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Hereby declared open. All RPs to go here, except the squad or roster posts, which go here. The group draw is as follows:
Group 1: Crystilakere, Cockbill Street, Hypocria, Pedriana, Turori
Group 2: Druida, Fmjphoenix, Hockey Canada, Krytenia, Nojika
Group 3: Bettia, Chacor, Lamoni, Nedalia, Starblaydia
Group 4: Bedistan, Nova Britannicus, Sarzonia, Spruitland, Vilita
Find the schedule in the scores thread. |
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The Group of Death!
Bluebirds In a Whole Heap of Trouble
Three World Cups, Three Cups of Harmony, Two Baptism of Fire Cups and an AOCAF Trophy. That's what the members of Group 4 in the 9th AOCAF hold between them, never mind Under-21 Championships and Regional and Nationstates' club competitions.- Vilita: World Cup, AOCAF, Cup of Harmony
- Sarzona: World Cup, Cup of Harmony, Baptism of Fire
- Bedistan: World Cup
- Nova Britannicus: Cup of Harmony
- Spruitland: Baptism of Fire
"That's a whole lot of silverware," Bluebirds manager David Bentley said today, "we were ecstatic when we won the Cup of Harmony, but getting out of this Group will be a very hard task indeed."
Due to the strangeness of the Streetian hosts (must be the Dwarven influence), nations such as Nedalia - who are ranked far lower in the official AO rankings than Nova Britannicus - were seeded in a higher class of Pot than the Bluebirds, something which Bentley obviously wasn't happy about.
"That's just typical, really," he said with a sigh, "we don't claim to be the best in the world, but we're certainly better than Nedalia. That's not to diminish their acheivements last time, of course, but I've seen the calibre of players from both nations and we have the superior quality. This is just something we'll have to deal with and get over, though. We're going to have a harder tournament than lesser teams because of this system. That'll make it much better, however, if and when we pick up points in the group stage."
And as for the Bluebird squad itself:
"I'll tell you that once the bus arrives, we'll see who's on it."
This post has been edited by Nova Britannicus on Jul 12 2005, 02:10 PM |
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Lamoni prepares for AOCAF
With AOCAF IX well on the way to starting; and the Lamonian roster already made public, the Hawks are in a relatively 'good' (we dislike to say 'easy') group, with the main threat expected to come from regional champs Starblaydia. The Hawks will be looking to do a better job in this AOCAF than they did in the last one. The Hawks should make it to the knockouts in this group, but time will tell.
Predictions:
Nedalia This one should be a good match for the Hawks. A loss would suprise us.
Chacor The only other team in the group (besides Starblaydia) that might win against the Hawks, it would be bad for Lamoni to take them lying down.
Starblaydia This is the team that most worries the Hawks. Lamoni hasn't won a match against them yet, but hopes that that will change.
Bettia This is another match where we would be suprised to see the Hawks lose. |
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We've Only Won It Three Times
Starblaydia "Gonna Win it Four times!"
Starblaydia's AOCAF 8 Schedule gives them a Bye match on the first Matchday - again - giving the psychological edge to teams like Lamoni who will get to look down on Starblaydia after the first few matchdays through more games played and more points won - probably.
| CODE | MD Team
1. -
2. Bettia
3. Chacor
4. Lamoni
5. Nedalia
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The only brand-new team to Starblaydia in this group is Bettia, though they should really pose no threat. Likewise Chacor and overacheivers Nedalia. In fact, even Lamoni should be put firmly in their place by this awesome-looking Starblaydi side, full of veteran experience like Darius Belizaire and youthful vigour like Giovanni Lopez.
Starblaydia have a number of AOCAF7 and AOCAF8 winners, including Nelson de Montford, the twenty-eight year old with just twelve senior caps - all won in the AOCAF - and two AOCAF winners' medals. That's some record of medals-to-caps, and he'll be hoping to win another seven caps and another AOCAF winner's medal.
