Fianna AFC's season just rolled over, so it will be a few days before we have a full squad.

Posted by EJP on 2/5/2025 1:46:00 PM (view original):
Fianna AFC's season just rolled over, so it will be a few days before we have a full squad.

No problem. There are several Cup teams in the same boat.

The lone contest this evening was out of Group E, where Swedish side Metropolitan Eagles hosted Bolton Wanderers in Stockholm. Both teams were playing an aggressive 4-3-3 offense and the gamble paid off within the first 5 minutes of game play. Midfielder Tylor Kamara immediately converted an early look into a goal when his 2nd minute grass burner beat goalie Dusa Malis to the far post to give Bolton the 1-0 lead. Not to be outdone, the Metro Eagles struck back soon after when Czech forward Greguska Kokes sent in a looping header that an outstretched Matai Teuermann couldn't quite deflect enough to keep out and the game was level again at 1-1 before half the people in attendance had found their seats.

The game remained this way for a while but a 15-5 shots on goal advantage by Bolton started to tire the Eagles defense as the contest wore on. Jaymes Noel put the Japanese club on top 2-1 in the 54th with a pretty effort that gave Malis no chance to save and a pair of yellow cards just before the 60th minute was just one indication of the fatigue the home side was feeling. Itzik Widawier found himself all alone in the 61st after defensive communication broke down and buried a shot to extend the lead to 3-1. The Metro Eagles, to their credit, actually held some possession after that to stem the bleeding and even generated a couple of quality chances but couldn't score again. Ton Miyagishima capped off the scoring in injury time by controlling a corner cross and making solid contact in the crowded box, giving Bolton the 4-1 road win.

There are several games tomorrow as the tourney thread will now be split between morning and evening updates.

70 of the 96 games have now been scheduled so thank you. As it stands right now, games are going out through the 16th and I'm guessing the Group Stage will probably go well past that based on how the scheduling is setting up.

On to this morning's action, a pair of 1-0 games went into the book. Group D got underway when the Cup XV Runner Up, the crutchanators of soccer hosted VB Hibernian. Despite 31 free kicks and 28 shots, it was a battle of defenses, with neither team being able to knock one in during the 1st half, although both squads registered several near misses and kept the goalkeepers busy. The breakthrough came in the 49th minute when Hibs midfielder Lucas Quezada demonstrated a superior vertical leap and headed home a crossing pass that beat crutchanators goalie Rueban Lazar for the game winner.

In the other morning contest, Rushmore FC played first-time Cup participant St. Louis City to open up Group G play. 48,000 people watched from the stands as the game was a fairly even affair. A couple of early corner kicks awarded to Rushmore gave the home side the advantage after Dougal Ridgewell converted one of them into a goal. St. Louis goalie Ronan Town couldn't keep track of the ball as the corner service was placed right into the box where a horde of players were vying for control of it. Ridgewell calmly knocked the ball in and it proved to be the winning tally since, 10 minutes later, City defender Juan-Carlos Ferreira made a dangerous tackle and was immediately ejected from the game with the tournament's first red card. The man down situation was too much to overcome and the game ended as a 1-0 Rushmore home win.

A couple of games are this afternoon and I'll post the results around 7pm.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/5/2025 2:54:00 PM (view original):

Posted by EJP on 2/5/2025 1:46:00 PM (view original):
Fianna AFC's season just rolled over, so it will be a few days before we have a full squad.

No problem. There are several Cup teams in the same boat.

Including FC Not Very Athletic.... this is a 7-a-side tournament isn't it?!?

Posted by pubmonkey on 2/6/2025 12:06:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/5/2025 2:54:00 PM (view original):

Posted by EJP on 2/5/2025 1:46:00 PM (view original):
Fianna AFC's season just rolled over, so it will be a few days before we have a full squad.

No problem. There are several Cup teams in the same boat.

Including FC Not Very Athletic.... this is a 7-a-side tournament isn't it?!?

