World Cup 94 [roleplays]

[Vilita]

♫ On the road again, Goin' places that I've just come back from, Seein' things that I just saw again, And I can't wait // screech // scratch // Rebels Time... Back again... ♫

Half Credit?

Just when you thought that some miracle had happened and the Vilitan National Team finally remembered that they were the top seed in Group 15, they go and remind us once again that they really are the most over-hyped Vilitan squad in history. Even Helmut Vilkaous would know that this team wasn't a threat.

After stringing together two fairly solid victories over Dantopia and the Euran Oceania Territories - with the 6-1 victory over the Expats particularly impressive, there were signs of trouble when the Jungle Rebels hosted Patriotlandia at Colonial Field in Sile. After two very confusing but productive matches - which we will talk about later - with former 53 year old Endur Rotropii actually playing as a central defender - it would be back to a normal lineup for Vilita at Colonial Field with Rotropii - still kitted up 0 taking a place on the bench.

Now, one of the interesting things to come out of the match against Patriotlandia was the fact that this new Vilitan National Coaching staff was clearly looking at other options for the goalkeeper position. Ukamai Talingri - the Baker Park based netminder who has already been sent off twice this campaign - was no where to be found despite having served out their suspension. Even Zelkki Milake Jr. - the purported #1 goalkeeper for the Vilitan National Team was not in the lineup nor on the bench. The goalkeeping duties were given to the teenager, Altirii Touiniiki, who had been forced to come on with minimal preparation in relief of their sent off teammates earlier in the campaign. Now, the Rebels Academy goalkeeper would get a first opportunity to prove themselves from the start and perhaps earn more matches.

In the end, it wasn't a bad showing from Touiniiki. Vilita would win the game - though it would be closer than it needed to be. Things were going pretty well in the first half but a mistake just before half time allowed Patriotlandia to cancel out Antiviv Davaflei's 12th minute opener. Vilita would retake the lead through Kunaro Tlikara just two minutes into the second half but once again Patriotlandia would respond when youngster Francis Fortinello got on the scoresheet. Finally, the Jungle Rebels would take the lead for good in the 72nd minute when Turoki Tide star Diamoa Waviino blasted the game winner past Paul Lataupe.

From there it would be wholesale changes to protect the lead and that included a slow switch between the sticks when Touiniiki made way for the more experienced Valanora based goalkeeper Reino Kononen who was getting their first look of the cycle as a potential replacement for the problem filled primary goalkeepers.

As a pundit who spends a good portion of their life talking about sports, it wasn't a great performance from Vilita. Incredibly, despite the fact that Endur Rotropii had the stamina of... well they didn't look terribly great from a performance standpoint, the team seemed to actually play better while they were on the pitch. They were unified around a common goal - don't let the old man get involved in the game - and somehow that worked.

Against Patriotlandia, whenever they got the lead they backpedaled and gave it up. Which is why it was actually shrewd management for the coaching staff to make 4 substitutions after Waviino's goal - after Waviino themself had just come onto the pitch two minutes earlier. The newly introduced players weren't going to be complacent with the lead, they were out to make an impression in the 15 minutes they had to prove themselves. It was non-conventional, but it worked, and perhaps non-conventional is what this Vilitan team need to be successful.

Of course, there also seems to be a strange correlation between Vilita's poor results and matches where the opposing team doesn't have a media service center at the stadium. Obviously thats probably just causational bias, but it is frustrating to travel all the way to a faraway land like Ziwana and get to the stadium and there is no media center. Well, supposedly they had one but it was under renovation and not being used right now.

Of course, our frustration as the traveling media just standing around the back of the stands seemed to pass straight along onto the pitch as yet again the Jungle Rebels failed to pick up 3 points against a lower ranked side that didn't even have a media presence at their own stadium to cover a home World Cup Qualifier.

Now, if this game was earlier in the cycle, Vilitan fans might have rioted. But lets be honest, as disappointing as a draw might be on paper, at this point in the cycle just not taking a loss is probably as good as a win for the Vilitan National Team - who at this point are just fighting for a playoff spot in all reality.

As may have been foretold in the previous game, the starting goalkeeper in Ziwana would be Soldarian FC's Reino Kononen. It actually wasn't a bad performance from "The Rhino" but Ziwana's first half goal put Vilita on the back foot, trailing at the half. A second half equalizer from Jakku'u Naboyavi allowed Vilita to come home with a point - when three would have helped quite a bit in clawing back closer to the top 3. Still, this may be a case where ensuring that the opponent didn't get those extra two points was probably just as important as getting them for yourselves.

Thats because if you re-calibrate the goal for the cycle and take away the Automatic Qualification spot, then it is Ziwana who Vilita are chasing for the top three position in Group 15 and a spot in the World Cup 94 Qualification Playoffs.

At the mid-way point of World Cup 94 Qualifying, the Vilitan National Team have already tossed away half of the available points. The Vilitan National Team made their first World Cup Finals appearance during the 15th World Cup Cycle. Since then, just once has an established Vilitan squad suffered a worse start to World Cup Qualifying through 10 games - and that was way back in World Cup 33. Over the previous 30 cycles, Vilita have had a perfect record (30 points) after 10 games more often than they have had fewer than 20. But if you go all the way back to that World Cup 15 cycle and look at Matchday 10 - that would be the first time in history that Vilita would lose to rivals Starblaydia. That defeat would leave Vilita on 14 points and in danger of not qualifying for the World Cup yet again. However, a final resurgence would see the Jungle Cats land in the Top 3 and progress through to their first ever World Cup Finals appearance. So perhaps, 79 cycles later, this modern Vilitan squad of Rebels can accomplish the same thing.

 Vilita 3 - 2 Patriotlandia	
	Vilita Goals:	:: 12' Antiviv Davaflei:: 47' Kunaro Tlikara:: 72' Diamoa Waviino            
	Stats :: Vilita 	:: Possession: 52%:: Shots: 8:: Corners: 14 :: Patriotlandia :: Possession: 48%:: Shots: 7:: Corners: 4
	Vilita Lineup :: 	Altirii Touiniki (Reino Kononen 77'), Injyua Klizlo, Narri Sebapilo, Tero Alatalo, Letirpsi Vulitn (Mikele Alasita 70'), Trezisi Rokopolis (Diamoa Waviino 72'), Jakku’u Naboyavi, Fyin Miateal, Limu Katarakhna (Rojara Tiones 77'), Antiviv Davaflei (Minjiakuj Sklinai 72'), Kunaro Tlikara

 Vilita 1 - 1 Ziwana	
	Vilita Goals:	:: 73' Jakku’u Naboyavi              
	Stats :: Vilita 	:: Possession: 51%:: Shots: 5:: Corners: 9 :: Ziwana :: Possession: 49%:: Shots: 7:: Corners: 14
	Vilita Lineup :: 	Reino Kononen, Narri Sebapilo, Injyua Klizlo, Tero Alatalo, Fyin Miateal, Sami Samii’i (Letirpsi Vulitn 66'), Trezisi Rokopolis (Minjiakuj Sklinai 66'), Jakku’u Naboyavi, Mikele Alasita (Kunaro Tlikara 21'), Tukaara Milanzi (Riku Kasslin 60'), Antiviv Davaflei (Lentali Purama 60')

[Gnejs]

Fairly recently. No matter how you look at it, really

The rain was coming down hard, pounding the streets of the borough of Haga in the northwestern parts of Port Kejm. It was an apt reflection of Johannes Varg’s mood. He had good days and bad, as they all did, but today was most definitely a bad one. He was on no sleep; no sleep. The nightmares came and went, but last night they had been so intense he had decided to just not try and go back to la-la land after he awoke screaming only moments after having fallen asleep.

He could never remember his nightmares, only the intense feeling of imminent danger and cold death, which infected his mind and could linger for hours, sometimes days. It was very much a mirror of how he related to the delegation’s trip; he had trouble remembering much of it, and was only left with an acute and unpleasant feeling of having experienced nefariousness and tragedy. He was worse off than many of the others in this regard, because pretty much everything since they left Taxhavn was a blank for him. He had no recollection of attending Cracquet games or prolonged craft ale benders and theater shows, no haunting images of the valley beneath the shadow of death, and he definitely remembered nothing of being delivered the modern era’s most significant piece of precognition. Still, however scary and unpleasant complete amnesia was, all things considered he was probably better - rather than worse - off than his fellow travelers. Indeed, while he was truly struggling, it seemed petty compared to some of the others.

Like old Hilma Hellavika, the former State Secretary with Certain Responsibilities for Sports. She was clearly a complete nervous wreck, even though she fought valiantly to try and hide it from the world. It was like her insides were held together with a select few pieces of severely stretched duct tape that could snap at any second. Her love for the Bake Off was seemingly the only thing keeping her afloat, and as far as Johannes knew she spent her days in front of the tv binging all 10 seasons over and over again. The only exception was Wednesdays, when she came to the support group, and there she usually spent about one third of their meetings meticulously describing the details of various baked goods she planned on crafting once she got a chance to compete on the show, and then something in her eyes would just turn, and she’d spend the next two thirds of the meeting sobbing uncontrollably. And young Hamilton had it even worse. The man was a shell, completely hollow. He always showed up for the meetings, but had yet to say a word. He just sat there and stared into the wall. Johannes felt guilty about that, because it was he who had ordered Stek to participate in the Delegation, and experiencing the contrast between Hamilton’s regular enthusiasm and current apathy always broke his heart.

The MFA-people weren’t much better off either. Dorotea Andersson, the former State Secretary with Certain Responsibilities for Non-Aligned Diplomacy, had completely disappeared. Johannes hadn’t seen her since they were released from MTI-custody a few years ago, but Benjamin Walter seemed convinced she had been silenced by the global Illuminati-Mafia-Cabal that was behind virtually any international crime you could think of, including the Time-Manipulation-Event they had all experienced during their time with the delegation. He had gone down that kind of rabbit hole, Walter, and his new-age-tinted conspiracies went deeper and deeper every week. They humored him, but Johannes was unsure how beneficial that actually was for Walter’s mental health. Speaking of mental health, Ulvheim was still insane, of course, and as far as Johannes knew he was still being held under lock and key somewhere deep below the TMI building. Walter was certain Ulvheim had developed into a Greenseer himself, and that The Ministry had employed him in charting out key future events. Whether this was a good thing, or a part of a global conspiracy threatening everything and everyone decent, usually changed on a weekly basis.

Johannes had no interest in speculating about how all this time distortion nonsense really worked, and what had really happened during those fateful months, that in actuality had spanned years. He was content in the fact that truly grasping these sorts of things was beyond his intellectual capacities, and could discern no benefit from obsessing over them. He lived a quiet life in a small municipal flat on the westside, his disability and Ministry benefits allowing him the few comforts he needed. He did feel a sense of responsibility for the Delegation Returnees though, so even though their weekly sessions depressed him, he always made a point about showing up and tried to support the others as best he could. They were a sorry bunch, the lot of them, but at least they had each other.

The only real exception was Thom Öland, who’s life ironically had taken a turn for the better after their return. Öland had left The Union a bitter and enervated man, estranged from his family and without much hope or prospects beyond growing old and dying alone. After their mysterious return, the man had undergone a full blown renaissance, including reuniting with his family and getting promoted at the Ministry. He had been appointed Special Unit Director for All Matters Deltic (including Cracquet), mainly for his propensity for the deep basso profundo timbre of the Delte language and extensive knowledge about the valley (including Cracquet).

In the beginning Öland often came to the support group meetings, and enthusiastically told them all about how he was working closely with PUFF and TMI to find out more about this Endor Clench - the mysterious valleyman the prophet had foretold would guide The Union to winning the World Cup - and Johannes often reflected that, in another life, many of these stories would’ve been most amusing and intriguing. Like that awkward video conference with the proprietor of the Taxhavn brothel The Lord of Sex Slaves and their most outstanding employee, «The Clencher», or how one of the PUFF people had come very close to joining the obscure cult The Sixth Lord of The Days when they were chasing down a lead some place called Tequilo. Öland’s appearances at the support meetings became less frequent as time went by and his workload increased, and they hadn’t seen him for over a year now. He still kept in touch with Johannes through the odd text message here and there - they had recently had a breakthrough in locating Clench (which apparently wasn’t his name at all) - but mostly they were drifting apart.

Johannes came to a halt and looked up at the Haga Community Centre, where the MCSCA and MFA had arranged a room for the support group every Wednesday. He sighed and tried to gain some composure. «Just keep swimming,» he said to himself as he started climbing the stairs to join the others.

[Juvencus]

It was just another mid-autumn afternoon, busy people were returning home from their jobs, others were already there. The news were playin on television and everything worked smoothly. The daily news ranged from typical day to day politics, to sports, to the rare case of a murder of a 26 year old woman by her uncle in some village. It was... a normal day to say the least and nothing would change it. Or so people thought. You see, news anchors wanted to talk about the story about the Holy Emperor but it was not meant to be in those 3 days of a certain anonymous source's ultimatum and as such the latter decided to take action.

While the ultimatum signified the presence of a singular person, behind it was a whole team of people with access to some of the most classified information in the country, a team of hackers, data breachers and the sort. They also happened to have access to several passwords that would give them the ultimate power in the television of the country even if it is just for a few seconds. While television stations were broadcasting normally, mostly their news a sudden beep echoed and the screen turned black.

Suddenly there was a presence on the screen, one that wore a capybara mask of all things. The presence was in a fully white room, giving an unsettling feeling to many of those watching. Suspence started to grow on every single television station knowing of this, trying to regain control of their access to the signal, initially to no avail. The presence breathed heavily onto the mic, it almost felt like a horror movie was unfolding in front of everyone's eyes. A gasp onto the conveniently placed microphone followed and then it began to mumble then talk...

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of Juvencus. If you are wondering what this broadcast is about, all I will have to say is that this is the news that nobody else would serve you. A warning to brace for impact, for times ahead will be more difficult than before.

His majesty, the Holy Emperor Nicola II, God bless his soul, is in a dire condition. The government has been hiding this from you for the past few years, but our dear monarch has had leukemia of the worst kind which he has battled with tenacity and nearly successfully for a while. Initially, it had remissioned but it returned stronger than ever and his majesty has not been the same since. If you are wondering why he seems to appear outside less and less, it is because this condition has eaten him up and we have valid records showing that he has more than a few months left. It is best to pay him homage, for you never know when he will not be with us anymore.

These news may have come as a shock for you, but we are only delivering it in the best of interests for you, the people of Juvencus. We will not tolerate secrecy of any kind from a government that is supposed to be transparent to its population about everything it does, we will not allow news anchors to feed on the secrecy of any governmental institution either. Thank you."

A sudden beep followed, and television stations returned to normal broadcasting then, the shocking blow was delivered and the people were left scared, confused, dumbfounded and even angry at how this was delivered to them. A storm was to follow, but nobody knew exactly how it would be manifested. The Palazzo had its first major scandal since the ascension of Nicola II to the throne, a reign that was nearly scandal free had finally ended, which disappointed the people even further. It was time... time to deal with the consequences.

