Games 264 through 269 (WZ'99 Vexillium Cup), 01-18-300:

Game 264: IWK - Altland:
 
 The Technical Information:

Final score: IWK 1 - Altland 2
Played at: Bank of Keating Stadium, Keating, Whitlam
Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Nicolas Jousifrippe (Afrazure Altlandique)
Goals: Geigy (IWK, 27th), Nevil (ALT, 58th), Ros (ALT, 71st)
Yellow cards: Tunte (IWK, 58th)
Substitutions: Alabaster for Tunte (IWK, 60th), Hallöchen for Alon (IWK,
60th), Kolhaker for Pin (ALT, 66th)

COLORFUL "BANANA WARRIORS" FALL TO RESURGENT ALTLAND

Playing before a sell-out crowd at the Bank of Keating Stadium in
Whitlam, the Altlandic squad earned its first-ever win in the
international arena in a tough game against the always-exciting IWK
Banana Warriors.

Altland, playing in only the second international game in its history,
came into today's game after losing a heartbreaker to the Christiana
Knights on the 15th by a score of 4-3.  IWK, on the other hand, was
looking to make up for their past few games, because, in the words of
Coach Rudi Müësli, "what we played mostly sucked."

This game ultimately became, overall, a story of two different games.
Very early on, the Banana Warriors had the obvious upper hand.  Coach
Müësli's "quality time with the guys" appeared to have paid off, as IWK
dominated the first half of the game.  In the first 35 minutes,
Altland's offense only touched the ball three times, resulting in two
shots on goal.  One was just barely wide to the left off the foot of
forward Daniel Paisan, and the other was snagged by IWK goalie Issel
well before it threatened the goal.

About midway through the first half, IWK got its break on a long pass
down the right sideline from defender Carrara to forward Dagobert.
Dagobert raced down the sideline, only to be cornered by Altland
defenders Nargal and Pin.  Thinking quickly, Dagobert passed the ball
backward to onrushing forward Huskvarna.  Huskvarna launched the ball
toward the goal, setting up fellow forward Geigy for the easy header
into the net past the diving goalie, Carl Castellan.  The Banana
Warriors were able to keep Altland's offense impotent for the remainder
of the half, although the Altlanders did show a bit of a spark near the
halftime mark when IWK's defense seemed to relax some.

With his team behind 1-0 at the half, Altland head coach Noël Farrar
made a short speech to his crew in the locker room.  Neither he nor the
players would reveal what was said, but it must've worked.  The two
teams returned to the field for the second half to the cheers of their
fans.  Several fans sitting at the west end of the stadium unfurled a
large Altlandic flag and hung it on the wall, which seemed to add some
inspiration to the dejected squad.

The second half started off much as the first half did, with the Banana
Warriors seeming to dominate the field.  Altland's stellar defense,
though, led by Manuel Pin, continued to act as a brick wall that the IWK
forwards just couldn't seem to get around.  In the 54th minute, though,
things started to turn in Altland's direction.  Midfielder Pal Peltmon
stole the ball from IWK's Alon, and centered it to forward Tomas Nevil.
Before IWK's defense could react, Nevil had already raced into the box
and was setting up for a shot.  In a last-ditch act of desperation, IWK
defender Tunte deliberately threw his shoulder into Nevil, knocking the
forward to the ground in a play that looked like it belonged more on the
rugby field than the soccer field.  Referee Jousifrippe gave Tunte a
yellow card for the flagrant foul, and Nevil was awarded a penalty
shot.  Issel never had a chance, as Nevil slammed the ball into the
corner of the net before anyone realized what was happening.

With the game now tied, the Altlandic fans went wild.  IWK Coach Müësli
took the next opportunity to replace the two players that had cost his
team their lead, putting Alabaster in for Tunte and Hallöchen in for
Alon.  Things seemed to have steadied themselves for a while, and some
fans began to leave the stadium, expecting the game to end in a 1-1
tie.  But in the 71st minute, Altland forward Armand Ros found a lucky
opening between the IWK defenders, and deftly lofted the ball over
Issel's fingers for the clinching goal.  The remainder of the game was a
holding action by Altland's defense, successfully stopping frantic IWK
attack after IWK attack until the final gun sounded.

With the win this afternoon, Altland moves into a tie for first place in
Group 8 with the Christiana Knights.  Both teams have three points,
though Christiana leads in goal differential.  Altland's first round
games are now finished, and they will have to await the outcome of
Saturday's Christiana-IWK game to find out if they will advance or not.
But don't count the Banana Warriors out just yet!  If IWK can defeat the
Knights on Saturday, they'll force a three-way tie for first place in
the group, and the group winner will have to be decided by goal
differentials.  So look for Müësli's IWK Banana Warriors to play a
tough, inspired game against the Christiana Knights on Saturday at the
Battleground in Nomar, KTZ.

