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Fmjphoenix Flame draw against The Lowland Clans in first match, lose close match to Vilita on second match
In their second AOCAF entry, the Flame still do not have a win credited to their name. Still they remain winless in AOCAF play, as they drew with The Lowland Clans 2-2 in the opening match.
Melissa Carpenter and Brian Bay were scorers for the Flame, as they played a close game, but could not get any pull to jump ahead of TLC. They were not totally prepared for the match, as their plans were thrown off due to the call up of Shelly Berry to the Under 21 squad, who was an important member of the team with her entusiasum and general kindness and caring. Melissa Carpenter stepped up into the starting role to try and bring in the same effect Berry had. Only time will tell how her influence can help.
But in their next match, they went up against the reigning champions of the AOCAF, Vilita. They played a tough match against the top team, but came up just a little short as Vilita held on to win 3-2. Carpenter scored another goal as did Chris Bemman, coming up on a rare play to fool the Vilitan side. It did not help enough as the Flame's late push came up short when Carlos Delgado kicked a powerful shot that went wide right, and the Flame never got another chance after that.
With that, they are sitting in third place, ahead of TLC and Abattoir. The Flame still have to play Abattoir and the second place team, Lamoni. It is still far from over, but the Flame are showing progress and should be able to pull it together for their first win. |
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The Daily Druid
EPIDEMIC STRIKES DRUIDA CAMP
By Bill Posters
The reason for the poor form of the Druida Rainbows so far in the AOCAF in South Osattia can today be revealed by the Daily Druid as a virus that is going around the Druida players.
The opening day defeat to Crystilakere was somewhat expected, as it was this new team's first game together, but since then, two draws against Nojika and the have been somewhat disappointing results. However, team doctor Trevor Malcom has revealed to us that not all is great amongst the players.
"They keep collapsing," he told us. "We have no idea why. We think it might be something in the water. Perhaps the Druidan bottled water we use is contaminated with something."
Indeed, it's a good job it's the Rainbows' rest day next, as they would struggle to get eleven players out. |
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Tonic Rewarded in Experimental Squad
Long time FC Almintora utility midfielder Sublé Tonic has been rewarded for his years of service to the Vilitan Regional squad with the captains armband as the Regional Cats look to defend their AOCAF VI Title. The team is a mix of Experience and youth, with not much inbetween, those candidates all being caught up with the World Cup Finals in Cockbill Street. The estranged Carmine Mbidzo was left out of Helmut Vilkaus's World Cup squad, and the former Marine Coast United forward was quickly snapped up by regional coach Massimo Corsi. Mbidzo will be partnered in attack by Arcticala Inlet's bright young 19 year old Julian Lisbie. In midfield, Captain Tonic will be joined by the youthful trio of Thierry Columbo, Sylvain Emeka-Tuai, and Iskara Daii's Rueben Laberge.
Daniel Oram is expected to play behind the midfield, with Jhanna City's Tulio Arizmendi anchoring a three man defensive line that sees Turoki United's Dene Shaw and Liguon Valley's Timmy Leaburn making their first appearances outside the youth national teams. Makosile's experienced goalkeeper Bryan 'Pop' Duiker will be the goalkeeper of choice, but Coach Corsi, a former Goalkeeper himself, has not ruled out a rotation system amongst the five goalkeepers named on his roster, including 15 year old Mix-Breed Jawz Oaker who returns early from the Under-21 World Cup to train with the regional squad. |
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Unbeaten Starblaydia Qualify 1st
Going at a cruise to the Quarter-Finals
Goals from rapidly-improving Kurt Recinos and Montepool Waves' Winger Nelson de Montford sunk an inexperienced Navy-Blue team to cruise their way into the Quarter-Finals as Group B winners. Recinos struck a well-timed shot on the edge of the penalty area from a Jose Tirado cross, while de Montford's goal came from a great run by Gbenga Ogunniya. Fernando De Marco was rarely troubled in the Starblaydi net throughout the ninety minutes.
Former-Champions Starblaydia looked good in the Group play, outscoring every other team (barring three from Cockbill Street's match or fours and fives in other matches) with ten goals. The four goals conceded over the three matches, however are more cause for concern, seeing how Crystilakere managed to concede only a single goal to Legalese in their Four Matches.
Starblaydia are joined by former World Champions Crystilakere and defending World and Regional Champions Vilita as already-comfirmed teams in the Quarter-Finals.
| CODE | Group B
Pos Team P W D L GF GA +/- Po
-----------------------------------------
1* Starblaydia 4 3 1 0 10 4 +6 10 Q
2. Cockbill Street 3 2 0 1 7 6 +1 6
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3. Nova Britannicus 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
4. Bedistan 3 0 2 1 6 9 -3 2 E
5. Xile 3 0 1 2 4 7 -3 1 E |
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SATELLITE NEWS JAMMED
Starblaydi Techonology Blamed
Satellite signals from every major Nova Britannican News Corporation were down for three straight days, preventing any home-grown reporting on their team. The equipment responsible, mostly Starblaydi-made electronics, failed suddenly after the Starblaydia/Bedistan match with no resonable explaination, coming back online just after the Starblaydia/Nova Britannicus match.