[Nephara]

Nephara 5 - 1 Olastor
(4-4-2) 1 - Strand; 2 - Holden (17 - Swain), 5 - Roback, 6 - Scales, 3 - Xu; 13 - Brewer (23 - Drake), 15 - Constantine, 24 - Sebold (8 - Anhope), 11 - Loeher; 9 - Kulesza (14 - Berenguer), 21 - Vetiver (10 - Harper)
Goals: Vetiver 8' pen, Kulesza 31', Vetiver 40', Sebold 56', Berenguer 81'

THE HERALD
QUALIFYING HALFWAY-MORTEM: CORMORANTS YET TO SOAR, BUT BUILDING MOMENTUM
Sisi Sharpe Football Correspondent

As fans watched Nephara dismantle Olastor 5-1, the thought was unavoidable... where was this Nephara against Yakk, against Koronavia? A goal siphoned from here and injected in either game would see the Cormorants on top of the table.

Unfortunately, that isn't how football works. But though they may not have been efficiently outlaid, the five goals were still a treat to watch, from Vetiver's insolently chipped penalty to Berenguer's outside-of-the-boot curler, with a true screamer from Bellona Sebold in between.

The formation clicked. Fast, direct movement, unsettling their opponents with pace and physicality and with the technical skill to get the ball moving where it had to go. Best of all, Ravil Kulesza's constant movement and directness, while threatening in its own right, did give Felixe Vetiver the room to maneuver, slip between the lines, generally be at her best.

Compare and contrast with the Yakk game, where they mostly just got in each others' way. Actually, that went for much of qualifying, even some of the wins. But Cantor has been vociferous in defending Kulesza, and her decision to start him. "In the club game, you wouldn't write off a player you knew could star in the right circumstances, not after five or ten games. But you'd do the same here, in international conditions, with so much less time to train together?"

Suggestions in the camp are that Cantor would have quite liked Vetiver to also chirp up in Kulesza's defence, but she has stayed well under the radar as usual, offering her characteristically terse, introverted comments. She's always preferred to do her talking on the pitch, and will surely think their better record of late speaks for itself.

Ultimately, 22 points from ten games is a fair return. Nepharim are relentlessly successful in qualifying, but there is a tendency to be high-strung at any setback. The status as a group of death admittedly does not help; whatever God permitted mighty Cassadaigua to be considered a mere third seed is a cruel one indeed. But Cantor has never seemed anything other than confident - at least since overcoming her weird narcoleptic streak - so long as qualification remains in the Cormorants' hands, which it currently, comfortably, does.

As for our rivals, it's fair to say that Koronavia, despite their goal difference being just a sliver above even, have produced a commanding and promising performance. Cassadaigua can boast a decisive win over Nephara on home soil, while Milchama will fancy themselves; they were able to take a point in Cassadaigua, still get to host Nephara, and were able to effortlessly crush the Yakk side that so troubled the two Rushmori powers. Even Adab could conceivably recover and get into the mix.

Nevertheless, most cards will probably still have Nephara to see through qualification. Especially if they keep playing like they have against Olastor and Adab.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 6
Goalkeepers: 1 - Medusa Strand (Chromatik, CMT), 12 - Toxothea Sebring (Crisisbless), 20 - Chary Longstreet (CA Paulinthal, PAS)
Defenders: 2 - Tiamat Holden (AFC Treason), 3 - Tanith Xu (Myana, CMT), 5 - Vetta Roback (Sabrefell Athletic), 6 - Anaximander Scales (Brinemouth), 17 - Astrid Swain (Anomalies, CMT), 18 - Sven Copperhead (Crisisbless), 22 - Tamiika Vine (Starling), 25 - Catheline Mueller (Ulsa, EUR)
Midfielders: 4 - Seeker Biscan (Sabrefell Athletic), 8 - Petra Anhope (La Nueva Avenida, FFD), 11 - Arachne Loeher (Wirr Tsi, CMT), 13 - Madita Brewer (Northern Union, BRE), 15 - Demeter Constantine (Crisisbless), 16 - Tryna Drnaso (1923 Esca, MYT), 19 - Chandra Rosziter (Dynamo Sjoedrhavn, SVJ), 23 - Tabithe Drake (AFC Treason), 24 - Bellona Sebold (Crisisbless), 26 - Lindse Kvasina (Istria City FC, BNJ)
Forwards: 7 - Kestrel Anharbour (Crisisbless), 9 - Ravil Kulesza (Maethoru FC, KOR), 10 - Bravura Harper (Ulsa, EUR), 14 - Leandra Berenguer (Anomalies, CMT), 21 - Felixe Vetiver (1830 Cathair, AUD)

Yakk 0 - 0 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 0 Ascvalion
Cassadaigua 3 - 1 Nephara
Nephara 1 - 0 Astograth
Notricia 0 - 2 Nephara
Nephara 2 - 1 Milchama
Brascocia 0 - 3 Nephara
Nephara 0 - 1 Koronavia
Adab 1 - 4 Nephara
BYE
Nephara 5 - 1 Olastor
Nephara vs. Yakk
Ascvalion vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Cassadaigua
Astograth vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Notricia
Milchama vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Brascocia
Koronavia svs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Adab
BYE
Olastor vs. Nephara

[Mertagne]

EKITALDIA REPORTER - The man appears to ambush you as you dare to walk anywhere near the buzz of cameras rolling and flashing after the match. He has a wry smile on his lips, and he is keen to ask you questions.

INTELLECT - Why does it always have to be you? Nobody ever seems to ask Leigh Eyre what she thought about the match.

PSYCHE - That's because Leigh Eyre would talk their ears off. Maybe you can find a way to get them to talk to her instead.

MOTORICS - Not possible. Look, they've spotted you and they're circling. Mertagnian press have always been vultures. It's the nation's sixth biggest export.

INTELLECT - You are vaguely aware of what the other five are, as a documentary was on the television last night. Cereals, Fruit, Meat, Wood, and Lightbulbs. The last one was weird, as Mertagne isn't exactly famous for its sand.

EKITALDIA REPORTER - The reporter wastes no time in dragging you back into the situation, by firing off a blazing volley of a question. "Tough game tonight, eh? How is your team finding the Brandistock Football Campus? This place hasn't seen a win here yet. It's like the top corner of my wardrobe at home. Full of ties."

PSYCHE - A groanworthy joke, clearly designed to make him seem laid back and cool, when in fact his eyes grow red hot ready to throw you under the bus for a lacklustre performance.

PHYSIQUE - If headbutting reporters was allowed, you'd have done it by now. Perhaps you should do it anyway.

PIA AZIZ - You shake off a noncomittal answer about the strength of the opposing side - Eastfield Lodge. You explain that in reality, the tie has simply cemented the two teams further into the middle of the table - and while Mertagne is lower on goal difference, that is hopeful to change in the back half of the qualifiers.

EKITALDIA REPORTER - The reporter seems annoyed you haven't 'taken the bait', so to speak. He tries again to weasel his way under your skin. "It was pretty rough when Aleta Armitage intercepted your pass and managed to carry the ball to the goal, setting up a great ball for Maisha Paree. You were ahead until that point, how does that make you feel as a captain?"

PHYSIQUE - He's challenging our superiority. Puff out your chest - just because he's taller and fatter than you doesn't mean he gets to push you around. Use your presence and take control of the situation.

INTELLECT - Objectively, it's not wholly your fault that happened. You were making the best pass at the time, and the rest of the team failed to react to the attacking play from the opponent.

PSYCHE - It's easy to throw the whole team under the bus in this situation. You are the captain, however. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

▐

PIA AZIZ - You tell the reporter that a single person can't be responsible for a run of form. Football is a team sport, and everyone shares in the victory and consoles each other defeats. Even the fans. You also tell the reporter that you'll be training hard with the team going into the second half.

▐

PIA AZIZ - You tell the reporter that, on the pitch, the buck stops with the captain, and that you could have indeed done more to clinch a much-needed victory on the part of the team. You also tell the reporter that you'll be training hard alone going into the second half.

EKITALDIA REPORTER - The reporter seems satisfied with your response. Clearly he was just hunting for a soundbite. You take the lack of a follow-up as a cue to leave and head back to the dressing room.

DRESSING ROOM - You take a look around the dressing room and head to your cubicle, marked strikingly with "AZIZ" in a military font that seems to be gaining some kind of artistic traction here in Mertagne at the moment.

INTELLECT - It's called "milcore" and it started taking off in Neorudo before spreading to the rest of the country. Rural people like it because it makes them seem "tough". City people like it because it makes them seem "worldly". Businesspeople like it because it's something they can sell.

PSYCHE - You don't like it. You've turned down a sponsorship deal recently for a fashion line called ꜰʀᴏɴᴛ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ. It was mostly baggy camo clothes that you figured would just engulf you if you put them on.

DRESSING ROOM - Here you make small talk with some of the other players before getting changed back into your normal clothes.

INTELLECT - Civvies, as you'd call them if you were into milcore.

DRESSING ROOM - Ettrick says something about sticking around for a post-match press conference, to mark the halfway point of the qualifiers. You've luckily been given a bit of a reprieve - she's instead planning on giving some of the younger players in the squad a bit of a voice instead.

MOTORICS - Is that because nobody wants to hear from you any more?

[Chromatika]

MD10: Atheara 0-3 Chromatika
Goals: Phoen 27', Xuen-Zhukov 67', 82'
Starting XI: Begley (C); Coulibaly - Régine - Aimée; Kruetzberg - Si - Hauser - Ighv; Phoen; Park - Killian.
Substitutes: Fillar, G. -> Kruetzberg (58'), Fillar, E. -> Ighv (58'), Xuen-Zhukov -> Park (58'), Larriet-Cortes -> Si (75'), Ansov -> Coulibaly (81')
Summary: Chromatika Continues to perform very well on the road, evidenced by a 3-0 win on the road in Atheara. Begley held down the fort, Phoen scored the first volley, and in the last half hour, Lavrentiy Xuen-Zhukov scored a brace off the bench to close the book. It was clinical - a step back toward what Chromatik football is supposed to be. Xuen-Zhukov and Howard-Dawes have done the lions' share of carrying recently, and the team seems to have recovered - but can they keep it up against Kimi-suomi?

MD11: Chromatika 1-1 Kimi-suomi
Goal: Ighv 6'
Starting XI: Begley (C); Coulibaly - Régine - Aimée; Kruetzberg - Si - Hauser - Ighv; Phoen; Park - Killian.
Substitutes: de Aea -> Régine (61'), Fillar, B. -> Hauser (61'), Anbient -> Aimée (74'), Howard-Dawes -> Park (74'), Fucheux -> Killian (82')
Summary: Chromatika finished the first half of qualifying on a bit of a downturn as Kimi-suomi equalized the early goal from Ighv with a steady stroke by Annina Tuominen in the sixty-sixth. All the counterattacking in the world wouldn't break the tie, and Chromstika could not continue the streak of three wins it had heading in. The result keeps them in third place - a point behind Sendhang and nine behind Tikariot. Catching the Owls may not be possible, but it's worth trying, at least. Repin hasn't failed yet - why would he now?

Fortnight 7: @ Sinval, vs. Sendhang
Starting XI: Begley (C); Coulibaly - Régine - Aimée; Kruetzberg - Si - Hauser - Ighv; Phoen; Park - Killian.
Substitutes: GK Juxon Fillar, GK Hailee Sourtois, DCR Moira Ansov, DC Henri de Aea, DCL Keira Anbient, DC Gwina Ansoll, WBR Grayson Fillar, WBL Edith Fillar, WBR Elouan Christelle, BWM Kaia Larriet-Cortes, CDM Amélie Ju, AP Haley Hauser, AF Lavrentiy Xuen-Zhukov, CF Candice Delaya, SS Kara Oveni
Preview: It's time for revenge on Sinval and a chance to catch Sendhang - a chance for Begley to show she's still reliable. With the first XI on the bench, everyone may be on a short leash, but it may be the chance the team needed.

[Brenecia]

Brenecia 2 - 2 Eura
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Meade; 17 - Hadley, 5 - Killen, 6 - Jeong, 3 - Culpepper; 4 - Briggs, 8 - Conway (23 - Sitko); 15 - Wake, 24 - Kearney (11 - Rourke), 10 - Byrne; 21 - Lofthouse (13 - Stokes)
Goals: Killen 49', Stokes 83'

Hell of a way to bow out.
It was a packed crowd at the Crown Row - Eura would always be a draw, even with their fortunes at a relatively low ebb - but some were definitely drawn to Iseult Conway. Well over a hundred caps, many as captain, for a player who had started out as filler. But pay enough attention to the 7/10 player and you might just find she was an 8/10, and able to bring that level of quality up to the best teams.
Conway wasn't a flashy player. She was never particularly dynamic, but especially not at 32; she had a good eye for a long ball, but wasn't an effortless playmaker. No, she just kept things ticking over. And she'd done her time in the A-League, too; not just fleeing as soon as she could, but sticking it out at Northern Union, only leaving when there was nothing left to conquer.
She'd probably be back, soon enough. But not in Brenecia's blue, no.
This had to be the end. Because - and it pained her, as the kind of player who had prided herself for making things tick in the background - she was making Brenecia worse.
And Erin Camden would never see it. Because, as ruthless and cold-hearted as she was, Camden was, somehow, fond of Conway. Camden had, herself, been a limited midfielder that properly had that mongrel in her; a more limited midfielder, in truth, though also something of a set piece specialist. And she, too, had managed a surfeit of caps for Brenecia, captained them for a time, albeit a far poorer Brenecia side than this. And, yes, she looked back very fondly on that career, and had every right to, but no, she could live vicariously through Conway no longer.
Even this was mawkish. Uncharacteristically sentimental. Yeah, Camden had made good talk that Conway would start the game because, as her final game, she'd raise her game. Yeah, as if Conway hadn't been giving her best until now. Her best just wasn't good enough, not for the standard Brenecia required, and especially not considering her competition. Conway stepped out onto the pitch knowing she, herself, would have started Bede Cheschon in a heartbeat.
Fuck it, it was time to end it.

It took all of nine minutes for Owen James to send a shot whistling past a motionless Cessair Meade and silence the home crowd.
Thirty-one minutes in: 0-2. Almwood curled in a diagonal ball, Owen Vincent symbolically and also literally beat Conway to it, then turned and thumped a shot at goal. Cessair Meade would have had no trouble with it a year ago, but her confidence was shot, now, at least in the violent pink of the national team; she palmed the shot low into the ground, where Alex Sharp got ahead of his cross-Cathair rival Killen to drive in the rebound.
Camden ripped into them all at half-time. Questioned their desire. Questioned their talent. According to her, Lofthouse was invisible. Briggs was gutless. Kearney barely even gave a shit. Only Conway was spared. And the rest of the players respected her too much to resent her for it, and respected Camden too much not to listen.
49 minutes in, Brenecia were back. Katua Byrne clipped in a corner, Killen headed it home. A second was still needed. Meade saved sharply from Singh, came somewhat close to atoning; Tess Miller came off the bench and thumped a shot against the post. Time wore on. Brenecia faded.
Conway got taken off in the 74th minute, somewhat too late in her own estimation; Rajmund Sitko came on, as did Alaoise Rourke for the frustrated Alyce Kearney, who had been fortunate not to be sent off for a raking challenge on Woodman from behind. Camden prowled the touchline, barking orders. The blue shirts still listened. But time ticked on.

