Against the Eternal Empire (also known as Valanora), Flavovespia showed some signs of recovery, but against such a great side, that’s not going to be enough to take anything from the game, as the 3-0 result showed. For Flavovespia, a somewhat predictable result, but one in the context of the tournament is most unhelpful.
Several changes were made to the Flavovespian squad before this encounter. The most striking was Richard Hartwell starting in goal over David Meehan. Mark James, Brian Buttery and Terence Daley all started as well, to try and give the Flavovespian side some experience on the pitch. The formation was also a much flatter 4-4-2, with Richard Crawford keen to put men behind the ball and stifle Valanora for room.
Valanora were unsurprisingly the more attacking side in the early stages. The midfield five of Valanora, lead by Laborious Hawk were having plenty of the ball, and looking to get Harlem Saxstrom and Thor Møller into good attacking positions to try and score. They created some half-chances, but Flavovespia were doing enough to hang in there, and Hartwell was certainly not looking nervy with his first few saves. At the other end, Sean Smørdal was having a relaxed day, in the opening 15 minutes or so, he only saw the ball once, and that was from a James King pass that Terence Daley wasn’t ever going to reach.
The deadlock was broken in the 25th minute, and Valanora were the better side when it came. Laborious Hawk, decided to take on the Flavovespia defence by himself. The ball was like a magnet to his foot, Gardner and James completely unable to get near it as he weaved through them both. The shot was fired with pinpoint accuracy, and Hartwell stood no chance of saving it. The type of goal that legendary players can produce, and there was arguably not much Flavovespia could’ve done differently.
That goal didn’t particularly change the tone of the game, at least for the rest of the first half. Valanora always looked the more likely to score, but the defence of Flavovespia was still fairly resolute, doing enough to prevent a killer final pass to set up a clear cut chance. Valanora had plenty of chances, but none from positions that were in the category of “more likely than not to score”. Flavovespia occasionally got the ball forward, but rarely with any meaningful play in a dangerous position.
The second half nearly started with Valanora’s second within a few minutes. A whipped in corner slipped out of the hands of Hartwell as he jumped to catch it. Harlem Saxstrom put her laces through it, but the shot cannoned off the chest of Tony Gardner and away to safety. A bit of a reprieve for Flavovespia, who could ill-afford errors like that again.
Flavovespia’s one good chance came 63 minutes in. Steven Hall got clear of the midfield of Vlaanora, and charged forward. A quick one-two with Scott Coleman gave him room to shoot, and he aimed it at the far post. The shot was on target, but just wasn’t powerful enough or curling sufficiently to stop Sean Smørdal gathering it up. That was the chance at an equaliser, but Flavovespia weren’t able to capitalise.
Valanora made their advantage count in the last stages of the game, with Flavovespia tiring despite their subs. Laborious Hawk became the supplier for the second in the 74th minute. His pass was perfectly weighted and placed, straight into the path of Harlem Saxstrom. Saxstrom had time to take a touch, before a fierce shot that beat Hartwell for pace and placement. 2-0 for Valanora. Flavovespia had improved on their previous match, but that score wasn’t a surprise to people watching this match.
The third was Valanora was more clumsiness at the back from Flavovespia than great skill from Valanora, but that won’t bother the winners. From another corner, Hartwell called for it, but seemed to get in a mix up with substitute Murad Ahmed. Both missed the ball, and Eivind Strømmen was in there to head the ball home, steering it well into the net. 3-0 to Valanora and that would be pretty much the last big moment of interest in the game.
Valanora take the win, and with it a place not just in the Round of 24, but in the Round of 16. For Flavovespia, some permutations are very simple. No win vs Delaclava, and they go home. If they win against Delaclava, they’ll make the Round of 24 if one of Northwest Kalactin or Overseas Territories of Sylestone fail to win. It’s too soon to speculate on what will happen to Richard Crawford and some of the squad in terms of the World Cup Qualifiers 86 if Flavovespia fail to qualify for the Round of 24. However if they fail to qualify, especially with a real possibility of bottom in the group, there will be some serious questions to answer in the Flavovespian camp.
