Northern Cyprus 0 v 0 Kárpátalya

Kárpátalya won 3-2 on penalties
Saturday 9th June 2018
ConIFA World Football Cup Final
Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield
Admission: £10.00 online (plus mandatory £1 donation for ConIFA member association of one's choice)
Programme: £5.00 (covering entire tournament)
Attendance: 2673
Match Rating: 3

After taking in the second half of the placement game at Haringey, I quickly made my way to the bus stop to take the 217 bus northwards along Great Cambridge Road, exactly as I had done last Saturday, for the kick off which was sensibly put back from 6 to 6.30, to cater for the anticipated bumper crowd, and to allow the fans, players and officials from games at other grounds in earlier kick-offs sufficient time to make this showpiece event. Although this fixture would mean a second visit for me within a week, and watching one of the teams again, if this fixture had just half of the atmosphere and excitement of last Saturday’s fixture, I knew I would be in for a treat.

These two teams actually met at this very same ground on the opening day of the tournament, with that game ending in a 1-1 draw. Northern Cyprus then went onto beat Tibet 3-1 (the game I watched), and then drew 2-2 against reigning champions Abkhazia, which was enough to seal progression and eliminate Abkhazia. They then went on to beat “hosts” Barawa 8-0 in the quarter finals, and then Padania 3-2, coming back from 1-2 down with ten minutes to go. Kárpátalya, who were only invited to participate in this tournament as replacements for fellow Hungarian ethnic region Felvidek last month, beat Abkhazia 2-0 and Tibet 5-1 in the group stage, before beating Cascadia 3-1 in the quarter finals and then fellow ethnic Hungarian outfit Székely Land 4-2 in the semi-finalists.

With a large Turkish Cypriot population in North London, as well as a fair sized Hungarian one, this fixture was expected to draw a large crowd, and so it proved, as the ground was packed to the rafters all around, with over 2500 spectators present. One had to question the wisdom of playing the fixture at this stadium though, with views distant along both lengths at best and poor at worst, but at least it was roomy enough to present no safety issues, with fans also able to stand on the grass bank just outside the ground. The build up to kick off saw flares let off from the Hungarian end, plenty of music from the Cypriot fans, a display of traditional dance from Northern Cyprus, and some eccentric firing up of the crowd from the Cypriot kitman in his pink died hair, before former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg led the teams out.

Unfortunately, the game itself was a disappointment, unsurprisingly a cagey affair, and in the first half Northern Cyprus had the upper hand for long periods, but Kárpátalya had the better of the few chances created to open the scoring. On 10 minutes, a cross was whipped in and flicked off a defender's head and went just wide of his own goal, whilst on 35 minutes, a corner flashed across the goal and was deflected behind for a corner.

It was Northern Cyprus who had the opening chance of the second half, when a far post header from a corner forced a flying finger tip save from the keeper, while three minutes later, it was Kárpátalya who forced a good flying catch from the keeper following a shot from the edge of the area. As rain started to fall with about 15 minutes remaining, Northern Cyprus suddenly pushed hard for a winner and missed some decent chances to win the title - on 82 minutes, an unmarked far post header saw the ball come back off the crossbar, and a minute from time, another header from a cross went just over the bar, and with the last action of the game, a throw in was flicked on, and a far post header went over the bar. And with no extra time to be played in this tournament, the full-time whistle heralded penalty kicks to decide who would lift the trophy.

Northern Cyprus would have been very pleased that the penalties would take place in front of their own fans, but it was all going horribly wrong for them when Kárpátalya scored their first two penalties, but Northern Cyprus saw their first two saved. But the sequence was reversed with the next two penalties - Kárpátalya seeing their third penalty hit the post and their fourth one saved, while Northern Cyprus scored their third and fourth, to mean sudden death on the fifth round of penalties. Kárpátalya scored theirs, but Northern Cyprus saw theirs saved, as the Kárpátalya ran the length of the pitch in celebration and leave the majority of the crowd disappointed. With the rain continuing and a tricky journey home in store with local trains not running today, I decided to leave before the trophies were presented and the closing ceremony, which was a shame.

