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AOCAF XXI RP THREAD

Posted: Dec 29 2007, 08:07 PM

Excerpt from Manhattan Herald – 27th December 2007
Lloyd Hunter reports from AOCAF 21, Matchday 4

Group 2 – Manhattan Prime 3-1 Pacitalia
Smith 24mins, Dreygo 61, 87mins 12mins

Manhattan Prime have pulled off a sensational 3-1 win against the Blue Foxes in Lamoni to gain revenge for their 5-2 defeat to Pacitalia at AOCAF 18. Street parties are being held in the team’s honour after defeating one of AO’s highest seeded teams, and Pacitalians working in the Imperial Republic are sure to be in for a tough day tomorrow.

First blood went to the Pacitalians as Ambrosino Giurimano scored in the 12 minute with a superb move from open play. It was looking like the Pacitalian team would run riot once more, but the Chippers have grown as players since then and didn’t give up. If anything, conceding an early goal only served to steel their resolve for the match to come.

Holding Midfielder Ethan Smith, who has been the main architect of Manhattan Prime fine form in this tournament, was again playing at the peak of his game. The young 22 year old from Cambridge, England Province was to be rewarded for his form by a well taken goal from a freekick, after Takamura was brought down just outside the penalty area. Both teams searched for a winner without success, but you got the impression that the Manhattanite team was competing on a more level playing field than previously, as they tend to struggle against top opposition.

The second half was decidedly less cagey, with both teams chasing those precious 3 points. Against the run of the play it was to be Manhattan Prime who pulled ahead, with a spectacular solo effort from striker Vykk Dreygo in the 61st minute. Dreygo struck again 3 minutes from full time to finally kill of the Blue Foxes, who had been aggressively pushing for an equalizer ever since, hitting the post on at least 3 occasions. The young Dreygo was outstanding in the second half, and it’s hard to believe he’s still only 19. Manhattan Prime held on for a truly historic win that can only increase their changes of progressing to the next round. With 3 wins on the trot, all eyes will be on the team’s next game with 95X.

Elsewhere in Group 2 Oliverry defeated 95X 1-0, and Bettia were held 1-1 by UCS JASI?YUN.

Manhattan Prime Team:

Clive Hilton (GK)

Lucas Thompson (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)

Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)

Vykk Dreygo (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)

Manhattan Prime

Royal Scribe

Posts: 194

Posted: Dec 30 2007, 03:53 AM

MD 5/6 RP CUTOFF

Lamoni

Democratic Maniac

Posts: 1952

Posted: Dec 30 2007, 05:44 AM

(95X's belated MD 3 RP)

pcc.95X - Formerly the website of the Pacific City Courier, now 95X's No. 1 Online News Source

Surprise Game Leads to 95X Win

Karakan, Lamoni - Alecia Onesixtysecond was in for quite a surprise when she checked the recently updated match information and schedule for day three, thinking her team would have a day off before its next game.

Instead, it stated they were to play Bettia in a few hours.

Frantic wake-up calls begun. The team would not lose a game due to forfeit, she insisted.

Losing a game due to fatigue seemed more likely, especially with the poor performance of the 95X starting lineup, which gave up on a couple easy looks, allowed effortless ball movement by Bettia, and the huge Trevor Page found himself overwhelmed in front of the goalbox, with the defenders slowly creeping towards midfield.

With Page on his right side looking forward and slightly to the right, the ball was passed to one of three Bettian players with an uncontested view of the goal, scoring the first goal of the game.

95X's coaching staff looked at the clock - only nine minutes and thirty-four seconds had passed. Major adjustments would be needed to keep the match from becoming an onslaught.

Onesixtysecond looked towards her bench, to find some awake, alert faces who looked ready for action.

Three substitutions and some position changes later, 95X was again ready for action, with former starter Rae Day, second year player Sammy Jessie, and newcomer Samantha Skyridge all on the field; replacing Aisha Saida, Tai Doe, and Tanika Holgate.

"I expected much more from you," Onesixtysecond scolded her veterans, who would sit on the sideline for the rest of the game.

