Games 509-512 (VEXILLIUM CUP NUROPIA 300 SEMIFINALS AND FINALS) 02-02-301 thru 02-10-301:

IVEFA proudly presents the results from the SEMIFINALS, THIRD PLACE MATCH AND FINAL played in the Vexillium Cup
Nuropia'300 from February 2 to 10, 301:

Game 509: Davenport - Namuria (SEMIFINAL) 02-02-301:

The Technical Information

Final score: DAVENPORT 3 - NAMURIA 2
Played at: Ayrtona International Speedway Arena, Ayrtona, Deucoland
Attendance: 92,600
Referee: Kundur (ISL)
Goals: Coeur-Lione (DAV, 15.), Aldai (NAM, 41.), Salasarien (NAM, 61.), Coeur-Lione (DAV,
67.), Cadbry (DAV, 79.)
Yellow cards: Robichaux (DAV, 41.), Crowley (DAV, 71.), Salasarien (NAM, 73.), Springer
(DAV, 74.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Ebropa for Aldai (NAM, 72.), Purin for Jaar (NAM, 81.)
MVP: Crowley (DAV)

NAMURIA'S SEMIFNIAL CURSE CONTINUES!

Another great semifinal match-up betweem two premier teams of Vexillium ands in yet
another close result, in a  match which could have gone either way.  Namuria, for the
second year in a row, missed going to the final match by the narrowest of margins - last
year, they lost 1-2 to the eventual champions, Whitlam... today, they found their match in
Davenport (also the eventual champions, judging by omen???)

The match started off with a good note for Davenport, as it became evident that some
fans/vandals had painted a large portion of Ayrtona International Speedway in different
shades of purple, with white stars intermixed...clearly visible from most parts of the
main stands, sending Speedway officials into overdrive to arrange for the cleaning of the
track before next weekend's scheduled sportscar prototype race!

Despite the star-studded cast of this match, and all the depth of team talents and
cooperation, this match boiled down to two main factors:  one being the duel between two
of very very best footballers Vexillium has to offer, and also the two team captains,
Salasarien and Crowley, as well as the essential performance of Davenport's legionnaire in
Namuria, Coeur-Lione, who proved to be the decisive egde the Men in Royal needed over the
Golden Eagles!

After a rather slow and uneventful first 15 minutes, it was Coeur-Lione who kicked the
match in gear with a not-very-pretty goal scored via heel bunt after a stir in the
Namurian box, where the Eagles were unable to decisively clear the ball, and Davenport
kept poking at it until it finally went in.  Not one of the classiest moments of this
VexCup, but an important goal nevertheless for Davenport.  Coeur-Lione's knowledge of the
Namurian style of play may have been a factor, as he remarked after the match: "I knew
that if there is any weakness in Namurian ball, it is to clear the ball quickly and
cleanly - a lot of goals are scored from rebounds, and I just kept sticking my foot in
there until it went in the net!"  No doubt, Coeur-Lione's strategy tips also helped his
team along the road.

Henceforth, the match's pace began to pick up considerably.  Namuria, rattled by the
unsavory goal against them took the initiative, and kept the ball mostly in the
Davenportian half for a good portion of the rest of the first half.  Salasarien was to be
the key man in pushing forward the Eagles' attack, as always, but he had his hands full
with Crowley, who was constantly on his tail, occasionally joined by Vaudroy, teaming up
on the Namurian star captain to render him almost ineffective.

With much of the purple defense often focused on Salasarien, it was actually Jaar who made
a scoring play for Namuria just minutes before the break, spurting up the right side and
placing a precide flank precisely in Aldai's head-range, with the striker beating out
Beliveau to even out the score, and to put himself at the lone top of the Cup's top
scorer's list!

After the break, the accelerated pace of the match contiued (oh, how much better this
match was to watch than the other semifinal!)  Just exactly what happens when Salasarien
is permitted to play unhampered, became painfully evident to Davenport in the 61. minute,
when the Namurgo star left Crowley looking with a quick hook, and also found his way
around Robichaux, finally tricking Beliveau into the wrong corner, and scoring seemingly
with ease, to put Namuria ahead 2-1.  Crowley didn't take it too well, pounding himself on
the head, intently talking to himself.  Salasarien on the other hand seemed relieved, and
now had even more of a spring in his step.

