Draggonnii Inviyatii 3rd Edition Roster/Scores/RP [Archive]

Cuation

26-05-2006, 11:51

OC: My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

+0 please

Team Colours

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/Krytenia/CUA.png
Goalie Home: All Black, even the cap
Goalie Away: Imperial Purple all over

Stadium

Southern Island Peaks

An all seater modern stadium, retractable roof, special look is the old clock on the West bank. Capacity of 40,000, seats the colour of the national team. On the hot southern island ruled by General Jared, brother of the ruler Jude to gain him goodwill, the heat and sudden rain can be off putting. Beside a rushing river, quite a few ball boys have never returned from going in the river which is called "Catincoa death."

Manager

Jude Takerath-27-Manager: Passionate, he can often be seen on the sidelines trying to rally the team. A clever man, he knows how to manipulate the media but lacks the man management skills to rally the team in dark times. Otherwise a recluse, his glasses only add to his scholarly look. When the team isn't playing, he will study, read or play a game of chess.

Squad

Tactics: Mostly a defending side, they will push forward if behind by anything up to two goals in the last twenty minutes. Normally, they lump the ball forward for the lone forward to hold up till players get forward. Willing to use the offside trap and press from front to back

SS SS

LM CM RM
DM
LB CD CD RB
GK

Starting line up:

Gary Jens-31-GK.
Tall, tanned, agile, good at narrowing the angle, he has many strengths. He has three flaws however: his fiery temper, crosses and being somewhat inconsistent. This man can make a fantastic save only to let a 30 yarder through his legs. Willing to sweep up behind the defence

Mostly brilliant in the WC28, a few errors aside, he has returned to form and will be relied on to carry the team sometimes. Main reason why only 19 goals where conceded

Leslie Butcher-24-LB:
inexperienced but quick and eager. Likes to attack but his shots tend to be wayward. Does not like having to man mark someone as someone good with the ball can tear him apart and fairly short so lacks ability in the air. Otherwise a promising defender who deserves his chance

Played pretty well but in vital matches did not cut off the attacks on his flank, too rash in the tackle.

Philip Cole-35-RB
Solid defender lets little past him. Slow but not enough to be much of a hindrance. Dependable but if something unexpected happens, he gets caught out. His left foot is injury prone.

A solid world cup but seemed lacking in pace in a few games.

CB: Swiss ""Cheese" Charag -24: 1 goal

Lives with his minority tribe in the mountains, powerful on air and ground, sure on his feet. Starts in defence after a few games as a subsituaite and two as a starter. Lacks expirence but has ability to make it.

Jonathan Yan 32-CB-captain:
strong in the air and in the tackle, this man has emerged from troublesome youth to a quality defender. Lacks pace but has threat in the air that will be useful at set pieces.

Looked lost without Major but played well overall, often having to carry the rest of the defence.

Rio Samba-34-DM:
A ball playing centre back but prone too playing off the pace and for being distracted. Recently been tried aat DM and deserves his chance since Abel retired.

Wasn't noted much but did a decent job for Cuation. Needs to cut his errors and could be overwhlemed at times but did the job for the most part.

Joe Fallen- 22 winger

A trick pony. When not hogging the ball, he can be so useful to the team with his deadly balls. Too often he wastes things by keeping the ball too long. Left footd, he will start on the right for the team due to Ashton's retirment

Steven Milnar-29-Winger: 1 goal.
Has progressed up the Cuation league as a promising talent but has never quite fuffiled it. A winger who looks to sneak into the box and score, he is also pretty good when he stays wide.

His runs where good and he was always trouble but he will be dissapointed to have grabbed only one goal in twelve games.

Jamie Hargreves-34-Def/Mid:
plays anywhere in defence or in midfield but is pretty average. Good as fresh legs but that is about it. Heavens help us that he starts for us at the moment, he is now the boo boy.

WC28 showed him up, he was awful and had to be protected from angry fans. Got suspended against the top team in the group, his own goal against BP pretty much ended whatever hopes Cuation had. Pushed into midfield

Rual Mendisez-25-striker: 7 goals
Pacy small goalscorer. Doesn't fit in with the style of play and can not dribble or jump much but useful in the counter attack or to chase a lead. Can suffer from his own doubts and arrogance.

Cuation’s joint top goalscorer at Bof 25, he was top goal scorer with seven in the WC28. A hatrick against Chuck Norris rounded off a fine run but he failed to score in his last two.

Giovanni Hatzori-34-playmaker: 1 goal
hates to defend and can stop bothering if he is in a mood. However when he is in the mood and gets forward, he is wizard of all aspects of the ball. Due to his ego, he can lose the battle after taking to many people on/trying something too spectacular also pulling the team out of shape is a risk with him. Looks for flick on

Only one goal was suprising as he covered for Tanner's injury. Often played well, his playmaking may be missed while he is on the bench. Will hope to get a place back soon. Cuation’s joint top goalscorer at Bof

Bench
Jude Tanner- GK-22

Star player for his club, touted as Cuation's hottest talent for years.. Plays fair but can be absent minded on the pitch. Slow off his line but good shot stopper and master at penalties.

Def: Gary Cole -23

Can slot in anywhere along the back line, he is solid player at youth leven but now must take the step up to the big time. Like his brother Philip Cole but inferoir.

Heskey Anderton-32-LM/ST: 2 goals
a striker played out of position on the left wing, covering for the lack of left wingers. Tall and strong in the air, he works hard but has the tackling ability of a striker and tends to fall over too much.

Struggled in the game he played as a target man, he played well when called upon, winning over any fans who still didn't trust him.

ST: Lu Fei- 22

Strong player, he is the target man. Will hold the ball up if needed and so often first to the long ball, expected to one day replace Beanpole Tanner. Has little pace but good on the ball and deadlier in front of goal then Beanpole

ST: Pual Keane-24: 4 goals.

Pacy player like Rual Mendiz. Will be looking to get in behind defences and finish any chances he gets. Perhaps too similar but now he is too old for the next U21 Cup, his scoring run in the Dragon cup got him a squad place.

Started the odd match and often came of the bench, he did well to get four goals and with more compusure, could have had many more.

Tynelia

26-05-2006, 12:12

((DI event is one year before the world cup in my timeline))
3-3-2-2 formation. (-2) modifier

Coach- Greg Tudor age 52 Tudor’s first attempt at International play was cut short by an assassination attempt by former coach Seamus Flannigan O’Connell whose attack not only sent Tudor to the hospital but so upset the team they suffered four straight shutouts before getting their act together too late. However, the team seems to respond well to his style of coaching and always seem to produce a better offensive attack while still maintaining their natural defensive style. Tudor hopes a strong DI showing will lead to a WC 29 advancement beyond the group stages in the upcoming qualifiers next year.

Formation
…………….Masterson…………………….MacDougal
……………Collins……………………….....Martins
Pytte………………………Kent………………………Brantley
Jacobs……………………...Li…………………………Stossels
……………………..Whiteworth…………………………….

G- Amy Whiteworth (30-starter) Whiteworth has established herself now as Tynelia’s best keeper after strong showings in the last World Cup as well as the last Cup of Harmony. While some wonder how long she can maintain this level of play, Whiteworth assures us that she still has a few more good years in her.
G- Vladimar Malloy (33-reserve) the man known as "The Wall" for his ability to seemingly block everything sent his way is now clearly the number two keeper as Whiteworth has brought her game to the next level. A half step slower as age begins to catch up to him, Malloy has compensated by being even swifter to pick up the angle of incoming shots than in his early days.
G- Tom Gordman (17- reserve) Touted as the next Malloy, Gordman isn’t expected to get much action but as the up and coming keeper in Tynelia Coach Tudor felt just experiencing this level of play on the bench will help his development in the years to come.

F- Jay Masterson (30-starter) the flashy flamboyant Masterson was the league's goal scoring leader for the seventh time in nine years. Now in his third Cup Tynelia’s all time leading scorer in international play has assured everyone that the DI will be the first step in Tynelia’s advancing to the World Cup proper for the first time ever. Masterson has been named the Captain this season taking Adrian Pytte’s role this time around.
F- Anya Collins- (25- starter) The younger sister of Brad Collins, Anya has stepped beyond her brother’s shadow these past couple of years. A top five showing in both goals and assists has proven that unlike her brother she can do more than just charge the net. She is expected to take over from Brian Kenders who failed to make the team this year because of his complete lack of a scoring threat, in pushing the attack up field.
F- Alan MacDougal- (24- starter) The brother of Tynelian Olympian speed skating bronze medalist Ginny MacDougal, MacDougal finished only one goal behind Masterson for the league goal scoring title and brashly announced that next year the title would be his. When told of the comment Masterson laughed and replied “He sounds like me when I was that age.”
F/M- Andy Martins (27-starter) Martins has developed from someone who people felt were cashing in on his name to a player who has made the All Star team in two of the last three years. A very balanced game, Martins is a good ball handler while still a danger as a shooter and made the switch from the midfield to a forward last season and it paid off with a personal best in goals.He may still see some time at midfield during the Cup.
F- Troy Wallace (33-reserve) Wallace is a veteran of sixteen years in the game at some level and is known in the league for his trickery. He always manages to find the seam in an opponent’s defense and takes advantage of that when the defense over responds to a fake attack which usually leaves a teammate wide open. While not as dominant as he was earlier in his career the “Duke of Deke” is still a wily ball handler with a killer shot.
F- Joe Richards- (29- reserve) Richards has become a solid contributor in all areas these past three years including becoming a better than average passer to go with his above average scoring touch.

M/D- Donna Kent (29-starter) Kent again led the league with a record +18 scoring differential. Her defense is still exceptional while her passing is among the league’s best. Some say she is expected to handle the role taken by Jeff Leason in past Cups but has been replaced by Kent this year as Tudor doesn’t want to have someone who would abandon offense like Leason was known to do.
M- Adrian Pytte (34-starter) The former MVP has also stated this may be his last Cup. A fierce competitor Pytte is not one to hang around if he thinks he is hurting the team. Managing to stay among the top ten in assists this past season, Pytte is now hoping to pass on his experience to the younger members of the team to help them through the new experience of world play.
M- Bret Brantley (32-starter) Now fully recovered from his injuries which seemed to haunt him the past few years Brantley is eager to prove himself in international play after being on the bench for much of the previous World Cup. With Collins knee problems, Brantley has been tabbed the starter in the DI
M/F- Brad Collins (32-reserve) Collins has announced that this will be his final World Cup no matter what. Much more mellow now, he is often torn between pride and jealousy as he has seen his younger sister surpass him on the field. Still a dangerous attacker, Collins has done much better controlling his temper though some cynics claim its just old age showing. Nagging knee problems have made Coach Tudor keep Collins out of the starting lineup so he can safe Collins for when he is most needed late in a game.
M- Randy Willis (19- reserve) another of the next generation, Willis is a good ball handler but one who’s strength is breaking up attacks rather than creating them. He may actually see some play time as the midfield is the oldest part of the Tynelian squad and may need some younger legs to help them out over a long tournament.

D- John Stossels (32-starter) Stossels is living proof of having "soccer in your blood". Both his parents and his grandfather were all soccer players in their day though national leagues weren't around then. As such Stossels was almost raised on a soccer field and is almost never found out of position or caught off guard. This defensive unit just gets better with age as it now enters its third straight World Cup together.
D- Karl Jacobs (31-starter) Still the best ballhandler in the league, Jacobs is often lost in the shuffle when it comes to Tynelian defenders. However Jacobs is a quiet leader and has always been able to hold up his end of the bargain on defense. He will usually be the one to take the ball upfield to start an attack.
D-Tal Li (26-starter) Li is Tynelia’s best defender these days having added years of experience to his natural speed and ability making him even more of a danger to opposing ball handlers. More aggressive than Stossels is in going after a player carrying the ball, Li knows he has the speed to recover from any mistakes if someone does get by him. Li was the leader this season in steals.
D- Bonnie Davis- (28- reserve) Davis was second in goal differential with a +13 margin this season. She was also second to Li in steals, she could probably start for most teams but runs into the so-called Bermuda Triangle for offenses with Stossels, Jacobs and Li here. However she is more than capable of stepping up as needed.
D- Kim Anderson (18-reserve) The last of the new blood making her first appearance as Tynelia looks ahead to its future. Anderson is very quick on her feet and some say may end up as a midfielder in the future because of her speed and ability to move the ball downfield. At the moment however she is rather cautious in choosing when to counterattack but this just helps her defensively as she prefers to wait for a play to develop before making her move.

My opponent, if they RP first, may:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y, but don’t make me look too bad
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players N
Godmod Other Events Y

Predictions- A decent draw with no dominant team unlike the other three groups. Based on Tynelia’s World Cup split with then #18 Krytenia and taking a win and a draw with #24 Turori, finding three teams in the 30s with us is not as insurmountable a task at it seems. Not to mention Vuam and Isma whom Tynelia will be playing first is only a handful of ranks behind us. This looks to be a very competitive group with everyone knocking each other out. Don’t expect any team here to walk away with more than three wins in their five matches and expect almost everyone to be in contention going into the final matchday.

Obviously the host Andossa Se Mitrin Vega will have the homefield advantage here which will be tough to overcome. Wentland is a card carrying member of the underachiever’s club though that is based mostly on their World Cup play and not other tournaments like this. Rumor has it that the Tynelian media is up to challenge the media juggernaut that is Wentland in coverage but this won’t affect anything on the field. With these squads plus the home media many feel that amount of hot air coming from this group may equal that of the rest combined. Milchama is a bit of an unknown to Tynelia at least but with their ranking they will be a force to be reckoned with here. Finally Vuam and Isma are another team on the rise though most experts feel this first match between our two squads will decide which of us ends up in the cellar.

In the end it’s agreed the hosts will advance with a 3-1-1 mark. Advancing with them will be Wentland at 3-0-2 with the other three squads scrambling for third.

Ariddia

26-05-2006, 12:17

The PDSRA will be sending a slightly different team from usual to the Draggonniii Inviyatii, due mainly to a number of players having retired from international football after World Cup 28. Ludovic Hue, Frédéric Clément and Michael Swimmer have all retired; the latter two will be replaced by Ul U and John Sanjeeb respectively as starters. Also, Yves al Jahdali, Jean Kitenge and Tim Wald are unable to attend due to club commitments, and will be replaced by Peter Roberts, James Fields and Thérèse Chantier respectively. Al Jahdali and Kitenge have taken this opportunity to announce that they are also retiring from international football.

Thus it is a depleted but, on average, younger team that will be taking part in the Inviyatii.

GK: Sandrine Leduc (1)
DEF: Peter Roberts (13); James Fields (5); Thérèse Chantier (4)
MID: Ue Alt (cpt; 12); Ta I (17); Hanifah Kyaw (3); John Sanjeeb (19)
ATT: Ismail Faraj (10); Clémentine Ramirez (2); Ul U (23)

Substitutes:
GK: Awad al Maharmeh (22)
DEF: Eot Ja (20); Aush Song (7)
MID:; Wol Eosh (6); Cyril Lange (18)
ATT: William Smith (15) ; Nam Hyok-Jun (16)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers N
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y (minor only)
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

The Rouge-et-Noirs will be playing, as usual, with a +4 style modifier. More information on the team can be found here (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Ariddia%27s_football_team).

Jeruselem

26-05-2006, 13:08

Harry Kool and his girlfriend (and assigned JGN reporter) was looking at his team for the Draggonnii Inviyatii 3rd Edition tourny. It looked more the 2nd rate U17 team than any World Cup team, male or female. He would have prefered a proper U21 team or even the Womens team, but no they gave him a bunch of non-good juniors. Mr X was still coaching, until the next World Cup started.

"OK guys and girls, or whatever you like call yourselves these days. This is your chance to be good and make the under 21 or maybe the World Cup 29 team. Do well here and you will be fancied for some kind consideration for regular gameplay. Now, I've got a roster here and I'm going to call out your names so I know who everyone is. I want to make sure we didn't leave anyone behind in the bus. If I call you name say Yay. First goalkeepers"

Trent Bridge! Yay
Slimi Sum! Yay, err sir that is my real name

"Next the defenders ... we have an lot of these for some reason, hmm"

Cheryl Day! Yay
George Negus! Yay
Ahmed Mohemmed! Yay
Rick Springstein! Yay
Bobba Carmichael! Yay
Fred Phelps! Yay, I'm not related to that looney sir
Shaun Bellow! BURP, sorry sir.

"Right, the midfield ... now"

Asunder Powell! Yay
Phil Dodge! Yay, sir that's Phillipe, I hate being called Phil
Usama Bin Missing! Yay
Albert Gore! Yay
Clove Goldstein! Yay, no relation of your girlfriend sir.
Olmat Dashi! Yuy

"Strikers ... not many"

Spiropolis ... err, you know! Yiy
Damacus Shi! Yay

"Right that's 7 defenders, 7 midfielders and 2 strikers. This means no 3-4-3, 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. Someone wants me to go Karelan, so guys we are having a 5-4-1 formation. It seems defense is all we can here, so it looks like a -1 modifier. For the rest of the day, we are watching Hockey Canada world cup games not Takil ones. I want you guys to learn defense since we only have two strikers."

Milchama

26-05-2006, 13:11

Chi Sun-Times-Tribune-Domestic-International-Star-News-Today

Sports Section

Roster key to hedge

With Milchama the overwhelming favorites in their DI group (more on that later), they unveiled their roster today for the Draggonii Invitational. Coach Jamie Smith said, "This looks to be a good tournament to give our younger guys some experience, thus I decided the entire U21 squad from U21WC21."

Well here is the roster copied strait from the other tournament:

Gk: Kyle Blard- The Goalkeeper for Wickert AFC helped them win the Milchama Cup last year and got him on the national team picture. Now he's hoping to show it was no fluke.
D: Keith Fleesh- A very young but athletic defender. Some have called him the new Mills Thompson for his prowess in the air. He can do much more as his overall play have been very promising and have helped Megan Illavsky FC get to the second division.
D: Chase Mergle- Very fast for a centerback and that allows him to cover a lot of ground in a very short time. His speed has helped the Mongolian Horses avoid relegation this year.
D: Martin Hansen- A lot like Casey Stockholm on the other side. The only difference being Stockholm is a little bit better on the ball and Hansen is a little bit better on the defensive side. Made a great partnership in friendly games.
M:Barrett M. Lonnen- Destined to be the next great Milchamian player. How can we tell? He has the middle initial that he puts in his name that nobody knows what it stands for like Marc J. Floren. Can help the counter attack.
M: Del Clufor- A little speedy center mid. Does not have the passing skills of Antoine Sanchez but his little runs thru the defense remind people of a mix between Johnny Rintell and Darian Flinters.
M: Walto Manin- Great Name. A much more traditional wing than Flinters of Kilinin but his crosses and passes look more like a center midfielder than a wing.
F: Marin Keffer- Was a starting midfielder for the Milchama B team at 15 but did not make last U21 squad because of a mistake by Patrice Thibault. This time a starter and he wants to show Thibault he made a bad mistake.
F: Kelvin Joseph- A natural scorer who was an outside shot to make the team before going on a scoring rampage for Milchama Warriors to get onto the squad.
F: Tilar Flitty- Another weird name but Flitty can play. His wonderful goals have made him a great story for the Mongolian Horses espiecially since he is a native mongol. The first great soccer star from the Mongols the pressure on the world is on him and it will be up to him to make a good response.
F: Barrett Miggles- A good winger. Miggles speed and crosses make him tough to stop. He needs to have some good performances or else Daveed Bendelcar, who started the U21 tournament, will come in and take his spot.
Substitutes:
F: Daveed Bendelcar
M: Marcus Lyles
Gk: Fletcher Roy
D: Ryan Mcferrin
F: Corey Mishert

Now for the infamous (We're up to two nations!) Milchamian predictions:

Wentland- A good team who have faded after getting to the World Cup a couple of cups back. They are looking for some good results here as a springboard to the World Cup.
Tynelia- A team we have never played before but they have never acheived anything that great yet even if they are up and coming.
ASMV- The other tough squad in the group who have made the last two World Cups. The only difference between us and them is that we have qualified to the second round, they haven't.
Milchama- We just got off our high of qualifying to the second round and now we want to do better than before. Now our youngsters will get that experience to help us go that next step.
Vuam and Isma- Look at Tynelia.

Vuam and Isma

26-05-2006, 17:51

Gazetta de'Esporte

Tynelia must be beaten.
http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/virgin_islands.jpg VS http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/east_timor.jpg

As Vuam and Isma B side prepare for the Draggonnii Inviyatii, Edvard Slope-Brackey gave the press his view on the match.

"Well, we're lucky to face the team we'll probably fare best against first, as it means the lads will be fresh and ready to get at it. But we've got to take care against Tynelia, because they are at the same level as we are in this group : underdogs with a hope. They'll be playing like there's no tomorrow, but we're sure that we'll be able to out-score them. Ivers has been on great form in training recently, and we really think that he'll muster enough luck to keep the sheet clean for us, whilst O'Beirne, Ghauri and Masilela smack them in at the other end of the pitch." - Edvard Slope-Brackey

"We're not going to play with any defensive resolutions, because we all know that the reason we play football is because of the beautiful game. Some teams want to kill the true nature of football with complex 3-3-2-1-1 systems that leave the players without any freedom. I don't agree with them. Football is a game where the aim is to score more than your opponents. If you never score, you'll rarely win, as Pastorville's super defensive tactic (-5) in the CoH showed. We've got a good strike force, a creative midfield, and a solid group of defenders. They're all technically able, and I think that they should be allowed to express their freedom on the pitch, and not just on the training ground." - Edvard Slope-Brackey

"Of course, we've only got one thing in mind : to get three points against Tynelia. We'll be facing the top three dogs right after, and the chances of qualifying if we don't win against Tynelia are almost nil. Some teams have the advantage of a bye to take a fresh start in the tourney. We don't, too bad. We'll have to make do without. If we win against Tynelia, then we might find some impetus, and surprise one of the bigger sides, and we might even qualify. But if we don't win, then I really think that qualification will be a painful task." - Edvard Slope-Brackey

"We're hoping for a third place finish in the best cases. So we're hoping to get a good goal difference should be be on even points with other sides. O'Beirne's hight, Masilela's speed and Ghauri's knack should provide us with the goal difference we need." - Edvard Slope-Brackey

"Of course we'll be following ASMV vs Milchama, and we'll pay attention to every detail we can, since we're playing Milchama on MD2. The best scenario would be for us to win against Tynelia and for Milchama to win against ASMV. Milchama might feel like they don't need to play at 100% against us, and we'll be knowing that one more win would almost make the dream true. But as ASMV are playing at home during this tourney, it would be hard to see them concede anything but a draw should they not snatch the three points. And if Milchama lose or draw, then we'll be playing against a very revved up team that knows another slip-up could see them watching the latter stages on TV, and not playing them." - Edvard Slope-Brackey

The Gazetta however thinks that a win against Tynelia is completely possible, and could just open the doors of the next round to V&IB!

Dept. of useless statistics and boring numbers.
Mind-numbing special.

We asked Edvard Slope-Brackey to guess the results for each match, and our renowned team of alcoholics did the same.

Here are the results :

Edvard Slope-Brackey's predictions Our team's predictions

MD1 :
Tynelia vs V&I 1-3 0-4
ASMV vs Milchama 2-0 1-3

MD2 :
Wentland vs ASMV 1-1 0-2
Milchama vs V&I 1-1 1-2

MD3 :
Wentland vs V&I 2-1 1-3
Tynelia vs Milchama 0-2 0-1

MD4 :
Tynelia vs Wentland 0-4 1-0
V&I vs ASMV 1-4 1-1

MD5 :
Milchama vs Wentland 1-2 1-1
ASMV vs Tynelia 5-0 1-0

Team Points GD
ASMV 10 +10
Wentland 10 +6
Milchama 4 -1
V&I 4 -2
Tynelia 0 -13

Team Points GD
V&I 10 +7
ASMV 7 +1
Milchama 6 +2
Tynelia 3 -5
Wentland 1 -5

Hypocria

26-05-2006, 18:44

One Last Hurrah

It’s testimony to how much we like those nice lads and lasses up north in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega that the Hyppos last foray onto the world stage for the foreseeable future will be at the Draggonnii Inviyatii. Particularly considering the nation’s less than impressive record in the previous two editions of the tournament.

The Autocracy has been drawn in Group 3 alongside opponents old and new. First up is Cuation. Cuation have proved themselves a good Cup of Harmony side in the past and with the current CoH running parallel with the DI hopefully they’ll have other things on their mind. Then it’s fellow Atlantians Bazalonia. On their AOCAF debut the Bazalopes humiliated Hypocria but the Hyppos levelled the record in the recent tournament in Bettia. This next encounter should tip the balance one way or the other. Qazox on matchday 3 should be an interesting prospect as we’ve never faced them before. Finally that leaves . . . oh God why did it have to be them again?

Squad

Style

+4

Starting Eleven

1. Alexei Lomaia

2. Lucas Vyntra

3. Bruno Espartero

5. Tony Webber

6. Victor Gredenko

4. Marcus Baxter

7. Hernan Ferron

8. Brian Beck

10. Carlo Molinari

11. Robert Bercali

9. Rafael Dudamel

Reserves

12. Ryan Steiner
13. Alex Derevko
14. Victor Blanco
15. Alex Rytter
16. Adrian Kane
17. Hugo Montoya
18. Ashley Deucher

Formation

Dudamel

Bercali Ferron

Molinari

Baxter Beck

Espartero Vyntra
Webber Gredenko

Lomaia

Kit
(Supplied by Ediraf)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a359/Hypocria/0d3bfe07.pnghttp://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a359/Hypocria/59d4bf39.png

And . . .

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Anything you like, just no killing m'kay.

New Montreal States

26-05-2006, 18:52

BRANSTONE ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR THIRD INVIYATTII

He's pissed, so this thing is subject to change without notice

THE ARCHREGIMANCY - William Branstone, pulling another fast one on the even-vigilant Presse-Journal Devoir, has managed to move his entire team into a five-star hotel in ASMV, where a specially detached team of White Rangers (special ops) have been wrestling reporters to the ground and administering swirlies if they get too close to the side.

Reportedly disappointed with the performace of the team in WC28, Branstone has made the Inviyattii a requirement for the national side, in an effort to bring a sense of cohesion that had been lacking in the Cup.

A lineup was handed to a senior prelate from the Archregimancy who had taken a vow of silence, and this was all the press got:

Coach: William Branstone - Audioslavian exile hounded out of a job after attempting to take over the Bulls side during WC24 fell into a vacancy in NMS and has grown along with the program. Not much for patience.

GK 11 Paul Chasson, age 24 - Chasson is much, much better than his record would suggest, and would regularly turn in clean sheets if he played behind defensive backs worthy of the name. If he can keep opponents at 2 goals or fewer the Paladins should be able to hang in there and pick up some points.

GK 44 Tomas Beaujeu, age 20 - Keeping for the Pages on their surprise run to a fourth-place spot in the U21s has earned his the right to keep a spot warm on the bench for the big boys.

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D 2 Yannic Laurier, age 22 - He didn't do that badly in WC28, so maybe he's got something going for him. The smart money is on "fluke," however.

D 24 Ronald-Jacques Dio, age 15 - We'll try anyone, really. There has to be at least one decent back in a nation of 3 billion.

D 10 Jean-Marie Laporte, age 18 - Another callup from the U21s should provide an improvement over the ineffectual-even-by-NMS-back-standards Pierre St-Simard.

D 15 Pierre St-Simard, age 20 - But he's not that ineffectual.

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MF 6 Charles Pilon, age 23 - Failure to contain Menecrates doesn't make him any less of a genius quarterback of the midfield.

MF 8 Petr Hunyadi, age 17 - Another U21, earning his place with a combination of 4 goals, 5 assists and a defensive job that would be a credit to a brick wall.

MF 39 Marc Tessier, age 19 - Listens to Audioslavian hard rock and has let it sink to the depths of his very angry being. Also can play brilliantly when he's calm enough. Branstone will keep him on a very short leash, as his tendancy towards pugilism has gotten the side in trouble before.

MF 40 Jacques Toussaint, age 24 - Along with Pilon, anchors what has become one of the finest midfields in the world. Only discernable weakness is an inability to be at all parts of the field at once (and that's not for lack of effort, either.)

MF 49 Hugh Faulkner, age 22 - Converted from forward to midfield for the Inviyattii as Branstone wanted to put his offensive talents to some use other than keeping a spot warm on the bench. Shaky defense, but decent speed and killer instincts in the opponent's third.

MF 55 Paul Chan, age 20 - undersized speedster returns from solid WC27 performance. Quick to adapt to opponent's changes in tactics. Odd tendency to appear from nowhere to knock a ball out from under the defense's knees.

Midfield Reserves - No bios, except that everyone has time in the Inviyattii or U21s (except Sears and Tomaski) under their belt, and Miller and Yates all saw significant playing time in WC27 (all have at least 19 caps.) Fabrice is the younger brother of Hubert Labranche.

MF 7 Fabrice Labranche, age 17
MF 9 Vlacheslav Tomaski, age 18
MF 11 Johnny Sears III, age 16
MF 15 Jesse Miller, age 21
MF 41 Phillip Yates, age 23
MF 87 Albany Plattsburgh, age 19

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F 1 Gilles Villeneuve, age 21 - team captain and point man for the offense. Rapidly becoming one of the finest forwards in the world. Imaginative and aggressive play around the net combined with superb athleticism make him a force to be reckoned with.

F 99 Hubert Labranche, age 22 - plays well with Villeneuve, each can create opportunities for the other as well as for themselves. More disciplined approach to scoring than Villeneuve, and somewhat better on defense as well.

Forward Reserves - please note that Hugh Faulkner is actually the third forward (he'd move up in the 2-6-2 and a sub would be sent in the midfield) if anything should happen to Villeneuve or Labranche.

F 22 Andre Darcy - great talent, but like Hugh Faulkner before him gets stuck in the shadow of Villeneuve and Labranche.

F 70 Jack Basset - see above.

Formation is a 2-6-2 for a +1.

Cuation

26-05-2006, 19:37

OC: Is the Dragon cup at same time as CoH? I always used it as a preseason tounrey but if it is, I'll change my roster

Ashton Dropped?

Rumours abound about a roster for the Cuation team for the Dragon and next World Cup to have dropped legend Ashton. Timothy Ashton shot to fame in Cuation when he scored the team’s first international goal, a 30 yard effort against the Macabee's to make it 1-1. We would lose the game but win the cup and Ashton has been a vital part of the team's surge up the rankings.

With Peter "Beanpole" Tanner and Roy Ferguson retiring, there was always going to be a reshuffle. Peter Tanner was our main threat in the air, played alone in our first campaigns but then played alongside Rual. So often our attacks came from his unselfish play, winning the ball to flick on for the more talented players.

Roy Ferguson was a fiery midfielder who so often was sent to mark the playmaker of the opponents. His hard tackling won him a lot of bookings a few sending offs, he helped keep the team solid defensively.

Rumours are that the manager Jude Takerath has gone for Giovanni up front along Rual, two short men which will limit the danger of our crosses. Both players can be lazy though both have unique qualities in the team. Rual Mendiz is a hotshot striker and Giovanni adds something special to the team player as a sort of free role playmaker. Still who can the defence play it up to in times of trouble?

Informants from inside the training camp suggest that Cheese has been promoted to partner Yan in the defence, not a moment too soon but that Hargreves has been moved into midfield. Cheese will gain experience but Hargreves is hopelessly inept, he will run around all over but do nothing good for us. Own goal anyone?

