It was not a very good morning to be a Dragon. #2 FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds won the opening game of their series against #15 Swamp City Dragons in Scotland in front of a tiny crowd of just over 8,000. The 2 seed held serve as Evan Ashby broke a 1-1 tie midway through the 2nd half and teammate Suthley Simms put the game away late to send the game to Canada with the Bullet Birds up by two goals. Despite the loss, Swamp City looked dangerous throughout, generating almost twice as many opportunities. They'll need to find a scoring touch in order to extend the series tomorrow.

#4 SwampDragons United started their playoff run in Germany when they were hosted by #13 FC Stolpen Steamroller and, like their Canadian counterpart, lost a competitive game 2-1. Stolpen scored twice in the first 17 minutes with a pair of goals by Rodiger Brenner and then held on as the Swamp U defense clamped down to prevent any more damage. Jerrad Forko was able to get one back in the 66th when his strike reached the far corner before Steamroller goalie Sein Flórez could cover but they couldn't find the equalizer. Both teams will travel back to the SwampDragons home pitch tomorrow to decide who will move on to the quarters.

In the Bums, #3 FC Not Very Athletic began their quest to win 17th Place with a 2-1 victory of #6 FC Cackalacky. Cackalacky managed to score one of the quickest goals in FC Dynasty Cup history when Emile Vessels netted one seconds into the game to give the home faithful something to get excited about but they weren't able to hold on. Javian Simmons tied the game in the 16th and Regan Holian got the game winner as the 2nd half opened to give Athletic the road win. The return game will be played on the 9th.

There is one afternoon knockout game that I'll get to this evening.

The day's playoff action wrapped up in the Land of the Rising Sun where Japanese club #9 Bolton Wanderers hosted #8 FC Kingston. In what should be a close series based on the seeding, the 47,887 in attendance went home happy as their side took the opener 1-0. Playing an aggressive 4-3-3 formation, Bolton pressed the Kingston defense in the early going but almost conceded a goal when Kingston held the ball in the attacking third for four straight minutes after they were awarded three corner kicks in succession. Wanderers goalie Matai Teuermann was up to the task and made a pair of saves. Once Bolton was finally able to clear the ball out of danger, Aderet Früof found some room and connected on a header that got past Hilario Serpa and off the post for what would end up the only goal of the game. While both teams continued to generate looks, nobody else was able to score as the series heads back to the US on the 9th.

There are three games tomorrow, including two elimination games as both Dragons try to bounce back.

Three First Round games were played today and two more teams joined FC Stratford-Upon-Avon King's Men in the Quarterfinals. The nation of Canada, home of all things Dragons, hosted both games were a spot in the final 8 were at stake. Traditional powerhouse #15 Swamp City Dragons went into their game against #2 FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds down 3-1 in the aggregate, which swelled to 4-1 after Evan Ashby got the Bullet Birds on the board early in the game. That woke the Dragons offense up and they went on to score the next two to close within one goal after Lou Zimmern headed a ball past a flat-footed Paulo Hudson to excite the home crowd into making some noise. Ashby quieted them down right at halftime with his 2nd goal of the game and, despite some senior-citizen leadership from Arley Movsisyan, who gave his side some hope when he used his 115 years of wisdom to place a ball into the corner to close the lead to 5-4, the Dragons couldn't get off another shot and Edinburgh held on to win the series.

Down the Trans-Canada Highway a stretch, #4 SwampDragons United were fending off their own elimination to upstart #13 FC Stolpen Steamroller. Down 2-1 in the series, Jerrad Forko scored twice in the first 25 minutes to tie the aggregate at 3-3 but a nifty volley by Rodiger Brenner crushed the Swamp U momentum and signaled the beginning of the end for the other Dragons franchise. Rey Jaime gained a share of the Golden Toe lead with his 7th goal of the tournament when he blasted one midway through the 2nd half from distance and Steamroller owned the last half of the game, finishing the contest with three unanswered to take a 4-2 road win and 6-3 series aggregate, sending the Germans through to the quarters and the Dragons home to watch the rest of the Cup on TV.

In the one non-elimination game of the day, #7 Merchiston FC hosted #10 Metropolitan Eagles in a game that featured 30 shots on goal but not a ton of scoring. Merchiston jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after Math Boyes dove forward to knock in a ball at the half hour mark but the Americans couldn't maintain the advantage and veteran Czech forward Tomas Bezdek drew the game level when his shot from downtown sailed by Dutch goalie Jean-Martin Swerts to cap off the comeback as the game ended in a 2-2 tie. The series goes back to Sweden tomorrow.