However, Crowley's self-pounding seemed to have worked in refocusing the star defender,
and Salasarien's enthusiasm was more and more frustrated as the match progressed,
especially after it was once more Coeur-Lione to score for Davenport after gaining
surprise possession of the ball deep in the Namurian half, after correctly guessing a pass
from Aydrer to Pallur, and intercepting it.  Salasarien's frustration with Crowley's close
coverage, and the more and more frequent teaming up of two, sometimes three Davenport
players against him, reached a boiling point when Crowley was forced to pull the emergency
brake on him as he quickly charged towards a thinly protected Davenport goal...   the foul
left Salasarien steaming, but he conducted himself in a gentlemanly manner.  Just minutes
later, however, Salasarien was given a yellow for a foul on Crowley... some say it was a
revanche foul, but Salasarien denied it after the match, calling it a "coincidence", and
even Crowley downplayed the incident as a "standard match situation".

Things kept heating up in general in the match at this time... Namuria opted for fresh
legs in bringing in Ebropa and Purin, while the Men in Royal stuck to their well-greased
machinery.  Though Ebropa added speed up front and Purin was able to often either distract
Salasarien's sentinels, or take upon himself some of the tasks Salasarien was too
well-guarded to do himself, it was the Davenport defense which practically stole the show
for the remainder of the match.  When Callays speedster Cadbry scored the 3-2 in the 79.
minute, Namuria slowly but surely began to run out of time against the rock-solid purple
backfield.  Beliveau manhandled the balls that DID get through, finally silencing any
skeptics that questioned his replacement of veteran keeper Dooley.  Davenport stuck to its
original starters till the end, and they held on to the narrow 3-2 win over the devastated
Namurians, who were visibly desparate at the end of the match.

Thus, Davenport goes on to face Westria in what is sure to be an immensely popular final
match of this Vexillium Cup Nuropia 300!  Bowdani and Namuria will battle it out for the
thankless third place!

The Technical Information

Final score: WESTRIA 1 - BOWDANI 0
Played at: Apollon Arena, Mayerantritzpoort, Westria
Attendance: 88,100
Referee: Jarsendar (NAM)
Goals: Zeschgl (WES, 22.)
Yellow cards: Dandoon (BOW, 22.), Voyden (WES, 34.), Marn (BOW, 38.), Creighton (WES,
77.), Fögelsangg (WES, 82.)
Red cards:
Substitutions: Schilla for Creighton (WES, 45.), Knapheyde for Vraseydenhout (WES, 45.)
MVP: Marginot (WES)

ANOTHER TIGHT MATCH SEES WESTRIA THROUGH TO THE FINAL!

Man, was this yet another close one!  Both coaches had agreed before the match that this
would be one of the toughest matches ever for their respective teams to face, and they
just about were both right...  The friendly banter between the coaches certainly added
even more charm to this match-up, if not even interest... which is hard to do with these
two high-profile teams playing each other in the semifinals of the biggest tournament on
Vexillium!

The Westrians, coming off a draining overtime and penalty shoot-out thriller against
Armatirion, were somewhat on the defensive from the atart, trying to slow down the
high-flying Bowdanians, who outscored their opponents 19-0 in the past 4 matches they had
played - the last thing Westria needed today was a fast-paced match with lots of running
and many turnovers... they just wanted to break their opponents' rhuthm, and to let them
do the running while controlling the ball.  Bowdani, on the other hand, smelled blood on
their still not 100% recovered adversaries, who only managed light training sessions
before the match, and intended to move in for the kill against the somewhat compromised
Westrian squad trying to catch their breath.

