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Pacitalia shaves down Fmjphoenix in exciting match
Friendly rivals downed in nail-biter
The Blue Foxes--Vikings rivalry continued to mature Thursday as the two senior teams clashed for only the third time in history. Pacitalia emerged with their first-ever AOCAF victory and a solid effort for the three points, catapulting them into third. Veranace d'Amantano and Andreos Charisteas scored for the Pacitalians, who now sit at 1-1-1 (4 pts, 5GF, 5GA, 0GD) and are having a much better go of the tournament than initially expected.
The skilled Pacitalian captain, d'Amantano, broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, breaking past the Fmjphoenician defence and deking left as the keeper dived the other way. He then calmly flicked the ball into the left corner and began the celebrations.
Fmjphoenix equalised soon after the halftime team talk, but the Blue Foxes were out for blood, and Charisteas, the lone goal scorer in the loss to Hypocria, converted a free kick, beautifully striking it over the head of the right two wall players and past the flying Fmjphoenician goaltender into the top right corner.
Pacitalia's surprising record in this tournament (most bookmakers predicted a maximum 0-1-2 record by this point, with the two losses to Starblaydia and Hypocria and a draw to Fmjphoenix) has led them into third place in Group B, mathematically locked in with Starblaydia. The Blue Foxes have a good chance to contend but they must down Nojika and knock surprising upstart ASMV with a resounding victory if they wish to do anything.
The Blue Foxes have two matches to move up in the rankings but the Starblaydi team is not about to bow out, so the Blue Foxes know they must take full advantage of their opportunities if they hope to advance in their first-ever AOCAF tournament. Hypocria appears primed to lock in that top spot but the second place position is definitely still wide open between four teams in Group B, Pacitalia included. |
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The best place on earth. |
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ASMV Playing Surprise Role Thus Far
All signs tend to point to the ASMV squads underperforming in most any competition. And it looked as this would be no different following an embarrassing match against Hypocria in the opener.
However, it seems that kind words from the Hyppos have inspired the Sea Dragons to great play, and now they have positioned themselves in second place in the group thus far - right behind those Hyppos.
ASMV 1 - Nojika 0
As expected, this match was hard fought on both sides. Defensively, both squads were brilliant, turning away attack after attack. ASMV keeper Jenna Jaffrey was the highlight of the match with 6 saves - three of them seemingly impossible.
It was not until the 73rd minute when Marcel Maas stole the ball from a Nojikan attacker and made a brilliant pass to a streaking Broderick Wallenstein that things changed. Wallenstein scored on a nifty move that left two Lions players wandering "Where did who go?"
ASMV 2 - Starblaydia 0
The surprise of the century, as far as Vegans everywhere are concerned. Most people did not give us much of a chance, and a ton of people lost money on this one.
Jenna Jaffrey was once again brilliant in the net and defenders Maas, Fidel Berte, and midfielder Kendrick Pu made play after play, thwarting the Starblaydi opportunities.
The women controlled the outcome of the match. Jaffrey allowed no goals, and Ali Devincenti (22) as well as Anika Milosavic (61) did the scoring job for the Sea Dragons.
With remaining matches against a struggling Fmjphoenix squad and the streaky Pacitalia players, anything can happen. But for right now we will enjoy our 5 minutes of fame. |
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Stars can't keep up in draw
Legalese is quickly becoming known as a team Sarzonia do not like playing. Despite an overall winning record against the juris practitioners, the Stars can't help thinking of high profile results that didn't go their way against the Black and Red. Such a result happened in AOCAF XII as the Stars were forced to rally from 2-0 down to escape with a point while Nedalia's win put the Lions in sole possession of first place in Group C.
"We've said from the very beginning it's not how you start, it's how you finish," said assistant coach Brett Hancock. "We played a terrible first half but we responded in the second half. We still have some tough fixtures remaining before the group stage ends and the knockouts begin."