In a rare move, Micah Skokomish moved all the way to the backfield, moving Claire Pomona upfront.

It was enough to even things out, as Skokomish's strength and skill re-fortified the field in front of the 95X goal, with the other reinforcements forcing Bettia to work harder to move the ball up the field.

95X would still trail 1-0 at halftime, leading to a counseling-style talk from the coaching staff.

The break in the action was enough to turn things around, with Pomona finding the back of the goal shortly after halftime.

Bettia had obviously made some adjustments, but 95X kicked it up a cylinder, aggressively contesting passes and other movements. It reached a high point with the armless Samantha Skyridge not only scoring her first goal, but also the first goal for a 95X bench player in the team's history, and putting 95X up for good.

"I had to accept hugs instead of high-fives, even though it's a bit strange," Skyridge joked with the 95X media after the game, "it's all good though."

95X improves to 2-1.

95X 2, Bettia 1
(Pomona 53:, Skyridge 67:)

95X-Scottfire

Senator in Training

Posts: 215

Posted: Dec 30 2007, 05:46 AM

(OOC: 95X's belated MD 4 RP)

pcc.95X - Formerly the website of the Pacific City Courier, now 95X's No. 1 Online News Source

Ejected

Karakan, Lamoni - Damien Dairycreek, Micah Skokomish, and Coach Alecia Onesixtysecond all found themselves in their locker rooms a bit early from the game with Oliverry, with a stern message from the refs - don't try to mess with the other team.

Dairycreek tried to make a point to the lead referree that some Oliverry fans in the stands were taunting him for his past, leading to a yellow card early in the game.
Trying to play through it, and hearing boos and taunts throughout the match, he lost it, giving the bird to the Oliverrian bench.

The referree, who had already had enough, immediately issued a red card against Dairycreek.

Skokomish, in a rare outburst, yelled from several yards away "what the (bleep) was that for?"

The ref blew his whistle again, and issued Skokomish an immediate red card.

"Both of you are done," the referree said to the players as they were escorted off the field by security.

With the ref continuing to appear to ignore any questions from 95X, the game continued, albiet briefly.

Five minutes later, as the ref was watching action near the 95X bench, Onesixtysecond started asking "why?" to the ref.

"I'm the ref, I don't have to tolerate this, that's why," he says, and immediately issued a red card to Onesixtysecond, leaving the reins of the team to Assistant Coach Greg Voss.

Trevor Page, after defending two other penalty kicks, couldn't keep the one for Onesixtysecond's oust from getting past him, putting Oliverry up 1-0. It would become the winning goal.

According to someone associated with the 95X team, speaking to us after the game on the contidion of anonyimity, stated the ref then pointed to his shirt pocket containing his red card and asked, "are there any more questions as to how I'm running things?"

Onesixtysecond refused to talk about the game, fearing further sanctions.

"We'll press forward and focus on the schedule ahead," she said.

The loss drops 95X to 2-2, putting it somewhere in the middle of the standings in group play. Official standings were unavailable at the time of the writing of this article.

Oliverry 1, 95X 0

95X-Scottfire

Senator in Training

Posts: 215

Posted: Dec 30 2007, 01:08 PM

Excerpt from Manhattan Herald – 29th December 2007
Lloyd Hunter reports from AOCAF 21, Matchday 5

Group 2 – Manhattan Prime 1-3 95X
Katakana 46mins 23mins, 50mins, 74mins

Manhattan Prime’s run of 3 wins on the trot at AOCAF 21 has come to a grinding halt at the hands of 95X, who defeated the Manhattanites 3-1 in a deceptively close game.

The Chippers were bullish going into the game on such great form, and perhaps their confidence let them to underestimate their opponents. In the first 15 minutes the Manhattanite defence was clearly struggling to handle the 95X strikeforce, and only managed to keep with out with a lot of last-ditch tackling. Their frustration only led to Karl Heinze pulling down a 95X striker in the penalty area in the 23rd minute which was promptly converted to make the score 1-0. The Chippers continued to struggle to get their game together for the rest of the half, and were fortunate not to concede again.

