Tumbran Domestic Football Newswire

by **Tumbra** » Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:00 am

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

The 119^th RUNNING OF THE REPUBLIC CUP - THE FINAL

The Republic Cup, first contested in 1903, is Tumbra's longest running domestic competition and is open to all professional teams in Tumbra. Non-professional teams may compete in the TFF Vase instead, though that will not be covered here. It is a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the final played in the Tumbran National Stadium. Matches occur every five matchdays, with the exception of the Final, which is held after the final matchday of the league cycle.

The Final is held in the Tumbran National Stadium.

FINAL
Serrapince FC 2-0 Ashton Rovers

Serrapince FC, despite missing out on Challengers' Cup football, will proceed to compete in the Cup Winners' Cup as the Tumbran representative.

Tumbra (TMB) Qualifiers:
Champions' League: Lakewood City
Challengers' Cup: Lakewood United, Straton FC, Couno Rangers
Cup Winners' Cup: Serrapince FC
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones: Lakewood City, Lakewood United

by **Tumbra** » Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:24 am

SPORT: TUMBRAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION REVEALS PLANS TO RE-STRUCTURE DOMESTIC LEAGUES; PREMIER DIVISION SHRINKS BY 2

STRATON - In a perhaps bold move to align the Premier Division more with the International Federation of Club Football (IFCF) competitions, Tumbran Football Federation (TFF) Chairman Jeremy Bennett today revealed that the TFF had "concrete plans" to re-balance the league structure in order to lessen the number of matches played by the top division clubs, while increasing the number of clubs in the third and fourth tiers. The move has seen plenty of reaction from upper-tier and lower-tier clubs alike, but the reaction to the move is understood to be mixed.

The plan would see the Premier Division and Second Division both be shrunk to 18 clubs, from their current size of 20 and 22 respectively; both Third Division leagues, which are segregated by geography into an Eastern and Western conference, would shrink to 22 clubs from the current 24. Picking up the slack from the dropped teams would be the Fourth Division leagues, which would expand from their current 18 clubs to 24.

The diagram showed by TFF Chairman Jeremy Bennett at the press conference.

The move, he said, would not occur immediately, but gradually, to ease the clubs into new playing environments. A timeline was presented alongside the new proposed structure, which would take place from the upcoming IFCF 7 season to the IFCF 9 season.

At the end of the next season, both Division Three leagues would relegate five clubs instead of three; and only the Division Four champions would be promoted to the new Division Three. The Second Division, meanwhile, would be relegating six clubs, with three going into the respective Division Three leagues, and the champions of the respective District Three leagues would be promoted to the Second Division. This means that at the end of next season, Division Two would have 20 clubs, both Division Threes would have 22 and both Division Fours would have 22.

At the end of the following season, both Division Three clubs would relegate three clubs, while only the Division Four champions would be promoted; once again, six teams would be relegated from the Second Division (three to each league), while only accepting the champions from the Division Three leagues. Four clubs would be relegated from the Premier Division, while only two would be promoted from the Second Division into the Premier League. At the end of that season, both the Premiership and the Second Division would have 18 clubs each, while the Third Division would remain at 22. The Fourth Division, meanwhile, expands to 24 teams.

The shift to an 18-team top tier, Binnett revealed, was to give teams competing in IFCF competitions more time for recouperation, and to ensure that the standard of play in the division increases with a smaller number of teams. Binnett also revealed that "increased compensation" and "more financial help" will be given to teams in lower divisions, in order to bridge the increasing financial gap that has occurred between the divisions of the Tumbran leagues.

Reception has been muted, if not mixed, so far. A statement from Lakewood United, the runners-up in the previous season's Premier Division, welcomed the move as "the Club moves towards international competition, more breaks from football are always appreciated in order to showcase Tumbran football's very best on the international stage." Lakewood United are participating in the IFCF Challengers' Cup next season.

Millsburgh Steelers' chairman, John Redwood, commented more negatively on the prospect of a shrunken second tier, remarking grimly that "to make it back up will be more difficult now. If clubs wish to participate in IFCF competitions, they should be able to do so while juggling the demands of international and domestic competition. Now their knock-on effect'll be impacting the rest of us."

The proposed structure will come to a vote at next month's meeting of the Tumbran Football League member clubs. A simple majority of all clubs are required to vote for to the measure to pass - and while some clubs may be tempted to vote no, the financial aid they'll be getting in return, which the TFF has indicated it is open to increasing, with the backing of the Big Six, may sway their votes the other way.

by **Kotzellach** » Thu Mar 11, 2021 2:54 am

Kotzellach Premier League

The Kotzellach Premier League is the top and only contested level of the Kotzellach football system. Contested by 18 clubs - 8 from Kotzellach City, 3 from the Reiss Islands, 2 from New Thurmond, and 1 from Runtenbach, Ruysdael, Janholt, Joensuu and Axvall each, the league runs from August to May each season. All games are held on weekends, due to the fact that there is no domestic cup in Kotzellach. Each team plays 34 games, and the winner gets to play in the Atlantean Oceania Champions League.

The league system was first established in 1933, in order to encourage Kotzellach sporting excellence within the Confederation. Since then, it has slowly expanded from the original 8 clubs to today's 18, and is open to expanding further in the future.

The 2020/21 season of the KPL saw 1. FC Kotzellach, the oldest club in the Kotzellachian nation as well as Kotzellach City, lift the trophy yet again. Full results are included below.

The season saw a duel to the finish between 1. FC Kotzellach and 1. FC Runtenbach, two of the oldest clubs in Kotzellach as a whole. Though FC Eigengrau from the Reiss Islands put up a valiant fight, they were ultimately only able to finish third. Most clubs from the capital fared well, while both clubs from Thurmond - NTSV (Neuethurmond SV) and FC Thurmond - majorly disappointed their supporters by finishing only thirteenth and fourteenth.

FINAL TABLE

Kotzellach Premier League Standings

    Team                      P   W   D   L  For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 1. FC Kotzellach         34  22   6   6   76  30  +46  72    Champions, AOCL
  2 1. FC Runtenbach         34  22   5   7   73  44  +29  71
  3 FC Eigengrau             34  21   6   7   86  42  +44  69
  4 Dynamo Felix             34  19  10   5  102  55  +47  67
  5 FC Knuffingen 33         34  19   7   8   65  41  +24  64
  6 Gleiking SV              34  18   7   9   58  43  +15  61
  7 Stellenbosch FC          34  16  12   6   51  37  +14  60
  8 1. FC Janholt            34  13   9  12   60  52   +8  48
  9 1. FC Suseldorf          34  12  10  12   31  33   -2  46
 10 Reiss Islands SC         34  11   7  16   61  76  -15  40
 11 Union Ruysdael FC        34  12   4  18   49  67  -18  40
 12 Hansa Kotzellach SV      34  10   7  17   54  71  -17  37
 13 Neuethurmond SV          34   9   9  16   32  35   -3  36
 14 FC Thurmond              34   9   6  19   48  72  -24  33
 15 Vereinigte SC            34   9   6  19   38  73  -35  33
 16 Joensuu SC               34   9   5  20   31  66  -35  32
 17 Axvall Sportlich         34   6   5  23   43  87  -44  23
 18 Bregenz FC               34   5   7  22   45  79  -34  22

Kotzellach (KTZ) qualifiers
Puppet of Tumbra (TMB)
AOCL: 1. FC Kotzellach

by **Montego-** » Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:51 am

Montego Football League

The Montego Football League comprises the 12 clubs of the Montegan footballing system. A league open to professionals and semi-professional clubs, the tiny island duchy sends one club to the Campionato Esportivano di Campeones. All games are held on Saturdays, and the reigning champions are Royal Mosjoen, which have long been suspected of receiving the favour of the Grand Duke, Henry V. Each team plays each other two times; for a total of 22 matchdays. Unusually for most football leagues, the league is a summer, instead of a winter league - matches are played from March to November.

Most teams in the league are semi-professional; the exceptions are Royal Mosjoen, Castlereigh Blackhawks, Portlethen Goshawks and Duke's Park Rangers, who are fully-professional.

Montego Football League Standings

    Team                            P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Royal Mosjoen FC               22  16  2   4  62  23  +39  50 Champions, CEdC
  2 Castlereigh Blackhawks         22  11  6   5  38  28  +10  39
  3 Duke's Park Rangers            22  11  5   6  32  22  +10  38
  4 Bryankeld United               22  10  6   6  39  30   +9  36
  5 Creetown and Aldbridge FC      22   9  6   7  22  23   -1  33
  6 Marquette Ospreys              22   8  7   7  22  21   +1  31
  7 FC Humoor                      22   9  4   9  31  32   -1  31
  8 Portlethen Goshawks            22   8  5   9  31  25   +6  29
  9 Wingrove Kestrels              22   8  5   9  17  19   -2  29
 10 Rothes Rovers                  22   4  7  11  19  28   -9  19
 11 Bymoor Town                    22   6  1  15  29  56  -27  19
 12 Randia Town FC                 22   2  6  14  21  56  -35  12

The title, unsurprisingly, was won by Royal Mosjoen, but some surprises - such as semi-professional side Bryankeld United coming fourth, and Portlethen Goshawks coming eighth after a torrid campaign. Royal Mosjoen, then, would represent the small duchy in the upcoming Campionato Esportiviano di Campeones, being the first side to do so ever.

Montego (MNT) Qualifier:
Puppet of Tumbra
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones: Royal Mosjoen FC

by **Xin-hua** » Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:55 pm

Xinhuanese Premier League

The Xinhuanese Premier League is the top division of the Xinhuanese footballing pyramid, and is open to all professional clubs in Xinhua. The league, surprisingly, does not practice promotion and relegation - while that may be a prospect in the future, the Xinhua FA has stated that the gulf in quality between clubs in the top tier and the regional leagues which are supposed to come below it is too great for any good competition. While the XFA has opened the possibility of a second league in the future, as well as a domestic cup for lower-division teams to gain more revenue, for now the Premier Division is the main league contested by the country.

18 teams compete in the league, which runs from August till May with a mid-season break in January. Each team plays each other twice, for a total of 34 matches. The winner gets to play in the Rushmori Copa dos Campeones.

Full results for the 2020/21 Xinhuanese Premier League are included below.

Xinhuanese Premier League Standings

    Team                           P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Jinyu City SC                 34  23   8   3  98  45  +53  77    Champions, CdC
  2 Hongmiao United FC            34  23   5   6  84  33  +51  74
  3 Sendong Lions                 34  20   9   5  77  40  +37  69
  4 Gaolong City FC               34  16   8  10  54  43  +11  56
  5 Wuluo City FC                 34  16   8  10  45  37   +8  56
  6 Sanyue FC                     34  15   8  11  40  36   +4  53
  7 Jialeng FC                    34  13   9  12  41  45   -4  48
  8 Jinmao City FC                34  11  10  13  38  46   -8  43
  9 Nanshan United FC             34   9  14  11  32  38   -6  41
 10 Xichuan Town                  34   9  13  12  42  54  -12  40
 11 Yangcuo Park AFC              34  11   6  17  40  51  -11  39
 12 Zhongli Haishan Athletic      34   9  12  13  33  45  -12  39
 13 Shilong FC                    34  10   7  17  19  34  -15  37
 14 Yilong Vale FC                34   8  12  14  34  42   -8  36
 15 Dengjia United FC             34   8  11  15  24  41  -17  35
 16 Gaowen Town                   34   8  10  16  25  44  -19  34
 17 Beiyang City FC               34   6  11  17  35  58  -23  29
 18 Huangpu Town                  34   6   9  19  20  49  -29  27

Xinhua's first season in which it would participate in international competition turned out to be a real nailbiter, with the title race going to the very last day. In the end, while Jinyu City - the clear favourites at the start - went on to win the title by three points, Hongmiao United and a surprise push by Sendong Lions managed to push them all the way. Jinyu City - not the country's oldest club, but certainly the most well-known throughout the country - would represent the nation at the Copa dos Campeones.

Xinhua (XHA) Qualifier
Puppet of Tumbra
CdC: Jinyu City SC

by **Tumbra** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:22 am

This article first written for the 29th Campionato Esportiva, located here. As it has to deal with domestic sports in Tumbra, it has been reproduced here in its entirety.

Follow-up to this post.

SPORT:A Look Into the TFF; A Thin Line between Politics and Sport

STRATON - The perhaps controversial plans to reformat the sizes of the six-division Tumbran Football League passed today, 92-36. All opposition came from Fourth Division teams, who were perhaps wary of the increased gameload they would now have to face in the new Fourth Divison, which will be expanded from the current 18 clubs in each geographical division to 24, increasing their matches per season from 34 to a record 46 matches. The move would be allayed with additional financial support for lower division sides, yet the prospect of additional finances was apparently not enough to sway the lower-league clubs to vote yes. In a press conference held after the vote, the Tumbran Football Federation (TFF) Chairman Jeremy Bennett expressed confidence that this shift would "lighten the load on our top division players, freeing them up to be fully rested for international club football...which as we all know is the goal. We're in this to go as far as possible."

The proposed move - which, along with the enlargement of the Fourth Division, would see the Premier Division, Second Division and Third Division lose between two and four clubs each - was sought out by Bennett, with the implicit support of the Big Six clubs of Tumbran football, as the league opens its doors not just to international competition but also to international players. Most, if not all, restrictions on foreign player transfers have been removed at the behest of all Premier Division clubs, who have dived into the transfer market for more foreign players and managers following the success that Banijan Kiggwe Siakam brought to Couno Rangers, as well as the five Qusmi who joined Couno Rangers and Fraser Valley. One player - Kingsbury United and Black Eagles' wonderkid Dylan van Heirolf - has already made the leap overseas, to Miruan City of Tikariot. Many more, such as recently out-of-contract Dan Galbraith, and Clyde Park's Neil Fraser, look locked on for a move overseas as well.

But why was this move even mooted in the first place? Perhaps much more can be read into, regarding the state of the politics of sports in Tumbra. The TFF is by far the most powerful sports association in Tumbra, with its only competition so far perhaps being the Tumbran National Olympics Committee, which has yet to participate in an actual Olympics competition. Most other sports have a limited level of professionalisation in Tumbra; such is the state of association football in Tumbra that even sports popular elsewhere in the multiverse like hockey, basketball and gridirion - the latter being almost exclusively a collegiate sport, perhaps gaining some controversy when a team from the Gamaliel State University contested in the World Bowl, attempting to masquerade as a Tumbran team. (The coach - one Charlie Brown - was later arrested for personating a public servant, and his case remains under investigation.) Even motorsports - the second most popular sport in Tumbra, and one that has seen one Tumbran represent it on the global stage - barely holds a candle to the Tumbran footballing scene. Football is, in essence, baked into Tumbran DNA, and has done so since the game was introduced to Tumbra by Quebecois merchantmen in the 1880s. Football is home to Tumbra's oldest sporting knockout competition - the Republic Cup, first contested in 1903 - and its oldest sporting league of any kind - the Tumbran Football League, first organised seven years later. It was the reason why Tumbran sports shied away from the international stage in the 1910s, when it independently decided to refuse entry into its leagues by all foreigners - a move later followed by other sports - and why the standard of Tumbran sports perhaps lags behind less populous, yet more successful nations, like South Newlandia and Chromatika.

The TFF's status, therefore, as the custodian of a big part of Tumbran culture and also as the governing body of the biggest sport in Tumbra led it to consolidate its power in many ways. Perhaps afraid of losing its hold on other sports, rumours have long circulated that the TFF's executive body have always sought to stymie the progress of other sports in Tumbra - including, most crucially, professionalisation. Has the TFF blocked the professionalisation of other sports, in a bid to keep its near-monopoly status? It is difficult to say. Domestic motorsports in Tumbra only began in 1990, after a long push by many a car enthusiast club and some behind-the-scenes wrangling by then-Premier George Daniels of Napier, a long race-enthusiast himself. A bid for hockey to go professional in 1996 was defeated at the very last minute by the tightest of margins, and this time they had nobody in the corridors of power to vouch for themselves. Collegiate football has been placed under many, many restrictions in Tumbra, so much so that people commenting on team managing to compete in the World Bowl were more so amazed by the fact that they managed to get away with it for so long without being detected, rather than the Misfits of Gamaliel State going 4-4 against much stronger, much hardened opposition. The TFF's stranglehold on the sporting world has allowed the domestic football scene to flourish, but perhaps at the expense of other sports.

And it is this expense that the Labour government have tried to rectify in the previous four years, but to no success. Another push is expected once a new government takes office (most expect it to be Labour, as in the latest Herald prediction), but the TFF, along with the Big Six, are expected to resist as hard as they have just as they have done any effort to lessen their power. But why the Big Six? How did this moniker come about?

The Big Six are perhaps an accidental bunch, but nonetheless since 1992 have grown to become the biggest six clubs (as their name suggests) in Tumbra. Comprised of Lakewood United, Couno Rangers, Serrapince FC, Inter Nantwich and Straton FC at first, the Big Five (as they were then known) monopolised league titles and cup wins between 1992 and 2012, when Lakewood City unexpectedly won their first title since 1978. Having repeated the feat five times in the intervening nine years, they began being counted as part of the gang on top of Tumbran football in 2014, after they won their sixth title. The six are now the most successful clubs in Tumbra together they have won 77 of the 111 top division titles. That level of success has also turned them into the biggest clubs financially in the country; markedly so, as well. The gulf between the big six and the club that managed to squeak into sixth last season (overtaking Inter Nantwich, to boot), Clyde Park, recorded an operating revenue about one-eighth the revenue that winners Lakewood City did. Their influence over the TFF have also grown immensely, as a result - the six are generally assumed to have an automatic veto over any proposal of the TFF; should any of the six express their disapproval of any proposal, it will generally either be withdrawn or shot down at the next voting session. They do not, however, have much power over what the TFF does propose; for all their crying out for a reform to the Republic Cup to save them from first-round embarrassment (as Lakewood United were subjected to last season), or the 50+1 rule that dictates that ordinary members must own at least 50% of all voting shares of any club; the TFF has remained adamant that their stance on these issues will not change. The clubs, then, do not control the TFF as much as they control the agenda for change; and the clubs know very well not to overstep any boundaries, lest the TFF scrap the system of voting entirely and return to control by fiat, as they did between the beginning of the TFL and 2005. In return, the TFF really only proposes proposals that they know that the Big Six will agree with or can be swayed around to, to maintain the illusion of progress being made. Such is the symbiotic relationship between the TFF and the Big Six; in return for the Big Six to not kick up a fuss about issues which the TFF deems important to the other 122 professional clubs, it occasionally gives tidbits to keep the Big Six happy, such as the lifting of transfer caps in 2014. This has led to progress on certain issues, of course, like player safety for head injuries and additional substitutes in league games, but progress has been close to glacial in most aspects.

For these reforms to pass, then, all six clubs must have approved of pretty much every measure the TFF came up with, and gotten the support of two-thirds of clubs, whether through genuine lobbying (as most Second Division and Third Division clubs may have agreed to, given the generous financial incentives lobbed their way), or having their arms twisted (most of the other Premier Division clubs, who might have been reluctant to see a shrinkage of the size of the league, were threatened with having their best assets harvested by overseas clubs). As the vote showed, not everyone could be convinced - but still, why would Fourth Division teams vote for, since they wouldn't see any tangible benefits from increasing the number of foreigners allowed in their squads, and they'd have to contest even more matches in the upcoming seasons?

At the end of the day, so long as the TFF and the Big Six are able to martial up the votes they need, either by arm-twisting or by generous financial packages, they will hold on to control of the TFF's agenda, so long as this dichotomy isn't shattered. Non-footballing sports, and indeed non-Big Six clubs even in football, face a long climb to the top of the greasy pole of Tumbran football - and the longer this control holds on, the more out of reach the top gets.

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:29 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
PREVIEW, PART ONE, TRANSFER WINDOW ROUND-UP

Internal Transfers/Transfers to Lower Leagues/Retirements

Name                    Age     Pos     Nat     Former Club                 New Club            Fee
Chris Tipple            20      CM      TMB     Readale Wanderers           Clyde Park          1.0m
Alan Morgan             24      CM      TMB     Readale Wanderers           Lakewood City       1.0m
Bernard Brown           24      ST      TMB     Newton Wanderers            Lakewood United     0.8m
Gareth Roberts          24      ST      TMB     Kingsbury United            Fraser Valley       0.8m + swap
John Triffin            29      RW      TMB     Readale Wanderers           Clark City          0.8m
Roy King                32      CM      TMB     Hesham FC                   Port Marray FC      0.7m
Chris Dodd              33      CM      TMB     Clyde Park                  Delphi Lions        0.6m
Jon French              32      CM      TMB     Straton FC                  West Couno United   0.5m
Sam Watson              30      RW      TMB     Straton FC                  Glenmont AFC        0.5m
Barry Allen             27      ST      TMB     Lakewood United             Readale Wanderers   0.4m
Theodore Houghton       34      CDM     TMB     Lakewood City               Macarthur City      0.4m
Todd Symes              32      RW      TMB     Lakewood United             Hesham FC           0.3m
James Herbert           29      ST      TMB     Fraser Valley               Kingsbury United    swap
George Litchman         34      CM      TMB     Lakewood United             Retired
William Wight           37      RW      TMB     Clark City                  Retired

Transfers Into The League

Name                    Age     Pos     Nat     Former Club                 New Club            Fee
Pierre-Louis Laishram   25      CAM     KSK     Langlois Oceanic [KSK]      Clyde Park          4.0m
Devon Daniels           27      CB      CDG     Winchester Trad. [CDG]      FC Inter Nantwich   2.5m
Atlas Baxter            26      RW      TKT     Miruan City [TKT]           FC Inter Nantwich   2.5m
Vázsony Sallay          22      ST      PAS     Lhor [CMT]                  Straton FC          2.5m
Cameron Keyes           22      ST      SYL     Betham FC [SYL]             Lakewood United     2.5m
Scott McIntyre          26      RW      TLI     Garton Bay Pirates [TLI]    West Couno United   2.5m
Markus Strand           31      ST      NPH     Belgrave [NPH]              Hesham FC           2.0m
Antti Perkkanen         22      RW      TKT     Nagoush FC [TKT]            Kingsbury United    2.0m
Thomas Burrows          24      ST      FVA     Capton Club [FVA]           Columbia City       1.0m
Lomar Wellingsley       19      CB      TKT     Morannon Athletic [TKT]     Hesham FC           0.9m
Tom Brauer              25      CAM     KTZ     1.FC Eigengrau [KTZ]        Straton FC          0.5m
Kurt Schilling          18      GK      KTZ     Hansa Kotzellach [KTZ]      Kingsbury United    0.3m
Keith Bormann           19      GK      KTZ     Hansa Kotzellach [KTZ]      Serrapince FC       0.1m
Kwak Hyeong-Joon        26      ST      QUE     Swanguard Athletic [QUE]    Clyde Park          Free
Alasdair Dunlap         28      LB      TKT     Morannon Athletic [TKT]     Fraser Valley       Free
Reinhard Geist          32      ST      NPH     North Sabrefell [NPH]       Fraser Valley       Free
Eli Apt                 23      CM      CMT     S. Chromatik Univ. [CMT]    Columbia City       Free
Matthias Bergander      34      ST      NPH     South Laithland [NPH]       Ridgewell Rovers    Free
Bernard Martin          23      RB      SVG     Castiglione [SVG]           Kingsbury United    Free
Miles Brent             26      ST      CMT     Rhoni [CMT]                 Carter United       Free
Richter Moranis         26      CM      NPH     Creed United [NPH]          Carter United       Free
Lester O'Reagan         30      CB      QUE     Trojana Condommakers [QUE]  Carter United       Free
Remont Thomas           19      CM      GVN     AS Guelzec [GVN]            West Couno United   Free
Roger Turnbull          22      LB      TKT     Port Rhoynavon AFC [TKT]    Sturrey Athletic    Free
Thore Grönholm          21      RW      NRH     Varynds SK [NRH]            Sturrey Athletic    Free
Lee Deyang              18      GK      XHA     Jinyu City [XHA]            Clark City          Free
Tom Spencer             24      LW      TKT     Anhedron Wanderers [TKT]    Clark City          Free
Frank Stuart            21      CDM     SNL     Madrilidad FC [SNL]         Clark City          Free
Kilarul Dhaundhen       25      RB      KOR     F.G. Daigaku [KOR]          Macarthur City      Free
Grimson Hoskins         25      CDM     TKT     Pyathora Mariners FC [TKT]  Ricci Ironworkers   Free

Transfers Out Of The League

Name                    Age     Pos     Nat     Former Club                 New Club            Fee
Nigel Erskine           25      ST      TMB     Clyde Park                  Omnio [CMT]         2.0m
John Bridges            33      ST      TMB     Carter United               Heart of Saugenay   0.8m
Dylan van Heirolf       22      LW      TMB     Kingsbury United            Miruan City [TKT]   Undisc.
Daniel Galbraith        34      RW      TMB     Straton FC                  Perce Town [QUE]    Free
Neal Diamond            27      LB      TMB     Fraser Valley               Lanar [CMT]         Free

Lakewood City

Roster

Pos     Name            Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	John Lennon	30	Tumbra
LB	Ryan Hughes	27	Tumbra
CB	Ian Ashburn	22	Tumbra
CB	Louis Paterson	25	Tumbra
RB	Chris Carter	22	Tumbra
CM	Robert Powell	32	Tumbra
CM	Alan Morgan	24	Tumbra
CAM	Phil Cole	22	Tumbra
LW	Robin Vaughn	26	Tumbra
RW	Mike Coonan	23	Tumbra
ST	James Anderson	26	Tumbra

Bench
GK	David Ager	18	Tumbra
CB	Tom Lawrence	21	Tumbra
CM	Patrick Butler	29	Tumbra
CDM	Lewis McCabe	18	Tumbra
LW	Jack Reed	19	Tumbra
RW	Charlie Baker	18	Tumbra
ST	Jack Torrance	31	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Lakewood, Severn
Last season: 1st
Stadium: Lakewood City Arena (58,000)
Nickname: The Skyblues
Manager: John Riedweld, 50
Style of Play: Possessive, Attacking
Prediction: Title Challenge
Support them if...: you like blue, you like seeing entertaining football, or if you live in the north of Lakewood. Or if you just want to watch good football. Or a good team. This is your first time following the TFL? Supporting LCFC will get you bragging rights, of course, but your more hipster-ish friends who all support, say, Macarthur or West Couno, or god forbid, Southport, might thumb their noses at you for daring to enjoy winning.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Alan Morgan from Readale Wanderers ($1,000,000)
Outgoing: Theodore Houghton to Macarthur City ($400,000)

Overview: Last season’s champions Lakewood City have made minimal changes to their squad, with long-serving midfielder Ted Houghton choosing to leave the Skyblues for pastures new, as he felt there was no guarantee of playing time as he entered his 17th year of being a footballer. The midfielder heads to Macarthur City, and Lakewood City loses its longest-serving player at the club. His replacement? National team midfielder Alan Morgan from recently relegated Readale Wanderers, who looks excellent value for money.

Having romped home to the title with a twenty-point gap after the last matchday, the Skyblues are focused now on keeping the title on the correct side of Lakewood, aware that any slip-ups like their early season blues could lead to a similar outcome as to what befell Nantwich - or Couno Rangers. Avoiding complacency is the key here.

Manager Riedweld enters his twelfth season with the club with no signs of slowing down, even as he has to deal with the demands of the IFCF competitions along with defending his league title. To that end, he has indicated a willingness to rotate more, and bring in more youngsters into the team and let them develop - the infamous Lakewood City loan army having gained notoriety in the press for never giving youngsters a chance while continually spending big on transfers to plug gaps.

Tactically, Lakewood City should still set-up in their usual 4-3-3, which has brought them great success through the solidity of the tactics and the individual quality of their players. Vaughn and Coonan on the wings are the main threats to any opposition, while Ryan Hughes at left back is capable of pushing forward and sending in devastating crosses as well.

Lakewood United

Roster

Pos     Name            Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Louis Addison	30	Tumbra
LB	John Byrne	28	Tumbra
CB	Johnny Brown	33	Tumbra
CB	Charles Allams	27	Tumbra
RB	Nigel Harris	25	Tumbra
CAM	Adam Herlinger	31	Tumbra
CM	Sean Cushing	28	Tumbra
LW	Alex Kristensen	24	Tumbra
RW	Shoaib Saeed	28	Tumbra
ST	Philip Cohen	26	Tumbra
ST	Cameron Keyes	22	Sylestone

Bench
GK	Frank Johnson	21	Tumbra
RB	Neil Crozier	19	Tumbra
CM	Nicky Atkinson	22	Tumbra
CDM	Adrian Hewitt	20	Tumbra
CDM	Michael Browne	19	Tumbra
LW	Ian McDermott	18	Tumbra
ST	Bernard Brown	24	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Lakewood, Severn
Last season: 2nd
Stadium: Trenton Park (74,000)
Nickname: the Reds
Manager: Mark van der Brumen, 57
Style of Play: Attacking, Physical
Prediction: Title Challenge
Support them if...: you like red, you like a club with history but can’t stand how stuck up Couno Rangers fans are, you are from Sylestone, or if you live in the south of Lakewood. Or if you can’t stand Lakewood City.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Cameron Keyes from Betham FC, Sylestone ($2,500,000)
	  Bernard Brown from Newton Wanderers ($800,000)
Outgoing: Barry Allen to Readale Wanderers ($400,000)
	  Todd Symes to Hesham FC ($300,000)
	  George Litchman (retired)

Overview:After a disappointing season in which their title defence came apart in dramatic fashion - the number “58” has become something akin to a swear word in certain Lakewood United-supporting suburbs - after they spent so many painful matchdays stuck on that number of points while their hated neighbours ran away with the title. Lakewood United have to re-jig their squad, and fast. But whether they’ve done it is another matter . The club managed to offload Barry Allen, who was the focal point of some major criticism in their title chase, as well as offload the aging Todd Symes, but after a whole window spent chasing after Neil Fraser (who turned them down, saying that the only move he’d entertain was abroad), and then Dylan van Heirolf (who also turned them down, instead wanting a move to Couno - of which he was a fan since young, who then moved to Tikariot), the attack department was strengthened by...Bernard Brown from Newton Wanderers, who hardly struck confidence into Lakewood United supporters. That, and Cameron Keyes from Sylestone, who seems to be a much better prospect - playing off Cohen, Keyes will most likely be deployed on the side of Cohen, looking to create some assists for the prolific finisher.

The defence was faced with a similar problem - the entire window LUFC tried to go for Harry Henderson, but he indicated he was not interested in leaving Kingsbury United. No amount of badgering or cajoling, even from Johnny Brown - his defensive partner in the national team - would convince him. And so Lakewood United’s defence remains unchanged.

Once again van der Brumen will most likely set the team up in an attacking 4-4-2, with Herlinger playing slightly ahead of Cushing, attempting to link up with Philip Cohen. Van der Brumen knows his time in the job could very well be limited if another 58 fiasco crops up again, and so most attacking hopes now lie on Philip Cohen, the national team’s starting striker.

Historically storied and one of the most successful clubs in Tumbran history, the Reds must hope for a title soon lest they soon sink into midfield oblivion. While young stars Michael Browne and Ian McDermott have been deemed good enough to make the step up, they are rotation players and can hardly hope to touch the starting eleven, unless they have a breakout season.

