Liga Starblaydia Season 3
Contents
Liga Starblaydia - Season 3
First Half
Liga Starblaydia Season 3 started off pretty evenly for all teams, as by Matchday Seven no-one had an unbeaten record. By that matchday, a few large scorelines had cropped up, mostly including the free-scoring Tuncastle Rovers, giving Rejistanian Sike~nni~l Vanataraselidene his first goals for his new club, along with his strike partner Rhys Owens of Druida, they lit up the early weeks with their play and great goals. Marco Del Blanco also weighed in with a couple, but the Rovers couldn't rip joint-top spot from the defensive Daii, or the Hawks or Wolves. Surprisingly, for some, all the five Liga Starblaydia teams from Nova Britannicus were in the Top-Eight.
Noteable Scorelines
- MD3: Ionia United 3-5 Tuncastle Rovers
- MD6: Tuncastle Rovers 4-0 Sciapos
- MD7: Beverington Hawks 3-3 Montepool Waves
Matchday 7 Standings - Top
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Iskara Daii 7 4 2 1 9 4 5 14 2 Beverington Hawks 7 4 2 1 11 7 4 14 3 Widdrington Wolves 7 4 2 1 10 7 3 14 4 Tuncastle Rovers 7 4 1 2 16 8 8 13 5 Tabeck FC 7 4 1 2 13 8 5 13 6 Foxchester Raiders 7 4 1 2 9 6 3 13 7 Hallad Reavers 7 3 3 1 9 6 3 12 8 Montepool Waves 7 3 3 1 12 10 2 12 9 Vecchio Victors 7 3 2 2 9 8 1 11 10 Jhanna United 7 3 1 3 10 9 1 10 11 Jhanna City 7 2 3 2 6 7 -1 9 12 Snowcroft City 7 2 3 2 7 9 -2 9
Noteable Scorelines
- MD12: Tabeck FC 5-2 Ionia United
Tabecks' thrashing of newcomers Ionia gave the Bekkside club a boost ip to second place at the half-way mark, leaving the Defending Cup Champions just behind the defending League Champions. Ionia were flat bottom of the Liga, with Dimitrious Steliopolous' Veles alongside them, and the first Nedalian to play overseas, Innit Point, lighting up his Inter sides' matches but not helping out on the defence side much. Surprise - so far - of the season were newcomers Snowcroft City, having only been promoted to Liga Starblaydia last season.
Halfway Table
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Iskara Daii 19 11 6 2 27 12 15 39 2 Tabeck FC 19 11 5 3 37 21 16 38 3 Montepool Waves 19 10 7 2 36 20 16 37 4 Tuncastle Rovers 19 10 4 5 34 23 11 34 5 Jhanna United 19 9 5 5 30 20 10 32 6 Vecchio Victors 19 8 4 7 22 23 -1 28 7 Snowcroft City 19 8 4 7 24 28 -4 28 8 Hallad Reavers 19 7 6 6 26 24 2 27 9 Hecia 19 7 5 7 17 21 -4 26 10 Widdrington Wolves 19 7 4 8 23 23 0 25 11 Jhanna City 19 6 6 7 28 23 5 24 12 Basian Valley 19 7 3 9 25 26 -1 24 13 Beverington Hawks 19 6 6 7 24 30 -6 24 14 Phraen Palace 19 5 8 6 20 18 2 23 15 Foxchester Raiders 19 6 4 9 23 26 -3 22 16 Corinthian Spirits 19 5 6 8 20 28 -8 21 17 Sciapos 19 4 8 7 19 30 -11 20 18 Internashionale 19 4 6 9 23 27 -4 18 19 Veles 19 4 5 10 18 27 -9 17 20 Ionia United 19 3 2 14 18 44 -26 11
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
Jhanna United 4-1 Basian Valley
Sciapos 0-1 Phraen Palace
Foxchester Raiders 1-0 Hersch Albion
Veles 3-0 Bisarely Town
2nd Round
Jhanna United 3-2 Jhanna City (AET - FT: 2-2)
Montepool Waves 5-2 Tuncastle Rovers
Widdrington Wolves 1-0 Phraen Palace
Corinthian Spirits 3-2 Beverington Hawks
Foxchester Raiders 1-1 Vecchio Victors (AET - FT: 1-1) Vecchio Victors win 3-2 on penalties
Veles 0-2 Tabeck FC
Iskara Daii 2-1 Hecia
Internashionale 3-4 Hallad Reavers
Quarter-Finals
Vecchio Victors 1-1 Jhanna United (AET: FT: 0-0 Jhanna United win 5-3 on penalties
Montepool Waves 3-1 Widdrington Wolves
Corinthian Spirits 2-1 Iskara Daii
Tabeck FC 3-1 Hallad Reavers
Semi-Finals
Corinthian Spirits 0-1 Montepool Waves
Tabeck FC 3-1 Jhanna United
Final
Tabeck FC 2-0 Montepool Waves
So, Tabeck FC retain their Tiberius Cup, making Hurin Menegroth the first Dwarf ever to lift a two Starblaydi trophies as Captain, as well as the first team to successfully defend their Tiberius Cup in living memory.
