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Lamoni wins again
Maybe 1-0 is not the most impressive scoreline ever, but i'm sure that everyone will agree that the Hawks will take an AOCAF win and the attendant three points anyday.
There were times in this match when it seemed like only one squad had shown up, and it wasn't the side from Delesa. Despite calls from the stands to simply open up and drown the Delesans in goals; the Hawks did what they needed to, and then ran the ball up and down the field a lot. It was not a good day for Delesa; and that is putting it mildly.
The final two matches for the Hawks are against the teams from the UCS; Capitalizt SLANI, and Jasiyun. With the performance of said two teams to date, more than one bookkeeping organization is putting high odds on an undefeated finish for the Hawks. The real betting is on whether Lamoni or Manhattan Prime will be on top when the group stages are over. Currently, Manhattan Prime is on top, with a two goal advantage. However, another high scoring game for the Hawks would be able to take care of that. |
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MD 8 SCORINATED! |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Hawks smash SLANI
With the latest 5-0 Lamonian victory over Capitalizt SLANI, we are starting to be able to understand what Hypocria must have felt like when they were steamrolling other teams; or how Starblaydia must have felt when they coined the term "RAWRCRUSH." Only one match separates them from an undefeated AOCAF group stage, right alongside Manhattan Prime. One piece of good news is that the Hawks have closed Manhattan Prime's goal difference lead to one goal. Both sides also remain in the point lead of AOCAF 22, with 19 points apiece.
The last group stage match for the Hawks is against the other UCS squad entered into the AOCAF, JasiYun. Though they are higher in the group table than SLANI, Lamonian bookkeepers are saying that the odds are stacked heavily against JasiYun, bias notwithstanding.
Speculation now turns to who the Hawks will face in the knockouts. This is still to be determined. |
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Manhattan Herald – 5th April 2008
Matchday 6 from Bazalonia
Manhattan Prime 2-1 Bazalonia
Jackson 67mins, DeSilva 14mins 43mins
Manhattan Prime remain in firm contention with Lamoni for Group 2’s top spot, after a skillful victory over hosts Bazalonia by 2 goals to 1.
The game was again marked by some anti-Bazalonian sentiment, but less so than the previous and once again the stewards and group staff were instrumental in containing the rabid minority. Manhattan Prime scored first, through a Felix DeSilva freekick in the 14th minute, after Michael Donavan had been brought down outside the box.
However Bazalonia struck back just before half time with an audacious bicycle kick to leave the teams heading for their dressing rooms with the scores even. The match was settled in the 67th minute, as an Ethan Smith breakaway found Ross Jackson in the corner for the striker to volley home. After that it was merely a case of shutting up shop for the Chippers, though Bazalonia rattled the bar several times to raise Manhattanite blood pressures.
Elsewhere in Group 2, Lamoni defeated Delesa 1-0 to keep pressure on the Chippers, Demot beat Krytenia 2-1, and Jasiyun defeated Capitalizt SLANI by the same amount.
Manhattan Prime Team:
Clive Hilton (GK)
Ben Wilde (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)
Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)
Ross Jackson (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)
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Manhattan Herald – 6th April 2008
Matchday 7 from Bazalonia
Manhattan Prime 6-2 Demot
Donavan 15, 28mins, Akita 32mins, Katakana 45, 50, 52mins
Manhattan Prime recorded their 6th win from 7 games today, with a resounding 6-2 defeat of Demot.
Within half an hour, the Chippers were cruising, with a brace from Michael Donavan, and defender Hitoshi Akita’s first goal for his country putting Manhattan Prime 3-0 up by the 32nd minute. An action-packed 1st half was to see a goal for Demot, and a high tempo passing game from the group leaders that led to Katakana’s first of the game just before half time.
The Chippers emerged for the 2nd half with the score 4-1, and with the game firmly under control. The Chippers’ star striker was far from finished though, scoring twice more to seal his hattrick and heap more woe on the hapless Demot team.
Elsewhere in Group 2, Lamoni thrashed Capitalizt SLANI 5-0 to stay level at the top on 19 points, Bazalonia lost 2-1 to Delesa, and Krytenia were defeated 3-1 by Nojika. Manhattan Prime lie in 1st place with 19 points, and face Nojika in their final game.
Manhattan Prime Team:
Clive Hilton (GK)
Ben Wilde (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)
Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)
Ross Jackson (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)
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MP's last RP wasn't counted for MD9 Scorination.