As our technical people are working to get systems fully back online, we can tell you that Nova Britannicus must beat Bedistan while Xile must beat Cockbill Street if the Navy-Blues are to progress behind Starblaydia. Any other situation sees the 'Street going through and the Navy Blues missing out for the fourth time in five attempts. |
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Hawks have chance for first place in group
Could the Hawks really pull off a first place finish in Group A? The standings say that it is possible. With Vilita having finished their matches, all that Lamoni would have to do is to win their match against FMJPhoenix by at least three goals. Sound simple? Only the ending of the match against FMJPhoenix will tell. A benefit of making first place in the group will be that Lamoni would face either Cockbill Street or Nova Britannicus in the Quarter Finals instead of Starblaydia (whom the Hawks would face if they stay in second place). The Hawks could much more easily defeat Cockbill Street or Nova Britannicus than Starblaydia, and the win could concieveably help to raise Lamoni's AOCAF ranking; helping the team to get farther in future AOCAFs. While it is fairly certain that Lamoni will defeat FMJPhoenix, it remains to be seen if they can win by at least three goals. |
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Bedistani football fans, upon looking at current AOCAF group tables, are absolutely befuddled as to what the letter 'E' means on the line next to Bedistan's name at fourth place in the standings.
"Well, normally the letter E stands for eliminated," said one fan, "but since this is the Bedistani team we're talking about here, that's obviously not the case. We never get eliminated until the knockout stages. Perhaps it's some word in the South Osettian language that we Bedistanis just don't know."
Research on this phenomenon will assuredly continue. Bedistan last played Cockbill Street in a match that we absolutely refuse to report on. Besides, right now every Bedistani cares about the World Cup, not AOCAF. Nevertheless, our next AOCAF match is against Nova Britannicus. |
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Starbladyia Meet Vilita in (Quarter-)Final!
Under-21 Champs Give Lamoni get-out-of-jail-free card
In the what has to be the hottest tie of the last-eight, the AOCAF Final from four years ago is repeated thanks to a complete collapse by the reigning Under-21 World Champion-nation.
The Hawks Lamoni thrashed the Vikings of Fmjphoenix Three-One and topped Group A, demoting Vilita to second in that Group. That meant that the reigning AOCAF champions now play Starblaydia, former champions themselves, in the match that every neutral will want to see. Starblaydia and Vilita have had two mighty AOCAF tussles in the past, when Starblaydia thrashing Vilita 6-1 in Pedriana and four years ago when Vilita took the title with a 2-1 win.
This, like all Vilita-Starblaydia matches, should be a heck of a game to see. |
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NAVY-BLUES FACE HAWKS
How did this happen?
A convergence of unlikely events occured on Matchday Five. First of all, Nova Britannicus did their part and beat the in-transiition nation of Bedistan. Many would point out that as the Bedistanis have been training on the decks of Starblaydi Aircraft carriers, they would not be adequately prepared for grass-trained Nova Britannicans. Those many were proved to be right as a brace of goals from Corinthian Spirits' own Paul Fortier sunk the Lions two-nil.
Then, something else amazing happened. The Bullet-Wounds of Xile, still under a media blackout for some unknown reason, managed to defeat the Humans, Trolls and Dwarves of Cockbill Street by two goals to one. How this happened, we're not quite sure, but it has certainly perplexed us, almost as much as it would have perplexed a Streetian.
Then comes the third strange thing, Lamoni beating Fmjphoenix. Strange indeed, that they managed to get precisely the scoreline needed to surpass Vilita in Group A. Two-headed beast-babies with horns, tails, hooves and polka dots must be being born under lunar eclipses as we speak. |
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Lamoni defeats FMJPhoenix, moves to first place to face NB
Lamoni defeated FMJPhoenix 3-0, moving the Hawks to first place in Group A; meaning that Lamoni will face Nova Britannicus in the first round of the knockouts. A Lamoni - NB match is one of two fairly evenly matched teams, and the winner of this match will go on to face the winner of the Vilita - Starblaydia match in the second round.
Going back to the match against FMJPhoenix, it was a VERY easy game for the Hawks, with seemingly expert goaltending, and goals from both forwards. The Hawks looked to have complete control of the game from the start to the finish, leaving FMJPhoenix without a win in their AOCAF history.
