11:30 - Pre-Matchday Comments
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the QBC Sports' live for the final matchday of the 2048-49 Q-League Season. The final matchday of professional football brings every form of emotion, from joy to pain and all the hopelessness that stands behind, and this once again is the likelihood for many this year. Starting from the Twin Cities, Montreal Koreana is visiting Unama'kik-Inverness 1877 at home in hopes of seizing the back to back title after a good run all year long, while Mipojoseon is heading southwest, to face off against a hapless Sarnia 4.25 side that will be heading back to the Championship next season.
At the same time, we will be seeing Kingston FC and Zenit Attawapiskat, tied in points, looking to settle scores for the final IFCF qualification spot, as they too will be playing away, facing Noksaekjeonsa and Lakeshore whose season-wide narrative has turned from that of continuous joy to endless pain. Most importantly, however, will be the pair of matches held out in the West Coast, as already relegated Swanguard Athletic and Trojana Condommakers FC look to play spoilers to Olympique de Rimouski and Heart of Saguenay sides looking to cap it off with a top spot. With the earlier pair of matches looking likely to decide the winner of the season, not as many are putting hopes out there for Olympique to overturn that, but you never know in this league and you'll have to watch out for that. Same, however, cannot be said with Heart of Saguenay, as they had gone back and forth all the season, playing like the rebel without a cause, and heaven and hell between 7th and 11th place are determined by tiniest of differences here. And now, let’s head to the match.
12:00 - Here we start, with the first match of the day, as the PLI Islanders welcome CSKA Quebec. For all the fans who have known a thing or two about the last stretch of the season for les Capitoliens, it is that we will be expecting the managerial change within next 24 hours as Chen Huikang, their manager of the last two years, is expected to part his ways with the club. He has proven his capabilities two years ago with a third-place finish and a decent IFCF qualification run, but has since found himself in trouble with the management. Also playing his final game as the manager in his club is Charles Loranger, whose resignation from the club is now confirmed by the management. It is rumoured that he, who has coached the island club for the past seven years, is expected to be in Attawapiskat next week, as Zenit's next manager.
12:15 - PLI Islanders 0-0 CSKA Quebec
The first ten minutes have passed like a breeze for the Islanders, who have kept their ball possession to the very maximum. Colin McQuaid, from time to time, has brought as many as ten players on his own half of the turf, and this has so far worked, as the CSKA midfielder Sebastien Petit has struggled to pass it forward to Curtis Saturday or Arnald Gal. The Tigres did have a chance just a minute ago, but it fell just short as Saturday's high shot was saved by Seung-Myeon Hyeon-Kravitz.
12:30 - Pre-Matchday Comments (2)
Half an hour to kick off, as the next seven matches take place at 1 in the afternoon here. While we have mentioned about the other matchups earlier, the pair we must not forget about are in Cornwall and Levis, where the Clippers and the Athletic will be welcoming Haligonian and Perce Town sides whose season has mostly consisted of disappointment, but with enough room for the future. There is no doubt that Hannah Wilton has done plenty with the depleted cabinet Halifax has had over the last while, and we gotta give her credit for that. In the meanwhile, the Levis Athletic fans are secretly panicking over the likely departure of their star midfielder, Zoe Barthelemy, as the competition on the Savigliano national team may necessitate her a move out of Levis in the offseason…
12:41 - PLI Islanders 0-1 CSKA Quebec: GOAL!
The first match of the season sees its deadlock broken, as the CSKA finally found a hole in the Islanders' armour, allowing Omar-Anthony Bourassa to forward a solid cross for Cristian Duque, who hurried it up with his magical touch and scores the 11th goal of the season. For now, CSKA may be able to gift their departing manager a solid parting gift...
12:45 - PLI Islanders 0-1 CSKA Quebec: Halftime Break
And here we go into the halftime break for the PLI-CSKA match, as the Capitoliens lead 1-0 in the Prince Laurent Islands.
12:50 - Pre-Matchday Comments (3)
Ten minutes to go before the kick-off, and there's a media conference in St. John's, as the Championship winner Arsenal holds a post-season conference before the players play. It is a short one, mostly recapping how the season went for the Gunners, but is also about offering apology to the home fans, who have suffered over the past two seasons, first by watching the club's first relegation in history the previous year, and second by their years of futility prior to that. It's a well-delivered one with right intentions, though the timing of it certainly wasn't the best and many fans aren't happy about it.
