The opening game of Cup XIX is now one for the history books as we begin our quest for a new Champion of the FC Dynasty universe.

Group F got us started as FC Not Very Athletic opened their doors and 36,157 fans watched their boys take on Canadian club SwampDragons United. The home fans didn't have long to wait when an early corner kick by Finn McRickard found the head of Scully Malon, who nailed it past a frozen dragons goalie Treshawn Aznar into the back of the net for the 1-0 at the three minute mark. Lindsay Hynes then stretched the Athletic advantage to 2-0 when he dove forward and beat Aznar to the corner in the 31st.

Desperately needing something to change the momentum, the dragons changed their tactics and pressed for the last 10 minutes of the opening half and created a couple of chances, finally capitalizing in the 41st minute when Jai Richard beat Athletic netminder Derrick Richardson up high to go into the break only down 2-1.

However, to start the 2nd half, Athletic made some adjustments of their own and completely controlled the flow as the final 45 minutes began. Owning possession and placing constant pressure on the dragons defense, it finally yielded the third and final Athletic goal in the 60th minute when London Jamison out-jumped everyone in the box to make it 3-1, which is how the game ended to give the Group favorites all three points.

There is another game this evening and two more tomorrow before the tourney really starts to heat up on the 19th.

Oh boy.

A statement was made this evening out of Group G where the Las Vegas Scorpions F.C. were playing their first ever FC Dynasty Cup game against the Cup XIV Champion the crutchanators of soccer. crutchanators established their presence early when Ville Koivula weaved his way through the Scorpions defense and knocked one in off the underside of the crossbar in the 6th to take the 1-0 lead. After Vegas tied the contest off a header by Bromleah Rodríguez, who benefitted from crutchanators goalie Rueban Lazar muffing the ball, the visitors scored two out of the next three to take a 3-2 lead a few minutes before halftime.

The makings of an exciting 2nd half went out the window in the 43rd minute when crutchanators' veteran left defender Raymond Vela picked up his 2nd yellow of the half, being sent to the showers after a silly foul. Rodriguez made them pay on the ensuing resumption of play as he netted his 2nd of the game to tie it at 3-3 going into the break and the Scorpions never looked back. The 2nd stanza was a blowout as Vegas scored 5 times, including a pair by Borivoj Fales to post an unexpected 8-4 rout over crutchanators. If there was a silver lining for the former Champs, it was that they netted four away goals which will be good for tiebreaker purposes. However, giving up 8 goals is never a positive.

I'm glad I put my teenage Dutch team into this group...they're going to get slaughtered. See you tomorrow.

Had a minor error to correct in the Group F standings but it is all sorted now.

Talking about Group F, FC Not Very Athletic has opened Cup XIX with a very good start as they take their 2nd straight home victory, this time a 4-1 decision over Hardknocks F.C. After a scoreless first half where both teams had decent looks at the goal, Athletic broke the deadlock in the 51st when London Jamison scored on a ball that beat Hardknocks goalie Gervase Hyland to the far post to make it 1-0. Although the American club was able to tie the game at 1-1 in the 59th, Athletic had too much firepower, primarily in the form of Lindsay Hynes, who scored twice in 6 minutes late to put the game away and give team from England a 4-1 win.

Athletic sits atop the standings with 6 points while Hardknocks and Swamp U have almost identical records at the bottom of the table in the early going. Both teams get to improve their lot when Hardknocks hosts the dragons in the lone game this evening, which is looking like an important matchup for both clubs for playoff implications even though the tournament has barely gotten underway.

Group F had its 3rd game this evening as Hardknocks F.C. and SwampDragons United were both looking to bounce back from difficult losses in their openers. Unfortunately, the difficulty continued for the host club as the dragons won convincingly on the road 5-1, burying the American club into a hole they're going to need to quickly climb out of.

Swamp U scored off a corner in the 11th minute off the head of Winslowe Grey and Cup XVI Golden Toe winner Jerrad Forko had the Midas touch twice to lead the dragons. Javaughn Galey, who has been the lone offensive weapon for Hardknocks in the tournament, scored for the 2nd game in a row but it was nowhere near enough. The result gets the dragons into the plus side for goal differential and gives them 5 away goals, which is always useful. Hardknocks fall to 0-2 and a -7, as their next game is looking like must point if not a must win.

There are 5 contests tomorrow as we head into a game-heavy weekend.