Thanks again for putting on this amazing tourney. Perhaps sometime we will advance to the next round.

Posted by clememp on 2/12/2025 5:02:00 PM (view original):
Thanks again for putting on this amazing tourney. Perhaps sometime we will advance to the next round.

Sorry, man. Your team was right there on the brink, as usual.

Group G completed play when Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., who needed to win to take the top spot, hosted St. Louis City in Cologne. Twice the Billygoats took the lead and twice City answered back almost immediately, the last of which came in the 57th minute when Victor Mascarenhas dove forward and hit a pop up that looped over the head of goalie Aritz García and went in after hitting the crossbar. With the game tied at 2-2, Cologne threw everything they had at City in the final 30 minutes but couldn't regain the lead and the game ended as a draw. The result hands the group to Wolfsburg Dynamit and Cologne will have to advance as a probable double digit seed.

Another World 71 German squad got a big victory when FC Stolpen Steamroller benefited greatly from a red card and won a dramatic comeback against FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds 6-4 in Saxony. Edinburgh jumped out to a 4-2 lead, controlling most of the play in the 1st half. However, in the 50th minute, Suthley Simms got called for head to head contact while challenging for a header and was immediately ejected. The momentum turned decisively and Steamroller, well, steamrolled the Bullet Birds by scoring four unanswered goals. Otho Mann got it going with a nicely placed header followed up a few minutes later by Andrea Iglesias, who found himself open in the middle and didn't miss. With the win, Steamroller is probably assured of advancing, although it's hard to predict since Fianna AFC has yet to play a game.

Another team that failed to capitalize on an opportunity was FC Gimli Vikings, who could have greatly helped their playoff chances with a home win but was unable to get the result they needed against perennial powerhouse the crutchanators of soccer. Tommy Mejer put crutchanators up 2-0 in the 11th minute when he showed off his superior vertical leap and made good contact with a corner cross. Gimli recovered in the 2nd half, scoring three times in a row to take a temporary 3-2 lead after Brodie Hambard hit an awkward shot that found the corner. But, crutchanators got the late equalizer when a shot by Jaquawn Cervantes was not properly controlled by Vikings goalie Marecek Palecek and the home side had to settle with splitting the points in a 3-3 tie. crutchanators finished the tournament with an 0-3-3 record in 6 nail-biting games. Gimli will have to battle it out with FC Kingston for the other transfer spot, who has two games in hand.

The last contest of the evening was a second straight 5-1 win for SwampDragons United out of Group C, who are looking very strong. Their victim tonight was Kiki United, who had played three very competitive games up to this point. Five different Dragons players scored as the Canadian team had 17 shots, placing 14 of them on goal. The lone goal for Kiki was fittingly by Claudio Kaká. Otherwise, it was a dominating performance for a team that now has a +8 goal differential in just two games played.

Nine games tomorrow...and more knockout spots to be handed out.

Southeast Indiana Football Club becomes the 7th team to advance to the playoffs and they did it watching TV. Bad News finished off its Group H schedule with a convincing 5-2 over Not Very United, who was needing to go at least 3-0-1 in order to stay alive. Nicolas Pabel scored his 2nd goal of the game in injury time to close out the 1st half to break a 2-2 tie and put News up for good. A couple of insurance goals in the second stanza sealed United's fate as they have been eliminated from the tournament and will be playing their last three games to disrupt seeding only.

Sister club FC Not Very Athletic had a much better showing in Group F as they win a tight 1-0 game over Slough FC, making the group a three-way race. The only goal came early when Ross McEntee beat Slough goalie Gawyn Massingberd with a redirected header in the 15th minute. Otherwise, the two teams were evenly matched. Slough, in its Cup debut, has played three competitive matches but has no points to show for it.

In a decidedly non-competitive match, Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia Foci Klub got crushed 7-0 in a Group A game against Merchiston FC, making fans wonder just how bad the scoreboard might be when the Dual Monarchy plays on the road against the defending Champs Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi later on. 63 year old Thomas-VanLuijk De Meyer scored twice for Merchiston, as they were never threatened, A-H managing only a single shot on goal for the entire match. Merchiston sits atop the group standings with a 3-0 record and will probably be a playoff team barring disaster.

