Games 473-480 (VEXILLIUM CUP NUROPIA 300) 01-16-301:

IVEFA proudly presents the results from the second rounds played in the Vexillium Cup
Nuropia'300 on January 17, 301:

Game 473: Utania - Udan-Woo

GROUP I:

The Technical Information

Final score: UTANIA 4 - UDAN-WOO 3
Played at: Northway Coliseum, Northway, Westria
Attendance: 100,600
Referee: G'Runalga (KON)
Goals: Satura (UTA, 10.), Satura (UTA, 43., penalty), Tregikuan (WOO,
47.), West (UTA, 74.), Tregikuan (WOO, 78.), W. Teritehau (WOO, 83.),
Satura (UTA, 91.)
Yellow cards: Bennett (UTA, 31.), Dayama (UTA, 47.), Aratusu (UTA, 62.)
Red cards: Bennett (UTA, 78.)
Substitutions: Munkara for Pularumpi (WOO, 45.)
MVP: West (UTA)

UTANIA SCORES LAST-MINUTE WIN AGAINST IMPROVING WALLABIES!

Today's game was a must-win situation for Utania, one of the newest and
most promising teams from the Old Continent.  If Utania was to have any
chance of overcoming home favorite Westria, they needed this win against
Udan-Woo.  The Wallabies, for their part, have been steadily improving,
and saw this game as an opportunity to prove their worth on the world
soccer scene.  More than 100,000 fans turned out for this game, most of
them Westrian fans watching to see who their Diamonds would be playing
next.  They overwhelmingly favored Woo, being considered the weaker of
the two teams, and therefore the easiest for Westria to take.  The seven
goal scored in this game, and especially the three scored by Woo, are a
testament to the impact that the crowd can have.  Utania, for their
part, seemed mostly at ease against Udan-Woo, largely ignoring the
crowd.  Utania's own core of loyal fans made their voices heard as well,
cheering loudly with their team's first two unanswered goals, both
scored by superstar Satura.  Woo struck back at the beginning of the
second half, finding Utania's defense largely unprepared.  There
followed a 25 minute defensive struggle before Utania extended their
lead to two goals.  But the Wallabies struck back ferociously again with
twin goals just minutes apart to tie the game at 3.  The game progressed
into injury time, with the crowd and the teams on the edges of their
seats.  The end came just before the final whistle when Utania's Satura
nailed his hattrick for the game with a driving shot at close-range that
brushed the goalie's hands and into the net.  Utania now tries to tackle
home favorites Westria to move on to elimination play.

<TECH>Close one, but a much needed win for Utania... they'll need it,
facing Westria NEXT, har har! ;-)</TECH>
------

GROUP J:

The Technical Information

Final score: BROLECIA 2 - MORANIA 4
Played at: Casino Palace, Montroy, Westria
Attendance: 110,100
Referee: Contara (EST)
Goals: Castelliano (MOA, 31.), D. Ozi (BRO, 34.), Klondike (BRO, 55.),
Selior (MOA, 61., penalty), Selior (MOA, 65.), Selior (MOA, 89.)
Yellow cards:  Smyth (BRO, 11.), Howard (BRO, 25.), Trellis (MOA, 56.),
D. Ozi (BRO, 61.), Edosa (MOA, 83.)
Red cards: Howard (BRO, 73.)
Substitutions: Horunard for James (BRO, 68.)
MVP: Selior (MOA)

BROLECIA FALLS TO MORANIA ON A MISSION, SELIOR SHINES AGAIN!

Brolecia has long been considered a relative soccer powerhouse,
consistently placing well in international tournaments.  But today, the
"slide" in international soccer that has been feared by Brolecia's fans
of late became reality.  Brolecia was heavily favored coming into the
game, but the Moranian squad was ready for them.  Morania drew first
blood, but only after a long defensive struggle that resulted in two
yellow cards for Brolecia.  Brolecia returned the favor quickly,
slamming the tying goal past a bedazzled Moranian keeper.  The half
ended with an uneasy stalemate, both sides with a single point.  The
second half opened much the same way the first half ended, with both
sides eyeing each other and testing the defenses from a distance.
Brolecia made a lightning strike down the left sideline, though, that
put them up by one.  But just a few minutes later Morania's Selior tied
it up after going one-on-one against Brolecia's goalie on a penalty kick
for a handball in the penalty box.  From then on, it was the Selior
Show, as the Moranian front-man practically ran the field.  When he
wasn't taking shots or wrapping up his hattrick of goals, Selior could
be seen running across the field and directing his forwards and
midfielders.  It paid off in the end, though, with Morania taking an
astounding 4-2 win over Brolecia.

