Baptism of Fire 56 | Everything thread

[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk gorod]

OOC: YSG is starting a new year.

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Komsomol Gazeta.

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Sakhalin won against Green Highland 1-0, chances still being high.

Yuri Kozlov
Follow in Pajarraco as: @PedroC354
January 2nd, 2047. 8:00 P.M.

If we had the opportunity to choose how to start the year? as it relates to football, pick any team beat a good level, and what better way to do against Green Highland, it does not matter a great boost for morale national team in a match riddled with controversy where YSG took advantage by the red cards suffered by Green Highland.

Tactical strategies

YSG was presented with a 4-5-1, their typical alignment with the usual players and functions always retrieve the ball and score as a surprise. Green Highland played a very defensive team which should not be given for never beaten because of his cunning and experience of many players who have already played at least one good friendly, something to keep in mind is that Green Highland has certain shortcomings in the game creation zone.

Pre-Match

The expectations about this game were high on both teams, YSG wanted to charge the favor done to Green Highland some days ago while the opponent wants to win and avoid a ridiculous participation in this tournament hosted by our brothers of SJG.

In the market for sports betting, YSG was declared the loser, the most common bets were 3-0 or 7-1 against YSG.

Score Predictions

As in any game could not miss the predictions of the outcome of the match on both sides, after a couple of hours of research we provide some data.

YSG:
Win: 52% (most common results: 0-1, 1-2, 1-4)
Draw: 8% (most common results: 1-1, 0-0, 2-2)
Loss: 40% (most common results: 3-1, 1-0, 6-2)

Green Highland:
Win: 95% (most common results: 3-0, 4-0, 5-3)
Draw: 0%
Defeat: 5% (most common results: 0-1, 0-2, 3-4)

Journalists (Overall results)
In favor of YSG: 37% (most common results: 0-1, 1-3, 2-3)
Draw 13% (most common results: 0-0, 1-1, 2-2)
In favor of Highland (Common Results: 3-1 4-1 5-2)

Therefore he concluded that Green Highland was the clear favorite according to the grand total of two surveys.

Match Start

The moment of truth came, the game started in favor of YSG several arrivals danger to the goal of Highlandese keeper, as a shot of Dennisov was contained by the goalkeeper after 3 minutes into the game, Highland not going to meet with his arms crossed as a Highland player did a bicycle kick that was stopped by Medvedev almost providential way, already beginning to live good action in this match, as both teams wanted to win to do well in the remainder of the Qualifiers.

And the controversy began

Already in twelve minutes of play had given certain contacts or swept very hard on the limit of the rules between the two teams , everything began to intensify until it reached the straw that broke the camel in 18 minutes , Kokorin was overthrown in area by a defender and the referee ruled penalty, the defender criticized the decision of the referee justifying that "it was a dive " as justified "certain newspaper" of Highland , after that a battle erupted between the two teams where a defender gave a brutal the referee punch and was subsequently expelled from the field and obtained a suspension of 10 games that was "less than he should get" and another defender was also expelled (for the first time in his career) and the next game will be lost due to because of accumulation of yellow cards

The anger dwindled after a couple of minutes, Kokorin is taking care of the ball and make the penalty, took the momentum and scored 0-1 in favor of YSG kicked a penalty to the upper right corner, leaving defeated the rival keeper.

The end of the first part

After the shot, he could see Highland in a more defensive position than the first, because he was left with nine players after they were expelled two YSG used the time to have the ball in their favor and try some powerful shot, either Kokorin, or or Romanov who came together very well causing problems for the defense of Highland.

Despite being at a disadvantage, Highland continued testing through kickbacks or trick plays that did not reach its end, the game ended in the first half with a score of 0-1, favoring YSG not before a booing from the Highlandese fans.

The Highland suffering moment.

Actions already in the second half, YSG decided to use a variant of the numerical advantage and disadvantage of Highland team , using 4 front and 4 midfielders and only three defenses, thereby YSG began to create more chances opponent's goal Joe Jackson, as Kokorin volley that crashed off the crossbar in the 58th minute, a free kick from Romanov that crashed into the left post 70 minutes and several attempts by Mariinskiy after a corner where some defenders, donned costume heroes to avoid a catastrophe and a high scoring goals against to Highland.

The match ended with the score 0-1 in favor of YSG and a massive boo from fans of Highland against his team, something that leaves YSG with a good new year gift.

[Laiyenda]

~The Night of Match Day 4 6/28/14~

Following yet another draw, Coach O'Daire sat in his hotel room making an international call home to Laiyenda.

"Hello sir, I was told to contact you?"

Pause.

"Yes, I will agree my defensive style is not playing as well as it does at home."

Pause.

"I don't think that is a good idea sir! We have been scoring, we haven't been shutout yet. Sure, we have not been scoring to the caliber of say, Lavertezzo, but I believe our style of gameplay is exactly what it needs to be."

Pause.

"Yes, I am aware we have dropped out of the top four in our group."

Pause.

"Yes, I am aware there are only 3 match days left and only 2 games for us..."

Pause.

"Yes sir, I will...take that into consideration. Thank you for the advice."

As he hung up the phone he took off his glasses, let out a sigh, and fell down onto his bed.

~The Next Morning 6/29/14~

The team is gathering in Coach O'daire's suite. Most looks exhausted and plop down in the one of the three uncomfortable hotel chairs in the room or on his bed. He told them that he would give them the day off to explore Kalumba since they have not quite had the opportunity yet. Some seem a bit angry to be summoned at 9:00am in the morning.

“Um...you must all be wondering why I gathered you here today.”

The team lets out an exhausted “mhm”

“The good news is, it is not to scold you on yesterday's draw. I just need to inform you of something. We are 1-2-1, we have dropped out of the qualifying four in our group.”

Some nod since they already knew this, others have not considered the possibility of the fact yet.

“We have two games left to crank up the heat, two games to make our statement. These next two games are must win...the question is, are you ready to do whatever it takes to win?”

The team mutters, this time a bit stronger “yes sir.”

“I have been contacted by the director of the One Team Project. He wants us to step it up. He wants us to stop playing defensively and give it all we've got to score as many goals as possible.”

He pauses.

“I love playing defensively, that is my game. But, I agree with him. So, we are going on a more offensive approach in the coming games. Mid Fielders and Forwards I need you to make your plays. Defense, I need you to step up and be the strongest wall the world has ever seen. Durant, I need one more goal. Barnes, I need one more save. Do you guys think you can win?”

The team yells in reply “Yes Sir.”

“History will record your response.”

~Match Day 5 6/30/14~

The Laiyendan team, on their bye, is at a local park in Kalumba, playing around on one of the park's many soccer fields. O'Daire watches as a small kid runs past Tyrone Barnes and take a shot at the goal, Darius jumps at the last second but gets no where near the ball. He laughs as he watches the entire defensive line run up to the kid and congratulates him on his “stellar goal.” Darius looks over to O'Daire and gives a thumbs up as he smiles.

Suddenly Dante Durant comes up beside the coach.

“Wow, these kids are good at soccer!” Durant says

“Ha, I know you guys are only giving a quarter amount of effort though.”

“Of course we are, nothing is more amazing than a child's smile as they watch the ball soar past one of the best goalies in the world!”

“So, what did you think of our practice earlier?” O'Daire changes the conversation to a serious topic.

“I thought our defense left the back door open a couple of times, but all in all, it wasn't to bad.”

“Do you think we can pull off this offensive style?”

“I sure hope so, I think it's time we taste victory again.” Durant responds.

“Well, good luck out there on the field tomorrow, we are playing one of the best teams in this tournament.”

“And good luck to you on the sideline, we are all going to need it.”

[Lons]

Lons' national strike in terms of sports journalists and TV's football commentators had hit hard, especially because of the Baptism of Fire Lons was currently partaking in. However, now that the 3.2% raise has been brought into effect, we can give you a quick recap of what has happened in the Archregimancy.

The locksmiths started off very well in the Archregimancy, in the game against Britonisea. Although the first half was without any goals, the second half had Lons score the first and only goal in the first match they'd play this tourney in the 63rd minute. Lons dominated the field on before-hand but then it came to expression. Handaros craftily passed a high ball to Priston, who narrowly avoided being offside, and could receive and shoot the ball behind Britonisean goalie without hesitation. Half an hour off sweaty hands was not in order, as Lons controlled the field even until the final minutes. It seemed they'd held in, else they could've easily scored a second goal at least.