Jose has been dropped supposedly but everyone knew that would happen with Jude Tanner emerging from the U21's. We now have three quality keepers to call upon so that is something. In this time, Ashton's deadly ability from distance and with his experience would be invaluable but he has been left out of the squad!

His replacement isn't even right footed, Joe Fallen played on the left for our U21's. He is a trick pony, so wonderful to watch but overplays it and loses the ball. It would be best to wait for two more years when Fallen will have learnt when to play the ball and when to show off.

On the bench will be Gary Cole a versatile defender, a poor man’s Philip Cole but is solid and should be relied on. The other new sub is Lu Fei, a target man who Cuation can pump balls up to. He has a good record of goals as well but it seems he will not start and will have to fight Paul Keane and Heksey Anderton for any spot that emerges up front.

This is Micely Rumours Monthly and I am your correspondent Mary Mandarin.

New Montreal States

26-05-2006, 19:48

GROUP 4

We want our mommies!

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - The Paladins now find themselves emmired in Group 4, a collection of three nations that made the Cup finals, one nation that probably should have, and a promising up-and-comer who might pull an upset or two along the way.

Sarzonia - the Stars have hit a rough patch of late, with early exits in both WC27 and WC28 bringing down a program that was once world number 1. Still, they practically OWN this thing. We're the only side that's ever beaten them in the tourney. Don't think they won't try and take it out on us, either.

Schiavonia - the Sloths surpised many by failing to qualify for WC28, being edged out on the last day by McPsychoville. Expect this to be a bit of a turnaround cup for them, as they prepare to do better next go-round in WC29.

Geisenfried - y'know, we like these guys. Active newcomers with a promising future. That won't be much help in the present, but they're still a candidate for an upset, and will make anyone who takes them for granted pay.

Haraki - after piling it on to them in the group stage of WC28, these guys probably have Gilles Villeneuve's face on their dartboards and air force bombing ranges. Should be a good match.

New Montreal States - rah rah rah. Damn HC.

And our friends and rivals from around the globe? The Archregimancy finds themselves facing a uphill battle in a group with four(!) WC28 veterans, including national smackdown-layers Tadjikistan. Starblaydia should advance easily and watch the battle for second unfold below. And ASMV has a decent chance of advancing in their own tournament this time, thanks to a spot in a Group that's doesn't have a bunch of teams with way higher rank than theirs.

Dorian and Sonya

27-05-2006, 07:41

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Queen Sonya Sabre looked at the draw into which the Sylvanaes Kingdom had been drawn. Ouch. Tadjikistan was there at the top of the list. Two Inviyattii appearances had earned a final four appearances in each. Nothing showed they would not repeat that again this time, Except maybe the fact that Jeruselem was also in the group. But that was not all, The Archregimancy was in it as well and would be looking for better results than their previous two trips to ASMV. Ariddia was the 5th squad to be placed in group 2. No chance at all for D&S is what everyone would say.

She had a decision to make about which squad to send. The Mystical Unicorns had been sent to the CoH. They needed a break before WC29. The Kingdom just might have a place in the U21s so that side was in limbo. The WWC had taken every other available player so a new squad was not likely to be found. Hmmmm....

That left only one choice. The Necromancers would play outside the AOCAF. But that was not neccessarily a bad thing. The Necromancers had qualified from a group that included Nedalia, Fmjphoenix, and ASMV. And to make things even better, they had beaten ASMV's B squad 3-1 in the process. With the exception of the domination of Vilita. the Unicorns had not done nearly as well. So they were ready for this appearance. And besides, they had earned this comment
any squad named the Necromancers should be taken very, very seriously.

So now for the squad junk.

team name: Necromancers
colors: Black & Magenta with Neon Green trim
Stadium: Elanesse Tulcokelume
Formation: 3-4-3 (+0)

Staff
Position Name Age Club/School

Head Coach Camellia Trifiletti 26 BJNTI
Forwards Coach Dedra Encallado 28 Royal View FA
Midfield Coach Brice Puddy 27 Viessen FC
Defender Coach Kenton Ady 25 Naples FC
Goal Keeper Coach Horacio Wais 26 Capeton FC

Starters:
Pos # Name Age Club/School

GK 7 Cierra Samantha 15 Royal Academy for Gifted Students
RB 11 Horacio Wais 17 Hawk's Point High School
CB 20 Estrella Finau 15 Lakeside Academy
LB 33 Albertha Vasos 19 Blue Jay's Nest technical Institute
RM 12 Lupe Tatu 18 Port Liechsten University
DM 13 Adella Iatarola 17 Shantay College
OM 29 Audry Susan 20 Royal View Football Academy
LM 3 Mac Brochet 15 Lakeside Academy
RF 9 Melonie Gaffer 20 University of Sylveimya
CF 41 Richie Pirieda 15 Iyanlette Academy
LF 18 Connie Klemens 20 Moharrarrya University

Alts
GK 10 Newton Prvitt 17 Iyanlette Academy
RB 35 Amado Ballat 19 Royal View Football Academy
CB 27 Reyes Serfling 18 Lakeside Academy
LB 54 Geralyn Devarona 16 Hawk's Point High School
RM 6 Dillon Anzora 17 Lakeside Academy
DM 14 Chantelle Egwuohua 18 Capeton FC
OM 1 Evon Aery 15 Royal View Football Academy
LM 49 Rolland Boven 15 Iyanlette Academy
RF 99 Diamond Cummer 19 Naples FC
CF 23 Filiberto Flitton 15 Royal Academy for Gifted Students
LF 00 Damis Guith 19 Veissen FC

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/NecromancerKits.png

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

27-05-2006, 08:54

To Participants in the Draggonnii Inviyatii 3rd Edition.

Thanks to each and every one of you who chose to participate in this edition of our tournament. Both other tourneys were wonderful experiences that have served to deepen the Vegan love for football. I know that this tournament will be of the same ilk.

There are a couple of things I would like to announce.

First a quick note concerning the group draws. All four groups were balanced in an almost equal combined ranking before The Islands of Qutar were dismissed. Instead of completely redrawing the entirety of the groups, Vuam and Isma simply replaced Qutar in Group 1.

Secondly, the Selection committee has determined that the fans of every nation represented here will have a much greater experience if both matches from a group for any match day be held in the same venue consecutively. This will allow fans to not only cheer for their squad, but also to see the competition in action against each other.

So without further cause for delay, here is the venue schedule for the DI 3rd edition.

Group 1
MD1 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea (Sea Dragon Stadium), Errion Vega
MD2 - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
MD3 - Inferi Domei, Tua Monafu
MD4 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg
MD5 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena, Tapia Reis

Group 2
MD1 - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
MD2 - Inferi Domei, Tua Monafu
MD3 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg
MD4 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena, Tapia Reis
MD5 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea (Sea Dragon Stadium), Errion Vega

Group 3
MD1 - Inferi Domei, Tua Monafu
MD2 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg
MD3 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena, Tapia Reis
MD4 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea (Sea Dragon Stadium), Errion Vega
MD5 - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington

Group 4
MD1 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse, Meldenburg
MD2 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena, Tapia Reis
MD3 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea (Sea Dragon Stadium), Errion Vega
MD4 - Carrington Championship Arena, Carrington
MD5 - Inferi Domei, Tua Monafu

Also of note is the fact that security has been raised substantially to prevent such events as took place when Atheistic Right bombed the hotel in Carrington during the last DI. Carrington Championship Arena has been renovated since and is ready to be used extensively. Dorian and Sonya will face The Archregimancy in the first competitive match there since the bombing followed by Jeruselem vs. Ariddia.

MD1 will be posted late on Saturday (Central Time US)

Thank you.

Wentland

27-05-2006, 09:02

The people Andossi Se Mitrin Vega were waiting with some indifference for the Wentland team. After the Cup of Harmony there had been almost international silence from the WFA and the squad had not been announced.

It was some concern for the Sea Dragons - they had not been able to scout out their opponents and were somewhat in the dark.

WTV reports from the Wentland training camp in Donington suggested that Wentland was keeping to their +3 style but they had so many players present it was impossible to determine which would be the final 23. There had been a total media blackout following the CoH with very minor exceptions and there was a real mystery as to the line-up.

The Archregimancy

27-05-2006, 11:36

In the media fuss following NMS coach William Branstone's quixotic decision to use Archimandrite Fr. Simeon the Silent, Second Secretary to the Monastic Football Association, to hand over the NMS roster for the DI, most members of the international media missed the fact that Fr. Simeon also accidentally released the MFA's private internal analysis of the group stage:

Group 2

Tadjikistan: Tough opposition whom we nevertheless defeated in the second round of the World Cup. A mix of atheists, Muslims, and a nice Orthodox boy in that lovely Yuri Maximov. But NOT COMMUNISTS. So we're reliably informed. Our untested B squad will struggle against them.

Dorian and Sonya: Rising team of, erm, women. Appear to claim to be 'Elves', but more likely to be using this as a ruse to cover their status as heathen sinners. Their notorious bikini gambit wouldn't usually stand a chance against our celibate first XI, but several B squad members have only just entered their monasteries, so we may need to have them play in blindfolds.

Jeruselem: Top team of, ahem, 'crusaders'. Time to remind them we haven't forgotten 1204 - though a pre-match apology from them might temper the climate a little.

Ariddia: World Cup founders, and one of the few ordinary reality teams to be fondly remembered by our masters in the Holy Empire. Despite that unfortunate plague incident. Here in the Archregimancy, however, we find it hard to get past all of that atheism.

The Archregimancy: Sending our B squad allows some newcomers the chance to impress, but we traditionally do badly in this tournament anyway, so the MFA aren't expecting too much.

Tynelia

27-05-2006, 20:44

“Hello everyone this is Sal Spikeman along with Anna Dalespin for Tynelian Soccer Weekly. We start our coverage of the 3rd Draggonnii Inviyatii with a look at our upcoming first match against Vuam and Isma. So Anna what do you think about this matchup?”

“Well Sal, on paper this looks to be a very even match with both teams a handful of ranks apart. However Vuam and Isma have sent what they are calling their ‘B’ team to the tournament while Tynelia is sending the team most expect to go to the World Cup 29 next year. This may hurt Vuam and Isma though I’m unfamiliar with the level of play between their A and B teams. But this should favor our side Sal.”

“As a last minute entry to the Cup though Anna, I’m sure their A team had already committed elsewhere and would be unable to change plans this late in the game. Still it should be an exciting match. A strong offensive style by Vuam and Imsa against a defensive style by Tynelia. In the past against a similar style by Bettia, Tynelia managed to hold them to three goals each match despite being ranked much lower at the time. Against a more closely ranked team the defense should do better.”

“Yes but in this case its all a matter of style, if Vuam and Isma come out with an all out assault from the opening kick then Tynelia will find itself back on its heels until they can djust. This will put a lot of pressure on Amy Whiteworth to weather the storm. On the other hand an all out attack leaves itself open for a big play the other way. Anya Collins and Andy Martins will certainly be looking downfield for the long pass downfield to either Jay Masterson or Alan MacDougal. However, Tynelia won’t be able to let up. Even if we go up a goal or two early Vuam and Isma is certainly capable of coming back.”

“Very true Anna, so what do you think about what the Vuam and Isma’s coach Edvard Slope-Brackey had to predict about the draw?”

“Well Sal, its clear that even though we both entered international play in the same Baptism of Fire, Coach Slope-Brackey hasn’t seen many of our games. While one goal in four matches might be a good choice during the O’Meara regime, the team has put up much better offensive numbers under Coach Tudor. Six goals in three matches during the Cup of Harmony when we advanced beyond the group stages for the first time ever, like I should mention Vuam and Isma did as well. But two of his picks have us giving up 4 and 5 goals in back to back games and that just doesn’t happen. In our international soccer career to date Tynelia has allowed more than three goals only once in their history, that was a 5-1 wipeout by the Archregimancy in the last DI. So those picks I feel are a bit out of line.”

“So any picks of your own Anna?”

“Not really Sal, though I should mention that Milchama is also not sending their regulars here but instead their U21 squad who’s style is a question mark to myself, another move that might help Tynelia’s chances. With all the teams here this could be anyone’s group. Wentland looks like they will be returning a good number of their regulars and are only slightly less offensive looking than Vuam and Isma appear right now. The hosts are playing their cards close to the vest but it could very well be that Tynelia is the only squad in the group playing with a defensive style. This might confuse these attacking squads who might get lulled into a footrace from playing each other when suddenly they find themselves up against a team that stays at home on defense. Most likely Tynelia will do what it almost always does in international group play. That is, finish in the exact same spot they were seeded in their group.”

“That’s true Anna, as a #5 seed in WC27 we were 5th in the group, in our first Cup of Harmony we were ranked third and finished third. Last seed in our first DI and finished last. Fourth seed in WC 28 and finished fourth and then to no one’s surprise second seed in the last CoH and finished second. But c’mon Anna make a pick for this match at least.”

“If you insist Sal, I expect Tynelia to come out with its usual defensive style and hold down the high scoring Vuam and Isma attack and possibly create a few chances with some good defense on their own. I see this to be a rather high scoring match for Tynelia and finishing in a 2-2 draw.”

“Ok then Anna, at least that’s better than a loss and would be the first point Tynelia ever gained in the DI. We will be back here of course after every match with our post game report as the Draggonnii Inviyatii begins. For Anna Dalespin this is sal Spikeman wishing everyone a good night.”

Haraki

27-05-2006, 21:15

Lloyd Vargas, the coach of the Haraki Hawks, has announced the team's roster for the twenty-ninth World Cup, as well as for the pre-WC tournament, the Draggonnii Inviyatii, which Haraki will be competing in for the second time. There have been some major changes in the lineup since the last cup, most notably on defence, with only one player from previous cups remaining in their original position. Also, for the first time, you can now not only see the player's name, position and football club, you can now also see the first World Cup they ever competed in.

**Please note that while technically Mike Zendar has been on the national team since World Cup 8 and Thomas Neils has been since WOrld Cup 9, they were both counted as World Cup 27 since that was Haraki's comeback to football.**

Mike Zendar – Forward, Captain, national superstar – Kiros Tigers FC – WC27
A national hero and all-round great player, he has the best kick in all of Haraki. With a total of twenty-eight goals in international play, he has scored almost three times as many goals as any other Harakian player. He’s a great leader and a superb offensive player, which is why he gets to be captain of the team. Rumours abound that, due to his age – he will turn 41 during qualifying – this may be the last World Cup he ever plays in, but he has dismissed them for now.
Matthew Thompson – Forward – Uses Coast Football Club – WC28
Uses Coast’s star player was the secondary reserve forward for WC28, and saw very little play time, most spectacularly one failed game when Sharp and Ribald were both out sick. However, over the two years since that Cup, he has taken another dramatic upswing, winning the ‘Most Improved Player’ title in the HFL two years running. He ranked fourth in the league for overall goals over the past season, and it seems long-time coach Lloyd Vargas has decided to place him in as Haraki’s left-side forward.
(R) Alicia Ribald – Forward – Arkia Serpents FC – WC27
One of the two Ribald sisters, who have taken Harakian football by storm. The older of the two, she is an aggressive offensive player who can handle the ball past anyone in Haraki club play. With a fierce sense of national pride, many have speculated that, had Haraki taken a standard 3-4-3 setup, she would have been the third forward.
(R) Samuel Sharp – Forward – North Susa FC – WC27
Sharp is one of the most experienced players on the World Cup team, having been a starting forward for the Hawks since the WC27 Baptism of Fire, and having started nearly every game since then, except when, for medical reasons, he could not. However, over the past two years he has been slipping. He scored only three goals in all of World Cup 28, and a series of injuries over the last season including a broken toe which he recovered from only to be smashed in the face with a ball and suffer a broken nose. He has stated for the record that this will be the last Cup he participates in, and he will retire from international play afterwards. He may still see a lot of field time due to his long-standing presence on the team.

Thomas Neils – Centre – North Susa FC – WC27
One of the older players on the team, Neils is an excellent team player. His passing is second to none, allowing him to drop the ball wherever it needs to be at the drop of a hat. He has the most assists of any player ever in the Harakian Football League, and is widely considered the best supporting player ever to come out of Haraki. As with Zendar and Sharp, rumours abound that he may retire soon, which he has not taken the opportunity to deny, leading them to gain momentum.
Richard Weber – Centre – North Susa FC – WC28
After only one World Cup, Weber was already tied for third most goals of any Harakian player in international play. This year, he’s going for the second-most title, and eventually hopes to claim the highest count. He plays for the best football club in the nation, and is one of their star players, scoring the second most goals in the last season, twenty-one goals behind Mike Zendar. Everyone in Haraki is certain he’s going to be a force in Harakian football for years to come.
Samantha Ribald – Centre – Arkia Serpents FC – WC27
The second and youngest of the Ribald sisters, she is not quite as aggressive as her sister, but still a dangerous opponent. She has been a starting midfield since the team’s return to international play, and is still only in her late twenties, giving her plenty of time to maintain her status. She has stated in press conferences that she is planning on staying on the team for quite some time.
Julie Vern – Centre – Arkia Serpents FC – WC27
A young woman, whose parents were immigrants to Haraki. She grew up in the port city of Arkia, playing football with herself on the streets. As such, she is the best ball handler on the entire team, and can run faster than any other player on the Haraki Hawks while maintaining control of the ball. A reservist for WC27, she was made a starter for WC28 after her outstanding ball handling led to overwhelming Harakian possession in multiple games throughout the previous World Cup. She proved her worth then, as Haraki qualified for the Cup for the first time since World Cup 10.
Luke Ford – Centre – Arkia Serpents FC – WC27
Luke Ford was a starting midfield for WC27, a reservist for WC28, and has now made his way back onto the starting rotation due to the absence of Manuel Cortes from the team. Ford is small, fast, and an enforcer for the team. He is in the top three players in the Haraki Football League (HFL) for penalties, and while not a great scorer, can still pull off some good shots, and a lot of good passes.
(R) Theo Angelica – Centre – Unsigned – WC29
Only nineteen years old, Angelica is displaying amazing talent and has been made a starter for Haraki’s U21 side, who are currently the defending champions. He shows great talent as an offensive midfield, with a good shooting and passing foot and excellent agility that allows him to dodge opposing players for scoring runs.
(R) Sam Daily – Centre – Leopards – WC29
The descendant of some of Haraki’s first settlers, Daily is a good all-round player. He’s tough with good stamina and a good kick on him. Excels at heading the ball or hitting it with any part of him except his hands. The accuracy from his kick lets him send balls straight into opponents’ faces as well as the net.
(R) Allison Keyes – Centre – Uses Coast Football Club – WC27
An ardent feminist and fast offensive midfield, Allison Keyes is a strong all-round player, although mostly on the offence. She’s been playing for the Uses Coast football club for seven years even after getting a four-year degree from the University of Kiros, granting her a certain veteran’s right on and off the field.
(R) Catherine Veritas Ezaniea – Centre – Caltis Football Club – WC27
The highlight of the Caltis Football Club, widely regarded as the worst big-city team in Haraki. She scores most of their goals and prevents more goals from being scored than the goalkeeper does. Unsurprisingly, she is the only player on the Hawks representing Caltis FC. Scored a goal against Starblaydia in her very first-ever international game.

Jonah Menike – Defence – Kiros Tigers FC – WC27
Plays on the same team as Haraki superstar Mike Zendar, and was originally slated as a reservist for WC27. He was brought in after Owen Peterson was injured in the first BoF game, and in numerous games was single-handedly responsible for keeping the ball out of the Harakian end. Fast, nimble, and with a quick and powerful kick, he is Haraki’s best defenceman.
Werner Vittenbach – Defence – Lake Lidane FC – WC28
Born of immigrant parents, Vittenbach managed to get a slot on one of Haraki’s worst football club teams just this season, hoping to break out and be signed to a better team. He displays excellent speed, agility and passing, although his shooting could use some work. Very young and energetic, and one of the youngest members on the team at twenty-four, having gotten a four-year degree from the University of Atherlon before signing to Rion Area FC. After showing amazing prowess for Division 3’s Rion Area, he was signed to Lake Lidane FC. Was a reserve defender for WC28 before getting a starting spot this year due to the retirement of two of Haraki’s starters.
Gary Willis – Defence – Vidaen Whites – WC29
This will be his first year in international competition, but for several years he has been playing for Vidaen, playing excellent defence. He is also apparently an excellent chef, and during the off-season works at a fancy restaurant in downtown Vidaen.
(R) Rebecca Disano – Defence – Isasi Warriors – WC29
Replacing Bruce Forrester is Rebecca Disano, also of the Isasi Warriors. Although not as big as some defenders, she is best known for a spectacular save during the latest season in which, after faking out the goalkeeper, the opposition forward firing a surefire goal, but half a metre before it would have rolled across the line she slid in and kicked it away, gaining her a standing ovation from the home crowd.
(R) Daniel Halner – Defence – Haelis Knights – WC29
Making his first appearance in international play is the twenty-year old Daniel Halner, who shows great talent in all aspects of defensive play, especially clearing kicks. He is expected to see a lot of play if Vargas feels the need to replace any defender.

Mark Stone – Goalkeeper – North Susa FC – WC27
The HFL’s best goaltender, far and away. Just in the time he has been in the HFL for the North Susa club, he has taken them to five final games and won four of them. Holds the records for both least goals allowed by a keeper and most shutouts in the HFL. He has played nearly every game for the Hawks since WC27’s Baptism of Fire.
(R) Christopher O’Hara – Goalkeeper – Unsigned – WC29
Haraki’s U21 goalkeeper, the absolutely spectacular Chris O’Hara is also joining the national team this year, making him the youngest player ever to join the Harakian national team, at only seventeen years old. He’s not even out of high school yet, and thus also hasn’t signed to a club team. But his exposure in not only the U21 team but also the Hawks themselves should make him well-fought over. Analysts expect the side that gets him to have a sudden upturn in both attendance and performance.
(R) Susana Hamilton – Goalkeeper – Arkia Serpents FC – WC27
Another good footballer to come out of the streets of the port city of Arkia, where poverty levels have risen so dramatically over the last thirty years that she came from the exact same background as reserve midfield Julie Vern. Has only ever played only one game in international play, versus Imperial Moose, after Stone was incapacitated in a red card-worthy attack, and allowed only one goal past her against a fierce offence.

Coach – Lloyd Vargas – North Susa FC – WC27
Once a star player for the North Susa football club, which has historically been one of the best teams in the country, he retired at age thirty-six and has been coaching North Susa ever since. He’s taken them to five championship games and four victories in the seven years he’s been coaching them, and now has been appointed the head coach for the Haraki Hawks. He will probably keep on coaching the national team until he retires from coaching as well, which is a long way in the future.

Notable changes from last year's cup are:

On offence, Matthew Thompson and Samuel Sharp switched places due to a series of injuries suffered by Sharp during season play, and Thompson's rapid improvement as a player. Apparently Alicia Ribald got angry she wasn't chosen as the new starter due to seniority. Samuel Sharp has stated this will be his last Cup, and that he will be retiring from international play soon after.

In the midfield game, star player Manuel Cortes was banned from the Cup after deliberately provoking an on-field fight with another player when his team was losing in the playoffs. He was suspended until the next season, which included the World Cup. Lloyd Vargas had a campaign running to allow him off his suspension to play, since he has scored the most goals of any Harakian player other than Mike Zendar in international play, but he was denied. Cortes has stated that he will fly to see every one of Haraki's games. Luke Ford, a starter from WC27 and reservist for WC28, will be taking Cortes' spot on the field. Reservist Lawrence Foster - starter for WC27 - retired from football altogether to spend more time with his family. Replacing these two on the bench are Theo Angelica, from Haraki's U21 team, and Sam Daily from the [South Shance] Leopards.

Defensively the Hawks received the biggest shakeup, after Bruce Forrester retired from football between seasons, and Sandy Thorpe suddenly quit one day to become a landscaping engineer. Reservist Nathan Rogers, who saw almost no play time during his two World Cups - 27 and 28 - didn't make the team at all, and reservist Werner Vittenbach was promoted to starter, along with Jonah Menike, who maintained his position. Defenceman and chef Gary Willis of the Vidaen Whites will be the Hawks' third starter, with the two reservists being Rebecca Disano and Daniel Halner, both talented defenders who should be expected to see some time on the field.

Bobbie Morris will not be joining the team as second reserve goalkeeper this year, as Haraki's prodigy U21 goalkeeper will be taking over as the primary reservist. Christopher O'Hara has seen no time playing for clubs and very little time playing for international teams, but has taken over as the U21 team's starting goalkeeper and will be the Hawks' primary reservist for this Cup, relegating Susana Hamilton to secondary reserve. O'Hara, at only seventeen years old now, should be expected to make a big splash in later years.

More details to follow later as the team boards their plane to Andossa Se Mitrin Vega, where they will be taking part in the third pre-World Cup Draggonnii Inviyatii, for the Hawks' second time.

[NS]Bazalonia

28-05-2006, 00:04

"Pre Draggonnii Invitational Round up" by Nev Gould

And yes, the Bazalopes have been invited to the third Draggonnii Invitiational cup. We are 5th out of 5 in the group but not 5th in the rankings, however we will still have our wotk cut out for us again. We have faced all of our opponents before, apart from Qazox. A weird little country in the so-called 'Q-Continuum' what ever that is, that worships a holy Ox and a common blesing is 'May the holy ox poop on your porch'. So let's get on to our predictions.

Starblaydia, a world power in many senses... they shouldn't have any trouble taking this group out. Easily progress to the Winners Bracket."

Cuation, Probably end up around 2nd somewhere. It's anyone guess apart from 1st and last place where they will end up in the bracket round."

Swilatia, Devout Atheists and yet they could very well win... games in the Balance.

"Qazox.. not much else tro say buit dead last."

..............

BazSports NEWSFLASH - Bazalopes up in Arms

The recent announcement of the Bazalopes heading into the Draggonnii Invitational has stirred emotions in the Bazalope team over their work load.

"ASMV is such a great place, but I'm not going there." shouted Steve Conn. Peter Hobble and Benjamin Peters had a press conference which just finished minutes ago and they had this to say.

"The BFSA is just working us way to hard... We have all year practice and every 4 year cycle we have to fit in the World Cup Qualifiers, the Cup of Harmony, the Draggonnii invitational and now the AOCAF, along with our regular league games... This is just atrocious, and we are refusing to go to DI until we can make an agreement about our workload."

The BFSA president had this to say... "We are just about to enter into discussions now, we had no idea about how the players felt and we can understand their feelings. We are putting together a so-called B squad as we speak. I don't know if it will be ready or if the Bazalopes will be able to make it."

A number of people have suggested that the Bazalopes do not want to go back to ASMV because of the Carrington Bombing last Draggonnii. But this is what they said to that suggestion. "That makes us want to go back more, we have built up a relationsships with a number of people in ASMV and we also want to show the world that we are not afraid to go back. Whatever security the VDF have in place."

We'll have to wait till the first matchday for any news.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

28-05-2006, 04:48

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVFNN.jpg
Sea Dragons Roster In Shambles

This is Kellan Kildan reporting live from our FNN Headquarters.

Well folks, it is time for the Draggonnii Inviyatii once again. And this time the Sea Dragons will be making the appearances instead of the B squad. That is due to some major upheavals in the roster. Unami and Unori Banta-N'bai, Tomas Carrington, and Kristov Kirelenko have now all joined Malachi James in retirement. That's right. It is sad but true. So now the burden will fall on head coach Pao St Martinique to get players such as Genesis Galluccio and Arobi Khazir-Zarazoroba ready for play in WC competition.

That will be no easy task and Pao will use the DI for some much needed insight in the abilities of the 4 new starters. So now the Sea Dragon Roster looks like this:

Team info:
Team Name - Sea Dragons
Team Colors - Columbia Blue & Yellow
Home - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Style:(-1). Formation:3-2-1-2-2 Tidal Surge

Coaching Staff
Edgar Moroni - 65 - GM
Pao St Martinique Head Coach. Age:39
Isabella Toni- ASST Coach - Offense. Age 35
Unami Banta-N'bai - Asst Coach - Defense. Age 43
Roberto Ricci - Director of Scouting. Age 40
Sara Burnsides - Head Trainer. Age 37
Kellan Kildan - PR Director. Age 61

Starters:
#1 - GK Shaun Conarky, 36

#51 - RB Micah Swift, 36
#50 - CB Genesis Galluccio, 24
#59 - LB Fidal Vianal, 24

#40 - RWD Allyson Shade, 34
#42 - LWD Anika Milosavic, 25

#38 - CM Arobi Khazir-Zarazoroba, 21

#22 - RWM Jenni Ulrich, 30
#23 - LWM Evan Evans, 37 - Captain

#10 - RF Porche Alexander, 32
#13 - LF Pablo Iglesias, 34

Reserves:
#4 - GK Jenna Jaffray, 25
#55 - D Bok Werizky, 22
#44 - WD Kasey Kurzinski, 15
#30 - M Marlin Altreche, 24
#00 - WM Kendrick Pu, 25
#12 - RF Leena Draghi, 22
#15 - LF Ali Devincenti, 24
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/stormgiantxxxl/ASMVWC28Kits.png
We will see how well they do as things progress.

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y nothing severe
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y nothing that keeps my players from playing very long

OOC - scores for MD1 will follow sometime in the not too extreme future.

Haraki

28-05-2006, 05:59

OOC: Oops, forgot to say: My style is +2.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

28-05-2006, 06:49

Scores For MD1

Group 1 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Tynelia 3-1 Vuam and Isma
ASMV 0-1 Milchama

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Tynelia 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Milchama 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 3
Wentland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ASMV 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0
Vuam & Isma 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0
------------------------------------------------

Group 2 - Carrington Championship Arena
Dorian & Sonya 0-0 The Archregimancy
Jeruselem 5-0 Ariddia

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Jeruselem 1 1 0 0 5 0 5 3
Dorian & Sonya 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
The Archregimancy 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Tadjikistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ariddia 1 0 0 1 0 5 -5 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 3 - Inferi Domei
Qazox 3-1 Bazalonia
Cuation 2-0 Hypocria

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Qazox 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Cuation 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3
Starblaydia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hypocria 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Bazalonia 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 4 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Schiavonia 1-2 New Montreal States
Geisenfried 0-3 Haraki

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Haraki 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3
New Montreal States 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
Sarzonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Schiavonia 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0
Geisenfried 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0

Jeruselem

28-05-2006, 07:18

Harry Kool looked at his team - they had won their first game FIVE NIL and playing 5-4-1. Ariddia were their opponents and you could have been forgiven for fans watching they were playing 3-3-4!

"Well, that was totally unexpected guys. Five goals and we were supposed to be playing defensively. At least you guys can actually attack the goal with competency and style, but don't get carried away. I suspect the Arridian team was rather meek and our next opponents won't be so meek. We didn't do much defending either as they didn't spend much time in our half, but be prepared for some hard work next few games. This game helped all of you with respect to call-ups to the World Cup team but you must keep this up. It's hard to get a call-up and this is great start. No slacking in your defenses from now on, because you can't defend a goal with a goalkeeper on our own half. You gotta be prepared to run back and forth, but otherwise you all deserve a break now. My girlfriend wants to go out tonight. Tomorrow, we'll be practicing some more defensive moves because the opposition didn't do much attack this game."

He paused.

