World Cup 63 RP Thread

by **Royalsoldiers** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:44 pm

Royalsoldiers Defeats Legokiller 7-1, Sets Sights on The Pazhujeb Islands

By, Lucas Hampton

Royalsoldiers easily defeated Legokiller 7-1 at home and if you may put it this way embarrassed the Legokiller team. There is not much known of the team but so far they have had a weak start to the World Cup Qualifying. The Royalsoldiers team learned quickly they could control the game with a quick goal in just the sixth minute. Eric Taurus had three goals, which is a career high in Taurus's short career, Oliver Cyrus had one, Madison had one, Burgess [Reserve] had one, and finally so did Bourne. This added up to seven. The goalscorer for the Legokiller team is unknown to the lack of a roster but it was scored in 81st minute. Kodiak got many reserves some playing time when the game got out of hand for the Legokiller team. That didn't stop the reserves from playing their hardest. With fresh legs the reserves added on a goal while allowing Zach Bourne to score one. Kodiak was very happy with the win and was glad their ability was shown in this match.

After such a massive win, the Imperial team will not have much time to celebrate. They must prepare to play a good Pazhujeb Islands team. Kodiak does wish to take advantage of the momentum and play more aggressive than usual. The team was quiet to the media though. This was believed to be an order from Kodiak as they tried to keep their focus after the match. We do have an on-the-record interview with forward Eric Taurus after tomorrow's showdown. The Royish team is expected to be more energized than usual after irregular amounts of rest after the Legokiller game. However, Kodiak agrees that it is inevitable that the Pazhujeb team will be able to score and defend tomorrow. The Imperial team will play their hardest and try to get another three points.

Goals

Royalsoldiers
Eric Taurus-6'
Vic Madison-23'
Eric Taurus-31'
Oliver Cyrus-39'
Eric Taurus-44'
Jason Burgess-63'
Zach Bourne-86'

Legokiller
Unknown-81'

Substitutions
Jason Burgess-in for-Alexander Nix-CM
Michael Smirnoff-in for-Eric Taurus-CF
Jack Starling-in for-Oliver Cyrus-LF
Nicholas Stark-in for-Brian Shaw-RB
Patrick Norton-in for-CJ Stoops-CB

by **Karditan** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:58 pm

"Urgh." Emanuel grunted heavily as he tried to get back to his feet without inflicting a hernia on himself. That gutpunch had really did a number on his midsection. "This is why I never got into boxing."

The short man on the modest throne chuckled. "Looks like we have a real comedian here. Why did you bring him, Tully?"

"He is a stealthy one. I thought he might have been of use to you, my liege." She rummaged around her purse to make sure everything was there. "He managed to lift my wallet, and had the blind confidence to follow me into a dark alleyway afterward."

"Hey, it wasn't blind confidence. I knew I could handle any situation that cropped up." He jumped back as Ignacio's over-sized fist crossed into the space his stomach had just been occupying. "See?"

"Quick on his feet, too." The short man left the throne and offered Emanuel his hand. "My name is Giocomo Re. I lead the local assassin's guild, and I do believe you may be of use to us."

Emanuel gave a firm handshake. "I would love to work with you, but only for a short while. My tour of Rushmore must be moving on in a little under a week."

"Oh my! Then we must get as much work out of you as we can."

"The more excitement, the better."

Giocomo clapped and smiled. "Excellent! What are you better with, the dagger or the crossbow? Or perhaps bear taming?"

Emanuel rubbed his chin and looked up thoughtfully. "I'm definitely not the man you want to tame a bear. And crossbows are far too impersonal. I'm none too familiar with daggers, but I suppose they can't be that difficult to use."

"I like your style, Mr... what is your name, by the way?"

Tullia came up and gave Emanuel a half-hug. "It is Emmanuel Portico, correct?"

"Well, it's Emanuel, but that's just semantics." He slipped from her grasp--things just got interesting, there'll be plenty of time for coitus later--and approached a block made of a sponge-like material with a dozen pommels sticking out. "Is this your dagger depot?"

"Oh, I would love to give you your choice of blades, but I'm afraid rookie assassins must always start with the Munindagen." Giocomo reached for the most worn and discolored pommel, but the blade revealed when it was pulled on was shiny and sharp. "It is not comfortable to use due to the grip's state of disrepair, and both sides of the blade are kept extremely sharp to punish amateur fighters who are not careful. It is a good learning experience and a small loss should the mission fail."

The Karditani criminal took the knife and tested the feel; it felt balanced and controllable, though the wood of the handle was rough. "This'll do nicely."

Giocomo beckoned him over to a map plastered on the wall where the tapestries parted. "Currently, we are in the middle of the Fedora district, here. I have been offered a contract for the life of a pimp working in the Ares area. We normally require half the payment to be up front, but the client insisted on waiting until we followed through to produce the coin. I was planning to ignore it, but now you offer an excellent solution. You kill the target, none of my regular workers have to bother, and we have a fifty-fifty chance of being paid. You will get a portion of the profits, of course."

"What portion, exactly?"

"A fifth should do."

"I'm the one putting my life on the line. Half."

"My normal employees only receive a quarter. Why should I give you so much?"

"Because I'm your scapegoat for a plan that might not even work."

"Fine, I'll give a quarter."

"Any profit at all for you is essentially free money. I won't accept lower than a third."

"You come into my place of business, and demand a piece of my profits in such a manner?!"

"I'm the one holding the dagger."

"I could kill you with my bare hands."

"If you were so skilled, how did I steal your underwear without you noticing?" Emanuel pulled a pink thong out of his pocket, and Giocomo's face lit up the same color.

"How... no, that cannot be possible!"

Tullia eyed the thong with suspicion. "I am fairly sure that is mine. But they were still my the drawer when I left my apartment this morning."

Giocomo snatched it out of Emanuel's grasp and stormed off to a door hidden behind the tapestry. It appeared to lead to a bathroom. "Fine. A third it is. Ignacio has the information on the target. Get out."

by **Vilita** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:59 pm

Lonngeylin, Vilita

Jungle Strike FC head coach Etazeke Febrala saw the message waiting on his device. It was from former Strike FC head coach, now Vilitan National Team head coach, Calaesa Mitaroka.

It was a simple message. "Want to chat - C" was all it read, but Etazeke knew what it was about. Mitaroka liked getting insight from the players and coaches of V-League squads that have players on them that they were about to face internationally. Surely, Mitaroka had enough Strike players on the roster that he had plenty of intel on Farf superstar Friekder Dandalleion, but he figured he didn't want to upset the National Team manager, for sure, so he put his things down and contacted Mitaroka.

When the two got to talking, Mitaroka's first statement was a doozie.

"So, does this guy play for you, or what?"

Febrala's silence made it clear that Mitaroka's joke fell on deaf ears.

"Well," Mitaroka continued, "I'm looking at the official roster these guys put out at the beginning of the qualifiers, and it's got him listed playing for Whaler's (Referring to Cednia Beach AFC Chairman Jimmy Whalers) out in Turori.

Febrala responded, noting that the err was fixed in subsequent publications of the roster, and quiping that Mitaroka may need to update his documentation!

The two proceeded to exchange pleasantries and discuss training, and truthfully, from the tone of the conversation it was clear that he had most of the scouting he needed on Dandalleion - if any - considering that he would be going head to head with the defense of Miiara Makose and Retiso Buran who were very familiar with the player, no less, goalkeeper Nycflala Kater, all teammates at Strike FC.

In fact, they spoke more about Ichi Tuzzio, the Farf midfielder who plays for Makosile United - Febrala sharing his strategies for dealing with the threat that the Vilitan Foreign Player of the Year posed to his team during their Championship winning campaign during Season 34.

Originally in the shadows of Dandalleion's spotlight, and not carrying the same Starpower as the Farf's wonderkid, Ichi Tuzzio has performed incredibly well for the Makos and increased his stature on the National Team to a player that all defenses were worried about when the ball was at his feet.

But the start for the FFFF was slow during World Cup 63 and it was obvious to Mitaroka that La Vherderoja would be leaning heavily on Dandalleion and Tuzzio to provide the 'inside info' on the Vilitan squad to propel Farfadillis back into the qualification picture with an upset of the Jungle Cats. Mitaroka wasn't taking anything for granted, after the struggles that his predecessors had to deal with just getting to the World Cup Finals, and didn't want to undo the chance to lead his team back to the World Cup especially with the finals taking place just a stones throw away in Turori.

by **Equestrian States** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:03 pm

Low Expectations
The Realistic Fan Site for Equestrian States Sports

Last Defender Falls as Ponies Struggle
By Downtrodden Crankyface

Equestrian States - 2
Starlight Sparkle '46; Thunderlane '90+3

Blouman Empire - 1
Baden Lakes '45+4

PONYVILLE, EQUESTRIAN STATES - And so it begins. With Flitter succumbing to a leg injury, the Ponies have lost their final starting defender. Without Flitter, the Equestrians no longer have any defenders with starting experience in the last two World Cup campaigns. When historians look back on this game, they will say: “This was when the Ponies’ World Cup aspirations went down. This was when the world realized just how prone the Equestrians were to injury, and when their rank started its long decline.”

The match started exactly as I expected. Even with Flitter as part of the Equestrian defense, the Bloumany forwards tore through them with ease. Only the apparent incompetence of the Blouman Empire’s players kept the match from turning into a rout. Then, in the 26th minute, Flitter stumbled to the ground for no noticeable reason. After the match, it was released that the pegasus defender, a veteran starter in her third campaign, had a torn ligament in her left front leg. After viewing the tapes, I have no idea what caused the injury. It was utterly unforeseen, but after the injuries the team has suffered in the last few matches, I wasn’t surprised that somebody managed to hurt themselves last night.