The second matchday was the bye for Lons. Even after this day off though, Lons rested in a comfy third place in the group. It seems Lons is in a solid position.

Third matchday, the most boring match of the poule happened, assumably. In a yawning nill nill against Notsofreeland, who were brought to the top that matchday landed Lons in the fourth place, right above the line of moving on the knockout. Lons knew it'd have to put its best into action.

And that happened. The fourth matchday, with the third game Lons would play, held the dramatic 3-0 victory over Vangaziland. Goals were scored by Solidas, with a beautiful 1-0 from a free kick, Priston with his second, from a corner kick this time, and then Lavardio making name for himself with a lame pass past the Vangazian goalie in the 92nd minute. Overall, a wonderful game for Lons, now holding a 2-1-0 record, with 4 goals scored, and 0 balls gone past Derimis.

And finally, Novach on the fifth matchday. It'd been rumoured Novach would be the leading candidate in this group. And turns out they are, in fact leading. In the 33rd minute, Novach scored through Dejan Smolak. A penalty given to Novach in the closing minutes of the game was stopped by Derimis, resulting in a 1-0 loss suffered by Lons. However, now it's up to Lons to keep up, the next opponent, Alinghi, is right on the same level as us in terms of points, although our goal total is marginally better. Victory against this team would probably mean a very respectable position to go the next match into against the Channel 4 News team, a team that's, as predicted, not been playing as well as all other teams. Losing against Alinghi however would put a lot of pressure on that match, and not only that, but also would put Lonish fate in other's hands.

[Timbermunich]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

It’s been a day and the village has settled back down after the welcoming celebration the night before. The two men are still sleeping in their homes as their children begin to rise for the new day. One of the wives has gone out to the chicken coop to gather some eggs for their morning breakfast and meets up with the other wife who was already out milking their cow. The two exchange a couple stories from the night before as it truly was a great celebration. They continue through some other chores as more of their children now join them in order to complete these tasks before the two husbands and fathers awake for the day. There are gardens to tend, a couple more cows to be milked, animals to feed, and some other small tasks to be completed. But that is life here in the Heart of the Grove; it’s the way it has been for as long as the people can remember, as long as they have controlled the grove. Since first establishing their foothold on the trees the village has grown ten fold. They no longer live in caves but rather use every piece of each tree that is knocked down. This goes for everything, nothing is left to waste, as they create many new things out of each tree; homes, toys, tools (besides axes), furniture, and more. The forest which was once a small fern patch grew and grew, as they began to control it ‘Greats’ were found to live amongst them and the controlling of this grove became manageable. They established ranks amongst villages, dividing up the major tasks each would carry out. This included such things as food production, livestock care, pure water resources, and controlling/protecting the Grove and all of Timbermunich.

The two men who still slept as the chores were almost finished were the first of these ‘Greats’, the originals if you will. The relative knowledge of them and what they were used for or why they had been chosen was still being worked out. But one thing was for sure these men and their families were well regarded and celebrated for almost anything they did. They have already done so much for all of Timbermunich and they have much more they will do before Timbermunich is well established. At this time the grove still grows, the two men control it faster than the original Grove Controllers. They are true ‘Greats’ and the village, no the nation, knows they will do great things in the future. Now as the two wake for the new day they are greeted with the smells of fresh eggs, vegetables, and meat. They will join their respective families for breakfast and then prepare to set out again, for they have not completed their current search, a search which has taken them through the lengths of all Timbermunich so far, but now they will focus in on one place, The Heart of the Grove.

Who were these two, we know they are the original ‘Greats’, but who exactly are they and what are they searching for? Someday we will find out, someday soon.

For reference this story, which so far consists of parts 1-3 takes place somewhere after the two greats located the stone for creating the head of a new ax for one of their children (Year 48 TBM: The Stone). For further information on the full story – Legend of The Great Battle Axe: Part 1 The Beginning – please read about it here.

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Hardwood’s Matches
MD1: Bye
MD2: vs Yids (4-3)
MD3: vs Monkeykind (5-2)
MD4: vs The Blaatschapen (1-0)
MD5: vs West Carpathia (4-2)
MD6: Wolfenia

Group A Table
1 – Timbermunich – 12 pts
2 – Monkeykind – 9 pts
3 – Wolfenia – 7 pts
4 – Yids – 6 pts
5 – Ayscos – 4 pts
6 – West Carpathia – 4 pts
7 – The Blaatschapen – 1 pt

Wolfenia Lineup		|Timbermunich Lineup
Ivan Russev		GK	|GK	Great Hatchet Hank	01
Kane Mabel		D	|RB	Great Norman		04
Coco Beeweare		D	|CB	Great Battle		05*
Ntom Croás		D	|CB	Great Battle Axe	03
Niko Aksentijević 	D	|LB	Great Tomahawk Tommy	06
Anton Sllavik		M	|RM	Great Dead-Eye Darrin	07
Marco Stennlin		M	|LM	Great Dirty Doug	08
Anton Topalov		M	|RW	Great Dagger Dan	09
Zoran Varga		M	|CM	Great Wicked Warren	10
Teodor Siniša		M	|CF	Great Buckskin Barry	11
Monten Serb		F	|LW	Great Kyle Slater	17

[Notsofreeland]

Notsofreeland News

Five down, two more to go!

After another recent disappointing tie against Lons, we have officially managed to defeat Vangaziland's national football team with retaliative ease according to the score boards. Notsofreeland went 2-0 against Vangaziland effectively removing any chance they had at winning the Baptism of Fire, and rightfully so according to head coach Salvador Lino Gonzales, "It was pathetic really, it was as if their goalkeeper wasn't even trying to stop the ball, plus they hadn't really stood out in any other matches with their terrible lose streak, and single win."

This though is only the beginning as we now face next match an even greater challenge, the nation of Novach, with their current three victories under their belt, and single draw worries experts dearly. "If we can't at least get a draw against them, are chances of actually staying in the Baptism of Fire get even more slim, we can only hope that this doesn't hurt our score to much." Says local football fan, Joseph Richardson. If we score a victory against the team we are pretty much guaranteed a spot, and a bit of renown as well, being the first to defeat this giant, but only time will tell.

[Wolfenia]

--------------------------------------------------------Wolfenian Web Sport News Report-------------------------------------------------------
After a day's rest, Wolfenia's defenses showed as a 0-0 draw was the result against Ayscos. Wolfenia's defence had had to have some adjustments to meat the powerful goalscorers of Timbermunich.

Our opponents have little to lose as they have qualified for the knockout stages. It is likley that the Timbermunich team will play hard, as such a special formation has been developed for when Wolfenia does not gave the ball (Special Defensive Formation: lineupbuilder.com/2014/custom/?sk=3bx6w ).

Offensively, the Wolfenian's will be quick and tricky, causing chaos that will at least make the Tmbermunich Team use the unhealthily (for their formation) strategy of running the ball.

A win will help widen the gap between wofenia and the bottom three teams in Group A and keeping Timbermunich's strikers from racking up the scorecard is the best way to do so.

Edit: Grammar

[Schiavonia]

Finally, the report was done. But now, Kevin really needed help. To get the thing out to the world. And there was only one person who could help.

"Jenny. Can you help me?"

"What is it, Kev?"

"I've done a report!"

"Well done! I know how much of an achievement that must be for you."

"Can you help me with it?"

"Kev, I'm busy."

"With what?"

"Well, I'm currently in the midsts of setting up a new team for the SchiavOne. They're going to replace the Schiavone Cricket team from next season, as they've not won a game all season. What with it being a football league. Anyway, they're going to be called 56ers, and will hopefully be made up of players taking part in the Baptism of Fire. If we can convince them to come. I mean, Schiavonia is only ranked 84th for their quality of domestic football by the UICA."

"Sounds interesting. So could you upload this for me?"

"I'll give it a go."

And she did. And she did. Judge for yourselves whether it was worth the effort...

[Vunishia]

Cata Larga Scorers

Pietre da Varaisca 20
Hectiare Trastielle 49

Vunishia Scorers:

Hy Taylor 11
Phineas Martin 68

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Hy Taylor wasn't accustomed to waking up in dark, cramped conditions, but to his surprise he seemed to have woken up in a closet, instead of waking up in the soft, comfortable bed he had been sleeping in. Hy Taylor also wasn't accustomed to waking up with his limbs bound, but his hands and feet were tied together, behind his back. He tried to yell out, hoping someone would hear him, but the socks ducked taped into his mouth prevented him from doing that.

