|
 |
|
|
|
Starblaydia to kick off AOCAF 4 in Group of Death
3 Perennial Semi-finalists In Eastern Group
With the 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-best teams (according to the AOCAF rankings, at least) in the Eastern Group, it looks like Triagunation might as well packs up their boots right now. One of those three big teams will be denied a Quarter-Final Spot, at least. Perhaps even two if Triagunation pulls of an upset or two while the big three knock lumps out of each other.
In the North, Xile and Aquiliana will be trying to fight off determined challenges from Chacor and Pedriana to take Qualification, while in the West Turori and Three-time Champions NEWI Cefn Druids seems to have the easiest time against Nova Britannicus and debutants Big Pimento. Finally, in the South, Vilita and Lamoni should have the class to outlast Druida and Psytroxia.
Starblaydia Captain Spike Martin, 30, is back for another tournament with the Armband and he thinks Starblaydia can qualify.
'This is a toughy, but if we can get through this stage, we can beat anybody. Even the Druids.'
This post has been edited by Starblaydia on Nov 2 2004, 09:55 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
, |
 |
|
|
|
Lamoni draws Southern AOCAF group
Nephi Times (Starblaydia)
Lamoni was assigned to the Southern AOCAF group today by random draw. Also assigned to the South are: Druida, Psytroxia, and Vilita. The Nephi Times predicts that Lamoni will likely obtain a second place ranking in the group, behind Vilita. That is; of course, unless Vilita has a bad AOCAF.
The Nephi Times prediction for the winner of this AOCAF is NEWI Cefn Druids. Not only have they won the last three AOCAF's, but they are in an excellent position to do it again. |
 |
 |
|
Lamoni |
|
Democratic Maniac |
 |
|
|
|
Posts: 1952 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Pedriana with 'not a chance' of qualifying, say pundits
JHANNA, Starblaydia -- Pedriana has been drawn into the Northern group for the fourth running of the Atlantian Oceania Cup of Association Football, hosted by Starblaydia. Despite this being Pedriana's third attempt at AOCAF, most sports analysts say Pedriana shouldn't even hope to win the thing, or even get anywhere near it.
"We're up against Aquiliana, Xile, and Chacor in this group," says sports minister Alfonso. "Aquiliana is one of the hottest teams around, at least judging by how they've done the last couple World Cups. Xile, I'm pretty certain, has managed to defeat us on every occasion we've met. And then there's Chacor. Don't even talk to me about Chacor. Fact is, we're finishing dead last in the group." He paused for a moment before adding, "Again." When pressed for further comment about Chacor, he began to mumble. We vaguely heard something about World Cup VIII, though that seems rather cryptic to us as neither Pedriana nor Chacor was involved in that Cup. It does seem likely that we are destined for a bottom-of-the-table finish for the third consecutive time, though. Even when we hosted the bloody thing we STILL finished last. So don't get your hopes up, folks.
----------
OOC:
| QUOTE (Starblaydia) | | The Group Draw, conducted on IRC in Bedistan's presence, is as follows. |
Many AOers aren't going to have any idea who you're talking about. For the uninitiated, that is the parent nation of Pedriana.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Robertson Gets Only Goal in Eastern Group
One-Nil! To-Star-blay-di-a!
Hosting and Playing in a tournament for the first time, veteran Karl Robertson scored the only goal of the game as Starblaydia beat Crystilakere for the first time in the world... ever!
After half an hour some good work on the left by Jose Tirado, a free kick was awarded to Starblaydia. Vladimir Tsarev swung in a lovely curving ball that was in the perfect Danger Area in between Goalie and Defence. Karl Robertson threw himself at the ball and his diving header slammed past the Crystilakere 'keeper.
Next Up Starblaydiatake on Sarzonia, who have twiced been placed Third in past AOCAFs. Hopefully Foundation Road, home of Starblaydi Champions Iskara Daii, will prove as frustrating for Sarzonia as it did during their 0-0 draw with Triagunation yesterday. That draw leaves Starblaydia top in the East with five games still to go.