Resuming play, the Blouman Empire ripped the Equestrian defense to shreds. Just sitting there, I was surprised it was taking the Bloumany forwards as long as it did for them to score. If anything, it was the atrocious aim of Robert Shmitz and Baden Lakes that kept the Ponies tied with the visitors. But inevitably, one member of the disappointing duo finally managed to score in perhaps one of the strangest ways possible against an equine team. Lakes hit a shot that skipped several times across the ground, between the legs of High Soarin’ (all four of them) and into the goal. How does that happen?! With a human goalkeeper it would be embarrassing, but that was simply pathetic! High Soarin’ has no legitimate excuse for allowing that goal, and I can’t see him lasting much longer on the Ponies’ starting eleven with those kinds of stupid mistakes.

During the break, I contemplated leaving simply because the ending seemed set in stone. With no experienced defenders on the field, a keeper who looked like a cross-eyed colt in a youth league, and an offense that was doing nothing at all to decrease the Blouman Empire’s pressure, I saw no way the Ponies could finish well. But of course, I decided to stay, if for no other reason than to enjoy the suffering of those around me. Yes, it sounds cruel of me, but to see the often blindly optimistic Equestrian fans knocked off of their high horse is rather amusing and not an everyday experience.

The Ponies went bravely back onto the field where their ruthless slaughter seemed imminent after the break. However, the Equestrians surprised me - and many in the crowd - by coming out charging down the field. It was a legitimately stunning attack that hasn’t seen much use in the last few qualifying attempts after Twilight Sparkle seemed to use it every match in the World Cup 59 campaign in a predictable fashion. That’s not to say it was a perfect move, half of the shock value was provided by a Blouman Empire defense that could have pulled out recliners during the first half because of how little they had to do, but considering the circumstances it was possibly the best way for the Ponies to start. And the attack paid off with near immediate results, Starlight Sparkle ramming the ball by the Bloumany keeper. It was the only thing the Ponies did right all night long, but it gave them a goal.

After pulling off a move like a bold charge down the pitch, one might have expected the Ponies to steamroll the Blouman Empire’s sleepy defense again to take the lead. But they didn’t. What was missing wasn’t an Equestrian effort, but a useless Bloumany defense. Instead of stumbling around aimlessly, as the Ponies would have done if they were on the receiving end of a blitzing attack, the Blouman Empire came to life and gradually pushed the Equestrians back. And so the second half dragged on, and I sat there expecting the Ponies to fail once more and let another goal get by. But High Soarin’ apparently had learned his lesson, and was no longer sitting still in utter stupor while balls whizzed by his dumbfounded face and between his legs into the goal. Where was this keeper during the first half? Was his mind somewhere in La-La Land, prancing merrily in fields of daisies?

Regardless, neither side managed to score throughout the second half; and as the final minutes ticked away, I began to pack up my things in preparation to leave. Then Cloudchaser broke away with the ball. Totally out of nowhere it looked like the Ponies would score to win another match despite failing in every way throughout the rest of the game. But, again totally out of nowhere, some random Brigss-Way thought that a tackle would be a subtle way to stop Cloudchaser from scoring. Now, almost everypony has already complained about the tackle’s ruthlessness. But I have no qualms with the harsh nature of the play. However, I do have a problem with the extreme obviousness of the play. Of course, the referee did as well. The red card came out, Brigss-Way was sent home with his metaphorical tail between his legs, and Thunderlane scored an easy free kick from just outside the box to “win” in the same way for the second straight week.

Now the Equestrians will go into their match with Megadia (currently in second place behind the Ponies) missing five starters. Do I really need to point out what can (and will) go wrong for the Equestrian States next week? No? Good. See you all in a week.

by **Mapletish** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:05 pm

Mapletish 2–0 Sarzanestan
The Lions cruise onto an unbeaten run that extends to its third match of the World Cup qualification campaign.

Janette promised not to disappoint straight after a disappointing opening match and her promise was kept as the Lions forced a draw out of a nine ranked The Sylvanaes Queendom. Playing in the comfort at home, Mapletish cruised past Sarzanestan to record their first win of the qualification campaign. The win however did little to the group as The Sylvanaes Queendom stayed within reach of catching up with the Lions as they stay within reach of each other.

Second half goals from the rampant Janelle Elda and Kimberly Aurora sealed the points for the Lions, who now remains unbeaten since their opening fixture of the qualification campaign. They are too as previously mentioned level on points with The Sylvanaes Queendom.

Solid in defence, tactically disciplined and at times breathtakingly quick in attack, the Lions were brimming with the kind of confidence against Sarzanestan who failed to threaten much against the home side. Janette made brave changes to the squad as she dropped four players from her originally planned starting lineup to rest them before the next match. Travis Hard was dropped as Sapphire Avalon took the position in goal. Nicole Natalie came in to start her first match of the campaign as she replace Glena Johnson. Janelle Elda replace captain Steven Johnson for the defensive midfield position. Kimberly Aurora replaced Junio for the centre forward, as Junio takes a rest from starting the past two matches.

Mapletish started brightly, with Kimberly responding almost instantly to her selection as she fizzle an effort just wide in the first minute before Steven Jerrard struck over the bar from 12 yards after meeting Di Natile's cross.

The away team however did not let two brilliant chances bring them down as they too brought in some fine football down the right flank as they try to find a way to beat Jessie and Mei Kei down the right. Their efforts paid off as their first chance came as Player 7 beat Jessie off the ball and dip a cross over to Player 9 waiting in the middle however Sapphire came off the lines to clear the danger at the 12th minute mark.

Discipline was all that is needed as the Lions went onto a counter attack straight after Sapphire cleared the danger. Mei Kei was first to reach for the loose ball and started the counter attack as she got the ball over to Enkainia and a cross was sent over to Kimberly, however she failed to convert the disciplined counter attack.

Janelle tested Player 1 with a snapshot from 20 yards at the 35th minute to keep the shot stopper on his toes, at the other end, Sapphire had to stay alert to bravely save at Player 9's feet when the forward was put through by an incisive pass from Player 8.

After the restart, Player 8 became the scrap goat for the Lions first goal of the match. Seven minutes into the second half, Player 8 looked as if he has been through the entire match. His awful throw was easily intercepted allowing Mei Kei to cross for Janelle to head wide when she should have scored.

Despite the disappointing play, the Lions managed to get another chance six minutes later. Janelle superbly brought down Mei Kei's corner and shot towards goal, her effort was heading off target before clipping Player 2's ankle and nestling in the net.

Mapletish needed very little fortune for the goal that doubled their advantage in the 67th minute, that put the Lions into a comfortable feat. A neat passing move from the midfield engine ended with the ball finding Kimberly who shifted past Player 3 and fired across the goal into the bottom corner to score her first goal on her debut for the Lions.

The Lions decided that the comfortable cushion was enough for them as they put on neat passing moves round the pitch and conserving their energy.

by **Jedi8246** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:09 pm

Theme
Fenris Sports Corner

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Fenris Sports Corner with your host Logan Dale. Onto the main event of the show, the World Cup. It's been a tough start for this struggling Wyverns team. The road began in difficulty with a draw against a surprisingly sharp Cuboneland team. The Wyverns offense has been even better than last year, scoring three goals. Unfortunately the defense was less than hopeful. They gave up an equal three goals that tied the game up. The Wyverns did even worse in their game against Super Llama-Land. The Wyverns only managed to score one goal and gave up three. These two games have left the entire World Cup qualifying in mystery. The Wyverns were going to have to win in order to save anything.

Luckily, yesterday's game produced the result we wished. The Wyverns defeated the Powersith team at home in a thrilling 2-0 shutout. The defense looked far better than the previous two games. Afterwards, Coach Hemlock commented on the first three weeks of the run. His comments were what everyone felt. The Wyverns early struggles were kinks that needed to be worked out with getting off the ground. They are now ready to push forward and win. The away game next week is against Kericia. A weaker team that hopefully will provide another victory before we face down Darmen. Several critics have questioned the Wyvern's abilities moving forward. Defensive problems were present in all three of these games, though the defensive shutout last game did help question those worries. The next two weeks will help prove whether the Wyverns are a legitimate team this year. We'll bring you more sports news, after the break."

by **Turori** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:10 pm

This is your Cut off, for Matchday 4 of the 63rd World Cup.

Scores: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=217223

by **Qazox** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 9:06 pm

Day ten, post incident

I don't know why, but I'm slowly getting weaker by the day. Is it the limited food or the fact I haven't done much exercise? I dunno, but the rain continued to drizzle down. Just a wet crappy day. But last night I had the strangest dream that I heard my wife and my children's voices. I awoke and took a look around, but there was no sign of them nor any one else. I think that this journal might not be enough to keep me sane but seeing as there's been no help for a week and a half and no sign of any other person I fear it will get worse.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to go insane, other than drawing 3 straight matches as I've simulated they have as Cap-Hibou rallied from a 3-1 deficit at the half to stunningly tie Qazox 3-3. Two goals from Quentin Rashaad (18th and 34th) and a goal from Irish Juila McDaniels (30th) gave the Eagles the lead, but the hosts kept chipping away, just like my sanity.

by **Traila** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 10:56 pm

TISN Official News Report
Devastating loss to Audioslavia 3-0

Traila's buzz from the two wins was cut short when they finally succumbed to defeat against Audioslavia 3-0 this is a big change from the last game in which they won by 4. Hopefully the team can recover from this loss and move on. Much of the public believe that this loss is due to Fabian Mayer's replacement Harry Pots, even though he made several saves and caused many turnovers last ame. Whatever the cause, what happened happened and couldn't of happened any other way. Plus there is some good news Fabian WILL be playing next match so let's hope for an improvement from this game. Thank you for watching TISN tune in tomorrow to see the results of the next game

by **Jeruselem** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:33 pm

Jeruselem player Lauren Jacob and Princess Katy

Lauren: Hey Princess, you're been a bit paranoid ever since we got here in Powersith
Katy: Well, this is PowerSith - home of the Sith Empire.
Lauren: What is there to be afraid of?
Katy: I'm a member of an order opposed to the Sith
Lauren: I'm sure this lot aren't evil
Katy: You can never be too careful

Lauren: But no one's bothered us
Katy: You don't need to worry
Lauren: Who does then?
Katy: They know who I am, the Sith.
Lauren: But you're just an ordinary Jeruselemite like us
Katy: Actually I'm not quite ...