Intending to use their new CRZ strategy to its fullest, Bowdani came storming out of the
blocks, and quickly began their long probes into their own forefield, but unlike Islandia,
who had been totally unprepared for this maneuvre, Westria had made some very significant
positional adjustments to counter the Bowdanian moves.  In fact, for a number-one ranked
team, the Diamonds played surprisingly defensive.  All four midfielders had been pulled
back, with the exception of Theunissen, who formed the offensive midfield with another
player pulled back, striker Guydenvaldt, who played side-by-side with Iohannes.  Zeschgl
and Vraseydenhout were the only two forward positions.  Coach Schrey had also reintroduced
the services of two of his best and most experienced jumpers for this starting line-up,
Yoghurt and Voyden, and that move paid off as well, as these two won many a duel for the
ball by head.

Bowdani thus did more of the running, and attempted to attack through the CRZ move, but
Westria did well to contain their opponents, and to slow the match down, occasionally
starting their own controlled drives towards the other team's goal.  Unfortunately for
Bowdani, a short lapse in concentration was to cost them dearly in the 22. minute, as they
failed to fall back quick enough, and Westria countered 3 against 2, leaving Dandoon no
other choice than to fell Theunissen, soliciting a yellow, and setting up a free kick from
about 21 meters.  Theunissen himself took the shot, but hit the wall, but Zeschgl quickly
nipped the rebound, and bombed the ball through the still dissolving wall, leaving the
partially blinded Hawk no chance.

Bowdani was not too impressed, however, as it was still early in the match, but they were
having difficulties finding their way through the Westrian defense like they had done
against the Islandians.  Thus, the first half yielded no more goals.

Westria was then able to draw on their deep talent pool, as they dared to remove their
stalwart starters Creighton and Vraseydenhout in exchange for more defensive players,
including the return of Schilla.  Their strategy now was clear: bring home the 1-0,
keeping the charging Bowdanians frustrated against a tight defense.  With Zeschgl
remaining the sole forward, Westria now threw theselves into their own half, and very
effectively stole away minute by minute from the anxious Greenriders.  Since Westria hadly
attacked anymore, the CRZ defense by Bowdani was pretty much rendered useless for most of
the second half, and they were forced to find other avenues of attack.  However, the
feared "Marginot-line" by defensive coordinator Edwald Marginot once again prevailed -
Westria does not often go on the defensive like this, but today they showd that they are
also able to master this aspect of the game,... boring as it may be for the spectators,
who actually began to show signs of siding with Bowdani to some degree, since they were
the ones attacking and playing their hearts out.

But Marginot & Co. managed to hold on, in yet another nailbiting finish... Dittelitz
answered all the skeptics, as he was flawless today... anytime a goalie can shut out a
team like Bowdani (Mssrs. 19-0!), it is a great achievement!  So Bowdani's dreams came to
an end today, but not without a very valiant fight.  Bowdani was definitely the more
exciting team, and certainly had more to show, but Westria did what they had to, feeding
off their early goal to hold on to the win... which is ultimately what matters most.  This
time, Westria's win was not surrounded with the same euphoria as against Armatirion, it
was more a sigh of relief... what an opponent Bowdani was today!!

So Westria goes to the final... no surprise there, but they sure came very close to
striking out twice.  The football gods obviously favor the home favorites - will they
accomplish their ultimate mission now and win the final match to take the coveted
Vexillium Cup?  The world is watching!

The Technical Information

Final score: NAMURIA 5 - BOWDANI 4
Played at: West Kierk Stadium, Kaap Kierk, Deucoland
Attendance: 66,100
Referee: Stoneley (WHI)
Goals: Killehal (BOW, 6.), Hund (BOW, 19.), Muthras (NAM, 22.), Ebropa (NAM, 40.),
Killehal (BOW, 44.), Ebropa (NAM, 66.), Salasarien (NAM, 70.), Killehal (BOW, 80.,
penalty), Druvolan (NAM, 86.)
Yellow cards: Dandoon (BOW, 22.), Marn (BOW, 31.), Jaar (NAM, 44.), Moran (BOW, 70.),
Jurener (NAM, 80.)
Red cards: Marn (BOW, 63.)
Substitutions: Ebropa for Aldai (NAM, 31.), Salengar for Ioe (BOW, 45.), Weher for Coleman
(BOW, 74.), Purin for Mapallar (NAM, 80.)
MVP: Ebropa (NAM)

NAMURIA TAKES THIRD, BUT NO MEDALS!

