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Teams:
Krytenia
Sorthern Northland
Unreal229
Unreal Stereotypes
Nojika
95X
Antarctistan & The Yorozuya
Starblaydia
Sarzonia
Kosovoe
Nanwe
Jesselton
Pacitalia
New Texxas
Cafundéu
Teletropis
GarfieldtheFat
The Bear Islands
Septentrionia
Scandonia*
Oddly enough, this is where it is suggested to post your roleplays.
Draw will commence sometime after I have the new rankings. |
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The MacMurdo Half-Sun
AOCAF Cup XXVIII Pre-Preview
We all thought that Cup of Harmony was going to be the one final hurrah for this Antarctistani squad. We all thought that after that there would be no more cups. And even then they'd be with the new squad. However today we were proven wrong. In secret Antarctistan and The Yorozuya were able to wiggle their way in to the AOCAF Cup. What's even odder is that it's the cup of a regional football confederation. What is even stranger is Antarctistan + The Yorozuya aren't even part of the aforementioned region politically or geographically. Only in sport. As most eyes are concerned Antarctistan and The Yorozuya isn't even part of AO. They have no pull on WA decisions (not that they affect them as Antarctistan and The Yorozuya is only an observing member in the assembly). So many are left scratching their heads as to why Antarctistan and The Yorozuya are competing. None the less they are, and it's not like the AOCAF is some small regional cup.
It's quite the opposite, it is instead one of the biggest regional cups in the world. Spanning 27 editions before this one, the cup has had it's fair share of memorable moments. Some that Antarctistan will hope to create in the near future.
As for expectations, they are quite low. while Antarctistan carries the 58th WCC ranking they are unranked in the AOCAF. Also many of the nations that compete in this cup are experienced nations at football. All of which can walk all over a nation like Antarctistan and The Yorozuya, which doesn't have a lot of international experience. Nor do they have a huge player pool to choose from. It will be up to fate to see how far this small nation of 3.5 million can go in this cup. We will all be watching.
(For a more in depth preview about their chances please read after the draw!) |
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Sarzonia's first choice national team manager Franz Braddock usually pays very little attention to the second choice national team under manager Kevin Wilson.
But Sarzonia's shock run to the World Cup 48 semifinals revealed a team that was short on depth. Even when Braddock started as many depth players as he had, he still had to play some of his starters. The fatigue came to a head during the semifinal fixture against eventual World Cup runners up Candelaria And Marquez. After the Stars played extra time in both their quarterfinal match against Jeru FC and against the Big Blues, Braddock noticed several players needing help to reach the locker room.
"We have to do something," Braddock said. "It starts now."
That means he'll be scouting the second choice national team for additional players he can promote to the senior side. It also means some Under 21 players could very well get a direct promotion to the World Cup squad. It means other players who just missed the cut might be in line for promotions.
"A lot is going to depend on the group draw," said Wilson. "We don't know what kind of team we're going to have and how we're going to fare until we know whom we're up against."
Fixtures against Starblaydia, whom the World Cup squad defeated twice in the space of three matchdays, or Pacitalia could severely test this squad. Wilson acknowledged the challenge when asked about a potential meeting with the Blue Foxes.
"Since they don't compete in the World Cup, the side we would face here is their top national team," Wilson said. "Unless Franz wants to send his veterans in to face them, we're going to have our work cut out for us if we face Pacitalia.
Of course, any discussion of a possible Paci-Sarzonian derby would have to include discussions of the complex political relationship between the nations. Wilson characterised the relationship as "a roller coaster," noting that the two countries had moments when they seemed close, but then others when they felt unremitting hostility toward one another.
"That nation has played a vital role in our nation's development," he said. "The same goes for Isselmere-Nieland and Praetonia." As for Isselmere-Nieland, the Stars and Ernes have faced each other in pre-World Cup qualifying friendlies with Sarzonia winning the first and drawing the second. The Incorporated Football Federation took to naming that derby "The Friendly War."
"It is an acknowledgment of the fact that both nations are competitors on the pitch, but are extremely close off it," said IFF chairman Brian Wilson, Kevin's brother. Brian Wilson noted that no such name was conceived for a match with Pacitalia.