The Biggest Win of the day came in the west, where NEWI Cefn Druids beat debutants Big Pimento in Corinthian Spirits' home stadium.
| CODE | East
Pos Nation P W D L F A GD Pts
1 *Starblaydia* 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
2 Sarzonia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
3 Triagunation 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
4 Crystilakere 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 |
Final Score From the Jhanna City Rec. Ground:
Crystilakere 0 - 1 Starblaydia
(None) - (Robertson 36)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Stars flat-footed in scoreless draw
The so-called "B-team" for Sarzonia's national football team played its debut match in the fourth AOCAF tournament against Triangunation in the Eastern group of the tournament. The two teams couldn't dent each other's nets and the teams walked away with a defensive struggle and a 0-0 draw.
"We're disappointed with the result," Coach David Bostwick said. "We're now facing an uphill battle against one of our biggest rivals, who also happen to be the host country. If we're not careful, we could find ourselves out of the running before Matchday three.
"We just couldn't string any passes together," forward and team captain Anton Gregor said. Gregor played in his first match since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament against NEWI Cefn Druids in the semifinals of the third AOCAF tournament. He was taken out after 68 minutes with the coaches monitoring his fitness carefully.
Gregor had the best chances on net of any of the Stars, including a point blank shot that Gregor "would have made in [his] sleep" before the injury.
"He's not all the way back yet," Bostwick said. "He's going to have to get his timing back and get back into match day shape, but we're not going to have a whole lot of time to do that."
The Stars face host nation and rivals Starblaydia in the first match between the sides since the Stars won both matches during qualifying for World Cup 17. Starblaydia defeated the Stars in the early stages of AOCAF II.
"That match wouldn't be easy even if we had our first choice team here," Bostwick said. "They're the 21st ranked team in the world and they're likely still smarting from that World Cup run. We're going to have to be ready for them."
Bostwick told a reporter after the match that the team would play a defensive game against Starblaydia, and that "we'd be lucky to get one shot on goal.
"We need all the help we can get against those guys," he said.
[Secret IC for scorination purposes NOT for RP purposes: The Stars are going to say up and down that they're going to play a defensive-oriented game but they're saying that to lull Starblaydia into a false sense of security. Once kickoff hits, they will play an attacking style with the possession game being paramount. It's going to be about trying to fake Starblaydia out.] |
|
|
 |
|
Sarzonia |
|
It's all about the Navy. |
|
|
|
|
|
Posts: 577 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Unphased by Defensive Talk
Starblaydia will play their own game, make Stars react to them
Starblaydia's AOCAF 4 squad were today playing down talk that Sarzonia would be playing a highly-defensive team.
'We certainly have the strike force to penetrate any defence in the AOCAF,' said Captain Spike Martin, 30, 'Karl and Jakkinho are two top strikers, and Simon Hill scored against them in World Cup 17 Qualifiers, if i'm not mistaken.'
We all know that a 4-5-1, or a 5-3-2 can both produce high scores. Winning the ball in midfield with the former option can allow domination, while wing-backs of a 5-3-2 can be equally dangerous.
'They're not usually partial to System Karela,' said Geraint Evans, 'but we'll certainly not be second-guessing them, we'll play our own game and make them react to us. Not the other way round.'
That very Sun Tzu-ish from the Half-Druidish midfielder, but he's right. If you have to react to the enemy you have already lost. Starblaydia have the on-pitch tactical nous of some very experienced players, most notably Martin, Robertson and Tsarev. They won't be outfoxed by anybody. We hope. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Falcons Start Off Unremarkable
All of Group A grinds to a halt
After being drawn into one of the easiest groups ever assembled for AOCAF IV, the Falcons' second team couldn't quite put away Pedriana, the match ending in a 2-2 draw.
It's definitely a good start, at least much better than one other AO event that will not be mentioned here. In fact the other Group A match also ended in a draw, meaning that everyone's in first place. Except Chacor and Xile. They only got 1 goal each.
