Nordreich Liga Season I ran from October 7, 2009 to January 6, 2010.
Final Standings[]
| NORDREICH LIGA - Season I | |||||||||||||
| NORDREICH LIGA 1 | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | DIF | PTS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottoria FC | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 11 | 28 | 34 | |||||
| Northern Reich | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 21 | 34 | |||||
| Nordenstrom United | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 9 | 26 | 31 | |||||
| NVK Kaapstad Hornets | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 25 | |||||
| Nordland | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 13 | |||||
| The Scimitars | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 34 | -18 | 11 | |||||
| Noordrijk FC | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 33 | -21 | 9 | |||||
| Italia | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 44 | -35 | 4 | |||||
Regular Season[]
Nordreich Liga 1[]
Statistics Leaders[]
| NORDREICH LIGA 1 | |||||||||||||
| # | POINTS LEADERS | POS | TEAM | PTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Kilfernora | F | Scottoria FC | 17 | |||||||||
| 2 | Dakarai Baako | MF | NVK Kaapstad Hornets | 13 | |||||||||
| 2 | Doinel Noureanu | MF | Nordenstrom United | 13 | |||||||||
| 4 | Rusty Meredith | F | Scottoria FC | 12 | |||||||||
| 5 | 5 players | - | - | 9 | |||||||||
| # | GOALS LEADERS | POS | TEAM | GL | |||||||||
| 1 | Brian Kilfernora | F | Scottoria FC | 11 | |||||||||
| 1 | Rusty Meredith | F | Scottoria FC | 11 | |||||||||
| 3 | Arved Lokko | F | Northern Reich | 8 | |||||||||
| 4 | Doinel Noureanu | MF | Nordenstrom United | 7 | |||||||||
| 4 | Tiburtino Piçarra | MF | The Scimitars | 7 | |||||||||
| # | ASSISTS LEADERS | POS | TEAM | AS | |||||||||
| 1 | Dakarai Baako | MF | NVK Kaapstad Hornets | 8 | |||||||||
| 2 | Gláucio Espada | MF | Nordenstrom United | 7 | |||||||||
| 3 | Brian Kilfernora | F | Scottoria FC | 6 | |||||||||
| 3 | Doinel Noureanu | MF | Nordenstrom United | 6 | |||||||||
| 5 | 6 players | - | - | 5 | |||||||||
| # | X11 LEADERS | POS | TEAM | X11 | |||||||||
| 1 | Hillo Maalepp | GK | Northern Reich | 14 | |||||||||
| 2 | Kristján Sigurdson | MF | Nordenstrom United | 12 | |||||||||
| 2 | Dan Hooper | D | Scottoria FC | 12 | |||||||||
| 4 | Dakarai Baako | MF | NVK Kaapstad Hornets | 8 | |||||||||
| 4 | Henrik Kerem | F | Northern Reich | 8 | |||||||||
| 4 | Örlygur Harðarson | D | Nordenstrom United | 8 | |||||||||
Liga 1 All-Star Team[]
| NORDREICH LIGA 1 ALL-STAR TEAM | |||||||||||||
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Hillo Maalepp | Northern Reich | |||||||||||
| D | Dan Hooper | Scottoria FC | |||||||||||
| D | Örlygur Harðarson | Nordenstrom United | |||||||||||
| D | Harald Helgason | Nordenstrom United | |||||||||||
| D | Anthony Davids | NVK Kaapstad Hornets | |||||||||||
| MF | Kristján Sigurdson | Nordenstrom United | |||||||||||
| MF | Dakarai Baako | NVK Kaapstad Hornets | |||||||||||
| MF | Marcus Akram | Scottoria FC | |||||||||||
| MF | Doinel Noureanu | Nordenstrom United | |||||||||||
| F | Rusty Meredith | Scottoria FC | |||||||||||
| F | Brian Kilfenora | Scottoria FC | |||||||||||
Retirements[]
The following players retired at the conclusion of the season on January 9, 2010:
- Edwin Pilling (Scottoria FC) midfielder; retired at age 31
- Doinel Noureanu (Nordenstrom United) midfielder; retired at age 39
- Murtada Salih (The Scimitars); retired at age 36
- Claude Ekeke Ebelle (The Scimitars); retired at age 35
- Bashar Mujahid (The Scimitars); retired at age 32
