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AOCAF 20—RP thread
Posted: Sep 19 2007, 03:00 PM
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Back On Track


Brian Cahill reporting from the Unified Capitalizt States.

Clearly that day off on matchday two did the trick as the Autocracy followed up a stuttering start against the Lowland Clans with three wins on the spin. Putting the tournament’s top seeds (that will never get old) in pole position in Group B.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. The all SAAS clash with Nojika at the JPL Paladin Stadium brought out both the best and worst of the men in blue and white. A double from Hyppo captain Sousa and Marica’s second in two games may have helped ease the Hyppos to their first win of the competition but at times the defence looked a shambles. It took an injury time header from Kordan to finally kill off a spirited effort from the Panthers.

It was back to Noka for matchday four and what was expected to be a fairly easy three points against group whipping boys Kura-Pelland. The debutants had lost all three of their games prior to this fixture and things weren’t about to change for them. It was a day for the Autocracy’s new boys as both Viera and Black registered their first international goals. But once again the shaky defence leaked a goal, Kura-Pelland’s first ever in the AOCAF, before Marilier’s freekick made the points safe. A slip up by fellow Group B contenders Bettia against lowly 95X further helped the Hyppos’ cause.

On their return to the JDP Paladin Stadium the Hyppos would surely be looking to keep a clean sheet, for what would have been only the eighth time in their last forty AOCAF internationals. But it wasn’t to be as former World and Atlantian Oceania champions Sarzonia became the fourth side to pierce the Hyppos’ fragile defence in this tournament. But the rest of the game would have been lapped up back in the Autocracy as those that remembered some real maulings at the hands, and feet, of the Stars in past World Cup campaigns witnessed a comfortable win against their old tormentors. Black, Ocella and Sousa all found the back of the net against a fairly solid but deeply unspectacular Sarzonian side. Elsewhere Nojika looked in danger of throwing their excellent start away with their second loss in succession, handing Kura-Pelland their first AOCAF points in the process.

Shoddy defending aside it was a good few days for the Autocracy as nine points from a possible nine and slip ups from the other contenders left the Hyppos in top spot in group B, two points ahead of second placed Bettia.


Next . . .

The Autocracy stay in Port Lusambo for a mouth watering top of the group clash with Verdena neighbours Bettia. The Aroras have fallen on slightly harder times of late after a trophy laden period which saw both the AOCAF trophy and the World Cup itself paraded around Gabalfa. But twenty years after that AOCAF success in Bazalonia the Aroras have dropped down to sixth in the region and go into the game as slight underdogs. But if the Hyppos’ defence slips up again their opponents have the firepower to punish them severely.

Past Meetings
Hypocria 2 - 0 Bettia (AOCAF X / Fmjphoenix)
Hypocria 2 - 4 Betiia (AOCAF XVI / Lamoni)
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Posted: Sep 19 2007, 09:14 PM
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What else can we say?

A 3-0 result against Ulzaxid has kept the Bazalope hopes of a perfect group stage alive with 5 out of 6 matches played the Bazalonian Bazalopes have won every single match, despite this they are keeping a level head against their upcoming opponents Demot.

"The Demot Dynamo are at a fundamental level still a good team despite a fairly poor overall performance, Our upcoming game is a life and death game for Demot. If they don't at least get any points then they will get eliminated even then it's upto what Ulzaxid, QuakmyBush and V&T do with their matches. Who knows what is going on in their minds but we can't be complacent."

That was a quote from Peter Hobble, The Bazalopes had already qualified to the knockout stage last match and with 6 points seperating the Bazalopes from V&T and Quakmybush a top spot is assured for the Bazalopes no matter what happens in the remainder of the group and with the BLue Foxes and the purple menace both drawing their matches the Bazalopes are the only team to have a perfect record.

The Bazalopes must be in contention for their first ever Finals win, whether in the AOCAF, in the World Cup or associated tournaments or any other soccer tournament that they have ever entered, and if indeed the Bazalopes can pull of a perfect run then surely the Bazalopes will be THE team to beat for any other AOCAF's
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Posted: Sep 20 2007, 06:56 AM
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A Point For Everyone, Even Marrones
Draws the order of the day in Group D


It's definitely 'as you were' in Group D as all three matches resulted in draws. In a repeat of Pacitalia's first AOCAF match, forty-four years ago, the men in white and purple tied Two-Two with the men in navy and white.

Thirty-one year-old Ambrosino Giurimano got the match atmosphere into top gear when he scored in the eighteenth minute, zipping inside of Fain Ugrubolgdam and unleashing his shot through the legs of tackler Claudio Melciori and past Rodriguez into the net. Despite seemingly going through the tournament on auto-pilot, the Blue Foxes were on their way to the Second Round having cruised through all their matches so far - and they were one-nil up against their closest challengers inside twenty minutes. As the first half came to a close, Starblaydia, for all their efforts, still hadn't made up the gap against a Pacitalian side that were in cruise control. Fullbright had gone close and Parkin Riiklik saw his shot saved well by Raduvani but other than that it was a midfield tussle, with Starblaydia's four out-shone by Pacitalia's five.