However they came out after half time looking refreshed, and with manager Ian Pierce’s words obviously ringing in their ears. The mercurial Ethan Smith soon found Felix DeSilva on the left wing, and a superb cross found striker Yo-explicitive removed-o Katakana for him to equalize in the 46th minute. Things didn’t go Manhattan Prime’s way for long though, as 95X hit back quickly, with a freekick in the 50th minute that soared into the top left hand corner, leaving goalkeeper Clive Hilton with no chance.

95X put the result beyond doubt in the 74th minute as the striker being marked by Akita pulled slightly away from the left back, giving him enough room to slot home and make the score 3-1. Manhattan Prime are still in good standing in the group though, and will look forward to facing the Bettians in their next match.

Elsewhere in Group 2 Oliverry and Pacitalia drew 2-2, and UCS JASI?YUN beat the horsemen of Milchama 2-1.

Manhattan Prime Team:

Clive Hilton (GK)

Lucas Thompson (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)

Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)

Vykk Dreygo (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)

This post has been edited by Manhattan Prime on Dec 30 2007, 01:10 PM

Manhattan Prime

Royal Scribe

Posts: 194

Posted: Dec 30 2007, 04:54 PM

(OOC: No, I was not asked by Lamoni or anyone else to do this. Some of the numbers might be wrong; but I tried the best I could. I'm mostly sure that at the very least the W-L-D and Pts. portions are mostly correct. Everyone else probably knows how well their own teams are doing much better than I would - and I probably know how well 95X and Scottfire are doing much more than anyone else would. If this is unacceptable and/or official grids are posted, feel free to delete this post. I just wanted to get an idea of where things stood, and figured others probably did, too.)

The staff of the news website pcc.95X, while writing articles about the team's latest victories, stood puzzled at the lack of official standings grids. Several of its writers sat down with the scores, and posted the following unofficial grids on their website:

CODE

*UNOFFICIAL!*UNOFFICIAL!*UNOFFICIAL!*

Group 1 W L D GF GA Pt
Az-cz 4 0 1 11 7 13
Lamoni 3 2 0 7 4 9
Hypocria 2 2 1 11 8 7
An Blasocad Mor 2 2 1 9 8 7
Bazalonia 2 2 1 6 8 7
Starblaydia 1 3 2 7 12 5
Vephrall 1 4 0 5 11 3

Group 2 W L D GF GA Pt
Manhattan Prime 4 1 0 13 6 12
95X 4 2 0 10 5 12
Milchama 3 2 0 9 7 9
Oliverry 2 1 1 6 7 7
Pacitalia 1 2 2 7 9 5
UCS Jasiyun 1 2 2 7 10 5
Bettia 0 4 1 4 11 1

Group 3 W L D GF GA Pt
Demot 4 1 0 15 8 12
Scottfire 2 0 3 9 6 9
Delsea 2 1 2 9 8 8
UCS Slani 2 2 1 13 12 7
Northern Bettia 2 3 0 6 8 6
Krytenia 1 3 1 6 9 4
Ulzaxid 1 4 1 6 13 4

*UNOFFICIAL!*UNOFFICIAL!*UNOFFICIAL!*

95X-Scottfire

Senator in Training

Posts: 215

Posted: Dec 31 2007, 03:46 AM

MD 7 RP CUTOFF

Lamoni

Democratic Maniac

Posts: 1952

Posted: Dec 31 2007, 04:58 AM

Inevitable
"The scum would do it eventually"

Starblaydia are, by hasty calculations, out in a total travesty of a tournament from top to bottom.

The players, staff, fans and indeed people of Starblaydia will neither forget, nor forgive this.

Starblaydia

Also available in purple

Posts: 1877

Posted: Jan 1 2008, 11:40 PM

Ro16 RP CUTOFF

Lamoni

Democratic Maniac

Posts: 1952

Posted: Jan 2 2008, 11:26 AM

Excerpt from Manhattan Herald – 30th December 2007
Lloyd Hunter reports from AOCAF 21, Matchday 6

Group 2 – Manhattan Prime 4-0 Bettia
Dreygo 17, 28, 44mins, DeSilva 53mins

In an excitingly high scoring day in Group 2 Manhattan Prime joined 95X and Milchama in putting 4 goals past their unlucky victims, as an on form Manhattanite side thrashed Bettia 4-0.