***

As Hy Taylor was waking up in the closet, someone dressed in Hy's clothes, with an identical hair cut and very closely matching facial features, was entering the Vunishian locker room. "Ah, Hy." The Vunishian manager glanced up as he came in. "Don't suppose Nigel's turned up yet?"

"...Dang, we need him. Still, hopefully Leonard Ward will have a better game this match than he did last one." He returned to what he was doing very briefly, before looking up again. "...Have you lost weight or something?"

"Err... I guess?" the impostor Hy Taylor responded. Apparently his disguise was close enough to work after all, though that question hadn't been one he had anticipated. He thought this would either work without question, or be seen right through - working well enough but generating that sort of question wasn't what he was anticipating. The coloured contacts were annoying, but it would be worth it.

***

Hy Taylor heard the sound of a vacuum cleaner in the room just outside his closet. He started wriggling in earnest, deliberately banging against the door in case whoever it was out there could hear him, and wasn't involved in doing this to him.

The door of the closet opened from the outside, and he looked up at the friendly face of one of his hotel cleaners. She was startled at this, but helpfully, if painfully, pulled the duct tape off his mouth allowing him to spit the socks out before asking, "What happened?"

"I dunno. I went to bed as I normally do, and just woke up like this in there. Err... Could you untie me?" As the cleaner was doing so, he asked "And what time is it?"

"Oh, 2:30pm. Say, aren't you one of the Vunishian players?"

"...Yes." Hy responded, the colour draining from his face. Kick off against Cata Larga had been half an hour ago. "...Do you happen to know how we're doing?"

"Currently tying at 1-1... Say, you look similar to that Nigel Taylor who hasn't started for a while. You're brother scored earlier."

"No, I'm Hy, Nigel is my..." He paused as his brain finished processing exactly what the cleaner had said. "Wait. Hy Taylor's scored in this match? But... I... I think I need to get to the match."

***

The impostor Hy Taylor came of the pitch for half time, and reaching the locker room noticed that Leonard Ward looked despondent, having let Pietre da Varaisca get past him earlier in the match, leading to the Cata Larga's only goal so far. He felt a pang of guilt. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. You can't suppress every threat."

"Nigel would have gotten that one, but he's disappeared without trace. Goodness knows what's happened to him. I just aren't managing to do what he was able to."

"I wouldn't have stopped that! He dummied a dummy right, before dummying left to go right. I got lost just watching it from half way down the field."

Leonard stopped. "...Nigel?"

Well, crud. That had slipped out too easily "Our secret?" He asked, hopefully.

"...What's going on?" Leonard paused. Then louder, too loud for Nigel's tastes. "Where's Hy?!"

Sherman Lee, Vunishian third string goalie and/or assistant coach depending on who you asked at this point, looked up from the scribblings he'd been making during the match at that question as he came into the locker room. "...Where's... Huh? You're talking to him. Please don't tell me you're starting to get hallucinations, it's bad enough having lost one player to... Allergies, apparently, though we're not sure what to yet."

Nigel and Leonard didn't break their gazes from each other. Nigel giving Leonard a pleading look, Leonard's shifting from shock, towards anger. Leonard broke the silence, making damn sure Sherman could hear. "I've been hear, beating myself up for not being as good as you for the past one and a half games, and you've been swanning about dressing up as your brother. Why?"

"I--" Nigel started to respond, before Sherman cut him off.

"Nigel. Fantastic. We've been wanting you in defence for the past couple of games. Don't get me wrong, Leonard is fantastic, but you're not-- Oh, hell. We can't put you in defence now, we're going to have to-- OK. This stays between the three of us, gives everyone else plausible deniability if they don't hear wind of this." The 17 year old blurted out in a hurricane of words at the two Vunishian defenders, one currently pretending to be a striker. They just nodded at the barrage.

***

Half way through the second half, Hy Taylor - The real Hy Taylor, that is - was sat in the locker room. He didn't want to complicate things by walking out onto the sidelines during the match, and apparently this wasn't a sabotage attempt for the game, but still. He was also listening to the match on the radio, and grinned to himself as Hy Taylor, allegedly, crossed the ball to Phineas Martin for a second Vunishian goal. He'd been nervous when Hectiare Trastielle had pulled ahead for Cata Larga at the start of the second half.

***

At the end of the final minute of stoppage time, Pietre da Varaisca got a last second shot in at the goal. From Nigel's perspective in Hy's position on the field, he looked open, and the goalie was too far out to make the shot in. Leonard came out of nowhere as the shot was taken, managing to get his foot to the ball just enough to deflect it to safety. Nigel started breathing again, and Cata Larga wouldn't have time to take the corner.

The team came in, carrying Leonard as the hero of the match. Hy Taylor stood up to confront his impostor and... Was thrown off course by the manager, Nolan Moore, who rushed over to him as soon as he spotted him. "Nigel! You're back! I don't know why you're dressed as Hy right now, but... Thank goodness, we've been worried sick. You can tell us what happened-- Wait, are they rope marks round your wrist? Oh hell, you were kidnapped?! How'd you escape?"

He glanced a look at his impostor, and immediately realised it was Nigel. So that was why he'd been playing despite not being anywhere near the pitch, he concluded to himself. Nigel must have heard wind of the plot - whatever this plot was - against him, and came back, as him, to minimise the disruption his temporary kidnapping would cause to the team. He didn't notice the nerves in Nigel's eyes as he hugged his brother.

Leonard Ward, however, did.

---

Vunishian Starting Squad for match against The Jasminia Islands:

1 GK - Karston Jackson
2 DC - Sheadon Huges
3 DC - Zebediah Green
4 DC - Nigel Taylor
5 LMF - Shaw Robinson
15 CMF - Phineas Martin
7 CMF - Fox Smith
8 CMF - Fairly Evans
9 RMF - Eliah James
10 FC - Hy Taylor
11 FC - Ford Wood

[The Jasminia Islands]

Jasminia Radio Television have sent its sports editor, Damian Easom, to the 56th Baptism of Fire Cup which is being held in Schiavonia and San Jose Guayabal. This is his blog.

Victories continue in Mosktopia thrashing
The Jasminia Islands 2- 0 Mosktopia

It would seem that the slow start to the Baptism of Fire was a mere hiccup for the New Saints after they gave fellow SLUans Mosktopia a trashing to defeat them two-nil. With two early goals, the Jasminia Islands were free to park the bus, leaving Mosktopia barely any chance to redeem themselves.

Will it be hat-trick? We find out tomorrow when the Jasminia Islands play Vunishia tomorrow.

Match Report

(work in progress - sorry I haven't been doing the match reports, I've been getting a lot of work lately)

[The Saint James Islands]

sports
| tsji | | politics | | region | | world | | sports | | culture | | science | | travel | | weird world |

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a century of excellence | 1 july 2014

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les oiseaux comeback continues
saint james islanders knock out subspace embassy with 1-0 win

Adiós and adieu to Subspace Embassy.

Elizabeth Falls, Kalumba – The first team of Group E went down yesterday at the hands of Les Oiseaux. Martín Llosa kept the first clean sheet for the Islanders yesterday as Mani de la Cruz escaped his funk to score his first goal for Les Oiseaux, knocking a winless Subspace Embassy out of the tournament and keeping Les Oiseaux's undefeated record intact.

the game

.......subspace embassy...0-1...the saint james islands
................................mani de la cruz - 9'...

Coming off of their first victory against Lavertezzo, the match against Subspace Embassy heavily favoured the Saint James Islanders. And it showed. The Islanders quickly gained possession in the first moments of the game and Mani de la Cruz took it all the way past the keeper to score a goal for Les Oiseaux in the ninth minute of the game. However, Subspace Embassy's defence improved after that goal. But a great defending performance by the Saint James Islanders proved enough to keep Subspace Embassy at bay. The team of Marvin Sessions and Thomas Castille was able to deny Subspace Embassy and regain possession time and time again for the Islanders, allowing Les Oiseaux to enter the second half with a 1-0 lead.

The second half saw Subspace Embassy get close to equalising, yet the talents of Martín Llosa on goal helped keep that from happening. With saves in the 56th, 74th and 82nd minutes, Llosa was able to keep Les Oiseaux's first clean sheet of the Baptism. Things didn't look so clean in the front though, with Mani unable to convert the Islanders' superior ball possession numbers into another goal, while Raia started to fumble after three great performances. Nevertheless, as the whistle blew, the Islanders were able to claim a second consecutive victory and win three more points in a group where they would come in very handy.