The second half started much the same and Pacitalia continued to show their form: Michelangelo Mascagnano, bombing on from midfield, broke into the box to receive a neat lay-off from Pacitalia's all-round veteran superstar Veranace d'Amantano. Mascagnano had a good strike, getting the ball out from under his feet, and Rodriguez was helpless at such close range.

Lex Panarii had been struggling to get to grips with those in front of him, and Betanii Marrones made two tactical substitutions at the hour mark to get her team out of their hole. Captain Izretar was withdrawn, along with the ineffective Takis Domozis, and they were replaced by hard-man Eduardo Faisca and big-man Stefan Hinkkonen as Starblaydia switched to a flat four in midfield, and Hinkonnen roamed in the gap between Fullbright and the midfield in a 4-4-1-1 formation. With two tough tacklers in midfield and a hefty striker up front to cause chaos amongst the half-backs, Starblaydia began to take a hold on the match. The fifty-fifty balls started to go their way, the lucky bounces began to fall to white-and-purple, rather than navy-and-white. With less demands on his defending role it was Panarii, newly handed the captain's armband, who provided the magic for Starblaydia to pull one back.

His defence-splitting pass was perfectly timed and weighted, and the ball arrived at Tarquin Fullbright's feet mid-stride. The Montepool Waves striker dropped his right shoulder and took a snap-shot with the inside his right foot. Curling through the air, the ball nestled in the back of the net even as Raduvani was throwing himself to the side in a vain attempt to block it. Starblaydia were level, and it was game on. With ten minutes to go Starblaydia were level. Julian Ramirez had come on for the exhausted Panarii in midfield - giving the captaincy to left-back Fain Ugrubolgdam - and he slid in well against Andolfabio Vunghiasso on the left side of midfield. The ball bobbled to Parkin Riiklik and he sent a first-time lob down the right wing. Victor Peytrsen was on his toes and managed to keep it from going over the touchline, before racing away down the flank. Nuno Cabana was left in his wake, then Petyrsen took Bordellatta out of the game with an early cross.

And what a cross.

The perfect pass, placed in between the full-backs and the goalie, at such a height that it was comfortable for Hinkonnen to meet, and difficult for the five-ten and six-footers marking Starblaydia's big man to head away. Hinkonnen's header was a mighty one, a bullet into the bottom corner that Raduvani could only flap at as it went past him. Starblaydia were level thanks to an awesome quick counter-attack.

Both teams went for the win but there proved to be no more goals forthcoming. Starblaydia and Pacitalia would both be happy with the draw, but both walking away feeling they could have won it. Kudos to Marrones, in particular, as no-one was sure whether she would be able to make the tough decisions and pull them off correctly. Taking off Starblaydia's captain and midfield maestro and replacing him with a defensive player when Two-Nil down was questionable in the heat of battle, but looking at the result, and the tactics, it can't be faulted. Marrones' decision was what dragged Starblaydia back from Two-Nil down to make it Two-Two, and unless something staggeringly unlucky happens over the course of the rest of the Championship, Marrones will surely be in charge of the Starblaydi side for World Cup Thirty-Eight. A good job, too.

Starblaydia 2 - 2 Pacitalia
(Fullbright 72, Hinkonnen 80) - (Giurimano 18, Mascagnano 55)
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Posted: Sep 20 2007, 09:40 AM
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Nofkn-Way was flipping through his newspaper trying to get the scores for the AOCAF game. Usually there was at least a small article about it, but today he couldn't find one at all. He wondered if the print had been delayed or something. He missed the game on TV last night and liked to start his morning with the sports page, but he was really confused where the was score was. Apparently they had tucked it in with the rest of the quickly reported scores. When he saw the line he couldn't believe his eyes. Immediately he understood why the scores had been hidden there.



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Posted: Sep 20 2007, 04:53 PM
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Here's RPs for the last two 95X games:

pcc.95x - The Pacific City Courier Online

95X Ties Bettia

Aeropag, Unified Capitalizt States - It wasn't a win, but 95X is said to have given their best performance last night against Bettia, leading to a 1-1 draw, improving their W-T-L record to 1-1-2.

Claire Pomona scored the 95X goal in the first half, and became the third player in 95X's brief international soccer competition history to score two goals in one AOCAF, joining Micah Skokomish and Melissa/Michelle Mitchell, who both scored 2 goals apiece in AOCAF 19 (OOC: Some of those games were originally un-RP'd during the tournament).