Yeah...Rugby sevens, soccer variant.

Three games were played this afternoon with the highlight being the first in-world, in-country match-up during the Group Stage in Cup history. World 92 and France were guaranteed some sort of result as the two long-time league rivals Bordeaux Fighting Bovines and Bad News faced off to open Group H action. The Cattle came into the match having recently won a Ligue 1 match against News and the visitors were seeking some payback. Keldan Reinard weaved his way through the Bordeaux defense and gave News the early 1-0 lead but Nathen Shivers, inspired by the Maradona-like exhibition, duplicated the feat in the 20th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Bad News grabbed the lead again after Méndez Viera bent in a curveball from just inside the penalty area that Cattle goalie Méndez Viera couldn't reach to make it 2-1 but, once again, the home side answered when Farleigh Cobham placed a perfect header into the upper corner. Bordeaux finally took the lead right before halftime when Macerio Mena took a shot from point blank range and beat News goalie Braxton Magee to the post for a 3-2 lead. With all the fireworks in the opening stanza, the crowd had high expectations coming in off the break but a slew of chances by both teams failed to produce any more goals and the game went final in favor of Bordeaux.

In Group E, Bolton Wanderers have established themselves as a contender as they won their 2nd straight game, this time a 2-0 victory over Neuschwanstein Swans. The opening half saw neither side gain an advantage as the best chance was Zecharya Maksam's header midway through that deflected off the left side post and harmlessly out for a goal kick. Prince Pinter's effort in the 56th minute, on the other hand, was not so harmless as he ripped a goal from distance to give Bolton a 1-0 lead. Ton Miyagishima finally put the game away late when his header in the 84th minute got past Swans goalie Pepe Terrazas to close out the scoring line. With 6 points in two games, the Wanderers are looking good.

To wrap up the day's action, Metropolitan Eagles bounced back from their opening Group E loss to even their record at 1-1 with a hard-fought 2-1 win against FC Cackalacky. Austrian Waldmunt Dohm got the Screaming Eagles on the board early when he blasted in a long ball for the 1-0 lead. Cackalacky evened the score before halftime after Pedro Delfs launched a header that caught Eagles goalie Dusa Malis leaning the wrong way. After the break, neither team could generate a shot until Israeli midfielder Zachely Gutglik literally jumped on the back of his counterpart and got booted by the referee for his silliness. With Cackalacky now a man down, the Metro Eagles made quick work of the opportunity and cashed in after Hayden Bryan, who had tons of space to work in, beat Cackalacky goalie Georges Müller in the 66th for the game winner.

A bunch of games are slated for tomorrow.

This morning's update will be in an hour or so. We are down to 16 unscheduled games and I have heard from most of the coaches involved (world flips are the issue.) So far, Group Stage games are strung out through the 17th and will probably end up a couple of days beyond that.

All in all, things are going pretty smooth as usual.

Four more games are for the history book and not a single player has had a multiple goal effort, which is a bit unusual. That makes for a logjam in the Golden Toe tracker. At some point soon, that'll change.

Group B got underway when FC Stolpen Steamroller hosted Brighton AFC in Saxony. In another trend for Cup XVI, red cards are beginning to pile up and the ejection did have an impact. Brighton got off to the quick start when Jessie Moose antlered in a goal of a nice corner cross in the 8th minute to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. The home side then answered back later on in the half after a diving shot by Jordy Twellman beat Brighton goalie Kolton Rimando, who just watched the ball sail past him without moving. Any momentum Steamroller had, however, was erased when Andrea Iglesias picked up his 2nd yellow of the game and was sent packing. That killed the home side's offensive capabilities and they collapsed everyone into the box, giving Brighton no room to manouvre despite the man advantage. The 1-1 draw technically favors Brighton since they picked up an away goal for tiebreaker purposes but they were looking for the win after the red card was issued, not a tie.