"We haven't gotten that far yet. This talk may be premature," he said. |
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Sarzonia |
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It's all about the Navy. |
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Posts: 577 |
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Group A:
Krytenia
95X
Septentrionia
New Texxas
Nanwe
Group B:
Pacitalia
Cafundéu
Kosovoe
Teletropis
Unreal Stereotypes
Group C:
Sorthern Northland
Nojika
Sarzonia
Garfield the Fat
Antarctistan & The Yorozuya
Group D:
Starblaydia
Unreal229
The Bear Islands
Jesselton
Scandonia
Fixtures will be standard fixtures automatically generated by NFSF Scorination results will include the next match to occur. |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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Beningrad Morning Star
Ní hÓgáin set to create history in AOCAF Cup defence
Siobhan Ní hÓgáin has over the course of the first half of World Cup qualifying (OOC: AOCAF Cup IC'ly takes place half way through World Cup qualifying in the Sorthern calender) become a household name in Sorthern Northland. Whilst limited to appearances from the bench, usually when the team have already got a win sown up, her name has already gone down in history as that of the first woman to play to international football for Sorthern Northland and the first woman to score an international goal for Sorthern Northland. It is not for those deeds however that her name is known but more for the stir that manager Eoin Ó Raghhallaigh caused at SNFA Towers by calling her up in the first.
The association has long banned women from playing top level football with men, a ban that though still in existence it appears that it's days are numbered. The six-one victory over Antartistan and the Yorozuya could be one of the final nails in that coffin. For whilst Ní hÓgáin has already earned a handful of caps with SNFA suits seemingly unable to enforce their ban, they had all been from the substitutes bench. Something that allowed those still against women playing top level football to sneer that this was due to women being unable to last the ninety minutes of a full international match. That Ní hÓgáin started, and played the entire match, providing the fulcrum of the Sorthern attack for much of the match and picking up the ma...player of the match award would seem to pretty keenly dispute that argument. An assist and a hat-trick will have done her cause little harm either.
It is just one match though. One match in the AOCAF Cup against low level opposition. Opponents of women playing football will surely claim it proves little and could just be flash in the pan. There is still the rest of the tournament for her to prove her worth in the team though. There will be stronger opposition to come as well, Sarzonia in the group stage, and then the possibility of the likes of Starblaydia, Krytenia, Cafundéu and Pacitalia in the knock-outs, should Sorthern Northland get to them, as they surely should. So, what does Siobhan herself actually think of being the flag-bearer for women in top level Sorthern football?
“It's not something I really take notice of when I'm playing to be honest.” she admits, “As far as I'm concerned I'm just another player wearing the shirt. I've listened to the commentary of my first goal for the team in the World Cup qualifier against Mount Kip and they were going on about I must've been delighted to become the first woman to score for Sorthern Northland, but honestly it didn't occur to me until people mentioned. I was more bothered that it was the goal that put us in the lead. I suppose if I sit down and think about then, yeah it's pretty special and hopefully in years to come people will remember me as the first of many, rather than an exception, at the moment though I'm just want to play well and show I deserve to be in the team purely based on how good a footballer I am and how much use I can be to the team.”
Thus far she has proved herself to be an adept winger with an accurate cross, a good amount of pace and the skill to beat defenders. Does she not think though that she'd be a better footballer if she were not playing in the relative footballing backwater of Quintessence of Dust with Highmark City Blues?
“It's perhaps overall a less skilled league than Sorthern Northland's. But at least there your gender doesn't play any part in whether you can play or not. I think in a few years time things will change and we'll see Sorthern clubs playing men alongside women, but until then surely you could argue that the Sorthern League is a footballing backwater? I'd love to play in it given the chance, but I didn't have that chance. I did have that chance in Quintessence of Dust though and I'm glad I made the move though. It might not get much attention, and it has gone awol to the outside world recently, but there's worse places I could be.”
And finally, what of the remainder of the AOCAF Cup, does she feel she can stake a claim for a starting role?
“It's a great competition, and the major first tournament I've been involved in so it's very exciting. As we saw earlier though there's still a big gulf in class between the teams at times so it's a lower standard of football, but that also means players, particularly those on the fringes can be less scared of making mistakes and being crucified for them and so they can be freer to show what they are capable of. I feel I did enough against Antarctistan to deserve to keep my place for the match against Garfield the Fat and hopefully I will and I'll be able to show I should be in the team after that match as well and so on throughout the cup. It's certainly a big tournament for me." |
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Kevin Wilson knew the assignment was going to be markedly different this time.