Straton FC

Roster

Pos     Name               Age  Nationality
Starters
GK	Graham Dodds	   27	Tumbra
LB	Michael Campbell   27	Tumbra
CB	Jim Buchanan	   28	Tumbra
CB	Wayne Forrest	   24	Tumbra
RB	Mike Sheppard	   24	Tumbra
CDM	Michael Aitken	   30	Tumbra
CM	Leo Hooper	   25	Tumbra
CM	Ryan Morgan	   24	Tumbra
LM	Jon Eagleton	   25	Tumbra
RM	Paul Collins	   24	Tumbra
ST	Vázsony Sallay	   22	Pasarga

Bench
GK	Joe Bonner	   18	Tumbra
CB	Barry Hamilton	   18	Tumbra
CM	John Lawrence	   18	Tumbra
CAM	Tom Brauer	   25	Kotzellach
CM	Kevin Dunstan	   18	Tumbra
LW	Harvey Osbourne	   18	Tumbra
ST	Ralf Vanstenkeeste 29	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Straton, Straton
Last season: 3rd
Stadium: Tumbran National Stadium (100,000)
Nickname: the Senators; the Capitals
Manager: Ted Bayh, 43
Style of Play: Attacking, Fast-paced
Prediction: In the Hunt
Support them if...: you live in Straton, you want to see how they’ll get on without Dan Galbraith, you’re a fan of Dan Galbraith, you’re from Pasarga, or if you like their colours. Red and blue is very flashy, you have to admit.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Vázsony Sallay from Lhor, Chromatika ($2,500,000)
	  Tom Brauer from 1.FC Eigengrau, Kotzellach ($500,000)
Outgoing: Daniel Galbraith to Perce Town, Quebec, ($2,500,000)
	  Jon French to West Couno United ($500,000)
	  Sam Watson to Glenmont AFC ($500,000)

Overview:So there it is. Daniel Frances Galbraith has officially bid goodbye to the club where he has spent his entire career so far, in search of pastures new in Quebec, with Perce Town, a promising new land for his unbridled talent. In his place? Vázsony Sallay of Pasarga, from Chromatik club Lhor. A coup for Straton FC, by any metric - but somehow Ted Bayh’s pulled it off. The Senators look to have found their replacement for Galbraith, with the striker looking to replicate his form at Lhor.

One of the most storied clubs in Tumbra, the Senators (as they are known) have long prided themselves on being the best club in the country’s capital. Not like there's much competition for that title, but then again, football fans will take anything they can get these days.

Also departing the aging squad are Jon French and Sam Watson, who left in search of more regular football. Ralf Vanstenkeeste was tempted to leave as well, but owing to him already knowing how the Straton style of football works, opted to stay and could be a good backup for Vázsony Sallay as he settles in.

Tactically, Bayh has made no promises that he will fully set the team up around Sallay, but is likely to do so if Sallay threatens to be as good as the media’s been setting him up to be. Last season’s 4-3-3 should continue to be used, with Eagleton and Collins starting on either wing to help Sallay score as many goals as possible. In the back line, Michael Campbell, who had a quietly impressive season, hopes to continue his defensive partnership with Wayne Forrest in hopes of advancing to at least a CEdC spot.

Bayh enters his sixth season with the team knowing the massive task ahead of him. The third-placed finish was largely due to Dan Galbraith pulling out his usual magical style out of nowhere, and now he’s got to rely more on his own tactical nous. With a very young bench, and a solid starting eleven, will he be able to pull it off without Galbraith, or will the Senators’ run of good luck finally run out?

Couno Rangers

Roster

Pos     Name               Age  Nationality
Starters
GK	Andrew Taylor	   24	Tumbra
LB	Drew Quinn	   31	Tumbra
CB	Joel Tyler	   24	Tumbra
CB	Tom Wilson	   26	Tumbra
RB	Kenneth Dowd	   32	Tumbra
CM	Alan Curran	   28	Tumbra
CM	Nicholas Fischer   31	Tumbra
CAM	Bill Bowen	   24	Tumbra
LW	Francis Evers      24	Tumbra
RW	Alexander Anderson 25	Tumbra
ST	Marcus Sheldon	   30	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Mike Hahn	   17	Tumbra
CB	Welar-Ovolk Gep    18	Qusmo
CAM	Brian Anderson	   26	Tumbra
CM	Pertz-Evela Vet    18	Qusmo
CM	Colin Kearney	   18	Tumbra
LW	Simon Cole	   24	Tumbra
ST	Bruce Nolan	   20	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Couno, Napier
Last season: 4th
Stadium: Couno Port Stadium (54,500)
Nickname: the Rams; the Reds
Manager: Kiggwe Siakam, Banija, 57
Style of Play: Attacking, vertical
Prediction: Top 6
Support them if...: you live in Couno, you like a club with history but can’t stand how stuck up Lakewood United fans are, you like suffering (somehow) but not too much so that you end up near the bottom of the table, you like the colour red, you want to be part of some of the most vocal supporters’ clubs in Tumbra. Or if you’re from Banija.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: -nil-
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview:Kiggawe Siakam enters his second season in Tumbra having come within two matches of losing his job - but a late season rally in form and a few lucky results, not least a destruction of Lakewood United by six goals, saw the club came fourth, his job safe for a second season and the task of finding a twentieth league title for the Rams still his main mission. The single most storied club in Tumbra, Couno have won the single most league titles of any club - with 19 - and will compete in the IFCF competitions after scrabbling to 4th. A long history of vocal fans and working-class support make supporting this club more an emotional experience than anything, though the emotional experience has been summed in terms of “pain” and “next year’s our year” after recording nine second-placed finishes in the twenty-one years since they last won a league title.

The lack of departures in the team clearly shows his faith in the squad - Siakam explained it saying that he believed that his brand of football needed time to be impressed on the squad, and that they would get going soon - but glaring quality issues do exist, especially at left and right-back. The two Qusmi who were signed last season have struggled to break into the team for game-time, but that might change this season, with Siakam’s aggressive style of football noticeably taking its toll on some players. At the back, Joel Tyler and Tom Wilson’s defensive partnership seems to be coming together.

Rumours have it that Rangers’ current owners are looking to sell their 49.9% stake in the club to foreign owners, but for now not much has been said on the matter. The expansion of their stadium is also a continuous bugbear - despite it being one of the biggest in Tumbra, it is showing its age, and space for expansion is limited, what with the western side of the stadium facing the sea. The stadium is located in the Port District of Couno, after all, and the light shows after winning a match are a sight for anyone to behold - or, if you support the other Couno club, an eyesore.

Couno’s twenty-one season hunt for another top flight title continues, but with arguably the league’s best striker - Marcus Sheldon - back in form, and with Francis Evers and Alex Anderson on the wings ready to give support, this team’s attacking prowess cannot be ignored. Will this finally be the season in which Couno break through and beat down their curse, or will the Couno Curse continue?

Serrapince FC

Roster

Pos     Name              Age   Nationality
Starters
GK	David Gough	  35	Tumbra
LB	Mike Parker	  32	Tumbra
CB	Keith Giblin	  28	Tumbra
CB	Gary Lewis	  25	Tumbra
RB	David Walliams	  28	Tumbra
CM	Craig McGrath	  25	Tumbra
CM	Frank Thornton	  31	Tumbra
CAM	Oliver Proctor	  27	Tumbra
LW	George Hilton	  23	Tumbra
RW	Ally McColl	  29	Tumbra
ST	Tom O'Driscoll	  29	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Keith Bormann	  18	Kotzellach
CB	Bob Trimble	  21	Tumbra
LB	Wang Qishan	  20	Xinhua
CM	John Cameron	  28	Tumbra
CDM	Vince Cahill	  18	Tumbra
LW	Robert Goldstein  27	Tumbra
ST	Nick Riordan	  19	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Serrapince, Bechor
Last season: 5th
Stadium: Serrapince Park (74,000)
Nickname: the Bees; the Black-And-Golds
Manager: Danny Haverhead, Tikariot, 50
Style of Play: Attacking
Prediction: Top 6
Support them if...: ...you live in Serrapince, you like black and yellow, you like the sense of community supporting the club since it’s basically the only club in Serrapince proper.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Keith Bormann from Hansa Kotzellach, Kotzellach ($90,000)
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview:With long-serving manager Colin Blakeley retiring after bringing the team to one last Republic Cup, the Black-And-Yellows now look overseas for a new manager, bringing in Danny Haverhead from Tikariot. With IFCF football on the cards, and the prospect of another deep cup run, Haverhead certainly has a challenge on his hands.

With minimal changes to the squad, Haverhead must hope that that the existing squad, which Blakeley quite figuratively dragged to the Republic Cup while missing out on a Challengers’ Cup spot, can break into the top four this season. Tactically, the 4-3-3 looks likely to stay, and any major improvements should have to wait for next season. Despite that, however, the club’s long culture of bringing up youth talent and selling them for lots of money still holds dear, and Haverhead might be looking to promote some of them instead. The sense of community from the club, however (possibly through elimination - Serrapince embarked on an ambitious plan to absorb pretty much every club playing in Serrapince in the 60s, and it’s succeeded...mostly) provides an infectious fan culture that has seen the city adopt yellow and black as its unofficial city colours - such is the power of football in Tumbra.

At the back, captain David Gough is as solid as ever, while Giblin and Lewis’ defensive partnership continues to work out. In the midfield, the key player - Craig McGrath - is expected to continue to step up in preparation to take over the captain’s armband when Gough eventually leaves, while on the wings Hilton and McColl must shape up lest they are replaced next season.

Serrapince Park, that 74-000 capacity gigalith, is no longer as feared as once before, though (name) is hoping that the next generation of youth players, who are looking extremely promising, can start to break through starting from next season.

Clyde Park

Roster

Pos     Name              	Age   Nationality
Starters
GK	Michael Laine		32	Tumbra
LB	Russell White		28	Tumbra
CB	Matthew Lambert		30	Tumbra
CB	Michael McShane		31	Tumbra
RB	Jacob Keene		23	Tumbra
CM	Neil Robinson		28	Tumbra
CM	Martin Humphreys	22	Tumbra
CAM	Pierre-Louis Laishram	25	Kelssek
LW	Neil Fraser		23	Tumbra
RW	Dean Cresswood		28	Tumbra
ST	Hyeong-Joon Kwak	26	Quebec

Bench
GK	Raphael Brennan		18	Tumbra
CB	Stuart Murdoch		21	Tumbra
CM	Sam Cooper		28	Tumbra
CM	Chris Tipple		20	Tumbra
CDM	Lucas McCormick		17	Tumbra
LW	Brendan May		19	Tumbra
ST	Dave Mason		27	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Clyde, Hesham
Last season: 6th
Stadium: Clyde Park (38,500)
Nickname: the Clarets; the Lions
Manager: Brian Devzies, 60
Style of Play: Attacking, Wide
Prediction: In the Hunt
Support them if...:you like claret and blue, you like an underdog, you want to see how far they’ll go this season, you want to be here for the eventual drama when Neil Fraser eventually demands a move, if you’re from Quebec, or from Kelssek.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Pierre-Louis Laishram from Langlois Athletic, Kelssek, ($4,000,000)
	  Chris Tipple from Readale Wanderers ($1,000,000) 
	  Kwak Hyeong-Joon from Swanguard Athletic, Quebec (free)
Outgoing: Nigel Erskine to Omnio, Chromatika ($2,000,000)
	  Chris Dodd to Delphi Lions ($600,000)

Overview:Last season’s surprise package Clyde Park look set to solidify their position in the upper half of the table. Manager Devzies seems to have gone hell for leather, bringing in five million dollars worth of signings, with the marquee signing being Pierre-Louis Laishram from Kelssek, a highly-regarded player who should bring a sense of creativity to the front four. Laishram also gains the coveted title of the most expensive signing of the Tumbran transfer window, and all eyes are on the entertaining playmaker. Quebecois journeyman Kwak Hyeong-Joon from Swanguard Athletic, whose versatility should serve the club well joins too, in what seems to be a make-or-break season for winger Neil Fraser. Also joining the club is Chris Tipple from the recently relegated Readale Wanderers, while Nigel Erskine - solid and dependable - has left for Chromatika, and the wholly underwhelming Chris Dodd has left for second-tier side Delphi Lions.

Clearmont’s history in football has never really been that outstanding - Hesham FC have been the traditional club of repute in the state, having won a few (one) title a few years ago (it was in 1932), but since that title (nearly 90 years ago) the club have settled into a rhythm in the middle of the table. Clyde, in perspective, are a relatively more modern phenomenon, achieving promotion to the top division in 1978, but generally being a yo-yo club stuck to the bottom half of the table until last season, when they finished 6th.

Tactically, Devzies’ 4-2-3-1 formation and brand of exciting, fast-paced counter attacking football looks set to continue, with Fraser and Cresswood key to the success of this team. Fraser, now represented by Quebecois super-agent Pierre McCarthy, looks set to drive a hard bargain with the team - or move his client abroad. Fraser’s contract expires at the end of next season, so Clyde Park will either be looking to stretch their budget out to accommodate him, or cash out on him after this season ends. Either way, Devzies is hoping that the sudden fame won’t get to his best player’s head.

FC Inter Nantwich

Roster

Pos     Name            Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Nick Barker	24	Tumbra
LB	Tony Baldwin	25	Tumbra
CB	Devon Daniels	27	Cassadaigua
CB	Douglas Moore	25	Tumbra
RB	John Bryant	31	Tumbra
CM	Andrew Fisher	22	Tumbra
CM	John Bush	26	Tumbra
CDM	Tom Stansfield	27	Tumbra
LW	Gordon Jennings	26	Tumbra
RW	Atlas Baxter	26	Tikariot
ST	Jonathan Ford	31	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Jan Murray	17	Tumbra
CB	Philip Gonzalez	22	Tumbra
RB	Don Blather	20	Tumbra
CAM	Peter Gaffney	31	Tumbra
LW	Kai Sinclair	31	Tumbra
RW	Richard Baker	20	Tumbra
ST	Toby Sinclair	30	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Nantwich, Finnley
Last season: 7th
Stadium: Nantwich Stadium (64,000)
Nickname: the Black-and-Blues
Manager: Conan Estelline, Super-Llamaland, 70
Style of Play: Counterattacking, Relies on set-pieces
Prediction: In the Hunt
Support them if...: you like the colours, you want to see how Estelline gets on with a new team, you live in Nantwich, you’re from Cassadaigua, or if you enjoy being part of a “process” that never really seems to come closer to fruition despite time going on. Also if you like suffering somewhat more than if you’re a Couno Rangers fan, but still don’t want to be suffering as much as other clubs.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Devon Daniels from Winchester Traditional SC, Cassadaigua ($2,500,000)
	  Atlas Baxter from Miruan City, Tikariot ($2,500,000)
Outgoing:

Overview:Disappointing is the word being bandied about at the Nantwich Stadium after last season’s performance. With John Krajewski now gone, and Conan Estelline in his place, Nantwich certainly have a-ways to go to get back to winning form. Estelline certainly has been decorated heavily with the likes of Nephara and his homeland, and now takes on a new role at the head of Inter Nantwich, where fans hope his tactical nous and set-piece genius will take them far.

Nantwich as a club have been through a lot in recent years. The third-most successful club in Tumbra, with 11 league titles to their name, they unfortunately went through a period of financial mismanagement, though they didn’t fall as hard as their neighbours in Clark did. Their last league title was won in 2015, though that was more a fluke than anything - and due to a healthy showering of luck. Since then, however, they’ve hovered around the lower half of the Big Six, before dropping out the top six slots entirely last season. Fans are now eager for a return to the top six, at least, and are hopeful for an IFCF challenge, given that the club's finances have recovered decently.

In terms of transfers, Estelline has brought in a centre back in Devon Daniels and a right winger in Atlas Baxter, key spots that he obviously thought needed some improvement. Both look to be extremely solid investments, with both players on the cusp of their national teams. Whether it was the players or Krajewski’s tactics that led to the inconsistent form (“Nantwich Away” and “Three Points” being synonymous was another joke being shared on twii.tur throughout the season) will be the main question this season.

In terms of incomings, Daniels is certainly amongst the highest-rated centre back to enter the league this season, from Cassadaigua, and certainly looks to shore up the defence that suffered so much under Krajewski last season.

The squad certainly has the quality - Andrew Fisher is one of the top rated midfielders in the league, and Gordon Jennings on the left wing certainly has the pace and dribbling ability to get all attention on him - but whether Estelline can get rid of Krajewski-ball and imprint their own style on the team remains to be seen.

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:26 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
PREVIEW, PART TWO

Fraser Valley FC

Roster

Pos     Name                    Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Stuart Langford		30	Tumbra
LB	Alasdair Dunlap		28	Tikariot
CB	Joe Cooper		32	Tumbra
CB	Carlos Wolfe		26	Tumbra
RB	Mark Ryton		25	Tumbra
LM	David Gunter		28	Tumbra
CM	Lucas Courtney		25	Tumbra
CM	Jake Wilson		26	Tumbra
RM	Nicholas Kinsella	25	Tumbra
ST	Gareth Roberts		24	Tumbra
ST	Xilix-Oxolt Mal		18	Qusmo

Bench
GK	Azeld-Kresp Tia		19	Qusmo
CB	Nexev-Kresp Val		19	Qusmo
CM	Pilta-Blonz Yol		19	Qusmo
LW	John Mann		24	Tumbra
RW	Daniel Newman		27	Tumbra
LW	Graham Cooper		24	Tumbra
ST	Reinhard Geist		32	Nephara

Quick Facts

City and State: The Outskirts of Serrapince, Bechor (Don't actually tell them it's in Serrapince, or they'll throw a fit)
Last season: 8th
Stadium: Valley Park (45,000)
Nickname: the Denizens; the Stallions
Manager: Vulav-Wanar Tia, Qusmo, 51
Style of Play: Moderately Defensive; Hard pressing
Prediction: Top Half
Support them if...: you like an underdog, you support a free Qusmo (or if you're from Qusmo), you don’t like Serrapince but don’t want to look like a hipster by saying you like some second-division team in Bechor (like the Delphi Lions).

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Gareth Roberts from Kingsbury United (swap + $800,000)
	  Alasdair Dunlap from Morannon Athletic FC, Tikariot (free)
	  Reinhard Geist from North Sabrefell, Nephara (free)
Outgoing: James Herbert to Kingsbury United (swap)
	  Neal Diamond to Depri Lanar, Chromatika (free)

Overview: The Denizens’ first season using the Qusmi Experiment turned out to be decent, even if the team did end up finishing two places below their almost miraculous sixth-placed finish last season. Long being seen as Bechor’s second club, the club’s identity mostly comes from the fact that they aren’t Serrapince. They resisted every offer made by the club to envelope them into the fold, and eventually moved out of the city borders proper, to a little suburb, back to their original stadium, the Valley Park. A few decades later, and a few fixes here and there (an entire stadium reconstruction) and Fraser Valley had become a solid upper-field side, with eventual NT manager Marco Hemmings stealing 6th one season before being poached by the national team to lead its World Cup 87 qualifying campaign.

With a new striker in place up top - Gareth Roberts arriving in a straight swap for James Herbert, big things are expected from taking the step up from Kingsbury. Nipping at his tail, however, will be the experienced striker Reinhard Geist from Nephara, who looks set to be brought in as a supporting striker whenever the two-striker formation Tia prefers needs a less flashy, yet solid player up top. With Tia having been given a full season to settle into his new environment, all eyes are on him - along with Nexev-Kresp Val and Pilta-Blonz Yol to replicate the successes that Xilix-Oxolt Mal had in his debut season. At the back, Joe Cooper has to replicate the form in 2019/2020 that saw him carry the squad to that miracle sixth-placed finish. Realistically, however, the club will be aiming for a top-half finish once more.

Off the field, speculation abounds that Fraser Valley may leave the Valley Park and head for pastures new closer to Serrapince, keeping the team colours but changing the name to the Serrapince Tigers, for some godforsaken reason. Discontent amongst the mainly working-class fanbase keeps this a distant reality, particularly since the club would have to move from their hallowed ground in the form of Valley Park - one of the oldest stadiums in Tumbra - but the owners are looking for any dip in form to make the move a reality. Somehow, the typically apolitical Denizens have chosen to adopt the cause of a free Qusmo into their identity, which has been a welcome surprise to some.

Columbia City

Roster

Pos     Name            	Age     Nationality
GK	Gerald Scicluna		37	Tumbra
LB	William Herron		28	Tumbra
CB	Raymond Perry		24	Tumbra
CB	Harrison Lee		30	Tumbra
RB	Peter Brown		33	Tumbra
CDM	Keenan Pollard		32	Tumbra
CM	Eli Apt			23	Chromatika
LW	Sean Delap		25	Tumbra
RW	Lewis Pearce		32	Tumbra
ST	Frank Wilson		21	Tumbra
ST	Thomas Burrows		24	Flavovespia

Bench
GK	George Danvers		18	Tumbra
LB	Michael Harman		21	Tumbra
CDM	Max Cohen		34	Tumbra
CM	Drew Morton		27	Tumbra
CM	Mickey Lynch		22	Tumbra
LW	Geoffrey Meecham	32	Tumbra
ST	Tim Rowland		27	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Columbia, Alexandria
Last season: 9th
Stadium: Columbus Field (48,000)
Nickname: the Southerners; the Fishermen
Manager: David Griffiths, 37
Style of Play: Moderately attacking; heavy on passing.
Prediction: Midtable
Support them if...: you like black and teal, you live in Alexandria and your club got relegated last season (*hint* *hint* Newton Wanderers fans, you’re always welcome back in the fold), you just want a good time with a squad that can occasionally pull out the odd giant-killing but will make you suffer by losing the most obvious wins, or if you’re from Flavovespia.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Thomas Burrows from Capton Club, Flavovespia ($1,000,000)
	  Eli Apt from Southern Chromatik University, Chromatika (free)
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview: City arguably overachieved with the squad that Griffiths had on hand last season, flying high with some giant-killings before being brought back down to Earth with a late run of bad form landing them smack dab in the middle of the table. Griffiths knows the team is in need of some much-needed rejuvenation - every department of the squad, bar strikers, has a player or two that needs replacing near the end of the season. To that end (or perhaps despite that), Thomas Burrows has been brought in from Flavovespia to play in the deep-lying striker role, something that should give Frank Wilson plenty of service, and also frees him up to focus on other areas of the team.

The sole representative from Alexandria this season, Columbia will definitely be hoping for another top-half finish, though if they can repeat their giant-killings and interloping into the top 4, supporters will be very happy indeed. It’s the hope that will kill you, however.

A promised injection of funds for the next season should be able to get Griffiths the players he needs, but for now he needs to hold this aging squad together - one with quality, no doubt - for another run, hopefully, to the top ten of the table. To begin easing them into this process, he’s brought in Eli Apt, whose dynamic style of play hopefully will revitalise the aging midfield, and Thomas Burrows from Flavovespia, who Griffiths hopes will provide some maturity up front. Wilson is still touted as a raw talent - he certainly showed flashes of it through last season, but his end product proved a little lacking and therefore has a mentor has been brought in to aid his development.

Gerald Scicluna, despite his age, is still as good a goalkeeper as ever when he brought Readale Wanderers to 8th in the league in 2009, and with an understudy from Columbia Danvers, he’s sure to be taught well. In the defense, Raymond Perry will be the key man while Michael Harman will be looking to break through. The aging midfield combo of Pollard and Cohen should serve the club well before Cohen’s contract expires at the end of the season. Certainly, this club on paper can do well, and 9th is arguably around the level that they should be aiming for again this season, yet real life can often deceive.

Ridgewell Rovers

Roster

Pos     Name            	Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Nigel Philipps		28	Tumbra
LB	Sean McDonald		25	Tumbra
CB	Frank Carter		27	Tumbra
CB	Henry Butler		27	Tumbra
RB	Dennis Paterson		32	Tumbra
CM	Ian McConnell		27	Tumbra
CM	Nic Roper		33	Tumbra
LW	Richard Allen		27	Tumbra
RW	Scott Mason		28	Tumbra
ST	Matthias Bergander	34	Nephara
ST	Gianluca Cardini	23	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Mark McDonald		17	Tumbra
CB	John Rouse		19	Tumbra
LB	Chris Finney		18	Tumbra
CAM	Javier Abad		31	Tumbra
CM	Peter Johnson		31	Tumbra
LW	David Weir		27	Tumbra
ST	Geoff Smith		28	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Ridgewell, Westmond
Last season: 10th
Stadium: Kensington Stadium (46,000)
Nickname: the Blues; the Rovers
Manager: Desmond Clarke, 57
Style of Play: Defensively solid; direct and uncompromising.
Prediction: Midtable
Support them if...: you like blue, you live in the north of Ridgewell, you hate the other Ridgewell team, you enjoy being part of a surprise package, you want to see how well these underdogs do. Or if you’re just from the North in general.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Matthias Bergander from South Laithland, Nephara (free)
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview: Last season’s other surprise package, Ridgewell Rovers, continued their run of good form by claiming the Golden Glove, with credit to Nigel Philipps. Philipps was aptly rewarded with a spot in the Tumbran team for the Campionato, and, while he didn’t manage to play, has established himself as the No.3 in the squad. Mark McDonald, Sean McDonald’s younger brother, looks set to join the first-team setup this season as a reserve goalkeeper.

Historically Ridgewell’s second club, in recent years the turmoil experienced by their local rivals has opened the door for Ridgewell to quietly yet solidly take over as the larger club in Ridgewell. Originally a splinter club from down south, the club soon evolved into an unexciting but solid mid-table side, who amassed a legion of perhaps less passionate fans than those down south but no less passionate than those in the rest of the country. The reputation of the Rovers persists to this day, but perhaps manager Steve Clarke has ambitions for bigger things.

The defensive stability provided by Carter and Butler looks set to continue, with John Rouse looking to slowly replace Dennis Paterson by the end of the season. The injury-hit right-back has expressed a desire to leave to play at a level more suited to his physical condition. In the midfield, surprise late bloomer Javier Abad looks set to continue his box-to-box role, creating plays and tackling on either end on the pitch, while Gianluca Cardini is the key man up top - with a new striking partner in Matthias Bergander, and being able to slot in behind or play up front, Cardini’s versatility will be key to the Rovers’ success up front.

The Rovers are definitely in a more stable state than they were a few seasons ago, and the club mainly have manager Des Clarke to thank for that. Clarke, a no-nonsense, thoroughly defensive manager, has whipped the squad into shape figuratively, and have transformed them into an underdog outfit ready to push into the upper echelons of the league.

Hesham FC

Roster

Pos     Name            	Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Dean Rowden		30	Tumbra
CB	Michael Brewster	32	Tumbra
CB	Roger Baker		25	Tumbra
CB	Lomar Wellingsley	19	Tikariot
CM	Vincent Hicks		22	Tumbra
CM	Tony Leonard		29	Tumbra
CM	Richard Driver		22	Tumbra
LW	Neville Marriott	24	Tumbra
RW	Todd Symes		32	Tumbra
ST	Markus Strand		31	Nephara
ST	Martin Ramsay		32	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Alan McDermott		17	Tumbra
CB	Will Collins		29	Tumbra
RB	Vic Nelson		25	Tumbra
LB	Carl Norton		19	Tumbra
CM	Mal Grace		28	Tumbra
LW	Joe Bonner		22	Tumbra
ST	Harry Frist		22	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Hesham, Clearmont
Last season: 11th
Stadium: George Bowen Stadium (40,000)
Nickname: the Greens; the Ploughmen
Manager: William McKenzie, 63
Style of Play: Balanced; Wide; Unorthodox
Prediction: Midtable
Support them if...: you like green, you really like argyle, you’re a farmer at heart, you enjoy seeing teams play three at the back, you’re from Hesham.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Markus Strand from Belgrave, Nephara ($2,000,000)
	  Lomar Wellingsley from Morannon Athletic FC, Tikariot ($900,000)
	  Todd Symes from Lakewood United ($800,000)
Outgoing: Roy King to Port Marray FC ($700,000)

Overview: With a slightly disappointing 11th-placed finish under their belt, Hesham are headed back into this season looking to improve. A defensively solid if unexciting mid-table side last season, and indeed many seasons before that, Hesham have become part of the club of the Premier Division that haven’t looked to seriously challenge the Big Six but never really were in danger of relegation, either. Hesham have been around the block - they’ve won one title in 1932, but outside of that never really challenged otherwise. Recent years have not bucked the trend - while they’ve never really been in trouble of going down, they never really looked particularly exciting, either.

With new signing Todd Symes looking to play at right wing-back, overtaking the disappointing Joe Bonner, the Ploughers must look towards their three-at-the back formation of Brewster, Baker and new signing Lomar Wellingsley of Tikariot to tighten up, while looking to new signing Markus Strand to fill in the goals for the Ploughmen. Should Hesham present another disappointing season, Bill McKenzie’s job could very well be at risk, given the extremely vocal supporters’ easily-changed minds on job security. The squad does have players with potential - Carl Norton, the reserve left-sided centre back, Richard Driver, a more offensively-minded centre mid and the aforementioned Bonner (who remains a highly rated young player who might be moved on, as someone who doesn’t fit McKenzie’s system perfectly) are all highly-rated.

In midfield, Vincent Hicks remains a prime candidate to join a growing bunch of Tumbrans who want to move abroad, and his performances in midfield may or may not reflect that. Tony Leonard is a solid defensive midfielder, if a little short. Overall, Hesham are just hoping for the best this season, and while they may dream of making it into the top 8, or even crack the nut that is the top 6, the most realistic outcome on their end is the top half.

Kingsbury United

Roster

Pos     Name            	Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Tom Sterling		28	Tumbra
LB	Simon Hart		32	Tumbra
CB	Harry Henderson		26	Tumbra
CB	Thomas Krabb		21	Tumbra
RB	Bernard Martin		23	Savigliane
CM	George Kramer		28	Tumbra
CM	Matthew Noble		24	Tumbra
CAM	James Hunter		24	Tumbra
LW	Martin Gallagher	30	Tumbra
RW	Antti Perkkanen		22	Tikariot
ST	James Herbert		29	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Kurt Schilling		18	Kotzellach
CB	Nathan Quinn		20	Tumbra
RB	Tristan Hale		31	Tumbra
CM	Mekhi Overton		27	Tumbra
LW	Max Mycroft		20	Tumbra
RW	Tom Kinzinger		18	Tumbra
ST	Jim Hunter		30	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Kingsbury, Georgia
Last season: 12th
Stadium: Fletcher Park (39,500)
Nickname: the Royals; the Princelings
Manager: Mark Pryor, 60
Style of Play: Slightly attacking; possessive and direct; hard tackling.
Prediction: Midtable
Support them if...: you like navy, you’re from Georgia, you’re from Miruan trying to see whether Dylan van Heirolf will be any good, you’re from Savigliane, you’re excited to see if they’ll do anything this season.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Antti Perkannen from Nagoush FC, Tikariot ($2,000,000)
	  Kurt Schilling from Hansa Kotzellach SV, Kotzellach ($250,000)
	  James Herbert from Fraser Valley (swap)
	  Bernard Martin from Castiglione, Savigliane (free)
Outgoing: Gareth Roberts to Fraser Valley (swap)
	  Dylan van Heirolf to Miruan City, Tikariot (undisclosed)

Overview: There was a lot of talk about Pryor leaving at the end of the season, and it’s easy to see why - Kingsbury have stagnated, and badly. With an 11th placed-finish the season prior and a 12th-placed finish last season, the team looks destined to stay in midfield - which does not bode well for the team.

The seventh-most successful club in Tumbra, with nine league titles (equal to Serrapince, as any self-respecting Princeling will tell you), said success has been thin on the ground recently, with their last league title coming in 1992. Since then, the club have been a bit of a yo-yo club; relegated in 2002, they spent some time in the lower leagues before being promoted again in 2008, and have largely remained as a mid-table side since.