Sarzonia are thanking their stars (no pun intended) for Ettore Salivani. He rallied a side that came out of the halftime locker room dejected and scored the first Stars goal 57 minutes on with spirited play that almost single-handedly brought Sarzonia back from its doldrums. Salivani then sent a textbook longball to Brian Williams, who deked past the Legalese goalkeeper for the equaliser at the 84th minute when it began to appear that the underdog lawyers would steal three points from Sarzonia yet again.
"No matter what, that's still a rivalry waiting to explode," Coach Dave Wilson said. "I don't forget ugly losses like the 5-2 result to Legalese in World Cup XVIII qualifiers." Neither does the rest of the team. |
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Sarzonia |
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It's all about the Navy. |
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OOC: And, yes, folks, Salivani is a Pacitalian product. So yes, I rock.  |
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Pacitalia |
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The best place on earth. |
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Bring On The Blaydis
Three games into the AOCAF and the champions now have three wins to their name after a one sided encounter with SAAS allies Nojika. Alex Santoro’s side never really gave the Panthers a look in and goals from Deucher, Kreska and Bercali secured another three points for the reigning AOCAF champions. Fittingly the win was inspired by a man of the match performance from Hypocrian captain Marcus Baxter who was winning his 100th cap.
Hypocria 3 - 0 Nojika
The Hyppos are now three points clear at the top of Group B. There’s a surprise in second place as Andossa Se Mitrin Vega jumped a couple of places in the table. The Sea Dragons finally showed what they can do in beating a surprisingly lacklustre Starblaydia 2 - 0. The former champions drop to fourth behind Pacitalia who overcame struggling Fmjphoenix 2 - 1.
Next is the mouth watering prospect of the Atlantian Oceania Champions taking on the World Champions. Well technically it’s the World Champions “B” team but that’s just a minor detail. The Hyppos actually have a surprisingly good record against Starblaydia in the AOCAF, having beaten the Purple Peril in the quarter finals of both AOCAF IX and XI. On the other hand it could perhaps be pointed out that Hypocria has never in fact really beaten Starblaydia as both encounters finished 1 - 1, with the Hyppos advancing on penalties. Of course this is merely another minor detail. |
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Hawks defeat Hiiraan 2-1
A seeming awakened Hawks squad held on to defeat Hiiraan 2-1 in today's match, which puts the Hawks into third place in Group C. The losses to The Allied Clans and Sarzonia were costly, but worth it if the Hawks can salvage what is left of the group stage schedule to eke into second place. Both Julio Carwile, and Max Roath scored in the victory. Lamoni's remaining group stage schedule will see it face both Legalese and Nedalia, both teams that the Hawks can beat if they have truely found their rythm now.
Lamoni - 2 Julio Carwile (15), Max Roath (40)
Hiiraan - 1 unknown (12) |
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Democratic Maniac |
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Stars in control after hard-fought win
After a disappointing 2-2 draw against Legalese, Sarzonia knew coming into its match against group leader Nedalia that they would have a "war" on their hands. A "friendly war," as many Sarzonians are describing the match between the Lions and the Stars, but a war nonetheless.
The match lived up to the billing as forward Brian Williams's second goal came as second half injury time wore down and Sarzonia defeated Nedalia 2-1. Sarzonia (3-1-0) take sole possession of first place in Group C after the win.
"We had to fight and scratch and claw for that win," assistant coach Brett Hancock said. "We knew this match was going to be critical for us to win with Nedalia showing excellent form this tournament. We're glad we didn't get off to our usual slow start in this tournament."
The Stars may not have a slow start for the tournament, but after a 2-0 deficit against Legalese before rallying, the Stars found themselves down 1-0 just nine minutes after the opening kickoff when the Stars defence failed it on what seemed to be a routine cross. The goal stunned the Stars and their navy-clad supporters, but Hancock quickly rallied the troops.
"I told them they needed to calm down," Hancock said. "We're an experienced side and we've faced worse situations before and we've rallied." The team took until the end of the first half to listen to their coach, but they finally got Williams' first goal 38 minutes on as he pressured the Nedalia defence and slipped the ball through the goalkeeper's leg for the equaliser.
