16. She wasted no time, as in the 6th minute she elbowed the absolute shit out of Baomao striker Cheuk Yan Tsang's head when the two went up for a header together. Though it seemed to be a mistake, the ref didn't like that and showed her a red. VAR looked at it for a very long time, as it seemed to be a bit of a soft one, but in the end stuck with the on-field decision. Justice was ultimately served to the Irish when they scored the winner short-handed.

MATCHDAY 18
Zhayao 0-2 Nongmin
Xue 1-1 Sheshou
Qiji 3-0 Yanjiang
Chongjibo 1-0 Fuchou
Baomao 0-1 Aierlanren

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       18  14  3   1  32   6  +26  45
02 Nongmin         18   9  4   5  33  21  +12  31
 3 Fuchou          18   8  6   4  34  14  +20  30
 4 Qiji            18   7  8   3  26  17   +9  29
 5 Aierlanren      18   6  4   8  16  19   -3  22
 6 Zhayao          18   5  6   7  20  25   -5  21
 7 Sheshou         18   4  7   7  15  22   -7  19
 8 Baomao          18   4  6   8  15  25  -10  18
09 Xue             18   4  2  12  12  32  -20  14
10 Yanjiang        18   2  8   8  18  40  -22  14

MATCHDAY 19
Jingying 1-1 Baiyi
Zhanshi 2-1 Yinying
Xiniu 0-1 Qi'e

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          19  15  3   1  46  10  +36  48
 2 Xiniu         19  11  4   4  33  13  +20  37
 3 Zhanshi       19   8  3   8  21  21   +0  27
 4 Baiyi         19   5  7   7  19  27   -8  22
 5 Yinying       19   4  3  12  20  37  -17  15
 6 Jingying      19   2  4  13   8  39  -31  10

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 QUARTERFINAL LEG 2

On a muggy and damp Saturday night, the grounds filled up yet again so that fans could witness the thrilling conclusion to the Zhen Li Jiang Cup quarterfinals. In Chumeichang on a very fast pitch, Qi'e were ground into a pulp yet again by a side that is quite literally out of their league. Again they raised pulses for fans of the Pink and Black, as they opened the scoring in the 43rd minute. But Chongjibo destroyed the Penguins in the second half, scoring in the 73rd, 83rd, and 88th minutes, then added a fourth on the night and an eighth in the tie on 90+3 minutes. It'll sting for Wanqianganga's Qi'e, who showed enough in the tie that "embarassment" doesn't feel like the right way to describe their elimination. The fact that they are tantalizingly close to clinching promotion to the League of the Two Sapphires already will be more than enough to soothe their pain. Meanwhile, Chongjibo rumble forward. Just like last season, they seem to be a lock for a league-cup double. But we all know how that went for the Shockwaves... Qiji, too, had a big old round in the hand cannon, and they blew the Warriors of Zhanshi away with it. It did take the Wizards a minute or two to start really cooking, but once their potion was ready in the 34th minute, there was no denying them as Ma Huan Yep bashed in a penalty. The Purple and White found even more joy in the second half, doubling and then tripling their advantage in the 66th and 74th minutes. Over in Qiawutian, early moments of doubt for the Black Cats were dispelled by a reassuring set piece goal. Yes, Aríela Hjörleifsdóttir exploited a moment of woeful positioning by racing past Hang Ki Tan and clobbering a tie-tying goal into the Baomao net on 6 minutes, but Jun Ming avenged his defensive compatriot fourteen minutes later on a long free kick that he headed over Aríela's head. The one-goal lead re-established, it seemed as though the Black Cats were going to successfully park the bus, but the Snowmen didn't freeze, and coolly made it two-one on the night (and two all in the tie) in the 84th minute. Once again, though, Baomao dug deep. Four minutes into the first extra time period, they once again answered, this time through Cheuk Yan Tsang. The Black and Brown are through, just barely. In the North Qiawutian Derby between Fuchou and Sheshou, Tak Hing Jin's magisterial individual goal (in which he dribbled past Vinicio Juapuala and about 40 other Avengers defenders) came far too late at the 67 minute mark. By then, Yue Hsieh had gobbled up a first half brace, and Fuchou's improved defensive qualities were on show for the final 25 minutes of the quarterfinal.

So, it's Chongjibo, Qiji, Baomao, and Fuchou who are through. What's interesting about the upcoming semifinals is that the seeding produced by the Casaran has the Shockwaves and the Avengers facing off in the semis. One of either the Wizards or the Black Cats will be waiting in the final. It does seem to be one of those situations where the winner of the Chongjibo-Fuchou semi will win the whole competition in the end... but Qiji and Baomao cannot be underestimated. Both have much to prove.