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Tough Draw For Hypocria
Hypocria is making its debut in the AOCAF and the Hyppos have been rewarded with a very tough draw in Group 1. Yes the group comes complete with the hosts, a former world champion, a side looking to exit the international stage in style and a team we know nothing about but who are probably better than us anyway. So who exactly are the opposition?
Crystilakere
At World XIX the Crystils took their place as the best team in the world but they haven’t managed to repeat their success in the AOCAF. Not much has been heard from Crystilakere ahead of the tournament but they have made one thing very clear, they want to go home with the trophy. Hypocria recently beat Crystilakere 4 – 0 in the U21 World Cup. Is it a sign? Probably not.
Cockbill Street
The host nation will be guaranteed a lot of support in their own backyard. They may need all the advantages they can get as according to the regional rankings Cockbill Street are only the third best team in the group. Will playing at home level the field?
Turori
Turori are a consistently good side and are no strangers to the later stages of international competitions. Rumours are circulating that the nation is soon to blow the final whistle on its participation in international competitions and lifting the AOCAF trophy would certainly be a fitting swansong.
Pedriana
Something of a mystery to Hypocrian fans. The country is roughly one third of the size of Hypocria but is home to several billion inhabitants. From this we can assume that they are either very thin or the buildings are very tall. Apparently Pedriana is a nation that does not have a particularly good record in this competition so they are perhaps the Hyppo’s best chance of points.
This post has been edited by Hypocria on Jul 13 2005, 05:47 PM |
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AOCAF IX – ouch?
Spruitland’s first entry in the Atlantian Oceania Cup of Association Football, in its ninth edition, might turn out to be a painful experience. The Wabbits – for the occasion nicknamed the ‘Wegional Wabbits’ – have been placed in the so-called Group of Death, alongside Vilita, Sarzonia, Bedistan and Nova Britannicus.
Well, “alongside” might be putting it a tad too strongly – let’s just say it like it is: Spruitland has been put below those teams. Every team in Group D has won at least one tournament, and Spruitland is no exception, but let’s face it, our Baptism of Fire isn’t gonna impress those World Cup winners much.
Spruitland is clearly the extra team in the group, provided for the others’ entertainment, to give them an easy three points and a chance to jack up their goal difference. The order of the day for the Wabbits will be to limit the damage, and hope for the best.
Spruitland coach Cor Bensen has chosen his squad with one main objective in mind: to give some of the up-and-comers a chance to prove themselves. With the main squad scheduled to start in the Cup of Harmony soon, many subs, reserves and young talents get to use the AOCAF to gain experience – humbling experience, likely, but experience nonetheless.
Striker Ben Thorsen, aged 30, is the oldest and most-capped player on the team – even though only one of his nine caps was a start – and he will have the questionable honor of wearing the captain’s armband for this tournament. Most of the rest of the team is in their early twenties, with many ex- and even a few current Under-21 internationals.
Cor Bensen will remain in Cockbill Street to coach the team for as long as possible, until the start of the Cup of Harmony, after which SFA President Martin Backer will take over, under Cor’s guidelines. But chances are that Spruitland’s participation in AOCAF IX will already be over by the time the CoH starts. Let’s hope it won’t be too humiliating.
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"Welcome once again to international football here on the Sonastra Sports Network as we look ahead to the ninth AOCAF. Joining me in the studio is, as always, Stuart Abdul-Rahim, assistant manager of Gabalfa Rovers. Stuart... looking forward to the new season?"
"Yes, definately. This is going to be one hell of a challenge, but I feel confident in my coaching abilities and, well, let's see what happens. Maybe one day, I'll be coaching the Aroras."
"Looking forward to that. Now then what do we make of Bettia's group? First up is Chacor, the only team to be ranked lower than Bettia in this group."