The Technical Information:

Final score: ISLANDIA 1 - TIGER CONFEDERACY 1
Played at: SF Memorial Stadium, Cazniev, Eastern Zartania
Attendance: 72,160
Referee: Gilles Baptiste (Phenixia)
Goals: Eyjólfsson (ISL, 38th), Ernesto Bonoduro (TIG, 42nd)
Yellow cards: Sandita (TIG, 59th), Bangaklanga (TIG, 84th)
Substitutions: None

HAS THE ONCE-GREAT ISLANDIA BEGUN TO FALL?

The Islandia Penguins, once considered to be one of the top ten teams in
Vexillium, ended up in a 1-1 tie this evening against the Tiger
Confederacy in a game that everyone predicted to be a push-over.

The Islandian team entered tonight's game in an attempt to recover from
their near-disastrous loss to Namuria a few months back, while the
Tigers were attempting to prove that they really can win against a good
international team.  The crowd at SF Memorial Stadium in Cazniev was
less than full-capacity, and was very heavily pro-Islandian, due mainly
to the Eastern Zartanian regulation prohibiting foreign nationals from
warring states to enter.  Still, with all the boos and crowd noise, the
Tigers never lost their poise.

Both teams opened the first half with a lot of very cautious play.  Both
looked like they were trying to probe the other team without giving too
much of a potential opening to their adversaries.  The Penguins found
the first hole.  In a dazzling display of speed, precision, and agility,
Islandia's forwards Petursson and Eyjólfsson struck deep into Tiger
territory, passing back and forth between the defenders.  Not even last
week's game against Davenport could have prepared the Tigers for what
Islandia's forwards showed them here.  Within seconds, Eyjólfsson was
sprinting past the last Tiger defender, and placing the ball safely in
the net behind a still-shocked Timo Braneja.

But the Tiger Confederacy was not to be denied its own glory.  With just
minutes left to go in the first half, the Penguins' defense apparently
began to slacken, looking forward to their halftime snack of bananas and
orange slices no doubt.  The Tigers took full advantage of this lull.
Midfielder Filo Boaormi, with a booming kick, fed the ball downfield to
left wing forward Franco Bandena.  Bandena drove toward Islandia's goal,
coaxing goalie Fabiansson out of position.  As Fabiansson approached,
Bandena centered the ball to Ernesto Bonoduro, who knocked it into the
goal with a toe-tap.

The stadium was unusually quiet when the gun sounded at halftime.  The
Tigers had just scored the tying goal against their beloved Penguins!
Surely the second half would change that.  Both coached decided to leave
their starting players in for the second half in an attempt at
continuity.  But the second half turned out to be an uneasy stalemate.
Both teams mounted short, limited offensives, but neither could
capitalize on their gains before the opposing defense closed in and shut
down the attempt.  Toward the end of the game, both teams' offenses
erupted into fiery attacks, but to no avail.  Islandia's veteran players
seemed to be wearing down the Tigers slowly, but time was a friend to
the Tiger Confederacy tonight.  The game ended with fewer than 25,000
fans still in their seats, and a disappointing 1-1 tie on the
scoreboard.

Islandia comes away from tonight's game very disappointed, but hopeful
for Saturday's game against Davenport.  For the Tiger Confederacy,
though, tonight's game was even more of a disappointment, effectively
ending their chances to advance to the next round.

The Technical Information:

Final score: KALESTHESIA 0 - 3 SOUTH BAY
Played in: Erste Communications Stadium, Beazley, Whitlam.
Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Hajib El-Nussini (Djeriga)
Goals: Edinson (SBY, 5), Nixon (SBY, 12), Bertjosh (SBY 19).
Yellow cards: None.
Red cards : None.
Substitutions: Lochson for Takana (SBY, 46), Hison for McLeod (SBY 46),
Mechal for Ix (KAL, 60), Funchazal for Grooph (KAL, 70).

SOUTH BAY PULL ONE BACK.

South Bay entered the game with an odd 4-1-5 formation, with the experts
very sceptical about them being even competative with such an
unconventional formation, but they caught Kalesthesia, who are quite
unexperienced, by suprise, knocking in 3 quick goals before they even
knew where they were! The Kalesthesians were completely shell shocked,
but when they recovered, put in a fine performance, but found it
difficult to come back, or to crack the South Bay defense, which had
pulled back, employing the forwards as midfielders, and midfielder as a
defensive midfielder.