Bettia tied the game early in the second half, when the ball flew right over Marco Adams' head, and got a lucky bounce off the goalpost into the net.

After a bye day tomorrow, 95X faces The Lowland Clans and Hypocria to finish group play. If the team wins at least one of the games, they may have the chance of advancing to the next round of play.

95X 1 - Bettia 1
(95X Goal - Pomona, 33:)

==========

pcc.95x - The Pacific City Courier Online

95X Eliminated in Loss

Cirto, Unified Capitalizt States - The soccer players and fans of 95X were dealt a loss larger than the final score last night, dropping another group stage game to The Lowland Clans, by a score of 3-0. The loss drops 95X to 1-1-3, and guarantees another losing record.

For the third Atlantian Oceania Cup of Association Football in a row, 95X is mathmetically eliminated from the next round.

Even if 95X Manages to defeat Hypocria (who, in AOCAF 18, blew out 95X 6-1 in the 95X's international soccer debut), Nojika and Sarzonia would need to lose their final game in order for 95X to tie with Nojika. Even then, Nojika owns the tie-breaker, via their 3-0 upset of 95X in the first game in the current AOCAF.

"Any way you slice it, we're out," grudgingly stated Head Coach Chris Crossman, when presented with the news.

Marco Adams proved to be ineffective in the goalbox, and was replaced early in the game by reserve goalkeeper Bennie Sanders, who's otherwise seen extremely limited playing time close to conclusions of matches, where it was clear the team had either won or lost.

The focus on the team wasn't the disappointing game, rather an obscure event that occurred shortly after.

Reports from sources close to the matter said one of 95X's players needed medical attention in the teams' hotel after the game. Head Coach Crossman, Assistant Allen Oleson, and the players all refused to comment, stating their focus was still on the game against Hypocria.

The Lowland Clans 3 - 95X 0
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Posted: Sep 20 2007, 06:58 PM
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pcc.95x - The Pacific City Courier Online

Twins Agree - Revenge Is So Sweet

Noka, Unified Capitalizt States - Few want to remember 95X's opening game in the Atlantian Oceania Cup of Association Football 18. Most who do stop at the score, a 6-1 rout.

Finally, those who know a bit more about the lopsided match against Hypocria, have even more reason to celebrate this Victory Day.

Playing without starter Damien Dairycreek, and a relit fire to rain on someone's parade, 95X blanked Hypocria 2-0 in their final AOCAF 20 match.

For twins Melissa and Michelle Mitchell, it was time for payback. The dicephalic conjoined twins (sometimes referred to as simply "joined twins" domestically in 95X) played like they meant it, contesting every pass and kick they could.

"We weren't worried about them staring at us," said Melissa after the game. "In fact, they seemed so surprised that two women who share two arms and two legs can play soccer at all, they didn't seem to notice we had the scoring opportunity until the ball reached the net."

The twins sat on the bench during AOCAF 18 games, mostly due to the balking of the other teams, especially those from Hypocria.

Michelle also had some choice words to the Hypocrian team's management regarding their comments leading up to AOCAF 18, which the Courier has chosen not to publish.

Micah Skokomish, regarded by many to be the team's best player, spent most of the match distributing the ball upfield, running towards the Hypocrian goal as if to try to score much less than previous matches.

It was on one of these 95X possessions that Candy Sandy scored 95X's second goal early in the second half.

Stepped-up defensive performance by Skokomish, Grant Wilson, Tai Doe, and Alecia Onesixtysecond, stopped the ball from traveling much past the midfield line for the rest of the game, sealing in the upset in favor of 95X.

Already, 95X fans present at the game are calling it the biggest win in the nation's short AOCAF history, feeling the team's pregame dedication of their performance to their almost fallen teammate Dairycreek was appropriate.

"We all miss him on the field," said Skokomish, Dairycreek's best friend on the team, after the match. "We knew we had to win it, we all care about him."

The 21-year old Dairycreek was taken to a local hospital following 95X's loss to The Lowland Clans, after he unsuccessfully tried to take his own life.

"It's unfortunate that such a young man felt that bad about his future," commented Coach Chris Crossman, who was one of the first to the hotel room scene. "Even if soccer isn't in the nation's future, or his, he has so much to live for."

Although it's unclear if Dairycreek will ever play competitive soccer again, doctors feel he will mentally recover and live a productive life.

95X Finishes AOCAF 20 with a W-T-L record of 2-1-3, and an otherwise cheery outlook towards the future.

"It's not, like, the number of, like, wins," said Claire Pomona, in what is surprisingly her most coherent comment to date, "but, like, who we won over."

95X 2 - Hypocria 0
(Mitchell 42:, Sandy 54:)
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Posted: Sep 21 2007, 01:13 AM
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Hawks qualify at second spot

The Hawks coasted into the second spot in Group C on goal difference, allowing them to face The Lowland Clans after the surprising fall of Bettia to fifth place in their group.

