Sunday 3 June 2018

CONIFA Football World Cup 2018 - Group Stages - Match Day Two


So the third CONIFA Football World Cup continued on Saturday so without further ado here is how the afternoon games faired as the group stages entered their second day:-

2pm
Group A
Barawa 1 Cascadia 2
Cascadia bounced back from their opening day defeat to stun Barawa after coming from behind to take the win.  Mohammed Betiamer headed Barawa into the lead, beating the keeper at the near post after a cross from Gianni Crichlow, before Cascadia's Maxwell Oldham almost equalised after a great ball in from Joshua Doughty from the left; thwarted twice by Barawa keeper Calvin King.  But they did find a leveller when Joshua Doughty steered in a lovely finish after a sublime ball from the left goal-line by Charlie Gregory, and they then turned it around when a corner from the right-hand side was steered in by Hector Morales, this all before the break.  Jordan Wilson almost put Cascadia 3-1 up, but his header bounced across the goal and went wide, however Cascadia got themselves right back in this tournament after this win.

Group B
Abkhazia 0 Karpatalya 2
Holders Abkhazia suffered a surprising loss at Karpatalya meaning they will most probably have to win their final group game to progress to the Quarter Finals.  The opening goal came from a deflected shot from Gajdos after 11 minutes, and Abkhazia then went so close with a volley from Maskaev, before another super volley by Akhvlediani was blocked by the Karpatalya keeper as they held onto their slender lead at the break. A flying tip-over by Karpatalya keeper Fejer from a shot by Filatov kept them ahead, before Karpatalya's Istvan Sandor almost doubled his sides lead when he controlled the ball well and then struck the post with a low shot, however they did seal the points seven minutes into added time after a super long-range shot by Istvan Sandor to give his side a great chance of qualification for the Last Eight.


Group C
Szekely Land 5 Matabeleland 0
Group C saw the first qualification confirmed when Szekely Land made it two wins from two after thrashing ten man Matabeleland.  The game certainly moved in favour of Szeskely Land when the Matabeleland goalkeeper was been sent off for a late challenge on a Szekely Land forward, and the penalty was converted by Istvan Fülop, before a brilliant strike from the edge of the box doubled their lead.  Szekely Land then made it three after a brilliant move ended with Szilard Magyari slotting the ball home and Szekely Land had a three goal cushion at the break.  Szekely Land made it four when a defensive mistake allowed Szilard Magyari in to lift the ball over the 'keeper and in, before Lazlo Hodgyai poked home for the fifth to cap another fine performance.


Group D
United Koreans In Japan 0 Kabylia 0
Kabylia picked up their first point of the tournament after their 8-0 loss in the previous game with a goalless draw against United Koreans In Japan.  A goalless first half was followed by a worrying moment when a Kabylia player got injured and it required a Bracknell Town safety officer to provid first aid before an ambulance was called. The player was in a stable condition and we all wish him a speedy recovery.  And only an amazing save by the Kabylian keeper denied UKIJ a late winner, and meant the Koreans have now drawn both their games 0-0.

And now for the late afternoon/early evening contest:-
5pm

Group A
Ellan Vannin 2 Tamil Eelam 0
Ellan Vannin have all but qualified for the Last Eight after two second half goals saw off Temil Eelam for whom this was their second loss in two starts, meaning their chances of Qualification for the Quarters are pretty much over.

Group B
Northern Cyprus 3 Tibet 1
An estimated crowd of 1,200, believed to be a new club record for Enfield Town, saw Northern Cyprus take a giant stride towards qualification for the last eight after they saw off Tibet.  A goal after two minutes from Turan put Northern Cyprus ahead as Tibet were under constant pressure from a fast-moving Northern Cyprus side.  Another wasted chance by Northern Cyprus, Halil Turan diving to head just inches wide, saw them fail to add to their dominance, and they were made to pay for this when Tibet equalised when Kalsang Topgyal touched the ball past Hasan Piro and the teams went into the break level.  A long-range effort by Tenzing Dhondeu put pressure on Northern Cyprus, who were now struggling to regain control of the game, although they nearly retook the lead when striking the crossbar with a glancing header by Adil Ucar.  They did then manage to retake the lead and then made the game safe when a neat chip by Gok made it 3-1 and saw them top the group on goal difference.