Les Oiseaux's incredible comeback marches on.

where does it leave us?
Les Oiseaux have made an incredible comeback from their first matchday and are now in position to advance to the Round of 32. Tied on points and goal difference with the Red and Black of Red Blackiland, goals scored gives Les Oiseaux the advantage to go to third place on a 7-5 lead. Meanwhile, Lavertezzo and Melthing enjoy the top two spots in the group on nine points each, one ahead of the Islanders and Red Blackiland. The fall of Lavertezzo has been so pervasive that the only thing keeping them on the top of the group is their superior goal difference over Melthing, while their two adversaries below them have double the games left to play and double the chance to overtake them.

Meanwhile, on the bottom, Subspace Embassy's loss to Les Oiseaux makes it mathematically impossible to take fourth and advance out of the group, making their last two games mostly pointless. Casagrande is not quite out yet on three points and sixth place, but even a draw against Les Oiseaux today will send them packing. Meanwhile, Laiyenda will find the best chance to claw their way out of the hole. Just three points behind Red Blackiland and the Saint James Islands, two wins could find Laiyenda in the knockout stage on a last-minute comeback.

Les Oiseaux now have just two games left before heading to the Round of 32. Casagrande will come first and their records seem to point to an easy victory for Les Oiseaux, but one that won't come for nothing. Meanwhile, the final game against Melthing will be the game to watch, as Melthing's fate in the Baptism of Fire could well be determined by their match against the Saint James Islanders. A Les Oiseaux victory in either game will send the Saint James Islands through to the Round of 32, while a act of God would be necessary to send the Green and Blue out early. If you have money on the Islanders advancing, you might want to be taking a big sigh of relief, but don't plan that getaway to the Hulls just yet.

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for your reading pleasure

• Cata Larga advances on draw, GSAZ knocks out Fnaticka ▶
• Czarch and Jecatria book knockout stage tickets after 3-2 game ▶
• Timbermunich goes through on perfect record; Blaatschapen out on Tids loss ▶
• Constabulary: "Di Mercurio; De Rosas search continues" ▶

comments
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Teresa Anakoni 21▲ 0▼
Yes! Let's go, Les Oiseaux! Keep up the great work and win the group for us!

Guillermo Santare 34▲ 2▼
¡Muy bueno! ¡Vamos, Les Oiseaux!

Lisa-Maria Nunez 27▲ 10▼
Les Oiseaux unites in joy when they win and anger when they perform terribly. That's what makes this team so great!

UnitedPhillyForLife 30▲ 6▼
Vamos! Allons! Kia haere! Let's go, Les Oiseaux!

Rita Quinn 27▲ 0▼
Things are looking up. Casagrande are going to get flattened by Les Oiseaux!

[The Fallenmark Islands]

Alexsandr van Sorensen hit pause on the remote control and leaned in closer to the television. He squinted, tilted his head, and reached for a ruler. The dull edge of the plastic implement refracted the light being emitted from the screen, each little pellet of red, green, and blue now glinted at Alexsandr as he slid it across the surface. He ignored this effect, assuming it to be just another symptom of his synaesthesia, and aligned the top of the ruler with the position of Willem Moss. He judged the perspective of the image, adjusted the ruler accordingly, and then looked down the line. Niko Aamot and Valbjörn Kivivuori were in line, just as he wanted, with Darmstadt and Damkjaer in view as well, accelerating towards their own box as Czarch came forwards yet again. He frowned and unpaused it. The third Czarch goal played out in front of him for the fiftieth time that night. A penalty in the first instance, a mistake from Luc Tikkanen in the second instance, but this third instance? Alexsandr couldn't figure it out. The line was perfect. The players getting back to defend the counter-attack were coming back at pace. Everyone was doing their job. And yet, there Czarch went. Pass, pass, shoot. Pfennig palms it out at an awkward height for Moss to control it and slam goes the rebound. Three-nil. And Alexsandr couldn't figure out why.

He scanned back and hit play again, listening to the commentary as he did so, though of course by this point he already knew it like the back of his hand.

"...and it's Austin now, runs with it, counter-attack on here. Damkjaer getting back but Oliver has it through the gap, Darmstadt won't get there and the strike! Saved! Moss can't control it and it's tucked away for a third! It was Craig, I think. Yes, Craig. The Czarch team is celebrating but the wheels are falling off for the Herons here in Gregoryisgodistan and van Sorensen looked baffled. Just, baffled."

"THE TEAM HASN'T EVEN BEEN PLAYING THAT BADLY, EIDUR. THAT'S UNLUCKY, REALLY. JUST THREE MOMENTS OF QUALITY HAVE GIVEN CZARCH THE EDGE HERE AND THE PLAYERS HAVE TO PICK THEMSELVES UP AND TELL THEMSELVES THAT THEY CAN GET BACK IN THIS."

"There's still time, Mic."

"THERE'S ALWAYS TIME, EIDUR..."

Wincing almost at the colours conjured up by the piercing yells of Screamin' Mic Moretti, and not quite understanding why the Fallenmark networks had hired him, Alexsandr paused it again. He frowned. They did get back into it, in the end; Beyer's finish was neat and tidy, but it was too late. The first defeat for The Fallenmark Islands, Alexsandr's first as a manager, had hurt them all. He didn't like it. It was in stark contrast to the ecstatic euphoria of the previous match.

He turned ninety degrees to his right, with the street lights glinting at him through the crisp metal blinds, picked up a different remote, and hit play. A very different scene played out in front of him as he took a close look at the formations his team were playing in.

"...coming through here but that's an excellent tackle by Darmstadt. Dispossesses the attack right as it was gaining momentum, and now Moss can advance down the right. Cuts inside. Moss to Ness. Still Ness. That's a brilliant ball across the edge of the box and there's Juran with the finish! Ohhh, this is getting better and better! Anything Danfinnursson can do, Juran can do too and that's a brace for each of them in this match now. Fantastic goal, Mic."

"OH TRULY BRILLIANT ATTACKING WITH PACE AND WIDTH AND THE OPPOSITION SIMPLY HAD NO ANSWER TO IT. THE HERONS ARE ON TRACK FOR A STRONG GROUP STAGE SHOWING IF VAN SORENSEN CAN KEEP HIS CHARGES PLAYING LIKE THIS, EIDUR. BECAUSE NAY TEAM THAT CAN SCORE A GOAL LIKE THAT FROM DEFENCE TO ATTACK SO QUICKLY IS BOUND TO GO FAR IN TOURNAMENTS, OR MY NAME ISN'T SCREEEEAAAAAMIN' MIC MORETTI!"

"Well, it certainly is your name, Mic."

"ISN'T IT JUST, EIDUR."

Nonsensical commentary aside, Alexsandr could make out very little from the recording. He muted it, rewound it, and started again. It was going to be a long night.

[Raussland]

Moreton Enquirer: Football

Brenlyn Moss: A Profile

The quiet suburban streets of Whiteport, 3 and a half miles from the Centralized Business District of Moreton, aren't famed for their sporting prowess. If you were hard pressed to find a sports star from the district, then you'd go back to 1988, when Moreton Thunder, the ProLeague Netball team, was captained by Felicity Mauer, born on Willow Avenue. But now the district, and the country, has a new sporting star: Association Football striker Brenlyn Adam Moss.

I met Brenlyn Moss during the Union Division Summer break, when professional footballers turn their hands to other pursuits, in this case, rather surprisingly sailing for Moss. The seaside location of Whiteport makes it a prime spot for sailors, and Moss has invited me to the prestigious Green Sea Sailing Club for this interview. He presents an image of calm, and the only sign that he is a professional footballer is his unassuming Sunset Heart polo shirt (and a tattoo of the club's crest just peaking out from the bottom of the shirt's sleeve).

He tells me that he didn't always plan to be a footballer, despite considerable success as a young player. His father ran a boat rental company and his mother was the secretary of the local sailing club in the eastern suburb of Seaview Heights, so sailing was always number in the family, and he was going to inherit his father's business, if it weren't for his decision to accept Sunset Heart's offer for him to play in their academy structure at the age of 17.