To date, the Hawks remain unbeaten by TLC in the knockouts, and Lamoni doesn't intend for that streak to end now. To get here, reserve forward Agustin Jesse had to score twice against Amerigo Fidelis in matchday 6. He scored once at twenty minutes in, and again at forty four minutes. No one scored in the second half, although Amerigo Fidelis scored their lone goal at ten minutes in. The Hawks were in complete control of the second half, and indeed, most of the game; acting as third ranked team in the region of AO should.

As mentioned earlier, the biggest surprise of AOCAF XX to date is the dropping of Bettia from third place to fifth place in Group B. Has the all out attacking style of the Aurora's finally failed them? This is one of the two teams that you can bet will get a ton of goals at any AOCAF that they play in, regardless of how many games that they win or lose. Though, scoring a lot of goals mostly leads them to a lot of wins, though only one AOCAF cup so far.

In the meantime, the Hawks must prepare for their next opponent from a nation that Lamonian troops are shedding blood in to help defend. There is a real irony that two nations that are fighting and dying alongside each other militarily are AOCAF 'enemies;' even for just one match where the loser goes home. When Lamoni wins this match, they will be facing top AOCAF caliber teams like Starblaydia, Pacitalia, and Hypocria. The Hawks have defeated all three teams before; but the question is whether they will pull off wins in the knockouts, or be sent home before the finals. The Hawks have a very decent shot at their third AOCAF cup, and we hope that they don't mess it up.

Lamoni - 2 Agustin Jesse (20, 44)
Amerigo Fidelis - 1 (10)


---

AOCAF KNOCKOUT PREDICTIONS

Bazalonia vs Manhattan Prime - The Bazalopes should advance against a mediocre team fielded by Manhattan Prime.

Lamoni vs The Lowland Clans - Our match, we predict a Lamonian victory.

Nojika vs Az-cz - Both teams have a shot at this one, but we flipped a coin to come up with Nojika winning this match.

Pacitalia vs Quakmybush - Pacitalia should easily win this match.

Hyporcia vs Limbrogidlia - One satisfied Hyppos team here.

Starblaydia vs Ulzaxid - The Men in Muave don't even break a sweat in this one.

V/T vs Delesa - This one could go either way, but we like Delesa's chances.

Milchama vs Sarzonia - With the fall of the Sarzonian government, expect Milchama to win this one.

This post has been edited by Lamoni on Sep 21 2007, 01:18 AM
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Posted: Sep 21 2007, 05:00 AM
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Depth? What Depth?
Starblaydia crumble to Jasīʼyūn


There once was a time when Starblaydia picked their best twenty-three footballers and sent them to the World Cup, and they also picked their second-best twenty-three and sent them to the AOCAF. On one of those occasions, their best team won the World Cup and their second-best team won the AOCAF.

Now, however, the best - in fact, the only - team is at the AOCAF, and even playing six of their best footballers, and five reserve players, they couldn't overcome Mitchell Ramirez's Jasīʼyūn side who were pushing for Qualification. The thirty-first ranked side in the tournament needed to overcome Starblaydia and hope that Manhattan Prime didn't beat the hapless Schivaonia. In the event, both sides won One-Nil and, due to the head-to-head results, Manhattan Prime sneaked into the knock-out stages over Jasīʼyūn.

Betanii Marrones made five changes to the side that had, until this match, gone unbeaten in the tournament and notched up just a single draw against Pacitalia. Faisca, Shakirii and Canildo all started in and heavily-changed midfield, while Fullbright was rested for Marbek up front and Conigglia exchanged in for Riiklik. Ugrubolgdam was named as captain.

Starblaydia obviously suffered from the fact they didn't need to play this game. They were already qualified from Group D and this match would merely decide if they finished first or second. With the possible danger of facing a side like Vilita and Turori, even if they finished first, Starblaydia would be at the mercy of Group A results for the opponents no matter what they accomplished in this match.

What they accomplished was precisely nothing.

A One-Nil loss, thanks to a Ha Sūŋ-yun strike halfway through the second half. Starblaydia had not been held to nil in this tournament so far, nor had they a loss under their belt, and this match provided both, leaving the mood of the fans at a low point heading into the Second Round match against Ulzaxid. Ulzaxid, ranked eighteenth, finished third in Group A, courtesy of a One-Nil win over Quakmybush that took them out of the elimination zone to leapfrog Demot and the Bushians into third place. The two teams will meet at the C4Stadion, a place where Starblaydia have good memories, thanks to having wins over Delesa and Oliverry there in this Cup. The outcome should, with Starblaydia playing their best team again, see a progression through to the next stage.