Kotzellachian goalkeeper Kurt Schilling has joined the club as a development prospect, but the main fight for the team is keeping ahold of their most valuable assets - Harry Henderson and Matty Noble - especially since Dylan van Heirolf has left the club for Miuran City in Tikariot, one of the first few players to venture abroad. Otherwise, Henderson and Noble will play key roles in the centre of defence and the midfield respectively, as the club look to shed their moniker of midtable maestros and push onto the top half once more.

In the back line, Bernard Martin joins on a free transfer from Savigliane, and is expected to shore up the right side of defence, while Max Mycroft is relegated to the bench after a disappointing season on the right. Joining the team on the right wing is Antti Perkkanen from Tikariot, who is a highly-rated talent looking to take the next step. Effusive left winger Tom Kinzinger also joins the squad, having been promoted from the youth team. Whether he can take over Gallagher’s spot on the left, nobody knows.

Mediocrity is the word being bandied about the club recently, and according to recent reports Pryor has one season to fix it; either he makes a big push for the top half of the table, or the Kingsbury owners can go look further afield for a foreign manager willing to take the step into the league…

Carter United

Roster

Pos     Name            Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Jason Law	34	Tumbra
LB	Darren Webb	24	Tumbra
CB	Ernest Sanders	31	Tumbra
CB	Lester O'Reagan	30	Quebec
RB	Alex Hudson	33	Tumbra
CM	Jesse Jones	27	Tumbra
CM	Richter Moranis	26	Nephara
CAM	William Murray	29	Tumbra
LW	Chris Garcia	21	Tumbra
RW	Thomas Munro	31	Tumbra
ST	Miles Brent	26	Chromatika

Bench
GK	Dennis Owen	17	Tumbra
RB	David Murphy	27	Tumbra
CB	Albert Legget	20	Tumbra
CDM	Jack Oliver	25	Tumbra
CM	Blake Oates	34	Tumbra
LW	Carl Garner	28	Tumbra
ST	Jamie Pugh	24	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Carter, Raleigh
Last season: 13th
Stadium: Carter City Arena (46,000)
Nickname: the Blues; the Dragons
Manager: Jim Heath, 39
Style of Play: Defensive; Counter-attacking.
Prediction: Midtable
Support them if...: you like blue shirts, you’re from South Newlandia wondering how and why Steve Nicholls decided to leave his plum job to go to Kinjestad, you perhaps like being disappointed, you live in Raleigh.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Miles Brent from Rhoni, Chromatika (free)
	  Richter Moranis from Creed United, Nephara (free)
	  Lester O’Reagan from Trojana Condommakers FC, Quebec (free)
Outgoing: John Bridges to Heart of Saugenay, Quebec ($800,000)

Overview: After a disappointing 13th-placed finish, manager Steve Nicholls decided to leave the club via mutual consent after agreeing with the team that he’d taken the team as far as he could. He now manages newly-promoted Kinjestad Soccer in the South Newlandian league system, one of a few Tumbrans who have begun moving abroad. He, in his first season with the club, brought prodigy Fotellis and the club to 4th in the league, perhaps showing that the club, not Nicholls, was the problem after all. Never mind that, however - Nicholls is in the past now. The club spent the summer chasing after one of those vaunted foreign managers, and came close to signing Sigurkarl Kristiansson from Græntfjall, before he chose to go for Chalsem in the Squornshelous Remnant States. After realising their position wasn’t as appealing as, say, Straton or Serrapince, who were Big Six clubs, or Clark, who could reliably fall back upon their storied past - the board decided to go for someone more...local.

The new manager - Jim Heath, lifted from second division side Rookworth Ospreys - will have a hard task on their hands. Heath is cut from the same core as Nicholls - a second division manager lifted into the driving seat, eager to please and to impress. The core of the squad is aging rapidly, with John Bridges showing last season that age was catching up to him, hitting three goals in the last fifteen matches of the season. Now that he’s left for Heart of Saugenay in Quebec, the faithful are hoping that his replacement - the Chromatik Miles Brent from Rhoni - will be able to step up and provide a new dimension of physicality up top. Nepharim Richter Moranis also joins, showing the extent of the raiding the club did of the free transfers market in the off-season. All three look relatively solid - it’s up now to Heath to make them work.

Few youth prospects exist in the Carter academy, making the long-term future of the club in the top division a bigger question mark - particularly with the league shrinking from 20 teams to 18 in the near future.

As for tactics, Heath is expected to play a slightly defensive 4-3-3 formation. In the defense, Darren Webb is the outstanding member at left-back, while Albert Legget is looking for a spot in the centre of defense. On the wings, left winger Garcia is fast on his feet, agile and a superb dribbler, if not for his tendency to keep falling over in the box. Up top, the faithful will be hoping that Brent will be able to fill in the goals the side so desperately needs to avoid yet another late-season collapse, as they came so close to doing last season after interloping in the top six for a while.

West Couno United

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Mike Hancy		24	Tumbra
LB	Dan Coats		33	Tumbra
CB	Ben Morgan		23	Tumbra
CB	Almar Hussein		21	Tumbra
RB	Terence Gardiner	32	Tumbra
CM	Remont Thomas		19	Gouvanarch
CM	Jon Holness		25	Tumbra
CM	Bobby Boyle		28	Tumbra
LW	Bill Allison		23	Tumbra
RW	Scott McIntyre		26	The Licentian Isles
ST	Mike Vanderwelt		32	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Darcy Lewis		18	Tumbra
CB	George Steel		19	Tumbra
CM	Charlie Kennedy		31	Tumbra
CM	Jon French		32	Tumbra
LW	Joe Anderson		26	Tumbra
RW	James Forrest		31	Tumbra
ST	Dominic Clyne		24	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Couno, Napier
Last season: 14th
Stadium: Wrenchwelt Stadium (42,000)
Nickname: the Pilots (for some reason that's become lost to time); the Chocolatiers (god why are their nicknames so weird?
Manager: Martin Costello, 58
Style of Play: ...is boring a suitable adjective? Quick-tempo passing. Heavy use of a sweeper-keeper.
Prediction: Midtable
Support them if...: you live in Couno, but not that part of Couno, you live in Couno but can’t stand Couno Rangers, you live in Couno and enjoy real suffering, you’re from the Licentian Isles, you’re from Gouvanarch, or you like chocolate. Or it could be their cornflower blue shirts.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Scott McIntyre from Garton Bay Pirates, the Licentian Isles ($2,500,000)
	  Jon French from Straton FC ($500,000)
	  Remont Thomas from AS Guelzec, Gouvanarch (Free)
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview: If Kingsbury could be described by the word “mediocre”, then West Couno could one-up that by being described as “boring”. A win in the Couno Derby notwithstanding, West Couno had a thoroughly mediocre, boring season - never being threatened by relegation, but...never really threatening the upper ranks either. The only team to not be able to move up or down any positions on the final matchday, fans must certainly be hoping for something more than the dismal performances last season.

Jon French has joined from Straton, as has Scott McIntyre from the Licentian Isles - considered a coup for the side. McIntyre will be the key player in offence, considering that Mike Vanderwelt has often been (perhaps unfairly) labeled with the “past-it” tag. The Chocolatiers are certainly hoping for an immediate impact from McIntyre, and he’s certainly hoping to make an impact on Tumbran football as well, with the Licentian Isles recently returning to multiversal football.

The relatively young back-line of Morgan and Hussein, along with wide midfielder Allison and centre mid Holness are the focal points of the team - and many will be hoping that Mike Vanderwelt will finally replicate the goal-scoring form he displayed in his 20s, to perhaps lift the team up again.

West Couno have been a long-suffering side; their stadium’s growing older and looks increasingly out of place in the increasingly-gentrified Grove Hill neighbourhood, and there are plans to revitalise the stadium by applying a fresh sprig of paint and of course an entire reconstruction of the three stands that haven’t been touched since the early 1960s, when seating was considered a novelty. Of course, the funds to do this are nowhere near existent. The working-class supporters are increasingly growing tired of the mediocre results, and only wish they had owners like their neighbours to take them to success. But, of course, as the cautionary tale of the Delphi Lions’ shows, money isn’t worth anything if it’s not managed properly.

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:31 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
PREVIEW, PART THREE

Sturrey Athletic

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Dan Crosby		34	Tumbra
LB	Marcus Ganley		20	Tumbra
CB	Pat Philips		25	Tumbra
CB	Ian Coleman		22	Tumbra
RB	Roger Turnbull		22	Tikariot
CM	Oliver Johsnon		33	Tumbra
CM	David Burnet		22	Tumbra
CM	Adam Miles		28	Tumbra
LW	Marc Evans-Jones	22	Tumbra
RW	Thore Grönholm		21	Norrehem
ST	Wayne Long		31	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Joseph Cranston		18	Tumbra
CB	John Turnbull		19	Tumbra
RB	Adam Piosek		31	Tumbra
CM	Mark Clarke		32	Tumbra
LW	Tom Maguire		27	Tumbra
RW	Adam Langley		25	Tumbra
ST	Joe Mercer		22	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Sturrey, Thornton
Last season: 15th
Stadium: Coldfield Lane (35,000 capacity)
Nickname: the Lactics; the Maroons
Manager: Tom Watson, 69
Style of Play: Defense, defense, defense. Hoof it up when possible.
Prediction: Stragglers
Support them if...: you live in Sturrey (but not many people do), you like seeing teams punch above their weight, you want to see if this team will survive their second season in the Premiership, you like maroon and white, you’re from Norrhem.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Roger Turnbull from Port Rhoynavon AFC, Tikariot (free)
	  Thore Gronholm from Varynds SK, Gouvanarch (free)
Outgoing:

Overview: Last season’s true surprise package, Sturrey surprised many by never really being in the relegation conversation for much of the season. This result was partly due to the goalkeeping heroics of Dan Crosby, and the defensive lineup of Pat Philips and Ian Coleman, but the true valuable player of the team was Oliver Johnson. Already 33, but running around the field as if he was ten years younger, the defensive midfielder rightly earned his spot as Sturrey’s Player of the Year.

Transfer-wise, Watson has continued his frugal approach, keeping the key spine of the team intact, but adding several young talents - Roger Turnbull from Tikariot, and Thore Gronholm from Gouvanarch. Both are expected to play key roles in the fight to secure a space in the midfield, and Turnbull already looks to be a dream Watson signing, being especially defensively solid.

Tom Watson earned many plaudits for his feats in keeping the Lactics up, but the real hard work starts now. With an aging core but many promising players coming through the ranks, if Sturrey can hold their Premiership status beyond the upcoming Shrink, they look set to retain their top flight status for years to come - what with their frugal, yet surprisingly effective approach to football that sees them poach talents from academies and bring them up as their own.

Clark City

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	James Clinton		23	Tumbra
LB	Marcus Bradley		22	Tumbra
CB	Patrick Sanders		26	Tumbra
CB	Daniel Grant		25	Tumbra
RB	Bill Nelson		32	Tumbra
CDM	Frank Stuart		21	South Newlandia
CM	Chris Clark		29	Tumbra
CDM	Patrick Williams	30	Tumbra
LW	Tom Spencer		24	Tikariot
RW	Harry Hoskins		27	Tumbra
ST	Jordan Johnson		28	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Lee Deyang		18	Xinhua
CB	Charles Walsh		18	Tumbra
CDM	Oliver Gibbs		24	Tumbra
CM	Asa Anderson		20	Tumbra
LW	David Clarkson		24	Tumbra
RW	John Triffin		29	Tumbra
ST	Mo Ellis		29	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Clark, Finnley
Last season: 16th
Stadium: Clark City Arena (63,000)
Nickname: The Red-and-Blacks; the Red Devils
Manager: Ensio Kedar, Squornshelous Remnant States, 60
Style of Play: Direct, fast football. Quick and vertical.
Prediction: Stragglers
Support them if...: you live in Clark, you live in Finnley but hate Nantwich, you desperately want to see a fallen giant rise back up, you liked William Wight, you’re from the Squornshelous Remnant States, you like that particular brand of suffering that comes from being associated with a not-very-well-run club that scrapes by from season to season, or you’re from South Newlandia and you’re not interested in whatever Kinjestad are up to.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: John Triffin from Port Marray ($800,000)
	  Lee Deyang from Jinyu City, Xinhua (free)
	  Tom Spencer from Anhedron Wanderers FC, Tikariot (free)
	  Frank Stuart from Malidridad FC, South Newlandia (free)
Outgoing: William Wight (retired)

Overview: The last season didn’t go as planned. None of it did, actually, which is why most Clark fans are happy they’re still in the Premier Division at all. Seemingly rooted to the bottom of the table, only a managerial change and a late push by club stalwart William Wight kept them up. Now he’s gone - getting his coaching badges, presumably for a return to the club in the near future - and for now they’ve put their faith in Ensio Kedar from the Squornshelous Remnant States, who has brought in several players from relegated side Port Marray.

Whether this will help Clark’s chances of survival this season is unknown, but Marray did try the hardest to not get relegated last season, so perhaps Kedar hopes that their determination will rub off on the rest of the squad.

In terms of prospects, the only real one is national team left back Marcus Bradley and goalkeeper James Clinton - both talented local players whose futures most likely lie beyond the Tumbran shores. Bradley is an electric left wingback whose attacking runs are nicknamed “divebombs” by the faithful, and Clinton is part of a new-age style of goalkeeping that rewards playing with the team by using his feet. These attributes will be useful to Kedar, who seems to have a long-term plan involving signing a star striker in the not-too-far future; the key objectives, and the promise of funding, has to come from surviving this first season, and indeed improving on last year’s dismal performances.

Finnley’s Second Club (after Nantwich, though their fans can and will dispute that statement, and angrily, too) are eager to try and kick their local rivals Nantwich up the bottom, but the gulf in quality in recent years has become so great that the main target for the club has to stay in the Prem, first and foremost.

Ridgewell United

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Jim Goodman		28	Tumbra
LWB	Josh Hindley		23	Tumbra
CB	Jeremy Turner		29	Tumbra
CB	Martin Boyd		25	Tumbra
CB	Lee Higgs		31	Tumbra
RWB	Farley McShane		32	Tumbra
CM	Roy Bremner		22	Tumbra
CM	Josh Evans		21	Tumbra
CM	Michael Lidington	25	Tumbra
ST	Andrew Dunne		26	Tumbra
ST	Roderick Hutchinson	27	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Val Grace		18	Tumbra
LWB	Bill Page		19	Tumbra
RWB	Zachary Evans		18	Tumbra
CAM	Nigel Charlton		35	Tumbra
LW	Lewis Sneddon		31	Tumbra
RW	Tim Page		31	Tumbra
LW	Michael Hammond		26	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Ridgewell, Westmond
Last season: 17th
Stadium: Woodleigh Stadium (42,000)
Nickname: the Salmons
Manager: Joe Gorman, 59
Style of Play: Five at the back. Sit back, absorb attacks, then when you get the ball pass into the midfield, pray they do something, pray that your strikers do something.
Prediction: Relegation Candidate
Support them if...: you like suffering, you want to be part of some of the most vocal fans in Tumbra, you like suffering by surviving relegation by a few points, you like black and white, you like suffering with a terrible owner at the helm, you’re from Ridgewell but you hate the Rovers, you like suffering with a team that plays like it doesn’t want to be there. Or if you just enjoy suffering in general. Really, this is the club for masochists.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: -nil-
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview: Another season of pain is in store for poor old Ridgewell United, who survived relegation by the skin of their teeth last season - one point. Their description largely has stayed the same since last season. Here it is. Home to the least popular owner in the league, their previous manager was of some renown, who then resigned when said owner refused to give him more funds to sign more players to not have to engage the Ridgewell supporters in needless heart attacks near the end of every season. The faithful can still remember when they were challenging for titles near the turn of the century, but 10 years later and they were finishing 18th on goal difference. They bounced back up the next season, but have never been the same since. Joe Gorman is largely seen as a has-been who will be a yes-man to the owner, and his style of play doesn't even include the team's best player, Lewis Sneddon. Will Gorman be able to keep the squad together and run a tight ship, or will his team crack apart and subject the once-proud Ridgewellians to another season in the Second Division?

Nothing has changed, and the fans are back with an intense sense of pessimism. The once-proud Salmons - so named for their most renowned export - are now stuck hoping, just praying - that something will change. But much like how the tides come in and go out every so often, unless a change in ownership (which seems extremely unlikely, given their ridiculous valuation of the club), it seems inevitable that nothing will.

The Spirit of North Tumbra lives on, but only with the fans, and perhaps with the other Ridgewell club.

Tactically, Gorman looks set to set the team up in a 5-3-2, with Gorman once again eschewing Sneddon in favour of three midfielders - two of them defensive - and two strikers. It would be nice if it worked. But it doesn’t. The fact that the Salmons survived by one point this season is testament to this. But Gorman can’t fund enough transfers to make a drastic change in his system. In terms of prospects, the two in midfield - Bremner and Evans - have been the bright spots in an otherwise dull couple of years for the Salmons, and they look set to be moved on for valuable, valuable cash when possible. Whether that money’ll actually go back into the club...well...

Macarthur City

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Andrew Wordsworth	29	Tumbra
LB	Graham Lloyd		30	Tumbra
CB	Michael Sullivan	28	Tumbra
CB	Ian Pemberton		32	Tumbra
RB	Kilarul Dhaundhen	25	Ko-oren
CDM	Theodore Houghton	34	Tumbra
CDM	Tony Fernandes		22	Tumbra
CM	Robert Heppell		29	Tumbra
LW	Stephen Read		25	Tumbra
RW	David Thorburn		27	Tumbra
ST	Malcolm Pocklington	31	Tumbra

Bench
GK	James Kent		20	Tumbra
LB	Paul Marlin		19	Tumbra
CB	Brian Marsden		20	Tumbra
CM	Paul Alberici		28	Tumbra
LW	Louis Newton		25	Tumbra
RW	Shaun Healey		23	Tumbra
ST	Jason Pearce		19	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Macarthur, Georgia
Last season: 1st, Second Division
Stadium: FisherArena (40,000)
Nickname: the Blackbirds
Manager: Vince McCarthy, 42
Style of Play: Run, pass, run, pass. Press when the ball is lost.
Prediction: Relegation Candidate
Support them if...: you like silver and black, you live in Georgia but don’t want to support Kingsbury (those dirty royalists), you like ambition, you’re from Ko-oren, you like seeing Malcolm Pocklington, you want to support an underdog.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Theodore Houghton to Macarthur City ($400,000)
	  Kilarul Dhaundhen from Furune Gejitsu Daigaku, Ko-oren (free)
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview: Macarthur certainly are an ambitious side. Promoted from the Second Division as champions merely one season after going down, the Blackbirds are hoping that their new stay in the top tier will last longer than their previous effort. They certainly have their work cut out for them, however, but the introduction of one Kilarul Dhaundhen from Ko-oren will certainly help in assuaging any defensive woes.

The Blackbirds long were a stalwart in the Premier Division, reaching the peak of their powers in the 1960s, before eventually falling into the quicksand trap that was (and still is, really) called the midtable of the TPD. Eventually, something had to give, and in 2019 they were finally relegated. They spent only a season in the Second Division though, making it back up on the first attempt under a new manager. Vince McCarthy, promotion specialist (though considerably less able at keeping things up), has brought in several new faces, many experienced, to prepare for the long season ahead.

In terms of transfers in, Ted Houghton has been drafted from Lakewood City to provide leadership and a stable anchor in midfield, and he certainly looks up for the fight - having been granted the captain’s armband immediately after joining. Graham Lloyd joins the team as well from Port Marray FC - an interesting choice, seeing as he could have chosen to go abroad and prove why he deserved to stay on the national team, where he’s been dropped for the likes of Ryan Hughes.

Up front, Malcolm Pocklington, perennial laughing-stock of the Tumbran football universe, silenced much of his critics when he netted eighteen goals during the Second Division system, and many are silently rooting for him to finally excise his demons and prove why he was such a talented youngster back in the day. His previous voyages in the Premier Division - seven from thirty-one and six from thirty-four - however, do not inspire much confidence, and the Blackbirds could very well be in for a long season.

Glenmont AFC

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Paul Foster		33	Tumbra
LB	Matthew Cape		30	Tumbra
CB	Philip Meller		23	Tumbra
CB	Shaun Healey		28	Tumbra
RB	Paul Fenwick		22	Tumbra
CM	Howard Lloyd		32	Tumbra
CM	Mark Lavender		22	Tumbra
LW	Alistair McGarry	18	Tumbra
RW	Sam Watson		30	Tumbra
ST	Matt Haskell		23	Tumbra
ST	Chris Cowen		25	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Malcolm Murphy		25	Tumbra
CB	Ivor Harris		27	Tumbra
CM	John Pepper		24	Tumbra
CM	Eric Tanner		21	Tumbra
LW	Brian Isaacs		22	Tumbra
RW	Trevor Austin		18	Tumbra
ST	Paul McDonnell		32	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Glenmont, Hamilton
Last season: 2nd, Second Division
Stadium: Paykel Lane 35,000
Nickname: the Lynxes
Manager: Paul Cramner, 47
Style of Play: Bog-standard 4-4-2. Soak up attacks.
Prediction: Relegation Candidate
Support them if...: you like orange and blue, you like seeing a passionate team, you want to support the team with the best kit, you live in Hamilton.

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Sam Watson from Lakewood United ($500,000)
Outgoing:

Overview: Glenmont are an interesting side - before the start of the previous season not many were rating their chances, yet after twenty-three match days they were one of the only two teams on over 40 points (the other being eventual champions Macarthur) and Cramner’s men kept chasing the Blackbirds down.

The Lynxes will be up in their necks in the relegation battle, but considering how nice their kits have turned out to be - papaya orange with a tinge of blue - many a neutral might be tempted to support the side just for the heck of it. The only club aside from defending champions Lakewood City to run with an all-Tumbran lineup, Glenmont are certainly hoping to bring some Washingtonian flair into the Premier Division, something that has been missing for a while since Washington City FC were relegated in 2012.

Sam Watson will be the key man on the right-hand side, while manager Cramner will be hoping that his investment in several young talents - Meller and Fenwick in defence, Lavender and McGarry in midfield, and Haskell up front - will pay off. Already, their dynamic style tore up the Championship one season ago - will they be able to repeat it in the big arenas of the Northeast?

Ricci Ironworkers

Roster

Pos     Name           		Age     Nationality
Starters
GK	Andrew Wilson		26	Tumbra
LB	Paul Brown		24	Tumbra
CB	Mohammad Hassan		29	Tumbra
CB	Kenneth Hewitt		31	Tumbra
RB	Alan Mildenhall		27	Tumbra
CDM	Geoff Sharp		28	Tumbra
CDM	Grimson Hoskins		25	Tikariot
CAM	Callum Latham		23	Tumbra
LW	George McEwen		27	Tumbra
RW	Michael Holt		22	Tumbra
ST	Trevor Williams		23	Tumbra

Bench
GK	Charlie Levy		20	Tumbra
LB	Hugh Thomas		22	Tumbra
CM	Tim Pearson		31	Tumbra
CM	Gwilyn Thomas		25	Tumbra
LW	Lee Bancroft		29	Tumbra
RW	James Shriver		23	Tumbra
ST	Robert Walsh		24	Tumbra

Quick Facts

City and State: Ricci, Marcato
Last season: 3rd, Second Division
Stadium: The Foundry (28,500 capacity)
Nickname: the Ironworkers; the Hammers
Manager: Tom Potter, 63
Style of Play: Overwhelm the opponent. Heavy pressing, Quick in attack, slow in defence.
Prediction: Relegation Candidate
Support them if...: you like red and orange, you work in a foundry, you think their stadium name is really cool, you’re politically left-wing, you just want to come along for the ride knowing the world sees you as an easy three points, you’re A Determinator, you like underdogs (for real this time)

Transfer Activity

Incoming: Grimson Hoskins from Pyathora Mariners FC, Tikariot (free)
Outgoing: -nil-

Overview: Ricci essentially came from nowhere in the mid-season - they were eighth with a not-so-stellar record - to yoink third from Republic Cup finalists Ashton Rovers by just one point. The scenes at The Foundry - long a bastion for the iron ore industry in Tumbra - were magnificent as team captain Geoff Sharp proudly announced their team’s promotion to the first tier for the first time since 1918.

Their manager - one Tom Potter - is to be thanked for this. Finding the team near the depths of the Third Division East in 2004, he single-handedly brought the fortunes of the club around, nurturing talent - resulting in the current golden generation of players for the club. Ricci have traditionally been underachievers in every sense of the term - languishing in the Fourth Division for most of their existence, with occasional spells in the Third Division. That was where Potter found them, and nurtured them, into becoming one of the toughest outfits in the Premier Division. Defensively astute, the team are looking to continue their performances in a league where everyone seems to be looking at them almost as a source of free points. The word “underdog” gets bandied about a lot in this league - too much, really - but this is where the real underdogging is.

Despite this, and the addition of hard-tackling Tikariotian midfielder Grimson Hoskins, a no-nonsense, determined midfielder who fits into Potter’s mould of defensive football perfectly, the struggle for Ricci to stay up will be real, and will require a massive team effort to do so. Luckily, they’ve got the supporters to do so - while the Foundry may be the smallest stadium in the Premier Division, the raucous crowds of left-wing supporters will egg their team on, and have recorded some of the loudest crowd noises in Tumbra. Expect a spirited fight from this dogged team, with the likes of Paul Brown at left-back and young bruiser Michael Holt on the right wing being the focal points of the team alongside Hoskins and Sharp, an experienced leader on the pitch who isn’t afraid to go after ankles.

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 04, 2021 10:02 pm

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

THE SEVENTY-SECOND EDITION OF THE TUMBRAN SUPER CUP

The Tumbran Super Cup, first contested in 1950, is the traditional season-opener for the Tumbran domestic football season. The champions of the League duke it out with the champions of the Republic Cup for the status of the real champion of Tumbra. Should, however, the winners of the League also take home the Cup, the League representatives thus become the runners-up. The game is played in the Straton National Stadium (cap: 100,000), and the winner takes home bragging rights and a shiny trophy, presented by one of Tumbran football's heroes. This year's presenter is Ben Gerritsen, former winger for Serrapince FC (amongst other clubs), who won the Best Player in Tumbra award for three seasons running in the 1970s.

This year's trophy was contested by Lakewood City (as the winners of the 2020/21 Premier Division) and Serrapince FC (as the winners of the 2020/21 Republic Cup).

This match was notable for the fact that it was Tikariotian manager Danny Haverhead's first time in the manager's seat following the end of Colin Blakeley's unprecedented 14-year reign at Serrapince; the new manager responded positively to his new club surroundings, and in his first press conference, recognised the importance of the Super Cup and pledged to put up a show for fans under the light at the National Stadium, given that it was the traditional season-opener and he did, after all, want to make a good impression on his new club by taking Lakewood City down to the wire.

Mark van der Brumen, the Lakewood manager, was rather more blasé on the affair than his opposite number, but still pledged to put up a show in order to properly welcome Haverhead to Tumbran football. Haverhead is one of three new foreign managers in Tumbra this season; the other two are Conan Estelline, of Super-Llamaland, who takes charge of Inter Nantwich; and Ensio Kedar, of the Squornshelous Remnant States, who takes charge of the embattled Clark City.

Lakewood City Starting Lineup (4-3-3): John Lennon; Ryan Hughes, Ian Ashburn, Louis Paterson, Chris Carter; Robert Powell, Alan Morgan, Phil Cole; Robin Vaughn, Mike Coonan; James Anderson

Serrapince FC Starting Lineup (4-3-3): David Gough; Mike Parker, Keith Giblin, Gary Lewis, David Walliams; Craig McGrath, Frank Thornton, Oliver Proctor; George Hilton, Ally McColl; Tom O'Driscoll

Both sides, in the end, fielded their first-choice line-ups; Lakewood City notably incorporating their only summer signing Alan Morgan (9 caps/1 goal) into the starting lineup almost immediately, playing the deep-lying 8 role he used to play for recently relegated Readale Wanderers. Of course, for fans looking to catch a glimpse of the new foreign stars that had journeyed to Tumbra, they would have been sorely disappointed; Lakewood City and Serrapince FC, despite their financial stature, were the only two clubs to not have ventured into the transfer market for foreign players this window.

The match started off relatively evenly; both teams attacking, as was their wont, on equal measure. Both teams scuffed several good chances; Paterson notably headed a ball wide of the goalpost by just inches on a corner, while Proctor skied the first real chance he got against goalkeeper John Lennon. The first half ended scoreless; though for the neutrals it was a rather entertaining, end-to-end affair, with Haverhead's Serrapince side seemingly having thrown all caution to the wind. Blakeley would've perhaps held his head in his hands had he saw his beloved Bees throw away their defensive solidity in favour of attacking; but as Haverhead himself said at his inaugural press conference, he'd much rather outscore the opponent rather than sit back and hang tight.

The second half produced rather more explosive moments; George Hilton broke the deadlock five minutes after the half, delivering a brutal top corner finish courtesy of a O'Driscoll through ball. They were, however, soon pegged back by Robin Vaughn's moment of brilliance soon after the hour mark, with a stunning individual goal that Gough simply could not deal with. Phil Cole, that Lakewood academy prospect, put the Skyblues ahead late in the game, with a right-sided curved shot. The Skyblues might have been forgiven for thinking that the game was theirs, and a second consecutive Super Cup was theirs; but a late charge by their fellow NT member Craig McGrath levelled the two in injury time, meaning the game would go to extra time.

Extra time meant that the new rules implemented by the TFF for this season's competitions would apply; teams would get an additional substitute if the game went to extra time, and both teams fully used their substitutes by the end. The thirty minutes of extra time ended scoreless; and so, the match would go to penalties, utilising the ABBA format.

Serrapince won the coin-toss; as a result, they would go first. McGrath netted his, a confident shot into the lower-left corner. LCFC captain Powell would go next; he, too, would net his easily. The ABBA format deigned that LCFC would go again; the Skyblues nominated Ryan Hughes for the job, and he duly obliged - but Gough, ever the wily fox, managed to deflect his effort, sparking cheer from all the Serrapince supporters in the stadium.

It was Serrapince's turn again; this time Hilton would go, and he indeed netted, a well-struck effort into the top right. Next, substitute John Cameron; he, too, netted his effort. With five penalties taken, the score was 3-2 to Serrapince; they were well on pace to win the game.

The Skyblues were now under immense pressure; if they failed to net, or if Serrapince kept beating Lennon, the trophy would leave Lakewood; thankfully, Morgan and Anderson both hit their efforts. Both were for nigh, though, as successful hits by Frank Thornton and the final penalty by Tom O'Driscoll meant that Serrapince had netted all 5; and therefore, took the game.

Both sides had reasons to be happy and to be worried after the game; for Lakewood, their loss was easily assuaged by the fact that they'd looked the more dominant of the two teams throughout the match; however, they'd faced problems trying to break Haverhead's defensive system, and comments began being raised that perhaps they should have dipped into the transfer window for someone like Straton's Vázsony Sallay, who had impressed throughout preseason and was looking to be a major force during the season.

Serrapince, on their part, could celebrate winning a cup on Haverhead's debut; however, their defensive strategy had left quite a bit to be desired, and the faithful were hoping that the club would shape up in time for the regular season to begin. It was, as always, a celebration of football more than anything else, and a brilliant start to the season.

But the overarching message was stark; the Age of Foreigners had arrived; and now Tumbrans, managers and players alike, could not afford to rest on their laurels anymore.