BUT SCORES AND QF FIXTURES POSTED! |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Posts: 774 |
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Skin of Their Teeth
Starblaydia make it to Quarter-Finals
Third place in Group One, four points ahead of the three teams fighting it out for fourth post, Starblaydia look to be in a far better position in this year's AOCAF than they actually are. Five wins and three losses from their matches in the Group Stage - most notably being beaten by two of the three teams ranked more highly than themselves - including 0-4 to Pacitalia and 1-3 to Hypocria.
With Lamoni and Manhattan Prime carving up Group Two to themselves, they're looking to be the two teams fighting it out for the title. The only thing is, one of those teams will have to go through Starblaydia first - that team is Lamoni. The Hawks, who were the first team to win two consecutive titles since Starblaydia in AOCAF7 and 8, having been conquering all but the defending champions in Group Two and now have the RAWRCRUSH in their sights for a Semi-Final place. The form book of late says that Lamoni will cast Starblaydia aside on their way to a Title decider with the Chippers.
The RAWRCRUSH, however, have shown they can accomplish anything over the years. Anyone can be beaten, especially when they're playing Starblaydia.
Final Score:
Starblaydia 2 - 1 Scottfire
(Gomes 32, Hinkonnen 59) - (Marshall 68)
This post has been edited by Starblaydia on Apr 6 2008, 08:42 AM |
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Hawks do it again
With a 4-1 victory over Jasiyun, the Hawks have tied Manhattan Prime for a completely undefeated group stage, and 22 AOCAF group points. Lamoni finishes the group stages in second place, giving them a Quarter Finals match up against the originators of RAWRCRUSH, Starblaydia. Some have named them the Purple Peril, since the historic first Lamonian victory over the Blaydi's, both teams have had more or less equal footing as regards the other.
For the longest time, there existed a black hole in Lamonian morale when the Hawks had to face the Purple Peril, because they had not been able to defeat them before. That is why the first Lamonian victory over this team was so sweet. Well, that and the fact that we were still political and military rivals at the time. Not to mention the leaders of the SDL and SAAS respectively (despite the fact that there is no official leader of the SDL).
Time has brought changes, however. The SAAS fell during the AOWar, and with it fell the Starblaydi oligarchy. Starblaydia is a democracy now, and relations between the two nations have risen to the point of President Stinson actually coming on board the same Starblaydi party ship where Tiberius Starblayde was supposed to have been killed on.
Fate had other ideas for Tiberius Starblayde, however; and he is now back to ruling Starblaydia, despite the challenge by the mad woman Viannor. The search for the war criminal Viannor is still underway, but has not turned up much of anything to date.
Either way, the Starblaydi media has made the following quote about the match: "The form book of late says that Lamoni will cast Starblaydia aside on their way to a Title decider with the Chippers." Given how many predictions have been made about Starblaydia brushing the Hawks aside in the past, it is gratifying to see that the tables have turned. |
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Lamoni |
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Democratic Maniac |
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Posts: 1952 |
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RP CUT OFF
SCORES SOON |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Posts: 774 |
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RAWRCRUSH'd?
Starblaydia defeat Lamoni 1-0
So maybe it is a little bit early to be saying that the RAWRCRUSH is back in working order, but Starblaydia defeated their rivals and one of the title favourites, Lamoni, in a crucial Quarter-Final encounter in Bazalonia today. The only goal of the match separated the sides after ninety minutes and that was enough to send the recent two-time champions crashing out and the five-time champions sailing through to meet former winner Hypocria.
Starblaydia's latest young girly goal machine, Lubii, scored the goal that sent Starblaydi fans into raptures on fifty-two minutes, and then into hysterics after ninety minutes when the 1-0 victory was confirmed by the final whistle. Stefan Hinkonnen had used his brute force to out-muscle Dewayne Kooser in the centre of the pitch, and the loose ball was picked up by Alfonso Di Angleo, who played it out wide to Nakamura. The young Han was in acres of space, even more so when his outstanding pace took him past Ernie Howard and into theopen space to the right hand side of the Hawks' penalty area.
Nakamura's cross was inch-perfect, allowing Lubii to acrobatically volley the ball into the top left corner beyond the rooted Kent Thorley. Stewart Close was high and wide with many of his efforts, ironically not so close to scoring after all, though Monty Catleay was far more effective at forcing Caleb Westwood into a string of saves. Wilber Rader too, when he came on, had Westwood at full stretch to stop a scorching drive towards the right-hand post that went out for a corner.
The match was full of incidents, both in terms of goals and fouls, as the first - as far as we can remember without looking at the data - match since the two nations shed each other's blood around a decade ago. Only in football can these sorts of issues be overcome between nations so quickly, but there was still a lot of needle in this match.