The next stage, however, would see Starblaydia play the winner of the Hypocria/Limbrogidlia match, which surely means the white-and-purples would play the highest-ranked team in AO, coached by Starblaydia's own Javi Chavez. For Betanii Marrones to come head-to-head against one of the idols of Starblaydi days gone by in a clash of management styles old and new will be a huge test for all concerned.

Starblaydia have to get past Ulzaxid first, though, and if last night's game is anything to go by: anything can happen in the twentieth Atlantian Oceania Cup of Association Football.

Jasīʼyūn 1 - 0 Starblaydia
(Ha Sūŋ-yun 73) - (None)
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Posted: Sep 21 2007, 02:54 PM
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Disgrace!


Shocking. There was no other word for it. Older fans may remember the 1 - 0 defeat to Jastica all the way back at AOCAF X as the worst Hypocrian performance in this competition. Well ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner.

Javi Chavez kept his beaten side locked in the dressing room for almost a full hour and a half as he told them exactly what he thought of their performance. It was abysmal. Against a side the Hyppos had hammered 6 - 1 in their last meeting more of the same was expected. Needless to say it didn’t happen. The AOCAF’s top ranked side played like a team of strangers. The defence was as poor as ever, the midfield were outplayed and even the much vaunted Hyppos attack failed to turn up. In fact this was the first time the Autocracy had failed to find the back of the net in FIFTY TWO games in the AOCAF, dating back to a 3 - 0 defeat at the hands of Starblaydia (who else) way back at AOCAF XII in Chicanada.

And it wasn't just the coach who was incensed. Back at the FAH Headquarters in Hypocrium Matthias DiMarco, the big boss of all football in the Autocracy, was fuming. But it wasn’t the performance that had angered him, it was the opposition.

“We’ve been cheated pure and simple”, he told a hastily arranged press conference. “We raised concerns at the tournament in Myrtannia about the eligibility of conjoined twins in an AOCAF side but the 95X management continue to turn this competition into a circus.”

He was of course referring to Melissa and Michelle Mitchell who capped an outstanding game against the Hyppos with their side’s opening goal. But who also courted controversy the last time the sides met because of the decision to register them as one player.

“Two heads. Two brains. Two people. And ten other players. They had twelve players on that pitch! Just read their post match comments, ‘In fact, they seemed so surprised that two women who share two arms and two legs can play soccer at all’. See. They even refer to themselves as ‘two women’. It’s a blatant infringement of one of the most fundamental laws of the game. And to make it even worse they had another set of twins on the bench. Something has got to be done about this. All of 95X’s games should be declared null and void and 95X should be banned from all future tournaments unless they drastically rethink their selection policy.”


Better Than Bettia


Brian Cahill reporting from the Unified Capitalizt States.

It had all been so different in the previous game. The side had looked composed and confident as they overcame western neighbours Bettia in Port Lusambo. Teale and a Sousa double helped secure the points in what was an excellent Hyppos performance, their fourth win on the bounce. It all seemed a very long time ago come the next matchday.

Despite the forgettable events of the final group game the Autocracy still finished three points clear at the top of Group B. Nojika recovered from a shaky couple of fixtures to wrap up second place with a win over Bettia. The Lowland Clans came in third thanks to an inferior head to head record against the Panthers. And Sarzonia completed Group B’s qualifiers after a 1 - 0 win over bottom side Kera-Pelland. Which also means the unfortunate Aroras fall at the first hurdle.


Next . . .


Now it’s back to Port Lusambo for a Second Round clash with Group C’s fourth placed side Limbrogidlia. So what do we know about Limbrogidlia? Well nothing actually. For a start you’d be hard pushed to find them on a map (seriously) but we’re thinking they’re up in the Oliverry region. What we do know is they had an odd campaign in Group C. They lost 4 - 0 to both Milchama and Aurendia but managed hugely impressive wins over both Az-cz and Lamoni. So they definitely pose a threat. But if the Hyppos do avoid a monster of an upset a Quarter Final showdown with Starblaydia looms large on the horizon.


Past Meetings
None


This post has been edited by Hypocria on Sep 21 2007, 03:00 PM
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Posted: Sep 23 2007, 12:10 AM
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"This Larry and Gary once again, broadcasting live from somewhere dank and stingy in the Unified Capitalizt States."

"Yes. it's the only place we could afford. After a perfect group stage where the Bazalopes find themselves in the 2nd Stage against Mahatten Prime"

"The Bazalopes have just won their 7th game in a row defeating the team from Manhatten Prime 1-0. Despite the Uberdome almost being like a second home to the Bazalopes barely played their best match against their 19th ranked opponents only managing 1 goal."