<TECH>Robbie's lack of statements ends up costing all three of his teams
DEARLY!  Brolecia is sensationally eliminated - BRO was +4, but their
.338 could not match Morania's awesome .969!</TECH>

-----

GROUP K:

The Technical Information

Final score: UNITED TERRITORIES 6 - KALESTHESIA 4
Played at: Goldenrod Field, Kathyapiyanka, Niokolo Koba
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Vassiliev (KTZ)
Goals: Mechzal (KAL, 9.), Macghileagh (UNT, 19.), Qarza (KAL, 29.),
Whitby (UNT, 39.), Bryce (UNT, 49.), Funchzal (KAL, 59.), Macghileagh
(UNT, 69.), Lampwick (UNT, 79.), Funchzal (KAL, 89.), Appleyard (UNT,
89.)
Yellow cards: Correin (KAL, 19.), Blackmore (UNT, 29.), Boyle (UNT,
59.), Mechzal (KAL, 69.), McKimmie (UNT, 65.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Lampwick for Cook (UNT, 45.)
MVP: Whitby (UNT)

UNITED TERRITORIES LOOKING GOOD!

In what will probably be the highest scoring game in the entire VexCup
tournament, the United Territories proved why they are considered by
many to be one of the favorites for the Cup.  The Territories were up
against Kalesthesia, one of the Melanian Burovian teams that has been
doing fairly well for itself lately, and a team that many Burovian fans
here had pinned their hopes on.  But it was not to be today.
Kalesthesia opened the game with a tremendous offensive surge that just
seemed to wash over the unprepared Territorians, putting Kalesthesia up
1-0 in the first 10 minutes.  If Kalesthesia could have kept up the
momentum and energy of that first drive, the game would have been
theirs.  But the Territories very quickly responded with a deep strike
of their own, with Macghileagh neatly heading the ball past the diving
goalie.  Once again the momentum shifted back to Kalesthesia, who took
the kickoff all the way down the field.  Qarza got Kalesthesia's second
goal off a corner kick by Funchzal.  Then it was the Territories' turn,
with Whitby taking the ball the length of the field almost by himself,
and out maneuvering the goalie!  The halftime break gave the teams and
the fans a much-needed rest, and time to recover from the see-saw action
on the field.  By some odd coincidence, four goals had been scored in
the first half, each exactly ten minutes after the previous goal.  And
the patterned continued into the second half, with the Territories
making an early, vicious strike for the go-ahead goal in the 49th
minute.  Kalesthesia responded with their own attack, and subsequent
goal off a free kick due to a dangerous play by UTFN's Boyle, who
received a yellow card for his efforts.  Then the Territories took their
turn again, scoring too more goals as the clock continued to run.  With
just a few short minutes left on the clock, Kalesthesia's Funchzal
scored off a pass from Mechzal, pulling them within a single point.  But
in one of the most bizzare incidents in IVEFA, indeed in soccer,
history, on the ensuing kickoff the Territories passed the ball to
Appleyard on the right sideline, who slammed a long arching shot at the
goal.  And made it!  Amazingly, both the Kalesthesian and Territorian
goals were scored in the same minute, a definite first for international
soccer in Vexillium.  Anyway, though, the game was finished, and with it
went Kalesthesia's hopes for an appearance in the VexCup's elimination
round.

<TECH>No major surprise there... except maybe for the TEN goals! ;-) UNT
+1 had a great .996!  KAL countered with a nice .850 to avoid slaughter!
</TECH>
------
 

GROUP L:

The Technical Information

Final score: SAN PATRICIO 0 - RAS LANARCH 5
Played at: West Kierk Stadium, Ter Kierk, Deucoland
Attendance: 63,000
Referee: Zomig (REZ)
Goals: Dukhlas (RAS, 26.), Mackendries (RAS, 50.), Dukhlas (RAS, 64.),
Dukhlas (RAS, 70., penalty), Falterberg (RAS, 82.)
Yellow cards: Rodriguez (SPA, 26.), Verano (SPA, 43.), Schellendanthz
(RAS, 57.), McSweeney (SPA, 70.)
Red cards: McSweeney (SPA, 70.)
Substitutions: Smith-Jones for Rodriguez (SPA, 53.), O'Gorman for
Ben-Barek (SPA, 72.)
MVP: Dukhlas (RAS)

INEXPLICABLE DISASTER FOR SAN PATRICIO!!!