Lauren: I don't get it
Katy: You're not a member of a sub-order of the Jedi
Lauren: Um, I don't get that either.
Katy: You don't get much of anything
Lauren: I'm just a simple person
Katy: Well, I'm not ...

Lauren: We'll be OK
Katy: I guess they can't do anything to me since they have to play in Jeruselem later
Lauren: This is all way to complicated
Katy: I guess ignorance is bliss
Lauren: What's ignorance?
Katy: Oh nevermind

Lauren: People never explain things to me
Katy: Because it's as productive as jumping into pit of tar
Lauren: That doesn't sound like fun
Katy: You get the idea. Anyway, good to see the army girls back on the winning habit
Lauren: Army girls
Katy: You know Jeru FC?

Lauren: Oh sorry, I'm a bit slow
Katy: How did you pass school?
Lauren: I don't know
Katy: Just keep playing football, something you can do ... properly
Lauren: Mum isn't any smarter.
Katy: Poor you

by **Cataduanes** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:07 am

Cataduanes 2
Hutt RIver 4
Estadio Nacional, Santa Cruz, Cataduanes Free State.

The arrival of Hutt River team to the dilapidated Estadio Nacional came on the back of two draws and a defeat. The visitors were the biggest test yet having themselves notched up four successive and impressive wins, and in the form of their striker, The Cat, they had a powerful player who dominated the first half by scoring no less than four times. The fourth in particular, an overhead volley ten minutes form the end of the first half from an almost implausible angle and distance was of a kind of rare brilliance not seen often. The third was not too shabby either, coming from a free-kick over 25 yards 36 minutes into the half, and the first two (On the 21st and 30th minute respectively) were other reminders of the players uncommon ability. Cataduanes were both shell shocked and by the third goal visibly demoralized.

The stunning 4-0 score definitely cowed the home supporters but their side came out of the second half from what must have been a motivating half time chat from the coach as they looked rejuvenated from the start with Kris Kudarat rattling the crossbar with a vicious 30 yard shot on the 49th minute. But the first of the home sides consolation goals came 6 minutes later when a flick from Buenaventura Jishi found Kris Kudarat. He motored 40 yards down the left in a blur before slipping a ball to Juan Marmelejo, whose instant return opened up the Hutt River goal, Kudarat's effort slotted nicely into the bottom right of the goal. The clawing back of one goal certainly got the stadium singing again as the fans willed their team on.

However the visitors sought to finish them off with a fifth goal and began pushing higher up the pitch, but the Cataduanes counter-attack in the 55th minute was an admirably sharp move. Tomas Lopez broke on the right and Kris Kudarat, in the middle, kept pace with him so that he was able to force home the excellent low ball from the winger to give him his second ball of the match. This had the immediate effect of the visitors refraining from outright offensive play, while this granted the home side plenty of possession of the ball they were unable to break down the packed midfield and backline whose determination and discipline were too much to overcome.

This latest defeat has pushed Cataduanes further down Group 5, they face an away fixture against Paradystopia who have had a respectable run of two wins, one defeat and one draw.

by **Wight** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:06 am

by **Apox** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:11 am

The History of Apoxian Football

Part One: The Beginning
Part Two: Expansion and the Marshall Cup
Part Three: The Game Grows

Part Four: Moving on from Cups

The next chapter of Apoxian football saw the ending of the historic Marshall Cup, four years of turmoil whilst they struggled to find a new format, and then the creation of the regional league.

First of, the penultimate Marshall Cup, which was won by FC Endeavour, making them the highest all time Marshall Cup winners, with 4 titles. In the final they faced Gwinevra Saints, who was attempting to win it what turned out to be their final Marshall Cup appearance, before they changed sport to become a rugby union club. In the end, the final was a lopsided 5-2 victory for FC Endeavour, with their young star, George McLaren scoring a magnificent hat-trick, probably his greatest footballing moment.

Around this time, Bill Bayman was losing support in the AFB, and there were moves made to replace him. However, he was a wily character, and was determined to remain as chairman until his deciding. As a result, he called an inquiry into the AFB under charges of corruption, even though he was sure there wasn't any. It was a risky move, if he was proven to have called it when he knew nothing was happening, it would have lost him his job. However, the risk paid off, he kept his job and the doubters stopped worrying.

However, despite his drastic measures to keep himself as chairman, he decided to resign two years after the inquiry, in 523. In fact he would never have the chance, as an agressive cancer took hold in May 522. By the end of the year, he had passed away, at the age of 54.

The final Marshall Cup was held, with a brand new set of finalists. The final was contested by up-and-coming force Dwile Warriors and a club that had been around for a while without being much of a footballing force, Unita Force. Unita Force, which had a small, but loyal band of fans, caused upsets along the way, beating Mercury United in the second round 1-0, and just beating Issington FC on penalties in the semis. Dwile Warriors had a much easier route to the final, the only team of note they faced were Preshute Wanderers.

The final was, and still is today, the highest score in a cup final in Apox, with Dwile Warriors overcoming Unita Force 6-3, after a young Jack Quillisi bagged a hat-trick, helped by Graeme Smith's goal and three assists. It also came, according to a 560 survey, 3rd on the best Apoixan football matches of history, although, that might have changed now.

And so it came to elect a new chairman of the Apox Football Board. After several member ballots and long meetings, Bill Bayman's sucessor was Jeremy Hunt, a footballer with Issington F.C from 509-514, and a short stint as manager of FC Endeavour for the 518-519 Marshall Cup campaigns. His idea, which was supported by many of his colleagues on the board, was to have a league system put in place as it gave all the clubs more playing time. In fact, one league, the Northern League, had been implemented already, outside of AFB control as the clubs from the North rarely progressed beyond the first and second rounds. From the North, only Preshute Wanderers had had any success.

It was decided that a set of regional leagues would be put in place for the upcoming year, based geographically. The regional leagues would be absorb and expand the current Northern League, and then create three more leagues, the Midlands League, based around Gwinevra, the Dwile League around the capital and the Seafront league for Southern Apox.

While it looked like it would be easy to implement, it reality, all the leagues took a while to get going. The Northern League was the first to start, starting in 524, with Barbury Town winning the first season. Rising costs, lack of organisation and deciding which league teams be entered in, delayed the other leagues by a year, with the Dwile League being delayed by two after many teams wanted to be included as they felt the standard of play would be higher in that league.

It was during these years that another star of Apoxian football came to the fold. George McLaren was born in 501, just as football was beginning to take hold in Apox. He was originally part of a small football club called Docklands United as a teenager, playing for them from 515 to 518. They never progressed very far in the Marshall Cup and eventually went bust in 520. However, George showed great promise when he played, and was particularly noticed by FC Endeavour when they played Docklands United in the first round in 518. George McLaren scored the only goal for the Docklands, in a 4-1 defeat.

At the end of that years competition, he signed for FC Endeavour, who he had supported since he was a kid. While the 519 competition was marred by its cancellation and he was injured for half of the 520 edition, the 521 edition, in which FC Endeavour won, was where he became legendary. Only 20 years of age, he scored 6 goals in 7 matches, including a spectacular hat-trick in the final to beat Gwinevra Saints. After this, his stock really rose, and the squad was bult around him.

He played similarly well in the 522 Cup, where Endeavour were knocked out in the Quarters, but still managed to get 3 goals.
In the regional leagues, he played for FC Endeavour during 526-529 seasons, scoring a total of 79 goals in 91 appearances, including helping them win the league in 529. After that season though, he changed club, and league and went to play for Woolhead United in the Midlands League between 530-535, winning the league with them in 531 and then again in 535 to give him a magnificent send-off. In total, he racked up 157 goals over 188 appearances for the three clubs he played for. He retired in 535, after playing football for 20 years. While still writing a column in the Apoxian Word, he largely stayed out of football and lived in Barbury, until his death in 563, aged just 62.

Jon Quillisi Has Opinions Column from the Apoxian Word

Hello all again, before I get onto the latest real World Cup results, I thought I should bring you news on a football game that is causing quite a storm in Apox, as Gordonopian Games, World Cup 63, is topping the charts for sales in Apox, with 200,000 sales in the first 2 months after release, making it the 3rd most sold game in Apox ever! In the Apoxian sections online part, there have been quite a few upsets, as a large number of people playing as Maklohi Vai and Groteburg have made it too the World Cup, surprisingly, and a large number of people have taken Apox to the world cup, and feat the real team is trying to achieve! In the leaderboards of number of countries winning the World Cup so far, there are the usual THE's and Valanora's who have won it 2000 times between them, although slightly further down the list, and number of teams are 'over-performing' so to speak, with Michael VII winning a surprisingly 12 times, Ko-oren making it to the top 7 times and our very own Apox winning 5 times! Keep playing people!

Back to real games, and real challenges, the Apoxian team last week hosted relatively unknown side, Richmond Republic. Little is known of this nation, and they have chosen not to post a roster, which makes it more confusing as to who we were actually playing against! What we do know is the the scoreline was a disappointing 3-3, after an early own-goal by Fronden Abel, and a late strike by one of their strikers made the difference.

We started of quite aggressively, playing our usual 4-4-2 formation, with Marlon Vetta starting on this occasion, and the first goal coming from him, a 12th minute strike which put us 1-0 early. The aforementioned own-goal by Fronden Abel put the two sides on level terms in the 18th minute. After that a period of largely midfield play followed, with a shot on goal by Jack Moses being the only excitement.

Fari Y, starting instead of Olim Benzari, who was being rested, nearly made it 2-1, but it was parried away by a Richmond defender. And so we went to half-time drawing, the crowd unsure what was happening.

