Nepharan Domestic Newswire - the Zenith

by **Nephara** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:51 pm

Stahlburg City are sitting pretty. Second suits them pretty well, as does a general atmosphere of caution, with Brinemouth the only one of the top seven to have conceded at the rate of a goal a game. They get an opportunity to put their doubters to rest with the visit of the 5th-placed Moths. In the first half, the Smith keep their guests well contained, there’s pretty few shots on target from either side. Jean-Christophe Babin is introduced soon after half-time, with the Moths desperate for inspiration. He provides it. Three assists in the space of 35 minutes, to set up Kweon, Zuniga and fellow substitute Petrov, take the Stahlburg defence past its breaking point. Their shell may be tough to crack, but the pressure on a sufficiently skilled ball-carrier won’t be enough to stop what they’re doing. Break out the takilantes!

Goodfeather have their own midfield schemer, one who perhaps didn’t get the credit she deserved last season. A small, unassuming figure, Page Resch nevertheless got fourteen assists… but more attention always went to the striker, Carrick, hammering them in. Now, Resch takes on a more engaged role, and against the Crows, she’s on top form. The Quakers demolish them in midfield, giving Resch the chance to notch two goals and a clever assist for Howard - Corvistone must have assumed she’d go for the hat-trick - in a 5-1 threashing. River score five as well, tearing apart a hapless Crisisbless United without facing reprisal. A couple of goalkeeper shifts catch the eye: Crisisbless hand 21-year old Toxothea Sebring her first Zenith start, and she’s rewarded with a very quiet 1-0 win over Chatswood, while Southfell goalkeeper Donat Soler finally recovers from his preseason injury, is rushed into the starting XI… and some meek attempts to come out decisively contribute to conceding seven on his return. Ouch.

Southfell’s board had indicated before the season that Hestia Canaan would be given time and money for a rebuild. Well, money didn’t materialise, and now neither has time, though in fairness, having two points from their first twelve games and losing their last three games by an aggregate 14-goal margin, Canaan’s axing does not qualify as one of the world’s great tragedies. The decisive game was a 6-1 hammering at the Rams’ hands which was every bit as dominant at the scoreline implies. If anything, the single goal was generous, Velat probably offside when he drove it in late on. At 5-0 down and over an hour in, did the linesman just take pity?

People had wondered if Goodfeather would be able to keep on last season’s form. If they’ve any sense, they’ve stopped wondering. If anything, the reshape of the attack has made them more dangerous, Viviana Strephon more a linking player than the poacher Carrick was, freeing Howard to take up the role of roving spearpoint. The Delaclav hammers home three against Brinemouth in a 4-1 massacre at the Eagles Club. Starling get thrown a bone by officials, Newrook looking the better side until a harsh red card for Violet Siverson kills their momentum, Octavian Eversong snatching a late winner, while River showcase their ability to dig in and win ugly, their defence holding firm and clinging to a Shehu header to beat Creed 1-0.

1 vs. 2 in the table. Treason, predictably, against Coret, rather less so. One side has Ilia Mueller and Idai Uster on the bench. One has a 35-year old Erik Romaine starting, with Huang injured. But Romaine’s lost none of his instinct, only his pace; he’s standing in precisely the right space at the right time as a scuffed clearance falls straight to his feet, letting him slam a stunning opener into the bottom corner with just 14 minutes played. Treason pretty much dominate the rest of the game, though. There’s a sense, when Rosenblatt beats Middleton at the second time of asking on the stroke of half-time, that victory is inevitable. 51 minutes in, Ribbeck scores. 59 minutes in… Ribbeck scores. Well, it was nice to dream. Rekawic grabs a late consolation, but it’s a big step towards the title for Treason.

Southfell appoint Arden Kolar, a pretty whelming appointment, latterly of Diamondqueen. He instils a more structured 4-2-3-1, with a muscular double pivot of Brighton and Swainsona, and Soler restored between the posts after recovering from his injury and immediately having it decided he hasn’t recovered from his injury. Well, he’s back for real; against 17th-placed Newrook, he saves a Zumalakarregi penalty on the stroke of half-time, before a brace from former Newrook man Zeman hands Southfell a vital first win. A goal of the season contender is enough to take Parrhesia past Creed (could Lindt have done better? the peanut gallery ask? Nah), while a Hauser strike lets Starling win the Amos Derby, to shove the Crows further into the mire.

The match of the round is predictable. River and Vermillion are the league’s two most watchable sides, both focused on hard pressing, high lines and lots and lots of goals. Vermillion take the early lead in Sabrefell, silencing the home crowd early with a thumping Petras header before Keepsake splits open a pitiful offside track, playing in Anezka Rennet to score basically unopposed. But River fight back. Their fans think they have a lifeline, Crowe stabbing one home in the 41st minute, before she sets up Pryce to drive home an injury-time leveller. It gets better, Pryce returning the favour, Crowe spinning deftly between two markers before forcing a shot through Harnett’s legs, only for the Ferrymen to drop off late in the game. Covolan breaks River hearts in the 85th, before Bestatter comes off the bench to drive home the winner seconds before the clock strikes 90.

North Laithland have done basically nothing all season, floating vaguely in midtable, but they’re able to seriously turn it on from time to time. A string of injuries only seems to unite them, with the decidedly mediocre striker Manna Radler scoring her first two goals of the season (though of her seven appearances thus far, this was only her second start), aided and abetted by the 18-year old Madita Brewer, the hottest prospect in the academy. Corvistone and Southfell trade blows in a 1-1 stalemate that has an oddly sickly feel to it, two sick men slugging it out, a comical goalkeeping howler from Claire Libuda seeing her somehow shovel Osterhagen’s cross into her own net to hand Southfell a point. Coret and Stahlburg grind out a mutually frustrating draw, while a Ribbeck penalty lets Treason get away with a very poor performance against United.

The Vermillion derby is the obvious eye-catcher, and it’s the obvious eye-catcher mostly because it’s the Vermillion derby. Two pretty open and attractive sides, who absolutely loathe each other. Vermillion have the reputation as the more tempestuous, but in recent decades, Parrhesia are the more dysfunctional side. Today, though, it’s the Saints who come out on top, with some distinctly un-Saintly professional fouling and ankle-tapping. The effervescent Corban Green makes the difference in an explosive second half, while Kurtishi slams into the line time and again like a siege tower, managing two assists from the spearhead. Sweat and cynicism make the difference, and Parrhesia leapfrog the Rage on the table. Not that either is probably troubling the top six or bottom three.

That’s not to say that there’s nothing going on elsewhere, of course. The most eyecatching scorelines are pretty easy to pick out. Aries Chariots are absolutely appalling against Newrook City, completely caught off-guard by an early flurry, an odd strike partnership of Roehampton and Pike working out well to hit them hard from the off. 2-0 down at the half, Grey Holden makes a statement with three subs, which works for a bit until Woodwright goes down injured and sends them to 10 men for the last fifteen minutes, during which Newrook slot home a third. Sabrefell Athletic stomp Corvistone’s heads in, completely overwhelming them all over the pitch with pace and physicality, while the Moths and Coret play out a high intensity 1-1 draw that unites both teams in discontent at the refereeing.

A bizarre first round, with just a single all-Zenith tie, which sees Madita Brewer come off the bench to fire the Spiders to an extra-time win over the Stags. Treason shouldn’t feel too bad, though, given the number of shocks. Fourth-tier Mapleford give Brinemouth a game, thanks in large part to Brand Hilton making twelve saves and a single, heavily-deflected goal from Micah Shawshank glossing an eventual 2-1 scoreline, with blast-from-the-past Roxanna Strong helping the Thorns to a similar respectable defeat to Coret. Goodfeather and Southfell also eke out narrow escapes. But not all settle for noble defeats. Three Zenith sides get taken to penalties, and two lose; Dimitar Franzen goes the wrong way for four straight penalties before decisively denying Cray the Chariots’ fifth, the Moths fall to pieces at the end of a frustrating two hours against defending finalists Belgrave, while a hardfought and bitter Stahlburg derby ends goalless after two hours, Xander Rosmarin proving the hero in the shootout in his first appearance of the season - having already made a couple of brilliant saves during the match. Serpentine don’t need penalties at all, simply outplaying and defeating Parrhesia within the 90 minutes.

So, too, do Brookford Vantablack, one of the scalps of the Cup’s history; a side in only its first season above Conference level, an elite part-time side, showing heart and crucial finishing touch against a gutless Creed, earning and deserving a 2-0 win. But perhaps the strangest match doesn’t involve a Zenith side at all. Bishop, now mired in the fourth tier, lead Rochford 2-0 at the break, Casperson and Linz putting them in sight of what now seems a remarkable scalp. But Rebecca Kelsey doesn’t want to lose this one, and off the bench come Brezar and Sirustos, heavy hitters for the Owls. Each get on the scoresheet to take the game to extra time, and Parallel Scowsmith gets himself sent off just beforehand. Rochford take lethal advantage. Sirustos completes his off-the-bench hat-trick, with Perish and Ruskin getting in on the fun to complete an improbable 6-2 rout after extra time.

Gratia Barker’s Rooks are in the playoff place, but she relishes a coming visit to the capital. “The Crows are fucking reeling lately,” she confides to the press. “I think we can take three points home.” It’s the kind of quote that should really be printed out and put on Corvistone’s walls, but whatever Lisa Amos does, it’s not enough to stir up any heart in Corvistone. Marrish gets dumped on her arse by Lothar six minutes in, and while green shirts are raising their arms to beg the referee to do something, the cyan and black have the ball in the net, Roehampton with the finishing touch. And it’s Roehampton who sets up Pike to make it 2-0 by the half-hour mark. Libuda manages a spectacular double save to stop it being three before the interval, and while Corvistone do better in the second half - there’s the chances to level the scores, Balmoral drives one back and wins a fortuitous penalty which he promptly fires over the bar - by the end, Newrook have managed to claw their way back into the bottom three. Who, then, is 18th? Corvistone.

That simply isn’t acceptable. The Crows have spent big, and relegation is unthinkable. Their players, bluntly, are too good on paper to countenance their results. It’s good news for Starling, because the weight of Corvistone’s fall has to a degree masked their own. But a 5-1 defeat to Parrhesia is beyond the pale, Mikael bloody Tanner made to look like Laborious Hawk. Everyone talked about Parrhesia’s gutted midfield, but they danced on Starling’s faces that night. Gareth Penrooke paid the price, despite having briefly been able to reverse the Passerines’ recent slide. That 4th-placed finish feels a long time ago. Hell, so does last season’s 7th. Crisisbless United score four against the Moths, but ship seven, in a genuine clusterfuck of a match, while Coret body the Spiders 5-1, Huang Shedong announcing a return from injury in serious style.

Stahlburg City sold off Viviana Strephon because she didn’t score. Goodfeather fans weren’t enthused to see her become the new Carrick, but she’s shown so far she’s able to be a brilliant all-rounder up front, complementing her comrades in green far better than she was as a lone striker in white. Stahlburg’s own new striker, Kuzener, has been everything they’ve needed, everything Strephon wasn’t, a born goalscorer hanging off the shoulder of the last defender who has struck up a near-telepathic accord with Mersudin Smajic. So naturally, with all this narrative surrounding the two strikers, the result is… a scoreless draw. Kuzener even limps off 41 minutes in. Goodfeather can’t play through Stahlburg’s midfield block, Stahlburg can’t find the finishing touch to get past Damir Wright. It’s pretty dire, all in all.

Corvistone don’t look far for a replacement. They take… Gareth Penrooke. The second straight time they’ve just taken Starling’s manager. It makes sense, his record’s excellent on the whole and the issues with Starling are hardly down to him. He’s back in time to kick Corvistone into a 2-1 win over the Chariots, 20-year old Safiya Telford given the nod in the heart of defence for the first time of the season and instantly striking a solid partnership with Sevet-Stokes. Given an ultra-conservative double pivot of Zahra and Niskanen to shield, they see the game throug comfortably, Savojar duo Gyldenstroem and Viipuri striking the necessary goals. Starling look even less far afield, assistant manager Nikita Loeher given the brief on a caretaker basis. She’s off to a flying start, though, a very direct and unrelenting Starling hammering Chatswood 4-0. New manager bounces might have been expected, but nobody expected Southfell to win, a late winner from Swainsona handing them a 3-2 win over Parrhesia United.

It’s Crisisbless derby time, with both sides out of sorts. Though United would kill to be ‘struggling’ in the same way the Heelers are, mired in midtable. They’re bottom, though admittedly they weren’t expected by many to stay up. They’ve not played badly, by their own standards, but their best players are a 37-year old Aschenbach and a free agent Farf in Çêwé, the latter of whom has scored a more than credible seven goals so far. But this game provides his first assist, shaping to shoot from distance before instead playing through a clever and perfectly-weighted disguised pass to play in Andrine Samsa, racing in down the left. The winger almost ruins it with a heavy touch but manages to take it away from goal, drawing Sebring out before chipping over her. It’s an impressive goal. They’re able to hang onto it for five entire minutes before Woakes hammers home a leveller, and when Spijkers rams in a second just after the hour there’s little hope of a comeback. But for a very brief time, they could dream… and the last kick of the game is an Aschenbach free kick that slams off the crossbar. What could have been.

Gratia Barker can always be trusted to get the job done. Her Rooks go to River and show absolutely no intention of playing a passing game, rolling up in a 4-4-2 and simply hoofing the ball directly forward, trying to exploit the pace of Pike and Roberts while bypassing the midfield as much as possible. It works well, with those two and Roehampton on the scoresheet in a 3-2 win, all on the break. 18th-placed Chatswood absolutely massacre 19th-placed Southfell 5-0 through a similarly direct route, and the Tanners deal with it worse than the Ferrymen could have. Victoria Remeikis fills her boots with a perfect hat-trick, before an absolute screamer from Kovalev proves what might be a goal of the season contender. Both Corvistone and Starling continue to pick up where they left off, Corvistone beating Brinemouth on their own patch with Danilo Sevaljevic orchestrating the show on his 20th birthday, while the Passerines hold up and stall out Treason to a 1-1 draw, only conceding late to a masterful, unsavable Rosenblatt free kick.

Southfell are bottom of the table. Treason are top. The 5-1 thumping shows why. The suspicion is that Treason are simply going to prove untouchable this season, beyond the reach of mortal teams. They aren’t even far off track for a full hundred points. Their lead extends to ten points when Sabrefell Athletic, a very strong but ultimately mortal side, get cold-cocked 1-0 by Chatswood, leaving the Moths to power into second, overtaking both the Rams and the Hawks. Brinemouth and Stahlburg City round out the top six, with Parrhesia and Goodfeather dropping points as the best of the rest. Crisisbless, surprisingly, have pulled themselves back up to respectability with a run of seven wins from their past nine, most recently a fairly effortless 2-0 over Creed.

The relegation battle looks a lot more interesting than the title race this season… well, okay, the fight for the playoff place does. If one assumes that Corvistone and Vermillion are too good to go down, it’s Chatswood, Newrook or Creed, the Oathmen being in dreadful form. Crisisbless United show a belated sign of life, a Çêwé goal enough to sink Coret thanks to some inspirational goalkeeping from Loree Bautista, but they’re still six points adrift. For Southfell, while new manager Kolar has turned things around very slightly - hey, at least they’ve won a couple games now - the suspicion is he’s not doing so fast enough, and conceding ten goals in their past two games doesn’t help. Creed are in the playoff, winless in 12 and with Dan Keel on the hot seat.

Oddly, the Zenith isn’t the only league to meet the halfway mark with top playing bottom. It happens here, too. The key figure is ‘nine’; nine for the amount of points Gonen’s Bridge have on the board, nine for the amount of goals North Sabrefell put past Serpentine. Camilla Martin hammered in four of them before being hooked 55 minutes in for teenager Kieran Lofthouse, who scored the last of the nine. So it’s a surprise when Gonen’s Bridge go out and score first. Baptiste Ziczi, the most impressive of the four young Farves the Warriors hired, beat Culweather with a snap-shot from outside the box. But the Bohemians strike back, predictably, with two players largely out of favour with Leigh Flute; Tschauner, once of La Querida, curls a free kick beyond Reiner on the edge of half-time before Mytti Numenen finishes the job.

The 9-1 North Sabrefell win was notable for more reasons than that, too. Mostly it was notable because it was atypical. Most people had Serpentine to go down, and certainly it’s on-paper Serpentine that you wouldn’t be immensely shocked to have seen lose that day. Particularly given a 22nd-minute red card to Manx for elbowing Swann’s cheek open, it’s not hugely shocking. Otherwise, though, a pretty terrible squad has done credibly, not through any one standout performance but just with an ability to scrape out big wins, such as a 2-1 defeat of Cranequin Wanderers spurred on by a brace of headers off corners from Corren Toure… a centre-half who hadn’t scored a league goal in four years. Things are just scraping their way. Miron Campbell was reportedly Creed’s first choice to replace Dan Keel, and it’s not hard to see why.

So North Sabrefell are entrenched in first, with South Laithland close behind. Of the three coming in behind, Leichhardt currently occupy the playoff place by a point. They’re a little-fancied outfit, but Varina Roebling is a contender for signing of the season. People thought the fringe Cormorant, who only recently turned 32 (and celebrated her birthday by thumping home a late winner against the Bridge) was past it. Far from it. She’s been a commanding and decisive presence, benefiting from the destroyer Moritz to one side. It’s the Stargazers who handed the Bohemians their only defeat in style, Cairns, Eberhart and Myrakis firing them to a 3-0 win. The Vetiver show continues apace to keep the Harriers in the chase, while Iron keep drawing, lagging behind despite boasting the league’s stingiest defence and just a single defeat.

Gonen’s look sunk. It’s looking like one and a half from three to join her, though it’s not impossible to see other sides getting drawn in. Presently, Aries Solitaire are on the bottom of the pile, lowest of three sides on 15 points owing to goal difference, that goal difference owing much to a 7-0 annihilation from Chenoworth Harriers. They’ve lost each of their past five by at least three goals, lost the game before that as well, and before that was a disappointment to boot, only drawing with Gonen’s at home. Vermillion Wanderers are also in strife, a season-ending injury to Lucius Prohaska leaving them short of inspiration in the centre of the park, while Corvette’s heads are just about above water. Seven points in their last three games makes them the form team, looking up after putting five past Serpentine.

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason             19  15  2   2  42  15  +27  47
  2 Sabrefell Moths         19  11  4   4  44  21  +23  37
  3 Sabrefell Athletic      19  10  6   3  40  15  +25  36
  4 Coret Hawks             19  10  5   4  35  20  +15  35
  5 Brinemouth              19  10  4   5  34  25   +9  34
  6 Stahlburg City          19   9  6   4  23  15   +8  33
  7 Parrhesia United        19   8  5   6  31  25   +6  29
  8 Goodfeather FC          19   8  5   6  31  26   +5  29
  9 Crisisbless             19   9  2   8  28  25   +3  29
 10 North Laithland         19   7  5   7  29  37   -8  26
 11 Raven River             19   7  3   9  37  33   +4  24
 12 Starling                19   6  6   7  23  30   -7  24
 13 Aries Chariots          19   6  5   8  26  27   -1  23
 14 Vermillion Rage         19   6  4   9  30  37   -7  22
 15 AFC Corvistone          19   6  4   9  26  33   -7  22
 16 Chatswood               19   6  2  11  19  24   -5  20
 17 Newrook City            19   5  4  10  22  37  -15  19
 18 Creed United            19   4  6   9  16  23   -7  18
 19 Crisisbless United      19   3  3  13  16  49  -33  12
 20 Southfell United        19   2  3  14  19  54  -35   9

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 North Sabrefell            19  13  5   1  42  14  +28  44
  2 South Laithland            19  13  2   4  23  12  +11  41
  3 Leichhardt                 19  12  1   6  30  15  +15  37
  4 Chenoworth Harriers        19  10  6   3  35  19  +16  36
  5 Iron City                  19   8 10   1  22   8  +14  34
  6 Barossia United            19   8  8   3  20  14   +6  32
  7 Belgrave                   19   9  4   6  30  27   +3  31
  8 Cranequin Wanderers        19   8  6   5  28  15  +13  30
  9 Chenoworth Rovers          19   9  1   9  30  30   +0  28
 10 AFC Rochford               19   8  3   8  23  19   +4  27
 11 Diamondqueen               19   6  6   7  28  25   +3  24
 12 AFC Serpentine             19   7  3   9  30  42  -12  24
 13 Corinthians No Longer      19   7  2  10  33  29   +4  23
 14 Brookford Otters           19   6  4   9  18  25   -7  22
 15 Stahlburg Rovers           19   6  3  10  25  33   -8  21
 16 Chardonnay Rangers         19   5  4  10  22  29   -7  19
 17 Corvette Maulers           19   4  3  12  29  44  -15  15
 18 Vermillion Wanderers       19   4  3  12  15  36  -21  15
 19 Aries Solitaire            19   3  6  10  18  44  -26  15
 20 Gonen's Bridge             19   1  6  12  11  32  -21   9

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 New Oakstone Phoenix      19  14  4   1  41   9  +32  46
  2 Mantlegrove               19  13  2   4  30  12  +18  41
  3 West Brinemouth           19  12  3   4  33   8  +25  39
  4 Cypher Town               19  11  4   4  28  13  +15  37
  5 Peregrine                 19  10  6   3  30  17  +13  36
  6 Locksley                  19  10  5   4  33  19  +14  35
  7 Greygate                  19  10  4   5  30  25   +5  34
  8 Morningstar               19   8  6   5  22  14   +8  30
  9 Alliance Barossia         19   7  7   5  27  23   +4  28
 10 Cranequin City            19   7  4   8  18  18   +0  25
 11 The Hanged Man            19   6  6   7  18  21   -3  24
 12 Lindwurm Delta            19   6  6   7  21  27   -6  24
 13 Latin Enclave FC          19   6  5   8  20  25   -5  23
 14 The Strongest             19   6  4   9  20  29   -9  22
 15 Pillars of Southfell      19   4  6   9  12  24  -12  18
 16 Boltcroft Thorns          19   4  4  11  22  25   -3  16
 17 Autumnstone               19   4  4  11  17  32  -15  16
 18 Armstrong                 19   2  5  12  10  29  -19  11
 19 Crisisbless Athletic      19   3  1  15  15  45  -30  10
 20 Ritter Town               19   2  4  13  14  46  -32  10

by **Nephara** » Mon Mar 07, 2022 4:16 pm

The big show-stopper on the first day of the season came when Penumbra Amokachi returned to her old stomping grounds at Brinemouth and wiped the floor with the locals. River have managed a few similar show-stoppers, but struggled for consistency; they’re currently 11th, but it’s not inconceivable they might be pulled into the relegation battle. Brinemouth, for their part, have stabilised. That said, River have scored more goals. Eight minutes in, Pernille Brand gets swarmed by Clery and Brandtner, borderline-fouled by each, Levin flicks the ball forward through Brinemouth’s collapsing line to Shehu, who finishes crisply past Heuser to send the stadium to its feet. Can they follow up on it? Nahhhh. Brinemouth keep their heads, this time; Tauscher strikes just after the half-hour, cutting inside and beating a wrong-footed, stationary Carver, before strikes from Pereyra and Linfield finish the job in the second half.

Dan Keel was meant to hammer out defensive mistakes and such. Well, after thirteen games without a win, he’s shown the door. The breaking point comes when Creed ship seven. Coret are good this season, but that’s unacceptable. Gareth Pawnbroker turns into Karsten Eiger for a day, scoring four as no Oathman comes close to touching him - including sweeping home his last touch of the night, just as Archer’s looking to sub him off - and in general Creed part like a claret sea for anyone in green. They’re almost alone in their defensive incompetence, with Aries, Parrhesia, Crisisbless, Newrook, North Laithland, Treason and Stahlburg all keeping clean sheets. The only goal against Goodfeather comes from former striker Carrick, the only goal against Southfell comes from former striker Kuzener.

It’s Crisisbless derby hour, though most Heelers fans probably forget Athletic ever exist these days. The Strivers have endured a dreadful time in the thid tier, though boasting a couple of hemi-recognisable names in Anna Rochester, once of Cypher, and Lothar Zander, once of Creed and North Sabrefell. And Nikola Stavros, whose 31st birthday this is. That’s totally heartwarming and not worrying on a winger. Here’s Dimi Taylor, their striker, on a nine-game goalless run! He… breaks it within four minutes, crashing home a header at the near post. Crisisbless are stunned. But they don’t seem to have an answer, Athletic’s small pitch giving them no room to maneuvre. Anna Rochester makes a bunch of saves, some great, many pedestrian, before Oenning sets up Stavros to get a birthday goal just after the hour. Chamoun ruins the narrative, pushing the shot against the post, but Amethyst Miller’s there following up the rebound to give Athletic a stunning 2-0 scalp.

The scalps don’t end there, though, and in a Treason derby, Mantlegrove knock off Chatswood in convincing fashion. First-half strikes from Mordhau, Londe and Byron give Chatswood too much to do in the second half, and with manager Gideon Fletcher heavily linked to the Creed vacancy, it could be a spectacular send-off. Serpentine manage a second scalp, Zizi Britton’s scuffed strike sinking Goodfeather late as she pounces on an errant backpass, while Crisisbless United have to dig themselves out of trouble with two goals in the last five minutes to overcome a deficit against Chardonnay Rangers. Of the Zenith ties, a heavily-rotated Coret blaze past Vermillion in a seven-goal thriller, while Brinemouth edge past the Rams in extra time in the tie’s marquee fixture, one that positions the Dockers as favourites to win it all.

Blood is in the water. Creed United are in Godawful form, and the hiring of Gideon Fletcher, another former goalkeeper who accomplished good things well with Mantlegrove in the third tier, is transparently designed to give a new manager bounce before the Chequers host them. But… he’s been in situ for one entire day. There’s not much he can do when Tevye Barker balks at a bouncing ball in the box, letting Çêwé nip in ahead and thrash home an opening goal. There’s not much he can do when Bryony Lindt drops a cross from Samsa straight at Levi Marriott’s feet, the young midfielder smashing home his first goal of the season. But if you say he could make a difference at half-time, in the tunnel, then by that metric he succeeds. Creed come back roaring, and this time it’s United who make the errors, Allen with a suicidal pass back to Bautista that Khautov uses his pace to intercept and drag home, before in injury time a long throw from Jasper Skate scatters United’s defence, and substitute Scott Burgess heads home to score with his first touch.

Crisisbless are on the warpath. They’ve recovered from their early jitters and now look more dangerous than ever, while an injury-hit Vermillion Rage put out a weak lineup, handing out starting debuts to two academy prospects not even in the senior team. It proves a baptism of fire for Hamish Jeong-Harcourt, who almost scores, heading a corner at goal that Toxothea Sebring scrambles over the bar, but there’s little he can do against waves of Crisisbless aggression. Dauntless Carrick alone lands a hat-trick, and when Rage goalkeeper Fiona Hartnett goes down clutching a hamstring after 70 minutes the question has to be asked if she’s really injured or just faking. Auberine Peridot hustles on to concede one final goal, rounding out a 6-0 demolition. Treason make heavy weather of beating Newrook, but defeats for Athletic and Coret make it a very good day for the Stags.

It’s Sabrefell derby day. One of those days where the surrounding hype and circus atmosphere beats the match itself pretty soundly. Sauber and Gannot both rifle in shots from the edge of the box, Markgraf is arguably a little culpable for both but neither can really be considered a howler, Garamond’s exceptional in goal, whatever, it doesn’t matter when Moths midfielder Rook Timekeeper precedes the game by posting a 15-minute video of eating veal while staring bloody-mindedly into the camera and follows the game up by deleting his Twii. Not to be one-upped, Sonya Belltower, his opposite number for the Rams and a rival for a Cormorants berth - really, the two are reported to be friends - eats a live moth on camera during Athletic’s next training session, clearly having regrets about what was clearly a drunken bet. Or tries to; she ends up throwing it up, the thing fluttering away with alarm as the rest of Belltower’s lunch follows. That’s the real spirit of the occasion, right there.

It’s also Chardonnay derby day. Sort of. Actually, Goodfeather and Crisisbless United don’t have any real enmity with each other, unlike Goodfeather and Bishop or Crisisbless themselves, but you wouldn’t know it with the way they completely punish the porous United defence, time after time. United’s undermanned midfield is demolished, shorn of Aschenbach through an ill-timed suspension, and a 6-0 defeat feels like it could’ve been more. Starling show they aren’t dead yet, hammering Crisisbless 4-1 as an enormous Eirika Jonathansdottir watches on from the stands - will she return before the end of the season, perhaps? Outside of Chardonnay, though, comes the shock of the round; Southfell taking North Laithland to the cleaners, goals from Velat, Kama, Forde and Wolf shining on to a 4-0 win for the league’s bottom-feeders.

The Classic rolls around, and right now, Brinemouth are in danger of being looked at as plucky underdogs. Issue is, the Dockers’ squad has weaknesses. With Jackson a bit past her early peak, there’s not quite a top-drawer goalscorer, the centre of defence is aging, rightback is a weakness with Shepherd injured meaning 19-year old Mersea comes in, their star man Tauscher just hit 30… all is relative, of course. But it’s the little things that make the difference. Across the full 90 minutes, Treason just get to every ball half a second faster, and harder, and viciously seize control of the game from all angles. The result is that, without ever really playing badly, Brinemouth are dominated from start to finish and sink to a 4-1 defeat.

In the other games, for want of any other clear theme, it’s a good day for veterans. Even a young and spry River crush Chatswood 3-0 thanks to goals from 34-year old Chris Lang and 37-year old Mordecai Brandtner, the former a centre-half heading home a corner, the latter simply thumping home a strike from distance that simply passes through Besand’s hands in a rare error. Creed rely on 36-year old Alyss Driver scoring directly from a corner to scrap a point against Goodfeather, 37-year old Evangeline Aschenbach holds her nerve from the penalty spot to give United a point against Vermillion, while aging, heavily rotated sides from North Laithland and Sabrefell Athletic blast each other for five goals in the first half before running out of puff in the second. But they had the oldest player of all… as Kosovare Fairweather, a former goalkeeper and still ‘only’ 43, puts herself on the bench to fill out the seven. Neutrals spend the match praying for Dundalk and Dance to eat shit and force her on, but they’ll have to settle for a Renate March masterclass instead as the Spiders edge the victory.

Stahlburg City are looking up in the table. They were good once, their fans will tell you, one of Nephara’s Big Six long before Starling, the Chariots or bloody Corvistone could try and lay claim to that. But decades of mediocrity, years languishing in the second tier, have lead to obscurity. But they’re clawing their way back up. The first half against Brinemouth is much as we’ve expected, a ‘good’ performance comprised of last-ditch defending and brutal midfield hacking, but in the second half, the Smiths assert themselves. The opener comes from teenage winger Arachne Loeher, a genuine screamer whistling by a motionless Heuser, and though the clinching second is a scruffy Kuzener tap-in off a poorly-defended set piece, ‘Stahlburg City 2-0 Brinemouth’ is a hell of a throwback, and a good feeling for those in white.

It’s not a good game, but it’s a significant one; Creed’s 1-0 win in Vermillion snaps a sixteen-game winless streak. It’s the worst run in Zenith history, though Chenoworth Rovers went 20 without victory just over a decade ago (19 to end the final UICA season, and the opener of the following year). Ashara Szuban tries her luck beating Peridot from distance with a shot skimmed across the damp grass, and perhaps the Rage backup goalkeeper sees it late; it ekes by her, and Creed have the albatross off their neck. The Moths beat Corvistone thanks to goals from erstwhile Crows Niedermayer and Liu, Crisisbless United benefit from some dubious goalkeeping to snatch a win over Starling, while Sabrefell Athletic are left fuming after a chance to score against Crisisbless late is denied when Escobar’s cutback smacks into a dawdling referee, in the way of his target, Lundell.

As the bracket gets tighter, Zenith sides run out of ways to avoid each other. Coret knock out Starling, Southfell take out Crisisbless United, and Newrook beat Stahlburg City on penalties. Crisisbless Athletic take Corvistone deep, again finding respite away from their chastening league form, while Corvistone’s attempt to blood a bunch of backups doesn’t go so well. But backup goalkeeper Lorenz Clemence will feel he’s given credence to a league run in light of Claire Libuda’s indifferent form, saving three penalties to see the Crows through after a near-inert 120 minutes. Barossia United go one better, managing to overcome North Laithland on penalties, though chances are most fans fell asleep long before Artemis Tsipras made the decisive save. Rochford, scorer of four goals AET against Bishop, concede two to Serpentine; still, at least they’ve taken the Dragons deeper than either Zenith side did before them, as Zizi Britton is unlikely the Cup’s top scorer with eight goals.

Corvistone almost beat North Laithland. They warranted it, dominating in all facets of play throughout. Jaan drives in a corner after half an hour, against the run of play, but Penrooke’s charges fight back with aplomb, Konrad Balmoral levelling just before half-time with a crisply-taken strike before Nisarizo leathers in what looks for the longest time to be the winner. In the 92nd minute, Mirko Hranilovic, deputising for the injured Gyldenstroem, races down the right wing. Surely he must take it to the corner flag! But he thumps a shot on goal, one Cairbre Dundalk easily saves, before starting a counter, and suffice to say within twelve seconds the ball’s in the incredulous Crows’ net to tie the scores. “The lad’s nineteen,” says Penrooke, stoically, after the match. “I’ll keep from killing him.”

The Chariots are rarely so… quiet, as they’ve been this season. They’ve just been putzing around in midtable, not realyly bothering anyone. It’s the little things that are killing them, perhaps a little lack of intensity and, God forfend, multiple-time Manager of the Year Grey Holden is occasionally making tactical mistakes. 2-1 up against Chatswood, Taleb is removed in favour of the staid midfielder Booth, and the Chariots go from hammering on the door to placid and muted. Chatswood find a way back, Remeikis sneaking in on the end of a Vishca through-ball to level the scores. Crisisbless thrash Southfell 3-0 in what is either a six-pointer or an irrelevance, depending on your point of view, while River vs. Stahlburg ends 9 vs. 10, the 9 of River inexplicably picking up a late leveller courtesy of Clery’s absolute screamer in injury time.

Vermillion fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The Full Fifty is almost ready; this is their last match at the New Falstaff. It’s been an ill-fitting venue, tight and intimate but usually pretty churned-up, too small for the Rage’s fanbase and in a less prime piece of real estate. All they need to do is sign off their time with a respectable performance. All they need to do is not lose, for instance, 6-0, to a middling Chariots, carved apart time and again by the machinations of Tricia Cray, a Parrhesia United youth product who absolutely loves every minute of a three-assist, one-goal performance.

Goddammit, Rage.

In the Seeker derby, the statue in Newrook goes down, and the fans saw it coming. Newrook have not been good, though little blame falls on Gratia Barker. What really stings is that Coret manager Daniel Archer is from Newrook, way back before the derby really heated up. His Hawks win 3-1, and he dodges many, many coins thrown his way. Corvistone concede late again, denying them what would have been a genuine statement win over Crisisbless. Hranilovic is blameless, and indeed gets the first of the goals. This time, it’s Libuda’s failure to come claim a cross that bites them. River edge a manic seven-goal thriller against the Moths, with Confederate strikers Shehu and Petrov each scoring braces, while Treason edge their own derby, Besand making a double-save but a defence having given up and letting Ribbeck simply turn in the third bite of the cherry.

A relegation six-pointer between Crisisbless United and Newrook City has the distinct feeling of a last chance for the Chequers, while it represents an invaluable opportunity for the Rooks to dig out of trouble. But the Rooks, one suspects, would be wholly happy with a point. An edgy, nervy first half ends goalless, the Chequers kept at bay, but a near-post cross is headed in by Cewe in the 51st minute to totally change the game’s complexion. “The thing I’m proudest of,” reflects Gratia Barker, “is the lads didn’t sit around feeling sorry for themselves. They got down to business.” Pike strikes in the 59th minute, followed in quick succession by Roehampton and Siverson. A clumsy hack from Arnulf Gostler does give away a penalty late on, Cewe leathering it past Ran and a violent scuffle emerging over the ball when Jana Forde jumps on it in the net. No avail, though, as the Rooks win 3-2.

Vermillion Rage try to forget their curtain-closer at the Falstaff, and happily their debut at the Full Fifty does, in fact, see a capacity crowd of fifty thousand turn up. They bear witness to the Rage doing Rage things; a briliant solo goal from Kestrel Anharbour, who is absolutely not sticking around another year, cancelled out by a horrific defensive error from Gareth Sorrell, providing a masterful through-ball through his own defence for Valenza to finish. Letang heads home a corner just before half-time, but a thunderbolt of a free kick from Keepsake levels the scores again. Vermillion can go home happy enough. The Moths reduce Parrhesia to a fine paste, which makes Vermillion fans happier, with young midfielders Haraslin and vol Brininger getting their first league goals of the season to support a depleted side, Brinemouth and Crisisbless cancel each other out in a 1-1 draw, while there’s just no team quite like Stahlburg City. Sure, they’re flying high, second in the table, but with their and hosts Chatswood’s mutually brutal gamesmanship, a grim scoreless draw is the only possible result.

1-1 is the order of the day, which in-context suggests the power of home advantage. For the hosts include Serpentine and Barossia United, 1Div sides taking on top 5 Zenith opponents. Gloss over the third, Newrook’s against Corvistone, and largely ignore River’s 2-0 win in Southfell that probably knocks the Tanners out of the tie. Fixate instead on AFC Serpentine, tipped by most for relegation from the second tier and deploying an unashamedly defensive 4-1-4-1. Zizi Britton is the foremost of the 1s, and when a lumped clearance from March gets to her feet, she guns it for goal. Suddenly there’s acres of space, and even as white shirts all around her race back, she holds her nerve, plainly exhausted, to slot past Meinhard Gates. Elaine Ashdown refuses to throw on the league regulars from the bench. Oh, no! She’ll have to resort to, um, Farago rue Cazade, probably the best midfielder of the previous generation a couple years past his prime, to pull out the draw with a screamer from range. Oh, the humanity! Barossia United take the other road to success, Coret thinking they have the critical early goal when a fierce downward header from Saara slips by Artemis Tsipras’ near post. So, sure, the failure of their other forwards to add to that tally, with Annika Cashin twice hitting the post and debutant Cecili Pearce denied by a spectacular leg-save from Tsipras, doesn’t seem to matter, right up until a snap-shot from Leskosek is tipped around for a corner that goes straight to Ida Roesling’s forehead, and from there, to the top corner of the net. All to play, then, in the second leg… though one would still imagine the Hawks and Dockers will go through.

The title race is done. Not officially. There’s still ten games to be played. But it’s over. 2nd on the table hosts 1st, Stahlburg City against Treason, and it’s… not even close. The Stags are all over the Smiths from the whistle, a brilliant arcing strike from Zazagan opening the scoring, Rosenblatt and Ribbeck piling on the hurt before the half is done, and Treason are left to pretty much stroll around on their hated rivals’ pitch with cigars in their mouths. The lead is 21 points already. They won’t be caught. A good thing, then, that a serious race for the IFCF places has developed. An 83rd-minute poach from Lyzolda Petrov helps the Moths beat Chatswood and make it to second on goal difference, while Coret manage a vital win over Brinemouth, 2-0, to send the Dockers tumbling from 3rd to 6th and set the Hawks to 4th. Crisisbless hammer River 5-1; despite their ugly start, they’re just three points from IFCF football.

The bottom six, somehow, all play each other. It would be inaccurate, though, to say they’re all on a level; Southfell are terrible, barely making a point every other game, and Vermillion easily roll them 3-1 to climb to 15th. Newrook are denied what looks a penalty thirteen minutes in against Creed, Oathmen captain Kund Borbely getting away with what looked to be a handball blocking a Roehampton cross, and the Rooks just never quite get over that sense of injustice, growing scrappy and imprecise. Creed pick them off 2-0 in the second half, a Szuban shot too hot for Ran to handle and getting bundled home by Kovac, before partner in crime Khautov jinks past two men and finds the bottom corner from the edge of the box. That would set Corvistone back in the bottom three, a new manager bounce from Penrooke not really having materialised, but fortunately they’re playing a weak Crisisbless United. In the 54th minute, Kyli Pembroke wins a penalty; Marrish’s penalty is too near Bautista and beaten away into the ground, but Kaisa Gyldenstroem reacts quicker than anyone to get on the end of it and hammer it home.

Coret do, in fact, get the straightforward 2-0 win on home soil most expect against the spirited but limited Shrikes. Corvistone and Newrook draw 1-1 again, then draw 1-1 even more in extra time, a 3-3 result that favours the Rooks. Yet this publication must apologise for flippantly writing off Southfell’s chances against River. Arden Kolar’s side start to believe five minutes in, when a thumping half-volley from Heather Spahi should be saved by Selina Carver but is only pushed deeper into the net. Twenty, a stooping header from Zeman goes between Carver’s legs as the goalkeeper tumbles over backwards with the awkward attempted save. Rattled, it’s little surprise that the Ferrymen fuck up horribly to hand Southfell a third, Avery turning under pressure to try and pass back to Carver, but underhitting a pass. Carver races out of her box and cleans out Spahi, a straight red. Now, the tie is even on paper still, but not when - once Markus Rose gets on his gloves and hustles onto the pitch - Cordelia Lorzer casually picks out the top corner from the free kick. River regroup in the second half, surging forward desperately for the two goals they need. Rose Fleetwood gets one back, but they’re caught badly on the counter in search of a second, substitute Malka Waisman driving home goal number four in injury time. As for the heroism on display at the Eagles’ Club, the result is an aberration to statisticians. Brinemouth enjoyed 78% of the ball, took twenty-eight shots, eight on target. Three times they had the goal gaping before somehow fucking up the chance. And the thing is, they’d still have been fine - through on away goals - had a cross from Shanna Oakes not got lucky, Cedella Verlander sliding to intercept but inadvertently driving the ball into her own post, Zizi Britton quick-thinking and quick-footed to stab home the rebound for her tenth goal of the Cup.

The Bohemians remain ahead in the title race by a nose off the back of their terrifying home form, roaring to 4-1, 5-1, 3-0 and 5-0 wins in their past four matches at Frangipani Court, but Leichhardt are the form team of the league at the moment. They’ve won a scarcely credible 12 of their last 13, only dropping points in the Vale derby against Corvette, a 1-1 draw. The big show-stopper was a match against Cranequin Wanderers, a mirror-match of sorts against another tough, disciplined, hard-bitten side in a 4-2-3-1. But Varina Roebling won them the midfield battle almost single-handedly, not directly chalking up any goals or assists or game-winning tackles but somehow being behind all three of Leichhardt’s goals on the day, feeding Cairns who fed Eberhart for the first, tackling Brindell in the leadup to Eberhart’s second, and initiating the casual switch of play that cut half the Wanderers out of the game and lead to a David Cairns hammer-blow that left Carroll snatching at air. The Bohemians lead by a point and a chunk of goal difference, but the Stargazers have a seven-point lead on third, and look favourites for promotion at the very least.

A major theme this season has been the emergence of young talent. The obvious example is the 18-year old Harriers striker Felixe Vetiver, now on eighteen goals for the season after notching a brace against Diamondqueen. Her movement is uncanny, her finishing ruthless, her elbow’s ability to find her marker’s face eerie. But she’s far from the only one. Tamsin Nevetny (21) has been ever-present for North Sabrefell at leftback, Revelle Szusza celebrated her 21st birthday with a blistering free kick to give Barossia the fourth of five goals against Brookford, 20-year old winger Vusur Rajovic has been the Maulers’ top scorer thus far on eight goals, while Korchagin and Cairns have been vital pieces of Leichhardt’s unexpected title challenge. 1Div’s been criticised in the past for an overreliance on veteran talent across the league, but of late it’s starting to freshen up, and that can only be a good thing for Nepharan football.

Gonen’s Bridge roared into life after the break, kickstarting their shot at survival with a 5-1 demolition of AFC Serpentine. Everything came together. All four of their Farves went on the scoresheet, Ziczi managing a brace. November Reiner saved a penalty. They haven’t won since. They haven’t even scored since. In fact, the bottom four remain essentially static, Bridge still adrift. Corvette are currently in the bottom two, but their salvation may come in the form of a Jiawei penalty save in the 91st minute against relegation rivals Vermillion Wanderers. They’d come in with hot form, winning three of their last four to motor out of trouble, and had hammered the Maulers all day. But Bertos’ penalty was beaten away by Jiawei, the rebound blasted straight back at her by Kirkland but somehow again pushed aside, Mastiff’s clearance saving Corvette a significant if undeserved point.

The Maulers had previously almost succeeded in dragging Brookford down into the mire, hammering them 3-0 in what proved the final match for managerial novice Camilla Raskin. Another Adalheid Metzelder protege, Lexus Ulreich, would probably be facing the axe himself were it not for his Cup final run last season, as the Gargoyles’ impressive ascent in the first half of the season has collapsed, Belgrave the only team in the league winless since the halfway mark. It all collapsed in a 6-1 defeat to Diamondqueen, which seems to have simply collapsed their morale, since… or perhaps it’s that injury-prone centre-half August Longstreet collapsed with a season-ending ACL injury, Belgrave left to badly miss his calm authority at the back.

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason             28  24  2   2  63  20  +43  74
  2 Sabrefell Moths         28  16  5   7  67  36  +31  53
  3 Stahlburg City          28  15  8   5  36  22  +14  53
  4 Coret Hawks             28  15  7   6  58  33  +25  52
  5 Sabrefell Athletic      28  14  8   6  58  27  +31  50
  6 Brinemouth              28  15  5   8  50  38  +12  50
  7 Crisisbless             28  14  5   9  51  36  +15  47
  8 Goodfeather FC          28  12  8   8  48  39   +9  44
  9 North Laithland         28  12  7   9  43  50   -7  43
 10 Aries Chariots          28  11  7  10  48  38  +10  40
 11 Starling                28   9  9  10  39  39   +0  36
 12 Parrhesia United        28  10  6  12  38  45   -7  36
 13 Raven River             28   9  4  15  50  56   -6  31
 14 Chatswood               28   8  4  16  25  35  -10  28
 15 Vermillion Rage         28   7  7  14  37  58  -21  28
 16 Creed United            28   6  9  13  25  41  -16  27
 17 AFC Corvistone          28   7  6  15  35  52  -17  27
 18 Newrook City            28   7  5  16  33  55  -22  26
 19 Crisisbless United      28   5  5  18  27  68  -41  20
 20 Southfell United        28   3  5  20  29  72  -43  14

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 North Sabrefell            28  19   6   3  63  22  +41  63
  2 Leichhardt                 28  20   2   6  52  23  +29  62
  3 South Laithland            28  17   4   7  35  19  +16  55
  4 Chenoworth Harriers        28  14   9   5  49  27  +22  51
  5 Cranequin Wanderers        28  15   6   7  45  23  +22  51
  6 Iron City                  28  11  14   3  35  19  +16  47
  7 Barossia United            28  12   9   7  33  26   +7  45
  8 Chenoworth Rovers          28  14   2  12  42  42   +0  44
  9 AFC Rochford               28  12   6  10  37  31   +6  42
 10 Corinthians No Longer      28  11   5  12  48  41   +7  38
 11 Diamondqueen               28   9   9  10  44  42   +2  36
 12 Belgrave                   28   9   8  11  40  49   -9  35
 13 AFC Serpentine             28   9   5  14  44  65  -21  32
 14 Chardonnay Rangers         28   8   7  13  39  45   -6  31
 15 Stahlburg Rovers           28   9   4  15  35  47  -12  31
 16 Brookford Otters           28   8   5  15  30  45  -15  29
 17 Vermillion Wanderers       28   7   4  17  26  48  -22  25
 18 Aries Solitaire            28   6   7  15  26  58  -32  25
 19 Corvette Maulers           28   5   7  16  43  64  -21  22
 20 Gonen's Bridge             28   2   7  19  16  46  -30  13

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 New Oakstone Phoenix      28  19  7   2  59  14  +45  64
  2 West Brinemouth           28  18  4   6  48  12  +36  58
  3 Peregrine                 28  15  9   4  42  25  +17  54
  4 Mantlegrove               28  16  5   7  46  28  +18  53
  5 Cypher Town               28  15  7   6  38  22  +16  52
  6 Locksley                  28  14  6   8  48  26  +22  48
  7 Greygate                  28  14  6   8  46  40   +6  48
  8 Lindwurm Delta            28  13  6   9  33  35   -2  45
  9 Cranequin City            28  12  8   8  29  20   +9  44
 10 Morningstar               28  11 10   7  32  17  +15  43
 11 Alliance Barossia         28  11 10   7  38  32   +6  43
 12 The Hanged Man            28   9  7  12  23  31   -8  34
 13 Pillars of Southfell      28   9  6  13  22  36  -14  33
 14 Latin Enclave FC          28   8  7  13  25  42  -17  31
 15 The Strongest             28   8  6  14  35  51  -16  30
 16 Boltcroft Thorns          28   7  8  13  34  34   +0  29
 17 Autumnstone               28   5  4  19  25  55  -30  19
 18 Armstrong                 28   4  6  18  19  46  -27  18
 19 Ritter Town               28   4  5  19  24  60  -36  17
 20 Crisisbless Athletic      28   4  1  23  20  60  -40  13

by **Nephara** » Thu Mar 10, 2022 4:20 pm

Sweet Christ. So there’s a few big results in the league. Treason take the Moths - even with Liu Huiying opening the scoring just seven minutes in - and stomp on their heads, crushing them 5-2, while Coret go one better (and, well, one worse) with a madcap 6-3 win over River. Generally hypercritical, Penumbra Amokachi chooses now to be proud of her charges. “They kept battling,” she said solemnly. “3-1 down with half an hour to play? You bet I want the chasing those goals. And they got them. Doesn’t matter they got gashed three times on the break in the process.” Well, it does, but who’s counting? It’s not an outrageous scoreline in Crisisless, but Çêwé’s ability to put away both half-chances that fall his way earns the Chequers an unlikely point against Brineouth. Southfell also score twice, against Starling. But they let in six at the other end, so.

But the biggest result, at least numerically, is… well, it’s the biggest result in Nepharan top-flight history. There’s been six matches that have ended in 11 goals - surprisingly, Aries have lost two of them - and three in 12, Sabrefell Athletic’s 8-4 destruction of Crisisbless United way back in Cycle 59, before in quick succession, North Sabrefell beat Creed 8-4 in 74 (which also saw North Laithland 1-10 Sabrefell Athletic) and Brinemouth edged Crisisbless United 7-5. There had not been a single, overwhelming champion, though. Until now. Presenting: Parrhesia United 5-9 Crisisbless. Just go online and watch the highlights. Watch Michael Brandon die slowly on the touchline. Watch Emeka Obasi actually beginning to eat his hat. Watch Veluca Austen contemplate a career change, Davor Kurtishi stare at the match-ball he gets in a game his team lost by four. Watch it. It’s the sort of bizarre energy you don’t generally see in the Zenith. You won’t regret it.

Perhaps it’s no surprise to see this be a rather more subdued week, on the whole. For most. Southfell aren’t feeling much calmer as again they concede six, a makeshift central defence of Novick and Ellis proving ill-equipped and badly exposed by the midfield in front of them. Sabrefell Moths recover by punching Stahlburg City 3-0, three straightforward, direct and dynamic goals, while Athletic destroy Starling. Parrhesia are probably pretty happy to only concede three this time around, but the guns fall silent against a Coret side similarly motivated to keep tighter in the back. So, calm all around, then?

Not if you’re North Laithland, who endure the humiliation of being destroyed on their own pitch by their worst rivals. Ribbeck 2’, Considine 4’, Zazagan 9’; it’s a stunning opening salvo, and Treason don’t let up - it’s 5-0 before the end of the first half, though just before the reprieve of half-time, Renate March says fuck it and blasts one in from thirty yards, caroming in off the underside of the crossbar. It’s a peach of a strike, but it doesn’t get the Stags to back off. Two young new faces at half-time, locals both, get on the scoresheet; Tamora Ravenwood slashing inside Garnett before beating the thoroughly demoralised Dundalk at his near post, before Koerver squirrels a shot past him from distance. The final name on the scoresheet is Ajax Boleyn, the Spiders’ defensive midfielder getting back and sliding across the face of goal only to turn Considine’s cross into his own net. 8-1. Christ.

With a 4-0 win over Crisisbless, Treason have already won the league.

Sometimes, you do just have to sit and reflect on the result. It was every bit as easy as the scoreline suggests, too. For the first half, Crisisbless just about hung on, but even then they were indebted to Toxothea Sebring more than once for keeping the score down to 1-0. But 52 minutes in, an inch-perfect ball from Purna Zazagan finds Tamora Ravenwood perfectly in flight, and a first-touch strike is swept past an off-balance Sebring’s near post. Crisisbless don’t recover. Hitherto invisible, Ribbeck scores twice and hits a post, and probably should get a penalty when Copperhead shoves him to the ground late on, but four is more than enough. Treason are over 21 points better-off than Coret. The trophy gets wheeled out, and literally nobody can deny the Stags have earned it.

The massacres aren’t stopping there. This time, it’s Vermillion’s turn. Oh, this season had been seen as a write-off - hey, best players getting sold again and, hey, still playing without your proper home ground - but suddenly there’s a real risk of relegation, even though fans are mostly hoping their board doesn’t get any fool notions about firing Cralt-Nirlo Fox. Who gets a vote of confidence from the board. Oh, dear. Anyway, the match itself is just as ugly as an 8-0 scoreline suggests, Vermillion’s defensive line completely imploding at the slightest pressure time and again, and just as it looke like Brinemouth will think 5-0 at the hour mark is enough, Lienke Covolan gets herself sent off for a vicious elbow on Martin and from there the Dockers can’t help but pile on the pain.

Of course, it’s only after winning the entire damn league that Treason remember to drop points from time to time, but that shouldn’t subtract from the serious boost Coret will get from beating them 2-0, even though they’re probably still hung over. Gareth Pawnbroker is again pivotal, and probably doing enough to warrant Cormorants recognition once again. Newrook endure a dreadful day, not only neglecting to pick up some of the easiest points they’re going to get - hosting Southfell! - as a rare goalkeeping error from Maela Ran opens the floodgates, but Crisisbless United beat Chatswood, converting 71% possession into success on the pitch.

It’s crunch time. Time to take stock. Treason have won, obviously, and they’re evidently going hard on the beers as they drop points yet again. Even not leaving second gear, the Stags still pepper the Chequers’ goal, a heroic performance from Loree Bautista keeping the score down so that a late free kick, pinpoint from Samsa and guided home by Dimitar Ingold, levels the scores. But the rest of the top eight has plenty of other pratfalls; Coret easily slot a Stahlburg side in poor form, Athletic dig out a late win over Newrook, but the Moths draw Crisisbless and Brinemouth are held to a bizarre 4-4 draw in Starling, three times taking the lead but hauled back every time and only salvaging a point through a contentious 91st-minute penalty. Creed are the big winners towards the bottom, Aquila Kovac’s delicately cushioned finish enough to beat Chatswood away in a tightly contested, anxious clash with few clear-cut chances.

Ps                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 AFC Treason            33   27   3   3    81   26  +55    84
 2 Coret Hawks            33   19   8   6    72   37  +35    65
 3 Brinemouth             33   18   7   8    68   45  +23    61
 4 Sabrefell Athletic     33   17   9   7    68   32  +36    60
 5 Sabrefell Moths        33   17   7   9    76   46  +30    58
 6 Stahlburg City         33   15  11   7    41   32   +9    56
 7 Crisisbless            33   16   7  10    65   48  +17    55
 8 Goodfeather FC         33   14  10   9    51   42   +9    52
[...]
15 Creed United           33    8  10  15    32   47  −15    34
16 Chatswood              33    9   5  19    29   42  −13    32
17 Vermillion Rage        33    8   8  17    41   72  −31    32
18 Crisisbless United     33    7   7  19    35   75  −40    28
19 Newrook City           33    7   6  20    37   66  −29    27
20 Southfell United       33    5   5  23    39   89  −50    20

15 points remain.

Treason return to winning ways, effortlessly crushing Creed 4-1. The Oathmen actually score first, starting to hope that maybe they’ll continue the champions’ poor form, but that illusion dissolves after half-time, when Coxeter smashes home Treason’s second and there’s never really any illusions Creed will score again. Coret are held by the Moths in a breathless, scoreless affair, high on tension and with brilliant saves from both Middleton and Markgraf; Brinemouth stomp on Southfell to close the gap to two points, and to give themselves four points on the Rams after the Crows try and remain relevant with a 1-0 win. The only side to win down aroudn the bottom is Vermillion Rage, who surprisingly edge out the derby. Wingers Anharbour and Treatise chalk up the goals, deserved rewards after giving the fullbacks a torrid time throughout.

Ps                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 AFC Treason            34   28   3   3    85   27  +58    87
 2 Coret Hawks            34   19   9   6    72   37  +35    66
 3 Brinemouth             34   19   7   8    73   47  +26    64
 4 Sabrefell Athletic     34   17   9   8    68   33  +35    60
 5 Sabrefell Moths        34   17   8   9    76   46  +30    59
 6 Stahlburg City         34   16  11   7    43   33  +10    59
 7 Crisisbless            34   17   7  10    69   48  +21    58
 8 Goodfeather FC         34   15  10   9    52   42  +10    55
[...]
16 Creed United           34    8  10  16    33   51  −18    34
17 Chatswood              34    9   5  20    29   43  −14    32
18 Crisisbless United     34    7   7  20    36   77  −41    28
19 Newrook City           34    7   6  21    39   71  −32    27
20 Southfell United       34    5   5  24    41   94  −53    20

12 points remain.

Who does Treason get to stomp today? Ah, Goodfeather have some IFCF aspirations! Treason crush them over the course of a 4-0 demolition. That probably sets them too far adrift. The big occasion at the top is Sabrefell Athletic hosting Brinemouth at the Barbarossa, pretty much fighting it out for a chance of the Champions League. Seven minutes in, Tasha Sauber scores; twelve inutes in, Ikpeazu makes it 2-0. This is eerie because that’s each of their shirt numbers; it’s also eerie because the Dockers are playing terribly. And they don’t recover, either. It’s 3-0 by half-time, 4-1 by the end, and the gap is down to a point with the Moths also in striking range, despite a far less impressive result labouring to victory over Crisisbless United. Newrook beat Corvistone 4-2, while Chatswood beat Vermillion to lock three teams on 35 points. Each, most likely, safe. Newrook’s victory also makes official something that was basically certain for months, Southfell’s relegation.

Ps                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 AFC Treason            35   29   3   3    89   27  +62    90
 2 Coret Hawks            35   19  10   6    73   38  +35    67
 3 Brinemouth             35   19   7   9    74   51  +23    64
 4 Sabrefell Athletic     35   18   9   8    72   34  +38    63
 5 Sabrefell Moths        35   18   8   9    78   47  +31    62
 6 Stahlburg City         35   16  12   7    44   34  +10    60
 7 Crisisbless            35   17   8  10    69   48  +21    59
 8 Goodfeather FC         35   15  10  10    52   46   +6    55
[...]
15 Chatswood              35   10   5  20    31   44  −13    35
16 Creed United           35    8  11  16    34   52  −18    35
17 Vermillion Rage        35    9   8  18    44   75  −31    35
18 Newrook City           35    8   6  21    43   73  −30    30
19 Crisisbless United     35    7   7  21    37   79  −42    28
20 Southfell United       35    5   5  25    43   97  −54    20

9 points remain.

Serpentine are already eying the final. They’ve taken on far more impressive opposition than a Southfell side who are likely to concede a full century of goals this season, and it’s little surprise that slack marking and an errant backpass allow Zizi Britton to snatch her 11th and 12th goals of the Cup. But Southfell, too late to do them any good in the league, fight back in the second half. Serpentine at first keep them well at bay, until a speculative scorpion kick from Osterhagen catches Gerrard Tell off-guard. The goalkeeper backpedals and flaps at the ball, only able to slap it down for Forde to drive home right in front of him. Serpentine hold firm until injury time, Gerrard Tell making up for his blunder with a sharp double-save to deny Velat and Forde, but there’s nothing he can do when a masterful pass from Osterhagen plays in Velat to drive home a leveller unmarked.

Newrook and Coret go at each other viciously, Coret outraged when Pawnbroker’s early header is chalked off for offside - fairly - compounded when Newrook score in the aftermath of the free kick they get. Coret get their own refereeing break when Davor Roskilde chops down Abbarotz Zumalakarregi at the ankle. It’s immensely bad news for Newrook - arguably their best player limps off - and Roskilde escapes a red card, somehow. Spurred on, Lothar flights in a free kick that perfectly catches Graves’ head; 2-0. In the second half, the Hawks fight back. A tricky run and a neat slotted finish from Cashin beats Ran at her near post and the obligatory crashing header from Pawnbroker levels the scores, but at the death, a scrappy tap-in from substitute Helmer Smith is enough to give the Rooks a win over their hated rivals.

Gareth Pawnbroker and Monika Bandler strike early against Creed, with Sandra Middleton invaluable at keeping them out at the other end. The Hawks just need a point from their last two games to secure a scarcely believable CL berth, given their massive goal difference advantage over a Brinemouth side that drop points late in Newrook, their poor finishing scarring them. They should take lessons from the Moths: four shots on target, four goals, though admittedly they were aided by an injury to Bryony Lindt meaning the far more porous Marnid Volland was between the posts for Creed. And those results mean that the Oathmen aren’t safe yet, though Newrook will have to start putting wins on the board to reel them in; most likely only two wins will do, though in Creed’s state, two wins will probably do. For United, who show absolutely nothing in a 3-0 defeat to North Laithland, the window is narrowing even tighter.

Ps                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 AFC Treason            36   29   4   3    91   29  +62    91
 2 Coret Hawks            36   20  10   6    75   38  +37    70
 3 Sabrefell Moths        36   19   8   9    82   48  +34    65
 4 Brinemouth             36   19   8   9    75   52  +23    65
 5 Sabrefell Athletic     36   18  10   8    73   35  +38    64
 6 Stahlburg City         36   17  12   7    46   35  +11    63
 7 Crisisbless            36   17   8  11    69   50  +19    59
[...]
15 Chatswood              36   10   6  20    31   44  −13    36
16 Vermillion Rage        36    9   9  18    46   77  −31    36
17 Creed United           36    8  11  17    35   56  −21    35
18 Newrook City           36    8   7  21    44   74  −30    31
19 Crisisbless United     36    7   7  22    37   82  −45    28
20 Southfell United       36    5   6  25    43   97  −54    21

6 points remain.

Maybe their pride’s been stung. But Southfell rise to the occasion, savaging a Serpentine side that just look to have been taken one step too far. The only negative from Southfell’s perspective that in the course of setting up Karolin Forde’s second, Antje Osterhagen goes down with an injury that will keep her out of the final. Coret lack inspiration against Newrook but they do enough, Gareth Pawnbroker trying his luck from outside the box and managing to find the bottom corner, beyond a grasping Maela Ran.

A scoreless draw in Treason means that the Stags have dropped as many matches since winning the league as they did in the 31 matches preceding it. But Starling are still nowhere in particular, not even able to make the top half of the table anymore. Two shocks at the top radically shake up the Champions League picture; Coret need only a point to secure their CL berth and yet they not only lose but get trashed, 3-0, by an Aries side getting hot form too late to be any good to anyone. Corvistone beat Brinemouth by the same scoreline, allowing both major Sabrefell sides to steal in over them. Vermillion Rage score late through Petras, which doesn’t change their own situation, but does fuck over Stahlburg City and open up a very viable route to the top six for Crisisbless, one which could maybe redeem a season that started nothing less than atrocious. At the bottom… well, Newrook need to win to keep Creed in sight. They can’t, a draw giving them only a slim hope of reaching 17th. Crisisbless’ 2-0 win over United confirms the Chequers are down. It’s now a straight shot, Creed vs. Newrook to avoid the playoff, only weighted very heavily in Creed’s favour. With some of the crazy scorelines seen lately, though, you never know…

The top two are signed and sealed, with Leichhardt just about doing enough to get over the line. But their title race has evaporatted, in part due to their own indifferent form, but in part because North Sabrefell went on an absolute tear; they’ve won 10 of their last 11, dropping points only in a stalemate to rivals Belgrave, and scored a staggering 34 goals in that time. Camilla Martin is going on a goal a game through that streak, brought on as a substitute against Serpentine to lash home a late winner - her 30th of the season. Leigh Flute’s side have been easily the most complete side in the league. They’re likely to make it 11 for 12, given their final match is at Gonen’s Bridge. Sure, the Warriors have been in much better form of late (three entire wins this quarter!), but the main intrigue will be seeing how many goals Martin can pad her tally by.

Not that Martin’s Jade Boot form has come under any real challenge. CNL’s Caelan McIntyre and the Harriers’ Felixe Vetiver are locked in equal second, on a relatively modest 23. It’s felt like a race at times, though, particularly with the Harriers ten points from the the top three and CNL dead in the middle of the table. The penultimate matchday saw Caelan McIntyre net a fine hat-trick in a trivial 4-0 win over Aries Solitaire, including two penalties… but Vetiver matched him goal-for-goal, taking home the match ball even as Stahlburg Rovers came back to win 4-3. Her face was grim. The club’s come out strong with the rhetoric - manager Adalheid Metzelder saying stridently that “the best thing for Felixe is another year at a club that understands her and trusts her to lead the line day-in day-out” - but even word around the club is that the Harriers are resigned to liquidating Vetiver, at best with a loan-back clause to try and fire them to promotion next season.

In a season where by and large teams have finished around as expected, Serpentine are the real outlier, though there’s been undoubted bumps in the road. Still, there’s signs they might not be so secure next season. They’re currently winless in their last eight, a run kick-started by an 8-1 defeat to Stahlburg Rovers - whose striker, Liang, netted five - and a 7-1 defeat to CNL. What made the difference? Injuries. Janus Tanzer had started every game until breaking down injured with an MCL against Belgrave, their last win, and without him Serpentine simply folded neatly in the middle, while an injury to Zizi Britton removed much of their teeth. Both players could be gone in the window, and so too could Miron Campbell, supposedly courted by several Zenith sides but wanting to ensure the Dragons survived first. Well, that’s done. What might be next, for Campbell and the Dragons?

Leading into the final matchday, South Laithland and Cranequin Wanderers will fight over 3rd, while Vermillion Wanderers, Solitaire and Corvette will fight over the 17th-19th array. It hasn’t escaped anyone’s notice that South Laithland will host Vermillion Wanderers on the final day… and that, with three-point advantages (but goal difference deficits) on their nearest rivals, a simple draw would get both sides what they want. Cranequin will have to visit Iron City, the two meanest defences in the league going toe-to-toe, while Soli will host Diamondqueen, two points above Corvette, who will need to beat Serpentine at home for a chance at survival.

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason             37  29   5   3  91  29  +62  92
  2 Coret Hawks             37  20  10   7  75  41  +34  70
  3 Sabrefell Moths         37  20   8   9  87  51  +36  68
  4 Sabrefell Athletic      37  19  10   8  78  35  +43  67
  5 Brinemouth              37  19   8  10  75  55  +20  65
  6 Stahlburg City          37  17  13   7  48  37  +11  64
  7 Crisisbless             37  18   8  11  71  50  +21  62
  8 Aries Chariots          37  16  10  11  69  47  +22  58
  9 Goodfeather FC          37  15  10  12  56  53   +3  55
 10 North Laithland         37  15  10  12  60  70  -10  55
 11 Starling                37  12  13  12  55  52   +3  49
 12 Raven River             37  11  10  16  64  71   -7  43
 13 AFC Corvistone          37  12   6  19  48  64  -16  42
 14 Parrhesia United        37  11   7  19  47  70  -23  40
 15 Chatswood               37  10   7  20  32  45  -13  37
 16 Vermillion Rage         37   9  10  18  48  79  -31  37
 17 Creed United            37   8  11  18  36  60  -24  35
 18 Newrook City            37   8   8  21  45  75  -30  32
 19 Crisisbless United      37   7   7  23  37  84  -47  28
 20 Southfell United        37   5   7  25  44  98  -54  22

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 North Sabrefell            37  27   7   3  89  33  +56  88
  2 Leichhardt                 37  24   5   8  61  30  +31  77
  3 South Laithland            37  22   6   9  50  28  +22  72
  4 Cranequin Wanderers        37  20   9   8  59  32  +27  69
  5 Iron City                  37  16  15   6  49  28  +21  63
  6 Chenoworth Harriers        37  17  11   9  66  44  +22  62
  7 Barossia United            37  15  14   8  42  32  +10  59
  8 Chenoworth Rovers          37  17   5  15  55  53   +2  56
  9 Diamondqueen               37  14  10  13  59  54   +5  52
 10 Corinthians No Longer      37  14   8  15  68  53  +15  50
 11 Belgrave                   37  13  10  14  57  60   -3  49
 12 AFC Rochford               37  13   9  15  40  42   -2  48
 13 Stahlburg Rovers           37  13   5  19  55  66  -11  44
 14 Brookford Otters           37  11   8  18  42  58  -16  41
 15 Chardonnay Rangers         37   9  11  17  51  60   -9  38
 16 AFC Serpentine             37  10   8  19  53  90  -37  38
 17 Vermillion Wanderers       37   9   7  21  32  57  -25  34
 18 Aries Solitaire            37   8   7  22  34  82  -48  31
 19 Corvette Maulers           37   7   8  22  48  78  -30  29
 20 Gonen's Bridge             37   5   9  23  28  58  -30  24

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 New Oakstone Phoenix      37  26   8   3  78  21  +57  86
  2 West Brinemouth           37  22   9   6  59  15  +44  75
  3 Locksley                  37  21   8   8  73  31  +42  71
  4 Mantlegrove               37  20   9   8  59  35  +24  69
  5 Cypher Town               37  19   8  10  45  27  +18  65
  6 Peregrine                 37  18  11   8  51  35  +16  65
  7 Lindwurm Delta            37  17   8  12  48  49   -1  59
  8 Alliance Barossia         37  15  12  10  50  42   +8  57
  9 Cranequin City            37  16   9  12  36  30   +6  57
 10 Greygate                  37  16   9  12  59  54   +5  57
 11 Morningstar               37  14  12  11  44  28  +16  54
 12 The Hanged Man            37  12  10  15  31  39   -8  46
 13 Pillars of Southfell      37  13   7  17  28  43  -15  46
 14 Boltcroft Thorns          37  12   8  17  50  47   +3  44
 15 Latin Enclave FC          37  12   8  17  40  54  -14  44
 16 The Strongest             37  12   6  19  47  74  -27  42
 17 Armstrong                 37   7   7  23  29  59  -30  28
 18 Autumnstone               37   6   5  26  32  74  -42  23
 19 Crisisbless Athletic      37   7   1  29  26  75  -49  22
 20 Ritter Town               37   5   5  27  29  82  -53  20

by **Nephara** » Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:21 pm

SECOND DIVISION FINALE
New Oakstone’s firepower and West Brinemouth’s unbreachable defence had already secured the top two, but Locksley and Mantlegrove played off directly for the chance to play off directly. In the absence of Gideon Fletcher, assistant manager Tallinna Cosgrove has stepped up to keep Mantlegrove on course, and she… is sent off sixteen minutes into the match, when Johan Arbour falling over in the box does not draw a penalty. Maybe her charges do care about her; without her, goals from Innes and Yeseta put Locksley in the drivers’ seat. Mantlegrove dominate the second half, but thanks to a string of saves from Ivan Masterly, only one goal gets pulled back. The Brewers, then, will make the playoff, a calamitous late miss from Petra Rubesch proving irrelevant. Autumnstone and Crisisbless Athletic have both been awful all season. Autumnstone need victory against Alliance Barossia, which they are denied by a late Kaya Scanlan leveller, but that turns out alright; Athletic, who have bizarrely only drawn one game all season, get cleaned out 4-2 by bottom-feeders Ritter Town.

RESULTS
West Brinemouth 4-2 Boltcroft Thorns
Ritter Town 4-2 Crisisbless Athletic
Autumnstone 1-1 Alliance Barossia
Armstrong 0-1 The Strongest
Cypher Town 0-0 Pillars of Southfell
Peregrine 0-1 New Oakstone Phoenix
Lindwurm Delta 1-1 Cranequin City
Greygate 1-1 Latin Enclave FC
Locksley 2-1 Mantlegrove
Morningstar 3-0 The Hanged Man

FIRST DIVISION FINALE
With North Sabrefell secure at the top, Leichhardt certain of promotion, Corvette and Gonen’s doomed, and 3rd- and 17th-place both three points above their rivals, 1Div is in a situation where all the tension completely collapses if South Laithland and Vermillion Wanderers play out a placid 1-1 draw.

Which is exactly what happens. Weird how neither team really seemed to want to chase the game in the second half, huh!

RESULTS
Corvette Maulers 1-2 AFC Serpentine
Gonen's Bridge 3-1 North Sabrefell
Chardonnay Rangers 0-2 Barossia United
South Laithland 1-1 Vermillion Wanderers
Iron City 3-2 Cranequin Wanderers
Chenoworth Harriers 2-2 Brookford Otters
Aries Solitaire 2-1 Diamondqueen
AFC Rochford 0-1 Stahlburg Rovers
Leichhardt 5-1 Corinthians No Longer
Chenoworth Rovers 3-0 Belgrave

ZENITH FINALE - MINUTE-BY-MINUTE COVERAGE by CLEO SUTTER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RACE

Crisisbless United (4-2-3-1) 12 - Bautista; 17 - Allen, 22 - Ingold, 5 - Bennett, 19 - Fussell; 21 - Ledger, 6 - Aschenbach (c); 7 - Arkihpov, 13 - Donaldson, 11 - Samsa; 9 - Çêwé
Form Guide: 20th - 0W - 1D - 4L - 3F - 10A
Coret Hawks (4-4-2) 12 - Middleton; 17 - Reeve, 22 - Piirs, 4 - Harker, 19 - Roskilde; 7 - Maradrogba, 16 - Buchan, 25 - Morgan, 15 - Bandler; 20 - Pawnbroker, 11 - Saara
Form Guide: 8th - 2W - 2D - 1L - 6F - 5A
Coret fell short of qualification last time, but now, all they need is to beat an already-relegated United. United’s manager Volga Hoellerer has signalled that she doesn’t ‘intend to make it easy for them’, and the Hawks are missing some key players, but even a draw would do and Archer would be forgiven for having an eye on the Cup final ahead.

Vermillion Rage (4-3-3) 20 - Peridot; 6 - Wright, 13 - Cannon, 18 - Anderson, 22 - Province; 8 - Covolan, 4 - Sorrell, 15 - Keepsake; 10 - Anharbour, 7 - Petras, 11 - Treatise
Form Guide: 11th - 1W - 3D - 1L - 8F - 8A
Sabrefell Moths (4-4-2) 12 - Bayliss; 2 - Ànáxímane, 5 - Niedermayer, 6 - Brabanzon, 3 - Muscadin; 26 - Majerle, 7 - Zuniga, 4 - Timekeeper, 10 - Belgrade; 16 - Liu, 13 - Petrov
Form Guide: 1st - 3W - 2D - 0L - 12F - 6A
The Moths can hold onto third with a win, but they’ll be hard-pressed to do so. Vermillion Rage have endured a poor season, but they’re a different proposition at their new home stadium. The Moths are missing goalkeeper Markgraf and winger Kweon, opting for a swifch of shape to gut Vermillion down the flanks.

Chatswood (4-4-2) 1 - Besand; 2 - Petrov, 5 - Hazaluta, 18 - Pearson, 3 - Lamontagne; 44 - Matthis, 4 - Albert, 21 - Vishca (c), 16 - Petrus; 9 - Sturdevant, 13 - Remeikis
Form Guide: 13th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 3F - 4A
Sabrefell Athletic (4-4-2) 1 - Garamond; 17 - Brincat , 5 - Stephenson, 4 - Tarakov, 11 - Ciuru; 10 - Pallas, 13 - Belltower, 7 - Sauber, 12 - Ikpeazu; 14 - Benezet (c), 21 - Gannot
Form Guide: 2nd - 3W - 1D - 1L - 12F - 4A
The Rams are three points shy of the Hawks and two shy of the Moths, but have better goal difference than either; take care of business against Chatswood and either a Hawks defeat or Moths draw will let them into the top three. They are missing key attacking midfielders Escobar and Lundell; will they struggle to find the back of the target? Chatswood are no mugs, especially at home. 17-year old Kilika Matthis is making her starting debut on the right flank, and the deployment of aging backup rightback Petrov may make that wing a point of interest for the Rams.

CHALLENGERS CUP RACE

Brinemouth (4-2-3-1) 1 - Heuser; 14 - Shepherd, 5 - Steele, 18 - Brosch, 6 - Verlander; 20 - Martin, 16 - Brand; 15 - Cadre, 10 - Tauscher, 23 - Söderström; 34 - Miller
Form Guide: 15th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 11F - 14A
Aries Chariots (4-2-3-1) 20 - Schonlau; 2 - Kovac, 18 - Rasanamira, 5 - Blanco, 3 - Levering; 8 - Cray, 59 - Taphouse; 23 - Mordecai, 7 - Malkorra (c), 11 - Woodwright; 14 - Lopar
Form Guide: 3rd - 3W - 1D - 1L - 11F - 5A
Brinemouth’s defence has been fairly suspect all season, while the Chariots are facing something of a crisis, untested Gethin Taphouse left to help marshall the centre of defence and with starting goalkeeper Ursula Gavaris out injured. Expect goals. Expect a Brinemouth result, too, which win or draw will be enough to keep ahold of fifth. Aries have recovered somewhat, but expectation around the club is that Grey Holden will seek a new challenge in the window. This is likely Malkorra’s last game, though, so expect a great send-off and hopefully a goal to mark it with.

Starling (4-2-3-1) 1 - Katter; 17 - Harper, 13 - Griffith, 6 - Letang, 46 - Angle; 4 - Eversong, 14 - Charisteas; 20 - Conrad, 7 - Daescher, 23 - Hauser; 9 - Eirika
Form Guide: 16th - 0W - 4D - 1L - 5F - 6A
Stahlburg City (4-4-2) 12 - Strand; 2 - Lyons, 3 - Scales, 8 - Lieven, 19 - Talmay; 23 - Jurman; 7 - Rouvas, 10 - Smajic, 14 - Wise, 35 - Loeher; 15 - Kuzener
Form Guide: 9th - 2W - 2D - 1L - 8F - 8A
Stahlburg City started the season excellently but now only cling to sixth, and will need to rely on victory in Chardonnay. Svenja Baste may prove a big miss with an ill-timed suspension, Lieven dropping back into defence to cover, with Jurman taking on the shielding role in midfield. A central defensive partnership of #3 and #8 should be a capital offense, but Lieven is a recognised centre-half, even if he generally plays a holding midfield role for the Smiths. Nikita Loeher remains in charge of Starling, but still only on a caretaker basis. Caracal Page headlines their absences, and will also miss the World Cup with Nephara.