Lakewood City 2-2 Serrapince FC (2-2 AET, 4-5 pens)
   Vaughn 62'     Hilton 51'
     Cole 86'     McGrath 90'+2'

           Penalties
                  O McGrath
     Powell O
     Hughes X
                  O Hilton
                  O Cameron
     Morgan O
   Anderson O
                  O Thornton
                  O O'Driscoll

by **Tumbra** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:40 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 1-5

With the spectacle of the Super Cup over, it was finally time for the domestic season to start. A lot of hype was promised - and presumably a lot of it would be delivered on. The Big Six all trying to get back into IFCF football, Clyde Park attempting to shock and prove their performances weren't just a flash in the pan, the midtable scrabbling to get ahead of each other, and the stragglers all trying to get any advantage they could...the season was definitely going to get down to a blazing start.

MATCHDAY 1
Carter United 0-1 Macarthur City
West Couno United 2-1 Kingsbury United
Clark City 0-4 Lakewood City
Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Hesham FC
Clyde Park 2-0 Lakewood United
Straton FC 4-0 Glenmont AFC
Columbia City 1-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Serrapince FC 1-1 Fraser Valley FC
Couno Rangers 1-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Ridgewell United 0-1 FC Inter Nantwich

Indeed, the first matchday ended up providing a series of shockers, as well as proving some people just right on the money. The results most were drawn to, of course, began with the Carter United-Macarthur City match, where a late goal by left winger Stephen Read gave Macarthur the three points on their return to top flight football. West Couno United's Scott McIntyre also impressed on his debut, providing an assist and three key passes en route to a man-of-the-match performance against Kingsbury, while Ensio Kedar's tenure at Clark got off to a less than happy start following a 4-0 thrashing by the defending champions at home, who were eager to strike back after their Supercup loss earlier. Of course, nobody would blame Kedar - it was a new system, the players needed time to get used to it, and they were coming up against the Lakewood City.

Straton got off to an imperious start, with Vázsony Sallay scoring on his debut, a 4-0 win against newly promoted Glenmont; wide midfielder Jon Eagleton was notably shifted upwards and asked to play in a more attacking role, something that freed him up in the attacking third to link up with Sallay. Covering him would be Leo Hooper, who performed admirably in his new role drifting right; his performance earned him many plaudits, having evolved from a raw, studs-up defensive midfielder into a intelligent game-reader. Straton were setting down a marker for other teams, and Lakewood knew they had competition from the capital as well now, along with their neighbours.

Elsewhere, Sturrey and Hesham played out a 1-1 draw, Columbia beat Ricci by a solitary goal thanks to a Tim Wilson goal, while Lakewood United's campaign got off to a bad start, losing 2-0 to Clyde Park away - Pierre-Louis Laishram linking up with Neil Fraser to deliver a double, in which Quebecois striker Kwak Hyeong-Joon noticeably played a lot deeper, perhaps to try and distract the defensive partnership of Brown and Allams from focusing on the scarily effective duo. Couno Rangers would draw 1-1 with Ridgewell at home, after a late penalty call by Alex Anderson was denied; Kiggwe Siakam was noticeably furious after the match, but stopped short of directly slating the match officials, perhaps wary of the trigger-happy TFF. The Conan Estelline era would get off to a good start, with Nantwich winning away from home - though it may have been at Ridgewell United, the result went a long way to shedding the impression of a team that performed particularly badly away from home. Serrapince, meanwhile, were brought back down to Earth by the result they had to endure, with the Qusmi of Fraser Valley performing admirably, enduring attack after attack to hold the Bees to a draw.

MATCHDAY 2
Kingsbury United 0-0 Carter United
Lakewood City 2-0 Macarthur City
Hesham FC 1-1 West Couno United
Lakewood United 4-1 Clark City
Glenmont AFC 1-1 Sturrey Athletic
Ricci Ironworkers 1-2 Clyde Park
Fraser Valley FC 4-4 Straton FC
Ridgewell Rovers 0-2 Columbia City
FC Inter Nantwich 2-0 Serrapince FC
Ridgewell United 1-1 Couno Rangers

...Perhaps the Supercup was a bit of a false dawn, as Nantwich welcomed Serrapince to Finnley and beat them black and blue, with the team perhaps lucky to survive only losing by two goals. Nantwich dominated the game, with Andrew Fisher running the show in midfield, and left winger Kai Sinclair sending in a devastatingly effective free kick which he later attributed to Estelline's training, and that of being a set-piece maestro. Estelline was visibly happy, if a little curt, with the posse of reporters after the match, giving just short responses, some of which were...rather rude. The press put it down to him being unfamiliar with the smothering Tumbran press, given that football in Super-Llamaland and football in Tumbra had different levels of media coverage. After all, Super-Llamaland's main sport was baseball.

Elsewhere, Clyde Park continued their winning start, beating Ricci 1-2 at the Foundry, where Dean Cresswood this time was star of the show. Lakewood City continued their run, beating newly-promoted Macarthur 2-0 at home, while Lakewood United beat Clark City 4-1, with Sylestone striker Cameron Keyes providing one assist in a much better second match for the club, after he was lambasted (perhaps very harshly) by certain fan channels for not doing much as a striker, despite his whole description of himself when he first signed was as a more deep-lying striker. The main partnership, of course, was still Herlinger-Cohen, but it was promising early days indeed for the young man keen to impress.

Straton played out a 4-4 barnburner with Fraser Valley, with Sallay once again turning out on the scoresheets; this time, however, it was the defense that let his efforts up top down, with the Stallions scoring three of their four goals in a twenty-minute window in the second half. Couno once again drew to Ridgewell United; it would have been worse, if not for a late Marcus Sheldon goal to draw at least a point from the beleaguered Salmons.

After this match, Ricci and Clark were the only sides still on zero points; perhaps forgiveable for both of them, as the former was a newly-promoted side and the latter having to face two powerhouses in consecutive weeks.

MATCHDAY 3
Carter United 0-2 Lakewood City
Kingsbury United 2-0 Hesham FC
Macarthur City 0-1 Lakewood United
West Couno United 1-0 Glenmont AFC
Clark City 2-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Sturrey Athletic 0-1 Fraser Valley FC
Clyde Park 4-2 Ridgewell Rovers
Straton FC 0-1 FC Inter Nantwich
Columbia City 1-0 Ridgewell United
Serrapince FC 4-3 Couno Rangers

No draws this matchday, as all ten matches provided ten winners and ten losers apiece. Lakewood City continued their perfect start to the season by going top of the table, courtesy of a Vaughn and Coonan one-two; the team were quickly shaping up to be the team to beat once again. Elsewhere, Antti Perkkanen, the young Tikariotian winger drafted in as a free agent to replace the departing van Heirolf, stepped up to the plate, providing both assists in Kingsbury's 2-0 win against Hesham; he was widely praised for his efforts afterward. Columbia, thanks to the efforts of Wilson and Burrows, continued their team's perfect start with a 1-0 win against Ridgewell United; Keenan Pollard was widely praised for his closing down of Andrew Dunne, who had gotten into several threatening positions in the team's previous few games; his midfield partner, Eli Apt, was then freed to send long passes up. They, more often than not, did not turn into anything; however, the chances created certainly boded well.

Lakewood United beat Macarthur thanks to a Alex Kristensen goal; the solitary goal was enough to separate the two, with Macarthur's defense line of Sullivan and Pemberton performing remarkably well to soak up the pressure of facing the second best team in Tumbra; however, the early lapse proved too much for them, and the offence had largely been hacked down by Johnny Brown, who was given a yellow card and several talkings-to for his efforts.

Clark City recorded their first win of the season, with Marcus Bradley notably finishing as man of the match; his divebombs provided ample fodder for the strikers to feed on, and was right in line with Kedar's vision for the football team. WCU recorded a 1-0 win over Glenmont; Bill Allison's effort separated the two. Clyde Park scored four to see off Ridgewell Rovers, proving that their form last season was not just a flash in the pan and that they were knocking on heaven's door; heaven, in this case, meaning entry into that famed Old Boys' Club that was the Big Six. If one stopped to think about whether the Big Six deserved that nickname, however --

Two Big Six matches occurred this matchday, with Nantwich seeing off Straton, and confirming that Estelline was perhaps the real deal; though after three matchdays, any conclusions drawn were superfluous at best, and just...plain wrong at worst. Nevertheless, seeing a revitalised Inter Nantwich squad go ahead with none of the fears that inundated them last season perhaps made Heart of Saugenay fans wonder if their team had made...a misguided appointment. Couno Rangers, in a battle of foreign managers, lost to Serrapince; Danny Haverhead's "outscore the opponent" tactics were on full display here, with McColl scoring two and O'Driscoll scoring another, before being pegged back by a brace from Sheldon and one from the young striker Bruce Nolan; only a last minute header by Oliver Proctor would separate the two in the end. Couno Rangers fans felt suitably aggreived; after all, they could have a claim to dominating the match; but Haverhead had somehow outsmarted the Couno side.

MATCHDAY 4
Hesham FC 2-1 Carter United
Lakewood United 6-0 Lakewood City
Glenmont AFC 1-1 Kingsbury United
Ricci Ironworkers 1-1 Macarthur City
Fraser Valley FC 0-2 West Couno United
Ridgewell Rovers 1-0 Clark City
FC Inter Nantwich 0-0 Sturrey Athletic
Ridgewell United 2-0 Clyde Park
Couno Rangers 5-3 Straton FC
Serrapince FC 5-1 Columbia City

Lakewood Derby Day was here; a contest between two even-seated teams turned out to be a bit of a drubbing for the defending champions, as the trio of Herlinger-Cohen-Keyes united in perfect harmony to deliver six goals against the champions, who were a bit too hapless to respond. What had happened? Was it the stress of playing at Trenton Park, or was it just that United were too good with their chances, and Lakewood City were perhaps a bit naff with theirs? The consensus was that it was the latter, surely - several good chances went wide or were saved by Louis Addison, who had recently lost his n.1 spot to John Lennon and was eager to put the record straight regarding who was the best Tumbran goalkeeper around. Heading into World Cup 88 qualifiers, this certainly gave a lot of food for thought to NT manager Hemmings, who was in the stands; and was none too impressed by the standards of defending shown by Lakewood City, who provided a goalkeeper, two centre-backs, and a left back to the team.

This matchday was full of surprises, really - winners being brought back down to Earth, the meek being blessed; so much so that while there had been several teams undefeated (by which the writer means: more than five), by the end of this matchday there were only two. No team had so much as a perfect record - the only two teams to remain undefeated were Nantwich, who struggled to a draw at home against Sturrey, and...West Couno, whose defense had only conceded two goals, bringing attention to the extremely young yet very mature duo of Almar Hussein and Ben Morgan, who looked set to give Ian Ashburn a run for his money as the most talented young Tumbran defender around. Scott McIntyre was turning out to be something of a diamond, too, with the Licentian bringing back a bit of shine to the Wrenchwelt Stadium, with his dribbling and affable personality putting a bit of sunshine into the normally drab stadium and team.

Of course, that was clearly ignoring that the Nantwich defence, marshalled by Cassadagan defender Devon Daniels, had conceded a grand total of zero goals, something that Estelline chose to focus on instead of the draw that his team'd just suffered. Media manipulation at its finest? Perhaps.

Hesham recorded their first win of the season, sending Carter down to nineteenth in the table, and while it was just four days into a thirty-eight day long match season, some were perhaps a bit more nervy than others at the prospect of slugging it out in a protracted relegation battle, especially since they'd done relatively well last season. Elsewhere, while Sallay scored two goals for Straton, Marcus Sheldon recorded the first hat-trick of the season in a 5-3 slugfest for Couno, leaving Straton twelfth after four matchdays. Not the ideal situation for Ted Bayh, but the season was long, and there was still a long way to go. Serrapince also recorded a 5-1 win, with Haverhead proving to be settling in well into his new position in Serrapince. "More and more people seem to be recognising me," he said, "though it does make me worried what'll happen if I lose a match!"

MATCHDAY 5
Carter United 1-1 Lakewood United
Hesham FC 1-1 Glenmont AFC
Lakewood City 6-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Kingsbury United 2-0 Fraser Valley FC
Macarthur City 2-0 Ridgewell Rovers
West Couno United 1-1 FC Inter Nantwich
Clark City 0-0 Ridgewell United
Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Couno Rangers
Clyde Park 6-1 Serrapince FC
Straton FC 3-2 Columbia City

Awkward.

Were Lakewood City angry after having six punted past them by their hated local rivals the very previous matchday? Yes. Unfortunately, the target of their ire turned out to be Ricci Ironworkers, who were turning out to be something of a punching bag for the rest of the league. The only side so far to have a goal difference of two digits (in the negative, unfortunately), supporters at the Foundry were already resigning themselves to a long battle at the foot of the table. That wouldn't stop the supporters from cheering, however, or the bucket of (what looked like) molten iron from being poured whenever the Ironworkers scored a goal.

Straton got back to winning ways, with Sallay recording his fifth of the season in as many games for the side in a 3-2 win against Columbia, which was home to an unfortunate error by Ray Perry leading to an own goal. No matter, however, as the team sat pretty in sixth at this early stage in the season. Lakewood United were held to a fairly embarrassing draw by nineteenth-placed Carter, with Miles Brent having put one past the Reds early in the match, and United only pegging them back with a late, late goal by Herlinger.

Couno Rangers were held to yet another draw by Sturrey. Was it starting to sound familiar? The Rams' fans certainly hoped, not, but then again, they had faith in Kiggwe. After all, he'd put them in situations, but he'd also pull the damn team out of it. Sturrey were quietly having another impressive start to the season; despite being in fifteenth and winless, the four teams they'd drawn against so far had all been of an extremely high calibre, and many were hoping the Maroons were going to press on as soon as they faced some weaker opposition.

The top-of-the-table match pitted West Couno (yes, to many, that sentence was weird, but it was what it was) against Nantwich. Vanderwelt scored the first goal, ridding Nantwich of their perfect 0-goal streak, but then Atlas Baxter would pull one back just five minutes later. Overall, it was a good show of defensive capabilities, perhaps showing how promising either side had been; more so West Couno than Nantwich, given that at the start of the season many from WCU would be hard-pressed to imagine their team doing better than finishing 10th.

George Kramer would come to the fore in Kingsbury's match against Fraser Valley, as strikers James Herbert and Gareth Roberts came head to head against their former clubs; Kingsbury would come out on top in the end, with Herbert scoring the last goal; he, however, refrained from celebrating.

Okay, let's talk about that match.

If there had been any doubts about Clyde Park's newly found attacking acumen, they were aptly assuaged by their remarkable attacking output against, of all sides, a Big Six team in the form of Serrapince FC. The front four - of which Fraser and Laishram had quickly become the hottest-selling items on Fantasy TPD, with one of Kwak and Cresswood forming the other item (with the limit of three per club) - had gained instant notoriety on the pitch. All four of them would score during the match, with Fraser and Laishram recording two each. The Parkheads were hopeful that giving Neil Fraser a solid team to coalesce around would convince him to stay, particularly as he'd been angling for a move overseas; with a contract running out in two seasons' time, and a mega agent in the Quebecois Pierre McCarthy, some were convinced that these efforts by Devzies to drop four million on Laishram was part of a longer-term plan to nail Fraser down for his best years.

For all of Haverhead's comments about being scared to lose, he gamely commented on his earlier remarks after the game, saying that he'd "now find out what'd happen." He did, however, promise to attempt to shape up the defence, which had been caught out multiple times throughout the match; evidently. Kwak's deployment as a very deep-lying striker had sufficiently confused the Serrapince defence.

All this meant that at the end of the TPD's first five matchdays, Clyde Park of all teams were top of the table, though Lakewood City were equal with them; and it really was equal. Nothing separated the two; they hadn't played each other, and their record was exactly the same, so effectively it was a matter of the dictionary choosing to place C above L that put Clyde on top. WCU and Nantwich were third and fourth; WCU were ahead on goals scored.

Premier Division Standings after Matchday Five

    Team                   P  W  D  L For  Ag +/- Pts
  1 Clyde Park             5  4  0  1  14   6  +8  12
  2 Lakewood City          5  4  0  1  14   6  +8  12
  3 West Couno United      5  3  2  0   7   3  +4  11
  4 FC Inter Nantwich      5  3  2  0   5   1  +4  11
  5 Lakewood United        5  3  1  1  12   4  +8  10
  6 Columbia City          5  3  0  2   7   8  -1   9
  7 Kingsbury United       5  2  2  1   6   3  +3   8
  8 Straton FC             5  2  1  2  14  12  +2   7
  9 Macarthur City         5  2  1  2   4   4  +0   7
 10 Serrapince FC          5  2  1  2  11  13  -2   7
 11 Couno Rangers          5  1  3  1  11  10  +1   6
 12 Hesham FC              5  1  3  1   5   6  -1   6
 13 Ridgewell United       5  1  2  2   3   3  +0   5
 14 Fraser Valley FC       5  1  2  2   6   9  -3   5
 15 Sturrey Athletic       5  0  4  1   3   4  -1   4
 16 Ridgewell Rovers       5  1  1  3   4   9  -5   4
 17 Clark City             5  1  1  3   3   9  -6   4
 18 Glenmont AFC           5  0  3  2   3   8  -5   3
 19 Carter United          5  0  2  3   2   6  -4   2
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      5  0  1  4   2  12 -10   1

This is a survey. Clicking on it would help Tumbra immensely.

by **Tumbra** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:40 am

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

The 120^th RUNNING OF THE REPUBLIC CUP - THE FIRST ROUND

The Republic Cup, first contested in 1903, is Tumbra's longest running domestic competition and is open to all professional teams in Tumbra. Non-professional teams may compete in the TFF Vase instead, though that will not be covered here. It is a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the final played in the Tumbran National Stadium. Matches occur every so often, as determined by the League schedule of the Premier Division. This year, matches will occur after the 5th, 10th, 15th, 26th, 32nd and 37th Premier Division matchday. The Final will be held after the 38th Matchday.

The competition is renowned for its brutality - all 128 teams, regardless of whether they are in the Premier Division or the Fourth Division, are unseeded and all have an equal chance to meet each other. The team drawn first is always put at home, leading to a true test of footballing equality. This year, the Cup will again be contested by every single team in the league structure, with the defending champions being Serrapince FC

The First Round scores, as to avoid clogging up the Newswire, are presented below.

Brensley Falcons 0-0 Knapford United FC (1-0 AET)

Colney Thorns 0-2 Ridgewell United

Straton FC 3-1 Readale City Blues

Orpington Owls 2-1 Dynamo Denhelm

Hesham Wanderers FC 1-0 Grange United FC

Rookworth Ospreys 3-0 Sherwood Town FC

Tavistock Athletic 3-0 Denhelm Terriers

Clifton Fury 2-2 Enfield Celtic (2-3 AET)

Arlington Athletic 0-3 Macarthur City

Tevandale AFC 0-2 Kelder Phoenixes

Dorival FC 0-2 Maxwell Arsenal

AFC Cayalon 0-2 Couno Rangers

Washington City FC 1-0 Southport Thunder

Cortlandt United 0-2 Rosyth Warriors

Burlington FC 1-0 Dunman Bay FC

Kellsthorpe Bluebirds 0-3 Delphi Lions

Port Marray FC 1-2 West Couno United

Pinhal Athletic 3-3 Readale Wanderers (4-4 AET, 5-4 PKs)

Harren Armada 1-2 Kirkby Railwaymen

Carter United 3-1 Farleigh Tigers

Newton Warriors AFC 0-0 Trelmont Rangers (2-0 AET)

Brades United FC 1-2 Hoxford United

Serrapince FC 1-1 Straton Typhoons (2-1 AET)

Wolskel FC 0-1 Pomeroy Mountaineers

Moresby United 0-2 Bencoolen City FC

Fort Heatherton FC 1-0 Collett Park United

Kingsbury United FC 3-1 Lakewood City

Oakton Stars 4-2 Dieren City Admirals

Johnstone Athletic 0-0 Thomson Admirals (0-0 AET, 4-5 PKs)

Blenheim FC 2-0 Ruislip and Ipswich FC

Staplewood Sparrows 0-3 Hesham FC

Heath Bay Mariners 1-0 Monroe Quakes

Dunsford Auroras 1-0 Sturrey Athletic

New Timbourne Knights 0-2 Clark City

Guillemard Town 0-2 Cobham United

Mackay Robins 0-0 Delano Wanderers (0-1 AET)

Hindhede Hawks 2-1 Clyde Park

Knapford City FC 1-1 AFC Gillman (1-2 AET)

Harchester United 0-0 Ridgewell Rovers (0-0 AET 3-4 PKs)

Mayfield Black Bears 1-1 Ilstead Wanderers (2-1 AET)

Haversham City 1-0 Colbrook City 

Wabash United FC 0-0 Heffron City Miners (0-1 AET)

Ricci Ironworkers 4-0 Melwood Rangers

Fontwell Rovers 1-1 Newark Argyle (2-1 AET)

Gelder Creek FC 1-0 Caldwell City

Rosenberg City 1-2 Teignford Academical

Algoma Wanderers 1-0 Franport Blizzards

Glenmont AFC 6-0 Havelock Harriers

Chester FC 3-1 Eisenhower City

Lambeth Leopards 1-6 Columbia City

Falmouth AFC 0-2 FC Inter Nantwich

Windsor FC 1-1 Lakewood United (2-1 AET)

Locomotive Harper 1-1 Tavistock Park FC (1-2 AET)

West Thornton United 0-1 Langley Guardians

FC Montrose 1-0 Taranga FC

Coburg Hornets 1-0 Wilmington Town

Prinsip Street 1-1 Hendon Cardinals (1-1 AET, 4-5 PKs)

Fraser Valley FC 1-1 Killiney SC (1-1 AET, 3-4 PKs)

Dover Defenders 2-4 Ashton Rovers

Caldecott 93 0-0 Millsburgh Revolutionaries (1-0 AET)

Nottingham City 2-0 Carrington Town

Othaven Wolves 0-1 Gisbourne Lynxes

Millsburgh Steelers 0-1 Shepperton Ravens

Cheltenham FC 1-1 Richmond Swans (2-2 AET, 2-4 PKs)

Most Premier Division clubs, as expected, made it through, with the exception of three noticeable exceptions. Those three were defending League champions Lakewood City, last season's runner-up, Lakewood United, and top-of-the-table Clark City. Lakewood City perhaps were unlucky - they were paired with fellow Premiership side Kingsbury United, and with a lengthy IFCF campaign on their hands (at this point, they'd just been knocked into the Challengers' Cup, the last Tumbran team standing after the other three got knocked out, perhaps ignominiously), and they were playing a seriously depleted squad chock full of academy prospects.

Lakewood United, could also have been forgiven for playing a less-than ideal strength side against Windsor, known for an occasional giant-killing. They had, after all, made it to the quarter-finals last edition, and even then they held then-Premiership side Port Marray to a full 120 minutes of football, and then penalties. Tenacity aside, they couldn't be ignored, but they had to be - Lakewood United were also competing on multiple fronts, though by this point they had been knocked out of the Challengers' Cup.

Top of the table Clyde Park were knocked out by fourth division side Hindhede Hawks, a result surprising considering that they were playing most of their first-choice XI. However, the Hindhede pitch surface - which seemed to bear the brunt of Devzies' ire - and the low block that the Hawks employed proved effective at bamboozling the Clyde offence, and two very scrabbly goals put the Clarets out.

Perhaps it's time to discuss the aesthetics of the Republic Cup. First contested in 1903 (as above) in recent years it's taken on a more secondary role to the League, despite it being the older competition. Why? Critics of it (who conveniently also always seem to back bigger clubs) have claimed the lack of seeding, the lack of a late entry for bigger clubs, and the randomness of it from turning teams onto the competition. After all, why bother if you could be drawn against Lakewood...perhaps not the best example. Ehm. Why bother if you could be drawn against Columbia City, who will just show up at your house, give you a shellacking, and then fuck off back to the Premier Division?

It is of course, to the football romantics (or hipsters, some would say) - the magic of the cup. Matches selected to be shown on TBC One - as they sometimes are - can rake in huge amounts of money for the smaller clubs. Windsor's run to the Quarter-Finals, or, for that matter, second division side Ashton Rovers' run to the semis was nothing short of miraculous - and the revenue brought in for those clubs was nothing short of miraculous, as well. Windsor recently began building a second full stand, which is set to increase its capacity to 15,000. A miracle cup run captures the imagination, brings out the human part of us that supports the underdog despite all odds, the impossible made possible.

And that's why the Republic Cup will stay as it is. Because it gives every dog its day. Because, on a good day, a team from Hindhede can show up, tell the Premier Division leaders to fuck off, and progress to the next round, where they can continue to hope. And at the end of the day, isn't hope what we all need?

This is a survey. Clicking on it and filling it in would help Tumbra immensely.

by **Tumbra** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 8:55 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 6-10

Let's pick up where we left off. Clyde Park and Lakewood City were tied at the top of the league, followed by a resurgent West Couno United for some reason, who'd just tied with Inter Nantwich in third. The rest of the Big Six were doing fine, if a bit choppy; Serrapince had some good results that then blew up on Matchday 5 with a 6-1 loss to Clyde Park, while Straton and Couno had been suffering from inconsistent form. The next five matchdays would be another opportunity for clubs to make up the gap, or they could mess up and go tumbling down the order. But you never really know with this bunch of clubs.

MATCHDAY 6
Glenmont AFC 0-1 Carter United
Ricci Ironworkers 1-4 Lakewood United
Fraser Valley FC 3-1 Hesham FC
Ridgewell Rovers 1-2 Lakewood City
FC Inter Nantwich 1-0 Kingsbury United
Ridgewell United 1-1 Macarthur City
Couno Rangers 1-1 West Couno United
Serrapince FC 2-0 Clark City
Columbia City 1-1 Sturrey Athletic
Straton FC 1-2 Clyde Park

The Couno Derby was this week, which was a piece of actual television that people wanted to watch this season. West Couno actually looked decent at this stage in the season, and the stage was set for the Rams to welcome the Chocolatiers to their home stadium and possibly try to actually win a game. Not that it would matter, though - the game ended 1-all, with Sheldon's early goal being cancelled out by a Vanderwelt shot early in the second half. Many attributed Vanderwelt's recent scoring run to McIntyre - after all, his arrival had spruced up the creativity of the team, adding a new dimension to the frankly two-dimensional play of the club before this season. A point apiece wasn't the best result for either side, but wasn't the worst either; it did mean, however, that WCU dropped to fifth in the table.

Elsewhere, Serrapince got back to winning ways by handily beating Clark City 2-0 at home, courtesy of a Nick Riordan double; six matches in, and Clark seemed to be once again floundering near the bottom of the table. Unlike last season, however, Kedar actually seemed to be playing a brand of football that could possibly be deemed as solid, and Clark had looked threatening at several points throughout the match. Despite that, however, looking dangerous wasn't enough - and the lack of end product proved to be fatal to Clark's chances of winning the match.

Reinhard Geist scored one and assisted the other in Fraser Valley's in against Hesham; the tall Nepharan had been playing a different role up top, playing deeper than a regular finisher, which by now was rotating between Roberts and Xilix-Oxolt Mal, the young Qusmi who had a breakthrough last season. He'd been injured near the start of the season, however, and was only just returning to the team.

FC Inter Nantwich kept another clean sheet at home against Kingsbury; largely credited for the improvement of the defence, Devon Daniels played a stellar part to deny Kingsbury's James Herbert and Antti Perkkanen several threatening shots. Lakewood City continued their excellent form my winning away at Ridgewell, while Clyde Park, too, continued their giant-killing spree, this time bringing Straton, led up front by Vázsony Sallay, back down to the ground. Sallay scored once late in the match but he was no match for the lethal front four of Kwak, Cresswood, Laishram and Fraser; Kwak was the one taking the Man of the Match award home this time, scoring both goals in a brilliant day at work for the striker.

MATCHDAY 7
Carter United 2-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Glenmont AFC 0-8 Fraser Valley FC
Lakewood United 1-0 Ridgewell Rovers
Hesham FC 0-1 FC Inter Nantwich
Lakewood City 2-1 Ridgewell United
Kingsbury United 0-1 Couno Rangers
Macarthur City 0-2 Serrapince FC
West Couno United 0-0 Columbia City
Clark City 4-1 Straton FC
Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Clyde Park

The big score this week was 8-0 for Fraser against Glenmont, with Gareth Roberts and Geist sharing the spoils - a hat-trick for both men, then one each for Nicholas Kinsella and David Gunter, playing on the wings. The other orange team in the league also lost their match - 2-0 to Carter United, with William Murray setting up both goals for his team-mates in a superb performances.

Nantwich continued their spoil of clean sheets - the defence having tightened up extremely well under Estelline - and their stellar defensive record continued, with the partnership of Devon Daniels and Douglas Moore paying off spectacularly. Daniels played the role of the archetypical 'clean shorts' defender, focusing on passing, while Moore focused more on the tackling aspect of the game. It was said that Daniels provided Douglas the confidence to go forward and stare down oncoming attackers; with his previous defensive partner, Philip Gonzalez, he had to carry double duty. Moore's reputation of a clean, hard tackler had returned, after being tainted by the seventh-placed finish last term.

Elsewhere, Clyde Park fell to fourth after drawing with Sturrey - an ill-tempered game, full of fouls and being unable to get into a rhythm, and the match eventually ending all square - but Sturrey were still winless after seven games, sharing the ignominy with Glenmont and Ricci. Straton fell again to Clark City, and a major tactics change was on the cards for the club, after the club fell to thirteenth in the standings on just seven points. The team's one major criticism at this point could well be the Established Leader; with Galbraith departing, the club essentially had nobody to fall back on with experience or knowledge of these matters. When asked, Bayh freely admitted that he'd be looking for a solution at the end of the season, which sounded extremely pessimistic; regardless, he said this did not mean that he was conceding the season already. On similarly evasive managerial statements, following a rare win for Couno Rangers, their second of the season; their propensity for drawing matches was drawing similarities to Sturrey, but Kiggwe Siakam insisted that things would be turning around sooner rather than later.

MATCHDAY 8
Fraser Valley FC 0-1 Carter United
Ridgewell Rovers 2-0 Ricci Ironworkers
FC Inter Nantwich 2-2 Glenmont AFC
Ridgewell United 0-0 Lakewood United
Couno Rangers 5-4 Hesham FC
Serrapince FC 2-2 Lakewood City
Columbia City 0-1 Kingsbury United
Straton FC 5-0 Macarthur City
Clyde Park 0-1 West Couno United
Sturrey Athletic 2-2 Clark City

Carter United secured a victory over Fraser Valley, halting whatever momentum the Stallions might have picked up after their thrashing of Glenmont; Miles Brent scoring his second of the season for Carter to secure their third victory of the season. The victory was rather unexpected, since CUFC hadn't actually looked like they were threatening to do anything for much of the season; but now that they'd stopped Fraser, perhaps there was a bit of hope to be seen in the rural reaches of Raleigh.

Elsewhere, Nantwich conceded two more goals against Glenmont and were held to a draw; only a late disallowed goal by former Lakewood United winger Sam Watson ensured that Nantwich would leave their home ground with a single point. They, however, could still point to their record of no losses; at this point, one still shared by WCU, who had gone up against Clyde Park and won, in a heated contest separated by the brilliance of Bill Allison, who scored a magnificent solo goal just after the hour mark to mark Clyde's second consecutive winless game. Nothing too scary, but a bit of a bump for Clyde Park after flying high that early in the season. They were still in a place to challenge for IFCF football, however, as they were still fourth on 16 points, well within touching distance of the top; any mistakes by Lakewood United, such as drawing to Ridgewell United, would see them...oh.