We came back out with renewed intent, and capitalised on it, Will Fich knocking it in of a corner, and celebrating in spectacular style, with a back-flip. What a joker! Richmond looked a bit ragged after this strike, and 4 minutes later, our 3rd goal came, an own from a hapless Richmond defender after Dravid Scott's strike which was heading out, hit the player on the head before going in, cancelling out Fronden Abel's earlier mistake.

However, from this position, they came back, the first goal luckily, after an interesting bounce caught Joleon Small off guard and bounced into the open net. We held on, but unfortunately, a wonder-strike in the 88th minute sealed a demoralising draw, after being in a strong position. We need to sure up the defense in time for the next match if these costly mistakes want to be avoided.

Team Sheet from the Game (scorers in bold)
GK - Joleon Small
RD - Oley Williams
CD - Fronden Abel sub Chris Neguwa 58'
CD - Dan Weekes
LD - Jennie Scott
RM - Fari Y
CM - Will Fich
CM - Jack Moses sub Tom Olfa 68'
LM - Fran Gracie
ST - Marlon Vetta
ST - Dravid Scott (c)

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:23 am

Cyborg Holland Start To Rust, Inevitably
Fligsive, THE INEVITABLE SYNDICATE---- Cyborg Holland played a tense game against the Inevitable Syndicate yesterday, taking it down to the wire and drawing 1-1. The Dragons have been bitter with us for a while, but even though they are nearly 100 places higher than us in the official rankings, the best they could manage was a draw.

They kicked off, and minutes into the game you could tell that they'd been told to be incredibly attacking. Quick plays and tight ball control meant that there didn't seem to be any way that the famed Syndicatian defence was going to reach them. The dragons slowly made their way down the pitch, and before we knew it, they'd scored a goal. Archer seemed deflated at this, conceding a goal to them at home, and this did break his resolve for a bit, but any attacking moves were quickly shut down after midfield had analysed the Dragons playstyle. Bradley Birch wasn't there to captain, as he's received a three match ban for his unruly behaviour in the game against Farfadillis. Fred Higgs was replacing him, and he seemed competent enough, made some good tackles managed to pass the ball forward, that sort of thing. Good on you, Fred.

Half time came and went; still no goals scored by The Syndicate. Annoyed at this, Adam Willis took it upon himself to try and make an attacking play in the 63^rd minute. He went, without any communication to the team, right past our attackers, past their attackers, cut cleanly through Cyborg Holland's midfield, and ploughed through their defence. It really was quite amazing to watch, with several fans of the Dragons and the Syndicate alike rooted to the ground in awe. Tim Groenewald, the self-proclaimed 'number one shortstopper in the country' who 'specialises in 1-on-1's' obviously needs a respec, as he could not have prepared himself for the oncoming storm that is a pissed off Syndicatian. The ball blasted into the back of the net with the power of 1,000 D batteries (which I've been told the Robo-Dutch eat for breakfast, they must have been full). The final score was 1-1.

The Inevitable Syndicate
:: Goalscorers ::
:: 63' Adam Willis
Cyborg Holland
:: Goalscorers ::
:: 19' Christian Thorsten

The draw has cost us dearly, fortunately for Cyborg Holland, as it's pulled us a little closer down to their view of the points table. Ossidiacqua beat Exrasus, which was a bit of a no-brainer, but a lack of a win for the Syndicate has pushed us down to third. Next round, we play Astograth, which is not going to be easy, but with a lot of luck and resolve, we can hopefully manage a win and slinghot ourselves back up the points table.

Joel McCardy
ILN Sports

Flatulence Tower
Home of Electronic Farts
Magnaeus, The Inevitable Syndicate

'Bill, it's happened. We've got a code Barry on the GG situation. GG, I guess.'

Bill Blight was a strapping young man, who from an early age had set his sights on becoming a businessman. He'd learned from the best (possibly the Knootoss people, but nobody could be sure) how to survive in the world of business, and there was no way that a simple 'Code Barry' was going to knock him down.

'Remind me again, Rob, what's a Code Barry?'

Robert, Blight's general dogsbody, pushed a piece of paper onto Bill's desk. A nicely formulated letter was printed on it, from Gordonopian Games. Craig grabbed the letter, and read it.

To: Electronic Farts
From: Gordonopian Games
Subject: Cease and Desist

We may as well start by offering congratulations on the apparent success of your game, World Cup 63. In the world of gaming, it's always good to have multiple options, and we are sure that your virtual version of the venerable World Cup tournament provides an... alternative to our own.

On the topic of our own World Cup 63, though, Gordonopian Games has received a disturbing piece of information from an article that you sponsored in the publication Inevlink Newsnet. It seems that your company is attempting to port Gordonopian Games' World Cup 63 to a platform other than the Cronos Elite.

In response to this, we must request that you cease and desist. Gordonopian Games' World Cup 63 was developed as a first party exclusive for our company's Cronos Elite game console, and will not be released on any other platform. It seems that you are not aware that the Cronos Elite is one of the most successful consoles in the world. If you are interested in playing our game, we suggest you join the tens of billions around the world who have already purchased one, rather than resorting to something tantamount to piracy.

'Ah, so they caught on then. Stupid journalists, I thought we'd agreed with PR the port wasn't going to be released until world cup 64, where we'll just re-skin the teams... Blast. Rob, what should we do about this?'

'Well, you could cease and desist, sir. I mean, our game is already doing really well, it's sold-'

'I don't CARE how well it's doing!' Blight slammed his fist on the table. They are still outselling us! I've looked at the charts from marketing, and their bars are always higher! I know what that means!'

'But sir, maybe we could fix the problems with our game, and then-'

'What problems with our game?'

'...You don't know?'

'No.'

'I'll get Allan from programming.'

Blight walked over to his cabinet, and pulled out a jug of water. He poured himself a glass, sat down, and waited for this so called 'Allan' to arrive. In the meantime, he booted up World Cup 63. The good version. That is, just to clarify, the Syndicatian one. Bill had always played as The Inevitable Syndicate, as he was a fiercely patriotic man, and had won 98.6% of his games. How could there be anything wrong with it?

Allan, from programming, sheepishly made his way through the door, accompanied by Robert.

'This is Allan. Allan, Bill Blight.'

'Oh my.' Said Allan. I've always wanted to meet the boss! How are you liking the game, Mr. Blight?'

'I think it's incredible. Robert doesn't seem to think so. Tell him, boy, what's "wrong" with this infallible game.'

'Allan, Robert paused before continuing. 'What's the win rate on The Inevitable Syndicate set to?'

'9.86%, of course. That's what the algorithm determined from the KPB rankings...'

'Right. Are you sure?' Robert fumbled around for a USB stick with some master code on, to show Allan what he meant. he found one, eventually, and loaded it up to his laptop. A quick search found what he wanted.

'You see right there? Yeah, that's not 9.86, is it?'

'Ah. No, that is 98.6, sir.'

'Correct. Now, fancy changing that?' Robert handed the laptop to Allan, who feverishly tapped away at the keyboard.

'Done. That should be fine. Are you... Are you going to patch it?'

'I wish I could, but our 'International Business Interconnectivity Funding' from Inevilink got pulled, so server access in a few countries is unavailable.'

'We've got enough for plane tickets, though.' Bill interjected, 'We could send a crack team over to the national severs to fix it.'

'That could work, sir. I'll send Allan over. Where to first?'

'Wherever is interested. Spread the word. Put an ad up. If kids e-mail or write in, and maybe injure players of their football team, then we'll jet off to their national servers and fix the game.'

'Wouldn't it be easier just to distribute it over the DataLink?' Allan said, quietly.

No, you moron. You've done enough. Leave it to the slick business professionals. And you, of course. Go pack.' Blight rushed a comb through his hair, in an attempt to look more 'businessman'.

Robert, write two letters. One to Gordonopian Games, saying that we won't steal their game yet, and one to the kids of the world, telling them to write in! Oh, and a third letter to that youth team we had that dominated. I've got an idea...'

'I'm on it, sir.'

To: Gordonopian Games, United Gordonopia
From: Robert Hudson, Electronic Farts, The Inevitable Syndicate
Subject: Re: Cease and Desist

To whom it may Concern,

We thank you for your congratulations pertaining to the success of our humble game, and extend a congratulations to yourselves for coming up with such a fantastic premise, and a robust game that I'm sure everyone is enjoying.

As for the supposed port, we are afraid that was a mistake on the part of the journalists at ILN. It may seem obvious that we orchestrated and endorsed the article, but we at EF sponsor many articles on Inevilink Newsnet, just... Not in the sports section.

We understand your concern in trying to move your masterpiece away from the console it calls it's home, but we can assure you, that for the time, we will cease and desist from any porting activities.

Robert Hudson
Personal Relations
Electronic Farts

To: Nations Of The World
From: Electronic Farts, The Inevitable Syndicate
Subject: Regarding Glitches in 'World Cup 63'

Everyone,

We thank your for your patronage in buying World Cup 63. We are glad you saw it's potential, and decided to buy it. We have heard from many media outlets that there are a few bugs here and there. Namely, that the team known as 'The Inevitable Syndicate' couldn't be beaten most of the time. We can assure you, that this, erm, wasn't a bug, and if you had beaten the team, you would have received a message inviting you and your friends to try and beat the (youth) team FOR REAL, right here in Fligsive! That's right, you could have the chance to win an all expenses payed trip to the Inevitable Syndicate, in an attempt to beat the youth team! Due to a terrible bug that was completely overseen by our developers, the message didn't actually appear. Because we are so nice, however, we are opening it up to everyone!

If you write into Electronic Farts, then you could be a star player for this amazing game. Think of the glory! Also, if you win, we'll patch the game, making the Syndicate beatable again.

Love,
Electronic Farts

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:52 am

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, it's not over yet. We know it's a blow to lose against a seemingly uninterested squad, even though it is ranked under our team, but we still have lost nothing of value."

"Sure, but how do you explain them topping the group? We expected Ko-oren to do well among The Babbage Islands and Michael VII, not Zandistan."