For the longest time, it looked like this third-place match was not even going to happen,
after Namuria decided to withdraw from the tournament after losing to Davenport in the
semifinals, a decision which caused international uproar, and even threats from the IVEFA
to sanction the Namurian team with measures such as heavy fines and even a possible
suspension.  More relevant to the actual match, however, were very strong words from
Bowdanian coach Hetleker, who is quickly becoming known as "The Mouth", and is replacing
Whitlam's coach Gray as the "most outspoken" of the coaches.  But it was the Bowdani
Sports Council who released the strongest comments, which included calling the Namurians
"cowardly", "unworthy" and "sorry" (to paraphrase) - these were then met with equally
strong rhetoric from the Namurian coach Spindelri, who put Namuria's national pride at
stakes... so when the match finally happened today, it was definitely a grudge-match
between these two proud teams, who were glaring at each other for most of the match, and
playing rather angrily most of the time, steaming over not making the finals, and steaming
over their sudden rivalry caused by the pre-match commentary.

With the climate on the pitch and on the benches rather tense, the match soon began to
turn more physical, forcing referee Stoneley to have words with the players several
times.  His cards also would not rest much in this match, which was somewhat to be
expected...  Bowdani were counting on their CRZ defense bearing fruit again, especially
since the Namurians did not exactly have much time to prepare, having planned to go home
instead of brooding over video tapes, studying their opponents.  Thus, it was Bowdani who
had the upper hand up front, as the Namurians were struggling to come to terms with the
CRZ defense.  Things went according to plan for the Greenriders, as they managed to
generate a 2-0 advantage already in the 19. minute, at whic htime not many would have bet
a Zaster on Namuria winning this one!  Even though Muthras scored just three minutes after
the 0-2, things looked gloomy for Namuria, as they were not only struggling to adapt to
the Bowdanian strategy, but also lost their number one scorer, Aldai, after he was felled
by Marn from behind, and had to be assisted off the field, limping.  After trying to
ice-spray and massage Aldai back into the game, Namuria finally had to take him out, and
bring Ebropa in his place... at first glance a setback, it would turn out to be something
of a boon soon after.  Ebropa went to work, and quickly formed a formidable axis with
Salasarien, even managed to tie the match minutes before the break.  But Killehal bested
Ebropa with his second goal, just seconds before the break whistle... smelling blood with
Aldai out of the match, Killehal knew he needed only one more goal to tie the Namurian for
the Golden Shoe of the Vexillium Cup top scorer!

The Golden Eagles obviously had a quick strategy lesson from their coach in the break
time, because when they came back for the second half, they seemed to have a much better
grip on the notorious CRZ moves from the Bowdanians... for the first time in the match,
Namuria really began to take more control of the match, mostly rotating around the
formidable Salasarien-Ebropa axis, which the Bowdanian defense now had quite a bit of
trouble controlling.  A key moment came in the 63rd minute, when Marn was ejected for his
second heay foul of the match, after taking down Salasarien.  One man down, veteran
'keeper Andy Hawk prevented the worst several times for Bowdani, but Ebropa and Salasarien
both each scored a goal from standard free kick situations caused by narrow misses.
Namuria was now up 4-3, and things looked bad for the Greenriders.

Bowdani kept their hopes alive, however, staying dangerous up front, and Killehal got his
wish when Salengar scored a penalty after being tripped in the box.  Killehal took the
shot and easily converted, tieing him at eight goals each with Aldai in the scorer's
list... if he could score only one more...!

So, Bowdani was still alive and kicking, and playing their hearts out.  One man short,
though, and against a sterling Salasarien-Ebropa axis, they eventually had to succumb with
just minutes to go, not even Andy Hawk could save this long rebound bomb by Druvolan -
ironically another rebound goal to do Bowdani in!  Namuria successfully stalled through
the injury time, despite Bowdani's mighty final charge (one man down, nonetheless!), and
held on for the narrow 5-4 win.