Chongjibo 4-1 Qi'e (8-2 agg)
Qiji 3-0 Zhanshi (6-2 agg)
Baomao 1-2 Xue (2-2 AET, 3-2 agg)
Fuchou 2-1 Sheshou (3-2 agg)

Semifinals
* Team listed first plays at home in first leg

(4) Fuchou v (1) Chongjibo
(3) Baomao v (2) Qiji

MATCHDAY 20
Yinying 1-1 Jingying

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          19  15  3   1  46  10  +36  48
 2 Xiniu         19  11  4   4  33  13  +20  37
 3 Zhanshi       19   8  3   8  21  21   +0  27
 4 Baiyi         19   5  7   7  19  27   -8  22
 5 Yinying       20   4  4  12  21  38  -17  16
 6 Jingying      20   2  5  13   9  40  -31  11

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 19

It may still be hotter than an oven and drier than a... uh... dryer... here in Naixi, but one look at a calendar will tell you: summer is wrapping up. And that can mean only one thing for football played on the domestic front: the season is beginning to wrap up and for those in search of silverware, it's now or never. On Friday night, one such ambitious club registered a furious statement win. Jen Ta Jin scored in the 9th, 22nd, and 56th minutes, and his attacking partner Yue Hsieh scored in the 11th, 28th, and 61st. The crowning of Chongjibo as back-to-back league champions may be a foregone conclusion, but the Avengers are determined to remind everyone that they have the best attacking players in the country. As for the club Fuchou destroyed that night (Qiawutian rivals Aierlanren), it was a huge failure but one that can be easily written off due to the suspension of defender Hai Ying Fu. Her absence was felt greatly.

On a toasty Saturday afternoon, still in Qiawutian at the Sha Dadao, we had yet another hotly-contested edition of what's being called the Chengse River Derby between right-wing Sheshou and left-wing Zhayao. The "hosts" scored just inside the 20-minute mark, but more or less the instant Tak Hing Jin's shot rippled the Miners' net, the contest shifted in favor of the Red and White. Kuang Yin Cao, in particular, had a fabulous second half. He didn't score, but he led all Zhayao players in passes and his work rate was utterly sublime as he shuttled back and forth between midfield and attack. He assisted on Qi Chao Hark's quality equalizer, which concluded the scoring in a fiery affair. The point takes the Miners back up into fifth, but the Marksmen stay right where they are at: seventh. That night, in Futengma, it was surprisingly nice as the climate stayed warm and dry. The home side, relegation battler Xue, had the unenviable task of getting a result from a team that seems to be a lock for IFCF competitions on account of their smooth passing style. Chumeichang's Qiji. There was only one winner on paper, but football matches are not played on paper; they're played on those green things out in the middle of the stadium. The Snowmen found in themselves a level of defensive solidity and organization that has evaded them thus far this year, and the Wizards were, frankly, much too ponderous, doing far too little with the ball almost entirely in their possession. Are the Purple and White beginning to let the "Big Three" get away from them? And for the Blue and Green, it's another tiny inch closer to safety. Can they make it?

"One Lu Fang Huang, there's only one Lu Fang Huang, one Lu Fang Huang," the Shockwaves faithful were singing as their Sunday afternoon showdown with Chumeichang rivals Nongmin kicked off in torrid conditions at the Huangse Migong. On the balance of play thus far this season, they were right to sing Huang's praises (he's got to be a lock for the Golden Glove already and he's won the number one shirt for the national team). But on the balance of play in this game? Ehhhh. Not so impressive. Huang should have been better positioned when Blues teammate Sa Kota Yue looped a dinked shot over his head in the 16th minute to open the scoring, and gave away a penalty in the 61st (which Chong Xian Ye converted) for an unnecessary trip at the edge of the 18-yard box. Kian Zhi Yuan halved the deficit in the 79th, but Nongmin held the line for the final fifteen minutes and they - like the Avengers - have gained ground on the Pink and Black. Is it really over? The same question could be asked at the end of the simultaneous Sunday afternoon game played in Bao, where Yanjiang were hosting Baomao in cooler but still dry conditions. The Lava Monsters dominated possession and created a ton of chances in the first half, but failed to capitalize on any of it. The army officer's club might have been cowed by their own profligacy, but they came out of the tunnel following half time breathing fire, and scored in the 50th and 58th minutes. Hang Ki Tan scored from a set piece, sandwiched in between the Lava Monsters' goals, but that was sort of all the Black Cats had to offer. They're now just a single point clear of the drop. For Yanjiang, it must be a great feeling to have improved this much over the course of the season. They really do look like a team that could stay up. Is it really over?

MATCHDAY 19
Fuchou 6-0 Aierlanren
Sheshou 1-1 Zhayao
Xue 0-0 Qiji
Nongmin 2-1 Chongjibo
Yanjiang 2-1 Baomao

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       19  14  3   2  33   8  +25  45
02 Nongmin         19  10  4   5  35  22  +13  34
 3 Fuchou          19   9  6   4  40  14  +26  33
 4 Qiji            19   7  9   3  26  17   +9  30
 5 Zhayao          19   5  7   7  21  26   -5  22
 6 Aierlanren      19   6  4   9  16  25   -9  22
 7 Sheshou         19   4  8   7  16  23   -7  20
 8 Baomao          19   4  6   9  16  27  -11  18
09 Yanjiang        19   3  8   8  20  41  -21  17
10 Xue             19   4  3  12  12  32  -20  15