"Michael has a difficult season. Two unlucky draws, a loss against the Babbage Islands but you can't expect victories against them anyway, and haven't you seen them tearing Maklohi Vai apart, 3-0? Maklohi Vai is far from bad, and they're a very entertaining and energetic squad, how do you suppose they beat them 3-0? And let's not forget that we had a lot of luck against the Babbage Islands, and that's the only match they lost points. We had a brilliant start and now we lost once."

"Yes, but Zandistan..."

"Zandistan what? I really don't know why you are so hyped about this team. I'll admit, their guy in the right midfield was okay, and their left back had some luck. Don't know their names though, so don't attack me on that."

"Coach, nobody knows their names, that's the special thing. Apparently they've been playing for a while in the qualification now, this isn't their first cycle, and now all of a sudden they just march in and win everything..."

"They don't. They have 9 points, along with two other teams. And there are three more teams on 7 points. Now that I think about it, we don't really stand a very good chance. Six teams so close together... We really should get more media coverage internationally."

"Have you seen Group 13? Three teams on 9 points and another four teams on 6 points."

"That doesn't change the point that any team in our group could boom and bust at any given moment. And that Zandistan, who had a very easy schedule anyway (and a lot of luck), isn't as good as you make it look. Quite frankly, I've had enough of this. Anyone who wants to ask something about MY team?"

"Sure, what does your team think of Zandistan?"

"Goodbye, ladies and gentlemen."

Optimism level:
1 World Cup Winners, baby!
2 We'll qualify
->3 50% for playoffs
4 Don't let us finish 5th in the group again
5 Last in the group, and proud of it

Stadium Search, Suspect #2

Yesterday we saw the first stadium that is being considered by the Ko-orenite Football Association. It was the National Stadium in the capital city, yet that is of course not the largest city in the country. Suspect #2 is: it's in Sraltlur, not too far from the capital. It's called the Sunshine Stadium.

This stadium is unique in that it can be rotated 360° to either allow the sun to shine in, or to block it. It can also be rotated to block the wind, or to let it have free roam over the field, something the club team that plays in this stadium have caused a lot of controversy with. For the rest, this stadium has also been in use for 9 national team matches, starting in cycle 59, and onto cycle 62. It has so far not been used in the current World Cup.

Name: Sunshine Stadium
City: Sraltlur
Built: 1975
Capacity: 41.000

by **West Angola** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:13 am

2nd Match Ratings (Taped):
WASN: 41.2
ESPN: 39.6

3rd Match Ratings:
WASN: 11.4
ESPN: 11.2

(#47) WEST ANGOLA AT (#38) STARYBLADIA

Luke Parrish gathered the team around him before the beginning of the match against Starybladia. “Guys, Coach Garren is in the hospital right now because we haven’t been playing like a team. I know that Peter and I have been the biggest failures in that regard, but we’ve all slipped up. Whether it was you middles sniping at each other during our trip to the Dreamed Realm, or three of you defenders crashing into each other and letting Cambirano score in the opener, or Peter and I going to war over who got to take the shot, we are all not playing our best. Phillip was sick of it, and he got so worked up that his heart gave out on him. That’s why he’s not here tonight, because we haven’t been worthy of the gold-and-blue we claim to honor.”

“Everyone here needs to play like a teammate, not like a teenager in a pickup match. I’m going to quote Coach Garren while he was chewing out Peter and I, because I think he was right on the mark: ‘You need to think about whether you play for West Angola, or for Luke Parrish or Peter Wilson.’ That’s true for everyone in this huddle, okay? That’s why we couldn’t even get the ball through a transition against The Holy Empire, and it’s definitely why we couldn’t even score on Kishrael! I don’t care what rivalries you bring from the League back home, you left it all at the door to the hotel, and you can pick it up when you leave, I don’t care. For the next six months, you are West Angolans. There’s no Namibe United or Cuando Cubango or Benguela Memorial FC on this team, there’s just West Angola. Alright guys, let’s win it for Phillip!”

MATCH COVERAGE:

Pre-Match (WASN):
Anderson: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to West Angola’s match against Starybladia, brought to you here, live, on the West Angolan Sporting Network! Here with me is my co-host John McDermot, whom I’m sure will be as insightful as always. John, why don’t you give us a rundown of the Starybladian team?

McDermot: Wow? Really? Thanks for letting me talk Mic-

Anderson: Thank you for that insight, John. Now, let’s take a look at the participants. Starybladia is the second seed in the group, and according to the official World Rankings is nine places higher than West Angola in 38th. They are currently 3-0-0, but have not faced down against the top team in any reality, top seed The Holy Empire yet, so it remains to be seen if the purple-clad stalwarts can claim a victory against them or not. West Angola, on the other hand, has already suffered a 2-0 defeat in the dreamed realm and, coupled with an embarrassing 0-0 draw at home against Kishrael last week, currently sits at 1-1-1, and is hoping to make up ground tonight with a much-needed win. Let’s now go live to the pitch, where the match is just about to get started!

McDermot: I hate you.

Pre-Match (ESPN):
Larssen: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to tonight's coverage of West Angola's World Cup match against Starybladia, brought to you live, right here on the Enormously Overblown Super Palatial Network (ESPN), your lovable station that buys up every sporting event it can find, and then refuses to show them to millions of people unless they pay extra! I'm Michael Larssen, and here with me is my partner both on the field and now off it: James McDaniels! James, West Angola desperately needs this win tonight after the draw against Kishrael.

McDaniels: That's right Mike, but I'm not sure they have a chance of getting it, barring an epiphany for some of the players. Luke Parrish and Peter Wilson haven't played well together at all, it's like they're on separate teams, and the middles spent most of the match against The Holy Empire yelling at each other when that shifting formation confused them. If Coach Garren's recent condition turns into a distraction for these guys, they're not going to be playing well anyway. West Angola needs to be playing at peak form to have a prayer, and if they're not, they can kiss the spot they're trying to steal good-bye.

Larssen: Good point, James. So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, an epiphany and inspiration from the coach are both vital for West Angola's chances tonight. Let's go down on the pitch for the start of what will hopefully be a West Angolan victory!

45th Minute (WASN):
Anderson: Well ladies and gentlemen, it's been an exciting match so far, despite the fact that the scoreboard still has nothing on it. West Angolan keeper Blake Green has matched up well against the Starybladian attack, as has the West Angolan defense. The entire team is moving like a well-oiled machine so far, and Luke Parrish and Peter Wilson have been on the verge of breaking through a couple times. This match could easily be a 3-0 blowout for either team, both keepers have made some excellent saves during this first half. The winner of this match may well be the one who's defense gets tired second. You can bet both sides are glad for the break, not just for the physical relief, but for the chance at a release on the pressure. Both teams have been going at each other one hundred percent. They are both desperate to win this match.

45th Minute (ESPN):
Larssen: There's the whistle, and the two teams look very glad to be able to take a break. This has certainly been an amazing thing to watch so far, neither team is letting up in the slightest and they are both making it obvious that they know how important this match is. West Angola's keeper, Blake Green, is playing exceedingly well, as is the West Angolan defense, which has matched up well against the Starybladian attack in the first half. West Angolan forwards Luke Parrish and Peter Wilson have done an excellent job of playing in tandem, and have nearly managed to score a few times, stopped only by incredible saves by the Starybladian keeper.

McDaniels: West Angola has definitely found their rhythm, Mike. The entire team is playing well together, and the transitions are moving as smoothly as they can. Wilson and Parrish are passing to each other, and it's obvious that they're generating a powerful attack as a result. If the team keeps playing like this, who knows? They might pull out a win tonight!

71st Minute (WASN):
Anderson: Peter Wilson scores! Peter Wilson made some excellent moves there, taking the pass from Luke Parrish and eluding the defenders with the skill that is expected of him. A beautiful shot came in just ahead of the Starybladian keeper's fingertips, and West Angola now takes a 1-0 lead in what has been a very hard-fought match. We could have just seen the deciding goal, ladies and gentlemen, with both keepers and defenses playing the way they are, scoring opportunities are very few and far between in this match. Wilson and Parrish are sharing a high five over by the goal as we get set to resume play, it's good to see those two getting along at last.

71st Minute (ESPN):
Larssen: Parrish passes to Wilson, who maneuvers his way through the defense and...has the ball stolen! Wait, no he didn't, he got it back! Wilson shoots, AND SCORES!!! Peter Wilson with an amazing shot puts West Angola up 1-0 here late in the match! Oh my word, what a great performance by that young man. He and Parrish sharing a high five by the goal, what a great shot by Wilson that was.

McDaniels: That was key for West Angola, Mike. Not only the goal, which could decide the match with both defenses playing as well as they are, but also the fact that Wilson essentially had to take that himself. Parrish was completely covered after he passed to Wilson, which left Wilson to take that ball in himself. The fact that Parrish isn't taking offense to this is huge, and I think we may have seen a corner turned tonight between those two. If they start playing like a team, they'll be even better than we were back in our heyday, Mike.

Larssen: Well, hopefully that's true, James, it'll give us some exciting things to talk about. Alright, with West Angola up 1-0 here, Starybladia needs to break through West Angola's defense and start shooting at Blake Gree if they're going to win or at least manage a draw.

90th (+4) Minute (WASN):
Anderson: And there's the final whistle! West Angola claims an incredible victory over Starybladia 1-0 in a very good and well-fought match between the two. With that win, West Angola improves to 2-1-1, and finally moves the needle on their goal differential, which is now +1. Against Starybladia, each goal is crucial, and with the defense playing as well as it was, it was obvious that a single goal could very easily decide the match. West Angola played extremely good football tonight, as did Starybladia, and this win could easily have gone to the other side. West Angola now gains momentum within the group as they try to usurp Starybladia and qualify for the World Cup for the first time in team history!