After all, Sarzonia's first choice national team manager Franz Braddock was going to pay closer attention to the exploits of Sarzonia's second national side in AOCAF. He was doing so with the goal of trying to increase the depth available to the full national side.
Thus, a quick elimination from AOCAF would not bode well for Wilson. On top of it, he saw his chances of gaining the national team managerial role he wanted dashed when his brother, Incorporated Football Federation chairman Brian Wilson quickly tapped former Isselmere-Nieland manager James Potherington as manager in waiting and as associate manager.
Now, if Kevin Wilson wanted the national team job, he'd have two people to compete with, including current assistant manager Diogo Avarel. He knew he'd likely have to consider his options, including managing elsewhere.
Still, he had a job to do, and he was going to have to do it. The group including Sarzonia's would feature the likes of their first opponents, familiar regional rivals Nojika. Also on the docket was Sorthern Northland, a team that Sarzonia were set to meet in the Round of 16 in the World Cup proper. Antarcticstan and the Yorozuya were a name that was vaguely familiar in itself, except for the fact that Sarzonia competed against them as Antarcticstan in World Cup 48 qualifying. That left only Garfield the Fat as an unfamiliar team to these Stars.
"We have a tough group ahead of us," Kevin Wilson said. "It's going to be a challenge for us to get through to the next round, but we're going to have to figure out a way to get there."
He knows what's at stake. Any chance for him to eventually become national team manager would be riding on his team's performance here. And that's just the way he wanted it to be. |
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Sarzonia |
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It's all about the Navy. |
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Posts: 577 |
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ALL IS WELL FOR CAFUNDÉU
Monopolists do their part with two wins
After many confusions involving the organization of the competition, as the major sponsor of the event went bankrupt one month before the start of the AOCAF and couldn't fund such a bit cup anymore, the AOCAF finally could start. The whole problem begun when the computers that had recent records of all the National Teams involved fried, for someone who wanted to eat fries, and couldn't be used to update the teams' situations regarding rankings. With this situation solved, the sponsor announced that it didn't have money, and asked for another sponsor or organization to fund the even in their place. BazaBurger appeared as the saviour of the AOCAF, releasing the necessary amount of money for the competition to happen, under the condition that the games would be played in Bazalonia instead of Unreal229. With all set, the Cafundelenses went to their neighbour country.
Travelling considerably less than what they would have done if the games were in Unreal229, everything seemed promising for the Monopolists. With an interesting team, mixing known stars of world football with players looking to follow their steps, Anatoliy Titov had the responsibility to do a good job in the AOCAF, as the Cafundelenses finished the last edition with the second place. The group draw was mostly good for Cafundéu, with the exception of the presence of Pacitalia. And, in the first games, the Cafundelenses proved their strength, by defeating opponents Teletropis and Kosovoe, and jumping to the second position of the group with 100% of the points won. so far, everything is going well for the team, which is winning the games it was supposed to win... which means that also nothing spetacular was done. |
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AOCAF28 Match Report
Tuesday 5th January 2010
Foxes begin cup quest with pair of wins
Pacitalians beat Unreal Stereotypes and double up Teletropis to maintain share of group lead
Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia
Pacitalia began its quest to reclaim the AOCAF Cup trophy with two victories in the group stage over Unreal Stereotypes and Teletropis.
The Foxes beat Unreal Stereotypes 4-1 on a Michelangelo Mascagnano hat-trick, and followed that up with a 4-2 victory over Teletropis. Scoring in the second match was led by Adrian Manoliu with two goals. Andolfabio Vunghiasso and Mascagnano had the other pair of scores for the Blue Foxes (2-0-0).
Manoliu also had Pacitalia's fourth and final goal in the opening match against the Stereotypes.
Pacitalia now moves on to face their first major challenge of the tournament against the Monopolists. The Cafundelenses were runners-up in AOCAF27 and the team that eliminated the Pacitalians in that Cup's semifinals, putting a bitter and sudden end to the Foxes' quest to keep their firm hold on the tournament following two straight championships.