"Just some criticisms. Defenders please tag your opponents better and don't let them have a few loose men around. If we were playing Starblaydia, this is lethal. No more of this kiddy shirt tuggy crap. The U21 and senior teams don't do it, you should learn to stop it. We don't want give any penalty goals because some idiot pulled an opponents shirt. Another is speed, no moping around in defense either - be quick to remove the ball from the defensive area to the midfield. The more time you spend in defense, the less time we can attack. That's all."

Qazox

28-05-2006, 07:26

QSPN SPORTS WORLD

"Hi and welcome to the show, I'm your host, Patrick Daniel and alongside me as always is Scott Stewart." Tonights big story is te massive upset pulled off tonight by the Junior Oxen as they shocked Bazalonia 3-1 today in the opening match of the Draggonii Inviyatii. We now take you to the Inferi Domei, Tua Monafu, In Andossa Se Mitrin Vega for an interview with Head Coach of the team, Tom Lombardi. Mr. Lombardi, just how big of an upset is this?"

"Thanks for having me, Patrick. This is huge as this team of college players, who were sent here as the National team was still competing in the Cup of Harmony, beat Bazalonia, ranked 13th in the world and they just missed out on qualifing for the cup."

"Coach this is Scott Stewart, How did your team prepare for this match and how did they win?"

"Um. We got here about a week ago to get used to the weather and mostly we just watched tapes of past Bazalonian matches and tried to script some early plays that could work on their team. As for how we won, most of the credit should go to our keeper, Henry Edision as he stopped 15 of the 16 shot they got on net. our defense need some work, but all in all I'm pleased with the result."

PD: "Do you think that because some Of Bazalonia's players notably Peter Hobble and Benjamin Peters, didn't arrive in time due to the Bazalopes' busy schedule, that it made a big difference in you approach to the game?"

TL: "Yes I did because they were missing some of their top level players, they seemed more tenative than usual when they were attacking and that led us to counterattack more."

SS: "Thank You coach and good luck in the rest of the tournement. As for the match itself here are some of the highlights.."

"Kinkade takes it up the pitch, sees Macgillivray near the far side, Macgillivray
shoots...GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! and Qazox has scored first in the 30th minute Macgillivray just launched a rocket of a shot past the Bazalonian keep."

"We're tied here late in the 1st half as Bazalonia just tied it up on a penalty as Erik Crabill was given a yellow card for his elbowing of a Bazalope in the pentalty area. Nelson Macgillivray takes the ball, passes it to Turek, Turek running dwon the near sideline looking to pass, lobs it for Hugh Dansie, Dansie, dribbles, sees Kinkade, Kinkade shoots, saved, rebounded out to Turek, he shoots and GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAl!!! Fernando Turek just sqeaked one by and now Qazox leads 2-1 with only a minute left til the half!"

"Clayton Urman, lines up for the free kick, passes it back to Turek, Turek passes to Christian Likens, Likens looks, looks, shoots.and GOOOOOOOOOOAL!! how did that ball get past the keep, it must've taken a bad hop and now in the 81st minute, Qazox has a two-goal lead and the oxbells are ringing loud back in Qazox City tonight as the upset of the day is here in ASMV!!!"

Hypocria

28-05-2006, 10:43

OOC:
Bazalonia']Swilatia, Devout Atheists and yet they could very well win... games in the Balance.

*cough*. You may want to check that group draw again ;) .

_________________________________________________________________
IC:

HFA Headquarters, Hypocrium

“Sir, Mr Philips is here to see you. He doesn’t have an appointment.” The intercom gave the secretary’s voice a tinny quality.

“Show him in Caroline.” Alex Scott, Head of the HFA, wasn’t particularly in the mood for guests but it might take his mind of the most recent Hyppo debacle.

The door to his office was thrown open and a young member of the Association stormed in and flung a newspaper on Scott’s desk.

“Trouble with the crossword Philips?”

“With all due respect sir I really don’t think this is a joking matter. You’ve pulled the nation from the World Cup. It’s all over the papers.”

“And?”

“Why? Why do it? Sure we‘ve hit a lean spell but that can‘t justify this.”

Scott sighed. Perhaps it was time to come clean about those events of twenty years ago. That fateful day that had cursed the Autocracy to an eternity of sporting ineptitude.

“Tell me Philips, what do you know of Archibald Cutts?”

The apparently random question seem to throw the younger man for a couple of seconds. But he regained his composure quickly.

“The name sounds vaguely familiar. He was one of the old guard wasn’t he? Retired years ago. Way before my time here.”

“The personnel department will tell you he retired twenty years ago. That’s not entirely accurate. He was found dead in a field outside the city. Considering the bizarre and horrific nature of is death we decided to keep it quiet.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand the significance.”

Scott smiled. Of course he didn’t understand. Why should he? At times Scott himself struggled to grasp the situation. He got up from his desk and headed for the wall safe. Opening it, he took out a cassette. Returning to his desk, he placed the cassette in a player.

“It was during Under-21 World Cup 16, two years before our first senior international match. Cutts was unhappy about media predictions and sought a more . . . scientific option. And he found one. A Dr Hermann Klipper. This tape was taken form Cutts’ answer phone.”

He pressed play.

"Ah yes, Group A provides us with some interesting results. You see, this group contains the cursed five-vowel nation of South Osettia. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on which nation you are, as we shall see in a minute, for the other members of the group, the curse does not only affect the carrier nation. You see, if you play the cursed team, and you do not beat them by a margin of two goals, a small part of the curse transfers itself onto you. On the other hand, if you do manage to beat them by two goals, your luck improves drastically. So if we look at how things turned out, Starblaydia beat South Osettia 3-1, thus meaning they achieve the two-goal margin and so are now, sure enough, the favourites to win the tournament. Hypocria, on the other hand, won by only one goal, and thus their chances of winning have been drastically reduced to a mere 4.4%. Had they been placed in another group, and achived the same set of results, they could well have had a 16.7% chance of winning. Hypocrians should not despair though, for there is a way to reverse the effects of the curse. All the players must dress in ancient bamboo outfits, form a circle around a bonfire and pay homage to the moon between the hours of 1200 and 1300. They must then, one at a time, jump into the fire. If they come out of the fire unscathed, then they have been lifted of the curse. If they do not...well...they die, so it really won't matter whether you're cursed or not."

After a minute of coughing and spluttering, the doctor continued:

"Legend has it that once the curse has been passed on, the carrier nation will be no more, so that it can no longer affect the other nations of the world. The world will then be safe until another cursed five-vowel nation comes along."

Philips look unconvinced. “Surely no one could take this seriously.”

“Cutts certainly did. He told me so himself. He tried to convince me to take steps to reverse the curse.”

A look of horror crossed Philips’ face. “But that would mean . . .”

“Indeed. I throw him out but he decided to take matters into his own hands and perform the ceremony himself.”

“In a field outside the city?”

“Exactly.”

“But surely you can’t be taking this seriously.”

“For a long time I didn’t, but the more I think about it the more I believe it. How else can you explain some of our results. That bizarre collapse against Spruitland in the final of Under-21 World Cup 18, when we rolled over and died against the Archregimancy in the quarters of Cup of Harmony 17 and the five goals we conceded in the second half of the AOCAF second round a couple of weeks ago. Not to mention the endless string of embarrassments against sporting nobodies through the years.”

“But sir I . . .”

“Did I mention that shortly after the good doctor’s prophecy the nation of South Osettia descended into anarchy and disappeared from the political map?”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. And have you wondered why our performances in the Draggonnii Inviyatii have been so woeful?”

“Me and the rest of the nation, yes.”

“After South Osettia collapsed a new and powerful nation emerged on the landmass. Any guesses?”

“No way! Not Andossa Se Mitrin Vega?”

“The very same. You see Philips, the cosmos itself is against us. What choice did I have?”

[NS]Bazalonia

28-05-2006, 11:32

OOC: Sorry Hypocria... don't know what happened there.

The Dead lock had been ended... The 2nd squad was not needed. The Main Bazalope team decided to go ASMV and perform.

The Following is the Bazalope Roster

Bazalonian Bazalopes

Coach: Neil Kabants

Style 4:3:3, in numeric fasion +1

Peter "Wolfie" Hobble (31, BSL)©*
Lucas Reaver (32, SSB)
James Kantwell (33, FFSA)*
Irchov Michael (34, BSL)* ... said Ir-ch-ov Mi-ch-ael (ch is a gutteral)
Colin Neil (35, BSL)

Midfielders:

Anthony Creek (21, FFSA)*
David McMahon (22, SSB)
Benjamin 'Benny Boy' Peters (23, BSL)*
Victor Boney (24, SSB)*
Keith Gilmore (25, SSB)

Defenders:

Kevin Balsom (11, BSL)*
Andrew "The Bandit" Creek (12, FFSA)*
Fjord Perts (13,FFSA)*
Shane Smith (14,BSL)
Steve Conne (15, SSB)*
Malcolm Halliwell (16, FFSA)
Hayden Peterson (17, SSB)

Goalies:

Jeffery Constantine (01, BSL)*
Paul Kanga (02, SSB)
Micheal Clarks (03, FFSA)

Asterix denotes Starters

We have no idea what this following information means but have included it anyway, just saying yes to it all

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y

The team minus key players, Peter Hobble and Benjamin Peters, arrived just in time to go to the hotel sleep and then onto the field for a quick run in the morning before playing against Qazox that night... Their schedule was against them and they where tired from the start. That's probably the biggest reason that Jeffery let 3 Qazoxian goals through. Simply his reflexes or his brains processing power was no where near where it should be. He let 1 goal in the first half in the 30th minute, then James Kantwell scored as a result of the penalty given by Qazoxian player in the 41st minute.

Just 3 minutes later the Qazoxian player, Fernando Turek scored off of a rebound which the Bazalopes failed to clear, usually Andrew Creek would have agressive on this one but he was still tired.

The second half the Bazalopes had no chance as the Qazox Oxen-related the last goal from a free kick given in a reckless tackle outside the penalty area by Andrew "The Bandit" Creek. Who had received a yellow card.. The Bazalopes trudged back to their quarters with the terrible start to the Draggonnii. Would this be another bad Invitiational for the Bazalopes? Only time would tell...

Meanwhile Back in Bazalonia the following appeared in a certain newspaper

The following correction appeared in the paper

Correction - Pre Draggonnii Invitiational Round Up

On the DDrd of MM, YYYY. The Article by Nev Gould entitled "Pre Draggonnii Invitiational Round Up" contained incorrect data. Swilatia where not in our group for the Draggonnii Invitiational. But Hypocria is. We would like to apologise to all our readers, to the organisers of the DI in ASMV and most importantly to the Hypocrian Hyppos. Even though they may/may not have read the story. Nev Gould wishes to personally appologise to every one who has read the article saying. "I'm sorry to my fans. I should have known better. I had so much soccer going around in my head it wasn't funny. Anyway, I'm really sorry for the mistake." No action has been taken against Nev for this mistake.

Starblaydia

28-05-2006, 13:27

I Give My Opponent Permission
(and actively encourage them) To:
====================
Choose My Scorers
GodMod Any Goalscoring Events
Yellow Card Players
GodMod Other Events for Humourous Intent
====================

Style: +4
Starblaydia's Style will be +4: Very attacking

Notes:
1) Many of these players can be found in The 'Starblaydi Sports' Category (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Category:Starblaydi_Sports) on the wiki. If they're anybody, they're linked to their article in there. Plus you get grammatical lessons in this note too, this time, so good for you, hope you learned something!

2) The best starting eleven are, thankfully, numbered 1-11 and are in bold

3) I actively encourage, nay nearly demand, that if you RP first you pick my scorers (if any).

http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/SFA-Logo.gif
Starblaydia Work Up To Title Defence
Striking connundrum faces Azanulbizarn

In the run up to next year's World Cup, defending Champions Starblaydia are staring a choice squarely in the face. Who the hell do they play up front? With Dasha Tolkacheva, 32, relegating herself to the AOCAF squad for reasons of exhaustion, there are now two places up for grabs. With four probable strikers looking to take those spots, there are also two young guns fighting for that place too.

So, Starblaydia will try them all. Three of them at a time, no less. Playing a little narrower with a three man holding midfield, the three strikers - ably supported by two attacking full-backs - will be going pedal to the metal to make their impression and claim their place at world Cup 29. A 4-3-3 instead of a 4-4-2 diamond? That's a new one for Starblaydia...

The Goalkeepers
1. Paola Mendez, GK, 25 - Huntress United
12. Balin Grimzabar, GK, 28 - Karak Ungor Chiefs
19. Julio I Kyrile, GK, 38 - KaMaRi kali Xentira (Rejistania 1st Division)

The Defenders
2. Tabitha Di Bradini, RB, 21 - Daii Raiders
3. Magdalena Ruiz, LB, 22 - Tabeck Lightning
5. Leo Velaise, CB, 25 - Veles
6. Herge Costa, C/RB, 22 - Hallad Reavers
13. Adimurtiz Drazarim, R/LB, 27 - Karak Ungor Chiefs
14. Stephen Adams, CB, 20 - Francopolis Coastal (Legalese)
20. Alberto Belmozzi, CB/CF, 31 - Gateway Bay (Kaze Progressa)

The Midfielders
4. Pedro Rujano, Captain, C/DM, 26 - Na~ovi Nanti (Rejistania 1st Division)
7. Donii, CM, 21 - FC Farca
11. Will Soperra, CM, 25 - Penningworth United
15. Tara Niodonna, C/DM, 24 - Daii Raiders
16. Fillipo Zinaldi, AM, 23 - Vecchio Victors
21. Petyr Kaminsky, R/LM, 25 - Internashionale
22. Durum Rage, AM, 28 - Karak Ungor Chiefs

The Forwards
8. Johan Keifner, CF, 26 - Tabeck FC
9. Maivia Von Erich, SC, 28 - Widdrington Wolves
10. Jacqueline Maitland, SC, 21 - Tuncastle Rovers
17. Janica Rocca, SC, 24 - Daii Raiders
18. Durin Bazrimar, SC, 17 - Zhaza Zubu (Legalese)
23. Lawrence Asante, CF, 19 - Snowcroft City (Legalese)

The Formation
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/StarDI3.jpg

Home And Away Kits:
Kits created by:
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Images/ediraflogo.jpg
http://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Starblaydia/Kit1.jpghttp://www.starblaydestudios.co.uk/Starblaydia/Kit2.jpg

Tadjikistan

28-05-2006, 14:44

A leap into the dark

It hasnt been easy for the Tadjiks nowadays, despite their strong team they could not impress their audience in their last few matches, two losses. Though they were both against a stronger team and a co-host, Coach Zaev still remembered it quite well :'A win against Starblaydia would have brought us in a match against Casari, the one that we could atually win. Instead we got those monastic hosts, the ones we had to avoid. And guess what, we've got them in our group together with other troublemakers like the Jeruselem Crusaders.'

'We beat Jeruselem during the World Cup 25 group stage with 3-1 and during World Cup 26 with 4-2 and 5-2, but this side has improved over the past years and will prove a worthy advesary. Though it seems they are using some sort of Junior team, an inexperienced bunch, we'll have to wait and see.'

'Once the opening match against the Crusaders is behind us we can start focussing on the "easier" work, first some revenge on The Archregimancy, they dont have their faithful fans here. Or atleast, not much of them and we've discovered their weakness: Orthodox players, so we'll have to give Maximov a more important role in that game. But I dont think it'll be a problem, they're fielding an inexperienced B squad.'

'And then there are the unknown sides like Arridia; Atheist World Cup founders and thats basicly all we know. I've seen their team, which they claim to be a young squad, well I must disagree, Its a fine mix. Our own Tigers squad is younger, only four of our players are thirty or older.'

'If Arridia's is fielding a young team then what do we say about the last contender in our group? Dorian and Sonya is here with a youth team, all below 20, their coaches are younger than my strikers but they play the 3-4-3 style just like us. We'll have to outclass them with individual skills and we've got a couple of good guys on our side, Nikolay Elisarov and Andrej Gyurza for instance. The only thing that our team misses right now is Saidomir Saradov, who retired recently. Hopefully, he will be replaced by Rahmon Nabiyev, whom we know best from Vaksh Qorgontheppa's sucesses in the NSFA Cup.'

Fixtures:
MD1: Bye
MD2: Tadjikistan - Jeruselem
MD3: Tadjikistan - The Archregimancy
MD4: Dorian and Sonya - Tadjikistan
MD5: Ariddia - Tadjikistan

Milchama

28-05-2006, 16:19

OOC: The style is +2 or +3 depending on how the modifiers work.

Alexandria Times-Tribune-Post-Gazette-Chronicle-Journal-Enquirer

Sports Section

First win in

The Milchama Warriors U21 side got off to a great start in the Draggonii Invitational as they beat ASMV 1-0 on a goal by Barrett M. Lonnen in the second half secured victory for the Warriors. They have already learned a lot according to Coach Jamie Smith who said, "The youngsters played a great game. Despite being intimidated early they rebounded and played some good football till by the end they looked very confident and almost won by more if it wasn't for the fact that forwards need to learn to finish better."

Well the game started out poorly for the Warriors who did look indimidated at the start as the Sea Dragons dominated the early game but Chase Mergle and Martin Hansen stopped them cold and what they couldn't do Kyle Blard did as he saved 3 shots in the first 25 minutes. Then the Warriors started to counter attack as Del Clufor got the ball to the wings to Barrett Miggles who crossed the ball into Kelvin Joseph who hit the ball high. This was the only good chance for the Warriors in the first half. Although after the first 25 minutes they settled down and started to dominate possesion and almost put ASMV on the defensive.

As the second half came around the Warriors really started to hold their own and play well as Walto Manin and Barrett M. Lonnen started to play well down the wing. Clufor then found Tilar Flitty on a run through the middle but the keeper for ASMV was there to snuff out the run. This was just the beginning for the Warriors though as Flitty missed another chance a few minutes later, then Shaun Conarky made a great save on a Manin free kick. Finally the Warriors broke through in the 77th minute when a ball in from Manin was headed back to just outside the 18 yard box where Lonnen got the perfect kick of the ball that went across the box and into the low left corner of the goal passed a diving and stunned Conarky. That was all the offense the Young Warriors needed as they continued to attack but could not break through the ASMV defense again.

Final Score:
Milchama 1 (Lonnen 77)
ASMV 0 (Shutout!)

Milchama Man of the Match:
Chase Mergle- His play in the first half of keeping the Sea Dragons was key to settling the Warriors down. While many of the players looked nervous he looked in complete control and stopped the Sea Dragons from getting great chances and shots that they would have scored on.

Tynelia

28-05-2006, 17:43

“Hello again this is Sal Spikeman along with Anna Dalespin for Tynelian Soccer Weekly. Today begins the Draggonnii Inviyatii and Tynelia started off with a bang. In what most group analyzers have dubbed the battle for the cellar, Tynelia started out on a much better foot than last time with an impressive 3-1 win over Vuam and Isma. Coupled with Milchama’s 1-0 shutout of the host Androssa Se Mitrin Vega and Tynelia finds itself in first place via goal differential to start things off. What makes it more ironic is that Tynelia, the most defensive minded squad in their group was the top scoring squad in day one. Let’s head over to on field correspondent Dana Lee for her interview with Coach Greg Tudor right after the contest.”

<footage plays>

“With me right now is Tynelian national coach Greg Tudor. Well Coach just like in your previous two international events you got the team out on the right foot with a very strong offensive performance of all things today. How did you manage to get the offense so stirred up?”

“Well Miss Lee, I have to thank that Slope-Brackey chap for the motivation. I found a newspaper with his predictions and posted it on the team bulletin board. That fired up the boys and girls quite a bit let me tell you and they were out on a mission out there today.”

“Still Coach, in the past other coaches tried to shake up the offense with usually disastrous results, but today the defense held up very well despite the improved attack. What did you do differently?”

“Its all in our alignment Miss Lee. In the past a 3-4-3 or even a 3-3-4 left itself open when trying to be aggressive with the midfielders moving too far up to help out. With a 3-3-2-2 though the midfielders can stay at home better and just get the ball to the forwards and let them bring it up to the strikers. This way if something unfortunate takes place there are still six people back to deal with it. Our first goal showed it quite well. Adrian Pytte took over after an errant pass and brought the ball up a little only to fire it up to Anya Collins at just past midfield when in the past it would have been Adrian bring the ball to that point leaving a hole in the defense behind him. Once Anya took control then she pushed it upfield while the defenders were scrambling to get back. She found Jay open got it to him and he pushed the shot home. If we keep playing like this we’ll go far in this tournament.”

“Ok Coach, thanks for taking the time to chat with us.”

“Always a pleasure Miss Lee.”

“OK Sal and Anna back to you.”

<cameras return to the studio>

“So Anna do you agree with Coach Tudor’s explanation?”

“Well Sal the four tier alignment does help keep the players from getting out of position much better than the three tier system. On the other hand each player has a larger area to be responsible for. Keeping an extra player back at midfield and defense does help this and is a suitable set up for a defensive style of play. Still some experts feel keeping only two strikers makes things easier for the other team to defend against. But its working so far and you can’t argue with that.”

“Fair enough Anna, now to the stats. Tynelia got on the board first with the goal Coach Tudor spoke of at the 36 minute mark in a back and forth first half with both sides getting some excellent chances. This ended up being the halftime score. Tynelia then added to their lead with a goal from Andy Martins on a nice header off a corner kick at the 51 minute mark to put us up 2-0. However Tynelia seemed to relax a bit too soon after that and at minute 59 Robert O’Beirne fired a bullet past Amy Whiteworth to bring Vuam and Isma back to within one at 2-1. Vuam and Isma dominated the next ten minutes of play trying to get the equalizer but the constant pressure they were applying tired them out a bit and at minute 75 Alan MacDougal took a clearing kick from Amy Whiteworth down the field in a solo rush catching Vuam and Isma’s defense off guard and got a fluke goal as the shot he fired hit the left post but ricocheted into the back of a diving Wayne Ivers and went in off him. The two goal lead back, Tynelia went back to a fully defensive mentality the rest of the way and held on for the 3-1 score.”

“Shots on goal were actually in Vuam and Isma’s favor by a 18-16 margin as they kept pressure on net throughout the game. Quality shots were an even 5 each though as the Tynelian defense did a good job at keeping most of the shots from the perimeter. Time of possession favored Tynelia by two and a half minutes. So now Anna with one game under their belts and already a much better showing than last time, when they went pointless in group play what lies ahead for Tynelia?”

“Well Sal, first they’re off today which will give them a chance to enjoy today’s win and also get some early scouting done on the other teams in the group. I don’t expect this scoring boom to continue but I think all three remaining matches will be very competitive. Milchama is next up for us after the bye, neither of us knowing too much about the other though its been noticed that they favor an attacking style as well but are using their up and coming players rather than their regular team here. Experience may favor Tynelia in this case as over half the team is still here from the first Baptism of Fire eight years ago. What will also be a good indicator will be to see how Milchama does against Vuam and Isma in their next match before facing us. We’ll have a much better idea how things will look after that.”

“OK then Anna, guess we’ll just have to wait and see how well Milchama does compared to how we did. In fact, this will be the match the Tynelian Soccer Network will be covering with our own team on bye, that way our fans will be a bit more familiar with our next opponent when our nationals get back on the field. We’ll be here after that match with a brief recap show as Tynelia’s march in the Draggonnii Inviyatii continues. Until then this is Sal Spikeman for Anna Dalespin wishing everyone a good night.”

Haraki

28-05-2006, 19:03

"Good evening Haraki, I'm Sam Sherman, and joining me tonight is the HNN's all-purpose sports commentator Rebecca Bristol. Rebecca, how do you manage to follow so many sports and still provide insight and good analysis of all of them?"

"I have to because they only pay enough to hire one person who has to fill that many roles."

They both laughed tinnily on the screen where millions of Harakians were watching - and loathing Sam Sherman's hair.

"Well, enough of that," Sherman said, suddenly serious but happy. "Last night, the Haraki Hawks, who are currently in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega, played their first game of the Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament, against Geisenfried. They came on the field immediately following a 2-1 thriller which New Montreal States won against Schiavonia, and Haraki immediately seemed the better side, didn't they, Rebecca?"

"That's right, Sam," she answered, turning to face the camera. "The Hawks outshot, outplayed, and out-possessed their opponents, ending in a 3-0 victory for the Hawks. With nearly seventy per cent possession by the Hawks, they were on the top of their game tonight, especially Mark Stone, who only seems to be getting better as he carries on his career. When he retires, it's going to be a big loss for North Susa, which reportedly is paying him in excess of fifteen million dollars a year to stay at their club. However, Stone's domination of the game ended when Haraki's coach Lloyd Vargas pulled him at halftime, to boos from the Harakian fans in the stadium, only to cheer again when Christopher O'Hara took the field."

The screen cut to footage of the Hawks taking the field at halftime with O'Hara wearing the keeper's outfit. Booing in the stands turns to cheering as O'Hara, grinning, jogs over to his net as the sound faded out for the two commentators' voices to cut in. "Of course," Sam Sherman said, "the fans were sad to see Stone go, but better in this tournament than the actual World Cup. As we all know, Vargas in the past has used this tournament as a chance to let younger blood take the field and see what they can do. Replacing Mark Stone has only been done once in the past six years of international play, and that was only after a vicious attack playing Imperial Moose in Stone's first year of international competition, when he was still undefeated in net, having pulled off shutouts in every game."

"Arguably, some conspiracy theorists have claimed, had the attack not happened and a goal not been scored on Stone's replacement Susana Hamilton, Stone would be the perfect goalie and no-one would have ever scored on him."

"That's a lie, Becca, and you know it."

"Just representing all viewpoints, Sam. Vargas also chose to replace another player to let younger players get some caps, pulling Luke Ford for Theo Angelica, making both the U21 players on the Hawks this year on the field for the second half of the game."

"Let's get to the game statistics and highlights."

"Right you are, Sam. Haraki's first goal came from Kiros Tigers superstar Mike Zendar at twelve minutes."

The screen cut to footage of Zendar bringing the ball up the right side of the field, spinning around a defender after kicking the ball through his legs to leave hi ide open against the goalie. Sprinting for the net, the keeper came out to meet him only to have Zendar kick it past him and go down into a slide to kick the ball into the wide open net. Sam Sherman's voice cut in as the ball slid across the line. "Let them say he's getting old now! Most players couldn't have pulled that off even in their prime. I've even got doubts that Richard Weber could've managed that one!"

"Sam, remember that Richard Weber dominated scoring the last time the Hawks were in this tournament, two years ago. He scored four of Haraki's twelve total goals, with only two going Zendar's way."

"But Rebecca, you saw that goal as well as I did. The crowd went wild! I even saw some people with Schiavonia's flag painted on their chests cheering for it!"

"I'm not saying Zendar's a bad player. Just don't underestimate Richard Weber. He's a definite force in the game, just not this one."

The camera cut to footage of haraki's second goal, at thirty-seven minutes. Matthew Thompson, Haraki's new starting forward, received a long pass from Thomas Neils, saw he had no opening, and passed back. Neils weighed up his options and stalled for time to let Thompson get into shooting position, giving him a quick pass which Thompson simply kicked in, straight past the goalkeeper. Rebecca Bristol's voice cut in as footgae of Thompson running back to rejoin his team played, his mouth wide open in a shout of triumph. "That's the goal that let Vargas pull Stone. There were only four shots on goal for him in the first half, leaving him with little to do. But two of his saves were particularly spectacular."

The footage cut to Mark Stone facing off against a Geisenfriedan forward with the ball, only a few metres apart at the edge of the crease. The forward took the shot past Stone, a quick shot that by rights should have gotten by anyone. But Stone's reflexes kicked in, and with no hesitation he dove down to his left, straight onto the ball travelling faster than a speeding car. Without words, the camera dissolved into Stone watching tensely as a Geisenfriedan forward brought the ball up, taking Stone's attention, before passing to another forward on the other side of the net with nothing in his way. Stone reacted almost too late, spinning round and sprinting back, as the firward took his kick. It rolled towards the goal line, and the forward turned round, sure of his goal, before Stone slid down and kicked the ball away only inches from the goal line, falling flat onto his back afterwards and quickly pulling himself up again in time to bat away a shot from the recovered rebound.

"Wow," came in the voice of Sam Sherman. "Those were some of the nicest saves I've ever seen."

"That's Mark Stone for you. He's setting all-time records for amounts of saves and amounts of shutouts. Every season he gets better. But let's take a look at his replacement, Chris O'Hara."

The footage cut to seventeen year-old Christopher O'Hara's face as he watched play. Rebecca Bristol's voice over told viewers, "Although Stone and O'Hara had the same defence protecting their net, Stone had only three real scoring opportunities against him with four shots out of those, whereas O'Hara faced five with one shot each, and managed to stop them all. None as spectacular as Stone's, but he seems to have a good grasp of the game's physics and can get in the way of pretty much any ball."

"I hear he got a 91% in physics class while on the high school football team and missing half his period 5 classes for games," Sherman threw in.

"I'm sure we'll find all that out when we interview him sometime this tournament," Bristol retorted.

She continued, "Haraki's third goal came from a penalty kick by Samantha Ribald, who was elbowed in the stomach while on a good scoring run." As the footage cut to the goal, she carried on talking, explaining it. "The line of opposing players in between her and the goal was imposing, but she managed to curve the ball over them and sink it past the diving keeper for a third goal eighty minutes in. It was all over. The Hawks won it 3-0, a good start for the tournament. After one game Haraki sits at the top of their group with the second best goal difference in the tournament, next to Jeruselem with +5."

"Well that was a pretty spectacular feat by the Hawks, but everyone in Haraki is wondering if they can pull off another victory on Matchday Two against New Montreal States."

"If you remember," Bristol added, "New Montreal States were the nation that beat Haraki 4-2 in World Cup 28 group stages, basically ending Haraki's run after a surprising upset against Total n Utter Insanity. However, when the two teams faced them then they were on home ground in NMS, giving them a significant advantage over the Hawks, who were the lowest-ranked team to qualify for World Cup 28."

"We're hoping that neutral ground here in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega will take away New Montreal States' advantage, and so the Hawks will be able to play without being booed at every goal and maintain their spot at the top of Group Four."

"We can hope, Sam. And, unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today. See you all tomorrow for live coverage of the game versus New Montreal States. I'm Rebecca Bristol."

"And I'm Sam Sherman, for Haraki News Network Sports. Good night, folks."

HNN Logo Spinning on the screen as a transition back to news anchor Bridget Norse.

"And that's the football news from Andossa Se Mitrin Vega. We'll have rugby news for you at 7:30, but first an update on the situation in war-ridden Danteri: The Harakian battlecarrier HNS Safe Haven has-"

"Welcome to the home cooking channel!"

Dorian and Sonya

28-05-2006, 21:48

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png
Necromancers Draw The Archregimancy Fanatics

Melonie Gaffer stood rather uncomfortably in front of the microphones. Somehow she had been elected the unofficial spokeswomen for the Necromancers. Some of her teammates had openly supported the idea, stating that it was only natural as she was the leader on the pitch. Others had simply run to hide at the mere mention of the press conference following the 0-0 draw with The Archregimancy. Either way, the task had been left to her to address the media. She felt a migraine coming on.

Reporter 1 - “It seems that your squad received some unfavorable comments from a newscast from The Archregimancy media before the match. And I quote:
Dorian and Sonya: Rising team of, erm, women. Appear to claim to be 'Elves', but more likely to be using this as a ruse to cover their status as heathen sinners. Their notorious bikini gambit wouldn't usually stand a chance against our celibate first XI, but several B squad members have only just entered their monasteries, so we may need to have them play in blindfolds.
What are your thoughts about that release?”