MATCHDAY 21
Jingying 1-7 Qi'e
Yinying 0-2 Xiniu
Baiyi 1-1 Zhanshi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          20  16  3   1  53  11  +42  51
 2 Xiniu         20  12  4   4  35  13  +22  40
 3 Zhanshi       20   8  4   8  22  22   +0  28
 4 Baiyi         20   5  8   7  20  28   -8  23
 5 Yinying       21   4  4  13  21  40  -19  16
 6 Jingying      21   2  5  14  10  47  -37  11

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 20

It stayed quite warm, but the weather on Friday night in the Celestial Empire told us one thing, loud and clear: summer is over. The temps were mild, but the rain fell down in sheets in both Chumeichang and Qiawutian, and both cities were hosting simultaneous games. In the capital, Qiji were by far the better side as they stomped Sheshou three nil. Ma Huan Yep took home Man of the Match honors on account of his three assists (the goals came in the 36th, 76th, and 82nd minutes), and Tak Hing Jin (the Marksmen's main goalscorer) was more or less an absentee. If there's one little area of concern, it's that for the second week in a row the Wizards took a little while to really get going. That'll fly against the Zhayaos and Sheshous of the world, but it won't do against Fuchou or Chongjibo. At least they won this time. Meanwhile, at the Sha Dadao, the soaring hopes of the army officers out in Bao were blasted out of the sky by Lian Wei Chew's ruthless Fuchou. In a just world, we'd be able to at least say that the Lava Monsters put up a fight for a while, but even as they kept it level during the opening quarter of an hour, the signs were clear that the defensive problems Yanjiang endured during the spring are returning now in the fall. Like lava falling into the ocean, their defenders' reactions are slowing and ossifying, and by the end of the six nil hiding, the back line resembled sopping stone golems more than men. As dreadful in the first half as they were in the second (they shipped three goals in each period), the Lava Monsters' once-blossoming belief that they can avoid relegation is dying.

The next afternoon, the rain continued. At the Huangse Migong, the Shockwaves looked like vicious dogs let loose from inhumane cages. Their determination to prove they deserve to be miles clear at the top was impossible to miss, despite the fact that they were contesting what has been informally labelled by supporters as the Derby of Friendship versus Qiawutian's Zhayao. There were no friends on the pitch for ninety minutes, though, as Chongjibo humiliated the Miners three to nil. The first goal came in the 11th minute, and the Pink and Black showed no mercy after that. They added a second in first half stoppage time and notched a third in the 49th, then coasted to a comprehensive victory in the second half. There's no true shame in the result from a Zhayao perspective - they can't slip to any further than sixth this weekend - but for Chongjibo it's a vital statement win. Then, on Saturday night, it was Nongmin's turn. Fuchou and Chongjibo had both smashed their opposition; they needed to do the same. But the rain that had baptized the victories of the Avengers and the Shockwaves turned off like a tap in response to the opening whistle at the Sha Dadao. The Irish defense that had been so abysmal a week before against the Burgundy was back to its five star self, particularly during the first half. (Having Hai Ying Fu back a few weeks early on account of the commutation of her red card suspension was a huge help.) His rock-solid back line sufficiently organized, Kwang Chih Lo approached the match the way he always does against better opposition: sit back and kill your opponents on the break. Chen Ling carried the match ball home after her hat trick from doing just that, and the Farmers' dreams of chasing down Chongjibo faded and died like floating bubbles flying high in the night sky.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon in Qiawutian, it was clear that the Black Cats had internalized their careless defeat in Bao the weekend prior as a flagrant disregard for their coveted place in the top flight, and they took much greater care during yet another relegation six-pointer. Like their archrivals Aierlanren the night before, Baomao played defensively and waited to holes to open up in the Snowmen's back line during transition. They had to wait a while, but their patience paid off eventually, as Xue's defense disintegrated in the 89th minute and allowed a Black Cats' midfielder to surge ahead and score. Disappointed and desperate, fans of the Blue and Green are for the first time all year beginning to sour on their beloved club and its players. Aríela Hjörleifsdóttir's defensive work rate in recent weeks has been especially appalling, and the teenager's social media antics seem to be her top priority rather than her commitment on the pitch. She was particularly poor during Baomao's winning goal, and fans are calling for manager Zhi Gang An to discipline her. Regardless of what he decides to do, Xue remain dead last.