90th (+4) Minute (ESPN):
Larssen: There's the final whistle! It's over! West Angola wins a hard-fought match against Starybladia 1-0 here, and improves to 2-1-1. James, that win was key for West Angola, who really needed to regain their momentum after the 0-0 draw against Kishrael.

McDaniels: You're absolutely right, Mike. West Angola knew that if they didn't get this win, they likely would not be able to muster the strength to qualify. Every point is crucial when going for the upset, and West Angola played like a team that wants to qualify. All credit to Starybladia, they played extremely well tonight, and it could easily be them celebrating the win right now. Really an excellent match from both sides, I don't think I've seen a better match of football in all my time here.

Larssen: Thank you James. Well, this concludes tonight's coverage of West Angola's match against Starybladia, right here on ESPN! For myself, James McDaniels, Jacob Kerys, and all the crew here, I wish you a good night, and safe travels.

NAMIBE CHRONICLE

WEST ANGOLA UPSETS STARYBLADIA 1-0, GETS MUCH-NEEDED WIN!

Last night, in Starybladia, West Angola got exactly what they wanted. A 1-0 win over a very good Starybladian squad helped West Angola regain the momentum they lost following the embarrassing 0-0 draw against Kishrael last week. Following that match, West Angolan Coach Phillip Garren suffered a heart attack, and remains in the hospital under critical condition. The team traveled to Starybladia without him and promoted Isaac Warren to interim head coach until Garren recovers. Team captain Luke Parrish said that the team used Garren's condition as a rallying cry for the night:

We really wanted to win it for him, and it also helped us to really come together as a team. Several players, myself included, hadn't really been playing as a team so far, and it's one of the main reasons we performed so badly against Kishrael. We knew we had to come together to have any chance at winning this match, and we really wanted to win it. The entire team is praying for Coach Garren, and we hope he's back on the sidelines in time for the next match.

Unfortunately for Parrish and the rest of the team, hospital officials say it is unlikely that Coach Garren will have recovered sufficiently to resume coaching duties for the team's match against Vettrera. However, Isaac Warren is undefeated as a coach, so perhaps the team will be able to function well in his absence.

Group 4                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
     1 The Holy Empire             4    4   0   0    13    3  +10    12
     2 Starblaydia                 4    3   0   1     9    4   +5     9
     3 Anollasia                   4    3   0   1     6    8   −2     9
     4 West Angola                 4    2   1   1     5    4   +1     7
     5 Vettrera                    4    2   0   2    14   10   +4     6
     6 Bloodbath Generation        4    2   0   2     9   13   −4     6
     7 Kishrael                    4    1   1   2     9   10   −1     4
     8 Cambirano                   4    1   0   3     8   11   −3     3
       Lymantatia                  4    1   0   3     8   11   −3     3
    10 Vakolic                     4    0   0   4     8   15   −7     0

Match Schedule:

1. vs. Cambirano W 3-1
2. at The Holy Empire L 1-3
3. vs. Kishrael D 0-0
4. at Starblaydia W 1-0
5. vs. Bloodbath Generation
6. at Lymantatia
7. vs. Vettera
8. vs. Vakolic
9. at Anollasia
-Bye-
10. at Cambirano
11. vs. The Holy Empire
12. at Kishrael
13. vs. Starblaydia
14. at Bloodbath Generation
15. vs. Lymantatia
16. at Vettera
17. at Vakolic
18. vs. Anollasia

Won (2) Drew (1) Lost (1) Should Win (10) Might Win (3) Toss-Up (0) Might Lose (0) Should Lose (1)

Projected Final Record: 15-1-2
Projected Group Finish: 3rd

by **Mapletish** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:15 am

Smernof 2–1 Mapletish: Lions in trouble as Smernof claim first win in three matches.

The home side put the Lions on the bay-stand as Smernof halt Janette's side's charge to the top three. Struggles continue as Janette records a poor attacking and defensive record, the worst records since the Muain Newtons' era.

Smernof - 2
Glena Johnson 39'[OG] ; Barrett Ron 58' [OG]

Mapletish - 1
Alero Junio 49'

It was a shocker and a disappointment that came as a whole as Smernof claim their first win in three matches while Mapletish claim their first defeat in three matches. Lady lucky was shining on Smernof as Glena Johnson and Barrett Ron send the ball into their own net for the home side to take on with. Despite a Junio inspired fight back, the Lions were unable to turn the match in their favour.

The Smernof National Stadium was the venue for the disappointing performance here. The match was a must win affair for Mapletish there and the team sheet showed why the Lions wanted a victory so badly. Mr Manager spoke with pride after the match as he downplayed the "strong side that gives nothing".

"The team sheet for the Lions looks simple enough as it was filled with those big names, Junio, Johnson, Jerrard, Alvarez. It all came down to Mapletish that it was a must win for them. However I'm very thankful to both Glena Johnson and Barrett Ron that they give us the goals and three points." Mr Manager spoke in front of reporters after the match.

The home side went in front courtesy of a 39th minute Johnson own goal and although Junio put the away team on terms, as he tried to put on a comeback fight for the Lions, Ron slotted home another own goal to hand Mr Manager's side a valuable three points to keep them off the bottom of the group.

The visitors started the brighter and enjoyed the majority of the possession and it was the Lions who brought the first chance into the match. A mis-fired shot by Jerrard tip over the top of the goal to his disappointment, the first meaningful attempt of the game after 12 minutes.

In a contest that seem to be lacking the goods, the lack of clear cut chances put the game in a bore, despite that Junio looked to have a free run at goal after robbing Player 8 on the home side's right flank, it was Player 4 that came across in the nick of time to make a challenge onto Junio to ensure that the attacking threat was solve before he could take his aim.

Then Player 9 looked to put his mark on the game, having wasted a glorious chance to get a shot on target two minutes earlier, he finished off a flowing home team counter attacking move, his end product hit Johnson on the feet as Johnson tapped the ball into his own net when he tried to cleared the ball.

Mr Manager's men broke in for a counter attacking following a Mapletish throw in with Player 9 breaking to intercept the ball as he tripped Jerrard off his footing and sprinted his way from the right flank. He struck the ball towards Travis but the ball hit Glena Johnson on his feet and he tried to clear the ball however it somehow flew past Travis into his own net.

Disappointment lingered on however the Lions maintained their style of football to the second period and were on level terms within five minutes of the restart following great work from Di Natile and Alvarez.

The former shrugged off a couple of weak Smernof challenges and released Alvarez, who cut inside and squared for Junio to tap into an empty net, putting both teams level on terms. After the goal, Junio then came close to grab a second three minutes later as he struck Player 1's near post before the away team were denied again three times in quick succession, with Di Natile, Enkainia and Jerrard all failing to convert the loose ball.

Those missed chances would come back to haunt Janette and her side as the home side regained the lead in the 58th minute courtesy of a second own goal by Mapletish from Ron.

Player 9 played down his chances as he demonstrated yet another supreme composure appearance in front of goal as he latched onto Player 8's lofted through ball and turned inside the Lions' defenders Johnson and Mei Kei before trying to slide the ball past Travis however Ron went in for a challenge but he slide the ball into the net to his disappointment to make it 2-1.

Janette reacted by bringing on Dennis from the bench to add in some more pace to the team and ignoring the defensive error altogether. Dennis later picked out Junio with a pinpoint cross in the 75th minute, but the 26 year old forward could only direct his header wide much to Dennis effort.

Later on, Mapletish had late shouts for a penalty turned down after Player 2 tripped Di Natile in the box but despite constant calls for video replays from the Mapletish players, the referee did not give the penalty as the play was restart from a goal-kick. From there, Smernof earned their first undeserved victory for the qualification campaign that could be better off due to luck, the scoreline could have been 8-0 for the Lions but the disappointing performance of the Lions brought them down.

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:31 am

(From Shabeen Ahmad III's blog:)

Exceeding expectations

Who on earth would have thought that after 4 of the 18 matches, we would be second in the group with nine points? I mean really, nine points from a possible 12? For a team ranked in the 80s and who seemingly had no hope of doing anything special this qualifying cycle, we are definitely exceeding pre-qualifying expectations. Although at the current stage, it seems like a lot of teams are performing above expectations.

I haven't posted since the opening matchday 4-3 win away at Azox, but I still can't believe we went there and won like that. But after that, we had two rather simple matches, and then a match that on paper was a definite loss. The first simple match was our first home fixture of the campaign, against Afrinesia, the joint lowest team listed in the most up to date rankings I could find. Playing the Christmas tree formation with an attacking style, which I thought was rather interesting, but it didn't really seem to work as their team seemed to lack defensive discipline, or just discipline in general, which allowed us to effectively camp in their half for the majority of the match. And the scoreline really showed the difference in the two sides, the match ending 5-1 to us, much to the pleasure of the often-disappointed crowd that turns up to watch EL matches.

And if I'm honest, the football on show wasn't too boring either. Even if it was camping, we still tried to play exciting football, and so did the Afrinesians, on the odd three of four occasions they had the ball long enough. Still, the first goal I think was the best constructed I've seen from this team for a while. An intricate series of one-twos followed by a incisive pass through to the Doctor who finished calmly to open the scoring. And that was 15 minutes into a six goal game. The Pyrovile added to the scoreline with one of his trademark long range (which average 40 or so yards) efforts moments before half time, which left the whole travelling crowd rather stunned (OK, more stunned than they were at the team we were fielding). But the few travellers who braved the portal into the country found something to cheer about around 5 minutes into the second half, when Kelly Nobin latched onto a brilliantly weighted long ball from Christian Erne, rounded Strax and fired across Blon into the corner of the net. Still, their happiness didn't last. 6 minutes later, Jenny added to her opening matchday hat-trick after bundling in rebounded free kick from the Doctor, which goalkeeper Allan Ferriera had done well in just getting a hand to it to keep it out. With 15 minutes remaining of normal time, the score became 4-1 with the Doctor curling a free kick beyond the fingertips of Ferriera. And 7 minutes later, his hat-trick was completed from the penalty spot after Lonnie Threet was judged to have handballed Vastra's cross.

