Games 519-526 (The III.rd Games of the Vexilliad Lynne/Myo Beach 301) - First Round Matches:

IVEFA proudly presents the results from the 301 VexGames in Lamb's Cove:

Game 519: Altland - Caledon (8-18-301):

The Technical Information:

Final score: ALTLAND 0 - CALEDON 2
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 14,600
Referee: Peter Claris (MOA)
Goals: Cameron (CAL, 22.), Calder (CAL, 70.)
Yellow cards: McGill (CAL, 39.), Aur (ALT, 52.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Leeki for Pin (ALT, 60.)

ALTLAND UPSET BY CALEDON!

Altland were the clear favorites going into this match, but never seemed to get into the groove.  A far cry from their Nuropia 300 form, the Altlanders lacked
imagination and could not keep up with the speed of their opponents at times.  Caledon knew they had nothing to lose, and they played accordingly, taking their
opponents by surprise.  When Altland made an offensive exchange, it ended up backfiring as they increasingly struggled to keep their backfield clean, and
Caledon capitalized with a great combination goal by Calder which sealed their victory!

The Technical Information:

Final score: DRACONIA 6 - NIOKOLO KOBA 1
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 15,200
Referee: Alfredo Hugo (LEN)
Goals: Dourane (NIO, 4.), Offram (DRA, 25.), Previnsky (DRA, 39.), Offram (DRA, 55.), Offram (DRA, 60.), Heimanzos (DRA, 69.), Mirren (DRA, 91.)
Yellow cards: Kaolack (NIO, 11.), Strike (DRA, 22.), Diallo (NIO, 60.)
Red cards: Kaolack (NIO, 30.)
Substitutions: Ba for Kipsu (NIO, 45.), Reversi for McNoughty (DRA, 45.), Faye for Sana (NIO, 61.), Mirren for Offram (DRA, 63.)

CRUSHING DEFEAT FOR NIOKOLO KOBA!

After the highs and lows of Nuropia 300, Niokolo Koba seems to be firmly back in the basement after their 0-7 exit from the VexCup against Bowdani, they today
suffered another humiliating margin of loss, 1-6 against the trim and sharp looking Draconians.  Things could have looked so much better for NK, who actually
took the lead after a solid opening in which they played up many good chances.  Draconia equalized mid-half, but NK's chances received a heavy blow when their
midfield stalwart Alphonse Kaolack saw red after a second foul, leaving the Nuarmians one man down, and frustrated at their ill luck.  At the same time,
Draconia stepped up their game, taking full advantage of their opponents minority and their own strengths, opening the floodgates to the NK goal.  Offram scored a
nice hattrick.  Draconia looking very strong, and are now traded as top favorites to win the gold!

The Technical Information:

Final score: WESTERMARC 5 - ESTONTETSO 1
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 17,900
Referee: Oelgasson (CAB)
Goals: Fang (WMC, 20.), Nikkei (WMC, 27.), Kirin (WMC, 43.), Guardanapeira (EST, 49.), Kirin (WMC, 68.), Fang (WMC, 84.)
Yellow cards: Vinhos (EST, 20.), Singhraj (WMC, 39.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: none

WESTERMARC SOLID AGAIN?

Westermarc really got the better of Estontetso in this one, in a rematch of their VexCup Nuropia 300 encounter, which ended in a narrow win for the Serpents, which
began their downward spiral.  Nothing downward about the Chakrazipangis this time, playing more confident than expected against a rusty Estontetsan side.  The
Longerathians unable to follow their fellow athletes lead (Estontetso had won 11 medals already in these games in just 3 days!), and exiting the tourney without
ever really having much of an opportunity to beat Westermarc, despite a charge in the early second half.  Westermarc moves on looking good.

The Technical Information:

Final score: UNITED TERRITORIES 1 - PHENIXIA 0
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 16,600
Referee: Tristan Senger (DRA)
Goals: Whitby (26.)
Yellow cards: Boyle (UNT, 14.), McKimmie (UNT, 30.), Sykes (UNT, 54.), Maximu (PHX, 56.), Bryce (UNT, 69.), Appleyard (UNT, 84.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Kean for Hicks (UNT, 45.), Coyle for Macghileagh (UNT, 60.)

The Phenixians seemed poised to make things happen and their disappointments from the Nuropia 300 VexCup forgot, as they came motivated and fresh-looking.  However, they met a United Territories squad that pulled out uncommon strategy, replacing their usual exuberance with cautious defensive play once they scored to move ahead 1-0.  In the rather uneventful match, the Lions did not live up to their name, except defensively, where they presented a masterpiece of protecting a lead.  The
match finally did turn into a bit of a nailbiter as Phenixia threw everything forward in the last ten minutes or so, and came very close to scoring the all-important equalizer, even then UNT refused to counter, not taking any chances.  The Lions prevailed, beating the frustrated Phenixians 1-0!

The Technical Information:

Final score: LENDOSA 1 - RAS LANARCH 0
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 9,900
Referee: Adam Lova (LOM)
Goals: Santanda (LEN, 31.)
Yellow cards: Xhsaki (LEN, 21.), Hernandez (LEN, 59.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Arunde for Hernandez (LEN, 63.), Falterberg for Hainey (RAS, 70.)