While the climate on the field was reasonably good after the match, even the two coaches
managing a handshake, no team was celebrating today.  Bowdani for the obvious reasons, and
Namuria just looked indifferent.  The tension in the stadium now was, whether the Namurian
team would cause a scandal by ignoring IVEFA President Kickins, and keep him stood up with
the bronze medals, which he had ready to disperse to the third place team.  But to
everybody's relief, after the Bowdanian team had gone through the handshakes with the
President on the podium, the Eagles made their way there as well, in turn shaking Kickins'
hand, but as announced, each of them respectfully declining the bronze medals.  It was a
classy way to resove the potentially tense situation.  Thus, both teams left empty-handed,
and the winners were the fans, who had come to see their heroes, and were finally rewarded
with an exciting match!  And another winner will be charity, as Kickins announced on the
spot that the bronze medals, since unclaimed, would be auctioned off one-by-one to the
highest bidders... this could well raise a LOT of money - these medals are usually not
available to the general public, and collectors are bound to go wild over these!

The Technical Information

Final score: WESTRIA 1 - DAVENPORT 0
Played at: Northway Coliseum, Northway (Aurelius), Westria
Attendance: 122,500
Referee: Besecki (LEX)
Goals: Salamanta (WES, 79.)
Yellow cards: Robichaux (DAV, 11.), Schilla (WES, 17.), Nadeschney (WES, 30.), Ozon (DAV,
50.), Creighton (WES, 69.), Fögelsangg (WES, 86.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Zeschgl for Guydenvaldt (WES, 68.)
MVP:
 

Well, well, well... the greatest moment in sports was upon us today, and there could not
have been two more popular or deserving protagonists in this Vexillium Cup final!  As
their special prank, the Davenport fan base had brought along bags and bags of balloons
into the stadium, which they began to blow up all throughout the match, slowly beginning
to fill up the stands with purple spheres... the Westria supporters did their best to pop
many of them, but most were good sports, and played along, keeping the balloons alive...

The air in the 120,000 seat Coliseum was thick enough to cut with a knife... 83 countries
and unknown hundreds of millions of people were watching this event LIVE on television!
This is what it's all about in the world of soccer, and the sighs and sounds in Northway
were simply spectacular!  Chant renditions of "Good Guys Wear Purple" competed with the
Westrian soccer battlehymns "Waltzing Brunhilda" and "Diamonds are Forever"!

Even though this match also started with a moment for remembering the Christiana team, but
it did little to dampen spirits here today, as the enthusiasm dripped on the bleachers,
the flags at half mast going virtually unnoticed.  Team Davenport was of course still
wearing their special patch on the uniform, and Westria, as they had been in the last two
matches, were sporting black uniforms, also in rememberance - an image that will probably
become synonimous for this Cup, like the Djerigan Seagull had become for the
Whitlam-Zartania'99 VexCup!

Interestingly, the Lexicon Islands were present in this Vexillium Cup final as well, as
they had been in the last two... except, this time, unfortunately for them, it was just
the refereeing team, headed up by experienced veteran ref Lennie Besecki!  At precisely
20:00 hours, referee Besecki blew the whistle, and the Nuropia 300 Vexillium Cup final was
on its way!

Both teams' strategies were predestining this match to be a battle of the defenses - with
two equally and highly skilled opponents, neither can affors a mistake, and both were
taking it rather cautiously up front, despite the enthusiastic cheers of the capacity
crowd.  All eyes were on Crowley and Vraseydenhout, who already began to have their
run-ins early in the match, with Crowley breaking forward from his line to try and break
the Westrian's momentum early enough not to let him get into the dangerous zone...
Coeur-Lione and Harbour, who was still hoping for a couple more goals to wisk away the top
scorer's title, faced a similar predicament with Nadeschney doing the forecheck, and they
still had the Marginot-line to contend with, even if they should get around Patrick!