Fianna AFC opened up its Cup XVI tournament with a solid 4-0 road win against Brighton AFC in Group B play. Elvis was in the building as Elvis Boswell scored the first goal of the game on a ball that tipped off Brighton goalie Kolton Rimando's hands and into the back of the net. Brighton actually had the greater number of opportunities and more ball possession but couldn't get one past Fianna goalie Keegan Ratliff, who stopped all 7 shots on goal for the shutout.

SwampDragons United improved to 3-0 with another strong Group C performance, this time beating Kiki United in Germany 3-0. Fletcher Courtenay scored near the end of the 1st half and again in the early part of the 2nd to break open the close game. At 3-0, the Dragons now have a +11 goal differential and have effectively punched their ticket, although not mathematically. Considering how weak Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack is at the bottom of the standings, both the Dragons and FC Trojans of SC are looking good.

To wrap up the morning action, VB Hibernian and FC Kingston played an excellent 3-3 draw in Group D, a game that kept Kingston's playoff hopes alive but was a wasted opportunity in their attempt to catch FC Gimli Vikings for the groups 2nd transfer spot. Kingston had taken a 3-2 lead in the 70th when, down 2-0, they scored 3 goals in three minutes, capped off by Andre Reis volleying a right footer that Hibs goalie Sonny Miki couldn't even react to. However, Hibs got the tying goal late when Lucas Quezada scored off a corner kick, forcing Kingston to settle for its third tie in four games. Kingston is still 4 points behind the Vikings for the playoff berth with two games left to play, so a win is a necessity at this point.

Some more games this afternoon that I'll pick up tonight.

Both Group C spots were claimed this evening after FC Trojans of SC handled winless Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack 4-1 in California. The Crown Jewels played a decent game but lacked a finishing touch around the goal. Eli Kotschau scored for the Austrians in the 36th minute when he beat a poorly executed offside trap but the Trojans played solid besides that one miscue. Veteran super scorer Rashan Berwick knocked in two goals and the Trojans improved to 4-0 in group play. The result also guaranteed SwampDragons United, sitting with a record of 3-0, a knockout round invite as well. Clearly, something has to give record-wise when these two teams play their home and away in the coming days.

Another 4-1 result came out of Group F when Canadian powerhouse Swamp City Dragons beat an outmatched Slough FC . Over 38,000 watched the Dragons grab control of the match in the 35th minute when Lou Zimmern knocked in a header. But the death blows were thrown by Lyle Lensky, who scored twice in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half to put the game away. Slough, who was officially eliminated with the loss, also played decently and there's no shame in losing on the road to one of the best clubs in Cup history. Swamp City, now sitting at 3-1-1, is only 4 points clear of 3rd Place FC Not Very Athletic, who has two games in hand and is actually sitting in the drivers seat despite their current place in the standings.

Another 7 games tomorrow and then we start slowly winding down the Group Stage.

Spoke too soon...

SwampDragons United and FC Trojans of SC played each other earlier today so the comment above about something having to give with these undefeated records is already out of date. The Dragons hosted the first game of their group series and came away with the 4-2 win. Fletcher Courtenay and Rashan Berwick traded goals a minute apart early in the game but after that pairing, it was all Dragons. Three goals in a row in the 2nd half by the home side was the difference as a late score by Trojans midfielder Stephon Gray came too late to change the momentum significantly. With both teams already in the playoffs, the game was for seeding as the Dragons temporarily take the group lead based on goal differential.

There were three games this morning, by far the most critical of which decided the 2nd transfer spot out of Group D. FC Kingston was in a must situation and was playing at home against FC Gimli Vikings, who would punch their ticket with a positive result...and the Swedish side accomplished the feat and will be advancing to the knockout rounds, eliminating the former Cup Champion from the competition. The game was decided in a 9 minute period in the 1st half when a 0-0 game turned into a 3-0 Vikings lead. Center midfielder Vikash Mereworth, anchoring the 4-5-1 Vikings formation, put two goals into the back of the net in three minutes, the 2nd of which was a muff by Kingston goalie Hilario Serpa. With the win, Gimli finishes with 10 points and will probably be a double digit seed whereas Kingston joins the crutchanators of soccer in front of the television.

