Well that was a beat down! Congrats indiansrck27. Good luck in semis

Got a late start this morning and wow. Give me a minute to do the writeup.

We are now down to the Final...five. The 2/7 series wrapped up this morning with the most lopsided result in the Knockout Rounds up to this point. #7 butterfiles united had taken the opening game 5-2 and flew into Colombia with a lot of confidence about their chances to advance. Those hopes died a few minutes before the first half ended. A different #2 Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi was on tap today compared to the first game as they absolutely dominated the stats sheet from the opening whistle. After Weyland Watkins scored his 10th goal of the tournament in the 20th minute to cut the lead to 5-3, the butterfiles defense collapsed in the 42nd minute. Two headers, one by Dutch left forward Maeyken Bastin and Watkins 11th Cup XIII goal tied the aggregate at 5-5 and the scoring spree just kept rolling. Santiago Polanco's 54th minute strike proved to be the game winner for Cotopaxi but they added three more just for good measure. The final 7-0 blowout advances Cotopaxi to the Semifinals as they take the aggregate 9-5, ending an excellent run by butterfiles.

Enjoy a couple of days off before we pick up action again on the 20th.

Posted by aubie8 on 12/16/2023 10:22:00 AM (view original):
Well that was a beat down! Congrats indiansrck27. Good luck in semis

Well I was not expecting that. I had prepped myself to log in and see another loss.

The Quarterfinals are finally back at it today as #4 Futbol Club Oviedo hosted the first leg against #5 VB Hibernian to determine the last Semifinal spot. Hibs had undergone a roster shakeup after several key players retired and the patchwork starting 11 did show some of the effects. Hibs was able to score first when midfielder Norvin Blackwood directed his header into the far corner of the goal in the 6th minute but the lead lasted less than a minute as the Spanish side equalized in the 7th. With the game tied 1-1, Oviedo's Ewing Sequeira took over the game as he went on to score a hat trick. The first one came in the 35th when his shot deflected off the hands of Hibs goalie Sonny Miki to give Oviedo a 2-1 lead. Miki then muffed a Sequeria header a little before halftime to extend the advantage to 3-1 and a perfectly placed Sequeria volley early in the 2nd half rounded out the scoring as the game ended 4-1.

The teams travel back to England for a 6pm game tonight that will complete the Quarterfinals, barring an aggregate tie.

An excellent game was played this evening to wrap up the Quarterfinals. #4 Futbol Club Oviedo took a 4-1 lead into return game against #5 VB Hibernian...and needed every bit of that advantage to survive. Hibs defender Dylan MacHendrie pressed forward from his centerback position and blasted a winner from long distance in the 24th minute, cutting the Oviedo lead down to 4-2. Things continued to deteriorate for the Spanish side when veteran hothead Romeo Gimenez was given his 2nd yellow of the game in the 26th minute. From that point forward, Hibs controlled the game with the man advantage. A pair of goals by Argentine forward Leonardo Sarmiento midway through the second half tied the aggregate at 6-6 and Oviedo was clearly up against the ropes. With their side rapidly tiring, Oviedo won a corner in the 81st minute and surprised the Hibs defense by taking a quick corner. Enrique Porcel lofted a perfect cross to teammate Cisco Camaces, who hit the header of his life with what proved to be the series winning goal. Hibs won the game 5-3 but Oviedo advanced with a 7-6 aggregate, ending an great run by Hibernian.

The Semifinals are now set and the Final Four can start scheduling at their leisure.

The time frame for Semifinals scheduling is December 21st thru the 29th but we'll add a day because of the holidays if needed.

Three players remain alive with double digit goals, as the L'Orteil D'or will almost certainly come down to a battle between Vincente Ocampo (Ants), Ewing Sequeira (Oviedo) and Weyland Watkins (Cotopaxi.) It would be a miracle for any other player to take the honor at this point.

All of the Semifinal games have been scheduled with three of the games on Christmas Eve and the fourth on Christmas Day.

A couple of close games (as you would expect in the Semifinals) have gone final on this Christmas Eve. #3 Fighting Ants hosted the first game of the penultimate round against #2 Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi to get things going. The Polish club delighted the home crowd of 21,493 with a goal on the opening play. Burhford Sigismund took the ball from the opening whistle and raced down the pitch, hitting a hard, rising shot that snuck in underneath the crossbar, giving Cotopaxi goalie Rose Luyten no chance to react. Sasha Guevara tied the game in the 13th minute when he painted the corner and both sides would add an additional goal to go into the halftime locker room knotted at 2-2. The game remained even as two more goals were scored, keeping the contest drawish at 3-3. In the 80th minute, a silly foul by Ants defender Andre Jorge gave a free kick to Cotopaxi just outside the box which led to heroics by Cotopaxi forward Sceley Ballouchy. Deciding to do it all, Ballouchy took the free kick and passed it to himself, where he one-timed his own pass for the game winner. Cotopaxi will take its 4-3 advantage into this evening, where the return game will be played in Quito, Ecuador.