VB Hibernian improved to 2-0 after a come from behind win over first time Cup participant FC Gimli Vikings in Group D play. While the Greens grabbed the early lead thanks to Hampton Kennyon's painting of the upper corner in the 11th minute, the new kids on the block owned the next 45 minutes and scored twice, first on a pretty shot by Connor McCarty midway through the 1st half and then again right after the break when Merek Podany drilled one from way out that easily got past Hibs goalie Sonny Miki to give the Vikings a 2-1 advantage. The home team started to right the ship when Godfredo Pinola, who thinks a lot of himself, tipped a ball off the hands of Viking goalie Marecek Palecek to draw level at 2-2 in the 56th and the game would remain that way until the closing moments. Tedrick Frame, with 3 minutes left to go, nutmegged his defensive marker and scored the game winner, causing the 16,000+ in attendance to order another round of beer in celebration. The 3-2 win places Hibs in a good position and it was a solid openiner for the young Vikings.

Group F saw its first action when another firt time Cup Participant, Slough FC, took the field against perennial powerhouse Swamp City Dragons. Statistically, the game was dead even. On the scoreboard, not so much. Slough drew first blood when Jajuan Gil barely touched a crossing pass, but the change of direction was enough to beat Dragons goalie Huenu Palomino as the ball ricoched off the far post an in for the 1-0 lead. That scoreline held all the way to injury time in the 1st half when the ageless wonder, Arley Movsisyan, used his 112 years of experience to change the flow of the game when he nailed a perfect shot through the box and past Slough goalie Abelard Bristow to make the score 1-1 at halftime. The 2nd half was all Dragons as they slowly pulled away, netting goals in the 57th and 76th minutes to cap off a 3-1 road win.

The final game this morning involved Group G foes St. Louis City and Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. Both teams scored within a minute of each other when Caiden Honjo and Mano Araña traded shots just before the 30 minute mark and St. Louis grabbed the 2-1 halftime lead after Tyrin Lisi netted one right before the halftime whistle. However, the veteran German side found their stride in the 2nd half as Marcos Katz tied the game at 2-2 and Xabi Xabi Cintrón hit the game winner late to give Cologne all three points and a 3-2 road victory. The loss was the 2nd straight 1-goal defeat for St. Louis, who has been very competitive but without any positive results.

This evening's update might be a little late. Have a family thing I have to do.

All it took was for me to say something and several multiple goal games immediately followed.

In the four games this evening, three players bagged a pair of goals. Two of the games involved Bolton Wanderers, who have already played four out of their six Group E contests. In the first game, they made a series sweep out of Neuschwanstein Swans, traveling to Bavaria, doing some sightseeing at the castle Ludwig II built and then dominating the host team on the road. Prince Pinter scored a pair of goals, one in each half, and Itzik Widawier scored his second of the tournament as Bolton raced out to the 3-0 halftime lead and eventually won the game 4-0. Racking up the frequent flier miles, Bolton then flew back to Japan to play the return game against Metropolitan Eagles. Perhaps some fatigue set in because the Eagles never trailed en route to a 3-2 victory. The winning score came from Mattias Adlercreutz when his 78th minute header gave the Metro Eagles all three points, splitting the series and handing Bolton their first loss of the tournament. With a 3-1 record and 9 points, Bolton is a win away from effectively clinching a playoff spot.

Back in England, Rushmore FC was trying to open the tournament 2-0 but was denied by Wolfsburg Dynamit in Group G play. Jeramie Edward knocked one off the far post in the 18th minute to give Rushmore the early 1-0 lead but the German side kept up the pressure and eventually caught then passed Rushmore with a late goal by Kei Ando, who beat goalie Guilio Cannavaro, who was by that time exhausted after facing 19 shots, 11 of which were on goal. For the game, Wolfsburg held a staggering 34-6 advantage in opportunities, making the 2-1 loss almost an accomplishment.