"On paper, this is the game we are most likely to win. ON PAPER. I can't emphasise that enough. Rankings aren't the be-all and end-all of football tournaments, and you can rest assured Chacor will be feeling the same way about us. This'll be a tight game."
"Next up is the number one team in the tournament, Starblaydia. What do you make of them?"
"Well, they've won this three times already. perhaps they'll be kind and lets us have a chance! Seriously though, I don't see that happening. The only plus point here is that we'll be playing this match in Vimesbairn, which as you know is the city where our left wing-back Geraint Carew plays his club football. Maybe if the locals are on his side, it might lift the team a bit. This will be the first time we've met them in regional competition, although we did play them in the qualifying round of WC22. One draw, one defeat if I remember rightly."
"And speaking of wing-backs, what do you make of the squad?"
"Well, it's a mixture of new caps and experience, and it's good to see such a statement of attacking intent. Our boys haven't come here to play defensively. The regulars who aren't in the squad have been rested for the Cup of Harmony - if we get in that is. It's good to see Tiddles has made the short trip over as well."
"Yes, in fact we have footage of her arriving with the rest of the squad on their specially chartered zeppelin from the newly-built Grappenhall Zeppodrome, which they'll be using to get from stadium to stadium. I wonder if the other teams have remebered there are no roads in Cockbill Street? Anyway, next up for Bettia will be Nedalia. Stuart, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I have a bad feeling about this one. Nedalia haven't beaten us in our three meetings so far, but this game could be their best opportunity to redress the balance."
"And lastly, we'll be playing Lamoni at a cricket ground. They like their cricket here in Cockbill Street, and hopefully Bettia will soon follow suit. What do you make of Lamoni?"
"They're certainly a good team, and it seems they've come here with bags of confidence. If we can get any kind of result from that game, I'll be very happy."
"Thank you for those thought Stuart. And now we return to Gethin and Razir in our Gabalfa studios - as the Apex League gears up for a new season, they'll be sharing their wisdom with you, the folks at home. From us in Jotneheim, goodnight."
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Bettia |
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We don't do defence |
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Rams win opener of AOCAF over Krytenia 3-1
In a good form for the AOCAF, the Rams, the newly renamed regional squad, defeated the Krytenian entries 3-1 in the first match. Bennie Sharp scored the first and the last goal for the Rams, with Laura Boyd getting one in during the second half of the match.
[ooc]more to come in a bit, something else is happening. no time[/ooc] |
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Hawks draw with Nedalia, share 1st
In a relatively 'odd' match, this was a high scoring match for both sides. It was said that the Hawks will be focusing their main effort against Starblaydia; and it appears to be true. The Hawks do not seem to be bothered by Nedalia, Chacor, and Bettia; and well they shouldn't. They shouldn't get overconfident, but the Lamonian squad isn't bad themselves. Having made the knockouts in all but one AOCAF appearance speaks for itself. The Lamonians with the most goal-scoring sucess in the AO Champs League let themselves be heard from again in this match, with Christian Silk, Ted Kubik, and Allan Tippie all scoring a goal. All in all, this isn't such a bad result from a first AOCAF match. The Hawks will be facing Chacor next.
Lamoni - 3 Allan Tippie (5), Christian Silk (20), Ted Kubik (35)
Nedalia - 3 (10, 40, 45) |
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The Lions have come into the AOCAF Cup playing their flamboyant, attacking football, but unfortunately against Lamoni, they also forgot how a little bit of defensive adequacy could win a match for you. For every goal Lamoni scored, the Nedalians came back just a short while later and equalized, but had they stopped just one of those goals, it wouldve been the Lions beaming in all their glory, with 3 points in the bag.
That wasnt the case however, as manager Randy Gamman, stated: "It takes more than just the ability to score goals. We have to defend SOMETHING. We cant just sit back and watch the goals scorch by us. This is no fault of Derrell Lynch, our goalkeeper, who played fabulous, but it is the fault of the defensive line. Mohammed Khadra and Cole Zenith have to get their communication going, or we're going to pay big."