Other odd things happened in MD5 of AOCAF VII:
The Xilean Bullet Wounds managed to defeat Cockbill Street 2-1, and Nova Britannicus managed to defeat Bedistan to move into second place in Group B to face Lamoni.
This has left Nova Britannicus wondering how all of this has happened. Well, odder things have happened in AOCAF before. Take Starblaydia defeating Vilita 6-1 in AOCAF III for instance.
Lamoni - 3 Jason Pier (20, 69) Matthew Bostock (55)
FMJPhoenix - 0 |
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Starbladyia Beat Vilita in (Quarter-)Final!
Hawks to be Hunted in Semi-Final
It took a late and frankly fortuitous substitution of Jose Tirado for Eighteen year-old Michalis Mitrofanis to bring about Starblaydia's equalising goal in this match. Mitrofanis, who impressed so much in his partnership with Ilias Provatidis in Liga Starblaydia for Hecia, once more combined well with a bigger, stronger Strike-Partner in Kurt Recinos after only forty seconds of being on the pitch.
Carmine Mbidzo, who else, had given Vilita the lead early on but Mitrofanis equalised with just minutes to go. A Vilita side who had been waiting to take their Semi-Final place for a rematch against Lamoni had their hopes dashed as they were forced to play Extra Time. Half an hour came and went, and the two former-Champions were locked level at 1-1. So to penalties it went! Vilita won the toss, and so the nail-biting began...
Vilita Penalty One
Goal by Carmine Mbidzo, drilled right-footed (bottom-right of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 1-0 Starblaydia
Starblaydia Penalty One
Goal by Kurt Recinos, blasted left-footed (top-left of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 1-1 Starblaydia
Vilita Penalty Two
Goal by Tika Massa, placed right-footed (center of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 2-1 Starblaydia
Starblaydia Penalty Two
Goal by Michalis Mitrofanis, drilled right-footed (right of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 2-2 Starblaydia
Vilita Penalty Three
Goal by Lai Ncube, drilled left-footed (bottom-right of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 3-2 Starblaydia
Starblaydia Penalty Three
Goal by Gbenga D.J. Ogunniya, blasted right-footed (top-middle of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 3-3 Starblaydia
Vilita Penalty Four
Goal by Thierry Columbo, placed left-footed (left of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 4-3 Starblaydia
Starblaydia Penalty Four
Goal by Hurin Menegroth, blasted right-footed (top-right of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 4-4 Starblaydia
Vilita Penalty Five
Penalty Missed by Sublé Tonic, placed right-footed (bottom-middle of goal) saved by Fernando De Marco from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 4-4 Starblaydia
Starblaydia Penalty Five
Goal by Stelios Doukas, drilled right-footed (left of goal) from penalty spot (12 yards). Vilita 4-5 Starblaydia. Starblaydia win 5-4 on Penalties.
This post has been edited by Starblaydia on Mar 17 2005, 05:10 PM |
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Lamoni battles with confusion, but wins anyway
Vilitan player scores Nova Britannicus' goals
It was confusion on the AOCAF field today as Nova Britannicus fielded an extra player. That player; who was still allowed to play, was later found to be none other than Julian Lisbe, a forward for the Vilitan national team.
"I must say that i'm shocked about this whole episode," said Lamoni Team Captain Jason Pier sometime after the identification was made; "I mean, what was this guy doing in an Nova Britannican uniform? He's VILITAN! Not only that, but he scored both of Nova Britannicus' goals! I am going to look into filing a formal complaint with the South Osettian and Vilitan Football Associations. This guy shouldn't have been on the field, much less playing for a different team."
Either way, the goals look like they will stand, and Lamoni doesn't seem to be making too much of a fuss about it, most likely because they won the match anyway. The win moves Lamoni to the Semis, where they will face Starblaydia for the chance to go to the first place match. This will be a first for the Hawks, and our prediction will be that Lamoni will lose against Starblaydia, and then defeat Krytenia for third place. We hope however that the Hawks can find some way to defeat the powerful Starblaydi team instead. That would likely lead to a second place finish.
As for the game, it started well enough after the referees decreed that NB's extra player would be allowed to play after all. Lamoni and NB had scored four goals within the first 20 minutes, with the Vilitan scoring NB's goals. When the match moved to a contest of defenses, it was almost a dissapointment. NB team captain Phil Cox was branded with a yellow card after he tripped Lamoni forward Matthew Bostock, and both teams' goalkeepers were kept busy with numerous shots on goal. That was the pattern until the 50th minute, when Lamoni forward Matthew Bostock scored the game winning goal into the upper left corner.
We can only hope that such foul-ups as happened in this match do not happen again.
Lamoni - 3 Matthew Bostock (5, 50) Jason Pier (15)
Nova Britannicus - 2 Julian Lisbe (10, 12) |
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Democratic Maniac |
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sometime before the Lamoni-Nova Britannicus Quarter-Final...