The day wrapped up with FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds pushing around Brighton AFC in Scotland for a 5-2 home win in Group B. American Aekley Green scored a pair of goals for Brighton but otherwise it was all Bullet Birds. Daylin Plunkett and Walker Rowena scored within three minutes of each other and Sandro Huntelaar added a goal seven minutes later, turning a 1-0 Brighton lead into a 3-1 deficit in a span of 10 dominating minutes of the 1st half. The loss turned Brighton's goal differential into the negative as they'll need to shore up their defense if they hope to grab one of the two transfer spots.

A bunch of games tomorrow...

The Group Stage is heating up as four additional games have hit the record book. St. Louis City picked up its first point in Cup tournament play thanks to the contribution from some familiar names from Cup Champions from the past. Juan-Carlos Ferreira and Fabianski Pluta, goal scorers for Fighting Ants and Aurea Cruce Aquilonis, this time helped St. Louis earn a home draw against Wolfsburg Dynamit in Group G. Twice Wolfsburg took the lead and twice City came back to tie. All four teams in the group now have registered a point and all games have been decided by one goal or less, making the transfer spots wide open.

Another 2-2 draw came out of Group E, when Metropolitan Eagles scored a late goal to salvage a tie with home side FC Cackalacky. After both teams traded early goals, Sinai Kupferstoch struck what looked to be the game winner when he bent it like Beckham around the outstretched arms of Screaming Eagles goalie Dusa Malis in the 54th minute. Some late game heroics by Tyrick Galik saved the Swedish squad from defeat when he stepped back to stay onside and then unleashed a wicked shot that easily beat Cackalacky goalie Georges Müller. The result moves the Metro Eagles up to 7 points and Cackalacky will need to start registering wins instead of these close draws and defeats.

The morning action concluded with a couple of 1-0 games. North Polar Dragons FC opened up its tournament play with a 1-0 win over a very tough Slough FC squad. The game was a battle of defenses as the game remained scoreless all the way until the final minute. After the referee awarded the Dragons a corner kick, Zakary Walls floated in a service from the corner flag that landed right in the middle of the mosh pit where 20 players were jockeying for position. Ilias Lesberg eventually got the ball to his feet and hit the winner with seconds to go from about five feet out to give North Polar the win and hand Slough a bad luck loss. The other contest was a 1-0 home win for Southeast Indiana Football Club over Bordeaux Fighting Bovines in Group H. In almost a duplication, the game was scoreless until late, although Indiana found the game winning shot in the 81st minute rather than with seconds to go. Fabian Waldgrave scored in his 2nd straight game, beating Cattle goalie Gianluigi Francesco to the near corner.

Several games on tap this afternoon and evening which I'll pick up after 7pm.

The evening slate saw a bunch of ties...and one game not so close. The highlight was the entire series between the crutchanators of soccer and FC Kingston, who decided to play a doubleheader today in the States. After 180+ minutes of game time, not a thing separated the Group D rivals other than a tiebreaker advantage based on away goals. The first game was a 0-0 draw at Kingston, despite the home side going down a man after the 67th minute when Joop Leibzelter karate-chopped his defender and hit the showers early. crutchanators couldn't capitalize and the game ended scoreless. Both teams then flew to the crutchanators home pitch where goals were scored on a regular basis. Joop made up for his earlier mistake and netted one in the 47th minute but a pair of goals by Danish veteran Tommy Mejer was enough to keep the game on an even basis and the teams would eventually draw the match 3-3. While getting 2 points in two games is better than nothing, the results really made no headway for either club to secure a playoff berth and gives an opening to FC Gimli Vikings, who now has a game in hand.