Of course it was Rourke, when it came. Camden saw something special in her from the start... but something that had to be kept in check, for the sake of structure. But this was Rourke's moment, an oasis of calm in a roiling sea of red shirts, calmly letting herself get jockeyed out to the right by Jermaine Gates, who had patrolled the midfield excellently through the game. Gates knew, as did just about everyone, Rourke only had a left boot, and thought to deny her its use.
He didn't know quite how good.
Rourke's step stuttered. Her left kicked around her standing right, flicking the ball in a beautiful, floating diagonal into the box, the corridor of uncertainty. Hart swung a boot at it; missed. And another substitute, Mor-Rioghain Stokes, came flying in, boot low; she'd seen Rourke do weird, sick shit in training, and felt it made enough sense to gamble on it.
That was the kind of instinct that got her on the scoresheet time and again, and it paid off, here. 2-2, scarcely deserved, but a moment of brilliance had salvaged something from the day.
It would be a nice farewell for Iseult Conway. It would be a farewell for others, too. Because her promises of change at the halfway mark, though frustrating to many, were not empty.
Change was coming. Conway would only be the first.

[Flavovespia]

Flavovespia 3 - 0 Neibeskiya

Flavovespia’s game against Neibeskiya may have been bizarre due to the circumstances surrounding the opposition, but nevertheless the hosts stayed composed to take a 3-0 win, to keep themselves on form to challenge for a World Cup spot. A bit of squad rotation had also helped, with the rotation options fitting in nicely.

The confusion had started some time before the game, with the apocalyptic events reported in Neibeskiya. The nation were still in the World Cup Qualifiers despite their non-existence, although this was leading to a lot of problems for teams trying to understand the opposition, both in terms of scouting, and registering who they even were. It seemed the team who showed up were some combination of the original Neibeskiya team, some expats for them not caught up in the event, and some chancers who somehow made it in.

Flavovespia made the better start against their opponents, the players in yellow and black moving the ball nicely around the pitch, and looking for some probing opportunities. Peter Langdon came close to a first international goal within the opening 5 minutes, but a heavy first touch allowed the goalkeeper to just smother the ball before Langdon could get a shot away. It wasn’t a long wait for the opener, it came after just 16 minutes. Sustained pressure for Flavovespia paid off, some questionable marking between the defence and midfield allowed David Wassell to slip into the box unmarked. Michael Cole’s cross found him, and Wassell fired the ball into the back of the net. It was his first international goal for Flavovespia, and he received a lot of cheers around the ground.

Flavovespia then made it 2 goals in 2 minutes, and this one was simply an error by Neibeskiya. Attempting to play out from the back, almost straight from the kick-off, a total mix up saw a defender attempt a pass with Amrik Singh bearing down on him. The pass cannoned off Singh, who had the awareness to chase after the loose ball. A good first touch took it past the outrushing goalkeeper, and from there it was the simplest of tap ins. 2 quick goals put Flavovespia in a commanding position. Neibeskiya recovered to make the rest of the first half more even, but rarely threatened the Flavovespian goal, leaving it 2-0 at the break.

Neibeskiya needed a good start to the second half to stand a chance of a comeback, but had the complete opposite. A good bit of pressure from the kick off saw Michael Cole have a shot charged down and cleared, about 25 metres out. Christopher Hill got to the ball first and put his laces through it, going for pure power rather than placement. It flew at great speed, and struck the underside of the crossbar with an almighty thud, before bouncing over the line and in, the Neibeskiya goalkeeper barely having time to react. A stunning first international goal for Christopher Hill, and the game felt fully in control for Flavovespia.

Neibeskiya grew into the second half, helped by what seemed like more team cohesion, and the team playing less like 11 players who’d randomly been thrown together. They created some tests for the Flavovespian defence, although nothing they couldn’t deal with. Aarif Muhammad back in goal had a few saves to make, but was fairly confident in them, and his clean sheet look assured. Flavovespia seemed fairly content to play the final minutes risk free, maybe they could’ve pushed for a 4 or 5 goal win, but getting minutes on the board for players and keeping control at the back seemed the priority.

In the end, it was 3-0 to Flavovespia, in a convincing win against an unusual opponent. The lack of post match interviews from Neibeskiya has led to some on social media sites such as Hive , twii.tur and the recently worldwide launched Cicada to try and find the identity of the mysterious players, particularly the ones who’ve shown some talent. Elsewhere in the group, a 1-1 draw for Valentine Z in Tanirinthia means Flavovespia go into the top of Group 15 clash in Valentine Z in the lead by one point, a crucial game to finish off the first half of the campaign.

Valentine Z 1 – 3 Flavovespia

In a battle of 2nd vs 1st at the top of Group 15, it was Flavovespia who came out victorious to end the first half of the Qualifiers in a strong position. This win continues a remarkable perfect away record, that has seen wins against the Pot 1, Pot 3 and Pot 5 side of the group.

Flavovespia named a strong starting 11 for this game, although there was clearly room for Stan Scott-Wilson and Charles Adams, the two younger players in the squad who’ve particularly impressed. Stan Scott-Wilson in particular has proven useful in being able to play left back and right back.

A quick starting Flavovespia once again delivered an early goal for the visiting fans. Jonathan Bagshaw, fresh from being rest, got the better of Vanuza Poliane Elaine Castro dos Reis and sent a cross back into the box. Adrian Jones was quick enough to get his head to the ball first, beating Eveline Valeria Annalise Tiêu Xuân Ngọc who rose at the same time, and put the ball into the back of the net. 0-1, and it was the sort of game Flavovespia knew an early goal would be so crucial.

Valentine Z were working hard for an equaliser in the first half. Aarif Muhammad had to justify his reselection in the squad, after a fairly easy game vs Neibeskiya, and justify that decision he did. Quick saves from Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte twice in a few minutes, and Elisabetta Enzo Hannah Lodovica D'Elia in an attacking flurry kept Flavovespia in the lead. The flurry of attacks from the hosts then proved costly for them on the break. In the 42nd minute, Stan Scott-Wilson long, long clearance rolled into open space, where Jonathan Bagshaw was quickest down down the wing. Beating Vanuza Poliane Elaine Castro dos Reis for pace, he drove into the box, before sending in a curling shot to the far post area of the goal that Eveline Valeria Annalise Tiêu Xuân Ngọc could not reach. Crossing the line and hitting the inside side of the net, Flavovespia took a 0-2 lead, with only a few minutes left of the first half. Valentine Z couldn’t make their attacking intent count, and it cost them dearly going into the break.

Valentine Z came out into the second half fired up to try and find a way back into this game. In the 54th minute, they got a goal back, halving the lead for Flavovespia. Holly Annemiek Gerrieke Van De Hoogte had their initial show blocked by Aarif Muhammad, but Kortnev Grigoriy Konstantinovich gave Stan Scott-Wilson the slip, and at close range was able to shoot hard, giving Aarif Muhammad no time to make a rebound save. 1-2 now, and nervy times for Flavovespia, with the home side fired up to make a comeback.

It was the 68th minute, when the last goal of the game came. Charles Adams’ ball forward found Adrian Jones, and as he chested it down, came under pressure from Marlene Isabelle Lisa Roselyne Pasquier who collided with him from behind also going for the ball. It didn’t seem a huge amount in it, but before the goal kick was taken, the video referee had a look. The on field decision was overturned, and it was a penalty for Flavovespia, the home crowd certainly not impressed with what was arguably a rather soft penalty. It was given however, and Michael Cole stepped up to take his fourth of the Qualifiers. Again, a powerful shot to his left, Eveline Valeria Annalise Tiêu Xuân Ngọc didn’t go the right way, and it was 1-3 now for Flavovespia.

Valentine Z, much like the first half, seemed to be coming into the final 20 minutes or so as the side with the majority of the possession, and the more attacking intent. However with a 2 goal lead to defend, Flavovespia did so well. Playing with the midfielders not far ahead of the defence and pressing hard, there wasn’t the room for Valentine Z to create lots of chances. Some shots from range tested Aarif Muhammad, but he had the answers. Flavovespia also had the ability to defend set pieces well today, and in the end, Valentine Z couldn’t make a breakthrough.

1-3 in Valentine Z wrapped up the opening half of the Qualifiers for Flavovespia. 23 from 30 points, via 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, and an impressive +17 goal difference were very nice figures on the board for Flavovespia. The 4 point advantage from 2nd was some comfort as well, although Flavovespia knew it could be caught quickly with a loss of form. The key for Flavovespia is improving their home form, it’s unusual for a side to do so well on their travels, yet seem to find the weight of expectations at home a significant barrier. Next up is a visit to Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer, before Tanirinthia visit the capital Waldster.


Provisional Starting Line Ups:

MD12: Aarif Muhammad, Lyons(C)--Cookson--Hussain--Scott-Wilson, Adams--Player--Edwards, Cole--Jones--Bagshaw
MD13: Aarif Muhammad, Lyons(C)--Taylor--Hussain--Dance, Player-Hill-Wassell, Lane-Birmingham-Singh

[Polar Islandstates]

There was a noticeable change in the atmosphere on the twenty-third floor that week. From what to what exactly, Freja couldn’t quite put her finger on. But something had changed. It was as if a low note in the background had suddenly disappeared; a piece of machinery turned off that you’d forgotten was even on, or a sudden lull in traffic. Only for it to start up again but at a slightly different frequency. Not louder, or lower, or appreciably different in any way you had the vocabulary to articulate, but... different, nonetheless.

The atmosphere had just changed. Frankly, she was surprised nobody was talking about it. Especially when she got the impression everyone had noticed it.

The background lull of the offices on the twenty-third floor had never been a raucous one. Not when the Secretary General was stationed just over the other side of the building. The side with the view, naturally. People had always been professional, efficient, calm, and busy. There were never any office socials, hardly any gossip, and the idea of idle chit-chat apparently never crossed anyone’s mind up there. She had been there almost two months now since her move from the Executive for Sport and Culture, a promotion of sorts, but beyond the half dozen or so faces she already knew from cross-ministry meetings, she wasn’t sure anyone beyond her immediate neighbours in the office had even introduced themselves to her.

So, she’d just cracked on and got her head down. She’d tuned into the background chatter, continued her good work and didn’t ever realise she’d noticed the tension in the air until it had gone.

It had all started after the Terns game against Saint Eleanor. The office was just starting till up again after the full-time whistle, and those who were interested in the game and had negotiated a longer break to take in the game were returning to their desks. Which is exactly when Freja heard it approaching. The sudden drop to silence that can only be created by a crowd that chooses to do nothing but watch.

Never originally planned as a modern, open-plan workspace, the Ensign Tower had had many awkward renovations performed on it over the decades. If nothing else, it was good cover for bringing people in to work on the basement levels. Above ground though, the upper floors were now a mixed bag of open-plan areas with walls knocked through, doorways into tiny offices, exposed concrete walls that had never been painted, and peeling chips from those that had. In some areas, corridors had had their office-side walls taken down to promote a more open workspace, only to discover the intermediary walls that held doors down the corridor’s length were structural, leaving an empty doorway perched between ‘nothing’ and ‘nothing’, jutting pointlessly out into the floor space of the office and inevitably becoming a site where boxes of printer paper got piled.

The first vanguard of the commotion had had to leapfrog one such pile as she strode purposefully through Freja’s office on her way to the city-side of the office and the Secretary General’s rooms.

That in and of itself wasn’t all that notable. Striding purposefully was basically what politicians did for a living. Twice weekly or so, a stream of figures in formal wear would pace backwards and forwards between the lifts and the Secretary General’s offices looking stern, concerned, worried, nervous, or often, all four. Several times, Freja had even seen the Secretary Himself doing just that. He was surprisingly spry for a man of his age, but she didn’t understand why he was in her office. The whole reason everyone had to cut through past her desk was that the Secretary General had commandeered the entirety of a vertical circulation core for his own personal use. It was the smallest of the three, of course, and there were still enough escape routes in case of fire or emergency, but it did rather mean everyone else had to take the long way round. If this was annoying enough for Freja and her colleagues; she couldn’t imagine how annoying it must have been to other people in the Ensign Tower, especially on the floors the Secretary General never even got off at.

It must have been even more annoying for the people having to make such a pilgrimage across the building, too. Freja had been moderately excited to be moving to a desk on the twenty-third floor of the Ensign Tower, not least because she’d heard the views from up there of the archipelago were exquisite. Upon arrival however, with a file box full of pens, staplers, and her trusted office plant, she was quickly disappointed to find that the Secretary General hogged that particular view, at least on her floor, and that her view was of not much more than the suburbs, stretching away into the haze. And even then, she had to crane her neck over three other colleagues to get a glimpse of natural light. Her poor deprived kalanchoe looked as stressed now as the politicos she had gotten used to gently bumping her desk as they strode backwards and forwards on their phones.

On this occasion though, the notable difference was that there wasn’t much pacing to and fro going on. There was plenty of pacing to, less so of the fro. People were coming, either invited or summoned, and nobody was leaving. The parade of faces got bigger, and steadier. People started to notice. People other than Freja. The colour coding on the lanyards and security passes that were slung around the necks of those walking through Freja’s office became more and more powerful, until eventually there arrived some visitors who didn’t have lanyards at all, their accompanying security detail all the identification they needed to carry with them. Freja noticed some faces she recognised from the ESC. Some of the other faces arriving late still had their Terns scarves on. They were ones looking most worried, in fact.

And then, silence.

The deluge of people crossing the building stopped, and the background hum lifted. The tension in the air was suddenly gone. Disappeared, as if a nerve ending in the ear had suddenly lost connection to the brain. Freja noticed her colleagues looking around, expecting someone to say something.

Nobody did.

They simply turned, and went back to their work. None of their business. Above their pay grade. Chance would be a fine thing. And other such insipidity.

Freja did the same, although didn’t really understand why nobody was asking what was going on. Was this just, normal? Still, she had a job to do, and she was still on her probationary period, so she opened up her e-mail server and got on with it in this new, oddly silent office. Leaving before her colleagues who’d left to watch the match, it wasn’t until she’d gotten home and was feeding her cat that she’d even noticed she hadn’t seen a single soul leave the Secretary General’s wing.

The next day was when she felt it. Something had definitely changed. She’d come back to an office that was outwardly exactly the same, and yet, completely refreshed. Things seemed both upended and replaced at the same time, as if you’d knocked over an entire table of ornaments and then put them back in a subtly different position. Maybe you’d swapped one of them out entirely, or one had broken and you’d successfully repaired it. Someone familiar with the table would still notice something was wrong. But what? Freja couldn’t put her finger on it.

She sat down slowly, checked the soil in her kalanchoe, and turned on her workstation. She looked around. Other people were doing the same, trapped in their own little circle of office bureaucracy, but of course nobody was saying anything.

The noise was back, or lack of it. The background drone of anticipation rather than actual noise. The tacit understanding that something was happening on the other side of the twenty-third floor. Which of course it was. It had to be, given who worked there. When he was in, anyway. There was always that sense of foreboding, that prediction. It had briefly stopped the night before, but now it was back. And it was made of different ingredients, apparently.

Freja tried to put her mind at ease but it was difficult. The whole day, she would notice it. All through her lunchbreak, she’d been dying to ask someone what had happened the night before, to ask a colleague that had stayed late what time it was that people started to leave the Secretary General’s wing.