Gaffer carefully considered her answer. “For starters, We are the Necromancers, not the Mystical Unicorns. Nine of the twenty-two members of the squad are males. Now wouldn’t they look funny in bikini kits?” she paused as the media laughed. Secondly, the women originally placed on the Unicorn squad were Elven. That is fact. Just because no self respecting elf on the planet would reside in The Archregimancy, they think they can dismiss them as fiction. Heathen sinners? That is funny. The Sylvanaes Kingdom is a very devout nation. Just because we do not openly condemn religions that are not our own and choose instead to respect the beliefs of others, they consider us “heathens”. I would be inclined to classify them as Holy Fanatics that cant see past the ends of their noses. As for their playing in blindfolds, it sure looked like they did today. “

Reporter 2 - “What are your thoughts on the 0-0 draw with that same Archregimancy today?”

“We stole a point from them, didn’t we? But we must not have played to hard. We couldn’t beat a squad with there heads buried in the sand”

Reporter 3 - “What of your next opponents, Ariddia, on match day 3?”

“Well. They got completely hammered in their match against Jeruselem. That means they will be looking to tear our heads off. But we will have an advantage coming off the bye date on MD2. They will be tough, but we think we can take them?”

A swarm of questions kept coming and Melonie spent the next 45 minutes trying to answer all of them. By the time she returned to her hotel room, all she wanted to do was sleep.

Wentland

28-05-2006, 22:02

The ASMV crowd was somewhat disappointed by the Wentland team that emerged from the tunnel for the Swifts' debut game in the 3rd Draggonnii. It looked remarkably familiar...

Dennis Tracey
Ian Talbot
Bertie Tanner
Blake Wright
Steve Moon
Benny Jones
Adey Loder
Frank Treves
Tommy Barnes
Joe Weston
Cosmo Kent

All familiar names from the past World Cup. No random newcomers. And all wearing 1 to 11.

But 7 of the team was from the Crowhurst team. Rumour had been circulating that Tommy Barnes was in effective charge of the national team - a tremendous burden for the still young man. But why not? Crowhurst had just come off their third consecutive double with a team that he had built up and had playing together for a number of years now. They knew each other's style of play and there was a near telepathy between Loder and Barnes.

What's more, the other Crowhurst team members - Johnny Lane, Ginger Collins, Norman Cooper and Peter Davey - were all apparent on the bench. Would they be brought on for the second half? The switch to 4-3-3 or 4-2-1-2 that had brought success for The Crows before to be used? Time would tell.

Ariddia

28-05-2006, 22:30

Disastrous start

By the closing minutes of the opening match against Jeruselem, Ariddian supporters back home were no doubt gaping in disbelief, holding their head in their hands or tossing the remote control out of the window. The entire game was an utter debacle.

It started off well enough. Jeruselem were playing a highly defensive style, and the Rouge-et-Noirs attacked relentlessly, though with little success. Still, this was just the start, and the team were essentially warming up. Then came Jeruselem’s first major attack, and a ball saved by James Fields gave Jeruselem a corner kick. A scuffle ensued by the goal cage and, while Thérèse Chantier was able to clear the ball out of the danger zone, goalkeeper Sandrine Leduc had somehow been jostled badly enough to twist her ankle. Phillipe Dodge of Jeruselem was eventually shown a yellow card, and the Ariddians granted a free kick, but the team, coach and supporters faced a severe problem. The Ariddian side had only one backup goalkeeper, highly inexperienced Awad al Maharmeh, and he had not even had time to warm up. As Leduc hobbled off the pitch, al Maharmeh took her place, looking very unsure of himself. It was only the eleventh minute, and he had never yet been called upon to play eighty minutes of a match.

What followed was quite simply disastrous. Jeruselem’s defence proved a solid wall upon which the Ariddians’ repeated attacks floundered, and in the eightieth minute Dodge scored his side’s third goal, the Rouge-et-Noirs having scored none. Midfielder Wol Eosh was brought in in place of a tired John Sanjeeb, but to no avail.

Six minutes later, a nervous al Maharmeh fouled Shi in the penalty area, bringing the attacker down hard and earning himself a red card. The Ariddians were stunned.

With at least four minutes left on the clock, and down by nil goals to three, they were quite simply out of goalkeepers.

Having already made two substitutions, and thus unable even to bring in a new defender, coach Adam Seul hastily sent defender Peter Roberts into the vacant goal cage, leaving only two players – Fields and Chantier – as actual defenders. To make matters worse, Roberts, who had never been a goalkeeper in his life, now had to face a penalty kick. Predictably, Shi scored an easy fourth goal for his team. And, before the final whistle blew, Jeruselem overwhelmed Fields, Chantier and Roberts to score a final, humiliating fifth goal.

“It was almost farcical,” midfielder Hanifah Kyaw said much later. “But none of us were laughing.”

“There were an unfortunate set of circumstances,” Seul told the press. “But none of those alter the fact that Jeruselem played very well indeed. They would have beaten us soundly in any case. We somehow weren’t able to score against them even once, and that’s something we’re going to have to look into. We’ve got some very good, experienced players in forward and midfield position, but they weren’t able to score. All I can say is we’re going to be working very hard on the problems that have come up today.”

It is as yet uncertain whether Sandrine Leduc will be able to take part in the next match. If she cannot, al Maharmeh will not be able to play in her place, being suspended, and Ariddia will have no goalkeeper – an unprecedented situation until today. Supporters will biting their nails as they anxiously await the verdict of the team’s medical staff.

The Archregimancy

29-05-2006, 00:59

{ooc - by total coincidence, this Sunday was the 'Sunday of the Blind Man' in the Orthodox calendar...}

THE MONASTIC TIMES

B TEAM DRAW WITH NECROMANCERS
Blindfolds Hinder Team

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

The Archregimancy B Team scraped out a 0-0 draw with the so-called 'Necromancers' of Dorian and Sonya despite all but two of the squad playing in blindfolds following a misunderstanding over which squad the opposition would be fielding.

"We thought they'd field nubile young bikini-clad elf-like women! Temptresses of golden tresses! Befoulers of both body and soul!" Said team captain Fr. Sophronious the Celibate, one of only two starters to play without a blindfold. "But were we ever misinformed!"

Despite the obvious problems in having nine players wandering around aimlessly, unable to see, the Archregimancy's B team somehow managed to scrape out a goalless draw. MFA officials have been heard to mutter about 'miracles' and the 'Sunday of the Blind Man', where - as is written in John 9:1-38 - our Saviour allowed an eyeless man to see. More cynical secular observers in ordinary reality have noted the B Squad's use of uncharacteristically defensive tactics where most of the squad simply stood on the goalline in a human pyramid, praying that the Necromancer's shots on goal would get caught in their monastic robes.

When quizzed about the opposition naming their team after dark Satanic powers who claim to raise the dead, MFA officials refused to comment, stating simply that 'Satan already enters one team into international football'.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

29-05-2006, 05:32

When asked about the words exchanged between media sources in The Archregimancy and Dorian and Sonya where one side had been called "heathens and Satanic" and the othe "Holy Fanatics" Lord Valentin Quintarro issued this statement:

"No member of the DI Selection Committee even views religion as a deciding factor in the realm of sports. It is really none of our concern."

When asked about the possibility of bikini kits and the supposed use of blindfolds, he had this to say. "I see nothing wrong with the bikini kits at all. But I am glad the men did not wear them. That would have been too much for all of us. As for the blindfolds, that was their choice. But did you notice that Fr. Sophronious the Celibate did not wear one when he thought they were playing - and I quote - "nubile young bikini-clad elf-like women"? I cant say what his motives were, but it seems odd."

=========================================================

Scores For MD2

Group 1 - Carrington Championship Arena
Wentland 2-1 ASMV
Milchama 6-0 Vuam & Isma

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Milchama 2 2 0 0 7 0 7 6
Tynelia 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Wentland 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 3
ASMV 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0
Vuam & Isma 2 0 0 2 1 9 -8 0
------------------------------------------------

Group 2 - Inferi Domei
Tadjikistan 0-2 Jeruselem
Ariddia 1-2 The Archregimancy

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Jeruselem 2 2 0 0 7 0 7 6
The Archregimancy 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 4
Dorian & Sonya 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Tadjikistan 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0
Ariddia 1 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 3 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Starblaydia 5-1 Cuation
Hypocria 3-0 Bazalonia

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Starblaydia 1 1 0 0 5 1 4 3
Qazox 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3
Hypocria 2 1 0 1 3 2 1 3
Cuation 2 1 0 1 3 5 -2 3
Bazalonia 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 4 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Sarzonia 0-1 Geisenfried
Haraki 0-1 New Montreal States

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
New Montreal States 2 2 0 0 3 1 2 6
Haraki 2 1 0 1 3 1 2 3
Geisenfried 2 1 0 1 1 3 -2 3
Schiavonia 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0
Sarzonia 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Tynelia

29-05-2006, 09:50

“This is Sal Spikeman alongside Anna Dalespin as Tynelian Soccer Weekly continues its full coverage of the third Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament. The Tynelian squad was on bye today but this gave them a chance to watch their next opponent Milchama take on the team Tynelia defeated in its opening match Vuam and Isma. With Milchama absolutely decimating Vuam and Isma by a whopping 6-0 score many Tynelian fans are now very nervous about this next match. What’s you’re spin on things Anna?”

“Ha ah very funny Sal. But this match shows that even with their under 21 squad representing their nation here Milchama is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Six goals in one match is a dominating result. Clearly the Vuam and Isma defenders were overwhelmed by an almost equally attacking style that kept them on their heels so much that their own attack couldn’t get on track. This now shows that the Tynelian defense must be ready to go and try to disrupt the Milchama attack like we did against Vuam and Isma. If they don’t this will definitely be a long match against the current group leaders.”

“Right Anna, with a 2-0-0 record Milchama takes first place over while Tynelia and Wentland follow at 1-0-0 playing one fewer game to this point. Wentland began their play here with a solid 2-1 win over the host Androssa Se Mitrin Vega and now trail Tynelia by only one goal in goal differential. The hosts find themselves tied with Vuam and Isma at 0-0-2 but hold fourth place due to goal differential. One thing that should encourage our squad is that Milchama’s match against our hosts ened in a 1-0 win, the key note being that the hosts are the only other squad in the group with even a slight defensive style and they held Milchama to one goal.”

“That would indeed be a good sign. A strong defense does seem to be able to keep the Milchama attack in check even though its only one match so far. With Tynelia being more defensive minded than the hosts we should be even better suited to keep the scoring under control. But Tynelia needs to come away with some sort of points here to keep their chances of remaining in the top bracket alive. We also need to find a way to break through the Milchama defense which has yet to give a a goal so far in the tournament, one of only two squads that can boast this. Wentland is taking on what surely will be a shell shocked Vuam and Isma club currently with the worst goal differential of the entire tournament. It will be a good test of character to see if Vuam and Isma can bounce back against a tough Wentland squad.”

“So what do you expect to see in the next match then?”

“This will be a tough match, of course every match here is tough considering the rankings of our group. Tynelia’s defense must once more rise to the challenge of an attacking offensive style and create opportunities for the offense to counterattack. Though the Milchama club has seen some international action in the under 21 tournaments this will be their first time they will be facing the regulars. I think this will be a hard fought match with them and the team will walk away with a 1-1 draw. In the other match I think Wentland will add to Vuam and Isma’s nightmare with a solid 2-0 win.”

“Ok then Anna, every point is good but according to you Tynelia will find itself dropped to third after these next matches are completed. Hopefully the team will prove you wrong and come away with the win but that’s why they play the games. As always TSW will be covering Tynelia’s match live and in its entirety and we’ll be back here afterwards for the post game show. So for Anna Dalespin this is Sal Spikeman wishing everyone a good night.”

Jeruselem

29-05-2006, 12:50

Harry Kool addressed his team after they had beaten Tadjikistan TWO NIL

"Well, I see you listened to my advice. The Tigers are great team, they tear bad defenses apart and well, you did really well. We tagged out all their big players and put pressure on the midfielders so they didn't have quality ball to deliver to the strikers. You didn't let any of them have loose players who could ruin our defensive structure. I seem some here have been learning Karelan tactics from our friends Hockey Canada and you guys look good so far, apart from your bad hair styles with silly colours. You see Arridia weren't much of a challenge, but that Tiger defense is what you should expect or better. Some teams are Karelan and we need to keep up our Karelaness while have the Tiger's Takil style forward. Great game, and good to see far less of that silly shirt tugging. See, you don't need that to win games. Keep the focus on the ball and support your teammates. Still, some room for improvement like more accurate passing and not rushing into offside situations. I know most of you are really under 21 team, but if we do well here we can all be here together for the under 21 Championship too. Other players will want to be there and don't rest on your laurels as one bad game can ruin everything for you guys. That's all so have rest and we'll work on ball control tomorrow. For now, I have to get going - I'm due for an interview with my girlfriend. Oh Fred, no chatting up girls while on the sidelines either, do that after games please."

<disappears>

Rachel waiting to Harry. "Hey buttercups!" she shouted as he turned up late. "Err, me late as usual. Interview on? Forgot to comb my hair again!" he replied. She smiled "It doesn't matter, I'm sure everyone loves you messy hair or not".

<camera rolls>

<usual boring interview>

<camera off>

"Hey, I got you something!" Rachel said. Harry looked worried "Like what? You don't buy normal gifts like normal girlfriends do.".

Tadjikistan

29-05-2006, 13:21

Bad start

Coach Alexander Zaev was not really dissapointed by today's defeat against Jeruselem, eventhough the oposition fielded a reserve team: "We are still looking for our form and we're missing an important element here: Saradov! Just like Pliiev or Salenko, Saradov has been a really important player for the Tigers, a striker who could almost singlehandedly defeat a side. With him gone, the others have to find new strategies."
"And our defense still need to improve, even with Gyurza around, who seemed to be having a bad day and a new guy Korshak, an inexperienced defender who made his debut."
"It could have been alot better, but its the first game and we usually suck at the first game."

"Nothing has been lost yet, we still have three more matches to prove ourselves, first against The Archregimancy, whom we still remember from the second round of WC28. This time, we are the stronger side. Our squad should have no problem dealing with their B team."

Ariddia

29-05-2006, 13:35

Ariddia plays first ever match against Archregimancy

Ariddian players were reportedly pleased when informed they had been drawn in the same group as the Archregimancy – “those dear old monks”, as midfielder Ta I (herself an atheist like most Indigenous Ariddians) put it fondly.

The two sides have, as yet, never met, although the friendly match between Ariddia and Alasdair I Frosticus fourteen years ago, as well as the ensuing plague through the latter nation, are still fresh in the memories of most Ariddians. More recently, in World Cup 26, Ariddia served as neutral ground to host two matches between the Archregimancy and the Anathematic Republics, a much-watched event which turned many Ariddians into supporters of the team of Orthodox monks.

After a disastrous defeat to Jeruselem, however, most Ariddians were hoping the Rouge-et-Noirs would give the team from the Dreamed Realm a sound beating and grab three much-needed points. The medical staff’s cautious verdict that goalkeeper Sandrine Leduc could play “if she doesn’t exert her ankle too much” brought relief and a measure of hope. Nonetheless, defenders Peter Roberts and James Fields were given a crash course in goalkeeping just in case, as was Thérèse Chantier, who would not be part of the starting eleven. 38 year-old Leduc’s health in the days leading up to the match was carefully watched over.

In the course of those same days, rumours began to circulate, hinting that the ladies on the Ariddian team intended to do what the women of Dorian and Sonya had not – namely, appear on the field clad merely in bikinis to overwhelm the team of celibate monks. The rumour was firmly denied by coach Adam Seul, but many were still wondering – and hoping – until Ariddia’s starting eleven, including four women, appeared fully clad at the start of the match. Some now believe that the rumour may have been started by supporters hoping the Archregimancy side would again wear blindfolds as a precautionary measure.

“This whole story was unsubstantiated from the start,” Seul said firmly before the match. “Most of us may think religion is a rather strange idea, but we respect our opponents’ beliefs, and would not deliberately try to offend them.”

“I don’t take my clothes off to score goals,” striker Clémentine Ramirez added. She did, however, wink and smile at Archregimancy defender Father Constantine the Humble as the players of the two sides shook hands before the start of the game – after the dreaded two hour long Archregimancy national anthem had been played.

The match itself was quite evenly balanced. The Archregimancy opened the score in the thirty-sixth minute with Father Gregory the Penitent, following several narrowly missed opportunities on both sides. A shot by Ramirez eight minutes later hit the transversal bar and rebounded, denying the Ariddians an equaliser.

The second half began with a well-executed shot by Ariddian captain Ue Alt saved by Father Hippolytus the Seeker in the forty-ninth minute. It was in the fifty-fourth that young Hanifah Kyaw scored Ariddia’s first goal of the competition, a dazzling goal from her left foot. So pleased was she that she hugged defender Father Constantine and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The game ended, however, with the Archregimancy regaining the lead in the eighty-first minute, and maintaining it despite intensified Ariddian attacks in the closing minutes. At the end of the game, Ariddian captain Ue Alt swapped his shirt with Archregimancy captain Father Sophronious the Celibate, although the Ariddian women wisely decided not to take their tops off for a similar swap.

Ariddia now still have to face Dorian & Sonya and Tadjikistan in an attempt to rise from the very bottom of Group 2. If they cannot, the third Draggonnii Inviyatii will have proved a disappointing end to Ue Alt’s career as captain of the national team.

Milchama

29-05-2006, 15:25

Alexandria Times-Tribune-Star-News-Today-Post-Gazette-Chronicle-Journal-Enquirer

Sports Section

These kids can play

After a narrow but promising victory over our toughest opponent ASMV in the first match, many people thought that the U21 side should be able to beat V and I (Vuam and Isma) easily but nobody expected what actually happened as the kids came out playing wonderfully and won 6-0. Coach Jamie Smith said, "This just shows how good Milchama will be in the future. This could very well be our golden generation, the generation that brings home many World Cup glories. With their results one can only expect that."
Now onto how they scored:

21st minute: Hansen with the ball as he passes out to Lonnen who goes down the wing and finds Clufor in the middle. Clufor outruns one defender and puts a through ball for Joseph who beats the keeper to it and lobs it over his head. Rodriguez going back and trying to get the ball but he won't get it, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!! 1-0 Milchama. Clufor with a great through ball and Joseph showed a wonderful scoring touch as he beat a charging Wayne Ivers with a wonderful lob.

45th minute: Rodriguez looking forward oh and that's whistle and its halftime. The Warriors lead 1-0 but really could have had more if it wasn't for a stingy defense by the Ismans. We can only expect bigger and better things in the second half...

46th minute: Searle with the ball for V and I. He's looking forward but the ball's picked off by Fleesh. Who quickly goes forward and finds Lonnen as he brings up the ball and goes for the quick counter as finds a running Tilar Flitty. Flitty past his defender And He's Onside! It's him vs. Ivers and Flitty goes one way now shoots! ITS IN!!!! 2-0 Milchama. A wonderful pass by Lonnen to start the counter that put Flitty all alone as he finished it off beautifully. The Warriors certainly did not waste anytime as they scored in the first minute of the second half.

53rd minute: ...Milchama on the ball again. Clufor looking there and goes wide to Keffer. Keffer beats his man and goes in to the box and passes to a wide open Flitty! As the defense breaks down and Flitty gets a head on it and scores! 3-0 Milchama. The offense is really starting to work now as Keffer was brilliant on the wing there to get inside and then cross it to Flitty who just headed it in.

64th minute: Mergle gets the ball and finds Keffer. Marin Keffer all alone now as he beats one man, now two men. Outruns a third and now is in on the defense he spin moves past Rodriguez fakes a shot and goes past Ichtaa and its him against Ivers as he goes to the upper corner and doesn't give him a chance!! What a play by Keffer! He outdribbled 5 players in the Vuam and Isma defense and midfield before unleashing the perfect strike that didn't giver Ivers a chance. 4-0 Milchama.

72nd minute: Bendelcar now in for Miggles and he gets the ball immediately and crosses it in from the wing to a Tilar Flitty. Flitty gets up and heads the ball but its saved by Ivers! but he hit right to Kelvin Joseph who puts it in! 5-0 Milchama. This is becoming a route now as Joseph got the rebound from a wonderful cross from Bendelcar and header from Flitty that he put in. Note for the young here never give up rebounds.

82nd minute: Keffer with the ball again. He finds Clufor running inside and passes the ball there as Clufor outruns his marker and shoots a one time shot from 23 yards out, oh man!!!!!!! What a shot by Del Clufor! Marin Keffer got the ball in midfield and found Del Clufor who took one dribble before taking a long shot that went in between the defenders and into the low near corner that didn't give Ivers a chance of stopping the shot. What a play by Clufor.

90th minute: V and I now on the attack as Jorge Clay with the ball as he crosses it in to the box. Mergle heads it out and Clufor now has the ball and now the whistle blows from the referee and that's it. Milchama routs Vuam and Isma 6-0 in a game that is probably the most one sided for Milchama in history so far.

Final Score:
Milchama 6 (Joseph 21, 72 Flitty 46, 53 Keffer 64, Clufor 82)
Vuam and Isma 0 (How does a 3-3-4 have such good defense?)

Milchama Man of the Match:
Like we can just name one person who outperformed everybody else. Our whole team will get Man of the Match for their great play during this victory.

Cuation

29-05-2006, 15:53

Cuation Clones?

In Cuation, there is a lack of neutral coverage of any news, even sport. The media is controlled by the government but even they can not stop rumours spreading. Claims that Cuation can not play a first team in both the Cup of Harmony this year and the Dragon Cup has been met with the government’s claim to have a time warp which allows them to do that.

People say however that they are clones, especially with the surprise exclusion of Timothy Ashton. The Cuation FA has denied that Ashton was dropped because he refused to be cloned, same with devout Catholic Judo. Can the Cuation Government be trusted? Probably not but we will see how Cuation does.

Group 3

Starblaydia: Match Day 2

Anyone but ASMV given us this lot in our group and there would be calls of conspiracy. This world class team are often among the elite in the World Cup and have won this competition twice in two attempts. A real test for the defenders and Gary Jens.

Expect us to lose 3-0 or some horrible amount and Starblaydia to finish first in the group.

Qazox: Match Day 5

Collage All-Star team will hope to show they can play with the big boys for this emerging side. A 3-4-3 formation could leave them venerable on the wings or against a two man attack.

We will get a draw and Qazox finish second from bottom.

Cuation: Bye Day 3

Can the clones work? Will anyone care compared to the necromancers? We are a good side in transition but we should finish 3rd in the group before going out poorly.

Hypocria: Match Day 1

One last goodbye for one of the greatest underachievers this sport will ever know. Molinari may be a problem for others to stop as Hypocria push forward in attempt to add only their second international trophy before they go.

Expect a standing ovation, Hypocria to win their match and finish second in the group.

Bazalonia: Match Day 4

Another potential problem for us as yet another emerging side looks to continue their upward assent with a strong performance here. Expect the Bazlonia full backs to overlap while Cuation will try to win the game in midfield.

We just nick a win and Bazalonia finish bottom.

Wentland

29-05-2006, 16:38

The home supporters were utterly stunned. They had just watched their team practically outplay Wentland but still their team had been beaten.

Despite several ASMV attacks on the grey-shirted visitors (both ASMV kits clashing with the royal blue so the Swifts changed) no breakthrough would come. And to be fair nor did it look likely as despite having all the play ASMV could not create any real chances. The defence stood resolute.

Then suddenly bang bang bang. A sudden arrow-sharp burst of attacking football, relentlessly bearing down on the ASMV goal, with Loder tearing down the left, Barnes in the middle, the cross was cut out but Jones was following up. Bang! Saved. Corner. Bang! Off the bar from Moon. Half-cleared to Weston who lofted it back in. Bang! Barnes was first to it and scored. 1-0 right on the break.

Then the second half. True to form, Cooper and Collins came on to make it a near Crowhurst line up. Again soaking pressure. Again suddenly hitting. The first two attacks of the half before the subs saw Treves uncharacteristically miss a couple of sitters. But then Kent, getting into the Crowhurst style, burst forward and a quick exchange of passes with Jones and Barnes saw Collins suddenly unmarked, and onside, eight yards out. Bang! 2-0.

Back to defence. ASMV poured back forward, with 20 minutes to save the game, but it took them 18 to get one back through the veteran Iglesias. But too little too late. A very Crowhursian display indeed. Defence, the occasional attack, then a wave of assault to score before hermit crabbing back into defence once a goal had been scored. Then doing it again.

Vuam and Isma

29-05-2006, 20:31

The Interviewer

Today : Edvard Slope-Brackey!

MIKE - Thanks for joining us on Radio 67.2 Edvard! So, whilst the big boys are ploughing through the Cup of Harmony in Schiavonia, you're taking the B team to Andossa Se Mirtin Vega, aren't you?

EDVARD - Indeed I am. To call them a B team is quite an understatement, because quite a few of them barely missed out on the A team, so it's more a A-and-a-half than a B side.

MIKE - Alright. So... The team lost 3-1 to Tynelia. Any comments?

EDVARD - Of course I have. When I came back after the match, people were saying that we're out of the running. I don't think so. We might be on a difficult path, but we can do it. Alright, the Ichtaa-Niederberger pairing in defence was a bit shaky. But again, it's their first match together! What do you expect? For them to pair up like Brasiviev and Regragui? Our midfield was ok, but lacked a bit of confidence, as they were outnumbered. It's really a pity that Tejedor didn't have more confidence, because we were really making the break in midfield almost constantly. Our front men were good, but we didn't manage to get the ball where we wanted it : In the back of the net. O'Beirne played a great role getting the other two involved, and then it's down to luck. Ghauri missed the goal a little too often, as did Masilela. They tried hard, but they were just unlucky.

MIKE - Well, unluck enough to have 13 shots off-target... V&I must have been very unlucky!

EDVARD - I'm happy you agree with me. Tynelia were lucky to get their goals, as all three came off defensive mistakes, and none from real nice play from their part. The first goal was just a marking mistake by Ichtaa. It's a pity that he moved forwards, because had he stayed on Masterson, there wouldn't have been even a shot. The second goal was again a marking problem, but this time off a corner kick. We're lacking a big defender, and they should be happy that Ivers hesitated to come out and get it, because had he rushed out, they wouldn't have even seen the ball. And the last goal we conceded was completely lucky. Ivers dived and just got his fingers to the ball, but then it bounces off the post, off his back, and into the net. Really... It's horrendous how lucky Tynelia was.

MIKE - Uhh... Allright! Well, can you say anything about O'Beirne's goal?

EDVARD - Now that was a cracker. He played the one-two with Tejedor, dummied his man, and then unleashed a screamer just inside the post. In fact, that was the best move of the game, I think. It just shows you how enjoyable it can be to watch football when it's played with beauty, grace, style and elegance. It's sad that Ghauri missed his shot 6 minutes later, because he had also created a wonderful chance for V&I. Searle put a long pass towards him, and he let it go through his legs with such natural... He didn't even look at the ball as he stepped over it. The defender was completely drawn in by his run, it was superb. O'Beirne read his intention, and lunged to poke the ball into his path, but Ghauri shot over the bar from close range... What a goal that would have been... What a goal.

MIKE - Yea, that would have been a nice goal. But Tynelia also made some nice play, didn't they?

EDVARD - Not much... They had one very interesting move, as MacDougal tricked Rodriguez, and then used his speed to be able to cross the ball towards Collins, who controlled the ball, and in the same move eluded Niederberger's tackle... That was just the perfect control. But it was really the only nice move that Tynelia made. They spent much more time just loping the ball here and there, playing without any flair or style...

MIKE - So, you're saying that a completely boring team beat us, even though we were playing better football... Becuase they were lucky?

EDVARD - Yes. If you look at the game with objective eyes, you've got to be mentally dishonest to suggest that Tynelia deserved the win. We should have won because we went out there with the desire to play football. We didn't grab shirts, we didn't waste time, we didn't play foul in any way. And Tynelia just can't say that! Look at the tackes that Masilela, DiBrandi and Searle took! Kent would be better amongst a row of butchers than on a football field! And it's deplorable that you can't go out there and just play football, but you have to put up with people like that who obviously aren't interested at all in playing the game.

MIKE - I see... Well, Greg Tudor, Tynelia's coach, said that your predictions had fired up their players... Any comments?

EDVARD - When I heard that, I was disgusted. There was nothing else i felt. It's terrible to have people like that who masquerade as football fans. Football isn't meant to be a fight or a battle. It's just plain fun. And what's more, he thinks that it's better to restrict players' freedom by sticking them in a bastardized 3-5-2 he calls a 3-3-2-2 rather than let them play as they can, using their technique, their freedom and their feel for the flow of the game.

MIKE - Uh... Well, I hope you'll be able to prove us all that this 3-1 was just a fluke for Tynelia, and that our beautiful play will also give results. Now we'll have a few minutes to answer all the fans' questions, questions you can ask Edvard Slope-Brackey by calling the 00472233445 or by text message to the 64264! We've got a caller!

DAMON - Hi Mike, hi Mr Slope-Brackey. I watched the game between Tynelia and Vuam and Isma B, and I was wondering why Emmanuel DiBrandi was played down the middle, rather than on the wing, like he does with Lo Pan. Does his playing style suit a central midfield role?

EDVARD - When I watched Emmanuel play, I saw that he likes to carry the ball. He's great with both feet, and so why should I want him to only use one? He's fast, slippery and has good tactical vision. He's just lacking a bit in presence for the moment, but that's coming. His partnership with Searle is very interesting for me, because they play completely different styles. Searle looks for innovation through his passing, altruistic play, whilst DiBrandi creates on his own, like a painter. Of course, he's still adapting, but I really think that the DiBrandi-Searle relationship could be a lovely thing.

MIKE - And on to our next caller!...

Please feel free to RP Edvard Slope-Brackey. As you might have guessed, he is the epitome of the horrible football fan who is completely blinded by his own side, dispite their obvious failures, lackunes and shortcomings. He will never recognise that the opponent was good, for they were at best mediocre, and the only reason his side didn't win was because they weren't lucky, the referee was against them, and the grass was too long. If you want a real life example, think of Kevin Keegan during his infamous rant against Man Utd, or of Raymond Domenech (current french national team manager). He is hopeless tactically, and keeps on complaining about the "death of the beautiful game". Feel free to have him say anything horrible, no matter how wrong it is. Feel free to misquote him, have him erupt in a horrendous anger in front of your journalists, or throw bottles at the referee. Don't expect him to be fair-play, gentle, kind, or anything rather sportlike.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of RP... More will follow soon.

Cuation

29-05-2006, 20:31

Cuation Rain On Hypocria

Cuation formed a guard of honour in the Inferi Domei for the Hypocria players who came out to a standing ovation. At the end, the Hypocria players must have wondered how they lost and what the Fates had against them.

Cuation where poor when they the ball, trying to counter attack they relied on the small strikers, Rual and Giovanni to beat Webber and Gredenko in the air. It didn't work at all and when the ball went out wide, Milnar was unable to get the ball in while Fallen tried too many tricks and would lose the ball.

Defensively, Cuation did well under the pressure but three times, they got lucky. First Molinari shimmed past Samba on the edge of the box and moved in too shot but Hargreves brought him down with a poor challenge. One booking later and Cuation had conceded a 15th minute penalty.