The Chippers dominated the Bettians from start to finish, with Ethan Smith firing on all cylinders in midfield, winger Felix DeSilva grabbing a goal in the 53rd minute, and Vykk Dreygo scored a magnificent hattrick in the 1st half, his first for the team. Katakana had an unselfish game being used as a playmaker for his strike partner, and the Manhattanite defence performed admirably, but had little to do.

Manager Ian Pierce had yet to make a change to his first side in this tournament, and results have so born him out. However with Manhattan Prime in fantastic standing in Group 2, Pierce is expected to rest several players for the final group game against Oliverry tomorrow.

Elsewhere in Group 2 95X defeated UCS JASI?YUN in a thrilling 4-1 march, and Milchama beat Oliverry by the same margin.

Manhattan Prime Team:

Clive Hilton (GK)

Lucas Thompson (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)

Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)

Vykk Dreygo (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)

Manhattan Prime

Royal Scribe

Posts: 194

Posted: Jan 2 2008, 12:03 PM

Excerpt from Manhattan Herald – 31st December 2007
Lloyd Hunter reports from AOCAF 21, Matchday 7

Group 2 – Manhattan Prime 1-1 Oliverry
R. Jackson 78mins 63rd

Manhattan Prime have cemented their place as winners of Group 2 with a 1-1 draw with Oliverry, who also progress to the next round in 5th place.

As expected Manhattan Prime manager Ian Pierce made several changes to his squad for the match, resting Katakana and Dreygo in favour of Jackson and Brandt. Kevin Cooper ably filled in for Hilton in goal, and Enrique Costa earned his 3rd cap in Donavan’s midfield slot.

With both sides already through, the game was a rather dull one and spectators got the sense that both were more than happy with a draw. There was little to get the crowd excited in the first half, and the Chippers side walked off to sarcastic whistles from a fickle minority of their fans. Things livened up in the 2nd half, when Oliverry struck in the 63rd minute to take the lead. Manhattan Prime responded by curling a Takamura freekick just over the bar, and proceeded to put pressure on the Oliverrian defence until Ross Jackson equalized in the 78 minute.

Against all expectations, Manhattan Prime have won a very difficult group, and seem to be in good form – those of us watching at home can only wonder: Just how far can this team go?

Manhattan Prime Team:

Kevin Cooper (GK)

Lucas Thompson (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)

Ethan Smith (DMC)
Enrique Costa (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)

Ross Jackson (S)
Karl Brandt (S)

This post has been edited by Manhattan Prime on Jan 2 2008, 12:03 PM

Manhattan Prime

Royal Scribe

Posts: 194

Posted: Jan 2 2008, 01:22 PM

Excerpt from Manhattan Herald – 2nd January 2008
Lloyd Hunter reports from AOCAF 21, Last 16

Manhattan Prime 1-0 Oliverry
Katakana 79mins

Manhattan Prime progress to the Quarter Finals of AOCAF 21, defeating an Oliverrian side that due to an odd draw coincidence, they had played just 2 days ago.

The Manhattanites had clearly benefited from the experience of playing the Oliverrians again, and were back to a full strength side with the return of their rested players. Despite that, their opponents were fired up for the game, and it was very close and cagey, with neither willing to play too imaginatively and risk making a mistake.

Donavan won a penalty in the 40th minute when he was pulled down in the box, but his effort was saved by Oliverry’s goalkeeper. Their opponent’s best effort was a header from a corner that Clive Hilton just managed to tip over the bar, but shots on target were few and far between.

The game was finally settled 11 minutes from time by a Katakana freekick, and Manhattan Prime held on determinedly to seal their victory and surpass everyone’s pre-tournament expectations of the team.