But she didn’t. She answered e-mails, greased the wheels of Party business in the assorted Ministries and Executives of the Federal Government, fed her kalanchoe, and went home to feed Misty. The next day, she made it to lunchtime before noticing the hint of signal in the air, and remembered how unsettled she’d been the day before. The day after, she’d already forgotten. The hum had been reabsorbed into the new normal, and that was that. The difference in sonic pressure and emotional tension, so delicate and finely tuned throughout the building, had gone unremarked upon by anyone who wasn’t in that room on that evening.

The symphony of the Secretary General’s Party machinery played on, the slight change in ints instrumentation apparently unnoticed.

** ** ** ** **

Later that week, Freja’s phone buzzed with a text message from her baby cousin.

>Seb: “Freja! This is getting silly, now. Three months we’ve worked in the same building and we’ve never even grabbed a coffee! You free this evening?”

[Sylestone]

On mobile right now and I’m fairly sure I’d throw my phone off the nearest mountain before typing another letter in this roleplay so yeah look this won’t be equal to that produced by Tolkien.

The Sylestonean > Culture > Esportivan Culture Festival

ARCHITECTURE: ARCH OF BLACKETT

A piece of architecture only rivalled by the toilet-like design of the Sylestonean Parliament House in Avondale’s centre on the island, the Arch of Blackett can be found twenty kilometres east of Dodle, making it one of the city’s top tourist attractions. Named after Georgia Blackett, the first explorer to track a path between the west and the coastal east via land - just six months before Walter Leighton made the seemingly impossible trek through the dense Great Southern Rainforest from Betham to Marbury - it marks the beginning of her twenty day hike over the Cable Alps and to Oslolihul on the east coast, where she was welcomed with a mixture of disbelief and amazement. 120 kilometres of winding between craggy mountaintops, plateaus and valleys and several close calls with death due to falls, vicious brown bears, camouflaged deadly snakes and distrusting alpine locals and yet, Blackett defied the odds by sticking to the ridges - a strategy not one person believed could work. One misstep and it would all be over.

The monument itself reaches a maximum height of 25 metres, with a five-metre tall statue of Blackett herself erected at the monument’s peak. Aside from that, the arch is in the shape of a semicircle marked by depictions of significant events that occurred during the month she was in the mountains, only accompanied by four volunteers all drawing horses stocked with food, water and ammunition - the bare necessities for making such a daring trek. All volunteers and horses are included in those depictions, alongside the brown bear that came so close to ending their expedition, the Irundji locals in the valley below that threatened to throw spears and rocks at her party, and the horse that lost its life due to a diamondback python bite only three days from the foothills. Marking the final spot Blackett’s group left the main road that then circled around to the coastal town of Chilseamers around sixty kilometres away, the structure can be seen from the tops of Dodle’s tallest buildings and alongside the volcanic springs in Lake Acondo that the city lies upon, is the main tourist attraction in the area.

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The Spartan Dominion vs Sylestone @ Somewhere, The Spartan Dominion

The Spartan Dominion: Unknown

Sylestone (4-4-1-1): Brick Wall; Davis - Brown - Pearson - Statton (Toilet 82’); Stanton ( 47’) (Holmes 64’) - Paterson (Lawson 64’) - Bar Stool - Fridge; Keyes; Eastwood (Rodway 90+3’)

The Spartan Dominion 0-1 Sylestone
none - Keyes 24’

Sylestone vs Sargossa @ The Trees, Pesfield

Sylestone (4-4-1-1 → 4-2-3-1): Fuller; Holt (Cross 29’) - Mornington - Nutt ( 80’) - Toilet (Keller 68’); Holmes (Ryland 83’) - Blair - Rodway - Jones ( 38’) (Barclay 68’); Sarcav-Jones (Fleetwood 83’); Strathfield

Sargossa (5-3-2): Martínez; Benito (Fernán 46’) - Alonso - Sanz (Rodríguez 72’ ( 83’) - Riesgo - Soriano ( 64’); Azuaga - Collazo (González 89’) - Navarro (Garrido 72’) ; Alarcón (Alcocer 46’) - Recoba

Sylestone 0-1 Sargossa
none - Recoba 86’

Starting Lineup vs Banija @ Avondale International Sports Stadium, Avondale, Sylestone

Macleay; Cross - Mornington - Faucett - Keller; Ryland - Brown - Lawson - Jones; Fleetwood; Blamey

Starting Lineup vs The 14 Stars @ Starset Stadium, The 14 Stars

Brick Wall; Holmes - Nutt - Pearson - Statton; Stanton - Paterson - Blair - Barclay; Rodway; Eastwood

[Turori]

TURORI NATIONAL ✓

@TuroriNat

It may not have been pretty but the Turori National Team made it to the halfway point of the World Cup Qualifying campaign with victories over the Coalision and Macbon. It may, however, have come at the expense of the #AmatopaWall as the two goals conceded by Derizi Amatopa against Macbon were as many as the Eura based goalkeeper had conceded all cycle up until then. See the replies for some player stats at the halfway point of the campaign

#WC94Q - #HalfwayHome - #Group5

@TuroriNat

-@TuroriNat

Amatopa led Turorian goalkeepers with 3 clean sheets in 6 games for the Eels in the first half with just 4 goals conceded in those appearances. Timaala Hualtia had 2 clean sheets while Terasin Maravuao made 2 appearances without a clean sheet thus far

@TuroriNat

-@TuroriNat

Just two players appeared in all 10 of Turori's first half #WC94Q matches: Defenders Karek Edgeli and Moumouni Verre'elali. Edgeli even found their way onto the scoresheet one time, co-leading defender goalscorers with H'munao Cagomia who also scored one goal

@TuroriNat

-@TuroriNat

Overall it was no surprise that Nua'oma Aikiki led Turori in goals scored over the first half of the campaign with 6 Goals in 9 appearances. Bastion attacker Loala Inkabu and Cednia Beach's Turakia Diijelhma were close behind with 5 goals a piece. A Top scorers table through 10 games is presented in the attachment.

WC94Q Turorian Goalscorers - Through 10 Games (Apps [Goals])

 9 [6] - Nua'oma Aikiki :: Jungle Strike FC
 7 [5] - Turakia Diijelhma :: Cednia Beach AFC
 7 [5] - Loala Inkabu :: Bastion (EUR)
 7 [4] - Tulaki Rauogba :: René Skaé (FFD)
 8 [3] - Kinabo Telioa :: Olympia FC (EFL)
 9 [2] - Kiidallen Aeroluzzi :: Colonial Sile
 8 [2] - Naraiza Ruaplal :: Westwood Sprites (CBP)
 4 [2] - Kala'a Yuliizala :: Colonial Sile
 7 [1] - Lumlao Noauryua :: Sokattack Mliona
10 [1] - Karek Edgeli :: Sokattack Mliona
 4 [1] - Lati'ala Giaoka :: Jutland FC (COR)
 8 [1] - H’munao Cagomia :: Eelandii Academy
 1 [1] - Meldi'ita Mungwaii :: Arlington City (ZWZ)

 Turori 3 - 1 Cheetahs and reptiles coalison	
	Turori Goals:	:: 40' Kinabo Telioa:: 49' Nua'oma Aikiki:: 58' Kala'a Yuliizala            
	Stats :: Turori 	:: Possession: 64%:: Shots: 5:: Corners: 7 :: Cheetahs and reptiles coalison :: Possession: 36%:: Shots: 5:: Corners: 2
	Turori Lineup :: 	Timaala Hualtia, Moumouni Verre'elali (Lati'ala Giaoka 45'), Karek Edgeli, Amakli Inuro'o, Planio’o Nrujsa, Cuoabaza Orani’aoa, Kiidallen Aeroluzzi (Lutara Makakio 60'), Tulaki Rauogba (Lumlao Noauryua 63'), Kinabo Telioa (H’munao Cagomia 45'), Nua'oma Aikiki (Biliki Rona'atu'i 63'), Kala'a Yuliizala

 Turori 3 - 2 Macbon	
	Turori Goals:	:: 17' Tulaki Rauogba:: 26' Tulaki Rauogba:: 61' Turakia Diijelhma            
	Stats :: Turori 	:: Possession: 58%:: Shots: 4:: Corners: 8 :: Macbon :: Possession: 42%:: Shots: 7:: Corners: 15
	Turori Lineup :: 	Derizi Amatopa, Karek Edgeli (Klaillal Tuirma 45'), Planio’o Nrujsa, Moumouni Verre'elali, H’munao Cagomia, Cuoabaza Orani’aoa (Kiidallen Aeroluzzi 75'), Naraiza Ruaplal, Kinabo Telioa (Biliki Rona'atu'i 75'), Tulaki Rauogba (Lumlao Noauryua 45'), Turakia Diijelhma, Loala Inkabu (Lati'ala Giaoka 28')

[Brusseldorf]

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Group 1: The Haves and the Have Nots
July 8th

Last night's game marked the halfway point of the 94th World Cup Qualifiers. We thought we would take this opportunity to look at some of the highs and lows of the tournament so far, and gauge Brusseldorf's performance in the highly competitive Group 1. The first eleven matchdays have provided several games with scorelines breaking double digits. Squornshelan's 11-1 battering of Bears Armed was the first of these, and the round one scoreline remains the largest margin of victory by any team in the tournament so far. Another game from Group 6, this time on matchday six, saw Krytenia score 6 to Imperatorskiy Rossiya's 4. Matchday nine saw a flurry of high scoring games in Group 9, with Tikariot beating Sinyal by 7 goals to 4, whilst the United States of Devonta and Kimi-suomi drew 5-all. In Group 10, Camerania lost at home on matchday eight by 4 goals to Brookstation's 6, and finally, Group 13 saw a repeat scoreline of 5-5, with Kamijiro and Pemecutan taking home a point each on matchday eleven.

Next we look at Group 1, the only group with a team still on 0 points. Whilst being ranked 97th in the world, Ancherion has struggled to find form and is winless in the opening eleven matches. At the top of the group the battle is fierce; four different nations have sat at the top of the group throughout the first eleven matchdays, those being Eastfield Lodge, Tumbra, Acastanha, and Pasarga. At the halfway point, only 3 points separate the top three of Pasarga, Acastanha, and Tumbra. Brusseldorf is the best of the rest, with 16 points and a goal difference of +1. Los Alrededores have the footballing nations of Eastfield Lodge, Mertagne, and Stevencousin for company, all of whom are within a single win of fourth place.

[Nyowani Kitara]

Big-time road win against Camerania gives Nyowani Kitara three crucial points away from home

DEWAYO, NYOWANI KITARA- Winning multiple games in a row in World Cup Qualifying is tough. The team was coming off of a 6 point window, our first of the cycle, yes. But we had two more even bigger games come out of that- a very challenging away day against Camerania, and then a brutal home tie against a regional rival- Brookstation. But our ability to find three points, away from home, ensures that the home game against Brookstation in a few days time will sincerely mean something.

Away day against Camerania

The game on Matchday 10 was probably the best game that Nyowani Kitara played throughout the campaign. Going up 2-0 at halftime, and then conceding, but yet burying the game in the 68th minute, was exactly the kind of dominant, attacking, ruthless football that Liang Wei's side has become famous for over the years. Kuma Negasu, the 20 year old starting striker, was the star of the match for NYK. There's nothing like an early goal to set the tone- and him getting a through ball in just the third minute from Arvid Hansdotter, and then turning it home so early, an absolutely perfectly placed blaster of a shot, had given the Kitarans an early 1-0 lead away from home. Don't allow their crowd to get into it, ensure that we are dictating the pace.

As we should.

It would be Negasu who would score the second of the match, in the 32nd minute, when on a free kick, it would be Wang Jiahui who would loft up a cross to Negasu, who would then hammer home the header. It would be Hansdotter who would eventually bury the match. While they cut the lead in half in the 50th minute, we were able to hold possesion for a lot of the time, and simply not just sit back and absorb pressure by this upstart Camerania team. Hansdotter would hit a brilliant long-range shot in the 68th minute to make it 3-1, the final scoreline on the day.

3-1 to Nyowani Kitara- three points, job well done, Brookstation next. Can't complain, eh?

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Odede Angonga, 75th minute of Nyowani Kitara's home tie against Brookstation

Angonga saw his strike partner, Kuma Negasu, go down in the box as a result of a late slide tackle by a Brookstation center back. "Penalty!" He screamed, alongside the entirety of the 63,000 strong packing the Revolutionary Grounds here in Dewayo. The referee had no choice- he simply pointed to the spot. Penalty kick to the Kitarans, it simply had to be rewarded. A yellow card was shown, as Negasu was on the ground- he had taken a hard slide tackle, but still, he was pumped. Angonga ran up to him to help him up.

"Hell of a job, hell of a run Kuma." Odede Angonga said to the 20 year old. "Now, it'll be our time to finish it off." Angonga was ready. The all-time leading goalscorer for Nyowani Kitara was stepping up, ready to take the penalty. This could be the moment that truly marked the turnaround in fortunes for Nyowani Kitara. Just four games ago, NYK had lost two games in a row, had taken just 1 win from 6 possible, and were sitting in 8th place in this group, with their manager on the brink of being fired entirely.

Instead, now, the Kitarans had won 3 in a row, and the veteran striker was about to put them in the lead late in this one, against the group leader, to get all three points- and show the world that despite their poor start. Nyowani Kitara could still win this group outright, and qualify directly for the World Cup Finals. They were only at the halfway mark, right?

But first things first- the penalty. The ball was handed to Angonga. He looked up- he decided, he'd go to the keeper's right. Whistle blown, he stepped up- and the penalty was saved. "FUCK!" Angonga yelled, as a Brookstation CB cleared the ball away for a corner kick. The visiting fans were celebrating, and the home fans, and Angonga himself, was stunned.

"C'mon, you got this- we can still get that goal." Negasu said. Angonga barely was listening. He could see the headlines- 'Angonga too old, NYK needs to get younger', all the bullshit from modern-day journalists. He knew he was still good enough- he just needed to prove it. And so when Svante swung in that cross towards the near post, it was Angonga who was first to the ball- and he headed home, powerfully. Seconds after having his penalty saved, he had scored the match winner.

"LET'S FUCKING GOOO!!!" He screamed, as his country serenaded him. What a winner it was.

[Cabo Azure]

The sun was setting on Sao Simone Harbor by the time Princess Solveig’s boat arrived to tie up at the private marina in Playa Silva. The teenaged royal felt a pang of guilt at that–the age-old mantra of “be home before dark”--but she reminded herself that her parents wanted to see her and that she had extricated herself from Portelo as early in the day as she could. In the naval-inspired uniform of Maritime University High, her school bag on her thin shoulders, she could have been a secondary school student anywhere in Cabo Azure.

The marina was attached to the Playa Silva Clubhouse, a dining club catering to the mix of expats and nouveau-riche Azureans that peopled Marisol Silva’s new community. The late patriarch of Cabo Azure’s last noble family, Dom Carlos Silva was a legend, but he’d been limited in his perspective, so fixated on restoring the monarchy and the old order of things that he was blind to the new world order. He allowed the strip of coast that bore the family name to go to seed while he concentrated social and political power in the hills above. When his granddaughter Marisol arrived from Esportiva, one of her first moves was to crack open Dom Carlos’s black book and start calling in favors. As if playing an iconic board game from another reality, she took control of ten blocks of beachfront property and began building her bungalows.