Dudamel stood up to take it, Gary Jens trying to distract the number nine. It was hit well, towards the left hand bottom corner with power but Gary Jens save was even better, plunging down to his right to turn the ball away. Cuation couldn't believe their luck as they cleared the resulting corner and ten minutes later, would again thank the fates.

Ferron danced inside from Butcher and forced Cheese to come over and help, allowing the winger to play the ball inside for Dudamel. The striker was at a bad angle, Gary Jens quickly off his line to narrow it even further. The number nine chipped the ball towards goal, over Gary Jens and hit the angle of the bar. The grateful goalkeeper watched as the ball fell into his arms before anyone could score from the rebound.

On the thirty third minute, Bercali went scampering down the left before crossing the ball into the six yard box. Gary Jens came for it but missed it badly, Dudamel was unmarked with the goal gaping. A powerful header sent the ball flying into the net to the delight of half the crowd. The other half soon got too cheering as the linesman’s flag had gone up, offside.

In the 43rd minute, Fallen got behind Espartero and received a long ball from Cole but as he tried to adjust to play it on his stronger foot, the fullback won the ball off him at the expense off a throw in. Cole came forward and threw it too Giovanni on the edge of the box.

A first time cross worked wonders, Rual's run having impeded the keeper and the player who connected was Hargreves knocking the ball in with his shoulder. A shocked Hyppo never seemed to recover, the pressure they put on Cuation waning as time went on.

It was 2-0 in the 63rd minute, a long ball controlled expertly by Giovanni and then a sublime through pass split open the defence for Rual Mendiz to poke the ball past the onrushing keeper. A good start for Cuation and an unfair result for the losing team.

The Archregimancy

30-05-2006, 01:03

THE MONASTIC TIMES

B SQUAD DEFEAT SURPRISINGLY LOVEABLE ATHEISTS
MFA Deny Calling Dorian and Sonya 'Satanic'

By Fr. Nicholas the Scribe

The Archregimancy B team prevailed over the atheists of Ariddia 2-1 overnight following a surprising outbreak of mutual respect between the two squads. "Atheists or not, I think they're lovely" said brand new monk and defender Fr. Constantine the Humble. "Especially that Clémentine Ramirez" he added, before turning a slightly odd shade of pink. Monastic Football Association officials stressed after the match that, atheism or not, they are still grateful to the Ariddian authorities for hosting the WC 26 qualifiers between our monastic faithful and the minions of Satan - and hope that the well-recorded events of the latter matches may yet help to convert a few Ariddians.

The match itself was a surprisingly close affair, with the B team pulling off a narrow upset victory over their more experienced opponents. Fr. Gregory the Penitent seemed almost apologetic after he scored in the 36th minute following a freak rebound off his thigh, but Ariddia equalised in the second half through a far more skillful left-footed goal from Kyaw. An 81st minute goal from Fr. Hilarion the Fool for Christ following a moment of dazzling trickery sealed the victory.

Meanwhile, MFA officials were forced overnight to deny referring to the Dorian and Sonya Necromancers as 'Satanic'. "We were asked by a reporter if we found the notion of necromancy 'Satanic'" said a senior archimandrite, speaking on condition of anonymity, and looking rather searchingly at this scribe "and refused to comment, noting simply that Satan - in the form of the Anathematic Republics - already enters a team into international football. At no time did we directly refer to the nation of Dorian and Sonya, the 'Necromancers' or the Mystical Unicorns as 'Satanic'. Despite what our hosts claim. I want to make that very clear." He added, crossing himself vigorously to ward off evil while simultaneously splashing holy water over the page where I had written 'Necromancers'.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

30-05-2006, 08:00

OOC- will add RP tomorrow after headache goes away.

Scores For MD3

Group 1 - Inferi Domei
Wentland 0-1 Vuam and Isma
Tynelia 2-0 Milchama

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Tynelia 2 2 0 0 5 1 4 6
Milchama 3 2 0 1 7 2 5 6
Wentland 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
Vuam & Isma 3 1 0 2 2 9 -7 3
ASMV 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0
------------------------------------------------

Group 2 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Tadjikistan 2-1 The Archregimancy
Dorian and Sonya 1-0 Ariddia

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Jeruselem 2 2 0 0 7 0 7 6
Dorian & Sonya 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
The Archregimancy 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Tadjikistan 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3
Ariddia 3 0 0 3 1 8 -7 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 3 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Starblaydia 4-1 Bazalonia
Qazox 1-0 Hypocria

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Starblaydia 2 2 0 0 9 2 7 6
Qazox 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6
Hypocria 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3
Cuation 2 1 0 1 3 5 -2 3
Bazalonia 3 0 0 3 2 10 -7 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 4 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Sarzonia 0-3 New Montreal States
Schiavonia 5-0 Haraki

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
New Montreal States 3 3 0 0 6 1 5 9
Schiavonia 2 1 0 1 6 2 4 3
Geisenfried 2 1 0 1 1 3 -2 3
Haraki 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
Sarzonia 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0

Tynelia

30-05-2006, 13:58

Tynelia wins again

In their second match of the Draggonnii Inviyatii, Tynelia ran their record to 2-0-0 with a 2-0 win over second seeded Milchama. This stunned amny experts who felt after Milchama’s crushing 6-0 win over Vuam and imsa that they would have little trouble with the Tynelian squad ranked just ahead of Vuam and Isma. However the more experienced Tynelian squad took advantage of the Milchama youngsters and attacked early while the Milchama squad was still tryng to get their legs back after all that scoring their last match.

The first Tynelian score came at the 19 minute mark when Alan MacDougal fired a tricky near side shot that just missed the goal post past the Milchama keeper. The second goal sparked some controversy as Jay Masterson’s give and go score from Andy Martins at the 41 minute mark should have been taken off the board according to the Milchama squad. The argument was that Masterson was offsides when he got the return pass so his goal should not be allowed. However the officials did not budge and the goal stood. Replays show that Masterson did appear to be along side the Milchama defender but lacked evidence that he had indeed gone past him to go offsides.

“I was just in good position,” Masterson said after the match, “I gave the ball to Andy and took off down field like we planned. The defender stumbled a bit trying to change direction which got me all caught up with him but there was no way I was past him when I got that pass. He was just offstride and that’s why I outran him so quick when I got the ball.”

The second half was rather uneventful as Tynelia sat back and played defense while Milchama got their second wind but couldn’t penetrate the defense for many good scoring bids. When the final whistle blew Tynelia found itself with 6 points tied with Milchama for first in the group but having played one fewer match to date. With the Vuam and Isma surprising upset of Wentland, Tynelia finds itself in much better shape than they originally expected to be at this point and now have to hope Wentland doesn’t take this loss out on the Tynelian team when they face each other in the next match. A Tynelian win and they will move on to the top tier of the knockout round. A loss may find the squad in a fourway mess at six points and who knows what will happen then

((ooc-had a much longer version but sort of cleared the entire file i was typing it in by accident and had to start it from scratch and wasn't about to do this all over again so i went with the old faithful newspaper article instead))

Tadjikistan

30-05-2006, 15:15

Tadjiks win first points

Tadjikistans loss during the second matchday against main rivals Jeruselem had been a dissapointment for the fans, looking for spectacular Tadjik performances. The experts and the team however, remained realistic: Tadjikistan is in a difficult period while their high morale and individual skill hide the weaknesses such as the defenses: 'As usual, the mistakes are made in the defense. The defenders also need to practise on recuperating a ball, that a real problem too. Zaev explained Tadjikistans problem to keep the goal empty.

Against The Archregimancy, the defenders played a good but hardly convincing match, allowing the Archimandrite strikers to score in the 40th minute, eventhough that was more the fault of Korshak. The inexperienced young man was oumaneuvred. Critics remembered Korshak of the goal after the game and called him a 'weak link' and 'not good enough for the national team', but once more Coach Zaev protected his player saying 'Korshak has shown promesse in the Tadjik competition and is more than worthy of his place among the Tigers. How can such talented young men learn the trade if we do not field them?'. Eventually most critics were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

In the meantime, Rahmon Nabiyevs first goal resulted in positive comment. The strikers from Vaksh Qorgontheppa, who sat on the bench during WC28 worked hard and grabbed the only scoring opportunity that he got with both hands, a hard shot in the lower left corner. The same critics whom haunted Korshak, spoke of Nabiyev as the new rising star but assistent coach Oleg Salenko remained cautious when the press asked the retired striker what he thought of Nabiyev 'He's good, We all remember his fine actions in service of his own club, Vaksh Qorgontheppa. Maybe he will be a topscorer like Saradov, maybe, only time can tell.'

The second goal was made by Yuri Maximov, the 30 year old veteran who seemed to have less trouble with his opponents than most other Tadjik players. Noone was really surprised about it, most people already knew Maximov was more popular among the Archimandrite viewers because he is Orthodox, unlike the rest of the squad who are mostly atheists with a few other Orthodox and Muslim exceptions.

And so the Tadjiks finaaly got their first victory since the WC28 group stage, a close call but none the less good enough to motivate the Tigers. Both fans and players now look forward to the next matches, first against Dorian and Sonya or the 'necromancers' as they like to be called. The Tadjiks know very little of this side except that they have a young squad and that they tied to the Archrgimancy and won against Arridia, but Coach Zaev believes that it is wrong to compare those results to get a prediction, certainly for a first encounter 'The Tigers are in a difficult period, as i've already told you before, so anything is possible.'

New Montreal States

30-05-2006, 16:35

The States locker room was in tumult. The Paladins had just completely dominated the defending champions 3-0 and were ready to blow off a little steam before moving on. The sort of music that had died out fifteen years earlier in most of civilization was blaring on the stereo, and Gilles Villeneuve was taking center stage, with his teammates and threescore virgin blondes holding paddles looking on.

"We been dancin' with
Mr. Branstone
He's been knockin'
He won't leave me alone"

Hair metal was making a comeback, at least among the 25-year-old phenom forward caste. Gilles was (mostly) keeping pace with Axel Rose on his Fender, while the rookies were being forced to headbang in the worst of 80s fashion.

"Now I get up around whenever
I used ta get up on time
But that old man,
He's a real mutha...oh, hey, coach..."

William Branstone had made an unexpected entry from the pitch, where he had been staging a press conference.

"Okay, you've got five seconds. Make it good."

"They made me do it, Coach," said Villeneuve, pointing at the rookies with a big grin on his face.

"Gentlemen, do you have an explanation?"

The confused rookies, one still headbanging to himself off to the side, could offer nothing beyond "Err..."

"Okay, every last one of you, five suicides out there on the pitch. In that gear. You want to put on a show? You'll get your (expletive) show! MOVE!"

And the rookies were chased out of the locker room to go appear on every highlight show in the States (and possibly around the world) running up and down the pitch in metalhead clothing.

Ariddia

30-05-2006, 17:06

Ariddians aim for a draw, miss

A disappointing performance in the Draggonnii Cup so far was made even worse by the match against Dorian and Sonya. Despite a highly experienced starting eleven, the Rouge-et-Noirs were again left unable to score a goal. A marked improvement in the team’s defensive playing – with Roberts, Fields and Chantier proving an impressively effective defence against Dorian and Sonya’s attack – was simply not enough. The Rouge-et-Noirs’ opponents grabbed their first victory in the competition. . . at Ariddia’s expense.

An incident marred the game when the referee disallowed a goal by Ismail Faraj in the thirtieth minute, due to a contestable offside. Faraj’s sometimes volatile temper was displayed as he disputed the decision in no uncertain terms, and brushed off efforts by team captain Ue Alt and team mate Clémentine Ramirez to calm him. Faraj was eventually shown a yellow card. Twenty-nine minutes later, a goal by Dorian and Sonya striker Connie Klemens was also cancelled because of an offside.

The two teams appeared well balanced, and as the game entered its eighty-fifth minute it seemed they were heading for a goalless draw. The Ariddians stepped up their attacks, but to no avail, and perhaps imperilled their defence in the process. Melonie Gaffer finally found a chink in the eighty-eighth minute and opened the score. . . for Dorian and Sonya.

Crushed by the last-minute twist, the Rouge-et-Noirs were forced to place their hopes in a free kick in the ninety-second and very last minute. U passed to Kyaw, who passed to Sanjeeb as the seconds ticked away, and Sanjeeb’s difficult and hurried pass to Lange was finally intercepted and cleared by Estrella Finau. As she kicked the ball away, Dorian and Sonya had won the match.

The Rouge-et-Noirs returned to the changing room without comment. It seems now they may well be on their way to the proverbial wooden spoon.

Cuation

30-05-2006, 18:07

5 Stars!

The biggest defeat in Cuation's history has been inflicted, a humiliating 5-1 defeat that shows again the gap between us and the big boys. Can Cuation honestly go a step up under 28 year old manager Jude Takerath? I know such words are treason in Cuation but we seem only to be able to get third place in qualifiers, semi finals in the Cup of Harmony and suffer bad loses to big boys. We have lost our ability to cause upsets.

Johan Keifner was the man of the match, scoring a hatrick and setting up the other two. He tore Samba apart and left the defence helpless to deal with the attacks. Cuation as a whole, could not get the ball back and when they had the possession, it was often wasted.

The first of the hatrick was after a fine passing move found him on the edge of the box, with a deft touch, he sent the ball curling into the top corner, and Gary Jens had no chance. 1-0. Minutes later is was two after a mazy dribble, running past Samba, Hargreves, Butcher, Yan, Cheese before rounding Gary Jens to make it 2-0.

Maivia Von Erich was set up by the playmaker's cut box, driving the ball home to make it 3-0. After half time, off came Giovanni, Rual and Jens for Jude Tanner, Gary Cole and Lu Fei. The team changed to 7-2-1 and defended for their lives.

Soon they where breached by Jackie Maitland , played clear on goal, the striker spotted the young keeper had left too much room at his near post so he punished the error, feigning to shoot to the far post before firing into the gap. 4-0

Jude Tanner came back from that and played well but was horribly at fault for the hatrick goal, booting a simple back pass straight to Keifner . Stranded, he tried desperately to get back on his line but the playmaker's chip was too fast and too accurate for the back-pedalling keeper.

5-0 down and only in the last minute did Cuation score. Another long ball was wasted but Herge Costa sliced his clearance into the air. Mendez came for it but was beaten in the air by Lu Fei , who just managed to deflect the ball towards the goal. It was the big striker’s first goal at senior level for Cuation!

Cuation Rest Near Last

The Cuation team had a party to cheer themselves up after looking so demoralised after the Stars defeat. The next matches require them to bounce back and recover the goal difference suffered so too win and to win well is required in the two games left.

If we suffer rocky form, we may end up trying to overcome that problem in the lower bracket. That would ruin moral in the camp but it is up to them to bring back some glory.

Dorian and Sonya

31-05-2006, 01:26

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Necromancers Pass Ariddian Test

Melonie Gaffer again was forced by the rest of her squad to face the press and she silently vowed that she would repay them in some very horrid and despicable way. One of them would surely do better at this kind of crap than she could - she was literally the quietest member of the Necromancer squad. Maybe that was why she had been given this unbelievably awful task.

Repoter 1: What of the opponents from Ariddia today? How were things on the pitch?

Melonie: The Ariddian squad is always great. They are some of the finest sportsmen and women in the game today. It is refreshing to play a side that actually shows respect and manners, not to mention their pure love of the game.

Reporter 2: You speak with respect of Ariddia. Is that just because you wish to ease the fact that your squad just beat them 1-0 today in the minds of their fans?

Melonie: Stuff it jerk! I speak highly of those that deserve it.

Reporter 3: The Necromancers have done surprisingly well in the first two matches. How do you see things turning out in the group stage?

Melonie: We havent faced Jeruselem or Tadjikistan yet. That says it all. But we are not your typical “B squad”. We face very stiff competition in the AOCAF. Even the big names that do not reside in AO would have trouble with the competition level there. I would even go as far to say that we could defeat our own “A squad”, if you want to call them that. They are a bunch of sissy girls.

Reporter 4: You seem to be the leader of the squad on and off the pitch. What is it that makes you special?

Melonie: Me? Special? Hmmmppfffttt. The others are just to damn chicken to step up here and speak.

Reporter 5: Speaking of Tadjikistan, how do you think your squad will fare against them?

Melonie: Very poorly, to be honest. If we even get a point I might go into shock. A win……well lets not even go there.

Qazox

31-05-2006, 05:32

[B]QSPN

"hi and we welcome you to Tapia Reis Civic Arena, in Beautiful ASMV for live coverage of DI3. I'm Brent Berman and sitting next to me is our color man, Brock Samson. Brock, after a day off yesterday to celebrate their upset win over Balazonia, how do you think the Juniors will do against a Hypocia squad, taking it last lap around the international stage?"

"Brent, I think that each side is evenly matched, but the day off, may cost the Juniors as they have to get back into gear against a tough opponent, I think if Henry Edision, the 20-yr old Keep can hold Hypocria to only one goal, then this team has a shot.

"Thanks for that insight and we now take you to the field, where the match is about to begin."

[Scrolls starting lineups for each Squad]

"And Nelson Macgillivray, take the open, passes to Turek, turek turns upfield, checked by Espartero , Turek looks sees Dansie in the middle, passes, Dansie looks, dogdes a tackle, shoots and SCORRRRRES!! Holy OXen int he 1st minute of the match, Qazox has taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by Hugh Dansie, wow, that was a blast from 18 yards and Alexei Lomaia of Hypocria looked aboslutely lost in the kick. He didn't see it i think as one of his defenders was in his view."

" Just what they needed there, Brent. a quick start and the pressure is now on Hypocria to answer this opening minute goal.

"Now its up to the young defense to keep this lead, as Hypocria starts the ball up the field with Dudamel leading the charge..."

(Fast forward to 44th minute)

"Still 1-0 Qazox here late in the 1st half on a 1st minute goal by Hugh Dansie, Dudamel of Hypocria has the ball, He's been all over the pitch shooting on net from many angles, but so far, Edision has kept all 5 shots out. And A hard tackle by Tyrone Funderburg, and the Ref is holding up a Yellow and pointing to the penalty spot. A penalty kick here for Hypocria in the minute minute of the half and this is not what Qazox needs rightnow."

"Yeah, Brent. Hopefully Edision will be up to the task and keep it 1-0 here, but Dudamel does not miss many penalties.

"Dudamel lines up for the kick, its low at the right post and IT GOES OFF THE POST!!!!!!! Cleared out by Funderburg, and there's the whistle ending the first half. WOW!!! Dudamel, who's made some big kicks over the years for Hypocria, misses a penalty that would have tied the match, but instead at Half its Qazox 1- Hypocria 0."

(Fast forward to the 89th minute)

"The crowd here in Tapia Reis is cheering for the upstart Juniors as Hypocria takes one last rush at the net to try to tie the match in the final minute, the Hypocrian Keeper, Lomaia is leading the rush as it seems to be an all-out rush on the young Qazox Squad, about 1 minute left, and there is no injury time to play, these 60 second will determine the match. Lomaia passes to Vyntra, shadowed by Funderburg, Vyntra passes to Beck, who quickly passes it to Molinari, Molinari dribbles past Dansie, looks for Dudamel, and Dansie takes it DANSIE TAKES IT!!! there's only about 20 second left and Qazox will win this match!!! I don't believe it, the match is over and QAZOX has upset Hypocria 1-0 here in the Dragonii Inviyatii and is 2-0-0 so far in group play. Brock, did you think a result such as this could happen?"

No. Personally i did not think that Qazox would be able to shutout such a high powered offence as Hypocria's. Henry Edision played the match of his life stopping an incredible 14 shots including not one but two consecutive headers by Dudamel in the 65th minute.

"The play of the match, Brought to you by Ox-Cola, Taste the Ox, is the missed penalty kick by Dudamel in the 45th minute. He just put a little too much english on the ball and it would have gotten past Edision, but it jsut glanced off the right post, and was cleared out by Funderburg, whose yellow set up the penalty try. For QSPN Football coverage of DI3 and for Brock Samson, I'm Brent Berman, the fianl once again Qazox 1- Hypocria 0. Stay tuned for coverage of the 1908 Qazox Series of Poker, Final table live from Joehio Casino in Joehio, Goodnite everybody!"

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

31-05-2006, 06:38

Lord Valentin Quintarro was at the microphone yet again to answer the daily barrage of questions surrounding the day’s matches and related issues. He had thought himself lucky when the final question came - “The Archregimancy has issued a formal statement that they never pronounced the Necromancer squad from Dorian and Sonya as being “Satanic”. They also issued a statement declaring you as misconstruing their words in your statements concerning their report. What do you have to say on that matter?”

Quintarro cleared his throat before speaking. “well, um, they never actually called the Necromancers squad Satanic. Um, they simply stated that the squad was named after Satanic powers. I may have jumped - just a bit - in my conclusions drawn from that. Um…….if there are no more questions….” Quintarro nearly ran from the stage to escape.

==========================================================

Scores For MD4

Group 1 - Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Tynelia 4-3 Wentland
Vuam and Isma 1-1 ASMV

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Tynelia 3 3 0 0 9 4 5 9
Milchama 3 2 0 1 7 2 5 6
Vuam & Isma 4 1 1 2 3 10 -7 4
Wentland 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3
ASMV 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1
------------------------------------------------

Group 2 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Dorian and Sonya 1-3 Tadjikistan
The Archregimancy 0-2 Jeruselem

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Jeruselem 3 3 0 0 9 0 9 9
Tadjikistan 3 2 0 1 5 4 1 6
Dorian & Sonya 3 1 1 1 2 3 -1 4
The Archregimancy 4 1 1 2 3 5 -2 4
Ariddia 3 0 0 3 1 8 -7 0
-------------------------------------------------

Group 3 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Qazox 0-3 Starblaydia
Bazalonia 1-1 Cuation

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Starblaydia 3 3 0 0 12 2 10 9
Qazox 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6
Cuation 3 1 1 1 4 6 -2 4
Hypocria 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3
Bazalonia 4 0 1 3 3 11 -8 1
-------------------------------------------------

Group 4 - Carrington Championship Arena
Schiavonia 1-2 Sarzonia
New Montreal States 2-2 Geisenfried

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
New Montreal States 4 3 1 0 8 3 5 10
Geisenfried 3 1 1 1 3 5 -2 4
Schiavonia 3 1 0 2 7 4 3 3
Haraki 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
Sarzonia 3 1 0 2 2 5 -3 3

Qazox

31-05-2006, 07:27

QSPN SPORTS WORLD

Davis: "Welcome to the 1am Sports World. I'm Davis Reece and he's Dean Venture, Top story tonight, Qazox' junior Squad's luck finally ran out as they were pasted by Starblaydia, 3-0 earlier tonight. We now take you to Brent Berman, who called the match. Brent, why did the Juniors lose tonite?"

Brent: Personally, I think they were just too overconfident. They had won 2 big matches earlier, but against one of the best if no the best team in the world, their inexperience at this level showed.

Dean: "Did anything positive happen for Qazox tonight and how will they play against Cuation tommorow?"

Brent: Yes there were some postives for them as they held Starblaydia to a scoreless 1st half, but in the second half, they seemed to cocky and it cost them. As for Cuation, i think they need to get back to basics and paly like they did in the 1st two matches. Stay back on defense and counter-attack with precision.

Davis: "Thank you Brent and we'll see you tommorrow at 5:30 QST for the match against Cuation. As said earlier, Qazox did manage to hold Starblaydia scoreless in the 1st half, but a goal by Johan Keifner in the 59th minute ended Edision's shutout streak at 198 minutes, as new National team record. after that goal went in, the Juniors seemed to deflate and in the 65th minute, Johan Keifner scored once again to make it 2-nil. Qazox tried to counter with a heavy presence on the offensive side of the pitch, but a missed tackle on Jackie Maitland, allowed (ooc dunno if its a guy or girl sry) him to score the final goal in the 83rd minute."

Dean: 'Up next for Qazox is Cuation, a draw is only needed to advance the Juniors into the knockout rounds (ooc2: Um is the top 2 in each group gonna advance to the Quartfinals or is it a 4-team knock out for 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th respectively???) and there any thing can happen"

Davis: "Up next is the highlights of the final table of the 1908 QSOP, Did Helen Mabel hold on to her 3-1 chip lead or did QSOP rookie Mike Hanson pull off the massive upset..Stay tuned!"

[NS]Bazalonia

31-05-2006, 07:47

"What.. We actually got a point in the DI?" stated JAmes Gaines as he looked over a match report from Neil Kabants.

"Yep, 1 all against Cuation." replied his secretary

"Hey, let me read this report.. and how did you know before I did?" commented James Gaines

"Secretaries privilege" she replied, James didn't know what that meant and he damned if he was going to ask her but he grunted as he went back to reading the report. It was as follows."

Draggonnii Invitational Match Report

Matchday 4, Bazalonia vs. Cuation

The match started slowly as both teams tried to find a rhythm. Despite being exhausted the Bazalopes founbd theirs first and scored against cuation. Peter Hobble, Anthony Creek and Benny Boy Peters combined to set up the scoring opportunity for Michael Irchov who found himself unmarked as the Cuation team was trying to negate Peter Hobble. The plan and lure worked as the ball went into the net just out of the reach of the keeper.

Soon after the goal, which was in the 12th minute, Cuation got into their rhythm which caused the next 31 minutes into a stalemate between the two teams until they scored, equalising the Bazalopes in the 43rd minute.

Cuation let slip the ball and gave the Bazalopes a real chance but the half-time whistle had gone before the Bazalopes where able to take advantage of it.

The next half was begrudgingly dull as neither side showed any sparkle or brilliance and the 45 minutes where completely boring apart from a single yellow card awarded to Andrew Creek for taking a fall. At least it was something to look at. Andrew Creek was once again warned for his on field behaviour by me after the game had finished but he seemed to shrug it off.

"So, what are you going to do about Andrew?" asked the secretary

"Huh?! what.. oh that's right 'secretaries privilige'.. Nothing... He's a great defensive player and.. yeah he's a bit agressive but I'm not going to kick him out of the team just because of that." answered James

"oh, I just thought.." the secretary was interupted..

"Which is not in your job desciption, end of story.."

"Fine..." she said adding "But Neil's going to be pissed" before ducking out of the office before more than words start flying through the air.

Cuation

31-05-2006, 11:35

Cuation Drop Points

One game to go and Cuation sit in third place, after playing to their old erratic habits. The last game is against second place Qazox, if Cuation want second place then they must win. A draw or less will send Cuation into third or fourth place but we should finish above Bazalonia.

It either says a lot for the Dragon Cup or the nature of the Cuation team that we only managed a draw against an exhausted Bazalonia. Both teams started slowly, trying to test each others systems out so it was a surprise when Bazalonia scored with their first shot.

There seemed little danger when Hobble played the ball wide too Creek but Butcher committed himself too early and left the flank exposed. A great cross field ball caught the defence out, allowing Peters room to control the ball then cross it in. Yan had gone to mark Hobble and the rest of the defenders where ball watching. The ball fell to an unmarked Irchov Michael, who picked his spot to where Gary Jens could not reach.

Twelve minutes gone, the goal provoked a response from Caution and with Giovanni willing to drop back to receive the ball, started getting back into their stride. Still with their opponents happy not to expose themselves to the counter attack, only two chances where made.

First Butcher's early cross found Ashton stealing in at the far post but the header was saved well by Jeffery Constantine. The second one resulted in a goal, Giovanni running at the defence until twenty yards out. With the defence all over the place, the playmaker played it in for Rual on the edge of the box. With a quick turn, the striker then fired it across the keeper and into the net.

With only minutes to go till half time, Cuation nearly threw away their hard work. Hargreves attempted to play it back to the keeper but it strayed to the feet of Hobble. With the keeper stranded, it should have been a goal but the captain's powerful effort rattled the post and out for a goal kick.

In the second half, Cuation would bring on Lu Fei and Keane to try and liven things up but neither side seemed to be able to put together an attack. Andrew Creek went down when he thought Butcher was closing in but even the ref spotted it was a dive. In the end, boredom all round.

Starblaydia

31-05-2006, 12:48

"...but a missed tackle on Jackie Maitland, allowed (ooc dunno if its a guy or girl sry) him to score the final goal in the 83rd minute."

OOC: She's a chick, but no worries. Subsequently (and edited into this thread too) she'll appear in rosters as 'Jacqueline' to avoid confusion.

IC:

Strikers Kicking Ass
Starblaydia smashing in the goals

With each and every striker in Starblaydia's Draggonnii Inviyatii squad needing to book their place on the plane to Krytenia and Casari, they're all desperate to make their name. Johan Keifner certainly has done, with a great tally of five goals in three games, including his second hat-trick for the national team. After being the striking partner for Dasha Tolkacheva, scoring seven goals in the campaign as Starblaydia lifted the World Cup Trophy, surely JK The Giant's place is assured. Jacqueline Maitland, who bagged seven goals herself, top-scored on the way to Starblaydia's AOCAF14 record-breaking fifth regional title and has scored a goal in each of the three Group Three games played so far. Has that earned her a place alongside Keifner? Don't forget Maivia Von Erich; the twenty-eight year old netted in the 5-1 win over Cuation with his eleventh international goal.

The boat may already have sailed for Janica Rocca, once dubbed 'the new Tolkacheva', the twenty-four year-old has netted just twice for Starblaydia's 'full' national team in her twelve appearances. Compare that to the fact she's scored six goals in fourteen games for the Women's national team - leading the entire team in goals - means she may have her future planned out for her already. Charles Barron, Lawrence Asante and Durin Bazrimar all appear to be in the same boat - continuing the transportation theme - too young, too inexperienced. They can surely only earn themselves an AOCAF starting spot, or a World Cup reserve number at best.

Starblaydia's voracious attacking style has lead them to smash in twelve goals in just three games, though with an excellent defence protected by Captain Pedro Rujano in midfield, they have only conceeded two goals. Their goal difference is higher than any other team's goal tally. Should Starblaydia face a team with real quality, such as Tadjikistan, Jeruselem or even the under-performing Sarzonia, then any defensive frailties - such as two forward-minded full-backs - could really be exposed.

Starblaydia Goalscorers so far:
Johan Keifner - 5
Jaqueline Maitland - 3
Pedro Rujano - 2
Will Soperra - 1
Maivia Von Erich - 1

[NS]Bazalonia

31-05-2006, 13:58

(ooc2: Um is the top 2 in each group gonna advance to the Quartfinals or is it a 4-team knock out for 5th, 9th, 13th and 17th respectively???)

After the initial round the DI goes into brackets (exactly how many depends on what ASMV decides), your placement into a bracket is based off your position in the table.

And then from there it is basically sorting mechanism... each team plays another team in it's bracket.. the winner of that match plays the winner from another match the loser plays the loser from another match... and this goes one for how ever many rounds are required to sort the teams in the bracket...

1st place in DI is win all your bracket matches in the top bracket...
2nd won all but against #1
3rd lost against #1 or 2 but beat 4
4 lost against the other #1 or 2 and lost to 3...etc etc etc

and the winner of a lower bracket starts after the guy that lost every match in the bracket...