RELEGATION BATTLE

Creed United (3-5-2) 12 - Lindt; 5 - Barker, 19 - Borbely, 15 - Hooper; 2 - Landrith, 8 - Driver, 4 - Selder, 21 - Shanthi, 11 - Szuban; 14 - Khautov, 9 - Burgess
Form Guide: 18th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 5F - 13A
Crisisbless (4-2-3-1) 20 - Sebring; 17 - Sonnleitner, 5 - Copperhead, 22 - Kalabaan, 3 - Rosales; 7 - Makatsch, 4 - Constantine; 41 - Spijkers, 9 - Arniston, 10 - Bowman; 16 - Carrick
Form Guide: 7th - 2W - 2D - 1L - 7F - 3A
If, and only if, Brinemouth or Stahlburg City drop points, then Crisisbless will be poised to strike and take their place provided they can overcome a Creed side who have somewhat rebounded from their 19-game winless streak. Among a few injury-enforced changes, Bowman is handed the start over Osprey, giving Crisisbless an experienced winger to pick the passes in what is likely to be very limited space. An injury to star defender Ashrata Barkaan has pushed Gideon Fletcher to adopt a back three across the back end of the season, while Hanna Selder makes a welcome return from a three-game suspension. Likely, they just have to avoid a massacre.

Parrhesia United (4-4-2) 25 - Bexley; 2 - Igoric, 18 - Sharpe, 22 - Zhu, 3 - Freeman; 8 - Corby, 21 - Baker, 31 - Marin; 7 - Longman, 10 - Kurtishi, 26 - Exter
Form Guide: 17th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 3F - 9A
Newrook City (4-2-3-1) 1 - Ran; 2 - Tatasciore, 5 - Gardner, 18 - Graves, 20 - Forde; 6 - Solari (c), 8 - Salter; 7 - Roehampton, 26 - Bruune, 11 - Lothar; 9 - Pike
Form Guide: 14th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 9F - 11A
Newrook are probably going to end in the playoff place, but they have a slim hope. If they win, and Creed lose, AND there’s a six-goal swing, they’ll be in the clear. Zumalakarregi and Heward are out, and Siverson is only fit enough for the bench. Parrhesia are in the clear, they’ve missed a few players and tended to replace them with younger options as their safety’s been assured. There’s even a rest for Corban Green just off the basis that he’s made of glass and has a World Cup to come.

DEAD RUBBERS

Raven River (4-3-1-2) 1 - Carver; 17 - Lindgren, 18 - Lang, 5 - Guildenstern, 26 - Vaucluse; 13 - Pryce (c), 6 - Stefans, 33 - Valdemar; 8 - Soler; 7 - Shehu, 10 - Fleetwood
Form Guide: 10th - 1W - 4D - 0L - 6F - 5A
AFC Corvistone (4-2-3-1) 1 - Libuda; 2 - Betva, 22 - Telford, 5 - Sevet-Stokes, 3 - Viipuri (c); 4 - Zahra, 6 - Niskanen; 7 - Gyldenstroem, 13 - Retyunskikh, 23 - Pembroke; 9 - Balmoral
Form Guide: 6th - 3W - 0D - 2L - 8F - 8A
12th and 13th, but for River, that represents an excellent outcome (if not one Amokachi is satisfied with) while for Corvistone it’s a desperate disappointment, even if Gareth Penrooke has managed to pull them out of any relegation danger. Both sides represent a significant departure from their ’strongest’ XI; Amokachi rotates a lot by necessity, her high-octane style resulting in swathes of injuries, while Penrooke just wants to give players like Retyunskikh and Pembroke more of a go.

Goodfeather FC (4-3-1-2) 12 - Wright; 17 - Cristante, 5 - Yarlut, 18 - Parrish (c), 33 - Chandler; 14 - Orakhin, 23 - Holster, 8 - Kurz; 15 - Brown; 37 - Catepan, 21 - Strephon
Form Guide: 12th - 2W - 0D - 3L - 6F - 11A
North Laithland (4-3-3) 1 - Dundalk; 2 - Anders, 26 - Warhurst, 6 - Jaan, 20 - Sinka; 21 - March, 4 - Marrable, 24 - Settler; 7 - Zambrotta, 22 - Fisken, 10 - Sadler
Form Guide: 4th - 3W - 1D - 1L - 11F - 6A
9th vs. 10th, split on goal difference. Goodfeather have been gutted by injury but can still reflect on an excellent season; they’ll be taking no chances here even with doubts like Howard, who Tolsii says is ‘probably fit to make the bench’ but caution takes precedence. North Laithland have a mostly clean bill of health, Settler and Fisken the only irregulars.

AFC Treason (4-2-3-1) 1 - Senninger; 2 - Schrader, 37 - Volkmann, 22 - Mitteager, 3 - Weiss; 4 - Kolar, 14 - Mueller; 20 - Malone, 21 - Rosenblatt, 29 - Revesz; 17 - Coxeter
Form Guide: 5th - 2W - 3D - 0L - 11F - 4A
Southfell United (4-4-2) 40 - Kjetill; 36 - Kama, 2 - Beyard, 45 - Hayes, 39 - Zidler; 15 - Waisman, 8 - Slade, 10 - Banks (c), 56 - Asbrecht; 9 - Mason, 53 - Kulesza
Form Guide: 19th - 0W - 2D - 3L - 6F - 11A
Not only does top play bottom, but bottom tugs down their collar to expose the dotted line around their neck. Arden Kolar doesn’t want anyone involved in the Cup final to come to get pasted at the Gauntlet, probably not even anyone who’ll be on the bench. There’s four starting debuts being given out to players outside the senior squad, including a debut for fourth-choice goalkeeper Leo Kjetill. Treason are shuffling some faces, too, but that still means putting two Nephara internationals in Senninger and Mueller on the pitch.

KICK-OFF!
We’re off and what the fuck? Ravil Kulesza, a man literally wearing a shirt numbered 53, figures he has nothing to lose by trying his luck from outside the box. Fasolt Senninger’s net bulges, the big goalkeeper incredulous his only league start of the season has begun in such fashion. Misha Retyunskikh gets her first league goal of the campaign for Corvistone, too, in just the third minute. It will be the only goal of the game in a victory over North Laithland. In the big tickets, though, things wait a bit longer to heat up.

Surprising most, it’s Chatswood who open the scoring against Sabrefell Athletic, a fluid and casual flick from Vishca over Belltower’s head putting the ball into danger, Albert driving home the finisher in space. Newrook fans check their phones. Spijkers 14’, Makatsch 19’. Is that on track for the 6-0 or so they need? And will they themselves be able to beat an out-of-sorts Parrhesia? There’s little inspiration to suggest that’s the case in Vermillion right now. Elsewhere in that city, Auberine Peridot makes a brilliant save, surging out of her box, to hook away a ball in front of Petrov betrayed by only the slightest of too-heavy touches.

Southfell are somehow 3-1 up by the half-hour. Kulesza has a second. Chatswood and Athletic trade blows, as do Crisisbless United and Coret Hawks, the Hawks only having to wait three minutes to get back even with the Chequers. Their hosts don’t like that at all, and spend the rest of the half hammering on Middleton’s door. Çêwé seemingly plays provider, battling off two Hawks to slip in Andrine Samsa… who has a history of fucking up on final days, once sinking hometown side Brookford on an inability to replace Annika Cashin. And Cashin’s watching on from the stands, injured, tonight. Maybe her psychic energy throws Samsa off. Through on goal, he rolls his shot wide.

Rather more clinical is Delphine Lopar. Ploughing a lone furrow at the top of the Chariots’ attack, it almost comes as a pleasant surprise when the nippy little fullback Kyri Levering is so good as to murder Lukas Tauscher, one of the league’s most dangerous and consistent strikers, and immediately loops a long ball over the top. Handily outpacing her markers, Lopar rounds Heuser and drives the ball into an empty net. If she’s feeling smug, it can’t last; in injury time, Pernille Brand swings in a corner, Lopar rises at the near post to battle with Dean Steele… and somehow her hand is up where it shouldn’t be and smacks the ball, no matter how furiously she denies it in the aftermath. Tauscher keeps his nerve, too, sending Schonlau the wrong way. Grey Holden watches on, impassive. He’s been tipped by many to be Brinemouth’s new manager; if that’s the case, it suits him quite well if Brinemouth get a result tonight…

HALF-TIME!
Crisisbless United 1-1 Coret Hawks
Vermillion Rage 0-0 Sabrefell Moths
Chatswood 2-1 Sabrefell Athletic
Brinemouth 1-1 Aries Chariots
Starling 0-0 Stahlburg City
Creed United 0-2 Crisisbless
Parrhesia United 0-0 Newrook City
Raven River 0-1 AFC Corvistone
Goodfeather FC 0-0 North Laithland
AFC Treason 2-3 Southfell United

The fans still aren’t all back to their seats before big news comes in from Newrook City, Marcella Salter picking a really good time to drive home her first goal of the season in from outside the box. Suddenly, Creed fans are shifting in their seats. It might just be within the realm of possibility, if Crisisbless really set their minds to annihilating them, that they could go down. But in bad news for Newrook, Starling score. Why is that bad news? It means Crisisbless’ chances of salvaging their dreadful season in the top six just got a lot rosier, particularly when Starling score again in quick succession. Eirika may still be shambling around like someone who spent most of the season gestating a new life-form but she can still get on the end of crosses.

Psychological fears are realised, and Crisisbless ease off the pressure, not especially invested in ratchetting up the pain on Creed - though a dreadful goalkeeping error from Lindt would absolutely have given them a third had Carrick not uncharacteristically been lax about following in. Another quick-fire double means that Southfell have turned back into a pumpkin; Treason are back in the lead and they’re not going to relinquish it.

Chatswood are left bitching at the referee; less than a minute after a goal from a corner is chalked off for the unjust and alleged crime of ‘dragging Alan Tarakov to the ground and pressing his face into the muddy pitch’, Athletic score an equaliser with more than a shade of offside. Treason get a fifth, Goodfeather knock North Laithland back through the young Flavia Catepan, a tap-in but a potentially portentous one. Somewhere in the background, Coret shake off the cobwebs and demolish Crisisbless United to secure their CL berth. The fans cheer with relief; they won’t fuck it up this time, though they do damagingly lose Maradrogba late on to what looks an injury just bad enough to take her out of the Cup final.

Athletic score again. This time it’s November Besand bitching at her defence, with some justification. Who fails to put pressure on Rika bloody Lundell? They should know what Lundell can do, and in this instance, does, easily picking out the top corner. Now the Moths need a goal, but it’s Vermillion that almost get one. Kestrel Anharbour will probably leave the club in the off-season, but she almost leaves a parting gift, a curling strike only barely tipped away by Markgraf. Ten minutes to play, Creed United probably make themselves secure, Toxothea Sebring impetuously rushing out and bringing down Kovac, who makes no mistake from the penalty spot.

Almost immediately, Parrhesia level the scores against Newrook through Gerhard Exter, whose contract runs out at the end of the season but whose agent will be putting that powerful header on the highlight reels they shop around. Brinemouth pick up a second against Aries, but only after some consultation with the linesman, during which the Moths get their breakthrough. Ànáxímane breaks from cover, slipping in to join the attack at the decisive moment, and nervelessly driving a finishing blow past Auberine Peridot. Sighs of relief all around; the Moths make the top three. In Newrook, there are only sighs, while in Crisisbless and for Stahlburg, 6th place held a lot more import than the likely preliminary round exit will on paper. It probably saves Michael Brandon’s job after those horrific early months. For the Smiths, the wait goes on to rejoin the ranks of the truly relevant.

In the aftermath, a lot of things happen at once. Third through fifth all change their manager. Brinemouth are first, sacking overpromoted club legend Elaine Ashdown. The first candidate in their mind is supposedly homegrown Penumbra Amokachi, who reportedly turns them down; they end up with Grey Holden, a multiple-time Emerald Crest winner. Tana Colbright’s contract elapses at Sabrefell Athletic, with the Rams reportedly pursuing Goodfeather manager Kalia Tolsii as their leading candidate, while a couple of months later, the Moths’ Elaine Koeller departs for the Cormorants following Nephara’s failure to progress from the WC90 group stage. The Moths… are able to coax Amokachi where the Dockers were not, reports seeming to suggest that the difference was that Amokachi could exert more control over the side.

ZENITH FINALE
Crisisbless United 1-4 Coret Hawks
Vermillion Rage 0-1 Sabrefell Moths
Chatswood 2-3 Sabrefell Athletic
Brinemouth 2-1 Aries Chariots
Starling 2-0 Stahlburg City
Creed United 1-2 Crisisbless
Parrhesia United 1-1 Newrook City
Raven River 0-1 AFC Corvistone
Goodfeather FC 1-0 North Laithland
AFC Treason 5-3 Southfell United

PLAYOFFS
2DIV Autumnstone vs. 3DIV Gosmouth Swans

The lower-league playoff is regrettably a pretty dry affair. Both sides try to play pretty good, assertive, attack-minded football, but both seem overawed by the occasion. It’s little surprise to see Shara Deamond be the only Autumnstone player to really show any danger; she was on the other end of the 2/3 Playoff a few years back, scoring the only goal of the game that promoted Mapleford. A cross from Thorgan Brewer is missed entirely by the aging Clemens, and you can see on camera the clear moment where Deamond knows the goal is gaping, and she grins as she flicks the loose ball past Reproach. But Autumnstone’s hero is their 20-year old goalkeeper Sebille Locklear, whose scrambling, unorthodox saves reliably prove enough to deny a resurgent Gosmouth in the second half.

It’s cruel when, after seven fine saves, it’s Locklear’s error that does give the Swans their deserved leveller, a swerving free kick from 35-year old winger Karla Sebring curling over the wall and somehow slipping through Locklear’s hands. After a quiet extra time, it turns to penalties. Evander Trueman sends Reproach the wrong way, but Darius Nagant - another of Gosmouth’s veterans, a former Harriers midfielder - pokes a terrible penalty far too close to Locklear, who paws it aside with characteristic scrambling gracelessness. Her confidence is back; Brewer makes it 2-0 and Steward’s reply is tipped onto the bar, and while Deamond, of all people, gets overenthusiastic and hammers the ball over the crossbar, failing to clinch the game, the Archers ultimately scrape over the line, their young goalkeeper the hero of the day. She’s already being linked to CNL, South Laithland and Starling.

AUTUMNSTONE 1 - 1 Gosmouth Swans (1-1 AET, 3-1 pens)
AUS: Deamond 19’
Trueman ✔ Brewer ✔ Deamond - Sunderland - Scanlan ✔

GOS: Sebring 82’
Nagant - Steward - Stead ✔ Degenek -

1DIV Aries Solitaire vs. 2DIV Locksley
Aries Solitaire (4-4-2) 12 - Stoll; 18 - Csatar, 23 - Lockett, 47 - Leitch, 19 - Marav; 23 - Alrand, 4 - Monroe, 8 - Feistle, 16 - Praxis; 9 - Reisinger, 21 - Gothel
Locksley (4-4-2) 25 - Masterly; 2 - Frey, 5 - Tymon, 19 - Kluivert, 22 - Dewinter; 23 - Innes, 16 - Lezaford, 8 - Tsolakis, 11 - Bell; 10 - Rubesch, 17 - Yeseta

Soli became the second team of a lot of people of late, but injuries have ripped open the centre of defence - it’s hard to believe the hulking, questionably literate John Leitch only turned 18 two months ago, but he is, and is their fifth-choice in the position - with Vasya Reisinger rushed back to fitness. Locksley come out the gates the stronger, and Aurelio Yeseta, buoyed from making the team of the season, quickly slips out from under his marker and tests Karolas Stoll from close range. It’s a very fine save with his legs that keeps the game scoreless, six minutes in. It’s ultimately forgotten when he sees a shot from Brady Innes late, letting it slip through his hands and trickle sadly into the bottom corner.

It finally wakes Soli up, and there’s a few tests at the other end. Cruelly, though, Vasya Reisinger, their top scorer and best hope, hobbles himself after testing his fellow Creed United graduate Masterly with a vicious, dipping shot. He’s taken off, and just two minutes later, Louise Tsolakis makes it 2-0, arriving late in the box to drive in the rebound of a Stoll save. Soli fight back in the second half, this time without completely surrendering all defensive structure. A cracking half-volley from Alrand brushes against Masterly’s fingertips on its way inside the roof of the net, Leitch hammers a header against the crossbar hard enough to leave a tiny hairline fracture in it, and some clever interplay allows Feistle to release Jacinta Coen, Reisinger’s 33-year old replacement, through on goal with just five minutes to play. But Coen proves too unselfish, pulling the ball back for Gothel to have an easier finish, only for Kluivert to race in with a covering challenge and thump the ball out for a corner. It’s a cruel way to crash out, but Soli slip away from 1Div.

Aries Solitaire 1 - 2 LOCKSLEY
ASO: Alrand 49’
LCK: Innes 14’, Tsolakis 39’

ZENITH Newrook City vs. 1DIV South Laithland

Newrook City (4-2-3-1) 1 - Ran; 2 - Tatasciore, 5 - Gardner, 18 - Graves, 20 - Forde; 6 - Solari (c), 8 - Salter; 7 - Roehampton, 16 - Siverson, 11 - Lothar; 9 - Pike
Bench: 12 - Alwood; 4 - Bischoff, 15 - Smith, 22 - Roberts, 26 - Bruune, 27 - Gostler, 34 - Pendress

South Laithland (4-2-3-1) 1 - Velazquez; 22 - Faust, 5 - O’Connell (c), 17 - Seward, 18 - Coulson; 32 - Rosziter, 8 - Greenslade; 7 - Forward, 12 - Campbell, 11 - Kynda-Sevet; 16 - Herron
Bench: 20 - Haas; 2 - Kaveci, 4 - Burnes, 6 - Wettin, 10 - Riise, 14 - Dane, 38 - Chandler

Shorn of their best player in Zumalakarregi, with results inconsistent and having failed to beat Parrhesia by the five or six goals they needed, the Rooks have reason to dread the arrival of the Southrons, who took out a strong team in their last league match but did not exactly overexert themselves. Gratia Barker’s current and former sides both favour solid, disciplined 4-2-3-1s, and few would expect fireworks from either side, though Newrook are favourites in most books.

In the first half, they show why that’s the case, hammering on the door time and again. Donovan Velazquez is called repeatedly into action, but never found wanting, springing to any given corner of goal with an agility belying his years. The best chance of all, curiously, falls to Rooks leftback Jana Forde; a drifting run of hers is found by rightback Tatasciore with a sweeping diagonal aiming for Lothar but overhit, drifting past all defenders. Forde has the goal gaping, but her first-touch shot takes the ball into the side netting. By the end of the first half, the Rooks have dominated possession but not really carved many other clear-cut chances out, just doing enough to keep Velazquez limber.

The Southrons make them pay. After a quiet opening to the second half, Kristian Greenslade, a surprise star of the season, tries his luck from outside the box with Eero Solari giving him a wide berth. Big mistake from the Rooks captain, as the South Laithland midfielder whips a strike low and hard into the bottom corner. Barker frantically tries to spur on her team for a reaction, but the only reaction comes from the Southrons, suddenly eager to secure a second. Maela Ran makes a brilliant save to tip over a strike from substitute Catheline Dane, and when Dane comes at her again soon after, finding an inside lane past Forde, Ran reacts well to flick out a leg and deflect the shot into the post. However, it bounces across the face of goal, and Aron Riise, another substitute, is there to drive home what looks a fatal second.

In the final ten minutes, Newrook hammer on the door. Roberts comes on as a second striker alongside Pike, a ruse that has given the Rooks an edge more than once across the season, but this time their passes just can’t stick, shorn of Zumalakarregi’s inspiration. Eventually, Jana Forde slings in one final cross… and Donovan Velazquez snatches it up and falls gratefully on it. Gratia Barker can only shake her head, as despite her valiant efforts to keep a struggling club afloat, it all comes to naught, as her former club replaces her current one.

Newrook City 0 - 2 SOUTH LAITHLAND
SLA: Greenslade 54’, Riise 77’

NFA CUP FINAL

Southfell United (4-3-3) 1 - Soler; 19 - Novick, 18 - Schindler, 6 - Ellis, 3 - Ritter; 33 - Swainsona, 4 - Brighton, 21 - Wolf; 23 - Velat, 7 - Forde, 37 - Spahi
Bench: 20 - Tabard; 2 - Beyard, 8 - Slade, 13 - Lorzer, 15 - Waisman, 36 - Kama, 53 - Kulesza

Coret Hawks (4-4-2) 1 - Matraxis; 17 - Reeve, 22 - Piirs, 4 - Harker, 19 - Roskilde; 13 - Blackburn, 16 - Buchan, 25 - Morgan, 15 - Bandler; 20 - Pawnbroker, 11 - Saara
Bench: 12 - Middleton; 2 - Lyons, 6 - Lexmann, 8 - Bader, 23 - Rittler, 26 - Wisdom, 46 - Pearce

The Cup final rolls around, following the recent thread of having a blatant underdog arrive. Both sides arrive battered by injury, though Southfell at least had the benefit of resting most of their key players over the past couple of weeks, given they’ve been relegated ages ago by now. Top scorer Bernard Zeman did not pass muster, however; #53 Ravil Kulesza surprisingly makes the bench over #9 Mason. While the Hawks have been gutted - Maradrogba, Rekawic, Cashin and Huang all headline misses - . Veteran goalkeeper and former international Anthoulis Matraxis keeps the gloves, having taken Coret this far in the Cup.

The injuries end up changing the Hawks’ style, and it’s fairly apparent early on. The loss of truly creative winger Cashin and minuscule poacher Huang, replaced by a very orthodox winger in Bandler and a second hulking target man in Saara, encourages a very direct style of play. Cross after cross goes in, and fortunately for the Tanners, their central defensive partnership hold firm. And one cross even leads to the opening goal… to Southfell’s. Schindler heads out one of many Bandler crosses, Mari Brighton heads the ball forward, Swainsona nips in ahead of Buchan to hammer a ball down the left wing - a high boot? - but no matter because Heather Spahi is on it, finding the angle inside of Diadora Reeve. The alleged Yue tussles with the young winger before going overboard, the winger just happening to fall flat right after hitting the inside of the box. Lukas Wolf steps up and sends Matraxis the wrong way.

Coret need to find a different tack, and ultimately their goal comes off a fluke. Stefan Morgan is playing a very limited role - again, much moreso than the livewire Rekawic - but with a dearth of passing options, drives in a shot from range. It comes off Brighton’s heel, wrong-footing Soler completely and nestling into the bottom corner. The Hawks dominate the rest of the game on paper, but the finishing touch proves elusive throughout. The final kick of the 90 minutes almost finds a way in, a wickedly swerving snap-shot from substitute Cordelia Lorzer forcing the geriatric Matraxis into a fine stretching save.

By extra time, both sides are exhausted. Coret hammer at the door, but a Southfell side that have conceded over a hundred times in the league act with real determination. 97 minutes in, though, the Hawks seem to have the decisive pass. Substitute Ivan Bader, not known as a technical genius, carves open the Tanners’ defence with a single pass to fellow substitute Rittler, who in turn plays a forward ball down the left wing, letting Monika Bandler race free on goal past a flat-footed back four. Free right up until Nathan Ellis slams into her like a freight train, with absolutely no intent to win the ball fairly or do anything other than sacrifice himself to keep the scoreline at 1-1. It’s actually less violent than most of his tackles. He just clatters Bandler to the floor. Muse Blackburn’s free kick tests Soler, forcing him to palm the ball onto the crossbar, and Cale Schindler reacts fastest to hook the ball to safety.

The intent is surely just to wait out penalties, but Southfell go off-script. Exhausted, the Hawks are caught too far forward. Another thumping clearance from Schindler, perhaps man of the match, lups the ball down the right where the fresh legs of Malka Waisman are able to take on and beat Davor Roskilde, running free for the touchline. The Hawks get it together, desperately getting back as Karolin Forde makes it to the box. All Waisman can do is hit a cross and hope. Forde slips clear of Piirs, rises, heads a shot … and it caroms off the post. But Forde, despite having stayed on the pitch the whole match even as fans have begged for Ravil Kulesza, unexpected hero against Treason, to come on, remains alert. Sticking out a leg as momentum takes her down, she hooks the rebound in past Matraxis and inexplicably hands Southfell the win. It takes a final double-save from Soler to make sure of it, but somehow Southfell have done a Newrook and have something to look back to fondly in an otherwise unrelentingly miserable season.

SOUTHFELL UNITED 1 - 1 Coret Hawks (2-1 AET)
SFU: Wolf 29’ pen, Forde 113’
COH: Morgan 36’

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For   Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason             38  30   5   3  96   32  +64  95
  2 Coret Hawks             38  21  10   7  79   42  +37  73
  3 Sabrefell Moths         38  21   8   9  88   51  +37  71
  4 Sabrefell Athletic      38  20  10   8  81   37  +44  70
  5 Brinemouth              38  20   8  10  77   56  +21  68
  6 Crisisbless             38  19   8  11  73   51  +22  65
  7 Stahlburg City          38  17  13   8  48   39   +9  64
  8 Aries Chariots          38  16  10  12  70   49  +21  58
  9 Goodfeather FC          38  16  10  12  57   53   +4  58
 10 North Laithland         38  15  10  13  60   71  -11  55
 11 Starling                38  13  13  12  57   52   +5  52
 12 AFC Corvistone          38  13   6  19  49   64  -15  45
 13 Raven River             38  11  10  17  64   72   -8  43
 14 Parrhesia United        38  11   8  19  48   71  -23  41
 15 Chatswood               38  10   7  21  34   48  -14  37
 16 Vermillion Rage         38   9  10  19  48   80  -32  37
 17 Creed United            38   8  11  19  37   62  -25  35
 18 Newrook City            38   8   9  21  46   76  -30  33
 19 Crisisbless United      38   7   7  24  38   88  -50  28
 20 Southfell United        38   5   7  26  47  103  -56  22

AWARDS
Emerald Boot (Goals Scored): Liu Huiying (SFM) - 24
Emerald Ball (Player of the Year): Morgan Rosenblatt (TRE)
Emerald Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Arachne Loeher (STC)
Emerald Fist (Debutant of the Year): Alan Tarakov (SFA)
Team of the Year: Shimski (TRE); Schrader (TRE), Piirs (COH), Tarakov (SFA), Almwood (BRI); Tauscher (BRI), Buchan (COH), Rosenblatt (TRE), Ikpeazu (SFA); Liu (SFM), Pawnbroker (COH)
Bench: Strand (STC); Ànáxímane (SFM), Copperhead (CRI), Malone (TRE), Smajic (STC), Kweon (SFM), Gannot (SFA)
Emerald Crest (Manager of the Year): Daniel Archer (COH)

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 North Sabrefell            38  27   7   4  90  36  +54  88
  2 Leichhardt                 38  25   5   8  66  31  +35  80
  3 South Laithland            38  22   7   9  51  29  +22  73
  4 Cranequin Wanderers        38  20   9   9  61  35  +26  69
  5 Iron City                  38  17  15   6  52  30  +22  66
  6 Chenoworth Harriers        38  17  12   9  68  46  +22  63
  7 Barossia United            38  16  14   8  44  32  +12  62
  8 Chenoworth Rovers          38  18   5  15  58  53   +5  59
  9 Diamondqueen               38  14  10  14  60  56   +4  52
 10 Corinthians No Longer      38  14   8  16  69  58  +11  50
 11 Belgrave                   38  13  10  15  57  63   -6  49
 12 AFC Rochford               38  13   9  16  40  43   -3  48
 13 Stahlburg Rovers           38  14   5  19  56  66  -10  47
 14 Brookford Otters           38  11   9  18  44  60  -16  42
 15 AFC Serpentine             38  11   8  19  55  91  -36  41
 16 Chardonnay Rangers         38   9  11  18  51  62  -11  38
 17 Vermillion Wanderers       38   9   8  21  33  58  -25  35
 18 Aries Solitaire            38   9   7  22  36  83  -47  34
 19 Corvette Maulers           38   7   8  23  49  80  -31  29
 20 Gonen's Bridge             38   6   9  23  31  59  -28  27

AWARDS
Jade Boot (Goals Scored): Camilla Martin (NSF) - 30
Jade Ball (Player of the Year): Varina Roebling (LEI)
Jade Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Felixe Vetiver (CHH)
Team of the Year: Press (IRC); Faust (SLA), Dreider (LEI), Levack (NSF), Netrayev (CRW); Constantine (NSF), Greenslade (SLA), Roebling (LEI), Brandon (CHR); Martin (NSF), Vetiver (CHH)
Jade Crest (Manager of the Year): Goran Verbeck (LEI)

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 New Oakstone Phoenix      38  27   8   3  79  21  +58  89
  2 West Brinemouth           38  23   9   6  63  17  +46  78
  3 Locksley                  38  22   8   8  75  32  +43  74
  4 Mantlegrove               38  20   9   9  60  37  +23  69
  5 Cypher Town               38  19   9  10  45  27  +18  66
  6 Peregrine                 38  18  11   9  51  36  +15  65
  7 Lindwurm Delta            38  17   9  12  49  50   -1  60
  8 Alliance Barossia         38  15  13  10  51  43   +8  58
  9 Cranequin City            38  16  10  12  37  31   +6  58
 10 Greygate                  38  16  10  12  60  55   +5  58
 11 Morningstar               38  15  12  11  47  28  +19  57
 12 Pillars of Southfell      38  13   8  17  28  43  -15  47
 13 The Hanged Man            38  12  10  16  31  42  -11  46
 14 Latin Enclave FC          38  12   9  17  41  55  -14  45
 15 The Strongest             38  13   6  19  48  74  -26  45
 16 Boltcroft Thorns          38  12   8  18  52  51   +1  44
 17 Armstrong                 38   7   7  24  29  60  -31  28
 18 Autumnstone               38   6   6  26  33  75  -42  24
 19 Ritter Town               38   6   5  27  33  84  -51  23
 20 Crisisbless Athletic      38   7   1  30  28  79  -51  22

AWARDS
Jade Boot (Goals Scored): Rasmus Hourihane (NOP) - 25
Jade Ball (Player of the Year): Elyna Reeve (WBR)
Jade Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Martin Pearce (NOP)
Team of the Year: Veld (CYT); Bowyer (PRG), Pearce (NOP), Anneaux (WBR), Dewinter (LCK); Antelmi-Smith (NOP), Keller (MTG), Reeve (WBR), Barker (GRG); Yeseta (LCK), Hourihane (NOP)
Jade Crest (Manager of the Year): Ganymede Hooper (LND)

THIRD DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L  For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Ingram Township           46  28  12   6   79  30  +49  96
  2 Lazuli Diamonds           46  27  11   8  105  50  +55  92
  3 Gosmouth Swans            46  27  10   9  106  50  +56  91
  4 Bishop                    46  28   5  13   86  40  +46  89
  5 Ballardine FC             46  24   9  13   72  51  +21  81
  6 Dartmouth Terriers        46  24   8  14   69  51  +18  80
  7 Rochford Pilgrims         46  23  11  12   82  66  +16  80
  8 Lockheed Zenith           46  21  10  15   85  79   +6  73
  9 Riverkey Shells           46  20  11  15   70  64   +6  71
 10 Brokenarch                46  22   4  20   64  61   +3  70
 11 Southriver                46  17  12  17   71  65   +6  63
 12 Hackett                   46  19   6  21   68  68   +0  63
 13 Falston United            46  16  12  18   57  62   -5  60
 14 Shimmering Quay           46  17   9  20   69  84  -15  60
 15 Extreme Hills             46  13  12  21   70  85  -15  51
 16 Rosary Brinemouth         46  14   9  23   58  86  -28  51
 17 Stonegrave                46  11  17  18   52  66  -14  50
 18 Lindmark Falcons          46  12  13  21   50  71  -21  49
 19 Brookford Vantablack      46  13  10  23   60  91  -31  49
 20 Creed Rosebud             46  10  14  22   58  81  -23  44
 21 Longwinter                46  11  11  24   51  74  -23  44
 22 Chenoworth Teutons        46  10  14  22   48  75  -27  44
 23 Mapleford                 46  11   9  26   46  83  -37  42
 24 Kommissar                 46   8  13  25   46  89  -43  37

CONFERENCE WEST

Pos Team                          P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corvistone City              46  28  11   7  72  36  +36  95
  2 Sheridan                     46  26  10  10  63  32  +31  88
  3 Crownsend Journey            46  25  12   9  77  46  +31  87
  4 Kensey Town                  46  24  10  12  84  37  +47  82
  5 Aspen Grove                  46  25   7  14  62  40  +22  82
  6 Strephonage                  46  24   9  13  59  36  +23  81
  7 Iberia Chenoworth            46  24   7  15  92  61  +31  79
  8 Sutcroft                     46  21  11  14  67  53  +14  74
  9 Grey Egress                  46  21  10  15  69  51  +18  73
 10 Ringway                      46  19  13  14  57  52   +5  70
 11 Constance Park               46  18  12  16  52  44   +8  66
 12 Moxstone Fortune             46  18  11  17  59  51   +8  65
 13 AFC Hoxenhaven               46  18   9  19  53  58   -5  63
 14 FC Seierstad                 46  18   8  20  52  53   -1  62
 15 Blau-Weiss Treason           46  17  11  18  42  51   -9  62
 16 Cypher Nightwatch            46  17   5  24  49  64  -15  56
 17 Coleman Ridge                46  13  15  18  63  77  -14  54
 18 Stilwell Kickers             46  11  16  19  41  51  -10  49
 19 Rushe United                 46  13   8  25  58  77  -19  47
 20 Martane Place                46  14   5  27  38  69  -31  47
 21 AFC Shale                    46  12   9  25  31  66  -35  45
 22 Sutter Road                  46  11   6  29  58  99  -41  39
 23 AFC Salmstead                46   9  10  27  40  90  -50  37
 24 East Laithland Harriers      46   9   9  28  47  91  -44  36
Promoted: AFC Shrikeroost, Grovebank

CONFERENCE EAST

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/-  Pts
  1 AFC Southsands          46  34   8   4  92  34  +58  110
  2 Besand's Folly          46  31   6   9  94  39  +55   99
  3 Northside Eagles        46  26  12   8  79  41  +38   90
  4 Brunyard FC             46  24  12  10  89  59  +30   84
  5 Caldwick Strand         46  22  11  13  86  57  +29   77
  6 Fully Sick XI           46  22  11  13  87  66  +21   77
  7 Barhara Cavaliers       46  21  10  15  74  71   +3   73
  8 Riverkey                46  19  14  13  53  38  +15   71
  9 Coret Rovers            46  20  11  15  63  53  +10   71
 10 Brinemouth Krakens      46  20  10  16  61  57   +4   70
 11 South Parrhesia         46  19  11  16  66  58   +8   68
 12 Downsparrow             46  19  10  17  70  66   +4   67
 13 Hartford Glade          46  17  11  18  63  69   -6   62
 14 Long Lake               46  16  12  18  43  46   -3   60
 15 The Travellers FC       46  14  13  19  62  68   -6   55
 16 Cranequin Souths        46  15  10  21  72  80   -8   55
 17 Stockyard Hounds        46  14   9  23  67  94  -27   51
 18 Advance Lazuli          46  13   9  24  48  69  -21   48
 19 AFC Brineshore          46  12  11  23  56  85  -29   47
 20 Mueller's Crossing      46  12  10  24  44  68  -24   46
 21 Spindle Town            46  11  10  25  39  72  -33   43
 22 AFC Glister             46   8  12  26  45  79  -34   36
 23 Sharpe Mill             46   8  10  28  35  89  -54   34
 24 Brindleton              46   6  15  25  44  74  -30   33
Promoted: Shornhill, Coret Hammerheads

by **Nephara** » Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:05 am

Season 84 - Zenith Preview

1. Brinemouth
‘The Dockers’
Brinemouth Eagle’s Club (65,000)
Brinemouth, LZC

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Ewald HEUSER (31)
RB - 2 - Tosca MEADOWS (22)
CB - 18 - Chiara BLANCO (27)
CB - 4 - Anaximander SCALES (23)
LB - 19 - Lucy ALMWOOD (28)
CM - 20 - Kazuo MARTIN (26)
CM - 16 - Pernille BRAND (28)
RW - 10 - Lukas TAUSCHER (30, vc)
AM - 7 - Joao PEREYRA (25)
LW - 23 - Indra SÖDERSTRÖM (26)
ST - 17 - Lázaro PATRÓN (25)

GK - 12 - Meinhard GATES (26)
CB - 5 - Dean STEELE (33)
LB - 3 - Rhyme BESLER (23)
CM - 4 - Cassander SOUTHSEA (21)
RW - 15 - Esther CADRE (22)
AM - 9 - Farago RUE CAZADE (35)
ST - 21 - Danielle JACKSON (30)

GK - 30 - Timon RUSTIL (20)
RB - 29 - Zander MERSEA (20)
CB - 6 - Cedella VERLANDER (32)
CM - 8 - Otalia KASMIIR (34, c)
CM - 27 - Wiglaf BRIBITZER (22)
LW - 11 - Zander CADELL (22)
AM / ST - 14 - Tess MILLER (20)

CB - 22 - Dismas ANDERSON (21)

MANAGER
Grey HOLDEN (51)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 1st

TROPHY CABINET
9 League titles (53, 54, 55, 61, 62, 70, 72, 78, 79)
NFA Cup (62)
Ramsey Shield (73)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 5th - 68 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 3rd - 71 pts - CL
81: Zenith - 7th - 65 pts
80: Zenith - 2nd - 88 pts - CL
79: Zenith - 1st - 87 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Lázaro Patrón (1830 Cathair, exchange)
Anaximander Scales (Stahlburg City, 12m)
Chiara Blanco (Aries Chariots, 8m)
Tosca Meadows (returned from loan)
Cassander Southsea (returned from loan)

OUT
Caithe Shepherd & Ilyana Brosch (1830 Cathair, exchange)
Ava Linfield (FK Arsika, 4m)
Tawny Shone (North Sabrefell, free)
Dismas Anderson (Chardonnay Rangers, loan)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Penumbra Amokachi, Tessa Bayliss, Danijel Brymora, Chris Christon, Croft Drinkwater, Karin Drinkwater, Dimitra Exarchopolous, Konrad Gosforth, Gerry Malone, Sabine Montag, Diligence Nkembe, Temperance Nkembe, Lasse Scharnberg, Lucia Silkemark
Club Heroes: Augustine Breton, Jonathan Bosetti, Farago rue Cazade, Tana Colbright, Evelyn Conjure, Erica Kenney, Desya Kuznetsov, Kunibert Mathias, Darek Norgen, Stig Soederquist, Ronda Judit Styrn, James Watt
Iconic Manager: Larissa Garrotte
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
Despite the earthy nickname conjuring images of teamsters and burly shirtless men, Brinemouth is a largely affluent city, particularly the coastal east, and their football club became nouveau-riche just in time for the Premiership to join the international scene. They have, as a result, been far more successful post-UICA than pre-, and their seven titles are only matched by AFC Treason - indeed, the Premiership's ascension into the ranks of serious leagues worldwide seemed to coincide with an era of dominance for the two clubs on each end of the country, overshadowing the 'Sabrefell giants' of Athletic and the Moths who had dominated prior to the modern era. Unlike Treason, their playing identity is based around expensive marquee talent playing beautiful attacking football - locals are considered a nice bonus, but not essential. They want the ball, and they want to be flashy with it. West Brinemouth are their only real rivals for fanbase in the city, but are too weak on the pitch to make a proper rival in Brinemouth's eyes. Instead, they save their ire for the Classic, against their philosophical opposites and equals AFC Treason.

2. Sabrefell Athletic
‘The Rams’
The Barbarossa (72,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Raluca GARAMOND (29)
RB - 17 - Illyria LANDRITH (27)
CB - 5 - Hollis STEPHENSON (27)
CB - 4 - Alan TARAKOV (28)
LB - 3 - Caracal PAGE (27)
CM - 13 - Sonya BELLTOWER (25)
CM - 7 - Tasha SAUBER (23)
RW - 23 - Marcelo ESCOBAR (26)
AM - 25 - Rika LUNDELL (30)
LW - 12 - Sarafina IKPEAZU (27)
ST - 21 - Damien GANNOT (26, vc)

GK - 18 - Gareth AUXIER (22)
CB - 6 - Asztrik SZALAY (34)
LB - 11 - Ella CIURU (28)
CM - 8 - Jean-Michel DOMINIQUE (32)
AM - 15 - Perseus AGAMEMNONOS (21)
LW - 16 - Mati CVANCARA (22)
ST - 14 - Thibault BENEZET (32, c)

GK - 30 - Clovis ARCARD (18)
RB - 2 - Ellen WEBER (23)
CB - 22 - Vetta ROBACK (21)
CM - 10 - Tasia WISTING (20)
CM - 27 - Alyce KEARNEY (21)
RW - 38 - Athena BIRCH (19)
ST - 9 - Gareth HASLUCK (23)

MANAGER
Kalia TOLSII (42)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 4th

TROPHY CABINET
4 Premiership titles (50, 58, 67, 73)
2 NFA Cups (50, 66)
2 Ramsey Shields (67, 68)
2 Globe Cups (56, 73)
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones (59)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 4th - 70 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 5th - 66 pts - ChC
81: Zenith - 3rd - 70 pts - CL
80: Zenith - 4th - 70 pts - ChC
79: Zenith - 3rd - 71 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Caracal Page (Starling, 7m)
Illyria Landrith (Creed United, 5m)
Lindse Kvasina (returned from loan)
Promoted: Clovis Arcard, Athena Birch

OUT
Lindse Kvasina (Istria City FC, 20m)
Dimitri Pallas (Parrhesia United, 5m)
Sara Cantrell (Chenoworth Harriers, 4m)
Retired: Acatha Feldman (GK, 37)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Karena Braham, Orpheus Clement, Alicia Cleveland, Gareth Corvine, Alysia Dorne, Alexa Ferryman, Daniel Fitzmarten, Kurtis Fitzmarten, Daniel Kruse, Harry Grimm, Robyn Lauren, Theo Michaels, Darren Parrett, Lind Pressinger, Markus Rhein, Snowy Sleet
Club Heroes: Coalan Bray, Michael Campbell, Karelline Charmwell, Oscar Coltrane, Xixi Ens, Rowan Gawain, Ole Oehman, Yupanqui Sarracena, Sipke Tarala
One-Club Men: Matt Breen, Lukas Strongnesse
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
Athletic have always been a force to be reckoned with in the Nepharan game, and no matter what Moths fans insist, will never be completely in their shadow. The 56 cycle cemented that, when they secured the first-ever UICA silverware for the nation, ensuring the Premiership's arrival as a major player. Despite occasional spells in the wilderness, infamously following up their first modern title win with 11th, 12th and 17th-placed finishes, Athletic have always bounced back from adversity, backed by a loud, aggressive and outspoken fanbase. While the Moths are defined by union ties, Athletic are twinned informally with the military, and by urban Nepharim standards tend to have right-wing elements - though both the club and its fanbase have always worked quickly and tirelessly to stamp out any hint of fascism. Athletic are the most widely disliked club in the city, largely due to incidents of fan violence alienating them from River and the Chariots, as well as their mutual hatred of Sabrefell Moths. To be an Athletic fan is to embrace the siege mentality and relish the looks on the haters' faces when you win.

3. Crisisbless
‘The Heelers’
Godswatch (63,000)
Crisisbless, CHD

ROSTER
GK - 20 - Toxothea SEBRING (22)
RB - 2 - Syrene FISCHER (27)
CB - 5 - Sven COPPERHEAD (23)
CB - 22 - Yngriit KALABAAN (30)
LB - 3 - Mitchel ROSALES (28)
CM - 7 - Claudia MAKATSCH (26)
CM - 4 - Demeter CONSTANTINE (23)
RW - 41 - Erwin SPIJKERS (32)
AM - 9 - Rachel ARNISTON (29, c)
LW - 10 - Anne-Marie ROUX (25)
ST - 16 - Dauntless CARRICK (27)

GK - 1 - Lucien CHAMOUN (31)
CB - 13 - Mortola TEFFETELLER (34)
LB - 6 - Auburn DELASRA (21)
CM - 14 - Mercurio KASTRIOT (33)
AM - 8 - Moira WOAKES (34)
LW - 18 - Lysandra OSPREY (22)
ST - 11 - Valentin GERMAIN (34)

GK - 25 - Artur DELACROIX (22)
RB - 17 - Anna SONNLEITNER (22)
CB - 19 - Gandolf TURNER (21)
CM - 21 - Mzukisi NZO (35)
CM - 33 - Bellona SEBOLD (20)
RW - 26 - Sophi ESMERELD (21)
ST - 12 - Mette SONDHEIM (22)

RW - 29 - Kestrel ANHARBOUR (22)

MANAGER
Michael BRANDON (61)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 3rd

TROPHY CABINET
3 Premiership titles (59, 71, 75)
3 NFA Cups (47, 61, 64)
Cup Winners’ Cup (62)
Copa de Campeones (76)
3 Ramsey Shields (72, 76, 83)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 6th - 65 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 2nd - 79 pts - CL
81: Zenith - 5th - 67 pts - ChC
80: Zenith - 3rd - 72 pts - CL
79: Zenith - 4th - 68 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Kestrel Anharbour (Vermillion Rage, 8m)
Anne-Marie Roux (FC Novonaya, 8m)

OUT
Damion Bowman (Oakstone, 3m)
Kestrel Anharbour (Vermillion Rage, loan)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Sven Copperhead, Daniel Cromwell, Gerhard Hartmuth, Sieglinde Lohengrin, Sabrine Portsgate, Camilla Priest, Brigid Kestrel, Lukas Rashford, Toxothea Sebring, Marisha Staunton, Bremusa Strassman, Methuselah Tregajorran, Amelia Warner
Club Heroes: Kósa Bajnok, Anders Engstroem, Fabricio Gallardo, Ror Jevjdevic-Hadsic, Osric Keast, Erick Khan, Espen Knutsen, Pawlo Marciak, Lucia Oakwood, Leona Rafford, Luxulya St. Cleer, Isaia Urso
One-Club Men: Augustine Brandon
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
The dominant force of the towering major city of Crisisbless, and in theory one of the dominant forces within Nephara itself, but there was a time at which they were technically outperformed by little Starling just above in terms of titles. They have a reputation as bottlers, just lacking the fortitude to turn their ability into league wins; hence their name, the Heelers, nominally after the dog but more an appropriated insult at their status trailing in the wake of the biggest clubs. But they've generally been consistent, rarely falling completely out of the business end of things, and have something of a reputation as Cup specialists. They still do have plenty of silverware to their name, and their proud fans regard their club as a match for anyone in the world. Crisisbless are one of those teams that kind of wants to fight everyone in the vicinity; primarily Crisisbless United, their greatest rival in their own city, but there's a level of rivalry with nearby, upstart Starling as well.

4. AFC Treason
‘The Stags’
The Gauntlet (65,000)
Treason, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 16 - Paiva SHIMSKI (25)
RB - 2 - Ophelia SCHRADER (26)
CB - 22 - Ettard MITTEAGER (22)
CB - 6 - Kahala MURJE (29)
LB - 18 - Silja JORSE (27)
CM - 8 - Vincent ROBSHAW (33, c)
CM - 13 - Purna ZAZAGAN (27)
RW - 20 - Bobby MALONE (27)
AM - 21 - Morgan ROSENBLATT (27)
LW - 11 - Kendra CONSIDINE (27)
ST - 7 - Michael RIBBECK (32)

GK - 1 - Fasolt SENNINGER (34)
CB - 5 - Bersant SALE (31)
LB - 3 - Diandra WEISS (21)
CM - 14 - Ilia MUELLER (31)
CM - 15 - Maruschka KOERVER (22)
LW - 19 - Erzebet REVESZ (26)
ST - 9 - RÖSKVI Tyrfingsson (23)

GK - 12 - Ezra CARBINE (22)
RB - 31 - Tiamat HOLDEN (19)
CB - 27 - Friede VOLKMANN (20)
CM - 33 - Petra ANHOPE (19)
RW - 23 - Tamora RAVENWOOD (23)
AM - 34 - Hecate ZELLER (19)
ST - 10 - Franziska LOCKE (20)

MANAGER
Erin CAMDEN (58)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 2nd

TROPHY CABINET
14 League titles (48, 49, 52, 56, 57, 65, 66, 74, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 83)
3 NFA Cups (49, 76, 82)
2 Cope de Campeones (67, 77)
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones (57)
3 Ramsey Shields (77, 81, 82)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 1st - 95 pts - CL
82: Zenith - 1st - 87 pts - CL CWC
81: Zenith - 1st - 90 pts - CL
80: Zenith - 1st - 89 pts - CL
79: Zenith - 2nd - 79 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Röskvi Tyrfingsson (Esna, 5m)
Ezra Carbine (returned from loan)
Promoted: Petra Anhope, Tiamat Holden, Franziska Locke, Hecate Zeller

OUT
Aventurine Kolar (FC Inter Nantwich, 7m)
Basilica Coxeter (FC Inter Nantwich, 6m)
Ida Lancer (Barossia United, 5m)
Kafka Robinson (Tihon, 4m)
Retired: Kay Szarbach (GK, 36), Idai Uster (ST, 39, BNJ)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Reinhard Armstrong, Diandra Ballard, Claudia Cautcher, Malachi Gallagher, Saskia Kantaroff, Calliope Katskalidis, Aventurine Kolar, Nikola Lindgren, Servet Misidjan, Tamika November, Kurtis Quinn, Aristide Metzger, Tanith Rainsford, Sigurd Rustwyth, Fasolt Senninger, Konrad Vornander, Scylla Vyntra
Club Heroes: Roque Acosta, Angel Clavel, Josephus Flaccus, Roddy Fraser, Catheline Harper, Tosca Marlowe, Russ Miller, Rovena Stride, Peter Svensson, Lienke Vesper
One-Club Men: Markus Anderton, Gideon Fletcher, Cathy Stokes
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
The city of Treason is the large, parochial industrial powerhouse of the northwest, the place where the last king of Nephara was executed. Ask most people there about the many vibrant clubs, and they'll concede the Stags are the best show in town. Treason were always a big side, but along with Brinemouth became an iconic titan of the league as it rose up the UICA rankings - currently, the two sides are matched on seven titles apiece. Treason have a very strong local identity based on physicality, professionalism and hard work. They have a proud tradition of youth development, and have always relied heavily on their academy to provide for their roster. They also have the largest fanbase of any Nepharim side. They are Chatswood's fiercest rivals, and Brinemouth's (in 'the Classic'), and North Laithland's due to being their nearest urban rival, and South Laithland's due to stealing most of their best players over the years, and Stahlburg City's following a long history of violent match-ups and infamously 'stealing' their best chance at a modern title. Following an implausible number of international clashes, they even sparked a friendly rivalry with Buyanese side Blau-Weiss Pallstadt.

5. Sabrefell Moths
‘The Moths’
Farham Arena (90,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Lorée BAUTISTA (24)
RB - 2 - Têrçêr ANAXIMANE (29)
CB - 5 - Tristan NIEDERMAYER (30)
CB - 6 - Miska BRABANZON (29)
LB - 18 - Anders KALUZA (22)
DM - 4 - Rook TIMEKEEPER (27)
RM - 10 - Kaisa GYLDENSTROEM (25)
CM - 16 - LIU Huiying (28)
CM - 15 - Jean-Christophe BABIN (22)
LM - 11 - Eloise KWEON (25)
ST - 21 - Nick RIORDAN (23)

GK - 12 - Balint CARRINGTON (23)
RB - 17 - Solblindi RAKE (21)
CB - 19 - Joey SINTON (34)
DM - 7 - Kateryna ZUNIGA (30)
RM - 26 - Nasir MAJERLE (26)
CM - 14 - Laslo VOL BRININGER (21)
ST - 13 - Lyzolda PETROV (33)

GK - 30 - Shamir RAVEL (18)
CB - 22 - Helvetia MUSCAT (21)
LB - 32 - Luther HASSEL (19)
CM - 27 - Kelzi HARASLIN (22)
CM - 33 - Gawain DEVENEY (19)
LM - 24 - Irina ALDERWOOD (21)
ST - 37 - Sabina VENTURE (19)

MANAGER
Penumbra AMOKACHI (48)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 5th

TROPHY CABINET
4 Premiership titles (47, 60, 68, 69)
3 NFA Cups (58, 65, 85)
3 Ramsey Shields (66, 69, 70)
Champions Cup (73)
2 Globe Cups (64, 67)
Super Cup (73)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 3rd - 71 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 6th - 63 pts - ChC
81: Zenith - 2nd - 79 pts - CL
80: Zenith - 6th - 57 pts - ChC
79: Zenith - 5th - 67 pts - ChC

TRANSFERS
IN
Nick Riordan (Serrapince FC, 20m)
Kaisa Gyldenstroem (AFC Corvistone, 12m)
Lorée Bautista (Crisisbless United, 4m)
Promoted: Gawain Deveney, Luther Hassel, Shamir Ravel, Sabina Venture

OUT
Ysabet Belgrade (Coret Hawks, 8m)
Vivica Muscadin (Wirr Tsi, 5m)
Idina Slazenger (Parrhesia United, 5m)
Hanna Bayliss (Starling, 4m)
Shiida Roesler (South Laithland, 4m)
Alexandra Markgraf (Galatica, 4m)
Marita Neuwirth (North Sabrefell, 2m)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Valencia Ashburner, Nevaeh Cathar, Rook Cathar, Sasha Christener, Gudrun Growley, Kirsten Cliving, Juergen Evans, Bravura Harper, Michael Kellard, Ashley Kresinger, Catheline Marchant, Scheherazade Meier, Rona Morgantrau, Cheney Rosewood, Tawny Shone, Everard Tawney, Carsten Thunder, Tess Wyclif, Lux Vicelich
Club Heroes: Robert Griffin, Aaliyah Johnson, James Macbeth, Gerhard Thunder, Imriel Townsend, Solara Vol
One-Club Men: Lucia Pembroke, James Yorke
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
The biggest and proudest club in Nephara's biggest and proudest city, the former capital of Sabrefell; a giant fortified metropolis whose layers of walls and distinctive flat, forceful architecture betray the cities origins as a stronghold first and a place to live second. The moths of Sabrefell themselves are notorious for their size, number and, topically for the club, resilence. The original giants of the Nepharim league, the Moths had, by a distance, the most titles in the pre-UICA Premiership and have remained very competitive in modern times, generally playing a very fast, attacking brand of football, and particularly loving a prolific striker - Gerhard Thunder, homegrown Rook Cathar, five-time Iron Boot winner Aaliyah Johnson and Solara Vol have all become club legends. Their pull is best summarised by the fact that, when the time came to retire the crumbling Gargoyle's Court, they simply moved into the Farham Arena, hitherto only for Cormorants games and Cup finals. Though they present themselves as 'Nephara's club', they in theory represent the west of Sabrefell, and have historically been associated with hard-left elements, and while they count a large base of casual support their ultras have been guilty of violence in the past. More positively, their pyro and banner displays are among the finest in the world. Their fiercest rivals are Athletic, in the east of the city.

6. Coret Hawks
‘The Hawks’
The Aviary (30,000)
Coret, LZC

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Sandra MIDDLETON (25)
RB - 17 - Diadora REEVE (29)
CB - 22 - Luuna PIIRS (25)
CB - 13 - Mahir KAPETANOVIC (23)
LB - 19 - Davor ROSKILDE (28)
RM - 7 - Danielle MARADROGBA (25)
CM - 16 - Fiadh BUCHAN (23)
CM - 10 - Stanimir REKAWIC (27, vc)
LM - 15 - Ysabet BELGRADE (28)
ST - 20 - Gareth PAWNBROKER (27)
ST - 9 - Erik MOSELLE (27)

GK - 1 - Anthoulis MATRAXIS (38)
RB - 2 - Riette LYONS (26)
CB - 4 - Dzeneta HARKER (30)
CM - 25 - Stefan MORGAN (23)
LM - 21 - Annika CASHIN (30)
ST - 11 - Istria SAARA (33)
ST - 14 - HUANG Shedong (31)

GK - 18 - Clariza MEYER (21)
CB - 5 - Satara BRAND (33, c)
LB - 3 - Lemuel BURNS (33)
RM - 36 - Cecili PEARCE (19)
CM - 6 - Renat LEXMANN (31)
CM - 8 - Ivan BADER (26)
ST - 23 - Claire RITTLER (21)

MANAGER
Daniel ARCHER (52)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 49
ALL-TIME RANKING: 10th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (56)
NFA Cup (80)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 2nd - 73 pts - CL
82: Zenith - 4th - 69 pts - ChC
81: Zenith - 11th - 51 pts
80: Zenith - 11th - 47 pts - CWC
79: Zenith - 15th - 44 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Ysabet Belgrade (Sabrefell Moths, 6m)
Mahir Kapetanovic (Liria Prizren, 6m)
Erik Moselle (1830 Cathair, 6m)
Promoted: Cecili Pearce

OUT
Muse Blackburn (AFC Corvistone, 4m)
Monika Bandler (Brookford Otters, 3m)
Penelope Wisdom (Stahlburg Rovers, 1.5m)
Retired: Erik Romaine (ST, 36, STB)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Rasmus Caracole, Trifon Draxler, Gerry Duffy, Isidra Jeurissen, Harald Matheson, Atalanta Skapetis, Vedran Tarashaj
Club Heroes: Gabriella Antonio, Cormak Lethbridge, Alyssa Montague, Kizza Okafor, Eudoxia Tzavaras
One-Club Men: Alex Beckett
Originally the Valkyrja Hawks, back when the Nepharan league included foreign sides from the Serenes region it used to be a part of, the Hawks eventually moved to the northeastern town of Coret to stay relevant. Historically, they've tended to be something of a yo-yo side, but in more recent times they've been a fixture of the top half, though struggling to break that UICA glass ceiling to such an extent it seemed at times there must be a curse. They have a substantial following abroad in Chromatika thanks to the signings of Alyss Montague and Gabriella Antonio, which they have tapped into with tours and targeted marketing; the latter, arguably their greatest ever player, retired at 28 to start a family. Under new management of late, Coret finally broke into the top six and now appear intent on staying there, at least for a time. Coret Rovers, the less flashy incumbents in the city, see the Hawks as upstarts, but have long since faded from relevance; in truth, Newrook City are their most prominent regional rivals, an antipathy that has grown into one of the more vicious for want of either club tending to fight for trophies.

7. Starling
‘The Passerines’
Jade Park (28,000)
Starling, CHA

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Hansa BAYLISS (26)
RB - 17 - Cleo HARPER (29)
CB - 19 - Garrick RUSTAK (28)
CB - 6 - Batsheva LETANG (31)
LB - 3 - Laviska CANTICLE (26)
CM - 4 - Octavian EVERSONG (27, c)
CM - 10 - Lukas WOLF (25)
RW - 20 - Kurtis CONRAD (27)
AM - 7 - Auburn DAESCHER (27)
LW - 23 - Xanthe HAUSER (22)
ST - 9 - EIRIKA Jonathansdóttir (30)

GK - 12 - Shanna COTTON (31)
RB - 18 - Crispin FREMONT (20)
CB - 5 - Rais PERCHTOLD (23)
CM - 26 - Sophara HAYES (27)
RW - 14 - Anna MacDONALD (27)
AM - 11 - Nicki STONE (31)
ST - 15 - Satine VALENZA (21)

GK - 25 - Kilroy HAGEN (24)
CB - 37 - Colossus MUSCAT (19)
LB - 36 - Dyane ANGLE (19)
CM - 8 - Julia GARLAND (23)
CM - 31 - Remus VETTEL (19)
LW - 38 - Ascalon COFFEY (19)
ST - 32 - Avissa VECSEI (18)

MANAGER
Nikita LOEHER (49)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 59
ALL-TIME RANKING: 12th

TROPHY CABINET
2 Premiership titles (63, 64)
NFA Cup (70)
First Division title (60)
Champions Cup (64)
Super Cup (64)
Dwile Invitational (74)
Ramsey Shield (71)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 11th - 52 pts
82: Zenith - 7th - 61 pts
81: Zenith - 4th - 70 pts - ChC
80: Zenith - 14th - 45 pts
79: Zenith - 6th - 67 pts - ChC

TRANSFERS
IN
Lukas Wolf (Southfell United, 5m)
Laviska Canticle (Creed United, 5m)
Hanna Bayliss (Sabrefell Moths, 4m)
Anna MacDonald (Glenmount Town, 2.5m)
Promoted: Dyane Angle, Ascalon Coffey, Colossus Muscat, Avissa Vecsei

OUT
Caracal Page (Sabrefell Athletic, 7m)
Claire Griffith (Aries Chariots, 3m)
Elida Katter (Chenoworth Harriers, 3m)
Bryony Westerveld (Iron City, 2m)
Johan Ark (West Brinemouth, free)
Florian Berkut (AFC Serpentine, free)
Nikita Charisteas (East Coast Titans, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Evangeline Aschenbach, Lyre Castor, Estrella Hawke, Elsa Kaelin, Konrad Lovelace, Reinhard Meixner, Hyacinth Surman
Club Heroes: Keira Andisori, Liam Armstrong, Christian Berg, Justinian Hargrave, Deirdre McNessa, Sean Smørdal, Kurtis Warner
Iconic Manager: Amethyst Fegelein
Starling are the standout 'Football Manager' story of Nephara, perhaps even the world. In the Passerines' first Premiership season, they were relegated despite a strong side on paper. In their second, they stayed up. In their third... they won the league. In their fourth, they won the league and Champions Cup. They've never looked back, and incorporated a golden star and golden trim into their crests and kits to commemorate these victories. Starling is a small city to the north of Crisisbless, the first sign of civilisation heading south from the Northern Vale. As a result, they have a firmly established antipathy against Crisisbless and the two main Valesider clubs, Corvette and Leichhardt, without being the main rival of any of them. They've used the proceeds of their victories carefully, trying to build the club's infrastructure up and provide a platform to keep competing; they may not have the catchment or wealth to be entrenched as one of the big dogs forever, but their Golden Age has made them one of Nephara's most recognised sides abroad regardless.

8. Aries Chariots
‘The Chariots’
The Scythes (36,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 20 - November BESAND (30)
RB - 2 - August KOVAC (24)
CB - 18 - Pryna RASANAMIRA (31, c)
CB - 5 - Claire GRIFFITH (30)
LB - 3 - Kyri LEVERING (22)
RM - 7 - Jasper MORDECAI (24)
CM - 8 - Tricia CRAY (26)
CM - 22 - Winabæn KEVAARSEN (29)
LM - 11 - Scalena WOODWRIGHT (23)
ST - 10 - Shaheen TALEB (30)
ST - 14 - Delphine LOPAR (27)

GK - 1 - Ursula GAVARIS (31)
RB - 13 - Mirko STEFFEN (23)
CB - 19 - August LONGSTREET (31)
CM - 4 - Hannah BOOTH (22)
CM - 24 - Nikolai STEELE (27)
LM - 16 - Anna PORTER (31)
ST - 21 - Scott COLEMAN (32)

GK - 25 - Gerard MEZAHI (20)
CB - 6 - Sorceress BULLARD (21)
LB - 12 - Baldomero TEIJEIRO (33)
RM - 32 - Jess KRNETA (19)
DM - 39 - Gethin TAPHOUSE (18)
ST - 9 - Alisander FARHAM (22)
ST - 31 - Beatan SHEARER (19)

MANAGER
Lexus ULREICH (49)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 6th

TROPHY CABINET
2 NFA Cups (55, 63)
Globe Cup (58)
Super Cup (58)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 8th - 58 pts
82: Zenith - 9th - 58 pts
81: Zenith - 9th - 57 pts
80: Zenith - 5th - 65 pts - ChC
79: Zenith - 7th - 64 pts - ChC CWC

TRANSFERS
IN
November Besand (Chatswood, 3m)
Claire Griffith (Starling, 3m)
August Longstreet (Belgrave, free)
Promoted: Beatan Shearer, Jess Krneta, Gethin Taphouse

OUT
Chiara Blanco (Brinemouth, 8m)
Rook Bolton (Newton Wanderers AFC, free)
Dirk Russell (FC Myrkan, free)
Fortuna Schonlau (Middletown City FC, free)
Retired: Ihazintzu Malkorra (RM, 35, ASG)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Uli Alsatian, Trajan Bruyne, Brigitte Coppinger, Claudia Escrow, Paula Morgan, Logan Murdoch, Adnan Szalai
Club Heroes: Croft Drinkwater, Ihazintzu Malkorra, Emanuele Riviello, Rowena Sierra, Katerina Tarrasch, Nate Walker
One-Club Men: Jess Leinster
Iconic Manager: Gareth Sumner
The Chariots are not one of the largest sides in Sabrefell by any means, but they can point to a devoted and vibrant fanbase operating out of the eastern suburbs and to a history of punching well above their weight, at one stage finishing as high as second and winning a Globe Cup, then being the first Nepharan side to claim a Super Cup. They have thrived with the increasing levels of immigration into the country over the past couple of decades, and their catchment is particularly lush with Licentian diaspora, hence the more recent decision to switch from white to a blue and gold away kit. In more recent years, the giants of Nephara have re-established themselves, and the Chariots have switched gears to focusing on youth and infrastructure, though they dream of a return to the glory days. Their only real rivals are Sabrefell Athletic, who they revile after incidents of fan clashes - a bond they share with Raven River, which has always been a somewhat friendly rivalry.

9. AFC Corvistone
‘The Crows’
Phoenix Rise (28,000)
Corvistone, NCT

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Fiona HARTNETT (29)
RB - 17 - Petria BRINCAT (29)
CB - 22 - Safiya TELFORD (21)
CB - 5 - Ida SEVET-STOKES (24)
LB - 3 - Milla VIIPURI (28, c)
CM - 8 - Isperia MARRISH (29)
DM - 6 - Markko NISKANEN (27)
CM - 11 - Talia NISARIZO (27)
RW - 7 - Muse BLACKBURN (28)
ST - 16 - Davor KURTISHI (26)
LW - 10 - Dimitra KARVELAS (27)

GK - 1 - Claire LIBUDA (31)
CB - 18 - Mercedes KNAUTH (26)
LB - 20 - Hermina KEATON (23)
DM - 4 - Octavia ZAHRA (29)
CM - 26 - Danilo SEVALJEVIC (20)
ST - 9 - Konrad BALMORAL (23)
LW - 23 - Luvenia BRANDON (27)

GK - 30 - Çìríkô SARFÓ (19)
RB - 2 - Ash BETVA (21)
CB - 19 - Gordin IRONMONGER (20)
CM - 13 - Misha RETYUNSKIKH (22)
RW - 15 - Mirko HRANILOVIC (20)
ST - 14 - Endre CASE (21)

MANAGER
Gareth PENROOKE (58)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 70
ALL-TIME RANKING: 24th

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 12th - 45 pts
82: Zenith - 8th - 60 pts
81: Zenith - 6th - 66 pts - ChC
80: Zenith - 9th - 54 pts
79: Zenith - 11th - 50 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Davor Kurtishi (Parrhesia United, 7m)
Muse Blackburn (Coret Hawks, 4m)
Luvenia Brandon (Chenoworth Rovers, 4m)
Fiona Hartnett (Vermillion Rage, 4m)
Petria Brincat (Sabrefell Athletic, 3m)
Promoted: Gordin Ironmonger

OUT
Kaisa Gyldenstroem (Sabrefell Moths, 12m)
Kyli Pembroke (Chenoworth Harriers, 3.5m)
Eloise Markus (Urbizania Wanderers, 3m)
Constantine Koellner (AFC Rochford, 2m)
Lukas Worn (Iron City, 2m)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Konrad Balmoral, Ash Betva, Ilyana Brosch, Sonya Latimore
Club Heroes: Chibuzo Afolayan, Rachel Arniston, Krista Morham
The most controversial and, yes, hated club in Nephara. Corvistone is the new planned capital of Nephara, and AFC Corvistone was made explicitly to be a club worthy of the capital. But the capital isn't fully formed and the club, which struggles to even half-fill its fantastic stadium, faces constant pressure for buying success and in all fairness it has never shied away from that, splurging money freely to drag themselves to the top flight. Their fans relish the hate, though, and the club makes the most of its siege mentality.

10. Stahlburg City
‘The Smiths’
Čalrek Arena (62,000)
Stahlburg, BAR

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Xander ROSMARIN (31)
RB - 2 - Fiona LYONS (27)
CB - 3 - Martel SEVECKE (31)
CB - 22 - Svenja BASTE (31, c)
LB - 19 - Fluorspar TALMAY (22)
DM - 8 - Matthias LIEVEN (26)
RM - 13 - Maria DUKAKIS (23)
CM - 10 - Mersudin SMAJIC (28)
CM - 4 - Nina MacDONALD (22)
LM - 35 - Arachne LOEHER (19)
ST - 15 - Lieschen KUZENER (30)

GK - 12 - Helmut GOLDBERG (23)
CB - 5 - Xandra COOKE (34)
LB - 20 - Cora VARNHAM (29)
DM - 6 - Canute BRESONIK (31)
RM - 7 - Thisbe ROUVAS (30)
CM - 23 - Constantine JURMAN (32)
ST - 9 - Ariel BALLARD (23)

GK - 30 - Cassi BRETT (19)
RB - 17 - Gabriel BASILDON (22)
CB - 18 - Tamiika VINE (20)
CM - 14 - Karlos WISE (22)
LM - 16 - Jasper MORBIHAN (25)
ST - 34 - Lowen CORDER (19)

MANAGER
Vanessa ROSSUM (52)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 9th

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 7th - 64 pts
82: Zenith - 10th - 58 pts
81: Zenith - 10th - 53 pts
80: Zenith - 8th - 56 pts
79: Zenith - 13th - 46 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Nina MacDonald (Saltburn Wanderers, 3m)
Martel Sevecke (Iron City, 2m)
Promoted: Cassi Brett, Lowen Corder, Tamiika Vine

OUT
Medusa Strand (Chromatik, 13m)
Anaximander Scales (Brinemouth, 12m)
Lewis Phoenix (AFC Mayville, 100k)
Sven Gillard (Newrook City, free)
Retired: Cynav-Ozolx Jan (CB, 36, QUS)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Sheila Kilgallon, Rusalka Klein, Elsa Layland, Sophia Moloney, Linde Rostock, Anaximander Scales, Medusa Strand
Club Heroes: Jill Austen, Didier Bernard, William Čalrek, Michael Keane, Georgia Kite, Isabella Shi
One-Club Men: Grubiša Jelić
Iconic Manager: Daniel Brunet
Once considered a keystone member of the Premiership, Stahlburg City once lead the league on the 45th matchday. But, at the last minute, they collapsed, and their fierce rivals Treason overtook them. They've arguably never recovered, with relegation coming at the end of a long, drawn-out malaise. Stahlburg is a polluted, hyperindustrial clump, and City claims rather grandly to represent it all - this has been less true of late with the success of their local rivals, the Rovers. Traditionally they have played an unexciting, direct and physical brand of football, and its supporters value powerful, committed veterans and winning at any cost. Used to be named Maximum City, but when the city elected to change its name back to its ancestral title, the two major clubs followed suit.

by **Nephara** » Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:24 am

11. North Laithland
‘The Spiders’
The Bluegrass (48,000)
Lindmark, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Cairbre DUNDALK (30)
RB - 17 - Theresa KLAUS (26)
CB - 26 - Caeda WARHURST (28)
CB - 5 - Iucharba KILLEN (25)
LB - 20 - Deli SINKA (25)
CM - 36 - Madita BREWER (19)
DM - 4 - Celia MARRABLE (30)
CM - 15 - Athena SINODINOS (28)
RW - 7 - Maria ZAMBROTTA (25)
ST - 9 - Chirstoforos LAZELIS (29)
LW - 10 - Bellona SADLER (27)

GK - 20 - Amber TURNER (24)
RB - 2 - Fiora ANDERS (28)
CB - 6 - Paarsimer JAAN (34)
DM - 16 - Ajax BOLEYN (24)
CM - 24 - Gwen SETTLER (22)
RW - 12 - Jewell FOLEY (33)
ST - 22 - Chris FISKEN (24)

GK - 25 - Pavel OWINGS (22)
CB - 23 - Axel BAHR (21)
LB - 37 - Sandra QUOLL (18)
CM - 35 - Mathis VYNTRA (19)
ST - 40 - Dénes ROBINEAU (18)
LW - 11 - Spike BURNHAM (20)

MANAGER
Kosovare FAIRWEATHER (44)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 7th

TROPHY CABINET
Premiership title (51)
2 NFA Cups (67, 73)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 10th - 55 pts
82: Zenith - 12th - 51 pts
81: Zenith - 12th - 42 pts
80: Zenith - 10th - 51 pts
79: Zenith - 10th - 54 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Iucharba Killen (Guilder, 5m)
Theresa Klaus (Royal Westpike, 3m)
Amber Turner (Corinth Cardinals, 600k)
Dénes Robineau (Rene Skae, undisclosed)
Promoted: Sandra Quoll (LB, 18), Mathis Vyntra (CM, 19)

OUT
Renate March (Herzegovina City FC, 8m)
Manna Radler (VZRH Matov-Uri, 3m)
February Garnett (Holhot United, 2m)
Alexis Caldwell (Foxhampton, free)
Gilgamesh Dance (Diamondqueen, free)
Marit Stoeger (Corinthians No Longer, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Raimund Anderson, Madita Brewer, Bianca Condotta, Theodora Covenant, Lavender Jameson, Karsten Riordan, Christian Serjeant, Deborah Stokes, Rasunda Vanderlei
Club Heroes: Steed Corren, Brandon Duguid, Gareth Pearce, Chloe Rudden
One-Club Men: Rook Kennedy
With their relegation reducing the 'Gang of Seven' to six, North Laithland become the first former Premiership champions to drop down a level. Unfortunately for the Spiders, that season Nephara was disqualified from UICA entry due to persistent crowd incidents. Situated, unsurprisingly, in the northern Laith, they're specifically based from the large town of Lindmark but represent the entire region and draw their fanbase from a wide variety of northwest Crownsend towns. Other Laith teams have risen and fallen over the years, but the North has retained a power base both on and off the pitch that has made them difficult to dislodge. This is in large part due to a strong reputation for youth development, and they have produced a disproportionate amount of Cormorants, though it's been less productive in recent times. They have a friendly rivalry going with South Laithland and a decidedly unfriendly one with AFC Treason.

12. Vermillion Rage
‘The Rage’
The Full Fifty (50,000)
Vermillion, PAR

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Auberine PERIDOT (24)
RB - 2 - Fortuna MORVAN (27)
CB - 13 - Ilayda CANNON (29)
CB - 5 - Liam TOIVONEN (33, c)
LB - 3 - Avarice PROVINCE (24)
CM - 8 - Lienke COVOLAN (23)
DM - 4 - Gareth SORRELL (27)
CM - 15 - Valletta KEEPSAKE (28)
RW - 10 - Kestrel ANHARBOUR (22)
ST - 7 - Andrianos PETRAS (26)
LW - 11 - Lena TREATISE (26)

GK - 20 - Calico PINTER (21)
RB - 6 - Katalin WRIGHT (21)
CB - 19 - Floki CARSON (24)
DM - 16 - Markus TEAMSTER (34)
AM - 14 - Gretchen POLIKEIT (23)
RW - 12 - Anezka RENNET (27)
ST - 21 - Jonte BESTATTER (32)

GK - 30 - Mars STANHOPE (18)
CB - 38 - Hamish JEONG-HARCOURT (19)
LB - 35 - Opal MATTHEWS (19)
CM - 27 - Ludovic MASON (21)
ST - 9 - Berenice ANDREAS (22)
LW - 23 - Jules ZELLER (23)

MANAGER
CRALT-NIRLO Fox (58)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 8th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (50)
NFA Cup (75)
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones (62)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 16th - 37 pts
82: Zenith - 13th - 44 pts
81: Zenith - 8th - 63 pts
80: Zenith - 7th - 56 pts
79: Zenith - 8th - 60 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Kestrel Anharbour (Crisisbless, loan)
Promoted: Hamish Jeong-Harcourt, Opal Matthews, Mars Stanhope

OUT
Kestrel Anharbour (Crisisbless, 8m)
Fiona Hartnett (AFC Corvistone, 4m)
Tanya Islinger (Soldarian FC, 4m)
Retired: Cierra Anderson (CB, 35, CMT)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Elaine Candell, Gazzincha, Saskia Hasselbaink, Sander Katarec, Rachael Kellen, Radeka Lind, Eurydice Papadopolou, Claire Rathlinker, Ferena Rauch, Leontios Skapoulis, Birgit Sternberg
Club Heroes: Hye Min Jeong, Kunibert Rosenfeld, Victoria Maersk, Marios Tzavellas, Morgan Underwood
Vermillion could perhaps have been a real giant of Nepharan football were it not for timing. They were a prominent challenger in the pre-UICA era, fuelled by a blatant money-laundering operation, but just a couple of years into the modern era, the Rage slammed face-first into financial ruin, got relegated, and never fully recovered. Arguably a sleeping giant, Vermillion have always been more concerned with looking good and flashy than grinding out results. While still not exactly Takil - this is still Nephara - anything less than an attractive, attack-minded, fast-paced style of football would not be tolerated either by the fans or the board. Vermillion's brand is to entertain. While they don't exactly love the upstart Vermillion Wanderers to the south, their true rivals are Parrhesia United to the north. The two sides have both had their own boom-and-bust cycles; presently, Vermillion are enjoying Parrhesia's spectacular bust even more than their own relative boom, and have managed to seriously annoy the Saints by poaching their players. Indeed, while very few players tend to cross rivalry divides across the rest of Nephara, the Saints and the Rage have a penchant for trying to grab each others' talent. The name of their new stadium alludes to the capacity; their old ground, the Iron Hill, had a capacity agonisingly short of the mark, at 49,500. Like most old Nepharan stadiums, it was a hideous brutalist monstrosity; the rebuild was necessary for basic amenities to be in place.