WHAT happened HErE??? Is Ras Lanarch coach Xaver Funzl PSYCHIC??  Before
the Cup he said: "Ras Lanarch plans to be in the news this Vexillium
Cup, ... we do believe that we can pull off some major upsets."  And
then: "San Patricio is of course a strong team, but they are still
smarting very badly from their disaster at the Copa Vexanova, and their
preparations have been erratic and short.  Thus, we think that if we
catch a real good day, we can beat them straight out."  Well, was he
ever right!  San Patricio's downward spiral just got twice as deep, as
the Flying Saints must still be befuddled as to HOW this could have
happened... it is one thing to lose against an underdog team, but to
lose 0-5 is simply infernal!  Perhaps it was not all that surprising,
seeing that San Patricio suffered similarly humiliating defeats in the
Copa Vexanova, which they exited most gracelessly 0-5 and 0-6 against
Eastern Delgamia - but there are worlds of difference between the
Delgamians and the Bluejackets... or so we thought!

Things looked fine at first, as the Saints had two big chances right off
the bat, with Upton once again superbly spoiling.  Then, however, the
match more or less evened out, although Ras Lanarch did not have too
many opportunities to score.  One chance they had, though, they seized -
experienced Orchid Club Cheok Look pro Akas Dukhlas, who would go on
to become the man of the match, would score the first of his three goals
after a serendipidous steal from Garcia, right before the SP goal.  San
Patricio had more chances before the break, but could not bypass Upton,
who is now already rumored to become the next Ras Lanarchian with a pro
contract in the offering!

It was really in the second half that the Saints lost it completely.
Mackendries made it 2-0 with a header just 5 minutes into the half, and
the Saints became visibly more nerveous and lost their edge, fumbling
dribbles and carelessly losing the ball many times.  Ras Lanarch was
just there to pick up the pieces, Dukhlas scored off a flank from
the right side, and things looked doomy for SP.  But matters would turn
even worse as McSweeney was caught felling Falterberg in the box in the
70. minute.  The Patrician heavily protested the decision, insisting the
foul had happened outside the line.  Despite restraint attempts from his
teammates, McSweeney's outbursts towards Western Zartanian referee Zomig
finally "earned" him a shocking red card, and San Patricio was finally
doomed.  Dukhlas converted the penalty, and Falterberg fixed the
incredible end result against a listless San Pat squad, who will
probably never hear the end of this one back home... surely heads will
roll in a nation where sport is king!

For Ras Lanarch, Funzl's prophecy had actually come true, and the
players carried their euphoric coach on their shoulders around the
pitch, celebrating their most improbable group win, and advance to the
elimination round!  And much to the delight of the coach, in the
post-game press conference, there were 156 journalists crammed into
the room... what a step up from the FOUR who had come to the coach's
pre-game conference!

<TECH>OK, I had played along with RL since all group members are
secondary teams... but who would have thought that San Patricio would
fall THIS low!!  They are now 0-16 in their last 3 games, incredible!!
There was nothing I could do about this one... SP had an abysmal .002,
while RL pulled .992... perhaps the biggest ever spread in random
numbers... weird! </TECH>

-----

GROUP M:

The Technical Information

Final score: EXTREMO 0 - ALTLAND 4
Played at: Crocus Field, Crocusveldt, Westria
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Chekobyl (BOB)
Goals: Paisan (ALT, 14.), T. Nevil (ALT, 30.), Santan (ALT, 67.), Santan
(ALT, 77.)
Yellow cards: none
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Lorts for Aur (ALT, 60.)
MVP: Santan (ALT)

ALTLAND WINS GROUP WITH IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER LACKLUSTER EXTREMANS!