- Sebastiano Rigoni (Italia); retired at age 31
League MVP[]
- Hillo Maalepp (Northern Reich) - 14 X11 selections
- Kristján Sigurdson (Nordenstrom United) - 12 X11 selections
- Dan Hooper (Scottoria FC) - 12 X11 selections
Manager of the Season[]
- Norwood86 (Scottoria FC) - 9 MOTW selections
- BaronZemo (Nordenstrom United) - 3 MOTW selections
- Botha (NVK Kaapstad Hornets) - 2 MOTW selections
Nordreich Cup[]
Quarter-Finals[]
Matches played on October 10 and October 17, 2009
- NVK Kaapstad Hornets defeated The Scimitars (3-0, 0-1)
- Nordenstrom United defeated Scottoria FC (2-0, 2-2)
- Northern Reich defeated Italia (1-1, 0-1)
- Nordland defeated FC Noordrijk (1-0, 1-1)
Semi-Finals[]
Matches played on October 24 and October 31, 2009
- Northern Reich defeated NVK Kaapstad Hornets (2-1, 2-1)
- Nordenstrom United defeated Nordland (3-0, 4-0)
Nordreich Cup Finals[]
Matches played on November 7 and November 14, 2009
- Nordenstrom United defeated Northern Reich (0-0, 1-0)
NOVEMBER 8, 2009 - First leg of Final ends in 0-0 draw
Northern Reich and Nordenstrom United played to a 0-0 draw today in the first leg of the Nordreich Cup Finals - which sets up next week's second leg in Nordenstrom as a winner-takes-all barnburner.
Northern Reich played a stifling 4-5-1 defensive game in front of keeper Hillo Maalepp which shut down Nordenstrom's attack-minded 4-4-2 line-up and made life miserable for Nordenstrom playmaker Kristján Sigurdson. Goal-scoring opportunities were limited, with just 2 for Nordenstrom and 3 for Reich.
Overall, edge goes to Northern Reich in this match although Nordenstrom will enjoy the benefits of home advantage in what will be the decider. Form will be a factor and it will be interesting to see how the teams cope with that heading into the match as Northern Reich face a tough opponent in the guise of league-leading Scottoria in their league fixture this Wednesday while Nordenstrom will have a much easier time versus fifth-place Scimitars. Reich will have to train hard to recover should Scottoria defeat them as expected.
NOVEMBER 14, 2009 - Nordenstrom are Nordreich Cup victors
A capacity crowd at Martyrs Field in Nordenstrom were overjoyed as their hometown heroes walked away with the inaugural Nordreich Cup championship. Midfielder Kristján Sigurdson booted home a penalty kick in what would be the lone goal of the entire final series.
Referee Ian Hartman got the match underway at half past nine o’clock on what was a brisk but clear morning. The opening stages were fairly uneventful although Nordenstrom United – in their all-green kit – maintained command of the ball for the first nine minutes before Northern Reich – who were sporting blue sweaters and black shorts – finally gained some possession.
Four minutes later, the Reich coughed up the ball to their opponents which then set up midfielder Gláucio Espada for a lobbed header which was deftly tapped over the crossbar by Reich’s star keeper Hillo Maalepp.
Arved Lokko of Northern Reich was booked for elbowing in the 23rd minute and the two teams engaged in some frenzied, back-and-forth play to regain better control. Nordenstrom finally re-gained the upper hand and worked the ball around to set up fullback Harald Helgason for an attempt off a flicked head. Surprisingly enough for the air-ball pro, Helgason was not even close as Maalepp watched it safety sail up and over him.
In the dying seconds before Referee Ian Harman blew the half-time whistle, Nordenstrom picked up their first yellow card when Hélio Ferraz was booked for dangerous play when he injured Northern Reich’s forward Tommi Liik slightly. Henrik Kerem was substituted in his place.
