The Zwischen New Courier: Alaisti succumb to Gleason attacks, newcomers settle in
Ephesian began the quest to regain their league title with a solid 4-1 defeat of Excelsior Slogda at home. Fresh from his latest round of contract woes, Spencer Gleason excelled with two goals. Dwight Frazier-Sen and Emma McHewitt also scored, the former assisted by the indefatigable Kendra Jover. Leslie Applebaum, forward for a set piece, scored a header for the visitors' only goal.
Attention around the league, meanwhile, was focused on the debut of nonhuman players. Lolicia of Trebuchet Cham seemed to live up to the hype, with two goals for the Cabbas in a comeback win against 102d. (Though the phrase "comeback win against 102d" will not inspire optimism to many supporters.) Suhail Gallop-Brother, however, was somewhat anonymous in a scoreless draw against FTC United (on the west side).
Matchday Two
The Arlington Moon-Tribune: Oxen yoked as City soar
Arlington City thrived in their home opener, defeating FTC United 5-1. Riley Kua was a force to be reckoned with up front, scoring two goals and assisting on Chelsea Micar-Stovi. Late substitutes Warren Brenn and Joshua Twoni also recorded goals, as did Tabitha Kroeze of the overwhelmed visitors.
Last week's big winners and our neighbors to the south had, as usual, some defensive struggles, with Namiri Independent holding Ephesian to a draw in a back-and-forth battle. Their tactical outlook was for once not the strangest thing on the field, as zebra Suhail Gallop-Brother made his debut in front of the Sharag crowd. He had plenty to deal with in the form of the talented if idiosyncratic Spencer Gleason, who registered the first goal of the day. Wunderkind Rabiya Kumari equalized for the hosts, before Keshav Dhankot pulled them ahead. After the half, Ricardo Valbuena and Emma McHewitt put Ephesian back on top, only for Hema Reddy to secure a half-point for the visitors.
[Considering how many attackers we claim to have, are you sure it's a good idea to take cheap shots at other teams' weird formations? -ed]
It's Ephesian so yes.
Matchday Three:
Cham Spiegel: Nightriders go boom! Cabbas go top!
Let the world, or at least the nation, or at least the sports fans within this country know--you who underestimate the mighty maroon and gold do so at your peril! With a victory over the Canbix Muses, Trebuchet Cham are the sole perfect team three matchdays into the 1./'s 25th season.
The goal came on a free kick from Gabi Lanius-Sexton in minute 62; Canbix' offense, never a strong point in the best of times, was never a force in the game. Lolicia almost made it 2-0 in extra time, only to be stopped by a nervy header out of bounds from defender Phyllis Ward-Mellon, who (like many fearful humans in the league) has yet to figure out what constitutes an illegal tackle on a quadruped.
Early pacesetters Ephesian and Arlington City faced off against each other; Kendra Jover had the only goal in that came, as Ephesian emerged ahead of their northeastern comrades.
Matchday Five:
Merano Regency: Rovers rally in east-side clash
It is, of course, one of FTC United's contractual demands that they play exactly equally many games in Eglantine Park and Pallocci Pagoda Park each season. The small matter that they are scheduled to play fifteen home games per campaign is easily rectified, by means of their game "at" Rovers United. While this may represent an unfair advantage to the Oxen in terms of having more home fans to represent them, the Rovers' stamina and familiarity with a wide variety of terrain make the matter moot.
[Plus, I mean, these days we really need all the help we can get. -ed]
It will be Matchday Twenty when the Rovers are nominal hosts in our cultured and classy Eglantine Park, which meant that this week they were "visitors" to the Pallocci Pagoda Park. Alas, despite a strong opening half for the Oxen, Bronwyn Sadler's side rallied in the second half to, temporarily at least, take the lead in the overall table.
Stacy Ibela's goal in the sixteenth minute gave FTC United the lead, sparking a round of unintelligible chants from the crazy east side fans. They were temporarily silenced by a left-footed Corianne Rogawski strike nine minutes later, but Jack Vuong brilliantly converted a Tabitha Kroeze pass to give the Oxen the lead.
Alas, the Rovers' endurance, and generally being better at football in most ways, would give them the edge in the second half. After a foul from Jen Tsou, Garrett Balboa-Stein scored off the set piece to equalize. The veteran Rachel Stelline provided the winner, bouncing off the crossbar, in minute 71.
Thanks in part to their drubbing of Canbix last week, the Rovers are now two goals of difference ahead of Ephesian FC, who climbed into second by beating Trebuchet Cham. Spencer Gleason scored early before limping off with an unspecified ailment, and his side will surely hope he returns soon. Of course, Ephesian have no shortage of offense, as evidenced today by a long goal from Harry Juneau.
Ephesian and the Rovers both sit on four points, and will face off next week in baseball town Inver. The Oxen, for their part, are fifteenth.
[Tied with Bassabook for last, actually, there's nothing to separate the two yet. -ed]
Well if you're going to be like that about it...
Matchday Eight:
The Zwischen New Courier: Culture clash sees Ephesian take lead
It was a big week of football if you're a Namiri fan; not necessarily because either of the southwestern teams is in contention, but because they both served as, at least temporary, kingmakers for the race up top.