The project had been ongoing for a dozen years, starting when Marisol was a teenager and her grandfather was still alive, and wasn’t complete yet, but the results were palpable. With Terranean-speaking leasing agents and a straightforward, transparent process, she’d attracted a clientele of creative-class expatriates from Ceni, Olastor, and Isles of Avon, all seeking to avoid either high cost of living or political oppression back home. These mingled with Azureans in the same sectors, many of them Silva employees availing themselves of discounted prices, and formed strong social bonds. When Marisol had offered a bungalow to Prince David, Solveig’s father, and his wife Katrinja, it had been meant to ingratiate herself with the royals, sure, but she’d also been adding yet another dimension to her pet project.

Nevertheless the bungalow suited. It was a two-bedroom, one row back from the sand with a small galley kitchen, decorated in the deep blues and bright jewel tones that typified Azurean interior design. A large trash can on the front step was emptied three times a week by young Azurean men in plastic gloves and denim uniforms, and a young woman in the same uniform came weekly to sweep, mop, and replace dirty laundry with bags of clean, pressed clothes. Not that Solveig exactly went without in the palace, but these were the kinds of perks that her parents had spurned in Graintfjall as “unnecessary” and “wasteful.”

[The Jovannic]

Lisander 3-2 The Jovannic: Emperors stumble to defeat against bottom scrappers,"Embarrassing" says Harring

The away side looked plainly lost as they capitulated to a so far unconvincing Lisander side to give them their first win since the start of the WCQ season.

Lisander's Soria Park only had a smattering of home fans, and those who did show up were rather quiet. The away stand however, was a vastly different atmosphere. Although the Emperors had just come out of a rather frustrating 2-0 loss to the Polar Islandstates, they hadn't specifically underperformed, and this season could be considered the best for the Emperors in 3 editions so far. A rather large group of elites made the trip to Astyria to cheer on the away side, and as the players came out to start the game off, Jovannican chants would outnumber the majority.

In hindsight, the pre match chants were probably the most enthusiastic anybody from The Jovannic would be, as the Emperors looked sloppy both going forward and tracking back. Lisander, on the other hand, held their defensive shape well, effectively cancelling early attempts for an away goal.

Even with early game woes, it was still somewhat unexpected to see the home side go 1-0 up. Another wasteful misplaced pass by Feckhim Tee saw Lisander surge forward in the 13th, and with Fertieas Pasti woefully out of position and Jewr Clarkey unable to handle two people at once, Leo Artemon would played through and curl his attempt around a hasty Jerrett Toi.

The home side made it 2-0 through very much similar circumstances, with Jewr Clarkey underhitting a pass and the opposing side catching the defence off guard in the 25th minute. Toi did his best to close the distance, only to be chipped by a Ricardo Santander through on goal.

Juyt Dersa would pull one back for the Emperors for his eighth goal in 10 games in the 36th minute to give them some hope for a quick recovery, But the Jovannic were still evidently shell-shocked, failing to trouble the Lisander keeper for the rest of the first half.

Their failure to move the ball quickly enough in the first half meant they did not properly test Swansea's packed defence.

The home side was now rift with confidence coming into the second half, and would recuperate their two goal lead after Artemon headed a well swung corner in from close range just 5 minutes into the half.

It was clear the Jovannican backline was not the most alert throughout both halves, and only Marimo Skvestky and Jerrett Toi would have a decent game, keeping the tenous structure down to just the three conceded.

The Jovannic resorted to increasing the frequency of which they shot from distance, and Huli Maringar was particularly dangerous, hitting 5 on target. He would bury a scrumptious half volley as a result of a deflected cross from Barella Lee by the 71st, making the scoreline 3-2.

Unfortunately, Lisander seemed particularly resilient, producing a performance that belied their status as the nation with the group's most porous defence.

Captain Twater Harring was particularly disappointed. "It was embarrassing. Our head wasn't in the game at all, and we were punished for it."

This result deals a huge blow to Jovannican hopes of challenging at the top, leaving them 8 points behind first placed Eura and 6 behind 2nd placed Saint Eleanor.

"There's no excuse for it." Nathaniel Cox stated. "These kinds of slip-ups is what seperates a mid table team from a podium placing team."

Analyst Hornah Reginir, intriguingly, pointed out what he thought were problems inherently in Cox's system. "The wingers are supposed to be getting into scoring situations. The pair of Lee and Redder have been too predictable, it's really worrying that in a system where the no.9 drops often, the 9 scores the majority of goals. They're not contributing nearly enough offensively to be meandering out in front, while also be completely useless defensively because of their poor work rate tracking back, particularly Barella Lee."

The Jovannic will next face West Barrack and East Obama, which will be an important match between two teams currently around the middle of the table, and a victory will be essential in remain in contention for the prized podium positions.

Catch the Jovannicans at the WCQ in action on the SportJovannic News Network Channel 1, AuroraTel Sports Premium, or other notable regional broadcasting services. Please refer to your local broadcaster central's website's list of valid broadcasters.

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The Jovannic 1-0 West Barrack and East Obama: Redder strike enough to edge Emperors past Obamen

It was a valuable three points gained for The Jovannic after a match that could be best described as "not a classic".

After the mess of a display that was the game against Lisander, Cox only made the singular change of Ricardes Volota over Jewr Clarkey at right back, which may have been seen as a questionable decision by some before kickoff.

The Obamen stuck to their extremely defensive structure as per usual, hoping to soak up any advances. Meanwhile, the Emperors basically faced no issues holding onto possession, patiently building up and attempting to exploit pacy runs from the forward trio.

There wouldn't be for an hour or so. Jovannican fans were left bored to tears as only two shots were fired in 65 minutes, must to the delight of Obamen coach Buck Obamafinakis. In the 67th however, the ball was flicked into the path of Hashan Redder, who in a moment of brilliance successfully pulled off a reverse elastico to get past left centre back Trent Vobama, and with a deft 1-2 with Huli Maringar around Barrack Denovitz. His decisive close range strike would give the home side a long awaited 1-0 lead, and the Goldan Spire, silent with boredom, awoke to fierce chants and fanfare. That was how to get through the bus.

Turns out, it wasn't. The Obamen somehow tightened at the back while simultaneously attempting to catch the Jovannicans off guard. Fertieas Pasti and co. were more than capable on the day though, and incursions from attacking duo Lily Chobamya and Fred Olibama were shut down efficiently.

Jerrett Toi would only have to make one casual stop throughout the game, as the Emperors saw out the remainder of the match without much worry.

"Frustrating? Definitely." Cox stated during the press conference afterwards. "But we came out with 3 points, very valuable 3 points from this kind of matchup."

The Jovannic will start their second half of the qualifying campaign against Saterun, in hopes of making ground on the 6 point gap between them and first place quickly.

Catch the Jovannicans at the WCQ in action on the SportJovannic News Network Channel 1, AuroraTel Sports Premium, or other notable regional broadcasting services. Please refer to your local broadcaster central's website's list of valid broadcasters.

[Naixi]

Marek Hatanici had done his homework. He read every press clipping and match reports from the 80th Baptism of Fire on the plane ride over, yes, of course, but if he was being honest he'd begun four days prior to hopping on the flight to Naixi. This was, or so he understood, something of a grudge match between two old foes. Naixi and Île de Richelieu had slugged their way through a furious group stage game in that tournament; the game's defining event had been a red card. He needed to steel himself.

At kickoff at the Huangtong Ta stadium in Wanqianganga, he'd been blunt while speaking with the Naixese and Richelois captains, Kian Zhi Yuan and Nicolas Leboeuf-Hachey, respectively. "Let's try to make it a good clean game, boys. I don't want any late tackles or time wasting. This is a football match, not a chance to wind one another up. You want to have a fistfight, you're free to do it in the parking lot afterwards, but it's not happening on my football pitch. Got it? Oh, and I expect the both of you to set an example for your squads. No dissent or back chat from anyone, okay?"

Both men had simply rudely shrugged, and Hatanici had immediately recognized he was in for a tough evening. Matches like this happened back home in Sajnur from time to time, and they strained his patience. Struggling with all his might to keep all twenty-two players on the pitch and, against all the odds, succeeding, Hatanici had made it to the fifth of five minutes of stoppage time. The Richelois were leading one nil following Austad's glancing header five minutes after the interval, and the hosts appeared to be collapsing in embarrassment.

"Where's the whistle, ref?" a hostile voice shouted. It was Grendahl-Kalberg, the Richelois goalkeeper. He was standing over a goal kick, and it was clear this was an attempt to grind a few extra seconds off the clock.

"It's not gonna come while you're standing around, I promise you that," Hatanici answered, annoyed.

Grendahl-Kalberg scoffed, and played a short goal kick to one of his center backs. The center backs passed it back and forth for a while, taking the match into the final few seconds. Hatanici checked his watch and readied his whistle.

But then, a bit of pressure as Yap caught Eriksen with his chest to goal and forced him back into the corner. Eriksen tried to turn, but that only gave Yap the chance to slide around him and knock the ball off the defender and out of play for a throw. Hatanici's assistant indicated as much with a flag pointed in the direction Naixi were attacking. Xin, a substitute full back, raced up the touchline to chuck the ball in. Her throw wasn't the best, and it fell to the feet of Leboeuf-Hachey. As the visitors' captain wound up to launch the ball into Naixi's half, Hatanici raised the whistle to his lips.

But then Leboeuf-Hachey made a mistake, scuffing the clearance back into traffic near the top of the penalty area. Hatanici made a critical choice, to let the move play out. Yuan snapped up the loose ball and swiveled outside, looking for an overlap. He found it, as Kee Tian's relentless pace put him in behind the Richelois back line. He perhaps ought to have taken the shot himself, but instead he slotted the ball back into the melee near the penalty spot. Hark arrived with a bombing run from deep, and opened up his hips to shoot. But he, too, looked for the pass. How long would the team in blue tempt Hatanici to end proceedings during a move? Hark's fake-shot-turned-through-ball was flawless, and it found the left boot of substitute striker Chu. A single redirecting touch, and the ball was in the back of the net.

The Wanqianganga crowd went ballistic. Hatanici, job done, raised his arm, pointing to the center circle, and then blew his whistle three times. One all.

OOC Note: Sorry to be so sparse this round, folks. Weekend windows are brutal for me. Character of Marek Hatanici created by Sajnur and used with explicit permission.

Matchday 10

Ko-oren 0 ⇨ Cyamou, Mizuno, yTewgneoll, yLleamaid, Betteridge, van Kalvenhaar (Kaji), Dhentingun, Entatingun (Aoriene), yCinrhadd, Tsuchimoto, Lignanier (Aomelirea)
Naixi 1 ⇨ Huang, Pao (Yep), Geng (H.K. Tan), Dong ⚽x1, Tsung, Tian, Lin, Hark, Yuan, Jin, Ling

1' Yellow Card ⇨ yCinrhadd (KOR)
5' Yellow Card ⇨ Tian (NIX)
24' Yellow Card ⇨ Dhentingun (KOR)
27' Yellow Card ⇨ Jin (NIX)
46' Yellow Card ⇨ Ling (NIX)
57' Yellow Card ⇨ Pao (NIX)
64' Goal ⇨ Dong (NIX)
66' Substitution ⇨ Entatingun OFF Aoriene ON (KOR)
72' Substitution ⇨ Geng OFF H.K. Tan ON (NIX)
73' Yellow Card ⇨ van Kalvenhaar (KOR)
73' Substitution ⇨ Lignanier OFF Aomelirea ON (KOR)
89' Substitution ⇨ van Kalvenhaar OFF Kaji ON (KOR)
92' Substitution ⇨ Pao OFF Yep ON (NIX)

Matchday 11

Naixi 1 ⇨ Huang, Yep (Xin), Geng (Ming), Dong, Tsung, Tian, Yap, Hark, Yuan, Jin, Ling (Chu ⚽x1)
Île de Richelieu 1 ⇨ Grendahl-Kalberg, Hammer, Leboeuf-Hachey, Eriksen, Dahlen, Austad ⚽x1, U. Lillegard-Omdahl, Desgroseilliers, A. Lillegard-Omdahl (Charbonneau), Bouthillette, Gouin (Généreux)

15' Yellow Card ⇨ Yuan (NIX)
42' Yellow Card ⇨ Yep (NIX)
50' Goal ⇨ Austad (RIC)
59' Substitution ⇨ Geng OFF Ming ON (NIX)
68' Substitution ⇨ Yep OFF Xin ON (NIX)
79' Substitution ⇨ Ling OFF Chu ON (NIX)
80' Yellow Card ⇨ Dahlen (RIC)
81' Yellow Card ⇨ Chu (NIX)
83' Substitution ⇨ Gouin OFF Généreux ON (RIC)
87' Substitution ⇨ A. Lillegard-Omdahl OFF Charbonneau ON (RIC)
88' Yellow Card ⇨ Jin (NIX)
92' Yellow Card ⇨ Hammer (RIC)
95' Goal ⇨ Chu (NIX)

[Pemecutan]

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5

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PEMECUTAN

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Pemecutan Kingdom
Puri Agung Pemecutan

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ca. 1766 - 1909 AD

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Royal banner

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Capital       Pamecutan
              (present day Pemecutan Puri, Puradhipa)
Languages     Girinese
Religion      Dharma Tirtha
Government    Mandala state ruled by Maharaja
King
1766 - 1787   Ki Sangga Geni
1787 - 1802   Ki Bayu Sabda
1802 - 1835   Ki Alang Pacung
1835 - 1864   Ki Pandu Brata
1864 - 1892   Ki Arya Gana
1892 - 1902   Ki Parba Geni
1902 - 1909   Ki Jaya Arsa
Preceded by   Karanganyar Kingdom
Succeeded by  Majegau Protectorate

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Part of a series on the
History of Pemecutan

Timeline

• Stone Age
• Bronze Age
• Apit Yeh Culture

• To Langkir
• Balingkang
• Kawi (Gunung Kawi)
• Payangan
• Apuan

• East Jambuvan Kingdom (467-550)
• Campuan (532-976)
• Pejanggik (808-1227)
• Tegeh Kori (976-1351)
• Karanganyar (1351-1766)
• Pemecutan (1766-1909)

• Majegau Protectorate (1909-1966)
• The World Wars
• Pemecutan Independence (1954)

Pemecutan or Pemecutan Kingdom (Girinese: Puri Agung Pemecutan), sometimes also refer as First Pemecutan Kingdom was a Dharma Tirtha mandala state kingdom centered in Giri Island. The kingdom came into existence after Ki Sangga Geni usurped the throne of Karanganyar and relinquished the royal family. The coup and power grabbing send shockwave to Karanganyar Realm which made all of the vassals raise army to restored Karanganyar Kingdom. The attempt was failed and Pemecutan stay strong as the new leader of the realm.

Etymology

Pemecutan was derived from Girinese word 'pecut' which means whip. Based on oral myth, the founder of Pemecutan dynasty, Ki Arya Salu, was a master of whipping. One time, he went to the foothill of Mount Pacung for a samadhi. During his samadhi, he got a blessing by the God in a form of a golden whip. The golden whip was believed to be a blessing from serpentine dragon God of Antaboga who is believed to reside inside Mount Pacung. It is then become the family heirloom and is use as the symbol of the family.