13. Goodfeather FC
‘The Quakers’
Steelchurch (32,500)
Crisisbless, CHD

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Damir WRIGHT (31, c)
RB - 17 - Alyssa CRISTANTE (21)
CB - 5 - Malai YARLUT (25)
CB - 6 - Leo EMMERICH (28)
LB - 22 - Ziza JEWELL (25)
CM - 14 - Vladimir ORAKHIN (23)
DM - 23 - Czigany VAS (26)
CM - 15 - Flora BROWN (24)
AM - 13 - Page RESCH (26)
ST - 9 - Dashaun HOWARD (26)
ST - 21 - Viviana STREPHON (28)

GK - 1 - Dorota FEUERSTEIN (26)
RB - 2 - Dala ETOKA (29)
CB - 18 - Henrik PARRISH (35, c)
DM - 4 - Rurik CLARKE (27)
CM - 7 - Cordelia LORZER (31)
AM - 11 - Kathil MIZUMARU (32)
ST - 16 - Gerard CALE (24)

GK - 25 - Nichi POMANDER (22)
CB - 19 - Berenice SALINE (21)
LB - 33 - Daniel CHANDLER (19)
CM - 8 - Andrea KURZ (35)
CM - 20 - Tatiana KELL (21)
ST - 10 - Flavia CATEPAN (20)
ST - 37 - Rafko JELENC (18)

GK - 28 - Sebille LOCKLEAR (20)

MANAGER
Syrene CAZADOR (46)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 49
ALL-TIME RANKING: 16th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (70)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 9th - 58 pts
82: Zenith - 11th - 52 pts
81: 1Div - 2nd - 80 pts - Promoted
80: 1Div - 7th - 62 pts
79: 1Div - 9th - 54 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Czigany Vas (Twin Saints, 4m)
Sebille Locklear (Autumnstone, 3m)
Cordelia Lorzer (Southfell United, free)
Promoted: Rafko Jelenc (ST, 18)

OUT
Czigany Vas (Twin Saints, 4m)
Sebille Locklear (Autumnstone, 3m)
Cordelia Lorzer (Southfell United, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Artur Bierofka, Isadora Caravella, Falcon Case, Pandora Dukakis, Raven Forster, Rain Methven, Kurtis Rakeruth, Sebastian Seward
Club Heroes: Rita Farlane, Andrey Rettinger, Mic Willans
One-Club Men: Marisa Leitner, Rachael Loxley
The Quakers, so named for representing the relative Protestant hotbed of Nephara, are noted for a gorgeous kit and a traditional emphasis on technical play. Comfortably situated in eastern Crisisbless, they've traditionally floated freely between the top two tiers, enjoying high highs and suffering some low lows along the way. They're well-renowned for a faith in youth, especially from their own academy.

14. Raven River
‘The Ferrymen’
Bridgeside Overlook (36,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 20 - GABRIELLA Hárlaugsdóttir (28)
RB - 17 - Paavo LINDGREN (25)
CB - 19 - Clara BRIVIO (28)
CB - 4 - Priscilla AVERY (27)
LB - 3 - Minotauro MEÑICA (25)
CM - 13 - Roxi PRYCE (30, c)
DM - 5 - Adele GUILDENSTERN (23)
CM - 14 - Alpin CLERY (28)
AM - 8 - Diana CLEMENTI (22) ZWZ
ST - 7 - Roimata SHEHU (27)
ST - 10 - Rose FLEETWOOD (26)

GK - 1 - Selina CARVER (31)
RB - 2 - Luci DRACE (26)
CB - 18 - Chris LANG (34)
DM - 6 - Aulay STEFANS (24)
CM - 11 - Mercy VALDEMAR (20)
AM - 21 - Zara LEVIN (26)
ST - 14 - Lars GLASTON (24)

GK - 25 - Aurum CHANEY (20)
CB - 22 - Brock GOLD (21)
LB - 26 - Susanne VAUCLUSE (22)
CM - 35 - Ypril PURDUE (19)
ST - 9 - Serge CONRAD (20)
ST - 36 - Diadora PARKES (18)

MANAGER
Dragan STAVANGER (42)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 15th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (62, 66)
NFA Cup (60)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 13th - 43 pts
82: 1Div - 2nd - 78 pts - Promoted
81: 1Div - 7th - 54 pts
80: 1Div - 6th - 63 pts
79: 1Div - 8th - 58 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Gabriella Hárlaugsdóttir (Southrons-Errant, 3m)
Minotauro Meñica (Loxthorpe Rovers FC, 2m)
Diana Clementi (Neume College, free)
Promoted: Diadora Parkes, Ypril Purdue

OUT
Asli Crowe (Ajax Carloburgo, 4.2m)
Kvenna Melander (Stahlburg Rovers, free)
Esteve Soler (AFC Swanbridge, free)
Retired: Mordecai Brandtner (CM, 37), Markus Rose (GK, 35)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Isabella Cassadore, Lukas Finnan, Ruby Gjasula, Rutger Locke, Karin Machan, Kaya Naumoff, Ferenc Kubala, Diogenes Kutris, Kylie Penrith, Althea Taliadoros, Matt Vintner, Nikolas Vikmanis
Club Heroes: Matt Bowerman, Diette Daleiden, Kurtis Fitzmarten, Olgina Harrison, Barry Kearney, Franz Kesteren, Zivka Petkovic, Nikita Reeve, Daniella Strauss
River are one of the many secondary Sabrefell sides that have had plenty of time bouncing between the two top tiers. The titular River splits west Sabrefell from east, and the club's stadium overlooks it - a fitting legacy of their humble beginnings, formed by the city's ferrymen. It has never really had ideas beyond its station, and has always cultivated a good relationship with other Sabrefell sides, particularly the sister club Diamondqueen that it helped lift out of obscurity with a series of loans and profile-boosting friendlies. The exception is Athletic, and River are one of the three main sides who absolutely cannot stand the Rams - in their case, the grievance stems back to an incident of fan violence that's by now decades old, where a River fan was attacked in a case of totally mistaken identity. When Chariots ultras retaliated by beating up the Athletic supporters responsible, it created a particularly strong bond between the two sides.

15. North Sabrefell
‘The Bohemians’
Plumeria Lane (24,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 20 - Marko CULWEATHER (24)
RB - 2 - Rabia SAFAROV (23)
CB - 22 - Lianne NORTHRUP (28)
CB - 19 - Natalia LEVACK (29)
LB - 18 - Tamsin NEVETNY (22)
CM - 4 - Tawny SHONE (35)
CM - 6 - Marita NEUWIRTH (31)
RW - 7 - Dassi CONSTANTINE (29)
AM - 14 - Meliza AUDREY (24)
LW - 11 - Olaf SVANTE (27)
ST - 15 - Camilla MARTIN (28)

GK - 1 - Georgia HOFFMAN (32)
RB - 13 - Pristine KELLER (25)
CB - 5 - Capricornia STUBBS (24)
CM - 8 - Seeker BISCAN (21)
AM - 16 - Zara CARROW (23)
LW - 17 - Nikola SWANN (28)
ST - 21 - Mytti NUMENEN (30)

GK - 30 - Barry CAMMISS (19)
CB - 38 - Luka POLICHEV (19)
LB - 3 - Thea WOLFF (30)
CM - 10 - Everard REINHARDT (26)
CM - 23 - Zoroaster KEYNES (26)
RW - 36 - Eurydice HASTINGS (18)
ST - 9 - Kieran LOFTHOUSE (20)

MANAGER
Leigh FLUTE (53)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 71
ALL-TIME RANKING: 37th

TROPHY CABINET
3 First Division titles (62, 66, 83)
NFA Cup (60)

RECENT HISTORY
83: 1Div - 1st - 88 pts - Promoted
82: 1Div - 6th - 63 pts
81: 1Div - 6th - 57 pts
80: 1Div - 14th - 41 pts
79: 1Div - 17th - 42 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Olaf Svante (East Dewayo, 2.5m)
Rabia Safarov (Yassaca, 2.5m)
Marita Neuwirth (Sabrefell Moths, 2m)
Tawny Shone (Brinemouth, free)
Promoted: Eurydice Hastings

OUT
Kayla Carling (Vermillion Wanderers, 1.5m)
Neimi Tschauner (Garton Bay Pirates, free)
Retired: Bastia Fohler (RW, 34)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Seeker Biscan, Minka Kranevitter, Luka Polichev, Diadora Reeve, Josie Webster
Club Heroes: Milan Aubeck, Alcuin Sharp, Erika Wolff
North Sabrefell haven't really made an impact on Nephara, traditionally speaking, but they've risen respectably of late. It's regarded, sometimes derided, as something of a bohemian wasteland full of drug-addled students, and they've embraced the nickname accordingly. They've recently had a cash injection from Brenecian mining tycoon Bruce Harker, but strict Nepharan ownership rules prevent him from taking a majority share - even so, expect him to influence the side forwards. They're rivals with nearby, more affluent Belgrave.

16. Chatswood
‘The Axes’
Westcroft (28,000)
Treason, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Esther PRESS (30)
RB - 17 - Sander ILINDEN (24)
CB - 5 - Luka HAZALUTA (31)
CB - 18 - Sophia PEARSON (27)
LB - 3 - Serena LAMONTAGNE (27)
RM - 23 - Varlam KOVALEV (27)
CM - 4 - Ruben ALBERT (29)
CM - 21 - Rasmus KARLSSEN (25)
LM - 16 - Ninian PETRUS (26)
ST - 9 - Markus STURDEVANT (27)
ST - 13 - Victoria REMEIKIS (29, c)

GK - 20 - Esther STRICKLAND (25)
RB - 2 - Vraska PETROV (32)
CB - 6 - Christian IMHOFF (32)
LB - 22 - Druzhina SHARP (20)
CM - 7 - Kite ROCASTLE (23)
LM - 11 - Hector WALKER (24)
ST - 14 - Vanessa MULDER (26)

GK - 30 - Carri BOXWOOD (19)
CB - 19 - Garrett SHANGYUAN (21)
RM - 10 - Kilika MATTHIS (18)
CM - 8 - Natale CORVEN (20)
ST - 15 - Miriam COSTNER (21)
ST - 31 - Xander LECKEY (19)

MANAGER
Lyn HAVELOCK (60)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 51
ALL-TIME RANKING: 17th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (51, 80)
2 NFA Cups (56, 81)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 15th - 37 pts
82: Zenith - 15th - 41 pts
81: Zenith - 15th - 40 pts - CWC
80: 1Div - 1st - 78 pts - Promoted
79: 1Div - 3rd - 68 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Esther Press (Diamondqueen, 2m)
Rasmus Karlssen (Thor's Rest Storm, 2m)
Hector Walker (Avondale City FC, free)
Promoted: Carri Boxwood (GK, 19), Xander Leckey (ST, 19), Kilika Matthis (RM, 18)

OUT
November Besand (Aries Chariots, 3m)
Chloe Vishca (AC Izotz Zubia, 500k)
Amber Knox (Armed Forces FC, free)
Andrea Krause (Latin Enclave FC, free)
Micaiah Parrish (Hamilton Wanderers FC, free)
Retired: Alex Woodrow (LM, 35, ETN)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Claire Beresford, Ulrich Beresford, Helmut Chilmark, Tzipporah Cohen, Ace Flynn, Dieter Konoval
Club Heroes: Gary Corsie, Mikko Haagensen, Devane Miller, Marijana Kuralay, Darius Rashkin, Vince Riggs, Alhambra Shrike
One-Club Men: Brescia Stubbs
Iconic Manager: Emery Lineker
Treason's second club, in the West of the city. It's got a hard-nosed, physical reputation, fanned by many a successful, battling Premiership performance. After years of punching above their weight and sporadically managing UICA qualification, it seems as though the Axes have come crashing down to earth, and settled into a more yo-yo pattern. Their main rivals are AFC Treason, which is considered to be the major Treason derby; they also have a strong and relatively recent hate for Morningstar, who are nearby, share Emery Lineker as their first Premiership manager, and share a general club ethos. After quirks of fixturing lead to a series of steel vs. silk clashes on final Premiership matchdays, in which Chatswood constantly played spoiler, there's also a fierce rivalry with Brinemouth. But Chatswood have always kind of had an 'us against the world' mentality. They're chippy, and you will always remember playing them; they take pride in that. ‘Axes’ refers not only to the Wood, but is a clever nod to the term ‘hatchet man’.

17. Creed United
‘The Oathmen’
Gardengate (26,000)
Creed, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Bryony LINDT (31)
RB - 2 - Tristan ESTERLING (26)
CB - 5 - Tevye BARKER (26)
CB - 6 - Ashrata BARKAAN (29, c)
LB - 18 - Palla KOENEN (26)
RM - 7 - Fatale RIVERS (26)
CM - 4 - Hanna SELDER (29)
CM - 21 - Tara SHANTHI (25)
LM - 16 - Rasmus CARACOLE (31)
ST - 14 - Alibek KHAUTOV (23)
ST - 10 - Aquila KOVAC (32)

GK - 1 - Marnid VOLLAND (33)
RB - 18 - Jasper SKATE (23)
CB - 19 - Kund BORBELY (34)
RM - 23 - Fox VITARIS (20)
CM - 15 - Constance HOOPER (32)
LM - 11 - Ashara SZUBAN (28)
ST - 9 - Scott BURGESS (33)

GK - 25 - Ivan MASTERLY (23)
CB - 27 - Vasil AUSBURY (20)
LB - 32 - Tanith XU (19)
CM - 24 - Cinderella FOREMAN (23)
ST - 17 - Innocent HARGREAVES (23)
ST - 20 - Danita KORHAL (20)

MANAGER
Gideon FLETCHER (47)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 62
ALL-TIME RANKING: 23rd

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (73, 82)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 17th - 35 pts
82: 1Div - 1st - 78 pts - Promoted
81: Zenith - 20th - 24 pts - Relegated
80: Zenith - 16th - 44 pts
79: 1Div - 2nd - 75 pts - Promoted

TRANSFERS
IN
Tristan Esterling (Cranequin Wanderers, 3m)
Palla Koenen (Chenoworth Harriers, 3m)
Rasmus Caracole (Cazadores Cathair, 1m)
Promoted: Tanith Xu

OUT
Laviska Canticle (Starling, 5m)
Illyria Landrith (Sabrefell Athletic, 5m)
Paige Leslight (Belgrave, 2m)
Kolin Auer (Mantlegrove, 1m)
Rasmus Garrick (Chenoworth Rovers, free)
Retired: Alyss Driver (CM, 36)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Corvid Alemane, Tara Dante, Anthoulis Matraxis, Abigail Mueller, Dragan Stavanger
Club Heroes: Karena Bittner, Aidan Hartigan, Stefan Herron, Georgia Rodrigues
One-Club Men: Byron Caldwick
Creed is a small city in the far northwest of Nephara, and it has a similar kind of dry, rough-edged character to the rest of Crownsend. United are its traditional powerhouse, and have only really recently managed to crack the top tier thanks to a golden generation, staying there for a shade under nine years and at one point managing to get into the knockout rounds of the Globe Cup. The hope was that they'd 'pull a Starling' - the reality was that selling their best players for huge fees and having a questionable record of reinvestment meant they eventually reverted to the mean. Still, like many of Nephara's lesser cities, Creed is growing in size and prominence, and being their single relevant club has significant benefits for the Oathmen - a nickname that stems from a legendary regiment of halberdiers that made a name for themselves during the Wars of the Long Marches, and the oath each swore to fight to the last. However, Corinthians No Longer have recently come to prominence, against whom Creed have defined themselves as the club of soldiers and workers.

18. Parrhesia United
‘The Saints’
Knightsgrave (43,000)
Vermillion, PAR

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Veluca AUSTEN (30)
RB - 2 - Zaur-Luka IGORIC (26)
CB - 18 - Farina SHARPE (22)
CB - 22 - ZHU Mingxia (26)
LB - 3 - Nikki FREEMAN (26)
CM - 23 - Mikael TANNER (28)
DM - 21 - Lucas BAKER (25)
CM - 8 - Kisvarda MARIN (20)
RW - 13 - Dimitri PALLAS (24)
ST - 10 - Idina SLAZENGER (22)
LW - 16 - Corban GREEN (27)

GK - 1 - Typhenon LAISNE (33)
RB - 17 - Trude SPITZ (34)
CB - 6 - Praline SAUNDERS (29)
DM - 4 - Aline RUTHERS (34)
CM - 11 - Luther ELVEDI (23)
RW - 7 - Stirling LONGMAN (22)
ST - 9 - Linus BRANSON (23)

GK - 30 - Cuthbert STROMA (19)
CB - 35 - Kina STRAUSS (19)
LB - 32 - Excellence SANDFORD (19)
CM - 33 - Ashe CAULKER (18)
ST - 38 - Catheline INSTILL (18)
LW - 39 - Stefan CROWE (19)

MANAGER
Emeka OBASI (52)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 13th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (63, 76)
2 NFA Cups (51, 59)

RECENT HISTORY
83: Zenith - 14th - 41 pts
82: Zenith - 14th - 43 pts
81: 1Div - 3rd - 76 pts - Promoted
80: Zenith - 20th - 22 pts - Relegated
79: Zenith - 16th - 38 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Dimitri Pallas (Sabrefell Athletic, 5m)
Idina Slazenger (Sabrefell Moths, 5m)
Promoted: Ashe Caulker, Stefan Crowe, Catheline Instill, Kina Strauss, Cuthbert Stroma

OUT
Davor Kurtishi (AFC Corvistone, 7m)
Sander Linn (Platinastigrade, 4m)
Asher Corby (Loxthorpe Rovers FC, 3m)
Garnet Bexley (FK Bazugh, free)
Gerhard Exter (Newton Wanderers FC, free)
Retired: Bairn Vuurmeier (CB, 36, MRN), Esmerelda Zanzala (ST, 35, APX)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Christian Beckcamp, Rudolf Blondel, Erin Camden, Georgia Kite, Ramona Porter, Isolde Reader, Gabrielle Reinhardt, Ursula Rowan, Monica Rowland, Catheline Stockinger
Club Heroes: Alastair Brun, Christian Frei, Elaine Koeller
One-Club Men: Matt Sebastian
Vermillion's first or second club, depending on who you ask. Definitely its oldest, and one of the oldest in the country. The Saints are associated with the northside and outskirts of the city, a fairly disparate population uniting a variety of demographics. The nickname doesn't really stem from any piety of the club's, or any association with places of worship, but rather its obscure origins have been traced back to regional pride - downtown Vermillion is a godless hellhole, so therefore the northsiders were saints by comparison. A proud club, but has fallen on harder times of late. Bitter rivals with Vermillion Rage, who keep stealing the Saints' players.

19. South Laithland
‘The Southrons’
Covenground (27,000)
Dross, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Donovan VELAZQUEZ (34)
RB - 22 - Karolin FAUST (30)
CB - 5 - Kelly O'CONNELL (34, c)
CB - 17 - Tremeka SEWARD (27)
LB - 18 - Felix COULSON (25)
CM - 13 - Farina LUHUKAY (32)
CM - 8 - Kristian GREENSLADE (23)
RW - 7 - Constantine BROWN (29)
AM - 21 - Shiida ROESLER (30)
LW - 14 - Catheline DANE (23)
ST - 10 - Agapito MURPHY (27)

GK - 20 - Logan HAAS (24)
RB - 2 - Hasret KAVECI (34)
CB - 19 - Journey PIKE (33)
DM - 32 - Chandra ROSZITER (19)
AM - 12 - Valerie CAMPBELL (26)
LW - 11 - KYNDA-SEVET Pec (32)
ST - 16 - Kanerva HERRON (31)

GK - 30 - Georgia FITZON (19)
CB - 6 - Reinhard WETTIN (24)
LB - 34 - Amber WYND (19)
CM - 4 - Jakob BURNES (25)
CM - 37 - Jenna ESLING (19)
RW - 7 - Mili BILLHOOK (21)
ST - 9 - Topaz CAULKER (21)

AM - 26 - Johan CHANDLER (20)

MANAGER
Hecubah STATKIS (47)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 19th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (55)
NFA Cup (48)

RECENT HISTORY
83: 1Div - 3rd - 73 pts - Promoted
82: Zenith - 20th - 25 pts - Relegated
81: Zenith - 16th - 34 pts
80: Zenith - 13th - 45 pts
79: Zenith - 17th - 38 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Agapito Murphy (Mancodas Athletic FC, 5m)
Shiida Roesler (Sabrefell Moths, 4m)
Farina Luhukay (Istria City FC, 2m)
Constantine Brown (VZRH Matov-Uri, 1m)

OUT
Lysander Forward (Miradela GD, 1.25m)
Johan Chandler (The Strongest, loan)
Retired: Aron Riise (ST, 35, COS)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Morgan Ashdown, Rutger Connacht, Sigrid Cooper, Catheline Novick, Jason Petratos
Club Heroes: Samantha Allbeck, Gratia Barker, Josephus Flaccus
One-Club Men: Leila Pryde
Based, as the name suggests, in the southern Laith, South Laithland (based in the town of Dross, which is basically just the football stadium) have traditionally hovered between the bottom half of the Premiership and the top half of the First Division throughout the modern era, and really throughout their entire history. A reasonably successful and stable side, they've rarely scintillated but can be proud of a productive academy. They're friendly rivals with North Laithland, have a derby day against Cypher but expose their fiercest venom for Treason, who have a way of poaching their best players (Allbeck, Flaccus, Connacht, Morgan Ashdown...)

20. Leichhardt
‘The Stargazers’
Capricorn Plaza (23,500)
Leichhardt, CHD

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Ingrid MOORE (32)
RB - 2 - Leontiy KORCHAGIN (22)
CB - 13 - Natalia DREIDER (32)
CB - 22 - Gabriel LOCKHEED (34)
LB - 19 - Marko DIETER (26)
CM - 4 - Sander MORITZ (30)
CM - 21 - Varina ROEBLING (32)
RW - 7 - LUO Nanwei (23)
AM - 17 - Hestia BOWMAN (30)
LW - 16 - David CAIRNS (22)
ST - 14 - Lea EBERHART (28)

GK - 12 - Sinric ASTON (23)
CB - 5 - Tess SAUNDERS (31)
LB - 3 - Lenna BERWICK (29)
CM - 24 - Olwen NORTH (30)
RW - 26 - Caleb STARBOARD (22)
AM - 15 - Cassi BURBANK (25)
ST - 10 - Brielle STREBINGER (30)

GK - 25 - Olivia SPENCER (20)
RB - 20 - Talea MYRAKIS (32)
CB - 6 - Jasper OAR (20)
CM - 8 - Matthew CHISHOLM (22)
CM - 39 - Sverre UZUNI (19)
LW - 11 - Tilda SHED (22)
ST - 9 - Asger LOMOND (20)

MANAGER
Goran VERBECK (55)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 51
ALL-TIME RANKING: 29th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (74, 78)

RECENT HISTORY
83: 1Div - 2nd - 80 pts - Promoted
82: 1Div - 5th - 64 pts
81: Zenith - 18th - 30 pts - Relegated
80: 1Div - 3rd - 72 pts - Promoted
79: Zenith - 19th - 29 pts - Relegated

TRANSFERS
IN
Hestia Bowman (Starling, 3m)
Luo Nanwei (Gaelic Club, 2.5m)
Gabriel Lockheed (Sanford Falls PREMIER, 1.5m)
Marko Dieter (Sanford Der Berg PREMIER FK, 1.5m)
Olwen North (Chenoworth Harriers, free)

OUT
Traci Lachmann (Chenoworth Harriers, 1.5m)
Clement Luther (Flames of the West, free)
Rebecca Soutar (Greygate, free)
Rhys Vanney (Columbia City, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Nikita Griffiths, Rebecca Larkland, Sheila Maddon, Rebecca Stubbs
Club Heroes: Miralem Fowler, Jacqui Rowlins, Lara Silverstein, Ernie Stevenson
A small city and the largest settlement in the Northern Vale, Leichhardt has traditionally flitted between Premiership relegation battles and the top half of the First Division, usually playing defensive football in the process. Its primary rivals are Corvette, the second-largest Vale settlement, but they've both been overshadowed by nearby Starling of late. Their nickname stems from the clear Vale skies, as opposed to the cloudier cities across the rest of the country.

by **Nephara** » Fri Apr 01, 2022 6:36 am

First Division Preview

1. Barossia United
Last Season: 7th
Stadium: Woden Avenue (28,000)
Nickname: the Shrikes
Manager: Tessalyn Jens (52)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Artemis Tsipras (30); 2 - Rain Methven (28), 5 - Ida Roesling (30), 6 - Sigurd Cooke (29), 19 - Ari Maurer (28); 4 - Chelsea Crawford (27, HAN), 23 - Anastasia Bystrom (27, SRS); 7 - Isla Leskosek (29), 21 - Ida Lancer (26), 10 - Tessa Bjarnesen (21, PFA); 14 - Ottilia Hjort (21, SRS)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Chary Longstreet (21); 3 - LB - Cassandra Posipal (35), 8 - DM/CM - Augustin Dirac (30, SVG), 9 - ST - Kylene Rotariu (30), 11 - AM - Revelle Szusza (21), 17 - RB - Ulysses Athanasakis (32), 20 - LW - Gerhard Brooks (26), 22 - RW - Claudia Martane (34)

BACKGROUND Formerly named Rhagant, Barossia United's catchment now counts the confluence of large towns that ultimately coalesced into the city of Covenant. A wild sprawl, layer upon layer in an oddly heartbreaking ambition, Covenant is an apt backdrop for the chaotic club it calls its own. United have a proud history, an inaugural Premiership side, but they fell long and hard into crushing disrepair before their recent renaissance. They've always played a hard-nosed, direct brand of football.

2. Chenoworth Harriers
Last Season: 6th
Stadium: The Keel (35,000)
Nickname: the Harriers
Manager: Adalheid Metzelder (52)
(4-2-3-1) 18 - Elida Katter (28); 2 - Igrene Sonnen (28), 5 - Inaki Otxoa (31, AUD), 3 - Davica Hull (28), 18 - Sara Cantrell (23); 4 - Dario Raskin (27), 8 - Jens Rutter (23); 23 - Riviera Sanders (28), 11 - Donato Girardi (30, DEL), 20 - Kyli Pembroke (22); 9 - Birgitta Nørup (23, FKR)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Arden Luther (34); 7 - ST - Cathi Sleator (24), 10 - RW - Vusur Rajovic (21), 13 - LW - Mátyás Soltesz (30, PAS), 15 - DM - Luthienne Koetter (31), 16 - AM - Traci Lachmann (23), 17 - RB - Levi Beckton (23), 19 - LB - Innocent Felton (22), 22 - CB - Clovis Harken (21), 25 - CB - Erik Fenton (32)

BACKGROUND Based in northwest Chenoworth and with strong Hellenic roots, the Harriers are one of the two real giants of a city that has never really looked able to fit any more. A notorious yo-yo club in the early days of the modern era, the Harriers can 'boast' five relegations - three coming between cycles 55 and 60 alone. In more recent times, though, cautious and targeted spending has ensured they can not only stay afloat in the top flight, but have at times approached the IFCF places. Unsurprisingly, they count the Rovers as their only serious rivals, and tend to be the more technical and cerebral of the two sides - though Rovers fans tend to prefer 'flimsy'. For all their mixed results, though, the Harriers undoubtedly have a far stronger pedigree in youth development.

3. Newrook City
Last Season: 18th (Zenith)
Stadium: Twilight Ridge (36,000)
Nickname: the Rooks
Manager: Gratia Barker (52)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Maela Ran (30, CMT); 2 - Annika Tatasciore (26), 5 - Tony Gardney (33, FAVA), 18 - Priscilla Graves (26), 20 - Jana Forde (26); 6 - Eero Solari (30, COS, c), 10 - Sven Gillard (30); 22 - Julia Roberts (29), 16 - Violet Siverson (30), 11 - Zlata Perkuna (25, SRS); 9 - Alhambra Pike (27)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Florine Sheaton (25), 25 - GK - Butch Freamon (21); 3 - LB - Gretelyn Pendress (20), 4 - CM - Kolinda Bischoff (33), 8 - CM - Marcella Salter (21), 13 - LW - Arkady Rozier (33, AFT), 15 - ST - Helmer Smith (21), 17 - RB/CB - Arnulf Gostler (24, SRS), 19 - CB - Antony Hangman (21), 23 - RW - Silke Gutenberg (31), 26 - AM - Olenna Bruune (23)
Out on Loan: 7 - RW - Casey Roehampton (24)

BACKGROUND Founding members of the modern-era Premiership, the Rooks have endured a lot of heartbreak in their time, and their five relegations are an equal record. But it’s the kind of club that appreciates success when it comes; its three Cups are also a record, and one season saw both come at once. It’s still remembered fondly as a blaze of glory. Once considered a more broad-church club across the whole of regional far northeast Nephara, the growth of Newrook into a proper, well, city - absorbing a number of small frontier settlements on the Nepharan end of the Gelderlish border in the process - has mirrored the growth of its one major football club. Northeasterners are considered strange, distant and intense, just sort of off by the standards of the rest of the country. Newrook aren't far off Coret, and the two sides' rivalry is weirdly strong for sides that more central Nepharim tend to mostly forget about. A brief run as a contender towards the sharp end of the Premiership may not have stuck, but did bankroll a new stadium, arguably the most scenic in the nation.

4. Corinthians No Longer
Last Season: 10th
Stadium: Pinnacle Park (22,000)
Nickname: CNL, ex-Corinthians
Manager: Sascha Dimitrius (44)
(4-3-3) 12 - Onbera Aispiolea (30, ASG); 2 - Matez-Nulzk Uzo (22, QUS), 5 - Sienna Cunningham (31, TLI, c), 6 - Nathanaël Ndòsi (25, SWR), 3 - Mia Turnbull (24, CMT); 10 - Amelia Ibsdóttir (28, GRF), 4 - Malia Renberg (23, SRS), 14 - Katona Meredith (23); 7 - Irenke Fenyvesi (25, PAS), 17 - Caelan McIntyre (24, TLI), 11 - Vesta Echagaray (25, MRT)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Holger Varney (32); 8 - DM - Erika Candling (27), 9 - ST - Anibal Troche (32, TEQ), 15 - CM - Xavier Barron (30), 16 - LW - Drea Bouman (30, CYI), 18 - CB - Marit Stoeger (34), 21 - RB - Sumeria Commons (25), 23 - CM - Gerhard Joiner (21), 34 - RW - Shianne Wreath (19)

BACKGROUND The growing city of Creed has traditionally been dominated by Creed United, but CNL are actually their oldest club; Creed Corinthians are proudly one of the oldest clubs in the nation. For a century, they resolutely refused to turn professional, staying true to their amateur status and club name... until, on their centennial anniversary, they reversed this. The club has benefited from Creed's growth, and capitalised on their potential as they bounded rapidly up the divisions. Naturally, United see them as wealthy upstarts who could do with a good stomping.

5. Southfell United
Last Season: 20th (Zenith)
Stadium: Brightley Arena (44,000)
Nickname: the Tanners
Manager: Arden Kolar (51)
(4-3-3) 1 - Donat Soler (28, DEL); 13 - Pahali Kama (20), 18 - Cale Schindler (25), 5 - Holger Wight (29, c), 3 - Pascal Ritter (25); 10 - Hawker Banks (27), 4 - Mari Brighton (29), 6 - Kurtis Swainsona (20); 23 - Garin Velat (27), 16 - Bernard Zeman (29), 11 - Antje Osterhagen (30, VAL)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Claude Burdett (22), 30 - GK - Leo Kjetill (19); 2 - CB - Jade Beyard (22), 8 - DM - Matthias Slade (26), 9 - ST - Ulrich Mason (22), 19 - RB - Catheline Novick (32), 22 - LB - Fiona Zidler (20), 26 - LW - Heather Spahi (20), 33 - ST - Ravil Kulesza (18), 35 - CB - Locke Hayes (19)
Out on Loan: 46 - LW - Thora Asbrecht (18)

BACKGROUND Southfell's a large town, once a fortress, just south of Sabrefell and just inland of the coast. Indeed, the easiest way to get into a fight with people from Southfell is to claim that, really, it's just a glorified district of Sabrefell. United started out as the factory team for leatherworkers, of all things, leading to their current nickname of 'Tanners'. Southfell have mostly been a Premiership side in the modern era, and their fans mostly consider themselves to be such, but they haven't had the best of things lately - that said, they were competing at the sharp end of the top flight when the modern era began. Stylistically, the Tanners have generally been fairly flashy and attack-minded, but there's been times where a long-ball style has prevailed. They have a friendly rivalry with the Sabrefell Moths, and indeed pretty much with every Sabrefell side.

6. Cranequin Wanderers
Last Season: 4th
Stadium: Ebony Lane (48,000)
Nickname: the Wanderers
Manager: Henna Morgan (50)
(4-2-3-1) 20 - Yves Carroll (30); 2 - Trishi Csatar (23), 4 - Filip Barker (31, SNL), 22 - Cat Baxton (27), 6 - Ilya Netrayev (28, SVJ, c); 5 - Nicola Brindell (30), 21 - Cintia Flaxen (24); 7 - Briston Rellingwood (25, TKT), 10 - Sander Berenger (23), 13 - Talin Anxosi (28, SRS); 15 - Kieran Beaumont (24, TKT)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - November Reiner (32); 8 - AM - Alexis Sutter (26), 9 - ST - Alyce Nicolau (28), 16 - DM - Bastia Swanson (29), 19 - CB - Bran Goldford (31), 22 - ST - Emile Scarlett (21)

BACKGROUND Cranequin is Nephara's smallest state capital, with a generally cultural focus and bohemian reputation. It was a one-club city - that club being the Wanderers - for a while, but Cranequin City's prominence of late has created a rivalry. Usually found in the bottom half of the Premiership, the Wanderers have suffered three relegations to the second tier in the modern era but they tend to bounce back quickly. Their primary tactical legacy has been pioneering controversial patient possession football in Nephara, to some success - it's a blueprint they've since returned to. At six relegations, have set the record for the worst Premiership side.

7. Crisisbless United
Last Season: 19th (Zenith)
Stadium: The Chessboard (38,000)
Nickname: the Chequers, the Chessmen
Manager: Volga Hoellerer (52)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Dorothea Soumare (30, ASU); 17 - Tori Allen (27, CDG), 22 - Dimitar Ingold (25), 6 - Anibal Barra (24, KOR), 3 - Fafnir Collins (28); 21 - Tallin Ledger (21), 4 - Mathilde Keller (23); 7 - Vadim Arkhipov (25, SRS), 8 - Rhydian Campbell (27, DEL), 10 - Andrine Samsa (28); 11 - Riverina Bray (28)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Radoslav Blaha (20, SRS), 25 - GK - Barry Keane (20); 5 - CB - Cale Bennett (22), 13 - AM - Ava Rose Donaldson (34, SCT), 15 - LW - Andrea Braxton (22), 19 - LB - Jane Fussell (22), 20 - CM - Jade Rothbard (29), 22 - RW - Ana Blackwold (21), 23 - ST - Mercia Calshot (21), 26 - CB - Bernard Royston (21)

BACKGROUND The original Premiership yo-yo club, Iron City have the dubious record of having suffered five relegations from the top flight in the modern era (tied with Newrook). That said, their fans would kill for that status now - they seem to be stranded in midtable in the second tier, and were even recently relegated to the third. Iron itself is a small, bleak, industrial city in northern Barossia, and the club traditionally plays bleak, industrial football - but on the other hand, Elaine Ashdown came from here, and book-ended her career at the club.

8. Iron City
Last Season: 5th
Stadium: Swordgarden (35,000)
Nickname: the Cataphracts
Manager: Ursa Dimitar (45)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Annabelle Press (29); 6 - Lukas Storrin (28), 5 - Lukas Worn (29), 18 - Jessica Parrello (32, CDG), 20 - Maria Kroger (26); 15 - Mercedes Reeve (35), 19 - Freydis Longhouse (24); 7 - Bryony Westerveld (32), 13 - Page Rookworth (27), 16 - Elsebeth Farrier (24); 9 - Marius Cervenka (28)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Skye Felicity (23); 2 - CB - Howell Payton (22), 3 - LB - Garrett Varlet (28), 11 - LW - Esther Vorster (32), 21 - CM - Andre Gannon (26), 23 - RW - Vetta Crosetti (20)

BACKGROUND The original Premiership yo-yo club, Iron City have the dubious record of having suffered five relegations from the top flight in the modern era (tied with Newrook). That said, their fans would kill for that status now - they seem to be stranded in midtable in the second tier, and were even recently relegated to the third. Iron itself is a small, bleak, industrial city in northern Barossia, and the club traditionally plays bleak, industrial football - but on the other hand, Elaine Ashdown came from here, and book-ended her career at the club.

9. Belgrave
Last Season: 11th
Stadium: Cherryfields (25,000)
Nickname: the Gargoyles
Manager: Ganymede Hooper (49)
(4-3-3) 1 - Catra Paderborn (30); 2 - Sander Costly (26), 12 - Raphael Brown (29, SYL), 6 - Patrik Pentti (21, COR), 3 - Amita Misra (27, SRS); 13 - Etienne Berkut (27), 15 - Matthaus Gianniotis (25), 14 - Syrene Fleetwood (33); 13 - Finbar McLoughlin (23, TKT), 21 - Visse Brass (22), 11 - Paige Leslight (26)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Bard Holgate (25); 5 - DM - Rutger Curtin (21), 7 - ST - Kikumi Kondou (32, HIN), 8 - CM - Christian Ermine (24), 10 - RW - Jasmine Francis (23), 17 - LW - Augustine Slate (25), 22 - LB - Jaylene Kazarov (32, SRS)

BACKGROUND Belgrave represents Sabrefell's affluent northeast, not historically a socio-economic demographic that has produced good footballers. Even so, their success in recent seasons is built more on good planning than deep pockets. They embrace their reputation for affluence, rebranding it as a belief in 'sophistication', and they've historically favoured a technical, possession-focused style of football, trusting in youth to step up for them. Their willingness to snipe talented youths from across the city to play for them has only made them less popular.

10. Diamondqueen
Last Season: 9th
Stadium: The New Overlook (17,500)
Nickname: the Diamonds
Manager: Danijel Brymora (41)
(4-3-1-2) 1 - Gilgamesh Dance (27); 2 - Asha Penfold (26), 5 - Markus Gojak (27), 6 - Gregor Strober (31), 3 - Lorcan Devante (28); 14 - Adnan Broad (27), 4 - Nissa Mason (33), 8 - Anna Henling (28, SYL); 10 - Odette Mandrake (27); 21 - Helmina Turner (30), 16 - Sedna Giunta (24, PFA)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Rudolf Solaun (26); 6 - CB - Jessica Everard (32), 11 - ST - Ursa Kinbois (31)

BACKGROUND Diamondqueen's main attraction is being the suburb in which the Nepharan National University is, just north of the centre of the city. As a result, most of its supporters come from the student base. It's had a very strong relationship with the nearby Raven River for many years, acting as something of a feeder club for them for a few years until their meteoric rise to the same division, and they continue to have a close relationship - Diamondqueen don't really have any rivals at all.

11. Brookford Otters
Last Season: 14th
Stadium: The Rock (20,000)
Nickname: the Otters
Manager: Cyrus Kroger (51)
(4-3-3) 1 - Olivia Cheney (26); 2 - Fan Kasef (26, EFK), 5 - Marka Krushlin (30, ZRH), 6 - Tristan Proust (26), 19 - Ferry Brandt (30); 8 - Russ Shallows (27), 4 - Florian Banneret (25), 23 - Arjen Malbranque (26); 22 - Laurent Beringer (23, SVG), 17 - Bjoern Syomin (25, SRS), 11 - Monika Bandler (27)
Notable Reserves: 3 - LB - Pavel Cicak (33, DEL), 9 - ST - Aurora Jewel (36, DRK), 10 - LW - Melita Briskey (29), 14 - ST - Zaza Serry (24), 21 - CB - Kurtis Holden (33)

BACKGROUND Brookford is a smallish town on the east coast, but despite the proximity to Brinemouth, the Otters have always maintained a strong enough identity to ensure a minimum of defectors within the town. They are perhaps most famous for their vapourwave-inspired 'aesthetic' kits, though these have since been phased out as the side returned to their traditional navy and orange look. A Cup win remains their proudest achievement, though it was somewhat marred by their playoff relegation immediately beforehand

12. Chardonnay Rangers
Last Season: 16th
Stadium: Floriade Park (17,500)
Nickname: the Rangers
Manager: Gerik Ramsey (47)
(4-4-2) 12 - Charis Theoklitos (30); 2 - Jhoira Kambol (29, SRS), 18 - Barth Guzman (28), 19 - Dismas Anderson (21), 22 - Mickey Bethea (24, CMT); 7 - Carrie Geffen-Broad (26, ZWZ), 15 - Sara Holster (24), 8 - Yente Shulthis (29), 16 - Constantina Redruth (23); 9 - Karl Bastin (26), 21 - Clemente Oden (24, CMT)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Rufus Holland (30); 3 - LB - Laurin Dale (23), 4 - CM - Hans Kattis (29), 6 - CB - Orion Pryor (30), 10 - ST - Cynthia Rayne (34, DOG), 11 - LM - Andreas Lindwurm (32), 14 - CM - Anders Wallcroft (27), 23 - RM - Miroslav Lodge (31)

BACKGROUND The Rangers have achieved the remarkable feat of going from the Premiership to the Conference, and have now rebounded most of the way back. They used to be noted for youth development, trusting an inexperienced side and producing five-cap winger Eloise Parrish for the national team, but it's clear the current board is working for the short-term, at least until they get back to the top. After a slight relocation that prompted a name change, they operate from the northeast Crisisbless outskirts, and have only recently completed a new boutique stadium.

13. New Oakstone Phoenix
Last Season: Champions (2Div)
Stadium: River Heart (26,000)
Nickname: the Phoenix
Manager: Valery Cain (53)
(4-4-2) 20 - Rena Perch (31); 26 - Erin Fry (22, EUR), 5 - Martin Pearce (21, EUR), 18 - Sam Ryman (22, EUR), 3 - Rowan Findlay (29, TLI); 7 - Catrine Antelmi-Evans (23), 19 - Adelaide Tallow (34), 8 - Fifi Arnhem (23), 11 - Ingmar Loesser (22); 16 - Zdenka Vavra (28, SRS), 21 - Vanda Gerô (26, PAS)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Jakob Ardath (23); 2 - RB - Caspar Laufenn (26), 4 - CB - Jack Klose (29), 6 - CM - Ellen Malgett (26), 9 - ST - Jonas Rossi (27), 15 - RM - Orane Warner (30), 22 - LB - Poppi Scuttler (22), 23 - LM - Perilous Whiteside (33)

BACKGROUND The first former Premiership club to sink to the state leagues, and now aspiring to return to their former heights. The Phoenix benefited incidentally from the settlement of Corvistone, having been swallowed up by the city's development in a region now known as New Oakstone for its disproportionate number of northern Euran refugee immigrants, and it is an ambitious Euran consortium that now hopes to propel them back to the Zenith.

14. AFC Rochford
Last Season: 12th
Stadium: Brinegate Park (18,000)
Nickname: the Owls
Manager: Rebecca Kelsey (52)
(4-4-2) 12 - Hannah Rutherford (29, CDG); 17 - Anders Bowman (32), 5 - Viktor Raleigh (30), 22 - Emil Dajo (24), 3 - Jenni Radic (28, SCT); 22 - Lysander Brezar (28, c), 4 - Ares Finnan (27), 8 - Scylla Perish (29), 16 - Charissa Hyde (29, GTK); 7 - Vinísìus Sïrustós (23, FFD), 10 - Constantine Koellner (30)
Notable Reserves: 6 - CB - Baral Mailar (35, SRS), 9 - ST - Nyna Kane (28), 11 - LM - Marita Crozier (29), 35 - LB - Catheline Mueller (19)

BACKGROUND A moderately prominent town just inland of the Lazuli Coast, Rochford were a yo-yo club leading into the modern era of Nepharan football but have slipped away from prominence in more recent years, echoing the tendency of the townsfolk themselves to leave for the greener pastures of Brinemouth. Built overlooking the small lake known as the Roch, Rochford is famous for its seafood, especially its oysters.

15. Chenoworth Rovers
Last Season: 8th
Stadium: Slatefield (32,000)
Nickname: the Rovers
Manager: Valentine Nemeth (45)
(4-4-2) 1 - Elisabeth Cha (29, QUE); 17 - Alisandra Svava (32, c), 19 - Hender Esmann (25), 3 - Longinus Fenton (26), 22 - Anasophia Esteban (28, CMT); 7 - Sarala Darzi (27, SRS), 4 - Dawn Bishop (24), 13 - Riza Counsell (30), 16 - Milo Kevan (26); 9 - Petrarch Corbay (26), 10 - Cordelia Norwood (24)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Rasmus Garrick (34, CYI); 5 - CB - Gannon Livas (21), 8 - CM - Niko Babylon (23), 20 - LB - Jenna Drummond (22), 21 - DM - Rook Garai (31), 23 - ST - Raphael Wentworth (23)

BACKGROUND Chenoworth is a two-club city (for the most part), with the Harriers representing the northwest geographically and Hellenics culturally, and the Rovers Jewish, eastern and by reputation more affluent. In the early years of the modern era, both sides could regularly be seen yo-yoing wildly between the top two tiers, with seven Premiership relegations between them. Of late, however, the Harriers' fortunes have soared and the Rovers' have soured, until a recent resurgence has left them yet again eyeing the top flight.

16. Vermillion Wanderers
Last Season: 17th
Stadium: New Falstaff (35,000)
Nickname: the Wanderers
Manager: Delphi Keane (42)
(4-3-3) 1 - Dimitar Franzen (29); 2 - Rena Kinross (28), 5 - Liana Lemuur (31, MRN), 6 - Patrik Alphonse (31), 22 - Archany Narang (27, SRS); 14 - Lucius Prohaska (26), 16 - Konrad Berg (25), 8 - Kayla Carling (23); 7 - Zaza Kirkland (23), 9 - Leonhard Bertos (26), 19 - Esther Gligor (22)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Brand Hilton (32); 4 - DM - Sepp Goldman (33), 11 - LW - Declan Wharton (31, ETN), 15 - ST - Isabelle Kruger (35, STL), 20 - RB - Anna Shepherd (31)

BACKGROUND The Wanderers had a dramatic rise from the semi-professional levels that saw them in the Premiership for three seasons, and they remain its latest club in the alphabet. The rise was mirrored off the pitch as well as on, and they carved out a niche for themselves as Vermillion's reasonably-respected third side, and they've had to expand their stadium capacity to match the demand. Unlike Parrhesia and the Rage, they've found something of a reputation for very route-one football.

17. Stahlburg Rovers
Last Season: 13th
Stadium: Griffindon (36,000)
Nickname: the Rovers
Manager: Snowy Brennan (57)
(4-4-2) 1 - Aurre Laurnagaray (34, ASG); 2 - Ragna Drinkwater (21), 13 - Penelope Wisdom (24), 6 - Damascus Steele (23), 3 - Kvenna Melander (29); 7 - Sonya Channell (26), 4 - Augustine Lascar (26), 8 - Mari Tone (24), 11 - Lorelei Barker (25); 16 - Dimitar Guzan (27), 21 - Liang Wei (24, YZH)
Notable Reserves: 5 - CB - Jakob Silas (35, BRE), 9 - ST - Uathach Walker (30, BRE), 14 - LM - Jelena Romanov (33, SVJ), 15 - CM - Gisela Feistle (30), 17 - RB - Else Svennsdottir (33, GRF)

BACKGROUND Historically very much Stahlburg's second team, the Rovers went from being a second-tier fixture to a Premiership fixture just in time for Nephara to enter UICA. Apart from a couple of scrapes with the sharp end of the league, however, the Rovers traditionally scraped lower-midtable finishes year after year, seemingly immune to stability. Fans are hoping to go straight back up. Formerly known as Maximum Rovers.

18. West Brinemouth
Last Season: 2nd (2Div)
Stadium: Volkstadion (31,000)
Nickname: the Gulls
Manager: Marko Gaston (54)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Sigmund Perth (29); 2 - Piers Coleman (27), 5 - Royce Echehart (29), 22 - Marlena Hooper (27, c), 18 - Johan Ark (25); 23 - Ellen Bensom (24), 11 - Lauren Favall (22); 7 - Jasper Worner (25), 8 - Elizabeth Cochrane (28, TLI), 16 - Amalda Haines (26); 10 - Zara Cormann (33)
Notable Reserves: 3 - LB - Isadora Markkanen (35), 9 - ST - Tatiana Brandis (35), 37 - LW - Rutger Thane (19)

BACKGROUND Brinemouth's west is the relatively poor, working-class part of the city, away from the affluent, gentrified Brineside. Unlike most such sides, it remains in the shadow of neighbours and fierce rivals Brinemouth, but it has achieved some fair successes of its own in the modern era, occasionally reaching the Premiership and once winning the NFA Cup. The fanbase traditionally values workmanlike, muscular players, but the academy has not been the most successful, and many of the best youth prospects in the city are poached by their bigger, richer neighbours.

19. AFC Serpentine
Last Season: 15th
Stadium: Aventurine Street (20,000)
Nickname: the Dragons
Manager: Miron Campbell (50)
(4-4-2) 20 - Christine Tabard (27); 2 - Shanna Oakes (29), 18 - Jessava Smith (27), 6 - Corren Toure (32), 19 - Aloysian March (29); 7 - Constantine Manx (27), 4 - Janus Tanzer (28), 8 - Cheney Masters (29), 13 - Maddox Rhine (28); 9 - Uther Johnson (29), 10 - Florian Berkut (23)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Gerrard Tell (28); 3 - LB - Blaithin Kendrick (32, SCT), 5 - CB - Ignatz Bull (34), 21 - ST - Kitti Menander (30, ISK)

BACKGROUND One of the two big Westermark sides, on the Parrhesia side of the Laith. Serpentine have always prided themselves on youth development, and it's helped keep them financially afloat and relevant on the pitch despite a small catchment. Their colours are a deliberate throwback to Nephara's own, in their first WCC years. They've managed, in recent years, to yo-yo between the top two tiers. Westmarker neighbours Cypher Town are their traditional rivals.

20. Locksley
Last Season: 3rd (2Div)
Stadium: Ashen Grove (14,000)
Nickname: the Brewers
Manager: Lucan Schrader (50)
(4-4-2) 1 - Brut Kerris (31); 2 - Adele Frey (26), 4 - Cassandra Weier (25), 18 - Constance Kluivert (26), 3 - Paige Dewinter (23); 7 - Brady Innes (29), 8 - Louise Tsolakis (30, c), 21 - Ephraim Lezaford (21), 16 - Leshi Bell (26); 9 - Aurelio Yeseta (28, FFD), 10 - Sloane Walsh (33)
Notable Reserves: 5 - CB - Alexis Tymon (32), 10 - CM - Reno Stubbs (32), 15 - ST - Petra Rubesch (30)

BACKGROUND A northeastern town that tends to go overlooked in the greater scheme of things, roughly triangulated by Brinemouth, Crisisbless and Sabrefell. Historically famous for its beer, hence the club nickname of 'Brewers'. The club has yo-yoed freely between second and third tiers since the modern era began, at one point managing six consecutive seasons of either promotion to or relegation from the First Division. They have a surprisingly heated rivalry with nearby Rochford.

Second Division

by **Nephara** » Sat Apr 02, 2022 3:46 am

TALKING POINTS

1. The Season That Was

Last season had a lot going on. Coret Hawks were the major surprise package of the Zenith, following up an already strong season with a second-place finish unprecedented in their history. They were the major surprises in an otherwise fairly stable top six, clinging grimly to their Champions League spot despite stumbles here and there. Yet AFC Treason did not stumble, never once looking like they could be reeled in; they may not have defended the Cup, but by round 31 - having won 27 of those games - they confirmed their fourth consecutive Zenith victory with a 4-0 hammering of Crisisbless.

Stahlburg City were almost able to crash into the IFCF places, but ultimately fell short by a point. Seventh feels particularly cruel these days - for decades, that was the final Challengers Cup place in Nephara, but yet another disappointing all-round showing in IFCF cut short any hopes of breaking back into the top four. Starling and Corvistone were reduced to looking up enviously at Coret, both finishing well-entrenched in the bottom half. The manager of each, Gareth Penrooke and Lisa Amos, took the axe - in Amos’ case, with the Crows in the relegation zone - but under new managers Loeher and, uh, Penrooke, respectively, managed to haul themselves into midtable.

In the closing stages of the season, focus turned to Coret’s fight to defend their place - ultimately successful, as none of the teams around them seemed capable of stringing together any form - and on the relegation battle. A depleted Newrook showed some spirit to claw their way to the playoff place, only to have their hearts broken by South Laithland. Southfell, dreadful all season, inexplicably beat Coret in extra time to secure the Cup. Finally, Crisisbless United dropped down, largely unremarkable and unremarked upon, save for the excellence of their striker, the irrepressible Vâásk Çêwé. He won his first caps, and got signed by CAP, the one real winner for the Chequers.

Joining the Southrons in the top flight will be Leichhardt, a typically dour surprise package marshalled expertly by former Creed manager Goran Verbeck, and the very much expected North Sabrefell, who assembled a strong, coherent lineup with plenty of top-flight experience. Camilla Martin showed her credentials as an intelligent, decisive all-round striker, and her thirty goals would have made her the talk of any other year… were this not the year that Chenoworth Harriers, under the irascible and eccentric Adalheid Metzelder, persisted with 18-year old Felixe Vetiver up front for almost the entire season. After a slow start, Vetiver took off and never looked back, picking up 24 goals, the Jade Heart and a fat transfer to 1830 Cathair when the season was done. She looks the best striking prospect Nephara may ever have had, certainly since Estrella Hawke.

The biggest surprise in 1Div towards the bottom was AFC Serpentine’s refusal to go down. They were frequently, brutally massacred in individual matches, they had the second-worst goal difference in the league, and their squad was terrible on paper. Yet they survived, unlike a more established marque in Corvette, a more exciting marque in Soli, and a Gonen’s Bridge side whose recruitment policy of stacking up Farfish free agents failed to pay dividends. New Oakstone won the third tier, their young, exciting team further reinforced in the window, and they’ll be joined by a defensively resolute West Brinemouth who conceded less than a goal every ther game, and a tough, direct Locksley side.

2. Playmaker Plethora

As usual, the wheeling and dealing of the window exposed floods in certain positions and deficits in others. big-ticket teams came out swinging looking for big-ticket replacements, only to be caught out by a tale as old as time: paucity. So it was that fringe Cormorants Sonya Belltower and Syrene Fischer found themselves sheepishly coaxed back to the fold with new contracts, Belltower standing to take home ₲2m a year.

There was, meanwhile, a glut of playmakers up for sale, meaning that unfancied South Laithland and Leichhardt both got high-class attacking pieces late in the window. Shiida Roesler was picked up on deadline day by the Southrons - never actually capped, but an excellent high-class attacking midfielder - as a definite coup, while Hestia Bowman will hope to rediscover her best form for Leichhardt. The two were just part of massive clearouts for the Moths and Starling respectively, both undertaking massive rebuilds. Ida Lancer, meanwhile, was one of a number of Treason departures - gifted but fragile, she’ll relish the opportunity to finally have a team built around her at Barossia United.

These three were not the only depth players of top sides moved down the chain as for the most part, wage bills at the top lightened. Treason in particular offloaded many of their depth players, in an eyecatching move; Kolar, Coxeter, and Uster all having played key bit-parts throughout the four-in-a-row being waved on their way. The Stags’ ability to completely no-sell injuries to regular starters had been a significant part of their success in recent years, leaving the side looking oddly mortal this time around. Neutrals will be eager to see if they can actually drop points this year, if the 5IAR can be stopped.

Brinemouth parted ways with manager Elaine Ashdown and finally, finally gave Grey Holden an overdue shot at a top team. Holden didn’t come alone, however, bringing not only his full coaching staff but his star defender from the Chariots, Chiara Blanco, who jumped at the chance to rake in a big payday. She’ll be joined in the heart of defence by Anaximander Scales, brought in after an exceptional season for the Smiths, and between them solving the pace issue that had crippled them in transition phases - most brutally exposed in a preseason IFCF qualifier that is, uh, the most humiliating defeat in Nephara’s entire history (if you know, you know). Lázaro Patrón arrived late on in a rare exchange deal, with veteran defenders Shepherd and Brosch going the other way to 1830; while not a top-class striker, he should hopefully be able to get the Dockers over the line in the medium-term.

3. Six-feet-underdogs lean on experience

South Laithland’s rebound under Hecubah Statkis - the only manager of four to get the Southrons a league win when they were relegated two years ago - has been nothing short of remarkable, but the fact is that going into deadline day they looked completely fucked. Defensively they were solid… by 1Div standards, but they’re largely the same outfit as they were last time they were relegated, save two years older. Attacking reinforcements were also crucial - Aron Riise had retired straight after his clinching goal in the playoff, while Kanerva Herron simply had regressed beneath Zenith standard. They were left to sweat before the pickups of Roesler, experienced striker Agapito Murphy and, perhaps most importantly of all, 32-year old Farina Luhukay, a holding midfielder formerly of Crisisbless and Istria City.

Leichhardt had not been expected by anyone to get promoted, let alone in second, and on paper it has to be said they don’t look up to the task. While strong in mdifield, with the double pivot of Moritz and Roebling having dominated the second tier and now reinforced by Bowman, they could be exposed by pace, as all three are the wrong side of 30. Gabriel Lockheed (34) and Olwen North (30) bring more Zenith experience to a side that looks in need of it, though the electrifying winger Luo could be the most important signing of all. Even if it’s most likely to be for having the most resale value when Leichhardt, as they most likely will, are relegated with weeks to spare.

Even with the late signings, even with the agreed-upon excellence of their managers, many have already written off both sides as comprising the bottom two, but perhaps that’s premature. While Parrhesia United haven’t done their usual thing of selling their entire midfield, they have lost their key striker in Davor Kurtishi, who left for Corvistone. Creed picked up Rasmus Caracole from Caza for a small fee and will enjoy his pinpoint delivery from the left wing, but lost both their excellent fullbacks, Landrith and Canticle. Chatswood lost their excellent goalkeeper and their captain, Vishca, who ultimately forced a career-defining move to Zozi despite them failing to meet the Axes’ asking price. And while North Sabrefell look strong - having also turned to experience, bringing in an all-new double pivot of Marita Neuwirth and 35-year old, 128-cap defensive midfielder Tawny Shone (a bargain of a free, though on huge wages) - it would not be a shock to see them head straight back down, either.

4. Corinthians No Longer - The 54th Modern Top-Flight Team?

The First Division is set to be hotly contested this year, with no real standout favourite. The bookies are primarily backing Barossia United, who have gone the North Sabrefell route to success - take an experienced spine and add a final layer of Zenith-level quality, in their case with Confederate duo Hjort and Bystrom, explosive winger Bjarnesen and of course Ida Lancer - and have spent a long time away. Chenoworth Harriers look competitive as well, reinvesting the Vetiver windfall into reinforcements across the pitch, while Newrook and Southfell look competitive after relegation.

But CNL are arguably the most intriguing prospect, not least because they are one of just two sides in the second tier - the other being Locksley - to have never even once tasted the top flight. They’re a very old club, but were amateur for much of that history; their initial rise was meteoric, spurred on by an established power base that dwarfed most in the state leagues, but they’ve been a second- or third-tier side for years. Tough at the back, with Astograthian goalkeeper Aispiolea and holding midfielder Renberg shielding the back line from either end, they boast an impressive front line; Caelan McIntyre scored more goals in the second tier than anyone still in the league today, and at just 24 has plenty of room to grow.

At the lower end, Locksley and West Brinemouth will be in a fight for survival, the latter crippled by losing Elyna Reeve to a lucrative offer from Chromatika, while Serpentine will be hoping for another miracle. New Oakstone, like West Brinemouth, lost a key player to Chromatika - in their case, 2Div Jade Boot winner Rasmus Hourihane - but had the means to replace him. A sheaf of signings have been made, most likely expected to start through the year, with the experience of Adelaide Tallow levelling out a very young side. Chardonnay Rangers - similarly a former top-flight side decades back, similarly recovering from a huge fall from grace - are also starting to look up, the Goodfeather duo Holster and Shulthis bulking out the midfield and Brinemouth loanee Dismas Anderson hopefully improving the defence. Two to keep an eye on for sure, though they’ll likely be somewhere in the midfield… for now.

5. A New School Arises

Triffid Ramsey stepped down from the Nephara national team after the Cormorants failed to get out of their group in the latest World Cup. The Moths’ Elaine Koeller replaced her, at 55 the oldest manager Nephara has ever hired, and a domino effect followed. Penumbra Amokachi was courted first by her hometown club, Brinemouth, but she demanded an essentially ‘dictatorial’ control that the Dockers refused to cede. The Moths, on the other hand? They were completely willing to start a full clearout of the side, including three World Champions with Nephara - Belgrade, Muscadin and Markgraf - whose time she deemed to have come.

In the east side of Sabrefell, the Rams went along the same tack. Another young, ambitious manager, Kalia Tolsii - who had done wondrous things with Goodfeather - took over, also with a brief to revitalise the Rams and take them over the edge to win the title. What did not go to plan was the sale of Lindse Kvasina, who did not play nice with the plan to simply start her after a couple of years out on loan, and forced a move abroad to the risen force of the SFPL. With relatively little turnover, then, Athletic look a powerful, coherent outfit.

Amokachi’s assistant, another former Cormorants striker in 42-year old Dragan Stavanger, took over at River. He stated openly that he would be ‘carrying on the good work [Amokachi] started’, shoving a number of players who had not coped with the step up out the door. Goodfeather, meanwhile, took the interesting route of bringing in Syrene Cazador from Vermillion Wanderers, a highly-regarded, data-driven sort who came highly-rated and experienced in relegation battles, albeit in the tier below.

Along with these four, Nikita Loeher at Starling (who made an overhaul rivalling Amokachi’s) and the 1Div duo of Sascha Dimitrius (CNL) and Danijel Brymora (Diamondqueen), there’s a vision of new managers focused on processes and data, not just results. Many cite Adalheid Metzelder as an influence - she’s still at the Harriers, though her job hangs on whether she can get them promoted. While there’s still plenty of old-school sorts around - Goran Verbeck, after all, got his Leichhardt up, and Gratia Barker won’t be short of job offers anytime soon - could this signal a sea change in Nepharan football?

by **Nephara** » Wed Apr 06, 2022 2:48 am

Season 84 - First Half

There’s not much suspense in the season’s curtain-raiser. It’s unstoppable mega-champions Treason against… Southfell United. This was actually played on the last day of last season. There, Southfell’s young striker Ravil Kulesza struck a brace. Here, Southfell’s young striker Ravil Kulesza played like an 18-year old thrown out against Nephara’s best side. Felixe Vetiver, he’s not. But after a frustrating first half for the Stags, 20-year old Kurtis Swainsona did shock them still more, testing his eye from outside the box and drilling a shot into the bottom corner, well past Senninger. At half-time, Malone and Zazagan came on to add impetus, but it was Camden keeping faith with Röskvi Tyrfingsson, a gangling troll-creature, which paid off. After a wayward first half where he largely spent vocally blaming his teammates for their failures, he took advantage of a scuffed clearance from Holger Wight to drive in the leveller just before the hour, and a drilled header just five minutes later put the Stags back in front, Schindler unable to get anywhere near him. Zazagan struck the killer third in injury time, a deserved win on paper, though Southfell have reason to be optimistic having looked relatively good against the hardest opponent they’ll play all season.

Zenith Roundup
The good times rolled in east Sabrefell for precisely one week. Kalia Tolsii, beaming ear to ear at the prospect of her great new job, immediately got to give a warm welcome to her old side, Goodfeather. Athletic duly took them apart 3-0, the pick of a bunch a brilliant solo goal from Marcelo Escobar beating three men while barely seeming to change course before whipping a neat low finish past Damir Wright with the outside of the boot. So far, so good! Then they drew their next game in Vermillion - still no shame, and another clean sheet - before duly, uhm, losing their next five in a row.

It was a relief, then, when the Rams got the opportunity to host lowly Leichhardt. The only winless team left in the division, predicted by just about everyone to spend the year nailed to the floor of the table. The narrative was that Athletic just needed something to go their own way, no matter what, and so when a disjointed first fifteen minutes finally saw a breakthrough, even though it was a corner ricocheting in off centre-half Stephenson’s thigh, it still felt like the boil had been popped. They rode that elation all the way to the 18th minute, where Luo Nanwei deftly drove in between Tarakov and Ciuru and whipped a smart finish past Garamond. She won a penalty on the verge of half-time converted by Varina Roebling, and a glancing header from Lea Eberhart made it 3-1 just before the hour. Athletic did pick up the pace late on, aided by Sander Moritz’s second yellow card mere moments after Leichhardt had used their final substitution, and a forceful Gannot shot beat Moore at her near post in injury time, leading to a scuffle over the ball in the net. But it was to no avail, and the final whistle signalled that Athletic’s run of defeats stretched to an unfathomable six.

Since then, the Stargazers are still yet to pick up a second win, and they’ve scored less than a goal a game. The Rams, however, have rolled from disappointment to disappointment. They’ve earned just five wins from 19, and they’re the weakest Sabrefell side of the five in the Zenith. Even their win over Goodfeather doesn’t look so good anymore; the Quakers sit 17th, and endured a 7-0 loss to River on their own turf. Despite all this, the board are sticking staunchly with Kalia Tolsii, for reasons that probably have absolutely nothing to do with her massive five-year deal and related severance. Leichhardt? The narrative from Goran Verbeck is still: “We believe and know we will survive.” Sure. But they are somehow just two points from 17th (Goodfeather), and just one from the playoff (Parrhesia)... and aren’t bottom, which is a South Laithland side who have been, genuinely, atrocious. After Sabrefell Moths destroyed them 8-0 in the Laith, Moths manager Penumbra Amokachi likened the experience to ‘kicking a kitten in a sack’.

And speaking of Amokachi, it’s certainly not only the Rams who have seized the narrative in the former capital. Amokachi’s troupe have hit the ground running, their high-octane, all-action style blitzing teams far better than the lowly Southrons. But they’ve shown guts, too, gutting out a number of 1-0 wins and battling Brinemouth to a scoreless draw at the Eagles Club despite being a man down for almost an hour. The Chariots and Raven River have both forced their way into the IFCF battle under their new management, while North Sabrefell have looked comfortable at Zenith level, a 6-0 defeat to Brinemouth notwithstanding.

There’s been another shakeup between that trio of aspiring Big Six clubs in green, Corvistone, Starling and Coret, who surprisingly occupy that order in the table. The Hawks followed a straightforward pattern in their first nine games; they lost every game away, they won every game at home. It hasn’t been as axiomatic since, but they’ve performed better than their points tally suggests, as their resoundingly positive goal difference suggests. A 5-0 slaughtering of South Laithland could be taken as a good sign - certainly it was good for the strike partnership of Pawnbroker and Moselle, who took a while to gel but notched a brace each - were it not only South Laithland.

Starling have been boosted by Eirika’s return to fitness in pre-season following her pregnancy, though Nikita Loeher still often throws on Valenza - who deputised for her admirably through most of last season - towards the end of games, to good effect, with five goals off the bench coming from the 21-year old. But Corvistone, annoyingly, have been the best of all, and they proved it in a 5-1 demolition of the Passerines. Despite the cut-price nature of their replacements, they’ve thrived, with damaged goods like Hartnett, Brincat and the unwanted Dimitra Karvelas who they openly tried to sell each revitalised after Gareth Penrooke’s punishing preseason. Spare a thought as well for Creed, though not much more than a thought. Tipped to struggle at the wrong end of the table, Gideon Fletcher is thus far guiding them to a more than respectable ninth, and are unbeaten against any of the top four.

All in all, despite all the flux in the league, at the halfway point we see… Treason on top, Brinemouth a point behind, and Leichhardt and South Laithland at the bottom. Yet there’s a few surprises in and around the margins. The bottom four have been genuinely atrocious, but they’re genuinely atrocious together, with just four points splitting them. The stutter of Crisisbless, the aggressive reversion of Coret and the wholesale collapse of Athletic have opened up room for River, the Chariots and, surprisingly, a Corvistone side that sit fourth. And the, uh, elephant in the room that is Nephara’s worst performance in international competition in over thirty years. means that the battle for IFCF places is tighter than ever! Silver linings, right?

First Division Roundup
It took just five matches for the first axe to fall in the second tier. Henna Morgan needed to hit the ground running, having failed to meet expectations for Cranequin Wanderers in the past two of her three seasons, failing to reach the promotion push. Well, they got a tough draw to start, but even so, they lost each of their first three games 2-1 - Southfell, Newrook and Iron taking advantage. Scraping a 1-0 win over Rochford in their next game through a contentious Brindell penalty earned Morgan a stay of execution, but a Visse Brass strike and a string of saves from Catra Paderborn saw Belgrave beat them 1-0 in the fifth game, a fourth defeat, and the end of the road for Morgan. The Wanderers acted quickly, buying last season’s MOTY Miron Campbell off Serpentine, parachuting him in in time for the coming match against Locksley, and burying them 4-1.

Giving the Wanderers hope is the fact that almost nobody in 1Div’s been consistent. Barossia United, perhaps unsurprisingly given the huge overhaul, have been wildly variable and still stand second. When they’ve been good, they’ve been great, but that hasn’t been the case often enough. A string of three matches - not long after getting cleaned out 4-0 by Belgrave - saw them annihilate Brookford 8-2, Vermillion 7-1… and lose 1-0 to Locksley at home. CNL are in the playoff place, while Belgrave are the major surprise packages, just two points off automatic promotion following a string of six wins on the bounce.

The decision to hire on Ganymede Hooper, miracle worker last season in 2Div, has paid serious dividends… though fans would be forgiven for some scepticism when Hooper’s first match in the second tier saw Belgrave annihilated 7-1 on home soil. Birgitta Nørup, who Chenoworth Harriers signed as the Vetiver replacement for literally 5% the cost, hit the ground running with a hat-trick and the Gargoyles looked immensely out of their depth with her high, hard-pressing, physically intensive system. Nevertheless, results have borne out since. While she has most strikingly managed to rejuvenate the youth, with Brass (22), Curtin (21) and new signing Pentti (21, the first Cordian in the Nepharan pyramid) having all hit the ground running and the 23-year old winger Finbar McLoughlin finally finding elusive consistency, Syrene Fleetwood continues to pull the strings in midfield at 33, with five goals and six assists so far.

There’s already four points between West Brinemouth and the playoff, while AFC Serpentine look doomed already, shorn of their talismanic manager Campbell. The Gulls’ expensive veteran striker, Zara Cormann, has chipped in with a mighty three goals from seventeen appearances, one a penalty; she remains the side’s leading goalscorer. But another 33-year old digging around the bottom of the league has been thriving. Locksley are an ugly side who play the percentages, pretty direct and very scrappy, but Sloane Walsh’s nine goals - over half the team’s tally - have kept their heads above water, while at the other end, journeyman goalkeeper Brut Kerris has somehow saved four penalties from four (and plenty else besides). Locksley have picked up a point per game, and are level on points with Stahlburg Rovers and New Oakstone… though their goal difference is far, far inferior, consigning them to the playoff place for the moment.

Rensenbrink Cup

Second Round
Scalps and Close Calls
AFC Brineshore 4-0 Ritter Town
Rochford Pilgrims 2-3 Spindle Town
Bishop 2-1 Belgrave
Peregrine 0-1 Crisisbless Athletic
Lockheed Zenith 1-1 Iron City (1-1 AET, 4-2 PKs)
Shimmering Quay 2-2 West Brinemouth (2-3 AET)

Hammerings
Rushe United 0-10 Crisisbless United
Mapleford 0-7 The Strongest
Advance Lazuli 0-5 Lindwurm Delta
Cranequin Wanderers 5-0 Fully Sick XI
Corinthians No Longer 4-0 Morningstar
Brookford Otters 5-1 Ingram Township
Strephonage 5-1 Crownsend Journey

This round saw the distinction of the fourth-largest win in Cup history, as Crisisbless United utterly destroyed Rushe United 10-0. This adds to a proud tradition, with the equal-second largest win in Cup history being Crisisbless United 11-0 Courser in 62, and the biggest of course being a 57 13-0 hammering of Iberia Chenoworth. Radoslav Blaha, the 20-year old goalkeeper debuting for United, insisted on taking a penalty at 8-0 up; it was saved, remarkably, but he managed to drive in the rebound, thus technically counting as a goal in open play. Ana Blackwold, a Nephara youth international, managed four goals and three assists from the right wing, while centre-half Cale Bennett headed home his first two goals in senior football.

Third Round
Scalps and Close Calls
AFC Serpentine 3-1 Sabrefell Moths
Cranequin City 2-0 AFC Rochford
Besand's Folly 2-1 Coret Hawks
Lindwurm Delta 2-2 Vermillion Wanderers (2-3 AET)
Bishop 2-1 West Brinemouth
Brokenarch 2-1 New Oakstone Phoenix
Southfell United 2-2 Greygate (3-3 AET, 3-2 PKs)
Dartmouth Terriers 4-6 Stahlburg City

Hammerings
Vermillion Rage 7-1 Cypher Town
Latin Enclave FC 6-1 Stockyard Hounds
South Laithland 5-0 The Travellers FC
Barossia United 4-0 Spindle Town
Brinemouth 6-2 Locksley

Zenith vs. Zenith
Creed United 1-2 Crisisbless
North Laithland 2-1 Goodfeather FC
AFC Corvistone 0-0 Raven River (1-1 AET, 3-4 PKs)

Misc
Cranequin Wanderers 1-1 Chenoworth Harriers (2-2 AET, 4-3 PKs)
Brookford Vantablack 3-6 Brookford Otters

With just three all-Zenith ties, there was blood in the water in the third round of the Cup, with a number of plucky lower-league sides tasting the well-renumerated wrath of their betters. Even South Laithland managed a resounding win, with Topaz Caulker’s hat-trick immediately making her her team’s top scorer for the season with… four. There was a lively Brookford derby, with fourth-tier Vantablack putting up a credible fight against the Otters before tiring and being put to the sword late on, while the Wanderers beat the Harriers on penalties in a pulsating match that saw two promotion hopefuls able to throw off the shackles for once. The biggest surprises saw Serpentine, being scraped across the bottom of the second tier, defeat the Moths with a cushion to spare, albeit a side with pretty much none of Amokachi’s favoured regulars, and for fourth-tier Besand’s Folly to manage a remarkable upset, two penalties and an excellent game from their goalkeeper securing a memorable win over Coret.

Fourth Round
Scalps and Close Calls
Chardonnay Rangers 0-0 South Laithland (0-1 AET)
Stahlburg City 1-0 Gosmouth Swans

Hammerings
Brokenarch 1-5 Brinemouth
Latin Enclave FC 0-4 Vermillion Wanderers
Besand's Folly 0-4 Starling

Zenith vs. Zenith
Chatswood 2-1 Aries Chariots
Crisisbless United 1-1 North Sabrefell (1-2 AET)
Leichhardt 0-2 Vermillion Rage
AFC Treason 1-0 Sabrefell Athletic

A fairly tame round, with no Zenith sides falling to lower-league opposition - though Chardonnay Rangers came close against a blatantly second-string South Laithland, Hecubah Statkis only eventually and reluctantly throwing on Agapito Murphy to score late. In resting Smajic, Stahlburg City made heavy weather of beating lowly Gosmouth Swans, a thumping header from centre-half Martel Sevecke making the difference. The big ticket on paper was Treason’s showdown with Sabrefell Athletic… were it not for Athletic’s utterly appalling form this season. As it was the game was a rather tame affair, Treason resting a handful of stars, Athletic going for broke but just performing poorly, a goalkeeping error from their backup, Auxier, making the difference as he dropped a Malone cross into the path of Roskvi to ruin an otherwise stellar match.