Jeruselem

31-05-2006, 14:14

Harry Kool addressing his team who had just beaten The Archregimancy TWO NIL

"Do you know guys know who you just beat? The Archregimancy, who are really good Orthodox team. First thing, great defense. You kept the monks under pressure with little options for creative attacking play and restricted them to preset plays, which involved risky long range passes. They weren't allowed time to think about how to attack and made mistakes which prevented them from making effective attacks on goal. Great support from the midfield who quickly removed the ball from the danger zone and push forward to put pressure on their defense to stop our probes. And the aggression level was good - enough to frustate the opponent but not incur too many fouls although we should reduce this tackle from behind stuff. Strikers - great job but keep your arms to yourselves so you don't elbow someone in the head. We need to work on making those corners work as sometimes the opposition keeper got a easy ball which was easy to read. We need to make use of free players more and keep the ball away from the keeper. That's all, apart from Fred trying to chat up my girlfriend."

Qazox

31-05-2006, 14:45

Bazalonia']After the initial round the DI goes into brackets (exactly how many depends on what ASMV decides), your placement into a bracket is based off your position in the table.

And then from there it is basically sorting mechanism... each team plays another team in it's bracket.. the winner of that match plays the winner from another match the loser plays the loser from another match... and this goes one for how ever many rounds are required to sort the teams in the bracket...

1st place in DI is win all your bracket matches in the top bracket...
2nd won all but against #1
3rd lost against #1 or 2 but beat 4
4 lost against the other #1 or 2 and lost to 3...etc etc etc

and the winner of a lower bracket starts after the guy that lost every match in the bracket...

I understand that... but i was wondering is there goin to be a separate bracket for 1st place teams, 2nd place, 3rd, etc.? or are the top 2 in the "winners Bracket'' and the bottom 3 in the loser's?

Tynelia

31-05-2006, 15:16

((ooc i believe it works that the top two teams wnet into the "Championship bracket" which was basically only those eight teams could win the tournament. the third and fourth place teamed went into another bracket then the last place teams formed their bottom bracket- i believe it was supposed to go 2 teams per group but with only twenty teams instead of the projected 24 the last bracket only got four teams.

Then in bracket play the winning teams kept playing each other til the championship and the losers kept playing each other as well so in the end all twenty teams would finish in their own indivual rank.

ie. Tynelia makes it to the championship bracket as one of the top 2 in their group. Tynelia promptly gets obliterated by say Starblaydia in the openning contest. This loss means tynelia can finish no better than fifth overall, as the other three winning teams would continue on to the final four. However Tynelia would then be matched up with one of the other three losing teams in the bracket and if tynelia wins there that would advance them to the 5th and 6th place match which takes place the same time as the championship match.

That way everyone but the last place finishers in the group would be able to keep playing and RPing all the way thorugh the championship match. The last place group would have one fewer match since only four teams started there.))

New Montreal States

31-05-2006, 15:57

PALADINS BLASTING WAY INTO WHATEVER BRACKET WE MAY END UP IN

Reserves pick up 2-2 draw with solid Geisenfried side

ASMV - The Paladins are done with the group stage of play in the third Dragonnii Inviyattii, sitting at 3-1-0 after the reserves battled a feisty Geisenfried side to a 2-2 draw.

"It was give-and-take out there," said Branstone. "Now I know who's earned their jersey for World Cup 29, and who's gonna get bumped off for some U21 stars."

With a generational shift due over the next two cups, finding decent reserves for the 29th Cup is key, as these reserves will most likely be taking to the pitch in the blue and silver for WC30.

Tynelia

31-05-2006, 16:10

“Welcome everyone and take a deep breathe after what is arguably the most exciting soccer match in Tynelia’s international history. In a game of many firsts with several lead changes Tynelia managed to take a 4-3 victory over a determined Wentland team. This win guarantees Tynelia a spot in the top two and we only need a draw in our final match against the host Androssa de Mitrin Vega or a Milchama draw or loss to win the group outright. I’m Sal Spikeman along with Anna Dalespin for Tynelian Soccer Weekly and we’ll try to cover all the action that took place in what is the highest scoring match in Tynelian soccer history. Anna, its all you.”

“Thanks Sal, this was definitely not what most fans expected coming from this match. Tynelia was the most defensive squad in the group though Wentland like Milchama and Vuam and Isma went with a more aggressive attacking style. The big difference this time was that Wentland was using their World Cup squad while the others sent other teams here. That being the case this would be the toughest test for Tynelia to date. The real key here was the Tynelian counterattacking was in the best form I’ve seen them ever. It seemed like any mistake Wentland made resulted in a serious charge the other way by Tynelia. This was pivotal as Amy Whiteworth was having an off game, possibly from fatigue.”

“Well according to Coach Tudor, he was also concerned by the goals allowed and that’s why he mentioned to Dana Lee after the game that with advancement in hand, that he would be starting Vladimar Malloy in net against Androssa de Mitrin Vega in the final match of group play. Still let’s go over the other firsts in today’s match. This was the first time Tynelia has ever scored four goals in one match. They did score five against Balzonia in the last DI and three several times but never four exactly. This is also the first time Tynelia has allowed more than two goals and won a match and they only managed winning while giving up two once before this. Finally Jay Masterson is the first Tynelian player to ever score a hat trick in international play. Clearly this team is meshing very well right now and should be a force to worry about in next year’s Wrold Cup if they keep playing like this.”

“Let’s not get too far ahead here Sal, yes we’re 3-0-0 here but we’ve only beaten one regular squad along the way. Now our hosts are playing their regular squad and will be looking to avoid going winless in front of their home crowd so they will be ready to go if Tynelia lets up any.”

“More about that later Anna, let’s get to the match itself. It was a back and forth affair, something most Tynelian fans aren’t used to watching the defensive minded Tynelians play. Tynelia got on the board first at the 15 minute mark as Jay Masterson took a corner kick and fired it home to give us a 1-0 lead. That didn’t last long however as Wentland came back to tie it at the 26 minute mark with a goal of their own ((OOC- I couldn’t tell which of your players were on offense Wentland so rather than have the wrong people I just won’t give any names)). As if the Tynelian first goal was some sort of wakeup call Wentland continued to press the attack and took a 2-1 lead at the 38 minute mark on a header off a corner kick of their own. Most Tynelian fans at this point were just hoping for a draw now as expecting three goals from Tynelia’s offense isn’t expected. However Adrian Pytte took a loose ball on a miscommunication by the Wentland defenders and blasted it past the surprised keeper to tie it up at the 44 minute mark send the match to the half at 2-2.”

“That last minute goal was huge Sal, before that goal, Wentland had been pushing the action on Tynelia’s end and many felt it was a matter of time before they added their third goal. After a long clear to the Wentland end catch our breath it was a bit of a surprise to see Pytte moving so aggressively after the ball and took advantage of a lazy pass to even things up. Going in at the half all tied up kept our team hopeful of getting some points out of this match yet.”

“Very true Anna, you could going into the locker room that the Wentland squad was very upset with themselves after controlling most of the first half but finding themselves tied at 2. On the other hand Tynelia was feeling buoyant at staying in the match after being knocked back on their heels for so long. This enthusiasm continued in the early going of the second half as Masterson got his second goal at the 52 minute mark with a nice high shot that went off the fingertips of the Wentland keeper. As before though, Wentland was not about to go down quietly. No doubt very upset at giving up a pair of goals within 10 minutes of each other to a supposedly defensive squad Wentland opened things up again. In what seemed to be a mistake, Tynelia had fallen back to their usual extra defensive style when they have a second half lead and tried to take the air out of the ball. This proved costly as Wentland was more than happy to keep firing away and looking for an opening. At the 64th minute they found it as a rebound got away from Whiteworth in net and the Wentland striker was there to send it home to tie everything at 3-3 with over 26 minutes to play.

“At this point things settled down slightly, neither team wishing to be the one to make the fateful mistake to lose the game. The next ten minutes were uneventful as both teams sought advantages that weren’t there. This actually seemed to give Tynelia a chance to regroup as cautious play was more comfortable to them that it was to the Wentland side which finally had enough and tried picking up the pace again. The final goal came at the 81st minute when Tal Li stole the ball from the Wentland forward and immediately took off upfield, his speed giving him a half step on the pursuit. As a player came from the opposite way to cut him off, Li just blasted the ball downfield as far as he could where Alan MacDougal outjumped the Wentland midfielder for a slightly off target pass to Jay Masterson who was lurking unnoticed by the sidelines. Taking the pass Masterson got past the defender who tried to take the angle to cut him off and made the keeper guess wrong when he took the game winning shot which put Tynelia up 4-3. Wentland tried to rally late but this time the Tynelian stall was effective long enough for this big win.”

“As far as the numbers went this was a total shootout, Wentland having a 29-21 shot edge and a 9-7 edge in quality tries. Time of possession also favored the Wentland attack by four and a half minutes but fortunately for Tynelia the number that really mattered favored them.”

“And I want to say Sal, is that this is by far the most impressive I’;ve seen the Tynelian offense ever. Three matches now and every one Tynelia has scored at least two goals now. And except for this match the defense has held up quite well too. This has to be the first time I can remember saying that the offense picked up the defense on the field today. And now we’re one win away from a perfect record in group play. In fact we find ourselves in heady company as only the defending World Cup champion Starbladyia and 8th in the world Jeruselem are the only other teams boasting a perfect record so far. Tynelia has clinched a spot in the championship bracket but can really help their chances by winning the group and thus play a second place finisher in their first matchup of the knockout phase. A loss and Milchama win will knock us to second and no doubt end up against one of the two teams I just mentioned which is not a good place to start as Tynelia found out facing Spaam in the Cup of Harmony almost three years ago.”

“And the really interesting point about the offensive defense of Tynelia, we’re actually tied for second not in fewest goals allowed where we’re tied for seventh, but in goals SCORED! Who would have expected that?”

“Indeed, Tynelia’s counterattacking has been superb so far and is responsible for at least half their goals so far.”

“Speaking of goals Anna, here’s a list of Tynelia’s goal scorers so far, now that we’ve actually scored enough to make such a chart actually useful.”

Masterson- 5
MacDougal-2
Martins-1
Pytte-1

“To no one’s surprise Jay Masterson leads the way but its nice to see the scoring spread out some.”

“Yes Sal, the team can’t let itself become one dimensional or things will turn out badly if Masterson starts getting double teamed.”

“So Anna, what do you think is going to happen in our match against ASMV?”

“This on paper should be the opposite of the Wentland match. Like Tynelia, the tournament hosts play a slightly defensive style but they haven’t been able to counterattack as well as we have so have only scored two goals while allowing the same amount as we have., But as I said earlier they will certainly be trying to get at least one win in group play to keep them out of the last place bracket since a win would move them past Vuam and Isma due to a better goal differential. I think things will return to normal and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one end in a 0-0 draw. In the other match I think Wentland will bounce back against a rested young Milchama squad who may have the jitters playing up against a World Cup regular squad. I see Wentland prevailing 3-2 but not be able to make up the huge goal differential Milchama’s 6-0 win over Vuam and Imsa and so Milchama will join Tynelia in the championship bracket from our group. Its nice to hear Tynelia and Championship bracket in the same sentence doesn’t it Sal?”

“It most certainly does Anna. So there you have it, one final match against the tournament hosts and Tynelia then makes ready to go for the Championship itself and bring a new team to the winners circle for the first time. Tune in tomorrow at the regular time for Tynelia’s last match of group play. Afterwards myself and Anna will be here for the postgame report and possibly even a look at our first opponent in the knockout stages. Until then good night everyone.”

Wentland

31-05-2006, 19:28

The Swifts trudged off, disconsolate as the Tynelians celebrated wildly behind them. Lawrence hurled his boots into a corner, Yaxley just swore and swore and swore. Jarvis was fit to be tied. Perhaps it was a mistake to start with eleven non-Crowhurst players.

But how it should have gone the other way! After attack after attack had broken down, Tynelia got off the scoresheet with a freak goal. Masterson took a corner and Derrington lost the track in the swirling wind. 1-0.

Despite the setback Wentland hit back strongly and within a further 20 minutes or so the Swifts were ahead. Hopkins making it 1-1 following some splendid wing-work by Devey and a Kent corner picking out Tiny Smith to make it 2-1.

So a lead at half-time. Oh no. After Hopkins' shot came off the woodwork, a grateful Tynelian defence hoofed it clear and away down the pitch. Culthorpe controlled it and knocked it to Wright, but grotesquely underhit it and as Pytte came steaming through Wright slipped in his attempt to cut him off. Derrington had no chance. 2-2.

Following a rocket from Bluff the Swifts came out loaded for bear and Hopkins curled one just wide and Devey muffed a one-on-one. But after 52 minutes the goal came. For Tynelia. Another attack broken down, another clearance, and Masterson from 30 yards tried a speculative shot that nearly broke the net. Derrington did well to get his fingers to it.

Tynelia, elated, sat back on their lead and invited Wentland to come forward. It was a mistake. Kent cut in from the left and drove a cross-cum-shot that Whiteworth could only parry back to the feet of Hopkins who made it 3-3. Nearly half-an-hour to win it.

Wentland calmed things down but generally dominated play until with 10 minutes to go Hopkins found himself clear for a hat-trick. But Hoppo hesitated and was forced into a tight angle, where he lost the ball to Tai Li who moved upfield with menace. Just as Kent moved in on Li he hefted the ball forward where MacDougal flicked on to Masterson, who bedazzled Culthorpe before blasting home. 4-3. And despite 2 late efforts that was the proverbial it. Another defeat and after a promising start the Dragon's breath had turned the Swifts' hope to ashes.

[NS]Bazalonia

01-06-2006, 00:11

I understand that... but i was wondering is there goin to be a separate bracket for 1st place teams, 2nd place, 3rd, etc.? or are the top 2 in the "winners Bracket'' and the bottom 3 in the loser's?

There will probably be 2, brackets, how ASMV splits them I dunno. in the 1st DI there where 2 brackets in the 2nd there where 3... but there where more attendees in the 2nd.

Dorian and Sonya

01-06-2006, 05:31

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Tadjiks Remind Necromancers Who Is Boss

Melonie Gaffer stood in front of the microphone once again, but this time she was not alone in doing so. Lupe Tatu was standing next to her, looking as if he might just bolt for the door at any moment without notice.

Reporter 1: The loss today showed a severe lack of being able to handle a side as powerful as Tadjikistan. What are your thoughts on the 1-3 loss?

Lupe: Uhhh……….
Melonie: I told you guys yesterday that we would be extremely luck to get even a point out of this one. They have tons of international experience- something we don’t have. But we did score a goal on the Tadjiks and held them to just three points. I doubt the Unicorns could have managed as well.

Reporter 2: The Necromancer keeper, Cierra Samantha, was hammered. Do you have any response to her ineptitude today?

Lupe: Uhhh………..
Melonie: We were playing Tadjikistan. Did you not pay attention to that fact? Dumbass!

Reporter 3: The final match is against Jeruselem. What do you think of your chances of beating them and moving on to the Championship Bracket?

Lupe: Uhhh………..
Melonie: Hell already froze over when Hypocria qualified for the World Cup. Chances are not good for a refreeze just yet.

As they walked away from the podium, Lupe looked at Melonie. “I knew that would be rather easy” he said.

“Shut up and move.” was the instant reply.

Dorian and Sonya

01-06-2006, 05:52

That will make 4 groups of 5. Bracket placement will remain the same after the group stage, with only the bottom side from each group falling to the bottom bracket. The first day of bracket play for those four teams will be held as friendly matches with VFL clubs to make up the one match they would miss otherwise.

That is what he posted in the original signup/acceptance thread. Hope it helps some.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

01-06-2006, 06:44

Scores For MD5
Group Play Final Standings

Group 1 - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Milchama 4-4 Wentland
ASMV 1-1 Tynelia

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Tynelia 4 3 1 0 10 5 5 10
Milchama 4 2 1 1 11 6 5 7
Wentland 4 1 1 2 9 10 -1 4
Vuam & Isma 4 1 1 2 3 10 -7 4
ASMV 4 0 2 2 3 5 -2 2
------------------------------------------------

Group 2 - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Ariddia 2-1 Tadjikistan
Jeruselem 3-0 Dorian And Sonya

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Jeruselem 4 4 0 0 12 0 12 12
Tadjikistan 4 2 0 2 6 6 0 6
The Archregimancy 4 1 1 2 3 5 -2 4
Dorian & Sonya 4 1 1 2 2 6 -4 4
Ariddia 4 1 0 3 3 9 -6 3
-------------------------------------------------

Group 3 - Carrington Championship Arena
Hypocria 6-5 Starblaydia
Cuation 1-3 Qazox

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
Starblaydia 4 3 0 1 17 8 9 9
Qazox 4 3 0 1 7 5 2 9
Hypocria 4 2 0 2 9 8 1 6
Cuation 4 1 1 2 5 9 -4 4
Bazalonia 4 0 1 3 3 11 -8 1
-------------------------------------------------

Group 4 - Inferi Domei
Haraki 0-4 Sarzonia
Geisenfried 2-7 Schiavonia

Standings P W D L PF PA GD Pts
New Montreal States 4 3 1 0 8 3 5 10
Schiavonia 4 2 0 2 14 6 8 6
Sarzonia 4 2 0 2 6 5 1 6
Geisenfried 4 1 1 2 5 12 -7 4
Haraki 4 1 0 3 3 10 -7 3
--------------------------------------------------

Championship Bracket Day 1

Carrington Championship Arena
Tynelia vs Tadjikistan
Starblaydia vs Schiavonia

Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Jeruselem vs Milchama
New Montreal States vs Qazox

Secondary Bracket Day 1

Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Wentland vs Dorian and Sonya
Hypocria vs Geisenfried

Inferi Domei
The Archregimancy vs Vuam and Isma
Sarzonia vs Cuation

Consolation Bracket Friendly Day
All Matches at Errion Vega Stadii

ASMV vs Carrington Ghost Cats
Ariddia vs Kelsey Purple Knights
Bazalonia vs Javentier Jesters
Haraki vs Asuncion Spiders

Qazox

01-06-2006, 07:25

QSPN

"hi and we welcome you to Carrington Championship Arena, in Beautiful ASMV for live coverage of DI3. I'm Brent Berman and sitting next to me is our color man, Brock Samson. Brock, do you think the near impossible can happen after yesterday's 3-nil to loss to Starblaydia, that Qazox can recover and as least draw with Cuation to advance to the Championship bracket in the tourney?''

Brock- In these type of tourneys, anything can and usually does. Cuation's offense isn't clicking right now and despite giving up 3 goals to one the best teams in the world i think the Juniors can hang in there, but i just dont see them advancing.

Brent- "earlier today on this same pitch, Hypocria beat the aforementioned Starblaydia in a classic offensive exposion 6-5, the most goals by far for each squad in the tourney, Will there be another gunslinging shootout or will defense rule the day stay tuned..."

[Starting Lne-ups for both clubs scroll on the screen]
(fast forward to the 33rd minute)

Brent- "Rual Mendisez has the ball, looks, shoots, rebounded, taken by Hatzori, he shoots, reounde again, Mendisez has it shoots and SCORES, Cuation has taken a 1-0 lead here in the 33rd minute and Qazox looks like their dog died."

Brock-That was poor defense there, Brent. You gotta clear the ballout of your end on shot like those. Edision did a good job blocking the first two, but was out of postition on the last shot."

Brent- "Yep, nothing wrong with the keep there, but the defense is like a sieve today, if this keeps up Cuation will run Qazox outta the building"

(fast Forward to the 56th minute)

Brent- "The subsitutions Head Coach Tom Lombardi made at halftime, seems to be shifting the favor to Qazox as Phillip Schutt, who came in for Clayton Urman, which shifted the 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3, is running wild on the Cuation defense, but not near the goal. Schuut leads up the far side, dribbles past Philip Cole, who seems a bit slow out there, sees Fernando Turek in the middle, passes, Turek shoots, rebounded, Christian Likens got it, shoots and SCORRRRRRRES! What a shot by Likens as he just blasted it past Gary Jens, who was not looking at the ball and its tied at one-all and if Qazox can hold on here they'll advance!!

Brock-"That was a real nice setup there by Schutt who drew the right side to him and left the leftside open for a decent shot and Qazox took advantage of it."
(Fast forwrd to the 73rd Minute)

Brent- " Just under 17 minutes to go here in ASMV and Cuation is throwing caution to the wind here trying to score a go-ahead goal whcih would advance them into the round of 8. Hatzori has it, stolen by Schutt, there only 3 defenders back as there's a 5-on-3 counter here, Schutt, fakes to Likens, sees Dansie steaking down the middle, lobs it to Dansie, dansie takes it, shoots and SCORRRRRRRRES!!! Jens had it but it jsut slipped out of his hands and into teh back of the net and Qazox has shockingly taken a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes to play!!!"

(fast forward to 87th minute)

Brent- " Qazox is not allowing Cuation any breathing room as they have applied tremendous pressure since scoring the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute."

Brock- "The best defense is offense i always say"

Brent- "true, Dansie lines up for the corner kick here. Sends it toward the box, Schutt heads it towards the net and SCORRRRRRRRES!!! ITS THREE to ONE and QAZOX WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND!!!! HOLY OX THREE upset wins over highly ranked teams and the juniors go to the round of eight!!!"

(Post Match Review)

Brent- "Qazox has finished 2nd in this group of death. most people expected them to go winless and some picked them not to score a single goal and yet those teams will finish behing Qazox. Up next for the Juniors is New Montreal states, co-hosts of the last World Cup and revenge in on Qazox' minds as NMS and Qazox were in the same group last year and NMS Destroyed us in both games by a combined score of 7-2. Hopefully, these young players have at least one more upset in them and we cn advance to the semifinals. FOr all of us here in ASMV, thanks and good night!!"

Ariddia

01-06-2006, 12:49

Ariddians startled by win

The Rouge-et-Noirs surprised themselves and supporters today by winning their final match in group 2, against a skilled team from Tadjikistan. After four consecutive defeats, many were expecting the Ariddians to finish without a single point, but the team woke up at last today.

After a fairly balanced start, team captain Ue Alt broke the deadlock in the thirty-fourth minute, scoring the opening goal. Fans did not dare hope just yet, though, and rightly so as Tulberdiev equalised for the Tadjiks in the forty-second. But the Ariddians were not going to allow them to regain the advantage. Kyaw scored with her head on a corner kick by Sanjeeb in the sixtieth minute, and the Ariddian defence made very sure there would be no second equaliser.

“I feel as if we’ve just won the Cup,” Kyaw said later with a grin. “It’s a huge relief.”

It was all for nothing, of course, as Ariddia remains at the very bottom of Group 2, and will go straight on to the Consolation Bracket to play Kelsey. But it was, nonetheless, one of the most needed wins ever for the team’s morale.

Starblaydia

01-06-2006, 13:20

Five Goals And We Still Lose?
11 Goal Thriller gives records all round

The highest ever goal tally in a football match involving Starblaydia at any level. The most goals conceeded by a Starblaydi football team at any level. The most goals scored by a Hypocrian team at any level. Johan Keifner moving above his hero and idol Eomer Hall in the all-time Scoring charts to go fifth-equal with World Cup 25 Winner Raphaelo, his sixth in four matches. Jackie Maitland's fourth goal in four consecutive games.

"Oh God, why did it have to be them again?" They said. The Hypocrian press were, as ever, expecting to lose rather badly to their allies Starblaydia. Conceeding five goals in a game was probably a little worse than expected for their defence, but scoring six? Hypocria probably haven't scored six goals combined against Starblaydia over the years, so six in one match was something special.

Didn't we all think it would be so easy after a cheekily well-placed free-kick from Tabitha Di Bradini within two minutes? Donii winning the free kick after a surging run and a foul from Marcus Baxter brought the referee's whistle, and Di Bradini was quickly onto the spot and took a single step back before lifting the kick into the back of the net. Maivia Von Erich was the cat amongst the pigeons just three minutes later after a goalmouth scramble. Johan Keifner had drawn both centre-backs as he nodded it down to Jackie Maitland, and after her shot cannoned back off the gloves of Alexei Lomaia, Von Erich was there to smash it into the roof of the net.

But it is, after all, Hypocria's last ever appearance on the international stage of football and they seem determined not to fade into history. Rafael Dudamel kick-started their revival, knocking the ball in unintentionally off his knee after shrugging off Leo Velaise's challenge. The Hyppos were newly invigorated, and after great work from Robert Bercali to get past Di Bradini, the cross came in for Dudamel to bag a second and equalise with a header. Before half-time, Hypocria had dared to take the lead, Carlo Molinari bursting forward to rifle the ball into the bottom corner. He had figured without Jacqueline Maitland, however, who received a through ball, dummied the defender, dropped her shoulder, opened her body and fired past Lomaia with an excellent solo goal.

Half-time came and a breathless 3-3 draw was happening. More of the same? You betcha.

Bercali again undid Tabitha Di Bradini's attacking intentions as Baxter won hte ball from her in midfield and released the winger down the flank. Cutting inside Velaise brilliantly, he unleashed a hammer of a shot that Paola Mendez was helpless to prevent. It wasn't long before Starblaydia were back in the lead, however, as within twenty minutes of going behind they had pulled ahead to 5-4: Captain Pedro Rujano drilled a shot from out wide into the top corner across the face of goal after 73 minutes, followed shortly by Johan Keifner's sixth in four games. The giant's presence and strength held off the challenges of both Webber and Gredenko to emphatically head home from a corner, in off the crossbar.

It wasn't over yet. With Starblaydia attempting to win the ball back and hold onto it for the last five minutes, Rafael Dudamel earned his hat-trick by turning excellently past substitute defender Stephen Adams' attempt at man-marking him to run free and clear, dinking the ball gently over the onrushing Mendez for the tenth goal of the match and Hypocria's equaliser. There was no time to celebrate the hat-trick goal for Dudamel, and he immediately picked the ball from the back of the net and ran to put it on the centre circle.

In the end, Hugo Montoya was the Hyppo Hero, a goal in injury time won it for the men in white and blue. Six-Five to Hypocria, and though they only progress into the Secondary Bracket - thanks to Qazox's victory over Cuation - they're certainly going out with a bang.

Final Score from Carrington Championship Arena:
Hypocria 6 - 5 Starblaydia
(Dudamel 16 & 23 & 87, Molinari 43, Bercali 56, Montoya 90) - (Di Bradini 2, Von Erich 5, Maitland 45, Rujano 73, Keifner 79)

Tynelia

01-06-2006, 14:49

“Welcome everyone to the final edition of Tynelian Soccer Weekly’s group play coverage of the Draggonnii Inviyatii as Tynelia takes on the hosts Androssa de Mitrin Vega. But our coverage will continue on because after Tynelia’s 1-1 draw we move onto the championship bracket knockout stage. With Milchama’s 4-4 draw with Wentland the surprising under 21 squad of Milchama will also be advancing with us.But before we get into that Anna, let’s get back to today’s final match. Does this draw today hurt any momentum Tynelia has going into the next stage?”

“I would have to say no Sal. Tynelia had already clinched a spot in the Championship bracket before this match with the only real issue being if they would be a number one or number two seed in the group. Coach Greg Tudor wanted to keep his people rested up for the next round and so Amy Whiteworth had the entire match off and the reserves played most of the second half for us as well.”

“That’s a good point Anna, after Tynelia went into the half up 1-0 on Anya Collins’ first goal of the tournament, Coach Tudor emptied his bench with the exception of Tom Gordman who was kept on the bench in case someone got hurt and he needed to put a body out there. Granted the reserves not having the play time together were a bit sloppy at times and eventually gave up the game tying score with 18 minutes left in the match. With both teams thinking defensively to not allow the game deciding score to the other, the rest of the match proceeded uneventfully and Tynelia was content to walk away with the draw that assured them the top spot in the group. Unlike the past few matches shots were at a premium with Tynelia holding a slight 11-10 edge there, most of those shots coming in the first half. Jay Masterson was a non factor as ASMV kept a player shadowing him throughout the match, forcing the other forwards to step up. Quality shots were a lowly 2-2 each and time of possession favored Tynelia by about a little less than two minutes. But now we’re in the final eight Anna.”

“Yes Sal and we will face a very tough opponent in Tadjikistan, ranked 16th in the world. They’ve been a little inconsistent here sandwiching a pair of wins between a pair of losses to put them at 6 points and needed a Jerusalem win over Dorian and Sonya to advance. However a team this highly ranked will certainly be able to turn it up when the knockout stages begin. This will be Tynelia’s toughest test do date, the only higher ranked team we faced was Total n Utter Insanity back in our first world cup and barely came away with a draw in our two matches there. Interestingly enough that was the match that put Amy Whiteworth on her rise to the top keeper’s spot.”

“So can we take them Anna, or will this be a Cup of Harmony like first round knockout for us?”

“It doesn’t quite work like that Sal, even if Tynelia loses will we still be playing two other matches to try and finish as high as fifth, but as far as winning the tournament then yes we’d be done. Can we win? It will be our biggest win ever if we can. Despite the ranking difference Tynelia has been playing their best soccer ever in international competition and Tadjikistan barely made it in. We went 1-1-0 against the 34th and 30th best teams in the world who brought their world cup squads here so that will certainly boost the team’s morale. In a way the pressure will be on them not us.”

“What makes you say that Anna? We’re the higher seed here and haven’t lost yet.”

“That may be true but experts have said beforehand that group 1 was the weak sister of the four groups and most likely to have a surprise come out on top. That was certainly the case for us as no one expected Tynelia to go undefeated through the group, most expected the opposite in fact. So our presence here is more of a ‘we’re not supposed to be here so what do we have to lose?’ deal while Tadjikistan has to be irritated with their 2-0-2 record to date. Clearly they will be favored here, probably the only match where the second place squad will be expected to win and may feel the pressure that their ranking brings with them. Most people expect Tynelia to lose here as well so they will be very loose having already exceeded expectations.”

“Very true Anna, a relaxed squad often has the edge over an underachieving high ranked squad that may sometimes feel they just have to show up to win. So you’ve stalled long enough Anna. Who wins here?”

“Tadjikistan is a balanced team on offense and defense as their 6 goals vs. 6 assists shows and is bringing a regular squad here unlike other nations who sent alternate squads. Ironically Tynelia has the edge both in goals allowed by 1 which is not surprising but also has a 4 goal edge in scoring which has many people scratching their heads. This offensive explosion actually puts Tynelia 5th out of the twenty teams that came here and defensively they are tied for third with several other squads. I honestly believe that Tynelia can win this one, the players are on a roll offensively and the defense hasn’t really been hurt considering the level of their opponents. Five goals allowed in a group where three of the four other teams are ranked higher than you is very impressive. I think this one will go into extra time as Tynelia pulls off the upset 2-1.”

“Wow, that would easily be the biggest win for Tynelia in our history if it comes to pass. That would also give the team a huge boost of confidence going into the next Cup. Even a tough loss though would benefit the squad I think though as they did play beyond expectations to even get this far. Not too many people expected Tynelia to be listed up there with #2 in the world Starblaydia, #8 Jeruselem and #12 New Montreal States as the group winners. That alone is a great accomplishment no matter what happens the rest of the way. So be sure to tune in viewers and see if Tynelia can continue their amazing run so far through the Draggonnii Inviyatii where the ghosts of their initial poor performance last time has surely been exorcised. Tynelia vs. Tadjikistan with our post game show immediately after the match. Will the Cinderella story continue? Like myself and Anna, you’ll just have to watch to find out. Until then, good night everyone.”

Tynelian Gambler’s Association odds.