Map of Pemecutan Realm

History
First King, Ki Sangga Geni

As Ki Sangga Geni claimed the throne of Karanganyar and moved the capital to Puri Pemecutan, all of Karanganyar vassals decided to revolt against him. Most of his reigning years were used to warring these revolting vassals. Almost all of the former vassals were able to be conquered. His main focus however was taking a revenge to Mangu Kingdom which made his son's marriage failed. Mangu War span for almost 5 years. In 1349 Pawukon (1771 AD), Mangu accepted their lose and give the land acquired by Sangga Geni during the war into Pemecutan. The land, named Pecatu Plain was then put under the rule of Prince Tandeg Suci together with 2 islands north of Rarungan which still under Pemecutan influence. As the region became calmer, Ki Sangga Geni divided Pemecutan kingdom proper into 4 entities which surrounded the main domain. These entities were becoming the periphery of the main domain and the inner defense system of the main domain. The entities were called Mancapuri Pemecutan.

Terranean Domination and Shrinking Influence

After asserting their dominance in Majegau Islands, the later king focus on building their economy. They were already accepting their lost in controlling Cendana Islands as Cakranegara fall under Selaparang rule. While other kingdoms in Majegau such as Mangu, Kerobokan, Rarungan and Petang had admit Pemecutan hegemony despite they were not part of the kingdom. During this period, Terranean envoy started to influence Pemecutan Royal Court. Terranean had help most of Pemecutan conquest during the revolting era which made the Monarch felt indebted to them. During the reigned of Ki Sabda Bayu, the Terranean was given a patch of land in present-day Ubung to build their trading post. Gradually, the trading post expand until acquired all of present-day Ubung. The enlargement however made Bishopric of Tonja's leader, the owner of the land angry with the King's decision. Terranean influence to the Court become larger as Terranean ambassador was given a place in the Court in 1486 Pawukon (1850 AD). The decision angered both noblemen and commoner.

Traditionally, Pemecutan Royal Court was consisting of the representative of the noblemen entitled Patih Agung and the representative of the commoners entitled Patih Madya. Both of them will give advice on every issue to the King before the King give his verdict. This court system is a legacy from Campuan Kingdom, and it is still in use until today. The addition of Terranean ambassador as the third part of the advisory was seen odd because Terranean have no rights to be given that privileged. The situation worsens as most of the King's decisions were always based on the ambassador wishes and mostly ignored the opinion from both Patih. This clashed leads to noblemen revolt in 1510 Pawukon (1864 AD). Ubung-based Terranean army help the King's army to crush the rebels. While the noblemen were getting help from neighboring kingdoms who were also afraid about the growing dominance of Terranean in the area. The war ended with the victory of Terranean-Pemecutan combine army. The noblemen who were revolting were sentence to death. Petang Kingdom who were helping the noblemen was taken under Terranean controlled.

A second revolt happened in 1568 Pawukon (1898 AD). And again, Terranean leads the King's army to fight the rebel. While the rebel was helped by a joint army of Mangu, Kerobokan and Rarungan. The war ended with Terranean winning. They took control of Mangu, Kerobokan and Rarungan. Ki Parba Geni, the king at the time, realized with Terranean growing power in the region afraid that Pemecutan will be their next target. Especially after the 2 revolts, Terranean had acquired more land than they previously had (Ubung Territory).

Terranean Aggression Wars

During the early reigned of Ki Parba Geni, he begins to limit Terranean ambassador power in the Royal Court. This sudden change however was noticed by the Ambassador. Ambassador at the time, Arthur Connely, wired the mainland Terranean and asked for assistance. Ki Parba Geni was alerted after his son sudden death in 1569 Pawukon (late 1898 AD) just a few weeks after the second revolt happened. Ki Parba Geni then died in 1576 Pawukon (1902 AD). He was replaced by his grandson, Ki Jaya Arsa when he was only 16 years old (or 28 years in Pawukon year). He continues his grandfather legacy to limit Terranean power in the Court. Then in 1583 Pawukon (1906 AD), Terranean declare war to Pemecutan. The royal family waging a Puputan War, a term means war until your last breath. Almost all of the core Royal Family were dead during the siege of the capital including the queen and the first daughter. The crown prince however was being escorted out of the palace before Terranean army reached the capital. The Crown Prince was Ki Jaya Arsa's brother, Ki Arya Sadha. It only took 8 months for Terranean to conquered Pemecutan. Despite the main kingdom had been conquered, Pemecutan vassals raise their armies and waging wars against Terranean. The constant wars were continued until 1586 Pawukon (1908 AD) when the last vassal, Kesiman, surrender. The crown prince, Ki Arya Sadha was captured and put into a jail.

A talk was then held to determine the future of Majegau Islands. And with the agreement of the whole leaders of Majegau's entities, the area was agreed to be united under a protectorate rule of Terranean Empire. And it was called Majegau Protectorate. The protectorate was officially established in 1588 Pawukon (1909 AD). This resulting in the official end of Pemecutan Kingdom.

Karang Agung and the 4 Mancapuri

Territory division

Pemecutan took the area once controlled by Karanganyar, the main kingdom. They gradually expand their influence during the warring era to assert their authority to the former vassals of Karanganyar. They were succeeded, mostly. Some were lost in the way such as Cakranegara, Petang, Mangu and Kerobokan. After the warring era ended, Ki Sangga Geni divided the realm into 3 main divisions.

• Karang Agung, it is the main domain of King of Pemecutan consisting of the heartland of the kingdom. It is directly controlled by the King. Other entities under the King direct control were Griya Tegal, Jero Pemedilan, Pakraman Pemeregan, Jero Alangkajeng and Pakraman Celagigendong.
• Mancapuri, this entity is similar to an autonomous province. It is lead by King's relatives. Mancapuri function as the guard of the King's domain or the Karang Agung. There were 4 Mancapuri created by Ki Sangga Geni; Puri Agung Gerenceng, Jero Gede Jematang, Puri Agung Tambapuri and Puri Agung Gelogor.
• Nagari, it is the vassal of Pemecutan. They are completely independence except for defense and international representation. Nagari's government were varied between a petty king, dukes, princes, bendesa (in city-state or republic vassal) and even pandita (similar to bishop in holy state or bishopric vassal). There are 37 nagari of Pemecutan. The most powerful was Puri Agung Kesiman.

The fourth division was existed. It was named Mancanagari. This entity however was independence nation outside of Pemecutan and its vassals but accepted the kingdom's superiority in the area. The entities under this division were Mangu, Kerobokan, Petang and Rarungan. Present-day Ubung was divided at the time between Pakraman Pohgading and Griya Tonja. The western part was given to Terranean at first from Pohgading area. Then the eastern part was taken from Tonja's area which also cut-off Tonja's coastal area.

Legacy

Puri Agung Pamecutan, the royal palace of Pemecutan is still standing today and is currently become the official residence of Pemecutan's Ratu Hawir Bhuja, the Paramount King of Pemecutan.

Puputan Park is a park established in front of Puri Agung Pamecutan as a commemoration of Puputan War in 1583 Pawukon.

The 4 Mancapuri are still exist today in the form of a county of the State of Karang Agung. Karang Agung is currently have 6 counties, Alangkajeng, Tegal, Gerenceng, Gelogor, Jematang and Tambapuri.

Puri Agung Pemecutan main gate and the Bale Kulkul or the bell tower

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MD 10
Pemecutan 1 - 3 Yuezhou
@ Tegeh Kori National Stadium, Tegeh Kori, Puradhipa

Substitution:
Ngurah Agung Rai Putra <---> Yahya Kusuma (50')
Dewa Putu Mahardika <---> Ngurah Artha Ardana (57')
Oscar Tri Atmaja <---> Alvino Bastian (72')

Goal:
Gede Putra Arimbawa (33')

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MD 11
Kamijiro 5 - 5 Pemecutan
@ Rose Garden, St. Jerome

Substitution:
Eka Putra Ananda <---> Arif Rahman Salim (55')
Gede Putra Arimbawa <---> Pandu Oka Jaya (61')
Gede Arya Damar <---> Yahya Kusuma (70')

Goal:
Gede Putra Arimbawa (11')
Wisnu Pramana (33', 79')
Satria Wiradarma (51')
Dewa Putu Mahardika (88')

MD 12
Baggieland v Pemecutan
@ Tegeh Kori National Stadium, Tegeh Kori, Puradhipa

MD 13
Pemecutan v Nekohime
@ Ubung Arena, Ubung Metropolitan City

ROSTER
Formation : 4-3-3
Starters :
#48 GK Wira Putra
#02 LB Arif Rahman Salim
#03 CB Yahya Kusuma
#04 CB Vikram Shankar
#05 RB Alvino Bastian
#06 LM Agus Kusumawijaya
#07 CM Rama Karyadi
#08 RM Rian Kusuma
#09 ST Irfan Rahadi
#10 ST Wisnu Pramana
#11 AT Arya Tungga Wijaya

Reserved :
#52 GK Wayan Arya Tenaya
#50 GK Hadi Chandra Gunawan
#14 LB Dwi Putra Kusuma
#15 CB Surya Brata Wijaya
#16 CB Yudha Dewanantha
#17 RB Septiandi Rai Putra
#19 RB Putu Meganada
#20 LM Dwi Putra Ariana
#28 LM Putu Pande Suthawijaya
#21 CM Agus Setiahadi
#24 CM Diah Wahyu Ananda
#22 RM Samsul Hermawan
#31 ST Ngakan Putu Satria Wibawa
#34 ST Pandu Oka Jaya
#35 AT Reza Dirga

Role :
Captain : Rama Karyadi
Vice Captain : Agus Kusumawijaya
Corner kick, left : Arif Rahman Salim
Corner kick, right : Alvino Bastian
Free kick : Rama Karyadi or Arya Tungga Wijaya
Penalty : Wisnu Pramana or Irfan Rahadi

[Trolleborg]

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV... how happy we are that today we can not focus on the weird results of WCQ, but just move on to another batch of films on the football theme. Today, as usual, we have three films to talk of.

And the first one we introduce to you is "S.S.F.A." This abbreviation in our language means "Society of Especially Dangerous Anonymous". Film critics, when asked what the genre of this film was universally answered "absurdist comedy" – and this precisely what we seen. This is one of three most controversial films at the whole festival, and only first of three to go into our review. As you know, those responsible for organizing tournaments at the international level never publish any information about the referees involved. A technologically advanced society like ours can identify all sorts of creatures, if having need, but the problem is not that, but that, as is often the case with various aspects of international competitions, a lot of things is done haphazardly and without much interest in the consequences. So the authors of the film went further and gave many facts that are known to the general public a completely sinister meaning. According to the plot, a group of people from different countries who work as referees at international matches, worked together to provide the results they see fit while using the anonymity of the refereeing corps as clout. Moreover, some of the members of the group do this out of direct selfish calculation, earning money on making odds, and sincerely believe that this is the meaning of the existence of the whole group. And the other part, hiding behind the first just in case, does much more serious things, and is able, while influencing the outcome of matches, to put pressure on political forces and economic processes in different countries. Many jokes and situations are on the verge of a foul and in the yellow zone of perception by the broad masses of the Trolleborg public, but can such a plot be realized by some other means? Also, the authors of the film were loudly criticized for the refusal of interactive inserts, but it does not seem that he lost from this.

The second number today will be "Construction". In the history of our cinema, this is the fourth, and the newest, film adaptation of the plot about the construction of the December 1 stadium. One could say “fourth classic”, since there were several more attempts to consider the same plot from other perspectives, but, in general, public opinion does not perceive them as a development of the same plot, but simply as borrowing characters and a set from it for their own ends. In the center of the film are events related to the idea of tens of thousands of people who, through their voluntary work, made it possible to build a huge stadium bowl in the conditions of severe post-war devastation in the hope of commemorate the changes that have taken place in the life of the country and erecting a grandiose civil work monument to the grandiose work already done on the battlefields. The first two versions clearly showed the conflicts inherited by the country from the time before that very fateful December 1, which is so honored in our country. In the third, this topic was already smoothed over and used as an accelerating block for a story about the life of ordinary people in the first years after the events and the moral transformation of the volunteer builders. And now the fourth refocused on the activities of the organizers of the works and those who led the country to victory on December 1, against the backdrop of construction initiated from below at a time when it seems completely unreasonable to focus on building a cyclopean sports facility instead of something more fit to the truly desperate conditions of the country. While having much urgent tasks on hands, they are must also take into account what people want to do. The director was scolded before film release for the arrogance with which he took on a complex story already so well-lit, but he coped with the difficult task of saying something new. Many spectators was so moved by the film, that they are find it very difficult to reconcile again with constant defeats of national team at home, at the stadium on the construction of which so much effort has been spent in the name of a great future.

The third film, “Pleasing Destiny”, perhaps, can argue for the title of the most unusual of today's three. In fact, it is not clear whether it should be considered a film at all, and, as far as is known, the organizers of the festival argued long and hard on this topic. The authors took the traditional art of the southwestern part of Trolleborg, which many abroad of our country attributed as the puppet theater, and based on it a film about the history of the first years of our team, and the players, fans and functionaries were displayed. The task is already not easy, and even more so in this format. It is in this version of the puppet theater that the formal features of the puppets themselves play a special role - clothing, appearance, color, manner of “moving” allow the viewer to immediately decipher many features of specific characters, without wasting time on introducing them. And so the filmmakers undertook to convey these signs right on the go, and found several good moves to make the viewer understand how in sports people sometime go from heroes to villains in a matter of seconds. The film did not win a large audience, but received well-deserved recognition as a bold and rather successful experiment.

That's all for today, and we are cheer for our lads who just begins second part of tournament. Under the conditions in this qualifying cycle, probably we can't change anything and any our efforts have no effect at all, but you still need to support your team.

[Tumbra]

Stevencousin 1-2 Tumbra

TMB (4-2-3-1): 12 - V Jones; 45 - S Kemp (2 - A Renton, 75'), 4 - I Ashburn, 20 - C Whitfield (5 - S Kerr, 45'), 19 - J Green; 6 - T Harrison (32 - L McCormick, 85'), 8 - V Hicks (33 - W Thomas, 80'), 35 - N Coleman; 7 - V Wells, 21 - J Hardaker; 11 - N Riordan (38 - H Canavan, 85')

TMB scorers: Vincent Hicks (31'), Valerie Wells (84')

Player of the Match: Valerie Wells [TMB]

---

Tumbra 1-1 Acastanha

TMB (4-2-3-1): 1 - N Barker; 2 - A Renton, 5 - S Kerr, 14 - W Pritchett, 3 - T Mercurio; 15 - M Finnemore (6 - T Harrison, 75'), 16 - I Robertson (8 - V Hicks, 71'), 10 - P Cole (35 - N Coleman, 71'); 7 - V Wells, 9 - L Crossley (21 - J Hardaker, 82'); 11 - N Riordan (22 - C Henshaw, 75')

TMB scorers: Nick Riordan (66')

Player of the Match: Plinio Adondare [ACS]

---

Carpathia and Ruthenia 1–6 Tumbra

TMB (4-2-3-1): 13 - R Russell; 2 - A Renton (18 - C Finney, 70'), 4 - I Ashburn (14 - W Pritchett, 70'), 5 - S Kerr (20 - C Whitfield, 81'), 3 - T Mercurio; 42 - H Watson, 33 - W Thomas (16 - I Robertson, 78'), 35 - N Coleman (10 - P Cole, 81'); 36 - J Reed, 9 - L Crossley; 22 - C Henshaw

TMB scorers: Wendy Thomas (12'), Charlotte Henshaw (25', 66', 79'), Natalie Coleman (35'), Julie Hardaker (47')

Player of the Match: Charlotte Henshaw

Somewhere in Esportiva

"I never thought they'd ever let Evening at Mount Vernon out of its gilded cage," murmured the man looking at a table full of papers, plans, maps, and knick-knacks. "Never."