The 3 goals the Lions scored came through Mattan, Jamhurra, and Constantine, with the latter riding high from his fabulous performances for the U21 team in U21 WC 17. It was his first start, and his ability to play with Marine Coast United international Nene was a huge plus for the manager. |
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Winning Start
When people around the region open their morning newspapers they may have a glance at the AOCAF results. If they do they will see the name of Hypocria right at the top of the list. Admittedly part of that is thanks to the alphabet, being in Group A and all, but mostly it’s due to the Hyppos winning on their AOCAF debut.
Hypocria versus Pedriana was clearly not considered one of the glamour games by the host nation and hence the match was played on what is essentially a hundred year old field. The Hypocrian players clearly didn’t mind too much and they produced a confident performance to defeat their much more established opponents.
Hypocrium City striker Andrei Shirko scored his tenth international goal, midway through the first half, to give Hypocria the lead after some good play from Baxter in the centre. In the second half Partizan Drissa forward Ashley Marshall marked his international debut with a great goal after he cut inside from the right and curled a left footed shot past the keeper and into the back of the net. At the other end Ricardo Kindelan was in fine form and kept the Pedriana attack at bay to help the Hypocria to a 2 – 0 win.
Hypocria 2 – 0 Pedriana
Shirko
Marshall
The result means Hypocria top Group A at this very early stage, level on points with Turori after the Eels edged past the hosts 1 – 0 in the other group game. The Hyppos stay at the Roegrow Grass Patch for their second match, a top of the table encounter with Turori. The surroundings will be the same and hopefully the result will also be something similar.
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Aroras Kick-Off With A Draw
Bettia 1 (Hutton 6)
Chacor 1 (Meneses 35)
Bettia kept up their proud tradition of never winning their opening matches by drawing a tight game with Chacor.
The Aroras got off to the perfect start when Chris Hutton put them in front after just six minutes, neatly sidestepping past Brandon Cater before firing home from just inside the penalty area.
Young starlet Latif Hunter almost doubled their advantage on the half hour mark after being put through by a long diagonal ball from Evan Brooks. Having caught the Chacor defence napping he found himself one-on-one with Napoli in the Chacor goal, but was forced wide and shot into the side netting.
This near miss stung Chacor into life, and they dragged themselve back on level terms five minute later after the dangerous Albert Allen was fouled twenty yards out. Michael Meneses duly slotted the free-kick home, finding the top corner with his visciously curling set-piece.
Some half-time entertainment came in the form of Tiddles, Bettia's much-loved mascot, attacking Chacorian midfielder Carlos Jasper as the teams came off for team-talk and a cup of tea. Unfortunately for the Bettian fans, Jasper was just too fleet of foot for our beloved Tiddles, and so escaped unscathed.
However, this near-miss affected his game somewhat as he seemed nervous at times (especially when near the Bettian bench) and this led to a number of uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the second half. The numourous Bettian chances were easily dealt with by the Chacor back line, and so the opening match finished honours even.
Bettia now face Starblaydia knowing they need to improve if they are to progress in this tournament.
This post has been edited by Bettia on Jul 15 2005, 05:18 AM |
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We don't do defence |
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Opener doesn't go well for Stars
After a wait that seemed interminable, the ninth AOCAF tournament began for the Sarzonian second choice national football team with a matchup against the team that won the 21st World Cup, Bedistan. In the third meeting between those two sides, the Lions finally finished winners, defeating Sarzonia 2-0 to put the Stars at the bottom of the table in the so-called Group of Death.
"With all the talk about this group being a Group of Death, we got caught with our britches down a bit," Coach Bryson Juergens said. "We're not out of contention by any stretch, but we also need to play a bit better football to make it out of this group."