So anyway, hopefully this team will represent their National Team clubmates and come through with a strong performance. That way, we can start counting AOCAF games in national football history. If not, then this tournament never happened.
Or whatever.
Final Score:
Aquiliana 2 (Mendenatrius 41, Filii 55)
Pedriana 2 (35, 64)
OOC: Now celebrating Aquiliana's transformation into a Civil Rights Lovefest, one of the least common government types there is!
This post has been edited by Aquiliana on Nov 4 2004, 09:15 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Chacor manage to hold Xile
In a surprising game, the Chacor defence held strong and managed to hold off a last-ditch attempt by Xile at stealing a winning goal. Xile had taken the lead through #4 after 15 minutes due to a defensive blunder, but they were caught off-guard as Chacor attacked right from the restart, Lewis McNaught managing to sidefoot the ball past the keeper. Chacor are currently third in the group on alphabetical order. |
|
|
 |
|
Chacor |
|
Senator in Training |
|
|
|
|
|
Posts: 233 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Two From Two for Hosts
"Defensive, My Ass!" as Stars come out (with All Guns) Blazing
A remarkable pair of results has given Starblaydia two wins over two of their rivals in Atlantian Oceania. Crystilakere and Sarzonia have now both fallen, albeit just a single goal each time) to the Host-nation. Surely Home Advantage doesn't reap that big a reward?
'It certainly didn't work for Pedriana four years ago,' said embattled Captain Spike Martin, 'but we're a good team, dammit. We're the overlooked and underrated of Starblaydi International Football. This is Vladimir's tenth tournament representing Starblaydia, for crying out loud. He's a great player!'
With both youth and experience trying to get into the full team, plus the backing of the home crowds at every step, Starblaydia are stepping up to the plate like they did in Pedriana four years ago.
As for the match itself, Sarzonia's lineup belied their defensive machinations, and they were obviously out to get Starblaydia from the very beginning. Unfortunately, Starblaydia's commentators were all prepared for it, but the players on the field weren't. Sarzonia scored quickly as they overran the Starblaydi defence, giving Porter a well-worked goal after just five minutes.
Starblaydia barely managed to hold their lines against the onslaught. The over-attacking formation, however, was open to exploitation. When a long-ball put Jakkinho clean through in the twenty-third minute, there was only one outcome as he rounded the 'keeper and equalised. Starblaydia's winner came after half time from twenty year-old Tommas Piper, who rose highest in the box to nod home, capping a great win for Starblaydia
| CODE | East
Pos Nation P W D L F A GD Pts
1* Starblaydia* 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6
2 Triagunation 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
3 Crystilakere 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
4 Sarzonia 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1 |
Final Score From the Foundation Road:
Sarzonia 1 - 2 Starblaydia
(Porter 5) - (Jakkinho 23, Piper 54)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
The Tribune Tribune
Serving Druid Tribune and the surrounding area
ANOTHER SHOCK!!!
Trefor Blackmore onVilita 0 Druida 1
After a World Cup qualifying campaign that has seen the Druida rainbows be one of the surprise packages, the shocks they are becoming famous for continued here, as they upset a Vilitan team by a goal to nil.
After losing to Lamoni in their opening game, the Druidan list of shocks had another one added to it after this encounter. Yes, Druida have beaten Vilita by a goal to nil. OK, it wasn't the first choice Vilitan side that plays in their World Cup matches. Like many of the other sides that compete in the AOCAF cup, they have entered a "B" team, but the level of football in Vilita is so high that even a not so strong Vilitan side would be expected to ease past a Druidan team.
