Eshialand 1-1 Malandrin
The Owls' first match was going so well.
As early as the 14th minute, Alice scored her team's first goal of the Independent Associations Championship to make the score 1-0. All they had to do now was hold this score against a team that nobody expected to score on them to begin with. Easy, right?
Well, yes, for the most part. The majority of this match played out with a score of 1-0 on the board, with a few opportunities popping up here and there to make it 2-0, none of which panned out. However, the Malandrian side showed no signs of getting a goal at all, and the win seemed all but assured.
What came next, however, was nothing short of tragic. In the 71st minute, George stole the ball from REDACTED and accidentally made contact with the striker's shin. The referee decided that he was trying to trip them and awarded Malandrin a penalty kick, much to the Owls' chagrin.
On the bright side, they could rest assured that Alex would stop the ball. After all, he was by far their best goalie, and usually had no trouble saving a penalty kick.
Except this time. The score went to 1-1, leaving Eshialand with a tie and about 20 minutes with which to break it. Coach Morgan called for the Golden Goose formation, and the team went hard on the attack.
Sadly though, it wasn't enough, and they escaped with only one point, despite this being proclaimed the easiest match of the tournament. Now, they would have to fight an uphill battle in order to make it to the group stage, with matches against Reçueçn, Felinetopia, and Kohnhead all being far harder than Malandrin.
There was a very good chance that the Owls wouldn't be playing in the group stage.
Eshialand - 1 (Carroll 14')
Malandrin - 1 (REDACTED 71' (pen.))