[Shastanis Althreduin]

One of the most friendly matches (oddly enough), the friendly game between Isengard and SBU played out more like a training exercise or scrimmage rather than an actual game. The captains were so cordial that they even managed to agree that one team would play full defense and one team full offense in the first half, switching in the second half. Isengard won the coin toss, so they elected to be on offense first. A Wulf/Saruman duo accounted for two Isengard goals, with another being put through by Quickbeam with some nice root-work after being fed by Wormtongue. In the second half, Bombadil (having been napping on the sidelines during the first half) roused himself to score two goals against Isengard, with a third being knocked in by Khamul thanks to Strider. There appeared to be a bit of a raincloud over Bombadil's head after the equalizing goal, but luckily Caradhras was warned off with a yellow card and no untoward hailstones fell.

Isengard 3-3 Shire-Bree United
tot shots 18-16
on target 8-7
GOALS:
*31, 1-0 Wulf (Saruman)
*36, 2-0 Quickbeam (Wormtongue)
*44, 3-0 Saruman (Wulf)
*57, 3-1 Bombadil (Khamul)
*62, 3-2 Khamul (Strider)
*75, 3-3 Bombadil (BWight)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Isengard- Caradhras, Lugdush
*SBUnt- Golfimbul, Butterbur, BWight


In this friendly we saw a repeat of Misty Mountains's friendly strategy, to go for the win when behind and ease off when the score was drawn. This was fine with Wilderland, who matched them stroke for stroke. The Lady of the Golden Wood, Galadriel, proved herself quite a force on the offense, feeding both Elwe and the great dragon Scatha one goal each, while on the other side both Narvi and Azog scored one goal and one assist. However, to put a bit of a damper on things, Misty Mountains seems to still be one of the more brutish, physical teams, coming away with a total of five yellow cards.

Misty Mts 3-3 Wilderland
tot shots 13-18
on target 7-9
GOALS:
*12, 1-0 Azog (Rumil)
*24, 1-1 Elwe (Galadriel)
*39, 1-2 Scatha (Galadriel)
*50, 2-2 Narvi (Azog)
*58, 2-3 Orome (Fimbrethil)
*72, 3-3 Durin’s Bane (Narvi)
YELLOW CARDS:
*MMts- Bert, Tom, Watcher, William, Rumil
*Wilder- Elwe, Skinbark


The match between DU and Imladris started off lazily. Both teams were content to merely kick the ball around the pitch - it seemed a lot like no one really wanted to be there. However, the audience got some excitement during the second half; it appeared that both teams had gotten a stern talking-to from someone, as both teams came out at blazing speed and decided that they did, in fact, want to play. A lucky breakaway let Elrohir arrive at the DU goal just before the ball did, thanks to a high-soaring punt from Varda. Her kick sent the ball speeding towards the goal so fast from down the pitch that it very nearly went in by itself - instead it bounced off the top bar and bounced again off Elrohir's knee, careening into the net at such an odd angle that the goalkeeper couldn't stop it. After that goal, Imladris locked down their defense entirely, making it impossible for DU to get a decent shot on goal.

Dwarves United 0-1 Imladris
tot shots 14-6
on target 6-3
GOALS:
*60, 0-1 Elrohir (Varda)
YELLOW CARDS:
*DwUnt- Durin, Gamil Zirak
*Imladris- Lindir