Last 16
Starling vs. North Laithland
Stahlburg City vs. Raven River
Mantlegrove [2D] vs. Vermillion Wanderers [1D]
AFC Treason vs. Chatswood
Vermillion Rage vs. Brookford Otters [1D]
North Sabrefell vs. Parrhesia United
South Laithland vs. Crisisbless
Barossia United [1D] vs. Brinemouth

by **Nephara** » Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:38 pm

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason             19  14  2   3  43  21  +22  44
  2 Brinemouth              19  13  4   2  46  17  +29  43
  3 Sabrefell Moths         19  12  4   3  41  18  +23  40
  4 AFC Corvistone          19  12  2   5  40  19  +21  38
  5 Raven River             19  10  4   5  42  29  +13  34
  6 Aries Chariots          19   9  6   4  34  23  +11  33
  7 Crisisbless             19   9  6   4  32  23   +9  33
  8 Starling                19  10  2   7  32  26   +6  32
  9 Creed United            19   8  4   7  30  32   -2  28
 10 North Laithland         19   8  4   7  29  35   -6  28
 11 Stahlburg City          19   8  2   9  26  23   +3  26
 12 Coret Hawks             19   7  3   9  38  30   +8  24
 13 North Sabrefell         19   6  4   9  26  39  -13  22
 14 Sabrefell Athletic      19   5  6   8  31  35   -4  21
 15 Chatswood               19   5  5   9  21  26   -5  20
 16 Vermillion Rage         19   5  5   9  22  35  -13  20
 17 Goodfeather FC          19   4  1  14  20  44  -24  13
 18 Parrhesia United        19   3  3  13  20  43  -23  12
 19 Leichhardt              19   1  8  10  18  36  -18  11
 20 South Laithland         19   3  1  15  11  48  -37  10

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Newrook City               19  14  2   3  30  11  +19  44
  2 Barossia United            19  12  1   6  42  20  +22  37
  3 Corinthians No Longer      19  11  3   5  34  21  +13  36
  4 Belgrave                   19  11  2   6  35  23  +12  35
  5 Chenoworth Harriers        19  11  1   7  28  13  +15  34
  6 Brookford Otters           19  10  3   6  35  31   +4  33
  7 Crisisbless United         19   8  5   6  27  23   +4  29
  8 Cranequin Wanderers        19   8  4   7  24  16   +8  28
  9 Iron City                  19   7  7   5  22  18   +4  28
 10 Southfell United           19   7  6   6  31  26   +5  27
 11 Chardonnay Rangers         19   8  2   9  28  32   -4  26
 12 Chenoworth Rovers          19   6  6   7  22  26   -4  24
 13 AFC Rochford               19   6  5   8  19  21   -2  23
 14 Diamondqueen               19   5  8   6  29  32   -3  23
 15 Vermillion Wanderers       19   5  7   7  17  27  -10  22
 16 New Oakstone Phoenix       19   5  4  10  23  33  -10  19
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           19   5  4  10  20  30  -10  19
 18 Locksley                   19   6  1  12  17  43  -26  19
 19 West Brinemouth            19   4  3  12  11  27  -16  15
 20 AFC Serpentine             19   3  2  14  19  40  -21  11

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mantlegrove               19  12  4   3  34  13  +21  40
  2 Alliance Barossia         19  10  7   2  35  13  +22  37
  3 Aries Solitaire           19  11  3   5  38  21  +17  36
  4 The Hanged Man            19  10  5   4  25  14  +11  35
  5 Peregrine                 19  10  4   5  44  21  +23  34
  6 Corvette Maulers          19   9  6   4  24  13  +11  33
  7 Cranequin City            19   9  4   6  21  17   +4  31
  8 Gonen's Bridge            19   8  6   5  26  21   +5  30
  9 Armstrong                 19   7  6   6  14  18   -4  27
 10 Morningstar               19   7  5   7  28  21   +7  26
 11 Cypher Town               19   6  5   8  23  22   +1  23
 12 Lindwurm Delta            19   6  4   9  28  31   -3  22
 13 Ingram Township           19   6  4   9  14  27  -13  22
 14 Greygate                  19   4  9   6  23  22   +1  21
 15 Autumnstone               19   5  5   9  23  31   -8  20
 16 Boltcroft Thorns          19   4  7   8  20  33  -13  19
 17 Latin Enclave FC          19   5  3  11  20  38  -18  18
 18 Lazuli Diamonds           19   5  2  12  23  53  -30  17
 19 The Strongest             19   5  1  13  26  47  -21  16
 20 Pillars of Southfell      19   3  6  10  15  28  -13  15

It feels a while ago that Treason and Starling were, truly, peers. Now, the Treason side that host the Passerines today is seemingly unstoppable, while Starling are a hastily cobbled-together troupe of off-cuts from the big boys and battlers from below. The first half is brutal. Treason hammer Starling for 45 minutes, a number of flying saves from Moths reject Hanna Bayliss keeping them at bay, but there’s nothing she can do when Bobby Malone, slipping his marker on the edge of the box, scoops one into the top corner. In the second half, Starling manager Nikita Loeher is bold. Off comes veteran midfielder Nicki Stone, on is hurled the young striker Satine Valenza. Starling still struggle to get traction in midfield, but Treason tire, failing to run up the score. It comes to bite them; substitute winger Anna MacDonald beats the exhausted Silja Jorse for pace, hammers in a cross, Eirika knocks it down and Valenza drives it home, sending the away fans into raptures… to say nothing of the fans of the Dockers and Moths, with one eye on the league table.

The game is just before Brinemouth arrive at the Vale to take on Leichhardt, and surely the knowledge the Dockers can take top spot invigorates them. Certainly they play like men possessed. Leichhardt sit off, sit deep and in theory try to be hard to break down, but can only invite pressure. It takes until the second half, after Tauscher and rue Cazade have already rifled in strikes from outside the box, for the Stargazers to open up… and then they get annihilated on the break time and again, ultimately losing 6-1. The Bohemians have been annihilated by injuries and end up with a makeshift centre-back partnership of Tawny Shone (35-year old defensive midfielder) and Luka Polichev (19), but a resolute performance in midfield keeps the Hawks at bay before Shone’s corner - delayed quite a bit for her to hustle up to the flag - is nodded in powerfully by Polichev at the near post. As bad as things are for Kalia Tolsii, at least the Rams do the double over Goodfeather, Sarafina Ikpeazu driving in the only goal of the game on her return from injury.

Treason visit the fierce cauldron of the Farham Arena, probably the toughest fixture on the calendar. The Moths have looked strong under Penumbra Amokachi, who has betrayed no signs of having trouble bringing a much-overhauled team together. It takes just six minutes for the Moths to take the lead. Babin earns a free kick and duly thumps it into the wall, but it rebounds to Liu, who finds some space out of nothing before drilling it through a seat of legs past a stationary Shimski. It’s the end of the action in the first half, quiet at both ends, but after the interval, the Moths spring to life and annihilate their opponents. A poor clearance from Mitteager is headed back into the box by Timekeeper and driven home by Riordan, who is then set up an easy near-post header by Majerle, and in injury time, the Farfish rightback Anaximane stereotypically finds himself the furthest man forward, played through the ragged Stags defence by substitute Vol Brininger, and driving home a true striker’s finish. 4-0, a demolition as deserved as it was unexpected.

It’s the most resounding thrashing on offer, for obvious reasons, but mathematically it’s not the largest. Brinemouth match the 4-0 margin in an annihilation of Raven River that continues to signal that at some point this year, this became the Indra Söderström team, while Corvistone match that margin in rather more style, putting Parrhesia United to the sword 7-3, substitute Mirko Hranilovic scoring a scissor-kick off a long throw from Betva that really just feels like twisting the knife. Crisisbless manage seven as well, theirs against crosstown rivals Goodfeather. Well, ‘rival’ feels generous. Goodfeather are terrible all over the pitch, constantly annihilated down the flanks. Syrene Cazador arrived highly-feted, but having amassed just 13 points and conceded 52 goals in 21 matches, she’s shown the door.

Sabrefell Athletic’s season is in tatters, but at least there’s a positive sign in Chardonnay. They come out the gates hard, that’s not new; 1-0 up within five minutes, Escobar draws a penalty after eighteen… only for Bayliss to save the effort of Escobar’s countryman, Benezet. So often, the Rams have wilted. But while Starling dominate the rest of the half, Letang ultimately heading home a corner, and Athletic ultimately go down to ten, Sonya Belltower picking up a cheap second yellow off a cynical chop on Eversong, surely the goal is coming… and it does, at the other end, a turnover from Wolf being snapped up by Sauber, who plays a deft one-two with Lundell before lashing a shot into the top corner from outside the box. Starling push hard to equalise in the dying stages, but goalkeeper Garamond, who has not wilted despite everything - and was injured through much of Athletic’s worst run - keeps them at bay.

Kosovare Fairweather’s North Laithland have been quietly attractive and quietly picking up good results, and against hated rivals Treason they ratchet up the heat. Robshaw, double-teamed and flagrantly fouled, is dispossessed just five minutes in, the ball rolling to an unmarked Madita Brewer who lashes a shot first-time past a startled Shimski, and the Spiders are denied a penalty shout not long after, refereeing calls evening out. But their enthusiasm, too, gets to them; Deli Sinka picks up a second yellow, and over the 90 minutes, Treason just overpower them. It’s close in the end, 3-2 with an 87th-minute winner, and both sdies will take something positive from that. Though for Treason, crucially, it’s the points. Creed have chugged along in midtable, not doing anything particularly noteworthy, just picking up more points than expected. A clerkly 2-0 win over South Laithland is remarkable mostly for how routine it is; you’d never have thought Creed were tipped for relegation by many before the season. Brinemouth bury Parrhesia 5-0, while Leichhardt pick up an invaluable point in River thanks in large part to Ingrid Moore’s penalty save.

Crunch time in the Northern Vale, Leichhardt hosting Parrhesia and down just three minutes in, a corner from Luther Elvedi misjudged by Tess Saunders and swiped into her own net. How badly the Stargazers miss the suspended Dreider already. But they stay resolute. Hestia Bowman equalises from nowhere with a peach of a free kick, before dropping a long ball straight into the path of Brielle Strebinger, who makes no mistake. Strebinger gets her second, the 31-year old heroine in a game she wasn’t meant to play - top scorer Eberhart’s suffered an ankle knock - and while Parrhesia pull one back through Dimitri Pallas, David Cairns lashes a shot past Laisne’s near post to make it 4-2, an absolutely massive win. Bluntly, the Saints have been complete dogshit with barely over a point every other game; they’ve been unlucky with injuries, but they can’t excuse that. Emeka Obasi sighs and heads down the tunnel, stooping slightly so that his broad-brimmed pink leopard-print hat doesn’t catch on the door. Sadly, it’s the last time he’ll light up the touchline for the Saints, as his firing is announced the next day.

It says a lot that that is legitimately the headline of the round, on a week where the Sabrefell derby takes place. But such is the irrelevance of the Rams right now, even after they’d looked to improve a little bit with seven points in their last three. They have some chances in an energetic first half, but in injury time, Tasha Sauber dawdles in possession and gets cleaned out by Laslo Vol Brininger, who plays a neat one-two with Riordan before blazing a low shot beyond Garamond. Riordan makes it two just before the hour, a sharp shot from Babin stinging Garamond’s palms, the Rams’ defence slow to react, the Moths’ ₲13.5m striker anything but. The biggest winners of the round are Goodfeather FC, who pick up the three points in an undoubted three-pointer over South Laithland; Strephon breaks an eight-game goal drought with a penalty and follows it up with a crisply-taken strike in open play, Flavia Catepan coming off the bench to finish the damage late on.

The Classic. For those new to the league, Treason and Brinemouth have been the two powerhouses of the league, disciplined and muscular white and red in the west, technical and flamboyant blue on the east coast, and right now the Dockers look the best hope of stopping the Stags from turning their already unprecedented four in a row to five. Treason go in hard, Purna Zazagan getting a caution just six minutes in, Schrader following her into the book after another eight. Unsurprisingly, Brinemouth have a penalty shout, but Söderström probably went down too easy. Still, Brinemouth start to take the upper hand in the second half, and when Patrón goes down in the danger zone for a rue Cazade free kick, there’s a sense this could turn the title race for good. The Farfish veteran steps up, sizes up the angles, and curls a beautiful strike over the wall… only to be denied by a magnificent flying save from Paiva Shimski, the stuff of films. A draw feels the right result - scoreless feels like a surprise - but after Rosenblatt is denied one-on-one by Heuser in injury time, that’s what pans out. Brinemouth will take it, happily.

Athletic endure one of the worst humiliations in recent memory, destroyed 4-0 on home soil by North Laithland. Kosovare Fairweather has been a popular choice for columnists theorycrafting a replacement for Kalia Tolsii, whose job surely hangs by a thread, and this performance neatly showcases why as her young, vibrant and physical side bulldoze the Rams. Two teenagers, Madita Brewer and the substitute Dénes Robineau, get on the scoresheet. In Parrhesia, Valery Cain arrives from the Phoenix, his first chance at the top flight after his career resurgence of late. A good manager… not quite the face Saints fans wanted to see lift them out of a relegation battle. Nevertheless, he gets off to the start they all needed, Parrhesia doing something they hadn’t done all season - coming from behind to win, 2-1 over River, with goals from Slazenger and Tanner. Coret Hawks’ recovery continues, Erik Moselle with a hat-trick to beat Starling, while a breathless 4-4 draw between Goodfeather and North Sabrefell might not provide the points the Quakers need, but at least it kept the fans entertained.

The final first leg is a bloodbath, with plenty of shocks. Barossia stun Brinemouth 1-0, a heroic midfield performance from Bystrom and Crawford shielding the defence after a curling strike from Leskosek deceived Meinhard Gates in goal, while South Laithland, by now devoting all energies to the Cup, show heart and guts that have proven elusive in the Zenith to cling on to 19-year old Jenna Esling’s strike to knock out Crisisbless. Treason nearly crash out as well, reliant on a 95th-minute Koerver leveller to take Chatswood to penalties, where Fasolt Senninger is the hero with three saves. Vermillion Wanderers annihilate Mantlegrove, the last third-tier side remaining in the comp, while Vermillion Rage destroy Brookford, who end the match conceding eight goals on nine men and just… really just wanting to go home. Starling, River and Parrhesia beat North Laithland, Stahlburg City and North Sabrefell after 90 minutes to round out the quarterfinals lineup.

Here’s two figures for you. Leichhardt’s wage bill this season is just over ₲14 million. Treason are paying more than that just to keep Morgan Rosenblatt and Bobby Malone on the books alone; all in all, their bill approaches ₲70m even after cutting a number of squad players between seasons. So one aspect of the game between the two checks out; Rosenblatt and Malone both score, the latter running Marko Dieter a merry dance all game, Rosenblatt leaving Moore no chance as she finds the top corner from outside the box. But that’s just two goals, and despite everything, when roused into needing to find a comeback, Leichhardt manage it. 2-1 down at half-time, the leveller is a fluke, infuriating for Treason fans - Cairns’ cutback hits Mitteager in the ankle, and Hestia Bowman reacts quickly to stab home the loose ball - but the winner is pure class, Bowman with a simple, perfectly-weighted diagonal ball that cuts out four red shirts. Luo Nanwei hustles onto the end of it, chipping over Shimski with her first touch. Even the weakest Zenith side is capable of moments of magic, here and there.

It’s a bad day for the Stags. Brinemouth easily beat Stahlburg City 2-0 in bizarre fashion, luckless centre-half Martel Sevecke scoring two own goals - the new signing has been out of favour for Rossum until injury brought him back to the starting lineup, and maybe this is why - while the Moths have to dig deep, like Leichhardt but far less surprisingly, to beat Coret with goals from Riordan and substitute Vol Brininger in the last ten minutes. Creed’s scoreless draw with Goodfeather is a truly diabolical game, the best chance of the entire match stemming from a long throw; Tristan Esterling shot-puts it into the box, Kovac barely gets a head onto it and a spectacular save from Damir Wright claws it over the bar. Nothing else happens. But the Quakers will take the point. Corvistone come out second-best in the meeting with the rare and elusive ‘Athletic playing like Athletic’, while River bury Chatswood 6-2, 18-year old Diadora Parkes coming off the bench to score a brace. Judging by the post-match reaction, literally any teenage striker doing anything in this country will draw immediate Vetiver comparisons now, until the end of eternity. This is hell.

“We are going to win the league.” Erin Camden’s words are calm. She says it with such certainty. But the fact is that, after Brinemouth pick up the three points at the Barbarossa - the luckless Raluca Garamond with a heroic performance in goal until giving away a penalty at the death - Treason are ten points behind the Dockers, with thirteen games to play. Treason get a penalty of their own early on against Raven River, a jinking run and a favourable fall from Considine earning it. The ever-reliable Ribbeck steps up, steps back and hammers it over the bar. River’s intensive pressing otherwise unsettles Treason, before their first long passing move of the game slices through the Stags and allows Mercy Valdemar, breaking into the box from midfield, to drive a forceful low finish across Shimski. It proves the game’s only goal. “Nothing’s changed. We will make up the difference,” Camden insisted at the presser. Yet Treason are ten points behind the Dockers, with twelve games to play.

Even if Brinemouth choke, the Moths hold a five-point advantage on the Stags, their latest triumph a 7-0 evisceration of a genuinely abominable South Laithland. Penumbra Amokachi sees it coming. She never rests players, but she rests Riordan and Liu. With Petrov injured, that hands a first league start to Sabina Venture, who duly follows it up with the first two goals of her senior career. Haraslin and Rake get their first goals of the season, too. “It’s important to let them wet their blades on lesser prey before relying on them at the sharp end,” says Amokachi. The Southrons are obviously abject, and now six points from safety. Actually, none of the bottom five score at all, but a scoreless draw between Chatswood and Parrhesia United is at least a decent recovery for the porous Saints, whose goalkeeper Veluca Austen fell out of favour under Obasi but has excelled in both games under Cain.

Brinemouth are flying, and host Crisisbless as hot favourites. The Heelers’ issue is a lack of cutting edge at either end of the park, with Dauntless Carrick continuing to resemble the Peter Principle in action (11 league goals so far respectable, but respectable doesn’t cut it) while many attacking midfielders just look… old. A suspension to Makatsch and an injury to Carrick put Woakes (recently turned 35) and Nzo (36) into the firing line. And yet, per the adage, old age and treachery win out, with both getting on the scoresheet along with Spijkers (33) in a stunning 3-1 win that suddenly puts some life back in the title race.

Treason are forced to confront two unpalatable facts; Michael Ribbeck, recently turned 33, is in decline, and Röskvi Tyrfingsson, whose head resembles a piece of roadkill wearing another piece of roadkill as a hat, may be their best option up front. Camden has used him sparingly, starting just three league games thus far, but he’s scored in each of them. He starts against Parrhesia, too, and scores a brace in a 4-1 win. Yet it’s still the Moths who look best-placed to take advantage. They show no mercy in a 5-1 win against North Sabrefell, who actually score first, but can’t do anything at the other end. The Laithland derby works out entirely predictably, despite the unfancied Southrons scoring first there, too, through former Spider Constantine Brown. They could even have made it 2-0, but Cairbre Dundalk gets a big hand to Roesler’s penalty; from there, North Laithland run rampant, and while they’re made to sweat, goals in the 81st and 85th minute from Sinodinos and Burnham seal the day.

On paper it’s a pretty poor-quality series of matches, though none are bad value. Starling and River are both just profligate, but they make plenty of chances (it’s a 1.87-1.55 Starling win on xG!). So too, Barossia United, who have plenty of the ball against South Laithland but just can’t get the ball in the net. They’re made to pay for it after 67 minutes, a low cross whipped in by Brown and turned into his own net by Sigurd Cooke; only a magnificent save from Chary Longstreet denies Caulker one-on-one at the death from making it 2-0. In an impromptu Vermillion derby, Parrhesia maybe get too pumped up. All the sliding challenges from green shirts as Valery Cain demands ‘heart’ and ‘fight’ and ‘grunt’ and suchlike create plenty of open spaces for Treatise to play in Petras to thump in the only goal of the game, Kisvarda Marin getting herself sent off to kill off any chances of pulling a goal back, though a number of fine scrambling saves from Cuthbert Stroma stop the margin getting bigger. In the most lop-sided tie of the round, goals in the 2nd minute from Kirkland and 84th minute from Carling break up a match that’s almost entirely Treason dominance, but keep Vermillion Wanderers in the tie. Nominally.

Sabrefell Athletic’s win over Raven River is the saddest 10-2 win in the history of professional football.

The thing is: it changes nothing. Absolutely nothing. For all the brilliance of some of the midfield and forward play, for all their ability to ruthlessly exploit a side whose defensive structure collapses wholesale after a red card to defensive midfielder Priscilla Avery 17 minutes in, it just doesn’t matter. River are going to be fine, though by now their IFCF aspirations are shot, while Sabrefell Athletic - eight points behind, and even now behind River’s goal difference - languish outside all relevance. It’s almost depressing from a Rams perspective. This side has ability, it can occasionally turn it on… but not nearly, not anywhere near often enough.

Instead, thirty points and forty-seven goal difference better off, Brinemouth top the table after a hard-fought come-from behind win over the Hawks, the Moths sit just two points back after cruising past Creed 3-0, while Treason face few problems in a muscular but one-sided derby, overcoming Chatswood 3-1 with a brace from nature’s henchman, Röskvi. They now sit… seven points off the title. Seven! And they’re running out of time. The Chariots, Corvistone and Crisisbless also all win, all in a tight spread from 4th to 6th. So does Starling, five points out from the Challengers Cup but still with a fair chance. And just as the top seven - every team above River - all win, so do the bottom eight - every team below Athletic - all lose. South Laithland are the only team that look truly doomed at this point, a 4-0 defeat to the Crows doing literally nothing to change that, while Chatswood are probably safe on 25 points and North Sabrefell absolutely are. The relegation battle, then, looks to be coming down to 1.5 from Goodfeather (21 pts), Leichhardt (19) and Parrhesia (16).

River are, perhaps, angry. Dragan Stavanger pushes out an unchanged side to the one that got annihilated by the Rams (save the suspended Avery, replaced by Aulay Stefans); Roimata Shehu’s brace sandwiches strikes from Pryce and Levin to round out a crushing 4-0 win. Starling are dreadful, it has to be said, but River make the most of their chances. The Vermillion derby is again hot-tempered, but Cain manages Parrhesia’s intensity a lot better. This time they press high while retaining discipline; Vermillion can’t deal with that, and the Saints win 3-1 to take the tie. After a dire first half, South Laithland take the lead away from home, a looping header from Agapito Murphy agonisingly scraping past a clawing Longstreet, and Ida Lancer’s 89th-minute equaliser isn’t enough.

Most eyecatching, though, is the second leg between Lancer’s former clubs, Treason and Vermillion Wanderers. Twice, the Stags take the lead, the second time through a frankly dubious penalty. Twice, Vermillion claw their way back. This isn’t scrappy, it’s not defensive, it’s a Wanderers side unafraid to take the fight to their hosts. Say what you will about Leichhardt’s wage bill, but it’s three times the Wanderers’; it doesn’t matter. They survive extra time for a miracle, their players by now exhausted, but still finding ways to hurl themselves at every shot and cross. Kinross probably commits a handball to block a shot from Considine - by now, all the heavy hitters are on the pitch - but it’s glanced over. And when penalties do come, in a final shootout, the heroic Franzen yet again shows his mettle, saving from Koerver and Considine; all four of the Wanderers’ takers hit the mark, to send them through.

It hasn’t always, or even often, been pretty, but Newrook City have consolidated their position at the top of the table. That veteran core of Ran, Gardner, Solari and Gillard have just proven indomitable at this level, and while one expects they’ll need more cutting edge if they are to stay up in the second tier next season - though winger Zlata Perkuna has shown more than enough to suggest she can thrive at that level - their fourteen-point lead on the third-place Harriers is surely insurmountable. CNL have a handy five-point advantage themselves, and like the Rooks have won seven of the nine games since the break. The source of that success isn’t so difficult to find; the towering Caelan McIntyre has scored ten goals in that time, including a brace of headers to make the difference against Belgrave, and three in a 7-0 thrashing of a ten-man Locksley, being taken off just after the hour mark to a standing ovation.

With their promotion hopes eroding, Barossia United parted ways with Tessalyn Jens following a run of just five points from six games since the halfway mark of the season. The North Sabrefell approach, this time, had been found wanting, thought the talent was assuredly there. Bronwyn Gerhardt, architect of Aries Solitaire’s rise, took over - a slightly controversial signing within the fanbase - but immediately oversaw a tough 1-0 win in Stahlburg, salvaged by a penalty save from 21-year old Chary Longstreet making his league debut, and a 3-0 lashing of Brookford. An error from Longstreet and poor finishing from Rotariu, deputising for the injured Hjort, saw them only able to draw against Vermillion Wanderers, but they are just four points off the playoff place. Belgrave, Crisisbless United and Cranequin Wanderers will also have their eyes on that prize.

Southfell axed Arden Kolar after a 3-0 home defeat to a clinical Cranequin side, and while new manager Bess Gannon has to an extent steadied the ship, the Tanners haven’t exactly looked like they’ll be in the promotion race; they’re unbeaten since she took over, but have drawn five of those games. Rebecca Kelsey has received the other axe to fall. Though she had done good work for her club on aggregate, and leaves with many fond wishes, Rochford are winless in eleven and have incredibly scored just three goals in that time. When things went wrong, Kelsey simply grew stultifyingly defensive. Dan Keel has taken over; everyone knows he’s stultifyingly defensive. But he’s a brutally effective manager with a strong track record over the top two tiers, and is arguably slumming it to be at the small-town Lazuli Coast club.

The most fun side to watch at the bottom has been long-doomed Serpentine, whose promoted reserves manager, Brandon Graf, has overseen the third-most goals in the league since the halfway mark… though they at one stage conceded eighteen goals in three games (losing 5-2 to the Phoenix and a scarcely-believable 9-3 to Southfell, before a pulsating 4-4 draw against Crisisbless United). They are, in short, getting the kind of results you more often see from unranked nations in World Cup qualifying. Florian Berkut is the cause, having achieved little in the first half of the season before an abrupt run of eight goals in his past eight games that should at least put him in the transfer window when all is said and done. West Brinemouth are four points from safety, solid at the back but still just terribly goalshy; New Oakstone, Rochford, Stahlburg Rovers and Locksley are all looking over their shoulders.

by **Nephara** » Wed May 04, 2022 5:25 pm

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Brinemouth              28  20  5   3  70  22  +48  65
  2 Sabrefell Moths         28  19  6   3  68  23  +45  63
  3 AFC Treason             28  18  4   6  57  34  +23  58
  4 Aries Chariots          28  15  9   4  50  30  +20  54
  5 AFC Corvistone          28  16  4   8  59  33  +26  52
  6 Crisisbless             28  14 10   4  56  33  +23  52
  7 Starling                28  14  5   9  45  36   +9  47
  8 Raven River             28  12  7   9  55  53   +2  43
  9 North Laithland         28  13  4  11  48  49   -1  43
 10 Coret Hawks             28  13  3  12  56  41  +15  42
 11 Stahlburg City          28  12  3  13  37  31   +6  39
 12 Sabrefell Athletic      28   9  8  11  48  47   +1  35
 13 Creed United            28   9  6  13  38  48  -10  33
 14 Vermillion Rage         28   9  6  13  36  49  -13  33
 15 North Sabrefell         28   9  5  14  42  59  -17  32
 16 Chatswood               28   6  7  15  27  44  -17  25
 17 Goodfeather FC          28   6  3  19  30  64  -34  21
 18 Leichhardt              28   3 10  15  29  56  -27  19
 19 Parrhesia United        28   4  4  20  31  74  -43  16
 20 South Laithland         28   3  3  22  16  72  -56  12

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Newrook City               28  21   4   3  44  16  +28  67
  2 Corinthians No Longer      28  18   4   6  57  29  +28  58
  3 Chenoworth Harriers        28  17   2   9  43  19  +24  53
  4 Belgrave                   28  16   3   9  47  31  +16  51
  5 Barossia United            28  15   4   9  53  29  +24  49
  6 Crisisbless United         28  14   6   8  51  36  +15  48
  7 Cranequin Wanderers        28  14   4  10  40  23  +17  46
  8 Iron City                  28  11   9   8  31  28   +3  42
  9 Southfell United           28  10  11   7  51  40  +11  41
 10 Diamondqueen               28  10   9   9  38  37   +1  39
 11 Brookford Otters           28  11   5  12  45  51   -6  38
 12 Chardonnay Rangers         28  10   3  15  39  51  -12  33
 13 Vermillion Wanderers       28   8   9  11  24  37  -13  33
 14 Chenoworth Rovers          28   8   8  12  31  43  -12  32
 15 New Oakstone Phoenix       28   8   5  15  34  46  -12  29
 16 AFC Rochford               28   6   9  13  22  32  -10  27
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           28   7   6  15  29  44  -15  27
 18 Locksley                   28   8   3  17  25  62  -37  27
 19 West Brinemouth            28   5   8  15  17  37  -20  23
 20 AFC Serpentine             28   5   4  19  37  67  -30  19

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Mantlegrove               28  18   7   3  48  16  +32  61
  2 Alliance Barossia         28  16   9   3  49  18  +31  57
  3 Aries Solitaire           28  15   6   7  53  30  +23  51
  4 Peregrine                 28  14   6   8  57  31  +26  48
  5 The Hanged Man            28  13   9   6  35  22  +13  48
  6 Corvette Maulers          28  12  11   5  36  21  +15  47
  7 Cranequin City            28  13   7   8  32  25   +7  46
  8 Gonen's Bridge            28  10  10   8  35  33   +2  40
  9 Morningstar               28  10   8  10  38  31   +7  38
 10 Cypher Town               28  10   7  11  33  32   +1  37
 11 Greygate                  28   8  12   8  33  27   +6  36
 12 Armstrong                 28   9   6  13  21  33  -12  33
 13 Boltcroft Thorns          28   7  10  11  36  46  -10  31
 14 Lindwurm Delta            28   8   6  14  33  41   -8  30
 15 Autumnstone               28   8   6  14  35  44   -9  30
 16 Latin Enclave FC          28   8   6  14  32  53  -21  30
 17 The Strongest             28   9   2  17  38  59  -21  29
 18 Ingram Township           28   7   7  14  19  38  -19  28
 19 Pillars of Southfell      28   6   8  14  24  39  -15  26
 20 Lazuli Diamonds           28   6   3  19  29  77  -48  21

Not a lot has been said of Chatswood this season. They’re six points clear of the drop, but shy of a point per game. Even so, they’ll need to pick up points somewhere to stay out of the relegation fight. Unfortunately, captain Victoria Remeikis has slowed from a consistent threat in front of goal to a modest seven in 27 this season. Not awful, but Chatswood rely on her, and especially need her to take her chances in a bitterly attritional duel against Stahlburg City. Eight minutes in, they think they have their opening; Hector Walker goes flying down the wing before taking a convenient tumble to Lyons inside the box, and Chatswood have a penalty. Remeikis steps up… but her shot is at a comfortable height, beaten into the ground. Remeikis slides in along with a number of white shirts, but can only hook the rebound over the bar. She knocks her temple and shakes her head, a complete pantomime of frustration, and is invisible in the rest of a dull first half. But when the chance finally arises, a cross slung in by Kovalev, a shaky punch out from Rosmarin as he gets caught in traffic, Rocastle slinging in another high ball… it takes one fatal bounce as Martel Sevecke misreads its path, and there, critically, Remeikis is ready to pounce and atone to hand Chatswood a vital three points.

If Chatswood are likely free, then North Sabrefell have almost certainly secured another year of Zenith football, late strikes from Dassi Constantine and Zara Carrow sinking the high-flying Crows 2-1. The top three all win, some more comfortably than others. Brinemouth destroy the Southrons 3-0 away with the clinical ease one would expect, while a profligate Moths are indebted to centre-half Tristan Niedermayer to head home the only goal of the game against lowly Goodfeather. Treason fly the closest to danger; the Chariots lead them 1-0 at the break through leftback Levering and it could well have been more, but a heavily deflected strike from Zazagan works its way past Besand, before the former Chariot puts the winning chance on a plate for Revesz to sweep home.

It’s a stunningly good day for CNL. While there’s likely no way to rein in Newrook - who dumpster Stahlburg Rovers 4-1, depositing the once-proud side into the bottom three - CNL are able to consolidate second place with a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Rangers, Cunningham stooping to head home a free kick from Meredith, but better still? Everything beneath them is a comedy of errors. The Harriers lose the Chenoworth derby to a penalty, their finishing touch deserting them, Belgrave are dominated by Iron, Barossia United are inexplicably beaten by Locksley, Sloane Walsh offering a masterclass in poaching, scoring twice in the first half before earning a penalty late in the game, having it saved by Longstreet but driving home the rebound to clinch a technically open-play hat-trick, and Cranequin Wanderers lose as well, to the Phoenix. The defeats for third through seventh stretch CNL’s advantage to eight points.

South Laithland’s season is on the line. Granted, it’s only due to how appalling the bottom four have been that they have a hope of survival at all, but… it all hinges on managing to beat Leichhardt, who would love a chance at three points. The first half is… appalling. It’s genuinely unwatchable. But Hecubah Statkis must find something to tell her players at half-time, because they come out playing attacking football that may not be fluid or technical but it is, at least, fast and concussive. Kanerva Herron heads home just her second goal of the season to open the scores, beating Saunders in the air through sheer muscle, but Leichhardt almost equalise, a mazy run from Luo gliding through two players before blasting a shot that snaps against the crossbar. Frustratingly, if Luo had simply squared it, Eberhart would have had a tap-in… and they’re made to pay, Kristian Greenslade arriving late in the box to smash home a loose ball in injury time.

Stahlburg City hate Treason, Stahlburg City want nothing more than to deny Treason the title. Stahlburg City do not have what it takes to deny Treason the title. The Smiths hold out nobly for all of fourteen minutes before Morgan Rosenblatt slings one in the top corner with a half-second’s opening. Still, they aren’t completely without effect; Canute Bresonik eats a red card in the 81st minute for a brutal challenge that ends the Smiths’ hopes of equalising, but also ends Ilia Mueller’s season. Aries’ legitimate aspirations of IFCF football take a massive beating when Starling destroy them; 2-0 by the hour when Kevaarsen picks up a second caution, 5-0 by the end as the Passerines take ruthless advantage. Chatswood pick up another 1-0 win, against the Rams; by now they’re almost certainly safe. Brinemouth go one better, creaming North Sabrefell 7-1 to continue setting the pace at the top.

Locksley weren’t expected by anyone to keep out of relegation, but it’s still all in their own hands. They haven’t been good, sure, but other teams have been worse. West Brinemouth are one of them. A win for the Brewers would probably kill them off, and thus mean the playoff is all they have to contend with. The Brewers dominate the early stages, Bell and Yeseta both firing narrowly wide from just inside the box, while a header from centre-half Weier stung the palms of Perth. It’s cruel, then, that a goalkeeping error lets West Brinemouth open the scores; Cochrane’s shot, the Gulls’ first of the game, is weak, Kerris somehow fucks a straightforward save, weakly flapping the ball against the upright, and Andrey Soffer races in to drive home the rebound. Shellshocked, Locksley concede a second just before the break. They rally at the interval, Brady Innes nodding home a cross at the far post to make good on some early pressure, Yeseta gets the ball in the net… is pulled back for offside, and then they concede a penalty, which Cochrane scores easily. A thumping shot from Tsolakis beats Perth from outside the box to make it 3-2 with ten minutes to play, a minor scrap over the ball ensuing, but all they muster from there is an overhit cross from leftback Paige Dewinter almost fluking into the goal, but instead bouncing off the crossbar. It’s a cruel game… and the relegation battle is now very much on. Elsewhere, CNL hold off the Harriers in a tough scoreless draw; Belgrave and Barossia picked up wins to start closing the gap.

Heading into an odd set of semifinals, River are the obvious candidates to win it all. They’re wolves among sheep, and they play accordingly, against a pretty dogshit Vermillion Wanderers side. You can tell the Wanderers aren’t used to River’s fitness and the aggression of their pressing, and when Liana Lemuur has the temerity to take a heavy touch within the same postcode as Rose Fleetwood you know the Sylestone international is on that like a fat kid on a jelly bean. Valdemar - who has developed quite the eye for goal - and the rightback Lindgren follow up soon after. Parrhesia are flaky, and a typically brutalist South Laithland, playing a direct and aggressive brand of football far less inhibited than they’ve been serving up in the league, assert themselves and win comfortably.

It says a lot about the hypnotic effect of Brinemouth vs. Treason that the Moths are so often getting ignored; when Brinemouth destroy Creed 5-0, attention still turns to see if the Stags will match it, not if the Moths can against Starling (it turns out they can’t). Treason are hosting Sabrefell Athletic, which was until recently a tough assignment, but they’ll be doing it with a badly depleted midfield of Maruschka Koerver and 19-year old Petra Anhope, with 18-year old #47 Anders Fleischer hoping to make a senior debut off the bench. Koerver and Anhope do their best, and they’re good players, but they’re unable to stop Athletic’s fluid pressing game, and Treason are 3-1 down by the half. So, fuck it; Erin Camden turns to 4-4-2, bringing Ribbeck on off the bench, and the Teus striker proves he’s still got it with a brace. Who strikes home that decisive winner? Anhope, of course, lashing home from the edge of the box.

River get a bit too cute passing the ball around the back; South Laithland punish them early, Dane forcing a short, rushed backpass to goalkeeper Gabriella, Topaz Caulker sliding in and blocking Gabriella’s attempted clearance so it rebounds straight into the net. The sense of defensive carelessness isn’t much aided when a pointless shove on Brown by Menica hands the Southrons a penalty, which Agapito Murphy buries; River can’t find a way back into the game. Kestrel Anharbour, a Crisisbless player now but with one last year at her hometown club, gives Heelers fans something to lick their lips over; with two goals and two assists, she effectively single-handedly destroys North Laithland in a 4-1 Vermillion win, though Spijkers - who Anharbour is in theory the replacement for - proves he’s still got it, too, with both goals in a 2-0 Crisisbless win over Chatswood. Leichhardt and Goodfeather pick up draws at the bottom, leaving Parrhesia, smashed 3-0 by Coret, in the lurch.

Brandon Graf’s Dragons need results, now, if they’ve any hope to stay up. Remarkably, they score a goal against Belgrave that’s puzzling because not only is it in the 29th second, but Florian Berkut doesn’t score it. They cling to Masters’ goal throughout, Christine Tabard making a number of fine-to-spectacular saves, Smith and Toure hurling their bodies in front of shots… and, slightly less romantically, Shanna Oakes getting away with a blatant handball in the 71st minute. It keeps them, theoretically, in the fight, and badly hurts the Gargoyles’ promotion push. Petra Rubesch comes off the bench for Locksley to score just her third goal of the season, but it’s a vital one that gets them an unearned point against the possession-dominant Tanners; one moment of brilliance from Leskosek is enough for Barossia to beat fellow playoff-chasers Crisisbless United in an otherwise dour, grinding away performance.

Both South Laithland and Parrhesia bring the kids out for the second leg, showing where their heads are at. Not full reserve squads, but there’s enough rotation to imply that a 2-0 South Laithland win away made the tie not worth fighting over, and it’s teenagers Caulker (Parrhesia’s Ashe, not the Southrons’ Topaz) and Farrell who get the goals. What’s interesting is what happens in the other game. River rotate a lot, too, and Wanderers manager Delphi Keane - evidently seeing nothing to lose - calls their style of football a ‘gimmick’. Then she goes for it. With relentless attacking football, they catch River off-guard; Gligor and Cowler score within fifteen minutes, then Prohaska hits a post. Twenty minutes gone, off comes the green Ypril Purdue for the more seasoned Clery… who gives away the ball almost immediately to Cowler, who duly sets up Kirkland to level the scores on aggregate. The second half is more poised, the scores suddenly level. River have the better chances, but can’t make the most of them, thanks in large part to Dimitar Franzen’s scrambling saves and, in one occasion, the ball just getting stuck between Shehu’s feet. But Vermillion almost win it at the death, when Avery misses a header and substitute striker Merrill Grant sweeps in behind only to thump the easiest of chances over the bar from point-blank range. No matter, though; 116 minutes gone, both sides visibly exhausted and content enough with penalties, a speculative effort from Vermillion leftback Narang is tipped around the post by Selina Carver. Gligor swings in the corner and unglamorous journeyman centre-back Patrik Alphonse chests down the ball and scrambles it home reflexively, thumping the ball into the roof of the net through a sea of indigo shirts.

Moths vs. Chariots? Always a good game. Even when they’re shit, it’s a good game, and they aren’t shit. Both very much in the hunt at the business end of the table. But the Chariots have hit a rough patch of late, their defence appearing vulnerable to fast transition play. Which the Moths excel at. In the first half, though, the Chariots keep it together, tight at the back, and while they don’t get many chances, Anna Porter abruptly makes the most of a half-chance, rifling in with her first touch from outside the box, beating Bautista at his near post. Penumbra Amokachi is… displeased. She gets herself sent off the touchline for a phantom offside - there was maybe half a case that Lopar was blocking Bautista’s view of the shot - before storming down the tunnel, preparing to go ballistic at half-time. Her chastened players come out looking shell-shocked… but fear is a strong motivator. Nick Riordan equalises in the 51st minute, sets up Babin to make it 2-1 just before the hour, wins and scores a penalty in the 77th - by now, the Chariots have shown nothing to suggest they’ll come back - and Majerle makes it 4-1 in injury time, a whirlwind of goals. By the end, the Chariots are reeling, absolutely battered and on a fourth consecutive defeat.

Still, implications on the title race may be limited with Brinemouth in the form they’re in. Their next victims are Goodfeather FC, swept away 5-0. The Quakers don’t even muster a shot on target. At the bottom, Leichhardt are creamed 3-0 in a very winnable game, hosting Creed, but the big six-pointer sees South Laithland host Parrhesia. It’s a game high on physicality, high on intensity… and a pretty grim watch. Passing on both sides is dismal, with little penetration on either side. The game ends up swinging on a single moment of quality, Kisvarda Marin lifting her head and splitting the Southrons’ defence with a single diagonal ball. Longman gets on the end of it and cuts back for 18-year old midfielder Ashe Caulker to score her first senior goal, and one of genuinely immense importance.

The Wanderers have stabilised under Miron Campbell - weird, how hiring a very good manager can improve results - and present an intimidating obstacle for the Harriers. They go in knowing that many of their rivals have easy games (Newrook visit Locksley, CNL host Serpentine…) and will pretty much pick up free wins. Now, what’s meant to happen in games like this is that the free-flowing, mercurial Harriers concede first and the Wanderers just sit on it forever and ride out the win. That’s not what happens. The Harriers get the first goal, leftback Sara Cantrell showing the value of hiring a former Ram as she starts and finishes an attack, whipping in the goal with aplomb, but in the second half, Cranequin show they have attacking bona fides of their own. The leveller capitalises on a rare goalkeeping error from Elida Katter, dropping a cross that Beaumont scrambles home, but Nicola Brindell’s winner is all class, gliding past three men before finding the top corner with an almost casual, graceful strike from outside the box. Helpfully, things stay simple at the bottom of the table, as the bottom handful of teams all lose. The bottom three don’t even score a goal; Stahlburg Rovers manage three, but come out second-best anyway to a hungry Belgrave side.

“We just have to keep going like we have been,” says Grey Holden, manager of Brinemouth. He’s got every reason to be confident. Despite being held scoreless by Vermillion for most of the game, even as Brinemouth played poorly by their own standards at the Full Fifty, somehow there was never any doubt that they’d find the net somehow, and in the 76th minute, Pernille Brand duly does. The Moths beat the Spiders in a breathless eight-goal thriller, Nick Riordan’s hat-trick making the difference, while Treason edge out Coret, but realistically? Brinemouth lead the Moths by four points and Treason by ten, with surely insurmountable goal difference advantages on both. Surely, now, the 5IAR is gone; surely, by now, it wll be Dockers or Moths.

The bottom of the table sees some intriguing fixtures, but perhaps the tension gets to the occasion, with no team in the bottom half of the table scoring more than once. Parrhesia are playing a completely safe North Sabrefell who are willing to roll the dice a bit; due to kick-off times, South Laithland manager Hecubah Statkis is able to get ahold of the teamsheets and get in front of a mic early enough to complain about the Bohemians making it easy. She needn’t have bothered; just half an hour later, full-time sees North Sabrefell win 1-0 through 19-year old winger Eurydice Hastings’ strike, while her own Southrons go on to draw against Chatswood. It’s 1-1 in Crisisbless, too, as Goodfeather draw Leichhardt, a result that pleases neither side and leaves the relegation battle poised on a knife-edge. All four sides are so terrible that the first side to pick up the slightest bit of form can still save themselves with time to spare….

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brinemouth             33   25   5   3    91   23  +68    80
 2 Sabrefell Moths        33   23   7   3    81   29  +52    76
 3 AFC Treason            33   22   4   7    67   41  +26    70
 4 Crisisbless            33   18  11   4    70   38  +32    65
 5 Aries Chariots         33   16   9   8    54   44  +10    57
 6 Starling               33   16   8   9    54   39  +15    56
 7 AFC Corvistone         33   16   6  11    62   39  +23    54
--
16 Chatswood              33    8   8  17    31   50  −19    32
17 Goodfeather FC         33    6   5  22    32   73  −41    23
18 Leichhardt             33    3  12  18    31   65  −34    21
19 Parrhesia United       33    5   5  23    33   80  −47    20
20 South Laithland        33    5   4  24    21   78  −57    19

15 points left in play.

CNL hold a commanding advantage in second place, and initially a commanding lead, 2-1 up with an hour played against Diamondqueen. Unfortunately, their need to stay nine points above third runs into Diamondqueen’s need to let a wunderkind emerge and flourish. Helmina Turner goes down injured to exacerbate what they think is a crisis of strikers, until Severa Freeport, who has spent the season in that limbo between playing for the reserves and being the fifth-choice striker, hustles off the bench and … scores a hat-trick. The Harriers batter and overtake Barossia 2-0 in a concussive match, and Belgrave thump a phoned-in Brookford 4-0. Serpentine equalise late against Stahlburg Rovers to keep them dragged down into the thick of the fight, but it was likely a match they needed to win; Vinísìus Sïrustós’ hat-trick helps Rochford to a crucial victory over Vermillion.

Ps                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Newrook City            33   25   4   4    53   19  +34    79
 2 Corinthians No Longer   33   20   6   7    65   36  +29    66
 3 Chenoworth Harriers     33   19   3  11    48   22  +26    60
 4 Belgrave                33   19   3  11    58   38  +20    60
 5 Barossia United         33   18   4  11    60   35  +25    58
--
16 AFC Rochford            33    8  10  15    27   37  −10    34
17 Stahlburg Rovers        33    8   8  17    37   55  −18    32
18 Locksley                33    9   4  20    33   72  −39    31
19 West Brinemouth         33    6   9  18    22   46  −24    27
20 AFC Serpentine          33    6   5  22    41   74  −33    23

15 points left in play.

A pair of 4-0s immensely shift the balance of the title race. The Brinemouth killbots keep up the pace despite some initial setbacks against Starling. Early yellow cards for Martin and Brand spark fears that, shorn of a physical edge, they might lose a midfield battle with Starling. Will they fuck. 4-0, four different scorers - including Brand - and 64% possession say otherwise. As for the Moths, they get off on the wrong foot, too, Tristan Niedermayer getting his feet mixed up and heading a corner into his own net eight minutes in, doing his former club, Corvistone, a solid. The Crows kick on from that riotously, second-half strikes from Kurtishi, Marrish and Brandon finishing the job. Perhaps a slightly fortituous scoreline, if you look at things like xG, but it feels like a proper killing blow to Sabrefell’s already-slim title aspirations.

Treason of course put down South Laithland with a minimum of fuss, while Creed don’t panic going down early to Parrhesia, a second-minute strike from Dimitri Pallas no concern. “The boys always knew we’d find a way back against that rabble,” says Creed manager Gideon Fletcher after the eventual 4-2 win, making no effort to hide his disdain. Raven River vs. Goodfeather is illustrative. Both sides can put some pretty passes around, but RIver have a cutting edge in the final third, and Goodfeather do not. Damir Wright does what he can in goal for the Quakers, but by half-time, Viviana Strephon’s twice been denied one-on-one with River goalkeeper Gabriella. Shehu and Clementi score in the second half to give River the points. Leichhardt, like Parrhesia, score early; like Parrhesia, they concede early, as well. But they have enough stomach to fight back; Hestia Bowman’s shot from distance beats Peridot just before half-time to shuffle the team-talk a bit, and Vermillion just never settle after that; Olwen North comes off the bench to make it 3-1 for Leichhardt, Anezka Rennet slashing home a consolation in injury time. Up the Stargazers go, to 17th and improbable salvation. They’ve only won four games all season…

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brinemouth             34   26   5   3    95   23  +72    83
 2 Sabrefell Moths        34   23   7   4    81   33  +48    76
 3 AFC Treason            34   23   4   7    69   41  +28    73
 4 Crisisbless            34   19  11   4    73   38  +35    68
 5 Aries Chariots         34   17   9   8    56   44  +12    60
 6 AFC Corvistone         34   17   6  11    66   39  +27    57
 7 Starling               34   16   8  10    54   43  +11    56
--
16 Chatswood              34    8   8  18    33   53  −20    32
17 Leichhardt             34    4  12  18    34   67  −33    24
18 Goodfeather FC         34    6   5  23    32   75  −43    23
19 Parrhesia United       34    5   5  24    35   84  −49    20
20 South Laithland        34    5   4  25    21   80  −59    19

12 points left in play.

Surprising nobody, Newrook clinch the title with weeks to spare, and it isn’t even through their own agency. Rather, it’s secured in Cranequin, where Miron Campbell’s Wanderers steamroll a puzzlingly feckless CNL 3-0; Kieran Beaumont has finally hit his stride in the second half of the season, and his brace is finished off by a Matez-Nulzk own goal. “We still hold the decisive advantage,” insists manager Sascha Dimitrius, even as the Harriers, Belgrave and Barossia all chalk up multi-goal clean-sheet wins. With the bottom three all losing, Stahlburg Rovers take a huge step towards survival, fending off a profligate Brookford before, late on, the game but generally hapless Uathach Walker flicks home a bullet header to steal the points.

Ps                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Newrook City            34   25   5   4    54   20  +34    80
 2 Corinthians No Longer   34   20   6   8    65   39  +26    66
 3 Chenoworth Harriers     34   20   3  11    50   22  +28    63
 4 Belgrave                34   20   3  11    61   38  +23    63
 5 Barossia United         34   19   4  11    64   35  +29    61
--
16 New Oakstone Phoenix    34   10   5  19    40   57  −17    35
17 Stahlburg Rovers        34    9   8  17    39   56  −17    35
18 Locksley                34    9   4  21    34   75  −41    31
19 West Brinemouth         34    6   9  19    22   48  −26    27
20 AFC Serpentine          34    6   5  23    42   76  −34    23

12 points left in play.

Second playing first, with the Moths needing victory to keep their slim title hopes alive, Brinemouth pretty much able to clinch it if they can even get a point. The Dockers are off to the stronger start, and think they’ve taken an eight-minute lead; clever work around the box ends with a whipped low cross from Cadre that Patron backheels into the net, but for all the flamboyance of his finish, he’s half a foot offside. Brinemouth continue to dominate proceedings for the first half-hour, but when Chiara Blanco makes a rare error with a poor pass, the Moths pounce. Martin barely gets to the ball before he’s double-teamed by Liu and Riordan, and it’s Liu who comes away with the ball, looks up and flights a shot high past a stranded Heuser. In the second half, the Moths’ vicious pressing stops Brinemouth getting any momentum. The Dockers almost conjure a leveller from nowhere regardless, a pedestrian shot taking a vicious deflection off Niedermayer, but a spectacular reflex save from Bautista preserves the lead, allowing Riordan to double it in the 80th minute. The lead slims to four points, and keeps the Moths three points ahead of Treason.

Goodfeather host Parrhesia in almost the very definition of a six-pointer. It oddly winds up with the same kind of energy as the Brinemouth game - Goodfeather dominate the early runnings, have an early goal chalked off, concede late in the first half, fall apart and lose - just at a much, much lower level, with Parrhesia’s second goal coming when Goodfeather’s backup goalkeeper Feuerstein rushes off her line to punch a diagonal cross into her own defender, Yarlut, before running into him and crumpling as the ball bounces into the net. Still, the implications are huge, even if it’s criminal that one or maybe even two of this bottom four will survive. Leichhardt and South Laithland, characteristically, lose easily; by now, Chatswood are all but mathematically safe.

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brinemouth             35   26   5   4    95   25  +70    83
 2 Sabrefell Moths        35   24   7   4    83   33  +50    79
 3 AFC Treason            35   24   4   7    72   42  +30    76
 4 Crisisbless            35   20  11   4    75   38  +37    71
 5 Aries Chariots         35   17   9   9    56   46  +10    60
 6 Starling               35   17   8  10    56   43  +13    59
 7 AFC Corvistone         35   17   6  12    70   44  +26    57
--
16 Chatswood              35    8   8  19    33   54  −21    32
17 Leichhardt             35    4  12  19    34   69  −35    24
18 Goodfeather FC         35    6   5  24    33   78  −45    23
19 Parrhesia United       35    6   5  24    38   85  −47    23
20 South Laithland        35    5   4  26    22   82  −60    19

9 points left in play.

An unbearably tense round of football. Belgrave are made to sweat in what should have been a routine win over a Locksley side who would be in freefall if there was anywhere for them to fall, Sloane Walsh having a seeming injury-time equaliser chalked off for a marginal offside. Still, that temporarily puts them in the top three, and failing to beat Southfell, the Harriers don’t manage to dislodge them later that day. The next day, CNL face Barossia United, and simply find themselves outplayed. Bystrom and Crawford command the midfield, Chary Longstreet makes a spectacular save to deny Meredith a goal against the run of play, and it’s the only real chance CNL get, with Hjort’s eventual winner seeming well overdue. CNL remain second by the slimmest of margins. Serpentine inexplicably smash Brookford 3-0, Berkut, Tanzer and Manx on the scoresheet, to technically stay in the survival race, while West Brinemouth’s point in Chenoworth is handy, too, putting Locksley within three points.

Ps                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Newrook City            35   26   5   4    58   22  +36    83
 2 Corinthians No Longer   35   20   6   9    65   40  +25    66
 3 Belgrave                35   21   3  11    63   39  +24    66
 4 Barossia United         35   20   4  11    65   35  +30    64
 5 Chenoworth Harriers     35   20   4  11    52   24  +28    64
--
16 AFC Rochford            35    9  10  16    30   40  −10    37
17 Stahlburg Rovers        35    9   8  18    39   58  −19    35
18 Locksley                35    9   4  22    35   77  −42    31
19 West Brinemouth         35    6  10  19    23   49  −26    28
20 AFC Serpentine          35    7   5  23    45   76  −31    26

9 points left in play.

Brinemouth are denied a goal for a second straight game. They hammer on the door against North Laithland time and again but their final touch is lacking and they just look horribly laboured in the decisive final third. That gives the Moths the chance to pull in. All they need is a win over Leichhardt. Yet on a typically arid, unseasonably warm day in the Northern Vale, the Moths wilt. Leichhardt pack the midfield with the experience and industry of Roebling, Moritz and North, all in their 30s, and sit deep. Goalkeeper Moore stands tall to repel a couple speculative efforts from Babin and Kweon, but nothing gets through. And then, the inevitable: Tercer Anaximane is adjudged to have handled a cross from Cairns. Roebling puts away the penalty, and the Moths run themselves ragged trying to chase the game, ultimately cut open on the break for Luo Nanwei to score the decisive second.

That’s got huge implications, of course, on both ends of the table. Leichhardt’s fifth win of the season propels them to something approaching safety, but actually, all the bottom-feeders pick up points. Flora Brown is the star in a turgid first half of Goodfeather FC vs. Chatswood, providing the assist for Howard to slot the opener before getting butchered by Ilinden. Well, Ilinden’s sent off, but even with ten men, the Axes can take advantage of Goodfeather’s glass jaw, with Vanessa Mulder heading home a leveller at the near post before Kite Rocastle draws a brilliant fingertip stop from Damir Wright just to salvage any points at all. Parrhesia and Vermillion both have men sent off in a scoreless, bitter derby, while South Laithland drag themselves into theoretical contention, a hardly prolific outfit somehow slotting five past the Rams.

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brinemouth             36   26   6   4    95   25  +70    84
 2 Sabrefell Moths        36   24   7   5    83   35  +48    79
 3 AFC Treason            36   25   4   7    74   43  +31    79
 4 Crisisbless            36   20  12   4    77   40  +37    72
 5 Aries Chariots         36   18   9   9    58   47  +11    63
 6 Starling               36   18   8  10    59   43  +16    62
 7 AFC Corvistone         36   17   6  13    71   46  +25    57
--
16 Chatswood              36    8   9  19    34   55  −21    33
17 Leichhardt             36    5  12  19    36   69  −33    27
18 Goodfeather FC         36    6   6  24    34   79  −45    24
19 Parrhesia United       36    6   6  24    38   85  −47    24
20 South Laithland        36    6   4  26    27   85  −58    22

6 points left in play.

Oh, my. The Harriers pick up an immense win in Newrook, albeit the Rooks have ‘their cue in the rack’, according to the scornful Belgrave manager Ganymede Hooper. She has a point, with Newrook blooding a handful of young players. Belgrave themselves blow their shot, beaten in a five-goal thriller in the NCT. The big intrigue remains on CNL, who went from a commanding position to swooning. “We still have it in our own hands,” insists Sascha Dimitrius, but her side look completely shorn of confidence as they bounce off West Brinemouth, sunk by a single, opportunistic strike from Zara Cormann. Locksley need to beat Stahlburg Rovers to suck them into the relegation fight, but are instead destroyed 3-0 in front of their own fans, a game that’s not even close; have the Brewers run out of steam? In any case, it officially confirms the Rovers’ safety. And a good thing, too; it is near-unthinkable to think of them as a third-tier outfit, for all the malaise that’s come over the club.

Ps                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Newrook City            36   26   5   5    58   23  +35    83
 2 Barossia United         36   21   4  11    67   35  +32    67
 3 Chenoworth Harriers     36   21   4  11    53   24  +29    67
 4 Corinthians No Longer   36   20   6  10    65   41  +24    66
 5 Belgrave                36   21   3  12    65   42  +23    66
 6 Crisisbless United      36   17   8  11    57   41  +16    59
--
17 Stahlburg Rovers        36   10   8  18    42   58  −16    38
18 West Brinemouth         36    7  10  19    24   49  −25    31
19 Locksley                36    9   4  23    35   80  −45    31
20 AFC Serpentine          36    7   6  23    47   78  −31    27

6 points left in play.

Oh my, oh my, oh my, my, my. Brinemouth have the opportunity to sew up the league, but fall asleep in the last ten minutes; late goals from Corvistone substitutes Balmoral and Hranilovic steal all three points and open up the title race. The Moths can’t take advantage. The apprentice utterly destroys the master, Dragan Stavanger’s River just faster, stronger and better all across the pitch en route to a 3-0 hammering. Anders Kaluza gets a red card for a shocking challenge just after the break, by then River already looking the better team and a goal to the good; from there, the Moths don’t seem to stand a chance. So who then stands poised to snatch the title away from Brinemouth? Oh, God, it’s them again! Yes, Treason admittedly need to scrape past Goodfeather, former Stag goalkeeper Damir Wright in inspired form, but they get the points; a Brinemouth defeat on the final day means Treason can still, somehow, make it five in a row. Aries cream Coret 3-0 courtesy of an electrifying midfield showing from Tricia Cray; despite their bad recent form, they just need a point on the final day to clinch IFCF football.

That’s because Starling, remarkably, are unsettled by the desperate pressing of Parrhesia United. An uneven first-half performance is followed by Parrhesia scoring with a deft strike from Idina Slazenger. Satine Valenza strikes back at the other end not long after, but a flying double save from Veluca Austen denies Valenza a second, and at the end it’s the Saints left hoping for more, Kisvarda Marin breaking loose from midfield and curling a shot just wide at the death. Goodfeather’s defeat means Parrhesia are now in the playoff place. Leichhardt score just before the interval and concede just after it; a draw in the final day will keep them safe. Unbelievably, no team is yet mathematically relegated… though South Laithland really can start planning for a return to the First Division next season, their goal difference deficit insurmountable.

Cranequin Wanderers, Iron City and Crisisbless United have slipped out of promotion contention, but they still have it in them to put a stick in the spokes of the promotion chasers. The Wanderers beat Barossia on a penalty, Iron simply hold firm and grit out a tough scoreless draw in Chenoworth, while Crisisbless United mount a late fightback to sink Belgrave, even with a late leveller from Blackwold that has more than a shade of offside. The ex-Corinthians amaze everyone, getting it together at last. Their losing streak is snapped with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Southfell, league’s top scorer McIntyre finally remembering where the net is, and while Aispiolea’s hands are kept warm, it’s a deserved and comfortable win that puts them back in second place. West Brinemouth hold out so long against Diamondqueen, but after 86 minutes of stellar goalkeeping, the colossal Sigmund Perth fumbles a bunch of a desperate Penfold cross, and Giunta picks up the scraps. Locksley don’t make up for it, massacred 6-0 by Brookford; Serpentine are undone by a late equaliser against Vermillion Wanderers, but still are left with a very slim chance of survival going into the final day.

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Brinemouth              37  26   6   5  97  28  +69  84
  2 AFC Treason             37  26   4   7  76  44  +32  82
  3 Sabrefell Moths         37  24   7   6  83  38  +45  79
  4 Crisisbless             37  21  12   4  81  42  +39  75
  5 Aries Chariots          37  19   9   9  61  47  +14  66
  6 Starling                37  18   9  10  60  44  +16  63
  7 AFC Corvistone          37  18   6  13  74  48  +26  60
  8 Raven River             37  17   8  12  72  70   +2  59
  9 Coret Hawks             37  17   4  16  72  56  +16  55
 10 North Laithland         37  15   8  14  61  67   -6  53
 11 Stahlburg City          37  15   4  18  44  40   +4  49
 12 Sabrefell Athletic      37  12   9  16  62  65   -3  45
 13 Creed United            37  12   9  16  51  62  -11  45
 14 North Sabrefell         37  12   8  17  54  77  -23  44
 15 Vermillion Rage         37  11   8  18  46  60  -14  41
 16 Chatswood               37   9   9  19  35  55  -20  36
 17 Leichhardt              37   5  13  19  37  70  -33  28
 18 Parrhesia United        37   6   7  24  39  86  -47  25
 19 Goodfeather FC          37   6   6  25  35  81  -46  24
 20 South Laithland         37   6   4  27  29  89  -60  22

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Newrook City               37  26   6   5  58  23  +35  84
  2 Corinthians No Longer      37  21   6  10  68  41  +27  69
  3 Chenoworth Harriers        37  21   5  11  53  24  +29  68
  4 Barossia United            37  21   4  12  67  36  +31  67
  5 Belgrave                   37  21   4  12  67  44  +23  67
  6 Crisisbless United         37  17   9  11  59  43  +16  60
  7 Iron City                  37  16  12   9  42  35   +7  60
  8 Cranequin Wanderers        37  17   8  12  51  32  +19  59
  9 Southfell United           37  13  13  11  66  52  +14  52
 10 Diamondqueen               37  14  10  13  50  50   +0  52
 11 Brookford Otters           37  13   7  17  58  67   -9  46
 12 Chardonnay Rangers         37  14   4  19  54  66  -12  46
 13 Chenoworth Rovers          37  11  12  14  38  55  -17  45
 14 New Oakstone Phoenix       37  13   5  19  47  60  -13  44
 15 AFC Rochford               37  11  10  16  33  41   -8  43
 16 Vermillion Wanderers       37  10  12  15  33  50  -17  42
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           37  10   8  19  43  60  -17  38
 18 West Brinemouth            37   7  10  20  24  50  -26  31
 19 Locksley                   37   9   4  24  35  86  -51  31
 20 AFC Serpentine             37   7   7  23  48  79  -31  28

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Alliance Barossia         37  23  10   4  65  24  +41  79
  2 Mantlegrove               37  21  11   5  64  31  +33  74
  3 Peregrine                 37  20   9   8  75  37  +38  69
  4 Cranequin City            37  18   9  10  47  37  +10  63
  5 Corvette Maulers          37  16  14   7  48  34  +14  62
  6 Aries Solitaire           37  17  10  10  65  39  +26  61
  7 Gonen's Bridge            37  14  13  10  52  45   +7  55
  8 Morningstar               37  15   9  13  55  39  +16  54
  9 The Hanged Man            37  14  12  11  44  36   +8  54
 10 Cypher Town               37  15   8  14  43  38   +5  53
 11 Greygate                  37  10  17  10  43  37   +6  47
 12 Armstrong                 37  13   6  18  27  41  -14  45
 13 Boltcroft Thorns          37  10  14  13  52  59   -7  44
 14 Latin Enclave FC          37  11   7  19  41  74  -33  40
 15 Lindwurm Delta            37  10   9  18  50  61  -11  39
 16 Autumnstone               37  11   6  20  41  56  -15  39
 17 The Strongest             37  11   3  23  44  71  -27  36
 18 Pillars of Southfell      37   8  10  19  33  55  -22  34
 19 Ingram Township           37   9   7  21  23  48  -25  34
 20 Lazuli Diamonds           37  10   4  23  39  89  -50  34

by **Nephara** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:56 am

SECOND DIVISION FINALE
It’s all over at the top. Alliance Barossia’s experienced, disciplined side under Malicia Jensen have already won the league with ease, Mantlegrove are secure in second, and Peregrine are set in third. It’s a surprise, then, that while Alliance and Mantlegrove drop points, Peregrine skate to an easy 3-0 win over Lindwurm Delta despite resting most of their regulars in anticipation of the playoff to come.

This means that most of the attention is fixed on the bottom four, who each play each other; The Strongest have a two-point advantage on the other three. Pillars and Ingram Township have both struggled for goal output all season. Is this the game that they figure it out? No. A bluntly stultifying scoreless draw, combined with Gisella Martyn’s injury-time winner for Lazuli Diamonds, means that Pillars and Township both go down and will, frankly, not be missed.

FIRST DIVISION FINALE
The first and least significant point to get out of the way is that Crisisbless United thunderfuck Stahlburg Rovers 9-1. It’s not a match that matters. It’s not a match that bears relevance on anything. Snowy Brennan gave a few appearances to youth players, and probably scarred them for life in the process.

So for the matches that mattered. First played second, with CNL painfully aware there were three sides who could all capitalise on a slip. In the likely event of a Newrook result, the Harriers sat a point behind, playing lowly Rochford, with Barossia United (hosting Serpentine) and Belgrave (visiting Chardonnay) a point further back. The bottom three were fighting over a single playoff place, currently occupied by West Brinemouth, set to host Cranequin Wanderers. Locksley were behind on goal difference, set to host Vermillion, while Serpentine visited Barossia United and could only survive if they won, the Gulls and Brewers both lost, and there was a substantial swing in goal difference.

The ex-Corinthians had the ball in the net just four minutes in, but Caelan McIntyre was adjudged offside before flicking home a header of an Echagaray cross. Manager Sascha Dimitrius was picked up on the touchline microphone saying wryly, “Amazed that line was high enough anyone could get offside.” While she’s kvetching, the Harriers are busy giving away a penalty. Constantine Koellner’s a big man, but he goes down very easy over the outstretched leg of Davica Hull. Scylla Perish steps up, having not missed a penalty all season… but Elida Katter goes the right way, clawing the ball around the post.

Instead, Serpentine score before any of the promotion candidates. Florian Berkut’s a striker in high form, the only player in the Dragons’ camp with high morale, and his low-percentage shot-on-sight deflects in past Barossia goalkeeper Longstreet. They need Cranequin Wanderers to cooperate, and they do, Kieran Beaumont forcing home a near-post header and the first of what they hope is many against West Brinemouth. Locksley hold the playoff spot for now, though they have a goal overruled for offside. Sloane Walsh gets herself booked for arguing with the referee about it.

15 minutes pass, Crisisbless United - the strongest team who can’t go up - are 1-0 up over Stahlburg Rovers - the weakest team who can’t go down. By the half-hour mark, it’s 3-1. There’s something in the water, there. Elsewhere in Chardonnay, Yente Shulthis strikes home a penalty to make it 1-0 Rangers over Belgrave, while a brilliant double save from CNL goalkeeper Aispiolea ensures they hold out against Newrook a while longer. Barossia United level the scores with Serpentine, Ida Lancer’s strike low and hard, though it should have been comfortably saved by perennial Dragons backup Gerrard Tell. Instead, it makes it through his legs, dealing the Shrikes back into the promotion race. And they don’t have to lift a finger to rise higher, when Rochford scrap in the opener against the Harriers, Charissa Hyde’s diagonal cross glanced in by Sirustos in first-half injury time, with Katter, Koellner and Hull all ending tangled in the net.

Throughout the interval, Barossia think they’re going up; Belgrave give themselves a fighting chance, though, and in the 49th minute level the scores against the Rangers. In a sense it’s a pity; Charis Theoklitos makes a magnificent save from McLoughlin, but can’t do anything to stop Brass driving home the rebound unmarked. Belgrave think Brass has a second just three minutes later, but Fleetwood’s decisive pass was just a little too late, Brass breaking offside past the defence before coolly but pointlessly slotting past Theoklitos. Chardonnay put an end to the shaggy dog story by retaking the lead just before the hour, Clemente Oden reacting fastest when a speculative effort from Geffen-Broad clacked off the crossbar. Belgrave do not return to the picture.

By this time, a clarity has come over the relegation race, as well. West Brinemouth show few signs of being able to beat Cranequin Wanderers… but they probably don’t need to, holding out against a tepid attack while Locksley concede first, second and third in quick succession, opening themselves up to ruthless counterattacks time and again. It’s the sign of a team in poor form, their heads simply drop, and with it, so do they. Sloane Walsh slams home a penalty late on, but the rampant Wanderers restore the three-goal advantage in injury time through substitute Isabelle Kruger. West Brinemouth avoid getting annihilated by Cranequin Wanderers, though Perth in goal gets a decent workout; with that, they make it to the playoff, and Locksley go down.

Serpentine don’t at all look like they’ll get the huge win they need to theoretically stay up, as Barossia United press relentlessly in the closing stages. But the finishing touch proves elusive; Hjort hits a post where it looked easier to score, and Tessa Bjarnesen goes on a spectacular run through four players before ultimately just getting hacked down on the edge of the box by Oakes. The free kick is blasted into the wall and cleared free, Menander slings a ball over the top, Berkut races one-on-one with goalkeeper Tsipras… and under pressure, just narrowly blasts the ball wide. But Barossia don’t get that breakthrough; the Harriers do. It’s two substitutes that get the job done, Riviera Sanders levelling the scores in the 85th minute, cutting beautifully inside an exhausted defender before blasting beyond Rutherford, before Traci Lachmann seals the deal in injury time, Pembroke’s cutback finding her in acres of space to simply slide what is only her third goal of the season beyond the sprawling Dagan goalkeeper. The Keel is in raptures; Barossia United are left devastated, denied their first taste of Zenith football in decades just because they couldn’t beat the weakest team in the league at home.

ZENITH FINAL DAY MD-BY-MD
TITLE RACE

Brinemouth (4-2-3-1) 1 - Heuser; 2 - Meadows, 18 - Blanco, 4 - Scales, 19 - Almwood; 20 - Martin, 26 - Southsea; 10 - Tausche (c), 7 - Pereyra, 23 - Söderström; 17 - Patrón
Form Guide: 7th - 2W - 1D - 2L - 7F - 5A
Aries Chariots (4-4-2) 20 - Besand; 2 - Kovac, 18 - Rasanamira (c), 5 - Griffith, 3 - Levering; 7 - Mordecai, 8 - Cray, 4 - Booth, 11 - Woodwright; 9 - Farham, 14 - Lopar
Form Guide: 3rd - 4W - 0D - 1L - 9F - 4A
Grey Holden’s job is simple; beat his old club, and the Dockers win the title. Pernille Brand will be a big miss but it’s the only major one, with Chiara Blanco - who Holden took with him from the Chariots - returning from suspension and Lucy Almwood rushed back from injury to fortify the defence. The Chariots know a point will get them a top five place, but Shaheen Taleb is a huge miss for them, Alisander Farham left to play his deep-lying, linking role. So too the suspended Kevaarsen, whose presence will be badly missed in midfield. Brinemouth are favourites, but the Chariots are fifth for a reason. What could possibly kill this game? Well, both sides only need a single point…

Vermillion Rage (4-3-3) 20 - Pinter; 6 - Wright, 13 - Cannon, 5 - Toivonen (c), 3 - Province; 8 - Covolan, 16 - Teamster, 15 - Keepsake; 10 - Anharbour, 7 - Petras, 11 - Treatise
Form Guide: 20th - 0W - 1D - 4L - 3F - 7A
AFC Treason (4-2-3-1) 16 - Shimski; 2 - Schrader, 5 - Sale, 22 - Mitteager, 3 - Weiss; 8 - Robshaw (c), 15 - Koerver; 23 - Ravenwood, 21 - Rosenblatt, 11 - Considine; 9 - Röskvi
Form Guide: 1st - 5W - 0D - 0L - 10F - 3A
The team in the worst form hosting the team with the best; if Treason were ahead of Brinemouth this might be a procession. Treason should be dead and buried, but somehow have eaten into the ten-point gap at the top until almost nothing remains. Provided the Dockers and Chariots don’t settle for their mutually beneficial draw, and if the Chariots actually manage to win, Treason can still make the 5IAR. They are clear favourites to win here, at least, with the Rage enduring another indifferent season. Vermillion’s back four is intact, but they’re missing goalkeeper Peridot and holding midfielder Sorrell to either side; Treason have a sheaf of injuries but are determined to pull themselves over the line through sheer force of will.

RELEGATION BATTLE

Leichhardt (4-2-3-1) 1 - Moore; 2 - Korchagin, 13 - Dreider, 22 - Lockheed, 19 - Dieter; 39 - Uzuni, 21 - Roebling (c); 7 - Luo, 17 - Bowman, 11 - Shed; 10 - Strebinger
Form Guide: 6th - 2W - 2D - 1L - 7F - 6A
AFC Corvistone (4-3-3) 12 - Hartnett; 2 - Betva, 22 - Telford, 5 - Sevet-Stokes, 3 - Viipuri (c); 26 - Sevaljevic, 6 - Niskanen, 11 - Nisarizo; 15 - Hranilovic, 17 - Kurtishi, 10 - Karvelas
Form Guide: 11th - 2W - 0D - 3L - 12F - 10A
Only mathematically relevant in the relegation battle. The truth is that Leichhardt’s parsimonious … well, relatively parsimonious defence, conceding a mere 70 goals, means that the lowest wage bill in the league is safe on just 28 points, with a surely insurmountable goal difference advantage. Eberhart and Cairns are big misses in their already uninspiring attack. Corvistone had a decent season. A handful of injuries and rotations don’t change that they’re favourites, and that it doesn’t really matter.

Parrhesia United (4-2-3-1) 12 - Austen; 2 - Igoric, 18 - Sharpe, 22 - Zhu, 32 - Sandford; 48 - Caelin, 21 - Baker (c); 13 - Pallas, 8 - Marin, 10 - Slazenger; 9 - Branson
Form Guide: 13th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 6F - 7A
Sabrefell Moths (4-1-4-1) 1 - Bautista; 17 - Rake, 5 - Niedermayer, 6 - Brabanzon, 32 - Hassel; 4 - Timekeeper; 2 - Ànáxímane (c), 16 - Liu, 14 - Vol Brininger, 11 - Kweon; 21 - Riordan
Form Guide: 12th - 2W - 0D - 3L - 7F - 12A
The Saints’ survival is in their own hands, but they’ll be up against it, facing a Moths outfit seemingly ready to put any side to the sword that gives them an inch of space but absolutely imploding defensively of late. Valery Cain has opted to give Esther Caelin just her fourth start, a raw but more pure defensive midfielder; Lucas Baker is the Saints’ best midfielder but just can’t play the anchor role alone at this level when the Saints are truly under the cosh. Corban Green’s injury over past weeks has pushed top scorer Slazenger out wide; Linus Branson will hope to add to his season tally of, uh, two. The Moths are missing Kaluza to suspension and Gyldenstroem and Babin to injury but are still clear favourites; if Treason lose, they can still take a Champions League place.

Goodfeather FC (4-3-3) 12 - Wright; 17 - Cristante, 5 - Yarlut, 18 - Parrish (c), 22 - Jewell; 14 - Orakhin, 4 - Clarke, 7 - Lorzer; 9 - Howard, 21 - Strephon, 15 - Brown
Form Guide: 19th - 0W - 2D - 3L - 4F - 9A
Stahlburg City (4-1-4-1) 1 - Rosmarin; 17 - Basildon, 8 - Lieven, 22 - Baste (c), 49 - Reisinger; 43 - Rinehart; 13 - Dukakis, 10 - Smajic, 4 - MacDonald, 35 - Loeher; 9 - Ballard
Form Guide: 10th - 2W - 1D - 2L - 5F - 6A
Goodfeather are a point behind Parrhesia with a better goal difference; a draw will be enough if the Moths beat the Saints, and they themselves play a Smiths side mired in midtable with nothing in particular to play for and a number of young players getting some air time. Arden Kolar has chopped and changed his lineups in search of an answer, and Flora Brown, their best player, has managed some fine work on the left flank.

South Laithland (4-3-1-2) 20 - Haas; 43 - Bauer, 47 - Tremesne, 6 - Wettin, 44 - Speaker; 4 - Burnes, 37 - Esling, 11 - Kynda-Sevet; 12 - Campbell (c); 14 - Dane, 41 - Farrell
Form Guide: 16th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 9F - 12A
Coret Hawks (4-4-2) 12 - Middleton; 2 - Lyons, 5 - Brand (c), 13 - Kapetanovic, 19 - Roskilde; 15 - Belgrade, 16 - Buchan, 25 - Morgan, 21 - Cashin; 20 - Pawnbroker, 14 - Huang
Form Guide: 18th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 5F - 9A
Hecubah Statkis was blunt. “We kept fighting until the end, but the table doesn’t lie; our eye has to be on the Cup, now.” Her selection reflects this; it is extremely unlikely that any of these players will start, and four of them are from the reserves. They were hit enough by injury as-is. Coret are not minded to show mercy, though they do hand a final start to captain and stalwart Satara Brand, whose contract runs out at the end of the season.

REMAINING FIXTURES

Chatswood (4-2-3-1) 20 - Strickland; 2 - Petrov, 5 - Hazaluta, 18 - Pearson (c), 3 - Lamontagne; 4 - Albert, 21 - Karlssen; 32 - Matthis, 23 - Kovalev, 16 - Petrus; 9 - Sturdevant
Form Guide: 14th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 5F - 6A
Starling (4-2-3-1) 1 - Bayliss; 17 - Harper, 19 - Rustak, 5 - Perchtold, 3 - Canticle; 4 - Eversong (c), 31 - Vettel; 14 - MacDonald, 7 - Daescher, 38 - Coffey; 15 - Valenza
Form Guide: 5th - 3W - 1D - 1L - 7F - 5A
Chatswood have nothing to play for, but aren’t minded to make things easy for Starling, who can overtake the Chariots if a highly-motivated and hungry Brinemouth win. The Passerines will need to win, despite missing Lukas Wolf and Kurtis Conrad. Chatswood have opted for a safety-first selection to match Starling’s numbers in midfield, with Victoria Remeikis dropping to the bench.

North Sabrefell (4-2-3-1) 20 - Culweather; 2 - Safarov, 22 - Northrup (c), 19 - Levack, 51 - Fastolf; 4 - Shone, 8 - Biscan; 36 - Hastings, 14 - Audrey, 11 - Svante; 15 - Martin
Form Guide: 9th - 2W - 1D - 2L - 7F - 8A
Crisisbless (4-2-3-1) 20 - Sebring; 2 - Fischer, 5 - Copperhead, 19 - Turner, 6 - Delasra; 23 - Sebold, 4 - Constantine; 41 - Spijkers, 8 - Woakes (c), 10 - Roux; 16 - Carrick
Form Guide: 2nd - 4W - 1D - 0L - 13F - 5A
North Sabrefell could finish as high as 11th or as low as 15th, but no matter what it’s been a hugely successful return to the top flight. Sissi Fastolf makes her league debut after impressing for the reserves, while Tawny Shone is still undecided on a contract extension, her wealth of experience having been a huge boon to the club. Crisisbless are 4th no matter what happens, but have picked a strong side to try and finish on a high.