Not so. A solitary goal from Trefor Andrews was enough to beat Vilita after a stout defensive performance got the team through the match with a quite unbelieveable clean sheet. But 1-0 it finished. However, there is still a long way to go in this group. But if the rainbows can overcome Psytroxia in their third game, the rainbows will be in a very good position to push on for a quarter final place. |
|
|
 |
|
Druida |
|
Royal Scribe |
|
|
|
|
|
Posts: 130 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Lamoni vs. Vilita
Nephi Times (Starblaydia)
In what is widely expected to be a good match to watch, the Lamoni Hawks will take on Vilita in Starblaydia. Vilita is fielding a so-called 'B' team for this AOCAF, and that team will be looking for a win after their loss to Druida. Assistant Coach Stepanovich describes Lamoni's chances as 50/50. "Lamoni's AOCAF record has always had the other teams watching us with respect. Now, we'll get to see how some of the really high ranking teams try to play against us. This will be a very important match for us, especially since we defeated NEWI Cefn Druids in the last AOCAF. Yes, Vilita will be on their gaurds while playing us. We will have to play our game, and try to teach Vilita a few things." |
|
|
|
|
|
Lamoni |
|
Democratic Maniac |
|
|
|
|
|
Posts: 1952 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Crikey!
BISARLEY, Starblaydia -- Two-two? Sounds like the kind of score Pedriana might get against Ravea on a good day. Anyone claiming it was at all likely against Aquiliana, however, was likely to be dismissed with a wave of the hand. But the Llamas' Matchday 1 performance would stun all of Atlantian Oceania as they proved they might actually be competitive for once.
Striker Paris Canetta would be the one to light up the scoreboard first, sending a well-curved shot just behind Comis Dorectides in goal for 1-0. Midfielder Valdave Mendenatrius would quickly equalize for Aquiliana, putting them back on equal footing at halftime. The Falcons dominated going into the second half, with Cantare Filii chipping a shot over Otha Woelfle's head and into the net, giving Aquiliana the lead. The Pedrian offense continued to press their opposition, though, and Miguel Cavalaris came up with another equalizer on 64 minutes. The Llamas, ecstatic at the possibility of taking a point away from Aquiliana, dropped back into as close to a System Karela as they could manage, and the Aquil offense could not break through the defensive line, preserving the 2-2 scoreline.
"That was amazing," commented Pedriana coach Olé Retaguma after the match. "Getting this point is a very good sign for our chances this year. We might actually stay out of the cellar this time."
Final score:
Aquiliana 2 (Mendenatrius 41, Filii 55)
Pedriana 2 (Canetta 35, Cavalaris 64)
[OOC: Pedriana's roster is the same as in AOCAF III, except that all the players are four years older now.] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Unbeaten... Just
Starblaydia nearly slip up to unbeaten Triagunation
In the Group of Death, seeing two unbeaten teams is somewhat of an oddity, particularly when they're the two lower-ranked teams in the Group. Home team Starblaydia and little-un's Triagunation both sit unbeaten in the Eastern Group, though the later is also winless after three consectuive draws.
Starblaydia, who's line-up had five changes and looked more like their Under-21 team rather than a simple 'B' Team, had to come from Two Goals down to clinch a draw in Jhanna. The line-up had an average age of less than nineteen:
| CODE | 19
De Marco
2 6 14 13
Rigoberto Piper Majeed Koentas
7 *4* 16 11
Evans Montefalcon Doukas Tirado
10 18
Jakkinho Del Blanco |
Noteable inclusions are the the tow Nemyans, Doukas and Koentas, along with Iskara Daii youth Jaime Majeed. This line-up, however, looked a little lost in the midst of a capacity crowd, as all Starblaydia's matches are certain to be in this tournament.
One-nil down at half-time, soon two-nil after the break, and Starblaydia threw on some changes. Simon Hill and Vladimir Tsarev came on from the two Nemyans at the hour, with almost immediate effect. Hill used all his experience to ghost into the box and tap home the first, while a great corner-flag challenge from Tsarev gave the ball to Majeed, who's huge long-ball was misjudged by a Triagunation defender, allowing Jakkinho to steal and round the goalie for the equaliser. A wave of Triagunation substitutions evened the game out and no more goals were forthcoming for the final twenty mintues.