Ambrosino Giurimano — who has sat out both games because of physio and reconditioning following a high ankle sprain he suffered in October — will finally start for the Foxes in that match. Manager Marco van Basten says he is pleased with Manoliu's performance in the interim, saying filling Giurimano's shoes is always "a big task".
"He has led a balanced attack and he has set up plays for our midfielders when he can't score," van Basten said. "It's a difficult task to fulfill when your coach tells you to step in and perform at the same level as your squad's normal striker, but Adrian is developing into a very fine footballer and he's delivered the results he's been called upon to deliver."
Assistant manager Veranace d'Amantano also noted Manoliu's three goals so far amounted to the 24-year-old's best offensive production to date in the AOCAF tournament, and said Manoliu would see more relief action before the end of the tournament.
van Basten reported the squad would spend Monday evening's light practice completing a short cardio workout and shoring up their defence, which inexplicably allowed two goals against unranked Teletropis, including a blooper in the 64th minute that was nothing special but still appeared to confuse all four fullbacks.
"That's unusual for us," starting keeper and team captain Abro Zolà conceded. "I have to be better, we as a defensive unit have to be better, and we will. I don't make excuses for it [...] we're just fortunate to have such talented contributors up at the front that have carried the load for us so far."
"We definitely weren't playing like the region's top-ranked side," he added, referring to new rankings released just before the new year and the start of AOCAF28 that put the Blue Foxes firmly in first (53 points), well ahead of second-ranked defending champions Sorthern Northland (37.9) and third-ranked Starblaydia (27.83). |
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Pacitalia |
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The best place on earth. |
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AOCAF28 Match Report
Thursday 7th January 2010
Zolà, back four turn in stellar performance
Blue Foxes double up Monopolists to take sole possession of group lead
Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia
A pair of goals from returning star Ambrosino Giurimano, coupled with an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Abro Zolà and Pacitalia's four-man defence, propelled the Blue Foxes to a 2-1 victory over Cafundéu in a group stage rematch of last year's championship semifinal.
It wasn't a perfect performance by Pacitalia's defence but arguably much improved over an inexplicable last match against Teletropis, who managed to convert a pair of scores on star keeper Zolà and the normally resilient back four.
The Blue Foxes suffered an early scare, as the Cafundelense star striker, Alves, broke through double coverage, evading tackling attempts from Antonio Linguera de Sà and Sergio San Cristobál just outside the 22-yard box. Alves made no mistake once inside the box line, firing off a rocket that narrowly escaped the desperate fingertips of Zolà and rippled the top-left corner of the twine.
However, while the Foxes found themselves down a goal just six minutes into the match, the deficit seemed to spark Pacitalia's offence to brazen exploits, creating ten (ultimately unsuccessful) chances to score before the half hour mark. At the very least, despite the Cafundelense striker's fortunate but well-deserved early goal, the match momentum had shifted firmly back to the Pacitalians.
More chances on goal would ensue, including a spectacular corner from Andolfabio Vunghiasso that missed the reliable head of Massimo da Scupeta by just a hair. Determined to equalise before halftime, Giurimano pushed forward into the box as the clock shifted to injury time, hounded by fullbacks Radicci and Batoré. The Pacitalian striker clinically snuck a goal past a sliding Garrido to even the score at 1-1.
Zolà was unbelievably perfect in the second half, but he, unusually, faced little in the way of attack from the Cafundelense front pair, who were stymied by Pacitalia's back four on nearly every foray they attempted to make to the 22-yard box. Zolà's most notable second-half contribution was a diving highlight-reel punch to keep Alves' careening shot away from goal and redirect it out for a corner, which the Foxes subsequently smothered.
The pace of the match, however, was notably slowing, and it did still appear the two squads were heading for a well-earned stalemate. Giurimano, with the freshest legs on the pitch following physiotherapy, reconditioning and two matches on the injury reserve, added the winning goal ten minutes from full time. The striker gathered up a Michelangelo Mascagnano cross to the left corner, outflanking Radicci by the goal line and tucking the ball neatly under the arm of Garrido to give the Foxes the lead.