The first South Bay goal came in the 5th minute through some good
passing work amongst the forwards, leaving the Kalesthesian defence
running madly attempting to break the passing chains. The ball
eventually fell to the open Edinson, who pushed the ball past the
'keeper for a 1-0 start.

Seven minutes later, the South Bay side scored again, capitalising on a
corner, giving Nixon a good goal from a volley at the far post. Bertjosh
closed the South Bay account in only the 19th minute, finding the ball
in space, and chipping Chirche for the third goal.

At this point, the Kalesthesian manager, Walter Vajina was tearing his
hair out, screaming at his players, and at one stage being restrained by
his assistant, as he was about to run onto the pitch. The squad then
calmed down, and found their spot on the field, and played some good
strong football, keeping their net untouched for the rest of the game.
Unfortunately for them, they were unable to beat the South Bay defense,
just finding themselves outclassed when it came to initiating attacking
movments.

The reason this was an odd game was because of the Djerigan referee.
Most Djerigan referees are known to be card-mad, but it seemed as though
El-Nussini had left his book in the referees room, not even considering
carding anybody in the entire match.
 

The Technical Information:

Final score: DANICA 0 - DJERIGA 1
Played in: Zartlam Oil Stadium, Guwimith City
Attendance: 57,000
Referee: Ivan Chernyenko
Goals: Nafudd (DJR, 55)
Yellow cards: Tasiusaq (DAN, 12), Carlsberg (DAN, 41), Zairul (DJR, 50),
Akannuq (DAN, 79)
Red cards: None.
Substitutions: Solhajji for Kaveer (DJR, 46), Marsden for Assiaat (DAN,
46), Moussidi for Azizabad (DJR, 60), Nunaat for Carlsberg (DAN, 60)

DJERIGA QUALIFY IN GOOD MATCH.

Whilst the scoreline was low, the entertainment value was high in this
game, making a refreshing change from some of the games already held in
this tournament. With plenty of chances, the crowd was kept tense, until
a great goal from Nafudd of Djeriga in the 55th minute.

Both teams were obviously determined to take the match out, Djeriga
seemingly renewed in this VexCup, with their seagull on the sideline in
its own hand-decorated cage which took several substitutes to carry into
the arena.

There were plenty of attacking chances, but the game was marked by both
Goalkeepers, Muthannak and Kronenbourg dominating procedings, and
engaging in a small battle to keep clean sheets, Muthannak at one stage
gesticulating wildly to his opposite number after tipping a curving shot
over the bar after looking completely out of position.

However, it was Kronenbourg who was to be beaten, after an unexpected
Djerigan counter attack caught the Danicans off guard. Kikbath hoofed
the ball upfield to Nafudd, who beat the offside trap, drew Kronenbourg
in, and put the ball in the back of the net, sending the stadium wild.

The pace of the game continued, with both teams using both substitutes,
but Muthannak kept his net from getting dirty, winning the game ball
that the Djerigans keep every time they score. He has already donated it
back to the Djerigan collection, as is the custom.

After the match, the Djerigan team went wild, several players and
officials attempting to dig up the turf in the stadium, stating
that it was 'sacred' after the 2 victories. Staff quickly directed them
to take turf from the outer part of the arena, leaving the
playing surface itself alone, but the sidelines bare. The Djerigan tour
manager said that the turf will be used to re-sod the national stadium
in Djeriga.

The Technical Information:

Final score: SOLELHADA 1 - GUWIMITH 1
Played in: Planetarium Field, Alfacron, Eastern Zartania
Attendance: 70,000
Referee: Willy Corniff (Aros)
Goals: Prostokisha (GUW, 26th), Langlés (RES, 71st)
Yellow cards: Ontomanko (GUW, 33rd), Zarubezhanin (GUW, 51st), Szabó (RES, 57th)
Substitutions: Szabó for Lavalada (RES, 45th), Balogh for Peiracava (RES, 45th), F. Feodora for Ankudinov (GUW, 45th), T. Feodora for F. Feodora (GUW, 57th)

Listless Encounter Ends in Draw

Today's Group 5 match of Solelhada vs Guwimith could not be described as the highlight game of the tournament. Not much more can be said.

Both teams played well, and most of the time, their defences were just too good for their offences, cancelling eachother out. Each team only had two chances, and each team only converted one.