Davenport was the first to become dangerous, with Gaspe placing a precision flank to
bypass the Marginot-line, leaving Harbour a dangerous open shot on goal, but Fögelsangg
slid in there at the last minute, deflecting the ball wayward for a corner.  The Purples
kept the pressure on, Ozon kicking the corner to the other side of the field, where
Coeur-Lione was waiting to brak away from his close shadow, Schilla.  He hooked around the
Westrian in a lightning maneuver, controlling the ball by chest, laying up a volley shot,
but Hasenpfeffer was solid, and took the hard shot to the rump, holding securely... only
to jump up and give his colleagues a good tongue-lashing for their bungling before their
own goal!  Westria's counter did not go far as Cadbry outran Creighton to steal the
leather away, spurted past Nadeschney, who had his eyes on Harbour expecting a pass, and
left Fögelsangg looking too, again leaving it to Hasenpfeffer to clean up, albeit with a
little help from Marginot, who squeezed in on Cadbry just enough for the quick Callayan
not to get the perfect angle he was seeking, and leaving him little time to set up the
shot!

Another lashing from the goalie followed, and this time, he kicked it high and far into
the Davenport half.  Received by Springer, he passed on to Worthington, who took a turn
and passed cross-field to Gaspe, with Harbour breaking away from Marginot up front, but
the long pass from the midfielder was intercepted by Nadeschney, and Westria was back on
the counter...

Thus, the match was going back and forth, with both teams dealing each other blows
absorbed by their respective defenses...  Davenport spent more time in the Westrian half,
but the Diamonds were dangerous with quick counters though long passes that found their
two lone sentinels up front, Vraseydenhout and Guydenvaldt, who still recorded eighteen
shots on goal in the first half.

The break saw an awesome halftime show, featuring performances from pop-rock greats such
as CUFF and Yellowturd, the appearance of the Vexillium's largest soccer ball (17 meters
in diameter!), dropped from an airship, and the Million-Zasrer shot sweepstakes, where one
lucky contestant got to try and score a penalty against Racing Club Montroy (and former
Westrian National team) goalie Halterabal... Halterabal held the shot, by the way - the
contestant got to keep the giant soccer ball as a consolation prize.  After a flyover by a
trio of the rarely publicly seen F-1 "Banshee" Stealth Fighter-Interceptors, the second
half was ready to begin!

Guydenvaldt, suspected to face being taken out stayed in for now, although he did have
quite a tough time keeping up with Coughlan, his close guard!  The second half somewhat
reversed the events of the first, this time Westria spending more time in the Davenport
half, and Davenport making the home fans sweat bullets with their quick counters!  Crowley
and Gaspe formed a strong thrusting line forward, and Cadbry would supplement with his
speed, giving Harbour and Coeur-Lione plenty to shoot at, but the forwards had preciously
little room to maneuver, with the Marginot-line usually bearing down in less than a few
seconds.  Hasenpfeffer, well-rested after his sit-out against Bowdani, was in top form as
well, and took several high-velocity bombs from Harbour to the chest and gut, but each
time holding securely.

Westria saw Theunissen take a more active role up front, after having been more cautious
in the first half.  He would often receive the ball from the flanks, and try to go down
the middle with Vraseydenhout trying to tie up Crowley, and Yoghurt moving forward to
force the Davenport defense to play zones.  In the 50. minute, an Ozon-foul would give
Westria a very dangerous free kick from the left side just outside the box... Davenport
took very long to properly position the wall, with Beliveau gesturing vigorously to get
them in just the right angle.  Theunissen would take the shot, but missed the center,
exploding the ball into Robichaux' crotch, leaving the defender temporarily in pain on the
ground, despite the customary hand-cup.  Theunissen took the rebound through the wall,
over Robichaux, with Beliveau kicking it away - but the leather would find Creighton, who
met Worthington halfway up the Devanport half, handing off to Guydenvaldt, who was under
duress from Coughlan, he immediately let run to Vraseydenhout, who managed to find some
space around Crowley, , he in turn crossed over back to Theunissen, who started a run
forwards from the left, past the still hurting Robichaux, who had just tried to get up,
but could not... when Theunissen's pass to Salamanta was deflected away by Vaudroy deep
into the center field, Nadeschney kicked it out of bounds sportsmanly, to allow for
Robichaux' recovery.  The purple defender was soon up and about again, albeit grimacing,
and the game resumed with a throw-in by Davenport... in fair play, the ball being tossed
back to Westria.

