Game 113: Ordland - Morania (Copa Vexanova Ordland '99)

The Technical Information:
 
Final score: ORDLAND 5 - MORANIA 0
Played in: National Stadium, Newton, Ordland
Attendance: 56,000
Referee: Nasser Al-Sudhin (Mauretanie)
Goals: Castanheira (ORD, 3.), Larangeira (ORD, 17.), Sobreiro (ORD,
39.), Castanheira (ORD, 60.), Sangue (ORD, 71.)
Yellow cards: Hastes (MOA, 17.), Oliveira (ORD, 33.)
Substitutions: Sangue for Limoneira (ORD, 45.), Mortante for Hastes
(MOA, 45.), Pereira for Castanheira (ORD, 66.)

Match commentary:

Hosts Ordland off to the most impressive of starts as they declass
Morania!

Ordland '99 is finally under way, and the host team Ordland came into
this competition with great hopes.  They had beaten Vex Champs
Christiana before the Vex Cup, and had given them a great fignt in the
Cup itself, in which they lost out in a very strong group with two of
the four semifinalists, eventual champs Christiana, and top-ten ranked
Westermarc.  So the fans felt like their team was a lot stronger than
they had the chance to prove, and international sports journalists and
soccer insiders have always warned that this Ordland squad is a sleeping
giant.  Well, today, the giant apparently woke up:

Morania had come to the Copa more or less prepared - soccer is
tremendously popular in that country, as their professional league is
quite well defined.  Nevertheless, it was their first international
match after independence from Northern Gronk, and some glitches were
expected.  However, they ran straight into the Ordland Train!  The
hosts, in front of a fanatical crowd, made short work of the Moranians,
as top-scorer Castanheira shocked them with an early score in just the
third minute, that already seemed to deflate them quite a bit.
Larangeira unleashed a free kick bomb directly into the goal, just
seconds after he had been badly fouled by Hastes, who saw the yellow for
it, in the 17. minute, and Ordland was well on their way.

Morania scrambled to regroup, and they were able to fend off the
Ordlandic assault for a good while, finally getting their first own goal
chance in the 30. minute.  However, it was Ordland again to score six
minutes before the break.

Experts believe that it was ultimately the lack of depth in the roster
of Morania that cost them in this game - they had come with a few
superstars, but alone they could not carry the game.  After the break,
they managed to keep the match even for a little while, however, without
really threatening the Ordlandic goal too much.  Selior and Trevisano
were the clear standouts for Morania, but often they found themselves
alone against a legion of Ordlandic defensemen, and could go no further.

Therefore, Ordland cruised on through the second half, scoring twice
more to the great delight of the fans.  They even took the luxury of
taking out Castanheira before game's end to preserve him for the next
match.  Substitute Sangue scored a beauty when he volleyed a rebound off
the sidepole into the far corner, right between the Moranian
goalkeeper's legs!

The celebrations in Newton were remarkable, you might have thought their
team had already won the Copa!!  A truly historic win for Ordland, who
can now go into the perhaps even easier game versus Lamb's Cove on the
18th.  Morania will face the Dukes even before that, on the 15th, hoping
for a good result, possibly even a win to redeem themselves.