A rather wild draw came out of Group H when 54,632 saw Southeast Indiana Football Club and Bad News play to a 4-4 tie. I don't know how this happens but in the first 60 seconds of play, News managed to get possession, move the ball down into an attacking position, get off a good shot and then bury the rebound as Jerico Trillo cleaned up the loose change to take a 1-0 lead before the first minute expired. Trillo then added a second goal in the 14th off a diving header that Indiana goalie Patrick Borgman got his hands on but couldn't redirect enough to keep it out of the goal. With all that said, Indiana was saved from defeat by a 7 minute span of individual excellence from Robbie Harley. Between the 45th and 52nd minutes, Harley scored a hat trick, the first of the tournament. He scored off a header, off a pass from a failed offside trap and unassisted as he almost alone carried the weight for his team. To end the match the way it started, down 4-3, News found a near last minute goal to salvage the tie as Willy Louvion volleyed in his own pass to end the scoring line. Indiana sits atop the group with 7 points in three games and Bad News picks up their first stage point and has an impressive 6 away goals.

The final game of the evening was essentially a blowout as Rushmore FC was beaten soundly at home by Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. in Group G play. Cologne outshot Rushmore 23-6 and the final score reflected the imbalance. Garrin Schilling scored a pair of goals while Ellery Weinberger and Xabi Xabi Cintrón each knocked in one for the 4-0 Billygoats victory. Some of the Rushmore faithful questioned the integrity of the referee as he issued a whopping 28 fouls against Rushmore players, including a red card late that helped Cologne net that final goal right before the whistle blew. While just their first loss of the tournament, the result damaged Rushmore's goal differential for tiebreaker purposes.

There are 9 games tomorrow. Since its Super Bowl Sunday and I'm in Kansas City, the evening update might be...very late.

Four of the nine games today were this morning, including the opening two games out of Group C. SwampDragons United dismantled Austrian side Der Kaiserlich-Österreichische Hodensack in a 5-1 rout in Canada. Jerrad Forko had a field day, scoring a hat trick before halftime. By the time The Crown Jewels coaching staff started making some personnel adjustments, the lead had ballooned to 4-0 and Derrick Alvin's header in the 69th minute was far too little too late. Fletcher Courtenay added a bit of insurance a few minutes later and Swamp U walked away with an excellent start to their tournament. The other Group game was a much more competitive match between Kiki United and FC Trojans of SC. For the second day in a row, a goal was scored in the opening minute as the feat was pulled off this time by Kiki's Ramiro Tirado, who benefited from a muff by Trojans goalie Dantrell Gonzalo, who was in position but let the ball roll between his legs for a goal. Unfortunately for the German squad, that 1st minute goal was their sole tally. Slevin McIlmale scored early in the 2nd half and Udayle Velázquez hit the game winner with about 20 minutes to go as his shot deflected off the crossbar and in to give the Trojans the 2-1 road victory.

FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds had an opportunity to take control of the Group B standings when they hosted FC Stolpen Steamroller in Scotland but couldn't get the job done as they fell 4-2 at home. Steamroller scored twice in the first 6 minutes and Rey Jaime added his second of the game late to clinch the win. Edinburgh, after tying the game 2-2 in the 1st half, didn't help themselves when Gabriel Bedrossian committed two yellows 12 minutes apart to place his team permanently down a man. The win vaults Steamroller to the top of the standings, although it is very early and a ton of games remain. To wrap up the morning's update, another team had a chance to place themselves in a commanding playoff position but, once again, was denied. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. was trying to make their Group G record a perfect 3-0 but fellow German side Wolfsburg Dynamit was not interested. Ritchie Font's 2nd goal of the game gave Cologne a 3-2 lead early in the 2nd half but Donall Tubney responded almost immediately a few minutes later to tie the contest at 3-3 and then, after having gone a man down, Wolfsburg's Kei Ando scored the first short-handed goal of the tournament in extra time when his header beat Billygoats goalie Aritz García, giving Wolfsburg the dramatic 4-3 win and frustrating the squad from Cologne to no end. The win temporarily moves Wolfsburg to the top of the group standings.

Not sure how I'm going to handle the afternoon games...just play it by ear.