Raven River (4-3-1-2) 20 - Gabriella; 17 - Lindgren, 19 - Brivio, 4 - Avery, 3 - Menica; 13 - Pryce (c), 5 - Guildenstern, 11 - Valdemar; 8 - Clementi; 7 - Shehu, 36 - Parkes
Form Guide: 4th - 4W - 0D - 1L - 9F - 5A
North Laithland (4-3-3) 20 - Turner; 17 - Klaus, 26 - Warhurst, 6 - Jaan, 37 - Quoll; 36 - Brewer, 44 - Gandling, 15 - Sinodinos (c); 7 - Zambrotta, 9 - Lazelis, 10 - Sadler
Form Guide: 15th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 9F - 12A
Both sides sit in the top half and can reflect on successful seasons, in different ways; River continue to catch the eye as Dragan Stavanger kicked on where Amokachi left off, while North Laithland tick on as ever, the quiet achievers of the league under Kosovare Fairweather.

Creed United (4-4-2) 12 - Lindt; 2 - Esterling, 5 - Barker, 6 - Barkaan (c), 32 - Xu; 23 - Vitaris, 4 - Selder, 21 - Shanthi, 48 - Sheen; 14 - Khautov, 20 - Korhal
Form Guide: 8th - 2W - 1D - 2L - 8F - 7A
Sabrefell Athletic (4-4-2) 1 - Garamond; 17 - Landrith, 22 - Roback, 4 - Tarakov, 3 - Page; 23 - Escobar, 13 - Belltower, 7 - Sauber, 11 - Ciuru; 14 - Benezet (c), 21 - Gannot
Form Guide: 17th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 9F - 13A
Locked in lower midtable, which is a pretty good season for Creed and of course somewhere between tragedy and farce for Sabrefell Athletic. Suffice to say, Rams fullback Illyria Landrith was really not expecting to finish lower in the table than if she’d stayed, but if Creed manage a home win that’s precisely what will happen.

KICK-OFF!

1 mins - And we’ve barely started but--

2 mins - GOAL! SLA 0-1 COH (Cashin). Jesus, what. The Southrons’ Children’s Crusade at the back, between them, fail to deal with a routine cross from Lyons, but from close range Huang can only shoot straight at Haas, who blocks with a knee. But it falls to Annika Cashin on the edge of the box, who takes a touch to steady herself before she lashes a strike into the bottom corner, through a sea of bodies.

3 mins - Vermillion Rage have made a bright start to the game, and already Lienke Covolan, dipping her shoulder and dancing outside Vincent Robshaw, has tested Paiva Shimski from distance. A comfortable-looking save in the end, but the shot dipped and bounced just before hitting the target; you’ve seen those trick goalkeepers in the past.

4 mins - Viviana Strephon’s leading the line for Goodfeather against her old club, Stahlburg. She was never prolific for the Smiths, and last season was the first time she’d ever really been a consistent goalscorer. It… may be the only time, as her confidence betrays her now; Flora Brown’s brilliant disguised pass is done a terrible injustice as Strephon screws her shot low and wide.

5 mins - Corvistone really should take the lead against Leichhardt, in faintly farcical fashion. A quick throw from Ash Betva reaches Hranilovic and gets hooked into the box. Every Leichhardt defender is asleep, Kurtishi comes in hard… and is met by the veteran goalkeeper Ingrid Moore. The two crash into each other and, well, they’ve been down for a while, with the Stargazers appearing to discuss whether or not they should start timewasting.

6 mins - And our first viewer correspondent of the night. Here’s Euran expat Tracy Martin writing from Corvistone; “Hi there! I’ve long admired the Zenith from a distance, but only moved here a couple of months ago. I’ve become involved in supporting AFC Corvistone,” shame, but understandable, “but haven’t really got solid opinions on what, as a neutral, I should be hoping for in terms of who wins and who goes down. Any thoughts?” I leave it to the floor.

7 mins - GOAL! SLA 0-2 COH (Bauer OG). Ysabet Belgrade comes in hard down the right, takes on and cuts inside Speaker before sending a dangerous low cross across the face of goal. Huang can’t get to it, but that’s fine; in an attempt to be helpful, novice rightback Bauer turns it into his own net at the far post.

8 mins - Vermillion leftback Avarice Province takes a pop from distance, and again an unlucky bounce -- from a Treason perspective -- makes things interesting for Shimski, who flaps it aside. But Mitteager’s there to hook it away, with Petras ravening. Considine wins the ball and heads as far goalward as she can, ultimately managing a dangerous cutback to Röskvi… but Toivonen thumps it away. This game could be the pick of the round, for any indecisive neutrals.

9 mins - GOAL! SLA 0-3 COH (Morgan). Yeah, this could be a long day for the Southrons.

10 mins - Now to the relegation fight. Goodfeather have, unsurprisingly, dominated possession against Stahlburg City, but struggled throughout to find that decisive final ball. Story of their season, really. Stahlburg, meanwhile, look dangerous whenever Mersudin Smajic gets ahold of the ball; here, he takes possession and with a single turn completely exposes marker Clarke, lashing a shot just high and wide with zero notice or buildup. One to watch.

11 mins - “I’m a big advocate,” says Bruno Corry, a man of unknown size, “of going for your own side in all things, as much as possible, no matter what. As a result, you should want Corvistone to fucking bury Leichhardt 8-0, and Parrhesia to thrash the Moths, to somehow relegate those northern hicks from fuckoff nowhere, just because they’re the opponent in front of you now. As for the top two, it makes no difference; they’re just as bad as each other.”

12 mins - GOAL! CRD 0-1 SFA (Ciuru). At their best, Athletic have still looked a decent attacking side, and a swashbuckling combination cuts through Creed’s flat, staid midfield. Tasha Sauber, at full stretch, toe-pokes a decisive pass out to the left, where Ciuru can ease onto it and guide it low past Lindt’s near post. The kind of goal where Creed’s manager, Gideon Fletcher, can throw his hands skyward but not actually do anything to challenge fate.

13 mins - Brinemouth nearly take the lead! Hard to fathom how they’ve not! Tauscher tries his luck from distance, it skims fortituously off Levering’s calf and caroms against the post, past an outstretched Besand. Now surely Patron has a tap-in - but racing in under pressure, he loses his balance, slides in and hooks the ball high and wide!

14 mins - Veluca Austen bails out her Saints with a magnificent double save, last season’s Emerald Boot winner Liu’s shot spilled, with the goalkeeper redeeming herself by springing out to deny an easy tap-in from this season’s likely Emerald Boot winner, Riordan. Just goes to show the uphill struggle the Moths are in for tonight…

15 mins - Wahey! Six whole minutes without South Laithland conceding a goal! Their players look shell-shocked out there, and their lack of morale is summed up when veteran winger Kynda-Sevet gets ahold of the ball on what could be a promising break… only to sling it optimistically in the vague direction of the centre-forwards. Easily dealt with by Kapetanovic.

16 mins - The question, looking at a Southrons side we can now very safely and definitively say is down, is: who is even going to want to take advantage of the fire-sale here? Their best players are in their 30s and have looked pretty definitively cooked; anyone actually in their prime years isn’t up to standard. Will Shiida Roesler really be content to scrap it in the second tier at 31? Will Luhukay, 33? Greenslade’s looked a decent midfielder and young Chandra Rosziter surely has a future somewhere. But it could be a long way back.

17 mins - GOAL! BRI 0-1 ARC (Farham). A brilliant sliding challenge from Tricia Cray blindsides Kazuo Martin, hooking the ball out from his feet and presenting Hannah Booth with a wave of red shirts suddenly rushing on to the Brinemouth box. She finds Woodwright’s run down the left, but the clever Nephara youth international deftly backheels it to the fullback, Levering, who cuts back a pass to the unmarked Farham on the edge of the box. Not a blue shirt in sight… and he blasts a shot off the inside of the post and in!

18 mins - We’re now on our second First Wind of the night. Huh. First time I’ve ever noticed the thing saying that one should only drink one serving per day. And that there’s apparently five servings in a 500ml can. I’m sure it’s fine.

19 mins - GOAL! RVR 1-0 NLA (Shehu). River are actually the first home team to score. It’s a very typically River move, a high, hard press unsettling teenage midfielder Madita Brewer, a quick exchange of passes leading to a straightforward Shehu chance, placed well past Turner.

20 mins - “A neutral,” feels Shaya Conover, “should be going for the funniest possible outcome at all times. In title races, that means both Brinemouth and Treason losing. Treason to lead for a while, of course, before suddenly choking, the rug snatched from under them, knowing if they’d just been a bit less shit they could’ve had their miracle 5IAR. Love from Cranequin; enjoy the Zenith while you’re there.”

21 mins - GOAL! SLA 0-4 COH (Huang). Hey, Huang’s finally on the scoresheet. A poor pass from Jakob Burnes is cut out by Buchan. Just four raking passes later - Morgan, Pawnbroker, Morgan and Huang - and the Yue poacher slides it easily between Haas’ feet.

22 mins - Vermillion shave the post! A microcosm of how they’ve been able to trouble the Stags this game. Bluntly? Whisper it? But Vincent Robshaw doesn’t turn so fast these days… Covolan’s been relentlessly on top of him, forces him into a dispossession, breaks clear, outruns Koerver and tests her luck from 25 years. It can’t quite dip fast enough, but Shimski’s worried by it.

23 mins - Has to be said that neither side coming against a title challenger looks interested in going down quietly. It’s a testament to the appeal of the league, the quality and determination of the middle of the pack, even as we enter an era where the upper echelon no longer seem competitive in the international tournaments they once dominated…

24 mins - At the bottom, well. South Laithland are playing like they’ve got concussions, Leichhardt look resolute but one struggles to find a goal in them, Parrhesia have scarcely managed to lay a glove on the Moths and Goodfeather have all the ball and none of the cutting edge against Stahlburg City. It really wouldn’t be a surprise to see all four teams lose, but the Quakers are probably doing the best so far.

25 mins - GOAL! VRR 0-1 TRE (Röskvi). Just Röskvi things. Vermillion have been energetic, frenetic, pulling and testing at Treason all over the pitch. But they lose possession once, Treason spring, Considine hits in a cross and without even needing to jump, the Graintfjaller stands firm and flicks a header past Pinter. And with that… with that, the Stags are top of the table…

26 mins - PENALTY FOR STAHLBURG! It may be a well-rested Stahlburg City side, but Arachne Loeher takes just two touches to show how dangerous she can be, angling inside Cristante and inducing a hopeful leg stuck out in her direction for her to fall over.

27 mins - GOAL! GDF 0-1 STC (MacDonald). Nina MacDonald makes no mistake from the spot. Damir Wright goes the right way, just not far enough.

28 mins - Uh-oh. In all the excitement I spilled some First Wind on my keyboard. I mopped it up quickly but the plastic caps melted a bit. I’m sure I can put a replacement on the Herald’s bill…

29 mins - GOAL! LEI 0-1 CVS (Hranilovic). Oh, but Davor Kurtishi deserved a goal from that. Chasing down a forward ball, Kurtishi goes shoulder to shoulder with Gabriel Lockheed, each with a fistful of the other’s shirt. But Kurtishi’s faster than the veteran defender, and manages to pull away to thump a shot past Ingrid Moore… but it clanks against the post. Good thing Hranilovic is there, racing in to follow up and tap the rebound home.

30 mins - GOAL! CRD 0-1 SFA (Roback). Athletic have really dominated the game so far against Creed in one of the few genuine dead rubbers, so it’s perhaps typical that their goal comes off a set piece. Lindt saves sharply off Benezet but it comes to nothing when Escobar’s corner is met powerfully by the centre-half Vetta Roback. Still, it’s a first senior goal for the young homegrown defender, and a sweet moment. She’s actually got tears in her eyes as her team gets around her.

31 mins - Treason are going in hot in search of a second, and Vermillion - so promising in the early stages of the game - have barely had a sniff, of late. Maruschka Koerver is next to have a pop; she’s fairly low on NRI (Name Recognition Index) but even a Treason squad player is easily capable of cutting out a stray pass, dancing past three hapless orange shirts and rattling a shot off the foot of the post. Röskvi comes in hot to follow up, but Ilayda Cannon puts her body on the line to block the shot with her head.

32 mins - … Er. Ilayda Cannon is out cold. Floki Carson’s warming up on the bench, a like-for-like replacement. Cralt-Nirlo’s got their head in their hands, it’s no doubt that a centre-back swap was not what they wanted to use a substitute on chasing a game, while Röskvi does his best “if she dies, she dies” glower.

33 mins - GOAL! SLA 0-5 COH (Huang). Jesus Christ. Logan Haas in goal is an unlucky man, he’s not really done too much wrong. Until now. Lyons hooks in a cross after a free kick breaks down, Haas gets lost in the crowd of bodies and can only glance a couple fingers to it, and Huang stoops to opportunistically chest it home.

34 mins - Brinemouth, as you’d hope, have been galvanised by going down. The fans aren’t getting on their back, but are cheering on every wave forward. What might be less productive is the calls to “SHOOOOOT” every time anyone in a blue shirt gets in the same postcode of goal. Pereyra abandons a promising passing sequence to fire over Besand’s head from thirty yards, which exasperates Grey Holden on the touchline.

35 mins - We’ve had a few more answers to Tracy’s question from earlier, by the by. A lot of people want South Laithland to stay up - lol. More serious suggestions: “Goodfeather FC are actually interesting to watch and play good football” - mm, very debatable, Judit Carron from Brookford - “which is to say, as crap teams go, they’re fun because they concede a shedload of goals.” Now we’re getting somewhere.

36 mins - Stahlburg City almost double their advantage, and indeed had the chance fallen to basically anyone else… Basildon smacks in a cross, Wright punches it away. The Smiths have fun on the edge of the box for a while, playing with a rare assertiveness. Ultimately, teenage leftback Florian Reisinger breaks cover and goes for goal, a decoy run plainly aimed at releasing Ballard, which Smajic does. Ballard shoots, but Wright palms the ball aside… and now Reisinger has a ball trickling his way and an open goal gaping. But under no pressure, he hooks his shot awkwardly and spoons it into the side netting!

37 mins - Got my third First Wind lined up, on the dregs of the second. Sponsorship got us a variety pack of eight. We’ll be going from ‘Candy Cane Pain Train’ to ‘Ghost Pepper Suplex’. Mm, promising.

38 mins - GOAL! PAR 0-1 SFM (Riordan). Veluca Austen is a deeply unhappy woman, and for that matter so is Valery Cain on the sidelines. A sharp low shot from Anaximane draws a fingertip save from Austen, palming it against the bar. But Parrhesia’s defenders are slow to react, as if they thought the goal was coming the moment the Farfadillis international struck the ball. Instead, Riordan takes advantage, bursting through the middle to convert the rebound.

39 mins - GOAL! BRI 1-1 ARC (Tauscher). And it has been coming. From who else but Lukas Tauscher, the veteran winger who keeps on giving? A daring, driving, darting run from Southsea cuts through the Chariots’ midfield from deep, and a deft forward pass plays in Söderström; she cuts back, Tauscher shrugs aside the chasing, despairing Levering and drives the leveller home!

40 mins - This elicits some groans back in the away end at the Full Fifty. That point is enough for Brinemouth to fend the Stags off no matter what happens here. And a 1-1 draw, remember, suits both Brinemouth and the Chariots perfectly…

41 mins - Elsewhere in Vermillion, Parrhesia come so close to equalising! From a simple thing, as Dimitri Pallas just tests his eye from range… and forces Bautista to full stretch just to palm the shot against the post! It spins wildly into no-man’s land, where Slazenger and Brabanzon compete over it. There’s a loud clap of boots colliding; Slazenger’s down, Parrhesia fans scream for a penalty, but none is given as Niedermayer hooks it clear.

42 mins - GDF RED CARD! Unbelievable, that’s Ziza Jewell straight off! The young fullback has tears in her eyes and is steepling her hands over her mouth. That’s a bad one, and Maria Dukakis is in a lot of pain. Jewell, impulsive young leftback, lost the ball to Dukakis with a heavy touch, and seemingly wanted to win it back a little too hard, scything Dukakis down from behind. That’s pure desperation and impetuous youth. No arguments from anyone.

43 mins - Always interesting to see how managers react to going down a man. Arden Kolar chooses to take off Cordelia Lorzer for 30-year old fullback Dala Etoka, put Flora Brown in Lorzer’s place in midfield, and keep Howard and Strephon up top as a strike partnership. One that worked great last season and has accomplished nothing this time around.

44 mins - GOAL! SLA 1-5 COH (Dane). Well, well. Cathi Dane, in an arm-wrestle with a checked-out Kapetanovic, manages to turn and drag a shot on target that just somehow finds the perfect placement to beat Sandra Middleton despite going at a glacial pace. Weirdly none of the Hawks look particularly devastated by this. Riette Lyons even laughs. Bold call in her last game for the club, she’s slated for release.

45 mins - Brinemouth have the ball in the net! … But it’s offside. Patrón can hardly believe it, but he really did leave his run a little too late for Pereyra’s through-ball. Tidy finish, though! In a weird way it’s welcome for Stags fans, as it communicates Brinemouth are still going for it… and thus, perhaps, open on the break for Lopar’s pace…

Injury time - Oddly quiet end to the half. Nobody seems to want to overcommit, which makes sense, in a way; the top two sides are getting results as good as they need, the bottom few are… terrible, largely. The closest is Leichhardt; Bowman’s corner is headed narrowly over by towering centre-back Gabriel Lockheed. Still, they head back into the sheds with much left to play for…

HALF-TIME!

TITLE
Brinemouth 1-1 Aries Chariots
Vermillion Rage 0-1 AFC Treason

As things stand, Brinemouth win the title.

RELEGATION
Leichhardt 0-1 AFC Corvistone
Parrhesia United 0-1 Sabrefell Moths
Goodfeather FC 0-1 Stahlburg City
South Laithland 1-5 Coret Hawks

As things stand, Parrhesia United contest the playoff, while Goodfeather FC and South Laithland go down.

DEAD
Chatswood 0-0 Starling
North Sabrefell 0-0 Crisisbless
Raven River 1-0 North Laithland
Creed United 0-2 Sabrefell Athletic

KICK-OFF!

46 mins - Fifteen minutes later. Cracking open a new First Wind. This one purports to be Elderberry Core Meltdown. On deck, I have the options below: please vote now.

Strawberry Battlefields: 18%
Cherry-sh Your Loved Ones: 7%
P A C E: 19%
You Are Already Redcurrant: 16%
Get Help: 39%
Show Results: 17%

47 mins - Unsurprisingly, Coret felt confident enough to hand midfielder Marian Stoepker a debut. None of the other relevant matches have seen half-time activity, though there’s a few options you’d expect to see coming off the bench. Brinemouth have veterans Danielle Jackson and Farago rue bloody Cazade there; by contrast, the Chariots’ options look thinned by injury. For Vermillion Rage, Berenice Andreas has been an increasingly significant late substitute for them, and Gretchen Polikeit’s got the capacity for moments of magic… all too sporadically.

48 mins - GOAL! RVR 1-[/b]1 NLA[/b] (Brewer). Oh, not a game that matters, but that’s a hell of a goal from Madita Brewer! Two missed tackles from River players and the field opened right up for her, and the teenager found the top corner with ease. She’s set for the top.

49 mins - GOAL! SLA 2-5 COH (Farrell). THE COMEBACK IS ON. Coret have completely checked out and if they don’t get a grip they may only win by two. Catheline Dane does most of the work, drawing off the markers and holding off the challenges, before toe-poking the pass between Brand’s feet and allowing young Kita Farrell to sidefoot home. A second goal in senior football for the sprightly 18-year old. Are four more to come???

50 mins - Ten-man Goodfeather - remember, they need a result tonight to have a chance at staying up - press hard and almost manage to equalise! Not so much through their own skill… it’s a shot from Strephon, low and hard and well off-target, that smacks off Lieven’s calf. Should be an easy save for Rosmarin but he comes tantalisingly close to butchering it, flapping it through his hands… and into the post behind.

51 mins - GOAL! VRR 0-2 TRE (Mitteager). Ahh, and Treason make it two in the most pedestrian fashion possible; Ettard Mitteager rises highest and strongest to head home a corner. No orange shirts really managed to contest it. Treason, surely, will see it through…

52 mins - Yancy Chenoweth--
Yancy? Really?
Yancy Chenoweth asks: given all the recent stadium swaps, ‘what is the most decrepit shithole left in the league?’ Nothing will ever compare to the old Gargoyle’s Court, before the Moths took over the Farham Arena. Made of stone, lichen, decaying wood… with a real pair of gargoyles! Whose heads some cunt knocked off since before I was born. Ahh, bless. It was abysmal.

53 mins - Completely irrelevant game, but still worth mentioning: Starling midfielder Ascalon Coffey saunters up to take a corner in the heavy rains down in Treason, his studs skid and he slides riiight into the corner flag. Riiight in the fork. Ooooof!

54 mins - GOAL! CRD 1-2 SFA (Xu). The leftback looks surprised as anyone to have scored, but after starting an attack by tackling Escobar, she feeds Selder and races forward, so that by the time the killer ball from Shanthi is played through, she’s the furthest Creed player forward. Still, she gamely slots it past Garamond’s near post! Game on in the fight for… 11th.

55 mins - coffey’s still down lol

56 mins - Vermillion have had flashes this game, and they almost pull one back here! Paiva Shimski’s put at full stretch to parry a low drive from Covolan and has to get up fast to jump on the rebound with Petras looming. On the bench, Berenice Andreas is warming up. This game’s not over yet.

57 mins - GOAL! SLA 2-6 COH (Roskilde). Comeback status: off. Leftback Davor Roskilde makes a searing bombing run into the heart of the Southrons’ defence. Nobody stops him, so he tries his luck, his powerful shot squirrelling under Haas, who might have seen it a moment late but would still have backed himself to save it. Unless he knows that he isn’t very good. Which he’s not.

58 mins - “Covenground’s awful,” supplies Talia Kennett, mentioning South Laithland’s stadium. “Too big, too empty, too decrepit, the safe standing isn’t, you have to go to the Laith to get there, and when you do it’s full of Laithlanders. I was there a decade ago when someone in the toilet two stalls down from me had the floor collapse underneath her feet. And arse. Abysmal.”

59 mins - As expected, Andreas is on for Vermillion. Ilia Mueller’s warming up on the bench for Treason, a common sight in the last half-hour of Stags games with her ability to calm play down and dominate possession. Meanwhile, for Brinemouth, Farago rue Cazade continues to sit…

60 mins - PENALTY FOR LEICHHARDT! Brielle Strebinger earns this penalty. A sloppy turnover in midfield - Nisarizo’s heavy touch is snapped up by Uzuni, shot through to Strebinger up front. She’s got plenty to do, but she has Sevet-Stokes beaten for pace before jinking inside and oops! happening to trip up on naive young Telford’s foot. Referee gives it. Gareth Penrooke on the sidelines can only shake his head.

61 mins - GOAL! LEI 1-1 CVS (Roebling pen). Stargazers captain, the veteran midfielder Varina Roebling, slams it past Hartnett, who goes the right way but can’t do more than brush her fingertips.

62 mins - Turns out, P A C E First Wind tastes of… nothing? Not even generic ‘chemical’, just nothing. With hints of blackcurrant.

63 mins - GOAL! GDF 0-2 STC (Smajic). Great news for Parrhesia, terrible news for Goodfeather, and it’ll be hard to see them come back from this with ten men! Smajic starts an attack with a clever disguised pass down the left, and when Reisinger’s cutback skims off the top of Parrish’s boot without getting cleared, Smajic is there to finish it too.

64 mins - GOAL! SLA 2-7 COH (Huang pen). Wettin, the only player in the Southrons’ back four with a number lower than 40, panics and yanks Huang to the floor. With the prospect of a hat-trick looming, of course he takes it himself, and of course he sends Haas the wrong way.

65 mins - Aries Chariots have the ball in the net! But their free kick routine is too clever for its own good. Standing over the set piece, Woodwright feints, faking out the Brinemouth defence before chipping over a brilliantly-weighted ball that centre-half Rasanamira flicks home! … But only because she’s half a metre offside. Rightly called back, but a wake-up call for the Dockers, you’d think…

66 mins - For Coret, #49 Anders Harnik comes on for Huang Shedong, who gets cheers from the away end… and a full, sarcastic standing ovation from the home crowd. Someone throws roses at him.

67 mins - GOAL! PAR 0-2 SFM (Riordan). A beauty, this, for a very classic kind of charm. In comes the cross; Riordan traps it, he turns, he shoots, he drives it forcefully past Austen from close range despite Sharpe’s tender mercies. Oh, and that probably does secure Riordan’s Emerald Boot. That’s his 27th strike.

68 mins - Farago rue Cazade’s finally on in what’s probably his last Brinemouth game. He’s been an undoubted legend of the game for the Dockers, and surely fits in their all-time greatest XI… but he’s a player of such international renown that even some of the away fans are applauding him as he comes on. Captain Lukas Tauscher is sacrificed, with Joao Pereyra shifting right.

69 mins - GOAL! GDF 0-3 STC (Ballard). And, fittingly, Goodfeather have really screwed the pooch here. Simple cross, easy header. By now you can surely lock in the bottom two.

70 mins - Bad news for Leichhardt. Misha Retyunskikh and Luvenia Brandon are set to come on for Corvistone, a sign that they’re taking this seriously, not using it as a run-out for the kids. Worse news: the Moths are running on fumes and don’t exactly have many convincing options to bring on against Parrhesia. Granted, Parrhesia’s depth is shredded, too; on comes the PnP merchant Stirling Longman, who is very fast and has all of one goal and no assists to his name this league season thus far.

71 mins - GOAL! BRI 2-1 ARC (Pereyra). AND WHO ELSE BUT RUE CAZADE… with the assist. But what an assist! Aries sit in their two blocks, ready to pounce as rue Cazade lumbers forward… before he steps one way, setting marker Booth to intercept, before abruptly sweeping a perfectly-weighted rabona that splits the defence! Joao Pereyra sprints onto it and surely must score, even as Besand rushes forward; the Juvencus international reaches out his toe to dink the ball over the goalkeeper’s head, getting over the line just as multiple Chariots are skidding forlornly into the net!

72 mins - GOAL! GDF 0-4 STC (Loeher). Goodfeather manager Arden Kolar stares dully from the sidelines as Smajic sidles through Goodfeather’s midfield before playing in Loeher on the edge of the box, who slams it into the bottom corner like a video-game AI on Hardest.

73 mins - Need more First Wind to keep up with all the goals. Don’t even know what flavour the next one is. It’s all gone. It’s all in my gullet. I need help. My heart is breaking through my chest and I can’t--

74 mins - GOAL! CRD 1-3 SFA (Ciuru). The versatile Sajnur international struts her stuff with an unexpected cut inside before snapping a shot past a startled Lindt’s near post. A bit poor from the goalkeeper, but mostly a moment of magic from Ciuru.

75 mins - Grey Holden throws on Tess Miller and Danielle Jackson, he wants the third to kill the game off. In Vermillion, the game has slowed markedly; Vermillion don’t see a way to score, Treason can’t do anything but sit on the win they have and hope Aries Chariots do something…

76 mins - GOAL! NSF 0-1 CRI (Roux); GDF 0-5 STC (Lieven). North Sabrefell had been quietly producing a strong-willed resistance against Crisisbless, holding out with 51% possession and keeping them mostly at arm’s length, but novice leftback Fastolf was always going to be harried by Erwin Spijkers, who at last gets past to whip in a low cross for Roux to convert, a scruffy finish that bounces into the ground. Goodfeather are dead and buried, the Vanor Lieven heading home from a corner.

77 mins - More nominations for crap stadia: North Laithland’s Bluegrass has much the same issues as Covenground, Crisisbless’ Godswatch can’t be demolished soon enough - they’ve broken ground on a new stadium - while nobody’s looking forward to visiting the Harriers’ The Keel next year. People are saying Corvistone’s Phoenix Rise is a soulless corporate helldome… I think that’s wishful thinking. The stadium’s a lovely boutique laid out sensibly with best practice and I love Cormorants games there. It’s the club that’s soulless and corporate.

78 mins - GOAL! VRR 1-2 TRE (Treatise). Treason have dropped off since the break and now been made to pay! The former Newrook City winger, who has really come across leaps and bounds in the past couple seasons, now has the confidence to beat Shimski at her near post with pure power and placement! Hard to blame the keeper. Though everyone will, especially if Vermillion find another…

79 mins - GOAL! CRD 1-4 SFA (Benezet). Direct from a free kick; Sauber wins it, Benezet curls it over the wall and beyond a stationary Lindt, clanging in off the post. The Athletic captain’s all class, and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

80 mins - GOAL! PAR 0-3 SFM (Haraslin). Knightsgrave - another old, actively collapsing stadium - witnesses a continued bloodletting. The Moths’ hard pressing is just collapsing on Parrhesia’s laissez-faire approach to possession, a heavy touch from young Esther Caelin punished with another counterattack that snaps through the defence. Anaximane’s played through, his pass hits Riordan’s feet, the striker forces a sharp save from Austen but Kelzi Haraslin follows it in and snaps home the rebound.

81 mins - Across the city, it’s game on in Rage-Stags. The result still won’t matter so long as Brinemouth hold, but Vermillion want to claw back some relevance and agency in all this; Treason sat off in the second half, but the goal from nowhere has given the hosts belief. Kestrel Anharbour, in her last game for her hometown club before she joins Crisisbless, is shooting on sight… until she instead cuts inside, startling Weiss, and cuts back for Berenice Andreas. The young striker just leans back a little too much, blazing a good chance over the bar.

82 mins - GOAL! LEI 1-2 CVS (Brandon). Leichhardt… it’s been hard to keep track with all the goals - a sixth looks in for Stahlburg City but the substitute Corder strayed marginally offside - but Brandon gets a goal off the bench. She cuts in, she cuts out, she guts Korchagin and she drives a ball between Moore’s feet, actually reaching the net off the ‘keeper’s heel. Leichhardt fans are still pretty confident. It would take a staggering comeback in Vermillion, at this rate, and that seems--

83 mins - GOAL! PAR 0-4 SFM (Kweon). Yeah, see, nothing to worry about. This has long since stopped being a contest.

84 mins - Can’t figure out if I drank more First Winds than I thought or if I just can’t trust my eyes. Everything is whirring. I can see the cogs holding together the Matrix. Taste Test: I don’t care much for Cherry. I feel like something’s about to burst out of my skull. Someone… ?

85 mins - GOAL! SLA 2-8 COH (Harnik). Of course the teenager making his league debut gets on the scoresheet, of course he does.

86 mins - And now, of all times, a lapse of concentration from Brinemouth! Cassander Southsea’s been excellent all game, but he turns slackly away from the press of Steele only to run headlong into Krneta, stung by the alertness of two fresh substitutes. Krneta nips the ball away, immediately releases Kovac on the overlap, who goes for an ambitious forward ball; Coleman, the third and most recent substitute, gets on the end of it, only for the ball to get hooked away by a brilliantly-timed sliding challenge from Blanco! The ball rolls to Almwood…

87 mins - GOAL! BRI 3-1 ARC (Miller). … and holy hell, do the Dockers take advantage! Almwood springs down the exposed left, juking past Krneta and Kovac both, playing Söderström into acres of space. The pass to striker Jackson is ambitious, cut out by Rasanamira, but the ball only spins as far as substitute Tess Miller, who eases the ball onto her right and laces it beyond November Besand to finally give the Dockers a decisive advantage!

88 mins - The Stargazers have known they’re staying up for a while now, and they’re starting to celebrate in the stands. Sure, they were likely to survive before a ball was kicked, but every side beneath them has folded completely! It’s hard to begrudge them… though not impossible, because fuck me, it’s hard to watch Leichhardt sometimes. Aries Chariots throw on a third striker in Scott Coleman just in case. They need a goal a minute to be of any relevance.

89 mins - GOAL! GDF 0-6 STC (Szander). Midfielder Timo Szander, squad number 57, scores four minutes into his league debut. The exhausted, exasperated ten men of Goodfeather sink onto the ground, as equally tired home fans change their chant of ‘we’re gonna win 6-5’ to ‘we’re gonna win 7-6’, which unfortunately no longer scans. But they persevere.

90 mins - By now, the news has reached Treason. Groans all around. They really did believe, but the Chariots surely can’t score thrice in injury time… Treason almost get a third of their own, Calico Pinter springing to flick a Ravenwood shot around the post, but it barely rates a cheer from the away end.

Injury time - Dominos fall. The referee takes mercy on Goodfeather, and the exhausted ten men sink to the floor. They did their best before just running out of steam completely. South Laithland, similarly demolished, at least have a Cup final on the horizon, which farcically means that a Parrhesia side completely annihilated by the Moths… got a good result, on balance, owing to the incompetence of those below, while the Moths are left ruing Vermillion’s failure to take their chances. In Vermillion, the referee gives five minutes… in Brinemouth, only three, which petre out soon enough. Red shirts shake hands with blue, the home fans celebrate their title - and the career of rue Cazade, one of the legends of the Zenith going out on the highest of highs. They stopped the five. They deserved it thoroughly, despite giving the narrowest of gaps for Treason to almost, almost sneak through. The monopoly has been broken. And now… what next?

FINAL SCORES
Brinemouth 3-1 Aries Chariots
Vermillion Rage 1-2 AFC Treason
Leichhardt 1-2 AFC Corvistone
Parrhesia United 0-4 Sabrefell Moths
Goodfeather FC 0-6 Stahlburg City
South Laithland 2-8 Coret Hawks
Chatswood 0-0 Starling
North Sabrefell 0-1 Crisisbless
Raven River 1-1 North Laithland
Creed United 1-4 Sabrefell Athletic

by **Nephara** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:57 am

PLAYOFFS
2DIV The Strongest vs. GC Rochford Pilgrims

If people come to the Farham Arena looking for a contest… that isn’t what happens. On the night, the Strongest live up to their namesake, brutally jumping up and down on Rochford until they stop moving. Young guns Casey Anzehelm and Tania Keenan run the show, one with three assists and a goal from midfield, the other with three goals and an assist from the left wing, with 21-year old South Laithland loanee Johan Chandler almost as impressive down the middle. Rochford Pilgrims simply look flat, even primitive, against Karin Mendicant’s aggressive, press-oriented, midfield-dominant football. Johan Donnell strikes a consolation just before the hour, but Uther Caskey, the Strongest’s diligent but unprolific striker, finally heads home the sixth not long afterwards.

1DIV West Brinemouth vs. 2DIV Peregrine

West Brinemouth (4-2-3-1) 1 - Perth; 2 - Coleman, 5 - Echehart, 22 - Hooper (c), 3 - Markkanen; 23 - Bensom, 11 - Favall; 7 - Worner, 8 - Cochrane, 37 - Thane; 10 - Cormann
Peregrine (4-2-3-1) 1 - Haverford; 17 - Bowyer (c), 5 - Thackeray, 4 - Curran, 3 - Montagne; 6 - Jennings, 14 - Bramble; 23 - Dulwich, 8 - Commons, 11 - Luthier; 10 - Sparrowhawk

It is slightly odd that this match contains a Cochrane, Coleman, Commons, Cormann and Curran.

Assonance aside, both sides have tasted plenty of both divisions of late; Peregrine have only been in 2Div two seasons, while West Brinemouth were just promoted. Peregrine are the third tier’s top scorers, while the Gulls were the most tepid in front of goal by a distance, just 24 goals. Yet boths sides march out in the increasingly ubiquitous 4-2-3-1s, hoping to control midfield and dominate the game one way or another. Peregrine have the better of it in the first half, looking the fresher side - having rested most of their players on a dead-rubber league finale - but struggle to truly open West Brinemouth up, short of clear-cut changes. Perth has a couple of routine saves to make, Sparrowhawk blasts a clear chance wide… for all this, it’s through a set piece that the Gulls finally concede, centre-half Audrey Curran rising highest in a sea of orange shirts to head home Luthier’s corner.

West Brinemouth finally wake up, and just before the interval, Esme Haverford’s forced into a fine double save, first parrying a shot from Worner then scrambling to block the follow-through from veteran Zara Cormann. Heedless of the warning shot, Peregrine make the mistake of sitting off in the second half, perhaps overly confident in West Brinemouth’s inability to find the target. Yet the Gulls ease their way into the ascendancy. Elizabeth Cochrane pulls the strings, ultimately setting Worner on his springing run past Montagne, considering the cross before going it alone, finding the bottom corner past a charging Haverford to level the scores. Yet the last, and best, chance falls to Peregrine, having been almost silent up front all half, as Luthier cuts back on the edge of the box. Echehart’s feet get mixed up and he only barely clears the bar with his desperate clearance, very nearly turning the ball into his own net. By that point, it would have felt almost a travesty.

Extra time is mostly quiet, apart from one moment of brilliance, a disguised pass from Memphis Commons carving open the wrongfooted Gulls’ defence. Substitute striker Linda Bollard reads it brilliantly, gliding onto the end of the pass, and having the entire goal gaping… only to hammer her effort against the bar. Sigmund Perth also makes a magnificent save to deny Hatzileftheriou late on, but it goes to penalties… upon which West Brinemouth duly come to pieces. Perth may have been the hero in extra time, but Esme Haverford is the heroine now, beating Hooper’s tame effort away, brushing fingertips to Brandis’ before clawing aside a hard strike from Cochrane at a comfortable height. That gives veteran rightback Svenja Bowyer, wearing the armband for Peregrine, the chance to wrap it up. She sends Perth the wrong way, and Peregrine are back in the second tier.

ZENITH Parrhesia United vs. 1DIV Corinthians No Longer

Parrhesia United (4-3-3) 12 - Austen; 2 - Igoric, 18 - Sharpe, 22 - Zhu, 32 - Sandford; 11 - Elvedi, 21 - Baker, 8 - Marin; 13 - Pallas, 9 - Branson, 10 - Slazenger
Bench: 30 - Stroma; 7 - Longman, 17 - Spitz, 33 - Caulker, 35 - Strauss, 39 - Crowe, 48 - Caelin

Corinthians No Longer (4-3-3) 12 - Aispiolea; 2 - Matez-Nulzk, 5 - Cunningham (c), 6 - Ndòsi, 3 - Turnbull; 10 - Amelia, 8 - Candling, 14 - Meredith; 7 - Fenyvesi, 17 - McIntyre, 16 - Bouman
Bench: 1 - Varney; 9 - Troche, 15 - Barron, 18 - Stoeger, 21 - Commons, 23 - Joiner, 34 - Wreath

The most crucial absentee for Parrhesia remained Corban Green, their best player when, hypothetically, fit; fans were not best pleased to see top scorer Idina Slazenger continue to play out on the left wing, with the far blunter Linus Branson in the centre. CNL, meanwhile, were without the hugely influential Malia Renberg in the heart of midfield - the need to deputise the steady Erika Candling doubled the number of Nepharim in the starting lineup - and their own left winger, Echegaray. Yet a mean, even pitiless back four remained intact. The bookies had them as slim favourites.

CNL had the better of the first half, dominant in midfield; Parrhesia’s gamble of playing without a real destroyer simply allowed them to be passed around, and Caelan McIntyre remained a constant threat, the battering ram down the middle. The issue was final ball, with neither winger seeming able to hit their mark; when a perfect cross did at last come in, it was the men in green who swung it in. In injury time, Igoric floated in a beautiful diagonal cross from deep, sweeping over Ndosi. Linus Branson was unmarked, and had the entire goal to aim at, and… ! Headed straight at Aispiolea.

The Saints were determined not to go down quietly, though, and came out for the second half the better side. Attacking with pace, power and vigour, they weren’t afraid to go more direct, using their pace to cut in down the flanks. In addition, Kisvarda Marin - a better player than the Saints deserve - finally starts to get on the ball, and when the killer pass comes there’s little surprise it came from her left boot, arrowing in between Cunningham and Matez-Nulzk. Questions had been asked about Slazenger’s position on the left… but it gets her in the right position here and now, and she makes no mistake in driving a low, confident finish past Aispiolea.

Instantly, Parrhesia throw on Caelin and Spitz, defensive substitutions that leave the pacy front three intact. Branson finds his role as a natural focal point to sling clearances at, far more effective than he is a genuine goal threat, and now CNL return to staid possession and trying vainly to find a final ball that sticks. They don’t get it; they do, in the 91st minute, pick up a penalty, Fenyvesi cutting inside and getting bulldozed over by Zhu, uncharacteristically careless. Parrhesia fans bite their nails, but Veluca Austen looks from the start like she’s got a plan. She’s leaping left before the ball’s even left Meredith’s boot, and springs across to claw aside a fair but savable penalty… and in so doing, keeps the Saints afloat, denying what would have been the first new Zenith side in years.

RENSENBRINK CUP FINAL

Vermillion Wanderers (4-3-3) 1 - Franzen; 2 - Kinross, 5 - Lemuur (c), 18 - Mueller, 22 - Narang; 10 - Cowler, 16 - Berg, 8 - Carling; 7 - Kirkland, 21 - Grant, 19 - Gligor
Bench: 12 - Hilton; 4 - Goldman, 6 - Alphonse, 9 - Bertos, 11 - Wharton, 20 - Shepherd, 35 - Lupin
Road to the Final: Coret Rovers, Lindwurm Delta, Latin Enclave FC, Mantlegrove, AFC Treason, Raven River

South Laithland (4-3-1-2) 1 - Velazquez; 22 - Faust, 2 - Kaveci (c), 17 - Seward, 34 - Wynd; 8 - Greenslade, 13 - Luhukay, 32 - Rosziter; 21 - Roesler; 9 - Caulker, 10 - Murphy
Bench: 20 - Haas; 6 - Wettin, 12 - Campbell, 14 - Dane, 37 - Esling, 41 - Farrell, 43 - Bauer
Road to the Final: The Travellers FC, Chardonnay Rangers, Crisisbless, Barossia United, Parrhesia United

One of the most low-rent Cup finals in recent memory, with the lowly bottom-feeding Southrons, fresh off their 8-2 last-day demolition, in the rare position of being favourites to beat lower-midtable second-tier side Vermillion Wanderers. They restore the strongest lineup they can field, against far from inspiring opponents on paper, who mainly carry threat through their wingers but are otherwrise, for the most part, comprised of cast-offs.

One such cast-off is Chenoworth Harriers youth product Dimitar Franzen, who barely even got the chance to sit the bench for his hometown club but has found himself a pretty fair 1Div goalkeeper when thrust into the firing line. He’s certainly in the firing line through the first twenty minutes, dominated by the purple shirts, springing well to make saves from Caulker and the improbable Rosziter and an inelegant sweep of a boot helps a grass-cutter from Greenslade bobble just past the post. The Wanderers are under the cosh, and look ready for a sound beating…

… but it’s the Southrons, and they’re used to heartbreak by now. Naturally, before they even get a shot on target, Vermillion get a penalty, when a breakdown in midfield is shot through to the left wing where Gligor races in on goal. She carries the ball far and a seemingly heavy touch encourages Velazquez to come out to compete, but he’s slow and clumsy and clatters the winger. A stonewall penalty, converted slickly by Kirkland.

South Laithland equalise soon after, through a set piece of their own; Shiida Roesler tucks a free kick into the top corner, pure power and technique married in an unsavable strike, but the Southrons won’t manage again to pick up the momentum of their opening twenty minutes. A disjointed end to the first half from both sides gives way to a second where Vermillion are clearly in better spirits, clearly more used to winning, and every Southron effort to bomb forward only seems to expose them more at the back. It’s little surprise, then, to see another counter end with the ball at Gligor’s feet. This time, she goes it alone… and curls the ball past a helpless Velazquez’s fingertips.

The Southrons roar back into life, and as Vermillion sink back into an unapologetically defensive posture, the (for now still, technically) Zenith side hammers at the gates. Yet Franzen’s not required to make another serious save, doing little more than catching crosses; well-drilled, muscular and intelligent defensive work from the Wanderers shepherds the Southrons out of serious chances, and when Rosziter tries her luck from distance again, Lemuur leads by example and gets her head in the way. The game somewhat petres out after that initial burst of indignation - truth be told, it wasn’t the highest-quality affair at any point throughout - but the Wanderers won’t care. They beat a Zenith side - one of three they knocked off en route - to become Cup champions as a middling second-tier outfit. Who cares how they did it?

ZENITH

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Brinemouth              38  27   6   5 100  29  +71  87
  2 AFC Treason             38  27   4   7  78  45  +33  85
  3 Sabrefell Moths         38  25   7   6  87  38  +49  82
  4 Crisisbless             38  22  12   4  82  42  +40  78
  5 Aries Chariots          38  19   9  10  62  50  +12  66
  6 Starling                38  18  10  10  60  44  +16  64
  7 AFC Corvistone          38  19   6  13  76  49  +27  63
  8 Raven River             38  17   9  12  73  71   +2  60
  9 Coret Hawks             38  18   4  16  80  58  +22  58
 10 North Laithland         38  15   9  14  62  68   -6  54
 11 Stahlburg City          38  16   4  18  50  40  +10  52
 12 Sabrefell Athletic      38  13   9  16  66  66   +0  48
 13 Creed United            38  12   9  17  52  66  -14  45
 14 North Sabrefell         38  12   8  18  54  78  -24  44
 15 Vermillion Rage         38  11   8  19  47  62  -15  41
 16 Chatswood               38   9  10  19  35  55  -20  37
 17 Leichhardt              38   5  13  20  38  72  -34  28
 18 Parrhesia United        38   6   7  25  39  90  -51  25
 19 Goodfeather FC          38   6   6  26  35  87  -52  24
 20 South Laithland         38   6   4  28  31  97  -66  22

AWARDS
Emerald Boot (Goals Scored): Nick Riordan (SFM) - 27
Emerald Ball (Player of the Year): Kazuo Martin (BRI)
Emerald Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Madita Brewer (NLA)
Emerald Fist (Debutant of the Year): Lázaro Patrón (BRI)
Team of the Year: Bautista (SFM); Schrader (TRE), Copperhead (CRI), Blanco (BRI), Levering (ARC); Gyldenstroem (SFM), Martin (BRI), Zazagan (TRE), Roux (CRI); Patrón (BRI), Riordan (SFM)
Emerald Crest (Manager of the Year): Lexus Ulreich (ARC)

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Newrook City               38  27   6   5  59  23  +36  87
  2 Chenoworth Harriers        38  22   5  11  55  25  +30  71
  3 Corinthians No Longer      38  21   6  11  68  42  +26  69
  4 Barossia United            38  21   5  12  68  37  +31  68
  5 Belgrave                   38  21   4  13  68  46  +22  67
  6 Crisisbless United         38  18   9  11  68  44  +24  63
  7 Iron City                  38  17  12   9  43  35   +8  63
  8 Cranequin Wanderers        38  18   8  12  52  32  +20  62
  9 Southfell United           38  14  13  11  68  53  +15  55
 10 Diamondqueen               38  14  10  14  51  52   -1  52
 11 Brookford Otters           38  14   7  17  61  69   -8  49
 12 Chardonnay Rangers         38  15   4  19  56  67  -11  49
 13 Vermillion Wanderers       38  11  12  15  37  51  -14  45
 14 Chenoworth Rovers          38  11  12  15  38  56  -18  45
 15 New Oakstone Phoenix       38  13   5  20  49  63  -14  44
 16 AFC Rochford               38  11  10  17  34  43   -9  43
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           38  10   8  20  44  69  -25  38
 18 West Brinemouth            38   7  10  21  24  51  -27  31
 19 Locksley                   38   9   4  25  36  90  -54  31
 20 AFC Serpentine             38   7   8  23  49  80  -31  29

AWARDS
Jade Boot (Goals Scored): Caelan McIntyre (CNL) - 25
Jade Ball (Player of the Year): Tony Gardner (NRC)
Jade Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Kurtis Swainsona (SFU)
Team of the Year: Ran (NRC); Csatar (CRW), Worn (IRC), Gardner (NRC), Cantrell (CHH); Arkhipov (CRU), Meredith (CNL), Fleetwood (BEL), Perkuna (NRC); McIntyre (CNL), Brass (BEL)
Jade Crest (Manager of the Year): Gratia Barker (NRC)

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Alliance Barossia         38  23  11   4  67  26  +41  80
  2 Mantlegrove               38  21  11   6  65  33  +32  74
  3 Peregrine                 38  21   9   8  78  37  +41  72
  4 Corvette Maulers          38  17  14   7  50  34  +16  65
  5 Aries Solitaire           38  18  10  10  67  40  +27  64
  6 Cranequin City            38  18   9  11  47  38   +9  63
  7 Gonen's Bridge            38  15  13  10  53  45   +8  58
  8 Morningstar               38  16   9  13  56  39  +17  57
  9 The Hanged Man            38  15  12  11  45  36   +9  57
 10 Cypher Town               38  16   8  14  45  38   +7  56
 11 Greygate                  38  10  17  11  43  39   +4  47
 12 Boltcroft Thorns          38  10  15  13  54  61   -7  45
 13 Armstrong                 38  13   6  19  27  42  -15  45
 14 Latin Enclave FC          38  11   7  20  41  76  -35  40
 15 Lindwurm Delta            38  10   9  19  50  64  -14  39
 16 Autumnstone               38  11   6  21  41  57  -16  39
 17 Lazuli Diamonds           38  11   4  23  41  90  -49  37
 18 The Strongest             38  11   3  24  45  73  -28  36
 19 Pillars of Southfell      38   8  11  19  33  55  -22  35
 20 Ingram Township           38   9   8  21  23  48  -25  35

AWARDS
Jade Boot (Goals Scored): Oskar Hart (MTG) - 24
Jade Ball (Player of the Year): Andrea Bellmare (CVM)
Jade Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Sebille Locklear (AUS)
Team of the Year: Jiawei (CVM); Bowyer (PRG), Hawker (ALB), Ponder (CYT), Kang (CVM); Alrand (ARS), Bramble (PRG), Vanmeter (ALB), Bellmare (CVM); Hart (MTG), Sparrowhawk (PRG)
Jade Crest (Manager of the Year): Konstanze Luitgard (LEN)

GRAND CONFERENCE

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L  For  Ag  +/-  Pts
  1 Gosmouth Swans            46  33   8   5  111  35  +76  107
  2 Brokenarch                46  28  10   8   83  35  +48   94
  3 Rochford Pilgrims         46  26   8  12   90  54  +36   86
  4 Bishop                    46  24  13   9   87  51  +36   85
  5 Ritter Town               46  26   5  15   89  54  +35   83
  6 Lindmark Falcons          46  24   8  14   70  58  +12   80
  7 Dartmouth Terriers        46  24   5  17   62  56   +6   77
  8 Southriver                46  21   9  16   70  58  +12   72
  9 Creed Rosebud             46  21   7  18   86  77   +9   70
 10 Shimmering Quay           46  19   9  18   62  64   -2   66
 11 Lockheed Zenith           46  19   8  19   73  59  +14   65
 12 Ballardine FC             46  17  10  19   53  53   +0   61
 13 Extreme Hills             46  16  11  19   55  64   -9   59
 14 Sheridan                  46  16  11  19   44  57  -13   59
 15 Brookford Vantablack      46  16  10  20   55  76  -21   58
 16 Crisisbless Athletic      46  16   8  22   59  65   -6   56
 17 Riverkey Shells           46  14  11  21   67  84  -17   53
 18 Falston United            46  14  10  22   44  65  -21   52
 19 AFC Southsands            46  14   8  24   48  75  -27   50
 20 Rosary Brinemouth         46  14   8  24   50  78  -28   50
 21 Corvistone City           46  13   7  26   35  63  -28   46
 22 Besand's Folly            46  11  12  23   44  65  -21   45
 23 Stonegrave                46   9  12  25   37  70  -33   39
 24 Hackett                   46   8  10  28   42 100  -58   34

CONFERENCE WEST

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L  For   Ag  +/-  Pts
  1 Crownsend Journey       46  33   7   6  120   50  +70  106
  2 Cypher Nightwatch       46  30  10   6   89   35  +54  100
  3 Strephonage             46  28  10   8   71   31  +40   94
  4 Kensey Town             46  25  14   7   88   48  +40   89
  5 Blau-Weiss Treason      46  26  11   9   66   32  +34   89
  6 Sutcroft                46  23   9  14   79   68  +11   78
  7 Chenoworth Teutons      46  22  10  14   67   43  +24   76
  8 Iberia Chenoworth       46  22   8  16   73   63  +10   74
  9 Stilwell Kickers        46  21   9  16   57   50   +7   72
 10 Kommissar               46  18  15  13   72   54  +18   69
 11 FC Seierstad            46  20   7  19   67   58   +9   67
 12 Grey Egress             46  18  12  16   63   56   +7   66
 13 AFC Hoxenhaven          46  14  15  17   47   67  -20   57
 14 Moxstone Fortune        46  14  14  18   59   64   -5   56
 15 Ringway                 46  14  12  20   47   60  -13   54
 16 Constance Park          46  12  12  22   49   58   -9   48
 17 Aspen Grove             46  10  16  20   46   65  -19   46
 18 Coleman Ridge           46  12   9  25   51   91  -40   45
 19 AFC Shrikeroost         46  12   8  26   47   77  -30   44
 20 Rushe United            46  11  10  25   56   73  -17   43
 21 Grovebank               46  10   9  27   61  113  -52   39
 22 AFC Shale               46   8  14  24   25   52  -27   38
 23 Martane Place           46  10   8  28   32   69  -37   38
 24 Sutter Road             46   9  11  26   52  107  -55   38

CONFERENCE EAST

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L  For  Ag  +/-  Pts
  1 Mapleford               46  33   8   5  115  51  +64  107
  2 Northside Eagles        46  32   5   9  107  39  +68  101
  3 Longwinter              46  28   8  10  109  52  +57   92
  4 The Travellers FC       46  27   6  13   74  54  +20   87
  5 Advance Lazuli          46  26   8  12  100  49  +51   86
  6 Barhara Cavaliers       46  24  11  11   96  57  +39   83
  7 Caldwick Strand         46  23   9  14   73  56  +17   78
  8 Brinemouth Krakens      46  22   9  15   69  66   +3   75
  9 Fully Sick XI           46  22   7  17   75  59  +16   73
 10 Riverkey                46  20   8  18   62  57   +5   68
 11 Coret Rovers            46  19   9  18   65  68   -3   66
 12 Long Lake               46  17  11  18   54  60   -6   62
 13 South Parrhesia         46  18   7  21   72  85  -13   61
 14 Mueller's Crossing      46  15  14  17   50  59   -9   59
 15 Downsparrow             46  17   6  23   65  78  -13   57
 16 Coret Hammerheads       46  14  14  18   73  76   -3   56
 17 Brunyard FC             46  13  13  20   52  73  -21   52
 18 Cranequin Souths        46  15   7  24   58  93  -35   52
 19 Hartford Glade          46  15   6  25   56  84  -28   51
 20 Spindle Town            46  10   9  27   39  72  -33   39
 21 Stockyard Hounds        46  10   9  27   55  92  -37   39
 22 Shornhill               46  11   6  29   51  91  -40   39
 23 AFC Brineshore          46   8  12  26   47 100  -53   36
 24 AFC Glister             46   7  10  29   42  88  -46   31

by **Nephara** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:43 am

Season 85 - Zenith Preview

1. Brinemouth
‘The Dockers’
Brinemouth Eagle’s Club (65,000)
Brinemouth, LZC

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Ewald HEUSER (32) [STL]
RB - 2 - Tosca MEADOWS (23)
CB - 18 - Chiara BLANCO (28) [SVG]
CB - 4 - Anaximander SCALES (24)
LB - 19 - Lucy ALMWOOD (29) [EUR]
CM - 20 - Kazuo MARTIN (27) [DEL]
CM - 6 - Cassander SOUTHSEA (22)
RW - 7 - Joao PEREYRA (26) [JUV]
AM - 15 - Omer KUHAR-ARH (27) [MYT]
LW - 23 - Indra SÖDERSTRÖM (27) [VAL]
ST - 17 - Lázaro PATRÓN (27) [AUD]

GK - 12 - Meinhard GATES (27)
CB - 5 - Dean STEELE (34) [EUR]
LB - 3 - Rhyme BESLER (24)
CM - 16 - Pernille BRAND (29)
RW - 10 - Lukas TAUSCHER (31, vc) [STL]
AM - 21 - Kisvarda MARIN (21)
ST - 14 - Tess MILLER (21) <EUR>

GK - 25 - Timon RUSTIL (21)
RB - 29 - Zander MERSEA (21)
CB - 22 - Dismas ANDERSON (22)
CM - 8 - Otalia KASMIIR (35) [MRN]
CM - 27 - Wiglaf BRIBITZER (23)
LW - 11 - Zander CADELL (23)
ST - 26 - Leandra BERENGUER (20) <ASG>

MANAGER
Grey HOLDEN (52)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 1st

TROPHY CABINET
10 League titles (53, 54, 55, 61, 62, 70, 72, 78, 79, 84)
NFA Cup (62)
Ramsey Shield (73)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 1st - 87 pts - CL
83: Zenith - 5th - 68 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 3rd - 71 pts - CL
81: Zenith - 7th - 65 pts
80: Zenith - 2nd - 88 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Omer Kuhar-Arh (Atletik Thessia, 8m)
Kisvarda Marin (Parrhesia United, 7m)
Dismas Anderson (returned from loan)
Promoted: Leandra Berenguer (ST, 20)

OUT
Esther Cadre (Bikarish, 7m)
Danielle Jackson (Santraginus, 3m)
Cedella Verlander (Aries Chariots, 1.5m)
Retired: Farago rue Cazade (TK, 36, FFD)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Penumbra Amokachi, Danijel Brymora, Chris Christon, Croft Drinkwater, Dimitra Exarchopolous, Konrad Gosforth, Diligence Nkembe, Temperance Nkembe
Club Heroes: Augustine Breton, Jonathan Bosetti, Farago rue Cazade, Tana Colbright, Evelyn Conjure, Erica Kenney, Desya Kuznetsov, Kunibert Mathias, Darek Norgen, Stig Soederquist, Ronda Judit Styrn, James Watt
Iconic Manager: Larissa Garrotte
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
Despite the earthy nickname conjuring images of teamsters and burly shirtless men, Brinemouth is a largely affluent city, particularly the coastal east, and their football club became nouveau-riche just in time for the Premiership to join the international scene. They have, as a result, been far more successful post-UICA than pre-, and their seven titles are only matched by AFC Treason - indeed, the Premiership's ascension into the ranks of serious leagues worldwide seemed to coincide with an era of dominance for the two clubs on each end of the country, overshadowing the 'Sabrefell giants' of Athletic and the Moths who had dominated prior to the modern era. Unlike Treason, their playing identity is based around expensive marquee talent playing beautiful attacking football - locals are considered a nice bonus, but not essential. They want the ball, and they want to be flashy with it. West Brinemouth are their only real rivals for fanbase in the city, but are too weak on the pitch to make a proper rival in Brinemouth's eyes. Instead, they save their ire for the Classic, against their philosophical opposites and equals AFC Treason.

2. Sabrefell Moths
‘The Moths’
Farham Arena (90,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Lorée BAUTISTA (25) [CMT]
RB - 2 - Têrçêr ANAXIMANE (30) [FFD]
CB - 19 - Adnan SULEJMANOVIC (24) [MYT]
CB - 6 - Miska BRABANZON (30)
LB - 3 - Vasilii NYBERG (27) [SRS]
RM - 10 - Kaisa GYLDENSTROEM (26) [SVJ]
CM - 4 - Rook TIMEKEEPER (28)
CM - 15 - Jean-Christophe BABIN (23) [QUE]
LM - 11 - Eloise KWEON (26) [QUE]
ST - 21 - Nick RIORDAN (24) [TMB]
ST - 16 - LIU Huiying (29) [YZH]

GK - 12 - Balint CARRINGTON (24)
RB - 17 - Solblindi RAKE (22)
CB - 5 - Tristan NIEDERMAYER (31) [STL]
RM - 26 - Nasir MAJERLE (27) <ISK>
CM - 14 - Laslo VOL BRININGER (22) <MRN>
LM - 24 - Irina ALDERWOOD (22)
ST - 9 - Berenice ANDREAS (23)

GK - 30 - Shamir RAVEL (19)
CB - 22 - Helvetia MUSCAT (22)
LB - 18 - Anders KALUZA (23)
CM - 23 - Gawain DEVENEY (20)
CM - 27 - Kelzi HARASLIN (23)
ST - 7 - Sabina VENTURE (20)
ST - 13 - Lyzolda PETROV (34) [SRS]

LB - 32 - Luther HASSEL (20)

MANAGER
Penumbra AMOKACHI (49)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 4th

TROPHY CABINET
4 Premiership titles (47, 60, 68, 69)
3 NFA Cups (58, 65, 85)
3 Ramsey Shields (66, 69, 70)
Champions Cup (73)
2 Globe Cups (64, 67)
Super Cup (73)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 3rd - 82 pts - ChC
83: Zenith - 3rd - 71 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 6th - 63 pts - ChC
81: Zenith - 2nd - 79 pts - CL
80: Zenith - 6th - 57 pts - ChC

TRANSFERS
IN
Vasilii Nyberg (Santraginus, 12m)
Adnan Sulejmanovic (Atletik Thessia, 6m)
Berenice Andreas (Vermillion Rage, 5m)

OUT
Kateryna Zuniga (Delphi Lionesses, 3m)
Luther Hassel (Ararat Severyan, 2-yr loan)
Retired: Joey Sinton (CB, 36, KRY)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Nevaeh Cathar, Rook Cathar, Sasha Christener, Gudrun Crowley, Kirsten Cliving, Bravura Harper, Michael Kellard, Catheline Marchant, Scheherazade Meier, Cheney Rosewood, Tawny Shone, Lux Vicelich
Club Heroes: Robert Griffin, Aaliyah Johnson, James Macbeth, Gerhard Thunder, Imriel Townsend, Solara Vol
One-Club Men: Lucia Pembroke, James Yorke
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
The biggest and proudest club in Nephara's biggest and proudest city, the former capital of Sabrefell; a giant fortified metropolis whose layers of walls and distinctive flat, forceful architecture betray the cities origins as a stronghold first and a place to live second. The moths of Sabrefell themselves are notorious for their size, number and, topically for the club, resilence. The original giants of the Nepharim league, the Moths had, by a distance, the most titles in the pre-UICA Premiership and have remained very competitive in modern times, generally playing a very fast, attacking brand of football, and particularly loving a prolific striker - Gerhard Thunder, homegrown Rook Cathar, five-time Iron Boot winner Aaliyah Johnson and Solara Vol have all become club legends. Their pull is best summarised by the fact that, when the time came to retire the crumbling Gargoyle's Court, they simply moved into the Farham Arena, hitherto only for Cormorants games and Cup finals. Though they present themselves as 'Nephara's club', they in theory represent the west of Sabrefell, and have historically been associated with hard-left elements, and while they count a large base of casual support their ultras have been guilty of violence in the past. More positively, their pyro and banner displays are among the finest in the world. Their fiercest rivals are Athletic, in the east of the city.

3. Crisisbless
‘The Heelers’
Godswatch (63,000)
Crisisbless, CHD

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Toxothea SEBRING (23)
RB - 2 - Syrene FISCHER (28)
CB - 5 - Sven COPPERHEAD (24)
CB - 22 - Yngriit KALABAAN (31) [MRN]
LB - 6 - Auburn DELASRA (22)
RM - 29 - Kestrel ANHARBOUR (23)
CM - 7 - Claudia MAKATSCH (27) [VAL]
CM - 4 - Demeter CONSTANTINE (24)
LM - 10 - Anne-Marie ROUX (26) [SVG]
ST - 9 - Rachel ARNISTON (30) [SCT]
ST - 11 - Lothas LUDWIG (27) [VAL]

GK - 20 - Veluca AUSTEN (31)
CB - 13 - Mortola TEFFETELLER (35) [COS]
LB - 3 - Mitchel ROSALES (29) [PFA]
RM - 41 - Erwin SPIJKERS (34) [AUD]
CM - 23 - Bellona SEBOLD (21)
LM - 18 - Lysandra OSPREY (23)
ST - 16 - Dauntless CARRICK (28)

GK - 25 - Artur DELACROIX (23)
RB - 17 - Anna SONNLEITNER (23)
CB - 19 - Gandolf TURNER (22)
CM - 14 - Mercurio KASTRIOT (34)
ST - 12 - Mette SONDHEIM (23)
ST - 38 - Reveri SWANTON (19)

MANAGER
Michael BRANDON (62)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 3rd

TROPHY CABINET
3 Premiership titles (59, 71, 75)
3 NFA Cups (47, 61, 64)
Cup Winners’ Cup (62)
Copa de Campeones (76)
3 Ramsey Shields (72, 76, 83)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 4th - 78 pts - ChC
83: Zenith - 6th - 65 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 2nd - 79 pts - CL
81: Zenith - 5th - 67 pts - ChC
80: Zenith - 3rd - 72 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Lothas Ludwig (FC Felsenkirchen 1879, 15m)
Veluca Austen (Parrhesia United, 2m)
Kestrel Anharbour (returned from loan)
Promoted: Reveri Swanton (ST, 19)

OUT
Sophi Esmereld (North Sabrefell, 5m)
Lucien Chamoun (Pradera FC, 3.3m)
Moira Woakes (Carsby, free)
Retired: Valentin Germain (ST, 35, VLD), Mzukisi Nzo (CM, 37, BNJ)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Sven Copperhead, Sieglinde Lohengrin, Sabrine Portsgate, Brigid Kestrel, Toxothea Sebring, Marisha Staunton, Bremusa Strassman, Methuselah Tregajorran
Club Heroes: Kósa Bajnok, Anders Engstroem, Fabricio Gallardo, Ror Jevjdevic-Hadsic, Osric Keast, Erick Khan, Espen Knutsen, Pawlo Marciak, Lucia Oakwood, Leona Rafford, Luxulya St. Cleer, Isaia Urso, Moira Woakes
One-Club Men: Augustine Brandon
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
The dominant force of the towering major city of Crisisbless, and in theory one of the dominant forces within Nephara itself, but there was a time at which they were technically outperformed by little Starling just above in terms of titles. They have a reputation as bottlers, just lacking the fortitude to turn their ability into league wins; hence their name, the Heelers, nominally after the dog but more an appropriated insult at their status trailing in the wake of the biggest clubs. But they've generally been consistent, rarely falling completely out of the business end of things, and have something of a reputation as Cup specialists. They still do have plenty of silverware to their name, and their proud fans regard their club as a match for anyone in the world. Crisisbless are one of those teams that kind of wants to fight everyone in the vicinity; primarily Crisisbless United, their greatest rival in their own city, but there's a level of rivalry with nearby, upstart Starling as well.

4. AFC Treason
‘The Stags’
The Gauntlet (65,000)
Treason, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 16 - Paiva SHIMSKI (26) [SRS]
RB - 2 - Ophelia SCHRADER (27)
CB - 22 - Ettard MITTEAGER (23)
CB - 6 - Kahala MURJE (30) [SAJ]
LB - 18 - Silja JORSE (28) [SAJ]
CM - 8 - Vincent ROBSHAW (34) [EUR]
CM - 13 - Purna ZAZAGAN (28) [SRS]
RW - 20 - Bobby MALONE (28) [EUR]
AM - 21 - Morgan ROSENBLATT (28) [CDG]
LW - 11 - Valerie WELLS (23) [TMB]
ST - 9 - RÖSKVI Tyrfingsson (24) [GRF]

GK - 1 - Fasolt SENNINGER (35)
CB - 5 - Bersant SALE (32)
LB - 3 - Diandra WEISS (22)
CM - 14 - Ilia MUELLER (32)
CM - 15 - Maruschka KOERVER (23)
LW - 19 - Erzebet REVESZ (27) [PAS]
ST - 7 - Michael RIBBECK (33) [STL]

GK - 30 - Neriza VONSTRATTEN (18)
RB - 17 - Tiamat HOLDEN (20)
CB - 27 - Friede VOLKMANN (21)
CM - 4 - Petra ANHOPE (20)
RW - 38 - Tabithe DRAKE (19)
AM - 12 - Hecate ZELLER (20)
ST - 10 - Franziska LOCKE (21)

MANAGER
Erin CAMDEN (58)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 2nd

TROPHY CABINET
14 League titles (48, 49, 52, 56, 57, 65, 66, 74, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 83)
3 NFA Cups (49, 76, 82)
2 Cope de Campeones (67, 77)
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones (57)
4 Ramsey Shields (77, 81, 82, 84)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 2nd - 85 pts - CL
83: Zenith - 1st - 95 pts - CL
82: Zenith - 1st - 87 pts - CL CWC
81: Zenith - 1st - 90 pts - CL
80: Zenith - 1st - 89 pts - CL

TRANSFERS
IN
Valerie Wells (Swangard Athletic, 10m)
Promoted: Tabithe Drake (RM, 19), Neriza Vonstratten (GK, 18)

OUT
Kendra Considine (Lakewood United, 10m)
Tamora Ravenwood (Lhor, 8m)
Ezra Carbine (Marketville, 3.1m)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Diandra Ballard, Claudia Cautcher, Malachi Gallagher, Calliope Katskalidis, Aventurine Kolar, Servet Misidjan, Kurtis Quinn, Aristide Metzger, Tanith Rainsford, Sigurd Rustwyth, Fasolt Senninger, Konrad Vornander, Scylla Vyntra
Club Heroes: Roque Acosta, Angel Clavel, Josephus Flaccus, Roddy Fraser, Catheline Harper, Tosca Marlowe, Russ Miller, Rovena Stride, Peter Svensson, Lienke Vesper
One-Club Men: Markus Anderton, Gideon Fletcher, Cathy Stokes
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
The city of Treason is the large, parochial industrial powerhouse of the northwest, the place where the last king of Nephara was executed. Ask most people there about the many vibrant clubs, and they'll concede the Stags are the best show in town. Treason were always a big side, but along with Brinemouth became an iconic titan of the league as it rose up the UICA rankings - currently, the two sides are matched on seven titles apiece. Treason have a very strong local identity based on physicality, professionalism and hard work. They have a proud tradition of youth development, and have always relied heavily on their academy to provide for their roster. They also have the largest fanbase of any Nepharim side. They are Chatswood's fiercest rivals, and Brinemouth's (in 'the Classic'), and North Laithland's due to being their nearest urban rival, and South Laithland's due to stealing most of their best players over the years, and Stahlburg City's following a long history of violent match-ups and infamously 'stealing' their best chance at a modern title. Following an implausible number of international clashes, they even sparked a friendly rivalry with Buyanese side Blau-Weiss Pallstadt.

5. Sabrefell Athletic
‘The Rams’
The Barbarossa (72,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Raluca GARAMOND (30)
RB - 17 - Illyria LANDRITH (28)
CB - 5 - Hollis STEPHENSON (28) [PFA]
CB - 4 - Alan TARAKOV (29) [STL]
LB - 3 - Caracal PAGE (28)
RM - 23 - Marcelo ESCOBAR (27) [VLD]
CM - 13 - Sonya BELLTOWER (26)
CM - 7 - Susan MONAGHAN (23) [TMB]
LM - 12 - Sarafina IKPEAZU (29) [BNJ]
ST - 15 - Danand TRISTRAM (27) [BRE]
ST - 21 - Damien GANNOT (27) [MYT]

GK - 18 - Gareth AUXIER (23)
CB - 22 - Vetta ROBACK (22)
LB - 11 - Ella CIURU (29) [SAJ]
DM - 8 - Jean-Michel DOMINIQUE (33) [KOR]
LM - 16 - Mati CVANCARA (23)
AM - 25 - Rika LUNDELL (31) [SVJ]
ST - 14 - Thibault BENEZET (33) [VLD]

GK - 30 - Clovis ARCARD (19)
RB - 2 - Caoimhin HADLEY (22) [BRE]
CB - 6 - Asztrik SZALAY (35) [PAS]
RM - 19 - Athena BIRCH (20)
CM - 10 - Tasia WISTING (21)
ST - 9 - Gareth HASLUCK (24)
ST - 34 - Tanya BERESFORD (18)

MANAGER
Kalia TOLSII (43) [MRN]

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 5th

TROPHY CABINET
4 Premiership titles (50, 58, 67, 73)
2 NFA Cups (50, 66)
2 Ramsey Shields (67, 68)
2 Globe Cups (56, 73)
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones (59)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 12th - 48 pts
83: Zenith - 4th - 70 pts - ChC
82: Zenith - 5th - 66 pts - ChC
81: Zenith - 3rd - 70 pts - CL
80: Zenith - 4th - 70 pts - ChC

TRANSFERS
IN
Susan Monaghan (Northern Stallions, 8m)
Danand Tristram (Kingsgrove, 8m)
Caoimhin Hadley (North Hall, 3.5m)
Promoted: Tanya Beresford (ST, 18)

OUT
Perseus Agamemnonos (Ausharmug Marusi, undisclosed)
Tasha Sauber (Spartangrad, 6.2m)
Ellen Weber (Stahlburg City, 5m)
Alyce Kearney (Southfell United, 4m)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Karena Braham, Alexa Ferryman, Kurtis Fitzmarten, Daniel Kruse, Lindse Kvasina, Darren Parrett, Lind Pressinger, Markus Rhein, Snowy Sleet
Club Heroes: Coalan Bray, Michael Campbell, Karelline Charmwell, Oscar Coltrane, Xixi Ens, Rowan Gawain, Ole Oehman, Yupanqui Sarracena, Sipke Tarala
One-Club Men: Matt Breen, Lukas Strongnesse
Premiership Debut: Inaugural
Athletic have always been a force to be reckoned with in the Nepharan game, and no matter what Moths fans insist, will never be completely in their shadow. The 56 cycle cemented that, when they secured the first-ever UICA silverware for the nation, ensuring the Premiership's arrival as a major player. Despite occasional spells in the wilderness, infamously following up their first modern title win with 11th, 12th and 17th-placed finishes, Athletic have always bounced back from adversity, backed by a loud, aggressive and outspoken fanbase. While the Moths are defined by union ties, Athletic are twinned informally with the military, and by urban Nepharim standards tend to have right-wing elements - though both the club and its fanbase have always worked quickly and tirelessly to stamp out any hint of fascism. Athletic are the most widely disliked club in the city, largely due to incidents of fan violence alienating them from River and the Chariots, as well as their mutual hatred of Sabrefell Moths. To be an Athletic fan is to embrace the siege mentality and relish the looks on the haters' faces when you win.

6. AFC Corvistone
‘The Crows’
Phoenix Rise (28,000)
Corvistone, NCT

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Fiona HARTNETT (30)
RB - 2 - Ash BETVA (22) <QUS>
CB - 22 - Safiya TELFORD (22)
CB - 5 - Ida SEVET-STOKES (25) <QUS>
LB - 3 - Milla VIIPURI (29) [SVJ]
CM - 26 - Danilo SEVALJEVIC (21) <MYT>
DM - 6 - Markko NISKANEN (28) [SVJ]
CM - 11 - Talia NISARIZO (28) [SRS]
RW - 15 - Mirko HRANILOVIC (21) <MYT>
ST - 16 - Davor KURTISHI (27)
LW - 10 - Yonatoño DE LA GARZA (21) [FFD]

GK - 12 - Selina CARVER (32)
CB - 18 - Mercedes KNAUTH (27)
LB - 20 - Hermina KEATON (24)
DM - 8 - Tallin LEDGER (22)
CM - 13 - Misha RETYUNSKIKH (23) [PYA]
ST - 9 - Konrad BALMORAL (24)
LW - 23 - Luvenia BRANDON (28) [SYL]

GK - 25 - Çìríkô SARFÓ (20) [FFD]
RB - 38 - Berthold KUCKA (18)
CB - 19 - Gordin IRONMONGER (21)
CM - 35 - Casper ANDERSON (19) <EUR>
RW - 7 - Muse BLACKBURN (29)
ST - 14 - Endre CASE (22)

MANAGER
Gareth PENROOKE (59)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 70
ALL-TIME RANKING: 23rd

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 7th - 63 pts
83: Zenith - 12th - 45 pts
82: Zenith - 8th - 60 pts
81: Zenith - 6th - 66 pts - ChC
80: Zenith - 9th - 54 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Yonatoño de la Garza (Antiguoko FC, 10m)
Tallin Ledger (Crisisbless United, 6m)
Selina Carver (Raven River, free)
Promoted: Casper Anderson (CM, 19), Berthold Kucka (RB, 18)

OUT
Dimitra Karvelas (Stahlburg City, 4m)
Isperia Marrish (Santraginus, 3m)
Petria Brincat (Newrook City, 2.5m)
Octavia Zahra (Parrhesia United, 2m)
Claire Libuda (Chatswood, 1.5m)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Konrad Balmoral, Ash Betva, Ilyana Brosch, Sonya Latimore
Club Heroes: Chibuzo Afolayan, Rachel Arniston, Krista Morham
The most controversial and, yes, hated club in Nephara. Corvistone is the new planned capital of Nephara, and AFC Corvistone was made explicitly to be a club worthy of the capital. But the capital isn't fully formed and the club, which struggles to even half-fill its fantastic stadium, faces constant pressure for buying success and in all fairness it has never shied away from that, splurging money freely to drag themselves to the top flight. Their fans relish the hate, though, and the club makes the most of its siege mentality.