"Well, 'Kontiola', are you having second thoughts?" asked a woman leaning slightly over him, holding him by the waist. "You know it's not too late to turn back, you know."

"Never, 'Cantor', I'd never dream of it. All my life I've been planning this. The thought of being able to have my hands on an authentic Rowan...being able to sell it for millions..." said 'Kontiola', leaning into the woman's touch. "And being able to secure our future."

"Audioslavia?"

"Perhaps. Maybe that island where time seems to pass slower than others. We've earned it, after all."

"Maybe even pick up some of those knackerbockers," the woman sniggered.

"With all due respect, 'Kontiola', we've got less than twenty-four hours to go until the plan's put into action. It'd be nice if we were able to go through the plan again," said a gruff voice in the corner, holding a shotgun and polishing it. He, along with the other faces in the dimly-lit room surrounded by metal shelves chock-full of crime-fulfilling impediments, looked a tad uncomfortable at the shows of affection going on between the two people at the head of the table.

"All in good time, 'Edgeli', all in good time," said 'Kontiola', evidently displeased at having to distract himself from the person who was next to him. "So, sixteen of us, one painting. For years, we've been planning this; and now, because they've moved the painting out of its iron jail, we've got a fair opportunity to move in and take it. Potential take: Anywhere from three hundred million to three billion. Each of you here are entitled to 5% of the revenue arising from the future sale of this painting; 'Cantor' and I are entitled to 7.5%.

"So, here's the plan again. The painting is housed in a large marquee on the grounds of the Esportivan Cultural Festival. At three o'clock sharp, there's a change of security guards. Eight guards are on duty at any one time; two at each of the three entrances of the tent, and two next to the painting at any one time. They're treating this very seriously. Which is what I would have said if the security guards were taking their job seriously."

"Wait, so we're really going in in the middle of the day?" came a voice from a mousey-looking woman in the corner of the room. "Won't — won't we get spotted?"

"Not to worry, 'DiMarini', we've got precautions. Full face helmets, pink jumpsuits that'll let us tell who's us and who's not us in the middle of it all, and everything. Combat grade, et cetera. And yes, we will be spotted; that's the whole point."

"I don't know..."

"Anyway, at three there'll also be a short window where the exhibition is closed for cleaning. That's where we come in. We've gotten 'Spinelli', 'Ivanovic', 'Mancini', and 'Blackthorn' hired as the cleaners. We've all got 'Amos' to thank for this; without her whiz-kid skills this part wouldn't be possible. With your cleaners' bags, each of you, you've got a tin of knockout gas. Set it off; get your masks on before I have four useless members of this squad and we have to drag you out of there feet first. The security guards will likely fall unconscious; that's when the rest of us move in."

" 'Hemmings' and 'Castillas', I want you to be on-site with the vans five minutes before the four set their canisters off. That's where the muscle comes in." 'Kontiola' gestured towards four other people clad in shadow near the rear of the room. " 'McAllister', 'Camden', 'Ashdown', and 'Anac'. And you, of course, 'Edgeli', you'll be the leader."

"I do not want to kill people," said 'Anac'.

"If all goes well, then nobody dies."

"I still think this plan is foolish, 'Kontiola'. For years now we have been planning the heist around the National Museum. We got the whole thing down to fifty-five minutes! And now they move the painting out to Cap Nord and you treat it as some kind of golden opportunity, some kind of 'ticket' to riches. We could easily use this time to further case the museum, prepare it...and you want to go for this."

" 'Anac', it's nothing of the sort, big man," said 'Kontiola', evidently a bit more cocksure of himself. "Robbing the painting now, and here, will be much easier than doing it in Tumbra."

"I still do not see the benefit of going in all-guns blazing."

"It's too bloody late now, 'Anac'," sneered 'Kontiola'. "Anyway, while the five of you are causing chaos and making it look like there's a terrorist attack on the whole festival, 'Cantor', 'DiMarini' and I will be gently removing the painting from its proper place. 'Gabriel', you'll be in charge of things at the airfield; 'Amos', you'll be fucking around with the Capnordic traffic lights to ensure that we'll be able to get away in our vans. The city will likely be in lockdown; both 'Castillas' and 'Hemmings' know where to go, so just keep in contact with them until they reach you. We'll be out of Cap Nord by the end of the day; then we can fly somewhere like Lozho to continue our next steps."

'Anac' grunted, evidently in disapproval.

"It's a simple plan, alright? We go in, we nab the fucking painting, we get out, and we're set for the rest of our bloody lives. By St. Margaret, the heist will go well. Any questions?"

'Blackthorn' raised his hand.

"Yes, 'Blackthorn'?"

"Can I be called Auðbjörnsson instead? I fucking hate 1830 Cathair."

"I'm not fucking calling out "Auðbjörnsson" in the middle of a firefight, dumbass. One, that name's unpronounceable, two, it's got too many syllables, three, I'm not having a Pasargan in this place when we're playing them in the World Cup qualifiers. Any other questions?"

"We should've been named after capital cities," said 'Gabriel.'

"Shut it, you. What do you think this is, some kind of money heist? No, we're doing art. Football is art, so we're taking the names of football managers."

"Would rather have been called Vetiver, she's proper mint."

"Do we have any non-name related questions? No? Good. See you in...sixteen hours, ladies and gentlemen."

26-PLAYER SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP 94 QUALIFIER MATCHES vs PASARGA and vs. MERTAGNE
Link to full roster
Goalkeepers: 1 - Nick Barker (FC Inter Nantwich), 12 - Victoria Jones (Lakewood City), 13 - Richard Russell (Lakewood United)
Defenders: 2 - Annie Renton (Victoriaville City, CDG), 18 - Chris Finney (Serrapince); 4 - Ian Ashburn (Lakewood City), 5 - Stephen Kerr (Chromatik, CMT), 14 - Wendy Pritchett (Grande Mountain, CDG), 20 - Christine Whitfield (Myana, CMT), 24 - Yvonne Lawson (St. John's Arsenal, QUE); 3 - Tracey Mercurio (Kingston FC, QUE), 19 - James Green (Bavingtor FC)
Midfielders: 6 - Trudy Harrison (Chromatik, CMT), 15 - Mark Finnemore (Couno Rangers), 32 - Lucas McCormick (Lakewood City); 8 - Vincent Hicks (Couno Rangers), 16 - Ian Robertson (Ridgewell Rovers), 33 - Wendy Thomas (Alnio, CMT); 10 - Phil Cole (Osarese Marcadia, AUD), 35 - Natalie Coleman (Bikarish, PFA)
Wingers: 7 - Valerie Wells (AFC Treason, NPH), 17 - Rebecca Haines (FC Inter Nantwich, TMB); 9 - Lynne Crossley (Crossroads, CMT), 21 - Julie Hardaker (Myana, CMT)
Strikers: 11 - Nick Riordan (Sabrefell Moths, NPH), 22 - Charlotte Henshaw (Lakewood City)

[Delte]

---

Delte 0–0 Torisakia
Sports Correspondent Kim Samrodd at Ildemorton Road for the Marshlock Wetland Review

---

I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this match, and it goes without saying that Enor Perro was our best player yet again and Perran Garrimund the best defender still keeping me out of the starting line-up, but certainly mention should be made of substitute striker Onve Sildan's two penalty misses that really rather frustrated even the stoic Deltic supporters as The Representatives failed to make chances pay against the Torisakians. On for Tai Cerotha who looks in need of a rest, with twenty minutes to go, Onve took his first penalty when fellow striker Irki Mynster was upended in the box by Darion 'Arisson, the Centre 'Arf. Irki was about to spot the ball when Onve took it upon himself to overrule the general order of things and insist on taking the penalty. He missed. When 'Arisson 'ammered Onve 'imself just five an' an 'arf minutes later and 'ad 'im laid out on the turf, captain 'Enor Perro - sorry, that should read captain Enor Perro - decided Onve should have the hopportunity to make hamends. 'E missed, hagain. Oh dear me.

At the same time, or maybe a few minutes before...

---

Hopal 0–5 Delte
Segmental Paving Specialist & temporary Player-Reporter Cerril Nysald in Hopton or maybe Port Hope or possibly Laurent, Hopal for Sheeps & Cows & Salmons & Trouts Farmer's Bulletin

---

I've been briefed not to dwell overly long on the finer details of our match but suffice it to say the Away Team Mission ensured that The Representatives finished the first half of qualifying at the top of the table as young Henry Lightman continued to attract minimal attention to become not only the youngest player to score a hattrick for the Reps, but now the first to do so in consecutive matches. I do believe even captain Enor Perro hasn't managed that, and he's a professional.

I hear the home team failed to get clean past Torisakia and their dropped aitches - or haitches, as some spittalninney slangers like to 'ave it - but still, top after a fortnight, half way there, we'd take that wouldn't we? Not 'arf.

---

The Clench
4/6: The Job Interview

---

“Hallo? Can you hear me?” Coach Enda Clentin, the old PE teacher of Oswark Grammar School and former coach of The Representatives, tapped the screen as if that would somehow make a difference.

“Can they hear me?” he asked the empty room.

The Gnejsian virtual video interview panel had been asking all the questions, and Coach Clentin had plenty of answers. The problem was that for the most part they were all on mute so they hadn’t heard each other. Who even knows if the coach had the answers to the questions the interviewers were asking?

It had taken the honorable executive members of PUFF a couple of World Cup cycles to track down the mythical figure that the Cracquet delegation had called ‘Clench’, by which time of course the old coach had decided he wasn’t going to leave the valley again on account of the FFS, or Far Faraway Syndrome, which caused the Deltic people to age rapidly away from the fresh airs and rejuvenating waters of the River Delte. But the Delts had come up with their own solution to the problem in the shape of Blymmin Cable Inc., the only AV cable company in the valley, who had jerry-rigged an impressive remote video coaching system for the last World Cup. The results were debatable - one point from nine in the group stage - but that hadn’t deterred PUFF.

The interview panel consisted of two devotees of Coach Clentin’s ‘stoicpress’, an exciting high pressing tactic with the excitement kept to a minimum because, well, excitement is emotional and the Delts prefer to keep emotions to a minimum. No point in getting excited, as they frequently say. Valdemar Horn and Sverker Danielsson had been studying the stoicpress whilst in pursuit of Clench, and were excited to be in the virtual room with the man they were convinced would lead the Dandelions to glory. Also on the panel was Svea Vichy, the chair, who was yet to be convinced that the technology was in place for Remote Video Coaching, and Thom Öland, who was a cracquet man himself but had a useful facility for the Deltic language just in case things got lost in translation. All four had decided to work from home and tuned in to the virtual meeting from their studies or home offices or garages or, in the case of Sverker, the children’s bedroom where was to be found the only computer in the house.

Translation turned out to be the least of their problems. The the deep basso profundo timbre of the Delts, who live at such slower life-speed than the rest of the world, played havoc with their speaker systems and Sverker’s childrens’ sub-woofer, left dialled up to eleven, nearly blew the house down when Coach Clentin logged into the virtual room and said “Good afternoon”. The panel chair temporarily muted the coach in a panicked reaction and it took some time before anyone figured out that Coach Clentin could only unmute himself - but didn’t know that himself. Meanwhile Sverker,having frightened his household into thinking he’d been tinkering with his children’s chemistry set and blown the roof off the house, was engaged in a reassuring shouting match with his wife and children who were downstairs and too afraid to come up. After several requests from the chair for him to quieten down or mute himself, Svea did it for him, but not before expending a deal of energy shouting to get Sverker’s attention. Valdemar accidentally muted himself in trying to manage the various feeds that were competing for decibels. Coach Clentin didn’t catch any of it though as he had forgotten to plug his speakers in and, after tapping the screen to see if everyone could hear him and not realising he had been muted by the chair, decided that these Gnejsians were a quiet lot and perhaps he should just describe how to press the opposition in a stoic but persistent manner.

“Did they hear me?” he asked nobody in particular, when he’d finished.

“That went well, I thought,” said Thom Öland to the panel, after Coach Clentin had logged out, and Thom had found the unmute button.

[Sargossa]

There was a time when sitting above Starblaydia at the halfway point of a World Cup qualification campaign was indicative of a highly productive run of matches. Sadly, the Purple Peril are a mauve shadow of their former power, and by no means among the favourites for a precious place in the Finals. That the Corsairs sit above the ‘Blaydis on goal difference alone says something for how the men in darker blue have fallen too. Still, Jhanna provided a suitably historic backdrop for what was the Sargossan national side’s twelve hundredth senior international fixture. The two-nil victory also helped to make the milestone somewhat memorable. Their current crop may be haunted by the ghosts of those who wore the famous ediraf kit in years gone by, but Starblaydia will always remain a significant name regardless.

For Sargossa, recent history has shown that it has been the fixtures against the less significant names that has proven the Corsairs’ undoing. Slavko Jelic is no stranger to making a side hard to beat, he’s been doing it for decades. Indeed, a mark of his reign has been battling displays against the sportiverse’s very best. The narrow Copa Rushmori defeat to Græntfjall in only his fourth game in charge. The semi-final loss to Cassadaigua. The hard-won point against Farfadillis. The Copa victory over Nephara, the Cup of Harmony win against Eura. The brave reversal in his Mytanar homeland during this very campaign. The victories were memorable, the rest were at least creditable. But then comes those fixtures against the more obscure nations. In this qualficaition competition alone Sargossa have been held by Al-Tamazgha (ranked 131st), Josifovo (ranked 209th) and Boring Paradise (ranked 121st) and suffered the ignominy of a loss away to The Spartan Dominion (ranked 294th). Nine winnable points that have vanished into the ether. Nine points that could have left the Corsairs comfortably in second place at this stage, rather than drifting off the pace in fourth.

The drift had looked even worse ahead of what was probably a must win trip to Sylestone. Not must-win from a qualifying for the World Cup Finals standpoint, you understand. Just a must-win from a finishing Group 14 in something like a respectable position standpoint. Such are the ambitions for nations such as we. Ahead of the trip to The Trees, Sargossa were down in sixth place in Group 14, with opponents Sylestone one of the nations above. The Sentients are a tough, if somewhat confusing, side and hold a winning record over the Corsairs. Winning the one previous fixture between the nations in the third place playoff at the 78th Cup of Harmony.