Couno Rangers played out an absolute barnburner with Hesham; the match was settled by an Alex Anderson goal in the 83rd minute, with the teams having traded the lead several times throughout the match. A great match for neutrals, less so the managers; Kiggwe Siakam was noticably unimpressed with the standard of his team's defending, though he praised their tenacity in the face of the five-man offence that Hesham seemed to be throwing at Couno. The loss, however, left Hesham in the drop zone for the first time in a while; unsurprisingly above both Glenmont and Ricci, who had both lost their matches and were still searching for their first win.

In a rematch of the Super Cup, the score between Serrapince and Lakewood once again ended 2-2, with the exact same scorers scoring; with no extra time or penalties to determine a winner, however, both teams had to be satisfied with the solitary point garnered from the encounter. A far more dominant match came from Straton, however, who seemed eager to prove Bayh wrong after his comments last week; Sallay scored his first hat-trick, and was labelled "unstoppable" after his man-of-the match performance afterwards.

Sturrey drew against Clark, taking them to seven draws in eight games. Remarkably, however, they were still sitting outside the relegation zone, on sixteenth.

MATCHDAY 9
Carter United 0-0 Ridgewell Rovers
Fraser Valley FC 2-4 FC Inter Nantwich
Ricci Ironworkers 1-1 Ridgewell United
Glenmont AFC 0-2 Couno Rangers
Lakewood United 0-1 Serrapince FC
Hesham FC 1-1 Columbia City
Lakewood City 1-2 Straton FC
Kingsbury United 0-2 Clyde Park
Macarthur City 1-1 Sturrey Athletic
West Couno United 2-2 Clark City

Nantwich found themselves top of the table with a 4-2 win over Fraser Valley; despite conceding two goals, they scored four, courtesy of Baxter, Jennings, Ford and Stansfield; the mood of the Nantwich squad was very well near perfect at this point in time, and thoughts were beginning to enter the mind of supporters that perhaps they could transform this run of form into a title challenge. There were still 29 matches left to fight for, however, and Estelline remarked as much during his post-match conference, saying it was a long season and a lot could happen out in the matchdays remaining. Despite this, there was a slight air of smugness about him in the conference; the wily old fox certainly knew what he was doing. Also extending their undefeated run were West Couno United, who drew 2-2 with Clark City; a respectable result nonetheless, given that Kedar's men had gotten to grips with his new style and looked much more comfortable playing Kedarball than at any point in the season.

Couno Rangers grabbed a win at Glenmont AFC, though anything less would presumably have resulted in the immediate sacking of Kiggwe Siakam after promising changes in his tactical style; the two orange sides were down in nineteenth and twentieth, both winless and with a combined points total of less than the eighteenth-placed side, who had seven compared to the two sides' six. Also winless; Sturrey Athletic, having drawn their eighth match in nine games. Still sitting pretty on sixteenth, though, though that cushion was looking woefully frail and looked to collapse if Ridgewell Rovers and Hesham FC got their act together and began winning games.

Straton's run of form continued, beating the league leaders at their own home turf; the defeat meant Lakewood City sank to third on goal difference, though at this point of the season defeats still meant less than racking up as many points as possible. The runway was yet long, and the season was slowly shaping up to be a three-horse race between Nantwich, Clyde Park and Lakewood City.

Lakewood United lost at home, too, this time to Serrapince; Danny Haverhead celebrating Tom O'Driscoll's winning goal by running the full length of the pitch; though he was rewarded with a yellow card by the referee for his efforts, and a stern warning by the TFF, the Serrapince faithful were quickly warming up to their new manager, who seemed to ooze passion out of every pore of his body.

MATCHDAY 10
FC Inter Nantwich 1-1 Carter United
Ridgewell United 0-2 Ridgewell Rovers
Couno Rangers 2-2 Fraser Valley FC
Serrapince FC 2-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Columbia City 3-1 Glenmont AFC
Straton FC 0-0 Lakewood United
Clyde Park 1-2 Hesham FC
Sturrey Athletic 0-1 Lakewood City
Clark City 0-1 Kingsbury United
West Couno United 1-0 Macarthur City

Matchday Ten saw a Ridgewell Derby, another Couno Rangers draw, Clyde Park lose and Lakewood City go back top of the league, all while West Couno United remained, bizarrely, third, with them already near the halfway mark of the number of points they'd achieved last season. (For reference: it was 45.)

The Ridgewell Derby, as most Ridgewell Derbies were, was bad-tempered and saw tempers flare at several points during the match. Matthias Bergander scored a goal early on in the match, which led to a lengthy delay before the restart, as RUFC's Lee Higgs attempted to argue that Bergander was slightly offside when he netted that goal. VAR, however, confirmed that Bergander had been onside when the goal was scored, which led to the lanky Nepharan trying to stare down Higgs after the decision. Higgs, bafflingly, tried to stare back at him, despite him being...about ten centimetres shorter than the Nepharan. Michael Lidington (RUFC) then went down in the RRFC penalty box, sparking accusations of diving. The penalty wasn't given, however.

The second half was no less controversial; Farley McShane (RUFC), ever the dramatic player, was accused of simulation after going down just outside the box after what looked like a heavy tackle by Sean McDonald (RRFC). VAR, however, revealed McDonald had just missed his tackle completely and McShane had faked his dive; the yellow card for simulation was of course, given, and sparked another staring war between Bergander, who was turning out to be very useful as a tool for intimidation by the Rovers, and McShane, who...also didn't quite match up to Bergander's height.

In the end, Bergander scored another goal in slightly less controversial fashion. Both teams came out of the match not looking the best, though most pundits slated Ridgewell United for their behaviour on pitch. The TFF, however, didn't seem to agree, and turned a blind eye to the match.

Clyde Park, surprisingly, lost to Kingsbury, who were put behind by an Antti Perkannen goal, and, in a moment of brilliance that the other 9 teams that had played Clyde Park so far hadn't realised, began focusing less on Kwak and more on Laishram, who was completely nullified by the performance of Harry Henderson, one which rightly earned him the man of the match award. Lakewood City went top by virtue of a Vaughn goal against Sturrey, putting an end to their streak of draws (yet extending their winless streak)

So after ten matchdays, the top four were Lakewood City, Nantwich, West Couno and Serrapince. Certainly not the weirdest of results, though seeing WCU up in third was rather strange considering their performances last season. Each of the teams that weren't Lakewood City arguably had one or two people they could thank for their position right now - for Nantwich, it was Estelline and Daniels; for WCU, it was McIntyre, and for Serrapince, it was Haverhead. And since all of them had come in after the rules relaxation, the impact they had certainly was felt almost immediately.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                   P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change
  1 Lakewood City         10  7  1  2  22  12  +10  22	▲1	
  2 FC Inter Nantwich     10  6  4  0  14   6   +8  22	▲2
  3 West Couno United     10  5  5  0  12   6   +6  20	-0
  4 Serrapince FC         10  6  2  2  20  15   +5  20	▲6
  5 Clyde Park            10  6  1  3  20  11   +9  19	▼4
  6 Lakewood United       10  5  3  2  17   6  +11  18	▼1
  7 Couno Rangers         10  4  5  1  22  17   +5  17	▲4
  8 Columbia City         10  4  3  3  12  12   +0  15	▼2
  9 Straton FC            10  4  2  4  23  19   +4  14	▼1
 10 Kingsbury United      10  4  2  4   8   7   +1  14	▼3
 11 Carter United         10  3  4  3   7   7   +0  13	▲8
 12 Fraser Valley FC      10  3  3  4  21  17   +4  12	▲2
 13 Ridgewell Rovers      10  3  2  5   9  12   -3  11	▲3
 14 Hesham FC             10  2  4  4  13  17   -4  10	▼2
 15 Clark City            10  2  3  5  11  17   -6   9	▲2
 16 Macarthur City        10  2  3  5   6  14   -8   9	▼7
 17 Sturrey Athletic      10  0  8  2   8  10   -2   8	▼2
 18 Ridgewell United      10  1  5  4   6   9   -3   8	▼5
 19 Glenmont AFC          10  0  4  6   6  24  -18   4	▼1
 20 Ricci Ironworkers     10  0  2  8   4  23  -19   2	-0

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD5.

If you enjoyed (or didn't enjoy) this part, click here and let Tumbra know why!

by **Tumbra** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:37 am

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

The 120^th RUNNING OF THE REPUBLIC CUP - THE SECOND ROUND

The Republic Cup, first contested in 1903, is Tumbra's longest running domestic competition and is open to all professional teams in Tumbra. Non-professional teams may compete in the TFF Vase instead, though that will not be covered here. It is a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the final played in the Tumbran National Stadium. Matches occur every so often, as determined by the League schedule of the Premier Division. This year, matches will occur after the 5th, 10th, 15th, 26th, 32nd and 37th Premier Division matchday. The Final will be held after the 38th Matchday.

The competition is renowned for its brutality - all 128 teams, regardless of whether they are in the Premier Division or the Fourth Division, are unseeded and all have an equal chance to meet each other. The team drawn first is always put at home, leading to a true test of footballing equality. This year, the Cup will again be contested by every single team in the league structure, with the defending champions being Serrapince FC.

The First Round of the Cup saw three of the biggest teams in the Premier Division - Lakewood City and Lakewood United, as well as then-Premier Division leaders Clyde Park - get knocked out of the competition, the latter by fourth division side Hindhede Hawks, in the surprise of the round. This time, the remaining 64 clubs enter the round to determine who will be the last 32 clubs remaining in the cup - a very big shrinkage of the field considering that just five matchdays ago 128 clubs entered the gauntlet with the possibility of winning.

The 32 matches are spoilered below, to prevent the clogging up of the Newswire.

Caldecott 93 1-0 Maxwell Arsenal

Orpington Owls 0-2 Kingsbury United FC

AFC Gillman 3-0 Gelder Creek FC

Langley Guardians 0-0 Teignford Academical (0-1 AET)

Oakton Stars 1-1 Couno Rangers (1-2 AET)

Fort Heatherton FC 2-2 Bencoolen City FC (2-3 AET)

Dunsford Auroras 3-1 Cobham United

Tavistock Park FC 0-1 Hesham Wanderers FC

FC Montrose 2-3 Rosyth Warriors

Columbia City 0-0 Carter United (0-1 AET)

Algoma Wanderers 1-2 Straton FC

Hoxford United 1-1 Chester FC (1-1 AET, 3-5 PKs)

Nottingham City 0-4 Hesham FC

Mayfield Black Bears 0-2 Windsor FC 

Rookworth Ospreys 0-0 Glenmont AFC (0-0 AET, 3-2 PKs)

Ashton Rovers 1-0 Macarthur City

Kirkby Railwaymen 3-0 Brensley Falcons

Hendon Cardinals 0-0 Shepperton Ravens (1-0 AET)

West Couno United 3-0 Ridgewell United

Kelder Phoenixes 2-0 Burlington FC

Clark City 3-2 Heath Bay Mariners

Delphi Lions 0-2 FC Inter Nantwich 

Tavistock Athletic 0-0 Coburg Hornets (0-0 AET, 5-3 PKs)

Heffron City Miners 1-1 Haversham City (2-1 AET)

Ridgewell Rovers 1-0 Thomson Admirals 

Hindhede Hawks 0-2 Delano Wanderers

Washington City FC 2-0 Pinhal Athletic 

Serrapince FC 0-1 Pomeroy Mountaineers

Killiney SC 1-0 Blenheim FC

Fontwell Rovers 1-0 Richmond Swans

Gisbourne Lynxes 0-2 Enfield Celtic

Newton Warriors AFC 1-0 Ricci Ironworkers

Immediately the most obvious set of results was Serrapince falling to the Pomeroy Mountaineers by a solitary goal; the result of playing a second-choice XI, and complacency from Serrapince's side, presumably. The Mountaineers (who played in the Third Division West) went through thanks to a solitary goal from their right-back, a 22 year old called Joey West; presumably, before this, nobody bar the most enthusiastic of Tumbran sports fans had heard of him; after this, perhaps a few more sports fans might've heard of him, and remembered him as the dude who knocked out the Big Six side.

It's little fame, and hard work, playing in the lower divisions, where pitches are shoddy, the weather could change at any moment, the schedule is long and gruelling (and is set to become even more long and gruelling, with the upcoming Shrink), and the standard of football less silky and more about getting into Positions Of Maximum Opportunity. Oh, and the occasional ankle-breaking, season-ending tackle. 4-4-2 rules supreme here; any other formation gets looked at with a bit of strange-ness; after all, 4-4-2 is the ideal defensive formation. It's easy to play, provides one with two lines of 4 players to defend, and is perfect for skipping the midfield when the defenders send long balls up to get back into the abovementioned Positions Of Maximum Opportunity, where sending the ball into the midfield is also particularly regarded as some kind of deathtrap. All kinds of threats are here - the grizzled veteran who will knowingly go for your ankles; the naive youth prospect on loan who attempts to carry the ball, God bless him; the washed-up wonderkid who now makes a living sending passes to the wingers, who lazily move up the pitch.

In short, the lower divisions aren't pretty, and they're not much compared to the Premier Division, but it's still football. None of the clubs in the Premiership are from the West. That means that if you live in the West, the best brand of football you're going to get (this season, at least) exists in the second tier. You've got two full tiers of football dedicated to you, but those...those tiers don't have the highest standard of football.

And yet, they're still home to some of the fiercest and most passionate rivalries in Tumbra, particularly in Millsburgh, where stadiums are packed to the brim for the Millsburgh Derby (Steelers v Revolutionaries). It's one of those derbies that split a city right down the middle, urban versus suburban, middle-classes versus working classes, Labour versus Liberal; every time they play each other, the stadium's filled to the brim. Families are basically born into the club they support; whose kit you end up wearing oft ends up being determined by the neighbourhood you live in.

And so there exists the magic ingredient that allows football to flourish in Tumbra; passion, passion, passion. To be fair, passion exists everywhere for football throughout the three sporting regions and beyond; Tumbran footballing passion is just like them, and more. It's a shared experience; one that brings this coverage of the Republic Cup to you, really, when most countries simply don't bother with reporting on every stage of the competition, and just starts with the supposedly more exciting Quarter-Finals.

But that's passion for you.

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by **Tumbra** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 1:27 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 11-15

When we left off, the top four spots were occupied by Lakewood City, a resurgent Inter Nantwich (who were undefeated after ten games), a very much overachieving West Couno United (who were also undefeated after ten games), and Serrapince FC, who'd clawed their way back after that 6-1 defeat to Clyde Park. Clyde, however, were still deep in the chasing pack, being in fifth - ahead of last season's runner-ups Lakewood United, and Couno Rangers. Straton, in ninth, were slowly making their way back up the table - but it was already promising to be another nailbiter of a season if current trends continued.

MATCHDAY 11
Carter United 1-0 Ridgewell United
FC Inter Nantwich 2-2 Couno Rangers
Ridgewell Rovers 1-1 Serrapince FC
Fraser Valley FC 0-2 Columbia City
Ricci Ironworkers 4-6 Straton FC
Glenmont AFC 1-1 Clyde Park
Lakewood United 1-0 Sturrey Athletic
Hesham FC 1-0 Clark City
Lakewood City 2-0 West Couno United
Kingsbury United 3-3 Macarthur City

And thus came an end to West Couno United's run of wins, with their loss to league leaders Lakewood City courtesy of a Robin Vaughn brace, who was, as ever, in unimpeachable form. By this point WCU's established lineup looked to be going through a bit of fatigue - McIntyre was subbed off after sixty minutes, after looking breathless all match. It was fair play to the Licentian, however - he'd basically been spearheading the WCU attack across the past eleven matches, and his only breaks had come in cup games - hardly much of a respite, anyway. This left Nantwich as the only club undefeated, which they duly proceeded to nearly lose in a breathless, end-to-end match against Couno Rangers in which the flow of play seemed to keep changing every ten minutes. In the end, with the goals being scored by Anderson and Fisher (CRFC) and Jennings and Ford (FCIN), most pundits agreed that a draw was the fairest result for both sides. Neither really played like they deserved the win, and neither really played like they deserved to lose either.

Elsewhere, Straton played out an absolute storm in the Foundry, with the legendary cauldron of iron being tipped ten times to celebrate the ten goals scored there this matchday. Straton came out victorious - again, thanks to Sallay, who was absolutely tearing up the scoring charts. A brace in the last ten minutes of the game gave Straton the win, though Ricci hard a right to feel hard done by.

Sturrey were still winless, and they fell to a third defeat in eleven games - this time against Lakewood United, who took the chance to vault up to third in the standings, since their rivals for fourth Serrapince had played their way to a draw in Ridgewell as well. Clyde Park, in the meantime, drew against Glenmont, and their marquee player Laishram was visibly struggling to keep up near the end of the match. They, too, were falling victim to the same fatigue that had cost WCU; better squad management was needed if they were to keep their IFCF challenge alive. They were still very much in it, however.

MATCHDAY 12
Couno Rangers 4-1 Carter United
Serrapince FC 2-1 Ridgewell United
Columbia City 1-2 FC Inter Nantwich
Straton FC 5-0 Ridgewell Rovers
Clyde Park 2-1 Fraser Valley FC
Sturrey Athletic 0-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Clark City 0-1 Glenmont AFC
West Couno United 0-1 Lakewood United
Macarthur City 2-1 Hesham FC
Kingsbury United 0-6 Lakewood City

Normal order was perhaps restored in the League with this week's results, though perhaps not in the order most expected. Nantwich continued their winning streak, extending the number of matches without a loss this season to twelve, with their win over Columbia; they held on steady to the second spot, however, as Lakewood City decided to turn up in Georgia and began immediately turning to violence. Harry Henderson's reputation as a calm, steady defender virtually evaporated this match as he had an absolute shocker - but was appropriately comforted by his national team-mates after the fact. Vaughn, once again, was unstopable, providing two goals and two assists in the game to close it down for the Skyblues, and his memorable performance was supported by Alan Morgan, who played out of his skin for his new club.

Elsewhere, Couno Rangers beat Carter United 4-1 to go sixth in the league, though at this point they had more draws than wins; a quirky side-effect of the defence not being as good as their companions in the Big Six (which was slowly expanding into a Big Seven at this point), and Kiggwe Siakam admitted that the club would be looking at diving into the transfer window at the end of the current season for additional wing-backs, who were seen as a major weakness for the team at this point.

Serrapince fought their way against Ridgewell United, winning a scrappy match 2-1, while Straton decimated Ridgewell Rovers, with Sallay continuing his hot streak of form. Glenmont finally picked up their first win of the season - a 1-0 win against Clark City, which saw the the Red Devils fall down to seventeenth in the table, a major disappointment considering how promisingly the season had started. Perhaps bafflingly, with their two wins they were still below Sturrey, one of two winless clubs, who...who were on nine draws in twelve matches. An impressive feat, nonetheless, though their draw against bottom-of-the-table Ricci Ironworkers began stoking fears that Sturrey's stay in the Premier Division wouldn't last that long.

MATCHDAY 13
Carter United 0-2 Serrapince FC
Couno Rangers 5-1 Columbia City
Ridgewell United 1-3 Straton FC
FC Inter Nantwich 3-2 Clyde Park
Ridgewell Rovers 1-0 Sturrey Athletic
Fraser Valley FC 1-1 Clark City
Ricci Ironworkers 1-0 West Couno United
Glenmont AFC 0-1 Macarthur City
Lakewood United 3-0 Kingsbury United
Hesham FC 1-7 Lakewood City

You know how it is to be the last kid in class to achieve something? In this case, replace "something" with " a win" and "last kid" with "last club", because Sturrey Athletic officially became the last club in the league to not register a single win in the competition, with nine draws and four losses in thirteen matches. They, however, were still above the relegation zone, partly because Ridgewell United hadn't won a single match since Matchday 4, when they turned up the style against Clyde Park. Also clubs in crisis: Fraser Valley, who drew with Clark and were now down in 14th, and Hesham FC, who looked set to be very close to sacking their manager after a 1-7 loss to Lakewood City, down in 15th.

Who were Ricci Ironworkers' unlucky victims, then? It was none other than...West Couno United, who now had lost three matches on the bounce. Their early season form had evaporated, but since McIntyre hadn't played for quite a while - he'd looked jaded when he came on late in the match - the faithful were hoping that he'd be able to help turn the season around for the Chocolatiers. The sense of schaudenfraude was only exacerbated by Couno Rangers' 5-1 demolition of Columbia, with the Columbia defence having an exceptionally bad game; Gerald Scicluna gave up one penalty, and right-back Peter Brown scored an own goal to top off a nightmarish evening for the Southerners.

Elsewhere, Clyde Park lost again, leaving them in seventh, the exact position they were in last season - but losing to this Inter Nantwich team, who were now on eight wins and five draws, was no shame; Estelline had somehow managed to transform the squad into winners, with Andrew Fisher pulling out a last-minute winner for the Black-And-Blues, to many supporters' joy.

The abovementioned 7-1 win for Lakewood City only shortened the odds on them being confirmed champions at the end of the season; with James Anderson being the main man in this match, scoring a hat-trick; but it was evident that the all-Tumbran squad would be pushed all the way by their neighbours from Nantwich, given their resurgence from seventh in the league last season.

MATCHDAY 14
Columbia City 1-1 Carter United
Straton FC 1-2 Serrapince FC
Clyde Park 4-0 Couno Rangers
Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Ridgewell United
Clark City 2-2 FC Inter Nantwich
West Couno United 2-0 Ridgewell Rovers
Macarthur City 1-1 Fraser Valley FC
Kingsbury United 4-2 Ricci Ironworkers
Lakewood City 6-1 Glenmont AFC
Hesham FC 3-2 Lakewood United

Crisis? What crisis? Hesham beat Lakewood United 3-2 at home, thanks to several pieces of superb play by Nepharan striker Markus Strand, who hit the visitors for one, veteran Michael Brewster, who hit them for another, and finally Tumbran midfield star Vince Hicks, who hit them for the final goal. LUFC hit back with two - a Cohen double, courtesy of Keyes' assists, but it was too little, too late, and the Ploughmen managed to register a famous victory over Lakewood United.

Nantwich - undefeated btw - came very close to losing their streak once again with their draw against Clark City in the Finnley Derby, which was surprisingly less charged than on previous occasions. Perhaps Finnleans were tired of the bickering - then again, the Eternal Derby between the two gained the nickname for a reason. The draw was perhaps surprisingly light on the Red Devils, who were outclassed most of the game, but they managed to pull through in a susprisingly salient defensive effort. Highlighting the need for a star striker to join them, Jordan Johnson scuffed several key chances to put the Red Devils ahead, but football's surprisingly unforgiving nature meant that his efforts went un-rewarded.

Sturrey drew to Ridgewell United. That's the joke. Although to most Lactics this was less a joke and more a tragedy of errors.

Lakewood City's demolition job of Glenmont AFC - a term that had been bandied about the club for quite a bit now - put the club in ominous form, being the first club to hit 40 goals. Their average goals per match were now up to 3.07 - a remarkable attacking output, all things considered, considering the second most attacking team so far - Straton - were on 2.71 - this certainly boded well for their season ahead.

West Couno found themselves back in winning ways with their win at home against Ridgewell, with McIntyre looking rested and ready to lead the WCU offence once more into the breach, moving back up to eighth in the process. The front four of Laishram, Kwak, Fraser and Cresswood once again combined for Clyde Park to run out 4-0 winners at home against Couno Rangers, with Couno perhaps being caught out by Kwak being freed up to just play as an advanced 10. In youth parlance, this would have been called a sike. Straton, meanwhile, lost at home to an imperious Serrapince, who moved up to third following their win at the National Stadium.

MATCHDAY 15
Carter United 0-3 Straton FC
Columbia City 1-1 Clyde Park
Serrapince FC 1-1 Sturrey Athletic
Couno Rangers 4-1 Clark City
Ridgewell United 1-1 West Couno United
FC Inter Nantwich 0-2 Macarthur City
Ridgewell Rovers 4-0 Kingsbury United
Fraser Valley FC 1-4 Lakewood City
Ricci Ironworkers 0-5 Hesham FC
Glenmont AFC 1-3 Lakewood United

Here lies FC Inter Nantwich's unbeaten run, the source of much smugness from both the fanbase and Conan Estelline alike.

No Invincibles this season - the long wait would continue after Nantwich's steam finally ran out against the Blackbirds of Macarthur, who were quietly having a good season outside of the top ten. No flashy wins, or whatever - but their record - 20 points from fifteen matches - spoke for itself. One goal from Pocklington - a rare occurrence in itself, given that the name had become something of a punchline in Tumbran football - and one goal from Ted Houghton, the former Lakewood City skipper sank the Black-and-Blues, but there was much credit to be taken from their fourteen-match winning streak. Estelline had thoroughly rejuvenated pretty much all of the tired club, and as the season approached the midway point, much could be taken from this run and applied to a likely title challenge, although City were at this point six points ahead of Serrapince FC, whose draw with Sturrey catapulted them to second, but by one point.

Speaking of Sturrey, they now had eleven draws in fifteen games.

Straton ran out 3-0 winners at Carter, but for all their offensive prowess, they were still stuck in seventh in the table, since the teams above them (with the exception of Nantwich) hadn't dropped many points. At this point, Bayh might have been inclined to write the season off, since they were eleven points behind City, but then again Lakewood City were somewhat of a force of nature at this point, rather than an actual football team - they'd made it to the group stages of the Challengers' Cup, having beaten Banijan side Hoima Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate.

Several other sides also ran out with practically landslide victories - Hesham got their team back in form for their visit to Ricci, and beat them to the kerb in time to move up to 11th, scoring a solid 5 goals - in particular, notable for Tikariotian defender Lomar Wellingsley to score his first goal for the side.

And there it was. With the season rapidly approaching its midway point, the top four spots were occupied by Lakewood City, Serrapince, Lakewood United and Inter Nantwich - two of which had missed out on IFCF football the season prior, but had made perhaps shrewd managerial appointments the season prior and were now looking to capitalise on any mistakes that Couno and Straton - the two sides that did have IFCF football, but had been eliminated early - made to secure international football for themselves.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts  	Change  Form
  1 Lakewood City          15  12   1   2  47  15  +32  37  	-0      WWWWW
  2 Serrapince FC          15   9   4   2  28  19   +9  31	▲2	DWWWD
  3 Lakewood United        15   9   3   3  27  10  +17  30	▲3	WWWLW
  4 FC Inter Nantwich      15   8   6   1  23  15   +8  30	▼2	DWWDL
  5 Clyde Park             15   8   3   4  30  17  +13  27	-0	DWLWD
  6 Couno Rangers          15   7   6   2  37  26  +11  27	▲1	DWWLW
  7 Straton FC             15   8   2   5  41  26  +15  26	▲2	WWWLW
  8 West Couno United      15   6   6   3  15  11   +4  24	▼5	LLLWD
  9 Columbia City          15   5   5   5  18  21   -3  20	▼1	WLLDD
 10 Macarthur City         15   5   5   5  15  19   -4  20	▲6	DWWDW
 11 Hesham FC              15   5   4   6  24  28   -4  19	▲3	WLLWW
 12 Ridgewell Rovers       15   5   3   7  15  20   -5  18	▲1	DLWLW
 13 Kingsbury United       15   5   3   7  15  25  -10  18	▼3	DLLWL
 14 Carter United          15   4   5   6  10  17   -7  17	▼3	WLLDL
 15 Fraser Valley FC       15   3   5   7  25  27   -2  14	▼2	LLDDL
 16 Sturrey Athletic       15   0  11   4  10  14   -4  11	▲1	LDLDD
 17 Clark City             15   2   5   8  15  26  -11  11	▼2	LLDDL
 18 Ridgewell United       15   1   7   7  10  17   -7  10	-0	LLLDD
 19 Glenmont AFC           15   1   5   9  10  35  -25   8	-0	DWLLL
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      15   1   3  11  11  38  -27   6	-0	LDWLL

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by **Tumbra** » Fri Apr 09, 2021 11:22 am

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

The 120^th RUNNING OF THE REPUBLIC CUP - THE THIRD ROUND

The Republic Cup, first contested in 1903, is Tumbra's longest running domestic competition and is open to all professional teams in Tumbra. Non-professional teams may compete in the TFF Vase instead, though that will not be covered here. It is a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the final played in the Tumbran National Stadium. Matches occur every so often, as determined by the League schedule of the Premier Division. This year, matches will occur after the 5th, 10th, 15th, 26th, 32nd and 37th Premier Division matchday. The Final will be held after the 38th Matchday.

The competition is renowned for its brutality - all 128 teams, regardless of whether they are in the Premier Division or the Fourth Division, are unseeded and all have an equal chance to meet each other. The team drawn first is always put at home, leading to a true test of footballing equality. This year, the Cup will again be contested by every single team in the league structure, with the defending champions being Serrapince FC.

The First Round of the Cup saw three of the biggest teams in the Premier Division - Lakewood City and Lakewood United, as well as then-Premier Division leaders Clyde Park - get knocked out of the competition, the latter by fourth division side Hindhede Hawks, in the surprise of the round. This time, the remaining 64 clubs enter the round to determine who will be the last 32 clubs remaining in the cup - a very big shrinkage of the field considering that just five matchdays ago 128 clubs entered the gauntlet with the possibility of winning.

The Second Round saw Serrapince FC - led by new manager Danny Haverhead - knocked out by lowly Pomeroy Mountaineers from the Third Division. Was it complacency? Fatigue? A general lack of respect for a competition seen as second-tier to the domestic league, as the prize money only gets higher? Perhaps we'll never know. Most teams do play second-choice XIs in this tournament, a sign of footballing fatigue and rotation more than anything.

The 32 clubs will go head-to-head against each other - to determine the last 16 clubs in the Republic Cup.

The 16 matches are spoilered below, to prevent the clogging up of the Newswire.

Couno Rangers 2-2 Killiney SC (2-2 AET, 2-4 PKs)

Straton FC 4-1 Bencoolen City FC

Heffron City Miners 1-1 Kingsbury United FC (2-2 AET, 5-4 PKs)

Newton Warriors AFC 1-1 West Couno United (1-1 AET, 2-3 PKs)

AFC Gillman 0-2 Caldecott 93

Ridgewell Rovers 1-1 Delano Wanderers (1-3 AET)

Enfield Celtic 1-1 Ashton Rovers (2-1 AET)

Washington City FC 2-0 Kirkby Railwaymen

Rookworth Ospreys 0-1 Clark City 

Hendon Cardinals 1-1 Dunsford Auroras (1-1 AET, 2-3 PKs)

Carter United 0-1 Hesham FC

Teignford Academical 2-2 Fontwell Rovers (2-2 AET, 6-5 PKs)

Rosyth Warriors 0-0 Chester FC (1-0 AET)

Tavistock Athletic 3-1 Windsor FC

FC Inter Nantwich 3-2 Kelder Phoenixes

Pomeroy Mountaineers 2-1 Hesham Wanderers FC

Couno Rangers got eliminated on penalties, as did Kingsbury United, leaving a scant few Premier Division sides in the competition -- Straton, WCU, Clark City, hesham FC, and Nantwich. Giant-slayings are common -- perhaps all too much so in the Republic Cup - but to be eliminated on penalties is another level of cruelty altogether. The previous hundred and twenty minutes of football that you've played your heart and soul out for have just counted for nothing. What counts now is ten kicks (or even more, if you happened to be playing in the Teignford-Fontwell game) of dumb luck. The match has essentially been reset. No matter if you were dominating the opposition, and you scored two perfect goals to their two goalmouth scrabbles; that has essentially counted for nothing.