The two squads were, as of the conclusion of this match, the only ones to have played on all three match days. The Blue Foxes (3-0-0) get the next match day off as a bye; meanwhile, the Monopolists (2-0-1) play once more against Unreal Stereotypes (0-0-2) and then get their turn to rest in advance of the knockouts.
Marco van Basten told Extra Thursday he plans to hold a light practice Saturday morning in advance of the Foxes' final group stage match versus Kosovoe.
From AOCAF28 in Bazalonia
Cafundéu 1 : 2 Pacitalia
CAF — Alves 6'
PAC — Giurimano 45+1', 79'
Next up — CAF v URS, PAC off (bye)
Copyright © 2010 Extra, the Pacitalian sports network | a division of News Media Group ƒSpA
http://www.extra.pc/aocaf/aocaf28/nr.gspx?sd=617033&ad=p
This post has been edited by Pacitalia on Jan 7 2010, 07:19 PM |
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Pacitalia |
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The best place on earth. |
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NANWE FOOTBALL
Bazalonia - This year, the national team from Nanwe, which is ours, has been playing really good, when compared to the last AOCAF where we didn't even play, for example on this new championship, our team has won again the team from the country of Septentrionia, which ahs make our team to be third on it's group, just behind of Krytenia and 95X.
In the match against Septentrionia, which ended with a 2-1, the actuation of our goalkeeper, Carlo Vilni, made possible our victory, because the actuation of our defenders was very poor.
The match didn't start well for our team, with the first goal being scored by septentrionian striker, François Lafontaine, in minute 12 of the first time of the match.
Later in the second part, asd if our team woke up, our captain, Cristino Armandfillo socred a great goal in minute 10 of the second part gainst the until that moment unbreakable wall of the defenders and the goalkeeper of Septentrionia, Martin Vachon .
Later and thanks to the example of our captain, another striker scored the second goal which lead us to victory, Adriano Ulpo scored his first goal in the championship in minute 24 of the second part of the match.
Tomorrow, our team will play against 95X, the team that is currently the first one of the group, and so, it promises to be a very hard match |
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Nanwe |
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Scribe in Training |
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AOCAF28 Match Report
Wednesday 13th January 2010
Foxes crush Kosovoe en route to group stage perfection
Group winners Pacitalia now face longtime friendly rivals Sarzonia in Round of 16
Alberto Vicente Marro
Fauxhan, Bazalonia
The Foxes showed the region precisely why they are the tournament's most dangerous and balanced attack — spreading their scoring around, with every member of the front four potting at least one goal, to lead Pacitalia to a 5-1 victory over Kosovoe in the final match of the group stage at AOCAF28.
Determined to get off to the right start, the Foxes pummelled the Kosovoe goal early on, with several near-misses, including an Ambrosino Giurimano shot that glanced off the outside edge of the crossbar nine minutes in. Three minutes later, a Pacitalian corner attempt was almost successfully converted, as Massimo da Scupeta chipped the ball to Michelangelo Mascagnano at centre; the midfielder nearly converted with a redirection off the knee.
The Foxes' first score would come shortly thereafter. Andolfabio Vunghiasso streaked in on the left side, virtually unchallenged, and, approaching goal, fired off a low, steady ball that evaded the Kosovoe keeper's outstretched hands and found the back of the net. Pacitalia would double its lead ten minutes later, with Giurimano, ever the workhorse, outduelling the Kosovoe sweeper and peeling off a wicked shot that hit the twine so hard it looked as though the threads might snap.
The second half proved to be much of the same, with Mascagnano converting a Vunghiasso corner and da Scupeta collecting a cheeky side chip from Giurimano and burying the ball for a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 lead with under a half-hour to play. After 70 minutes, Giurimano was pulled off in favour of Adrian Manoliu at striker, and a fatigued da Scupeta replaced with Manel Bernát i Lem at right mid. Marco van Basten's final substitution came in the 74th minute, as Tiberiu Manescu came on to replace Antonio Linguera de Sà in the back four.
Pacitalia's fifth and final goal would then come two minutes later, as Manoliu collected an arcing forward pass from Hermès Adiarche and raced up-pitch to neatly flip a routine scorcher past the Kosovoe goalkeeper. Abro Zolà seemed headed for the clean sheet, but fate had other ideas. With three minutes remaining, Manescu's desperate tackle on the Kosovoe striker inside the box was a little too clumsy, and the official awarded a penalty shot which was successfully converted. Despite the blemish, the Foxes ended up walking away with the decisive 5-1 win to close out the group stage.
