MD3 of Löwenburg (IAC 26)

[align=center]Welcome to the Sports World of Großlöwenburg!

a proud germanic nation on the [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1888203]RP Map of Valsora[/url] in [region]The East Pacific[/region]

See the roster here: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=43805500#p43805500

See the introduction here: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=43812759#p43812759

MD1: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=43817929#p43817929

MD2: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=43821921#p43821921

[b][size=200]>[url=https://valsora.tep.wiki/wiki/Category:Lionsroar]Großlöwenburg[/url]<[/size][/b][/align]

[pre][align=center][u]MATCHDAY 2[/u]: "DAS WUNDER!!! (The wonder)"

Großlöwenburg 4 - 3 Edsmontik[/align][/pre]

[hr][/hr][b]In Emprijaal, Fortensthegr - PreMatch[/b]

They are back... once again. Dulle looks out at the familiar water park. They were last here two weeks ago, and today, June 25th, marks their second visit. It is warm, pleasantly warm, once more. It is almost inspiring to see how the tables have turned so quickly. Löwenburg drew their first match and actually won the second against the other underdog. Löwenburg sits at the top of Group A, something we never would have imagined before the opening matchday. After 19 years away from professional international football, Löwenburg has returned and is making a strong showing. Will it last though? Now Löwenburg is facing the 5th ranked team of Edsmontik, a giant in international sports. Having won the BoF 84, having once placed Fourth in a Worled Cup. The White-and-Blues, sporting an almost martial-looking crest, are certainly aiming to secure a second consecutive victory and, as befits the hosts, want to advance to the next round as group winners.

[spoiler=Snapshot in the Aqua Park][/spoiler]

[pre][b][size=130]Großlöwenburg[/size][/b]

[size=90](4-2-3-1)[/size]

unchanged from the match against The Golden Harp and Arklanda.

==================================================

                      [9]

            Ludwig v. d. Linden

           (Johannes Anton Lab.)

                      [10]

                 Vincze v. Tibor

                 (Martin Balderu)

  [15]                                  [11]

Johannes Franzisk.                Georg Christopher

  (Jan Alcove)                  (Ludwig Western-Ho.)

              [6]             [18]

        Willi Zanzokavic  Stefan Ziegler

     (Samuel v. Lerida-B.) (Norbert Wilhelm-Mar.)

  [2]          [3]            [21]          [17]

Moritz Heiß  Victor v. Meine  Harold v. W.  Niklas Weise

(E. Ballester) (R. Dominik)   (F. v. Singen) (L. v. Lautern)

                      [1]

              Ingen-Liechtenstein

             (Philipp von Glauben.)

==================================================[/pre]

[hr][/hr][b]In the stadium[/b]

[align=center][box]'1

The ball rolls. The match for the first spot of Group A. Löwenburg vs. Edsmontik, the underdog vs. the giant. Löwenburg, having played a difficult preparation before the IAC, has surprised with a 0:0 draw against The Golden Harp and a win against Arklanda. With heads held higher and higher, they are going into this match.[/box]

[box]'7

But so the match doesn't begin. Edsmontik grabs the posession early on and plays strong using the two sides. The ball rolls in between the two teams for 5 minutes in the middle of the field, without both teams starting a bigger advance yet.[/box]

[box]'17

It remains the same. Both Löwenburg and Edsmontik have now had a chance each, cancelling each others out quite well. Except a few scared pidgeons, no ball has gotten close to danger yet.[/box]

[box]'20

As if listening to this match, Edsmonstik once again start a quest using the sides. The venture further and further into Löwenburgs half, until, with a clever trick, the ball passes a row, gets relayed and boom, goal. With one of the earlier chances in the match, using pure class of their striker, Edsmontik set themselves off once.[/box]

[box]'26

Using this comfortable feeling, Edsmontik continues to press onwards. For now Löwenburgs line manages to hold again though.[/box]

[box]'31

And spoken to early. To beautiful passes, drawing out Meine, opens a gap, one clicker through and zack, the second goal for Edsmontik. Is Löwenburg at the end already?[/box]

[box]'41

As much as Edsmontik now presses for a third and presumably final goal, Löwenburgs defense doesn't budge and remains active.[/box]

[box]'42

And the opposite actually, as Christopher receives the ball from Weise, drawing out the outest defenders. He springs to the full line, pulls back and tricks the defender into a straddle. Now having space he locates Ziegler coming from the middle and passes the ball. Ziegler, having full field overview and sees two defenders attacking him, lets the ball through his legs to Zanzokavic behind him, who, by having Ludwig in front of him draw away another defender, simply shoots and brings in the goal! 1:2, the come back?[/box]

[box]'45 +2

For now definitely not, as the referee blows halftime.[/box]

HALFTIME

Unfortunate for the current momentum of Löwenburg, but also good to have some switch up and a break. As usual, Peter von Neustein does not change.