"but that is how most of our matches went a GD of 10 over 6 matches"

"Right, it seems that the Bazalopes have done just enough to win the game, perhaps a strategy for the team to reserve themselves for the matches that really matter such as the one upcoming against Lamoni. The Lamoni Hawks appart from our match will probably be the hardest match we have played. Despite being ranked 3rd the Lamonians have not performed as well, only gaining 11 points out of the 18 points available, just under 2/3rds.

"Lamoni had lost 2-3 against the Limburgers."

"That's not their name."

"I know but I don't really care, they got trounced 3-0 by Hypocria"

"The Lamoni Hawks are perhaps the most-likely team to knock us out of the finals, but the Semi-finals will not be much easier, the winner of the Bazalonian-Lamoni match will face off against the winner of the Az-cz - Pacitalia match. ranked 4 and 7th respectively are going really challenge the Bazalopes.

"Should either us or our good friends the Lamoni Hawks make it the final, it can almost be a sure bet that we will be facing the number 1 team in the region. Hypocria"

"Well, that wraps up all the time we have, the company we're paying the bandwidth for will shut us off if we go over time. This is Gary and La--"

-- Back in Bazalonia...

http://getclippings.com/image.php?id=557885 (ooc: Image please click)

This post has been edited by Bazalonia on Sep 23 2007, 12:20 AM
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Posted: Sep 23 2007, 12:42 AM
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Lamoni trounces TLC, faces friends Bazalonia

Today was a good day to be a Hawk. With a domineering 4-1 victory against TLC, they are stating that they are here for real. One interesting result from the victory is that it will pit the Hawks against their friends from Bazalonia. The Hawks have a good record against the Bazalopes, and will be looking to put what they have learned to good use.

Whoever wins the upcoming match between the Hawks and the Bazalopes, they will likely have to face the winner of the Az-cz vs. Pacitalia match. Either way, Lamonian observers agree that the Hawks have the better shot of winning against the winner of that match up.

Going back to the match against TLC, it seemed like only one team had really shown up on the field. Lamonian forward Michal Kellogg scored the first Lamonian goal of the match at thirty seconds in, rushing past everyone right after the start of the match. We suspect that the TLC goalkeeper wasn't even paying attention, because he didn't even move when the first goal of the game whizzed past him. The only TLC goal of the match came at 5 minutes in; it hit the crossbar, and backspinned it's way in. This would prove to be the only bright spot for the squad from TLC, as Michal Kellogg scored again at 40 minutes in, and Bryan Neely scored at 70 and 75 minutes in.

Following the victory over TLC, the Hawks released a note to the Bazalopes, inviting them to an after match party at a local UCS bar regardless of the outcome of the match. Lamoni and Bazalonia have been friendly towards the other for a long time, and relations between the two nations just seem to keep getting better.

Lamoni - 4 Michal Kellogg (.30, 40) , Bryan Neely (70, 75)
TLC - 1 (5)

---

Quarterfinal predictions

Bazalonia vs Lamoni - Hawks win

Az-cz vs Pacitalia - Pacitalia wins by at least two goals

Hypocria vs Starblaydia - Blue proves superior to Muave

V/T vs Milchama - V/T proves mastery over Milchama

---

-Back in Lamoni-

Please click for image

This post has been edited by Lamoni on Sep 23 2007, 12:46 AM
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Best in the Region Vs... Us?
Starblaydia to face #1 Hypocria


Starblaydia overcame a side who, frankly, they've never even heard of in the last-sixteen of the Atlantian Oceania Championships to book themselves a meeting with the best team in the region... Hypocria. Starblaydi midfield legend and World Cup 28 Winner Javi Chavez will lead out the Hypocrian side, ranked as the best team in the region, to face a lowly 8th-best Starblaydia in the Quarter-Finals.

The men in white and purple secured their spot thanks to a two-one win over Ulzaxid with both the goals coming in the space of five first-half minutes, from captain Kili Izretar and Tarquin Fullbright. Izretar's marked his fifteenth goal for his country on this occasion, qualifying him for entry into the exclusive Rapaii 15 club of Starblaydi goalscorers. The goal was something of a classic one, with Izretar meeting a Proviia corner on the volley from twenty-five yards out. His shot was unstoppable, and Starblaydia were One-Nil to the good. Within five minutes the lead had been doubled via their top-scorer so far, Tarquin Fullbright.

Starblaydia's new number-Ten again showed great skill on the ball for his goal, a right-foot shot that curled in at the far post for Two-Nil even before the half-hour mark. Ulzaxid, from this moment on, looked resigned to the loss with less than a third of the match played. Starblaydia, too, seemed to feel that the game was already over and settled down into cruise control. Fernando Rodriguez, who has been tested once in the opening twenty minutes, found that he had no further saves to make throughout the rest of the match, despite Starblaydia's players showing off, practising their exhibition match moves and tricks against a side who didn't really seem to be bothered in the slightest that they were in the Second Round of the AOCAF.