Moving swiftly on, we had a return to the road, and went to Beaverriver. We won 3-1, but if I'm honest, that match was pretty bland in comparison to the previous one, so I'll just say that Jack, Jenny and the Doctor all scored headers from Strax's corners, while young Guis Borduall scored the last minute consolation goal from, again, a corner. But the high point of this match wasn't the match itself, but the fact that we had topped the group, ahead of The Archregimancy on goals scored, having tied on goal difference (12 compared to 8, with a GD of +7). But now, we would face our first real test this cycle. Against the very team we had just overtaken for the group's top spot, the Archregimancy. Ranked 26th, they are the second seeds, but given that they beat out ASMV (who were third in the world at the time) to the automatic qualification spot last cycle, we knew that they could pack a punch (in a metaphorical sense, given that this lot are possibly the most peaceful football players to have existed). Another challenge would be having the match played in almost complete isolation, in a small forest clearing at the foot of a cliff, so bringing any supporters with us would be rather impossible. Plus having to stand for two hours before kickoff to hear the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. But that didn't matter in the end. What did matter was the match. A very close 2-1 loss was the result, with the first goal coming from Fr. Theophilus the Wise on the 41st minute, a well-timed through ball from captain Fr. Artemius the Unwashed (whom nobody with a sense of smell wanted to go near, and who could blame them? However, we managed to pull a goal back through the Pyrovile, who actually decided the dribble the ball for once instead of taking an almighty swing at it, and it dribbled the ball past the entire midfield, and a couple of defenders, before smashing the post on the ball's way into the net. So with 21 minutes of normal time to go, it was 1-1, but then 10 minutes later, the monks reinstated their lead. Rory tried to get the ball of Theophilus, but instead caught the monk's robe, tripping him up and giving away the penalty, which Fr. Mark the Goatskin Wearer swiped away from Blon's outstretched into the bottom corner. 2-1 and game over.

Still, it was pleasing to see how close we came to causing an upset, and the fact that we limited the loss to one goal was a small achievement in my eyes. This will put us in good stead for the next two matches, which are a home match against The Islands of Qutar, and then the monster that is the away match at Andossa Se Mitrin Vega. If we can get good results in these matches, we'll put into a good position for the rest of the first half of qualifying. In the meantime, I've just had my copy of Gordonopian Games' World Cup 63 delivered, so I'll be killing time on my Cronos Elite (do you seriously think I'm mad enough to buy the Electronic Farts version?).

This is Shabeen Ahmad, signing off.

by **Sandwich Territories** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:33 am

"Tolliver, I know that you think this is your fault, but it isn't."

"No, Banks, it's 100% my fault."

"Look, not only is the FSSO team a powerhouse, but when we had those limited chances, we looked like hammered shit."

"Tolliver, your ankle, it needs to heal!"

"Coach Mallard, I'm fine."

"I'll take a look at our schedule, and I'll decide to play you."

"No. I can't let the team down like this."

"News outlets all around Kennan can't believe that you are doing this. They hail you as a hero. But, even the media thinks you out to give it a break."

"Jonathan. I hate to say it, but it all isn't just for me. *sniff* My mother, I just found out she had grade 4 terminal cancer..."

"..."

"She'll be gone within a week or so...."

"It's hurts too bad to let her down."

"I live in fear, waiting, and waiting, and watching my OWN MOTHER DIE, AND I'M NOT EVEN THERE TO HELP HER!"

"This is how I make up for it, Jon. She watches all the games, and even if I lose, and screw up like tonight, she *sniff* even manages to tell me how proud he is, of this whole club."

"And to think, I can remember my first goal-keeping tryouts, for a soccer academy in Scallions, and I can remember....just what she sacrificed for me to be here...the two jobs..the overnights....the suffering...I gotta go....(loses it)....."

*TV flashes on*

(SSN) "And tonight's loss to FSSO isn't as painful as what is happening behind the scene..."
(CN) "For Sandwich's own Tolliver Ments, winning is more important that life, but for reasons that are greater than the game."
(SNIS)"...And, you what? Even though he isn't from Soviet New Ireland, that Sandwichian goal-keeper....Ments? Yeah, he has a no quit factor."
(KSA)"Tolliver Ments, the team's motivator, who played with a broken ankle, now plays with a broken heart."
(HIN)"And as we watch our twin nation, Sandwich take to the pitch, we can't help but feel the pain of a team playing with a broken soul."
(SBC)"In our 87 years of broadcasting, we've never seen a team who has dealt with such pain, and triumphed. The whole team is playing as one."
(CLN)"As if it it was bad enough for Sandwich emotionally, here is another pain, but this one they aren't used to."
(ANN)"The world stage brings a lot of troubles, but for Sandwich, these pains are internal."

CONQUER OR DIE - Sandwich National Team motto

by **Royalsoldiers** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:59 am

Royalsoldiers Earns a Draw with the Pazhujeb Islands
By, Lucas Hampton

For match-day four, Royalsoldiers was matched up with the Pazhujeb Islands, who for most people cut slack for due to the natural disaster that struck them and severely changed not only their geography but their nation and its people. The Pazhujeb Islands are very good and it was good to earn a draw at the Pazhujeb Islands. There really were no bad spots just the two teams played so solid and under-control that there were limited mistakes to take advantage of. The Royalsoldiers played more defensively in today's game. Michael Smirnoff had a shot from right of the box that hit off the opposite goal post and bounced out. This shot was in the eight-ninth minute. If he hit the goal nobody knows what it would be like in Royalsoldiers.

Kodiak was happy with the defensive playing style. It shows that when they need to play defensively they can and still win the match. Royalsoldiers who is traditionally offensively-minded team has never really had a team that could limit goals scored by the other team. "This was a great showing of our potential to the world and to ourselves. I wasn't sure we knew what we could do until the blowout of Legokiller and this draw with the Pazhujeb Islands. We right now are playing our best football," said Kodiak. The Imperial team must bounce off these last two match-days and realize that it all games may not be the same. Next they are going to play the Equestrian States, an unofficial rival of Royalsoldiers after Downtrodden Crankyface's comments.

The Equestrian team is sapient horses and other creatures. This means one thing, THEY CAN RUN! The Royish team must be able to outmaneuver without allowing them to run. This match will test the Imperial team's foot skills and see if they can win without out-running and tiring out the other team. We all know Kodiak would have a positive comment on this analysis but you have to face the facts. The Royish team will not be able to outrun the Equestrian team. There is one thing that could be very positive for the Royish team, that would be the lack of five starters and the fact the rest of them are all injury-prone. Also, the soldout crowd at King Drew III Memorial Pitch will be screaming their heads off after the comments. Royalsoldiers hopes to gain momentum with either a win or a draw with the Equestrian States.

Goals

Royalsoldiers
N/A

The Pazhujeb Islands
N/A

Substitutions

Royalsoldiers

Michael Smirnoff-in for-Oliver Cyrus-LF

Pazhujeb Islands

Unknown

by **Conclespia** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:13 am

"Ball! Ball!"

I swiveled around and lofted a pass through to an impatient Fred Watson who bolted off down the pitch as soon as he touched the ball, his strides huge as he left Peter bewildered and staggering in his wake. With a swing of his right leg and a flick of a boot, he whipped a cross from deep, the ball curling into the area for it to be met with a crashing header from Sandy. The whistle blew for full time as we lay on the well-mowed pitch, breaths heavy and brows moist as we awaited the coaching staff in the sweltering heat.

"That was some nice defending over there, Songbird," Breeze McMane smirked as he smoothed out his immaculate yellow mane, sitting up in the grass. I'd always despised training with the cocky winger not because of his arrogant antics, but more because the odor of his mane gel blocked out the fresh scent of the grass. Filly magnet, he calls it. I've heard that it passes as mosquito repellent as well.

"Eh, line up on my side next time, will ya?" the dark-haired, Chinese-born leftback replied. "I promise a pair of broken legs and bruised eyes by the end of the match."

That drew a couple of chuckles from the rest of the team. We all know that no matter what anyone throws at him, Peter's the most easygoing guy on the planet. There's nothing that manages to even prick at his skin, let alone get under it. Nothing.

"Done yet, ladies?" a bemused Blue Thunder stood, head tilted to the side as if curious about their little exchange. The blue-coated unicorn with his mad-scientist-esque, even darker blue mane wore a long, black trench coat and sported a beard that would put even the Nordponies of yesteryear to shame. "I've got an interview routine in half an hour, hence the whole fashion show routine. But first, on to my thoughts on the match."

He started pacing, hooves clattering in the soft pitch. "A rather good performance by Team A, the name I've given to Freddie's team. You passed the ball at pace and were clinical in the final third, and according to Coach Townsend's rather flattering remarks, executed his tactics perfectly. Of course, noting that this is expected of you as the tactics the coaching staff laid out were vigorously practiced by you all. Oh, and a nice final goal as well. A good effort, starting with Jason's pass to Freddie and of course, that lung-bursting, jaw-dropping, gut-squelching, knee-crunching..." his eyes seemed to glaze over for a while, before he shook his head and glanced around sheepishly. "Ahem. Yeah, a good pass which resulted in a good run which resulted in a good goal. Good." He nodded in satisfaction, sending some very suspicious particles rocketing out of his fuzzy beard.

"As for Team B ..." he muttered, shaking his head worriedly. "What more can I say? You were ripped apart by a better team that outplayed you with good passing and attacking football."

There was a collective gasp.

"But, a good performance nonetheless," he continued, scratching his chin. I could feel my jaw drop. "You attempted to do what we practiced in training, defending in depth before creating chances on the quick breakaway. I must say, it was a valiant effort, but needing practice nonetheless. But don't you worry. It's not as if the match against Gyatso-kai is right next door." He chuckled at his own inward joke.

He stopped pacing. "Questions or queries, children?" He stuck out an orange eyeball, individually examining each and every one of us before stopping and straightening up again.