"It was a big goal and it gave us some momentum heading into the break," Williams said. "We knew there were 45 minutes left in our chances of advancing and we had to take full advantage of that."
The Stars' ability to do that all but clinched the team a berth in the knockouts but Hancock said the team would have to keep fighting.
"The job isn't done until we win the AOCAF," 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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ASMV Continues Shocking Run
As the Sea Dragons left the field following a 3-2 victory over Fmjphoenix, players realized for the first time that they controlled their own destiny for moving on. It remains to be seen if that is a good thing.
Looking at the standings for the group shows ASMV atop the standings with the mighty Hyppos. If ASMV can manage to take care of business against a pesky Pacitalian squad, they will advance to be the doormat of the next round. But that fact does not concern any of the Vegan players or fans. What matters now is advancing and making some noise. |
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Milchama again victims of biased refereeing.
The Milchama Warriors were victims of biased refereeing today as they lost to Chicanada 2-0. The two goals came on two controversial penalty kicks and the Milchamians were reduced to 10 men in the 5th minute when our captain, Doni Kunalin, was sent off when he asked the ref about a foul that was commited.
OOC: If Chicanada scorinated the match then I demand a rescorination for my match because I don't think Chicanada can do the scorination justly and fairly if they are on the verge of qualification and I am their opponent for getting the qualification. I know I would not be fair and thus I do not trust anyone else to be fair. (Star CC9)
This post has been edited by Milchama on Feb 11 2006, 08:51 PM |
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There May Be Trouble Ahead . . .
Starblaydi football had been going through something of a slump after an AOCAF defeat to Andossa Se Mitrin Vega and the first team’s loss against the Islands of Qutar in the World Cup. But we all knew it wouldn’t last too much longer but sadly for Hyppos’ fans the Purple Peril emphatically found it’s form against the blue and white.
The writing was on the wall early on in this Group B encounter as a quick Starblaydi break in the tenth resulted in Marius Black cynically tripping an opposition attacker and receiving a red card for the professional foul. From then on the men in mauve attacked in waves and but for the prowess of Ricardo Kindelan the defeat could have been much worse.
Hypocria 0 - 3 Starblaydia
National coach Alex Santoro remained philosophical after his first defeat in charge,
“They were due a win against us. We’ve really rode our luck in the past against Starblaydia in this tournament, we couldn’t expect it to last forever. Still, it’s better to lose here than in the knockout stages.”
But the nation’s passage into the knockout stage is looked much more precarious now then it did a little while ago. The Hyppos remain top of the group but only goal difference separates us and Andossa Se Mitrin Vega. That after the Sea Dragons recorded a thrilling 3 - 2 win over Fmjphoenix. Starblaydia are lurking two points further back, well positioned to capitalise if either of the top two slip up during the final round of matches. The other nations are already eliminated.
We can’t decide whether having the final fixture against Fmjphoenix is a good thing or bad thing. Certainly the Viking’s Under-21 side have made no impact whatsoever having been beaten in every game so far. But there’s that nagging feeling that, with just pride to play for, Fmjphoenix’s youngsters will put on a show. Nothing but a win will do for Starblaydia and against their (and our) SAAS allies Nojika you’d expect them to get it. And then there’s ASMV. A Sea Dragon win over debutants Pacitalia and they are through regardless. Basically it’s all up in the air. What is certain is that three into two doesn’t go. One nation is going home disappointed. Oh the drama! |
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Have they found their stride?
Lamoni knocked Legalese out of contention, and secured third place with a decent shot at second place in Group C with a 3-0 victory over Legalese.
To prove that they have hit their winning stride, the Hawks will have to defeat Nedalia, which would put them in at least second place (first place if Sarzonia loses their next match). That would get them securely into the knockouts. However, if Lamoni loses the match against Nedalia, it's going to take some creative mathematics for them to get to the knockouts. We think that the Hawks are up to it.
In other related news, Forward Max Roath had an excellent match, scoring a hat trick against Legalese. This should be a good omen for him as his contract with Lamonian side Lemnos FC comes up for renewal.
