Semi-Finals
Karpatalya 4 Szekeley Land 2
Karpatalya fought off a late comeback from Szekely Land to progress into Sunday's Grand Final. A rather uneventfull opening 35 minutes saw a crazy final ten minutes of the half saw the breakthrough come after some great skill and a tidy finish, and also saw Szekely Land receive a green card in the aftermath of the goal. But Szekely Land then won a penalty minutes later but saw the Karpatalya keeper save onto the post before getting up to claw away the follow up brilliantly, and see his side into the break ahead. And eleven minutes into the second half they doubled their lead when a shot from distance straight at the keeper saw the stopper make a right mess of it and allow the ball to trickle into the net behind him. And then a defensive error saw Karpatalya in and the defender try to recover but ended up committing a foul for a penalty, and to rub salt into the wounds injured himself in making the tackle, before seeing the penalty converted with fifteen minutes left, game over we all thought. However a minute later Szekely Land headed home before blasting home a second with twelve minutes left to well and truly get themselves back into the contest. Karpatalya then clung on for dear life but in stoppage time broke away and drove at goal, and a pass into the box saw a neat finish and Karpatalya had sealed their passage into the final. Szekely land will now play for third place on Sunday.
Here are some photos I snapped during this game:-
Northern Cyprus 3 Padania 2
Turkish Cypriot side Northern Cyprus netted two late goals to stun pre-tournament favourites Padania to progress into Sunday's Grand Final at Enfield Town. Padania took the lead before Northern Cyprus levelled things up, however Padania struck back to take the lead at the break, and it looked as if that would be enough for the favourites to take their place in the final. However two late goals from the Turk Cypriots saw them take the win and take their place in the final. Padania, who saw a red card late on for violent conduct, will play for third place instead now after this loss.
Here are some photos of the game, courtesy of @CONIFAOfficial:-
Right here are the various Semi Final Placement Games that took place on Match Day Five:-
5th – 8th Placement Semi Finals
Barawa 0 Panjab 5
Panjab brushed hosts Barawa aside to reach the 5th/6th placed final, netting four second half goals in the process. Panjab took the lead before Barawa received a Green Card for diving, and then in the second period Panjab cut loose, sending a cheeky little lob over the keeper for number two before netting again to make in three. The Barawa goalkeeper then saved a shot, but could not help the second going in for number four, before a late fifth capped a fine performance. Barawa will now play off for 7th/8th place in their final game.
Cascadia 4 Western Armenia 0
Cascadia will contest the 5th/6th Place final after they thrashed ten man Western Armenia. Cascadia took the lead through Calum Ferguson and then saw Max Oldham double Cascadia's lead moments after coming on as a substitute. Ferguson then made it 3-0 to Cascadia with a nice chip over the Western Armenian goalkeeper before Berberyan was sent off for Western Armenia whilst Ferguson was Green Carded, and was replaced by Yuri Farbas. And Farbas tapped into to an empty net after a well-placed cross from Haddadi to complete the rout and see the Armenian's into the 7th/8th placed final as a result.
9th – 12th Placement Semi-Finals
Tibet 1 Kabylia 8
Kabylia will play in the 9th/10th Placement final after they smashed eight past Tibet. Sami Boudia broke the deadlock before they doubled their lead, only to see Tibet pull one back before the break. Kabylia then made it three against the run of play before Enzo grabbed his second of the game to make it 4-1 to Kabylia. Boudia then grabbed a second before completing his hat trick to make it six, and then Neidjim Baualbas netted his first before Boudia got on the score sheet again, netting his fourth of the contest, to complete a memorable afternoon for the Kabylian's. Tibet will now contest the 11th/12th placement final.
Abkhazia 2 United Koreans In Japan 0
2016 winners Abkhazia will be playing for 9th/10th place after they saw off United Koreans In Japan. Akhvlediani volleyed past the Korean keeper to open the scoring before Kogonya doubled Abkhazia's lead. And those goals proved enough for the win, and means the Koreans will play in the 11th/12th Place final.
13th – 16th Placement Semi-Finals
Ellan Vannin P-P Matabeleland (tie awarded to Matebeleland after Ellan Vannin pulled out, Matabeleland did play Chagos Islands instead in a friendly at Aveley FC’s Parkside and won 1-0 in a game where coach Bruce Grobbelaar, at 60 years old, had a stint in goal for the opening half hour. Matabeleland will now play Tamil Eelam for 13th/14th place on Saturday.)