But since taking that offer, he has never looked back, going from strength to strength as a player: from going on loan to Cape Onoria and scoring 11 times in 17 games when just 19 years of age, to making his first team debut for Sunset Heart at 20 and scoring twice against Carrington Wolves. In the past five seasons, he has been the top scorer in two and has scored over 20 goals in all of them (32 in his third season at the club). His goals have regularly helped The Heart to the the Union Division title, as well as the Bradley Cup, which they have won three times in a row as of now. Not to mention Union Division player of the seasons three times in his six year career.

On the international front, he has already made significant headway despite only a handful of matches. He was hands-down the choice for Raussland's sole striker, and the return of 7 goals in just 8 games is indeed impressive. A hat-trick in the 3-3 tie with Lolloh showcased the very best of his talents: a 22 yard drilled shot, a towering header and an incisive breakaway followed by a cool finish.

As a player, his main talents are his ability to finish: from anywhere in the box, or outside it for that matter, he can place the ball with both power and precision. His strength, being 6ft 2, and by no means a stranger to the gym, is another big plus, as he can wrestle his way out from defenders and create space for himself. And if that weren't good enough, he's also got a fabulous turn of pace and agility to match. He hopes to be the spearhead of the Raussland team come the World Cup, and perhaps land himself a lucrative overseas deal.

(If you can't tell, this a submission for the BoF XI. He can play anywhere up front, as well as in the pocket or out left)

[United Eastedge]

OOC: I was planning a better RP, but I haven't had much time to write. Rubber chickens are always present anyways.

The Baptism of Random: Chapter 2

---

Eastie: "Yay! I'll stay!"
Westfield: "Thanks, Eastie. You embarrassed me."
Absurdly: "Well, I think that I'll stay for a while as well."
Azrea: "I'll be the new leader!"
St Iago: "Now that I understand what's happening, I'm in the bottom."
Absurdly: "That's common."
Mehdie: "Guys, I have bad news for you."
St Iago: "Dawnie is lost? Noooooo!"
Eastie: "Tell us, Mehdie."
Mehdie: "I won't stay more here with you."
Azrea: "Did you..?"
Mehdie: "I'm out."
Absurdly: "Thought you were better than St Iago."
Mehdie: "I was."
Dawnie: "Hello."
Mehdie: "Do not interrupt, this is a sad moment."
Azrea: "Dawnie! Where were you?"
Dawnie: "Oh, do not worry. I just was comfortably frozen in El Roblar."
Absurdly: "Why you did not stay there? I was third. Third!
Eastie: "Sorry, Dawnie. We were looking for you all day long."
St Iago: "Except that night in which we went to a club in San Miguel."
Dawnie: "Why did he say?!"
Azrea: "We were very tired that night."
Absurdly: "Althought we did not sleep. Oh, yeah!"
Eastie: "Welcome back, Dawnie. Hope that you stay."
Westfield: "Mehdie is not staying."
Mehdie: "Thanks to Dawnie"
Dawnie: "Haha, that's what each of you deserve, elimination."
Azrea; "I think that Dawnie is becoming evil."
Eastie: "You were right, guys. It was better to leave him alone."
Westfield: "Run!"
Absurdly: "This is absurd."
To be continued...

Does Dawnie became bad? Who will stay? Who will betray whom? Who will help whom? Figure it out in the next chapter of... The Baptism of Random!

---

Valuable victory for United Eastedge over Westfield House
San Miguel, San Jose Guayabal

---

Masson's team achieved the qualification to the Round of 32 of the Batism of Fire after a great victory over the confused team of Westfield House, that now is placed fifth in the Group B. Destiny gave us a lot of clues or signs on our's team qualification to the next round. Among them, the city in which the remaining matches of United Eastedge will be performed. San Miguel has a very similar weather to United Eastedge's. The stadium was fulled of Eastedgean fans again wiling to support our team and their award is a 6-1 victory for United Eastedge; the best day in the Eastedgean Football history.

The scoreboard was oppened by Ward to put United Eastedge above. Holloway was next to extend the advantage; Bennet scored the third for the navies; Wood, the fourth and the fifth. They received a goal without any kind of damage; Agnew scored the sixth and last goal to finish with the opponent, Westfield House. Our team is playing even better in each game. That's an improvement that Masson has made in the national team.

Next up is the powerful team of Azrea, a team that has stepped in United Eastedge's heels donce the first match day. Now, they want to snatch the first place to Masson's team and I assure you thet they will give everything to do it. "It's a hard team as the majority of our group mates. This is personally the team that got my attention dince the grist match days of the competition. They were very close of us as regards to the standings and they want to do that again. My team will leave the soul in the field and give the 100% during this match and the remaining ones of the competition." That's what Masson said in the conference. Hope to see our tem playing the same in the remaining matches of the competition.

[Schiavonia]

OK, it's time for your Schiavonia RP Cutoff for Matchday 6. The last group game for some of you. There is also an update on the times I will be scorinating over the coming week, as my availability has changed somewhat.

Event:	MD7	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarter Finals
Was:	Thu 03/07	Sat 05/07	Mon 07/07	Wed 09/09
Now:	Thu 03/07	Sun 06/07	Tue 08/07, 11:00-12:00 UTC	Wed 09/09

These are shown in the OP, so you don't have to go trundling back here in order to check. I should also emphasise that this is only for the teams playing in the groups I am scorinating - San Jose Guayabal's groups are unaffected. IC, the larger gap is to allow teams to travel to the next nation that they will be playing in. (OOC, I'll be away from Friday evening for 48 hours.)

Anyway, scores...

MATCHDAY 6 - SCHIAVONIA & CO.

Group E in Kalumba
The Saint James Islands 1–0 Casagrande
Red Blackiland 5–1 Subspace Embassy
Laiyenda 2–2 Lavertezzo

  Group E                                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Red Blackiland                                     5   3  2  0   10   3  +7   11
2 The Saint James Islands                            5   3  2  0    8   4  +4   11
3 Lavertezzo                                         6   3  1  2   15  11  +4   10
4 Melthing                                           5   3  0  2    6   7  −1    9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Laiyenda                                           5   1  3  1    7   7   0    6
6 Casagrande                                         5   1  0  4    6   8  −2    3
7 Subspace Embassy                                   5   0  0  5    2  14 −12    0

Final fixtures: Subspace Embassy v Laiyendia, Casagrande v Red Blackiland, Melthing v The Saint James Islands.

Group F in The Archregimancy
Novach 0–1 Notsofreeland
Alinghi Federal-Demcratic Republic 3–2 Lons
The Channel 4 News Team 0–0 Britonisea

  Group F                                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Notsofreeland                                      5   3  2  0    5   0  +5   11
2 Novach                                             5   3  1  1    8   4  +4   10
3 Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic                5   3  1  1   11   8  +3   10
4 Lons                                               5   2  1  2    6   4  +2    7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Britonisea                                         6   2  1  3    6   7  −1    7
6 Vangaziland                                        5   1  0  4    3  11  −8    3
7 The Channel 4 News Team                            5   0  2  3    4   9  −5    2

Final fixtures: Lons v The Channel 4 News Team, Notsofreeland v Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic, Vangazialnd v Novach.

Group G in Gregoryisgodistan
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk gorod 2–0 Western European Republic
Czarch 0–0 Green Highland
The Fallenmark Islands 1–0 Jecatria

  Group G                                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Czarch                                             5   3  2  0   11   6  +5   11
2 Jecatria                                           6   3  1  2   11   7  +4   10
3 The Fallenmark Islands                             5   3  1  1    8   4  +4   10
4 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk gorod                            5   2  2  1    4   5  −1    8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Western European Republic                          5   1  1  3    5   8  −3    4
6 Green Highland                                     5   1  1  3    4   8  −4    4
7 Dobbsland                                          5   1  0  4    7  12  −5    3

Final fixtures: Green Highland v The Fallenmark Islands, Western European Republic v Czarch, Dobbsland v Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk gorod.

Group H in Schiavonia
The Jasminia Islands 2–5 Vunishia
Gregoryisgodistan Special Administration Zone 2–3 Mosktopia
Terre Des Gaules 4–1 Fnaticka

  Group H                                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Vunishia                                           5   3  2  0   13   6  +7   11
2 Cata Larga                                         5   3  2  0   12   5  +7   11
3 The Jasminia Islands                               5   2  2  1   11   9  +2    8
4 Terre Des Gaules                                   5   2  1  2   11   9  +2    7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Mosktopia                                          5   2  1  2    6   7  −1    7
6 Gregoryisgodistan Special Administration Zone      5   1  1  3    8  13  −5    4
7 Fnaticka                                           6   0  1  5    7  19 −12    1

Final Fixtures: Mosktopia v Terre Des Gaules, Vunishia v Gregoryisgodistan Special Administration Zone, Cata Larga v The Jasmina Islands.