The first chance was half way through the first half when Stanislav Prostokisha was wide open down at the end of the field. Jurg Kraichin spotted him, and lobbed a pass from half way to him. Prostokisha chested it down, got past Robèrt August easily, and left the keeper, Antòni Delmàs, with too much to do. One nil to the Eagles.

Just before the end of the half, the Red Devils got their first chance, through some brilliant passing between Lèl Takats, Bernat lo Fadat, Géli Langlès and Nicolau Lavalada. However, Vasyenka Zbroslao, the Guwimith keeper, was too good for them, saving Lavalada's shot by diving to his left.

Half time came, and both coaches, Maks Araslaneevich and Dömötör Álvos, found some substitutions in order. Álvos made two, a forward swap, Lehel Szabó for Nicolau Lavalada, and a defender swap, Sándor Balogh for Jaufre Peiracava. Araslaneevich made only one swap, a swap of strikers, Foma Feodora for Slavochka Ankudinov.

Twelve minutes into the first half, the Solelhadan defender substitute, Lehel Szabó, did a dangerous tackle on another substitute, Guwimithian Foma Feodora. For the trouble, Szabó was yellow carded, which was very close to being a red, and Foma Feodora was injured. He was stretchered off the pitch to be replaced by his brother, Tomas Feodora.

And fourteen minutes after that, the Red Devils struck back. On Gergely Kékkúti attempting a long range shot from about thirty yards out, keeper Zbroslao found it necessary to punch it over the crossbar, even though he could have held it easily. So Estève Fabre went to take the corner kick, and the kick found Gèli Langlés, who headed it with one bounce into the bottom right corner of the net. The Red Devils had caught up, to make it level at one a piece.

The last chance of the game was for Guwimith, in the 89th minute, when Tomas Feodora got the ball inside the centre circle, and did a great solo run past Sándor Balogh, Robèrt Auguste and Carlon Delpuòg, only to pull back too far when launching the shot, and the ball went way over the cross bar and into the the back of the second tier of the West Stand.

All in all, not a very exciting game. But a result is a result, and the result is recorded.

It is now impossible for Guwimith to progress to the playoffs of the Vexillium cup, they have no points. If on Friday evening, the Devils do not win, then heaven will triumph over hell and the Saints will progress. If, however, the Devils do win, then they will go through to the playoffs. The Solelhadans must win in order to advance, a draw will not do it.
 
 

The Technical Information:

Final score: TERRITORIES 3 - ANSONIA 0
Played in: Shenhua Oval, Forde, Whitlam
Attendance: 57,000
Referee: Peter Claris (Morania)
Goals: Cook (UTD, 24th, pen), Macghileagh (UTD, 54th), Macghileagh (UTD, 81st)
Yellow cards: Whiteford (UTD, 10th)
Substitutions: Haqim for Abdullah (ANS, 45th), Sungiap for Ben-Kilda (ANS, 45th), Hicks for Boyle (UTD, 45th), Lampwick for Cook (UTD, 45th)

Territories Win Comfortably

The United Territories of Fiarria and Nuarmia secured a comfortable win against the Ansonian Federation today in Forde.

It can simply be said that the Territories simply outclassed Ansonia, who have had relatively little experience compared to UT. In the end, there was no doubt that the Territories would win.

In a re-cap of the game, the Ansonians rarely ever got past the half way line on their way to an attack, and were battered at many times in trying to defend against the Territories. The first goal came from a penalty from Gronko Albrecht. Norman Cook took the shot and got the goal, to put the Territories one up.

At half time, the Ansonian coach swapped defenders and midfielders, Luqman Haqim for Aasim Abdullah at the back, and Oh Sungiap for Orlandek Ben-Kilda in the middle. The Territories' coach, Tam Doughty, also swapped two players, mirroring the swaps man-to-man, with Randall Hicks coming on for Irvine Boyle, and Timothy Lampwick coming on for Norman Cook.

Less than ten minutes into the half, the Territories struck again, specifically Séamus Macghileagh from a header from a lob by Ewan Coyle that penetrated the defence easily. Two-nil to the Territories.

The game was too easy for the Territories, and at times they seemed complacent. But the Territories' complacent was too good for the Ansonians' best.

The final goal of the match was Séamus Macghileagh's second, with another header, but this time from a Brandon Whitby corner that found Macghileagh in space, easily heading it past Kras Vratar, a former Northern Gronk goalkeeper.

A fair result for the Territories, who are pleased with the three points. It is now impossible for Ansonia to advance to the playoffs, but it is possible for the Territories. The Territories need to beat Whitlam in order to advance, a draw will not secure it. Otherwise, Whitlam will advance to the first round of the playoffs as expected.