Though Starblaydia blooded a fair few youngsters in this match, their performance does auger well for the future. Unbeaten in three games, with Crystilakere winless and Sarzonia snapping at their heels, Starblaydia will have to really stuff up over the next three matches to not make the Quarter-Finals.
| CODE | East
Pos Nation P W D L F A GD Pts
1* Starblaydia 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
2 Sarzonia 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4
3 Triagunation 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
4 Crystilakere 3 0 1 2 2 3 -1 1
|
Final Score From the Jhanna City Rec:
Starblaydia 2 - 2 Triagunation
(Hill 67, Jakkinho 70) - (23, 49)
This post has been edited by Starblaydia on Nov 6 2004, 10:06 AM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Falcons Split The Group
First time Through: 1-1-1
It looks to be a close race in Group A down to the wire. Unlikely group leaders Pedriana are unbeaten, while Aquiliana sits in second place even after losing to Xile, by having scored 4 more goals to 2 more against. No one is surprised that Chacor fell to the bottom, especially after a 4-1 thrashing from the Falcons, but Xile only having taken 1 out of 3 is somewhat surprising, they being the highest-ranked team in the group.
It should be very interesting, and let's hope that the B squad from Aquiliana can come through and qualify for their first AOCAF Cup Finals! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
|
|
|
Stars dim Crystils, 2-0 sit in 2nd
The Sarzonian second choice national team was facing a grim situation. The team was tied for last place in the Eastern group, also known as the Group of Death since it had the third, fourth, and fifth-highest ranked teams in Atlantian Oceania football and was in danger of falling out of contention for a knockout stages match.
However, this edition of the Stars showed the determination usually shown by the first choice team and Anton Gregor snapped his goal scoring slump with two goals and the Stars shut out Crystilakere 2-0.
"That was an important match for us to win," Coach David Bostwick said. "We drew against the 11th ranked team in the region and lost to the fifth ranked team, so we knew we had to win this match."
Gregor got the party started for the Stars by deking past Crystils goalkeeper Gaetano Novello and tapping in an easy finish in the 27th minute to put the Stars ahead 1-0. The goal came despite intense Crystils pressure and came after a counter attack led by midfielder Dix Porter, who stole the ball in midfield from Paolo Gallo, his opposite number in the Crystils kit. Porter sprinted down the middle of the field and found Gregor, who made a move that made many of the Sarzonian supporters in attendance forget his ACL tear in the previous AOCAF tournament.
"Tonight was the first time I really didn't think about [the injury]," Gregor, the "B" team's captain, said. "I just let instinct take over and when I found I could cut like I used to without pain, it made a big difference."
The Stars immediately took command of the match from then on out, playing a possession game that the senior national team began to implement in their World Cup qualifying campaign. The Stars began to wear down the Crystils in the second half, as the second seeds could scarcely generate any pressure on goalkeeper John Bartlett (five saves, four in the first half).
Buoyed with confidence, Gregor put an exclamation point to his dramatic comeback from the injury and the Stars' comeback from the doldrums of their lackluster play in the tournament. As the stadium clock showed the 78th minute tick, Gregor made a breathtaking run down the right sideline and passed up a crossing chance to fellow forward Bruce Badger. He fired a laser shot past Novello and the goal must have seemed like the nail in the Crystils coffin.
"We played a great game, no question," Bartlett said. "We've still got a match against a team taht hasn't lost all tournament (Triangunation) and rematches against both highly ranked countries. Let's not forget the rematch against the hosts [Starblaydia]. We've got a lot to prove just yet." |
|
|
|
|
|
Sarzonia |
|
It's all about the Navy. |
|
|
|
|
|
Posts: 577 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
, |
|
Track this topic
Receive email notification when a reply has been made to this topic and you are not active on the board.
Subscribe to this forum
Receive email notification when a new topic is posted in this forum and you are not active on the board.
Download / Print this Topic
Download this topic in different formats or view a printer friendly version.
[ Script Execution time: 0.0194 ] [ 14 queries used ] [ GZIP Enabled ]
|
Close Topic Options