Never before was Altland so impressive.  The team from the Meridic Isle
looked solid as ever, as they secured their place in the elimination
round by beating a malprepared Extreman team that was clearly not their
equal today.  While the sportswriters of the world can now breathe
easier as the hard-to-spell Extreman team players are assured
elimination, Altland could face a new dawn of soccer prowess that may
leave them closing the gap to their former Neonesian cronies and now
competitors, soccer-crazy Namuria, who must still defeat Lendosa in
order to reach where Altland has already gone.

Gui Santan was the man of the match, involved in all four goals, scoring
two himself in the process.  Extremo could not keep the momentum they
seemed to have gotten at the Copa Vexanova, sompleting an overall black
day for Melanian football that saw all playing Melanian teams lose...
Extremo, Brolecia, San Patricio, Kalesthesia, and Udan-Woo all bit the
dust today!!

Extremo really never looked dangerous, they had self-admittedly come to
this tournament less prepared than they planned, hoping to take
advantage of their top seed in the group to still advance over two
weaker opponents... but Altland really rose to the occasion!  The "real"
number one seed of the group (in actuality only ranked two spots behind
Extremo!) made short work of the Melanians today, leaving little doubt
from the beginning who was in control here.  They end up winning the
group with a comfortable aggregate of 8-1!  Extremo will still play
Achenar, but that match has been relegated to being a mere matter of
pride.  Altland moves up!

<TECH>Altland +4 due to lack of statement from Extremo, pulled .812 -
more than enough! </TECH>

-----

GROUP N:

The Technical Information

Final score: NIOKOLO KOBA 1 - WHITLAM 1
Played at: Arena of the Tribes, Dianamalary, Niokolo Koba
Attendance: 62,000
Referee: Kundur (ISL)
Goals: Blacklock (WHI, 9.), Dourane (NIO, 36.)
Yellow cards: Kaolack (NIO, 20.), Ndiaye (NIO, 44.), Storry (WHI, 60.),
Bachir (NIO, 65.), Simba (NIO, 71.), Diallo (NIO, 74.), Kipsu (NIO, 85.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Faye for Ndiaye (NIO, 62.), Dioula for Bachir (NIO, 69.),
Krizhobolya for Wolff (WHI, 72.)
MVP: Diallo (NIO)

NOW THINGS GET >>>REAL<<< INTERESTING!!!

What's going on with the reigning VexCup champs?!  Is Whitlam's Coach
Gray simply teasing the rest of the VexCup teams, breeding feelings of
false hope for the Dragons' oppenents?  That's what everyone, including
Whitlam's fans, want to know.  Today's game has everyone in a quandry
trying to figure out just how the reigning VexCup and Tom Koh Trophy
champions could end in a 1-1 tie with a team like Niokolo Koba.  But
that's exactly what happened.  The game began with Whitlam's powerhouse
offense making its trademark attack, deep and fast, against Niokolo
Koba's almost powerless defense.  The result was a relatively easy
Blacklock goal, and an early lead for the Dragons.  But from then on,
things got harder.  Niokolo Koba adjusted their strategy and their
formations to handle the Whitlamite lunges at the goal, with NK's Diallo
becoming the central figure of the defense.  Diallo seemed to take
charge of the Kobans' faltering formations, and began shifting players,
sometimes with the help of shouts from NK's coaching staff on the
sidelines.  The strategies apparently worked, as Niokolo Koba managed to
work up their own offensive assault just before halftime, tying the game
at one point a piece as the teams headed to the locker rooms.  The
second half of the game was the classic defensive struggle.  A little on
the rough and physical side, the complexion of the game's second half
can be seen in the number of yellow cards issued: one to Whitlam and
four to Niokolo Koba!  Both sides took more shots on goal, but both
goalies were also on their marks, nabbing several shots and tipping
others away at the last minute.  The Kobans apparently also had extra
players on defense in the form of the goal posts, as no less than four
Whitlamite shots were bounced off the posts.  In the end, though, the
physical play was all for naught, as the game ended in the 1-1 tie.  The
game left the players, the coaches, and the fans with a hollow feeling,
as it resolved nothing toward the final outcome of play in Group N.
Since Niokolo Koba defeated Baben Bay earlier, Whitlam must do the same,
defeating Baben Bay by an even higher margin of goals in order to out-do
the Kobans and advance.