MATCHDAY 20
Qiji 3-0 Sheshou
Fuchou 6-0 Yanjiang
Chongjibo 3-0 Zhayao
Aierlanren 3-1 Nongmin
Baomao 1-0 Xue

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       20  15  3   2  36   8  +28  48
02 Fuchou          20  10  6   4  46  14  +32  36
 3 Nongmin         20  10  4   6  36  25  +11  34
 4 Qiji            20   8  9   3  29  17  +12  33
 5 Aierlanren      20   7  4   9  19  26   -7  25
 6 Zhayao          20   5  7   8  21  29   -8  22
 7 Baomao          20   5  6   9  17  27  -10  21
 8 Sheshou         20   4  8   8  16  26  -10  20
09 Yanjiang        20   3  8   9  20  47  -27  17
10 Xue             20   4  3  13  12  33  -21  15

MATCHDAY 22
Xiniu 2-0 Jingying
Zhanshi 1-1 Qi'e
Baiyi 1-0 Yinying

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          21  16  4   1  54  12  +42  52
 2 Xiniu         21  13  4   4  37  13  +24  43
 3 Zhanshi       21   8  5   8  23  23   +0  29
 4 Baiyi         21   6  8   7  21  28   -7  26
 5 Yinying       22   4  4  14  21  41  -20  16
 6 Jingying      22   2  5  15  10  49  -39  11

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 21

It hasn't really cooled down yet in the way we would have expected it to during the early fall in Naixi, but as we mentioned last week, you can tell summer is over because of the strong rains we've been subjected to in recent days. Pitches that have been dry for a few months are being tested with precipitation varying between misty droplets to outright downpours. At the Sha Dadao and the Huangse Migong (where Friday night's two simultaneous matches were played), the grass has held up well... the same might not be as easily said for the home stadia of the bottom two. But we'll get to that. First, the South Qiawutian Derby. If you thought that the club who won on Matchday 20 - the Irish - would come into this contest overconfident, you were wrong... really wrong. The Gold and White continued their late-season resurgence by comprehensively outplaying the Miners. Chen Ling's 3rd minute strike put the Red and White in a big hole early doors, and they found the organized Aierlanren defense impossible to break down. Left-footed winger Chin Chih Yap also got her name on the scoresheet in the 61st. Aierlanren are probably too far away to be in the hunt for IFCF places, but you never know... they appear to be finding their feet at exactly the right time. Meanwhile, in Chumeichang, Nongmin rebounded from their catastrophic defeat to the aforementioned Irish a week ago by registering an unremarkable win over slumping Yanjiang. It wasn't the best performance, strictly speaking... the Farmers should have been in clear water at half time (Chong Xian Ye missed a penalty in the 31st minute and Tan Hung Xun banged a free kick off the crossbar in the 43rd) and instead trudged back into the dressing room at nil nil. Luckily for them, they've got one hell of a midfield weapon in Sa Kota Yue, who has blossomed into an elite player under Jiawei Sangu's leadership. Yue scored just after half time, and they leap above Fuchou in the table.

But, on Saturday afternoon in Futengma, the Avengers had a chance to respond. If they could brush aside the lowly Snowmen, who are very much in crisis, they'd keep the pace with the Silver and Red (and, presumably, the Pink and Black). However, Zhi Gang An threw a spanner in the works by dropping Aríela Hjörleifsdóttir and going to four at the back - a change in shape that seemed suicidally attacking to commentators at kickoff. But Fuchou's midfield didn't seem to have a plan for the extra body Xue were able to pack in there, and Zong Yuan Ti's movement quickly paid out a huge jackpot in the 8th minute as his diving header skipped under the Fuchou keeper's legs. Heroically, the Blue and Green stayed at the Avengers' throats, and frankly could have won by more. It's a season-defining win for Xue, who are creeping ever closer to safety once more, and yet another disaster for the Burgundy. The enduring image of Yue Hsieh, lying flat on her face on the grass, in Fuchou's tangerine change strip, with the rain pouring down on her back, could come to define this season for the ambitious Avengers. So... Fuchou drop to third, and Qiji could match them on points with a win that night in Chumeichang... would the Wizards bottle it, too? Not a chance, pal. In a preview of one of the Zhen Li Jiang Cup semifinals (first leg of those next weekend), Qiji squeaked by Baomao and picked up three points. The Black Cats, while a bit negative tactically, played pretty well... this simply ended up being one of those affairs where a single mistake would decide it. That's exactly what happened, as Hang Ki Tan's plant foot slipped on the wet turf during a clearance and - a bit comedically - he sent the ball scorching off the post and into the back of his own net. In the main, however, Qiji created more than enough chances to claim they were the deserved winners. They're still in fourth, but they only trail Fuchou on the first tiebreaker, goal difference.

Finally, on Sunday night, another upset was so nearly in the cards as the Marksmen snatched an early lead against the champions in front of a raucous crowd at the Sha Dadao. Tak Hing Jin's 9th-minute finessed shot rolled past the outstretched leg of Lu Fang Huang, and Sheshou defended with impressive vigor for the rest of the first half. But Gui Fan Ren's half time tactical alterations were a masterstroke. He instructed Chongjibo's right center back to march way up the pitch while the Shockwaves were in possession, overloading the All-Whites' left full back. That forced Sheshou to cheat left, leaving acres of space for Iomelda van Hoogstraaten to just stroll around, mostly unmarked, doing whatever she wanted. What she wanted was to rack up four second-half assists, apparently, and what could have been a shock result instead ended in a rout for the champions-to-be. It's still not quite official, but if Chongjibo win in two weeks when the league resumes, and both Fuchou and Nongmin choke, we're putting pink ribbons on that trophy yet again.