The touchline witnessed an all-Mytanar battle of wits as the wily Slavko Jelic tested his mettle against younger compatriot Mojmir Anac in the home dugout. Interestingly, Anac has seemingly avoided the more curious members of the Sylestone roster in favour of more conventional (ie: not plumbed in) players. His human charges certainly matched Jelic’s Corsairs for much of the contest. A contest decided by a late moment of magic as Elías Pozo slid a majestic ball into the path of Lucas Recoba with four minutes of normal time left on the clock. Recoba took aim and fired a low, diagonal drive from the edge of box. It skittered low passed Ryan Macleay and nestled into the corner. The small pocket of Sargossan support cheered, only to be drowned out by the groans from the home support. Given where we were the clock too probably had some vocal thoughts on the matter.

The Corsairs had started the day five points behind Sylestone, they ended it with a two point deficit instead. The win, thanks to results elsewhere, also saw Sargossa leapfrog both Starblaydia and Josifovo. Third place could be all that’s left to play for at this stage. Banija are cruising into the Finals, while the Mytanars are unlikely to be shifted from second place. Which leaves third place as the potentially gettable bauble. And, if past experience is anything to go by, Sargossa will indeed flirt outrageously with that spot. Before a catastrophic run right at the end of the campaign will see them drop into sixth. Although, in all honesty, we’d probably just settle for finishing above the sentient toilet.

[Pasarga]

Ten games played, twenty-five points earned, only having dropped points twice which includes the opening matchday trip to Tumbra and the loss there. While there have obviously been peaks and valleys with the performance of the team or specific parts of the team during the run, the Wanderers can consider the first half of the campaign to be a relatively strong one and hopefully a pace that can be kept and built upon. The battle for the top spot in the group as well as the playoff spots is hotly contested within Group 1, the top three teams in the group only separated by three points and the Wanderers at the head of that table looking to set the pace for the rest of the group to keep up. Leading the way is a far better feeling than having to do the chasing, it is a feeling that the Wanderers know all too well after the last three Qualifying campaigns where they have had to scramble through the second half of the campaign and earn their way back into playoff contention in order to qualify. Fortunately, the side has found Orengo's stylistic shift more easily than before and hit the ground running with it.

The need to keep pushing forward at all ahead full and not let up is especially prominent in the first international break after the halfway park, as the two teams that are hot on the Wanderers' trail to take the group title are the very two teams that the Wanderers will have to face in the second half of the campaign. Fortunately for the team, this time Tumbra will be coming to visit the dual islands, with the full Stade de Torgos to be at a capacity crowd of ninety thousand to help push on the team to get a much desired result for their qualification fortunes. A win over the first team would give the Wanderers a six point gap over the group favorites and allow them a bit of breathing room for an error or unexpected result further down the campaign line. While Tumbra was able to mostly dictate the game in the opening match between the two sides, Orengo's team has really come into their own as the campaign has progressed, with a five game winning streak during the first half as a testament to the ability to the fact. Nerves are not likely to be in the way of the side and should the team get a result at home like they desire, it goes a long way towards helping them achieve their desired goals for the campaign.

There is no rest for the weary though, with a trip to second placed Acastanha following the home match with Tumbra. The fourth seed has been a bit of a surprise factor in the group, having overtaken third seed Mertagne which have been thought to be on paper the biggest threat to either the Wanderers or Tumbra from taking the top spot of the group. Unfortunately for the Anaia nation, they have floundered and sit ten points adrift from the Wanderers at the top spot while Acastanha sitting only two points back from the Wanderers, with their only loss in the campaign coming to Pasarga, as well as a pair of draws one of which was against Tumbra itself. The result against Tumbra shows that this run of good fortune is not merely a case of beating up against the worst teams in the group to perhaps inflate your point tally, but that they a legitimate contenders for the group title. Getting any sort of result in the trip would be a major boon but if this window was to produce six points for the Wanderers, it could well see the team with the ability to coast through the rest of the group. Dropping any manner of points however and the second half of this campaign can very easily turn into a similar situation as to the last three, where desperation and a bit of good fortune were needed to see Pasarga through on to the desired destination.

[Tikariot]

Part 1 of Darkness Descends
Part 2 of Darkness Descends
Part 3 of Darkness Descends
Part 4 of Darkness Descends
Part 5 of Darkness Descends
Part 6 of Darkness Descends

Myfanwy stops, flabbergasted. “You didn’t think it would work? What would you have done if it didn’t agree?”

Without stopping The Shadow chuckles. “Improvise.”

They continue trailing the swamp, the writhing and wailing figures in the ground and the stagnant pools of water raising a cacophony of sorrow. Eventually, the swamp gives way to dry land, and in the shallow, murky light, they approach a large wall that spans from horizon to horizon, made from large, dark, roughly hewn, irregular bricks. The large stone arch has all sorts of unholy symbols carved into the stone.

As they stop before the arch, The Shadow raises his head to look at the symbols and recites the prophecy.

”Within the sixth circle's heresy, a soul lies steeped in lies,
Denying truths to push their cause, deceit deep in their eyes.
Expose the one whose falsehoods are poisoning the land,
Unravel their web of lies with a righteous hand.”

He looks at his companions, who nod before stepping through the arch. The difference could hardly be much bigger, with the humid, fetid swamp replaced by a desolate sight. A long, wide path of dark, cracked stone, with crags of rock to either side. It looks like the landscape is dotted with hundreds, if not thousands, of torches, like little pinpricks of flickering flame as far as the eye can see.

They advance, and there is no movement whatsoever besides the dancing fire of the torches. After what feels like an eternity of neverending and never changing desolation, the landscape changes, with fires breaking through the dark rock and structures visible toward the edges, looking like churches and temples, broken and charred, with broken spires and belfries. Strange whispers begin to float on the stale air, their words unintelligible.

As they continue on, the landscape is scattered with tombs and mausoleums, representing the final resting places of those who embraced heretical beliefs during their mortal lives. The diverse tombs reflect the wide range of heresies that once plagued humanity.

The structures are partially collapsed and crumbling, and while they are engulfed in flames, the air is getting colder, the chill in stark contrast to the fires all around them. The whispers start to get louder despite them not seeing anybody around. A heavy feeling of uneasiness settles over them, constantly looking over their shoulders, always anticipating to see someone - something in the shadows.

The further they progress, the worse it gets. Tormented souls inhabit these graves, suffering in their eternal confinement. They lie entombed in fiery coffins, and flames dance atop the graves, flickering with an eerie light that casts grotesque shadows upon the scene. Then, they finally see the first figures emerging from the shadows, vaguely humanoid but somehow translucent and ethereal, as they rise from their fiery tombs.

As soon as the shadows emerge, they engage in fierce debates with each other, the sound of whispers rising in volume, echoing through the cold air without any of their words intelligible. Despite this, their tone is filled with bitterness and regret, unable to escape the consequences of their choices.

They progress further, and the inferno grows, with fire all around them, mausoleums, graves, and coffins, all engulfed in a fiery maelstrom of flame, yet the air is as cold as if they were standing in the middle of an icy cave. None of the figures pay any heed to their passing.

“They all look the same; how will we figure out who we’re looking for?” Alistair says as he looks around.

The Shadow stops, his eyes scanning the burning structures all around. “I - don’t know. So far, it always has been pretty obvious, but here…” he trails off as he vaguely gestures at their surroundings.

They continue to wander around, hoping that they would find the one the prophecy had been talking about, but all they see is chaos and confusion, with the ethereal figures engaged in neverending debates, their whispers a deafening roar around them.

Suddenly a louder whisper breaks through the din “Let go…” The Shadow looks at the others, who seem to have heard the same whisper as they all were scanning their surroundings to find the source.

“Cast aside your faith…”

The voice seems to manifest itself right inside their heads as there is no visible source.

“The comfort you feel is just a mere mirage…”

A larger, darker shape seems to be swirling around them, amorphous, constantly in motion, making it impossible to follow among the dancing shadows cast by the flames all around them.

“I can liberate you from the chains of expectations and the false comforts…”

With every sentence, the shape becomes more humanoid.

“Imagine a life free from the cold, indifferent forces feasting on your beliefs, promising you a redemption that will never come…”

Suddenly the shape manifests itself in front of them, a human, its features moulding out of the shapeless dark to reveal a face with an unmoving smile etched into it. Its eyes are dark and full of fervour.

“Abandon your hopes, relinquish your aspiration for salvation.”

It slowly walks around them, its gaze wandering from one to the next.

“Look around you. They are unable to let go. They are damned to spend the rest of their miserable existing arguing, debating, wailing because they are unwilling to give in, to give up.”

A dark hand reaches out toward Myfanwy who recoils in horror. The Shadow puts himself between the Heretic and her. “What makes you believe that I aspire for salvation?”

It chuckles. “Why else would you be here?”

“Because you are tired of your life, full of false hopes that you know are never going to materialize?”

“You draw your strength from the weakness of others. Feast on their insecurity. Undermine their beliefs, regardless of what they believe in.”

The Heretic stops and looks at him. “Ooh, someone sees right through me.” It laughs, the sound grating and hollow. Then it moves close to The Shadow with one quick move, its face inches away from his. “You are correct, but nothing and nobody can stop me.”

“Offering them liberation is the same as their hope for salvation. They cannot and will not gain anything from giving in to you.”

“So you want to end like them?”

The Shadow chuckles. “No.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Give yourself to me, and I will make your dreams come true.”

“I would have to believe in you and show faith in you. That would make you nothing better than what you proclaim to stand against.”

The Heretic pulls back and opens his mouth in retort, but The Shadow doesn’t give him the opportunity. “I have no faith you can break, no insecurity to draw from. I believe in myself. I know my strengths and my weaknesses.”

Hearing these words, the Heretic retreats more, and The Shadow presses on. “You hold no power over me. You are trying to exploit something that is not there.”

The image of the Heretic begins to flicker, the dark, amorphous shape starting to bleed through. “No, you’re wrong, I hold all the power!”

“Without faith, you don’t exist. I have no faith.”

The flickers become stronger, and the look on the Heretic’s face quickly turns from confident to one of horror, and it opens its mouth.

“You - are - nothing.”

A wailing shriek emits from the Heretic as it struggles to hold its human form. The Shadow lunges forward as it vainly attempts to cling to its physical form and reaches for its hand. It hisses as he grabs it, trying to swipe at him with his other arm but it has turned black and the amorphous shape passes right through The Shadow. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it blinks out of existence, the only sound the deafening whisper of the figures around them engaged in their eternal debate.

The Shadow had fallen to the ground in the struggle and Myfanwy rushes to his side. He raises his arm to show another ring in his hand.

---

Line-up for Match Day 12 against United States of Devonta

Line-up for Match Day 13 against New Dascos

OOC: Images of the sixth circle of hell are Midjourney, the rest is mine.

[Valanora]

"Lothas, Indra, into my office now, if you'd please." the Euran called to the two star players who had been such a point on controversy in the Empire as to them having been relegated to the bench at the start of the campaign. Everyone knew the reasons for it and it was hard to argue that the manager had not made the right choice, yet the results on the field had been not as dominant as the fans of the Marauders might have liked. An unbeaten record at the halfway stage was by no means bad but two home draws were a huge blemish on the record and were keeping the rest of the group within touching distance of the team if the Marauders were to even find a patch of poor form during the rest of the qualifying campaign.

The two players nodded to the manager, wiping the sweat off themselves instead of heading to the showers like they had planned to after the training sessions for the day. Stepping into the small enclosed room, the pair took a seat across from Eastwood who was looking over scouting reports as well as the lineup sheets that he was planning on putting together for the upcoming pair of matches to start off the second half of qualifying. "I am sure you both know why you are in here and so I am not going to try to dress it up or prolong it any longer. Lothas, you are going to be replacing Jutta in the starting lineup for the rest of the campaign or until I decide to change my mind. Indra, you will be splitting starts with Julia. You have both done what I asked of you and have earned your spots back in the lineup, but I expect you to keep doing that job to maintain those spots, understood?" It was not a stern look that he gave them, but one of firmness one might expect from a manager who had won everything everywhere he went. The only thing missing from that resume was a World Cup title and the Marauders were the best bet to getting that trophy ticked off as well.

Again, both of the players nodded and they understood what was being asked of them, each having expected this sort of conversation at some point during the qualification campaign, although they likely had expected it sooner than the halfway point. They were both professionals though and had minded their business and took to the tasks that they had been told to do in order to earn their spots back. They were getting ready to stand back up and leave the room, having seemingly been told what it was they were supposed to have been told during this meeting when Eastwood motioned for the pair of them to stay sitting, while he shuffled around some papers before pulling up a printed copy of the current standings in the group and then laying it front and center of the desk for them all to look at.

"This is the situation, there is no hiding or escaping from it and you have played your parts as much as any to make sure that we are at the top of the group. I know how hungry this team is, how much they want to get that monkey off of their back, to show that they are worthy of wearing that five star crest that is on the kit. To have a chance at that though, we have to remain focused on the task at hand, not dreaming of what come to pass. Everyone here knows that luck is as much a factor in winning the World Cup as skill and tactics are, so you can not be focusing on that, it is too lofty and grand a goal, not when there are more pressing matters. We have three draws, two of them on home soil against opponents that the media has been mocking and complaining about us not securing the full spoils for, and deservedly so. We had chances to secure those wins and didn't and so here we are. You two are some of the veterans on the squad, I need you to help keep the team focused, keep the team grounded, and most of all keep them on the task before them rather than what might be ahead of us. You can not win a trophy if you do not even make the tournament, the cart can not go without the horse."

[Milchama]

"What a first half eh?"

"Yeah, we're in first place after one half of the qualifying. First time we've been in that position in a long time"

"Do you think Optapoaf would have known?"

"Honestly, do you think we would have used Optapoaf?"

"Alright, fair enough"

"So when do you think it was?"

"My guess would be like World Cup 50 something, if not in the 40s"

"Why then?"

"Well that was when we had a high rank and RP'd a lot and so were good. Which was unlike the 50s where we RP'd less and also sucked and the 60s where we RP'd some more but still didn't do great or now when we're still climbing and may get good at some stage"

"Isn't being first place in the group good?"

"Yeah but it's the halfway stage, talk to me at the end of qualifying"

"We're out playing Nephara"

"No we're not, we lost to them"

"Over the course of the whole group"

"Margaret has been mean to Nephara and nice to us. You know better than anyone that this is not going to last"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I know the end"

"What's the end?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

"We're not in a circle of hell, this isn't Tikariot, and besides we don't even believe in hell. Judaism just doesn't have that concept"

"Fair enough but I was quote Phoebe Bridgers, not Tikariot"

"Whose that?"

"Don't worry about it"

"I just want to say right now that Julien Baker is the most talented and best member of boygenius"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's irrelevant but I need to give Julien Baker love"

"Fine, whatever, so Milchamian soccer"

"It's doing very well"

"It is doing very well"

"And hopefully it will continue to do well"

"That's basically the goal here"

"Do you think it will?"

"Well I guarantee we won't lose our next matchday!"

"Is that because we have the bye"

"Yes"

"Well then yes we probably will not lose on the bye but will we lose ground?"

"Certainly but that's irrelevant because you have to play all the games"

"That's true"

"So I wouldn't worry so much about it"

"Oh yeah that's a good point"

"So then the whole goal is to win the game"

"And keep winning more games"

"Can we do that?"

"I think that's what this whole conversation has been about"

"Oh yeah good point"

"I got you"

"Thanks bro"

"You're welcome, don't mention it"

"But I will mention it"

"Cool"

"Great"

"Awesome"

"Amazing"

"Hooray"