The other two games were a pair of 2-1 results, one of which cost Southeast Indiana Football Club a great opportunity to improve its playoff seeding. Not Very United handed Indiana a loss in Group H that locks in Indiana with 10 points. After Peer Weinstein's 1st half goal, United scored twice in the 2nd stanza to get the come from behind win, their first of the tournament. United can continue to play spoiler as one of their remaining games is against group leader Bordeaux Fighting Bovines, which may determine who wins the group. The last morning game was a Kobelco United Football Club victory against Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia Foci Klub, who finally scored in Cup XVI after two straight shutouts. Austria-Hungary took the lead when Jamari Wynn bent a ball around the arms of Kobelco goalie Carsten Zobel in the 26th minute. The Hungarian team's dreams of securing a stage point ended when Sami Wächter's header broke the 1-1 tie midway through the 2nd half and the game ended as a 2-1 Kobelco home win.

Several games this afternoon and evening...

The big game this evening was a showdown in Group F, where FC Not Very Athletic was hosting the team immediately above them in the standings, North Polar Dragons FC. A North Polar win would have drawn them level for the top spot, while an Athletic win would temporarily vault them into the 2nd transfer spot. Athletic opened the scoring in the 26th when Ross McEntee took a shot from distance that beat North Polar goalie Aderet Schar so badly he hardly took a step before it went sailing past him. Zakary Walls almost tied the game 5 minutes later when his effort bounced off the near post and out for a goal kick. The closest the Dragons came to tying the game was about 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Schar got one hand on a shot by Dermot Rushe to barely redirect it wide and the game ended as a 1-0 with for Athletic. North Polar is now in a must win for its final group stage game and then they need some help.

Bordeaux Fighting Bovines finished their campaign to grab the #1 seed with a 2-0 road win at Not Very United. The Cattle dominated possession and took the lead early after Nemesio Estévez struck a winner from outside the penalty area. After that, the Bordeaux defense packed it inside and kept United from getting many quality looks. With the win, Bordeaux finishes Group H play with 15 points, the first team to finish the group stage with that many.

VB Hibernian failed to improve its seeding after it fell 1-0 to FC Kingston to finish up Group D. Kingston was outshot 16-6 but made one of them count when Benoni Händzel hit a volley in the 12th minute. The Greens, who could have finished with 16 points with a win, was unable to knock one past Kingston goalie Hilario Serpa. As a matter of fact, Serpa was never seriously tested as most shots were right to him for comfortable saves. The most dramatic moment was in the final minute when Lichuen Carlos Alberto took a shot that was just wide and Hibs had to settle for 13 stage points. Kingston ends the Cup with a 1-2-3 record in 6 competitive games.

The final game of the evening was a match between the two bottom teams out of Group C, where Kiki United had no problem crushing Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack 5-1 on the road. 35,000+ showed up in Vienna to watch their team get bombed for the 5th straight game. Claudio Kaká scored for Kiki in the 5th minute and fellow Brazilian Faron Lux added a pair of goals. Austrian forward Amall Pedarzolli saved the home side from a complete embarrassment when he scored Hodensack's lone goal in the 36th.

Four more games tomorrow.

Had a work trip with no internet, just got back. Accepted one challenge and sent 3.

We just rolled as well, but shouldn't be a problem

Posted by indiansrck27 on 2/15/2025 2:50:00 AM (view original):
Had a work trip with no internet, just got back. Accepted one challenge and sent 3.

We just rolled as well, but shouldn't be a problem

I'm going to extend the Group Stage time frame by several days to accommodate. Glad the Defending Champs are back.

For everyone in Group A, please resend your challenge (if it timed out) to Cotopaxi.

Also, since there are only four games today, I'm going to do the update all at once this evening.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/15/2025 11:27:00 AM (view original):

Posted by indiansrck27 on 2/15/2025 2:50:00 AM (view original):
Had a work trip with no internet, just got back. Accepted one challenge and sent 3.