I was feeling quite sad that the ConIFA World Football Cup was now over, but it had been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, learning more about regions around the world I mostly knew next to nothing about before the tournament, watching teams I would never usually encounter, enjoying the contrasting support of the various teams, and there was a lovely combination of competitive but good natured spirit between the players. It was also refreshing to see players clearly keen to make the most of the experience and playing for their "nation". Enormous credit should go to the organisers, a small team of volunteers, who despite the odd hiccup, put on a fabulous celebration of international football for the non FIFA recognised "nations. Hopefully the competition will return to London some time in the not too distant future, with the multi-cultural nature of the city ensuring that most teams are well supported, although presumably - and rightly - it will be taken around the world

for the next few editions at least. But my next summer tournament football will probably come in the form of the Inter Island games in Anglesey next June, also a competition I have very much enjoyed when I experienced it on Jersey and the Isle of Wight.

Highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here.

Kabylia 0 v 2 Abkhazia

(Second Half Only)
Saturday 9th June 2018
ConIFA World Football Cup 9th/10th Position Placement Game
Coles Park, Tottenham
Admission: N/A
Attendance: 120 (estimate)
Match Rating: 3

After my earlier game at Bedfont Sports, a very low key friendly between two of the weaker ConIFA members, I made my way on the long, 1 hour tube journey along the Piccadilly Line from west to north London, deciding to alight at Wood Green and catch a bus to Haringey Borough’s home ground for the second time in a  week, for the second half of this fixture, before continuing onto Enfield for the final of the competition this evening.

Perhaps surprisingly, reigning champions Abkhazia did not make it through to the quarter finals, when they could only draw against Northern Cyprus in their final group game which they needed to win. In their previous two group games, they had beaten Tibet 3-0 but then lost 0-2 to Kárpátalya. In the placement games, they beat Tamil Eelam 6-0 and then United Koreans in Japan 2-0. Kabylia finished bottom of their group, losing 0-8 to Panjab, drew 0-0 with United Koreans in Japan, and then lost 0-4 to Western Armenia, before beating Matabeleland on penalties after a 0-0 draw and then Tibet 8-1 in the placement games.

As I arrived at the ground at half time, I was immediately struck by another colourful and lively following in the main stand, with plenty of Abkhazia flags being flown, some traditional music being played which continued throughout much of the second half, while Kabylia also had some flags on display and their fans were on hand to give good vocal support. Abkhazia were leading 1-0 at the break, thanks to a 29th minute goal by Shabat Logua, but apparently there had been plenty of chances created at both ends. However, Abkhazia really controlled the second half, always looking much the likelier to score next as Kabylia struggled to mount meaningful attacks to get back in the game. Three minutes after the break, an Abkhazia forward diverted the ball from a low cross onto the post, and the ball rolled along the goal line but stayed out. And on 57 minutes, they doubled their lead when a low ball forward was helped on and struck past the keeper by Georgii Zhanaa. The best chance Kabylia had to get on the score sheet came on 76 minutes, when the keeper made a wonderful reflex save from a close range strike on goal, but in truth, Abkhazia strolled to the victory which saw them claim a ninth place finish in the final standings, with Kabylia having to settle for tenth.

Chagos Islands 1 v 6 Tuvalu

Saturday 9th June 2018
Friendly
Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont
Admission: £10.00 online (plus mandatory £1 donation for ConIFA member association of one's choice)
Programme: £5.00 (covering entire tournament)
Attendance: 70 (rough head count)
Match Rating: 3

For the final day of the ConIFA World Football Cup, I booked my tickets in advance for two games today, one for the final this evening taking place at Enfield Town, and one at the other end of the spectrum, for the 15th/16th Placement game (aka the wooden spoon play-off). However, the latter game was scuppered thanks to Ellan Vannin pulling out of the tournament after an unsuccessful appeal against an alleged ineligible player fielded by the team they lost out to in the group stages, Barawa. That resulted in opponents having to be found for the teams that Ellan Vannin should have been playing in the placement rounds to play friendly fixtures instead. Fortunately the Chagos Islands were able to step in at such short notice to provide the opposition. Originally, I had considered seeking a refund and going to another game instead, with £11.00 an awful lot of money to pay for a friendly game between two of the weakest ConIFA teams. However, once Tuvalu were confirmed as taking part in this fixture, I decided to go, as they were one of the teams I had targeted to watch in this tournament, and whose participation in this tournament was quite remarkable, travelling all the way from their remote tiny islands in Oceania, located between Australia and Hawaii.