7. Stahlburg City
‘The Smiths’
Čalrek Arena (62,000)
Stahlburg, BAR

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Olympe WEAVER (25)
RB - 6 - Ellen WEBER (23)
CB - 8 - Matthias LIEVEN (27) [VAL]
CB - 22 - Svenja BASTE (32) [SRS]
LB - 3 - Fluorspar TALMAY (23)
CM - 4 - Nina MacDONALD (23) [TLI]
CM - 8 - Ramon MacMASTER (24) [AUD]
RW - 7 - Miriam TROEGNER (26) [VAL]
AM - 10 - Mersudin SMAJIC (29) [MYT]
LW - 11 - Arachne LOEHER (20)
ST - 9 - Ariel BALLARD (24)

GK - 1 - Xander ROSMARIN (32)
RB - 2 - Fiona LYONS (28)
CB - 18 - Tamiika VINE (21)
RW - 13 - Maria DUKAKIS (24)
CM - 14 - Karlos WISE (23)
LW - 16 - Dimitra KARVELAS (28)
ST - 15 - Lieschen KUZENER (31)

GK - 20 - Cassi BRETT (20)
CB - 5 - Xandra COOKE (35)
LB - 20 - Cora VARNHAM (30) [QAD]
DM - 33 - Janne RINEHART (19)
CM - 37 - Timo SZANDER (18)
ST - 17 - Lowen CORDER (20)

MANAGER
Vanessa ROSSUM (52)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 9th

[b]RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 11th - 52 pts
83: Zenith - 7th - 64 pts
82: Zenith - 10th - 58 pts
81: Zenith - 10th - 53 pts
80: Zenith - 8th - 56 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Olympe Weaver (Wyvernscrest, 10m)
Ramon MacMaster (1830 Cathair, 8.5m)
Miriam Troegner (Kingsgrove, 8.5m)
Ellen Weber (Sabrefell Athletic, 5m)
Dimitra Karvelas (AFC Corvistone, 4m)
Promoted: Janne Rinehart (DM, 19), Timo Szander (CM, 18)

OUT
Gabriel Basildon (Urim, free)
Canute Bresonik (Alliance Barossia, free)
Helmut Goldberg (Phantom Academy, free)
Constantine Jurman (AFC Rochford, free)
Jasper Morbihan (North Lima SC, free)
Thisbe Rouvas (FKP Matov-Uri, free)
Martel Sevecke (Mantlegrove, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Sheila Kilgallon, Rusalka Klein, Elsa Layland, Sophia Moloney, Linde Rostock, Anaximander Scales, Tasha Sauber, Medusa Strand
Club Heroes: Jill Austen, Didier Bernard, William Čalrek, Michael Keane, Georgia Kite, Isabella Shi
One-Club Men: Grubiša Jelić
Iconic Manager: Daniel Brunet
Once considered a keystone member of the Premiership, Stahlburg City once lead the league on the 45th matchday. But, at the last minute, they collapsed, and their fierce rivals Treason overtook them. They've arguably never recovered, with relegation coming at the end of a long, drawn-out malaise. Stahlburg is a polluted, hyperindustrial clump, and City claims rather grandly to represent it all - this has been less true of late with the success of their local rivals, the Rovers. Traditionally they have played an unexciting, direct and physical brand of football, and its supporters value powerful, committed veterans and winning at any cost. Used to be named Maximum City, but when the city elected to change its name back to its ancestral title, the two major clubs followed suit.

8. Aries Chariots
‘The Chariots’
The Scythes (36,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 20 - November BESAND (31)
RB - 2 - August KOVAC (25)
CB - 18 - Pryna RASANAMIRA (32) [CBP]
CB - 19 - Cedella VERLANDER (33)
LB - 3 - Kyri LEVERING (23)
RM - 7 - Jasper MORDECAI (25)
CM - 8 - Tricia CRAY (27)
CM - 22 - Winabæn KEVAARSEN (30) [MRN]
LM - 11 - Scalena WOODWRIGHT (24)
ST - 9 - Mathias GRETLER (22) [DEL]
ST - 14 - Delphine LOPAR (28)

GK - 1 - Ursula GAVARIS (32)
RB - 13 - Mirko STEFFEN (24)
CB - 5 - Claire GRIFFITH (31)
CM - 4 - Hannah BOOTH (23)
LM - 15 - Annika CASHIN (31)
ST - 10 - Shaheen TALEB (31) [KSK]
ST - 21 - Scott COLEMAN (33) [FVA]

GK - 25 - Gerard MEZAHI (21)
CB - 6 - Sorceress BULLARD (22)
LB - 12 - Baldomero TEIJEIRO (34) [FFD]
DM - 39 - Gethin TAPHOUSE (19)
RM - 23 - Jess KRNETA (20)
ST - 16 - Beatan SHEARER (20) <TLI>

MANAGER
Lexus ULREICH (50)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 6th

TROPHY CABINET
2 NFA Cups (55, 63)
Globe Cup (58)
Super Cup (58)
Gang of Six member

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 5th - 66 pts - ChC
83: Zenith - 8th - 58 pts
82: Zenith - 9th - 58 pts
81: Zenith - 9th - 57 pts
80: Zenith - 5th - 65 pts - ChC

TRANSFERS
IN
Mathias Gretler (Metro Tirana, 2.5m)
Cedella Verlander (Brinemouth, 1.5m)
Annika Cashin (Coret Hawks, free)

OUT
Anna Porter (FC Novonaya, 2m)
Alisander Farham (SK Elita Ryzaev, 1.5m)
August Longstreet (South Laithland, free)
Nikolai Steele (St. Warren City, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Uli Alsatian, Trajan Bruyne, Brigitte Coppinger, Claudia Escrow, Paula Morgan, Logan Murdoch, Adnan Szalai
Club Heroes: Croft Drinkwater, Ihazintzu Malkorra, Emanuele Riviello, Rowena Sierra, Katerina Tarrasch, Nate Walker
One-Club Men: Jess Leinster
Iconic Manager: Gareth Sumner
The Chariots are not one of the largest sides in Sabrefell by any means, but they can point to a devoted and vibrant fanbase operating out of the eastern suburbs and to a history of punching well above their weight, at one stage finishing as high as second and winning a Globe Cup, then being the first Nepharan side to claim a Super Cup. They have thrived with the increasing levels of immigration into the country over the past couple of decades, and their catchment is particularly lush with Licentian diaspora, hence the more recent decision to switch from white to a blue and gold away kit. In more recent years, the giants of Nephara have re-established themselves, and the Chariots have switched gears to focusing on youth and infrastructure, though they dream of a return to the glory days. Their only real rivals are Sabrefell Athletic, who they revile after incidents of fan clashes - a bond they share with Raven River, which has always been a somewhat friendly rivalry.

9. Starling
‘The Passerines’
Jade Park (28,000)
Starling, CHD

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Hanna BAYLISS (27)
RB - 17 - Cleo HARPER (30)
CB - 6 - Martin PEARCE (22) [EUR]
CB - 5 - Rais PERCHTOLD (24)
LB - 3 - Laviska CANTICLE (27)
CM - 4 - Octavian EVERSONG (28)
CM - 10 - Lukas WOLF (26) [SWR]
RW - 20 - Kurtis CONRAD (28)
AM - 7 - Auburn DAESCHER (28)
LW - 23 - Xanthe HAUSER (23)
ST - 9 - EIRIKA Jonathansdóttir (31) [GRF]

GK - 12 - Kilroy HAGEN (25)
RB - 18 - Crispin FREMONT (21)
CB - 19 - Garrick RUSTAK (29)
CM - 26 - Sophara HAYES (28)
RW - 14 - Anna MacDONALD (28) [TLI]
AM - 8 - Kite ROCASTLE (24)
ST - 15 - Satine VALENZA (22)

GK - 30 - Lukas PROWL (18)
CB - 24 - Colossus MUSCAT (20)
LB - 22 - Dyane ANGLE (20)
CM - 8 - Remus VETTEL (20)
CM - 31 - Sandre FINCH (18)
LW - 11 - Ascalon COFFEY (20)
ST - 32 - Avissa VECSEI (19)

MANAGER
Nikita LOEHER (50)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 59
ALL-TIME RANKING: 11th

TROPHY CABINET
2 Premiership titles (63, 64)
NFA Cup (70)
First Division title (60)
Champions Cup (64)
Super Cup (64)
Dwile Invitational (74)
Ramsey Shield (71)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 6th - 64 pts
83: Zenith - 11th - 52 pts
82: Zenith - 7th - 61 pts
81: Zenith - 4th - 70 pts - ChC
80: Zenith - 14th - 45 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Martin Pearce (New Oakstone Phoenix, 4.5m)
Kite Rocastle (Chatswood, 3m)
Promoted: Sandre Finch (CM, 18), Lukas Prowl (GK, 18)

OUT
Nicki Stone (Shiloh FC, 1m)
Shanna Cotton (Mantlegrove, free)
Julia Garland (Macarthur City, free)
Batsheva Letang (Barossia United, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Evangeline Aschenbach, Lyre Castor, Xanthe Hauser, Estrella Hawke, Elsa Kaelin, Konrad Lovelace, Reinhard Meixner, Hyacinth Surman
Club Heroes: Keira Andisori, Liam Armstrong, Christian Berg, Justinian Hargrave, Deirdre McNessa, Sean Smørdal, Kurtis Warner
Iconic Manager: Amethyst Fegelein
Starling are the standout 'Football Manager' story of Nephara, perhaps even the world. In the Passerines' first Premiership season, they were relegated despite a strong side on paper. In their second, they stayed up. In their third... they won the league. In their fourth, they won the league and Champions Cup. They've never looked back, and incorporated a golden star and golden trim into their crests and kits to commemorate these victories. Starling is a small city to the north of Crisisbless, the first sign of civilisation heading south from the Northern Vale. As a result, they have a firmly established antipathy against Crisisbless and the two main Valesider clubs, Corvette and Leichhardt, without being the main rival of any of them. They've used the proceeds of their victories carefully, trying to build the club's infrastructure up and provide a platform to keep competing; they may not have the catchment or wealth to be entrenched as one of the big dogs forever, but their Golden Age has made them one of Nephara's most recognised sides abroad regardless.

10. Coret Hawks
‘The Hawks’
The Aviary (30,000)
Coret, LZC

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Sandra MIDDLETON (26) <QUE>
RB - 17 - Diadora REEVE (30) <YZH>
CB - 22 - Luuna PIIRS (26) [MRN]
CB - 13 - Mahir KAPETANOVIC (24) [MYT]
LB - 3 - Sabine KEMP (24) [TMB]
RM - 7 - Danielle MARADROGBA (26) [KSK]
CM - 16 - Fiadh BUCHAN (24) [TLI]
CM - 10 - Stanimir REKAWIC (28, vc) [ZRH]
LM - 15 - Ysabet BELGRADE (29)
ST - 20 - Gareth PAWNBROKER (28)
ST - 9 - Erik MOSELLE (28) [STL]

GK - 1 - Anthoulis MATRAXIS (39)
CB - 4 - Dzeneta HARKER (31)
LB - 19 - Davor ROSKILDE (29)
CM - 5 - Stefan MORGAN (24)
LM - 26 - Robinson SEGURA (21) [TKT]
ST - 11 - Istria SAARA (34) [MRN]
ST - 23 - Claire RITTLER (22)

GK - 30 - Musa BILIC (18) <MYT>
RB - 33 - Astrid SWAIN (19)
CB - 31 - Markus OSTLER (18)
RM - 25 - Cecili PEARCE (20)
CM - 6 - Renat LEXMANN (32)
CM - 37 - Marian STOEPKER (18)
ST - 34 - Anders HARNIK (19)

GK - 18 - Clariza MEYER (22)

MANAGER
Daniel ARCHER (53)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 49
ALL-TIME RANKING: 10th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (56)
NFA Cup (80)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 9th - 58 pts
83: Zenith - 2nd - 73 pts - CL
82: Zenith - 4th - 69 pts - ChC
81: Zenith - 11th - 51 pts
80: Zenith - 11th - 47 pts - CWC

TRANSFERS
IN
Sabine Kemp (Lakewood United, 4m)
Robinson Segura (Port Rhovanyon AFC, 3.5m)
Promoted: Musa Bilic (GK, 18), Anders Harnik (ST, 19), Markus Ostler (CB, 18), Marian Stoepker (CM, 18), Astrid Swain (RB, 19)

OUT
Huang Shedong (SC Jiangdong, 1.5m)
Ivan Bader (Macarthur City, free)
Satara Brand (FK-PD Ofau, free)
Annika Cashin (Aries Chariots, free)
Riette Lyons (AFC Rochford, free)
Clariza Meyer (Vermillion Wanderers, loan)
Retired: Lemuel Burns (LB, 34, OSR)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Rasmus Caracole, Trifon Draxler, Gerry Duffy, Isidra Jeurissen, Harald Matheson, Atalanta Skapetis, Vedran Tarashaj
Club Heroes: Gabriella Antonio, Cormak Lethbridge, Alyssa Montague, Kizza Okafor, Eudoxia Tzavaras
One-Club Men: Alex Beckett
Originally the Valkyrja Hawks, back when the Nepharan league included foreign sides from the Serenes region it used to be a part of, the Hawks eventually moved to the northeastern town of Coret to stay relevant. Historically, they've tended to be something of a yo-yo side, but in more recent times they've been a fixture of the top half, though struggling to break that UICA glass ceiling to such an extent it seemed at times there must be a curse. They have a substantial following abroad in Chromatika thanks to the signings of Alyss Montague and Gabriella Antonio, which they have tapped into with tours and targeted marketing; the latter, arguably their greatest ever player, retired at 28 to start a family. Under new management of late, Coret finally broke into the top six and now appear intent on staying there, at least for a time. Coret Rovers, the less flashy incumbents in the city, see the Hawks as upstarts, but have long since faded from relevance; in truth, Newrook City are their most prominent regional rivals, an antipathy that has grown into one of the more vicious for want of either club tending to fight for trophies.

by **Nephara** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:46 am

11. Raven River
‘The Ferrymen’
Bridgeside Overlook (36,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 20 - GABRIELLA Hárlaugsdóttir (29) [GRF]
RB - 17 - Paavo LINDGREN (26) [SVJ]
CB - 19 - Clara BRIVIO (29) [PFA]
CB - 4 - Priscilla AVERY (28)
LB - 3 - Minotauro MEÑICA (26) [DEL]
CM - 15 - Flora BROWN (25) [EUR]
DM - 5 - Adele GUILDENSTERN (24) [ZWZ]
CM - 11 - Mercy VALDEMAR (21)
AM - 8 - Diana CLEMENTI (23) [ZWZ]
ST - 7 - Roimata SHEHU (28) [SRS]
ST - 13 - Visse BRASS (23)

GK - 1 - Aurum CHANEY (21)
CB - 18 - Chris LANG (35) [DEL]
LB - 26 - Susanne VAUCLUSE (23)
DM - 6 - Aulay STEFANS (25)
CM - 14 - Alpin CLERY (29) [SRS]
AM - 21 - Zara LEVIN (27)
ST - 10 - Rose FLEETWOOD (27) [SYL]

GK - 30 - Viktor HELLMUTH (19)
RB - 38 - Spinnelle PAWSON (19)
CB - 22 - Brock GOLD (22)
CM - 24 - Ypril PURDUE (20)
CM - 39 - Lena BEXFORD (18)
ST - 9 - Serge CONRAD (21)
ST - 36 - Diadora PARKES (19)

MANAGER
Dragan STAVANGER (43)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 14th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (62, 66)
NFA Cup (60)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 8th - 60 pts
83: Zenith - 13th - 43 pts
82: 1Div - 2nd - 78 pts - P
81: 1Div - 7th - 54 pts
80: 1Div - 6th - 63 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Flora Brown (Goodfeather FC, 7m)
Visse Brass (Belgrave, 5m)
Promoted: Lena Bexford (CM, 18), Spinelle Pawson (RB, 19), Viktor Hellmuth (GK, 19)

OUT
Selina Carver (AFC Corvistone, free)
Luci Drace (Southfell United, free)
Lars Glaston (AS Cartablanca, free)
Roxi Pryce (Mantlegrove, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Isabella Cassadore, Lukas Finnan, Ruby Gjasula, Rutger Locke, Karin Machan, Kaya Naumoff, Ferenc Kubala, Diogenes Kutris, Kylie Penrith, Althea Taliadoros, Matt Vintner, Nikolas Vikmanis
Club Heroes: Matt Bowerman, Diette Daleiden, Kurtis Fitzmarten, Olgina Harrison, Barry Kearney, Franz Kesteren, Zivka Petkovic, Nikita Reeve, Daniella Strauss
River are one of the many secondary Sabrefell sides that have had plenty of time bouncing between the two top tiers. The titular River splits west Sabrefell from east, and the club's stadium overlooks it - a fitting legacy of their humble beginnings, formed by the city's ferrymen. It has never really had ideas beyond its station, and has always cultivated a good relationship with other Sabrefell sides, particularly the sister club Diamondqueen that it helped lift out of obscurity with a series of loans and profile-boosting friendlies. The exception is Athletic, and River are one of the three main sides who absolutely cannot stand the Rams - in their case, the grievance stems back to an incident of fan violence that's by now decades old, where a River fan was attacked in a case of totally mistaken identity. When Chariots ultras retaliated by beating up the Athletic supporters responsible, it created a particularly strong bond between the two sides.

12. North Sabrefell
‘The Bohemians’
Plumeria Lane (24,000)
Sabrefell, ARI

ROSTER
GK - 20 - Marko CULWEATHER (25)
RB - 2 - Rabia SAFAROV (24) [SRS]
CB - 22 - Lianne NORTHRUP (29) [ZWZ]
CB - 19 - Natalia LEVACK (30)
LB - 18 - Tamsin NEVETNY (23)
CM - 4 - Tawny SHONE (36)
CM - 8 - Seeker BISCAN (22)
RW - 10 - Sophi ESMERELD (22)
AM - 14 - Meliza AUDREY (25)
LW - 11 - Olaf SVANTE (29) [NYK]
ST - 15 - Camilla MARTIN (29)

GK - 1 - Georgia HOFFMAN (33)
RB - 13 - Pristine KELLER (26)
CB - 5 - Capricornia STUBBS (25)
CM - 6 - Marita NEUWIRTH (32)
RW - 7 - Dassi CONSTANTINE (30)
AM - 16 - Zara CARROW (24)
ST - 9 - Kieran LOFTHOUSE (21)

GK - 12 - Barry CAMMISS (20)
CB - 3 - Luka POLICHEV (20) <MYT>
LB - 31 - Sissi FASTOLF (18)
CM - 23 - Zoroaster KEYNES (27)
CM - 35 - Esme CLAPFORD (19)
ST - 21 - Mytti NUMENEN (31) [HIN]
LW - 17 - Nikola SWANN (29)

RW - 36 - Eurydice HASTINGS (19)

MANAGER
Leigh FLUTE (54)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 71
ALL-TIME RANKING: 37th

TROPHY CABINET
3 First Division titles (62, 66, 83)
NFA Cup (60)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 14th - 44 pts
83: 1Div - 1st - 88 pts - Promoted
82: 1Div - 6th - 63 pts
81: 1Div - 6th - 57 pts
80: 1Div - 14th - 41 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Sophi Esmereld (Crisisbless, 5m)
Promoted: Esme Clapford (CM, 19), Sissi Fastolf (LB, 18)

OUT
Everard Reinhardt (Langmere Green Rovers FC, 3m)
Thea Wolff (Reschensreppur, free)
Eurydice Hastings (River Valley, loan)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Seeker Biscan, Minka Kranevitter, Luka Polichev, Diadora Reeve, Josie Webster
Club Heroes: Milan Aubeck, Alcuin Sharp, Erika Wolff
North Sabrefell haven't really made an impact on Nephara, traditionally speaking, but they've risen respectably of late. It's regarded, sometimes derided, as something of a bohemian wasteland full of drug-addled students, and they've embraced the nickname accordingly. They've recently had a cash injection from Brenecian mining tycoon Bruce Harker, but strict Nepharan ownership rules prevent him from taking a majority share - even so, expect him to influence the side forwards. They're rivals with nearby, more affluent Belgrave.

13. North Laithland
‘The Spiders’
The Bluegrass (48,000)
Lindmark, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Cairbre DUNDALK (31) [BRE]
RB - 2 - Trishi CSATAR (24)
CB - 23 - Axel BAHR (22)
CB - 5 - Iucharba KILLEN (26) [BRE]
LB - 20 - Deli SINKA (26) [SRS]
CM - 21 - Madita BREWER (20) <SCT>
DM - 4 - Celia MARRABLE (31) [KOR]
CM - 8 - Eustaquio ABAYA (26) [FFD]
RW - 7 - Maria ZAMBROTTA (26) [JUE]
ST - 9 - Chirstoforos LAZELIS (30) [VDR]
LW - 10 - Bellona SADLER (28)

GK - 20 - Amber TURNER (25) [CDG]
RB - 26 - Jule WASSMUTH (20)
CB - 6 - Paarsimer JAAN (35) [MRN]
DM - 34 - Steffi GANDLING (19)
CM - 15 - Athena SINODINOS (29)
ST - 22 - Chris FISKEN (25)
LW - 11 - Spike BURNHAM (21)

GK - 25 - Pavel OWINGS (23)
CB - 38 - Alexandra GANTRY (19)
LB - 37 - Sandra QUOLL (19)
CM - 14 - Mathis VYNTRA (20)
RW - 13 - Moran STENSNESS (20)
ST - 36 - Anders MAKAR (19)

ST - 40 - Dénes ROBINEAU (19) [FFD]

MANAGER
Kosovare FAIRWEATHER (45)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 7th

TROPHY CABINET
Premiership title (51)
2 NFA Cups (67, 73)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 10th - 54 pts
83: Zenith - 10th - 55 pts
82: Zenith - 12th - 51 pts
81: Zenith - 12th - 42 pts
80: Zenith - 10th - 51 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Eustaquio Abaya (Mazinaw Vanorian, 6m)
Trishi Csatar (Cranequin Wanderers, 4.5m)
Promoted: Steffi Gandling (DM, 19), Alexandra Gantry (CB, 19), Anders Makar (ST, 19), Moran Stensness (RW, 20), Jule Wassmuth (RB, 20)

OUT
Theresa Klaus (Mar Sara FC, 2.5m)
Gwen Settler (1896 Ebor, 2m)
Fiora Anders (Stahlburg Rovers, free)
Ajax Boleyn (Ulsa Rovers, free)
Dénes Robineau (Belgrave, loan)
Retired: Jewell Foley (RW, 34, EFL)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Raimund Anderson, Madita Brewer, Bianca Condotta, Theodora Covenant, Lavender Jameson, Karsten Riordan, Christian Serjeant, Deborah Stokes, Rasunda Vanderlei
Club Heroes: Steed Corren, Brandon Duguid, Gareth Pearce, Chloe Rudden
One-Club Men: Rook Kennedy
With their relegation reducing the 'Gang of Seven' to six, North Laithland become the first former Premiership champions to drop down a level. Unfortunately for the Spiders, that season Nephara was disqualified from UICA entry due to persistent crowd incidents. Situated, unsurprisingly, in the northern Laith, they're specifically based from the large town of Lindmark but represent the entire region and draw their fanbase from a wide variety of northwest Crownsend towns. Other Laith teams have risen and fallen over the years, but the North has retained a power base both on and off the pitch that has made them difficult to dislodge. This is in large part due to a strong reputation for youth development, and they have produced a disproportionate amount of Cormorants, though it's been less productive in recent times. They have a friendly rivalry going with South Laithland and a decidedly unfriendly one with AFC Treason.

14. Vermillion Rage
‘The Rage’
The Full Fifty (50,000)
Vermillion, PAR

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Auberine PERIDOT (25)
RB - 6 - Katalin WRIGHT (22)
CB - 13 - Ilayda CANNON (30)
CB - 5 - Liam TOIVONEN (34) [MRC]
LB - 3 - Avarice PROVINCE (25)
CM - 8 - Lienke COVOLAN (24) <BRE>
DM - 23 - Rutger CURTIN (22)
CM - 15 - Valletta KEEPSAKE (29)
RW - 23 - Laurent BÉRINGER (24) [SVG]
ST - 7 - Andrianos PETRAS (27) [VDR]
LW - 11 - Lena TREATISE (27)

GK - 20 - Calico PINTER (22)
RB - 2 - Fortuna MORVAN (28)
CB - 19 - Floki CARSON (25)
DM - 4 - Gareth SORRELL (28)
AM - 14 - Gretchen POLIKEIT (24)
RW - 12 - Anezka RENNET (28)
ST - 9 - Merrill GRANT (22)

GK - 30 - Mars STANHOPE (19)
CB - 31 - Konrad GREEN (19)
LB - 22 - Opal MATTHEWS (20)
CM - 27 - Ludovic MASON (22)
CM - 37 - Mervat CREWE (19)
ST - 36 - Jacqui SPARHAWK (19)
LW - 33 - Oskar HESKETH (18)

CB - 38 - Hamish JEONG Harcourt (20) <QUE>

MANAGER
CRALT-NIRLO Fox (58)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 8th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (50)
NFA Cup (75)
Campionato Esportivano di Campeones (62)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 15th - 41 pts
83: Zenith - 16th - 37 pts
82: Zenith - 13th - 44 pts
81: Zenith - 8th - 63 pts
80: Zenith - 7th - 56 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Laurent Beringer (Brookford Otters, 6m)
Rutger Curtin (Belgrave, 4m)
Merrill Grant (Vermillion Wanderers, 4m)
Promoted: Mervat Crewe (CM, 19), Konrad Green (CB, 19), Oskar Hesketh (LW, 18), Jacqui Sparhawk (ST, 19)

OUT
Berenice Andreas (Sabrefell Moths, 5m)
Jonte Bestatter (South Laithland, 1m)
Jules Zeller (Port Vale FC, free)
Kestrel Anharbour (Crisisbless, end of loan)
Hamish Jeong Harcourt (Knetyohai City FC, loan)
Retired: Markus Teamster (DM, 35)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Kestrel Anharbour, Gazzincha, Saskia Hasselbaink, Sander Katarec, Rachael Kellen, Radeka Lind, Ferena Rauch, Birgit Sternberg
Club Heroes: Hye Min Jeong, Kunibert Rosenfeld, Victoria Maersk, Marios Tzavellas, Morgan Underwood
Vermillion could perhaps have been a real giant of Nepharan football were it not for timing. They were a prominent challenger in the pre-UICA era, fuelled by a blatant money-laundering operation, but just a couple of years into the modern era, the Rage slammed face-first into financial ruin, got relegated, and never fully recovered. Arguably a sleeping giant, Vermillion have always been more concerned with looking good and flashy than grinding out results. While still not exactly Takil - this is still Nephara - anything less than an attractive, attack-minded, fast-paced style of football would not be tolerated either by the fans or the board. Vermillion's brand is to entertain. While they don't exactly love the upstart Vermillion Wanderers to the south, their true rivals are Parrhesia United to the north. The two sides have both had their own boom-and-bust cycles; presently, Vermillion are enjoying Parrhesia's spectacular bust even more than their own relative boom, and have managed to seriously annoy the Saints by poaching their players. Indeed, while very few players tend to cross rivalry divides across the rest of Nephara, the Saints and the Rage have a penchant for trying to grab each others' talent. The name of their new stadium alludes to the capacity; their old ground, the Iron Hill, had a capacity agonisingly short of the mark, at 49,500. Like most old Nepharan stadiums, it was a hideous brutalist monstrosity; the rebuild was necessary for basic amenities to be in place.

15. Chenoworth Harriers
‘The Harriers’
The Keel (35,000)
Chenoworth, FDN

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Elida KATTER (29)
RB - 17 - Ragna DRINKWATER (22)
CB - 22 - Clovis HARKEN (22)
CB - 3 - Davica HULL (29)
LB - 18 - Sara CANTRELL (24)
CM - 6 - Freydis LONGHOUSE (25)
CM - 8 - Jens RUTTER (24)
RW - 10 - Vusur RAJOVIC (22) <MYT>
AM - 16 - Velasco NARVAES (25) [FFD]
LW - 20 - Kyli PEMBROKE (23)
ST - 9 - Birgitta NØRUP (24) [FKR]

GK - 1 - Arden LUTHER (35)
RB - 2 - Igrene SONNEN (29)
CB - 5 - Inaki OTXOA (33) [AUD]
CM - 4 - Dario RASKIN (28)
RW - 23 - Riviera SANDERS (29)
AM - 11 - Donato GIRARDI (31) [DEL]
ST - 7 - Cathi SLEATOR (25)

GK - 30 - Brede LAXWELL (19)
CB - 25 - Erik FENTON (33)
LB - 19 - Innocent FELTON (23)
CM - 14 - Ross LAKER (22)
CM - 33 - Amelia RUMFORD (19)
LW - 13 - Mátyás SOLTESZ (31) [PAS]
ST - 15 - Harlan DAVISON (21)

MANAGER
Adalheid METZELDER (52)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 18th

TROPHY CABINET
3 First Division titles (64, 77, 79)

RECENT HISTORY
84: 1Div - 2nd - 71 pts - P
83: 1Div - 6th - 63 pts
82: Zenith - 18th - 31 pts - R
81: Zenith - 13th - 42 pts
80: Zenith - 15th - 44 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Freydis Longhouse (Iron City, 5m)
Ragna Drinkwater (Stahlburg Rovers, 3.5m)
Velasco Narvaes (Oslograd Academy, 2m)

OUT
Luthienne Koetter (Carelton Park Rangers, free)
Traci Lachmann (Guillemard Town, free)
Levi Beckton (Colbrook City, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Hadrian Belfast, Angela Braugher, Victoria Carroll, Patricia Martyn, Hesterine Mercator, Klaus Murdoch, Nike Rouphos, Gerhard Thunder, Felixe Vetiver, Gareth Westmead
Club Heroes: Steven Rexmont, Markus Sheffield, Raphael Somner
Based in northwest Chenoworth and with strong Hellenic roots, the Harriers are one of the two real giants of a city that has never really looked able to fit any more. A notorious yo-yo club in the early days of the modern era, the Harriers can 'boast' four relegations - three coming between cycles 55 and 60 alone. In more recent times, though, cautious and targeted spending has ensured they can not only stay afloat in the top flight, but have at times approached the UICA places. Unsurprisingly, they count the Rovers as their only serious rivals, and tend to be the more technical and cerebral of the two sides - though Rovers fans tend to prefer 'flimsy'. For all their mixed results, though, the Harriers undoubtedly have a far stronger pedigree in youth development.

16. Newrook City
‘The Rooks’
Twilight Ridge (36,000)
Newrook, LZC

ROSTER
GK - 1 - Maela RAN (31) [CMT]
RB - 13 - Petria BRINCAT (30)
CB - 5 - Tony GARDNER (34) [FVA]
CB - 18 - Priscilla GRAVES (27)
LB - 20 - Jana FORDE (27)
CM - 6 - Eero SOLARI (31) [COS]
CM - 8 - Marcella SALTER (22)
RW - 23 - Elias HAGEN (23) [VAL]
AM - 21 - Jezdimir OCOKOLJIC (32) [MYT]
LW - 11 - Zlata PERKUNA (26, SRS)
ST - 9 - Alhambra PIKE (28)

GK - 12 - Florine SHEATON (26)
RB - 2 - Annika TATASCIORE (27) <SMB>
CB - 17 - Arnulf GOSTLER (25) [SRS]
CM - 10 - Sven GILLARD (31)
AM - 16 - Violet SIVERSON (31)
LW - 14 - Ashara SZUBAN (29)
RW/ST - 22 - Julia ROBERTS (30) <EUR>

GK - 25 - Butch FREAMON (22)
CB - 19 - Antony HANGMAN (22)
LB - 3 - Gretelyn PENDRESS (21)
RW - 37 - Simon CLAIN (19)
CM - 4 - Kolinda BISCHOFF (34)
ST - 15 - Helmer SMITH (22)

LOAN - RW - 7 - Casey ROEHAMPTON (25)

MANAGER
Gratia BARKER (53)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 15th

TROPHY CABINET
First Division title (84)
3 Rensenbrink Cups (57, 68, 71)

RECENT HISTORY
84: 1Div - 1st - 87 pts - P
83: Zenith - 18th - 33 pts - R
82: Zenith - 17th - 34 pts
81: Zenith - 14th - 40 pts
80: Zenith - 12th - 46 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Elias Hagen (DD Porto Nowi, 3.5m)
Petria Brincat (AFC Corvistone, 2.5m)
Ashara Szuban (Creed United, 2m)
Jezdimir Ocokoljic (Energija Chernovets, free)

OUT
Olenna Bruune (Colbrook City, free)
Silke Gutenberg (Torgos City, free)
Retired: Arkady Rozier (LW, 34, AFT)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Kurtis Brace, Maladict Farrell, Rowan Gawain, Maxine Lynwood, Alessa Marconi, Francesca Marquon, Chase Wingett
Club Heroes: Jezdimir Ocokoljic, Raquel Woods, Perica Zagorec
One-Club Men: Catheline Keenan
Iconic Manager: Andreu Bartolnicci
Founding members of the modern-era Premiership, the Rooks have endured a lot of heartbreak in their time, and their five relegations are an equal record. But it’s the kind of club that appreciates success when it comes; its three Cups are also a record, and one season saw both come at once. It’s still remembered fondly as a blaze of glory. Once considered a more broad-church club across the whole of regional far northeast Nephara, the growth of Newrook into a proper, well, city - absorbing a number of small frontier settlements on the Nepharan end of the Gelderlish border in the process - has mirrored the growth of its one major football club. Northeasterners are considered strange, distant and intense, just sort of off by the standards of the rest of the country. Newrook aren't far off Coret, and the two sides' rivalry is weirdly strong for sides that more central Nepharim tend to mostly forget about. A brief run as a contender towards the sharp end of the Premiership may not have stuck, but did bankroll a new stadium, arguably the most scenic in the nation.

17. Creed United
‘The Oathmen’
Gardengate (26,000)
Creed, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Bryony LINDT (32)
RB - 2 - Tristan ESTERLING (27)
CB - 5 - Tevye BARKER (27)
CB - 6 - Ashrata BARKAAN (30) [SRS]
LB - 3 - Tanith XU (20) <YZH>
RM - 7 - Zaza KIRKLAND (24)
CM - 4 - Hanna SELDER (30) [SVJ]
CM - 21 - Tara SHANTHI (26) [SRS]
LM - 16 - Rasmus CARACOLE (32)
ST - 14 - Alibek KHAUTOV (24) [DEL]
ST - 10 - Danita KORHAL (21)

GK - 1 - Marnid VOLLAND (34)
CB - 19 - Kund BORBELY (35) [PAS]
LB - 18 - Palla KOENEN (27)
RM - 23 - Fox VITARIS (21)
CM - 15 - Constance HOOPER (33)
LM - 38 - Lyn SHEEN (19)
ST - 9 - Scott BURGESS (34) [ETN]

GK - 30 - Radu MERCEDES (19)
RB - 18 - Jasper SKATE (24)
CB - 27 - Vasil AUSBURY (21)
CM - 24 - Cinderella FOREMAN (24)
CM - 31 - Gareth BURNES (18)
ST - 17 - Innocent HARGREAVES (24)
ST - 35 - Ben WIEDERGANGER (18)

MANAGER
Gideon FLETCHER (48)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 62
ALL-TIME RANKING: 22nd

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (73, 82)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 13th - 45 pts
83: Zenith - 17th - 35 pts
82: 1Div - 1st - 78 pts - P
81: Zenith - 20th - 24 pts - R
80: Zenith - 16th - 44 pts

TRANSFERS
IN
Zaza Kirkland (Vermillion Wanderers, 6m)
Promoted: Gareth Burnes (CM, 18), Radu Mercedes (GK, 19), Lyn Sheen (LM, 19), Ben Wiederganger (ST, 18)

OUT
Fatale Rivers (Umbar, 4m)
Ivan Masterly (Chardonnay Rangers, 2m)
Ashara Szuban (Newrook City, 2m)
Aquila Kovac (FC United of Mancodas, 1m)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Corvid Alemane, Tara Dante, Anthoulis Matraxis, Abigail Mueller, Dragan Stavanger, Tanith Xu
Club Heroes: Karena Bittner, Aidan Hartigan, Stefan Herron, Georgia Rodrigues
One-Club Men: Byron Caldwick
Creed is a small city in the far northwest of Nephara, and it has a similar kind of dry, rough-edged character to the rest of Crownsend. United are its traditional powerhouse, and have only really recently managed to crack the top tier thanks to a golden generation, staying there for a shade under nine years and at one point managing to get into the knockout rounds of the Globe Cup. The hope was that they'd 'pull a Starling' - the reality was that selling their best players for huge fees and having a questionable record of reinvestment meant they eventually reverted to the mean. Still, like many of Nephara's lesser cities, Creed is growing in size and prominence, and being their single relevant club has significant benefits for the Oathmen - a nickname that stems from a legendary regiment of halberdiers that made a name for themselves during the Wars of the Long Marches, and the oath each swore to fight to the last. However, Corinthians No Longer have recently come to prominence, against whom Creed have defined themselves as the club of soldiers and workers.

18. Leichhardt
‘The Stargazers’
Capricorn Plaza (23,500)
Leichhardt, CHD

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Sinric ASTON (24)
RB - 2 - Leontiy KORCHAGIN (23) <MYT>
CB - 5 - Andrija UGLJANIN (29) [MYT]
CB - 22 - Gabriel LOCKHEED (35)
LB - 19 - Marko DIETER (27) [ZRH]
CM - 8 - Cintia FLAXEN (25)
CM - 21 - Varina ROEBLING (33)
RW - 7 - LUO Nanwei (24) [YZH]
AM - 17 - Hestia BOWMAN (31)
LW - 16 - David CAIRNS (23) [TLI]
ST - 10 - Caelan McINTYRE (25) [TLI]

GK - 1 - Ingrid MOORE (33)
CB - 13 - Natalia DREIDER (33) [MRN]
LB - 3 - Yasmin UZUND (28) [SRS]
CM - 4 - Sander MORITZ (31)
RW - 26 - Caleb STARBOARD (23)
AM - 15 - Cassi BURBANK (26)
ST - 14 - Lea EBERHART (29) [VAL]

GK - 25 - Olivia SPENCER (21)
RB - 20 - Talea MYRAKIS (33) [SRS]
CB - 6 - Jasper OAR (21)
CM - 23 - Sverre UZUNI (20)
CM - 24 - Olwen NORTH (31)
LW - 11 - Tilda SHED (23)
ST - 9 - Asger LOMOND (21)

MANAGER
Goran VERBECK (56)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 51
ALL-TIME RANKING: 29th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (74, 78)

[b]RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 17th - 28 pts
83: 1Div - 2nd - 80 pts - P
82: 1Div - 5th - 64 pts
81: Zenith - 18th - 30 pts - R
80: 1Div - 3rd - 72 pts - P

TRANSFERS
IN
Caelan McIntyre (Corinthians No Longer, 6m)
Cintia Flaxen (Cranequin Wanderers, 5m)
Andrija Ugljanin (Baraldhur AFC, 4m)
Yasmin Uzund (Syneca, free)

OUT
Matthew Chisholm (Cypher Town, 600k)
Lenna Berwick (Lindwurm Delta, free)
Tess Saunders (Twin Saints, free)
Brielle Strebinger (AJ Anju, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Sinric Aston, Nikita Griffiths, Rebecca Larkland, Sheila Maddon, Rebecca Stubbs, Sverre Uzuni
Club Heroes: Miralem Fowler, Jacqui Rowlins, Lara Silverstein, Ernie Stevenson
A small city and the largest settlement in the Northern Vale, Leichhardt has traditionally flitted between Premiership relegation battles and the top half of the First Division, usually playing defensive football in the process. Its primary rivals are Corvette, the second-largest Vale settlement, but they've both been overshadowed by nearby Starling of late. Their nickname stems from the clear Vale skies, as opposed to the cloudier cities across the rest of the country.

19. Chatswood
‘The Axes’
Westcroft (28,000)
Treason, CRE

ROSTER
GK - 20 - Claire LIBUDA (32)
RB - 17 - Sander ILINDEN (25)
CB - 5 - Luka HAZALUTA (33) [MRT]
CB - 18 - Sophia PEARSON (28) [SYL]
LB - 3 - Serena LAMONTAGNE (28) [SVG]
RM - 23 - Varlam KOVALEV (28) [DEL]
CM - 13 - Simon DEMIRJIAN (23) [DEL]
CM - 21 - Rasmus KARLSSEN (26) [COR]
LM - 11 - Hector WALKER (25) [SNL]
ST - 9 - Markus STURDEVANT (28)
ST - 7 - Annika ST. CLEER (22) [EFL]

GK - 1 - Esther PRESS (31)
RB - 2 - Vraska PETROV (33) [SRS]
CB - 6 - Christian IMHOFF (33)
LB - 22 - Druzhina SHARP (21)
CM - 4 - Ruben ALBERT (30) [DEL]
LM - 16 - Ninian PETRUS (27)
ST - 14 - Vanessa MULDER (27)

GK - 25 - Carri BOXWOOD (20)
CB - 19 - Garrett SHANGYUAN (22) <YZH>
RM - 32 - Kilika MATTHIS (19)
CM - 8 - Natale CORVEN (21)
CM - 36 - Lothar KONDRAT (18)
ST - 15 - Miriam COSTNER (22)
ST - 27 - Xander LECKEY (20)

MANAGER
Lyn HAVELOCK (61)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: 51
ALL-TIME RANKING: 17th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (51, 80)
2 NFA Cups (56, 81)

RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 16th - 37 pts
83: Zenith - 15th - 37 pts
82: Zenith - 15th - 41 pts
81: Zenith - 15th - 40 pts - CWC
80: 1Div - 1st - 78 pts - Promoted

TRANSFERS
IN
Annika St. Cleer (Copper Communists SC, 3m)
Simon Demirjian (Umbar, 1.5m)
Claire Libuda (AFC Corvistone, 1.5m)
Promoted: Lothar Kondrat (CM, 18))

OUT
Victoria Remeikis (Corinthians No Longer, 3m)
Kite Rocastle (Starling, 3m)
Esther Strickland (Mokofen, free)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Claire Beresford, Ulrich Beresford, Helmut Chilmark, Tzipporah Cohen, Ace Flynn, Dieter Konoval
Club Heroes: Gary Corsie, Mikko Haagensen, Devane Miller, Marijana Kuralay, Darius Rashkin, Vince Riggs, Alhambra Shrike
One-Club Men: Brescia Stubbs
Iconic Manager: Emery Lineker
Treason's second club, in the West of the city. It's got a hard-nosed, physical reputation, fanned by many a successful, battling Premiership performance. After years of punching above their weight and sporadically managing UICA qualification, it seems as though the Axes have come crashing down to earth, and settled into a more yo-yo pattern. Their main rivals are AFC Treason, which is considered to be the major Treason derby; they also have a strong and relatively recent hate for Morningstar, who are nearby, share Emery Lineker as their first Premiership manager, and share a general club ethos. After quirks of fixturing lead to a series of steel vs. silk clashes on final Premiership matchdays, in which Chatswood constantly played spoiler, there's also a fierce rivalry with Brinemouth. But Chatswood have always kind of had an 'us against the world' mentality. They're chippy, and you will always remember playing them; they take pride in that. ‘Axes’ refers not only to the Wood, but is a clever nod to the term ‘hatchet man’.

20. Parrhesia United
‘The Saints’
Knightsgrave (43,000)
Vermillion, PAR

ROSTER
GK - 12 - Dimitar FRANZEN (30)
RB - 2 - Zaur-Luka IGORIC (27) [ZRH]
CB - 18 - Farina SHARPE (23)
CB - 22 - ZHU Mingxia (27) [YZH]
LB - 3 - Nikki FREEMAN (27)
CM - 21 - Lucas BAKER (26) [ETN]
DM - 4 - Octavia ZAHRA (30)
CM - 8 - Kurtis SWAINSONA (21)
RW - 13 - Dimitri PALLAS (25)
ST - 10 - Idina SLAZENGER (23)
LW - 16 - Corban GREEN (28) [SNL]

GK - 1 - Typhenon LAISNE (34) [OAM]
CB - 6 - Praline SAUNDERS (30)
LB - 19 - Excellence SANDFORD (20)
DM - 38 - Esther CAELIN (19)
CM - 23 - Mikael TANNER (29)
RW - 7 - Stirling LONGMAN (23)
ST - 9 - Riverina BRAY (29)

GK - 20 - Cuthbert STROMA (20)
RB - 32 - Ceodora FINNAN (19)
CB - 5 - Kina STRAUSS (20)
CM - 33 - Ashe CAULKER (19)
ST - 38 - Catheline INSTILL (19)
LW - 11 - Stefan CROWE (20)

MANAGER
Valery CAIN (54)

PREMIERSHIP DEBUT: Inaugural
ALL-TIME RANKING: 13th

TROPHY CABINET
2 First Division titles (63, 76)
2 NFA Cups (51, 59)

[b]RECENT HISTORY
84: Zenith - 18th - 25 pts
83: Zenith - 14th - 41 pts
82: Zenith - 14th - 43 pts
81: 1Div - 3rd - 76 pts - P
80: Zenith - 20th - 22 pts - R

TRANSFERS
IN
Kurtis Swainsona (Southfell United, 5m)
Dimitar Franzen (Vermillion Wanderers, 2.5m)
Octavia Zahra (AFC Corvistone, 2m)
Riverina Bray (Crisisbless United, 2m)
Promoted: Esther Caelin (DM, 19), Ceodora Finnan (RB, 19)

OUT
Kisvarda Marin (Brinemouth, 7m)
Luther Elvedi (Diamondqueen, 3m)
Veluca Austen (Crisisbless, 2m)
Linus Branson (Foxhampton, free)
Retired: Aline Ruthers (DM, 35), Trude Spitz (RB, 35, STL)

BACKGROUND
Notable Products: Christian Beckcamp, Rudolf Blondel, Erin Camden, Georgia Kite, Ramona Porter, Isolde Reader, Gabrielle Reinhardt, Ursula Rowan, Monica Rowland, Catheline Stockinger
Club Heroes: Alastair Brun, Christian Frei, Elaine Koeller
One-Club Men: Matt Sebastian
Vermillion's first or second club, depending on who you ask. Definitely its oldest, and one of the oldest in the country. The Saints are associated with the northside and outskirts of the city, a fairly disparate population uniting a variety of demographics. The nickname doesn't really stem from any piety of the club's, or any association with places of worship, but rather its obscure origins have been traced back to regional pride - downtown Vermillion is a godless hellhole, so therefore the northsiders were saints by comparison. A proud club, but has fallen on harder times of late. Bitter rivals with Vermillion Rage, who keep stealing the Saints' players.

by **Nephara** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:50 am

First Division Preview

1. Barossia United
Last Season: 4th
Stadium: Woden Avenue (28,000)
Nickname: the Shrikes
Manager: Bronwyn Gerhardt (49)
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Chary Longstreet (22); 17 - Lori Sand (24), 18 - Bwahi Herron (29, CMT), 22 - Batsheva Letang (32), 19 - Ari Maurer (29); 4 - Chelsea Crawford (28, HAN), 23 - Anastasia Bystrom (28, SRS); 7 - Luka Djordić (22, ZRH), 21 - Ida Lancer (27), 10 - Tessa Bjarnesen (22, PFA); 14 - Ottilia Hjort (22, SRS)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Artemis Tsipras (31); 2 - RB - Rain Methven (29), 5 - CB - Ida Roesling (31), 6 - CB - Sigurd Cooke (30), 7 - RW - Isla Leskosek (30), 8 - DM/CM - Augustin Dirac (31, SVG), 9 - ST - Kylene Rotariu (31), 11 - AM - Revelle Szusza (22), 15 - CM - Anatol Gisbourne (22), 20 - LW - Gerhard Brooks (27), 38 - LB - Lukas Kiraly (19)

BACKGROUND Formerly named Rhagant, Barossia United's catchment now counts the confluence of large towns that ultimately coalesced into the city of Covenant. A wild sprawl, layer upon layer in an oddly heartbreaking ambition, Covenant is an apt backdrop for the chaotic club it calls its own. United have a proud history, an inaugural Premiership side, but they fell long and hard into crushing disrepair before their recent renaissance. They've always played a hard-nosed, direct brand of football.

2. Corinthians No Longer
Last Season: 3rd
Stadium: Pinnacle Park (22,000)
Nickname: CNL, ex-Corinthians
Manager: Sascha Dimitrius (45)
(4-3-3) 12 - Onbera Aispiolea (31, ASG); 2 - Matez-Nulzk Uzo (23, QUS), 5 - Sienna Cunningham (32, TLI, c), 6 - Nathanaël Ndòsi (26, SWR), 3 - Mia Turnbull (25, CMT); 10 - Amelia Ibsdóttir (29, GRF), 4 - Malia Renberg (24, SRS), 14 - Katona Meredith (24); 7 - Irenke Fenyvesi (26, PAS), 17 - Victoria Remeikis (30), 11 - Vesta Echagaray (27, MRT)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Holger Varney (33); 8 - DM - Erika Candling (28), 9 - ST - Anibal Troche (33, TEQ), 15 - CM - Xavier Barron (31), 16 - LW - Drea Bouman (31, CYI), 18 - CB - Marit Stoeger (35), 21 - ST - Lowen Murdoch (20), 23 - CM - Gerhard Joiner (22), 26 - RW - Shianne Wreath (20)

BACKGROUND The growing city of Creed has traditionally been dominated by Creed United, but CNL are actually their oldest club; Creed Corinthians are proudly one of the oldest clubs in the nation. For a century, they resolutely refused to turn professional, staying true to their amateur status and club name... until, on their centennial anniversary, they reversed this. The club has benefited from Creed's growth, and capitalised on their potential as they bounded rapidly up the divisions. Naturally, United see them as wealthy upstarts who could do with a good stomping.

3. Cranequin Wanderers
Last Season: 8th
Stadium: Ebony Lane (48,000)
Nickname: the Wanderers
Manager: Miron Campbell (51)
(4-2-3-1) 20 - Yves Carroll (31); 2 - Athel Scarnett (22), 4 - Filip Barker (32, SNL), 22 - Cat Baxton (28), 6 - Ilya Netrayev (29, SVJ, c); 5 - Nicola Brindell (31), 26 - Tristan Havek (24); 7 - Briston Rellingwood (26, TKT), 10 - Sander Berenger (24), 13 - Talin Anxosi (29, SRS); 15 - Kieran Beaumont (25, TKT)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - November Reiner (33); 8 - AM - Alexis Sutter (27), 9 - ST - Emile Scarlett (22), 16 - DM - Bastia Swanson (30), 19 - CB - Bran Goldford (32)

BACKGROUND Cranequin is Nephara's smallest state capital, with a generally cultural focus and bohemian reputation. It was a one-club city - that club being the Wanderers - for a while, but Cranequin City's prominence of late has created a rivalry. Usually found in the bottom half of the Premiership, the Wanderers have suffered three relegations to the second tier in the modern era but they tend to bounce back quickly. Their primary tactical legacy has been pioneering controversial patient possession football in Nephara, to some success - it's a blueprint they've since returned to. At six relegations, have set the record for the worst Premiership side.

4. Crisisbless United
Last Season: 6th
Stadium: The Chessboard (38,000)
Nickname: the Chequers, the Chessmen
Manager: Volga Hoellerer (53)
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Radoslav Blaha (21, SRS); 17 - Tori Allen (28, CDG), 22 - Dimitar Ingold (26), 6 - Anibal Barra (25, KOR), 3 - Lori Cillian (24); 21 - Zyta Penrith (25), 4 - Mathilde Keller (24); 7 - Vadim Arkhipov (26, SRS), 8 - Rhydian Campbell (28, DEL), 15 - Andrea Braxton (23); 9 - Mercia Calshot (22)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Dorothea Soumare (31, ASU), 25 - GK - Barry Keane (21); 5 - CB - Cale Bennett (23), 10 - LW - Andrine Samsa (29), 13 - AM - Ava Rose Donaldson (35, SCT), 19 - LB - Jane Fussell (23), 26 - CB - Bernard Royston (22)

BACKGROUND One of Crisisbless' secondary sides, United's deliberate study of contrasts of kit compared to the Heelers' has lead to plenty of jibes. But few people have been laughing at United since they've become a Premiership fixture, in which they won a lot of friends with forthright attacking football and survived for many years against the odds. To wear the red-and-black chequers is to embrace pace, fluidity, elan.... which has given them something of a rapport with FC Samotath from distant Cosumar, a side with a similar stylistic tradition and a near-identical taste in fashion. Homegrown United goalkeeper Phoebe Etton solidified the sister relationship, spending over a decade there and becoming a two-club woman between them (spurring a taste in Nepharan goalkeepers for Samo that would later include World Champion Diandra Ballard and the less-heralded Simon Ardley). They consider the match against Crisisbless to be the 'true' Crisisbless derby, and given Goodfeather's mediocrity in more recent times, they're probably right.

5. Southfell United
Last Season: 9th
Stadium: Brightley Arena (44,000)
Nickname: the Tanners
Manager: Bess Gannon (58)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Donat Soler (29, DEL); 26 - Luci Drace (27), 18 - Cale Schindler (26), 5 - Holger Wight (30, c), 3 - Pascal Ritter (26); 6 - Sczeila Milner (23), 8 - Alyce Kearney (22); 23 - Garin Velat (28, SRS), 21 - Lorena Strausz (34), 11 - Heather Spahi (21); 16 - Bernard Zeman (30)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Claude Burdett (23), 30 - GK - Leo Kjetill (20); 2 - CB - Jade Beyard (23), 4 - DM - Mari Brighton (30), 9 - ST - Ulrich Mason (23), 10 - CM - Hawker Banks (28), 19 - RB - Catheline Novick (33), 22 - LB - Fiona Zidler (21), 33 - ST - Ravil Kulesza (19), 35 - CB - Locke Hayes (20), 36 - LW - Thora Asbrecht (19)

BACKGROUND Southfell's a large town, once a fortress, just south of Sabrefell and just inland of the coast. Indeed, the easiest way to get into a fight with people from Southfell is to claim that, really, it's just a glorified district of Sabrefell. United started out as the factory team for leatherworkers, of all things, leading to their current nickname of 'Tanners'. Southfell have mostly been a Premiership side in the modern era, and their fans mostly consider themselves to be such, but they haven't had the best of things lately - that said, they were competing at the sharp end of the top flight when the modern era began. Stylistically, the Tanners have generally been fairly flashy and attack-minded, but there's been times where a long-ball style has prevailed. They have a friendly rivalry with the Sabrefell Moths, and indeed pretty much with every Sabrefell side.

6. Goodfeather FC
Last Season: 19th (Z)
Stadium: Steelchurch (32,500)
Nickname: the Quakers
Manager: Katenza Muhren (43)
(4-3-1-2) 1 - Sebille Locklear (21); 17 - Alyssa Cristante (22), 5 - Malai Yarlut (26, SRS), 6 - Leo Emmerich (29), 22 - Ziza Jewell (26); 14 - Vladimir Orakhin (24, SVJ), 23 - Czigany Vas (27, PAS), 4 - Casey Anzehelm (25); 13 - Page Resch (27); 9 - Dashaun Howard (27, DEL), 10 - Flavia Catepan (21)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Nichi Pomander (23); 2 - RB - Dala Etoka (SRS), 3 - LB - Daniel Chandler (20), 7 - CM - Cordelia Lorzer (32), 11 - AM - Kathil Mizumaru (33, HIN), 16 - ST - Gerard Cale (25), 19 - CB - Berenice Saline (22), 20 - CM - Tatiana Kell (22), 37 - ST - Rafko Jelenc (19)

BACKGROUND The Quakers, so named for representing the relative Protestant hotbed of Nephara, are noted for a gorgeous kit and a traditional emphasis on technical play. Comfortably situated in eastern Crisisbless, they've traditionally floated freely between the top two tiers, enjoying high highs and suffering some low lows along the way. They're well-renowned for a faith in youth, especially from their own academy.

7. Belgrave
Last Season: 5th
Stadium: Cherryfields (25,000)
Nickname: the Gargoyles
Manager: Ganymede Hooper (50)
(4-3-3) 12 - Caelan Wright (21, TLI); 2 - Sander Costly (27), 12 - Raphael Brown (30, SYL), 6 - Patrik Pentti (22, COR), 3 - Amita Misra (28, SRS); 13 - Etienne Berkut (28), 15 - Matthaus Gianniotis (26), 11 - Etheldreda Koren (22); 13 - Finbar McLoughlin (24, TKT), 21 - Dénes Robineau (19, FFD), 11 - Paige Leslight (27)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Catra Paderborn (31); 7 - ST - Kikumi Kondou (33, HIN), 8 - CM - Christian Ermine (25), 10 - RW - Jasmine Francis (24), 14 - AM - Syrene Fleetwood (34), 17 - LW - Augustine Slate (26), 22 - LB - Jaylene Kazarov (33, SRS)

BACKGROUND Belgrave represents Sabrefell's affluent northeast, not historically a socio-economic demographic that has produced good footballers. Even so, their success in recent seasons is built more on good planning than deep pockets. They embrace their reputation for affluence, rebranding it as a belief in 'sophistication', and they've historically favoured a technical, possession-focused style of football, trusting in youth to step up for them. Their willingness to snipe talented youths from across the city to play for them has only made them less popular.

8. Iron City
Last Season: 7th
Stadium: Swordgarden (35,000)
Nickname: the Cataphracts
Manager: Ursa Dimitar (46)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Annabelle Press (30); 6 - Lukas Storrin (29), 5 - Lukas Worn (30), 18 - Jessica Parrello (33, CDG), 20 - Maria Kroger (27); 15 - Mercedes Reeve (36), 21 - Andre Gannon (27); 23 - Vetta Crosetti (21), 13 - Page Rookworth (28), 16 - Elsebeth Farrier (25); 7 - Bryony Westerveld (33)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Skye Felicity (24); 2 - CB - Howell Payton (23), 3 - LB - Garrett Varlet (29), 8 - CM - Sara Brett (30), 9 - ST - Marius Cervenka (29), 10 - ST - Tania Brummer (31), 11 - LW - Esther Vorster (33)

BACKGROUND The original Premiership yo-yo club, Iron City have the dubious record of having suffered five relegations from the top flight in the modern era (tied with Newrook). That said, their fans would kill for that status now - they seem to be stranded in midtable in the second tier, and were even recently relegated to the third. Iron itself is a small, bleak, industrial city in northern Barossia, and the club traditionally plays bleak, industrial football - but on the other hand, Elaine Ashdown came from here, and book-ended her career at the club.

9. South Laithland
Last Season: 20th (Z)
Stadium: Covenground (27,000)
Nickname: the Southrons
Manager: Hecubah Statkis (48)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Donovan Velazquez (35, ETN); 22 - Karolin Faust (31), 5 - Kelly O'Connell (35, CBP, c), 17 - Tremeka Seward (28), 3 - Corren Speaker (20); 13 - Farina Luhukay (33), 6 - Chandra Rosziter (20); 7 - Constantine Brown (30), 21 - Shiida Roesler (31), 14 - Catheline Dane (24); 10 - Jonte Bestatter (33, SCT)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Logan Haas (25), 25 - GK - Georgia Fitzon (20); 4 - CM - Jakob Burnes (26), 8 - CM - Jenna Esling (20), 9 - ST - Topaz Caulker (22), 11 - LW - Kynda-Sevet Pec (33, QUS), 18 - CB - Lukas Tremesne (20), 19 - CB - August Longstreet (32), 24 - RW - Mili Billhook (22), 26 - AM - Johan Chandler (21), 27 - LB - Amber Wynd (20), 31 - ST - Kita Farrell (19), 33 - RB - Tashandra Bauer (19)

BACKGROUND Based, as the name suggests, in the southern Laith, South Laithland (based in the town of Dross, which is basically just the football stadium) have traditionally hovered between the bottom half of the Premiership and the top half of the First Division throughout the modern era, and really throughout their entire history. A reasonably successful and stable side, they've rarely scintillated but can be proud of a productive academy. They're friendly rivals with North Laithland, have a derby day against Cypher but expose their fiercest venom for Treason, who have a way of poaching their best players (Allbeck, Flaccus, Connacht, Morgan Ashdown...)

10. Chardonnay Rangers
Last Season: 12th
Stadium: Floriade Park (17,500)
Nickname: the Rangers
Manager: Gerik Ramsey (48)
(4-4-2) 12 - Charis Theoklitos (31); 2 - Jhoira Kambol (30, SRS), 18 - Barth Guzman (29), 19 - Adé Pasquier (22, KOR), 3 - Laurin Dale (24); 7 - Carrie Geffen-Broad (27, ZWZ), 15 - Sara Holster (25), 8 - Yente Shulthis (30), 16 - Constantina Redruth (24); 17 - Willem Tanzer (23), 21 - Clemente Oden (25, CMT)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Ivan Masterly (24); 4 - CM - Hans Kattis (30), 6 - CB - Orion Pryor (31), 9 - ST - Karl Bastin (27), 10 - ST - Cynthia Rayne (35, DOG), 14 - CM - Anders Wallcroft (28)

BACKGROUND The Rangers have achieved the remarkable feat of going from the Premiership to the Conference, and have now rebounded most of the way back. They used to be noted for youth development, trusting an inexperienced side and producing five-cap winger Eloise Parrish for the national team, but it's clear the current board is working for the short-term, at least until they get back to the top. After a slight relocation that prompted a name change, they operate from the northeast Crisisbless outskirts, and have only recently completed a new boutique stadium.

11. New Oakstone Phoenix
Last Season: 15th
Stadium: River Heart (26,000)
Nickname: the Phoenix
Manager: Audrey Kennett (39)
(4-4-2) 1 - Jakob Ardath (24); 26 - Erin Fry (23, EUR), 5 - Aoriasu Aeave (21, KOR), 18 - Sam Ryman (23, EUR), 22 - Paige Dewinter (24); 7 - Catrine Antelmi-Evans (24), 6 - Saunder Carrow (23), 21 - Micha Burkhard (30), 11 - Ingmar Loesser (23); 16 - Zdenka Vavra (29, SRS), 12 - Vanda Gerô (27, PAS)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Rena Perch (32); 2 - RB - Caspar Laufenn (27), 3 - LB - Rowan Findlay (30, TLI), 4 - CB - Jack Klose (30), 8 - CM - Fifi Arnhem (24), 9 - ST - Jonas Rossi (28), 15 - RM - Orane Warner (31), 19 - DM/CM - Adelaide Tallow (35), 22 - CB - Chelsi Ponder (25), 23 - LM - Perilous Whiteside (34)

BACKGROUND The first former Premiership club to sink to the state leagues, and now aspiring to return to their former heights. The Phoenix benefited incidentally from the settlement of Corvistone, having been swallowed up by the city's development in a region now known as New Oakstone for its disproportionate number of northern Euran refugee immigrants, and it is an ambitious Euran consortium that now hopes to propel them back to the Zenith.

12. Diamondqueen
Last Season: 9th
Stadium: The New Overlook (17,500)
Nickname: the Diamonds
Manager: Danijel Brymora (42)
(4-3-1-2) 1 - Gilgamesh Dance (28); 2 - Asha Penfold (27), 5 - Markus Gojak (28), 6 - Gregor Strober (32), 3 - Lorcan Devante (29); 23 - Luther Elvedi (24), 26 - Lindsi Gannon (27), 8 - Anna Henling (29, SYL); 10 - Odette Mandrake (28); 9 - Severa Freeport (20), 16 - Sedna Giunta (25, PFA)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Rudolf Solaun (27); 4 - DM - Nissa Mason (34), 6 - CB - Jessica Everard (33), 14 - CM - Adnan Broad (28), 21 - ST - Helmina Turner (31)

BACKGROUND Diamondqueen's main attraction is being the suburb in which the Nepharan National University is, just north of the centre of the city. As a result, most of its supporters come from the student base. It's had a very strong relationship with the nearby Raven River for many years, acting as something of a feeder club for them for a few years until their meteoric rise to the same division, and they continue to have a close relationship - Diamondqueen don't really have any rivals at all.

13. Brookford Otters
Last Season: 11th
Stadium: The Rock (20,000)
Nickname: the Otters
Manager: Cyrus Kroger (52)
(4-3-3) 1 - Olivia Cheney (27); 2 - Fan Kasef (27, EFK), 5 - Marka Krushlin (31, ZRH), 6 - Tristan Proust (27), 19 - Ferry Brandt (31); 8 - Russ Shallows (28), 4 - Florian Banneret (26), 23 - Arjen Malbranque (27); 7 - Martyn Cautcher (22), 17 - Bjoern Syomin (26, SRS), 11 - Monika Bandler (28)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Pamela Flush (34); 3 - LB - Pavel Cicak (34, DEL), 10 - LW - Melita Briskey (30), 14 - ST - Zaza Serry (25), 21 - CB - Kurtis Holden (34)

BACKGROUND Brookford is a smallish town on the east coast, but despite the proximity to Brinemouth, the Otters have always maintained a strong enough identity to ensure a minimum of defectors within the town. They are perhaps most famous for their vapourwave-inspired 'aesthetic' kits, though these have since been phased out as the side returned to their traditional navy and orange look. A Cup win remains their proudest achievement, though it was somewhat marred by their playoff relegation immediately beforehand

14. AFC Rochford
Last Season: 16h
Stadium: Brinegate Park (18,000)
Nickname: the Owls
Manager: Dan Keel (57)
(4-4-2) 12 - Hannah Rutherford (30, CDG); 2 - Riette Lyons (27), 5 - Viktor Raleigh (31), 22 - Emil Dajo (25), 18 - Catheline Mueller (20); 22 - Marnej Chambers (23), 4 - Ares Finnan (28), 11 - Constantine Jurman (33), 16 - Charissa Hyde (30, GTK); 7 - Vinísìus Sïrustós (24, FFD), 10 - Constantine Koellner (31)
Notable Reserves: 1 - GK - Anna Rochester (32); 3 - LB - Jenni Radic (29, SCT), 8 - CM - Scylla Perish (30), 9 - ST - Nyna Kane (29), 17 - RB - Anders Bowman (33), 26 - ST - Kahitana Xoferis (20, FFD)

BACKGROUND A moderately prominent town just inland of the Lazuli Coast, Rochford were a yo-yo club leading into the modern era of Nepharan football but have slipped away from prominence in more recent years, echoing the tendency of the townsfolk themselves to leave for the greener pastures of Brinemouth. Built overlooking the small lake known as the Roch, Rochford is famous for its seafood, especially its oysters.

15. Alliance Barossia
Last Season: Champions (2Div)
Stadium: Companions Field (26,000)
Nickname: Alliance
Manager: Malicia Jensen (59)
(4-4-2) 1 - Kari Vidmar (32); 2 - Lars Sandalwood (30), 5 - Caeda Warhurst (29), 4 - Tristan Hawker (23), 18 - Gabby Rosario (26, CDG); 7 - Riri Pheasant (27), 23 - Canute Bresonik (32), 8 - Loris Vanmeter (30, CMT), 16 - Harrietta Miller (24); 9 - Lindley Asher (21), 17 - Eloisa Caldwell (31)
Notable Reserves: 3 - LB - Gwen Kite (34), 6 - DM - Timoth Mariner (33), 10 - ST - Mara Sand (33, CMT), 11 - LM - Catheline Blissett (33), 13 - RB - Dimitri Rashad (34, ISK), 19 - CB - Tuco Durrig (36, SRS)

BACKGROUND Based out of the industrial sprawl of Bismuth, third and southernmost of Barossia's Three Sisters, Alliance arose, recent and vitalised by grassroots support, to challenge the crumbling giant of Rhagant; until the latter rebranded to Barossia United and sought new investment. The two have been in a death-struggle for supremacy for years, and loathe one another. Alliance have a vibrant fan culture, and seem to be the only Barossians really allowed to visibly enjoy themselves. They're connected to the Guayabalense diaspora; Alliance is the Anglicised form of 'Alianza', the traditional Guayabalense powerhouse, but there is no official link between the clubs.

16. Mantlegrove
Last Season: 2nd (2Div)
Stadium: Cygnet Street (12,000)
Nickname: the Dryads
Manager: Tallinna Cosgrove (46)
(4-3-1-2) 1 - Shanna Cotton (32); 2 - Baldwyn Evans (30), 18 - Capella Everton (29), 6 - Martel Sevecke (32), 3 - Kolin Auer (25); 4 - Roxi Pryce (31), 15 - Richter Moranis (31), 23 - Chelsi Byron (29); 10 - Johan Arbour (24); 7 - Oskar Hart (27), 9 - Alyce Nicolau (29)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Jade Chorus (35); 8 - CM - Amerill Londe (35, CMT), 17 - RB - Cameron Basalaj (32), 20 - ST - Condor Madrid (31, USD), 21 - CB - Angelyna Rinehart (32), 22 - LB - Arran Marr (34)

BACKGROUND A founder club of the Conference, Mantlegrove have come a long way to establish themselves in the upper-middle echelons of the pyramid. They're comfortably tucked into eastern Treason and have managed, somewhat surprisingly, to tap into the small hipster fanbase left abandoned by the collapse of Project +90. Propped up in their early years by a local family who won the lottery, they've since been taken over by a more conventional consortium.

17. Stahlburg Rovers
Last Season: 17th
Stadium: Griffindon (36,000)
Nickname: the Rovers
Manager: Snowy Brennan (58)
(4-4-2) 1 - Aurre Laurnagaray (35, ASG); 2 - Fiora Anders (29), 13 - Penelope Wisdom (25), 6 - Damascus Steele (24), 3 - Kvenna Melander (30); 7 - Sonya Channell (27), 4 - Augustine Lascar (27), 8 - Mari Tone (25), 11 - Lorelei Barker (26); 16 - Dimitar Guzan (28), 21 - Liang Wei (25, YZH)
Notable Reserves: 20 - GK - Esther Calcutt (24); 9 - ST - Uathach Walker (31, BRE), 14 - LM - Jelena Romanov (34, SVJ), 15 - CM - Gisela Feistle (31), 17 - RB - Else Svennsdottir (34, GRF)

BACKGROUND Historically very much Stahlburg's second team, the Rovers went from being a second-tier fixture to a Premiership fixture just in time for Nephara to enter UICA. Apart from a couple of scrapes with the sharp end of the league, however, the Rovers traditionally scraped lower-midtable finishes year after year, seemingly immune to stability. Fans are hoping to go straight back up. Formerly known as Maximum Rovers.

18. Chenoworth Rovers
Last Season: 14th
Stadium: Slatefield (32,000)
Nickname: the Rovers
Manager: Valentine Nemeth (46)
(4-4-2) 1 - Elisabeth Cha (30, QUE); 17 - Alisandra Svava (33, c), 19 - Hender Esmann (26), 5 - Gannon Livas (22), 22 - Anasophia Esteban (29, CMT); 7 - Sarala Darzi (28, SRS), 4 - Dawn Bishop (25), 13 - Riza Counsell (31), 16 - Zophie Zarinchek (26, CDG); 9 - Petrarch Corbay (27), 10 - Cordelia Norwood (25)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Rasmus Garrick (35, CYI), 3 - CB - Longinus Fenton (27), 8 - CM - Niko Babylon (24), 20 - LB - Jenna Drummond (23), 21 - DM - Rook Garai (32), 23 - ST - Raphael Wentworth (24)

BACKGROUND Chenoworth is a two-club city (for the most part), with the Harriers representing the northwest geographically and Hellenics culturally, and the Rovers Jewish, eastern and by reputation more affluent. In the early years of the modern era, both sides could regularly be seen yo-yoing wildly between the top two tiers, with seven Premiership relegations between them. Of late, however, the Harriers' fortunes have soared and the Rovers' have soured, until a recent resurgence has left them yet again eyeing the top flight.

19. Vermillion Wanderers
Last Season: 13th
Stadium: New Falstaff (35,000)
Nickname: the Wanderers
Manager: Delphi Keane (43)
(4-3-3) 1 - Clariza Meyer (22); 2 - Rena Kinross (29), 5 - Liana Lemuur (32, MRN), 18 - Trahern Mueller (23), 22 - Archany Narang (28, SRS); 10 - Deni Cowler (23), 16 - Konrad Berg (26), 8 - Kayla Carling (24); 7 - Morgan Chalice (22), 21 - Kanerva Herron (32), 19 - Esther Gligor (23)
Notable Reserves: 12 - GK - Brand Hilton (33), 20 - GK - Bard Holgate (26); 4 - DM - Sepp Goldman (34), 6 - CB - Patrik Alphonse (32), 9 - ST - Leonhard Bertos (27), 11 - LW - Declan Wharton (32, ETN), 35 - CM - Sandi Lupin (19)

BACKGROUND The Wanderers had a dramatic rise from the semi-professional levels that saw them in the Premiership for three seasons, and they remain its latest club in the alphabet. The rise was mirrored off the pitch as well as on, and they carved out a niche for themselves as Vermillion's reasonably-respected third side, and they've had to expand their stadium capacity to match the demand. Unlike Parrhesia and the Rage, they've found something of a reputation for very route-one football.

20. Peregrine
Last Season: 3rd (2Div)
Stadium: Stone Overlook (15,000)
Nickname: the Falconers
Manager: Shana Elderwood (49)
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Esme Haverford (24); 17 - Svenja Bowyer (34, c), 5 - Ecbert Thackeray (26), 4 - Audrey Curran (27), 28 - Florian Reisinger (19); 6 - Claudia Jennings (29), 14 - Leticia Bramble (27); 23 - Eloise Dulwich (22), 13 - Ava Thatchwood (24), 25 - Tania Keenan (24); 10 - Genevieve Sparrowhawk (26)
Notable Reserves: 3 - LB - Avis Montagne (34, CMT), 7 - RW - Con Hatzileftheriou (30), 8 - AM - Memphis Commons (33, CYI), 9 - ST - Linda Bollard (22), 11 - LW - Felix Luthier (30)

BACKGROUND A large port town, Peregrine lies on the south coast, roughly beween Vermillion and Cranequin. The good folk of Peregrine love their club, though it's only rarely been much use. An inaugural Conference East side, the Falconers went through a lot of change, a stadium rebuild and subsequent stadium upgrade on their way to the second tier.

Second Division Preview

1. Morningstar
Colours Black and pink
Nickname Stars
Manager Florian Burnes (47)
Key Players Sandra Thorgan (GK, 28), Innocent Cornwell (RB, 27), Damon Pearce (CB, 35, FVA), Sherry Brosnan (CB, 30, CYI), Mara Starling (RM, 28), Kitti Jadeane (CM, 27), Cassandra Preston (LM, 32, GRU), Apollo Hennessey (LM, 25), Marnus Sutton (ST, 32), Andre Walker (ST, 29), Azure Merkatz (ST, 24)

2. Aries Solitaire
Colours White and black
Nickname Soli
Manager Stahl Garland (46)
Key Players Karolas Stoll (GK, 31), Myriam Lockett (CB, 31, CMT), Karel Montag (CB, 28), John Leitch (CB, 19), Karl Prowse (RM, 31), Simran Alrand (RM, 24, SRS), Altena Monroe (CM, 32), Max Rusnak (CM, 32), Milos Praxis (LM, 28), Jacinth Coen (ST, 34), Kitti Menander (ST, 31), Karena Gothel (ST, 26)

3. Gonen's Bridge
Colours White and red
Nickname the Warriors
Manager Gough Bauer (48)
Key Players Gerrard Tell (GK, 29), Johan Petkovic (RB, 24), Soren Clement (CB, 32), Orithyia Demetriou (CB, 31), Tomas Abramovic (LB, 28), Vasco Aceituno (RM, 24, FFD), Natali Pendrell (CM, 25), Baptiste Ziczi (CM, 23, FFD), Naklé Bërsne (LM, 23, FFD), Svante Brausz (ST, 27, FFD), Jonas Zinter (ST, 26)

4. Boltcroft Thorns
Colours Green and black
Nickname the Thorns
Manager Phoenix Holler (56)
Key Players Morgana Carlisle (GK, 33), Daniel Opal (LB, 27), Danielle Kunz (RM, 33), Olenna Trelawney (RM, 24), Constance Jameson (CM, 32), Marita Crozier (LM, 30), Eyvind Rice (ST, 26)

5. Cranequin City
Colours Terracotta and gold
Nickname the Terracotta Army
Manager Corinne Mersiades (45)
Key Players Leoni Joyce (GK, 28, CYI), Magente Tiedemann (RB, 26), Georgia Pryce (CB, 30), Joanna Rodrigues (LB, 32, GRU), Lorenz Barrett (DM, 26), Roko Jerebic (CM, 25), Serra Maier (AM, 31), Heron Paara (ST, 34, MRN), Martyn Barrett (ST, 26)

6. West Brinemouth
Colours Orange and black
Nickname the Gulls
Manager Marko Gaston (55)
Key Players Sigmund Perth (GK, 30), Piers Coleman (RB, 28), Royce Echehart (CB, 30), Marlena Hooper (CB, 28), Johan Ark (LB, 26), Ellen Benson (CM, 25), Lauren Favall (CM, 23), Jasper Worner (RW, 26), Elizabeth Cochrane (AM, 29, TLI), Amalda Haines (LW, 27), Rutger Thane (LW, 20), Zara Cormann (ST, 34), Andrey Soffer (ST, 22)

7. Cypher Town
Colours[/b] Blue and red
Nickname the Eagles
Manager Vaila Cutcheon (49)
Key Players Marget Veld (GK, 33), Canas Meulenstein (CB, 31), Jacqui Merritt (LB, 31), Xene Vourvoulias (RM, 29), Marco Lakaszi (CM, 31, FFD), Imrishka Rosenshine (CM, 26), Matthew Chisholm (CM, 23), Keshet Brenner (LM, 31), Raymond Carels (ST, 29, NAC)

8. Locksley
Colours Maroon and white
Nickname the Brewers
Manager Lucan Schrader (50)
Key Players Brut Kerris (GK, 31), Adele Frey (RB, 27), Alexis Tymon (CB, 33), Constance Kluivert (CB, 27), Cassandra Weier (CB, 26), Brady Innes (RM, 30), Reno Stubbs (CM, 33), Louise Tsolakis (CM, 31), Ephraim Lezaford (CM, 22), Leshi Bell (LM, 27), Sloane Walsh (ST, 34), Petra Rubesch (ST, 31), Aurelio Yeseta (ST, 29, FFD)

9. Greygate
Colours Grey and red
Nickname the Wardens
Manager Michi Leonard (45)
Key Players Harald Cronin (GK, 28), Marcela Harnik (RB, 31), Ruby George (CB, 33), Andrea Mavrias (CB, 31), Kyriakos Mesorounis (LB, 31), Soldiina Vormus (CM, 31, MRN), Rebecca Soutar (RW, 31), Meredith Lincoln (ST, 32)

10. AFC Serpentine
Colours Green and blue
Nickname the Dragons
Manager Brandon Graf (46)
Key Players Christine Tabard (GK, 28), Shanna Oakes (RB, 30), Corren Toure (CB, 33), Jessava Smith (CB, 28), Blaithin Kendrick (LB, 33, SCT), Aloysian March (LB, 30), Constantine Marx (RM, 28), Cheney Masters (CM, 30), Janus Tanzer (CM, 29), Maddox Rhine (LM, 29), Uther Johnson (ST, 30)

11. Corvette Maulers
Colours Yellow and black
Nickname the Maulers
Manager Jasper Davison (47)
Key Players Amalia Florenzi (RB, 32, SVG), Jacqueline Mastiff (CB, 31), Kenzi Greyson (CB, 26), Kang Entai (LB, 31, YZH), Ignatia Bullock (DM, 27), Brom Fleet (CM, 28), Lysander Brezar (RW, 29), Ursa Kinbois (ST, 32), Andrea Bellmare (LW, 29)

12. Lindwurm Delta
Colours Green and black
Nickname the Skimmers
Manager Lars Cousland (50)
Key Players Villanelle Chandler (RB, 26), Lenna Berwick (LB, 30), Kristen Rackham (RM, 25), Lucina Xavier (CM, 31), Asger Bosnar (ST, 31)

13. The Hanged Man
Colours Red and black
Nickname THM
Manager Lind Scholar (52)
Key Players Penelope Banner (GK, 27), Wolfgang Bent (CB, 25), Merope Spyropoulos (DM, 33), Valdemar Hewes (CM, 28), Robyn Parker (LM, 32), Kuzman Nestorovski (ST, 27)

14. Autumnstone
Colours Red and yellow
Nickname the Archers
Manager Tara Alban (48)
Key Players Ulysses Athanasakis (RB, 33), Klaus Marvell (CB, 25), Thorgan Brewer (RM, 24), Jill Sunderland (CM, 31), Kaya Scanlan (CM, 24, BRE), Shara Deamond (ST, 28), Zagreus Evans (ST, 28)

15. The Strongest
Colours Burgundy and white
Nickname the Strongest
Manager Karin Mendicant (49)
Key Players Elaine Verlinden (GK, 32), Marius Sanwald (RB, 32), Namara Beresford (CB, 31), Clovis Brettel (CB, 28), Perparim Vestager (LB, 32), Gervase Ascham (DM, 30), Johan Chandler (CM, 21), Uther Caskey (ST, 29)

16. Latin Enclave FC
Colours Orange and black
Nickname the Enclave
Manager Konstanze Luitgard (44)
Key Players Raul Kellond (GK, 29), Rickard Keyne (RB, 32), Clarastasia Penn (CB, 30), Denisa Wilhelm (LB, 32), Andrea Krause (RM, 34), Gareth Forde (CM, 29), Brandon Whyte (LM, 26), Aston Bridges (ST, 25)

17. Gosmouth Swans
Colours White and blue
Nickname the Swans
Manager Calisto Matraxis (55, PRV)
Key Players Bertha Reproach (GK, 29), Tosca Cordyn (RB, 33), Thucydides Soros (CB, 33), Ashley Bishop (CM, 31), Louise Degenek (LM, 24), Leander Stead (ST, 26), Jonas Steward (ST, 25)

18. Brokenarch
Colours Rust and bone
Nickname the Golems
Key Players Anna Shepherd (RB, 32), Tremaine Bleak (CB, 21), Miroslav Lodge (RM, 32), Ardent Vale (CM, 22), Andreas Lindwurm (LM, 32)

19. Armstrong
Colours Blue and red
Nickname the Paladins
Manager Gared Kirsch (47)
Key Players Laurin Asbjornsson (CB, 33, GRF), Markus Diallo (CB, 32), Naomi Spinner (CM, 25), Aseela Hume (LM, 27, EFL), Gloria Kewell (ST, 30)

20. Lazuli Diamonds
Colours Yellow and blue
Nickname the Diamonds
Manager Caspar Stahl (48)
Key Players Karla Dowling (GK, 28), Oblong Pieters (CB, 24), Chester Regis (CM, 32), Andreas Davis (LM, 30), Gisella Martyn (ST, 28)

by **Nephara** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:52 am

TALKING POINTS

1. Dun-DUHN… dun-DUHN… dun-DUHN-dun-DUHN-dun-DUHN-dun-DUHN…

This season was all about stopping the five-in-a-row. And they still almost fucked it up. The defining moment of the season came in the final quarter. The Stags lead at the halfway mark, but a few stumbles meant that they trailed Brinemouth by ten points with twelve games left to play. Erin Camden told everyone, though, that the Stags were going to win the title regardless. And surely they couldn’t, could they? It turned out… almost. When Brinemouth stumbled, Treason destroyed everyone in their path, closing the gap to take the title race down to the final day. But ultimately, despite an early scare, the Dockers beat the Chariots 3-1 to take care of business. The 5IAR was denied, but only by the slimmest margins.