It seems either fortuitous, serendipitous, or both, that Pacitalia (4-0-0) should now face arguably one of its biggest (friendly) sporting rivals to open the knockout stage. Sarzonia (1-0-3), ranked 15th in the region, backed up into the elimination round and are licking their wounds following a disastrous 3-0 defeat at the hands of defending champions Sorthern Northland. On paper, it looks like it should be a cakewalk right through to the quarterfinals; the Foxes themselves will be the first to disagree.
Though pleased with his squad's efforts, captain Zolà still had some issues he says he'd like to iron out and "make sure we take seriously" before the upcoming match against Sarzonia.
"We didn't have the most difficult group this tournament, that is for sure," Zolà said post-match. "We only encountered a few challenges, and that's unusual. That being said, we're definitely not getting cocky. I know all the guys on this team realise that overconfidence never pays off."
"We still need to tighten up on defence," the captain added. "I think five goals in four matches is too many for my liking and I take responsibility for that. Especially playing against a team like the Stars, with good talent up front, I know we'll need to be more than prepared."
From AOCAF28 in Bazalonia
Pacitalia 5 : 1 Kosovoe
PAC — Vunghiasso 15' / Giurimano 25' / Mascagnano 48' / da Scupeta 61' / Manoliu 76'
KOS — 87' (p)
Next up — PAC v SRZ (R16), KRY v KOS (R16)
Copyright © 2010 Extra, the Pacitalian sports network | a division of News Media Group ƒSpA
http://www.extra.pc/aocaf/aocaf28/nr.gspx?sd=618631&ad=en
This post has been edited by Pacitalia on Jan 14 2010, 05:55 AM |
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The best place on earth. |
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.f.
This post has been edited by Bazalonia on Jan 14 2010, 04:37 PM |
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Bazalonia |
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Eating A Bazalope Burger |
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STARS LEAVE FOXES SINGING THE BLUES
Every once in a while, a team hits upon one match in which everything goes right. Crosses that might have been an inch too far or runs that might have been a hair offside were on the mark. A defence that looked shaky against a quality opponent suddenly looks dominant against an elite side.
But today's 5-0 victory for Sarzonia over traditional AOCAF powerhouse Pacitalia was almost too crazy to believe.
"It just came out of nowhere," Stars forward Joel Jones said after scoring three goals in 57 minutes off the bench. "They're an outstanding side over there."
Perhaps, but just as well as Sarzonia played, Pacitalia played just as poorly. Blue Foxes forward Ambrosino Giurimano did not fire a single shot on goal, and sent three of his shots well wide of goalkeeper Will Brantley. It was true that defender Tom Thomas was on Giurimano like white on rice, but the Blue Foxes main goalscoring threat proved to be not much of a threat on one night.
A non-descript group stage that included Sarzonia losing in embarrassing fashion to Sorthern Northland had Stars supporters doing the unthinkable.
They started calling for manager Kevin Wilson's head.
The sports talk programmes rang with angry callers demanding the Incorporated Football Federation take the "un-Sarzonian" step of firing Wilson after the team lost 3-0 to the Sortherners.
They certainly didn't look the part of a team that would make a dent in the Round of 16 after sneaking into the knockout round through the back way. They looked for all the world like a snot-nosed, scrawny little fraternity pledge getting paddled repeatedly and being forced to croak "thank you, sir. May I please have another?" through sniffles and tears.
Facing two-time AOCAF champions and longtime regional powers Pacitalia in the Round of 16, the recipe was certainly there for an early exit for the Stars.
Then the match happened.
It was a result that might have left some wondering if the teams switched kits at the very beginning as the region's 15th ranked Stars took the Blue Foxes to the woodshed, dominating every facet of the match. It was a result that was stunning not just because the Stars won, but because they made the Blue Foxes look so awful.
"I don't know what it was," a stunned Wilson said after the match. "I'm paid to figure out things like this, but I can't."
The match will go down as the first victory for Sarzonia against Pacitalia in a friendly rivalry that began when Sarzonia was at the peak of its world footballing form. The rivalry has seen ups and downs, from matches where pre-game ceremonies celebrated two friendships bordering on kinships to fixtures where an observer might think the Stars were facing a team of Doomies.