You are now at the mercy of the opposition goalkeeper. And your own foot. And the pitch, and the ball, and the spectators...

Really, the perfect penalty doesn't exist. All you can hope for, as you strike the ball with your preferred foot, is that you don't send it flying over the bar (as Joel Tyler did with his in the Couno-Killiney matchup) or that you send it into the goalkeeper's outstretched arms, or any other maniacal machinations that deities come up with to deny you the sweet, sweet penalty that could send your team through to the next round.

Why do you think penalty wins are celebrated more maniacally than regular wins?

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by **Tumbra** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:29 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 16-19

Tumbra wrote:

Team                          P   W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Lakewood City            15  11  2  2  36  16  +20  35
  2 Lakewood United          15   8  4  3  34  15  +19  28

The league table, this time last season.

Once again, the league season resumed as the teams steamed towards the halfway point. It's worth noting that at this time of the season, Lakewood City held a similar lead - 7 points to to the 6 they had now - which certainly doesn't bode well. Those supporting the members of the chasing pack - Serrapince, Lakewood United, Nantwich (Clyde, Couno and Straton less so) were hoping that they were able to keep up with Lakewood City's breathtaking pace as they steamed towards a second consecutive league title despite being one of two sides still being involved in IFCF competitions - the other being Serrapince.

MATCHDAY 16
Clyde Park 3-1 Carter United
Sturrey Athletic 0-3 Straton FC
Clark City 1-1 Columbia City
West Couno United 1-2 Serrapince FC
Macarthur City 2-1 Couno Rangers
Kingsbury United 2-0 Ridgewell United
Lakewood City 1-1 FC Inter Nantwich
Hesham FC 0-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Lakewood United 2-0 Fraser Valley FC
Glenmont AFC 1-0 Ricci Ironworkers

Lakewood City were immediately pegged back, dropping two points to Nantwich at home. The match was spirited, full of end-to-end excitement, and was a contender, arguably, for the best match of the season so far, for neutrals at least. Vaughn, reliable as always, scored an early goal that was cancelled out by a Jennings penalty - awarded in perhaps controversial circumstances, but then again, all penalties were. The season was blown wide open again, with the gap falling to four points. Serrapince, having won their game at West Couno United thanks to an O'Driscoll double, were the main beneficiaries of this slip-up, though Lakewood United - who at this point had conceded only ten goals - were up there as well, only being five points behind the league leaders at this stage. Much of their performances were attributed to the defensive partnership of Johnny Brown and Charles Allams, leaving some wondering why they even wanted to go in for Harry Henderson in the first place.

The running order would remain stable through the rest of the table, though Couno Rangers did suffer a rather embarrassing loss to Macarthur City. Nevermind that Macarthur had lost none of their five previous games, and were currently hot on the form table - Couno had lost to a newly-promoted side, and that was the headline that most papers ran with. Two goals from Stephen Read sank the Rams, who hit back late with a Sheldon strike, but it was one too little; a picture of Kiggwe Siakam with his face in his hands dominated the back pages the next morning.

At the bottom of the table, Glenmont beat the Ricci Ironworkers, moving them up to 18th while moving Ridgewell United (who were now in full-on, proper crisis mode) fell down to nineteenth, having not won a single match in fourteen matchdays. Other teams entering crisis mode included Fraser Valley, who were seriously considering letting Vulav Wanar-Tia go; stuck in fifteenth in the table and with just three wins out of sixteen, the odds were shortened remarkably after his loss to Lakewood United, where Cameron Keyes and Philip Cohen ran riot.

Sturrey's winless streak continued; they were now up to sixteen without a win after crumpling 3-0 at home to yet another Sallay masterclass.

MATCHDAY 17
Carter United 0-1 Sturrey Athletic
Clyde Park 2-1 Clark City
Straton FC 3-0 West Couno United
Columbia City 3-2 Macarthur City
Serrapince FC 1-0 Kingsbury United
Couno Rangers 0-1 Lakewood City
Ridgewell United 0-2 Hesham FC
FC Inter Nantwich 2-2 Lakewood United
Ridgewell Rovers 0-0 Glenmont AFC
Fraser Valley FC 3-0 Ricci Ironworkers

And the long wait for Sturrey supporters finally ended on Matchday 17, when they recorded a 1-0 win away at Carter, courtesy of a Thore Grönholm headed goal. Their fans certainly were hoping they wouldn't be waiting as long for the next one, though the way the team was playing, it was almost as if they were trying to play for a draw. Other results in the quickly-evolving relegation battle included Ridgewell Rovers drawing to Glenmont, meaning that for the first time Glenmont was level on points with a team not in the relegation zone, with Clark City finding themselves in 17th. Both had 12 points, but Glenmont's goal difference of -24 compared to -12 for Clark meant that they were still safe as long as they began winning games, their record still being stuck on 2 wins and six draws.

Fraser Valley smashed Ricci Ironworkers 3-0; there were shouts for Tia to drop the erratic Qusmi striker, Xilix-Oxolt Mal, in favour of playing Reinhard Geist up top instead; Gareth Roberts always looked much more comfortable with Geist on the pitch, where his qualities for holding up play in a 4-4-2 were only rivalled by Lakewood United's Cameron Keyes. The two linked up to deliver the win over Ricci; as always, while Ricci were bottom-feeders at this point of time, a win was a win, and Tia reflected that there had to be certain changes to the lineup if the club wanted to survive and press on.

At the top of the table, Lakewood City won their Big Six game over Couno; with Couno now three points away from WCU, and being the only Big Six side having not reached 30 points, the security of Kiggwe Siakam's job was once again being questioned. Vaughn would once again prove to be the difference-maker, with the silky 26-year old winger scoring the solitary goal. Serrapince, however, refused to let the difference get any larger once more; their goal came from George Hilton, who was beginning to stake his claim for a national team place. To overtake players like Vaughn and Dylan van Heirolf, however, would prove to be a tough ask; the waiting list was long, but Hilton was staking down a marker here.

MATCHDAY 18
Clark City 0-0 Carter United
West Couno United 1-0 Sturrey Athletic
Macarthur City 1-4 Clyde Park
Kingsbury United 2-2 Straton FC
Lakewood City 0-0 Columbia City
Hesham FC 1-2 Serrapince FC
Lakewood United 1-2 Couno Rangers
Glenmont AFC 1-1 Ridgewell United
Ricci Ironworkers 1-2 FC Inter Nantwich
Fraser Valley FC 1-1 Ridgewell Rovers

The gap up top was now two points, with Lakewood City dropping another two to Columbia City in a goal-less draw; Vaughn, noticeably fatigued, was out for this one, and as a result Lakewood City somehow managed to lose much of their creative impetus. Perhaps more worrying was Serrapince's run in form; outscoring Hesham in a game with Serrapince throwing caution to the wind, the club focusing much of its attention on its offensive capabilities. Hilton scored again, perhaps beginning a run of form; most of the Swarm (as Serrapince supporters refer to themselves) would certainly look forward to it.

Lakewood United fell to fifth after a frankly embarrassing loss against an out-of-form Couno Rangers side; perhaps the praise lauded at the LUFC defence had been too early coming. Regardless, Siakam used wingers of Anderson and Evers to great effect; both heavy speedsters, they left Byrne and Harris, the Lakewood United wingbacks, for dead multiple times during the match to record a famous victory in the Tumbran Classic, even if both sides weren't necessarily fighting for the lead of the league at this point of time.

Clyde Park struck four against Macarthur to end their winning streak and elevate themselves to third; the Fab Four of Laishram, Fraser, Kwak and Cresswood, as Clyde supporters had begun calling them, were responsible at this point for about 28 of Clyde's 39 goals, and keeping their dream of Challengers' Cup football alive, for one. This win - stopping a resurgent Macarthur in its tracks - was hopefully a key point for the team's title challenge, as they lifted themselves to within six points of LCFC.

In the relegation zone, Ricci lost to Nantwich; that much was expected, keeping them at the foot of the table with just 6 points. Ridgewell United drew with Glenmont, denying both teams the chance to move themselves out of the relegation zone at the expense of Clark City, who also suffered a draw (goal-less this time, however) with Carter United. Sturrey lost to West Couno United, courtesy of a late Almar Hussein goal; at this point their supporters would be forgiven for wanting a return to the monotony of draws, which at least provided a solitary point.

Fraser Valley threw away an opportunity to further climb out of the relegation conversation after drawing 1-1 with Ridgewell; the attacking standard of play, however, had improved by a lot with Geist once again starting next to Herbert, the former proving increasingly vital to the team's hopes of success.

MATCHDAY 19
Carter United 0-1 West Couno United
Clark City 1-1 Macarthur City
Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Kingsbury United
Clyde Park 3-3 Lakewood City
Straton FC 1-2 Hesham FC
Columbia City 1-4 Lakewood United
Serrapince FC 1-2 Glenmont AFC
Couno Rangers 2-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Ridgewell United 1-2 Fraser Valley FC
FC Inter Nantwich 2-0 Ridgewell Rovers

And as the season finally reached its midway point, the gap extended once more to three points up top; Clyde and Lakewood played out yet another match for the ages which ended all square; Laishram this time took the plaudits and the Man of the Match award home as he scored all three goals, landing himself a perfect hat-trick. City struck back; two goals from Phil Cole and one from Coonan brought the match level, and in the end, as what happened during the Nantwich game, most agreed that it was a fair result, all things considered. Lakewood would go on to be the first team to reach 50 goals; having conceded just nineteen, they would head into the second half of the season in a good, yet somehow precarious position.

Serrapince, meanwhile, dropped the ball against Glenmont, of all teams, allowing them to escape the shackles of the relegation zone for the first time all season, allowing them to end the first half of the season in sixteenth. This, of course, meant that Sturrey - who drew, of course, - was now 17th in the league, and there was a very real chance they would get relegated if Clark ended up escaping the relegation zone.

Lakewood United thrashed Columbia 1-4, with Adam Herlinger scoring a brace, Philip Cohen scoring one and Cameron Keyes getting a rare goal in; the young striker had settled into his role as the second striker brilliantly for Lakewood United, and many things were promised of him should the partnership continue. The top seven at this point were separated by just ten points; the top four by six, proving to set up an excellent spectacle for the remaining 19 matches. It turned out Clyde Park's form from last season wasn't a sham, and with the Fab Four up top, nothing could really stop them from making a bid to join the Big Six, perhaps turning it into the Big Seven if they could keep up their results.

At the bottom of the table, Clark drew against Macarthur, which wasn't enough to lug them out of the relegation zone; they were now one point behind Sturrey. Carter United, meanwhile, having lost to WCU by a solitary McIntyre goal, were in a ditch of their own; they, who were 4th this time last season, were now in 15th, and while there was no general reason for the team's slump in form, many pointed to the underwhelming impact the new signings the team had made on their form. Brent, as cool a finisher as he was, wasn't a replacement for John Bridges in the dressing rom, despite his obvious physical weaknesses when compared to the veteran striker. The team could only hope to push on in the meantime; no doubt they would have to push on, but there was potential in this squad; but it just had to be unlocked first, and some were beginning to cast doubt on whether Jim Heath was the right man for the job.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Last 5
  1 Lakewood City          19  13   4   2  52  19  +33  43	-0	WDWDD
  2 Serrapince FC          19  12   4   3  34  23  +11  40	-0	DWWWL
  3 FC Inter Nantwich      19  10   8   1  30  19  +11  38	▲1	LDDWW
  4 Lakewood United        19  11   4   4  36  15  +21  37	▼1	WWDLW
  5 Clyde Park             19  11   4   4  42  23  +19  37	-0	DWWWD
  6 Straton FC             19  10   3   6  50  30  +20  33	▲1	WWWDL
  7 Couno Rangers          19   9   6   4  42  30  +12  33	▼1	WLLWW
  8 West Couno United      19   8   6   5  18  16   +2  30	-0	DLLWW
  9 Hesham FC              19   7   4   8  29  32   -3  25	▲2	WLWLW
 10 Columbia City          19   6   7   6  23  28   -5  25	▼1	DDWDL
 11 Macarthur City         19   6   6   7  21  28   -7  24	▼1	WWLLD
 12 Ridgewell Rovers       19   6   5   8  17  23   -6  23	-0	WWDDL
 13 Kingsbury United       19   6   5   8  20  29   -9  23	-0	LWLDD
 14 Fraser Valley FC       19   5   6   8  31  31   +0  21	▲1	LLWDW
 15 Carter United          19   4   6   9  11  22  -11  18	▼1	LLLDL
 16 Glenmont AFC           19   3   7   9  14  37  -23  16	▲3	LWDDW
 17 Sturrey Athletic       19   1  12   6  12  19   -7  15	▼1	DLWLD
 18 Clark City             19   2   8   9  18  30  -12  14	▼1	LDLDD
 19 Ridgewell United       19   1   8  10  12  24  -12  11	▼1	DLLDL
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      19   1   3  15  12  46  -34   6	-0	LLLLL

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD15.

If you enjoyed (or didn't enjoy) this part, click here and let Tumbra know why!

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 5:06 am

SECOND DIVISION
MID-SEASON REVIEW

Division Two Standings

    Team                        P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Dorival FC                 23  15  4   4  34  17  +17  49
  2 AFC Cayalon                23  13  6   4  56  29  +27  45
  3 Kirkby Railwaymen          23  12  6   5  46  29  +17  42
  4 Newton Warriors AFC        23  12  4   7  43  30  +13  40
  5 Ashton Rovers              23  11  6   6  28  15  +13  39
  6 Bencoolen City FC          23  11  4   8  35  35   +0  37
  7 Killiney SC                23  11  4   8  36  44   -8  37
  8 Readale Wanderers          23  11  3   9  40  33   +7  36
  9 Port Marray FC             23   8  9   6  41  27  +14  33
 10 New Timbourne Knights      23   9  6   8  31  23   +8  33
 11 Fontwell Rovers            23   8  9   6  30  23   +7  33
 12 Colbrook City              23   9  6   8  38  36   +2  33
 13 Delphi Lions               23  10  2  11  47  39   +8  32
 14 Washington Falcons         23   9  5   9  39  36   +3  32
 15 AFC Gillman                23   8  3  12  35  34   +1  27
 16 Carrington Bulls           23   6  8   9  43  46   -3  26
 17 Falmouth AFC               23   7  5  11  21  29   -8  26
 18 Cobham United              23   6  8   9  17  27  -10  26
 19 Kelder Phoenixes           23   7  5  11  26  37  -11  26
 20 Guillemard Town            23   7  5  11  31  42  -11  26
 21 Tavistock Athletic         23   7  5  11  31  52  -21  26
 22 Enfield Celtic             23   6  6  11  16  24   -8  24
 23 Trelmont Rangers           23   6  2  15  25  47  -22  20
 24 Nottingham City            23   4  5  14  26  61  -35  17

Immediately it became clear to the three relegated teams from last season - Marray, Readale and Newton - that the fight to go back up at the first time of asking would be more difficult than expected. Midway through the season, they were in 9th, 8th and 4th respectively - hardly anywhere close to going back up. But given the extremely tight nature of the Second Division, where runs of form could disappear in one moment - it seemed likely that something could happen in the second half of the season.

THIRD DIVISION EAST
MID SEASON REVIEW

Third Division East Standings

    Team                       P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Grange United FC          23  18  2   3  43  16  +27  56
  2 Tavistock Park FC         23  15  5   3  38  19  +19  50
  3 Windsor FC                23  15  3   5  43  22  +21  48
  4 Hesham Wanderers FC       23  13  5   5  32  18  +14  44
  5 Heath Bay Mariners        23  12  6   5  42  21  +21  42
  6 Caldecott 93              23  12  5   6  43  26  +17  41
  7 Dieren City Admirals      23  10  9   4  45  27  +18  39
  8 Readale City Blues        23  11  6   6  26  17   +9  39
  9 Brades United FC          23  11  6   6  38  34   +4  39
 10 Rosenberg City            23   9  6   8  43  34   +9  33
 11 Staplewood Sparrows       23   9  6   8  47  43   +4  33
 12 Harren Armada             23   7 10   6  24  22   +2  31
 13 Lambeth Leopards          23   9  3  11  31  36   -5  30
 14 Hendon Cardinals          23   9  3  11  22  32  -10  30
 15 Rookworth United          23   8  3  12  20  26   -6  27
 16 Knapford United           23   7  4  12  22  20   +2  25
 17 Melwood Rangers           23   7  4  12  23  28   -5  25
 18 Straton Typhoons          23   6  6  11  27  39  -12  24
 19 Pinhal Athletic           23   7  3  13  31  45  -14  24
 20 Algoma Wanderers          23   6  5  12  33  44  -11  23
 21 Rosyth Warriors           23   6  4  13  33  38   -5  22
 22 Collett Park United       23   5  4  14  23  59  -36  19
 23 Gisbourne Lynxes          23   4  3  16  20  55  -35  15
 24 Wilmington Town           23   2  5  16  34  62  -28  11

THIRD DIVISION WEST
MID SEASON REVIEW

Third Division West Standings

    Team                             P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mackay Robins                   23  14  8   1  34  13  +21  50
  2 Oakton Stars                    23  13  7   3  36  18  +18  46
  3 Caldwell City                   23  14  3   6  37  15  +22  45
  4 Teignford FC                    23  13  6   4  52  34  +18  45
  5 Dunsford United                 23  13  3   7  41  28  +13  42
  6 West Thornton United            23  12  5   6  23  19   +4  41
  7 Millsburgh Steelers             23  12  4   7  30  18  +12  40
  8 Fort Heatherton FC              23  11  6   6  39  27  +12  39
  9 Hoxford United                  23  10  4   9  42  34   +8  34
 10 Millsburgh Revolutionaries      23  10  4   9  32  29   +3  34
 11 Gelder City                     23   8  8   7  33  32   +1  32
 12 Delano Wanderers                23   9  4  10  20  19   +1  31
 13 Colney Thorns                   23   9  4  10  23  30   -7  31
 14 Harchester United               23   8  4  11  36  33   +3  28
 15 Shepperton Ravens               23   8  4  11  15  19   -4  28
 16 Prinsip Street                  23   7  5  11  22  29   -7  26
 17 Pomeroy Mountaineers            23   6  7  10  16  23   -7  25
 18 Tevandale AFC                   23   6  7  10  18  28  -10  25
 19 Orpington Owls                  23   7  4  12  23  36  -13  25
 20 Locomotive Harper               23   6  5  12  24  37  -13  23
 21 Langley Guardians               23   7  2  14  23  45  -22  23
 22 Franport Blossoms               23   5  6  12  16  32  -16  21
 23 Heffron City Miners             23   5  4  14  24  38  -14  19
 24 Denhelm Terriers                23   3  6  14  23  46  -23  15

FOURTH DIVISION EAST
MID SEASON REVIEW

Fourth Division East Standings

    Team                       P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Wabash United             17  11  2   4  33  17  +16  35
  2 Farleigh Tigers           17   9  6   2  34  17  +17  33
  3 Mayfield Black Bears      17   9  5   3  29  15  +14  32
  4 Burlington FC             17  10  2   5  40  31   +9  32
  5 Richmond Swans            17  10  2   5  33  25   +8  32
  6 Knapford City FC          17   9  3   5  35  22  +13  30
  7 Hindhede Hawks            17   9  2   6  33  24   +9  29
  8 Coburg Hornets            17   8  4   5  30  27   +3  28
  9 Sherwood Town FC          17   7  4   6  22  29   -7  25
 10 Chester FC                17   7  3   7  31  27   +4  24
 11 Thomson Admirals          17   6  6   5  23  20   +3  24
 12 Taranga FC                17   6  5   6  25  25   +0  23
 13 Severn FC Newark          17   5  5   7  22  24   -2  20
 14 Arlington Athletic        17   4  5   8  19  31  -12  17
 15 Maxwell Arsenal           17   2  6   9  11  25  -14  12
 16 Wolskel FC                17   3  3  11  12  36  -24  12
 17 Havelock Harriers         17   2  5  10  12  24  -12  11
 18 Cortlandt United          17   0  4  13  14  39  -25   4

FOURTH DIVISION WEST
MID SEASON REVIEW

Fourth Division West Standings

    Team                         P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Haversham City              17  12  3   2  43  16  +27  39
  2 Johnstone Athletic          17  11  3   3  33  14  +19  36
  3 Southport Thunder           17  10  2   5  36  23  +13  32
  4 Cheltenham FC               17   9  3   5  32  24   +8  30
  5 Ruislip and Ipswich FC      17   8  5   4  35  22  +13  29
  6 Brensley Hawks              17   8  4   5  23  21   +2  28
  7 Blenheim FC                 17   8  2   7  27  28   -1  26
  8 Dover Defenders             17   7  4   6  18  19   -1  25
  9 FC Montrose                 17   7  3   7  13  12   +1  24
 10 Dynamo Denhelm              17   7  3   7  27  27   +0  24
 11 Kellsthorpe Bliuebirds      17   5  7   5  17  18   -1  22
 12 Moresby United              17   5  7   5  21  24   -3  22
 13 Clifton Town                17   6  4   7  19  28   -9  22
 14 Monroe Quakes               17   4  7   6  12  17   -5  19
 15 Othaven Wolves              17   5  2  10  23  40  -17  17
 16 Dunman Bay FC               17   4  3  10  22  31   -9  15
 17 Eisenhower City             17   1  6  10   4  19  -15   9
 18 Ilstead Wanderers           17   1  2  14   7  29  -22   5

by **Tumbra** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:43 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 20-23

When the season left off...

Lakewood City were three points up on Serrapince, who, under their new manager Danny Haverhead were giving LCFC an actual run for their money. The other Big Six team to pick up a foreign manager in the summer, Inter Nantwich, were sitting pretty in third with just one defeat to their name. Last season's surprise package, Clyde Park, were proving to be a bit more than a one-season wonder, sitting in fifth, while the two sides who'd experienced IFCF football last season, finishing third and fourth, were now languishing in sixth and seventh - Couno and Straton, respectively. Straton's lack of success was made all the more surprising by the fact that they had the talented Pasargan player Vászony Sallay up top, who'd scored 17 goals in 19 matches and was leading the Golden Boot race by quite a margin - indeed, Straton's offence (on 50 goals scored in 19 matches) was only second to LCFC's 52 goals.

Beneath the Seven Sisters, West Couno United's summer signing of Scott McIntyre had proven to be the shot in the arm the Chocolatiers so desperately needed, with the team sitting pretty in eighth, and already on track to finish with more points than they did last season. Recently-promoted Macarthur were doing extremely well for a team of their stature, sitting in 11th, on a stellar record as well. More disappointing had been Fraser Valley - recording 6th and 8th placed finishes in the preceeding two seasons, they were now in 14th, with just 5 wins from the 19 played so far. Further down the table, Sturrey had the unenviable record of 1 win and twelve draws, but they were still in 17th - one above Clark City, whose new manager Ensio Kedar hadn't exactly gotten off to the smoothest of starts. Right beneath them, however, was Ridgewell United, whose time in the Premier Division might have been finally drawing to a close - capping five seasons of suffering for their fans, who might now have had a chance to hope for a better ownership should they have decided to sell up.

Many of the Under-18 squad who had gone to Zeta Reka in the summer and returned as champions had signed for various professional clubs; a good number would be promoted to the senior squads.

MATCHDAY 20
Macarthur City 1-1 Carter United
Kingsbury United 2-0 West Couno United
Lakewood City 4-0 Clark City
Hesham FC 0-1 Sturrey Athletic
Lakewood United 2-2 Clyde Park
Glenmont AFC 1-3 Straton FC
Ricci Ironworkers 1-2 Columbia City
Fraser Valley FC 0-4 Serrapince FC
Ridgewell Rovers 1-1 Couno Rangers
FC Inter Nantwich 1-0 Ridgewell United

Lakewood City began the second half of the season by throwing down a marker, defeating Clark City 4-0 at home; the complete shutout was attributable, really to the defensive prowess of Ian Ashburn and Louis Paterson, who in total allowed just 3 shots on goal the entire game. Ashburn's growing maturity was evident, and there was substantial evidence that he'd be in line to partner Harry Henderson when Johnny Brown, the national team captain, eventually announced his retirement. On the other end of the pitch, Vaughn and Anderson had yet another good day; both scored 2 each.

Speaking of Lakewood sides, the other Lakewood team drew 2-2 with Clyde Park; early goals from Cohen and Kristensen were pulled back by a rare Russell White goal and a free kick from Pierre-Louis Laishram; the result saw both teams continue on 38 points, with just the most slender of goal differences separating the two; whether Devzies or Riedweld would be able to get the better of their opponents and head for IFCF football would be one of the most looked-out for battles in the second half of the season.

Nantwich's solitary goal against Ridgewell was enough to see them hold on to third; unfortunately, Serrapince decided to also score four against Fraser Valley, with typical substitute Robert Goldstein providing a goal and an assist in this match; the regular starter, Ally McColl, was off with a slight injury. The gap to the top remained at three points; it was just waiting to see who would take advantage of a Lakewood City slip, when it happened. Or, if their current form threatened to hold up, if it happened.

Further down the table Kingsbury pulled off a victory against West Couno; Kingsbury, despite having lost van Heirolf at the start of the season, had indeed managed to rally around their new option on the wing, Antti Perkannen; and he duly delivered, hitting the Chocolatiers for one with George Kramer providing the second. Sturrey managed to get their second win of the season; taking further advantage of Glenmont's loss to Straton, managed to leap-frog their rivals back into 17th. The relegation spots, however, never budged; the bottom three at this point was still Clark, Ridgewell United and Ricci Ironworkers.

MATCHDAY 21
Carter United 0-1 Kingsbury United
Macarthur City 0-1 Lakewood City
West Couno United 1-1 Hesham FC
Clark City 0-1 Lakewood United
Sturrey Athletic 1-0 Glenmont AFC
Clyde Park 3-0 Ricci Ironworkers
Straton FC 7-1 Fraser Valley FC
Columbia City 3-0 Ridgewell Rovers
Serrapince FC 1-2 FC Inter Nantwich
Couno Rangers 1-1 Ridgewell United

Two important matches occurred this week, though one actually gained significance after the match was played, because of the sheer margin of victory. Serrapince v Nantwich, hosted at the imposing Serrapince Park, would prove to be a decisive match for who would take the fight to Lakewood City; in the end, however, Serrapince would lose out, a late, dramatic Tom Stansfield stunner sealing the win for the Black-and-blues, leaving the Bees distraught; they'd lost second in the league to the resurgent Nantwich side. More happy, however, were Lakewood City; their narrow win over Macarthur extending their lead up top to five points.

Clyde Park and Lakewood United both won their matches; it just so happened that Clyde won their match by the exact margin to go level with Lakewood on goal difference, meaning they took third ahead of Lakewood United, because they'd scored 47 goals to Lakewood United's 39. Lower down the table, Sturrey pulled off a crucial win against Glenmont to take their wins tally for the season up to 3; they also pulled themselves up to fourteenth, with a much larger cushion to the relegation zone than previously.

Couno fell to seventh after a frankly embarrassing draw with Ridgewell United; however, RUFC's play style had devolved into such an abrasive, physical style that some could say they were getting ready for life in the Second Division early. Several of Couno's players were at least somewhat injured after the match; the most important loss, however, would prove to be Marcus Sheldon, their talismanic striker.

The rise and fall in the table of Couno and Sturrey weren't entirely unrelated, however; both of them had played in the same match, and one'd recorded a 6 goal winning margin, while the other was forced to reckon with their own mortality in the Premier Division as they inched increasingly closer to a relegation battle which nobody expected would be taking place -- Straton took Fraser Valley to town, hitting seven past while the Valley could only muster one in response. The match was notable for Straton arriving at the tally of 60 goals scored this season, 22 of which were scored by that Pasargan player, Vászony Sallay, whose odds to win the Golden Boot were now slashed by more than half as he and the Straton FC offence ran riot over Fraser; the match was also notable for the debut of Stephen Kerr, who had won the U-18 WC in Zeta Reka; he more than put in a good shift in his debut, and helped rack up the score, effectively, by keeping Reinhard Geist's involvement in the game to a minimum.

Where to now for the Qusmi manager, Vulav-Wanar Tia, who looked positively out of ideas? Already the rumours were that he would be looking go leave the Valley at the end of the season, and perhaps search for a new job; whether that would entail him bringing the Qusmi players, who hadn't really broken into the first team despite being extremely promising, along with him, was also another question.

MATCHDAY 22
Lakewood City 2-0 Carter United
Hesham FC 1-0 Kingsbury United
Lakewood United 2-1 Macarthur City
Glenmont AFC 0-2 West Couno United
Ricci Ironworkers 4-4 Clark City
Fraser Valley FC 1-0 Sturrey Athletic
Ridgewell Rovers 1-2 Clyde Park
FC Inter Nantwich 1-1 Straton FC
Ridgewell United 1-1 Columbia City
Couno Rangers 1-0 Serrapince FC

Nantwich's defence versus Straton's offense would prove to be the key match of the week here; an immovable object versus a nigh unstoppable force. In the end, neither triumphed, though most observers agreed that by virtue of Straton not taking all three points; Nantwich had succeeded. Douglas Moore, who had been assigned to mark Sallay, successfully kept him out of the game for the most part, with only failures by Toby Sinclair to hit the target failing to win the match for Inter Nantwich. More worryingly for the title race, however, was Lakewood City winning against Carter United, bringing the gap up to 8 points; the Skyblues were now on course for a second consecutive title, but with seventeen matchdays left to play, anything was possible - and van der Brumen reminded the media as much during his post match press conference.

Elsewhere, Serrapince fell out of the top four for the first time in a while as they fell to a Bruce Nolan goal; the enigmatic young striker having received the ball deep in his own half, going on a 60-yard run before scoring. His jubilation at scoring the game-winning goal was felt throughout the pitch; once again, Haverhead felt the brunt of the criticism, but deflected it onto himself by talking more about his philosophy of playing football. Needless to say, however, Serrapince slipping out of the top four was a worrying experience; especially since they were now behind Lakewood United, who were quietly having a good season.

They were, however, still in fourth behind Clyde Park, who'd won their game against the Ridgewell Rovers; the trip there was an easy dispatching, with Cresswood scoring a penalty and a sweet finish from inside the box to guarantee Clyde third place. Their sustained challenge for IFCF football was proving to be good watching; now they just had to shake off Lakewood United to be able to properly focus on their title ambitions - though Devzies categorically denied the club had said ambitions, after seeing LCFC's 8 point lead up top.

Further down the table, neither Clark nor Ricci were able to pull off a win; both held each other to 4 goals at the Foundry for what did prove to be a nail-biting match. Carter United's loss to Lakewood City now meant they were down in sixteenth; hardly an enviable position to be in at this point in the season, though the three relegation candidates were hardly proving their case to stay in the league either. WCU's win over Glenmont, however, meant that the Dragons did have a four-point cushion over seventeenth; if they could go on a run of form, they wouldn't have much case to worry.