Second Half
Fortress Jhanna for Jhanna City
Lead up front by the imperious Itechton Matranga, JCFC began to dominate at home, winning by some colossal scorelines. Matranga, Grimann, Tripton, Fullbright and Bonilla took a firm grasp of every game while playing at the Jhanna City Stadium. Unfortunately they weren't as good away from home, failing to capitalise on some stonking wins by losing away with lacklustre performances.
Noteable Scorelines
- MD16: Jhanna City 5-0 Corinthian Spirits
- MD18: Jhanna City 5-1 Internashionale
- MD21: Jhanna City 4-0 Phraen Palace
- MD31: Jhanna City 5-0 Sciapos
The Final Matchday
With one game to go at the top, the title is still in the grasp of three teams. Tabeck FC are the only ones with destiny in their own hands as their goal difference over the Daii needs a mathematical miracle to be overcome. The Waves keep on hanging in there as they play relegation-threatened Inter. Tabeck host mid-table Corinthian Spirits while the Daii play in a Jhanna derby against high-flying City.
Top Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Tabeck FC 37 19 11 7 65 40 25 68 2 Iskara Daii 37 18 14 5 54 37 17 68 3 Montepool Waves 37 19 10 8 63 44 19 67 4 Tuncastle Rovers 37 18 10 9 63 44 19 64
At the bottom, Ionia go straight back down again despite having been worth Liga Omega champions last year. Anything other than a Phraen victory against Hecia will send them down, though the other three teams will all be trying to pick up points to make sure that doesn't happen.
Bottom Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts 16 Internashionale 37 9 13 15 48 55 -7 40 17 Foxchester Raiders 37 10 10 17 44 51 -7 40 18 Veles 37 11 7 19 43 52 -9 40 -- ------------------ -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- 19 Phraen Palace 37 8 14 15 34 44 -10 38 RR Ionia United 37 7 5 25 41 80 -39 26
Tabeck FC 0-2 Corinthian Spirits
Tabeck's loss means that the Daii failing to lose or the Waves picking up a win would deny the defending Tiberius Cup winners their first and most unlikely Liga Starblaydia title.
Jhanna City 2-2 Iskara Daii
This draw, a short trip across the captial city from Iskara, gave the Daii the point they though they'd need to win their third Liga Starblaydia title in a row, having come back from 2-1 down to scrape the draw
Montepool Waves 1-0 Internashionale
Montepool's last-minute winner was announced at Jhanna City's ground at almost the same time that news of the Daii's draw reached the Montepool Stadium. Montepool fans invaded the pitch upon hearing that they were champions, then Inter fans joined in the celebrations as they heard the other results from around the league.
Snowcroft City 4-1 Foxchester Raiders
Surprise package of Snowcroft thrashed the Raiders, the first team to be cursed with the 'best team in Nova Britannicus' tag. This left the Raiders on 40 points with a worse goal-difference than the defeated Internashionale, and if the two tems below them picked up points, the Raiders were down.
Widdrington Wolves 0-2 Veles
Veles' first points in three games lifted them well out of the relegation zone as Captain Steliopolous kept his team up once more.
Phraen Palace 2-1 Hecia
Hecia were hoping to claw their way back up the table on the last day, but a spirited Palace side, led by their aging Insane Inflationary stars, survive for one more campaign, putting the Raiders down into Liga Omega.