Ephesian's trip to Guariday is always a treat for spectators who enjoy the quintessential showdown of takil versus karela styles. Ephesian were able to take a leaf from Forest's book (and large collection of trees) and record a shutout, blanking the hosts behind goals from Harry Juneau and Ricardo Valbuena. Though Spencer Gleason is still week-to-week, on current form they may not need to rely on him.
Ephesian remain undefeated, as--just barely--do Rovers United, who kept having to come from behind against a Namiri Independent side that seemed to be open to a much more Ephesian-esque score. This match, held in Belpub, actually featured the Rovers taking the lead through Garrett Balboa-Stein.
After that...well. Youngster Rabiya Kumari tied it up for the self-styled rebels, followed by a Hema Reddy goal. Jonas McAulesh valiantly equalized for the Rovers, and the spectators were grateful for a halftime pause, having little idea of what was in store.
Salman Barelvi put Independent ahead, and Balboa-Stein equalized. Reddy put Independent ahead, and Duncan Anwhistle equalized. Subod Ambedkar put Independent ahead, and, in the third minute of stoppage time, Corianne Rogawski equalized. Shockingly, the referees had had enough at that point and didn't want to see how long the madness could go. 5-5 the final, and though the Rovers will boast that they certainly have endurance for well over ninety minutes at a time in a variety of climates, they may want to reconsider some of their defensive choices if this title race is to continue. (You know it's bad when Ephesian have allowed half as many as you...)
Matchday Thirteen:
Zwangzug's e-Lipogram: Roving band pulls past Bugs, capital squad
Huzzah for our squad which lacks a city of its own! This crowd is now on top of our "first division," with its "goals for minus against" total now surpassing that of our capital's XI. Both won, but Bronwyn's gang (playing at a big gridiron stadium in Shorn, against Bugs) did so by a trinity of goals, in contrast to two for takilans (hosting Canbix).
Also occurring: Cham nil, Guariday nil (common for Guariday, not so much for Cham). Arlington would also hold Trink to a draw. A goal from Kostya Hart-Farm was all for Slogda, who shut out Fulpog's suburbians. All in all, a lucky matchday of football!
Matchday Fifteen:
Hope City Herald: Taking stock on Esper at halfway
Think back, if you will, to Namiri Independent's campaign seven seasons ago. They took the lead on Matchday Six and held it through Matchday Fourteen. But are those early season results indicative of anything? What does the table really mean, if teams have different strength of schedules? No, said pundits, remembering how Independent had choked several seasons prior to that; what matters as a guideline is the table at the halfway point, when we have a reasonable basis for comparison between the teams--home-field advantage aside.
You may remember that Namiri Independent lost that fifteenth matchday, and Bassabook overtook them with a demolishing of Twineur. Not to be taken for granted, Independent returned to the lead the following week, and held on through Matchday Twenty-Nine, but had yet to clinch going into the final day. Where they faced the team that was in second. And, the vagaries of schedule-making being what they are, the team they had lost to to close out the first half. None other than our own Sporting Esper.
Well, if you remember that, you probably also remember that Ako Moarefi scored the goal that gave them their first title. The point is, having the lead at the halfway mark is a big deal. Except when it's not. Um. I was going somewhere with this.
What I'm saying is, for the first time this season, the Robins are in the lead! And it's not just luck; their defense has been one of the most consistent, rivaled only by mid-table Slogda. Plus, they had to topple a surging Rovers United side to do it, in Kedzy. But a Marlon Sayle-Bren goal was all the offense Esper needed to go top.
There's the usual noise and jostling as the Rovers look to make up ground in the second half. Ephesian had to rally against Bassabook, but they're in the mix, as are Namiri Forest, who blanked Twineur. Canbix, who won comprehensively against Namiri Independent, round out the GC spots at the moment, with a chasing pack below them.
Too early to get optimistic? Probably, yeah--we led at the half, and a lot of other weeks besides, three seasons ago, only to see the other Namirites dash our hopes at the end. Still, that won't stop Robins fans from tweeting in excitement. Or whatever it is the cool kids do these days.
Matchday Seventeen:
Guariday Guardian: Robins defeated in skillful shutout!
Namiri Forest took first place in the 1./ behind another brilliant shutout from Shobhana Birla and company! Chevanthi Arokiaraj made several impressive clearances against contenders Sporting Esper, who fall to second with the defeat! The confounded and probably cheating rascals of Ephesian failed to pose a threat to the race either! They were defeated by Namiri Independent, who, despite occasionally being sellouts who are more interested in publicity stunts with zebras than commitment to a properly indigenous ideology, still manage to be decent at football on occasion! Taranath Brar was Forest's only goalscorer! That is not a surprise to people who follow the team closely, because there are not many people on Forest who come forward very often!
Matchday Nineteen:
Hope City Herald: Kids these days
Is it too presumptuous to say that a win for Sporting Esper against Eintracht Trink should, perhaps, have been expected? Well...probably yes. Trink have won the Cereal Cup in the past and qualified for the Vilitan Cove Invitational on multiple occasions. [Isn't that restricted to teams who aren't in the top of the league, though? -ed] And after some of the collapses the Robins have had, look, they can't take anything for granted.