Very Friendly Result: Schiavonia 1–0 Cata Larga

Very Friendly Matchday 7 Fixture (requested by participant): Schiavonia v Lavertezzo

[Vanersholm]

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

THE UNIVERSITY FILES

Two Months Before The General Rebellion

Vanersholmare Military Police Interrogation Room #5362
Vanersholm, Vanersholm

A man and woman look though the glass window of the interrogation room and see the captured students that went through 25 hours of interrogation. The woman speaks up first, "So, what are we going to do with them?" The woman asks. The man, took off his glasses and walked the other way. Biting the end of his pair of glasses, "Hmm..." He starts, "Well the King did give me orders to do whatever I wanted with these brats..." He paused then continued, "Alright. I want you to call up the closest prisoner camp commander and tell him or her that new people will be entering. Tell the commander that the new prisoners need to put on hire guard for the next two months." The woman nodded and walked out of the room to do what the man told her to do. The man then puts on his glasses back on and looks at the window once again, "Why did you kids rebel?"

---

Finally, another day passed and Kuro felt 10x better than before. His dizziness was gone and his head wasn't hurting. He got up said goodbye and thank you to Åke and walked out of his room. He had everything ready for his first class. Thanks to Christina's edited map of the campus, he could guide himself around the big university. His first class? Chem. He needed to take that class despite the fact he already took Advanced Chemistry. He walked in the room, there were 20 or so students in the classroom. Not that full. He walked to the closest desk and sat down. Right next to him was this girl.

The girl looked... Weird. Not in a threatening sort of way just in a way that couldn't be explained. The professor walked in. Dr. Julian Daly. He was one of the famous Chemists in Vanersholm and depending who talk to, one of the most vocal people against the Kingdom. Class happened and the professor gave out homework and a page number to read. But before the students got up to leave Dr. Daly wrote on the board. There were names. Blaine Hummel, Raphaella Killbride, and Kuro Takahashi. Kuro was confused why was he called? And secondly, why was that girl he was sitting next too also called in?

The professor soon answered his question right after the students that weren't named left the room. Dr. Daly sat on his desk and took a bite from an apple a student gave him. "Hello." the 57 year old professor started, "First I would like to welcome you the University of Vanersholm." The three students nodded and waited for him to continue once again, "Secondly, I have a question to ask you." He took another bite from his apple, "Do you like Vanersholm right now?" The three students looked at each other confused and Kuro spoke up, "Uh, yeah..." The professor chuckled, "You're Kuro right?" Kuro nodded.

"So you're from Vanersholm itself, correct?" Kuro nodded again. The professor then looked at the other students, "Girl, you must be Raphaella Killbride correct? From Northern Sunrise Islands?" The weird girl nodded and said yup. The professor continued, "And you. Boy. You're name is Blaine Hummel and you're from The Sarian right?" Blaine responded, "Yeah." The professor chuckled and took another bite from his apple, "Alright, if you are interested come back here tonight at 10." He handed them separate card with the time and location. Dr. Daly then said, "Ok, to your next class."

The three students left and left confused, "What was that all about?" Asked Kuro. The two other students shrugged. Kuro shrugged as well and then asked another question, "Well... Are you two going?" Raphaella nodded, "Sure. Why not? I got no one to hang with anyways." Blaine wasn't as sure. "Uh, maybe... I dunno, this sounds shady..." Kuro then gave out his own response to his own question, "I guess I will go... Although I agree with ya Blaine, this does sound shady." Raphaella smiled, "Well come on! Let's just see what this doc has to say! Maybe it's interesting." She chuckled. "Yeah, maybe." Blaine replied. Eventually the went their own separate ways. But later that night they would be at that same place at the same time, why? They have no clue.

To be continued...

[San Jose Guayabal]

This is the Matchday 6 cut-off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T99KFbvJ-ks

MATCHDAY 6 - SAN JOSÉ GUAYABAL

Key: Blue = Qualified for next round
Green = Qualified for play-offs
Red = Eliminated

Group A

All matches played at Estadio Tierra de Fuego, SJG (Att: 105,104)

Timbermunich 3–2 Wolfenia (14:00)
Yids 5–0 West Carpathia (17:00)
Monkeykind 2–1 The Blaatschapen (20:00)

Group A                   Pld   W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Timbermunich            5    5   0   0    17    9   +8    15
 2 Monkeykind              5    4   0   1     8    7   +1    12
 3 Yids                    5    3   0   2    14    7   +7     9
 4 Wolfenia                5    2   1   2     6    4   +2     7
----------------------------------------------------------------
 5 Ayscos                  5    1   1   3     8    9   −1     4
 6 West Carpathia          5    1   1   3     6   15   −9     4 
 7 The Blaatschapen        6    0   1   5     6   14   −8     1

Group B

All matches played at Estadio Juan Francisco Barraza, San Miguel, SJG (Att: 99,120)

Absurdly Polite Gentleman 1–1 Dawnhaven (7:30)
Westfield House 1–1 St Iago Isles (10:30)
Azrea 0–0 United Eastedge (13:30)

Group B                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 United Eastedge              6    4   2   0    17    7  +10    14
2 Azrea                        5    2   3   0     8    5   +3     9
3 Dawnhaven                    5    2   2   1     5    4   +1     8
4 Absurdly Polite Gentleman    5    2   1   2    11    9   +2     7
-------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Westfield House              5    1   2   2    10   16   −6     5
6 St Iago Isles                5    0   2   3     5   10   −5     2
7 Mehdonesia                   5    0   2   3     3    8   −5     2

Group C

All matches played at Estadio Monumental Loma Chata, Loma Chata, SJG. (Att: 122,154)

ORCA Bay 2–3 Angelastan (18:00)
Valdiviola 2–1 Gustavpolis (21:00)
Vanersholm 3–2 Rossana (0:00)

Group C                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vanersholm              5    3   2   0    12    7   +5    11
2 Angelastan              5    3   2   0    10    6   +4    11
3 ORCA Bay                5    3   1   1    14    9   +5    10
4 Rossana                 6    2   2   2    13   10   +3     8
--------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Valdiviola              5    2   1   2     7    8   −1     7
6 Gustavpolis             5    1   0   4     8   16   −8     3
7 Cobano                  5    0   0   5     3   11   −8     0

Group D

All matches played at Estadio Oscar Alberto Quiteño, Santa Ana, SJG. (Att: 110,141)

Raussland 0–0 Airella (17:00)
Semarland 2–4 Mamaroneck (20:00)
Venalzio 4–0 Lolloh (23:00)

Group D                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Venalzio                5    2   3   0     6    1   +5     9
2 Mamaroneck              5    3   0   2    10    7   +3     9
3 Lolloh                  6    2   1   3     7   11   −4     7
4 Raussland               5    1   3   1     8    8    0     6
---------------------------------------------------------------
5 Semarland               5    1   3   1     8    9   −1     6
6 Airella                 5    1   2   2     3    4   −1     5
7 Ekox                    5    1   2   2     6    8   −2     5

[Czarch]

OFFICAL CZARCH REPORT

Czarch gets pitiful draw

After the exciting Jecatria match, Czarch's emotions and energy was spent; as Czarch drew against Green Highland 0-0. For the first time, Czarch played in the 3rd match of the day, and after 18 matches, 617 stadium's pitch had started to look horrible, despite the great efforts of our hosts. Despite the conditions, both teams agreed to play on. And for 90 minutes, a sloppy match was the result, as neither team could gain much traction offensively. The crowd, displeased with the poor play, began booing the teams, though they both tried. With the draw, Czarch has clinched at least 2nd place in the group, as Jecatria lost to The Fallenmark Islands 1-0, which clinched a playoff berth for the Herons. YSg beat our next opponents Western European Republic 2-0 to clinch a playoff berth as well. The final match day sees Czarch play Western European Republic. A win or a tie and/or a Fallenmark loss or tie will clinch the group for us. YSg theoretically can win the group with a win and a Czarch loss and a Fallenmark loss and by making up the -6 goal difference.