Final Standings
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts C Montepool Waves 38 20 10 8 64 44 20 70 Champions' League 7 (NB) 2 Iskara Daii 38 18 15 5 56 39 17 69 Champions' League 7 (Star) 3 Tabeck FC 38 19 11 8 65 42 23 68 Champions' League 7 (Star) 4 Tuncastle Rovers 38 19 10 9 66 45 21 67 Champions' League 7 (NB) 5 Vecchio Victors 38 18 7 13 55 43 12 61 Champions' League 7 (Star) 6 Jhanna City 38 16 10 12 64 43 21 58 NSFA Cup 2 (Star) 7 Hallad Reavers 38 15 13 10 55 44 11 58 NSFA Cup 2 (Star) 8 Hecia 38 15 11 12 43 43 0 56 9 Widdrington Wolves 38 16 7 15 51 48 3 55 Champions' League 7 (NB) 10 Snowcroft City 38 14 11 13 46 50 -4 53 11 Jhanna United 38 11 17 10 50 42 8 50 12 Corinthian Spirits 38 12 12 14 44 52 -8 48 13 Beverington Hawks 38 12 9 17 46 58 -12 45 NSFA Cup 2 (NB) 14 Veles 38 12 7 19 45 52 -7 43 15 Basian Valley 38 12 7 19 43 56 -13 43 16 Sciapos 38 9 15 14 39 61 -22 42 17 Phraen Palace 38 9 14 15 36 45 -9 41 18 Internashionale 38 9 13 16 48 56 -8 40 RR Foxchester Raiders 38 10 10 18 45 55 -10 40 NSFA Cup 2 (NB) RR Ionia United 38 7 5 26 42 85 -43 26
Note: Due to the fact that Starblaydia and Nova Britannicus are both allowed to enter teams into the Champions' League and NSFA Cup, each nation selected its top three clubs for the Champions' League, and next two highest-placed clubs for the NSFA Cup. This means that Liga Starblaydia is the most-represented league in international competition, with six Champions' League 7 and four NSFA Cup 2 entries.
Season 3 Awards
Player of the Year
Itechton Matranga - Jhanna City
Young Player of the Year last season, Itechton has bounced up to full-on player of the year, catapulting JCFC into the 2nd NSFA Cup. Good lad. And he's matched his brother from Two seasons ago, too.
Other nominees: Rueben Laberge, John Pompey
Young Player of the Year
Fighting off both his teammate Lopez and another Starblaydi Under-21, Menecrates, Nedalian Point's Inter side were young and full of enthusiasm, just bullied by the older, more experienced teams.
Other nominees: Giovanni Lopez, Menecrates
Striker of the Year
Striker of the year in the Championship-winning team, Pompey was a shoe-in. Sorta.
Other nominees: Nikki Inostraza, Trevor Bent
Midfielder of the Year
Finally, finally, Rueben has strung an entire season together and is justly rewarded. No Liga Starblaydia title, but a solo award for young Rueben.
Other nominees: Hurin Menegroth, Marcus Astin
Defender of the Year
Matthew Tobias - Montepool Waves
Certainly his last year of competition, Matt's extra effort in his final playing season was the rock upon which
Other nominees: Quentin Phillips, Valentino Caltabiano
Goalie of the Year
Thaddeus Gonzalez - Jhanna City
At home, unbeatable. Away, left floundering by his defence to be a one-man wall between the opposition and a win. Thad is the Starblaydi #1 for a reason, and Jhanna in Nationstates international competition is a mighty thing to behold.
Other nominees: Cody Joachim, Nick Cavaletti
Goal of the Season
Trevor Bent - Vecchio Victors (Phraen Palace Vs Vecchio Victors, Matchday 25)
A stunning 60-yard solo effort from Druidan Trevor as he picked the ball up in his own half, beat the entire Palace defence and slotted past a despairing Hans Eichel. Sheer brilliance.
Golden Boot
Golden Boot Top 10
Player Goals Team John Pompey 26 Montepool Waves Itechton Matranga 25 Jhanna City Nikki Inostraza 22 Jhanna United Akira Jones 21 Beverington Hawks Trevor Bent 20 Vecchio Victors Nick Matranga 19 Montepool Waves Michalis Mitrofanis 19 Hecia Royal Seaford 18 Tabeck FC Carmine Mbidzo 17 Iskara Daii Quentin Bentley 16 Foxchester Raiders
Other Players in Double-Figures
Player Goals Team Darius Belizaire 15 Iskara Daii Syku Isita 15 Widdrington Wolves Rapahel Delgado 14 Hallad Reavers Toby Tzikas 14 Basian Valley S. Vanataraselidene 14 Tuncastle Rovers Juan Miguel Aguilera 13 Vecchio Victors Juan Silva de Souza 13 Corinthian Spirits Florencio Zaragoza 13 Tabeck FC Rhys Owens 12 Tuncastle Rovers Innit Point 12 Internashionale Neil Swallow 12 Hallad Reavers T.I. Yen 12 Phraen Palace Kurt Bangor 11 Basian Valley Darrly Carpenter 11 Internashionale John Schofield 11 Widdrington Wolves Isiah Sodek 11 Tabeck FC Dimitrious Steliopolous 11 Veles Marcus Tripton 11 Jhanna City Marco Del Blanco 10 Tuncastle Rovers Phil Cox 10 Beverington Hawks Paul Fortier 10 Corinthian Spirits Ilias Provatidis 10 Hecia Wilburforce Jones 10 Foxchester Raiders
Foreigner Report
Bedistan
Quentin Phillips missed out on both a Third League Winner's medal and Defender of the Year, making it his worst season in Starblaydi football yet. Can't be bad though, World Cup Winner in the Champions' League in Starblaydia's best team.