A couple of minutes after the second stanza got underway, Nordenstrom midfielder Sven-Östein Haraldsson had a dangerous attempt against Maalepp when a freekick was lifted up and Haraldsson half-volleyed it at goal. Once again, the stalwart Hillo Maalepp took care of the ball and kept Northern Reich’s hopes alive against what was proving to be a tough opponent to crack.
Nordenstrom was booked again in the 52nd minute when Örlygur Harðarson received a yellow card from Referee Ian Hartman for unsportsmanlike conduct – however Reich was unable to capitalise from the resulting free kick.
Nordenstrom’s captain, the midfielder Kristján Sigurdson was then set up for a real dangerous free kick attempt on goal in the 66th minute but he lost some of his footing and the ball missed by around three or four feet.
Reich fullback Thomas Kaiser then received a yellow card for brutal play a couple of minutes later.
At the 77th minute, the match’s first and only goal was scored when Nordenstrom United were awarded a penalty kick. Kristján Sigurdson, as team captain, stepped up for the attempt on Hillo Maalepp and he expertly curved the ball past the Northern Reich keeper. The home crowd erupted in cheering and Martyrs Field was never quiet again as the incessant cheering and singing urged the Nordenstorm players onwards to victory.
The remainder of the match was anti-climatic and there would be no last-minute heroics from Northern Reich, Sigurdson’s goal seeming to take the wind out of their sails. In the 83rd minute, Reich finally saw their first possession of the ball in the second half but by then it was too late. Reich would be held to zero shots on net for the entire match.
In the dying minutes, Anton Kruuv was booked for handling the ball and during the three minutes of overtime, Sven-Östein Haraldsson left the match after picking up a slight injury. Then in the 93rd minute, Referee Ian Hartmen blew the final whistle and pandemonium broke out as Nordenstrom fans ran onto the pitch to congratulate their new heroes.
Baron Zemo Open Cup[]
Quarter-Finals[]
Matches played November 21, 2009
- FC Noordrijk defeated Nordland 1-0 ET
- Nordenstrom United defeated Northern Reich 1-0 ET
- Scottoria FC defeated The Scimitars 4-0 (0-0 at half)
- NVK Kaapstad Hornets defeated Italia 4-1 (2-1 at half)
Semi-Finals[]
Matches played November 28, 2009
- Nordenstrom United defeated Scottoria FC 4-0
- NVK Kaapstad Hornets defeated FC Noordrijk 3-0
Finals[]
Match played December 5, 2009
- Nordenstrom United defeated NVK Kaapstad Hornets 2-1
DECEMBER 5, 2009 - Baron Zemo Cup remains in Nordenstrom
Despite almost an hour of play with an advantage in numbers, NVK Kaapstad Hornets were unable to pull off an upset comeback to defeat favourites Nordenstrom United for the Baron Zemo Open Cup.
“We played our hearts out with one of our best line-ups and efforts to date, but we simply could not get the ball past their keeper Hélio Ferraz” commented an exasperated Manager Bartnel Botha.
Nordenstrom took an early 2 goal lead after beating Hornets goalkeeper Oskar Dietze first on a penalty shot and then nine minutes later on a corner set-play. They then ran into some serious trouble when their lone forward in their 5-4-1 fromation, Herman Ólafsson, received a red card and was sent off in the 36th minute. Prospect forward Desmond Nghaamwa got the Hornets on the scorecard just minutes into the second half when Dakarai Baako set him up for a breakaway one-on-one to beat Ferraz. But Kaapstad were unable to find the equalizer despite outplaying Nordenstrom for the remainder of the match.
| “ | I knew we would be in hard against them, going into the match, but when they saw their red card from Referee Laura Norder, we really needed to exploit opportunities like that and make the most of them – which we failed to capitalise on. | ” |
With the two cup runs over for the season, the league and its teams can start to focus on the final five weeks and the horserace which has unfolded in the standings.
Team Pages[]
| N/A | Preceding Edition - Next Edition | Nordreich Liga Season II |