Creighton, who received the ball passed wide, however, and the leather found Springer
rahter than Theunissen.  Scotty began the quick counter, but was taken down by Yoghurt,
but the ball ran on to Worthington, the ref signalling advantage.  Worthington flanked to
Cadbry, who sped off, leaving the pursuing Creighton in the dust.  While the Callayan was
seizing up his shot, Creighton caught up, and challenged, so Cadbry decided to take off by
himself rather than passing... he hooked around Nadeschney, but ran into Fögelsangg, who
bunted away, but straight to Harbour, who TOOK THE SHOT!... but Marginot would head it
away over the goal!

Worthington would take the corner, which was a short handoff to Cadbry, who went through
the middle of Fögelsangg and Yoghurt, but both, Harbour and Marginot got in the way, and
when it came to taking a shot, Hasenpfeffer had the quickest idea, throwing himself from
behind Harbour in front of Cadbry, boxing the ball away with his fist, for Schilla to
finally clear the sticky situation!  Phew!

Despite all the action, no goals had fallen yet, but nobody was really complaining!  The
game was a real classic, teaching a lesson to all who say that soccer is boring because
there is not enough scoring!  This flow of play, this non-stop action, is unsurpassed...
dear football lovers of Vexillium, we would not watch anything else rather than this!

With the match hanging in the balance, nobody in the stands or at home in front of the TV
was leaving for the restroom or the refridgerator!  Westria tried to keep the pressure on,
keeping the ball in their possession whenever possible, with Davenport taking short
controlled excursions, with quick spurts from Cadbry or Gaspe's lethal passes bridging the
midfield, testing the Marginot-line to capacity!

Sooner or later, there had to be a goal scored in this match of many chances... and to the
delight of the home crowds, it was Westria who today had the necessary bit of serendipidy
to be thee ones favored by the soccer gods!  With Zeschgl providing some fresh legs up
front (Guydenvaldt was showing some signs of fatigue and was taken out after a good
showing), Westria had a little extra spark.  Davenport was not to be outdone, however,
sticking to their very effective strongest formation, who had the adrenaline pumping, and
showed no signs of letting up.  It would be Zeschgl's fresh legs, however, which played a
role in the only goal of this great match:

After a foul in their own half, Westria would take a short free kick, with Nadeschney
handing off to Yoghurt, who actually pushed forward for a change, somewhat to the surprise
of the Devenport midfield... Springer could not catch up, but Robichaux cleared away, with
the ball coming to rest before Creighton, who volleyed off to Zeschgl down the right
side.  Zeschgl was dueling with Ozon for the leather, the Westrian gaining the advantage
and reasching the ball first, spurting on in a rabbit-like hook, tricking Vaudroy to the
wrong leg, and handing off to Salamanta, who was the most inconspicuous attacker in this
match so far, and as such, now dangerously with some room to maneuver... Salamanta decided
to shoot... no, he changed his mind, looking for Vraseydenhout, but he was wedged betweem
Crowley and Coughlan, so Salamanta faked the pass to Vraseydenhout, and quickly rotated
around his own axis, using the side of his shoe to take a relatively slow shot at the near
corner, just out of reach for Beliveau!  Salamanta could not quite believe it himself, but
before he really knew what happened, his colleagues had already lifted him up, and the
stadium had erupted!  Crowley was thudding his first on the ground, and apparently biting
the turf, and the Davenport players all looked quite shocked... in the seesaw of the
match, they had no doubt thought that they would be the ones scoring first, having come so
close so many times.  But so had Westria, and the Diamonds were the ones who finally
scored!

Many now expected a retreat from the Westrians into their own box, as we had seen against
Bowdani, but to everybody's delight, the pace and character of the match did not really
change very much.  Westria's thrusts were less, of course, and the match pretty much went
back to the first half status, with Davenport in the Westrian half, and Westria taking its
chances with counters.  Time now began to run out for Davenport, and they increasingly
began to utilize Worthington, Ozon, and Gaspe up front, with Cadbry becoming more of a
third striker... leaving their backs rather exposed.  However, without a full comittment
to attack, the Westrians had but a few counterattacks, but they remained fruitless...
thanks to Crowley & Co. and Beliveau, who deflected two seemingly impossible balls!

