Liga Starblaydia Season 2
Contents
Liga Starblaydia - Season 2
First Half
Life in Liga Starblaydia didn't start off well for Sciapos or Bisarely as they were thumped on the opening day by Hallad and Hecia as they topped the table after Day one, Raphael Delgado with an opening-day Hat-trick for the Reavers. Once again the Daii started poorly and sat in the quagmire of the lower-top-half, all the way to mid-season. Beverington Hawks managed the longest 100% record from the beginning of the season, which lasted just three matches until their Matchday 4 loss to Hallad. The Daii, however, remained unbeaten (though with 5 draws) until Matchday 10 when the Widdrington Wolves scraped a 1-0 win in Widdrington. Vecchio Victors took an early lead, which stretched to the mid-season mark. Itechton Matranga's Jhanna United were being utterly destroyed, partly thanks to a lack of goal-threat from an injured Itechton. With the top nine teams being separeated by just four points, the benefits of 'winning ugly' soon became apparent.
Liga Starblaydia - Mid-Season, Season 2 Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Vecchio Victors 19 10 4 5 23 14 9 34 2 Tabeck FC 19 8 8 3 23 17 6 32 3 Hallad Reavers 19 8 7 4 35 24 11 31 4 Iskara Daii 19 8 7 4 26 17 9 31 5 Montepool Waves 19 8 7 4 24 15 9 31 6 Basian Valley 19 9 4 6 27 20 7 31 7 Jhanna City 19 9 4 6 29 24 5 31 8 Hecia 19 8 6 5 28 20 8 30 9 Widdrington Wolves 19 7 9 3 20 18 2 30 10 Internashionale 19 7 7 5 22 21 1 28 11 Tuncastle Rovers 19 7 5 7 22 25 -3 26 12 Phraen Palace 19 6 7 6 19 21 -2 25 13 Foxchester Raiders 19 6 7 6 21 24 -3 25 14 Beverington Hawks 19 6 5 8 20 21 -1 23 15 Corinthian Spirits 19 6 4 9 20 21 -1 22 16 Bisarely Town 19 5 3 11 17 31 -14 18 17 Hersch Albion 19 4 5 10 14 23 -9 17 18 Sciapos 19 5 2 12 18 37 -19 17 19 Veles 19 3 7 9 18 25 -7 16 20 Jhanna United 19 2 8 9 17 25 -8 14
Tiberius Cup
The twenty teams of Liga Starblaydia vie for the Tiberius Cup.
In the First Round, the bottom Eight teams in the previous season's standings play off to reduce twenty teams to sixteen. A normal sixteen-team knockout, drawn randomly at the beginning of each round, resumes from there.
1st Round
Phraen Palace 1-2 Vecchio Victors
Jhanna United 1-0 Jhanna City
Basian Valley 3-0 Hernsworth Cubs
Hersch Albion 2-1 Penningworth United
2nd Round
Vecchio Victors 3-2 Internashionale (AET - FT:2-2)
Widdrington Wolves 1-2 Montepool Waves
Tuncastle Rovers 2-3 Hallad Reavers
Hersch Albion 0-3 Hecia
Jhanna United 1-3 Tabeck FC
Veles 0-4 Iskara Daii
Corinthian Spirits 3-1 Basian Valley
Beverington Hawks 1-1 Foxchester Raiders (AET - FT1-1) Foxchester Raiders win 4-2 on penalties
Quarter-Finals
Montepool Waves 3-4 Hallad Reavers (AET - FT2-2)
Foxchester Raiders 1-2 Iskara Daii
Vecchio Victors 0-3 Hecia
Corinthian Spirits 2-4 Tabeck FC
Semi-Finals
Hecia 3-1 Iskara Daii
Hallad Reavers 0-2 Tabeck FC
Final
Tabeck FC 2-1 Hecia
So, Tabeck FC are the Tiberius Cup champions, making Hurin Menegroth the first Dwarf ever to lift a Starblaydi trophy as Captain.
Second Half
With 10 games to go, Montepool were the only team at the top to keep their defence relatively-unbreached, putting them level at the top with the free-scoring Jhanna City. Though only three points separated the top four, and a further single point encompassing the next three teams. This was a very open Championship.
Liga Starblaydia - Matchday 28, Season 2 Top 7 Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Montepool Waves 28 14 9 5 33 17 16 51 2 Jhanna City 28 15 6 7 47 32 15 51 3 Hecia 28 14 8 6 44 28 16 50 4 Iskara Daii 28 13 9 6 39 25 14 48 5 Vecchio Victors 28 14 5 9 34 24 10 47 6 Tabeck FC 28 12 11 5 37 29 8 47 7 Widdrington Wolves 28 12 11 5 31 26 5 47
With Jhanna City scoring so freely, Jhanna United were at the opposite end of the table. Recently-promoted Bisarely Town's Goalscoring feats were only better than perennial time-wasters Hersch Albion.