What Starblaydia should have done was keep on at the Ulzaxid team, not only keeping the ball but keeping a siege line around their opponent's area, peppering them with shots and racking up a record scoreline. What they did, however was to keep the ball, and not much else. Record-breaking for passes made and possession percentages are not what Starblaydia needs at the moment, what they needed was for this match to be made a seven-nil or eight-nil occasion. Head Coach Betanii Marrones declared herself 'very pleased' with the performance, and cited 'saving the players for Hypocria'.

The only thing she may have saved them from, however, is higher self-confidence going into the game against the best-ranked AOCAF team in the region.

Starblaydia 2 - 0 Ulzaxid
(Izretar 22, Fullbright 27) - (None)
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Posted: Sep 23 2007, 12:27 PM
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That’s More Like It


Brian Cahill reporting from the Unified Capitalizt States.

Anybody who had seen the horrible Hypocrian effort against 95X might have been forgiven for thinking that the coach had dumped all eleven players for the second round encounter with Limbrogidlia such was the difference in performance. But it was the same side and after their dismal last game the Hyppos responded in the best possible way, with a good old fashioned trouncing.

In truth, once the referee had signalled for the kickoff, the result never really looked in doubt. Limbrogidlia had overachieved up until this point. Wins over Az-cz and Lamoni, nations that on any other day would have won comfortably, had got them here but their luck wouldn’t hold forever. And the side from the north of Atlantian Oceania looked like rabbits caught in the headlights as both the occasion and the cavernous surroundings of the JPL Paladin Stadium got to them.

From the first whistle it was the men in blue and white who were doing all the running and Sousa came close with a twenty yarder that shaved the crossbar. The coach had clearly been working on the team’s passing, which was noticeably bad against 95X, in training as his players cut through the opposition with a clinical short passing game. The only thing missing was a goal. Sousa came close again as he latched onto Marica’s through ball. He darted into the box and the blue and white army were already celebrating a goal as the Hyppos’ captain slid the ball past the keeper but into the side netting. An uncharacteristic miss from a man with 31 AOCAF goals to his name.

But it was a question of when rather than if and that question was answered in the 24th minute. Sousa was again in the thick of the action, this time swinging in a corner from the right. The defender failed to get any distance on the clearance and, from the edge of the box, Marica lashed a rising drive past the keeper and into the back of the net.

A source of much post match pub discussion back in the Autocracy has been the plight of striker Victor Ongondo. The young forward is a big strong target man, excellent at holding up the ball and linking play and a real physical presence that the opposition find hard to cope with. But in six games he had yet to register a goal. Which, for a striker, had earnt him considerable criticism in some sections of the media. But the coach kept faith in him, confident the goals would come, and finally one did. Black released Kajetan on the overlap down the right flank and the fallback played in a beautifully flighted cross. Ongondo towered above a static defence and powered a header down into the bottom corner. The reaction of the other players showed how delighted they were that the big man had opened his account and the coach gave his number nine a thumbs up to show his approval.

Half time came and went and the second half played out almost like a training session. The Limbrogidlia players clearly felt there was no coming back and seemed content to keep the score down to two for the next forty five minutes and then catch a flight back north as soon as possible. The Autocracy’s finest slowed their own tempo down too, no one wanted to over exert themselves and potentially risk an injury. With twelve minutes left on the clock the final nail was hammered into the coffin as Kajetan played a racking pass from the right, Ongondo flicked on the Viera who ran clean through and placed his shot past the keeper with ease. Sealing a comfortable win, a rare clean sheet and a sixth consecutive quarter final place.

Hypocria 3 - 0 Limbrogidlia
Marica
Ongondo
Viera

There were no upsets in the other second round games as Bazalonia, Lamoni, Az-cz, Pacitalia, Starblaydia, Vilita/Turori and Milchama all advanced to the final eight.


Next . . .

Hypocria may be the top ranked side in this tournament but there’s no doubting who the true AOCAF top dogs are. Whatever you call them, the Men in Mauve, the Purple Peril or just plain Starblaydia, their record in this tournament is formidable. The last of their five AOCAF titles may have been a long time ago but the Blaydis are still the team to beat.

But it’s very much a transitional team that new coach Marroness brings into this tournament after a sabbatical from international competition. Only three former internationals have survived the rebuilding process as the Purple Peril look to return to the top. And the early signs are good as the Men (Women and Dwarves) in Mauve finished last a point behind Group D’s top seeds Pacitalia, a 1 - 0 defeat to home side Jasīʼyūn their only real slip up.

But looking to mastermind their exit is one of their own. Hypocrian coach Javi Chavez won 68 caps for Starblaydia and lifted the World Cup in the progress. And he may well be looking to remind the Starblaydi football authorities exactly what he can do after being overlooked for the vacant national coach position.