LENDOSA WITHSTANDS THE FRESH RAS LANARCHI!

Ras Lanarch did their best to keep riding that wave that took them all the way to the elimination rounds of the Vexillium Cup, and once again played without respect
of their higher ranked opponents.  Lendosa, however, were not about to let the dwarfs upstage them, and coolly kept their enthusiastic outbursts mostly under
control.  Once the Lendosans went into the lead in the 31. minute, they did a masterful job of staying ahead, without letting the match bog down too much.  They
would in fact perhaps deserved another goal, but Andy Upton was on the mark.  So Lendosa moves on deservedly, but not without challenge.

The Technical Information:

Final score: CABOTENIASA 1 - KALESTHESIA 0
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 12,700
Referee: Vaghel Faltuunhe (EDE)
Goals: Sällinnen (CAB, 65.)
Yellow cards: Dogge (KAL, 9.), Morol (CAB, 31.), Mechzal (KAL, 44.), Bjornson (CAB, 70.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: J. Malin for Dogge (KAL, 45.), Boström for Mondei (CAB, 70.), Grooph for Silassalis (KAL, 80.)

CABOTENIASA OUTLASTS KALESTHESIA!

This match was at times painful to watch, as both teams took a rather defensive approach, and neither made great strives to play a fast ans exciting game.
Instead, the two sides played very cautiously, rarely venturing too deeply into their opponents' halves.  On top of that, the Caboteniasan defense did a fabulous
job in neutralizing the vital Kalesthesian attack axis Kefir-Qarza-Funchzal through aggressive forechecking.  The spectators wished they could see similarly
aggressive offensive play, but aside from the occasional breakthrough from Qarza and Co. and some quick counters from Fjortskank and Co., the match remained a bit
of a bore.  Caboteniasa made the best of one of their counters, catching the Stars by surprise, to score the winning goal in the 65. minute.

The Technical Information:

Final score: MORANIA 2 - UTANIA 1
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 22,100
Referee: George Caplick (UNT)
Goals: Satura (UTA, 14.), Trevisano (MOA, 69.), Selior (MOA, 89.)
Yellow cards: none
Red cards: none
Substitutions: none

MORANIAN FANS COME TO SEE THEIR TEAM COME BACK TO WIN!

Thousands and thousands of Moranian fans had made the short trip accross the border to witness what would turn out for them to be one of the most exciting
matches and nail-biter comebacks.  Utania dominated the early going, determined to overcome the disadvantage they had (or rather the advantage their opponents had,
which faced a virtual home match atmosphere!).  Star striker David Satura put the Utanians up 1-0 early on, and they were pushing hard the entire first half.  The
calls of "De-fense; de-fense!" by the Moranian fans were abided by their team, however, as they cheered loudly when ever the Moranians would clear a situation or
mount a counter-attack.  However, Morania was still down in the match, and they had to take heart to face the strong Utanians head-on, which they did rather well
in the second half.  As the match's momentum began to change, the crowds whipped their players on to equalize in the 69. minute.  The celebration was complete as,
after a 20-minute nailbiter period of exchanging blows with Utania (a time in which either team could have scored the decisive winner at any time), the
Moranians were the ones to score when it mattered most, with their captain David Selior hitting the net once again when it was most crucial, giving the Moranians
an emotional 2-1 win just minutes before the whistle.  Utania played valantly, but ultimately lacked the support of the crowds, which probably made the difference
today!

The Technical Information:

Final score: ALBION-MERITE 3 - SAN PATRICIO 0
Played in: Scandlon Field, Wyannoch University, Lamb's Cove
Attendance: 20,200
Referee: Devon Whytman (RAS)
Goals: Hohenzoln (ALB, 49.), Makela (ALB, 53.), Lenderval (ALB, 80.)
Yellow cards: McCallum (SPA, 29.), Voultz (ALB, 31.), Kiltchenstein (ALB, 40.), Ben-Barek (SPA, 50.), Putnam (ALB, 71.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Lenderval for Atkinson (ALB, 45.), Floyd for Makela (ALB, 70.)

SAN PAT'S DOWNWARD SPIRAL CONTINUES!

Albion-Merite came well-prepared to this match, because they were smelling blood - San Patricio had suffered humiliating losses in their last matches, and the
Imperial Eagles wanted to be sure to be the next team to tighten the screws on the Flying Saints.  And that they did.  Although San Pat had some good moments, their
confidence levels still seemed to be down, and too many passes just ended up in no-man's land.  Albion did a good job in turning the interceptions into
opportunities, but in the first half, the San Pat defense held up nicely, showing some of the confidence their offensive colleagues seemed to lack.  With the
arrival of Michael Lenderval for the lackluster Atkinson up front, Albion's effectiveness in the attack increased considerably.  Lenderval-Werbeck-Hohenzoln
found some of their old magic, putting the Eagles up 2-0 in a span of only 4 minutes (with Makela joining the fray as executioner, before being taken out later
to nurse his still tender hamstring).  Lenderval himself did the honors of making it 3-0, as San Pat's spirits sank visibly, ending the Saint's last ditch efforts
at pulling closer.