The Stars (0-0-1) called the loss to Bedistan a "team collapse," but the Lions could also be credited for taking the game to the Stars. Goalkeeper Marco Taglianetti made six saves and was pressured constantly throughout the match, but both goals were "soft, soft goals," Juergens said.
"In a way, he shouldn't be blamed," Juergens said. "Defensively, we were horrible. We didn't provide enough support in midfield and our forwards did a poor job of keeping possession. We were lucky the scoreline was only two-nil.
"But those were both goals that Tags should have stopped with a fair bit of ease," Juergens said. "We'll have to regroup for our next match."
The Stars will get a bye date to "stew over the loss," as forward Kevin Wilson put it, but Juergens said he planned for the day to be "constructive."
"We're going to put the lads through their paces," he said. "It's going to be a lot of hard work that's going to get us through if anything does. Nova Brittanicus won the Cup of Harmony, so they're anything but a soft team. The only team we think we can hammer in this group is Spruitland." |
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It's all about the Navy. |
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Strike Partnership Starts Well
Belizaire and Macia sink Aroras, 2-1
Four senior debuts were handed out to young Starblaydi players in this match, one of whom marked his debut with the goal that finally sank Bettia's hopes of building on their single point won in their first game.
Leopoldo Lopez, Joe Kippenberger, Christian Macia and Giovanni Lopez all took the step-up from from the Under-21s to the full national team, performing well, overall, in this openeing game for Starblaydia. Leopoldo Lopez did well throughout the ninety minutes, his presence boosted by fullback counterpart at club level, Jikiri Fuinbar. Kippenberger performed excellently alongside Captain Martin Watt, though one can say he was most at-fault for Bettia's goal.
Chris Hutton got away from Kippenberger's gaze and when Watt failed to close down Ward fast enough, Hutton ended up with all the space and time he needed to chip delicately over the onrushing Corominas. That was after, of course, Darius Belizaire had slotted home a penalty after Corominas - yes, the goalie - was brought down in the Bettian box by Gareth Coates.
Obviously the Aroras had never played computer football games on the 'Easy' setting, where you can run the goalie 90 yards and score a goal with him. Coates, the non-gamer player that he obviously is, cynically fouled Corominas with a boot to the knee. In ordinary circumstances Corominas would have taken the spot-kick himself, but as he was writhing in agony on the sidelines with Elwood Deangelo warming up, Belizaire slotted the penalty home.
Christian Macia, on his debut, won the game for Starblaydia with around twelve minutes to go as he broke free of the offside trap and rounded the 'keeper. He was taken off shortly after to be replaced by another debutant, Giovanni Lopez. Though G. Lopez made quite an impact, another Starblaydi goal was not forthcoming before the end of the match. Playing Chacor next, Starblaydia will be expecting a four-nil win, so a little bird told us. |
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Hawks crush Chacor 4-0
In what had to be one of the most one-sided matches in AOCAF history, the Lamoni Hawks crushed Chacor 4-0 in Cockbill Street. During most of the match, Hawk Goalie Jamie Goggins had nothing to do but watch the grass grow; so masterful was Lamoni's performance. Ted Hause, Ted Kubik, Allan Tippie, and Lonnie Petrovich all scored in this mismatch. The Hawks have the next matchday off before facing Starblaydia; and they thought that they might as well watch the Starblaydi game, since there was nothing else to do but practice and laugh at Chacor. Projections call for a first or second place group stage finish for the Hawks; dependent on how the upcoming match with Starblaydia goes. While the Hawks have yet to defeat Starblaydia in AOCAF, that doesn't mean that it can't be done. We shall see in any event, however. Starblaydia might be the top ranked team in the AOCAF, but this match will go to the team that wants it more. It has been reported that Hawk reserve player Max Tinch was the little birdie that told the Starblaydi squad about the Lamonian results vis-a-vis Chacor.
Lamoni - 4 Ted Hause (10), Ted Kubik (30), Allan Tippie (60), Lonnie Petrovich (55)
Chacor - 0 |
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