We just rolled as well, but shouldn't be a problem

I'm going to extend the Group Stage time frame by several days to accommodate. Glad the Defending Champs are back.

For everyone in Group A, please resend your challenge (if it timed out) to Cotopaxi.

Also, since there are only four games today, I'm going to do the update all at once this evening.

Thank you and I am sorry for the delay. Was doing training on the big island of Hawaii and I have awful service where we slept and when we weren’t sleeping I was busy freezing or flying so couldn’t really mess with my phone much.

There were a couple of games that caused a shuffle in the group standings. Out of Group F, which is proving to be the group of death in Cup XVI, three evenly matched teams continue to jockey for the top two spots. In the latest, North Polar Dragons FC, facing a must win game against Slough FC, jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the road and then held on as Slough rallied late and almost eliminated North Polar from the competition. After Zakary Walls scored in the 54th minute, Slough forward Jajuan Gil scored twice within 5 minutes to tighten the game to 3-2 with 11 minutes to play. The home side the won several corner kicks, that last chance coming in stoppage time. The cross was not accurate and the Dragons escaped with the win. FC Not Very Athletic now finds itself in 3rd place and must get a positive result in one of its last two games as well as maintain a positive goal differential. Swamp City Dragons simply needs to avoid losing its last game by 7 goals in order to advance.

FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds took another step to clinching a playoff spot when it beat Fianna AFC 1-0 in Scotland. The sellout crowd of 40,000 watched a scoreless first half as a defensive struggle limited both offenses. Sandro Huntelaar finally cracked the code in the 67th when he was in the right spot to collect a rebound off Greens goalie Keegan Ratliff and volley in the winning score. With the result, Edinburgh moves to 9 points and forces The Greens to win at least three out of its last four games. FC Stolpen Steamroller still controls its own destiny atop Group B.

The other two games involved a minor miracle as Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack tallied a rare stage point after they played SwampDragons United to a 1-1 draw, surprising themselves as much as their opponent. Eli Kotschau scored in his 2nd straight game and the Austrians actually maintained the lead all the way until the midpoint of the 2nd half when Jerrad Forko reestablished some sanity to tie the game. This sets up a showdown between the Dragons and FC Trojans of SC for the top spot in Group C. The Dragons need a win or draw and the Trojans need a win. Regardless, both teams are advancing. The last game of the day was a 3-2 road win by Bad News over Not Very United to complete Group H play. Mexican Adan Sánchez scored twice for United but the 2-2 tie was broken in the 83rd when Pattin Vaughan directed a header into the corner to give the French squad all three points.

As an aside, I have been calling VB Hibernian by the wrong nickname this tourney for some reason. Hibs or Hibbies is correct. The Greens is the nickname for Fianna AFC. Game summaries have been corrected.

I just had a crazy Idea. Maybe you could run a backside of the tournament bracket for those of us who didn't advance.

Posted by KSBeachBums on 2/16/2025 2:31:00 AM (view original):
I just had a crazy Idea. Maybe you could run a backside of the tournament bracket for those of us who didn't advance.

That's not a bad idea. Single elimination with higher seed hosting the game? Home and Away? How would the "loser's bracket" be set up if that's what you mean?

Throw out some ideas and I can maybe implement that for Cup XVII. Anyone feel free to comment. Never thought of that before...

I'm going to do the update for the three 2/16 games tonight. Meanwhile, we are down to two unscheduled games - the home and away series between Cotopaxi and Merchiston. Since the Group Stage has existing games through the 21st, I'm going to let this sit and hope the challenges get sent/accepted before making some kind of decision about how to handle them if they remain unscheduled. Here is a copy from the 1st page of the thread.

Unscheduled Games - 2

Group A

Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi home to Merchiston FC Cotopaxi sends the challenge)

Merchiston FC home to Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi (Merchiston sends the challenge)

The only thing I'll ask is if you have an existing challenge sitting out there, make sure it remains active and doesn't time out.

See you all this evening.