[box]'50

The second half starts strong from Löwenburg. With new found motivation, Löwenburg attacks.[/box]

[box]'52

And immediately succeeds. Ziegler from the center, sees Franziskus running on the left side, passes the ball through a defender gap and without hesitation Franziskus brings the ball in the middle where Ludwig rises up and simply heads the ball in. Goal for Löwenburg, 2:2! The minory of the stadium, the yellow wall, errupts.[/box]

[box]'61

Now the match is more equal again.[/box]

[box]'64

Both teams still having their well played chances. Edsmontik once again starts an attack, this time from the left side. Outplaying Weise, Weg-Immerschoß needs to move out, gets overplayed and with a beautiful curve ball conceives a third goal.[/box]

[box]'68

Edsmontik, taking the chance on the tiring Löwenburger, increases pressure once more.[/box]

[box]'77

For long minutes, this pressure remains heavy on Löwenburgs defense. Corner ball after corner ball follows. Most of the storm and midfield of Edsmontik gets drawn into or near the box. A corner ball follows but Meine rises up and heads the ball out of the box. Directly into the path of Zanzokavic, who proceeds to full sprint. With Ludwig heading the attack, the counter occurs quickly. Ludwig, drawing more to the left side lets Zanzokavic draw to the right side, letting Ziegler backwalk him. With a quick backpass, Zanzokavic lays the ball to Ziegler, who sees Ludwigs gap on the left side and plays on him. Ludwig, calmly and collected, accepts the ball and goes into 1vs1 with the defender. An overstep and an overtaking to the left later, he is free and shoots the ball into the net. 3:3, once again an equalizer! [box]'?[/box]

[box]'86

And now with last forces, Löwenburg continues to attack, for the first proper time in the match increasing pressure on Edsmontik themselves. The hardened veterans from the games before, continue their fight.[/box]

[box]'90+4

And so it results in a last corner kick for Löwenburg. With almost all people at front, Zanzokavic brings it far. Where Ludwig lurks. The tall blond beasts rises up, accepts the header and shoots it in the opposite corner. 4:3 and everyone escalates! The referee closes the match. Peter von Neustein and the bench storms the field, the yellow wall behind the goal celebrating frenetically[/box][/align]

[hr][/hr][b]The SportsStudio[/b]

It has happened, miracles do exist. It will surely go down in international Löwenburg history as the "Miracle of Empiron." Our great footballing nation, albeit completely unknown on the global stage, has managed to topple the giants ranked fifth in the world. In its first proper international tournament, our unranked team advanced straight to the knockout stage, and as group winners, no less. Defeating the hosts! While the achievement was perhaps more lucky than dominant, it remains an incredible, historic feat. Löwenburg played five warm-up matches before the tournament, managing only one draw and losing the rest. The criticism was scathing: "How could they pick such a weak squad?", "How can they play so terribly?", and "What kind of tactical system is this?" Mind you, once the setup was shifted from a fluctuating -1, 0, and 0.5 to a clear, defensive -3, things suddenly started going much better, so well, in fact, that questions about the squad composition barely arise anymore. After a defensive masterclass resulting in a 0–0 draw against The Golden Harp and an attacking spectacle against Arklandia, the team could already be proud of itself. Yet, they managed to top even that, driven by an almost indomitable will, the players succeeded in scoring a goal in the final minute of play. It was truly incredible. Such goals are a rarity in Löwenburg football; the 04/05 derby final between King's Team and Legio Löwenburg comes to mind, but otherwise, they happen far too seldom. This is especially remarkable for a team that hasn't made a single substitution. Granted, they have a solid squad and plenty of time between matches, but the players have proven themselves to be workhorses and have truly made a case for their inclusion in the upcoming Löwenburg season following the winter break.

Looking ahead now, Löwenburg stands as the winner of Group A, taking first place with three matches played, resulting in two wins and a draw. They have amassed 7 points and scored 7 goals: three against Arklandia and four against Edsmontik. They conceded goals in only one match, three against Edsmontik. Consequently, they hold the 15th seed for the knockout stage. Löwenburg now heads into their first knockout match against Calgasia, who finished 18th overall and second in their group; Löwenburg certainly has no reason to shy away from this challenge. Onward and upward!

And with this momentary capture, we end the broadcast!

[pre]Group A

The Golden Harp 1–3 Arklanda

Lionsroar 4–3 Edsmontik

  Group A                              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts

1 Lionsroar                              3   2  1  0    7   3  +4    7

2 Edsmontik                              3   1  1  1    9   8  +1    4

3 Arklanda                               3   1  1  1    6   7  −1    4

4 The Golden Harp                        3   0  1  2    2   6  −4    1[/pre]