#1 seed Jeruselem (4-0-0) 12 points ranked 8th in the world odds 2-1

#2 seed Tynelia (3-1-0) 10 points, ranked 56th in the world odds 70-1

#3 seed New Montreal States (3-1-0) 10 points (loses tiebreaker to Tynelia due to fewer goals scored) ranked 12th in the world odds 8-1

#4 seed Starblaydia (3-0-1) 9 points, ranked # 2 in the world odds 5-2

#5 seed Qazox (3-0-1) 9 points, ranked 54th in the world odds 90-1

#6 seed Milchama (2-1-1) 7 points, ranked 31st in the world odds 45-1

#7 seed Schiavonia (2-0-2) 6 points ranked 21st in the world odds 25-1

#8 seed Tadjikistan (2-0-2) 6 points ranked 16th in the world odds 15-1

One of the heads of the TGA explained the odds as follows. Jerusalem has been the most dominant team here and should have little trouble with Milchama’s under 21 team. Obviously NMS will be their toughest challenge once they get past the surprising Qazox team with whom they’ve gone 2-0-0 against. Most bettors favor Jeruselem in that matchup though NMS has been getting some solid support as well.

On the other side, Tynelia’s clearly in over their head, no one else on that side is above 21st in the world. The only reason they are seen as slightly better off than Qazox is that they’ve played extremely well to come out on top of even the weakest group of the four. However Tadjikistan is expected to assert themselves and end Tynelia's run and move on to the final four. They might have gotten more support had Starblaydia not ended up on that side of the draw. Starblaydia’s loss is attributed to their already advancing and Hypocria’s final swan song motivational finish. While Shiavonia does have some people seeing them as a good upset special beating two top twenty teams in a row seems a bit too much to ask for.

The TGA also has made their predictions for the four quarterfinal matches.

Tynelia (3-1-0) vs. Tadjikistan (2-0-2)- Midnight strikes for the Cinderella Tynelian squad. Tadjikistan is just too good to let Tynelia come out on top here. This will be a low scoring match but Tadjikistan comes out on top 2-0.

Starblaydia (3-0-1) vs. Schiavonia (2-0-2) Both teams here are very offensive minded and are in fact the top two scoring teams of the tournament. Expect a shootout all game long with Starblaydia barely hanging on for a 5-4 win.

Jeruselem (4-0-0) vs. Milchama (2-1-1) This will be a contrast in styles as Jeruselem, the second of only two defensive minded squads that made it this far (Tynelia being the other) goes up against the more offensive minded Milchama club. Milchama has been stopped by defensive mindsets in group play, a 2-0 shutout loss to Tynelia and a 1-0 win over ASMV so expect Jeruselem to disrupt the Milchama attack all day long. The undefeated run continues as Jeruselem wins 3-1 as Milchama does end the shutout streak of Jeruselem in a consolation prize.

New Montreal States (3-1-0) vs. Qazox (3-0-1) Both teams favor the same slightly offensive style so neither attack will be unfamiliar to the other. Qazox boasts a goal differential that only Tadjikistan is lower than of the final eight and was even before their final win against Cuation. NMS has had a day off from their bye after clinching their spot here and will be well rested for this second upstart squad in the final eight. Expect NMS to move on with a harder than expected 2-1 victory as rust on NMS’ part will keep Qazox in the match.

Tadjikistan

01-06-2006, 16:32

Tigers move on despite loss

Never before has the Tadjik national team seen such bad results, even their first World Cup was more impressive than this. An uninspiring Tadjik side today lost to Arridia, the only team without points.
'Definitly not what I wanted, to lose against the weakest side in this group, seems as if the players are all asleep, with Tulberdiev as the only exception.' Coach Zaev said after the game 'We are lucky that we did not lose our place in the group. And for that we should thank Jeruselem for winning against Dorian & Sonya. But its already bad enough that we Tadjiks, have to rely on another side to defend our position. It should be us who decide what team moves on.'

So what does the future bring for the Tigers? 'Tynelia, a side I barely know. What I do know is that they are unbeaten in this tournament with a 3-1-0 record in group 1, so its a strong side. Possibly even strong enough to beat us. But I will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening, we'll just have to experiment and fight.'
'This team is not going to reach the finals or even the semi-finals, unless it improves considerably in offense and defense. If we fail to move on here, then I'll resign my post as coach.'

New Montreal States

01-06-2006, 19:02

"Welcome to 67 Sports, your source for all NMS Paladins football coverage. With us in the studio today is coach William Branstone, looking at the side's performance, and future, in the Dragonnii Inviyattii. Coach, how do you think the side has performed in the DI?"

Branstone leaned back. This was the third time in two days he had done this, and he was ready to go disembowel the Ministry of Morale bureaucrat who had decided to ship him around the networks while his team luxuriated in an ASMV resort.

"Well, the team had a chance to gel as a unit, which is always good, and against Geisenfried we found out which of our reserves are worth nkeeping around, and who gets replaced for WC29."

"Coach, what do you think about the side's chances against Qazox?"

"Qazox is a good side, certainly, and they've done well to advance in the brackets. We anticipate a good match against them."

"And the fact that we won two matches against them in the last DI, by a sizeable margin, no less?"

The same questions over and over again. Bastards.

"Means nothing."

"Nothing?"

Okay, screw this. William Branstone decided that he had earned a day off, and wasn't going to let ten thousand interviews ruin his experience.

"Nope. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need some rest. I've had enough of these bloody interviews. Good day."

Cuation

01-06-2006, 20:35

"Three minutes to go and Qazox have a corner. Cuation has to get forward and leave three men up. Dansie steps up to take it, curls the ball towards SCHUTT! 3-1, an unstoppable header past Gary Jens, Cuation are out.

The fans are leaving in their droves while Gary Jens looks dejectedly at the floor. The manger can be seen raging at his team, Cuation's clones have been outmatched by a collage team! The future of Cuation football does not look good tonight.

Cuation Crash

Despite the efforts of the coaching staff, news filtered in before the match that Hypocria had managed an amazing 6-5 victory over Starblaydia. Cuation had to win just to stay out of the bottom two but in the end, it is clear that Cuation should expect a poor World Cup. Five goals in four is a poor return considering we got seven in last time and a defence that went four games without conceding in the Cup of Harmony has conceded nine this Dragon cup.

What can be blamed? Fallen is a good player but is struggling on the wrong flank, Cuation have lacked the aerial threat of old that Beanpole provided. Hargreves pulls the team shape all over and Gary Jens seems to be unhappy at the moment.

Cuation started off slightly stronger as Qazox's three man defence had an off day but Cuation's final ball lacked the bite to create chances. Milnar and Fallen should work on their crossing as it took Cuation till the 33rd minute to score.

Fallen ran at Erik Crabill again, dancing past him but almost ran it out for a goal kick, just pulling the ball back across in time for Rual. Just inside the area, he tried a snap shot across the keeper but Henry Edision did enough to push it out. The loose ball was hammered by Giovanni but again the keeper was there, springing up to beat the effort away. Luck was not with him, Rual Mendiz sliding home the rebound as the defence looked embarrassed, beaten to the ball three times inside their own box.

Cuation pressed to make the game safe but without height in the box, Cuation balls came to nothing and so at half time, it was 1-1. Jude made a change, sending on target man Lu Fei for Fallen, an attempt to add height up front in a 4-4-3 formation but this would require P.Cole to cover the right flank himself. Qazox changed formation to 4-3-3, striker Phillip Schutt replacing midfielder Clayton Urman.

Tom Lombardi's tinkering changed the game while Jude looked on in frustration. The four man defence ensured that Cuation's wingers where shut out and the Cuation team forced on the back foot. Schuut dominated the game and perhaps the tired Philip Cole should have been replaced for his younger brother, whose fresh legs might have been able to cover the wing.

Schuut danced past Philip Cole, who seemed unable to recover the ground, and then pulled the ball into the box for Fernando Turek, his shot deflected off the desperate Yan and flew into the air. When Gary Jens recovering his stance, the keeper lost sight of the ball and so was out of position when Christian Likens volleyed it into the back of the net and nearly through the net.

As the time passed, Cuation pushed forward rather then play their normal game. Rual Mendiz was replaced for Pual Keane in the hope that fresh legs would live a struggling attack. Cuation needed to score but with seventeen minutes to go, Giovanni lost the ball on the half way line, trying to flick it over Schutt.

Qazox quickly had five players chasing forward against Cuation's Yan, Cheese and Samba. Likens draw Samba out to cover him, Schutt clever dummying that he would pass to the right winger. Next moment, he chipped the ball over for the back line to the deep run of Dansie. Cuation appealed for offside but even the most biased fan couldn't say that it was.

Gary Jens so often can deal with this type of stuff, he is an excellent shot stopper who has so often rescued Cuation but he has also cost Cuation in the past. Racing off his line, he narrowed the angle well and Dansie's shot was fairly poor.

Gary Jens dived low to his left and got both hands to the ball but to the surprise of everyone, he let it slip through and over the line. Disaster for Cuation, they now had to score twice. Subbing Hargreves for Anderton was the last throw of the dice of a desperate manager.

Sending the ball long and forward, Cuation perhaps should have tried to play their normal game as the pressing game ensured that Cuation couldn't break through. Giovanni, Butcher and Samba were the three that suffered the most from the lack of time and it was Butcher who carelessly ran the ball out for a corner.

With nothing to lose, Keane, Giovanni and Milnar stayed forward for the corner and the defence played up, hoping to launch a quick counterattack. The marking was poor and when Dansie crossed the ball in, Schutt was able to aim his header past the diving Gary Jens and kill the match.

The fall out isn't much, Cuation's position is humiliating but we played against some good teams in the group. Gary Jens looks a bit shaken, Samba can't carry the midfield with Hargreves still rubbish, and we need a tall striker starting to be on the end of the crosses and long balls. We also need a right winger, Fallen is not up to the task of playing on the right at this level. Put the Coles alongside each other even, see how that goes!

Jude will not make the changes, if he ever makes any, till the World Cup and for now, he will try to life up the spirits before they play Sarzonia. Three games without a win and the slide needs to be stopped soon if we are to get a respectable position in this cup.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

02-06-2006, 05:20

Bracket Round 1/3

Championship Bracket Day 1

Tynelia 0-1 Tadjikistan
Starblaydia 0-1 Schiavonia

Jeruselem 1-2 Milchama
New Montreal States 4-0 Qazox

Secondary Bracket Day 1

Wentland 3-1 Dorian and Sonya
Hypocria 4-2 Geisenfried

The Archregimancy 4-0 Vuam and Isma
Sarzonia 2-0 Cuation

Consolation Bracket Friendly Day

ASMV 5-3 Carrington Ghost Cats
Ariddia 5-0 Kelsey Purple Knights
Bazalonia 7-2 Javentier Jesters
Haraki 6-2 Asuncion Spiders

=================================================

[B]
Championship Bracket Day 2

Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Tadjikistan vs Schiavonia
Milchama vs New Montreal States

Carrington Championship Arena
Tynelia vs Starblaydia
Jeruselem vs Qazox

Secondary Bracket Day 2

Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Wentland vs Hypocria
The Archregimancy vs Sarzonia

Inferi Domei
Dorian and Sonya vs Geisenfried
Vuam and Isma vs Cuation

Consolation Bracket Day 2

Tapia Reis Civic Arena
ASMV vs Ariddia
Bazalonia vs Haraki

Qazox

02-06-2006, 05:34

#5 seed Qazox (3-0-1) 9 points, ranked 54th in the world odds 90-1

(ooc: And i thought we were friends :( :( sniff...sniff...sniff)

Qazox

02-06-2006, 05:53

QSPN SPORTS WORLD

Davis: "Welcome to the 1am Sports World. I'm Davis Reece and he's Dean Venture, Top story tonight, Qazox' junior Squad's run to the DI Finals were slammed shut 0-4 today by New Montreal States. We now take you to Brent Berman, who called the match. Brent, why did the Juniors lose tonite?"

Brent-"They just ran out of gas tonight. their thrilling win over Cuation just to reach this point was so physically and emotionally draining, that it carried into tonights match."

Dean- "DID anything that Coach Lombardi do during the match cost Qazox the game?"

Brent- "No, the Juniors stayed to plan which was to counter any time they could, and NMS didn't allow them to do that having possession of the ball for over 70 minutes during the match."

Davis- "Why Wasn't Edision pulled after giving up the three gaols in the 1st 25 minutes? Did Lombadi think that Bryan Amick, would do worse?"

Brent- "No, Amick has been nursing a sore calf and was scheduled to be the starter for all the matches, but Coach Lombardi thought throwing in an injured player would do more harm than good.

Dean- "Thank you Brent and see you tommorrow night for the match against Jeruselem. We'll now show you the highlights of the match."

(Shows goals scored by Gilles Villeneuve in the 12th, 17th and 25th minutes. A yellow card by Yannic Laurier in the 34th minute, A Qazoz shot that hit the crossbar in both the 41st and 53rd minutes, and the final goal in the 72nd minute by Hugh Faulkner.)

Dean- "NMS seems to have Qazox's number no matter who is thrown out there as now in 3 matches played agaisnt the Paladins they've out scored us by a combined score of 11-2. Hopefully we'll never paly them again unless its in the World Cup Itself."

New Montreal States

02-06-2006, 07:17

VILLENEUVE ROASTS OXEN

Hat trick spurs Paladins to 4-0 triumph over Qazox

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - Taking to the field after watching Milchama score a stunning 2-1 upset over Jeruselem, both the crowd and the Black Oxen of Qazox smelled an upset.

Gilles Villeneuve thought otherwise.

The Paladins seized control of the pitch early on and never let up, with Villeneuve picking up the fastest hat-trick in Paladins history, finding the net three times in thirteen minutes for an early 3-0 lead that was never even remotely challenged by an outclasses Black Oxen side.

"This is a national A-side," said coach William Branstone. "The Oxen fought well, but were just in over their heads. Hopefully they've picked up some experience that will help them in World Cup 29 and beyond."

The second half featured the Paladins throwing in reserves left and right, with Hugh Faulkner moving up to forward, joining Andre Darcy, while five of six midfielders were replaced (with only Charles Pilon left to provide a modicum of leadership.) Faulkner found the net in the 72nd minute.

"I told my girl I'd get her a goal in ASMV," said Faulkner, heretofore scoreless in the tourney. "Didn't mean to offend anyone, just trying to live up to my word. I mean, when the keeper is lying on the ground in front of you and the ball is righyt under your nose, who could pass it up?"

The Paladins advance to face upset specials Milchama, whose U21s will be itching to face down one of their national rivals. "Should be a tough match," said Villeneuve's linemate Hubert Labranche. "We're really looking forward to it, and we're sure they are as well."

Ariddia

02-06-2006, 11:28

Ariddians dominate in ASMV friendly

It seems the Vegan football authorities wished to give the tournament’s four worst teams a nice confidence booster, as Bazalonia, Haraki, ASMV and Ariddia faced domestic clubs in a day devoted to friendlies. The Rouge-et-Noirs were drawn against Kelsey, which created a slight problem since Ariddian national players Hanifah Kyaw, Aush Song and Ul U all play domestically for Kelsey. Wol Eosh, Ta I and Eot Ja, who play for Vegan clubs Tua Monafu, Tapia Reis and Meldenberg respectively, enjoyed a fair level of home crowd support, but did not have to choose between their national and club teams.

Finally, it was decided that Kyaw and U, part of the Rouge-et-Noirs’ starting eleven, would play for their national side, while Song would play for Kelsey. . . and hence against his own country’s national team.

The atmosphere in the stadium was true to the friendly spirit of the game. More Ariddians play in ASMV than in any other nation, and the football ties are strong between the two countries. Ta I was fielded along with Kyaw and U amidst the starting eleven, and Ariddian coach Adam Seul brought in both Ja and Eosh part-way through the match, to applause from a number of Vegans in the stadium.

The Kelsey team dutifully faced the ulek (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Ulek) at the start of the match, with Aush Song for once having to face it rather than perform it. The Arctic Islander later said, “I was actually tempted to step forward and do the ulek right back at them. It would have been fun to see the looks on their faces. In a way I wish I’d done it.”

The first goal of the match came in the seventeenth minute, courtesy of Ismail Faraj. Seven minutes later, Kelsey’s goalkeeper adroitly deflected a shot by his team mate Ul U, playing in red and black for this match, and the crowd cheered. “I’m almost glad he blocked it,” U joked later. “It would felt weirdly like an own goal.” Kyaw did succeed in scoring against her Kelsey team mates, making it 2-0 in the thirty-second minute.

A goal by Ue Alt was the first of the second half, in the fifty-fifth minute. A corner kick from Sanjeeb to Ramirez in the sixty-second might have led to another goal, but Aush Song dutifully defended against his own national team and cleared the ball from the danger zone. Two more goals by Kyaw in the seventy-first and seventy-eighth minutes brought the final score line to 5-0 for Ariddia.

“I’d like to thank the host nation for this wonderful idea,” a smiling team captain Ue Alt said at the close of the match, after swapping his shirt with that of Kelsey’s captain. “This has been one of the best atmospheres we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing in, and I hope our spectators and viewers enjoyed it too. It was an honour to play Kelsey; they’re a good club.”

The Rouge-et-Noirs’ next match, this time in the Consolation Bracket proper, will pit Ariddia against Andossa Se Mitrin Vega’s national team. The match will take place at Ta I’s club home ground, the Tapia Reis Civic Arena.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” the Ariddian / Tapia Reis midfielder said. “It’ll be a very special match, and I hope the Tapia Reis fans will be there in the stadium. Who cares that it’s the Consolation Bracket? I promise fans they’ll see some good, enthusiastic football.”

Tynelia

02-06-2006, 14:03

“Hello everyone and welcome to Tynelian Soccer Weekly’s Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament coverage. I’m Sal Spikeman and with me as always is Anna dalespin. Today Tynelia began and ended their run at the DI title with a hard fought 1-0 loss to Tadjikistan. Still a loss to the 16th ranked team in the world is nothing to be ashamed of is it Anna?”

“Not at all Sal, Tynelia played a very strong match here today and certainly showed it could stand up against the top teams in the world and should be considered a legitimate threat to advance in next year’s World Cup play. Don’t forget, no one expected us to even get this far or for this match to even be this close.”

“Good point Anna. The match was a bit slow starting, Tynelia playing a bit more defensive that usual for this tournament perhaps a bit intimidated by their opponnent’s ranking. This did prove to be fairly effective however at the match went into the half tied a 0. Still this style hurt Tynelia on offense. They could only manage five shots to Tadjikistan’s ten and were on the short end of the time of possession clock by over four minutes. The pace picked up a bit in the second half, almost as if the first half was just a feeling out process. Yuri Maximov finally broke through at the 62 minute mark with a nice crossing shot past a diving Amy Whiteworth, little did anyone know that would be the only goal scored this day. Tynelia’s best chance came at the 78th minute when Jay Masterson’s shot that beat Suchomlinov went inches wide of the right goal post but in the end Tynelia was forced to see that they would do no better than fifth in their second DI.”

“Even so Sal, this is a good run for Tynelia to prepare for the Cup. They faced four squads so far that are ranked ahead of them and have gone 2-1-1 against them. If this play continues through the next World Cup and they finally manage to take care of business against the teams ranked below them then they should advance for the first time ever to the World Cup proper.”

“Indeed they should, there are a lot of positives coming from this run. A huge improvement over their horrible first try when they ended up in the last place bracket. Now with all the matches concluded let’s see who Tynelia has next up while they try to at least take fifth place. Why its… eep….”

“Sal?”

<Sal stares vacant eyed off into space still clutching the piece of paper with Tynelia’s next opponent on it before muttering one word.>

“Starblaydia.”

“Wow, who would have though it Sal, that the defending World Cup champs and favorites to win the DI would be knocked out in an even more shocking 1-0 shutout to Schiavonia. Maybe they were tired after all that scoring against Hypocria. This will certainly be the toughest task for Tynelia in their international history. Keeping this one close would be a huge morale boost for the team. Just as surprising to see Jerusalem fall to the Milchama under 21 squad which has to be a real shocker 2-1. No one expected the top two ranked teams in the tournament to not even make it to the semi-finals. The only match that went as most expected was the New Montreal States win over Qazox 4-0. It was almost as if the top teams told us and Qazox ‘nice of you to join us but now the big kids are playing’ as the two bottom seeds both got shutout right Sal?”

“Starblaydia…”

“Um, Sal?”

“Starblaydia…”

“Um, ok then I guess its time to make my picks for the next series of matches. Tadjikistan vs Schiavonia will truly be anyone’s match as both these teams are ranked very close to each other. Schiavonia will be elated after their upset of Starblaydia while Tadjikistan will be relieved they weren’t upset by a team ranked so far below them. Momentum seems to be on the Schiavonia side though and I think they will move on 3-1. The other semi-final pits Milchama against New Montreal States. I don’t think Milchama will pull off a second straight upset so I expect to see NMS advance with a 3-2 win. Jeruselem will be out for blood losing to not even the regular Milchama squad and I think that bodes badly for Qazox. I expect the Holy Oxen to join us in the seventh and eight place match after the Oxen fall 2-0 to jeruselem who then move on against Starblaydia for fifth place.

“So yes Sal and everyone, I think as well as Tynelia has done so far they will be no match for a Starblaydia team that has now lost two in a row including seeing their high powered attack shut out completely against Schiavonia. Most gamblers have set the over/under for Starblaydia goals at 5 for this match. I don’t think it will be that bad though. Starblaydia should win but by no worse than a 3-0 score. Hopefully our team will be able to put some points on the board with some effect counterattacking I think Starblaydia won’t let that happen. So yes Sal another loss for us.”

“Starblaydia…”

“Alright then, Sal seems a bit stunned still over the announcement of Tynelia’s next opponent so I guess its up to me to remind our viewers that the Tynelia/Starblaydia matchup will be covered in full as always and that we’ll be here afterwards if sal has recovered by then. This is Anna Dalespin for Sal ‘Starblaydia’ Spikeman signing off for now.”

“Starblaydia…”

((OOC- well Qazox we were both pretty much the “what the heck are these guys doing here?” teams of our halves of the draw so we got lousy odds ))

Starblaydia

02-06-2006, 14:38

Sal Knows Who They've Got
It's, um.. the World Champs!

Well that was a bit of a blowout, wasn't it? Here we are, expecting Starblaydia to come out on the right side of some kind of second-string goalfest, and what do we find? Starblaydia, losing one-nil to Schiavonia. Now, we know that we're practising and warming-up to defend our Second World Title, but this is just taking the piss. Schiavonia? The Islanders? Oh puh-lease.

Now unable to finish higher than fifth, Starblaydia will not be making it to the third-place play-off of the third Draggonnii Inviyattii. They will be, however, looking to put as many past Tynelia as they possibly can. And not just because they sound a little like the city of Tyrellia, where Starblaydia's Ylompic Men lost the Gold Medal Match (Hey, it's always confused the hell outta me).

Final Score from the Carrington Championship Arena:
Starblaydia 0 - 1 Schiavonia
(None) - (Edwards 68)

[OOC: Picked a random Schiavone reserve striker from their CoH roster]

Tadjikistan

02-06-2006, 15:07

Tigers to face Sloths

a sigh of relief went trough Tadjikistan as the Tigers averted a defeat against Tynelia with the smallest possible difference, a goal by Yuri Maximov. Maximovs shot saved both Tadjikistans reputaion as well as Coach Zaevs job, for now.

'Well, its a moral boost. But we're not out of the problem zone yet.' Zaev explained 'We beat a team thats ranked far below us and while they played a strong match, we had to win. And we did win, eventhough it was difficult. It'll help to make us forget the disastrous match that we lost to Arridia.'
'I wasnt impressed by our own first half, to slow and not enough scoring opportunities. The second half was better but still far from good. We did not create enough chances for ourselves and even Maximovs goal came a a bit of luck. But its the result that counts right now.
'It also means that I'll be staying around for a little while longer to lead the team against Shiavonia. The only match that we ever played against this side ended up in a 4-4 draw on WC27. It doesnt say much really, whats more important is that they won their match versus Starblaydia here with 1-0, meaning they can handle the pressure and have the offensive strength to manage against any team, even a world Champion. It will be interesting, for us as well as for them, its probably a good test to see wthether we are ready for the World Cup now.'

Wentland

02-06-2006, 19:51

Tommy Barnes had proved his point. After the non-Crowhurst players staggered to a 4-1 half-time deficit against Milchama, the triple substitution to bring himself, Benny Jones and Steve Moon on had worked a treat as they brought it back to 4-4. And the decision to field an all Crowhurst eleven paid dividends against two teams, Dorian AND Sonya, to gain an unlikely victory.

Now for something a bit more interesting. More of a mix. Half-Crowhurst, half-others. And this time the unsung heroes - the Collinses, the Coopers, the Daveys - of this world will get to start...

Haraki

02-06-2006, 20:15

Hawks Lose ... A Lot
From the Haraki News Network, Print Edition

Sam Sherman, Andossa Se Mitrin Vega. The Hawks have a long and rich tradition of failing miserably in the Draggonnii Inviyatii tournament, which started last World Cup year, in which the Hawks finished barely at the top of the bottom half. This year they are competing to not come in last.

The Hawks are currently ranked #33 in the world, mainly thanks to a victory over Total n Utter Insanity in group stages of World Cup XXVIII. But despite that, they finished dead last in their group, even behind newcomers Geisenfried, who granted the Hawks their only win, a 3-0 victory. Haraki was helped on their way by a 4-0 loss to Sarzonia and a 5-0 loss to Schiavonia at the end of group stages. The last two games represented a complete breakdown in defensive play, and despite Mark Stone and Christopher O'Hara's talents, when the shot difference is 22-6, you can't help but allow some goals. It's a pure miracle that the Hawks managed to keep the points down as low as they were.

Many people are now criticizing Hawks coach Lloyd Vargas for his choices of placing less experienced players in starting rotations, especially on defence. Vargas shouted back that he didn't care what they thought but that he would let them, and I quote, "Go fuck themselves on a football and make a better team," if they wanted to. Apparently all declined.

"Besides," he continued, "we always play like shit in this tournament. We did last time, we did this year, we probably will again. It's a chance to get warmed up, to stretch our legs, and to give some experience to our reserves and new players. That's why I've made a lot of substitutions this tournament and given a lot of play time to people that don't usually see it. Sure, we're losing but this is a pre-World Cup showcase, not a die-hard 'execution if you lose' kind of a tournament. I'd rather get all the bad play out of our system before the World Cup."

Also, the Harakian Football Association has announced that although the recent 6-2 victory over the Asuncion Spiders was great, the goals from it won't be counted as international play due to the fact that the other team wasn't a national team but rather a club side. The Hawks play Bazalonia to avoid the wooden spoon match next matchday.

Milchama

03-06-2006, 06:03

Chi Sun-Times-Tribune-Domestic-International-Star-News-Today

Sports Section

From one new rival to one old rival

Apparently Jamie Smith has Jeruselem's number or at least that is what they must be thinking after a heavily favored Crusaders side got knocked off by a Warriors side that is looking better every tournament. The Warriors this time made it to the semi-finals in the Draggonii Invitational and are looking for advancement against old rival NMS. Coach Jamie Smith said, "We have done real well so far to get this far. Now I'm sure we can continue our good form and beat NMS. After all we used to own them and our old U21s, who weren't as good as these guys at that age, beat them 6-1! I'm sure that that this current squad can beat NMS and we can go to the final."
Now onto the match report:

The Warriors started out confident that they could win early but it all fell apart as Hansen allowed Damacus Shi to get a pass from Usama Bin Missing and he got one chance and converted as he unleashed a great shot that swept left of Kyle Blard and into the net for a 1-0 Jeruselem lead. After that goal the Warriors tried to attack but could not break down the Jeruselem defense. The 5-4-1 of Jeruselem worked brilliantly as the Warrior attack was virtually stagnant for most of the half. The back 5 of the Crusaders did brilliantly to parry the attack of the Warriors. In the second half though Milchama struck back as defense became offense as Mergle found Clufor who found a running Kelvin Joseph who struck the ball in brilliantly past a diving keeper to tie the game up. Then in the 88th minute the Warriors took the lead on a corner kick as Walto Manin sent in a cross that was met by a diving Martin Hansen who scored the game winning goal and let the Warriors advance to the next round in the DI.

Final Score:
Milchama 2 (Joseph 67, Hansen 88)
Jeruselem 1 (Shi 22)

Milchama Man of the Match:
Del Clufor- In a very even keel match for the Warriors he was the rock of the team keeping them in it and springing in Joseph for his goal and the opening of the gates of a very tough Crusader defense. He has a very bright future ahead of him.

Dorian and Sonya

03-06-2006, 06:17

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Necromancers Continue To Struggle

Melonie Gaffer stood alone in front of the microphones. After Lupe Tatu’s ineptitude in being any help at all the last time, she didn’t see any point in having him “help” her this time.

Reporter 1: The Necromancers have been on a bit of a slide lately. Any words on that?
Melonie: Yep. 3 of them. Tadjikistan. Jeruselem. Wentland.

Reporter 2: But surely Wentland should have been a win. Why wasn’t it?
Melonie: Let’s see. D&S ranked 75th. Wentland ranked 34th. You figure that one out, Mr Know-it-all.

Reporter 3: Next up for your squad is Geisenfried. How will you perform against them?
Melonie: Perform? By kicking the ball around - as always. But we should win this one.

Reporter 4: The best place you can finish in is 13th. Isn’t that a disappointment?
Melonie: Let’s see. Twenty squads here and 18 of them ranked higher than us. I would say 13th would be a big step up if we can get it.

Reporter 5: Can anyone else on the Necromancer squad speak or are you the only one?
Melonie: You all saw Lupe last time. That says it all.

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

03-06-2006, 07:56

Championship Bracket Day 2

Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Tadjikistan 1-0 Schiavonia
Milchama 0-3 New Montreal States

Carrington Championship Arena
Tynelia 1-3 Starblaydia
Jeruselem 1-0 Qazox

Secondary Bracket Day 2

Meldenburg Mountain Fieldhouse
Wentland 0-1 Hypocria
The Archregimancy 0-1 Sarzonia

Inferi Domei
Dorian and Sonya 1-0 Geisenfried
Vuam and Isma 0-4 Cuation

Consolation Bracket Day 2

Tapia Reis Civic Arena
ASMV 2-0 Ariddia
Bazalonia 1-5 Haraki

=========================================================

Draggonnii Inviyatii Final Day

Championship Match - Staddii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Tadjikistan vs New Montreal States

Third Place Match - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Schiavonia vs Milchama

Fifth Place Match - Inferi Domei
Starblaydia vs Jeruselem

Seventh Place Match - Inferi Domei
Tynelia vs Qazox

Ninth Place Match - Carrington Championship Arena
Hypocria vs Sarzonia

Eleventh Place Match - Carrington Championship Arena
Wentland vs The Archregimancy

Thirteenth Place Match - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Dorian and Sonya vs Cuation

Fifteenth Place Match - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Geisenfried vs Vuam and Isma

Seventeenth Place Match - Errion Vega Stadii
ASMV vs Haraki

Dead Last Match - Errion Vega Stadii
Ariddia vs Bazalonia

[NS]Bazalonia

03-06-2006, 08:32

Despite scoring the most against a local Vegan team in a 7-2 scoreline against the Javentier Jesters the Bazalopes faced an embarrasing 5-1 defeat against the Haraki Hawks. The Bazalope goal seemed to be fluke in the 78th minute as a be-draggled James Kantwell managed to get a header into the back of the net.

After the match Neil Kabants stated.. "The BFSA have alot to answer for. They should have sent a 'B' team instead of thinking that they could just squeeze out one more time. He haven't been in a last place finish since out first DI and then we didn't have an option."