It’s a pity that it’s kind of overshadowed what an incredible season Brinemouth had, 27 wins and 100 goals. Lázaro Patrón hit the ground running as the perfect spearhead, while Joao Pereyra had his best season yet and the midfield pivot of Brand or Southsea alongside Martin, while lacking the instantly recognisable NRI of some partnerships out there, were simply perfect for their roles for a progressive side, reclaiming the ball quickly and efficiently and moving it forward effectively and dangerously. To some, Martin felt like a hipster pick for the Emerald Ball, almost as if they were trying too hard to not pick an attacking player, but he really did make Brinemouth tick. Significant credit is also due to new signings Blanco and Scales, who instantly slid into place as the premier defensive partnership in the league. Brinemouth go into next season as the team to beat. The one question is attacking depth, selling Danielle Jackson very late in the window and not procuring a replacement, having instead to hand a contract extension to 20-year old Leandra Berenguer and stopping her going out on loan to the third tier.

Treason have shown they are always to be taken seriously, and they haven’t been afraid to shake things up; Kendra Considine left for Tumbra and the Tumbran Valerie Wells arrived, hoping to follow in Nick Riordan’s foot-steps and adding some more youth to that attacking trident. But Brinemouth’s most credible rival may just be the Moths this time around. They pushed Brinemuth hard last eason, but couldn’t take advantage of the Dockers’ swoon, seeming tired out by Amokachi’s all-action style. They’ve brought in two top-class defenders, Sulejmanovic and Nyberg, to shore up the line as Amokachi’s made the interesting decision to transition to a 4-4-2. It makes sense; Riordan was last season’s Emerald Boot winner, Liu the year prior, and they linked up well with Liu in a withdrawn role last time. Certainly this is the strongest the Moths have looked in decades.

They weren’t alone in what was, with one glaring exception, a good year for the Sabrefell sides. Aries Chariots’ Lexus Ulreich picked up the Emerald Crest for taking his increasingly shoestring side to the top five, and developing three players for the Cormorants in the process; they haven’t reinforced much, with Mathias Gretler and veteran Cedella Verlander the only major acquisitions. Raven River went from strength to strength with their all-action style dragging them to 8th, with high-class acquisitions in Brown and Brass hopefully set to take them another level - oddly, Brown has now played for three different Nepharan clubs who use the increasingly rare 4-3-1-2 - while North Sabrefell stayed up with ease on their return to the top flight, the vintage force of Tawny Shone helping dominate midfields, and to the relief of all, signing a one-year contract extension. Up front, Camilla Martin’s eighteen goals quashed any doubts that she was cut out for this level. At 29, is a maiden Nephara callup completely out of the question? Well, maybe not for the Eagles’ Cup, anyway.

2. Tolsii Clings to Rams Job as Smiths eye Big Five

Enough dodging the elephant in the room. Sabrefell Athletic were the story of last season. They were abysmal. Somehow a side with all that pedigree, all that experience, all those undeniably top players and, to top it all off, the most highly-regarded young manager in the country… it all fell to shit, didn’t it? Sure, they opened the season by beating Tolsii’s old club 3-0, but Goodfeather turned out terrible anyway. Then they drew their next match… and lost the next six in a row, during which they handed Leichhardt the Stargazers’ only win of the first half of the season. It didn’t get much better after that, despite the tragicomedy of beating River 10-2 on the way to their abysmal 12th-place finish.

For all that, they’ve stuck with Tolsii for reasons that have nothing to do with her massive severance. Which isn’t to say they haven’t spent big; Monaghan, Tristram and Hadley have arrived from the relative value market of the A-League, and they’ve kept most of their key players, though promising playmaker Agamemnonos has left for Farfadillis while the troubled raw diamond Tasha Sauber has been thrown a lifeline by Spartangrad. The cynical might say she’s failed upwards… and she kind of had, last season was atrocious, but if she can find a new lease of life with Eura then so much the better for the Cormorants.

By contrast, the Smiths have no such need to balance the books. Rebounding from a poor 11th-placed finish last season, they’ve apparently recognised that they haven’t really given Vanessa Rossum the cattle to break into the top echelon. Well, they’re doing what they can - a staggering ₲25m (or £36m) dropped on new signings. A high-class goalkeeper in Weaver returns to the country, MacMaster and Troegner offer title-challenging experience from abroad with plenty of scope to improve, while Weber and Karvelas bolster the team in general. No fewer than seven players were released. How are they funding it? Local talent. Strand and Scales were both sold for fat sums, and they know that every year they hold onto Arachne Loeher - considered a certain future Nephara #11 - increases her value as well. There’s still weak points in the lineup, but they’ve bridged a lot of the gap.

Meanwhile, it’s looming as an important season for AFC Corvistone, too. They’ve gone through their first real rebuild of the era, moving on a number of players - mostly in their early 30s - and bringing in the expensive but very intriguing Yonatoño de la Garza, a Farf international already at 21. De la Garza appears to be the culmination of a philosophical shift the Crows have said they wanted to make for a time, their natural pockets having only taken them so far; they want to speculate to accumulate. Dropping ₲7m on de la Garza makes sense if they can get four good years from him and move him on for ₲12m. In addition to this, the bright wave of local talents representing diaspora are well and truly coming through to join the party; Sevet-Stokes may have been the first, but Telford, Betva, Sevaljevic and Hranilovic are all set to play significant roles this season, with significant intrigue as to the international allegiance of the latter two.

3. Five Wins, 17th place - Are the Stargazers a Credible Survivor?

At the bottom, it was not a particularly vintage year. Everyone was terrible, though the biggest underachievers were undoubtedly a Goodfeather side who on paper should easily have stayed up, but absolutely plummeted in practice. Unsurprisingly, they’ve sold their best players and, a thin squad to start with, don’t look in a state to return. In the end, Leichhardt stayed up with the lowest wage bill in the league, didn’t even have to cope with the agony of the playoff - ultimately won by Parrhesia. By definition, they had a good season. And yet… they did only win five games, only one in the first half of the season, and though their comeback was remarkable a return of 28 points from 38 matches will still see you down most seasons. They were terrible, but three sides were worse. Nonetheless, it’s put a shot in the arm of the board, and they’ve worked hard to try and stablise their position, reinforcing all over the pitch.

Leichhardt’s best point was always its defence, but it still conceded 70 goals last season. Andrija Ugljanin’s been brought in to add just a little more pace and quality, and alongside former Nephara international Gabriel Lockheed should provide a tough prospect to breach. A calm, intelligent holding midfielder in Cintia Flaxen should help still more - Sander Moritz was a fine destroyer, but often left gaps with his lunging challenges - while up front, their absence of goal threat’s been patched up by Caelan McIntyre, whose 51 goals from 87 matches for CNL made him one of the best marksmen in the second tier. There’s no shortage of fine crossers of the ball who can find that head. Of those that remain, Yue international Luo is only likely to go from strength to strength, a quiet start to the season quickly bulldozed by brilliant form down the stretch.

However, they’ll need to be much-improved in terms of performances, as this looks like a much stronger crop at the bottom than before. Parrhesia are the bookies’ favourites for relegation, losing star midfielder Kisvarda Marin and replacing her with a smattering of players who look more set for the upper echelon of 1Div than 17th in the Zenith, while a Chatswood side that also logged under a point per game will be relying on young new signings Demirjian and St. Cleer to hit the ground running. Handing a lifeline to Claire Libuda, not quite the ChC-level goalkeeper Corvistone needed but still easily an upgrade for them, could be an inspired move as well. They’re competent, but there might not be enough anymore.

The two promoted sides - still feels low, after decades of four up / four down - differ significantly. Chenoworth Harriers are just a strong side filled with good, young players, the kind of side that will hopefully survive, but God knows what will happen under the ever-mercurial Adalheid Metzelder. Newrook City have made an instant return to the top flight and instantly been defined around one man. They’re a very old side, many key players in theri early 30s, and they’re still handing a wage to Kolinda Bischoff, and Casey Roehampton’s somehow still on loan as she’s seemed to be for the past decade, but none of it matters; they have a brilliant manager in Gratia Barker, and most of all, Jezza’s back. Yes, Ocokoljic is past his prime, but he’s still the undoubted marquee of this side, and will surely produce his best for a club that loves him unconditionally.

4. Revitalised Lancer to Lead Barossia Charge?

It was difficult to say last season who the First Division’s frontrunner would be, as proven by the fact the bookies settled on a Barossia United side that ultimately were nowhere near. They had a lot of new names that struggled to gel; marquee signing Ida Lancer struggled with injuries, Tsipras was error-prone in goal before being ultimately replaced by Chary Longstreet, too much loyalty was shown to a midtable-calibre defence, Tessalyn Jens was axed for Bronwyn Gerhardt who helped the young guns Bjarnesen and Hjort grow into their roles, but ultimately they fell well short, as Newrook’s steady veterans and the mercurial Harriers outdid them.

But this time, the Shrikes are the clear favourites. The young players have had time to improve and gel, Djordic has joined the attack and rumblings from camp are that surgery in the off-season was able to resolve Lancer’s niggling ankle injury. Perhaps most important, though, was the signing of three new defenders; Sand to compete with the defensively suspect Methven, and a central partnership of Herron and Letang with serious pedigree. And they have, by and large, retained old standbies to ensure that there’s plenty of depth on the bench. The Shrikes look the best team all over the pitch, and it’s hard to see who, if anyone, will be able to lay a glove on them.

It probably won’t be either of the two relegated sides; Goodfeather were gutted by outgoings, while an aging Southrons side largely appear to be sticking around to buy time for a rebuild, mid-30s players like Velazquez, O’Connell, Luhukay and new acquisition Bestatter essentially there to stop the bloodletting. Corinthians No Longer have lost star striker Caelan McIntyre but look to have found a battle-ready replacement in Remeikis, and otherwise a youngish side remain intact if Sascha Dimitrius can point them the right way. Other hopefuls - Southfell, United - are a similar story, plenty of talent but not quite a complete picture.

At the other end of the table, it will be interesting to see how Cup champions Vermillion Wanderers will fare. They’ve been rewarded for their success by losing goalkeeper Franzen, ambitious firebrand winger Zaza Kirkland and striker Merrill Grant; gallingly, Franzen and Grant left for top-flight Vermillion clubs. Former Nephara youth international Clariza Meyer’s come in on loan to stand between the posts, and there’s other young bloods in Mueller and Cowler worth keeping an eye on - even a locally promoted Kirkland replacement in Morgan Chalice who showed some promise off the bench last season - but Delphi Keane’s up against it. The Rovers, Stahlburg and Chenoworth both, look likely to struggle.

Alliance Barossia look by a distance the best of the newly-promoted sides, with experienced new signings in Sandalwood, Warhurst, Bresonik and Caldwell theoretically likely to ensure a soft landing; Mantlegrove have gone a similar route, with Cotton and Sevecke joining the defence and a supporting striker in Nicolau joining last season’s 2Div top scorer in Hart, while Peregrine… are there to make up the numbers. Did you know Svenja Bowyer’s still playing? Yeah, that’s where she’s ended up, captaining them at 34 with a 19-year old loanee from Stahlburg City on the other flank.

5. Ever-increasing role of diaspora in the landscape

Bilic; Korchagin, Shangyuan, Pearce, Xu; Sevaljevic, Vol Brininger, Brewer; Hranilovic, Shearer, Miller.

That’s just one of the ways you could build an XI purely from uncapped diaspora players in the Zenith. None older than 23, and all remain eligible for Cormorants representation, though it wouldn’t be surprising if some were picked off by their various homelands - some close to home like Eura and Mytanija, others as diverse as Schottia, Qusmo and the Licentian Isles. It’s hard to imagine that just fifty years ago, Nephara would not have been the kind of place immigrants flocked to looking for a better life, a hard-scrabble wasteland starting to pick itself off the floor through a combination of bold social democratic policy and an end to insularity.

Now? There’s suddenly no shortage of names outside the Marcher norm, representative of immigrant waves that have enriched Nepharan society. Many in particular have found a home in Corvistone, from visa programs that have welcomed immigrants anywhere but offered free housing in the capital in a desperate attempt to bulk numbers, and so the Crows benefited - first and most obviously from Ida Sevet-Stokes, a current Nephara international, but also Sevaljevic, Hranilovic, Betva and, the latest cab off the rank, Casper Anderson. Meanwhile at Starling, Oakstone-born Martin Pearce found his way to New Oakstone, and has now earned his just reward for being one of the best emerging defenders in the lower leagues. This isn’t even accounting for the possibility of another Diadora Reeve, professing no allegiance to any other nation until popping up with a foreign grandparent someday.

Of course, it’s a great story when any of these players, like Sevet-Stokes, Diedrich Frostmarris or Isabella Caravella, pulls on the green and black, and the NFA have been very pro-active in trying to cap these players at youth level. But failing that, it would also be a great story if they were to return to their origins and find glory for them, too. Just remember that they’re all Nepharan, at the end of the day, and whether ancestry trumps upbringing is a personal matter close to each heart, and please stop sending Luka Polichev hatemail for turning down his Nephara U20s callup, he’s a nice lad by all accounts who really doesn’t deserve it.

by **Nephara** » Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:38 am

Ramsey Shield
The curtain-raiser for the season and, for the first time in ages, two clubs not named AFC Treason get to compete. There’s been talk lately that it should be moved away from Phoenix Rise, in Corvistone, but the counterargument runs that it’s kind of iconic to the city, and that the stadium looks really good when it’s full of fans. They’re treated to a surprisingly competitive game, as Brinemouth, though scoring first through a deft Tess Miller finish, struggle to break down rank underdogs Vermillion Wanderers. A powerful downward header from Kanerva Herron almost levels the scores just before halftime, denied only by a brilliant Heuser save, but the corner - instead of going direct - finds Deni Cowler arriving late into the box, and she drives home through a sea of bodies. The Dockers’ superiority eventually tells, with goals in the 71st minute from debutant Kuhar-Arh and the 78th from substitute Brand enough to see them through to the trophy, but the Wanderers have plenty to be proud of after a credible showing.

Zenith Roundup
Humiliation and desolation at the Barbarossa. Athletic’s fiercest rivals, the Moths, came for blood. Three minutes in, a shot from Vasilii Nyberg slipped past Raluca Garamond’s near post, a rare goalkeeping error from someone who was one of the Rams’ few brightish spots last season. The Rams did well through the rest of the first half, until disaster struck in the 44th minute - Liu with a perfectly-weighted ball to play in Riordan to rifle home - and the first of injury time, Liu going it alone and hammering a shot into the underside of the bar and ever so narrowly the right side of the goalline. Athletic try to recover in the second half but it’s clear, including by the substitution of Tristram for holding midfielder Dominique, that the focus is on stopping the bloodletting; even then, Kaisa Gyldenstroem chops inside Page and chips an exposed Garamond to make it 4-0 late on.

So… why isn’t it the death knell for Kalia Tolsii, who entered the season in the hottest of hot seats? Because of what came before, and what comes after. Unlike last time, where Athletic won only the first of their first eight games, they came into the match top of the table after six, having dropped only two points in a scoreless draw in Stahlburg. On the way, they’d already beaten Treason 2-0, almost comfortably. Most surprisingly, Danand Tristram is scoring goals and Susan Monaghan is setting them up. Aren’t A-League transplants meant to struggle when they hit a real league? Maybe the Zenith isn’t a… anyway, it’s working out. And at the halfway mark, the Rams are top of the table with a four-point lead over the Stags.

It does, however, prove a momentum shifter for the Moths. They’d actually lost four of their first six, the decision to push Liu further up the pitch struggling at first, new signings struggling to gel at first, the midfield slightly porous. So what changed against the Rams? “I told the lads they had to go balls out,” said Amokachi, ratchetting the intensity up even more. So sure, Anaximane, Brabanzon, Babin and Majerle are all injured after running themselves into the ground and 23-year old Kelzi Haraslin will miss the rest of the season after an ACL, but hey! They’ve clawed their way up to 5th, and are the league’s most prolific scorers.

Anyway, Tolsii’s in charge, but axes have still fallen. Creed’s season has been pretty indifferent for the most part, but it’s thrown up an interesting piece of trivia as Zaza Kirkland becomes known as ‘the Coach-Killer’. Twelve games in, no goals or assists, she’s starting to look like one of those ‘too good for 1Div, not enough for the Zenith’ players, and with Creed second-from-bottom with just six goals, she’s dropped for a crunch tie against Leichhardt. But she’s thrown on anyway in the 79th minute, and drives home a crisp volley with her first touch, dumping Leichhardt in the relegation zone. On just eight points and with actual expectations now, Goran Verbeck is axed. Creed then visit bottom-of-the-table Parrhesia, Kirkland restored to the starting lineup, and scores just three minutes in before finishing the Saints off in the 54th, Creed’s defence barely threatened throughout. And that proves the death-knell for Valery Cain. It hasn’t really worked out; the Stargazers and Saints remain the current bottom two, while Creed have kicked on to 15th even though their goal output remains tepid, the lowest in the league at 14. Their top scorer on 4? Zaza Kirkland.

Honourable mentions for Coret Hawks, who have gutted their way into the top four with the excellence of Kapetanovic and Buchan, surely bound for bigger clubs, giving them the league’s third-best defence, but Chenoworth Harriers are the biggest overachievers in the league at the moment. They opened the season getting bodied 4-0 by Aries Chariots, Mathias Gretler with a brace on debut and the Harriers’ young squad getting demolished all over the pitch, but Metzelder is probably the only manager more single-minded and megalomaniacal than Amokachi. They leave themselves open to defeat against Leichhardt, but follow it up with a 6-1 slaughter of Parrhesia United. Sure, they’ve had a few big defeats here and there - they have a real issue trying to go toe-to-toe with big sides, losing 4-0 to the Rams, 6-1 to Crisisbless and 7-2 (!) to the Moths - but they’re sitting pretty in 8th. Perhaps the Cormorants will give a look to Drinkwater and Longhouse, integral in making sure they aren’t… completely buried, most games.

Some other notes worth bringing up: the Stahlburg City Project is sort of working, if not spectacularly. Undefeated in their first eight, and a 3-0 win over Crisisbless is the one time things really clicked. The issue - well, thfe glaring one - is that Ariel Ballard just isn’t a top-class striker, and the backups aren’t up to the task at all. They’ve conceded the fewest goals in the league, but only scored 22, holding themselves back through too many draws. How’s the Ocokoljic Reunion going at Newrook? Ehhh. Well, he’s naturally running the show, five goals, three assists and just generally being their star, and a newly-promoted side getting a point per game and being seven points clear of automatic relegation is always decent going. Newrook are just kind of there at the moment.

First Division Roundup
Hecubah Statkis is highly-regarded in South Laithland despite being relegated twice with them - albeit, the first time, being the only manager of four (!) to earn a win - but there are limits. So, the Southrons weren’t highly-rated in most peoples’ estimations coming into the season, left with a ton of aging veterans and young nobodies, but still! The season opens with them being completely gutted by a mediocre Brookford side, one missing their best striker, Syomin, through an injury taken in pre-season; no matter, Serry scores twice anyway, and Monika Bandler completely has the measure of Southron rightback Faust. After that, they just can’t catch a break. They beat Mantlegrove 1-0, but ultimately lose five of the first seven, most by a single goal, and a late own goal from impetuous 20-year old Corren Speaker overcompensating and driving home a Crosetti cross sinks them against Iron City and proves Statkis’ death knell. U23s manager Drake Garriock takes over and sees a modest upturn in results, at the very least taking them to the point-per-game mark by halfway into the season. But immediate re-promotion is absolutely off the cards.

Right now, it looks very difficult for anyone to overhaul CNL at the top, with a nine-point lead over the three clubs below them. Victoria Remeikis appears an inspired signing, filling in the absence of Caelan McIntyre by notching up 15 goals in 17 games, while her 20-year old deputy and frequent substitute Lowen Murdoch has five of his own. Just in general, though, they’re absolute goal machines far beyond expectations. They put six past Stahlburg Rovers and seven past Chenoweth - Remeikis with hat-tricks in each game (which lends credence to accusations of being a flat-track bully) - but have dominated all over the park. Even when they lose control, as they did in their most recent game against Goodfeather - for once, outplayed in midfield and facing a 3-1 deficit by half-time - they have the firepower to claw their way back into games, Fenyvesi rifling in a shot from absolutely nowhere to make the game interesting just before the hour mark, Drea Bouman coming off the bench to level the scores and, in the throes of injury time, Amelia finding the only free space in a packed box to take the ball without incident and simply slide it past Locklear.

The three hopefuls on 36 points are Barossia United, pre-season favourites but without having managed a draw thus far, peculiarly, Southfell United and, surprisingly, New Oakstone Phoenix. With a new manager in Audrey Kennett and shorn of one of their best players in Martin Pearce, it was expected to be a transitional season for the Nix, but they opened the season by destroying Stahlburg 7-0 and have barely looked back since. There’s a sense that early-20s players hitting 23 and 24 - Ardath, Fry, Antelmi-Evans, Loesser - have just reached that critical edge to become hard and crafty enough, complementing their natural talent. A recent stretch of two points from three games pegged them back and they looked shaky against Belgrave in match 19, but a late winner from Vanda Gerô proved the team’s mettle. They may or may not make it this season, but if they aren’t gutted, they’ll surely have higher hopes for next.

Delphi Keane had plenty of credit in the bank, but reigning Cup-winners Vermillion Wanderers started the season atrociously. After a run of thirteen games without a win left them eight points from safety, Keane got the axe. Wins over Belgrave and Brookford soon followed, some facsimile of a new manager bounce leading to an interim appointment to the end of the season… which just means that a former reserves manager is seen as the cheapest of long shots. Kanerva Herron’s ineffectiveness - just two goals! - has been a major surprise, though winger Esther Gligor remains the side’s shining light. Chenoworth Rovers occupy the other relegation place, but a run of ten points from their last five games ensures Valentine Nemeth stays in charge. Stahlburg and Peregrine will be looking over their shoulders… and so too, perhaps, will the Southrons.

Rensenbrink Cup

Second Round
Scalps and Close Calls
The Strongest 1-1 Cranequin Wanderers (2-1 AET)
The Travellers FC 0-0 Armstrong (0-1 AET)
West Brinemouth 2-2 Shimmering Quay (2-2 AET, 1-3 PKs)
Aries Solitaire 1-1 Crownsend Journey (1-1 AET, 0-3 PKs)
Aspen Grove 1-0 Longwinter

Hammerings
Hackett 1-6 Corinthians No Longer
Ritter Town 10-1 Hartford Glade
Shornhill 0-7 Southfell United
Lindmark Falcons 0-6 Stahlburg Rovers
Boltcroft Thorns 8-0 Besand's Folly

Destruction across the league; last time around, Crisisbless United (who else?) smashed ten goals past Rushe, and Ritter Town match that number now against a nine-man Hartford Glade. Of the other massacres, Hackett - a First Division side in recent memory, but now in the fifth tier - can reflect on the club’s failings after a 6-1 demolition by CNL, who have been on the opposite trajectory of late. Cranequin Wanderers go down as the highest-profile scalp, with minuscule 32-year old leftback Perparim Vestager The Strongest’s unlikely hero in extra time, while Aries Solitaire were spectacularly profligate against lowly Journey, taking 21 shots for one goal, and then failing to score a single penalty.

Third Round
Scalps and Close Calls
Brinemouth 1-2 The Hanged Man
Starling 2-2 Brookford Otters (3-2 AET)
Shimmering Quay 2-4 Sabrefell Athletic
The Strongest 2-2 Iron City (2-2 AET, 3-1 PKs)
Extreme Hills 0-0 Mantlegrove (1-1 AET, 7-6 PKs)

Hammerings
Vermillion Rage 7-2 Lockheed Zenith
Stahlburg Rovers 6-3 Latin Enclave FC

Zenith vs. Zenith
AFC Corvistone 2-3 Parrhesia United
Sabrefell Moths 2-4 North Sabrefell
Aries Chariots 2-1 North Laithland

The Strongest leave it even later for their next comeback, taking Iron to penalties only with the aid of a 87th-minute winner - set up, this time, by Vestager, but finished by Uther Caskey - and then edging them out from the spot. Extreme Hills win a second straight shootout, this a rather more prolonged affair, each side going down to their tenth taker before Hills’ goalkeeper Bruno Schenck made a crucial save to ensure he didn’t need to take one himself, and toppling 1Div Mantlegrove in so doing. Shimmering Quay weren’t actually close to beating Sabrefell Athletic, but a midtable Grand Conference side even scoring twice against such a team is seriously impressive. Stahlburg Rovers score six goals again, finding the net in the Cup a lot easier than the league. But the highest-profile scalp is, by a huge margin, Brinemouth toppled by The Hanged Man thanks to heroic defending, Penelope Banner’s excellence in goal, and a brace from Kuzman Nestorovski, burying both shots THM took all game.

Fourth Round
Scalps and Close Calls
Extreme Hills 3-1 Newrook City
Riverkey Shells 3-4 Vermillion Rage
South Laithland 2-2 Ritter Town (2-2 AET, 3-1 PKs)
Barossia United 2-2 AFC Southsands (3-2 AET)

Hammerings
Goodfeather FC 6-0 Aspen Grove

Zenith vs. Zenith
Raven River 1-3 Parrhesia United
Sabrefell Athletic 0-1 Leichhardt
Chenoworth Harriers 2-2 Chatswood (2-4 AET)
Crisisbless 2-2 AFC Treason (2-2 AET, 4-1 PKs)
Aries Chariots 1-3 Stahlburg City
Starling 1-2 North Sabrefell

If there’s any critique of last round, it’s the lack of Zenith blood shed; well, this round delivers, with six ZvZ matches piling up the big names, Athletic, Treason, Starling and the Chariots following Brinemouth and the Moths out of the tournament. Creed United won’t get taken down as easily as Brinemouth, flattening THM 3-0, while South Laitlhland and Barossia United avoid scalps late on, while Vermillion Rage’s porous defence lets them get gutted by Riverkey but they have barely enough firepower to get through safely. Newrook City, though, are beaten by - who else? - Extreme Hills. Hills have made a Cup final before! And they lost 8-0, but who’s counting? They’re the lowest-ranked side remaining, with Aspen Grove of the Conference East - who did benefit from a very forgiving draw up to this point - getting demolished by Goodfeather FC.

Last 16
Extreme Hills [GC] vs. Diamondqueen [1D]
Crisisbless vs. South Laithland [1D]
Leichhardt vs. Vermillion Rage
Creed United vs. Coret Hawks
Chatswood vs. Crisisbless United
Barossia United [1D] vs. Goodfeather FC [1D]
Stahlburg City vs. North Sabrefell
Belgrave [1D] vs. Parrhesia United

by **Nephara** » Fri Aug 26, 2022 5:26 am

ZENITH

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sabrefell Athletic       19  15  2   2  47  14  +33  47
  2 AFC Treason              19  14  1   4  37  20  +17  43
  3 Crisisbless              19  13  1   5  39  18  +21  40
  4 Coret Hawks              19  12  3   4  35  16  +19  39
  5 Sabrefell Moths          19  12  0   7  48  25  +23  36
  6 Stahlburg City           19   9  7   3  22  13   +9  34
  7 Brinemouth               19   9  5   5  37  23  +14  32
  8 Chenoworth Harriers      19   9  3   7  33  34   -1  30
  9 AFC Corvistone           19   8  5   6  34  23  +11  29
 10 Vermillion Rage          19   8  2   9  27  27   +0  26
 11 Starling                 19   6  4   9  16  23   -7  22
 12 North Sabrefell          19   7  1  11  22  38  -16  22
 13 North Laithland          19   6  3  10  18  21   -3  21
 14 Aries Chariots           19   6  3  10  29  34   -5  21
 15 Creed United             19   6  3  10  14  31  -17  21
 16 Raven River              19   5  4  10  27  37  -10  19
 17 Newrook City             19   4  7   8  19  30  -11  19
 18 Chatswood                19   4  4  11  15  39  -24  16
 19 Leichhardt               19   3  3  13  18  36  -18  12
 20 Parrhesia United         19   3  1  15  23  58  -35  10

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corinthians No Longer      19  14  3   2  54  20  +34  45
  2 Barossia United            19  12  0   7  38  19  +19  36
  3 Southfell United           19  10  6   3  30  14  +16  36
  4 New Oakstone Phoenix       19  11  3   5  35  29   +6  36
  5 Iron City                  19   9  6   4  33  21  +12  33
  6 Chardonnay Rangers         19  10  2   7  33  35   -2  32
  7 AFC Rochford               19   8  7   4  26  18   +8  31
  8 Goodfeather FC             19  10  1   8  39  32   +7  31
  9 Diamondqueen               19   8  6   5  30  19  +11  30
 10 Belgrave                   19   8  2   9  34  27   +7  26
 11 Mantlegrove                19   8  1  10  24  31   -7  25
 12 Crisisbless United         19   6  6   7  24  27   -3  24
 13 Cranequin Wanderers        19   5  8   6  22  19   +3  23
 14 Alliance Barossia          19   6  5   8  29  27   +2  23
 15 Brookford Otters           19   6  2  11  32  37   -5  20
 16 South Laithland            19   5  4  10  20  27   -7  19
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           19   5  3  11  19  44  -25  18
 18 Peregrine                  19   5  3  11  17  44  -27  18
 19 Chenoworth Rovers          19   4  2  13  12  41  -29  14
 20 Vermillion Wanderers       19   3  4  12  13  33  -20  13

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Boltcroft Thorns      19  13   3   3  44  16  +28  42
  2 Cranequin City        19  12   4   3  34  14  +20  40
  3 Gonen's Bridge        19  11   4   4  37  21  +16  37
  4 Aries Solitaire       19  10   6   3  27  17  +10  36
  5 Morningstar           19   9   8   2  25  10  +15  35
  6 The Hanged Man        19   8   7   4  22  17   +5  31
  7 AFC Serpentine        19   7   7   5  25  22   +3  28
  8 Lazuli Diamonds       19   7   6   6  20  33  -13  27
  9 Locksley              19   7   5   7  25  20   +5  26
 10 Autumnstone           19   7   4   8  33  30   +3  25
 11 The Strongest         19   7   4   8  34  32   +2  25
 12 Cypher Town           19   5   9   5  22  19   +3  24
 13 Greygate              19   6   5   8  19  25   -6  23
 14 Lindwurm Delta        19   5   8   6  17  27  -10  23
 15 West Brinemouth       19   5   6   8  15  20   -5  21
 16 Latin Enclave FC      19   5   4  10  28  38  -10  19
 17 Corvette Maulers      19   2  11   6  20  26   -6  17
 18 Gosmouth Swans        19   4   5  10  16  32  -16  17
 19 Armstrong             19   4   2  13  14  32  -18  14
 20 Brokenarch            19   1   2  16  13  39  -26   5

Starling have never been a big club. They’ve had to be sustained by success, and it’s only natural that, when the IFCF money stopped flowing, their squad… well, it looks rough, by their exalted standards. Even so, even if they do look a midtable side all of a sudden, with a luxury player in the hole in Daescher and a striker covered in stretch-marks, one great centre-half in Pearce but with no consistent partner, a winger in Hauser who perpetually flatters to deceive and two Moths castoffs who are nevertheless among their best players… it’s rough. And Crisisbless bulldoze them. It’s a comprehensive 4-0 win from their near-neighbours who roll the ball effortlessly across the pitch, always look dangerous, and have champagne players like Roux, Arniston, Anharbour and Ludwig who can bury any half-chance in the net; non-coincidentally, those are the four who end on the scoresheet.

Stahlburg City vs. North Laithland resembles, at times, evil vs. good. Not that, under any circumstances, anyone should go either to Stahlburg or the Laith, but there’s something about a game where the Spiders pick up 72% of the ball without ever really seeming to try and keep possession. Stahlburg seem content to wait for chances to come their way, and Cairbre Dundalk makes two fine saves the couple of times he’s called upon, but at last the possession tells in the 86th minute against tiring white shirts. A lofted chip from the substitute Burnham is attempted to be met with a bicycle kick by Abaya, which is missed lamentably, but he gets enough of a toe on it to put it out of any defender’s zone of control; another substitute in Athena Sinodinos arrives late in the box just ahead of Wise to drive home the late winner. Corvistone outplay and beat Treason in a 4-2 thriller where young guns Sevaljevic, Hranilovic and de la Garza all get on the scoresheet, while a thoroughly dominant showing from Coret sees them smash Vermillion 4-1 as Tikariotian winger Robinson Segura scores his first, then his second goal for the Hawks.

The Classic! Brinemouth on Treason; always a fun time. And with Brinemouth well off the pace - though absolutely scoring for fun - they need a result to keep in the chase. Yet the Stags almost take the lead three minutes in, a bullet header from Roskvi only barely repelled by a reflex save from Heuser. That wakes Brinemouth up; buoyed by their home crowd, the Dockers pepper Shimski’s goal, before in first-half injury time, of all people, Kazuo Martin drills home his first goal of the season from range. Treason push back hard in the second half, and Wells earns a penalty just before the hour. The hosts groan… but Robshaw’s penalty is poor, and again, Ewald Heuser comes to the rescue. Just two minutes later, Kuhar-Arh dances between three white and red shirts, tries his luck from just outside the box and manages to dink it beautifully over Shimski to make it 2-0, and Brinemouth ultimately hold on despite a late onslaught.

Leichhardt, meanwhile, hold onto a point in Chenoworth. They looked to have fucked it in dramatic circumstances, a heavy touch from Harriers substitute Sanders ruining a chance before Ugljanin clattered her anyway to give the Harriers an injury-time penalty. But 24-year old Sinric Aston sprung hard to the left to deny Longhouse, then scrambled quickly to deny Rajovic the follow-through. Could be the start of a remarkable survival! Or, ultimately, a footnote. Stahlburg City have excelled in defence this year but struggled to break things down, an uneven side best in midfield but without a consistent goalscorer, so when Corvistone drill home two strikes before half-time they seem in the clear. Sometimes, though, Rossum just closes her eyes and lets Arachne Loeher do what she’s going to do; she chips Hartnett from near halfway before a fearless jinking run takes her past Betva, Telford, Sevet-Stokes, Sevaljevic and Betva again before chipping the goalkeeper again to level the scores. It could have been better / worse; she’s denied what looks a clear penalty at the death.

Treason are back, and with a vengeance. Half an hour in and they’re 2-0 up over Sabrefell Athletic, Roskvi back in the goals with a brace after a frustrating afternoon against Brinemouth; soon afterwards, Bobby Malone hits the post. If the Rams are going to assert any championship credentials, they’ll need to recover… and they do. Damian Gannot starts it with a goal conjured from absolutely nowhere, before a flying header from Danand Tristram connects with a beautiful Ikpeazu cross, and Gannot strokes home a second just after the hour, pouncing on the rare sight of a defensive mix-up in the usually hyper-vigilant Treason back line. But just as they thought they’d pulled themselves out of the pit, Valerie Wells drags them back in, taking a beautiful long pass from Zazagan in stride, gliding effortlessly past Landrith and blasting the leveller hard beyond Garamond. Still, after that start, it feels like a win for the Rams.

Leichhardt pick up three invaluable points against the Chariots, Varina Roebling having slowed down immensely in midfield this season but still able to drive home the penalty when it came, while an astonishingly rare Parrhesia clean sheet against the toothless Harriers is, eventually, followed up by a goal from Riverina Bray. That leaves Chatswood as the biggest losers, looking completely rudimentary playing direct as North Sabrefell run the show in midfield. It takes until the 70th minute for the goals to come, but they come in a pair, Esmereld opening the scores before setting up an unmarked Camilla Martin to slip in and drive home at the far post only three minutes later. Marko Culweather only has one save to make, and that from a speculative effort from Karlssen that sails into his arms without force.

North Sabrefell sometimes don’t get the praise they deserve, but some days it’s inescapable. Any day you host Treason and smash them 3-0 is an event that makes fans stand up and take notice. Hardly undeserved, too; Culweather in goal makes a couple of fantastic saves, including a double-save in the 30th minute that kept the game scoreless, but Northrup is imperious in defence, Shone and Biscan dominate the centre of the park, Meliza Audrey effortlessly links midfield to attack, and when chances come, Esmereld, Martin and the substitute Dassi Constantine are clinical. By the time the dust settles, the result is not in doubt, and North Sabrefell have had more shots on target and more of the ball. Somehow, the Stags are on a run of just one point from four games, and have slipped to sixth; the Bohemians tick along in 12th, twelve points from danger.

The bottom two sides play off, Leichhardt against Parrhesia United, and it’s actually a fantastic game… for entertinment value, if not quality. It’s a staid and placid affair for all of six minutes before Corban Green - match-fit, for once! - drives past four yellow shirts and drills a low shot across Aston to leave the hosts breathless. But Leichhardt come to play; David Cairns pounces on a defensive mix-up to level the scores, before laying on a fine floating cross for his countryman McIntyre to put the Stargazers 2-1 up just before the half. But Slazenger, Swainsona and Baker strike back in a dominant second half for Parrhesia, and though a farcical penalty is conceded by Ceodora Finnan, a needless handball, Parrhesia hold on in injury time for three invaluable points. Elsewhere in the relegation battle, Newrook edge Chatswood 1-0 through a vintage Ocokoljic strike, while Starling get bodied 4-1 by River. At the business end of the league, Coret’s late winner over Corvistone through 22-year old substitute Rittler puts them just two points off the top, and their fans are starting to dream…

“Ahhh… it was just one of those games,” reflects Michael Brandon with a rueful laugh, but the Crisisbless manager can afford to laugh. His usual penchant is to control matches start to finish, but that just wasn’t on the cards against Sabrefell Athletic. Crisisbless scored, Athletic levelled. Crisisbless scored, Athletic levelled. Crisisbless scored, Athletic levelled. Crisisbless scored, Athletic… got a red card, on the hour mark, Illyria Landrith going in hard on Roux, maybe harshly sent off but not unduly so. Delasra put Crisisbless’ fifth on the table in injury time, as the Heelers finally do manage to get a handle on the game and see it through.

Elsewhere in Chardonnay, Starling are becoming a proper story. They can’t score goals, their defence isn’t strong, and they can’t control games, either, as the Harriers come to town and absolutely dominate midfield. Key playmaker Auburn Daescher has been injured through most of the season and Nikita Loeher’s alternatives - Rocastle or Wolf in the hole, or else Valenza as a second striker - have achieved only tepid results; only excellent goalkeeping from Bayliss keeps the score to 1-0 Chenoworth, Starling remain in 17th but a win for Parrhesia puts them within three points of the drop, and the call is made that Loeher has to go. North Sabrefell ruthlessly pick Stahlburg apart 4-1, while a Madita Brewer-inspired North Laithland annihilate River 4-0.

Some absolutely massive results this round. Extreme Hills get no favours from Diamondqueen, who are floating around in midtable and so can easily afford to bring in the heavy hitters against the Hounds. Rudolf Solaun remains as Cup keeper but barely has a shot to deal with as the Diamonds dominate the centre of the park, and Henling and Giunta get the job done in the second half. Crisisbless United had recently demolished a side 10-1, so can’t be discounted against Chatswood. But, for whatever reason, they go to pieces; Chatswood’s direct, physical style bypasses their midfield, and Sturdevant’s hat-trick - and Zyta Penrith’s 56th-minute red - help the Axes to a 7-1 thumping. The biggest shock, however, is South Laithland. Having just hired Delphi Keane, they aren’t expecting any miracles. They get one anyway, from the manager who is, technically, reigning champion; is it, then, a surprise, that Roesler’s free kick, Catheline Dane’s audacious chip and a bevy of brillant saves from Logan Haas allow the Southrons to beat mighty Crisisbless away from home? Well… yes. Yes, it is. Coret, Vermillion, Stahlburg City, Parrhesia and First Division side Goodfeather round out the quarterfinalists.

Parrhesia United score plenty of goals. Goals aren’t the problem. But: centre-half Zhu is injured, her partner Sharpe’s confidence is shot, holding midfielder Zahra is well past her best, goalkeeper Franzen appears completely overawed at Zenith level, their fullbacks are attack-minded by nature and it means that, entering the Vermillion derby, they’ve conceded twenty-one more goals than any other team in the league. Christ! So it’s small wonder then that, as Idina Slazenger departs the derby with the match ball under her arm, having now scored a very healthy fourteen goals across the season, she’s got a sour look on her face; the Saints shipped six at the other end, some under farcical circumstances. 20-year old centre-half Kina Strauss makes dubious use of a rare start, scoring Parrhesia’s other goal but conceding an own goal and a penalty at the other end. One step forward…

Starling act quickly to get a new manager in situ, and they don’t have to look far. Adalheid Metzelder’s Harriers just beat them 1-0, and they grab Metzelder, who says: “look, the Harriers are safe as houses, so there’s no guilt. Starling are desperate, so they’re going to pay me well over the odds and let me do whatever I want. That’s all I’ve ever needed.” Well, fair enough. What she wants involves a stunning number of tactical changes, but they work; MacDonald, Vettel and Valenza all score in a 3-0 rout of Leichhardt. Crisisbless lose the plot against North Sabrefell, going a man down in the first half and getting picked apart relentlessly with four clinical goals in the second, while the Moths come from behind to beat Brinemouth in a 4-2 thriller.

Sabrefell derby hour! The country stands still, especially because Athletic are on top of the table, looking poised to break the Brinemouth-Treason duopoly. And yet they’re undone with an assist from Moths goalkeeper Lorée Bautista, who catches a Cvancara cross, looks long, strikes a powerful kick downfield which catches an unfortunate bounce, just terribly awkward for every white shirt but snapped up greedily by Nick Riordan and, of course, nervelessly driven home past Garamond. Just like they did against Treason, though, Athletic find a way back. Anaximane gets away with a trip on Cvancara - home advantage playing its part - but karmaically, Escobar plays in a slightly offside Gannot to drive in the opener. Moths fans howl, but they can do nothing this time, nor can they do anything when Susan Monaghan’s free kick sails over every Moth, past Bautista and into the top corner just before the half. The Moths dominate the second, kicking and hacking away, but though Babin drives home a ripper of an equaliser that just kept rising and increasing in force before seeming like it would burst through the net, just five minutes later he gets sent off for a second caution, needlessly kicking at a prone Belltower and instigating a pitch-wide brawl. In the end, the Moths are indebted to a few fine saves from Bautista to keep the scores level, and so are the other title challengers.

With Athletic dropping points, Crisisbless draw level on points off the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Newrook. The mood is shifting in Starling, and it needs to, as they arrive at relegation rivals Parrhesia. But for a glorious afternoon, they don’t look in the same league, let alone the same region of the table. In the sixth minute, a crisp passing move starting from Bayliss rolling the ball to Martin Pearce ends with a Valenza tap-in, and Starling’s second is no less fluent, masterminded by young midfielder Remus Vettel and finished by Coffey, two 20-year olds linking up. Valenza and the substitute Rocastle finish the job in the second half, while Bayliss barely faces a shot in anger. But the Harriers show they aren’t lost without Metzelder, edging Corvistone 1-0 in the capital, while Treason rely on an injury-time winner from Ribbeck off the bench to take them past a stubborn Chatswood.

Coret Hawks could be top, if it wasn’t for goal difference, and even that’s by slim margins as they boast the best defence in the league. Suffice to say, in the northeast Seeker Derby against Newrook, the smart money’s on the Hawks. What follows is an orgy of bloodshed. At least if you count goals as blood-letting, which Rooks goalkeeper Maela Ran might well after letting a weak header from Pawnbroker somehow slip by. Rooks fans groan… until Ocokoljic levels the scores. Coret retake the lead through Rekawic, crashing late into the box to drive home a Maradrogba cutback. Rooks fans groan… until Ocokoljic levels the scores. Rekawic gets his second, a penalty… and this time Ocokoljic lays on an assist, instead, a free kick finding the head of veteran centre-half Tony Gardner. Not to worry, though. Ocokoljic won’t be denied the hat-trick, and when Zlata Perkuna runs into Reeve and bounces off to earn a dubious penalty, there’s no doubt who will step up. Sandra Middleton reads him well, and at full stretch brushes fingertips against the strike… but it’s no use, and Newrook secure a 4-3 win and an invaluable three points.

There’s absolute devastation in two cross-Sabrefell derbies, as the big sides flex their muscles. North Sabrefell have enjoyed a successful season, but they remain susceptible to pressing, which is precisely what the Moths excel at. Beset on all sides, the Bohemians constantly find themselves passing backwards, and constantly find those passes eaten up by Moths forwards; Berenice Andreas makes use of a rare start to notch up a hat-trick, fully exploiting her pace and freshness over the usual starter Liu as the Moths win 6-1. River play like a worse Moths, though, and Athletic like a better North Sabrefell; they are able to play through the pressure, picking apart holes in the pressing movements and securing a clinical 4-0 demolition. Stahlburg’s 1-0 win in Chatswood is purest anti-football, two painfully direct sides going it at each other, ultimately secured when Chatswood defender Hazaluta blunders a MacDonald cutback into his own net.

The draw throws up a guaranteed First Division semifinalist, with Goodfeather the odd ones out, well-beaten by Chatswood. Diamondqueen and South Laithland get the soft draw against one another; the Southrons aren’t so indomitable as they were against Crisisbless, with Logan Haas - Godlike against the Heelers - softly parrying a Henling strike right back where it came from to allow Severa Freeport an easy tap-in just six minutes in. Freeport’s denied what looks a clear penalty just before the break and later hits a post, so when Brown comes off the bench to equalise, the result doesn’t wholly feel reflective of the play, though neither side was especially inspiring. Vermillion outplay the Hawks, two unanswered goals both stemming off high pressing and short, effective passes hitting their targets. Stahlburg City concede first to Parrhesia in uncharacteristic fashion, Lieven losing track of his mark, 6’ midfielder Swainsona, at a corner, the former Southfell man slipping away to nod home a powerful header sixteen minutes in. The Smiths recover in the second half, and score from nothing, a brilliant pass from Loeher scything through every green shirt to find Troegner in full flight, and she rounds Stroma to tap into an empty net.

Another day, another reshuffle at the top, and now it’s closer than ever! Sabrefell Athletic at the top get undone by a fast-paced counterattack in the Harriers, one which counter-punches them time and time again. 4-1 as a scoreline reflects their clinical edge in front of goal, four goals from four shots on target and five in total. Crisisbless can’t take advantage, left playing catch-up after lowly Chatswood score off a corner in the fourth minute. Anharbour levels, but a bullet header from Sturdevant puts the Axes back in front; again, Anharbour scores, but Karlssen makes it 3-2 on the hour, and an injury-time equaliser from Carrick with more than a hint of offside steals a point for the Heelers. Nevertheless they remain atop the table, but Treason pull level on points, coming back from behind to beat Stahlburg City; Coret are only a point off the top after beating Creed handily, and the Moths and Brinemouth round out the top six, with clear daylight now between them and Stahlburg.

Scrapping around at the other end of the table, Adalheid Metzelder’s Starling get a late winner over the Chariots in a scrappy, erratic five-goal thriller; the Passerines leapfrog the Chariots into 14th. Realistically, though, the relegation picture has crystallised essentially into the three really shit teams, unsurprisingly. Newrook City got done 6-3 by the Moths, sure, and that’s not a good look; the Moths took particular delight in targeting former Athletic rightback Petria Brincat, Kweon destroying her all match. But they’re still seven points from safety, and that’s after Parrhesia snatch a point against Corvistone. With Chatswood’s aforementioned draw with Crisisbless, Leichhardt’s scoreless stalemate against Brinemouth - a deeply impressive point under most circumstances, with Sinric Aston excelling in goal - suddenly looks inadequate. The Saints have a point on Chatswood and three on Leichhardt but, interestingly, they’re in inverse order on goal difference, with Parrhesia having somehow conceded 81 (!) goals.

In a fairly dry second leg, no side scores more than a single goal… which is bad for the sides already down by two. Goodfeather dominate possession against Chatswood but offer no penetration, so it’s hard to call their defeat unjust; Coret play well beneath their level against the Rage. Parrhesia’s final ball is nonexistent against a Stahlburg side willing to stonewall them, simply awaiting a moment of quality; again, Loeher provides, a peerless cross finding Timo Szander’s late arrival into the box for the 18-year old midfielder to score his first senior goal with a stooping header. For South Laithland, Topaz Caulker’s ninth-minute goal is enough, as Diamondqueen fluff their lines time and again; Freeport, so dangerous last time, has a complete off night bad enough to get hooked before the hour.

The first match of the second half of the season carried clear and obvious implications for the table, as CNL visited one of the sides chasing them, level-second on 36 points. Barossia United had by then already lost, surprisingly, to lowly Peregrine, while New Oakstone had not yet crushed Stahlburg 4-1; the Tanners had the chance to close the gap to six points and seize second place outright. They, uh, did not do that. In fact, it was never even close; Amelia clipped a long shot beyond Soler’s grasp just thirteen minutes in, the Tanners got caught on the break after some muddled midfield possession with Meredith’s sliding challenge getting the ball to Renberg, who played in Echagaray to cut back for Remeikis to drive in the second, and more prosaically, Sienna Cunningham headed in a corner just before the break. Southfell clawed one back through Kulesza late, but it was another statement of authority from the ex-Corinthians, eager to experience the Nepharan top flight for the first time in their history.

South Laithland’s revival under Drake Garriock, well, wasn’t; a run of four defeats on the spin put them straight back on the track of potential back-to-back relegations. Delphi Keane arrived and it’s fairly plain to see where she saw the side’s issues lay. She spoke passionately about the need to rejuvenate the side with new blood; nevertheless, looking at her squad, Velazquez (35), O’Connell (35), Luhukay (34) and Bestatter (33) are all part of her strongest side. But Roesler and Brown were dropped, attacking midfielders the wrong side of 30, and a young winger in Billhook and striker in Caulker have largely replaced them. But progress was slow; they drew her first match 1-1 at Iron but slumped to a weary defeat against Chenoworth Rovers, now very much relegation rivals.

So when CNL hosted South Laithland three matches down the track, it seemed sure there could only be one winner, especially when Victoria Remeikis - a Southron youth product - drove home a decisive finish at the far post just six minutes in, complete with obligatory non-celebration. Tashandra Bauer gave away a clumsy penalty soon after for Remeikis to drive in a second, and these types of decisive first-half crushings are becoming a trademark for CNL. And then something weird happens. An Onbera Aispiolea error - improbable enough, coming out for a punch and missing, allowing Bestatter to clumsily dig the ball home - followed by a fightback, with former Crisisbless midfielder Farina Luhukay setting up coltish winger Billhook for an uncharacteristically nerveless finish to level the scores. CNL retake the lead on the hour mark, this time Remeikis playing provider for Gerhard Joiner, but Shiida Roesler comes off the bench for the Southrons to immediately rifle a perfect free kick into the top corner. South Laithland midfielder Chandra Rosziter gets the final word, slinking unnoticed into the box in the 82nd minute, missed by every marker, but found by Roesler’s pass. She makes no mistake, drilling one low and hard beyond Aispiolea’s reach to give an improbable win.

Rosziter isn’t the only U21 impressing at this level, with the youth influx a major subplot of the season. While Barossia United aren’t yet meeting expectations, stranded in 5th, four 22-year olds get regular minutes for them, including top scorer Hjort and goalkeeper Longstreet. Southfell’s teenage striker Ravil Kulesza has been an electrifying impact substitute for them, actually outscoring regular starter Zeman, and 20-year old Severa Freeport leads Diamondqueen’s scoring charts with thirteen, the bright spot of a thus far thoroughly whelming season for the Diamonds. Not to be outdone, Dénes Robineau has notched up the same tally on loan for Belgrave, and his paymasters at North Laithland are monitoring his situation with great interest. The egomaniacal Farf might just be starting to prove he’s somewhere close to as good as he thinks he is; meanwhile, the Gargoyles’ 21-year old goalkeeper Caelan Wright is already subject to Zenith speculation.

Elsewhere, New Oakstone and Chardonnay Rangers remain impressively in the promotion push, though with the congestion in the business end of the table it’s still anyone’s game. Cranequin Wanderers were expected to be right among them; however, 11 draws in 24 games saw Miron Campbell given the shove, with 52-year old Lind Scholar brought in from The Hanged Man to thus far preside over six points from three games. Tallinna Cosgrove, meanwhile, has steered an efficient and surprisingly prolific Mantlegrove to midtable safety, with the combination of Creed reject Hart and Cranequin reject Nicolau proving extremely fruitful up top. Hart’s on twelve goals, Nicolau has ten to go with eight assists in what is doubtless the standout season of a stop-start career.

by **Nephara** » Sun Aug 28, 2022 7:39 am

ZENITH

Pos Team                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Crisisbless              28  19  2   7  61  30  +31  59
  2 AFC Treason              28  19  2   7  52  35  +17  59
  3 Sabrefell Athletic       28  17  7   4  66  32  +34  58
  4 Coret Hawks              28  18  4   6  55  27  +28  58
  5 Sabrefell Moths          28  18  2   8  76  37  +39  56
  6 Brinemouth               28  16  6   6  51  28  +23  54
  7 Stahlburg City           28  12  9   7  31  25   +6  45
  8 Vermillion Rage          28  13  4  11  50  43   +7  43
  9 AFC Corvistone           28  11  8   9  46  35  +11  41
 10 Chenoworth Harriers      28  12  5  11  39  45   -6  41
 11 North Laithland          28  11  4  13  29  29   +0  37
 12 North Sabrefell          28  11  2  15  40  53  -13  35
 13 Raven River              28   9  5  14  41  56  -15  32
 14 Starling                 28   9  4  15  30  41  -11  31
 15 Aries Chariots           28   8  6  14  42  46   -4  30
 16 Creed United             28   8  5  15  19  42  -23  29
 17 Newrook City             28   6  9  13  32  53  -21  27
 18 Parrhesia United         28   6  2  20  37  81  -44  20
 19 Chatswood                28   4  7  17  20  52  -32  19
 20 Leichhardt               28   4  5  19  24  51  -27  17

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corinthians No Longer      28  17   6   5  70  35  +35  57
  2 Southfell United           28  16   6   6  43  25  +18  54
  3 New Oakstone Phoenix       28  15   6   7  50  42   +8  51
  4 Crisisbless United         28  14   7   7  55  32  +23  49
  5 Barossia United            28  15   3  10  52  31  +21  48
  6 Chardonnay Rangers         28  15   3  10  49  46   +3  48
  7 Goodfeather FC             28  15   2  11  58  41  +17  47
  8 Iron City                  28  12  10   6  43  28  +15  46
  9 Belgrave                   28  13   5  10  47  39   +8  44
 10 AFC Rochford               28  11   9   8  38  35   +3  42
 11 Diamondqueen               28  11   7  10  44  36   +8  40
 12 Mantlegrove                28  12   3  13  39  41   -2  39
 13 Cranequin Wanderers        28   8  11   9  35  28   +7  35
 14 Alliance Barossia          28   9   7  12  35  34   +1  34
 15 Brookford Otters           28  10   4  14  50  57   -7  34
 16 Stahlburg Rovers           28   7   6  15  29  61  -32  27
 17 South Laithland            28   7   5  16  31  45  -14  26
 18 Chenoworth Rovers          28   6   5  17  22  56  -34  23
 19 Peregrine                  28   6   4  18  23  66  -43  22
 20 Vermillion Wanderers       28   4   5  19  15  50  -35  17

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Aries Solitaire       28  17   7   4  47  27  +20  58
  2 Boltcroft Thorns      28  17   6   5  59  25  +34  57
  3 Morningstar           28  15  11   2  36  14  +22  56
  4 Cranequin City        28  17   4   7  44  21  +23  55
  5 Gonen's Bridge        28  15   5   8  54  31  +23  50
  6 The Hanged Man        28  13  10   5  39  24  +15  49
  7 Locksley              28  12   9   7  40  28  +12  45
  8 Greygate              28  11   5  12  32  36   -4  38
  9 Autumnstone           28  10   7  11  47  41   +6  37
 10 Cypher Town           28   9  10   9  33  28   +5  37
 11 The Strongest         28   9   9  10  44  43   +1  36
 12 AFC Serpentine        28   9   9  10  36  38   -2  36
 13 West Brinemouth       28   9   9  10  25  27   -2  36
 14 Lindwurm Delta        28   9   9  10  29  41  -12  36
 15 Lazuli Diamonds       28   8   9  11  27  54  -27  33
 16 Corvette Maulers      28   6  13   9  34  38   -4  31
 17 Latin Enclave FC      28   7   6  15  36  56  -20  27
 18 Armstrong             28   5   5  18  18  43  -25  20
 19 Gosmouth Swans        28   4   6  18  19  47  -28  18
 20 Brokenarch            28   2   3  23  17  54  -37   9

Raven River have succeeded as a recently-promoted club and Newrook look to be doing the same, but they’ve taken interestingly divergent paths. River went all in on an egomaniac manager in Penumbra Amokachi - and later, in Dragan Stavanger, another former international striker who would follow up on her vision - and went with a high-risk strategy. But their result against Newrook is rather more emblematic of Gratia Barker’s approach, a cynical defensive midfielder as a player and a true pragmatist. She’s built her Rooks around a simple blueprint: let Jezi do whatever he wants, and build a rock-solid chassis around that. But Ocokoljic has an ankle knock, so they just shithouse their way to a point on the day. Alright, then.

In the match people are actually watching, the top two of Treason and Crisisbless grind each other to a 1-1 draw. It’s an oddly forgettable match against cautious and efficient sides that can’t quite make their technique count; the goals come down to Kalabaan heading home a corner, then Roskvi heading home a cross from Wells. But the result suits neither side, as Athletic, predictably, cruise past Leichhardt 3-1 to take top spot. Starling conquer North Laithland in a match where all four scorers - Coffey, Vecsei, Vettel and Brewer - started the season under 21, while a ludicrous goalkeeping error from Aries’ Besand is made up for at the death, an injury-time penalty giving the Chariots the win over Stahlburg.

The bottom two play off and… wow. Vermillion Wanderers had been cut adrift, five points off even second-last and six from the playoff, and the feeling among fans is that the board have resigned themselves to the drop. Peregrine are nearly as bad but theirs is easily the slimmest wage bill in the division; their fullbacks are 19 and 35. They’re in with a hope of surviving, and their fans are licking their lips at the thought of three points. They don’t get them. In fact, things go horribly wrong early on; a defensive error lets Herron score, then she lumps home a header soon after. Chalice draws a vicious professional foul from Peregrine’s young leftback; he’s sent off, replaced by another 35-year old in Avis Montagne, and the Wanderers beat the tar out of the ten men, a lone penalty from Claudia Jennings a hollow consolation in a 5-1 thumping. CNL are outplayed and beaten by the Phoenix, while Southfell United and Belgrave, despite their attractive-on-paper styles, play out a dull 1-0, Belgrave’s only goal of the game coming off a well-worked corner routine.

Athletic hold top spot and ought to defend it pretty confidently, given they’re hosting bottom-feeders Parrhesia, but Kalia Tolsii’s feeling philosophical. “A cornered rat is at its most dangerous,” she warns. She needn’t have bothered, and perhaps her team selection on the day is more revealing, giving Gannot, Ikpeazu and Monaghan rare rests. Or to put it another way, experienced midfielder Rika Lundell a chance to show 90 minutes of her mesmerising playmaking against a side utterly unwilling or unable to meaningfully stop her doing … anything. Two goals and two assists later and she’s helped Athletic to a 7-1 romp, helping consolidate their place at the top of the pile.

Oh, hey, Jezdimir Ocokoljic is back from injury. It’s not a coincidence, then, that Newrook completely annihilate the Harriers 5-1. The rest of the side doesn’t really have many creative outlets, but it’s full of athletic, dangerous threats, particularly poised to spring on the break… and the Harriers play right into those hands, after Ocokoljic goes it alone to put them 1-0 down ten minutes in. Brinemouth make it hard going against Vermillion, their seasoned midfield battered by a concussive counterpress, but Kisvarda Marin’s quality off the bench ultimately gets them the win - a Parrhesia youth product slipping between the lines to sink her old enemies, the Rage. You can tell from the celebration, it still matters to her.

Peregrine bounce back from defeat in remarkable style. Shana Elderwood makes no unforced changes to her XI - well, granted, Peregrine have absolutely no depth, but she says it’s a statement of faith - and her lads reward her by slaughtering Mantlegrove 4-0. Eh? Huh?? Tania Keenan, who has spent most of the season looking fast and clever but little else, turns for the night into prime Rowena Strongbow; the coltish Sparrowhawk scores a deft brace; mediocre goalkeeper Esme Haverford makes some sharp saves. Meanwhile, the Wanderers lose a point late to Alliance through conceding a late penalty, ultimately losing 3-2 as Vanmeter sends Meyer the wrong way. CNL lose again, though it’s a weird one; Crisisbless United dominate possession, but not really the flow of the game, but Radoslav Blaha has a banner day in goal.

Two obvious overdogs, Zenith sides who could really use a good Cup run… against a dying Chatswood and a second-tier Southrons side, albeit one run by Delphi Keane, who won the last edition with the Wanderers. The Southrons do put up a good fight against the Rage, holding firm to a first-half onslaught, but in the 56th minute, all it takes is one missed tackle from promising but oh-so-naive fullback Speaker to let Beringer right in on goal. He comes out, chops inside the sliding goalkeeper Haas, and sidefoots the ball into an empty net. Merrill Grant drives home the second, and that looks like the Southrons are sunk, but they get a little hope from Shiida Roesler’s perfectly weighted chip putting the ball straight into substitute winger Brown’s path, headed home confidently at the far post. As for Chatswood, they throw off the shackles of their relegation scrap and put two unansweered past the Smiths, a liberated performance that’s oddly refreshing to watch even for a neutral, and gives the Smiths a very hard task to overturn the deficit.

Moths’ fans are… anxious. They’ve just lost 2-1 to Chatswood, who are Treason’s weaker side, mired in the relegation places… and now they go to Treason, to take on the Stags. The obviously far superior Stags. But here, the Moths’ hard, uncompromising running - and the referee giving up on booking anyone, much to Erin Camden’s outrage on the sidelines - pays dividends. Camden’s kept the side together a long time. There’s a lot of miles in those legs. And after a gruelling first half, they just… drop, in the second. Uncharacteristic errors slip into their game and are brutally punished, their attacking moves lose that spark of decisiveness, and by the end, the Moths have seen them off in a comprehensive 3-0 victory away from home.

The other big winners are Adalheid Metzelder’s Starling, who get the spotlight conveniently off them as Brinemouth bury them 4-0. But then, looking at the Passerines’ squad, is that any surprise? “Fact is,” says Metzelder matter-of-factly after the game, “the squad’s a shitshow. So many players coming from relegation fodder. We’re buying losers, when this is-- this used to be a winning club!” How do Conrad, Daescher, Wolf et al. feel about that? Chatswood take another point against River through the time-honoured tactic of ‘kick the ball really hard and hope Sturdevant gets a head on it’ (he does), Parrhesia take a rare three points againt North Sabrefell, and Athletic are stunned 3-1 by Vermillion.

Southfell’s third defeat in a row suddenly looks to be a hammer-blow to their title hopes. This time, they’re thumped 4-1 on home soil by a more clinical, decisive and ruthless Brookford. Southfell aren’t a passive side… usually, but they’re made to look it by Brookford, just one of those weird matches where a side doesn’t show up and gets properly belted. And Donat Soler all but throws the ball into his own net once, but hey, if it has to happen, best it be in a 4-1. Peregrine are right back to defeat, and it’s a damaging one, South Laithland winning 2-0; Rosziter runs the show in midfield.

Absolutely no tension this time around in Vermillion, who just annihilate South Laithland 3-0. The Southrons are too old or too young or too tired, and the Rage just run rings around them. Stahlburg City spend 90 minutes hammering on Chatswood’s door, and in what must be cathartic for anyone who has survived the trial of endurance that’s been watching them play, had to put up with every trick in the book short of diving; time-wasting, professional fouling, spiteful fouling, the ball being kicked away… Karvelas finds a late goal, but somehow everyone just knows Chatswood have sapped enough energy from the game that there won’t be a second. If there was a chance for one, Chatswood had the best chance to bury it, but St. Cleer’s flubbed header in injury time is, ultimately, pointless.

Coret smell blood in the water. They’re still very much in the thick of it, and with Crisisbless in deeply indifferent form, there’s the opportunity to clamber over their heads. Confidence tells, and Coret’s seasoned players with high morale stroke the ball around with confidence. Crisisbless try too hard, just do too much - “working harder, not smarter, not adhering to what we’ve been working towards in training,” Michael Brandon laments - but Coret can’t quite get the goal, coming closest when Moselle stretches to tap home Maradrogba’s pass… from an offside position. A missed opportunity for the Hawks, but by the end, Crisisbless are winless in five. Through a tough run of fixtures, granted, but have they really thrown away their best chance at a title in years so cheaply?

Newrook have found form at the pivotal moment, and find it in themselves to absolutely blast Parrhesia away. Ashara Szuban finally scores her first goal for the Rooks, before an Ocokoljic penalty and a thumping Graves header off Szuban’s corner secure their third straight victory. The only person disappointed is Florine Sheaton. Maela Ran sustains a minor injury in training, so Sheaton gets her first Zenith appearance… and Parrhesia don’t log a shot on target. Starling ship four again, this time to the runaway Rams, and Brinemouth stay on the warpath by eviscerating the Spiders 5-1.

CNL, a tight, professional and effective outfit, and Chenoworth Rovers, a dull and struggling side just the right side of the relegation battle, inexplicably play out a nine-goal thriller. Zophie Zarinchek opens the scores for the Rovers, a spectacular chip off the outside of the boot that somehow finds a way past a marginally flat-footed Aispiolea, after a fairly staid first ten minutes… and CNL do not let go of the need to strike back, pummelling the Rovers relentlessly. They score five! But that’s off thirteen shots on target, opposing goalkeeper Elizabeth Cha ultimately objectively having a good game. And the Rovers have just enough firepower to hang in the game, even if they never quite pull back level in the second half. Belgrave and Barossia play out a 2-2 draw, with 19-year old striker Robineau scoring both Belgrave’s goals and opposite number, 22-year old Hjort, with the brace for the Shrikes, while at the other end of the age spectrum, Cynthia Rayne’s still plugging on at 36! She scores for Chardonnay! They lose 3-1 to the on-fire Otters, but hey, who’s counting.

Facing the visit of the Moths, Crisisbless show that they have a resilience left in them. They spend the first hour getting pummelled by tackles and peppered with shots, but cling onto a 1-1 scoreline off the back of Roux’s moment of brilliance and Sebring’s saves. Michael Brandon calls for a triple substitution; on comes Makatsch, who calms down the midfield situation and responds strongly to pressure, as well as Spijkers and Carrick, who each get on the scoresheet to put an end to the bloodletting. That, and the Hawks’ narrow defeat to Aries, helps secure the top three in place, as they all win to put a four-point gap between themselves and the chasing pack.

Leichhardt have been complete dogshit this season, which is about what people expected of them last season, but while the form of veterans Bowman, Lockheed and Roebling has plunged off a cliff, Caelan MacIntyre can still shove the ball in the net when it counts. Leichhardt’s foray to Chatswood is an absolute must-win, so, handily, they do. Who else but MacIntyre scores the critical brace? Parrhesia have found goalkeeping an issue throughout the season; 20-year old Cuthbert Stroma appears the best of their options, but he’s beaten cheaply by a slow, if deflected, strike from Tara Shanthi that allows goalshy Creed an equaliser and denies the Saints what would have been a critical three points.

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Sabrefell Athletic     33   21   7   5    86   39  +47    70
 2 Brinemouth             33   21   6   6    66   30  +36    69
 3 AFC Treason            33   22   3   8    59   41  +18    69
 4 Sabrefell Moths        33   21   2  10    87   43  +44    65
 5 Crisisbless            33   20   5   8    68   36  +32    65
 6 Coret Hawks            33   20   5   8    60   32  +28    65
 7 AFC Corvistone         33   14   9  10    56   39  +17    51
--
16 Raven River            33    9   8  16    45   63  −18    35
17 Starling               33   10   5  18    36   54  −18    35
18 Chatswood              33    5   9  19    27   60  −33    24
19 Parrhesia United       33    7   3  23    42   97  −55    24
20 Leichhardt             33    5   5  23    27   60  −33    20

A punishing day for the relegation fighters. South Laithland think they’re unlucky when, in injury time, Velazquez rushes out and clips flying Goodfeather striker Catepan and concedes a penalty, which Goodfeather score for a 2-1 win. 2-1? Privilege. Vermillion Wanderers get thumped 4-0 by Chardonnay (hey, Rayne scores again), while Crisisbless United, a side that play lovely football but sometimes lack a killer edge, massacre Peregrine 7-1. That result, combined with Barossia United’s 2-1 win over CNL, does the unthinkable; CNL are finally dethroned from the top of the table, the Chequers now leading by a point and a goal. Chenoworth Rovers’ rare win, earned in the 89th minute by Cordelia Norwood taking ruthless advantage of lax, tired Diamondqueen defending, is even more valuable in the context of the other massacres, though they remain second-last.

Ps                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Crisisbless United      33   19   7   7    70   36  +34    64
 2 Corinthians No Longer   33   19   6   8    80   47  +33    63
 3 Chardonnay Rangers      33   19   3  11    61   51  +10    60
   New Oakstone Phoenix    33   18   6   9    61   51  +10    60
 5 Barossia United         33   18   5  10    60   35  +25    59
 6 Goodfeather FC          33   19   2  12    68   47  +21    59
 7 Southfell United        33   17   7   9    47   33  +14    58
--
16 South Laithland         33   10   5  18    37   49  −12    35
17 Stahlburg Rovers        33    8   6  19    33   70  −37    30
18 Peregrine               33    8   4  21    33   82  −49    28
19 Chenoworth Rovers       33    7   5  21    28   68  −40    26
20 Vermillion Wanderers    33    5   6  22    24   62  −38    21

Leichhardt are coming in on the high of victory, but they know if they fail to win against Treason they’ll be mathematically relegated. Surely the Stags have a tough fight on their hands! … No. No, they don’t. It’s a fairly trivial 2-0 win, with Gabriel Lockheed, Treason stalwart, putting the ball in his own net to start proceedings. Brinemouth and Athletic both have to sweat to keep pace, but quality off the bench proves decisive for both, with the Dockers leaning on Lázaro Patrón to finally slot home against the stubborn Chariots while the fresh legs of Lundell prove decisive in re-turning the tide against Corvistone in the last 20 minutes, who looked to have come back from behind to win. Crisisbless lose a nine-goal thriller to River and tumble out of the IFCF places. What happened?

Chatswood take on Parrhesia in the fight for the playoff, the classic resistible force vs. movable object. Chatswood have an off day as a whole, but it’s a good day for proponents of the Great Man Theory of history, as Cordian midfielder Rasmus Karlssen is a titan all day, stomping around the centre of the park stemming the tide of blood before arriving late in the box on the hour to drive home Kilika Matthis’ cutback. Only in the 84th minute do Parrhesia save a point - anything less would have been a travesty - as Swainsona pounces on a careless Chatswood pass and immediately feeds through Idina Slazenger, the former Moth drilling low past Libuda. Satine Valenza’s 51st-minute goal is enough for Starling to sink Newrook, and it’s telling that only now do Passerines fans truly believe they’re safe from relegation.

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Sabrefell Athletic     34   22   7   5    90   42  +48    73
 2 Brinemouth             34   22   6   6    67   30  +37    72
 3 AFC Treason            34   23   3   8    61   41  +20    72
 4 Coret Hawks            34   21   5   8    63   34  +29    68
 5 Sabrefell Moths        34   21   2  11    89   46  +43    65
 6 Crisisbless            34   20   5   9    72   41  +31    65
--
17 Creed United           34   10   7  17    25   50  −25    37
18 Chatswood              34    5  10  19    28   61  −33    25
19 Parrhesia United       34    7   4  23    43   98  −55    25
20 Leichhardt             34    5   5  24    27   62  −35    20

An online fundraising initiative from CNL fans buys Kari Vidmar a case of beer. Who is she? Alliance’s recently-turned-33 goalkeeper, who has spent the bulk of her career in the third tier, but who engages God Mode for an afternoon to frustrate a Crisisbless United side who enjoy 68% possession and 23 shots in a game that... ends scoreless. CNL take care of business against Diamondqueen and return to the top of the table. Vermillion need to beat Rochford - the time for a point against a midtable side being good enough has passed - and fail, meaning that the defeats of the teams above them largely go unpunished. It does mean, however, that South Laithland take a huge leap towards safety, sheer firepower getting the job done against Southfell.

Ps                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Corinthians No Longer   34   20   6   8    83   48  +35    66
 2 Crisisbless United      34   19   8   7    70   36  +34    65
 3 Chardonnay Rangers      34   20   3  11    64   53  +11    63
 4 Barossia United         34   19   5  10    62   35  +27    62
 5 Goodfeather FC          34   20   2  12    69   47  +22    62
 6 New Oakstone Phoenix    34   18   6  10    61   52   +9    60
 7 Southfell United        34   17   7  10    49   37  +12    58
--
16 South Laithland         34   11   5  18    41   51  −10    38
17 Stahlburg Rovers        34    8   6  20    33   72  −39    30
18 Peregrine               34    8   4  22    34   84  −50    28
19 Chenoworth Rovers       34    7   5  22    29   71  −42    26
20 Vermillion Wanderers    34    5   7  22    25   63  −38    22

This is it. This is the match that meant Treason weren’t worried. They only have to cruise to victory against Parrhesia - spoilers, they do (3-1, Roskvi/Malone/Roskvi) - on the Friday and then wait for the fireworks on Saturday. Brinemouth host Athletic. The top two. But before the big-ticket affair, some side notes; Coret, prominently, stay in the chase with two late goals against an exhausted River, while two goals off set pieces and a bevy of saves from Claire Libuda help Chatswood to a critical victory over Vermillion. A conspicuously weak Vermillion. Cralt-Nirlo Fox claims that, mired in midtable, keeping players fresh for the Cup run was the priority, but surely it’s no coincidence that Chatswood’s win puts Vermillion’s rivals, Parrhesia, three points from safety?

But back to the meat of the matter. Brinemouth look to calm the game down from the start, but Athletic go at the Dockers with gusto. That pays early dividends, Blanco dwelling on the ball and having her pocket picked by Gannot, who blazes narrowly over the bar. But Brinemouth stick to the plan, playing through the centre; soon, Athletic’s backup goalkeeper, Auxier - with Garamond injured - is called into action, a snap-shot from Southsea proving awkward and only palmed down and away as far as Tess Miller, who raises a boot to ram the ball home with her studs. Brinemouth come agonisingly close to the second across the rest of the first half, but from the hour mark, Athletic pick themselves up off the ground and come roaring back, Heuser forced into a spectacular double save from Monaghan and Tristram, Tristram then heading wide unmarked, before, at last, her countryman Caoimhin Hadley provides the breakthrough, going on a bold overlapping run down the right and letting Rhyme Besler, the impetuous stand-in for the injured Almwood, ankle-tap him. Gannot makes no mistake from the spot, and with honours even… Treason streak through to the top of the table!