(ooc: I apologize for the short RP today, had a long day of work)

[Wolfenia]

--------------------------------------------------------Wolfenian Web Sport News Report-------------------------------------------------------

The Wolfenian hopefules did not get the expected result as although Varga and Serb's goals were impressive, the anti Timbermunich defence (aka: Operation Green Peace) was unable to keep the score down low enough, however the score was low enough that the next game give the formation some hope.

Thus we arrive at the final game of the pool stages, Wolfenia is in a confortable possition to make the knockout stages, losing by more than four is a death sentence for Wolfenia, winning or drawing the high offense Ydis team would mean a guaranteed advancement.

The staff will reportedly be prepping hard to find the winning formula, and they will search as their nation looks on.

[Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic]

Alinghi - 0	Britonisea - 2
	31'Unknown 87' Unknown

Mark: A bad defeat
MIkroslach: but deserved, the attack is wery weak, rarely we play in the opponent side.
Mark: Two goal we have suffered at 41' and 86', they have profit of our weakness and they deserved this victory, and we deserved the losing.
MIkroslach: NOw to be sure, the next match it would bettere to win.

Alinghi - 3	Lons - 2
22' Tomoch 41' Mehmedi 90' Riuso	31' Inadio 87' Priston

Mark: A victory that say that we are qualificated in the Round of 32
MIkroslach: After the defeat aganist Britonisea, the incertece percecuted us.
Mark: Different tatic Tomoch singed a perfect goal at 22', the dribblig two footplayer before goal
MIkroslach: But the Lons draws at 41' an another perfect action, the our diffensor have do a relevan error, 1-1
Mark: At he endo ffrist half, Mehmedi in counter attack in the margins penality area, whith an ascent diret to goal
MIkroslach: At the beginning of the second half the two team are very equlibated, but the draw of Lons are in te 87'. It seems to end with draw, but at last action for alingher the victory goal went at 90'. Now Lons if they woat to be qualificate in te Ro32 mustn't lose wit 4 goal of refuse (ex. 0-4; 1-5; 2-6;...).

[Absurdly Polite Gentlemen]

The Gentleman's Sporting Weekly
Two Polite Results Please Manager

Spiffing

This is one word that everyone in the Commonwealth of Absurdly Polite Gentlemen has affix to the last two performances involving their team. The last two matches have seen them play out a most polite victory against the St Iago Isles, and also a very polite draw against Dawnhaven. These two results have been taken as proof that the more polite game employed by the side going into the tail end of the group stage have paid off, with results coming in well, as opposed to the high scoring early matches.

The 11 firm handshakes opened up their first match of the two effectively, with Centre-Back Thomas Mundy managing to punt the ball in off of a corner, just 7 minutes in. This looked like it might open up another match which would see disgustingly high score lines, making us once against question the sturdiness of our defence, and the humbleness of our attack. However, the 11 firm handshakes went on to defend the rest of the match out like true gentlemen, and managed to avoid any signs of showing off whatsoever. Once again, we wonder how the teas were received as we never seem to receive a communication from anyone on the matter, and it is causing Lady Humphrey a great deal of concern.

The second match of the two saw a draw against Dawnhaven, a team that has looked fairly solid so far this campaign, having only conceded a total of three goals before our match against them. This time, Dawnhaven took the lead early on, with a striker pushing their way past Sir Jack Winston, who has, to his credit, been a lot more solid in defence since the first few games. The 11 firm handshakes then had to hold firm, defending out most of the remainder of the game, and then bringing on young and nimble Patterdown who managed to meander his way through the opposition defence, before putting in a spiffing goal.

In their last match APG need a draw or a defeat, and for Westfield House to get a win, so that they may be at their most polite and muster elimination. Players have spoken of their hope for such a result, as any form of knockout stage is showing off in the first place, and can also lead to further showing off and a lack of meekness.

[Venalzio]

The Venalzio Merchant's Chronicle
Sports
Venalzio Charge To Top of Group In 4-0 Victory

SANTA ANA (SJG) -- Venalzio's defence had been the story so far at this Baptism of Fire. Three nil-nil draws and a 2-1 win, and the focus back home was on how well keeper Sergio Conti was doing, as well as his defensive line. ''The defence have been playing really well. What we need, though, is the offence to show up. You don't win tournaments with 0-0 scorelines.'' Although manager Luigi Ricola's comments would make it seem the offence have been completely quiet, that would not be true. They outshot their opponents in all matches up to this point, and scored 2 goals in the win over Raussland. After a bye on the fifth matchday, Venalzio were back in action against group-topping Lolloh.

Venalzio's usual starters would earn their fifth caps on this matchday, including keeper Sergio Conti, who has had a great start to his international career with 3 clean sheets through 4 appearances. Venalzio's match was the latest match; earlier in the day Raussland and Airella solved nothing in a nil-nil draw, while Mamaroneck defeated Semarland 4-2. Mamaroneck were, because of that result, first in the group. The anthems played, the whistle blew, and Venalzio played the ball first.

The usual possession style we have seen for I Mercati in the tournament so far was in full-blast in the first half, and Venalzio were tiring the opponents with long rushes towards the goal that would go just wide. Lolloh were in full defensive mode by this point, and it wasn't long until Venalzio would get their first goal. Angelo Lori was brought down 26 yards from the goal, giving the side a free kick. Sergio Lazano stepped up to take the set piece, and it connected with the head of Michele Neri for his second goal of the tournament, making the score 1-0 in Venalzio's favour. That would not be all the scoring Venalzio did in the first half, however.

6 minutes later, in the 25th minute, they would strike again. This time it was centre forward Aldo De Luca who got the goal. Sergio Conti took the free kick from inside Venalzio's half, and passed the ball to defender Ottilio Piazzo. Piazzo moved it to his brother, Bruno, who moved the ball to the half-line before giving it to Santino Lupo, the play-maker of the back five for Venalzio. Lupo played in a long ball to Michele Neri, who put in a pass for De Luca just outside the box. He worked his way in, faked around the defender and buried the shot in the right corner. 2-0 Venalzio, and the score would remain that at the half.

Luigi Ricola made the first of his substitutions at the half, after it appeared Paolo Lombardi had taken a knock just before the half. Upon talking to his inside forward, Ricola made the decision to bring on Emilio Udinese, who would prove to be a super-sub only 2 minutes into the half. In his fourth appearance from the bench, he first set up Sergio Lazano's shot, which went off the keeper and out for a corner. Off Luigi Bonafesti's corner, the ball came off his head and right to the boot of Michele Neri, who earned the double with a blast into the goal. In only the 47th minute, the score was 3-0 Venalzio.

Two more subs came on for Venalzio, Vito Lucarno for Ottilio Piazzo and Marco Dandolo earning his first cap coming on for Aldo De Luca in the 81st minute. Venalzio would strike once again just after he came on, with Sergio Lazano earning his first goal of the tournament and his Venalzio career. The strike would come off a rocket just outside the box, and the keeper barely moved to react to it. Just 3 minutes later plus a minute of added time, the whistle blew and the match was over.

With the win, Venalzio moved to first in the group. Although out of the current top 4 teams they have scored the least, Venalzio have conceded the least goals in the San Jose Guayabal side of the tournament, and the second least in the entire tournament, with only 1 goal against in 5 matches. They are also one of 12 teams who are unbeaten in the tournament. In the final group stage match, I Mercanti will take on the Nithakwemi from Mamaroneck, with the winner likely taking first in the group. Mamaroneck have 3 wins, no draws and 2 losses, scoring ten while conceding 7. Venalzio are all but guaranteed a spot in the last 32, with a goal spread of 7 needed to bring them to fifth. ''We're in top form right now, and we have to keep it up for this match. Nothing's guaranteed yet, we still need to play our best and put in a solid performance.'' Manager Ricola hopes Sergio Conti's words as captain will help the team be at their best for the match. We'll be back here from San Jose Guayabal, with the latest results from Venalzio's Baptism of Fire campaign.