<TECH>I was secretly hoping that NK would give the mighty Dragons, my
"old nemesis", a hard time.  NOW, things get really wild... Whitlam must
CRUSH Baben Bay to advance... the pressure is ON! ;-) </TECH>
-----

GROUP O:

The Technical Information

Final score: ROVENS 0 - WESTERN ZARTANIA 4
Played at: Wynterwynd Bowl, Wynterwynd, Westria
Attendance: 36,200
Referee: Schlagk (TIG)
Goals: Jung (REZ, 2.), Delvana (REZ, 21.), vun Royhil (REZ, 43.), vun
Royhil (REZ, 79.)
Yellow cards: Kalinski (ROV, 11.), vun Terenak (REZ, 31.), T'konse (ROV,
39.), Lemine (ROV, 59.), Ivanov (ROV, 79.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: N'tobe for Kalinski (ROV, 45.), Kopaye for Lemine (ROV,
64.)
MVP: Delvana (REZ)

ROVENS LACKS TEAM COHESION, FALLS TO RIFLES!

The team from newly independent Rovens looked a little wide-eyed in
today's match, and the Western Zartanian Rifles took full advantage.
Trying to intimidate their opponents early actually worked for the
Rifles, and the "green" Rovens team ran into their trap already in
the 2. minute.  Things looked like it could be an onslaught galore
against the Rovens team, but the debutants managed to collect themselves
enough to avoid instant disaster.  Nevertheless, they were down 0-3 by
the break, with the Zartanians showing no sign of slowing down.

Things went better in the second half for the Rovens team, obviously
reassured by their coach.  However, they definitely lacked team
togetherness... three ethnic groups thrown together for a national team,
and not necessarily all supportive of each other.  Within the "ethnic"
groups of the team, things jelled quite well, but across ethnic lines,
there were simply too many misunderstandings and botched plays to be
effective yet as an overall team.  Western Zartania however only managed
one more goal til the end, taking an overall deserved and quite handsome
win, 4-0.  Rovens must now attempt to improve their "team-ness" for
their next assignment, which is perhaps much more daunting: the Men in
Royal are waiting to win the group, and perhaps the Cup!

<TECH>Rovens had the lest odds points ever... ZERO!  So, not much going
on there! ;-)</TECH>

-----

GROUP P:

The Technical Information

Final score: DRACONIA 4 - IWK 0
Played at: Sundowne Stadium, Bella Fronteritz, Westria
Attendance: 57,500
Referee: McGurk (SPA)
Goals: Mirren (DRA, 26.), Reversi (DRA, 49.), Reversi (DRA, 53.),
Rehnsky (DRA, 61.)
Yellow cards: Skirrivat (DRA, 44.), Tiaan (IWK, 53.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Rehnsky for Reversi (DRA, 55.)
MVP: Beancoche (DRA)

DRACONIA WINS BIG TO ANSWER SKEPTICS, IWK BLOWS!

Perhaps no team was more second-guessed, even by its own media, than the
Draconian Pirates, who were hoping to connect to their great successes
from the past by overcoming a long international match break.  Called
unprepared and washed up by several prominent sports media sources,
coach Haze never had any doubt in his team's readiness: "We are
completely up to the task at hand", he announced before today's match.
"IWK was vastly overrated" said an assistant coach after the match.
Indeed, the Banana Warriors were abyssmal, as they were in their first
match, against the improving Lamb's Cove team!  Quirky coach Rudi
Müësli's days at the helm of the Kukurian team are probably numbered
after yet another poor showing by this team, which was tipped as one of
the favorites in the Copa Vexanova on their home ground, where they
miserably lost in the early rounds!  Today too, the Kukurians were
ineffective against the surprisingly well-coreographed Draconians.
Beancoche did much of the legwork in the midfield, and tied the team
together from the center... an effort that brought him the MVP of the
game, even though he did not score himself.  The scoring was partially
left up to Reversi, who proved almost fully fit, and instrumental to the
win, scoring two beautiful goals - the second with a long free kick that
found the net from a good 30 meters!  To be sure that his injury would
not be aggervated, coach Haze replaced Reversi shortly thereafter with
Rehnsky, who scored himself soon after that to finalize the score at a
very solid 4-0.  Draconia now faces the prospect of the improving Lamb's
Cove in a showdown for the group win, and all the marbles in group P...
this should be a good one!

<TECH> Poor IWK ;-)  Draconia with crushing +9 odds, nuff said!</TECH>