Manhattan Prime Team:

Clive Hilton (GK)

Lucas Thompson (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)

Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)

Vykk Dreygo (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)

Manhattan Prime

Royal Scribe

Posts: 194

Posted: Jan 3 2008, 05:28 PM

Excerpt from Manhattan Herald – 3rd January 2008
Lloyd Hunter reports from AOCAF 21, Quarter Finals

Manhattan Prime 3-1 Northern Bettia
Katakana 25mins, 39mins, Dreygo 82mins 45mins

Manhattan Prime have defeated Northern Bettia 3-1 to set up a difficult Semi Final tie with Pacitalia at Kazatlan Greene, against a Blue Foxes side out for revenge for their defeat to the Chippers in the Group Stages.

The Manhattanites were competing for the first time at the Quarter Final stages, but at no time seemed out of their depth against the Northern Bettians. After several probing attacks, Michael Donovan found Katakana with a cross, with the striker duly struck home on the 25 minute mark. The Chippers kept up the pressure, trying to put the result beyond doubt, and Katakana struck again in the 39th minute, this time with a header, in the bottom left corner.

With the Manhattanites cruising, their back line got arrogant, allowing the men from Northern Bettia to claw a goal back just before half time. However Manhattan Prime were not to be deprived, and their men of the tournament, Smith and Dreygo combined sublimely in the 82nd minute to kill off their opponents. Dreygo’s fantastic foam continues with his 15th goal for his country, and Manhattan Prime’s hopes will rest mainly on his shoulder going into their first ever AOCAF Semi Final, against Dreygo’s adoptive homeland.

Elsewhere in the Quarter Finals, hosts Lamoni defeated Hypocria 3-2, Delesa lost 2-0 to Bazalonia and Pacitalia beat Starblaydia 2-1.

Manhattan Prime Team:

Clive Hilton (GK)

Lucas Thompson (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)

Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)

Vykk Dreygo (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)

Manhattan Prime

Royal Scribe

Posts: 194

Posted: Jan 4 2008, 12:24 AM

Hawks knock off Hypocria in QuarterFinal grudge match

This was the match that Lamonian fans had been waiting for since the end of the finals match of AOCAF XX. That was the match where Hypocria had defeated Lamoni in order to take the AOCAF cup by an embarrassing scoreline.

In this rematch, the Hawks came out strong. Not only was this the knockouts, but they felt that they had something to prove. That is not to say that this match would be easy; far from it.

Did you ever want to know what happens when an enraged herd of Deer storms a football field? We didn't either, but more on that later.

The first Lamonian goal of the match came at 4:30, with Forward James Julii doing the honors. Hypocria would later answer the goal at 10 minutes, and the game would seesaw back and forth until just five minutes into the second half. That was when a miscreant let loose an enraged herd of Deer onto the pitch; and the deer attacked players on both sides. Some of the players were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries, and doctors told the players on both sides to get a Rabies booster shot as soon as possible.

The Deer were eventually herded into one corner of the pitch, and tranquilized once the required guns and darts had arrived from the local Zoo.

And the miscreant who started all this? His name is Jonas Glisson, and he is currently under arrest by Lamonian Law enforcement. He is being held in an undisclosed location while awaiting trial.

Our legal expert has suggested that Jonas might be tried for Reckless Endangerment, Assault, and other charges. If one of the injured players were to die, Jonas could then be charged with Murder in the Second Degree. This charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and the judge could well apply it, given the international nature of the offense. We are also reasonably certain that the Hypocrian legal system might request the extradition of Mr. Glisson; and no statement has yet been made as to whether such a request will be granted.

The staff of this paper would be remiss not to ask how something like this would be possible, given the high security surrounding the AOCAF. The only theory at this point is that Mr. Glission disguised the deer as members of the Az-cz national team, which includes many animals.

It is known that Lamonian players Han Calrissian and Samuel Brighton were severely injured in the deer attack, and several other Lamonian players sustained less severe injuries. The list of the injured Hypocrian players has been withheld, citing reasons of international diplomacy.

The Hawks won the match 3-2, as the game was called after the deer attack. They will face Bazalonia in the Semi-Finals. This should be a good match for the Hawks as both nations have friendly relations with the other. In fact, the Hawks have sent an offer to go to a bar after the match, no matter what the result is.