13:00 - Kickoff (Koreana-UI1877 / Sherbrooke-Kingston / Cornwall-Haligonian / Daedonggang-Rovers / Lakeshore-Zenit / Sarnia-Mipojoseon / Levis-Perce)
And here we go, as seven matches start right now, across the nation. Two with fourth place implications, two with championship implications, though one must not ignore the chance of a third one when Olympique later faces off against Swanguard Athletic, who have already secured relegation.
13:06 - PLI Islanders 1-1 CSKA: GOAL!
If you think the PLI Islanders are done, not so fast, as the Purple Islanders have taken over with a goal scored by Levinson Wright. The initial shot by Radek Hrubek was punched comfortably by William Bousquet, but the deflection happened to be right in front of Wright's foot, and then he scored from an easy toe tap into the net!
13:07 - Cornwall Clippers 0-1 Haligonian / Levis Athletic 1-0 Perce Town: GOAL!
Here, we see the first goal of the central time matches, as Patrik Larsen salutes the home fans on the south stand of the Clippers' stadium. Just half a second later, it was Levis who scored as well, a penalty kick goal from Vâásk Çêwé. It was a really unfortunate foul committed by Austin St-Onge, who flew too early to head the ball away, and instead found his head pushing Yvette Houssiere-Chaput to ground.
13:10 - Sarnia 4.25 0-0 Mipojoseon: CLOSE!
In Mudeung, it has been a fairly one-sided showdown, as Mipojoseon has had next to no control with holding the ball. They were getting quite a few chances earlier on, and it would have been something if Cam Spijker's long pass to William-Devin Park had worked out with a goal, but his kick instead hit the crossbar as the game remained scoreless.
13:14 - Levis Athletic 1-1 Perce Town: GOAL!
The Athletic's lead was short-lived, as Daniel Galbraith scored on the penalty kick for Perce Town. The side managed by ethereal Yi Seung-Hyeon is feeling their feet getting hotter, and hopes that they could at least prepare themselves ahead of the Coupe de la Reine Final next Sunday at The Reneegrad.
13:16 - PLI Islanders 1-1 CSKA Quebec: RED CARD!
Since the Islanders' goal the game has stayed at the stalemate stage, but there's at least going to be an additional red spice to be added, as Johannes Kim is ejected for tackling Ned Palethorpe from behind...the Ko-orenite is fine, he took a few steps to make sure all's good, but will the Islanders, a team with limited depth, be trying more against a demotivated CSKA side?
13:19 - Sarnia 4.25 0-1 Mipojoseon / Cornwall Clippers 1-1 Haligonian: GOAL!
Goal for Mipojoseon as their quest for the elusive Q-League title continues! All-season long, the right flank has been a point of strength for Mipojoseon, and this once again proves true, as Lyall Murphy passes back from the penalty box to prepare Cam Spijker, who scores the third goal of the season! In the meanwhile, the answer to Haligonian's early lead was found by Cornwall, with Oikilde Fusul lands the volley beyond Elisabeth Cha's reach. Neither side have much to play for, but they do have plenty of pride to play for, and to disprove any prejudice against their season.
13:21 - Sherbrooke Noksaekjeonsa 0-0 Kingston FC
The first twenty minutes of The Honam Showdown stayed relatively quiet, as neither side had broken the tension. I gotta say it does seem odd coming from Alex Cartwright, especially as he nears his retirement and may want to at least come away with an IFCF spot before the season's over, but he may also be aware that there's no shame in placing fifth, especially when the team's not really ready. The same, however, cannot be said towards Pierre-Ian Noh, as Sherbrooke barely survived the nightmare they had for the second half of the season didn't end up in a surprise relegation.
13:23 - Montreal Koreana 0-0 Unama'kik-Inverness 1877: Close call!
Both Koreana and UI1877 have brought full squads for today's match, as the Koreana fans hope they could be holding the Silverthorn Shield at home. Fortunately for the neutral viewers across the multiverse, UI1877 had other ideas and it's certainly been a close match going back and forth at The Samseongoloondongjang. UI1877 has had a couple of close chances and made them close scoring opportunities, but one can only wonder what would have happened if Makrotsis's mid-range shot had not been saved by Dejan Wasic.
13:25 - Cornwall Clippers 1-3 Haligonian. GOAL! GOAL!
Two goals in three minutes for Haligonian, as Archie Weir and Ji Chae-Ryeong score one each to quickly give Haligonian a convincing lead, just twenty minutes into the game. Has the Cornwallian magic finally run out? One must be wondering while seeing the fury in the eyes of their Tikariotian goalkeeper after a couple of missed defensive cues gave him no time to react...
13:27 - Daedonggang 3.26 1-1 Northandryun Rovers. GOAL! GOAL!