There are three more games tomorrow as well as another Bums matchup that could send a team into the Semis in the lower bracket. The update will probably be split between morning and evening as I have to take the wife to an appointment that might take some time...

It was real, it was fun, it is over. Thanks for having FC Cackalacky. May our youths keep developing.

A pair of teams won their way to the Quarterfinals as 5 of the 8 spots have now been spoken for. #10 Metropolitan Eagles broke a very long knockout drought by qualifying for the playoffs and now has advanced to the next round after a dramatic 6-5 aggregate victory over #7 Merchiston FC. With the series tied 2-2, both teams scored early, trading goals within the first 13 minutes to make the aggregate 3-3. The Screaming Eagles then started to assert themselves as Bolek Horejsi, who had scored the team's first goal of the game, knocked in his 2nd to permanently break the draw when he beat the offside trap and hit a grass-burner that got by a fat-fingered Jean-Martin Swert. Merchiston was able to keep the game close when 66 year old forward Thomas-VanLuijk De Meyer scored right before halftime but Horejsi found the back of the net to complete the hat trick in the 54th and the Metro Eagles held on for the win to knock the Americans out of the tournament.

They will be joined by #8 FC Kingston who came back from a 1-0 defeat in the first game against #9 Bolton Wanderers to dramatically come back and take the aggregate 5-4 in yet another razor-thin series total. Bolton added to its lead as soon as the opening whistle was blown as Aderet Früof raced down the pitch in the 1st minute and beat Hilario Serpa, who looked like he was still setting his defense and wasn't prepared for the quick shot. Ton Miyagishima's header in the 22nd extended the aggregate to 3-0 for the Wanderers and the Bolton fans that had made the trip overseas were beginning to celebrate. They started too soon. Kingston scored five straight goals, kicking off the rally with a pair of goals by defender Denzel McBeth. By the time Bolton recovered from the onslaught, only seconds remained and a late score by Ruben Wohlfart wasn't enough to change the outcome. The final chance, ironically by Früof who had scored the 1st minute goal, hit the side netting and the Kingston players and fans started celebrating as their squad will move on.

Finally, in the first true upset of the playoffs, #3 the crutchanators of soccer hosted outmatched #14 Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. and made the mistake of taking the underdogs for granted as they dropped their home game to the German side 3-2. Sampo Jarvela retook the Golden Toe lead with his 8th of the tourney and crutchanators raced out to a 2-0 halftime lead. However, the Billygoats made some halftime adjustments and owned the 2nd half, led by their team Captain Spaniard Mano Araña in the 59th, as Cologne scored three times within 18 minutes to shock the home fans with the defeat. The series now heads to Westphalia tomorrow to see which team will continue their dreams of hoisting the Cup.

To wrap up the day's action (as there are no evening games on the schedule today,) #3 FC Not Very Athletic advanced to the Semifinals of the Bums after beating up on #6 FC Cackalacky by a score of 4-0 to win the aggregate 6-1. Cackalacky only managed 2 shots on goal and even if both had scored, it wouldn't have been nearly enough. Athletic scored three times before the break and cruised to the victory, adding a goal in garbage time by Jack Fitzgerald to put an exclamation point on the series win. They'll be prepping for their semis matchup for some time as the other series doesn't conclude until the 12th at the earliest.

There is one game in the knockouts and one in the Bums for tomorrow. Other than the 1/16 matchup, all playoff games are scheduled.

Just sent a challenge to Real TK, was gone for a few days

Posted by indiansrck27 on 7/10/2025 1:13:00 AM (view original):
Just sent a challenge to Real TK, was gone for a few days

No problem. The Champs have the right to take as much time as they want...

Today's update will be this evening. Endless Doctor appointments around here lately.

A sixth team has qualified for the Quarterfinals and I did a double-take when I saw the boxscore. #14 Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., who looked so lame in the Group Stage and barely advanced out of Group A, seems to have found their stride as they defeated #3 the crutchanators of soccer 4-1 to take the series by a comfortable 7-3 aggregate. Mano Araña leaped to the top of the Golden Toe standings with his 8th and 9th tallies and the Billygoats expensive off-season acquisition, Greg Eardensohn, who cost the franchise a $1.45M transfer fee, added his fourth. The Germans raced out to a 4-0 lead before crutchanators could erase the goose egg for personal pride right before the end of the game when Shawn Lindholm scored in the 83rd minute to avoid the shutout. As good as crutchanators looked in group play, this is the upset of the tourney so far as Cologne moves on.