Lamoni - 3 Max Roath (20, 30, 40)
Legalese - 0 |
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Democratic Maniac |
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OOC: Yes, I did scorinate the Kodiaks matches, but due to protests:
Official press release
To: Competing Nations, Group D
From: AOCAF XII Committee
RE: Scores
Due to complaints over results in matches involving the host nation, the AOCAF XII Committee and the CFA have agreed to pull the B-Side Kodiaks out of the tournament. All matches previously against the Kodiaks will be removed from the sheet and today's match against Falcana will be rescheduled as a friendly.
Thank you for your time.
AOCAF XII Committe |
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Sarzonia win battle of the Stars
The Stars won the match.
The only way that wouldn't have been the case would have been if Sarzonia and The Lowland Clans played to a draw to close out the group stage of the AOCAF XII tournament, but Sarzonia came out on top 2-1 due to an own goal by The Lowland Clans and a Brian Williams marker negating yet another 1-0 deficit.
Sarzonia (4-1-0, Group C champions) finish the group stage with a rarity: A higher seed than their opponents and the top overall record in the group stage. That despite playing the likes of Nedalia and The Lowland Clans, teams with either a run of great form (the Lions) or a tradition of football prowess (The Lowland Clans). The Stars face Krytenia in a AOCAF matchup that reminds many of the first AOCAF back in the days when Sarzonia's team were "a bunch of weekend footballers" and Dave Wilson was a young assistant coach.
"Times have changed since then," Wilson said after the match. "Back then, we were sending what was then our best possible team without a domestic league having much backing and without much of a clue about international football. We've managed to establish ourselves as a football team to be reckoned with in more recent years.
Indeed, the Stars have the world's number one ranking and the World Cup XXII title to their credit, but Sarzonia have never lifted the AOCAF trophy. However, their head coach has.
"Hopefully, we can give Dave Wilson another AOCAF trophy, this time with the team that got him his start," assistant coach Brett Hancock said. Hancock said after the match that he would be allowing Wilson to assume the head coaching reins during the knockout stages and "hopefully, his mojo will rub off on this side."
Whether Wilson or Hancock calls the shots, the Stars will certainly come out firing. Whether they can win the AOCAF for the first time is anyone's guess. |
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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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| QUOTE (Chicanada @ Feb 12 2006, 09:12 PM) | OOC: Yes, I did scorinate the Kodiaks matches, but due to protests:
Official press release
To: Competing Nations, Group D
From: AOCAF XII Committee
RE: Scores
Due to complaints over results in matches involving the host nation, the AOCAF XII Committee and the CFA have agreed to pull the B-Side Kodiaks out of the tournament. All matches previously against the Kodiaks will be removed from the sheet and today's match against Falcana will be rescheduled as a friendly.
Thank you for your time.
AOCAF XII Committe |
Milchama was shocked and awed by the decision the Chicanada Kodiaks made today as they pulled their B-team from the tournament. MFA President Calvin Chintermantomantoman said, "We had not intention of having them PULL THEIR TEAM from the tournament. We only were not sure that the referee was honest and fair and I believe that he wasn't."
OOC: I just didn't want you to scorinate your own team I definitely did not want you to withdraw from the tournament. |
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ASMV Wilts Under Pressure
Starblaydia 5-2 Nojika
Hypocria 3-1 Fmjphoenix
Andossa Se Mitrin Vega 0-1 Pacitalia
ASMV and Pacitalia fought out a most outstanding defensive battle today, with ASMV's chances of moving forward hingimg on the result. 81 minutes into the match, word reached the stadium of Strablaydia's 5-2 crushing of Nojika. Every one of the Sea Dragon players knew that a draw would no longer be good enough.
Unfortunately the added effort work against them. As the squad pressed things a bit too much, Pacitalia took advantage in the 86th minute. Fans and players alike knew at that moment that the unlikely run had come to an end.
Eyes now turn to the CoH and the slim hope that is represented there. |
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