But they didn't need to, storming off to a 3-0 lead courtesy of Lucille Dresk-Holzen, Donovan Sands-Belmar, and Malachi Jolla. Ellie Oshiro got Nebenstimme into the game shortly after halftime, but Jolla scored again to put it more or less out of reach. Another beautiful Misako Tsuki goal in extra time notwithstanding, the Robins regained their league lead.
Thing is, that probably had less to do with them and more to do with--of all teams--102d Jr.s, who upset Namiri Forest in a one-niller. Eli Thorpe's set piece was all it took for two anemic offenses to reach a decision, and Forest sit on 13 points, with Esper on 13.5. Robins fans will surely be hoping 102d have used up all their mojo when they come to visit Alden next week...
Matchday Twenty-Seven
Hope City Herald: A New Hope'
This time, there would be no doubt. After the close finishes and close calls, for once Sporting Esper have pulled away from Ephesian, Forest, and the chasing pack. The title was clinched in Arlington with a solid win; goals from Malachi Jolla and Marlon Sayle-Bren before halftime built optimism among the visiting fans, and the pace slowed markedly in the second half before Teagan Chadwick-Sun's goal against the run of play made it 0-3. Spenson Suburbia helped out by holding Ephesian to a draw to officially eliminate them. City will be frustrated at not gaining ground in their Globe Cup quest, but we have more important things to care about.
Sayle-Bren has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in offensive midfield, and he will surely be in the mix if/when the national team gets cranking up again. [Best not to worry too much about the timestream. -ed] Young left-back Valerie Holyoke has excelled too, one of the shrewd signings made in the wake of Ramona Ambaile-Hund leaving for KF Koflir. See, these things always have a way of evening out with time.
Hope City is one of Zwangzug's biggest first-generation towns, and even if the team doesn't technically play inside city limits, nor does it have as punny a reason to do so as Spenson, we can at last claim a title of our own. Plus, we have a good nickname. Beat that.
Matchday Thirty:
Cham Spiegel: Curtain falls on goal glut
It wasn't the most dramatic final day in terms of championships or qualification attempts: not only had Sporting Esper clinched the title several weeks ago, but the international delegation was already sorted out too. Shoutouts to Arlington, the paradigmatically "Zwangzugian" city, for qualifying for the UICA for the first time...uh, ever, actually.
But that didn't mean there wasn't excitement to be found. Predominantly in Trink, whose thrilling comeback in an attacking festival was only marred by the fact that it came against Trebuchet Cham.
Ellie Oshiro scored to open the affair for Nebenstimme, followed by a comparatively sedate goal from Misako Tsuki. But the Cabbas would not be denied, striking back through Gabi Lanius-Sexton and Bradley Winnetka in turn. Jasper McAuden gave Cham the lead as halftime approached.
After the restart, a lazy canter from Lolicia put the visitors up 2-4. And then Trink tuned up, as it were. Kurt Uehara blasted a long goal in from the defense. An evasive Tsuki run tied it up. Shinichi Schenbren's header gave Trink the lead. And Tsuki--who may have lost a step or two but still has an eye for the top eight or whatever our news channels count to--completed her hat trick with ten minutes to go.
Cham were not to go quietly, however. After rattling the woodwork for a spell, Colin Arbuthnot pulled one back. 6-5 the finale, and with that, a season that crowned a defensive-minded champion comes to an attacking finish.
Pos/Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sporting Esper 30 20 7 3 42 14 +28 23.5
2 Ephesian FC 30 14 12 4 67 42 +25 20
3 Namiri Forest 30 17 6 7 34 21 +13 20
4 Keppal Cosmos 30 15 6 9 44 28 +16 18
5 Arlington City 30 15 5 10 41 31 +10 17.5
6 Canbix Muses 30 13 6 11 33 32 +1 16
7 Excelsior Slogda 30 12 7 11 26 23 +3 15.5
8 Spenson Suburbia 30 11 8 11 41 37 +4 15
9 Rovers United 30 9 12 9 43 40 +3 15
10 Trebuchet Cham 30 11 7 12 48 58 −10 14.5
11 Eintracht Trink 30 9 9 12 69 72 −3 13.5
12 Namiri Independent 30 8 10 12 41 42 −1 13
13 Bassabook Old Boys 30 11 4 15 50 61 −11 13
14 102d Jr.s 30 5 9 16 28 53 −25 9.5
15 Twineur Bugs 30 6 6 18 31 59 −28 9
16 FTC United 30 3 8 19 36 61 −25 7
Zwangzug (ZWZ) qualifiers
Champions’ Cup 73: Sporting Esper, Ephesian FC
Globe Cup 70: Namiri Forest, Keppal Cosmos, Arlington City
Marcy Blake-Tatum (Dwile Warriors)
Aldo Vocani (Barbury Town)
Jack Jevđenijević (Oldem Knights), 
Jon Fossum (Urbanista), 
Sigrid Brooklyn (AFC United of Cierbanor)