An exhausted Peter Hobble only had this to say.. "Eh?.. Leave me alone, I'm going to bed." Either way the wooden spoon match is once again ours. First time we won against whoever we where against. This time we face Ariddia, the only team who has the potential to upset the Bazalopes as their worst performance being 17 ranks above the Bazalopes.

Nothing against Arridia but we sure don't want to have the humiliation of being last in the DI, but It is going to be hard and we have to hope on a miracle and to live as the 2nd worst team play in DI history.

Tadjikistan

03-06-2006, 09:43

The whole nation went wild as they saw their national team get to the finals, forgetting for a minute that the Tigers had struggled during the group stage and only got this far trough sheer luck and small differences, reporter Simon Grinchik invited Coach Zaev to his TTV studio
Grinchik: "Finally after waiting for eight years, the Tadjiks have once again reached the finals of the DI, certainly thats a good thing?"

"Offcourse it is, the results are there. Offcourse we still have a long way to go before we can actually compete on a World Cup, but with our recent past, I think we're on the right track."

"Indeed, while we do win, the team isnt really playing well. What could be the reason for that? The lack of good strikers maybe?"

"Well, Its a combination of factors. First off, Tadjikistan does seem to have a problem when it comes to strikers. We have some good ones, like Nabiyev, but he has a problem finding the goal nowadays. Tulberdiev is a fine strikers but he never makes more than one goal and Zyrianov, well, he scored the only goal in the Tadjikistan - Schiavonia match. He's a good strikers but doesnt get enough passes to work with."
"When we had Michael Pliiev, we had an able organizer, someone who could create scoring opportunities on his own. Now that he's gone, the whole midfield seems to lack creativity. Nicolay Elisarov offers some extra options, but he's still too young to take over from Pliiev. The defenders have improved considerably and are doing a great job."

"In the past two matches, the defenders have indeed done a good job, keeping their opponents scoreless. Though it could have been sheer luck against Schiavonia, Tynelia was a lowerranked side and should not have been a problem for them. Now what do you expect for the match with the NMS Paladins?"

"Our last result against them goes back to WC25 in Kaze Progressa, a 3-1 win in the group stage. It was in the period of Bahrom and Rezvon Sadirov, whom reached the quaterfinals where they got beat on penalties against Sarzonia. Salenko and Pliiev were still both on the team. Its so long ago that it really doesnt matter, New Montreal States has risen on the ranking list, they got better while we hung on. I'm hoping that we'll win and finally for the first time in Tadjikistans existence, win a tournament. I am certain that the whole team'll work towards that goal, we'll fight for it."

"And if we lose?"

"Then we'll know what to work on, I want this team in shape for the upcoming World Cup Qualifications.

"So you're not quitting your job! Would you dare to make a prediction on the game?"

"We'll, as the coach of the national team, I'll have to be optimistic, though the Paladins are favourites. Lets go with a 1-0 victory, a goal by Zyrianov."

"Well lets hope we really do win, thank you for the interview Mr Zaev."

"It was a pleasure to be here, Simon."

Cuation

03-06-2006, 11:09

Do Not Mention the Game

Cuation avoided finishing bottom thanks to Bazalonia and so went into the Secondary Bracket alongside some other strong sides. Three games without a win and they faced Sarzonia's reserve side who had only failed to get second place due to goal difference. We lost 2-0 and it was so bad that the Cuation press have been banned from talking about it.

So we can not tell you that Cuation failed to create a single chance, that Sarzonia missed tons of chances or that the fans booed the team. We won't say that Yan, Cheese and Jens crashed into each other going for the same ball, allowing the number 9 to score. It is illegal to mention Fallen losing the ball just outside the box and the number 7's shot snuck through Gary Jen's legs.

Nope, you read nothing about it, instead we will talk about the flower show in Chelman.

Cuation Change Team

With two games left to try and salvage as much pride as possible, manager Jude Takerath has made whole sale changes to the side. The formation stays but a poor performance defensively a lack of penetration up front has raised concerns with the World Cup drawing near.

In goal, Gary Jens has been clearly shaken by Qazox's second goal, when he let the ball slip through his hands. He was blameless for the three conceded against the Stars team but he has been dropped for young keeper Jude Tanner. Many suspect Gary Jens will return for the World Cup but for now, Jude will get invaluable experience.

The defence has a whole has struggle, Yan and Cheese slowly building up an understanding. Philip Cole has looked tired and some are calling for him to be dropped on the grounds he is too old. Cole gets his rest with younger Gary Cole promoted to right back and the hope that the defence will start to gel soon.

The midfield has been poor, Hargreves playing like a headless chicken and the aged Samba has never been one who can carry the midfield. Milnar has been quieter then usual but Fallen has looked out of sorts on the right. In response, Hargreves in dropped to the bench, Fallen moved inside to act as a playmaker where he will hopefully mature and Giovanni will move to the right wing though his lack of defensive ability could lead Cuation's right to be a weak point. This could be the first choice midfield at the World Cup.

Up front, Giovanni and Rual have not clicked and the lack of a target man to knock the ball down or to get on the end of crosses has been well noticed. With Giovanni moved to the right wing, Lu Fei has been promoted from the bench. This is a big chance for him and could cement a starting place.

GK: Jude Tanner
LB: Butcher
RB: G.Cole
CB: Yan
CB: Cheese
LW: Milnar
RW: Giovanni
DM: Samba
CM: Fallen
ST: Lu Fei
ST: Rual

SUB: Gary Jens
SUB: P.Cole
Sub: Haregreves
SUB: Anderton
SUB: Keane

New Looks Cuation Crush V&I

V&I are a good team but they will be upset over how badly the B team have performed, four points in the group stage was followed by a 4-0 thrashing by the Holy Monks, they faced a new look Cuation team. The old one lacked the threat in the air that has proven to be the B teams undoing but the new look side where able to win those battles and thump the B team 4-0. It does beg the question though, if you lack a big man to head the ball clear, why allow wingers to wander around without a fullback on their tail?

For the first twenty minutes, it was Cuation on the back foot as various players tried to get used to each other but for all the pretty football, V&I only created two chances. Peter Searle tried to play a short pass to Fahd Ghauri but as Cheese missed the interception, the striker was clear on goal. He seemed to panic, firing well wide when he should easily have hit the target.

That was on the tenth minute, on the twentieth minute, Robert O'Beirne showed his brilliance, turning his marker Samba and firing a dipping effort on goal. Jude Tanner did well to turn it over for a corner and Cuation where hanging on.

Clay took the corner but it was headed out of the area by Cheese at the near post. Fallen was the first too it and moved forward, waiting for support as Lu Fei and Rual made runs towards the box. Suddenly he played the ball down the right for Giovanni to chase over the half way line. Ismaël Rodriguez tried to bring him down but the right winger leapt over the lunge.

Picking his spot, Giovanni tried an early cross towards the far post where Lu Fei was lurking. The striker leapt into the air, it was just like Beanpole Tanner of old, before knocking the ball down for just outside the six yard box. That man was hotshot Rual Mendiz , his one touch guiding the ball past the despairing Ivers.

Suddenly Cuation seemed on top, happy to let V&I play passing football but then springing on the counter attack as soon as Cuation's defence won the ball. A Butcher cross was headed just over by Lu Fei, a long ball by Cole was knocked down for Fallen to have a strike but it whistled past the post, Ivers having it covered. One Giovanni cross was met by a Milnar volley but it was well saved by the keeper.

On the thirty fourth minute, Milnar was found free on the left, his cross was aimed at the near post for Rual's darting run. The striker’s glancing header was turned aside for a corner thanks to the quick reflexes of Ivers. Giovanni took the corner and curled in towards the goal, Lu Fei among others leapt for it but nobody got a touch as it squeezed under the crossbar. 2-0. Giovanni had scored stuck on the wing where he had failed as a striker.

Cuation spent the rest of the half, playing it across their lines, willing to tired V&I out by making them chase. In the second half, they continued to do this, gently probing but with Ivers coming for every high ball and the defenders double marking Rual, chances where scared.

In the sixty fourth minute, Fallen held the ball up, waiting for someone to make a run. Giovanni and Milnar came inside but where picked up by the wingers so it seemed like the ball would be played back to Samba. Suddenly he chipped the ball towards Lu Fei, who ducked, allowing the ball to fall to Milnar. He controlled it well and just flicked the ball over Ivers, who was diving at his feet.

3-0 but Cuation didn't rest, aware of how close they had come to throwing a three goal lead against the Lowland Clans in the Cup of Harmony. The manager also wanted them to continue getting used to each other but still chances didn't come till the eightieth minute.

A simple long ball from Samba was knocked down by a stretching Fei towards Giovanni. Free on the right, the winger played some keepy uppy while he waited. Eventually he played the ball inside for Fallen, who was lurking at the edge of the box. His first touch got him away from his marker, the second dispatched a curling shot into the back of the net. 4-0 and game over!

Cuation Scorer:
Hargreves: 1
Mendiz: 4
Lu Fei: 1
Giovanni: 1
Milnar: 1
Fallen: 1

Ariddia

03-06-2006, 11:31

Worst ever performance

After a streak of losses, the national team of the PDSR Ariddia, ranked twenty-sixth best in the world, has dropped all the way down to the losers’ bracket of the third Draggonnii Cup. Supporters are at a loss to explain the team’s dismal performance, and can only hope that the nation will avoid the dubious honour of the Cup’s infamous wooden spoon.

The Sea Dragons inflicted a two-nil defeat over the Rouge-et-Noirs in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. It was the second ever match between the two sides, the previous one having ended on a three-all draw. Many Ariddians play in Vegan clubs and consider the country a second home, but today of course the crowd was cheering for the other side. “It was almost like a home crowd,” club Tapia Reis midfielder Ta I noted. “Except that they were against us. Which felt really strange for me in this stadium.”

Iglesias and Evans scored the two goals of the match, and, although the Rouge-et-Noirs defended well on the whole, they were again unable to score, despite an all-out-attack playing style.

Ariddia will face Bazalonia – the unfortunate recipient of a 1-5 scoreline against Haraki – in an attempt not to finish dead last. It is well known that the Wooden Spoon match attracts a significant number of international viewers, and both sides will hope not to be remembered as the losers. It will also be the very last international match for several Ariddian players, including team captain Ue Alt.

“A defeat in this particular match wouldn’t exactly be an ideal way to leave the international stage,” the latter admitted euphemistically.

Jeruselem

03-06-2006, 13:16

Harry Kool address his team after they beat Qazox
"Next game we play Starblaydia. Yes, the same Starblaydia who always seem to beat us in any competition. The loss to Milchama put us out of playing in the final and this win has placed us in the 5th vs 6th game. You guys should not be ashamed just because we lost one game, the Starblaydia team lost a game too and they are still great team. Our formation is working apart from our crumbling at the hands of Milchama, but you guys are young and inexperienced so don't expect to win all games you play. Tomorrow, we must learn to keep out the Starblaydia team as they can score many many goals. Learn the lesson of the Milchama game. Qazox didn't really test us like Milchama and the Starz team are different. They will test us and we must learn to score pressure goals, as these will be not given to us by the Starz. It's time now to step up and be proud even if we lose the next game. You are effectively the 2nd rate under 21 team and losing one game is not bad for a team who's never played the superstar teams of the World Cup. So it's time to show the kiddies can beat the best too."

Tynelia

03-06-2006, 13:17

“Weclome to Tynelian Soccer Weekly. I’m Anna Dalespin who is here with, for reasons that escape me, Harmonie Masterson filling in for a sick Sal Spikeman who has a severe case of Starblayditis. Going up against the team this new disease was named after Tynelia played a strong match against the explosive defending World Cup champions but fell 3-1, a much better showing than most experts expected. Tynelia drops down to the 7th place match playing our old Baptism of Fire rivals Qazox who lost to Jerusalem in a tough defensive battle 1-0. The Milchama run ended at the hands of New Montreal States who’s 3-0 win puts them into the finals against the team that knocked Tynelia out of the Championship running Tadjikistan. They shutout the conquerors of Starblaydia, Schiavonia by the same 1-0 score Schiavonia won their last match by. So Harmonie what did you think about today’s match?”

“Ooh Jaykins looked soooo cute in his uniform today and that was a nice goal he made against the famous people. I wonder if that guy from the movie Hex-men was there, he’s almost as cute as Jaykins. I hope he got lots of autographs there.”

<trying to drag Harmonie to an actual topic> “Well yes Harmonie, the Starblaydia team is quite famous but I don’t think they have any actors on their team. But Jay’s goal was a surprise to most people as many felt this would be a shutout.”

“Of course they have actors Anna, they’re ‘Stars’ “

“Okaaay, I hope the producers are watching this… So the match started as expected with the Starblaydia attack keeping the pressure on the Tynelian end. Maivia von Erich finally broke through at the 29 minute mark to put the World Champs up 1-0. Then twelve minutes later Johan Keifner made it 2-0 after stealing the ball from Tal Li who was very upset with himself after the mistake which put Tynelia down 2-0 going into the half. The second half surprisingly began with Tynelia on the attack, no doubt being told by Coach Tudor in the locker room that sitting back on defense wasn’t going to work and so the team pushed the pace to start things off, a wise choice considering that being down 2-0 there wasn’t really much to lose. The move paid off as to the dismay of gamblers everywhere who had bet on the shutout, Jay Masterson got separation from Leo Velaise and launched a blistering shot past Paola Mendez at minute 55 to make it a 2-1 match and the Tynelian faithful began to hope for the unthinkable. Unfortunately Keifner ended these hopes at minute 68 when he put Starblaydia’s third and final goal past Amy Whiteworth to put Starblaydia up for the final 3-1 score.

“As expected the match numbers were on the World Champs side, shots were a solid 25-16 in their favor with a whopping 8-3 edge in quality attempts. They controlled the clock by eleven minutes as well though the second half they only held a two minute edge as Tynelia grew more aggressive. Still holding this offense to three goals is a good showing. I think Tynelia has showed they must be reckoned with in next year’s Cup right Harmonie?”

“Yeah snuggles will make sure we do better next time in the Cup thingy, too bad no one else did any scoring to help him. I bet they were too busy trying to get autographs to pay attention though. Maybe we should get some actors for our team too that way it will distract the other teams next time!”

“Oh yes i’m sure Coach Tudor is taking notes on that.”

“REALLY?!?”

“Yes Harmonie, everyone knows about your soccer acumen.”

“No Anna, I’m not going to vacuum, the maid’s supposed to do that?”

“Anyway, next up for Tynelia is Qazox who like ourselves found themselves outgunned in this final eight by the much higher ranked teams here. Some are dubbing this one the Battle of the Book, because of the high profile trial a few years back between the authors of the Michelangelo Puzzle and the Monet Riddle. Still this will be a very even match between two teams that have come a long way from their initial Baptism of Fire days and yet still find themselves ranked just about the same. The Oxen are more offensive minded than Tynelia is but has been shutout these past two matches. This looks to be very even and low scoring but I think Tynelia has been playing a bit better here and should come out on top in the shootout after a 1-1 score in regulation. In the other matches the anticipated Starblaydia-Jerusalem championship match find them fighting it out for 5th. Naturally you can’t go against the World Champs so I’ll take them in a close 2-1 match. Milchama will go against Schiavonia in the third place match and after the convincing loss to NMS I don’t foresee Milchama’s young squad to be able to bounce back against Schiavonia who wins by a 3-2 score. As for the championship match, NMS is ranked slightly higher than Tadjikistan and has been crushing teams in the Championship round by the tune of 7-0 and so have to be the favorites here. Tadjikistan has been playing a bit below expectations getting here on a pair of 1-0 shutouts themselves. I don’t think Tadjikistan will be able to keep up with NMS and see NMS as this years DI champions after their 3-1 win in the championship match.”

“I think we should have been there instead, Jaykins would have looked adorable holding that pretty trophy up. I think when this is over I’m going to tell him to win me one at the Cup thingy.”

“Well Harmonie, they have to get that far first and beat these teams that they lost to here. And on that note, oops look at the time, this show has just flown by. Tynelia-Qazox will be shown here live as always and hopefully by then Sal will have recovered enough to join me back on the set here after the game. Until then, goodnight everyone.”

New Montreal States

03-06-2006, 17:20

(OOC: Actually Tadjik, you've beaten me in both DIs as well)

PALADINS BLUDGEON MILCHAMA WITH WIDE VARIETY OF OBJECTS

Second-place finish at hands of Tigers imminent

ANDOSSA SE MITRIN VEGA - The Paladins reasserted their current dominance over Milchama with Charles Pilon, Jacques Toussaint and Petr Hunyadi scoring to push the States past Milchama and into the finals.

This hasn't always been the cases - the Warriors have had NMS's number at just about everything else - but they've never beaten the Paladins on the national level, and their U21s simply couldn't hang with the full national side.

The reward for this feat is, of course, a match against national people-who-beat-the-shit-out-of-us Tadjikistan, against which the side is 0-0-5, including 0-0-2 in the previous two Dragonnii Inviyattiis. We haven't found exact GD data, but it looks like a -10, at least. Nobody is expecting the Paladins to win this, or even keep within a goal, even though we outrank the Tigers for the first time ever. They've driven us into 5th-and-7th place matches in past tourneys, and now they seem poised to drive us into 2nd place.

PREDICTION: Tigers 3, Paladins 1

PALADINS 3 - Pilon 22, Toussaint 40, Hunyadi 66
MILCHAMA 0

Haraki

03-06-2006, 21:28

The Hawks had taken the field against Bazalonia in a state of unfettered apathy. The match would decide whether they went to the dead last match or the second-to-dead last match, not quite the best motivation for a team. Still, with a new reputation of doing badly in the Draggonnii Inviyatii, the Hawks knew that although they would be criticized, Vargas would not replace any of them, since he promised he wouldn't.

But the Hawks, despite their laxadaisical approach to the game, still played fairly well. They scored twice in the first twenty minutes, with a goal off a high ball headed in by Matthew Thompson at twelve minutes, and a kick shot in by Richard Weber from very far back at nineteen. Haraki carried on with some spectacular shooting, racking up another goal just before half after Mike Zendar faked out the Bazalonian keeper and simply nudged the ball over the goal line. Mark Stone played keeper for the entire first half, not allowing any shots past, before being replaced by Chris O'Hara at half, as per usual with the Draggonnii Inviyatii, to give him experience.

The second half carried on much the same, beginning with a renewed Bazalonian offensive drive that gave three shots against O'Hara, all of which were stopped. Eventually he gave a long pass out to Sam Daily, brought on at half for experience in international play before the Cup proper. Daily took it up the field, eventually passing off to Zendar who passed back to Theo Angelica, brought on for Luke Ford, and who kicked it in for Haraki's fourth goal.

Bazalonia managed a goal from a header in the 78th minute, but it was much too little, too late. Just to make sure the game ended on a good note for the Hawks, forward Thompson managed another goal in the dying minutes for a 5-1 Harakian fivctory. The Hawks will play tournament hosts Andossa Se Mitrin Vega for seventeenth place, and if victorious will at least shake some doubts about the team's performance. Given that the Hawks are currently ranked 33rd in the world, that old-time rivals Tynelia (Defeated in every match ever played against Haraki) should be competing for seventh place against fellow WC27 BoFians Qazox has raised concerns about the Harakian team.

Haraki 5 - Bazalonia 1

Thompson (12)
Weber (19)
Zendar (42)
Angelica (58)
(78) Kantwell
Thompson (88)

Dorian and Sonya

04-06-2006, 04:42

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/Sonya0111/SylMedCen.png

Necromancers Down Geisenfried - Now Face Cuation

Melonie Gaffer once again confronted the media circus that followed the Necromancers’ 1-0 victory over regional rival Geisenfried. And despite her wishes, Lupe Tatu was once again with her. She really didn’t think he would do any better this time than before, but she seemed to be stuck with him.

Reporter 1: The Necromancers looked very good today. What seemed to make the difference?
Lupe: Uhhhh…..
Melonie: Well it is really simple. Geisenfried is an up and coming squad, but they do not compare to Tadjikistan, Jeruselem, or even Wentland.

Reporter 2: What will it take for your squad to make that jump from where you are now to compete with the big dogs of international play?
Lupe: Uhhhh……
Melonie: First we would have to prove we are better than the Unicorns and replace them as the number 1 side from D&S. Until that happens we cant begin to make ground on the “big dogs.”

Reporter 3: Lupe seems to be at a complete loss for words. What would it take to get him to actually say something useful?
Lupe: Uhhhh…..
Melonie: You heard it from him first.

Qazox

04-06-2006, 05:37

(ooc: Sry about the non-topical RP but will be back on topic Tommorrow)

QSPN

{Scroll down at bottom of screen during coverage of the 57th annual Qazoxian Spelling Bee(OOC2: I can't spell so this aught to be fun)]

Matthew Hiddle: Can you use it in a sentence?

Judge: I took the Velociraptor to the vet and was told he had mononeuleosis

Matthew: M-O-N-O-N-E-U-L-E-O-S-I-S.

Judge: Correct. There are two spellers left. We now go to sudden death spelling i which the first to spell A word correctly will win. Up Next Julia Goren. your word- antidisestablishmentarism.

Julia- A-N-T-I-D-I-S-E-S-T-A-B-L-O-S-H-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-S-M.

Judge- Incorrect, Matthew if you can spell antidisestablishmentarism you will win.

Matthew- A-N-T-I-D-I-S-E-S-T-A-B-L-I-S-H-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-S-M.

Judge- That is correct and for the first time in 30 years a young man has won the Speeling Bee. Congratulations Matthew Hiddle.

[DI3 Score- FINAL--- Jeruselem 1-Qazox 0. Goal (Jeruselem- Damacus Shi, 37th)]

Andossa Se Mitrin Vega

04-06-2006, 06:16

I would like to take a moment to thank each of your personally for making this 3rd edition Draggonnii Inviyatii a wonderful success. This tournament has become something that I really enjoy hosting. And that is due to all of you who make it fun.

Some things have remained consistent since the beginning. ASMV continues to suck in its own tourney and thankfully Bazalonia always keeps me company at the bottom. The Archregimancy continues to finish mid-pack along with Cuation. Starblaydia cant find the Championship match with a map. Go figure. Tadjikistan remains in a top 4 position.

But some things have changed for the better. Or worse. That depends on who you are. Casari and Krytenia have both taken part in the past, and this time Jeruselem added a new flair to an already tight top group of squads. Milchama and most of the rest of regular participants have made steady strides to reach the higher rankings. The risk given to each match is now so much more than in the first edition. Never mind the upsets that can always happen. (Ask Sarzonia about Geisenfried)

This has been a great tourney. You know that by looking down the list and finding talented squads like Ariddia and Bazalonia at the bottom. That tells me that it was a tight group of competitors. Once again, I thank each of you for making this a great tourney. I will see most of you again after WC29. Good luck to each of you there.

Also, I would like to thank Hypocria for making the DI their final international appearance. You will be sorely missed. Sides like myself, Cuation, Milchama, and Ariddia have watched you struggle along with the rest of us. It was great to see you qualify in WC28. It was also great to see you defeat Starblaydia here in this tourney (no offense to Star). We hope that you do decide to return to competition soon. It wont be quite the same without you. I think I speak for most of us here with that one.

And Congrats to new Champions - New Montreal States. And of course to the Dead Last squad - Bazalonia. You both did very well.

Now for what you have all been waiting for - The Final Scores

Draggonnii Inviyatii Final Day

Championship Match - Staddii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Tadjikistan 1-3 New Montreal States

Third Place Match - Stadii Se Draggonnii Arcea
Schiavonia 1-1 Milchama
Schiavonia 2-1 Milchama AET

Fifth Place Match - Inferi Domei
Starblaydia 2-1 Jeruselem

Seventh Place Match - Inferi Domei
Tynelia 1-2 Qazox

Ninth Place Match - Carrington Championship Arena
Hypocria 2-4 Sarzonia

Eleventh Place Match - Carrington Championship Arena
Wentland 1-2 The Archregimancy

Thirteenth Place Match - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Dorian and Sonya 2-1 Cuation

Fifteenth Place Match - Tapia Reis Civic Arena
Geisenfried 1-4 Vuam and Isma

Seventeenth Place Match - Errion Vega Stadii
ASMV 2-1 Haraki

Dead Last Match - Errion Vega Stadii
Ariddia 2-1 Bazalonia

Qazox

04-06-2006, 06:42

QSPN SPORTSWORLD

"I'm Davis Reece and She's Danica Turico. This just in from ASMV, Qazox has beaten Tynelia 2-1 to finsish in 7th place at the 3rd Draggonnii Inviyatii. We now take you there live to Brent Berman, who called the match. Brent?"

Brent- Thank you Davis and Danica. this match was one of the best matches ever played by both Tynelia and Qazox. Despite some lingering uncomfortableness over the whole The Monet Riddle/The Michelangelo Puzzlelawsuit earlier this year, both teams took to the pitch to prove that they belonged amongst the elite that made it to these knock-out rounds.

(Shows highlights of scoreless 1st half, a nice save by Henry Edision, a brillinat save by Amy Whiteworth, a hard tackle on Jay Masterson by Tyrone Funderburg)

Brent- Coming out of a scoreless half, Qazox struck 1st blood so to speak as Fernando Turek, easliy Qazox' best player here and deserving of a spot on the WC29 team, scored in the 57th minute to put the Juniors up 1-0.

(Highlight of Turek, dodging Stossels' tackle and shooting the ball just over Whiteworth's head)

Brent- The Tynelians answered back only 6 minutes later in the 63rd minute as Anya Collins starting for Alan MacDougal snuck a ball under the outstretched arms of Edision.

(Highlight of A. Collins's goal, a reverse angle shot of the goal and her celebration)

Brent- With the match now tied at one-all, both teams attacked and countered to try to score the game winner before extra time. In the 84th minute, Juniors Forward Fernando Turek proved his skills can pay the bills on a brilliant goal

(Shows highlight of Turek taking a free kick from 25 yds out, shot deflected off the cross-bar into the air, Turek running towards the ball with Stossels, Li and Christian Likens all fighting for position underneath. Turek jumps over Li, and backflips over Likens, kicking the ball into the net past a surprised Whiteworth.)

Brent- That once-in-a-lifetime shot proved to be the winner as Qazox won 2-1, finishing in a very strong 7th place here in ASMV. QSPN will cover all qualifying matches for WC 29 live and hope to see you there. Back to you in the studio.

[NS]Bazalonia

04-06-2006, 06:53

OOC: I swear the scorinator knows when I'm playing in the DI.... :p ... That or it knows and fully milks any thing that I RP that is negative for me.. .remember when Hobble became a werewolf? Anyway yes.. MY rant's over

IC:

"Bazalopes soar to great heights (If you look at the table upside down)" by Nev Gould

The Arridians took the lead early in the match, James Kantwell levelled and then the arridians took the lead again and one the game. All in the first half.

A local fan said... "It was almost like the match was only 45 minutes long." However the Bazalope defender Andrew Creek, stated "The match seemed to go on for ages."

Bazalonia has for the first time sunk to last place in the Draggonnii Invitational, after being in the wooden spoon match in their first DI, oh so many years ago and coming in at a respectible position in the 2nd. The third was like a horror performance loosing all but 1 match which happened to be a draw.

The only place that the blame can rest is upon the BFSA, they sent the team in while knowing they where exhausted and calling for a B-Team to be established. James Gaines counted this with "It had taken us time to select the nations B-Team and it just wasn't enough time to select a B-Team for the DI. But I will assure the team will get a good break during the CBBC-sponsored Baptism of Fire tournament."

Either way the nation suffered a humiliating last place in the DI while newer nations such as Geisenfried and Dorian & Sonya performed very well. Our congratulations to them all the while commiserating the Bazalope defeat. The Bazalopes are expected to come back to Bazalonia within the week but no official comment on exactly when they are expected, most likely to avoiud the boos of the many disappointed fans who followed the DI with interest.

New Montreal States

04-06-2006, 08:54

Thanks to ASMV for hosting yet another stellar installation of what's becoming a NS football institution. Hopefully there will be many more DIs, each one better than the one before.

World Cup 24 qualifiers:

Tadjikistan 3 - 1 New Montreal States
New Montreal States 1 - 4 Tadjikistan

World Cup 25 Group Stage:

Tadjikistan 3 New Montreal States 1

First Draggonni Inviyattii:

New Montreal States 1-2 Tadjikistan

Second DI:

New Montreal States 1:3 Tadjikistan

"...and we're live on the streets of New Montreal, where there's a traditional NMS victory celebration in progress. Marcos Maniakes is live on the scene. Marcos?"

"Thanks, Paul. The victory celebration continues, as the fans are enjoying the defeat of longtime nation domination-administrators Tadjikistan for the first time ever at the hand of the States."

"Marcos, any idea on damages?"

"Well, so far there's been nothing bigger than a few smashed windows and overturned cars. The police are celebrating along with the revelers, but there still seems to be very little looting and wanton destruction out there...I take that back. Someone's burning something...looks like a giant stuffed tiger. And that looks like it's being done by members of the NMS Voodoo Union - but who knows how sober they are."

"Anything more specific than that, Marcos?"

"Not quite, wait a second...looks like a giant stuffed Tigger."

"They're burning one of everyone's favorite childhood cartoon characters?"

"Yep."

"How more screwed up can you get?"

"I don't want to think about that."

"How about the match, then?"

"You're the bloody sports commentator, and I was stuck in this damn copter listening to the reports over the radio. You tell them."

"Fine, I will, and then I'll fire your ass for swearing over the air. Gilles Villeneuve coming through on the opener, putting the Paladins up five minutes into the match. Zyrianov equalizing with the one goal his coach predicted for his side at 20 minutes kept the game level for the rest of the half, with the Tadjik defense playing at top notch and Paul Chasson making several solid saves to keep it at 1-all 'till the half."

"You just swore too, bignose."

"Did not. Anyway, William Branstone lit a fire under his team during the half. Literally. You can see Petr Hunyadi's shorts still smouldering as he jogs back onto the pitch. But he stopped, dropped and rolled like they taught us in kindergarten."

"Paul, are you sure that Cynthia hasn't replaced your water glass with straight 100 proof again?"

"Goddamn it, she did. BITCH! Get me a refill! Where was I?"

"Something about Petr Hunyadi's pants on fire."

"Oh yeah. So the Paladins come out all fired up and lay the smackdown, with Hubert Labranche scoring at the 55th minute and his little brother Fabrice Labranche, in for Paul Chan, who really needs to be shipped off to someplace where midgets with burn marks on their jerseys can get away with pretending they're decent football players, scoring again about eight minutes later. After that it was all 4-6-0 and watching the Tigers find out what we've been feeling the past twenty years. Twenty goddamn years of inferiority complex. Do you know how bloody LONG that feels?"

"Sure do."

"Goddamn, twenty years ago I was, like, sixteen. I just got my first car. I just got my first real girlfriend. I got laid for the first time on the couch after watching us get clobbered by the Tigers in WC24 qualifiers, you know that? I remember just about everything from that..."

"Paul, we're still broadcasting."

"So we are. Did I ever tell you you're my bestest best friend?"

"Usually whenever Cynthia does this to you."

"Damn it! I STILL NEED A REFILL OVER HERE!"

(ooc: My first ever championship RP. What does everyone think?)

NationStates Jolt Archive

Draggonnii Inviyatii 3rd Edition Roster/Scores/RP