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 AFC Treason            35   24   3   8    64   42  +22    75
 2 Sabrefell Athletic     35   22   8   5    91   43  +48    74
 3 Brinemouth             35   22   7   6    68   31  +37    73
 4 Coret Hawks            35   22   5   8    66   35  +31    71
 5 Crisisbless            35   21   5   9    75   41  +34    68
 6 Sabrefell Moths        35   21   2  12    89   47  +42    65
--
18 Chatswood              35    6  10  19    30   61  −31    28
19 Parrhesia United       35    7   4  24    44  101  −57    25
20 Leichhardt             35    5   5  25    27   63  −36    20

Ah, the title that nobody wants to win! Corinthians No Longer come unstuck against Cranequin Wanderers, a side in awful form who have had a terrible season, but are still the kind of team whose door you don’t want to be left hammering on to overturn an early concession. Katona Meredith does find a way through, squeezing a shot under Carroll late on, but it’s still points dropped as the Chequers annihilate Goodfeather 4-0. South Laithland secure their mathematical safety, twice coming back from behind to draw level with high-flying Chardonnay. Towards the foot of the table, Chenoworth Rovers overtake Peregrine with a bullet header from Corbay securing a six-pointer at the death.

Ps                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Crisisbless United      35   20   8   7    74   36  +38    68
 2 Corinthians No Longer   35   20   7   8    84   49  +35    67
 3 Chardonnay Rangers      35   20   4  11    66   55  +11    64
 4 Barossia United         35   19   5  11    62   36  +26    62
 5 Goodfeather FC          35   20   2  13    69   51  +18    62
 6 Southfell United        35   18   7  10    51   37  +14    61
 7 New Oakstone Phoenix    35   18   6  11    61   54   +7    60
--
17 Stahlburg Rovers        35    8   6  21    34   74  −40    30
18 Chenoworth Rovers       35    8   5  22    32   73  −41    29
19 Peregrine               35    8   4  23    36   87  −51    28
20 Vermillion Wanderers    35    5   7  23    25   64  −39    22

Sometimes, no matter how hard you want something, you just can’t get it. See, the Chariots don’t want anything for themselves. They just hate Sabrefell Athletic, more than anyone, and they don’t want to see them lift the trophy. It’s relatable! Got to love spite! But you can’t always get what you want, and the Chariots are a patchy and uneven team this year; Athletic smirk, sidestep the leg-snapping challenges and just pass through them, ultimately winning 3-1. Treason leave it late to beat Vermillion through a thumping Roskvi header to keep ahold of their place. Coret slip against the Harriers, though, meaning that they’re well and truly out of the title race now. Pity, that.

Predictably, Leichhardt get bodied 4-1 by Crisisbless and it is, at last, their death knell confirmed. It’s been a bitterly disappointing season for them, succumbing hard to second-season syndrome. Chatswood come up against a winnable opponent in Starling, and Varlam Kovalev pulls out a brilliant sashaying run followed by a deft clip over Bayliss to open the scores, but in the second half, the young, aggressive Passerines overrun them in midfield and have Satine Valenza up top to finish the chances. Valenza wasn’t even a regular starter when the season began but has got to be on track for a Cormorants callup by now. Parrhesia concede early to Stahlburg, and it feels like it should be game over, but Corban Green is actually fit for once, and provides the one moment of quality needed to level the scores at the death, putting the Saints in striking range of potential safety.

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 AFC Treason            36   25   3   8    66   43  +23    78
 2 Sabrefell Athletic     36   23   8   5    94   44  +50    77
 3 Brinemouth             36   23   7   6    70   31  +39    76
 4 Coret Hawks            36   22   6   8    68   37  +31    72
 5 Crisisbless            36   22   5   9    79   42  +37    71
 6 Sabrefell Moths        36   21   2  13    89   48  +41    65
--
18 Chatswood              36    6  10  20    31   63  −32    28
19 Parrhesia United       36    7   5  24    45  102  −57    26
20 Leichhardt             36    5   5  26    28   67  −39    20

Time’s running out for Vermillion, and they visit Stahlburg just hoping to keep up their hopes. Their desperation shows on the pitch, but they’re undone, in the end, by a simple bit of play; a perfect Lorelei Barker cross, nodded down by a stooping Guzan for Liang to lash home the game’s only goal. That relegates the Wanderers at last, and puts the Rovers in a strong position for another escape. The ex-Corinthians retake top spot, easily beating Peregrine 4-1 as the Chequers succumb to a mutually profligate scoreless daw with Southfell; the Rangers thump the Phoenix to move into striking range of automatic promotion.

Ps                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Corinthians No Longer   36   21   7   8    88   50  +38    70
 2 Crisisbless United      36   20   9   7    74   36  +38    69
 3 Chardonnay Rangers      36   21   4  11    70   56  +14    67
 4 Barossia United         36   20   5  11    65   37  +28    65
 5 Goodfeather FC          36   20   2  14    69   52  +17    62
 6 Southfell United        36   18   8  10    51   37  +14    62
--
17 Stahlburg Rovers        36    9   6  21    35   74  −39    33
18 Chenoworth Rovers       36    8   5  23    33   76  −43    29
19 Peregrine               36    8   4  24    37   91  −54    28
20 Vermillion Wanderers    36    5   7  24    25   65  −40    22

Treason enter the halfway mark in pole position, though they’re sorely pressed by a Starling side flying off the back of three consecutive wins - it takes a classic Treason dubious penalty to finish them off - and puts the pressure on the others just to stay in the fight. Athletic lose control of things early against North Sabrefell, and it’s an ugly, bitter, niggly thing to get the points. The Bohemians take the only goal in the first half through Esmereld and they should score more, denied only by profligacy. Athletic fight back hard in the second, though, and while they don’t have any fluency, they have the individual quality to blast open the door anyway. “It wasn’t a tactical win, a genuine win,” said Bohemians manager Leigh Flute sullenly. Brinemouth complete the set, beating Newrook 2-0. Nothing fancy, no tension. They know it’ll be an outside shot to win the league but they’ll give it everything regardless. The Moths smash the Harriers 4-0 to stay within potential range of fighting for the honour to get knocked out in the Challengers Cup preliminaries by some backwater.

Despite Starling’s defeat, they could still conceivably finish in the top half come the final standings. Just four points separate the Spiders in 10th from North Sabrefell in 17th, in a season where many clubs have just sort of been embroiled in the midtable slurry. And all are safe, while Leichhardt are long dead and by now, cooling rapidly; Coret’s 3-1 win over them is a cinch. Chatswood surprise most by overcoming a fairly tepid North Laithland, two thumping headers from Markus Sturdevant, coming into form at the perfect time, and that puts Parrhesia on the hook - beat Crisisbless or die. Crisisbless have wobbled lately, but should surely be able to put Parrhesia down… but they can’t respond to the ferocity that the highly primed and motivated Saints have, hurling themselves in front of every shot. But it still takes a goal, and they know that, going into the final ten minutes. Enter Mikael Tanner, off the bench; 30-year old midfielder, has spent most of his career in the lower leagues, contract about to expire, but arriving late in the box with a deflected, squirrelling cutback coming to his feet? He’s still a professional footballer, still has scrapped every day of his life to work up to the big leagues, and he’s still deadly with that ball at his feet, whipping it low beyond Sebring to keep Parrhesia in the fight.

The crunch match is obvious; 3rd-place Chardonnay against 2nd-place Crisisbless, and it’s Gerik Ramsey’s Rangers who take an early lead, a flicked snap-shot from Willem Tanzer catching Blaha out at his near post. But Crisisbless United do what they do, overwhelming the Rangers with decisive short-passing moves; goals either side of the interval break the Rangers, with Vadim Arkhipov earning a penalty for Campbell to drive home a clinching third. Zyta Penrith sees red not long after, and Yente Shulthis, trying her luck from range in the 89th minute, does at least make things interesting as her strike arcs in off the underside of the crossbar… but United hold on, and lock down the top two. CNL get the job done, too. It’s another 4-1, an easy win over a comfortable midtable Alliance, and with that they become the latest new side to taste the fruits of the top flight. Chardonnay, for their part, lose their grip on third; Barossia United edge to a 1-0 win over Cranequin to take a commanding position.

Goodfeather are nominally in the mix, too, after a thunderbastard from Casey Anzehelm slips through Elisabeth Cha’s hands. It’s a heartbreaking way for the Rovers to concede, but perhaps it’s some consolation, too, that Peregrine drop points to Diamondqueen through an 84th-minute Giunta penalty ensuring that Chenoworth take the edge into the final day. It does, however, mean that Stahlburg Rovers secure safety with a heroic 2-0 defeat against Mantlegrove. So then the final day will come down to the title race, and to the playoffs.

ZENITH

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For   Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason              37  26   3   8  68   44  +24  81
  2 Sabrefell Athletic       37  24   8   5  98   47  +51  80
  3 Brinemouth               37  24   7   6  72   31  +41  79
  4 Coret Hawks              37  23   6   8  71   38  +33  75
  5 Crisisbless              37  22   5  10  79   43  +36  71
  6 Sabrefell Moths          37  22   2  13  93   48  +45  68
  7 Stahlburg City           37  16  11  10  40   33   +7  59
  8 AFC Corvistone           37  15  11  11  67   45  +22  56
  9 Vermillion Rage          37  16   6  15  60   52   +8  54
 10 North Laithland          37  13   5  19  38   52  -14  44
 11 Raven River              37  12   8  17  54   70  -16  44
 12 Starling                 37  13   5  19  43   59  -16  44
 13 Chenoworth Harriers      37  12   8  17  46   67  -21  44
 14 Aries Chariots           37  12   6  19  52   61   -9  42
 15 Creed United             37  11   8  18  30   54  -24  41
 16 Newrook City             37   9  13  15  44   59  -15  40
 17 North Sabrefell          37  12   4  21  49   74  -25  40
 18 Chatswood                37   7  10  20  33   63  -30  31
 19 Parrhesia United         37   8   5  24  46  102  -56  29
 20 Leichhardt               37   5   5  27  29   70  -41  20

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Corinthians No Longer      37  22   7   8  92  51  +41  73
  2 Crisisbless United         37  21   9   7  77  38  +39  72
  3 Barossia United            37  21   5  11  66  37  +29  68
  4 Chardonnay Rangers         37  21   4  12  72  59  +13  67
  5 Goodfeather FC             37  21   2  14  70  52  +18  65
  6 Southfell United           37  18   9  10  51  37  +14  63
  7 Iron City                  37  16  13   8  53  35  +18  61
  8 New Oakstone Phoenix       37  18   7  12  65  61   +4  61
  9 Belgrave                   37  17   7  13  56  48   +8  58
 10 Brookford Otters           37  17   4  16  66  64   +2  55
 11 AFC Rochford               37  13  13  11  48  44   +4  52
 12 Cranequin Wanderers        37  12  12  13  47  37  +10  48
 13 Mantlegrove                37  15   3  19  48  58  -10  48
 14 Diamondqueen               37  13   8  16  51  51   +0  47
 15 Alliance Barossia          37  12   9  16  48  49   -1  45
 16 South Laithland            37  12   7  18  45  54   -9  43
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           37   9   6  22  35  76  -41  33
 18 Chenoworth Rovers          37   8   5  24  33  77  -44  29
 19 Peregrine                  37   8   5  24  39  93  -54  29
 20 Vermillion Wanderers       37   5   7  25  25  66  -41  22

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Aries Solitaire       37  24   7   6  71  39  +32  79
  2 Gonen's Bridge        37  24   5   8  77  37  +40  77
  3 Cranequin City        37  22   7   8  55  27  +28  73
  4 Morningstar           37  20  12   5  59  25  +34  72
  5 Boltcroft Thorns      37  20   9   8  72  36  +36  69
  6 The Hanged Man        37  18  11   8  47  31  +16  65
  7 Locksley              37  18  10   9  55  32  +23  64
  8 Cypher Town           37  15  13   9  51  33  +18  58
  9 Greygate              37  14   8  15  42  44   -2  50
 10 West Brinemouth       37  12  13  12  37  39   -2  49
 11 AFC Serpentine        37  13  10  14  48  53   -5  49
 12 Autumnstone           37  13   7  17  54  52   +2  46
 13 The Strongest         37  12  10  15  57  64   -7  46
 14 Lindwurm Delta        37  11  13  13  37  53  -16  46
 15 Lazuli Diamonds       37  10   9  18  38  75  -37  39
 16 Latin Enclave FC      37   9   8  20  50  78  -28  35
 17 Corvette Maulers      37   7  13  17  39  58  -19  34
 18 Armstrong             37   7   5  25  24  59  -35  26
 19 Gosmouth Swans        37   5   8  24  29  66  -37  23
 20 Brokenarch            37   4   6  27  24  65  -41  18

by **Nephara** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 5:29 pm

SECOND DIVISION FINALE
Aries Solitaire confirm their title win in dramatic circumstances… or circumstances that would be dramatic in other circumstances. They needed to equal or better Gonen’s Bridge’s result, but in injury time, they’re level with a stubborn Autumnstone. But at the decisive moment, veteran striker Jacinth Coen - only hurled on in the 89th minute - stretches out a toe to lunge home a winner at the death! And it would be a lot more impressive if Bridge hadn’t lost 2-0 to Cypher. Well, they’re both promoted in any case, while Cranequin City enjoy the easy draw of an appalling Brokenarch side and squeak up in third. Like Soli, Latin Enclave manage a late goal, but theirs actually means something, as with Armstrong slaughtered by Corvette, Enclave holding the Swans to a draw denies them the chance at survival.

FIRST DIVISION FINALE
A remarkably identical situation to the third tier; top two (CNL, Crisisbless United) are promoted but in an uncertain order, two (mathematically three) sides contest third but the team currently occupying it only needs to survive the visit to the side bottom of the league, relegated long ago, and 18th and 19th will fight over the playoff.

Chenoworth Rovers hold the advantage in the latter fight on goal difference, by enough of a margin it may as well be half a point on the board. And that experience shines through against Southfell. Say what you will about the Rovers, but they benefit from a solid back line and a strong goalkeeper in Cha, with the evergreen captain Alisandra Svava marshalling the lot from rightback. They absorb pressure in the first half, and just as one suspects they’re playing for the point, Zophie Zarinchek releases Counsell through the heart of midfield with a clever chip, the veteran midfielder plays a slick one-two with a back-to-goal Corbay and rifles a low strike past Soler. A long throw from Esteban is again knocked on by Corbay and driven home by Darzi to make it two, and Peregrine lose in any case to give the Rovers their reprieve.

Barossia United are really good. Vermillion Wanderers are terrible. Should be a fait accompli, right? Um… unfortunately, Vermillion aren’t devoid of quality. Barossia think they’ve taken the lead early, a strike from Bjarnesen crashing into the crossbar and seeming to creep over the line, but the linesman demurs and a replay reveals that it was just on the line. It gets no better from there, with Clariza Meyer - in her last game before her return to Coret - making save after save, or sometimes simple profligacy getting in the Shrikes’ way. It’s inevitable that, in the 82nd minute as Barossia stream forward yet again, a tired attack breaks down and is thumped downfield by Trahern Mueller. Goldman hooks it over the top, Morgan Chalice races clear and cuts back for Leonhard Bertos to drive home. It’s heartbreaking. Or it would be, but Chardonnay lose to Iron, too.

That does mean that Goodfeather can edge into the playoff, provided they beat CNL 10-0. This does not occur. But they still want to end the season well, while Crisisbless United face a more obliging opponent, Rochford the picture of a side in midtable content with survival; the Chequers beat them 3-0. Goodfeather come out looking to dominate possession, and the ball is in essence a black hole in the centre of the park, from which CNL just can’t extract it. The Quakers sap the pace from the game, and ultimately, squeak to a scoreless draw that ends up costing CNL the title.

ZENITH FINAL DAY MD-BY-MD
TITLE RACE

AFC Treason (4-2-3-1) 16 - Shimski; 17 - Holden, 22 - Mitteager, 27 - Volkmann, 18 - Jorse; 8 - Robshaw (c), 13 - Zazagan; 20 - Malone, 21 - Rosenblatt, 11 - Wells; 9 - Roskvi
Form Guide: 1st - 5W - 0D - 0L - 11F - 3A
North Laithland (4-2-3-1) 20 - Turner; 2 - Csatar, 38 - Gantry, 5 - Killen, 20 - Sinka; 4 - Marrable (c), 15 - Sinodinos; 21 - Brewer, 8 - Abaya, 10 - Sadler; 9 - Lazelis
Form Guide: 15th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 3F - 10A
Treason just cannot be counted out, and if they beat North Laithland they will somehow strike up yet another title. The home crowd expects, and the Stags do not break under the weight of expectation. They’re in great form, and the Spiders both aren’t and have nothing to play for. But they hate the Stags, and would love nothing more than to deny them the title. A draw should be enough for that, and the Spiders’ lineup is cautious.

Newrook City (4-2-3-1) 1 - Ran; 13 - Brincat, 17 - Gostler, 18 - Graves, 3 - Pendress; 6 - Solari (c), 8 - Salter; 23 - Hagen, 21 - Ocokoljic, 11 - Perkuna; 15 - Smith
Form Guide: 17th - 0W - 3D - 2L - 2F - 5A
Sabrefell Athletic (4-4-2) 30 - Arcard; 2 - Hadley, 5 - Stephenson, 22 - Roback, 11 - Ciuru; 23 - Escobar, 13 - Belltower, 7 - Monaghan, 16 - Cvancara; 15 - Tristram, 21 - Gannot (c)
Form Guide: 2nd - 4W - 1D - 0L - 17F - 9A
Athletic are in fine fettle, and should Treason stumble, the Rams ought to make up for it. A point behind but with far superior goal difference, they just need to better the Stags’ result. For the Rooks, first-choice striker Alhambra Pike is injured, and nobody not named Jezdimir Ocokoljic has scored in the past five games. Athletic’s defence has been porous of late, and they’ve badly missed the injured goalkeeper Raluca Garamond… or they would have, but they’ve scored 21 goals in their last six.

Creed United (4-2-3-1) 1 - Lindt; 2 - Esterling, 27 - Ausbury, 6 - Barkaan (c), 3 - Xu; 4 - Selder, 15 - Hooper; 7 - Kirkland, 21 - Shanthi, 38 - Sheen; 14 - Khautov
Form Guide: 13th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 7F - 8A
Brinemouth (4-2-3-1) 1 - Heuser; 2 - Meadows, 18 - Blanco, 4 - Scales, 19 - Almwood; 20 - Martin (c), 6 - Southsea; 7 - Pereyra, 15 - Kuhar-Arh, 21 - Marin; 14 - Miller
Form Guide: 3rd - 4W - 1D - 0L - 7F - 1A
Brinemouth are by a distance the longest shots at the title, but far less likely things have happened than Treason and the Rams both slipping up. The calculus is simple; Brinemouth must beat Creed, and hope neither other team wins. Creed are a middling but safe side, and they’ve opted for a very defensive lineup, Selder and Hooper hoping to choke off the midfield. Soderstrom is an immense miss for Brinemouth, whose bill of health is otherwise largely clean.

CHALLENGERS CUP

Vermillion Rage (4-4-2) 20 - Pinter; 6 - Wright, 13 - Cannon (c), 31 - Green, 3 - Province; 23 - Beringer, 8 - Covolan, 4 - Sorrell, 33 - Hesketh; 12 - Rennet, 9 - Grant
Form Guide: 14th - 1W - 1D - 3L - 3F - 6A
Crisisbless (4-4-2) 1 - Sebring; 17 - Sonnleitner, 5 - Copperhead, 22 - Kalabaan, 6 - Delasra; 29 - Anharbour, 4 - Constantine, 23 - Sebold, 10 - Roux; 41 - Spijkers, 11 - Ludwig
Form Guide: 7th - 3W - 0D - 2L - 14F - 8A
Crisisbless have fucked their title chances in a frankly spectacular collapse - well, it looks worse than it’s been, due to the implacability of the current top three. But they’ve slipped behind the Hawks and now face a battle to qualify for IFCF at all. Helping them is Vermillion’s incoming Cup match, and a rash of injuries besides; they aren’t gambling on Petras’ fitness, while Curtin and Treatise are being rested. Crisisbless are really playing more of a 4-2-4, and it’s probably Spijkers’ last game.

Leichhardt (4-4-2) 12 - Aston; 2 - Korchagin, 5 - Ugljanin, 22 - Lockheed (c), 3 - Uzund; 7 - Luo, 8 - Flaxen, 4 - Moritz, 11 - Shed; 9 - Lomond, 10 - McIntyre
Form Guide: 18th - 1W - 0D - 4L - 4F - 11A
Sabrefell Moths (4-4-2) 1 - Bautista; 17 - Rake, 19 - Sulejmanovic, 4 - Timekeeper (c), 18 - Kaluza; 10 - Gyldenstroem, 14 - Vol Brininger, 47 - Grey, 24 - Alderwood; 21 - Riordan, 9 - Andreas
Form Guide: 16th - 1W - 0D - 4L - 7F - 8A
This is likely to be a shitshow. Leichhardt have been abysmal all season and lost eight of their last nine, while the Moths’ intriguing strategy of shredding their squad with injuries has left them threadbare and completely spent of momentum. Good news: every side involved in the lukewarm chase for 5th is using a 4-4-farken-2. Wahey!

RELEGATION BATTLE

Chatswood (4-2-3-1) 20 - Libuda; 2 - Petrov, 19 - Shangyuan, 18 - Pearson (c), 3 - Lamontagne; 4 - Albert, 13 - Demirjian; 23 - Kovalev, 21 - Karlssen, 11 - Walker; 9 - Sturdevant
Form Guide: 9th - 2W - 1D - 2L - 7F - 5A
AFC Corvistone (4-3-3) 1 - Hartnett; 2 - Betva, 22 - Telford, 5 - Sevet-Stokes, 3 - Viipuri (c); 26 - Sevaljevic, 8 - Ledger, 13 - Retyunskikh; 7 - Blackburn, 16 - Kurtishi, 10 - de la Garza
Form Guide: 12th - 1W - 2D - 2L - 11F - 7A
Chatswood enjoy home advantage, a better position, and a slightly easier draw. Corvistone haven’t won in a while, but the one they did, they pumped North Sabrefell 6-0. That’s not bad. They’re favourites to beat Chatswood, but still, all the Axes need is a point. They’re going for a hard defensive approach, and may miss the rightback Ilinden; Petrov is 34, and matched up against de la Garza, Corvistone’s highly-rated winger.

Parrhesia United (4-3-3) 20 - Stroma; 2 - Igoric, 18 - Sharpe, 22 - Zhu (c), 19 - Sandford; 33 - Caulker, 38 - Caelin, 8 - Swainsona; 13 - Pallas, 10 - Slazenger, 16 - Green
Form Guide: 10th - 1W - 3D - 1L - 5F - 6A
Coret Hawks (4-4-2) 1 - Matraxis; 33 - Swain, 22 - Piirs, 13 - Kapetanovic, 3 - Kemp; 7 - Maradrogba, 16 - Buchan, 10 - Rekawic (c), 26 - Segura; 20 - Pawnbroker, 9 - Moselle
Form Guide: 5th - 3W - 1D - 1L - 12F - 8A
The Saints have bought themselves relevance with a critical win over Crisisbless, but they’re still up against it. They need to win, and they need Chatswood to lose. Lucas Baker is a crippling loss for them, one of their most important players, but they’re largely intact otherwise. Even Green’s fit for once! Coret are giving a farewell appearance to 40-year old former Cormorant Anthoulis Matraxis, but they won’t be going easy on the Saints.

DEAD RUBBERS

North Sabrefell (4-2-3-1) 20 - Culweather; 2 - Safarov, 22 - Northrup, 3 - Polichev, 18 - Nevetny; 4 - Shone (c), 8 - Biscan; 7 - Constantine, 14 - Audrey, 16 - Carrow; 15 - Martin
Form Guide: 19th - 0W - 1D - 4L - 4F - 14A
Aries Chariots (4-4-2) 25 - Mezahi; 13 - Steffen, 18 - Rasanamira (c), 19 - Verlander, 3 - Levering; 7 - Mordecai, 8 - Cray, 39 - Taphouse, 11 - Woodwright; 9 - Gretler, 16 - Shearer
Form Guide: 11th - 2W - 0D - 3L - 4F - 7A
Missing a sheaf of key players, the Bohemians are in wretched form, but without a fit Delphine Lopar it’s unclear if the Chariots can properly punish them for it. Both sides are mired in lower midtable, after disappointing seasons.

Chenoworth Harriers (4-3-3) 12 - Katter; 2 - Sonnen, 5 - Otxoa (c), 3 - Hull, 18 - Cantrell; 6 - Longhouse, 4 - Raskin, 33 - Rumford; 10 - Rajovic, 23 - Sanders, 20 - Pembroke
Form Guide: 20th - 0W - 1D - 4L - 2F - 12A
Raven River (4-3-1-2) 20 - Gabriella; 17 - Lindgren, 19 - Brivio (c), 4 - Avery, 26 - Vaucluse; 15 - Brown, 5 - Guildenstern, 11 - Valdemar; 21 - Levin; 7 - Shehu, 13 - Brass
Form Guide: 8th - 3W - 0D - 2L - 9F - 9A
Locked together on 44 points, this match will also probably mean nothing no matter what. The Harriers are in appalling form and rife with injury, though, leaving the Ferrymen as clear favourites.

Starling (4-2-3-1) 1 - Bayliss; 18 - Fremont, 6 - Pearce, 24 - Muscat, 3 - Canticle (c); 8 - Vettel, 25 - Rocastle; 17 - Harper, 11 - Coffey, 49 - Leveret; 15 - Valenza
Form Guide: 6th - 3W - 1D - 1L - 8F - 6A
Stahlburg City (4-2-3-1) 1 - Rosmarin; 43 - Lea, 8 - Lieven, 22 - Baste (c), 3 - Talmay; 4 - MacDonald, 21 - MacMaster, 7 - Troegner, 10 - Smajic, 11 - Loeher; 16 - Karvelas
Form Guide: 4th - 4W - 1D - 0L - 6F - 1A
Under Adalheid Metzelder’s rule, Starling have been completely overhauled, and it’s helped drag them out of trouble. They’ll have their work cut out just scoring against Stahlburg, who have been imperious despite losing Olympe Weaver to injury, homegrown veteran Xander Rosmarin stepping up well.

by **Nephara** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 5:31 pm

KICK-OFF!

1 mins - And Athletic come out of the gates flying! Four passes from the kickoff have the ball at Escobar’s feet, with him having gunned it from the moment the whistle blew. Maela Ran comes flying out of goal to deny him, and Eero Solari hooks the ball clear!

2 mins - Leichhardt, surprisingly, also notch up an early shot on target. Uzund makes a big switch to find Luo across the pitch, who turns and looks almost bemused as Kaluza slides on past him, failing to make any contact with the ball. The Yue doesn’t sit on his heels, though, surging forward, linking up with Asger Lomond with a neat one-two as he homes in on the box and thumping a low shot, quite close to Bautista and beaten away.

3 mins - North Laithland have been badly goalshy this season, and seem content to play a deep block against Treason today, very conservative but looking to spring on the break. A major subplot this off-season will be if they can convince Denes Robineau, who enjoyed a very successful loan spell at Belgrave, to return; he’d likely walk into the starting lineup at this point, flush with 14 goals in 34 appearances, but rumour had it he fell out with manager Kosovare Fairweather.

4 mins - GOAL! NSF 0 - 1 ARC. Beatan Shearer opens the scoring, a midfield turnover ruthlessly punished, Kyri Levering with both the interception and the killer through-ball. Rumour is that the Licentian FA’s looking into Shearer’s parentage, and with an ice-cool finish like that, it isn’t hard to see why.

5 mins - GOAL! STA 1 - 0 STC. Ascalon Coffey has the modest crowd at Starling purring, dipping in between the Double Mac pivots and leaving them chasing ghosts. His shot is venomous, clawed away by Xander Rosmarin… but the lightning-fast 17-year old Cyra Leveret outpaces Stahlburg’s sluggish defence and cuts back for the overlapping leftback, Laviska Canticle, to stab home!

6 mins - Athletic draw another smart save from Ran, though one that looked more balletic than actually difficult. Monaghan’s shot was hard and moved fast, but was out from far enough that the Chromatik goalkeeper had little genuine issue with it. Still, more statements of intent…

7 mins - GOAL! CHH 0 - 1 RVR. If at first you don’t succeed… Flora Brown thumps a shot off Otxoa, but as the Audioslav goes down clutching his head, Brown sends another swerving volley at goal. It skims through Katter’s wrists, the former Starling goalkeeper perhaps seeing it late through the sea of bodies, but River lead regardless!

8 mins - Okay, so, as ever, we open for correspondents, … okay, look, ix-nay on the ummetting-coefficient-play, got it? We’re unded-by-the-league-fay. That means we are an opaganda-outlet… pray. So, softball questions. Like you’re interviewing your own child, or are the Nepharan government presented with allegations of Nyowani Kitaran war crimes.

9 mins - Brinemouth haven’t yet logged a shot on target against Creed, who very nearly take the lead! Tanith Xu takes the ball from Sheen on the overlap, then trots impudently towards the box, all but daring Tosca Meadows to come get her. Meadows dives in, Xu skips past her and hammers in a cross just before running out of play, and Khautov and Blanco meet it together in the air. Khautov gets there first, but Blanco’s head is in the way. The ball spills out to Shanthi but is pretty out of control, and with blue shirts swarming, she hits it first time. It goes well over.

10 mins - “By how many years, would you estimate,” asks Andrea Soller, “has your habit of shotgunning First Winds shortened your life?” Oh, a dozen, easy. It’s a good thing they moved to sugar-free a few years back, because the erythritol, niacamide, sucralose and asbestos is probably already just about the limits of human consumption.

11 mins - GOAL! CHH 0 - 2 RVR. The Harriers are caught too far forward by River, an attack breaking down and exposing them on the break, River keeping plenty of bodies forward. Paavo Lindgren’s sweeping long ball finds Visse Brass breaking through the middle, and the young striker outpaces all the competition before poking the ball impudently between Katter’s legs.

12 mins - Come to think of it, I saw this video a few months ago where some guy put a Geiger counter against a First Wind can and it went bloody haywire. Just cracked open my second can of the day, FYI.

13 mins - GOAL! PAR 0 - 1 COH. Alas, poor Saints. They just don’t have an answer to Segura hitting a high cross that only the titan Pawnbroker can reach, knocking it down to himself, effortlessly holding Sharpe off before sweeping the ball home. Danijel Brymora on the sidelines is left looking skyward.

14 mins - Since the scare, Brinemouth have dominated the past five minutes. But a shot on target proves elusive. Marin’s missed a half-presentable chance, and now a strike from Kuhar-Arh is blocked by Vasil Ausbury. They call for handball, but nothing doing; replays show the hands were in front of the body anyway.

15 mins - Clovis Arcard started the season as Athletic’s third-choice goalkeeper, but with Garamond injured and an inexperienced deputy in Auxier not being up to the task, he’s had to step up. But the callow 20-year old could be a weakness, and his failure to come out for a cross almost costs Athletic a goal, a sweeping ball from Perkuna finding Smith… and it’s headed wide! Should have been a goal. Needed to be a goal.

16 mins - Crisisbless’ crusade against Vermillion has been pretty tepid thus far, though the form of Calico Pinter in goal is worth remarking on; he’s made two pretty good saves. Auberine Peridot’s shaky form gave youth international Pinter the chance to break through, and while he probably doesn’t have the makings of a future Cormorant, he’ll be a solid Zenith goalkeeper, spry and agile.

17 mins - GOAL! CHH 0 - 3 RVR. The Harriers are completely coming to pieces. Flora Brown tests her luck again from range; a diving save from Katter tips it against a post, but she’s left incandescent when the sluggish Harriers defence are flat-footed as Visse Brass skips between the red shirts to stab home the rebound.

18 mins - GOAL! NSF 0 - 2 ARC. Taphouse thumps senior citizen Tawny Shone, no foul is given, and Tricia Cray turns and finds Scalena Woodwright on the edge of the box. Generally more of a provider, Woodwright goes it alone, beating Culweather at his near post.

19 mins - “You really shouldn’t be glorifying that ghastly company,” chides Arutha ‘Voted Most Fun At Parties’ Carter. “In Nephara we pride ourselves as a country that isn’t at thrall to multinationals, but just because First Wind are a homegrown international success story we let them get away with murder.” Look, it’s not murder if it’s not premeditated. Sure it’s sad that those people died of overdosing, but…

20 mins - Parrhesia almost draw level through their main attacking outlet, the bound-for-better-things Idina Slazenger lashing a shot towards the top corner. They’re denied by the geriatric Anthoulis Matraxis, who gets a big bear paw to it to claw it away before thumping hard into the turf.

21 mins - Wow. Ten games, and for a whole minute, nothing fuckin’ happened in any of them.

22 mins - Slazenger has at times resembled someone whose life is crumbling to pieces for Parrhesia. It’s brought the best out of her football, even if at times she’s felt like she’s been obliged to do too much, but the Saints’ faithful can never say that the past two years haven’t mattered for her. If anything they’ve probably shaven years off her life expectancy, and her nails are bitten down to the quick.

23 mins - PENALTY TO SFA! Gratia Barker’s outraged, she’s striding out of the technical area, shirt-fronting the fourth official! But it looks fairly clear-cut… Petria Brincat’s sleeper agent programming activated, the former Rams rightback, was beaten for pace by Cvancara and shoulder-charged him off the ball as he cut in. He fell a touch dramatically, but such is modern football. The referee doesn’t budge. Can Maela Ran be the hero?

24 mins - GOAL! NRC 0 - 1 SFA. No. Gannot sends her the wrong way, and Athletic rise to the top of the table!

25 mins - One thing’s for sure, if Athletic do win the title that’s a condemnation of the league. Why? Because they have two Brenecians playing key roles, and Susan Monaghan cut her teeth there, too. I don’t like seeing A-League credentials smoothly transfer to the Zenith, especially for a striker like Danand Tristram.

26 mins - “I’m a junkyard worker,” says junkyard worker Kirsten Anstruth, “and I used to drink First Wind. Shotgunned two cans a day, easy. Then one day I wandered out into the pit and got sucked up by one of the grapples. Turns out there was enough asbestos in my bloodstream that I was highly magnetic. Haven’t touched the stuff since.”

27 mins - News of the Rams’ goal has reached Treason, and now the fans are tiring of the Stags’ patient, rather staid football. Granted, North Laithland are doing a very good job of controlling the play, and the only shots on target from either side have been tame and from distance.

28 mins - GOAL! CHH 0 - 4 RVR. The Harriers have been made to look worse than they are by River’s clinical finishing, but they’ve been terrible and the Ferrymen have been really good. A clipped cross from Lindgren is clever and deft, but Roimata Shehu slips her markers all too easily to power home the header. And Katter again might have done better. I smell a massacre…

29 mins - A stretching challenge from Tristan Esterling denies Brinemouth what might have been their leveller, Tess Miller bearing down on goal and Lindt looking exposed. But the rightback can’t get up; Gaxi Montoy, who only turned 18 a couple of weeks ago, makes his league debut and only a second senior appearance. Esterling was superb in keeping Kisvarda Marin silent, but Creed now have an obvious avenue of attack…

30 mins - GOAL! CHT 0 - 1 CVS. The fundamentals let Chatswood down for once. Betva’s cross is rapped poorly by Kurtishi, the ball bouncing off his chest but not falling to feet, but nobody deals with the second ball. It bounces and Retyunskikh hammers home the volley, leaving Libuda with no chance!

31 mins - North Laithland almost score! One of a few ‘fuck it’ long drives thus far, Sinodinos evidently not finding any better passing options before just sending it, but it takes an awkward bounce off Volkmann’s knee; Shimski’s sent the wrong way by it and watches on desperately as the ball clanks off the post! Mitteager clears for a corner, which Shimski gratefully claims.

32 mins - GOAL! LEI 1 - 0 SFM. Well well well. Crossing has been a productive avenue already tonight, and Leichhardt’s goal, a rare moment of possession, comes from the same. Tilda Shed slings in a high cross and Caelan McIntyre meets it powerfully, leaving Bautista no chance as he finds the net for the tenth time this season!

33 mins - Funny thing is, with Leichhardt already down and CNL already up, word is that they’ll just… buy McIntyre back. Yes, they already have Remeikis, who has actually been more prolific in the First Division than McIntyre was. But Remeikis struggled in her last Zenith season, and offers no hold-up play or physicality, and you need two good strikers for the league anyway. McIntyre’s shown he can hack it at this level and has more strings to his bow.

34 mins - … Also worthy of note about this CNL side is that they have youths in their squad called Athelweard and Godwin. The Saxonschaudern is strong here… for those not in the know, going old-school Marcher name is a pretty good indicator that you actually sent your child to a private school. Neither player did, of course, otherwise they’d be bankers or whatever, but it still has that stench.

35 mins - GOAL! NSF 1 - 2 ARC. Biscan scored… I think. I’ll be honest, I missed it.

36 mins - “Honestly, First Wind at this point feels like a cultural staple,” sighs true patriot Petrus Everett. “I go to other countries and their energy drinks don’t even have that weirdly searing taste that seeps up into your brain.”

37 mins - Oh. It wasn’t Biscan, but it was one of those goals where Biscan’s assist was a lot more impressive than Constantine’s tap-in, so people got around the midfielder. Constantine’s contact expires after this season, and it seems like the versatile forward might be done with the Zenith, so it’s good to have a send-off goal.

38 mins - GOAL! CRD 0 - 1 BRI. Of all things, Brinemouth’s breakthrough comes from something so routine as a corner. But they’ll take it. Marin’s delivery is inch-perfect, and Anaximander Scales holds off all-comers to drive home the opener.

39 mins - Through all this, Treason continue to have not scored. To not really look like scoring either, in truth. Their passing is competent but lacks any real cutting edge, at the moment… Fairweather’s tight, disciplined change of pace appears to have really thrown them, and it’s like the Stags are just waiting for gaps to appear that aren’t.

40 mins - Leichhardt have, predictably, contracted entirely into their shell. ‘Fun’ fact: McIntyre and Luo between them have scored over half the team’s Zenith goals this season.

41 mins - GOAL! PAR 1 - 1 COH. A clumsy goal, but they’ll take it! Buchan chops down Caulker a ways out from the box; the free kick is delivered, low and dangerous and with an awkward bounce, and no purple shirt manages to deal with it. But Swainsona, who has a real eye for goal for a midfielder, manages to hook it home!

42 mins - Chatswood almost equalise themselves, through what would have been a goalkeeping error. Demirjian shoots, off power and vibes, and the ball slips between Hartnett’s raised hands, bouncing towards goal. The fringe international goalkeeper turns and desperately atones, clawing the ball away to safety, with Telford clearing before Sturdevant can do anything interesting with the rebound.

43 mins - GOAL! NRC 1 - 1 SFA. Athletic have dominated the ball and the flow of play, but not found that breakthrough. Newrook do! Brincat atones with a long throw, slinging the ball into the box. Roback stoops to head the ball away, but it bounces into midfield, where it’s picked up by Marcella Salter, who goes for the clever instead of the direct, shaping for the shot convincingly enough to fool Belltower before slipping Perkuna through the back line. The angle is too narrow for the shot, so she slides the ball around Arcard to set up Hagen to drive home an equaliser at the far post!

44 mins - “The cultural cringe around First Wind is insane,” laments Corette Angharad. “I don’t like shilling for a company, but I think it’s wonderful that I’m two and a half guilders away from glorious skull-vibrating productivity at any time. I get so much work done, allowing me to spend most of the time at work doing what I’d prefer to do: flirting.” Preach, sister.

45 mins - A brilliant double save from Bryony Lindt keeps Creed in the game! Miller’s shot rockets across the face of goal, but Lindt gets a heel in the way to spin it out of trouble; Southsea follows up with a thumping shot that Lindt springs across to claw aside! But as things stand, Brinemouth are still top of the league, and need only hope for others to hold out…

Injury time - … and thus far, they have. Treason are yet to show urgency, Athletic yet to show precision. Could the Dockers actually do this?

HALF-TIME!

AFC Treason 0-0 North Laithland
Newrook City 1-1 Sabrefell Athletic
Creed United 0-1 Brinemouth

Vermillion Rage 0-0 Crisisbless
Leichhardt 1-0 Sabrefell Moths

Chatswood 0-1 AFC Corvistone
Parrhesia United 1-1 Coret Hawks

North Sabrefell 1-2 Aries Chariots
Chenoworth Harriers 0-4 Raven River
Starling 1-0 Stahlburg City

AS THINGS STAND

Ps                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brinemouth             38   25   7   6    73   31  +42    82
 2 AFC Treason            38   26   4   8    68   44  +24    82
 3 Sabrefell Athletic     38   24   9   5    99   48  +51    81
 4 Coret Hawks            38   23   7   8    72   39  +33    76
 5 Crisisbless            38   22   6  10    79   43  +36    72
 6 Sabrefell Moths        38   22   2  14    93   49  +44    68
 7 AFC Corvistone         38   16  11  11    68   45  +23    59
--
17 North Sabrefell        38   12   4  22    50   76  −26    40
18 Chatswood              38    7  10  21    33   64  −31    31
19 Parrhesia United       38    8   6  24    47  103  −56    30
20 Leichhardt             38    6   5  27    30   70  −40    23

KICK-OFF!

46 mins - … And Penumbra Amokachi’s made, um. Five. Five substitutions, at half-time. And one of them’s Haraslin, which is wild; her presence was basically as a human victory cigar. She’s just come back from an ACL that cut off most of her season, and only nominally, at that. She’s surely not actually meant to play, let alone 45 minutes, right?

47 mins - Leichhardt have come out of the gates firing, as if they’re liberated by having nothing to lose or else just want to put themselves in the shop window. A low, driven snap-shot from Luo is only tipped around the post by Loree Bautista at full stretch, and could easily have crept in.

48 mins - In Vermillion, the, uh, Parrhesia part of Vermillion, there’s a scramble at a corner. Fans’ hearts jump into their mouths, and the ball runs free to Fiadh Buchan, who slams the ball at the goal. Somehow, somehow the ball finds its way out. Replays show: Idina Slazenger, lunging desperately at the goallline to ultimately tank the ball with her head! Slazenger’s pretty unsubtly shown her ambitions outweigh her opinion of her current club, but she’s given them everything on the pitch. A proper Nepharan professional.

49 mins - GOAL! LEI 1 - 1 SFM. Couldn’t last, could it? Vol Brininger, one of the few survivors of the half-time cull, hits Sabine Venture’s forward run. The young striker goes for goal; Sinric Aston paws the ball against the post, but Nick Riordan need only slightly reorient his run to drive home the rebound, easily outpacing Leichhardt’s ancient defence.

50 mins - Remarkably, AFC Treason are still showing little urgency in attack. It’s as if the Stags just feel that destiny will assert itself. They couldn’t possibly piss the title away on the final day. That happens to other teams, not them.

51 mins - A lot more correspondence relating to First Wind, but they fit into about four distinct categories. To summarise: ‘I don’t care, I don’t care so much that I’m emailing you specifically to say how much I don’t care’, ‘yes, it is good’, ‘other energy drinks exist, with less asbestos’, and ‘mate, just drink coffee’.

52 mins - Crisisbless almost take the lead against Vermillion through a favoured technique of this campaign: ‘Roux sends one from distance’. Her shot is vicious, but ultimately whipped just over the bar, shaving it on its way over.

53 mins - Slazenger, having already made a goalline clearance, tries to make her impact felt on the other side of the pitch. Swainsona releases her with a forceful and narrowly overweighted pass, but she’s just fast enough to nip onto the end of it, ease away from Kapetanovic, and while off-balance, flicks a shot at Matraxis. The geriatric goalkeeper paws the ball away, but Slazenger’s able to get onto the rebound. Somehow, the 40-year old goalkeeper springs back into action and snaffles the admittedly weak follow-up, which Slazenger follows up by falling over and just lying there for a bit.

54 mins - North Laithland almost take the lead! Robshaw lingers on the ball and is dispossessed by Sinodinos, who slings the ball across to Sadler, who fires a vicious cross across the face of goal! But Lazelis only gets the most glancing contact, and the header flashes wide!

55 mins - Crisisbless carve Vermillion open, but can’t take advantage for a simple reason. Anharbour beats Province before laying over a well-weighted forward pass, and Erwin Spijkers would absolutely get on the end of it and finish it… if he wasn’t 35. But he is, and teenager Konrad Green has him beaten for pace and power, clashing shoulder to shoulder before sliding in and hooking the ball clear.

56 mins - Been a bit eerie, the lack of goalscoring recently. That’s bad news for me. Means I need to think of more things to talk about. Fortunately, this is one of them… tricks of the trade, hey…

57 mins - “Honestly, as regards First Wind,” reckons Valentian Evans, “I think it’s unpatriotic to think Nephara couldn’t produce a top-of-the-line energy drink without relying on staples like taurine, artificial sweetener and asbestos. I feel that a sprinkle of hemlock could also offer the necessary kick.”

58 mins - GOAL! CRD 1 - 1 BRI. Out of nowhere, Creed are back! The goal is a simple thing, from a rare spell of possession, ending with Xu flicking a perfect cross into the box, a stooping header from Khautov flicking it past Heuser! Brinemouth skid back to third!

59 mins - Treason have taken more and more of the ball. Their last few minutes, they’ve done everything but seriously threaten to score, and the Spiders are more than happy with that. But news hasn’t reached the Stags that they’re back in the driving seat, and when Rosenblatt trots on in at goal, a cry of “SHOOOOOT FARRRKEN” echoes around the ground. Ever the crowd-pleaser, Rosenblatt obeys, but it’s an easy save for her fellow Dagan Turner.

60 mins - PENALTY for PAR! Idina Slazenger knuckles down on goal, and flicks the ball away just before Piirs annihilates her. Coret fans claim it was a heavy touch and a soft fall, that it’s a weak penalty call, but the referee is not overturning it! Suddenly, Parrhesia can take the lead and save themselves… unless 40-year old Matraxis can stamp his authority on the game one last time?

61 mins - GOAL! PAR 2 - 1 COH. Nope. He tries to play it cool, it seems, standing stock-still. If Corban Green had tried a chip it would have ended badly, but instead, the Newlandian sidefoots it confidently into the net!

62 mins - GOAL! CRD 1 - 2 BRI. And… ! Well, Creed’s lead didn’t last long. A vicious passing move that began with goalkeeper Heuser and carved through every burgundy shirt on the pitch, ending up with Joao Pereyra running onto the end of Miller’s outside-of-the-boot pass and driving it past Lindt’s near post.

63 mins - So Parrhesia are in the playoff, and Brinemouth are set to win the league. But they’re still relying on results elsewhere. Treason or Athletic will retake the top if they can score against their opponents, while if Chatswood can equalise against Corvistone, they’ll be back in 18th.

64 mins - Erin Camden rolls in the subs. Roskvi off for Ribbeck, Zazagan for Mueller. Two veterans of international class on from the bench; the strength in depth of the Stags is frightening. Less exciting, concurrently: North Laithland swap out the tiring leftback Deli Sinka for 20-year old Sandra Quoll.

65 mins - GOAL! CHT 0 - 2 CVS. Well, there was a goal in Treason! But it’s great news for the Saints! The Crows only recently threw on Konrad Balmoral, a subtler player than sometimes-Cormorant Davor Kurtishi, and it proves an inspired move; he’s able to play a clever one-two with de la Garza rather than just going it alone, playing the Farf behind Chatswood’s flat-footed defence. De la Garza makes no mistake with the finish, slipping it low under Libuda’s hand to give the Crows a two-goal lead!

66 mins - Chatswood take immediate and predictable action. Demirjian and Walker come off, St. Cleer and Petrus come on. The latter wasn’t fit enough to start, but they’re desperate enough to gamble on his fitness. 4-4-farken-2, with their most attack-minded winger on the left to attack Betva.

67 mins - “People think First Wind is hard these days don’t know what they’re talking about,” pshaws Ravanna Chamberlain. “In my youth they used to have a mercury flavour. Had to be discontinued when they sold out to try and spread their wings abroad, of course.”

68 mins - GOAL! VRR 0 - 1 CRI. Anne-Marie Roux, most often a winger but a serviceable striker with a striker’s instincts, bursts through the centre of Vermillion’s defence at the perfect time, a perfectly-weighted ball from Spijkers releasing her fractionally before she bursts offside, and the Savigliane international just has to gently guide it past Calico Pinter! With that, Crisisbless are secure in fifth no matter what, so long as they keep the clean sheet.

69 mins - RED CARD! … But not in any of the games that matter. Still, it’s fundamentally funny to watch Kite Rocastle of Starling just needlessly scythe MacMaster down, just because the Audioslavian’s got in her head with niggling fouls over the course of the game, making Starling’s job of holding onto their lead that much harder. Ahh, Rocastle. You can take the girl out of Chatswood, but…

70 mins - Speaking of Chatswood: Petrov slings in a cross, Telford heads it out. Kovalev slings in a cross, Sevet-Stokes heads it out. Karlssen passes it across to Petrus, who slings in a cross. Fiona Hartnett comes out of her area to monster St. Cleer and claim it with authority. Another string to their bow may be needed if they’re to get the two goals they need.

71 mins - GOAL! TRE 1 - 0 NLA. And across town-- there! There it is, at last! Rosenblatt lingers on the ball just outside the Spiders’ box, always dangerous, but all but dares Celia Marrable to commit. After an unbearable wait, Marrable goes in, Rosenblatt spins inside her and flicks a ball across to dead space. But it’s not empty for long, Ilia Mueller charging onto it at the perfect time, taking a single light touch before thumping a strike low and hard beyond Amber Turner! The Stags are back in pole position!

72 mins - Newrook almost take the lead against Sabrefell Athletic! It comes from absolutely nowhere, Salter beasting Belltower, the ball coming to Ocokoljic who spins hard enough to take Monaghan out of the game, has acres of space and lets fly from a few yards outside the box. Taken by surprise and perhaps not in ideal permission, teenage goalkeeper Clovis Arcard is put at full stretch to tip the ball onto the post; the Rooks’ substitute striker Julia Roberts takes a desperate airswing at the rebound, but it’s dealt with by Roback, stepping out of defence to flick the ball away before getting cleaned out by the overenthusiastic Hagen.

73 mins - Let’s take a moment to reflect on the promoted clubs. Crisisbless United may come in as champions, but on paper they don’t look up to scratch. Vadim Arkhipov’s a dangerous player, probably their best, while they’ve locked onto a very solid defence backed ably by the young, spry Blaha. But a lot of their slick team goals just don’t feel like they could come together at the top level. Who knows, though? Volga Hoellerer’s a shrewd operator…

74 mins - Chatswood give up on crossing. Or, at least, Rasmus Karlssen does, going for goal himself a while out of goal. It takes a fortunate deflection off Safiya Telford, and it takes a magnificent springing save from Hartnett to scoop the ball off the line! Sevet-Stokes clears gratefully, and it’s starting to feel like it’s not the Crows’ day…

75 mins - “I don’t care how many years First Wind shaves off my life,” declares Tremaine Hobart. “The main thing is that their social media presence isn’t obnoxious. Isn’t trying to be cute. Isn’t trying to be meta. It’s just one guy and a keyboard stuck in permanent caps lock, screaming into the void with zero consumer engagement, and that’s all any of them should ever be.”

76 mins - GOAL! CHH 1 - 4 RVR. yaaaay

77 mins - Kelzi Haraslin can’t go on. Amokachi grimaces, and shouts some words at her. She’ll be limping off the pitch for the time being, but having blown all five subs at half-time, may as well try and get her back on, old-school…

78 mins - Where were we? Ah, right. CNL are the other side to have come up, and the big question there is how Sascha Dimitrius’ tactics wll step up. She loves keeping the ball, stroking it around the enemy box confidently, and letting Victoria Remeikis rack up tap-ins. But will they be able to dominate possession at Zenith level? While they’re the league’s top scorers, they do seem as though they’ll need reinforcement across the pitch.

79 mins - GOAL! CRD 1 - 3 BRI. But the mood is muted. Under other circumstances, club legend Lukas Tauscher coming off the bench to seal the likely clincher would be cause for raucous celebrations, and as it stands it will get them into the top two, but still… eyes are on Treason’s match.

80 mins - It’s interesting to see two very technical sides coming up, and currently two very direct sides going down. Looking at some of the other sides - Creed are classically direct, but they’re pretty much it. Newrook are defensive and highly structured, but not really a route one team, North Sabrefell are patient and enjoy the ball, the Harriers a young, attack-minded side… where’d all the hoofball go? Iron, South Laithland, Rochford… they’re down and don’t look to be coming up anytime soon, let alone Morningstar.

81 mins - Starling vs. Stahlburg City has been a snoozefest since those frantic first few minutes culminating in what remains, thus far, the game’s only goal. Handy, though, means that screen can be completely discounted…

82 mins - Sabrefell Athletic just haven’t been able to put it all together since the interval. City press high and hard, time-waste relentlessly, foul constantly. There’s been absolutely no fluency in the Rams’ play. But, wait! A second caution for Eero Solari is drawn for hacking down Monaghan at the shins. Is this their chance? Maybe… so long as the Spiders can level against the Stags.

83 mins - GOALS! LEI 1 - 2 SFM; NSF 1 - 3 ARC. Cray’s strike for the Chariots is peachy but irrelevant; so too, likely, is the 10-man Moths’ strike from Petrov, one of the substitutes, unless Vermillion can score twice in the remaining time.

84 mins - Regards the playoff… not to jinx it, but as things stand, it’ll be Parrhesia against Barossia, United on United violence. That looks an unfavourable match for Parrhesia. The Shrikes have largely underwhelmed for their pedigree of late, but they’re a tough, tight, disciplined side with a lot of danger on the break and a quality playmaker in Ida Lancer who can pick defences apart with ease. They’re a young side getting better in time, and if they win the playoff, they could thrive at Zenith level. Relatively.

85 mins - GOAL! TRE 2 - 0 NLA. And just like that, the title race is (almost certainly) over. It’s going to be Treason. Again. Somehow. The home crowd are in absolute raptures, when Ilia Mueller scoops a ball over the top that’s met with a spectacular diving header from Bobby Malone that just creeps by Amber Turner. Suppose they aren’t tired of success just yet…

86 mins - “The downfall of direct, fouling football is easy to trace,” claims Amalia Straub of Cranequin, apparently some kind of amateur witch doctor since the next words out of her mouth are, “Emery Lineker died earlier this year.” So she did. She was 78, apparently. She’ll always be one of the most iconic managers in the history of the league, and the league was always enriched for her mildly psychotic presence. But perhaps the game’s moved on.

87 mins - Chatswood have shown very little to suggest they’ll accomplish much of anything against the Crows. They look creatively nonexistent, and the Crows’ young defenders and, maybe most importantly, assertive sweeping goalkeeper in Hartnett are easily dealing with the crosses they’re slinging in. One does reach Sturdevant… whose heavy first touch sends it rolling out for a goal-kick. He has his head in his hands. And he ought.

88 mins - GOAL! PAR 2 - 2 COH. Oh! Oh, heartbreak! Coret surge forward, Matraxis kicking the ball down the right for substitute Cecili Pearce to take advantage of a fortituous bounce, raising a boot to flick the ball over Sandford’s head and run onto it. Sandford wastes time complaining about a high boot instead of tracking back, but it’s a moot point; Pearce is one of the fastest players on the pitch. Zhu has to come out to challenge her, and that leaves a gaping gap when Pearce simply passes back to another substitute in Stoepker, who passes forward into Pawnbroker, holding back Sharpe. And Pawnbroker simply has to roll the ball into the acres of empty space, and the final substitute of the three, Claire Rittler, guns into the open space and need only lash a strike through Cuthbert Stroma… and Parrhesia, all of a sudden, are going down!

89 mins - The Spiders almost pull one back. Almost is a crucial word. Abaya sends a shot flashing across at goal; hard to say if it’s an impressive save from Shimski or if she rather makes a hash of it, but she flicks the ball away. Straight at substitute striker Chris Fisken, barrelling in hard! But the ball strikes his shin, or the shin strikes the ball, and in any case, somehow, somehow it’s scooped high and wide with the net gaping!

90 mins - News of Parrhesia’s downfall reaches Chatswood, and their fans are not, it turns out, too proud to cheer as their own team loses 2-0. But don’t count your chickens… Parrhesia manage one final attack. But at the decisive moment, as Green turns and shapes to strike a final cross across the face of goal, as Slazenger bolts for the attack vector and Swainsona drops into the hole to pick up any chance… Green’s studs catch in something, and he’s down, screaming. Oh, Corban! Such a player, but with hamstrings made of actual bloody string…

Injury time - By now, it just feels inevitable. It won’t be Parrhesia’s day, and it sure as hell won’t be anyone’s day but Treason’s at the top. That doesn’t mean Treason do anything but work the ball into the corner at the final stages, then time-waste when they do win a throw off it. For this, Ribbeck gets a caution which. Uh. Does actually rule him out of the first game of next season, but does it really matter? No. No, it does not. Cheers ring across the city, as Chatswood may yet be safe - though with a worrisome playoff against Barossia United to come - and Treason, sweeping in from nowhere in a congested field, edge out the competition so so narrowly. Vincent Robshaw lifts the trophy. It might be his last game, and he’ll turn 37 late next season. But if so? What a way to bow out.

FINAL RESULTS
AFC Treason 2-0 North Laithland
Newrook City 1-1 Sabrefell Athletic
Creed United 1-3 Brinemouth

Vermillion Rage 0-1 Crisisbless
Leichhardt 1-2 Sabrefell Moths

Chatswood 0-2 AFC Corvistone
Parrhesia United 2-2 Coret Hawks

North Sabrefell 1-3 Aries Chariots
Chenoworth Harriers 1-4 Raven River
Starling 1-0 Stahlburg City

PLAYOFFS
2DIV Armstrong vs. GC Lockheed Zenith

Armstrong have been through the wringer of late, and their one exciting jaunt in the GC was traumatic enough, weighed down by massive wage bills. Lockheed Zenith, meanwhile, have had a taste of Division football and they liked how it tasted. In truth, that narrative meets and passes the eye test with flying colours; Armstrong’s veterans look tired, while Zenith’s young, exciting talents, many on loan from, uh, the Zenith, run utter rings around the Paladins, and Arden Clauer’s bullet header just before the hour comes like a mercy.

1DIV Chenoworth Rovers vs. 2DIV Cranequin City

Chenoworth Rovers (4-4-2) 1 - Cha; 17 - Svava (c), 19 - Esmann, 3 - Fenton, 22 - Esteban; 7 - Darzi, 21 - Garai, 13 - Counsell, 16 - Zarinchek; 23 - Wentworth, 10 - Norwood
Cranequin City (3-5-2) 1 - Joyce; 26 - Glass, 6 - Pryce (c), 3 - Rodrigues; 2 - Tiedemann, 8 - Jerebic, 4 - L Barrett, 11 - Maier, 16 - Bartok; 9 - M Barrett, 10 - Crydee

Two old marques fallen from grace. Two bald clubs fighting over a comb. Whatever it is, it isn’t pretty, or edifying; worst of all, Corinne Mersiades has taken to employing a back thr*e for Cotti. And it’s worked. Cranequin haven’t been prolific but they’ve enjoyed an excellent defence, conceding just 27 goals; the Rovers haven’t been prolific either, but with no redeeming factors.

That in mind, the last thing anyone expects is what they get: a genuinely good game of football. The Rovers are muscular, bruising and out for blood, City patient and happy to just pass the ball through the lines. They show what that’s about within the first half hour, having already stung Elisabeth Cha’s palms; a slick passing move lets Roko Jerebic slip through the lines practically unnoticed, no white shirt picking him up until Kalenz Crydee’s already slipped the ball to his feet. From there, all he needs to do is hold his nerve, and Cotti have the lead.

The Rovers roar back, almost equalising immediately off a corner, Esmann thumping a header against the crossbar with Joyce motionless. And perhaps Cotti are lucky to reach the break unscathed. Raphael Wentworth bulldozes Joyce, who drops a cross and allows Wentworth to just smash the ball home, but it’s called a foul on the goalkeeper. Protected species, right? So perhaps it’s justice the goal does come. Though it’s late, and by then, well against the run of play. City are headed for the second tier with ten minutes to play, looking comfortable, when the nervy Joyce flattens Zarinchek as she cuts inside. Cordelia Norwood steps up and drives the penalty home, and takes the game to extra time.

Unfortunately for the Rovers, the flow of the game asserts itself. City are all over the Rovers, who are indebted to Cha for a couple of fine saves and to Serra Maier for her passing radar being off. Ultimately, Mersiades opts to unleash a very obvious Plan B - the hulking Heron Paara off the bench. And when Magenta Tiedemann slings a cross his way, he makes no mistake, and powers Cotti back into the second tier.

ZENITH Chatswood vs. 1DIV Barossia United

Chatswood (4-4-2) 20 - Libuda; 2 - Petrov, 19 - Shangyuan, 18 - Pearson (c), 22 - Sharp; 23 - Kovalev, 13 - Demirjian, 21 - Karlssen, 11 - Walker; 14 - Mulder, 7 - St. Cleer
Bench: 1 - Press; 3 - Lamontagne, 4 - Albert, 5 - Hazaluta, 15 - Costner, 32 - Matthis, 36 - Kondrat

Barossia United (4-2-3-1) 12 - Longstreet; 2 - Methven, 18 - Herron, 22 - Letang, 19 - Maurer; 8 - Dirac, 23 - Bystrom (c); 7 - Djordić, 21 - Lancer, 10 - Bjarnesen; 14 - Hjort
Bench: 1 - Tsipras; 6 - Cooke, 7 - Leskosek, 9 - Rotariu, 15 - Gisbourne, 11 - Szusza, 38 - Kiraly

Chatswood are left thankful for Coret’s late leveller that sank the Saints and afforded them this chance at redemption, but it’s only a chance. They’re still missing Ilinden, while Petrus gave everything to his cameo last game playing through the pain; worst of all, Sturdevant sustained a minor but terribly-timed injury in training. Barossia United take their shot while missing a couple key defensive pieces of their own, but come in as narrow favourites. If nothing else, this fixture has traditionally favoured the 1Div side.

The game is terrible, and not worth commenting on. It always seemed a game likely to go to penalties, but fucking hell. That was absolutely turgid.

That said, Barossia very nearly snatched it at the death. A cross from Leskosek was headed away firmly by Pearson, but got slung right back in by the fullback Methven; this time, it evaded all Chatswood defenders to land on the boot of Lancer, whose volley rocketed at goal from point-blank range and was only miraculously tipped over by Claire Libuda. And Libuda had to be sharp yet again from the resulting corner, Batsheva Letang unaccountably left unmarked by the near post and flicking a header at goal that, again, Libuda needed a miraculous reflex save to keep out. With a veteran goalkeeper in great form, Chatswood fans had reason to feel good about the shootout… but the Shrikes’ penalties were all perfect. Libuda went the right way four times but never got a hand to the ball; Chary Longstreet saved a strong but poorly-placed thump from Kovalev and that was enough for Barossia United to return, after decades away, to the top flight.

RENSENBRINK CUP FINAL

Vermillion Rage (4-3-3) 20 - Pinter; 6 - Wright, 13 - Cannon, 5 - Toivonen (c), 3 - Province; 8 - Covolan, 25 - Curtin, 15 - Keepsake; 23 - Beringer, 9 - Grant, 11 - Treatise
Bench: 1 - Peridot; 4 - Sorrell, 7 - Petras, 12 - Rennet, 19 - Carson, 27 - Mason, 49 - Metcalfe

Chatswood (4-2-3-1) 20 - Libuda; 17 - Ilinden, 19 - Shangyuan, 18 - Pearson (c), 3 - Lamontagne; 4 - Albert, 13 - Demirjian; 23 - Kovalev, 21 - Karlssen, 16 - Petrus; 7 - St. Cleer
Bench: 1 - Press; 5 - Hazaluta, 8 - Corven, 11 - Walker, 14 - Mulder, 22 - Sharp, 36 - Kondrat

But Chatswood have to pick themselves up and stick around in Sabrefell awhile longer, for they’ve a Cup to contest. Sturdevant can’t beat the race against time, but Vermillion’s top scorer Petras can… just. He makes the bench, and otherwise, the Rage are largely intact. Sander Ilinden is rushed back into rightback for Chatswood, and Petrus is fit enough to start as well. Vermillion are clear favourites, but surprises have been known to happen, of course…

The first half is dire. Chatswood look tired, but they have enough about them to knock Vermillion off their stride. There’s no real rhythm that builds into the game, so it’s fitting that the first goal only comes about because Rasmus Karlssen gets impatient and pops off a shot from distance. Calico Pinter tips it around the post. He might perhaps have caught it. He might wish he had. Petrus whips in a lethal corner and burly centre-half Garrett Shangyuan crashes it home at the near post.

Vermillion immediately engage into action, but the final ball is still lacking. Beringer and Covolan take pops from distance, but Libuda shows how it’s done by catching both on the full. Vermillion stretch further and further in search of a goal until, at last, the inevitable break happens. Keepsake’s long ball over the top… isn’t, failing to clear the first man. Pearson heads it down and smashes it downfield before anyone can close her down, and now Kovalev’s released down the right. Province can’t make it back in time. Kovalev’s arrow for the shot is narrowing, but he cuts it back, unselfishly, for St. Cleer… but Calico Pinter makes himself huge, and atones for his error by denying the Eastfielder at close range!

The Rage, then, survive into the second half, and they aren’t about to look the gift lion in the horse, or however the saying goes. They start slow, exerting some control on the game, and choking Chatswood out of it. That’s fine. Lyn Havelock bites her nails, but the Chatswood manager knows that it means nothing if they don’t score. Spoiler alert… they do. Valletta Keepsake finds a way through, dropping her shoulder suddenly and cutting inside of Ruben Albert just like she used to when she was younger, and curling a low strike beyond a startled Libuda. Sit deep all you like, but a single moment of quality can undo you like that. And Keepsake herself knows there’s not another in the tank, smiling wryly as she’s taken off for Mason minutes later. But Vermillion can’t find a second, and so Chatswood go the distance… again.

Chatswood start extra time easing off. Bold, but perhaps they think they can’t get unlucky on penalties twice? And yet, in the event, this proves to be tempting fate. Covolan is absolutely flattened for a foul by Corven and appears to take it personally. Chatswood hang back in a low block, anticipating a shot from substitute Ludovic Mason direct off the free kick. It doesn’t come; he slides the ball across to Covolan, and, too late, Corven and Sharp rush out to try and close her down. It’s no use; the Brenecia international picks her spot, and arcs a beautiful curling strike beyond Claire Libuda. Chatswood never look like levelling, look like a team defeated, and only a couple of fine saves from Libuda keep the score at 2-1. But that’s enough to ensure the Rage cap off a fine season by lifting a trophy.

ZENITH

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For   Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AFC Treason              38  27   3   8  70   44  +26  84
  2 Brinemouth               38  25   7   6  75   32  +43  82
  3 Sabrefell Athletic       38  24   9   5  99   48  +51  81
  4 Coret Hawks              38  23   7   8  73   40  +33  76
  5 Crisisbless              38  23   5  10  80   43  +37  74
  6 Sabrefell Moths          38  23   2  13  95   49  +46  71
  7 AFC Corvistone           38  16  11  11  69   45  +24  59
  8 Stahlburg City           38  16  11  11  40   34   +6  59
  9 Vermillion Rage          38  16   6  16  60   53   +7  54
 10 Raven River              38  13   8  17  58   71  -13  47
 11 Starling                 38  14   5  19  44   59  -15  47
 12 Aries Chariots           38  13   6  19  55   62   -7  45
 13 North Laithland          38  13   5  20  38   54  -16  44
 14 Chenoworth Harriers      38  12   8  18  47   71  -24  44
 15 Newrook City             38   9  14  15  45   60  -15  41
 16 Creed United             38  11   8  19  31   57  -26  41
 17 North Sabrefell          38  12   4  22  50   77  -27  40
 18 Chatswood                38   7  10  21  33   65  -32  31
 19 Parrhesia United         38   8   6  24  48  104  -56  30
 20 Leichhardt               38   5   5  28  30   72  -42  20

AWARDS
Emerald Boot (Goals Scored): Damien Gannot (SFA) - 27
Emerald Ball (Player of the Year): Susan Monaghan (SFA)
Emerald Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Tanith Xu (CRD)
Emerald Fist (Debutant of the Year): Valerie Wells (TRE)
Team of the Year: Shimski (TRE); Meadows (BRI), Lieven (STC), Scales (BRI), Nyberg (SFM); Gyldenstroem (SFM), Buchan (COH), Monaghan (SFA), Wells (TRE); Riordan (SFM), Gannot (SFA)
Emerald Crest (Manager of the Year): Daniel Archer (COH)

FIRST DIVISION

Pos Team                        P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Crisisbless United         38  22   9   7  80  38  +42  75
  2 Corinthians No Longer      38  22   8   8  92  51  +41  74
  3 Barossia United            38  21   5  12  66  38  +28  68
  4 Chardonnay Rangers         38  21   4  13  72  60  +12  67
  5 Goodfeather FC             38  21   3  14  70  52  +18  66
  6 Iron City                  38  17  13   8  54  35  +19  64
  7 New Oakstone Phoenix       38  19   7  12  69  62   +7  64
  8 Southfell United           38  18   9  11  51  39  +12  63
  9 Belgrave                   38  17   7  14  57  52   +5  58
 10 Brookford Otters           38  18   4  16  69  65   +4  58
 11 AFC Rochford               38  13  13  12  48  47   +1  52
 12 Cranequin Wanderers        38  13  12  13  50  38  +12  51
 13 Diamondqueen               38  14   8  16  53  52   +1  50
 14 Mantlegrove                38  15   3  20  49  61  -12  48
 15 South Laithland            38  13   7  18  48  54   -6  46
 16 Alliance Barossia          38  12   9  17  49  51   -2  45
 17 Stahlburg Rovers           38   9   6  23  35  79  -44  33
 18 Chenoworth Rovers          38   9   5  24  35  77  -42  32
 19 Peregrine                  38   8   5  25  40  96  -56  29
 20 Vermillion Wanderers       38   6   7  25  26  66  -40  25

AWARDS
Jade Boot (Goals Scored): Victoria Remeikis (CNL) - 29
Jade Ball (Player of the Year): Vadim Arkhipov (CRU)
Jade Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): Chandra Rosziter (SLA)
Team of the Year: Longstreet (BAU); Fry (NOP), Letang (BAU), Ingold (CRU), Turnbull (CNL); Arkhipov (CRU), Renberg (CNL), Resch (GDF), Redruth (CHR); Howard (GDF), Remeikis (CNL)
Jade Crest (Manager of the Year): Gerik Ramsey (CHR)

SECOND DIVISION

Pos Team                   P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Aries Solitaire       38  25   7   6  73  40  +33  82
  2 Gonen's Bridge        38  24   5   9  77  39  +38  77
  3 Cranequin City        38  23   7   8  56  27  +29  76
  4 Morningstar           38  21  12   5  64  26  +38  75
  5 Boltcroft Thorns      38  21   9   8  76  36  +40  72
  6 The Hanged Man        38  18  11   9  47  32  +15  65
  7 Locksley              38  18  10  10  56  37  +19  64
  8 Cypher Town           38  16  13   9  53  33  +20  61
  9 Greygate              38  15   8  15  46  46   +0  53
 10 West Brinemouth       38  13  13  12  39  39   +0  52
 11 AFC Serpentine        38  14  10  14  49  53   -4  52
 12 Autumnstone           38  13   7  18  55  54   +1  46
 13 The Strongest         38  12  10  16  57  68  -11  46
 14 Lindwurm Delta        38  11  13  14  37  55  -18  46
 15 Lazuli Diamonds       38  10   9  19  40  79  -39  39
 16 Corvette Maulers      38   8  13  17  42  58  -16  37
 17 Latin Enclave FC      38   9   9  20  54  82  -28  36
 18 Armstrong             38   7   5  26  24  62  -38  26
 19 Gosmouth Swans        38   5   9  24  33  70  -37  24
 20 Brokenarch            38   4   6  28  24  66  -42  18

AWARDS
Jade Boot (Goals Scored): Svante Brausz (GOB) - 24
Jade Ball (Player of the Year): Natali Pendrell (GOB)
Jade Heart (U-21 Player of the Year): John Leitch (ASO)
Team of the Year: Kerris (LCK); Tiedemann (CRC), Pearce (MOS), Montag (ASO), Fernand (THM); Alrand (ASO), Pendrell (GOB), Scanlan (AUS), Bërsne (GOB); Brausz (GOB), Rice (BCT)
Jade Crest (Manager of the Year): Caspar Stahl (LZD)

GRAND CONFERENCE

Pos Team                       P   W   D   L  For   Ag  +/-  Pts
  1 Lindmark Falcons          46  32   9   5  108   33  +75  105
  2 Ritter Town               46  29  13   4  104   47  +57  100
  3 Lockheed Zenith           46  25   9  12   98   60  +38   84
  4 Bishop                    46  23  13  10   98   60  +38   82
  5 Riverkey Shells           46  21  13  12   91   66  +25   76
  6 Pillars of Southfell      46  20  16  10   61   42  +19   76
  7 Rochford Pilgrims         46  20  15  11   85   69  +16   75
  8 Ballardine FC             46  20  14  12   87   50  +37   74
  9 Rosary Brinemouth         46  21  10  15   75   64  +11   73
 10 Ingram Township           46  20   9  17   59   58   +1   69
 11 Extreme Hills             46  20   8  18   80   84   -4   68
 12 Sheridan                  46  14  20  12   55   49   +6   62
 13 Shimmering Quay           46  16  14  16   62   69   -7   62
 14 Mapleford                 46  15  13  18   62   68   -6   58
 15 Northside Eagles          46  15  10  21   81   93  -12   55
 16 Southriver                46  15   9  22   56   65   -9   54
 17 Dartmouth Terriers        46  14  12  20   48   60  -12   54
 18 Brookford Vantablack      46  14  12  20   72   98  -26   54
 19 Longwinter                46  15   8  23   60   83  -23   53
 20 AFC Southsands            46  13  11  22   59   87  -28   50
 21 Creed Rosebud             46  11   7  28   49   90  -41   40
 22 Cypher Nightwatch         46   7  16  23   38   69  -31   37
 23 Crownsend Journey         46  10   4  32   55  111  -56   34
 24 Crisisbless Athletic      46   5   9  32   35  103  -68   24

CONFERENCE WEST

Pos Team                      P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/-  Pts
  1 Blau-Weiss Treason       46  32   6   8  67  19  +48  102
  2 Stonegrave               46  28  13   5  72  35  +37   97
  3 Chenoworth Teutons       46  25  15   6  71  36  +35   90
  4 Kommissar                46  25   6  15  90  55  +35   81
  5 Kensey Town              46  24   9  13  81  61  +20   81
  6 FC Seierstad             46  23   8  15  67  46  +21   77
  7 Sutcroft                 46  21  12  13  75  48  +27   75
  8 Iberia Chenoworth        46  23   5  18  92  75  +17   74
  9 Moxstone Fortune         46  21  11  14  67  55  +12   74
 10 Grey Egress              46  20  12  14  89  57  +32   72
 11 Strephonage              46  18  11  17  45  37   +8   65
 12 Constance Park           46  17  12  17  42  41   +1   63
 13 Aspen Grove              46  17  12  17  44  53   -9   63
 14 AFC Shale                46  17  10  19  40  57  -17   61
 15 Ringway                  46  15  10  21  51  62  -11   55
 16 AFC Hoxenhaven           46  13  14  19  51  74  -23   53
 17 AFC Shrikeroost          46  13  13  20  43  62  -19   52
 18 Hackett                  46  12  15  19  45  60  -15   51
 19 Stahlburg Bannermen      46  12  11  23  35  53  -18   47
 20 Coleman Ridge            46  11  14  21  62  82  -20   47
 21 Stilwell Kickers         46   9  18  19  37  53  -16   45
 22 Rushe United             46  12   5  29  40  87  -47   41
 23 Grovebank                46   6  11  29  41  90  -49   29
 24 AFC Fassbend             46   5  13  28  28  77  -49   28

CONFERENCE EAST

Pos Team                     P   W   D   L  For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Caldwick Strand         46  28  12   6  108  61  +47  96
  2 Advance Lazuli          46  28  10   8   89  45  +44  94
  3 Besand's Folly          46  27   8  11   91  63  +28  89
  4 Fully Sick XI           46  25  12   9   75  64  +11  87
  5 Corvistone City         46  25  10  11   76  39  +37  85
  6 Brinemouth Krakens      46  23   9  14   72  55  +17  78
  7 Cranequin Souths        46  21  12  13   86  58  +28  75
  8 Mueller's Crossing      46  19  10  17   62  50  +12  67
  9 The Travellers FC       46  18  13  15   71  69   +2  67
 10 South Parrhesia         46  17  14  15   55  52   +3  65
 11 Barhara Cavaliers       46  17  12  17   75  55  +20  63
 12 Rochford Sundays        46  15  18  13   49  45   +4  63
 13 Riverkey                46  17  11  18   62  56   +6  62
 14 Long Lake               46  15  13  18   40  45   -5  58
 15 Downsparrow             46  15  12  19   76  74   +2  57
 16 Hartford Glade          46  16   8  22   52  71  -19  56
 17 Coret Hammerheads       46  14  13  19   60  73  -13  55
 18 Shornhill               46  12  14  20   73  82   -9  50
 19 Stockyard Hounds        46  14   8  24   57  93  -36  50
 20 Coret Rovers            46  12  11  23   51  76  -25  47
 21 Brunyard FC             46  11  12  23   61  86  -25  45
 22 Quillsiders             46  13   6  27   48  93  -45  45
 23 Keatonbraid             46  10   8  28   51  90  -39  38
 24 Spindle Town            46   7  10  29   32  77  -45  31

by **Nephara** » Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:58 am

by **Nephara** » Thu Dec 01, 2022 11:00 am

by **Nephara** » Thu Dec 01, 2022 11:01 am

Nepharan Domestic Newswire - the Zenith

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