Tamil Eelam 4 Tuvalu 3
Two stoppage time goals saw Tamil Eelam stun Tuvalu to win this contest and take their place in the 13th/14th place final. Tuvalu took the lead before Tamil Eelam scored their first goal of the competition to level up, before they were then denied from the spot meaning the game was level at the break. Tuvalu then missed a penalty but then retook the lead soon after, before they then received a green card. Tuvalu though netted again to lead 3-1, only to then see Tamil Eelam pull one back. before two stoppage time strikes saw Tamil Eelam take a remarkable win. Tuvalu will finish 15th as Ellan Vannin, who pulled out and will end 16th, won't participate in the 15th/16th final. Tuvalu will be playing Chagos Islands instead in a friendly to end their tournament.
Here are some photos of the Placement Semi Finals, courtesy of @CONIFAOfficial:-
More about the fiasco over Ellan Vannin, as the fallout between them and CONIFA continues after CONIFA realeased another statement today regarding the recent actions of Ellan Vannin:-
"The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) Executive Committee met on Wednesday 6 June to consider the recent actions of member team and 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup participant Ellan Vannin.
The Executive Committee voted to provisionally expel Ellan Vannin from CONIFA, with a final decision on Ellan Vannin’s membership to be made by all members at the Annual General Meeting in January. In coming to this decision, the Executive Committee considered the following matters:
A) The tournament rules permit the organising committee to amend or alter the rules where circumstances so require. The tournament rules do not require the organising committee to inform participating teams of any changes. While CONIFA accepts that such communication is best practice and consistent with its belief in transparency – and has committed to undertaking a full review of its regulations following the tournament – CONIFA was under no obligation to inform participating teams of decisions concerning squad changes. Ellan Vannin therefore had no valid grounds for its appeal regarding the eligibility of Mohamed Bettamer.
CONIFA also wishes to highlight that participating teams (including Ellan Vannin) made a total of 21 changes to their squads between the mandated deadline and the beginning of the tournament; not permitting Barawa to do so, given the extraordinary circumstances, would have been inconsistent and unfair. CONIFA did not adopt a strict approach to the squad deadline because it appreciates the many hurdles its teams – many of whom are volunteer-run and do not receive state funding – face in forming a full squad and travelling to an international football tournament. The Executive Committee is of the belief that this sympathetic approach is consistent with CONIFA’s core values.
B) In its press release of Tuesday 5 June, Ellan Vannin made numerous inaccurate and offensive statements. These – and its withdrawal from the 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup – are contrary to the Statement of Conduct, which form part of the tournament rules. Ellan Vannin’s conduct also represents a breach of the tournament participation contract, executed between CONIFA and Ellan Vannin. CONIFA will consider whether, pursuant to the contract, it will require Ellan Vannin to indemnify CONIFA for any losses suffered as a result of Ellan Vannin’s conduct.
C) Ellan Vannin’s withdrawal was done despite the rejection of its appeal being made by the tournament management committee, constituted by delegates of all participating teams and the organising committee. Accordingly, the decision represented CONIFA’s democratic will. Ellan Vannin’s disrespect of this democratic decision is contrary to CONIFA’s core values.
CONIFA is deeply disappointed by the actions of Ellan Vannin, which have detracted from an otherwise incredibly successful 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup. CONIFA demand that Ellan Vannin apologise to all CONIFA members for its actions, and retract the inaccurate and offensive comments made about CONIFA, the Barawa Football Association and CONIFA General Secretary Sascha Düerkop.
CONIFA is looking forward to a successful conclusion to the 2018 Paddy Power World Football Cup."
So it seems CONIFA aren't best pleased with Ellan Vannin's actions and it will be interesting to see how the Isle Of Man team respond to this statement, as I said this will rumble on and on I feel.
Anyway just one more day remains of the 2018 competition and here are the fixtures for Match Day Six:-
Grand Final
Northern Cyprus vs Karpatalya (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC, 6pm)
3rd/4th Place Play Off
Padania vs Szekely Land (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC, 3pm)
5th/6th Place Play Off
Panjab vs Cascadia (St Paul's Sports Ground, Fisher FC, 3pm)
7th/8th Place Play Off
Barawa vs Western Armenia (Parkside, Aveley FC, 3pm)
9th/10th Place Play Off
Kabylia vs Abkhazia (Coles Park, Haringey Borough FC, 3pm)
11th/12th Place Play Off
Tibet vs United Koreans In Japan (St Paul's Sports Ground, Fisher FC, 12pm)
13th/14th Place Play Off
Tamil Eelam vs Matabeleland (Parkside, Aveley FC, 12pm)
15th/16th Place Play Off
Tuvalu P-P Ellan Vannin (Tuvalu awarded tie after Ellan Vannin pulled out of tournament, Tuvalu will play Chagos Islands in friendly instead at Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont Sports FC at 12pm)
And following the Grand Final at Enfield Town is the closing ceremony to bring the curtain down on this years competition. Lets hope it ends with plenty of action and drama!!!
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