Cockbill Street
Marcus Tripton worked solidly in the left side of midfield for Jhanna City and is rewarded with an NSFA Cup spot. His season was overshadowed, however, as Cefn Bus Station of Druida thought they'd bought him from Harewood FC for 42 million cwuls, despite the fact he was playing for JCFC throughout the season.
Druida
Glynn Davies was nice and solid as Tuncastle Rovers lifted themselves to a Champions League spot. Teammate Rhys Owens formed a nice partnership with the new Rejistanian, making himself the provider for the younger striker. Trevor Bent bagged his highest League total of 20 goals for the Vics, putting him 5th in the race for the Starblaydi Golden Boot. Huw Richards and Craig Gawain of Jhanna United will be pleased with 50 points and a +8 goal difference over the Season as they prop up the top half of the table.
Insane Inflation
The contracts of Hans Eichel, Lyndon Johnson, Kwanza Nouveau and T.I. Yen (notable for being both the longest and cheapest in Starblaydi footballing history) have, finally, come to an end and the four conquering heroes return to their nation as multi-gazillionaires, using the currency of Insane Inflation. Perhaps they'll buy the country, between them. Who knows? Who also knows, by the way, where Phraen can get four new players as-useful as these boys. Men. Geriatrics. Whatever.
Liverpool England
Jacob Becker scaled the dizzy heights of 4th with the Rovers, and will add Champions League appearances to this CV. Glenn Schultz will have the same distinction, as the Vics' Left-Back stepped up to the mark this Season. Fred Pounds had an average season with Hecia, though 8th is a long way short of where they are used to being in these past three seasons. Carlos Parr and Bobby Muniz, however, failed to be a two-man defence for the entire Foxchester Raiders team, as they were relegated.
Nedalia
Innit Point was named Young Player of the Season, knocking in 12 goals (and top-scoring for Inter while he was at it) as they narrowly avoided relegation. Look out for this one when Inter really take off.
Rejistania
Sike~nni~l Vanataraselidene (known to the Rovers' as 'Sikey') top-scored at Tuncastle, who are certianly grateful for Karelan revolutions if it gives them strikers of this quality. Syku Isita, another of the Karelan Exiles, didn't make 10 goals, but then again, he's a Rejistanian playing for Widdrington, and we're therefore not surprised.
Sarzonia
The semi-legendary Emacio has, finally, retired, though where the Reavers will find a suitable replacement is beyond me. Lemmy Crozen tried to be the rock around which the Spirits pivoted, but the overall youth of the team made his task difficult.
Turori
Jarod Dreka and Hong Knapko's Vecchio side have got themselves Champions' League football for next season, a great acheivement based on past performances. Scoring nearly half his team's total goals, JUFC's Nikki Inostraza was 3rd in the race for the Golden Boot.
Vilita
Carmine Mbizdo bagged a nicely-taken 17 goals, outscoring Darius Belizaire for the first time in three attempts, though was never really in the running for Striker of the Year as the Daii failed to knock in the goals like usual. Antonis Ratuva led the Daii midfield very well in defence but was outshone by Rueben Laberge, who is really living up to the promise Tuade Lue saw in him those seasons ago. Tulio Arizmendi and Brandon Bonilla will get NSFA Cup action as they finished sixth for Jhanna City, with Tulio taking the plaudits of the fans. Clayton Smeuk and Hallad Reavers are both doing the same thing: getting worse. Alioum Mané obviously isnt as good as Angelos Prokopsis, but 8th in Liga Starblaydia is no mean feat. Tyrone Amaan and Toby Tzikas both had disappointing seasons with Basian Valley, though Tzikas bagged 14 goals for the Season. Rowan Majara's Inter career hasn't started too brilliantly as they escape Relegation on Goal Difference, but with the tons of youthful talent in this side, its hard to see how they'll do this badly again.
| Preceded by: Liga Starblaydia Season 2 |
Liga Starblaydia Season 3 |
Followed by: Liga Starblaydia Season 4 |