Sarzonia (2-0-3) will face Nojika in the quarterfinals of AOCAF, but for one night, at least, Wilson's job was safe. All of a sudden, that un-Sarzonian of activities, the firing of someone for anything other than extreme cause, was off the table.
This post has been edited by Sarzonia on Jan 14 2010, 10:44 PM |
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Sarzonia |
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It's all about the Navy. |
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Beningrad Morning Star
AOCAF Cup defence over as minnows win
Book shops across Sorthern Northland are reported to be experiencing record sales of atlases as football fans attempt to locate Scandonia following their shock 2-1 Round of 16 victory over Sorthern Northland. The unranked outsiders have never previously competed in the AOCAF Cup and their precise location remains a mystery to even respected cartographers with their location being unmarked on the latest most recent official map of Atlantian Oceania.
Having scraped through the group stage in fourth place taking advantage of only one team per group of five teams being knocked out compared to Sorthern Northland's perfect record in Group C the Scandonian team faced long odds to progress any further in the competition. Their chances though were boosted by an inept Sorthern performance. Whilst Scandonia played very much like a team of unheard of minnows, rarely threatening to attack the Sorthern team seemed determined to make life for themselves as difficult as possible. The Scandonian keepers task for most of the much was kept to collecting the ball for goal-kicks due to the Sorthern players restricting themselves almost entirely wayward shots from long range. On the one occasion when Sorthern Northland did look to get the ball into the box though it paid off with Shawn Hill bundling home a Timm Holtz cross for the lead in the sixty-eighth minute.
With Scandonia needing to score and becoming more adventurous to try to do so a nervous display of defending saw Sorthern Northland shoot themselves in the foot with own goals Brian Andrews and Callum Parker just minutes apart handing the win to the underdogs.
Eoin Ó Raghallaigh, who will now surely need a good run at the upcoming World Cup 49 finals if he is to manage Sorthern Northland in the next AOCAF Cup, admitted that the performance had been the worst during his reign, claiming, “The least you expect if you're going to go out to do it with at least a bit of pride. There's nothing in that match that we'll be able to look back on with pride. For a team that were the defending champions it was a limp and frankly embarrassing performance. During my time as manager I've never had a side play that badly and I certainly expect them to never repeat that level of performance. I can only apologise to the Sorthern fans for it, particularly the many that travelled to Bazalonia to support the team and were repaid with it.”
This post has been edited by Sorthern Northland on Jan 15 2010, 07:12 PM |
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95X Success No Accident
Soccer is no longer the number one sport in 95X, but die-hard soccer fans and others are reveling in the accomplishments of the 95X team in AOCAF Cup 28.
After surprising performance in AOCAF Cup 27, where "the big three," Melissa/Michelle Mitchell, Micah Skokomish, and Damien Darycreek all came out of retirement to lead the otherwise young, inexperienced squad required when most 95X professional soccer players striked over league pay and additional compensation for AOCAF competition.
"We were pleasantly surprised," AOCAF Cup Soccer Head Coach Chris Tucker recalls, "they played their hearts out, made the quarterfinals, and lost only to the team that won the cup."
This AOCAF, 95X built around their still youthful core lineup, and steamrolled over the group A competition in the opening round, including a 2-0 shutout of favored Krytenia. New household name Micaela Collina scored both goals, in a game where she played much larger than her 4-foot-2 stature.
"She has an amazing kick," Tucker says. "Everyone said I was crazy for making her a starting forward and I shoud've used a replacement four years ago."
Nobody is calling him crazy now.
95X also won 5-4 on penalty kicks in AOCAF Cup 28 Round of 16 against Teletropis, in a match where fans worried second-year goalkeeper Mary Christina Mackay would tire too quickly.
Coach Tucker: "Yes, she's a true 95Xer, meaning she fits the joke that a '95Xer is as wide as she is tall.' And she is not 6 feet wide. Besides, she's an international athlete, she gets the best prep and after game care 95X can offer."
When 95X meets Antarctistan & The Yorozuya in the quarterfinals, 95X fans have one thing to say: If they don't want to melt, stay out of 95X's fire. |
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