MATCHDAY 21
Zhayao 0-2 Aierlanren
Nongmin 1-0 Yanjiang
Xue 1-0 Fuchou
Qiji 1-0 Baomao
Sheshou 1-4 Chongjibo

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       21  16  3   2  40   9  +31  51
02 Nongmin         21  11  4   6  37  25  +12  37
 3 Fuchou          21  10  6   5  46  15  +31  36
 4 Qiji            21   9  9   3  30  17  +13  36
 5 Aierlanren      21   8  4   9  21  26   -5  28
 6 Zhayao          21   5  7   9  21  31  -10  22
 7 Baomao          21   5  6  10  17  28  -11  21
 8 Sheshou         21   4  8   9  17  30  -13  20
09 Xue             21   5  3  13  13  33  -20  18
10 Yanjiang        21   3  8  10  20  48  -28  17

Yinying's surprise win over Qi'e in Wanqianganga had no major effect on the League of Ascension title race as Xiniu crushed Baiyi in Chumeichang to lock in at least a Promotion Playoff place for Qi'e (though the title isn't secured quite yet). The Penguins are still in very good shape to clinch the League of Ascension title in the coming weeks, and they are now guaranteed of participation in the IFCF Liga B Champions Trophy next season. Their free-scoring, attacking tendencies will surely be much appreciated on the global stage - though of course their naïve defense will be put under levels of stress entirely unknown in the Naixese second flight.

MATCHDAY 23
Jingying 0-1 Zhanshi
Xiniu 6-1 Baiyi
Qi'e 2-3 Yinying

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          22  16  4   2  56  15  +41  52
02 Xiniu         22  14  4   4  43  14  +29  46
 3 Zhanshi       22   9  5   8  24  23   +1  32
 4 Baiyi         22   6  8   8  22  34  -12  26
 5 Yinying       23   5  4  14  24  43  -19  19
 6 Jingying      23   2  5  16  10  50  -40  11

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 SEMIFINAL LEG 1

Fuchou were the dominant side for most of the first half versus Chongjibo, and their crowning achievement was the stupendous one-touch-passing, counterattacking move that cut the champions' back line into pieces on 31 minutes, the final chance tapped past Lu Fang Huang by former Shockwave Jen Ta Jin. But the Pink and Black were neither fazed by the din of the crowd at the Sha Dadao nor exhausted by the early autumn afternoon heat. Kian Zhi Yuan bundled one over the goal line in the 43rd minute - VAR had to make absolutely sure that the ball had fully passed over into the goal - and that swung the momentum back in Chongjibo's favor. They scored two more early in the second half and passed the Avengers to death from there on out. It certainly looks like Chongjibo's tie to lose now.

That night, the action remained in Qiawutian, but the best football was once again played by the team from Chumeichang. Chance after chance fell to the feet of the Qiji attackers, and the Wizards' xG fifteen minutes before the final whistle was about a half dozen. Credit must be given, of course, to the home side, who defended with passion and commitment. Center back Jun Ming was particularly outstanding, which came as no surprise to close watchers of the Black Cats... this season the 23-year-old has been an absolute rock for a club that often finds itself defending for its life. Qiji were without a doubt the better side, however, and they ultimately did get the win they deserved when Ma Huan Yep thumped a rocket into the top corner on 88 minutes. They will take a narrow lead back to the Huangse Migong.

Fuchou 1-3 Chongjibo
Baomao 0-1 Qiji

MATCHDAY 24
Baiyi 0-0 Jingying
Yinying 1-1 Zhanshi
Qi'e 3-0 Xiniu

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          23  17  4   2  59  15  +44  55
02 Xiniu         23  14  4   5  43  17  +26  46
 3 Zhanshi       23   9  6   8  25  24   +1  33
 4 Baiyi         23   6  9   8  22  34  -12  27
 5 Yinying       24   5  5  14  25  44  -19  20
 6 Jingying      24   2  6  16  10  50  -40  12

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 22

Bao and Qiawutian lie on opposite sides of the country from one another, but they were the sites for simultaneous action on a pleasant Friday evening as the 22nd weekend of League of the Two Sapphires fixtures began. At the Zidan Jie, Yanjiang twice fell behind against Zhayao, but twice managed to acquire equalizers thanks to the sparkling form of Wei Yan Lin. The Miners weren't going to leave the home of the division's worst side without all three points though. With characteristic attacking vigor, they used their strength in the middle of the park to create chances for surging midfielders for the final 20 minutes, and Qi Chao Hark capitalized, scoring twice to guarantee victory for the Red and White. Meanwhile, at the Sha Dadao, the first half was really very poor from Chongjibo, and Aierlanren really should have gone into the break one or two nil up. If the match had ended after 45 minutes, Lu Fang Huang would have been described as the Shockwaves' lucky charm, the goalkeeper who saved a point for the champions in their title push. Luckily for Chongjibo, another half was played, and it was vastly better. Gui Fan Ren placed two defensive midfielders in a low block in front of the center backs to neutralize Chen Ling, and while it made the Shockwaves look a bit more old-fashioned than usual, they ultimately got two goals and a win. That Kwang Chih Lo got his illustrious opponents to play the way he likes to play will be an inadequate consolation for the Irish boss.