Liga Starblaydia - Matchday 32, Season 2 Bottom 6 Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 15 Corinthian Spirits 28 8 6 14 31 36 -5 30 16 Sciapos 28 8 6 14 32 48 -16 30 17 Veles 28 5 10 13 30 40 -10 25 18 Jhanna United 28 4 11 13 25 38 -13 23 19 Hersch Albion 28 5 7 16 19 38 -19 22 20 Bisarely Town 28 5 5 18 22 48 -26 20
The Final Matchday
Hecia were two points clear with a single match to go, a point better off than last Season. Would they throw it away again as they did in Season One? Hecia, Iskara Daii, Montepool Waves and even Tabeck - by way of a miracle - could take the title.
Liga Starblaydia - Matchday 37, Season 2 Top Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Hecia 37 19 10 8 53 36 17 67 2 Iskara Daii 37 18 11 8 52 31 21 65 3 Montepool Waves 37 18 11 8 48 29 19 65 4 Tabeck FC 37 17 13 7 54 43 11 64
With one game to go at the bottom, Hersch and Bisarely were merely playing for pride as neither could get themselves out of the Relegation Zone with three points, leaving Veles and Sciapos safe.
Liga Starblaydia - Matchday 37, Season 2 Bottom Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 17 Sciapos 37 9 9 19 43 64 -21 36 18 Veles 37 7 13 17 42 54 -12 34 -- ------------- -- - -- -- -- -- --- -- --------- 19 Hersch Albion 37 7 8 22 30 55 -25 29 Relegated 20 Bisarely Town 37 7 7 23 30 64 -34 28 Relegated
Final Standings
Liga Starblaydia - Final Standings, Season 2 Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts C Iskara Daii 38 19 11 8 55 32 23 68 2 Tabeck FC 38 18 13 7 56 43 13 67 3 Hecia 38 19 10 9 53 40 13 67 4 Montepool Waves 38 18 11 9 49 31 18 65 5 Jhanna City 38 18 9 11 60 44 16 63 6 Vecchio Victors 38 18 7 13 46 35 11 61 7 Widdrington Wolves 38 15 15 8 45 44 1 60 8 Internashionale 38 16 11 11 55 48 7 59 9 Hallad Reavers 38 15 13 10 63 53 10 58 10 Beverington Hawks 38 16 8 14 51 40 11 56 11 Tuncastle Rovers 38 14 10 14 47 47 0 52 12 Corinthian Spirits 38 13 10 15 40 43 -3 49 13 Basian Valley 38 13 9 16 48 46 2 48 14 Phraen Palace 38 11 14 13 42 47 -5 47 15 Jhanna United 38 10 12 16 44 54 -10 42 16 Foxchester Raiders 38 9 14 15 41 53 -12 41 17 Sciapos 38 9 10 19 43 64 -21 37 18 Veles 38 7 14 17 43 55 -12 35 - ------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Hersch Albion 38 7 8 23 30 56 -26 29 Relegated 20 Bisarely Town 38 7 7 24 30 66 -36 28 Relegated
Season 2 Awards
Player of the Year
Second in the Liga and lifting the Tiberius Cup? Can't be a bad record, as yet again a Tiberius Cup-winning Captain takes the Player of the Year.
Other nominees: Itechton Matranga, Valentino Caltabiano
Young Player of the Year
Itechton Matranga - Jhanna City
So young, yet still so good, Itechton was the cat's meow at JCFC, their most promising polayer since, well, his father.
Other nominees: Trevor Bent, Rueben Laberge
Striker of the Year
Darius Belizaire - Iskara Daii
For the Second year in a row, Darius takes the Golden Boot, even though having scored 7 goals less.
Other nominees: Akira Jones, Michalis Mitrofanis
Midfielder of the Year
Itechton Matranga - Jhanna City
Second-top scorer and at the heart of everything good at City, Young Player of the Year Matranga is also midfielder of the Year.
Other nominees: Tarquin Ferguson, Rueben Laberge
Defender of the Year
Valentino Caltabiano - Tabeck FC
A supreme athlete and defender, Val's ability to play anywhere across the back four with confidence and skill makes him the ideal candidate
Other nominees: Quentin Phillips, Garth Terrenson
Goalie of the Year
Cody Joachim - Montepool Waves
A very tight decision, as Joachim conceeded less in a worse team, while 'Cat' Cavaletti won another championship. Cody eventually got the nod.
Other nominees: Nick Cavaletti, Jarod Dreka
Goal of the Season
Akira Jones - Beverington Hawks (Beverington Hawks vs Bisarely Town, Matchday 31)
The fourth goal in a 4-1 demolition, Jones' was the best of the bunch, an overhead-kick from fifteen yards after some superb passing that opened up the Town's defence like a can of sardines.