Starblaydia move on to face a team who have proved to be a surprising banana skin for them over the years: Hypocria. The former allies have a peculiar knack of being able to beat Starblaydia in the AOCAF, one of the few teams to do it regularly. The form book, however, is easily overturned in a small tournament such as this, as Starblaydia's most recent match can prove. What is predictable is that one team certainly wants it more than the other. Starblaydia always have the pressure of winning five tournaments under their belt. A phenomenal history, yes, but also a phenomenal burden at the same time.
Can they make it six? After defeating Lamoni and making it to the Semi-Finals for the first time since AOCAF17, the fans certainly think so. The players, hopefully, now have the self-belief to go all the way.
Final Score:
Starblaydia 1 - 0 Lamoni
(Lubii 52) - (None) |
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(OOC: Apologies for the late entry into RPing, I've been tied up with exams and papers.)
'Disappointing' round-robin refocuses 'Foxes
Pacitalia start off knockouts with solid effort against Demot
FAUXHAN, BAZALONIA (PSN) -- Pacitalia's lacklustre round-robin efforts had many-a-fan shaking their heads as the Blue Foxes essentially backed into the knockouts to face Demot. Considered by some a lopsided draw, it was obvious from the outset the Pacitalians were not ready to take this lightly.
"Some people have suggested we were just taking it easy, doing only the minimum to get into the top four," Pacitalia boss Sergei Saganyarov noted prior to the match against Demot. "The truth is, we really struggled this time. We're adjusting to life without [former captain Veranace] d'Amantano. [That] was a difficult round-robin for us."
d'Amantano retired at the end of AOCAF21, after an illustrious career which spanned 128 international matches and captaincy of both the national squad and his powerhouse Pacitalian club team, NG Sapuntoli. His presence on the field is most definitely sorely missed.
After a bye in the opening match round, Pacitalia started off on a promising foot, knocking in a 4-0 thrashing of Starblaydia. But calls that the result were a fluke were only heightened when the Foxes could only manage a two-all draw with 95X. They promptly put the rumours to rest with a 5-0 win over Northern Bettia and a 2-0 win over newcomers Kose and the Turkomans. However, they couldn't hold onto that momentum, losing 3-2 to Hypocria on matchday six, and 1-0 to Scottfire on the final day of the round-robin. A 3-0 win over Bettia notwithstanding, this was not the Blue Foxes' best effort, as they finished out Group A in second place with a 5-1-2 record.
Needless to say, it was thus extremely important for the Blue Foxes to take what they could get and not just accept that they had made it to the knockouts. Historically, Pacitalia has done very well in the knockouts of AOCAF (but have still not won the trophy). The Blue Foxes' best finish so far is a loss in the final to Lamoni in AOCAF19.
Today's quarterfinals matchup was, thus, generally considered to be open slather, as Demot had entered the knockouts on a solid run through the round-robin and the traditionally strong Blue Foxes had struggled. It was up to the Blue Foxes to prove they deserve to be here, and while the scoreline does not represent the effort put into today's match by the Pacitalians, the result is exactly what was desired.
New Pacitalian captain and longtime striker Ambrosino Giurimano put away the lone goal of the match shortly after the hour mark, tucking away a low, curving shot to the right past Demot keeper Leslie Triete. The bouncing, slow shot was all the Blue Foxes needed to advance to the semifinals – where they shockingly find themselves the top seed remaining out of the eight that advanced from the round-robin.
While Hypocria (winners over Delesa, 4-2) face the always lethal Starblaydi squad in the other semi-final match, Pacitalia has drawn 95X. 95X, again, is the team that drew the Blue Foxes, 2-2, on match day three and promptly threw the footballing world into a tailspin by knocking out defending champs Manhattan Prime in a penalty shootout. Whatever the ramifications are in Manhattan Prime, the Blue Foxes surely know their next opponent isn't exactly a pushover.
From Fauxhan, Bazalonia:
Demot 0 : 1 Pacitalia
DMT: None
PAC: Giurimano 62'
Next up: DMT v n/a (eliminated), 95X v PAC
This post has been edited by Pacitalia on Apr 7 2008, 03:19 PM |
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The best place on earth. |
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Contenders: Ready!
Starblaydia focusing on football as Di Bradini concern grows
Lex Panarii made plans to get his squad's minds back on their Semi-Final with Hypocria and away from the ill health of Starblaydi legend Simeone Di Bradini. The former international striker and manager, who turns one hundred and twenty this year, has been taking in to hospital suffering from undisclosed health problems. For a man who has been ever-present in Starblaydi football for the last century, he has rarely ever been out of peak condition and now both he and the entirety of Starblaydi football are reminded of their own mortality. Panarii, who counts Di Bradini among his personal friends, sees it from both sides of the coin.