A quick back-and-forth affair followed as the 3.26 took the lead with a solid header by Sebastien Irniq, before the Rovers tied it up with a goal by Kaapo Terkala on his 23rd goal of the season. The Savojar, who has been selected to the Savojar national team on various occasions, remains a massive scoring machine in this league, and any California City natives would hope he's going to stay with them for the rest of his career.
13:31 - Sarnia 4.25 0-2 Mipojoseon: GOAL!
Mipojoseon doubled their lead, as what may be the goal of the year has been scored by Abel Wesoloski-Okafor. Starting from the mid-field circle, he quickly accelerated and decked way past five Sarnia players, before nutmegging the way past the 4.25 goalkeeper's leg into the net. Everybody knows that the dual-citizen, who has recently declared his eligibility for Banija, is being heavily looked at by Busembe Timberwolves of the Shango-Fogoa Premier League, and wonders if what could be his last match as a Mipojoseon player for now is going to end with the club's first ever Quebecois premiership title.
13:34 - Daedonggang 3.26 2-1 Northandryun Rovers: GOAL!
Goal for the 3.26, as the home side pulls ahead in Val d'Or, with an unexpected own goal by Charles Devereux, who hasn't had the best of matches today...the side managed by Jacqueline Sieloff was expected by many to be relegated or come near it, but have staved off the threat well enough.
13:37 - Lakeshore 0–1 Zenit Attawapiskat: GOAL!
Voila! Goal! The stalemate in Mudeung's finally broken, as it is Marcus Swyripa who scores from the penalty kick! The left-foot of the 34-year old, which has remained on fire even after all the years of his journeyman career, makes you wonder why the winger has not been invited back to the national team in some time. Now the question lies over whether they can give Hiryama Shunji enough time to not worry about the barrels of shots he's been thrown at all season long...just for one match.
13:40 - Cornwall Clippers 2–3 Haligonian: GOAL!
NOT-SO-FAST. That's what Emma Kenna-Tang had shouted after scoring her first goal since coming back from an ACL injury back in week 10. For the 23-year old, this is a particularly special feeling, especially as she had particularly rocky history with her career, and scoring a crucial goal on the season finale's only so deserving to her narrative. After that, she made sure to point with her right arm at her grandparents who raised her, on the front stands of the North Stand.
13:43 - PLI Islanders 1-1 CSKA Quebec: Close call!
Even when undermanned, CSKA Quebec took charge and continued firing, as Arnald Gal shot a powerful cannon to the top right corner of the net. Unfortunately for the Capitoliens, this once again is punched by Seung-Myeon Kravitz-Hyeon, burying the last chance of win for Chen Huikang!
13:46 - Lakeshore 0–2 Zenit Attawapiskat: GOAL!
Remember when we worried earlier about how Hiryama Shunji needed some rest and a clear lead? Well, he just got one, as a two-on-two play between Marc-Andre Wilson and team captain Raimundo Puga was followed by the latter's goal, doubling the lead into two-nil in middle of a Maytime shower. The Zenit fans can start worrying less about it, especially with match remaining scoreless in Kingston...
13:47 - Sherbrooke Noksaekjeonsa 0–1 Kingston FC: GOAL!
Not so fast! That's the very next gesture given by Alex Cartwright, as it was Felix Sissoko whose speed played a major role with the KFC's first lead of the game! On the extra minute given past the 45th minute at Parc des Volontaires, Juven celebrated his goal with a marksman celebration, and we are going to head into halftime in Sherbrooke on an overcast afternoon.
13:50 - PLI Islanders 1–1 CSKA Quebec (et al.): FIN / Halftime
Four-minute additional time’s over and it’s fulltime in Epektwitk City! CSKA Quebec’s hopes for a win to conclude their nightmarish season finally dies. To cap off the humiliation that it has ben, the purple wave of Islander fans started singing ‘Na Na Na Na, Hey, Hey-Ey, Goodbye!’ at the Tigres! Not that this spares them from the reality where they will be finishing the season closer to the basement than an IFCF berth, but for now, let them shitpost.
Now, across the league, here are the scores, as we enter the halftime break:
Montreal Koreana 0–0 Unama'kik-Inverness 1877
Sherbrooke Noksaekjeonsa 0–1 Kingston FC
Cornwall Clippers 2–3 Haligonian
Daedonggang 3.26 2–1 Northandryun Rovers
PLI Islanders 1–1 CSKA Quebec - FINAL
Lakeshore 0–2 Zenit Attawapiskat
Sarnia 4.25 0–2 Mipojoseon
Levis Athletic 1–1 Perce Town