The player stepped out of the taxi with nought but his boots and shinpads. He'd given directions to the stadium to the taxi driver, but he didn't appear to speak english very well, or just didn't understand his Vilitan accent.
He stepped towards the stadium and went round the back to the player's entrance. He flashed his pass at the security guard, who looked a little puzzled but let him through anyway. He passed through the corridors and rooms, attempting to remain out of the public eye, as he usually did. He found the 'home' dressing room and opened the door, looking for his shirt. '46' wasn't among the shirts hanging up on the wall, and why where they all-blue? Had the kit designers dispensed with the Teal, Orange and White for this one match?
He didn't know, and didn't really care, picking the closest number, '23', that he knew wasn't owned by anyone.
'Schofield'
Was that the name of a sponsor or something, paying to put their name where the players usually did? Weird. He slipped on the all-blue kit and made ready, players around him were doing the same. Was this the reserves side? He didn't know any of the other players, but then again, he was only nineteen and there weren't any other Articala Inlet players in the squad, of course he didn't know anybody.
"New haircut, John?" one of them asked him.
"Uh, yeah," he said, somewhat confused, "I've had it a while now."
"Cool hair, mate," the man replied, "you're a legend."
He was really confused by that remark. Maybe they used strange slang terms in Turori, who knew? The Coach, obviously new, gave his speech in an odd accent and pointed at him to be on as a suprise starter.
Julian Lisbe nodded his acknowledgement, and went out on the field to face Starblaydia in the Quarter-Finals of the 7th Atlantian Oceania Cup of Association Football. Starblaydia in red-and-blue? What was going on today? Who knew, he was just out to score.
This post has been edited by Nova Britannicus on Mar 17 2005, 06:25 PM |
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Crystils to face surprising Krytenia
The Crystilakere Crystils have been drawn against Krytenia in the AOCAF semi finals, and head coach Boubocar Dragov feels that this is the best chance for Crystilakere to win the AOCAF. With Vilita being knocked out on Penalties, and Druida not the same as it used to be, Crystilakere will be fielding a full squad against Krytenia, with the goal being to bring more trophies to Crystilakere. No more runners up or third placed finishes. A Crystilakere - Starblaydia final would be expected, but Dragov would prefer to see Lamoni as he thinks his team would have a better chance of winning then. |
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The full Semi-Final Preview
"Anyone Can Win it" says 'expert'
No Druids, no Druidans, no Vilitans, no Turorians, no Sarzonians, no Pedrianans, No Streetians, no Bedistanis, no Britannicans. What we do have, however, are Starblaydis, Lamonians, Krytenians and Crystilakereans. Never has there been a better oppurtunity for any team to take the title of Regional Champions than right now.
Of the four teams left, only Starblaydia can claim to have lifted the AOCAF crown before, having been in three of the six finals so far. What odds for a fourth Final appearance in five Tournaments?. They also have the highest-ranked Regional team still in the competition. Close behind are Crystilakere, and they certainly came close in AOCAF3 but have been nowhere since, despite becoming World Champions somewhere along the way. Krytenia, hosts of the inaugural Championship, have never been placed in an AOCAF before and look the least likely to walk away with the trophy from this group of nations. Finally, Lamoni appear to have come up on the inside rail in these Championships without anyone noticing. Although not having the true World-Class players of the teams ranked around them, somehow they have forced their way into contention by building on successive AOCAF performances.
In truth, this Cup of Associaton Football is wide open. A Betting Man would probably place odds on a Starblaydia-Crystilakere Final. Who the winner could be from there still remains a mystery, though don't discount Lamoni or Krytenia from sneaking into the Final. But as to how can one compare all four nations? Well, we'll try.
Starblaydia
Notable Honours: AOCAF4 Champions, AOCAF3+6 Runners-Up, Under-21 World Cup 13 Runners-Up, Four Nations Invitational Winners.
Notable Players: Simeone Di Bradini, plus all the others you never heard of.
Crystilakere
Notable Honours: World Cup 19 Champions and AOCAF3 Runners-Up
Notable Players: That guy who 'scores headers off corners' and that guy in the Audioslavian All-Time list.
Lamoni
Notable Honours: None
Notable Players: Matthew Bostock
Krytenia
Notable Honours: None
Notable Players: "Ace" Rimmer
The Starblaydi bookies obviously say Starblaydia will take the title. Lamonian bookies, and there are a lot of them, are obviously tipping Lamoni to get to the Final. Crystilakerean bookmakers are taking bets on Crystilakere edging the Final over Starblaydia, while Krytenian bookies are completely silent. Maybe there aren't any, who knows?
What can be certain is that the winners will go down in history. |
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