By far the most consequential game of the evening was the Group A showdown between Fianna AFC and SwampDragons United in a winner-take-all contest. The first half of the game remained scoreless, a situation that United couldn't allow to maintain because The Greens held the advantage if the game ended as a draw. So, forced to go on the attack, their defense started to be exposed to counterattack. Fianna broke through in the 65th minute after a header by Reilly Glinton and then all hope disappeared when Glinton bent a ball like Beckham into the upper corner, securing a 2-0 win and the second transfer spot. Fianna finishes group play with 10 points, which may be just enough to avoid a double-digit seed, whereas United's tournament has come to an end.
In the other two games, North Polar Dragons take a tough 1-0 road win over Burnaby Hillbillies as they leapfrog Burnaby into second place in the Group E standings with 5 games remaining. Barnum Madrigal got the only goal of the game when he scored unassisted in the 70th minute. Otherwise, the players of the game were the opposing goalies, who stopped a combined 14 out of the 15 shots on goal. Space Olympics still holds the group lead but with three ties, it will be hard for the Parisians to maintain that position for long. To round out the action, Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack lost another competitive match in Group D, this time a 2-1 home defeat to FC Trojans of SC. In four matches, Hodensack has a -4 goal differential, meaning they're keeping it close. However, soccer isn't a game of horseshoes and a 1 goal loss is still a loss. Gideon Kuhlman scored the game winner with a few minutes left in the game to give the Trojans all three points and a solid 5 point lead in the group standings over 3rd place FC Kingston. Austria-Hungary is virtually eliminated although they can advance if a miracle occurs.
I sent a message to the coaches who need to send a challenge to get the remaining two games scheduled so be on the lookout (Rushmore) for a challenge in the next day or two. We have 4 games tomorrow as the Group Stage starts to wrap up.
5/1/2024 8:50 PM (edited)