Group C
Padania 8 Tuvalu 0
Padania have qualified for the Last Eight after they followed up their 6-1 opening day win with an 8-0 win here against Tuvalu.  Padania took an early lead when Federico Corno produced a smart finish, and they doubled their lead through Corno again before Padania got a third when Riccardo Ravasi glanced a header beyond the Tuvalu goalkeeper.  Padania struck again through Giuliu Valente before Corno grabbed a first-half hat-trick when making it five, and then Valente grabbed his second of the game as Padania held a 6-0 half time lead.  Tuvalu went close after the break when they saw Okilani Tinilau force a great save out of the Padania goalkeeper, but Padania then extended their lead further with a great strike on the volley, before a first ever green card was shown to Stefano Baldan of Padania, meaning he had to be substituted.  Valente though scored an eighth for Padania for this hat-trick,  and the favourites look good right now.

Group D
Panjab 0 Western Armenia 1
Group D is now wide open after Western Armenia caused a surprise by defeating Panjab.  The first shot by Panjab went wide before Militosyan rifled past Butt to give the Armenian’s the lead.  A fantastic save from Kasparov denied Panjab a goal from a free kick, before they wasted the resultant corner.  Militosyan then forced a great save after being allowed through the Panjab defence unchecked, but they held a slender lead at the half.  Panjab captain Sandhu wasted a chance to equalise with a poor shot-cum-cross in the second period, and it meant a defeat for one of the tournament favourites, who will probably need a win to make sure they cement their last eight berth.


Here are how the Group Tables look after Day Two:-

Group A                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Ellan Vannin                     2            2            0            0            6            1               6                 5
Barawa                              2            1            0            1            5            2               3                3
Cascadia                            2            1            0            1            3            5               3               -2
Tamil Eelam                      2            0            0            2            0            6              0                -6

Group B                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Northern Cyprus             2            1            1            0            4            2              4                  2
Karpatalya                        2            1            1            0            3            1             4                   2
Abkhazia                           2            1            0            1            3            2             3                   1
Tibet                                  2            0            0            2            1            6             0                  -5

Group C                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Padania                             2            2            0            0            14          1              6                13
Szekely Land                    2            2            0            0            9            0              6                  9
Matabeleland                  2            0            0            2            1            11            0               -10
Tuvalu                               2            0            0            2            0            12            0                -12

Group D                            P            W          D            L             F            A            Pts              GD
Western Armenia           2            1            1            0            1            0               4                 1
Panjab                               2            1            0            1            8            1               3                 7
United Koreans in Japan2            0            2            0            0            0              2                 0
Kabylia                              2            0            1            1            0            8               1                -8



And here is a reminder of Sunday’s final Group Stage fixtures:-

3pm
Group A - Barawa vs Ellan Vannin (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
                  Tamil Eelam vs Cascadia (St Paul's Sports Ground, Fisher FC)
Group B - Abkhazia vs Northern Cyprus (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
                  Karpatalya vs Tibet (Larges Lane, Bracknell Town FC)

6pm
Group C - Tuvalu vs Matabeleland (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
                  Padania vs Szekely Land (Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont Sports FC)
Group D - Western Armenia vs Kabylia (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
                  Panjab vs United Koreans In Japan (Arbour Park, Slough Town FC)



Some big games coming up today then, I’ll be at Enfield Town’s Queen Elizabeth II Stadium to see Abkhazia vs Northern Cyprus and then Western Armenia vs Kabylia.  A lot riding on both games in terms of qualification for the Quarter Finals, so proves to be an exciting day in this competition.

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