In the Bums, the opposite of an upset happened when #4 FC Trojans of SC hit the road and beat #5 Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia Foci Klub in Budapest. Austria-Hungary was punchless and veteran Rashan Berwick's goal right at the halftime break was enough to take the win, although the Trojans added a 2nd goal later for good measure. The series will go back to southern Cal on the 12th where the American team will be a massive favorite to advance to the Semis.

Tomorrow there is a single game as #6 North Polar Dragons FC and #11 Kobelco United Football Club get their series underway.

The 6/11 series got their first game in the books a few minutes ago as both teams decided to use a single player for their offensive scoring rather than use all 11 players on the pitch. #6 North Polar Dragons FC thought it was best to feed the ball to veteran Finnish forward Daavid Kaurismäki, who took 4 of the team's 7 shots on goal and made two of them count, including a blast he hit so hard that it went through the hands of Kobelco goalie Carsten Zobel in the 71 st minute. The Japanese club, however, countered with an even more potent weapon, as Normando Monreal scored on 3 of his 4 on-target efforts, including the tie-breaking goal in the 88th that broke up the 2-2 deadlock to give Kobelco the 3-2 win. The series takes a day off before going back to the US for North Polar's home game.

Tomorrow has a lone Bums game that will decide the Semifinals and then the defending champs get back into the swing of their title defense with the opening game of the 1/16 matchup.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 7/10/2025 12:56:00 PM (view original):

Posted by indiansrck27 on 7/10/2025 1:13:00 AM (view original):
Just sent a challenge to Real TK, was gone for a few days

No problem. The Champs have the right to take as much time as they want...

Today's update will be this evening. Endless Doctor appointments around here lately.

Still waiting on a return challenge

Posted by indiansrck27 on 7/12/2025 2:40:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 7/10/2025 12:56:00 PM (view original):

Posted by indiansrck27 on 7/10/2025 1:13:00 AM (view original):
Just sent a challenge to Real TK, was gone for a few days

No problem. The Champs have the right to take as much time as they want...

Today's update will be this evening. Endless Doctor appointments around here lately.

Still waiting on a return challenge

Check in on occasion, if you would. I assume he'll check out the score for tomorrow's game and maybe send a challenge then.

No surprise in the lone game today as the Bums Bracket completed their First Round with a rout as #4 FC Trojans of SC dismantled #5 Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia Foci Klub at home by a score of 5-0, taking the series with a 7-0 aggregate. Five different Trojans scored as they had four times as many opportunities, outshot Austria-Hungary 26-9 and didn't yield a single corner for the entire match. As if they could afford it, the Dual Monarchy shot itself in the foot when Canadian midfielder Loran Tessier was thrown out of the game in the 58th minute, giving the Trojans a man advantage they didn't need. The Vegas sports books had suspended betting on the game since, apparently, no money was being laid on the visitors.

I'll set up the Bums Semifinals tomorrow. Meanwhile, the final Knockout Round series begins as we all await the final two qualifiers for the quarters.

We are down to a single open spot in the quarters since #11 Kobelco United Football Club won their way to the next round after narrowly beating #6 North Polar Dragons FC on the road 1-0 to take the series 4-2 on aggregate. North Polar needed to win but, in a rare stat line that is almost never seen in Cup action, failed to register a single shot on goal for the entire match. Kobelco, by contrast, placed 10 on target but was kept out of the net by a very busy Dragons goalkeeper Bobbi Vinter until the 62nd when Nicanor Jaime buried one from distance. The 1-0 win sends Kobelco through and North Polar joins the other two Dragon clubs on the sidelines for the rest of the tourney.

The defending Champs and #1 seed got their knockouts going in the right direction when Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi played at home in Quito, Ecuador and won 3-2 over #16 Real TK in front of an almost sold-out crowd of over 57,000. The Frenchmen were big underdogs and didn't do themselves any favors when their young Mexican forward Xever Mariano Andrés went too aggressive into a free ball and got red-carded only 6 minutes into the game. Cotopaxi took full advantage by scoring three goals with the man advantage before halftime as Mr. Three Names Heraldo Paulo Canineu scored twice within 8 minutes to give the Cup holders a commanding 3-0 lead at the break. To their credit and possibly critical to the return game, TK managed to adjust to the situation and outplayed Cotopaxi in the 2nd half, actually getting back two of the goals short-handed narrow the differential to only one.

The return game has yet to be scheduled and today is technically the last day but I'm going to give TK a couple more days to send the challenge so that we don't have a forfeit situation. Also, I have set up the Semifinals for the Bums Bracket. Looks like pubmonkey has an excellent chance of advancing to the finals.