The next afternoon, it was Qiji's chance to make a statement. The Purple and White have one foot in the Zhen Li Jiang Cup final, and at kickoff in this league contest they were level on points with Fuchou. If they won, they'd be three points clear of the Burgundy, and with the Avengers back line looking a tad ropey all year long, the Wizards' possession-dominating approach had a chance to create problems for the hosts. But at kickoff in Qiawutian, it was like autumn had never begun. The temperature had risen to a stunning 83°F/28°C. The pitch felt very dry and slow, and conditions immediately favored a team playing a bit more directly. Yue Hsieh was always going to have a field day, and did. She had Fuchou three in front by the hour mark, and though Qiji made it interesting with a couple goals in the 71st and 74th minutes, a late Avengers insurance goal killed the game off. The Burgundy temporarily rose to second. That night, out east in Futengma, Xue knew they'd be in for a tough night against the strong Farmers. If they could batten down the hatches and steal a point, it would be worth a lot, but Zhi Gang An just doesn't play that way. He always wants to play progressive football, even against the bigger sides, and that cost his Snowmen. Nongmin coasted past them on the back of first half goals from Sa Kota Yue and Chong Xian Ye, and the Silver and Red rose back up into second, keeping themselves mathematically alive in the title race.

Finally, on a warm but rainy afternoon in Qiawutian, Tak Hing Jin's disgraceful altercation with the head referee tragically overshadowed yet another impressive and resolute performance by the Black Cats. After Hang Ki Tan scored from a corner in the 39th minute, Jin ran over to the referee, screaming that his teammate had been fouled during the scrum. He felt it necessary to shake the official by the lapel, and slap her across the face. This plainly unacceptable behavior was met with a naturally harsh response, and Jin was given his marching orders five minutes before the half time whistle. Ten man Sheshou found it impossible to build any type of attack without their star goalscorer, and with Cheuk Yan Tsang scoring his first league goal since Matchday 16 in the second half, the Black and Brown coasted to a vital win that puts them six points clear of relegation.

MATCHDAY 22
Yanjiang 2-4 Zhayao
Aierlanren 0-2 Chongjibo
Fuchou 4-2 Qiji
Xue 0-2 Nongmin
Baomao 2-0 Sheshou

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       22  17  3   2  42   9  +33  54
02 Nongmin         22  12  4   6  39  25  +14  40
 3 Fuchou          22  11  6   5  50  17  +33  39
 4 Qiji            22   9  9   4  32  21  +11  36
 5 Aierlanren      22   8  4  10  21  28   -7  28
 6 Zhayao          22   6  7   9  25  33   -8  25
 7 Baomao          22   6  6  10  19  28   -9  24
 8 Sheshou         22   4  8  10  17  32  -15  20
09 Xue             22   5  3  14  13  35  -22  18
10 Yanjiang        22   3  8  11  22  52  -30  17

MATCHDAY 25
Jingying 0-0 Yinying
Baiyi 2-1 Qi'e
Zhanshi 1-1 Xiniu

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          24  17  4   3  60  17  +43  55
02 Xiniu         24  14  5   5  44  18  +26  47
 3 Zhanshi       24   9  7   8  26  25   +1  34
 4 Baiyi         24   7  9   8  24  35  -11  30
 5 Yinying       25   5  6  14  25  44  -19  21
 6 Jingying      25   2  7  16  10  50  -40  13

[Naixi]

MIDWEEK MAKE-UP FIXTURES
Qi'e 2-0 Baiyi
Xiniu 1-0 Zhanshi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          25  18  4   3  62  17  +45  58
 2 Xiniu         25  15  5   5  45  18  +27  50
03 Zhanshi       25   9  7   9  26  26   +0  34
 4 Baiyi         25   7  9   9  24  37  -13  30
 5 Yinying       25   5  6  14  25  44  -19  21
 6 Jingying      25   2  7  16  10  50  -40  13

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 23

It's Friday night in Qiawutian, and the Snowmen needed to find a result somewhere in their quest to stay in the League of the Two Sapphires. But yet more early-autumn warm temperatures melted their resolve, and Kuang Yin Cao jetted through the Xue backline to cushion a header into the back of the net on 22 minutes. (He went straight to assist-provider Lan Fang Fen to celebrate.) The Miners go fifth, keeping them mathematically alive in the hunt for IFCF competitions, and the Blue and Green move one step closer to the edge (and they're about to break).