Golden Boot
Golden Boot Top 10
Player Goals Team Darius Belizaire 19 Iskara Daii Itechton Matranga 18 Jhanna City Akira Jones 17 Beverington Hawks Michalis Mitrofanis 17 Hecia Jon Pompey 17 Montepool Waves Paul Fortier 16 Corinthian Spirit Carmine Mbidzo 16 Iskara Daii Nick Matranga 16 Montepool Waves Trevor Bent 15 Vecchio Victors Rhys Owens 15 Tuncastle Rovers John Schofield 15 Widdrington Wolves Royal Seaford 15 Tabeck FC
Other Players in Double-Figures
Player Goals Team Raphael Delgado 14 Hallad Reavers T.I. Yen 14 Phraen Palace Ilias Provatidis 13 Hecia Juan Silva de Souza 13 Corinthian Spirits Juan Miguel Aguilera 12 Vecchio Victors Quentin Bentley 12 Foxchester Raiders Darryl Carpenter 12 Internashionale Nikki Inostraza 12 Jhanna United Florenzio Zaragoza 12 Veles Marco Del Blanco 11 Tuncastle Rovers Emacio 11 Hallad Reavers Colin Forsham 11 Veles Titus Grimann 11 Jhanna City William Manney 11 Foxchester Raiders Marcello Stred 11 Beverington Hawks David Bond 10 Montepool Waves Frederic La Salle 10 Iskara Daii Darryl Lamphear 10 Beverington Hawks Kurt Recinos 10 Hersch Albion Isiah Sodek 10 Veles Neil Swallow 10 Hallad Reavers
Foreigner Report
Bedistan
Another season, another Liga Starblaydia championship for Quentin Phillips as he makes the left-back position his own for the Daii. Being a World Cup Winner surely helps his confidence, which at the moment he doesn't appear to need any more of, part of the second-meanest defence in the entire Liga with 32 goals conceeded in 38 games.
Druida
Trevor Bent bagged 16 goals last year, and kept up his pace with 15 this season, moving from 10th last season to joint-9th in the Golden Boot race, scoring the same number of goals as Rhys Owens, who was the stand-out player for the Tuncastle Rovers, dragging them up to a neutral goal-difference for the season. Glynn Davies in the Rovers' midfield was also impressive in fits and starts, though never really communicated enough with his back-four to be a real gem. Craig Gawain's Jhanna United, unfortunately, were awful.
Insane Inflation
'Whatever happened to them?' I hear you cry. Still. Well, the mid-table Phraen Palace quartet of Hans Eichel, Lyndon Johnson, Kwanza Nouveau and T.I. Yen are still being flogged for all they are worth, approximately the price of a cheeseburger at most Starblaydi fast food resturaunts, though that's enough Totally Inflated Yen to fill a large Stadium.
Liverpool England
With most of Liga Starblaydia's teams shopping from the Englander Under-21 side catalogue, the contribution from the Englanders was fair-to-middling at best. Carlos Parr and Bobby Muniz had a nice, if ineffective, partnership at Foxchester. Fred Pounds' Hecia missed out on the Championship by a single point. Again. Glenn Schultz was part of the Third-meanest defence at the Vics, conceeding just 35 goals. Jacob Becker at Tuncastle managed a modest mid-table finish.
Sarzonia
Lemmy Crozen's old legs are still going for the mid-table Spirits, while Emacio keeps dragging his team from the back foot to attacking positions. Perhaps not as fast as before, but still highly effective in the 3rd-Placed team. With neither player looking like they'll play for Sarzonia again, both are considering retirement.
Turori
Nikki Inostraza 'blasted' his way to a disappointing 12 goal tally as Jhanna United 'held off' relegation by four places (though they were safe by a good 13 points). Hong Knapko and Jarod Dreka helped take the Vics to 6th-place, a far cry from the 17th spot of last season, an excellent improvement by all concerned.
Vilita
Carmine Mbizdo's 16-goal tally was also disappointing, baring in mind his 22 goals on the way to Goal of the Season in Season 1, but strikers everywhere were suffering from a Karelan mindset from the Managers of Liga Starblaydia. Along with Antonis Ratuva and Rueben Laberge, the three Daii Vilitans picked up their second Championship as the Daii took Season 2 on the last day, again. Tyrone Amaan's midfield partnership with Fernando Branco for Basian Valley gave them a mid-table finish, while Clayton Smeuk propped up the left side of the Hallad Reaver's defence with good effort but less skill. Brandon Bonilla had a tough time of it with Jhanna City, again, as they avoided relegation with a little more to spare than last season.
Preceded by: Liga Starblaydia Season 1 |
Liga Starblaydia | Succeeded by: Liga Starblaydia Season 3 |