[Timbermunich]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

As the morning progressed and the two men readied themselves to once again leave the village their houses were in a state of chaos, something that happened regularly whenever the two were getting ready to leave. It seemed the children new that their fathers would be gone for some time and it was a good time for them to act silly, rambunctious, and well like kids. The fathers seemed to feed into this as well, stirring up a few of the older ones with some gentle rough housing or a couple quick games of Munich Ax, a game involving ax hafts and small carved wooden animals. Whatever it was the mothers didn’t care for it much as it usually left them to clean up a rather large mess once the fathers finally left the house. So during this time it was not unusual for both wives to be found in the depths of their family yards, tending to gardens, livestock, or simply just walking together around the pond which the two families shared and it bordered the back of their properties so it was a good distance from the commotion taking place within the house. This day was no different from the many times the two fathers had been getting ready to leave as again Juniper and Artemis were walking together on a walking trail which lead out to and around the pond. Today however they talked about something neither of them seemed to take notice of and that was the current search their husbands are on. They never got involved in the business of their husbands as the two had lead the village through so much up to this point. They had molded Timbermunich into the nation that it currently is and both knew that their husbands would keep changing their village, region, and nation into something great, they just didn’t know what yet. So they walked, a slow walk together going over what each thought would transpire once their husbands found what it was they were searching for. Artemis, the wife of Timbermunich’s first ever leader Great Battle, thinks that the entire village will be moving in a new direction after this current search. While Juniper, wife of Great One-Arm Willy the younger of the two men who was once Great Battle’s pupil and second behind him for leadership, felt that the village would remain on it’s current path but the way they lived would forever be changed. Neither of them seemed to know how much longer the two would be on their quest but knew that once the search was over something would be happening.

Before they knew it their walk had lead them back home and the noise from inside had settled down. The two wives hugged and went into their respective homes. They gathered their children and corralled them to the front yard in order to send their husbands on their way. Once everyone was accounted for and out in front of their homes the other villagers joined them and sent Great Battle and Great One-Arm Willy on their way, again.


What are these two Greats actually searching for? It seems there are some difference of opinions on what it is they are looking for. How will this change Timbermunich and how long will the search continue for? Hopefully soon we will find out.

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Hardwood’s Matches
MD1: Bye
MD2: vs Yids (4-3)
MD3: vs Monkeykind (5-2)
MD4: vs The Blaatschapen (1-0)
MD5: vs West Carpathia (4-2)
MD6: Wolfenia (3-2)
MD6: vs Ayscos

Group A Table
1 –Timbermunich – 15 pts
2 – Monkeykind –12 pts
3 – Wolfenia – 7 pts
4 – Yids – 9 pts
5 – Ayscos – 4 pts
6 – West Carpathia – 4 pts
7 – The Blaatschapen – 1 pt

Ayscos Lineup                   |Timbermunich Lineup
Once again our scout		|GK	Great Hatchet Hank	01
has managaed			|RB	Great Norman		04
to become lost			|CB	Great Battle		05*
when we sent him to the		|CB	Great Battle Axe	03
oppositions camp to		|LB	Great Tomahawk Tommy	06
obtain their starting line	|RM	Great Dead-Eye Darrin	07
up for our next match.		|LM	Great Dirty Doug	08
If he does happen to		|RW	Great Dagger Dan	09
return this			|CM	Great Wicked Warren	10
time he is			|CF	Great Buckskin Barry	11
FIRED!				|LW	Great Kyle Slater	17

[Laiyenda]

The Change of Pace

Laiyenda has been known for its defensive play in this tournament, but in the match again Lavertezzo we saw the team push forward more than ever. Our staff was there to ask why.

OT Staff: Coach O'Daire, the team appeared to be moving up more than ever in the match against Lavertezzo, were you purposely taking am more offensive stance?
O'Daire: Yeah, it was determined that with two games left, we needed to turn up the heat and get a few more goals.
OT Staff: And who determined this?
O'Daire: I was contacted by the director of the One Team Project and we both came to this conclusion.
OT Staff: Well, great job out there today.
O'Daire: Thanks.

With that O'Daire jogged back to his team.

The Match

On match day 6, Laiyenda faced one of the greatest teams in the tournament, Lavertezzo. It was expected to be a tough game, and that it was. An early goal within the first 5 minutes by Lavertezzo put Laiyendan fans on the edge of their seats. After the second goal by Lavertezzo it appeared that the new play style was not working.
In the second half the team came back firing on all cylinders to pick up two goals, and the draw.

What is Next?

The national team really needed a win against Lavertezzo. Another draw keeps them in it, but on the verge of falling out. Our team has one more chance to win, that is match day 7. Thankfully, Laiyenda has received a lucky break on their match day opponent. The national team will be playing The Subspace Embassy which is already out of the tournament. There are many pros to this:
1) Easy team
2) Laiyenda should get several chances to rack up goals
But there are also many cons:
1) False sense of security, The team may feel the game is already won.
2) The Subspace Embassy has nothing to lose and can play as dirty as they want to.
3) Even is Laiyenda wins, nothing is guaranteed.
We need to win, we need Melthing to lose, and we need to absolutely CREAM The Subspace Embassy, it will be tough, but in Laiyendan history, stranger things have happened.

From all of us here at One Team and all of us here in Laiyenda, we wish you good luck!

[Czarch]

OFFICAL CZARCH INFORMATION

LEADERS OF CZARCH (Since 1876)
ROYAL NAME (Given Name)

D'ARNAU
DUKE Charles (Charles D'Arnau): May 2, 1876 to April 14th, 1890.
DUKE Stephan IV (Stephan R. D'Arnau): April 14th, 1890 to April 17th, 1903.
DUKE John Charles (Charles D'Arnau): April 17th, 1903 to May 7th, 1903. ¹
BRANSFORD
General Matthew Bransford: May 7th, 1903 to September 14th, 1903. ²
D'ARNAU-KESSERLING
DUKE John Charles II (Charles D'Arnau-Kesserling): September 14th, 1903 to July 11th, 1911. ³
DUKE Harold III (Harold D'Arnau-Kesserling): July 11th, 1911 to February 29th, 1912 or March 3rd, 1912. ⁴
DYSON
Commisar Eric Dyson: March 3rd, 1912 to June 30th, 1912. ⁵
JACOBSON
DUKE Shawn (Shawn Jacobson): June 30th, 1912 to May 1st, 1923. ⁶
DUKE John V (John Jacobson): May 1st, 1923 to July 9th, 1937. ⁷
DUKE Charles II (Charles Jacobson): July 9th, 1937 to December 12th, 1956.
DUKE Stephan V (Stephan Jacobson): December 12th, 1956 to March 9th, 1966. ⁸
CESARO
General David Cesaro: March 9th, 1966 to June 7th, 1966. ⁹
D'ARNAU
DUKE Stephan VI (Stephan R. D'Arnau III): June 7th, 1966 to May 10th, 1972 ¹⁰
DUKE Shawn II (Shawn D'Arnau): May 10th, 1972 to October 17th, 1997 ¹¹
DUKE Stephan VII (Stephan B. D'Arnau): October 17th, 1997 to CURRENT

NOTES
1- Overthrown by Bransford coup.
2- Assassinated.
3- Was nephew of DUKE John Charles.
4- Reported missing February 29th, 1912, body found March 3rd, 1912.
5- Was made interim ruler until DUKE Shawn became of age.
6- The Jacobson clan assumed the throne, with backing of UK and US.
7- DUKE Shawn abdicated throne upon Czarch adopting Communism on May 1st, 1923. DUKE John assumed the throne, as DUKE Shawn had no heirs.
8- Found dead during Cesaro Coup, suspected to have been assassinated.
9- Fled country during counter-coup.
10- DUKE Stephan VI was grandson of DUKE John Charles II.
11- Assumed throne, as heir presumptive John D'Arnau was banned from Czarch for defection to US in 1971.

[Terre des Gaules]

The Coqs on The Bubble For BoF 56

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Par Jean-Derik Roullard

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It's now do or die for the Coqs at the Baptism of Fire in Schiavonia. They face Mosktopia and need to win to stay in this tournament, with three nations in close contention for the last two spots to advance on to the next stage in Group H. The Gaul team came a long way from their less than stellar start, winning or drawing all their subsequent matches. After some punishing drills and some fundamental skill re-building on the part of Coach Connan over the last couple days, a reinvigorated Coqs might stand a chance to actually pull something out of this first International tournament for our national team.

It's still a long road in the tournament and we are not ones to jinx them. However, if they can get over this hump and make it to the next stage, it still might have some significance back home, even should they not make it much farther. Hopes ride on Cohen, LeSage and Gerault, just as much as Rocquebert and Boulard, our two goalkeepers. They need us as much as we need them. So, support your team. Watch them on CSG (Chaîne Sportive Gaulois). Check your local listings.