On Saturday afternoon, again at the Sha Dadao under a splendid shining sun, Sheshou were facing the challenging task of breaking down Aierlanren's defense without talisman Tak Hing Jin, but they found the opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and Xue irresistible. Just before half time the All-Whites jumped in front to the delight of their far-right-wing fans, and though Hai Ying Fu restored parity on 51 minutes with a goal from a corner, Sheshou simply had more to play for and took all three points by scoring in the 87th minute. That night at the Huangse Migong, a Chumeichang derby and a title-deciding victory. But wouldn't you believe it: Chongjibo weren't on the pitch! Instead, it was the always-lovely-to-watch Wizards, who were looking to rebound from their drubbing at the hands of Fuchou a week before, and the second-place Farmers, who wanted to stay alive in the title race. Rather anticlimactically, the deciding event occurred in the 8th minute when a midfield miscommunication between Sa Kota Yue and Tan Hung Xun gave possession to a Qiji forward about thirty yards out. A quick counterattack and a clinical finish, and the Purple and White handed the trophy to the Pink and Black.

It's the second time in as many years that the Shockwaves have climbed to the summit of the League of the Two Sapphires, and they got to do a trophy lift with their home fans the next evening in Chumeichang. At the start of the year, many had voiced concern that the exits of Xiao Cheng Li and Jen Ta Jin would smother Chongjibo's hopes for a repeat in the crib. But ultimately, guided by Gui Fan Ren's brilliant tactics and the outstanding goalkeeping of Lu Fang Huang, the Pink and Black hardly had to break a sweat. Neither was there any perspiration to be found during the game against bottom-dwellers Yanjiang; the Shockwaves' three nil win shocked few. Meanwhile, in Qiawutian (because yeah, this was one of those Sunday nights when games are played simultaneously), Fuchou also locked down a spot in an IFCF competition (albeit a marginally less prestigious one) by crushing local rivals Baomao four nil. Vinicio Juapuala earned himself a very rare brace, scoring twice from headers (once from a corner and once from a long free kick) and was christened with man of the match honors.

MATCHDAY 23
Zhayao 1-0 Xue
Sheshou 2-1 Aierlanren
Qiji 1-0 Nongmin
Chongjibo 3-0 Yanjiang
Baomao 0-4 Fuchou

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       23  18  3   2  45   9  +36  57
02 Fuchou          23  12  6   5  54  17  +37  42
03 Nongmin         23  12  4   7  39  26  +13  40
 4 Qiji            23  10  9   4  33  21  +12  39
 5 Zhayao          23   7  7   9  26  33   -7  28
 6 Aierlanren      23   8  4  11  22  30   -8  28
 7 Baomao          23   6  6  11  19  32  -13  24
 8 Sheshou         23   5  8  10  19  33  -14  23
09 Xue             23   5  3  15  13  36  -23  18
10 Yanjiang        23   3  8  12  22  55  -33  17

MATCHDAY 26
Qi'e 4-0 Jingying
Xiniu 1-2 Yinying
Zhanshi 0-0 Baiyi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          26  19  4   3  66  17  +49  61
 2 Xiniu         26  15  5   6  46  20  +26  50
03 Zhanshi       26   9  8   9  26  26   +0  35
 4 Baiyi         26   7 10   9  24  37  -13  31
 5 Yinying       26   6  6  14  27  45  -18  24
 6 Jingying      26   2  7  17  10  54  -44  13

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 MATCHDAY 24

Zhayao were probably lucky to escape the Sha Dadao with a point on Friday night versus the Wizards, but they capitalized on their improvement during the final 30 minutes of the contest by scoring from a direct free kick in the 76th minute. Qiji certainly were dominant during the first half though, and they should have gone into half time three or four nil up. Instead, the only thing they had to show for themselves - at half time or at full time - was a lonely 44th minute strike. With the draw, the Purple and White frittered away a chance to formally lock down a spot in the IFCF Challengers Cup. Meanwhile, in Chumeichang (oh yeah, did we mention there were two games going on simultaneously on Friday night?), Nongmin pulled a classic Nongmin move by leveling an opponent the week after suffering a humiliating loss. The Black Cats were the unfortunate casualty of the Farmers' wrath on this occasion, though the visitors were so defensively poor in the first half that you can hardly feel that much sympathy for them. Cheuk Yan Tsang did get himself on the scoresheet in the 83rd minute, but by then the Silver and Red had already run up a cricket score, and Sa Kota Yue shoved Baomao's faces in the mud by restoring the four-goal advantage just seconds later in the 84th. Jiawei Sangu has done it: the Farmers are headed abroad for IFCF play, which was the club's goal at the start of the year.