With time running out, the Westrian crowd began loudly counting down the seconds of the
match as early as seven minutes before the end!  Pretty unnerving for the Davenport team,
who was frantically trying to tie the match.  On their side, the Davenport fans came up
with more and more vocal renditions of "Good Guys Wear Purple", and the balloons were
everywhere!

Referee Besecki harvested loud jeers from the home crowd for announceing that there would
be a "whopping" 5 minutes of injury time (indeed play had to be halted several times to
remove some of the purple balloons which had blown onto the pitch).  Amongst the
ever-increasing noise level in the stadium, with the fans facing off in their counting
versus singing, the Westrian team kept their cool, and eventually were FORCED near their
goal by the heavily charging Davenportians... even Beliveau was in the Westrian half at
some times, with Westrian long shots going wide of the twice unattended goal!  It was of
no avail... Westria was still ahead when the final whistle "FINALLY" blew, sending the
Westrian players, the Westrian fans, the Westrian city of Northway/Aurelius, the Westrian
Nation, into a total frenzy!!  Fireworks were popped off from all over the stands, the
purple balloons finally all began to pour onto the field, thankfully security was tight,
and no spectators managed to storm the field... the Westrian bench did, however, and the
black-clad Diamonds hoisted their hero coach high in the air, tossing him as high as
twenty feet up in their joy - Westria had won their first ever Vexillium Cup!  The
Davenport players just stood there shaking their heads at the madness that surrounded
them, kicking around some of the purple balloons, and waving to their purple fans, who
gave them a nice applause, with "Good Guys Wear Purple" still resounding over the
deafening celebration noise!  Davenport of course knew what it was like to win the
Vexillium Cup, themselves Champions in the pre-IVEFA days of this great competition!

Players, coaches, and officials of the Westrian team just about filled up the pitch,
dancing, slapping each other on the back, hugging, and carrying some of their heroes high
up in the air.  Westrian and Davenport flags began to appear all over the field seemingly
out of nowhere, the marching band that played was almost totally drowned out by the
noise.

This spectacle would go on for a good 15 minutes... the Westrian players began to exchange
jerseys with the Men in Royal, amongst cordial handshakes between the two opponents.
Coach Darena also was seen shaking with Coach Adi Schrey, who was in tears overjoyed.

Finally, it was time for the presentation:  IVEFA President Kickins (just flown in before
the match from Kaap Kierk) and Westrian HoSt and Chancellor Max Suchy were awaiting the
players on the podium.  Davenport got to go first, solemnly receiving their silver medals,
receiving deafening applause, sheepishly waving to the crowds, showing off their medals.
Then, the Diamonds went up.  Coach Schrey received the Vexillium Cup from President
Kickins, hoisting it high up in the air, shaking it like an etch-a-sketch.  He then broke
out in tears, and gave the Cup a big kiss, before handing it off to captain Theunissen,
who did about the same, and passed the Cup around to all the other team members, all of
which had played in at least one of the matches by Westria in this Cup.  As a nice touch,
all the players on the podium were also waving very small Christianan flags!

Thus, the celebrations continued till late in the night.  The Diamonds were making their
rounds for a good hour and a half in the stadium, and nobody was leaving!  Purple balloons
kept raining down, and smoke from fireworks filled the air... it was a spectacular sight
from the helicopter camera angle... about 400,000 people assembled outside the stadium as
well, waving flags, cheering... a nation celebrating, and a picture repeated all
throughout Westria!

Thus, the fabulous Nuropia 300 Vexillium Cup, the greatest sporting event of Vexillium,
comes to a close.  In Westria, the soccer world has a worthy, if not very surprising
champion, continuing the string of home team champions started by Christiana in '98, and
Whitlam in '99.  What a great display of soccer skill and passion we had this year, so
many magnificent teams, each of which would have made equally worthy champions....
Davenport, Bowdani, Namuria, Eastern Zartania, Armatirion... the list goes on and on.  The
level of competition just keeps going up and up every year!  Who knows what next year's
Vexillium Cup will bring... one thing is for sure... we'll see you there!!

IVEFA