"Again, good job today, folks," he spun around. "I'll be off to my interview now! Catch y'all later!" He started careening away from the field, before I noticed that he had dropped a small, yellow slip. It read: "Address: Weismann Center, 210 Pinecove Boulevard".

by **Mashiki** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:24 am

Part 1

The long road that stretched ahead of Hlan became visible once more inside of his mind. The path he knew that he would have to take in order to stay alive was also evident, and he knew that the risks he would have to take were huge. He could face all sorts of consequences for what he had to do, but he knew that these consequences were not as bad as the ones he had been faced with by the man that had once been his ally. The phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hlan, I've booed you tickets to Baltana for the upcoming game against Eura. They will be available to collect at the place where I let you free 24 hours ago. Upon reaching Baltana, I will have my people watching you, and you must undertake this mission with a sense of respect and determination. Any procrastinating will immediately terminate your mission and your life to follow soon after. To re-iterate, you must track down and corner Bubuneski, before capturiung him and bringing him to an alleyway I will send to you via text. My people will bring him back from there, and will give you your bounty. Then, you are on your own, and I will leave you."

"That sounds good. When is the flight then?"

"The flight is at 15:15."

"OK, I guess I'll be going then."

"Remember Hlan, one false move, and you'll be gone in a flash. Discard this phone after the call has finished...."

5 hours later

The gentle screech of the aeroplane's tyres hitting the ground relieved Hlan. He had never really been a fan of flying, but for the purposes of what he was about to do, it was a necessary risk to take. The man who had been keeping him had warned that he could only catch hime while on dry land, and he would give him 3 chances to do so at 3 different matches. But what was to come for him was unknown. He stepped off the plane and his journey began...

by **Bears Armed** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:52 am

(from the ‘Sports’ section of ‘The Bear Necessities’…)

Goal-scorers

v Kinitaria
(#11) Thyrra Darma’s-darthhrr: 1
(#12) Amarra Sunwatcher: 1
[#13] Syrrae o Wirrenne : 1
(#16) Harrietta Karra o Hara: 1

Total
(#24) Sarrathrie Sevens: 5
(#25) Sorrkhie Torr’hay: 5
[#13] Syrrae o Wirrenne : 4
(#16) Harrietta Karra o Hara: 4
(#12) Amarra Sunwatcher: 3
(#11) Thyrra Darma’s-darthhrr: 2
(#27) Krissie Fairbearrn: 2
(#15) Varrna o Kerr-Surra : 1
(#30) Karralha Levin: 1

“Euurgh!”

*(sound of water splashing)*

“Still got some of that smoke stuck in your throat?”

“Ayyuh.
“Why do they do that, anyhows? I mean, firework displays for entertainment that I can understand for true, but lighting loads of flares hrright down at ground level like they did?!? If that’s how the Kinitarian fans celebrate one of their players scoring a goal then I’d hate to see how they celebrate their team actually winning a game...”

“For true!”

“Of course they don’t have fur, though, so the smoke and smell wouldn’t linger around them afterwards as much as it does around urrs.”

“Maybeso not, but surely it still gets into their clothes anyhows?”

“I suppose so.

“Ah well, it’s the West Zirconians next and I think that their fans are better-behaved...”

____________________________________________________________________

(Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location somewhere within Bears Armed_ )

“More of them?”

“Ayyuh. Another threeEights-and-five foreign humans who came into the country as tourists but then tried to get across the eastern border and into the Hazardous Wastes. The Rangers of Ifurrien say that theythink this was the hwhole batch.”

“So, have any of these straying guests explained why they want to go there yet?”

“Not yet, not hrreally, no: They’ve just said that Wastes sounded like an interesting place to visit...”

“Urrgah!”

*(another Bear, who looks excited, enters the room)*

“Chief! Heyyah chief: We might have something...”

“Oh?”

“Ayyuh. One of the listeners overheard two of the latest batch of detainees trying to hold a private conversation, and fortunately she actually knew the language in hwhich they were hwhispering.”

“And? Hwhat did they say?”

“Well, they didn’t talk for verrry long, but apparently they’re followers of Juan Tzimisces and were trying to rendezvous with an emissary from him somehwhere out there.”

“Hwhat? I wonder why...?
“Ur’rmm, Urrth’hrro, check on the protocols for sending an official message into The Holy Empire and get back to me with the details as soon as you can.”

“Hokay, chief, will do.”

by **Kaledor** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:54 am

WEST GUIANA 0 – 0 KALEDOR
WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
VENUE: RIVERSIDE PARK, GEMSBROOK – WEST GUIANA
ATTENDANCE: 27,800

The Knights endured a day of frustration in Gemsbrook. Despite having the majority of the chances they failed to capitalise, and had to settle for a point. In the first half the omens looked good for Kaledor who dominated proceedings, and quietened the home crowd for much of the time.
Sir Percival nearly opened the scoring on three minutes. Sir Safir had crossed to Sir Tarquine who cleverly back-heeled it to Sir Percival. The right-back was in acres of space and he struck across the well beaten keeper and narrowly past the post.
After 13 minutes their next attempt arrived when Sir Tristram made a dazzling run down the left, before cutting inside and taking a shot. Unfortunately his strike was lacking in any power and went straight into the keeper’s arms.
Sir Tarquine made a bursting run on 20 minutes and struck a powerful shot that forced a diving save from the West Guiana keeper. Then on 32 minutes the Knights had a seemingly good goal ruled offside when Sir Tarquine tapped in from a Sir Tristram cross. The last chance of the first half happened just before half-time when Sir Bors headed against the post from Sir Safir’s corner-kick.
It looked as if a goal was inevitable for the Knights, but West Guiana had other ideas as they gained the initiative early in the second half, forcing Kaledor into surrendering territory and possession. The defence was rarely troubled however, with both Sir Bors and Sir Tor having a fairly solid game.
West Guianas’ closest chance came on 61 minutes when Sir Gawain had to stretch to reach and tip over Juan Sanchez’s strike. They also had an attempt that was deflected just wide of the post moments later.
The knights built up a little pressure towards the end as they stepped up a gear. Sir Tarquine cracked a 25 yarder which the goalkeeper was unable to hold cleanly but his defence covered. Shortly after Sir Elyan attempted an overhead kick, and the West Guiana goalkeeper saved well from Sir Safir’s free-kick. Perhaps the best chance for Kaledor in the second half came when substitute Sir Elyan headed into the side netting from Sir Tristram’s cross in the dying seconds.
In the end it was shared spoils. Its difficult to say in context whether this was a good point gained or two lost. Most didn’t expect the Knights to go and win in West Guiana, but they certainly had their chances to, especially before they became jaded in the second-half. Still Lord Agraviane will be tremendously pleased with their current form of five points from a possible nine and three clean sheets in a row.
Next up Milchama visits the Knights Coliseum. This will be a massive step-up in class. Milchama are in scintillating form, sitting top of the group and having won all four of their games. There will be few outside of Kaledor optimistic about the Knights picking up anything against them. However, having now gained points against both Mytannion and West Guiana they should go into the tie with confidence.

Group News
Milchama go marching on after thrashing Pugh 6-1 to remain the only team with a 100% win record. Elsewhere Mytannion won 3-1 in Thatius, while New Ecopia continued their good early form with a 4-2 success in Patricant. Meanwhile Timfen recorded their first victory of the campaign 3-1 against The Royal Kingdom Of Quebec.

 Group 16                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
     1 Milchama                    4    4   0   0    16    1  +15    12
     2 West Guiana                 4    2   2   0     8    2   +6     8
     3 Mytannion                   4    2   2   0     7    3   +4     8
     4 New Ecopia                  4    2   1   1     9    8   +1     7
     5 Thatius                     4    2   0   2     7    8   −1     6
     6 Kaledor                     4    1   2   1     3    3    0     5
     7 Patricant                   4    1   1   2     5    7   −2     4
     8 Timfen                      4    1   1   2     4    9   −5     4
     9 Pugh                        4    0   1   3     2   10   −8     1
    10 TRK of Quebec               4    0   0   4     5   15  −10     0

by **Armed Bears** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:19 am

“Sic semper tyrannis!”

“Eh? Hwhat did you say?”

“I said ‘Sic semper tyrannis’.. It’s an old Lapin* expression that means “Thus always to tyrants”.”

“Hr’rmm. Well, I suppose our team always beating theirs by that sort of margin could be useful.”

“Ayyuh. And have you seen what the Encyclopedia Multiversica has to say about their nation’s government? Terrible! It’s a shame that that wasn’t beaten as badly too, that it is, for true!”

“Can’t force freedom on other people,if they aren’t already prepared to work for it themselves, though...”

“No?
“No, I suppose not. Ah well, at least it’s not as though anybody’s trying to repress urrs like that, that anyhows....”

“Nobody would dare.”

“That’s for true, for true!
“Say, did any of the visiting fans — or even players — request asylum instead of going back home?”

“Not that I’ve heard about so far, no.”

“Hr’rmm.”

“So, off we go — our turn to travel ‘away’, this time around — to Azox: What does the encyclopedia say about there, then?”

“Seems to be a pretty nice place — not a repressive government, anyhows, and “lush forests” are mentioned.”

“Sounds hokay for a visit, then?”

“Ayyuh... except... Well, apparently it’s not only not on our Earth, it's not actually on any Earth at all, neither...”

“Oh? Off in another dimension, like the Dreamed Realm, then?”

“Ayyuh, it seems so.”

“Ur’rmm. So will they be opening one or more ‘Gates’, or how else are we expected to get there?”

“I don’t know. That’s a verrry good question...”

_____________________________________________________________________

OOC
* Lapin _ The official language of the Rabbit-ruled Romaine Empire which, in another Earth (or two), was around during the founding of the Ursion religion.

World Cup 63 RP Thread

Mapletish 2–0 Sarzanestan

WC-63 MD-4

Smernof 2–1 Mapletish

WEST GUIANA 0 – 0 KALEDOR

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