The next afternoon under gorgeous fall sunshine and warm temperatures, the military officers of Bao marched down to the Zidan Jie to take in some football. If they had a good time, it was because of the sun, though... the product on offer from their favored club Yanjiang was repellent. Characteristically awful at the back and uncharacteristically lethargic in their counterattacks, the Lava Monsters fell behind early to the Irish when Chen Ling got in behind in the 8th minute. Aierlanren, as always, didn't look to do much once they were out in front, but Chin Chih Yap did capitalize on a defender's lapse in concentration to curl one into an open net on 78 minutes. That night, several dozen miles to the west in Futengma, the other relegation struggler fared no better. They did begin the game well against the champions and perhaps should have been in front early... Zong Yuan Ti won a penalty in the 16th minute, and took it extremely well, but Lu Fang Huang's outstanding save kept it level until the second half. Once Gui Fan Ren had a chance to scribble on the tactics board a bit and give the Shockwaves' eleven the old blow-dryer treatment, it was over. The Pink and Black totally dominated the second half, and scored in the 55th and 72nd minutes to continue their rampage.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon under splendidly warm conditions, a Qiawutian derby - and one that normally divides the Jin household as brothers Jen Ta and Tak Hing play for Fuchou and Sheshou respectively. We were robbed of that sibling rivalry, though, as Tak Hing is out suspended for the rest of the year, save for the final matchday, due to his absurdly stupid red card a few weeks back. Jen Ta played well in spite of the lack of motivation, and scored the equalizer for Fuchou in the 58th minute. Unfortunately for him, though, his teammates seemed so casual in their approach, and were particularly lazy in the first half. (The Marksmen scored the opener in the 11th minute.) It's understandable, in a way: the Avengers have very little to play for as the title race is over and they've already secured a Challengers Cup place. Fans will still see it as another two points dropped, though.

MATCHDAY 24
Zhayao 1-1 Qiji
Nongmin 5-1 Baomao
Yanjiang 0-2 Aierlanren
Xue 0-2 Chongjibo
Fuchou 1-1 Sheshou

League of the Two Sapphires Standings

   Team             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Chongjibo       24  19  3   2  47   9  +38  60
02 Fuchou          24  12  7   5  55  18  +37  43
 3 Nongmin         24  13  4   7  44  27  +17  43
04 Qiji            24  10 10   4  34  22  +12  40
 5 Aierlanren      24   9  4  11  24  30   -6  31
 6 Zhayao          24   7  8   9  27  34   -7  29
 7 Sheshou         24   5  9  10  20  34  -14  24
 8 Baomao          24   6  6  12  20  37  -17  24
09 Xue             24   5  3  16  13  38  -25  18
10 Yanjiang        24   3  8  13  22  57  -35  17

We officially know that Qi'e (Naixese Mandarin for "the Penguins") are going up to the League of the Two Sapphires, as they have locked down the title over in the League of Ascension, following their demolition of Zhanshi in Wanqianganga. It'll be a shame to have a top flight league without any teams from the far east of Naixi, as we are likely to next year, but we'll at least get to benefit from the presence of this delightfully fun-to-watch club from the central coastal region. Their current plus fifty-two goal differential puts even Chongjibo to shame.

MATCHDAY 27
Jingying 2-1 Xiniu
Qi'e 3-0 Zhanshi
Yinying 0-1 Baiyi

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          27  20  4   3  69  17  +52  64
02 Xiniu         27  15  5   7  47  22  +25  50
03 Zhanshi       27   9  8  10  26  29   -3  35
 4 Baiyi         27   8 10   9  25  37  -12  34
 5 Yinying       27   6  6  15  27  46  -19  24
 6 Jingying      27   3  7  17  12  55  -43  16

[Naixi]

SEASON 2 SEMIFINAL LEG 2

The autumn rains have at last begun in Naixi, although it is early enough yet that temperatures remain pleasant. Soon, that will change - but not yet. At the packed Huangse Migong, Fuchou at last did enough to prevent losing to Chongjibo - a task that up until now has proven difficult for them - but the draw they secured was not sufficient to put the Burgundy through to the final. They had done so well in the minutes immediately following Jen Ta Jin's 36th minute opener, mostly controlling possession. But Iomelda van Hoogstraaten's quick counterattack in the 62nd minute ended with Kian Zhi Yuan slapping a shot inside the far post and snuffing out hopes of an Avengers comeback. For the second year in a row, the Shockwaves will play at home in the Zhen Li Jiang Cup final.

On Sunday night, the rain let up a bit so that Qiji fans could have a fun night out in Chumeichang, and fun they had as the Purple and White annihilated Baomao four nil. Jun Ming's great season was tarnished with a fairly large splotch of soot when he opened the scoring for the hosts with a first minute own goal, and that regrettable incident set a precedent for the rest of the match. Chasing the ball for an hour and a half, the Black Cats were run ragged by the end. All of the Wizards' goals were constructed through gorgeous passing movements, and it's not unreasonable to suspect they could give Chongjibo a run for their money in the final.

Chongjibo 1-1 Fuchou (4-2 agg)
Qiji 4-0 Baomao (5-0 agg)

MATCHDAY 28
Zhanshi 2-0 Jingying
Baiyi 1-3 Xiniu
Yinying 0-1 Qi'e

League of Ascension Standings

   Team           P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
01 Qi'e          28  21  4   3  70  17  +53  67
02 Xiniu         28  16  5   7  50  23  +27  53
03 Zhanshi       28  10  8  10  28  29   -1  38
 4 Baiyi         28   8 10  10  26  40  -14  34
 5 Yinying       28   6  6  16  27  47  -20  24
 6 Jingying      28   3  7  18  12  57  -45  16