MATCHDAY 23
Carter United 0-1 Hesham FC
Lakewood City 1-0 Lakewood United
Kingsbury United 0-1 Glenmont AFC
Macarthur City 2-0 Ricci Ironworkers
West Couno United 0-0 Fraser Valley FC
Clark City 2-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Sturrey Athletic 0-2 FC Inter Nantwich
Clyde Park 1-2 Ridgewell United
Straton FC 4-0 Couno Rangers
Columbia City 1-2 Serrapince FC

The return fixture of the Lakewood Derby occurred this week, with Lakewood City seeking revenge for their early-season humiliation at the hands of the Reds; in the end, the goals didn't flow, as Brown and Allams managed to keep the number of allowed goals to just one. The match, however, forced Lakewood United to go super defensive; for the entirety of the ninety minutes, they only managed to register five shots, a stark decrease from other games. The Robin Vaughn goal after the hour mark proved to be the deciding one; the result also meant that Serrapince would re-enter the top four, coming in at a more modest third place after beating Columbia away from home to leapfrog Clyde and Lakewood United.

Nantwich would beat Sturrey, away; with still one loss to their name, the smugness from Estelline was starting to re-emerge, as he'd not lost a match in eight games. They were, as he insisted, still in the title fight - they were 7 points behind with 15 matches left to play for. Despite having scored the least goals amongst the top seven, Estelline insisted his team's defensive solidity would be what carried them into the Challengers' Cup. He did, however, still say that Lakewood City were the favourites to win the league.

This was, of course, a common view; with the team having reached 60 goals with their win against Lakewood United, they had the second-most proficient attacking outfit, and, along with Lakewood United and West Couno United, the joint-least goals conceded. This combination was a lethal one, and was a major reason why they were 7 points up on the rest of the chasing pack.

The most attacking unit in the league, however, were sitting in sixth; Straton FC, on 43 points, were but one point behind the bickering couple of Clyde and Lakewood United, who were both on 44. They'd achieved this by putting four past Couno in another performance that took advantage of Couno's weak wing-backs; Siakam essentially wrote the season off after the loss, but whether he'd still be in the manager's chair next season was up for hot debate, as suspicions grew that he'd be let go in favour of another manager from abroad. A three-year contract had been signed, and Siakam was in the second year of it; however, managerial sackings were not beneath the Couno ownership's remit.

Further down the table, WCU fell to a goal-less draw with Fraser; the result enabled them to jump up to thirteenth. Hesham beat Carter to remain in ninth and move to three points of West Couno; their earlier worries about being in the relegation zone now gone, with Vincent Hicks more than proving why he deserved a national team place despite not being at a top six club. Rumours abated that he was looking for a move abroad on the cheap; playing as the dynamo on the senior team, he hoped offers for his services would be high.

Clark City managed to win a game, against Ridgewell Rovers; the result, however, saw them remain in 18th, as Glenmont had also pulled out a win against Kingsbury. In a battle of newly-promoted sides, Macarthur had beaten Ricci; they were now solidly on track to remain up. If they did, however, they faced a difficult battle to stay up and continue performing the next season, especially since the league was on track to shrink to 18 clubs.

And that was how Matchday 23 ended. The table, in hindsight, looked much like Matchday 19's - though perhaps this was a sign that things were settling down, now that the second half had begun.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Form
  1 Lakewood City          23  17   4   2  60  19  +41  55	-0	DWWWW
  2 FC Inter Nantwich      23  13   9   1  36  21  +15  48	▲1	WWWDW
  3 Serrapince FC          23  14   4   5  41  27  +14  46	▼1	LWLLW
  4 Clyde Park             23  13   5   5  50  28  +22  44	▲1	DDWWL
  5 Lakewood United        23  13   5   5  41  19  +22  44	▼1	WDWWL
  6 Straton FC             23  13   4   6  65  33  +32  43	-0	LWWDW
  7 Couno Rangers          23  10   8   5  45  36   +9  38	-0	WDDWL
  8 West Couno United      23   9   8   6  21  19   +2  35	-0	WLDWD
  9 Hesham FC              23   9   5   9  32  34   -2  32	-0	WLDWW
 10 Columbia City          23   8   8   7  30  32   -2  32	-0	LWWDL
 11 Kingsbury United       23   8   5  10  23  31   -8  29	▲2	DWWLL
 12 Macarthur City         23   7   7   9  25  32   -7  28	▼1	DDLLW
 13 Fraser Valley FC       23   6   7  10  33  42   -9  25	▲1	WLLWD
 14 Ridgewell Rovers       23   6   6  11  20  31  -11  24	▼2	LDLLL
 15 Sturrey Athletic       23   3  12   8  14  22   -8  21	▲2	DWWLL
 16 Carter United          23   4   7  12  12  27  -15  19	▼1	LDLLL
 17 Glenmont AFC           23   4   7  12  16  43  -27  19	▼1	WLLLW
 18 Clark City             23   3   9  11  24  40  -16  18	-0	DLLDW
 19 Ridgewell United       23   2  10  11  16  28  -12  16	-0	LLDDW
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      23   1   4  18  17  57  -40   7	-0	LLLDL

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD19. Form takes into account the last five matches; which is to say, MD18-MD23.

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by **Tumbra** » Tue Apr 13, 2021 10:24 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 24-26

When we last left off...

The gap between Lakewood City and the chasing pack had increased to seven points, mostly thanks to Serrapince losing their grasp on second, a victory in the Lakewood Derby and their own offensive prowess, really. Nantwich had taken advantage of Serrapince's minor slip-up to go second, and they were looking good to challenge Lakewood City - but they'd require LCFC to slip up first. Clyde and Lakewood United were tussling for 4th, while Straton and Couno had effectively given up on the season - the former even more surprising because they had the best offence in the league, bar none, and the leader for the Golden Boot race in their squad. Yet, their defence meant that time and time again, they'd been pegged back by other teams.

West Couno United, Hesham, Columbia and Kingsbury made up the next four vying for the top half of the table, while newly promoted Macarthur wasn't close behind - quietly having an impressive season. Meanwhile, down in 13th and 14th, Fraser Valley and Ridgewell Rovers were struggling, but more for the former than the latter. And in the relegation fight - comprising six teams at this point in the season (though really, it felt more like five with the resistance Ricci was putting up) - was heating up as well, with storied teams such as Clark City right in the middle of it.

That was the state of the league as Tumbra approached as it approached Matchday 24.

MATCHDAY 24
Lakewood United 2-1 Carter United
Glenmont AFC 1-1 Hesham FC
Ricci Ironworkers 1-3 Lakewood City
Fraser Valley FC 2-1 Kingsbury United
Ridgewell Rovers 0-2 Macarthur City
FC Inter Nantwich 2-0 West Couno United
Ridgewell United 1-0 Clark City
Couno Rangers 1-0 Sturrey Athletic
Serrapince FC 2-1 Clyde Park
Columbia City 1-3 Straton FC

Several important results came out of this round - Serrapince winning against Clyde Park, meaning Straton overtook them in the race for fourth; Nantwich winning against WCU, putting their faint hopes of catching up to their eastern neighbours out of reach for the time being, and Ridgewell United winning against Clark City, grabbing them out of the relegation zone and sending Carter and Clark into it.

No doubt a lot of it was due to the relative strength of their opponents - Lakewood United facing a relegation-threatened Carter United, and Clyde Park facing a top-three side in Serrapince, but there was still some expectation that they wouldn't crumple like they did when going up against a team who was known to be defensively shaky. Yet, they still did - early goals from Hilton and McColl sank the Lions, and a late salvo from Kwak failed to at least level out the score. Lakewood United's win against Carter - once again turning into the Keyes And Cohen show - sent Lakewood United into undisputed fourth, two points behind Serrapince yet one point ahead of Straton, whose win against Columbia had propelled them into fifth with 46 points.

Nantwich calmly dispatched WCU to keep the margin at seven points; Lakewood City had gone to Ricci and picked up another three points, there. With eighteen wins from twenty-four, many were already shorting the odds on them to win the title; however, Nantwich were seemingly extremely determined to try and plug that gap by any means possible and win their first title in eleven years.

Relegation Battle
    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Match
 15 Sturrey Athletic       24   3  12   9  14  23   -9  21	-0	Couno Rangers 1-0 Sturrey Athletic
 16 Glenmont AFC           24   4   8  12  17  44  -27  20	▲1	Glenmont AFC 1-1 Hesham FC
 17 Ridgewell United       24   3  10  11  17  28  -11  19	▲2	Ridgewell United 1-0 Clark City
 18 Carter United          24   4   7  13  13  29  -16  19	▼2	Lakewood United 2-1 Carter United
 19 Clark City             24   3   9  12  24  41  -17  18	▼1	Ridgewell United 1-0 Clark City
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      24   1   4  19  18  60  -42   7	-0	Ricci Ironworkers 1-3 Lakewood City

Nobody would begrudge Ridgewell their achievement; their win against Clark City, as mean-spirited as it may have been (Clark manager Kedar later complained of his players being metaphorically beaten up on the pitch), moved them out of the relegation zone into 17th. That wasn't a barrier as much as much a thin strip of cloth separating them from the relegation zone once more; just a five-goal swing would throw Ridgewell back in there. Elsewhere, Glenmont acquited themselves terrifically in their draw with Hesham, snatching a single point from the Ploughmen; Matt Haskell's late equaliser was celebrated with delirious celebrations from the travelling Lynxes, as the belief formed that they might be able to escape going back down in the season they went back up.

MATCHDAY 25
Carter United 1-0 Glenmont AFC
Lakewood United 4-1 Ricci Ironworkers
Hesham FC 2-1 Fraser Valley FC
Lakewood City 2-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Kingsbury United 2-0 FC Inter Nantwich
Macarthur City 1-1 Ridgewell United
West Couno United 1-1 Couno Rangers
Clark City 1-2 Serrapince FC
Sturrey Athletic 1-0 Columbia City
Clyde Park 1-0 Straton FC

Gap: 9 points (+2)

The battle between who would take the fight to Lakewood City raged on, even as Lakewood City themselves took another three points off Ridgewell Rovers to extend the gap up top to nine points, courtesy of Nantwich's second winning run ending after nine games. The result meant Serrapince would return to the top of the chasing pack (ie. second), albeit by just one point; but the gap, just as it was last season, was slowly increasing. Nantwich's loss was brought about via, some said, heavy squad rotation - that was clearly a factor, as their rock at the back Devon Daniels hadn't been playing that match. That, however, fails to give credit to Kingsbury's Martin Gallagher, who scored both goals; evidently the Inter Nantwich defence weren't expecting much from the sometimes-inconsistent winger.

Lakewood City's three points taken off the Rovers meant that they were safe from relegation; celebrations over that fact, most of which were more sardonic than genuine, took place mostly online. The team continued their slow march towards the title, hoping that they wouldn't collapse late in the season like their neighbours did last season. But, at the clip at which they were proceeding, they didn't really have to worry about that.

Speaking of said neighbours, LUFC visited Ricci and gained all three points; though such a visit as that was mostly a mere formality, with the speed at which Ricci was crumbling. They hadn't been relegated yet, but bar something akin to a miracle or a great escape, they were heading back to the Second Division for next season. Perhaps a tad of a regret for Grimson Hoskins, who'd expressed his love for the club that was definitively punching above its weight; yet, if and when the club got relegated, he'd already expressed his wish to head to another club, preferably within the country.

The Couno derby ended all square; McIntyre against Sheldon ended with both men scoring a goal to keep the scores level and to further peg Couno back. They were now 19 points behind the league leaders, and eight behind Lakewood United; while IFCF football was still possible, the title was now effectively out of reach for them. The same went for Straton, who, for the first time in a long while, failed to score any goals; Clyde re-leapfrogged Straton to go fifth, and had set their sights back on Lakewood United, who were now three points ahead of them.

In the relegation battle, Glenmont's loss to Carter meant it was their time to sink back into the relegation zone; Sturrey's win over Columbia set them up to end the matchweek 14th, and perhaps safe for now; and Clark lost to Serrapince.

MATCHDAY 26
Ricci Ironworkers 1-1 Carter United
Fraser Valley FC 4-1 Glenmont AFC
Ridgewell Rovers 1-6 Lakewood United
FC Inter Nantwich 2-0 Hesham FC
Ridgewell United 0-1 Lakewood City
Couno Rangers 1-2 Kingsbury United
Serrapince FC 2-1 Macarthur City
Columbia City 2-1 West Couno United
Straton FC 7-3 Clark City
Clyde Park 4-1 Sturrey Athletic

The table could now recognisably be split into three sections; the top seven, battling it out for the title (though from the looks of things the title really only had one home, and the rest were merely battling it out for IFCF spots); the next six, battling it out for midtable supremacy (which was more exciting than this writer, or even the match results, makes it seem, for they only have so much time to cover ten end-to-end matches), where the six teams were separated by five points; and the stragglers near the bottom, who were all trying to avoid the three drop slots (though, as covered earlier, it really was just two slots).

At the top of the table, Lakewood City's perhaps narrow win over Ridgewell saw the gap remain steady at nine points; the match was marred by a series of fouls and the two teams never really settled into a rhythm. In the end, the game was decided by a Alan Morgan header; a rare occurrence, given how the midfielder didn't really look like the kind who jumped. All in all, a dirty, hard-fought win, but a win nonetheless. Serrapince beat Macarthur by a similar margin, while Nantwich easily dispatched Hesham, keeping a clean sheet; the importance of Devon Daniels to the team could hardly be overstated by this point, and he was becoming a candidate for Player of the Season.

Lakewood United won their match by five goals, Clark won theirs by three and Straton won theirs by four to successively frustrate each other in the battle to get ahead; their running order would remain the same. The same story was repeated each match; the attacking prowess of Keyes and Cohen/the Fabulous Four/Vázsony Sallay was too much for the defences of Ridgewell Rovers/Sturrey Athletic/Clark City respectively. These results also meant that there wouldn't be much change near the bottom of the table, nor, indeed, near the top of it; the only result that held much surprise this week was Couno Rangers' 1-2 loss to Kingsbury, with the Princelings continuing their rise in form. They would, however, remain 11th in the table.

Oh, and Ricci grabbed another point from Carter.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Form
  1 Lakewood City          26  20   4   2  66  21  +45  64	-0	WWWWW
  2 Serrapince FC          26  17   4   5  47  30  +17  55	▲1	LWWWW
  3 FC Inter Nantwich      26  15   9   2  40  23  +17  54	▼1	DWWLW
  4 Lakewood United        26  16   5   5  53  22  +31  53	▲1	WLWWW
  5 Clyde Park             26  15   5   6  56  31  +25  50	▼1	WLLWW
  6 Straton FC             26  15   4   7  75  38  +37  49	-0	DWWLW
  7 Couno Rangers          26  11   9   6  48  39   +9  42	-0	LWWDL
  8 West Couno United      26   9   9   8  23  24   -1  36	-0	WDLDL
  9 Hesham FC              26  10   6  10  35  38   -3  36	-0	WWDWL
 10 Columbia City          26   9   8   9  33  37   -4  35	-0	DLLLW
 11 Kingsbury United       26  10   5  11  28  34   -6  35	-0	LLLWW
 12 Macarthur City         26   8   8  10  29  35   -6  32	-0	LWWDL
 13 Fraser Valley FC       26   8   7  11  40  46   -6  31	-0	WDWLW
 14 Sturrey Athletic       26   4  12  10  16  27  -11  24	▲1	LLLWL
 15 Ridgewell Rovers       26   6   6  14  22  41  -19  24	▼1	LLLLL
 16 Carter United          26   5   8  13  15  30  -15  23	-0	LLLWD
 17 Ridgewell United       26   3  11  12  18  30  -12  20	▲2	DWWDL
 18 Glenmont AFC           26   4   8  14  18  49  -31  20	▼1	LWDLL
 19 Clark City             26   3   9  14  28  50  -22  18	▼1	DWLLL
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      26   1   5  20  20  65  -45   8	-0	DLLLD

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD23. Form takes into account the last five matches; which is to say, MD22-26.

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by **Tumbra** » Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:03 am

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

The 120^th RUNNING OF THE REPUBLIC CUP - THE FOURTH ROUND

The Republic Cup, first contested in 1903, is Tumbra's longest running domestic competition and is open to all professional teams in Tumbra. Non-professional teams may compete in the TFF Vase instead, though that will not be covered here. It is a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the final played in the Tumbran National Stadium. Matches occur every so often, as determined by the League schedule of the Premier Division. This year, matches will occur after the 5th, 10th, 15th, 26th, 32nd and 37th Premier Division matchday. The Final will be held after the 38th Matchday.

The competition is renowned for its brutality - all 128 teams, regardless of whether they are in the Premier Division or the Fourth Division, are unseeded and all have an equal chance to meet each other. The team drawn first is always put at home, leading to a true test of footballing equality. This year, the Cup will again be contested by every single team in the league structure, with the defending champions being Serrapince FC.

The First Round of the Cup saw three of the biggest teams in the Premier Division - Lakewood City and Lakewood United, as well as then-Premier Division leaders Clyde Park - get knocked out of the competition, the latter by fourth division side Hindhede Hawks, in the surprise of the round. This time, the remaining 64 clubs enter the round to determine who will be the last 32 clubs remaining in the cup - a very big shrinkage of the field considering that just five matchdays ago 128 clubs entered the gauntlet with the possibility of winning.

The Second Round saw Serrapince FC - led by new manager Danny Haverhead - knocked out by lowly Pomeroy Mountaineers from the Third Division. Was it complacency? Fatigue? A general lack of respect for a competition seen as second-tier to the domestic league, as the prize money only gets higher? Perhaps we'll never know. Most teams do play second-choice XIs in this tournament, a sign of footballing fatigue and rotation more than anything.

The Third Round saw Couno Rangers, a stalwart of the big Six, eliminated on penalties. Was it dumb luck, or was there a method to the madness that their opposition used? Penalties are a roulette at the best of times to critics, and at the worst of times a complete disadvantage to the goalkeeper, and a test of skill and composure to defenders of the current system. Whatever it is, at least it's not replays.

The Fourth Round sees the remaining 16 clubs go into the gauntlet once more to determine the eight teams contesting in the Quarter Final.

Caldecott 93 1-1 Straton FC (1-2 AET)

FC Inter Nantwich 0-0 Enfield Celtic (2-0 AET)

Heffron City Miners 1-1 West Couno United(1-2 AET)

Rosyth Warriors 1-3 Delano Wanderers

Washington City FC 1-0 Pomeroy Mountaineers

Hesham FC 2-0 Killiney SC

Teignford Academical 4-2 Tavistock Athletic

Dunsford Auroras 1-4 Clark City

Funnily enough for the Republic Cup, there were no huge surprises in this round. In fact, there were no surprises at all, seeing that all the Premier Division clubs made it through. Not unscathed, mind - Straton, Nantwich and WCU were all taken to extra time, something that might have major implications on their Premiership campaigns - but otherwise, all five Premier Division clubs made it through to the Quarter-finals.

Extra time is one of the crucial things to try and avoid if you're playing in a cup - for managers, it means thirty minutes more of worrying. Thirty minutes more of attacking, and thirty more minutes of defending. It's not a responsibility that many want foisted on them, yet in matches where there must be a winner - such as baseball, gridiron or otherwise - extra time is simply needed to see if anyone can make that jump, that difference in the dying embers of a match to put one away and settle the game for your team.

Things didn't always use to revolve around extra time - before 1998, matches that ended in draws went straight to a replay, with unlimited replays until 1974; between 1999 and 2003, the golden goal format was used, and perhaps most controversially, for a single season in 2004, the silver goal method was used. It is astounding, then, that the current penalty shootout system has really only existed since 2005, for the Republic Cup at least. (NSWC tournaments have used penalty shootouts since relatively early on, though it did use the Silver Goal for a while). It feels more like an institution of Tumbran football more than anything else; although penalty shootouts have existed since 1974, they only really became commonplace in 2005, when matches had to finish on the day. We've talked about penalty shootouts before, however, so we'll focus on extra time today.

Though a mentally and physically draining experience - most footballers bar the most physically fit are conditioned to run around for 90 minutes, not 120 - extra time, some say, really separates the wheat from the chaff. Who can pull that extra bit out from them to decide the match? Can they keep the opposing team out, and force it to penalties? Football, at its essence, is a wargame - one that rewards a variety of tactical approaches, and there have certainly been many throughout the 140 years that the game arrived, flourished and which has now become prescient in our lives.

So what is the strategy when it comes to extra time? Does a club double down, attacking more to try and find that one (it's usually one) goal to separate themselves from the opposition? Seek to defend even more, to try and bring it to the ultimate lottery of penalties? At least if you lose on penalties the mood can't be as sour - as mentioned before, no matter the skill level, at the end of the day it's a roulette. If it lands on one of the multiple things that go wrong, well, nobody can really be blamed. The pitch was soggy. The goalkeeper used his foot. I somehow skied it over the fucking bar (despite volunteering to take the penalty even though I never fucking take them, not even in practice, because I wanted to be a Big Damn Hero.) and so on. Excuses can be so funny to listen to.

So the conundrum of extra time...is, well, what to do with those thirty minutes. Thankfully, for managers who enjoy using their three subs during the ninety, the recent rules change - allowing a fourth during extra time - allows just a bit more tactical flexibility. Straton manager Ted Bayh used his sub to bring wonderkid defender Stephen Kerr on, and he ended making a game-changing interception late on in the second half of extra time. Nantwich manager Conan Estelline used his sub to bring off a midfielder in exchange for Gordon Jennings, an extra man up top to push forward and provide an assured finisher in case the match did go down to penalties. Both teams made it through - both approaches were equally valid. Because what's it to a manager how they win, so long as they come away with the victory at the end of those 120 minutes? Smaller teams are more likely to throw on more men on their half of the pitch - of course, they want to reduce their odds of losing at open play before proceeding to that 50-50 thing that are penalties. Bigger teams, knowing they can win, will throw on more men up front, to try and score that one goal. But neither strategy is a must-follow, nor are they must-wins.

Extra time, then, presents another complicated set of options, like pretty much everything in this damned game. Attack? Defend? It's all up to Margaret, in the end.

Margaret? Who's that?

Never you mind.

The Republic Cup returns for the Quarter-Finals after the 32nd Matchday of the Premier Division.

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by **Tumbra** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:42 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 27-29

When we last left off...

The gap up top has increased to 9 points up top, with 12 matches remaining - all as the different teams whose names aren't Lakewood City desperately try to scrabble over each other for who will challenge them, as the Skyblues waltz their way to another title. But with a nine point gap, can anyone really catch them? Some teams are again beginning to focus on the fight for the IFCF spots, thinking that the attempt to get into the Champions' League is now too far gone. One day, the league might gain enough recognition to gain two, or even three spots in the Champions' League. Imagine! But those days are still a long, long time away, and the only spot will go to the champions. For now, getting into the top four's the main aim for the Big Seven. Three will lose out - and shockingly, it seems like two of the four teams that got IFCF football will.

Most people ignore the midfield battle - but they also ignore that having six teams within five points of each other is no mean feat, especially as the season approaches its end. WCU, Hesham, Columbia, Kingsbury, Macarthur (who have surprised) and Fraser Valley all have had impressive seasons thus far (Fraser Valley perhaps less so), and the battle for the Best of the Rest - since Clyde have since graduated to tangling with the top six - looks set to continue as the league itself continues.

And near the rear, some teams perhaps feel like they shouldn't be here, but are. Ridgewell Rovers and Carter United perhaps, but they're here now. Both should survive, but should fate's cruel head rear, then the league might look extremely different next season. Elsewhere, Sturrey have gotten over their penchant for drawing, and are actually ahead in this race - as ahead as four points above the relegation zone gets you, anyway. Meanwhile, Ridgewell United are hanging on by the skin of their teeth, and Clark City are deep in a relegation crisis - will they survive? Or will they drown under the pressure?

Welcome back to the Premier Division.

MATCHDAY 27
Carter United 0-3 Fraser Valley FC
Ricci Ironworkers 0-0 Ridgewell Rovers
Glenmont AFC 1-4 FC Inter Nantwich
Lakewood United 1-1 Ridgewell United
Hesham FC 0-1 Couno Rangers
Lakewood City 1-2 Serrapince FC
Kingsbury United 1-2 Columbia City
Macarthur City 0-3 Straton FC
West Couno United 1-0 Clyde Park
Clark City 5-3 Sturrey Athletic

A top-of-the table clash was all the papers really cared about this week, with Lakewood City hosting Serrapince FC in what promised to be a clash for the ages - the first time, Serrapince won on penalties; the second time, it ended all square. This third match would prove decisive in the way the Super Cup mattered - but either way, this clash would have major implications as to the end of the season. With a disgruntled Nick Riordan on the bench - angling for a move overseas in the next transfer window - Haverhead decided to keep the young gun happy by playing him in the biggest match of the season so far.

And he delivered.

Serrapince came out on top - a Riordan late goal separating the two at the Lakewood Arena - and the gap came crashing down. Well, not entirely - it was still six points - but the title race was now again, within reach for Serrapince, increasing hopes that maybe something exciting would happen this season. To aid the neutrals, Nantwich also won their match against Glenmont, sending them crashing back into the relegation zone, while decreasing the gap between Nantwich and Lakewood City to ten points.

As for Lakewood United...well, they fell victim to Ridgewell United's physical tactics. Only managing to scrape a draw - and a tenuous one at that - they held on to fourth, and the final IFCF spot, but they were rapidly being chased down by a resurgent Straton, who kept a clean sheet (for once) against Macarthur. A Sallay brace would see him continue his ride at the top of the Golden Boot race - indeed, Straton had found their Galbraith replacement for as long as he wanted to stay in the capital city - but they'd need to shape up their defence in the upcoming seasons to ensure he stayed. Thankfully, it seemed like they'd found their defensive linchpin for the future. Stephen Kerr, who'd been introduced to the senior squad slightly more than halfway through the season, had become a key part of Ted Bayh's defensive strategy. The young defender - only 19 - was showing defensive nous and tactical awareness beyond his years, and was a key part in this clean sheet, and had already been attracting interest from abroad, particularly Chromatika. It seemed like the win in the Under-18 World Cup over the summer wasn't to be underestimated, and Straton had a real gem on their hands, once more, but only if they could keep hold of him.

Elsewhere, Ricci crept ever closer to ten points with a draw against Ridgewell Rovers, and Columbia won against Hesham to move up to ninth. WCU moved up to 39 points courtesy of their win over Clyde Park, which saw the Lions drop to sixth; though within their respective battles, everything was still to play for. Nobody would ever begrudge the odd loss here and there, especially with a re-invigorated team such as WCU, but they had to buck up if they wanted to catch Lakewood United, and after the loss, Straton.

Clark City heaved themselves up to eighteenth and within touching distance of safety - but considering that Ridgewell United had conceded just thirty-one goals to Clark's 53, there still was a way to go. With Ridgewell being in form, too, they would prove difficult to catch.

MATCHDAY 28
Ridgewell Rovers 1-0 Carter United
FC Inter Nantwich 2-2 Fraser Valley FC
Ridgewell United 4-1 Ricci Ironworkers
Couno Rangers 3-1 Glenmont AFC
Serrapince FC 3-4 Lakewood United
Columbia City 1-0 Hesham FC
Straton FC 3-1 Lakewood City
Clyde Park 0-2 Kingsbury United
Sturrey Athletic 1-0 Macarthur City
Clark City 2-0 West Couno United

A sudden loss of form, the papers proclaimed!
Yet they failed to notice, that the gap remained.

All three title competitors dropped points this matchday, with an imperious Straton moving to two points of fourth after winning against a previously undefeatable Lakewood City. Once again, Stephen Kerr started, and Sallay hit them on the break for two, with Paul Collins providing the third; a lone Robin Vaughn goal couldn't make up the difference. The triumphant win cemented Straton's form as the "form team", finally getting their defence under control. More attention, naturally, was then levied on Kerr's contract - how long did it run for, and how much was he being paid?

Despite the loss, the gap itself remained steady at eight points, mainly because, in a stunning yet somehow unsurprising display of classic Tumbran football. Nantwich were less guilty than Serrapince on this front; they'd been held to a draw, admittedly, by some very good defending on Nexev-Kresp Val and Carlos Wolfe's part, being unable to find the late breakthrough they so desperately needed to bring the gap even closer. Serrapince, however, after defeating the defending champions, somehow went and decided to lose to the team on the other side of Lakewood.

You couldn't make this up.

For the neutrals, it was a great game - full of talent, proper end-to-end football, the clash between Haverhead and Riedweld being laid bare for all to see, what with barbed statements being made between the two of them in the lead-up to the match (Haverhead called Riedweld a frog in the well for not daring to venture beyond Tumbra for more players, while Riedweld, in response, stated that he didn't need to venture beyond Tumbra because he could actually nurture a squad). It was all riveting stuff, and coming just one match after the Bees beat Lakewood City, it made for enthralling viewing.

In the end, however, a late Cameron Keyes penalty settled it for the visitors, and Serrapince fell to third (on goal difference, mind) as the title race continued to heat up. LUFC's win lifted them to within a point of going third in the table, and they looked set to pounce on it. Other teams, however, failed to take advantage of this sudden shift in the title race. But by other teams, we really just meant Clyde Park, who managed to lose to Kingsbury and were now five points behind Straton. Their hopes of winning the title, or even achieveing IFCF football, were now rapidly falling out of sight, a sharp turn of events from matchday 10, when they were riding on top of the world.

Lower down the field, Columbia overtook WCU for eighth - the first time WCU had fallen out of the "best of the rest" zone, courtesy of a Columbia win against Hesham (which threw them down to eleventh), and Clark City beginning to string wins together to lift themselves into seventeenth, while Carter looked dead set to go down, after their loss to Ridgewell Rovers dumped them into eighteenth. If they went down, similar to Readale last season, there would probably be a mass harvesting of assets - Lester O'Reagan, Richter Moranis and Miles Brent, for one, but also Chris Garcia and Albert Legget for more local talent. It was a fearful time for those involved - and the faithful were begging for a revival of fortunes soon enough.

Sturrey beat Macarthur to further banish their days of being a draw machine (regardless, that joke lost its impact the moment Ridgewell United hit twelve draws as well), while Ridgewood United put four past Glenmont (so much for them having a bad offense) to surge to sixteenth, and offer fans another hope of reprieve that they'd survive - just - till next season. Before the cycle repeats itself. Again.

MATCHDAY 29
Carter United 2-1 FC Inter Nantwich
Ridgewell Rovers 0-0 Ridgewell United
Fraser Valley FC 0-0 Couno Rangers
Ricci Ironworkers 3-1 Serrapince FC
Glenmont AFC 2-2 Columbia City
Lakewood United 0-3 Straton FC
Hesham FC 1-1 Clyde Park
Lakewood City 2-1 Sturrey Athletic
Kingsbury United 2-1 Clark City
Macarthur City 3-0 West Couno United

And continuing with things that "nobody was able to predict", few expected the title race to widen, yet again. But it did. Once again, 58 seemed to be the sticking number for Tumbran clubs. Three teams were left on this number at the end of the matchday, but the one in second was probably not one that most people expected it would be, given their shoddy defence at the start of the season. But Bayh had dug deep, relied on his offense (the best in the league), and made hard choices to bench Jim Buchanan - him with the six caps - in favour of a nineteen year old whom nobody had heard of a year ago. Stephen Kerr had suddenly become the hot property on the block overnight, as he contributed to a Lakewood United shut-out. The offense of Sallay (it really was just him, given that Straton lined up in a 4-1-4-1) was on full display as he contributed a goal and two assists for the team. He was scoring at an extremely hot clip, after all.

Their reward? Second in the league.

Both Nantwich and Serrapince were subject to essentially humiliating defeats by relegation-threatened sides; Carter United and noted bottom-feeders Ricci Ironworkers. Both scored a goal, but both were outplayed and outfoxed by both sides to send them crashing back down to Earth, and indeed, down to third and fourth in the table. Neither expected it - both were now really in the fight to even secure IFCF football, even as three matchdays ago they seemed to be destined for the Challengers' Cup.