"Of course our thoughts are with him and the entire Di Bradini family," he said last night, "and we wish him every success in recovering to full strength, but we do have a game to focus on and I'm sure he wouldn't want to disrupt our preparations for Hypocria."
The crucial match, which could send Starblaydia into the AOCAF final for a record-equaling eighth time (Vilita/V&T being the current record holders), is being billed as their most important regional fixture since AOCAF14's Final, where they took their record-breaking fifth championship. Back then the all-conquering RAWRCRUSH was taking titles at both Regional and World level, proving that Starblaydia were, in fact, the best team in the entire world. Right now they have a long way to go until they can be called anything even close to that. There was a time when not making the AOCAF Semi-Finals was seen as something of a disappointment by Starblaydi fans, but this time around they're as happy as ever, knowing that luck has played its part in getting them this far.
"We'll be doing it for Simeone Di Bradini," captain Alfonso Di Angelo said, "if there's anything that'll make him leap out of his bed early, it'll be Starblaydia taking the AOCAF for a sixth time. We think we can do it., otherwise we wouldn't be here." |
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RP CUTOFF AND SCORES! |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Posts: 774 |
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Manhattan Herald – 6th April 2008
Matchday 8 from Bazalonia
Manhattan Prime 5-0 Nojika
Smith 29mins, Donavan 37, 43mins, Katakana 65, 69mins
Manhattan Prime sealed their place in the quarter finals of AOCAF 22 as winners of Group 2, after a 5-0 victory over Nojika.
In a thrilling game, midfielder Ethan Smith opened the scoring on the 30 minute mark, and selflessly fed his partner Michael Donavan to the latter’s two goals, giving the Chippers a 3-0 lead at halftime. With Takamura putting in his usual quietly efficient performance, and DeSilva tearing up the left wing, more goals were promised for Manhattan Prime in the second half. Katakana duly obliged, netting with a header in the 65th minute and from a corner four minutes later to kill the game.
Elsewhere in Group 2, Lamoni beat Jasi’yun 4-1 to clinch 2nd place, whilst Bazalonia drew 1-1 with Capitalizt SLANI and Demot beat Delesa 6-2. Manhattan Prime face 95X in the Quarter Finals tomorrow, with Hypocria playing Delesa, Starblaydia facing Lamoni and Demot playing Pacitalia.
Manhattan Prime Team:
Clive Hilton (GK)
Ben Wilde (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)
Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)
Ross Jackson (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)
OOC: For completeness! |
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Manhattan Herald – 7th April 2008
Quarter Finals from Bazalonia
Manhattan Prime 5-5 95X (95X win on penalties)
Jackson, DeSilva (x2), Katakana, Heinze
The plucky Chippers of Manhattan Prime were send packing today out of AOCAF 22 today, losing a heartbreaking Quarter Final on penalties. Although out of the tournament, the defending champions will be remaining in Bazalonia for the time being, due to the bloody civil war occurring in Manhattan Prime.
The first 90 minutes were a superb showcase for both teams and a delight for the supporters as goals flowed like water and both sides ouzed skill and composure on the ball. Ross Jackson scored first for Manhattan Prime, followed by a Felix DeSilva brace, and goals from Katakana and defender Karl Heinze, but 95X kept pace with the holders throughout as the game ended 5-5. With extra time failing the break the deadlock, the supporters were treated to a tense penalty shoot-out to settle the tie. Yoshi*o Katakana, Ross Jackson, John Clarke, Ethan Smith and Mashashi Takamura all converted their penalties, but with their opponents again keeping pace, the 6th penalty fell to playmaker Michael Donavan. Clearly affected by the pressure, the young midfielder from Manhattan State saw his effort saved by the 95X goalkeeper, and could only watch with his head in his hands as 95X scored their 6th penalty to send Manhattan Prime spiraling out.
The Chippers may have lost their crown, but the supporters did not appear too downcast, after being treated to some confident displays in the Group Stages. The majority of the traveling fans that made it to Bazalonia will be remaining to watch the rest of the AOCAF, due partly to the extreme difficulty of finding flights to war torn Manhattan Prime.
In the other Quarter Finals Hypocria knocked out Delesa 4-2, Lamoni were defeated 1-0 by Starblaydia and Pacitalia beat Demot 1-0. 95X go on to face Pacitalia in the Semi Finals, whilst Hypocria face Starblaydia.
Manhattan Prime Team:
Clive Hilton (GK)
Ben Wilde (RB)
John Clarke (CB)
Karl Heinze (CB)
Hitoshi Akita (LB)
Ethan Smith (DMC)
Michael Donavan (MC)
Felix DeSilva (AML)
Mashashi Takamura (AMR)
Ross Jackson (S)
Yos*ito Katakana (S)
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