For all those that like omens to cling to the records show that the two nations have met twice before in AOCAF quarter finals and the Hyppos advanced on both occasions after penalty shootouts.

Past AOCAF Meetings
Hypocria 1 - 1 Starblaydia (AOCAF IX / Cockbill Street)
(5 - 4 pens)
Hypocria 1 - 1 Starblaydia (AOCAF XI / Bettia)
(3 - 2 pens)
Hypocria 0 - 3 Starblaydia (AOCAF XII / Chicanada)
Hypocria 1 - 4 Starblaydia (AOCAF XIV / Bettia)
Hypocria 3 - 1 Starblaydia (AOCAF XVII / Krytenia)
Hypocria 3 - 4 Starblaydia (AOCAF XVIII / Myrtannia)
Hypocria 3 - 2 Starblaydia (AOCAF XIX / Bettia)


This post has been edited by Hypocria on Sep 23 2007, 12:29 PM
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Posted: Sep 24 2007, 12:49 AM
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Hawks advance over Bazalonian friends

It was a hard fought match against a resilient Bazalope team, but the Bazalonians were foiled by a late Hawks goal that sent the Hawks on to face Pacitalia.

The game started off well enough for Lamoni, with forward Bryan Neely scoring at 10 minutes in. It was a standard enough goal, kicking it into the upper left corner from ten feet away. The Bazalonian response came twenty minutes later, when Frederick Hampstead scored his first international goal. It too was a simple affair, but it will certainly build Hampstead's international reputation.

The great Ricky Yunn scored next, and this was the first 'wow the crowd' goal of the match. Taking a bicycle kick, the ball just made it past the outstretched fingers of the Lamonian goalkeeper. Lamonian Agustin Jesse caught a rebound, and scored just before the first half came to a close. With the score tied 2-2, the respective coaches gave locker room talks. While we can't know what the Bazalonian coach told his squad; we know that Coach McNany was reminding her team that they were in familiar ground, facing a familiar team, and that they needed to step up their play the extra notch that she knew that they possessed.

As the teams came out of the locker rooms, it seemed that the Bazalonians might have gotten a boost as well. Ricky Yuun scored first, but that is when the Hawks got the motivation to 'blast away,' as one uninformed commentator called it. Michal Kellogg scored first, blasting the ball past the Bazalonian keeper. Later on, Scottie James added the final goal of the match, lifting the Hawks past the Bazalopes as the final buzzer sounded.

As mentioned earlier, the Hawks will face Pacitalia next, in what is seen as the 'toughest' match of the next round. Hypocria, who won their match, will face Milchama (instead of Vilita/Turori as was originally misprinted by the hosts). Hypocria is heavily favored in that match, and they will likely face the winner of the Pacitalia - Lamoni match in the AOCAF XX Cup Match.

After the match against Bazalonia, the Hawks took the Bazalopes with them to a bar in order to celebrate good times, and the general friendship that the two nations shared with each other. We'll rely on the Bazalonian media account of that party.

Lamoni - 4 Bryan Neely (10), Agustin Jesse (40), Michal Kellogg (60), Scottie James (75)

Bazalonia - 3 Frederick Hampstead (30), Ricky Yuun (35, 47)

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KNOCKOUT PREDICTIONS

Lamoni vs Pacitalia - Close, but a Lamoni win

Hypocria vs Milchama - We would be shocked if the Hyppos lost this one

This post has been edited by Lamoni on Sep 24 2007, 12:50 AM
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Posted: Sep 24 2007, 03:09 AM
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Bazalonia Loses in a thrilling match in Auswärtssieg Arena today as it faced good friends Lamoni Hawks.

The Hawks gutted the Bazalonian hopes of moving onto the Semi's with a goal in the 75th minute bringing the scoreline to 4-3, despite a number of attempts the Bazalopes failed to get a goal in to even the score. Neither were the Lamonians able to extend their lead in the remaining 15+ minutes, what was perhaps most interesting was despite the result, a venue was booked to hold a celebration event. To celebrate the ties and relationships that the two nations shared both on and off the football field.

We had a reporter who was allowed into the celebration and here is his report...

Jacob Herald, here in the venue hired for the, for want of a better word party, between the Bazalonian and Lamonian national soccer teams. The feel is happy both teams are generally happy with their performance in their last match and just want to unwind and have some fun.

The teams mix fairly well until it was time for a formal aspect of the night festivities, in which the teams where asked to sit down in their teams, after some light hearted speeches in which jokes and light-hearted jibes where shared and it seemed the formalities where about to end as the Bazalopes themselves had a presentation to make to the Lamonian Hawks.

Their captain was asked to come up, and they were given a small plaque. It read "To The Hawks, When you soar through the air - Don't forget you have to land sometime."
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