Lakewood United's punishment for losing to Straton, of course, aside from shame, was that they'd drop to fifth. And if one thought that Clyde Park would take advantage of the situation, they fell flat on their face attempting to make up the now growing six point gap between them and fifth-placed Lakewood City. They were, too, now just one point ahead of a rapidly advancing Couno Rangers...despite drawing...goalless...to Fraser Valley.

The other Lakewood club ended up stretching their advantage to nine points (the exact same it was at the start of this chapter, damnit), breezing past Sturrey in a match that they dominated but in a way that the scoreline didn't end up reflecting. Many, many jokes were made about expected goals and actual goals, considering that LCFC managed to get a total of two goals out of a total of twenty-seven shots. A few inches to the left or right either way, and Lakewood City would prove to be a lot more nervous than they could currently were.

Macarthur beat WCU 3-0 to bring the Chocolatiers down to tenth; a worrying slide of form after their explosive start to the season. Having lost five games in the ten matches since the halfway point (when they'd lost five in the entire first half of the season), their fans were hoping this wouldn't be another disappointing end to a season that had started extremely promisingly; and one that had brought hope to the Wrenchwelt Stadium once more.

The second Ridgewell Derby of the season ended in a dross, goal-less, boring draw; once again marred by physical play (this time on both sides - the Ridgewell Derby always had a reputation for physicality), neither side really came out of the match looking like angels. The one point the club gained, however, proved to be crucial - they now had a one-point gap above Clark City, who despite performing respectably over the past two matchdays, found themselves back in the relegation zone thanks to Carter's win against Nantwich.

With less than ten matches remaining in the season, then, the title was all but Lakewood City's - only a giant mess-up on their part would be able to stop the Skyblues now. With a nine-point gap, it once again looked as if the main fight approaching the tail-end of the season would not be for the title (as some had dreadfully hoped), but rather for IFCF spots, once more.

Oh, and two of the three relegation spots. That was at least an increase over last season, when there was only one spot to play for.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Form
  1 Lakewood City          29  21   4   4  70  27  +43  67	-0	WWLLW
  2 Straton FC             29  18   4   7  84  39  +45  58	▲4	LWWWW
  3 FC Inter Nantwich      29  16  10   3  47  28  +19  58	-0	LWWDL
  4 Serrapince FC          29  18   4   7  53  38  +15  58	▼2	WWWLL
  5 Lakewood United        29  17   6   6  58  29  +29  57	▼1	WWDWL
  6 Clyde Park             29  15   6   8  57  35  +22  51	▼1	WWLLD
  7 Couno Rangers          29  13  10   6  52  40  +12  49	-0	DLWWD
  8 Columbia City          29  11   9   9  38  40   -2  42	▲2	LWWWD
  9 Kingsbury United       29  12   5  12  33  37   -4  41	▲2	WWLWW
 10 West Couno United      29  10   9  10  24  29   -5  39	▼2	DLWLL
 11 Hesham FC              29  10   7  12  36  41   -5  37	▼2	WLLLD
 12 Fraser Valley FC       29   9   9  11  45  48   -3  36	▲1	LWWDD
 13 Macarthur City         29   9   8  12  32  39   -7  35	▼1	DLLLW
 14 Ridgewell Rovers       29   7   8  14  23  41  -18  29	▲1	LLDWD
 15 Sturrey Athletic       29   5  12  12  21  34  -13  27	▼1	WLLWL
 16 Carter United          29   6   8  15  17  35  -18  26	-0	WDLLW
 17 Ridgewell United       29   4  13  12  23  32   -9  25	-0	DLDWD
 18 Clark City             29   5   9  15  36  55  -19  24	▲1	LLWWL
 19 Glenmont AFC           29   4   9  16  22  58  -36  21	▼1	LLLLD
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      29   2   6  21  24  70  -46  12	-0	LDDLW

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD26. Form takes into account the last five matches; which is to say, MD25-29.

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by **Tumbra** » Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:52 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 30-32

When we last left off...

It's all change (but not at the top) as Straton FC takes the lead of the Chasing Pack, with four wins in the last five catapulting them from the status of "title-run has beens" to "they could actually stand a chance." With LCFC in stuttering form, the best offence in the league, a brand new wonderkid defender in Stephen Kerr, the rockets have been lit and they've been rocketing up the table. Will they be able to catch up to Lakewood City, however, whose nine point lead with eight games left is beginning to look insurmountable?

MATCHDAY 30
Ridgewell United 0-2 Carter United
Couno Rangers 1-3 FC Inter Nantwich
Serrapince FC 2-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Columbia City 1-1 Fraser Valley FC
Straton FC 2-1 Ricci Ironworkers
Clyde Park 1-1 Glenmont AFC
Sturrey Athletic 0-2 Lakewood United
Clark City 1-2 Hesham FC
West Couno United 0-1 Lakewood City
Macarthur City 1-4 Kingsbury United

Lakewood City hit 70 points with the rest of the chasing pack all winning their matches, further compounding WCU's slip as their third loss in as many games saw them slip to 11th. To be fair to all four sides, they were facing less-than-stellar opposition - though Nantwich could reasonably argue that they were up against a much tougher opponent in the form of Couno Rangers. Yet, goals from Atlas Baxter and John Bush put Couno to the sword, with the third from Gordon Jennings sinking them. One from Marcus Sheldon couldn't spark a revival, however, and Couno sank to yet another loss - their 7th of the season - as Kingsbury moved to within five points of them, a crucial 4-1 win away at Macarthur proving the spark for them.

Straton dispatched Ricci with relative ease - as they had been on 21 other occasions, with this being their 22nd loss - with Sallay once again scoring, and Paul Collins providing the second goal. Stephen Kerr once again played, though he really couldn't do much about James Shriver's goal - a brilliant, curved shot from outside the box - which ruined his clean sheet. The three points were secure, however. And in the Serrapince game, Nick Riordan scored one while George Hilton scored the other, just as they announced they would be opening contract negotiations for the young striker; however, his heart seemed set on a move abroad.

IFCF Chase
    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts   Match
  2 Straton FC             30  19   4   7  86  40  +46  61   Straton FC 2-1 Ricci Ironworkers
  3 FC Inter Nantwich      30  17  10   3  50  29  +21  61   Couno Rangers 1-3 FC Inter Nantwich
  4 Serrapince FC          30  19   4   7  55  39  +16  61   Serrapince FC 2-1 Ridgewell Rovers
  5 Lakewood United        30  18   6   6  60  29  +31  60   Sturrey Athletic 0-2 Lakewood United

The three chasing sides were now all level on 61 points, but they needed Lakewood to slip up, and fast, if they were to have any chance of catching up. Elsewhere, LUFC won against Sturrey with ease, though much of the focus for their team now was not to win the title, but to try and dislodge one of the other Big Six to try and wrest their way back into international football. Behind them, Clyde Park's title challenge ground to an ignominous halt as they drew with Glenmont; now nine points off IFCF football, Devzies admitted it would be a "Herculean task" to get the team back into the challenge, and that he would be trying to build with next season in mind. They had, however, proven to critics that their 6th-placed finish was no fluke; now, their primary objective was to finish 6th again, and further build on that. The future was bright - but really, a lot depended on whether Neil Fraser would stay.

A slender loss courtesy of a Alan Morgan goal aside, WCU could be proud of themselves for holding the league leaders to such a low score; but with Hesham securing a win against Clark City, they now fell to eleventh, fourth in the Midtable Six. These last eight games would see if McIntyre really was the real deal or whether the team was over-relying on him; Martin Costello grimly admitted that perhaps the team needed to shape up in other areas if they were to try and be more consistent next season.

Elsewhere in the relegation fight, Clark's loss to Hesham rendered them once again stuck in eighteenth; once again, in the familiar situation of matchdays past, where they were but one point behind the team in seventeenth. How Ridgewell United were still not in the relegation places baffled many; the team had, however, lost to Carter United, who were now top of the pack struggling to avoid relegation.

Relegation Chase
    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts   Match
 14 Carter United          30   7   8  15  19  35  -16  29   Ridgewell United 0-2 Carter United
 15 Ridgewell Rovers       30   7   8  15  24  43  -19  29   Serrapince FC 2-1 Ridgewell Rovers
 16 Sturrey Athletic       30   5  12  13  21  36  -15  27   Sturrey Athletic 0-2 Lakewood United
 17 Ridgewell United       30   4  13  13  23  34  -11  25   Ridgewell United 0-2 Carter United
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18 Clark City             30   5   9  16  37  57  -20  24   Clark City 1-2 Hesham FC
 19 Glenmont AFC           30   4  10  16  23  59  -36  22   Clyde Park 1-1 Glenmont AFC
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      30   2   6  22  25  72  -47  12   Straton FC 2-1 Ricci Ironworkers

MATCHDAY 31
Carter United 0-2 Couno Rangers
Ridgewell United 0-0 Serrapince FC
FC Inter Nantwich 0-1 Columbia City
Ridgewell Rovers 3-2 Straton FC
Fraser Valley FC 1-1 Clyde Park
Ricci Ironworkers 0-1 Sturrey Athletic
Glenmont AFC 1-1 Clark City
Lakewood United 1-3 West Couno United
Hesham FC 2-0 Macarthur City
Lakewood City 2-1 Kingsbury United

And yet the chasing pack kept tripping over their own shoelaces, as all four of the sides ranked second to fifth dropped points this matchday. The side effect, of course, was that Lakewood City went eleven clear with just seven matches to go, meaning that even if they couldn't let up yet, they kinda could - but of course, van der Brumen promised he wouldn't allow the team to let up, even if they wanted to; after all, they still hadn't won the title yet.

While Lakewood City breezed past Kingsbury after going 1-0 down in the eighteenth minute thanks to a second half rally, the same fortune eluded much of the chasing pack. Nantwich suffered their fourth defeat of the season, at home, against Columbia; Tom Burrows of Flavovespia putting Nantwich away with an easy finish thanks to a Lewis Pearce assist. Columbia had been relatively quiet throughout most of the season, but had been impressive. They'd taken a bit longer than most to get up to speed, of course, but now that they'd gotten going, players like Eli Apt, Burrows and Frank Wilson were proving crucial in their run up to 8th.

Straton themselves suddenly found their progress ground to a halt with a loss to Ridgewell Rovers; somehow, with Buchanan and Forrest starting, the defence had looked much less strong, even though their replacement on the bench was an 18 year-old whose only achievement so far had been to win an under-18 World Cup. Either way, the entirely mid-table looking team of Ridgewell Rovers put Straton down, though it wasn't without a fight; Ralf Vanstenkeeste, playing in Sallay's stead, had a late goal ruled out for offside; with referee Richard Braddock not moving to use VAR, the goal remained ruled out, dropping the Senators an additional one point.

Serrapince, to save themselves embarrassment, didn't actually lose - but a draw to Ridgewell United might as well have been. A dour, dry affair, the team's one point sent them up to second place and back in the driving seat; yet, Haverhead's ultimate aim of toppling van der Brumen would most likely go unfulfilled at this point.

IFCF Chase
    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts   Match
  2 Serrapince FC          31  19   5   7  55  39  +16  62   Ridgewell United 0-0 Serrapince FC
  3 Straton FC             31  19   4   8  88  43  +45  61   Ridgewell Rovers 3-2 Straton FC
  4 FC Inter Nantwich      31  17  10   4  50  30  +20  61   FC Inter Nantwich 0-1 Columbia City
  5 Lakewood United        31  18   6   7  61  32  +29  60   Lakewood United 1-3 West Couno United

Further down the table, Couno won to bring themselves within touching distance of Clyde Park, who themselves drew once more to Fraser Valley; the Fab Four at this point in the season were looking thoroughly overworked, a symptom of overreliance just as WCU did on Scott McIntyre. Speaking of WCU, they managed to deliver another blow to Lakewood United's IFCF chances, bashing them 1-3; they were now four points off Columbia in eighth.

And in the relegation battle, Clark City drew against Glenmont in a crucial six-pointer; had they managed to win, they would have lifted themselves out. Time, however, seemed to be running out on the storied side.

MATCHDAY 32
Serrapince FC 5-0 Carter United
Columbia City 1-1 Couno Rangers
Straton FC 1-0 Ridgewell United
Clyde Park 0-2 FC Inter Nantwich
Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Clark City 1-0 Fraser Valley FC
West Couno United 1-1 Ricci Ironworkers
Macarthur City 3-1 Glenmont AFC
Kingsbury United 1-1 Lakewood United
Lakewood City 7-1 Hesham FC

Eleven points with seven matches left, the seven goals Lakewood City scored at Hesham to bring their attacking total to 80 goals for the term proved to be nails in the coffin for Clyde Park's title chances, as they mathematically could not overtake Lakewood City's totals with seven matches to go. Seven goals this late in the season proved to be a remarkable sense of skill from van der Brumen, who by rotating his squad around had achieved what most teams did not; sufficient energy for important games. Well, a game as Hesham didn't exactly count as important, but then again every match in these last eight almost certainly did.

IFCF Chase
    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts   Match
  2 Serrapince FC          32  20   5   7  60  39  +21  65   Serrapince FC 5-0 Carter United
  3 Straton FC             32  20   4   8  89  43  +46  64   Straton FC 1-0 Ridgewell United
  4 FC Inter Nantwich      32  18  10   4  52  30  +22  64   Clyde Park 0-2 FC Inter Nantwich
  5 Lakewood United        32  18   7   7  62  33  +29  61   Kingsbury United 1-1 Lakewood United

All three teams in the IFCF positions managed to continue their moving up in the league; Serrapince with a particularly impressive 5-0 demolition of Carter, Straton with a clean sheet against Ridgewell United, and Nantwich dispatching their sixth-placed rivals Clyde Park with relative ease; the only slip up here was that Lakewood United drew to Kingsbury, a thoroughly impressive feat on behalf of the princelings. Further below, Couno drew with Columbia - but that, along with Clyde's win, was enough to move them onto level terms with Clyde Park, and possibly try to overtake them in the next matchday. Celebrations ensued in Columbia, too, for their tally of 48 points meant they would avoid relegation.

Relegation Chase
    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts   Match
 14 Ridgewell Rovers       32   8   9  15  28  46  -18  33   Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Ridgewell Rovers
 15 Sturrey Athletic       32   6  13  13  23  37  -14  31   Sturrey Athletic 1-1 Ridgewell Rovers
 16 Carter United          32   7   8  17  19  42  -23  29   Serrapince FC 5-0 Carter United
 17 Clark City             32   6  10  16  39  58  -19  28   Clark City 1-0 Fraser Valley FC
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18 Ridgewell United       32   4  14  14  23  35  -12  26   Straton FC 1-0 Ridgewell United
 19 Glenmont AFC           32   4  11  17  25  63  -38  23   Macarthur City 3-1 Glenmont AFC
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      32   2   7  23  26  74  -48  13   West Couno United 1-1 Ricci Ironworkers

While Ridgewell and Sturrey would have loved to been counted out of this conversation, they were but seven and five points above the relegation zone. Their draw to each other didn't really help matters, either; Carter was trying to chase them down, as did Clark City, who finally managed to pull themselves out of the lurch with a win against Fraser Valley. The comeback was somewhat on, but it was tough going.

Elsewhere, Ricci managed to hold WCU to a draw, picking up their thirteenth point of the season.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Form
  1 Lakewood City          32  24   4   4  80  29  +51  76	-0	LWWWW
  2 Serrapince FC          32  20   5   7  60  39  +21  65	▲2	LLWDW
  3 Straton FC             32  20   4   8  89  43  +46  64	▼1	WWWLW
  4 FC Inter Nantwich      32  18  10   4  52  30  +22  64	▼1	DLWLW
  5 Lakewood United        32  18   7   7  62  33  +29  61	-0	WLWLD
  6 Clyde Park             32  15   8   9  59  39  +20  53	-0	LDDDL
  7 Couno Rangers          32  14  11   7  56  44  +12  53	-0	WDLWD
  8 Columbia City          32  12  11   9  41  42   -1  47	-0	WDDWD
  9 Kingsbury United       32  13   6  13  39  41   -2  45	-0	WWWLD
 10 West Couno United      32  11  10  11  28  32   -4  43	-0	LLLWD
 11 Hesham FC              32  12   7  13  41  49   -8  43	-0	LDWWL
 12 Fraser Valley FC       32   9  11  12  47  51   -4  38	-0	DDDDL
 13 Macarthur City         32  10   8  14  36  46  -10  38	-0	LWLLW
 14 Ridgewell Rovers       32   8   9  15  28  46  -18  33	-0	WDLWD
 15 Sturrey Athletic       32   6  13  13  23  37  -14  31	-0	WLLWD
 16 Carter United          32   7   8  17  19  42  -23  29	-0	LWWLL
 17 Clark City             32   6  10  16  39  58  -19  28	▲1	WLLDW
 18 Ridgewell United       32   4  14  14  23  35  -12  26	▼1	WDLDL
 19 Glenmont AFC           32   4  11  17  25  63  -38  23	-0	LDDDL
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      32   2   7  23  26  74  -48  13	-0	LWLLD

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD29. Form takes into account the last five matches; which is to say, MD28-32.

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by **Tumbra** » Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:19 am

The Tumbran Football Federation Presents

The 120^th RUNNING OF THE REPUBLIC CUP - THE QUARTER FINAL

The Republic Cup, first contested in 1903, is Tumbra's longest running domestic competition and is open to all professional teams in Tumbra. Non-professional teams may compete in the TFF Vase instead, though that will not be covered here. It is a single-elimination knockout tournament, with the final played in the Tumbran National Stadium. Matches occur every so often, as determined by the League schedule of the Premier Division. This year, matches will occur after the 5th, 10th, 15th, 26th, 32nd and 37th Premier Division matchday. The Final will be held after the 38th Matchday.

The competition is renowned for its brutality - all 128 teams, regardless of whether they are in the Premier Division or the Fourth Division, are unseeded and all have an equal chance to meet each other. The team drawn first is always put at home, leading to a true test of footballing equality. This year, the Cup will again be contested by every single team in the league structure, with the defending champions being Serrapince FC.

The First Round of the Cup saw three of the biggest teams in the Premier Division - Lakewood City and Lakewood United, as well as then-Premier Division leaders Clyde Park - get knocked out of the competition, the latter by fourth division side Hindhede Hawks, in the surprise of the round. This time, the remaining 64 clubs enter the round to determine who will be the last 32 clubs remaining in the cup - a very big shrinkage of the field considering that just five matchdays ago 128 clubs entered the gauntlet with the possibility of winning.

The Second Round saw Serrapince FC - led by new manager Danny Haverhead - knocked out by lowly Pomeroy Mountaineers from the Third Division. Was it complacency? Fatigue? A general lack of respect for a competition seen as second-tier to the domestic league, as the prize money only gets higher? Perhaps we'll never know. Most teams do play second-choice XIs in this tournament, a sign of footballing fatigue and rotation more than anything.

The Third Round saw Couno Rangers, a stalwart of the big Six, eliminated on penalties. Was it dumb luck, or was there a method to the madness that their opposition used? Penalties are a roulette at the best of times to critics, and at the worst of times a complete disadvantage to the goalkeeper, and a test of skill and composure to defenders of the current system. Whatever it is, at least it's not replays.

The Fourth Round saw no major surprises, which was somewhat of a surprise for the Republic Cup. Several top division teams, however, were held to extra time, leaving them with the conundrum of what to do, and how to approach the very essence of Extra Time, since of course football is typically a game of ninety minutes.

The Quarter Final sees the remaining 8 clubs go into the gauntlet once more to determine the four teams contesting in the Semi Final.

Hesham FC 3-2 Washington City FC

Straton FC 1-0 West Couno United

Teignford Academical 0-1 FC Inter Nantwich

Clark City 1-0 Delano Wanderers

All four teams contesting the Semi Final would be from the Premier Division, as the three non-top division sides were knocked out at this stage. Regardless, Washington City FC, from the Second Division, Teignford Academical and the Delano Wanderers, both from the Third Division West, could hold their heads up high for advancing as far as they'd done. A performance from underdogs, and indeed, a well-earned fight to the finish - all three games they were involved in were settled by one-goal scorelines, reflecting how difficult their opposition found it to score against them.

Of course, while all good runs had to come to an end someday, there was no denying the best match for the final would be Straton and Nantwich - two of the in form teams of the season, one with Vazsony Sallay up top, and one with Devon Daniels at the back. Whether they would meet in the Final would be up to the mercy of the pots - because, as always, there is zero draw protection afforded to any team in the cup.

The Republic Cup will return for the Semi-Finals after Matchday 37 of the Premier Division.

by **Tumbra** » Sun Apr 18, 2021 12:17 am

PREMIER DIVISION, SEASON 2
MATCHDAYS 33-35

When we last left off...

Once again, as the chasing pack continued to slip up around each other, Lakewood City expanded their gap up top to 11 points - and at the same time, move themselves to within two matches of winning the title - if by Matchday 35, the gap was still at 11 points, nobody could deny them a second consecutive title. Which, all things considered, was richly deserved, but international fans were getting rather bored of seeing Lakewood City waltz to the title. With the proliferation of international talent now in Tumbra, however, many were looking to close the gap by utilising foreign players, or managers even.

In the chasing pack, Serrapince FC now led, as the three spots to be occupied by the chasing pack looked set to be occupied by Serrapince, Nantwich and a thoroughly impressive Straton, whose pure offensive prowess had led them up to this point. They were, too, in pole position to finish second and skip the preliminary rounds - due to their highly impressive goal difference across the course of the season.

MATCHDAY 33
Carter United 0-1 Columbia City
Serrapince FC 1-3 Straton FC
Couno Rangers 3-1 Clyde Park
Ridgewell United 1-1 Sturrey Athletic
FC Inter Nantwich 1-1 Clark City
Ridgewell Rovers 1-1 West Couno United
Fraser Valley FC 3-0 Macarthur City
Ricci Ironworkers 4-1 Kingsbury United
Glenmont AFC 0-0 Lakewood City
Lakewood United 3-1 Hesham FC

Points lead required to win: 15
Points lead currently: 10

Several crucial matches occurred this round, the most important ones being Serrapince v Straton and Couno v Clyde Park, both of whom threw up winners that once again shook up the title race as the points lead shrank by one due to Lakewood City dropping a point at Glenmont, the goal-less draw putting paid to their hopes of starting celebrations early. It was, however, merely a slight delay in their plans as they marched towards the title.

Serrapince v Straton would probably determine who would take the fight to Lakewood City for the rest of the season. Both Straton and Serrapince had never been the most defensively solid - Serrapince by virtue of their playstyle, Straton by virtue of their own defensive weaknesses until Stephen Kerr came in - but it would still prove to be an entertaining clash.

And what a clash it would prove to be.

While Nick Riordan - who had by this point somewhat displaced Tom O'Driscoll as starting striker, having come in during an injury and began going on a hot run of form rending him undroppable - scored early, Straton hit back on the break with goals from Sallay, that unbreakable force, and Paul Collins, ending the first-half 1-2 to the visitors. A third goal from Harvey Osbourne, filling in for Jon Eagleton, settled the score for Straton - with 67 points, Straton would leap back up to 2nd place, while sending Serrapince down to 4th, one point ahead of Lakewood United.

United had themselves won their match against Hesham 3-1, where Cameron Keyes scored a remarkable hat-trick; remarkable in the sense that he typically didn't score goals, preferring to lay on the assists for his team-mates. A header, a neat finish and a penalty to round off the hat-trick, however, cemented Keyes' pride of place on the LUFC attack; he declared afterwards that he'd truly arrived in Lakewood after the fact.

Nantwich's Finnley Derby ended with a draw; with Clark City needing every point they could get, the result lifted them to 16th in the standings; however, Nantwich's 11th draw of the season saw them drop to 3rd in the table. They were still on course for IFCF football, of course; but the 2nd to 6th battle was getting unimaginably tight, and once again would prove to be the real draw of the end-of-season matches.

Nearer to the bottom of the table, Ridgewell Rovers drew with WCU to further pull themselves out of the relegation conversation; they now had 34 points. Sturrey, too, drew with Ridgewell United to get to 32 points. Despite both technically not being safe - the threshold was 42 points at this point in the season - it did prove to be a bit of a relief for Rovers fans, who were much more likely to survive now that they were that much closer to 40 points, the commonly-accepted threshold for safety.

MATCHDAY 34
Straton FC 3-1 Carter United
Clyde Park 1-1 Columbia City
Sturrey Athletic 0-1 Serrapince FC
Clark City 2-0 Couno Rangers
West Couno United 1-1 Ridgewell United
Macarthur City 0-4 FC Inter Nantwich
Kingsbury United 1-1 Ridgewell Rovers
Lakewood City 3-1 Fraser Valley FC
Hesham FC 2-1 Ricci Ironworkers
Lakewood United 2-6 Glenmont AFC

Points lead required to win: 12
Points lead currently: 10

As Straton desperately tried to chase down Lakewood City, even they realised the futility of their efforts when Lakewood City was required to lose, rather than for Straton to win. They weren't doing anything wrong now -- they'd just done things wrong at the start of the season, when their defence was in tatters. At least they'd have the off-season to prepare for the next one, though with Stephen Kerr attracting overseas attention for the way he'd left his mark on the first team and an unsigned contract, there was much doubt over whether he'd want to stay in a nation as lowly ranked as Tumbra when opportunities abroad abound.

Putting the contract doubts aside, though -- Kerr had already declared he'd only make a decision on his future after the season ended -- Straton hosted Carter and beat them comprehensively, 3-1. Substitute striker Vanstenkeeste made an appearance today, scoring one and assisting another; but the real star of the show ended up being Jon Eagleton, who scored the other two goals. The team would hit 70 points, and would most certainly break the 100-goal mark, an impressive achievement by any standard; but it just wouldn't be enough to overcome Lakewood City.

City, for their part, brushed away Fraser Valley to the tune of the same scoreline. Vaughn and Coonan, as ever, were unimpeachable; both worked in tandem with the striker up top, regardless of whether it was Anderson or Torrance, to keep producing assists for the team. Vaughn, a quiet, hard worker who also started for the national team (and indeed, held the record for most caps in WCC-affliated competition, with 25) was the key part, really, in City's potential title-winning season along with the defence; truly, van der Brumen had built a squad that could and most likely, would last for the ages.

Serrapince beat Sturrey 1-0; with O'Driscoll back in the team, scoring the sole goal, but the team remained fourth on goal difference. It would, however, hopefully be enough for the team to secure IFCF football soon, seeing that their closest competition, Lakewood United, had hosted Glenmont with a second-string squad...

...and got beaten 2-6. For the relegation-threatened side (whom many were rooting for) it was a crucial, crucial win that took them to within two points of safety. Add RUFC's draw with WCU and Carter's loss to Straton, and survival suddenly became that much more realistic a project. It would require an escape of giant proportions - but if they could achieve it, it'd be one of the stories of the season. For Lakewood United, the loss was nothing short of an embarrassment -- the loss left them 4 points adrift of a place in the IFCF positions, with just 12 points left to play for.

MATCHDAY 35
Carter United 2-2 Clyde Park
Straton FC 3-2 Sturrey Athletic
Columbia City 0-1 Clark City
Serrapince FC 5-0 West Couno United
Couno Rangers 5-1 Macarthur City
Ridgewell United 0-1 Kingsbury United
FC Inter Nantwich 1-1 Lakewood City
Ridgewell Rovers 1-1 Hesham FC
Fraser Valley FC 1-3 Lakewood United
Ricci Ironworkers 0-1 Glenmont AFC

Points lead required to win: 9
Points lead currently: 8

A stay of execution, as the papers described it, as Nantwich held Lakewood City to a draw at perhaps the most crucial of moments; in a match that could have crowned them as kings of Tumbra for a second time, Devon Daniels - that ever-present rock at the back from Cassadaigua - and Jonathan Ford denied Lakewood City the chance to pick up their 11th title of Tumbra by keeping goals out and scoring a late one. Perhaps they were motivated by a desire to stop Lakewood from winning an 11th title, and in so doing, equalling their record -- perhaps they were just playing football against the top team in the league and trying not to lose. Either way, the draw meant the title celebrations would be delayed until at least the next match.

Straton and Serrapince, for their part, followed their scripts exactly - the former winning against Sturrey, the latter beating WCU by a resounding score of 5-0, to perhaps disappoint the faithful after their early season run of form - if they kept slipping they would end up in the exact same place as they had been last season. Already they'd equalled their points total from last season, though many were hoping for more; Martin Costello himself admitted as much, and there were rumours that he would be let go in favour of another manager who could take them to the next level, instead.

Carter somehow held Clyde Park to a draw, in another case of late season fatigue; the early-season team to beat had been dragged down to 7th in the league, one lower than last season; IFCF football was now out of the question for them. Neil Fraser and Pierre-Louis Laishram looked set to want to either do better or go somewhere else; Devzies promised improvements next season, but the financing would have to come from somewhere, lest the team become too top-heavy.

For Glenmont's part, they pulled out a win over Ricci, condemning them to relegation; the team from Ricci certainly gave it their all, but wouldn't be able to continue in the Premiership next season. With 78 goals conceded, however, some were questioning whether they had the ability to even be in the Premiership in the first place; however, most remembered their hardworking mentality and more, and indeed - many would remember the Ironworkers fondly.

Clark pulled off yet another win to go 15th; with 35 points, there were whispers that they would be safe from relegation this season - but with 9 points left to play for, nobody was really certain.

Premier Division Standings

    Team                    P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts	Change	Form	Achievement
  1 Lakewood City          35  25   6   4  84  31  +53  81	-0	WWDWD	ChC; CEdC
  2 Straton FC             35  23   4   8  98  47  +51  73	▲1	LWWWW	
  3 Serrapince FC          35  22   5   8  67  42  +25  71	▼1	DWLWW
  4 FC Inter Nantwich      35  19  12   4  58  32  +26  69	-0	LWDWD
  5 Lakewood United        35  20   7   8  70  41  +29  67	-0	LDWLW
  6 Couno Rangers          35  16  11   8  64  48  +16  59	▲1	WDWLW
  7 Clyde Park             35  15  10  10  63  45  +18  55	▼1	DLLDD
  8 Columbia City          35  13  12  10  43  44   -1  51	-0	WDWDL
  9 Kingsbury United       35  14   7  14  42  46   -4  49	-0	LDLDW
 10 Hesham FC              35  13   8  14  45  54   -9  47	▲1	WLLWD
 11 West Couno United      35  11  12  12  30  39   -9  45	▼1	WDDDL
 12 Fraser Valley FC       35  10  11  14  52  57   -5  41	-0	DLWLL
 13 Macarthur City         35  10   8  17  37  58  -21  38	-0	LWLLL	
 14 Ridgewell Rovers       35   8  12  15  31  49  -18  36	-0	WDDDD
 15 Clark City             35   8  11  16  43  59  -16  35	▲2	DWDWW
 16 Sturrey Athletic       35   6  14  15  26  42  -16  32	▼1	WDDLL
 17 Carter United          35   7   9  19  22  48  -26  30	▼1	LLLLD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18 Glenmont AFC           35   6  12  17  32  65  -33  30	▲1	DLDWW
 19 Ridgewell United       35   4  16  15  25  38  -13  28	▼1	DLDDL
 20 Ricci Ironworkers      35   3   7  25  31  78  -47  16	-0	LDWLL	Relegated

All changes are from previous table posted; which is to say, MD32. Form takes into account the last five matches; which is to say, MD31-35.

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