In the other semifinal, #4 Futbol Club Oviedo and #8 kangaroo fc played to a dramatic 3-3 draw in Oviedo, Spain. The two teams traded goals the entire match as the score progressed from 1-1 to 2-2 and finally to end at 3-3. Oviedo has a 3-2 lead and was loking to get out of the stadium with a win but a corner kick awarded to the roos late gave them the opportunity to draw. The #8 seed took full advantage as Naum Desny controlled the cross in the middle of the penalty area and easily beat Oviedo goalie Giandomenico Sammarco. Both teams get to think about what's to come as they play on Christmas day to potentially decide who makes the final.

None of the Golden Toe leaders added to their totals as the number of remaining games dwindles to a handful. I'll update the other game this evening after 7pm.

Looks like we have the first overtime action of the Cup XIII playoffs. #4 Futbol Club Oviedo and #8 kangaroo fc traveled to Croatia this evening with the series knotted at 3-3 and, for the first 50 minutes, it looked as if the roos were going to advance to the Championship round. Alik Proniakin gave the roos the 4-3 aggregate lead in the 5th minute when his header dribbled across the line and Helge Buturajac extended the lead to 5-3 moments later. While Oviedo was able to tie the aggregate at 5-5, it was all roos in the middle half of the game. A muff by Oviedo goalie Giandomenico Sammarco gave the roos a 6-5 advantage and, by the time Buturajac scored his 2nd in the 51st minute, the lead had swelled to 8-5.

However, an unlikely comeback was led by an unlikely scorer. Redley Arata scored his 1st goal of the tournament as he looped a header over roos goalie Nikita Shekhodanov with 15 minutes to go to start a stretch of Oviedo dominance to finish the game. Forward Romeo Gimenez rocketed a clean winner in the 82nd minute and Enrique Porcel finished off the comeback with a handful of minutes to go as the game ended 5-5 and the series remained drawn at 8 apiece. Of the 10 goals scored, once again, none were by players at or near the top of the Golden Toe tracker.

As the higher seed, Oviedo will host the first sudden death game and can send the challenge to kangaroo at its convenience. The additional game has been added to the Semifinal schedule and appears in red.

Today's holiday game is at noon. Merry Christmas, everyone.

#2 Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi has secured their 2nd ever birth into the Championship round as they defeat #3 Fighting Ants in the Semifinals with a final aggregate of 7-5. Already leading in the series 4-3, Cotopaxi clinched their spot in front of the home faithful. Weyland Watkins scored his 12th in the 8th minute off a well-placed cross that found him alone inside the box, putting the ball away with a header into the corner of the net. After Aescby Nix's own header a few minutes later, the Cotopaxi lead swelled to 6-3 and, aside from a 5 minute period near the end of the 1st half where Tyesone Hainsworth gave the Ants a couple of tallies, Cotopaxi's lead was never overcome. The 3-2 halftime score held up in the scoreless 2nd half despite the Ants winning the stats line. The Ecudorian side will be appearing in its first finals since August 2021 in Cup VI.

The Ants will play in the 3rd Place game against the loser of the other Semifinals. Fighting Ants center forward Vincente Ocampo, although now locked in at 15 goals, can still take home the Golden Toe honor as he has a three goal advantage over Watkins and Oviedo's Ewing Sequeira.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 12/25/2023 10:52:00 AM (view original):
Today's holiday game is at noon. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Merry Christmas!!

The sudden death game is at 6pm tonight. If it is another tie, kangaroo will host the next do-or-die game.

We started off with 32 teams contesting for all the glory and have come down to the final pair. #4 Futbol Club Oviedo and #8 kangaroo fc played a sudden death tiebreaker game this evening to see which team would have the honor of playing in the FC Dynasty Cup XIII Championship Round. Tied 8-8 in aggregate, Oviedo hosted the game as was their right for being the higher seed and made the advantage count. The roos actually drew first blood when Helge Buturajac found himself wide open inside the penalty area and timed a perfect volley that beat Oviedo goalie Giandomenico Sammarco clean. That's when Ewing Sequeira took over the game and single-handedly propelled his side to the finals. Sequeira's first goal was a header in the 22nd minute that tipped off the hands of roos goalie Nikita Shekhodanov to tie the aggregate once again at 9-9. He then got around the defensive line and painted the corner 14 minutes later to give Oviedo the lead for good.

The home crowd held their breath when defender Macario Bordonaba was sent to the showers early in the 68th minute for his 2nd yellow of the contest but, even a man down, the roos couldn't equalize. A shot in the 77th minute just missed wide, a followup a minute later sailed over the crossbar and the last best chance for the Croats missed wide in the 79th. Sequeira then iced the game by completing the hat trick, giving Oviedo the 3-1 win and the series 11-9. Sequeria's outburst draws him into a tie with Fighting Ants forward Vincente Ocampo. Both players sit atop the Golden Toe with 15 goals. With at least two more games to play and Ocampo unable to add to his total (the 3rd Place game doesn't count towards the goal tally,) the top scorer's trophy is Sequeria's to win.