The Bedfont Recreation Ground is about a ten minute walk from Hatton Cross underground station, and has been significantly upgraded since my last visit in 2010, mirroring the host club’s rise from starting their second season of senior football, in the Step 4 Combined Counties League Division One, to achieving promotion into the Step 4 Isthmian League Central Division for the coming season. Spectators enter via a turnstile block next to the main clubhouse building, which is really pleasantly fitted out and decorated inside. Immediately beyond the turnstiles there is a tea bar hatch, and towards the corner flag there are three uncovered metal steps to stand on, but without any rails, is a little precarious to stand on. There is cover in front of the clubhouse straddling the half way line, which has some seats scattered around and even a couple of table footballs. Towards the furthest corner flag there are a couple of rows of covered seating attached to the clubhouse building, with the nicely decorated player’s tunnel located in the corner. A further couple of rows of covered seating is located beyond the corner flag, and then a modern metallic stand behind the goal, which is quite nicely decorated. Narrow cover against the perimeter fence stretches around the corner, then along the middle two thirds of the length there are two rows of cover. Along the remaining length, again there is some narrow cover, the middle two thirds having two rows of seating along it. A nice touch is that each area of seats has “Welcome to Bedfont Sports” spelt along them. One thing that hasn’t changed about the ground is its location right under the flight path for Heathrow, with planes regularly taking off and passing close above the ground.

Tuvalu themselves were not originally scheduled to take part in this tournament, but took the place of Kiribati in March, when the latter had to pull out for financial reasons. Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Tuvalu have struggled in this tournament, losing every game in the group stage – 0-4 against eventual semi-finalists Székely Land 0-4 and Padania 0-8, and then Matabeleland 1-3, and in the placement matches they lost 0-5 against United Koreans in Japan, and finally Tamil Eelam 3-4, despite being 3-1 up with four minutes of normal time remaining. The Chagos Islands lost 0-1 against Matabeleland on Thursday in their other friendly match.

On a warm afternoon – but certainly not as hot as last Saturday – this was an entertaining game that was generally, as expected, low on quality but was not as one-sided as the final score would indicate. Tuvalu took the lead on 7 minutes, rather fortunately, as an attempted clearance ricocheted off a Tuvalu’ striker Okilani Tinilau and went into the net. They doubled their lead on 18 minutes, following a lovely clipped ball forward which sent Matti Uaelesi clear before delivering a composed low finish past the keeper. Chagos Islands came close to pulling a goal back on 20 minutes when some good footwork inside the box by Jimmy Degrade ended with a close range shot being parried low by the keeper. Tuvalu should have made it three when Taufaiva Ionatana burst through the middle clear of the defence, but as he approached the keeper, he laid the ball off to his Uaelesi, who was offside. But they did make it three on 25 minutes, when a corner was headed by Afalee Valoa amongst a crowd, heading just inside the near post and although there was a Chagossian player on the line, the ball bounced off the top of his head and into the roof of the net. But Chagos Islands were given hope of getting back in the game when they were awarded a penalty on 28 minutes following a trip in the box on Degrace. The ball was dispatched from the spot into the bottom right corner by Leonce. Despite some huffing and puffing, the score remained 3-1 at half time, with Tuvalu in control, but Chagos Islands not out of it yet, especially considering how Tuvalu blew a two goal lead late on in their previous game.

After a fairly quiet start to the second half, it was Tuvalu who scored the crucial next goal. After winning possession in their own half, probably thanks to a foul by the Tuvalu player, they quickly attacked and an eventual short pass inside the area allowed Tinilau to clip the ball past the keeper and into the net. Chagos Islands defender Dylan Digobert was then shown a green card for dissent, followed by a red card when the dissent continued. Chagos Islands were looking a beaten side now, not helped by multiple substitutes being made, and on 70 minutes, Tuvalu scored their fifth. A ball forward was laid off beautifully by a back heel by Uaelesi to team mate Sosene Vailine, and he drove the ball low across the keeper and into the net. On 80 minutes Tuvalu made it six, when an initial shot was blocked and the loose ball was struck into the roof of the net by Uaelesi. Tuvalu were also reduced to ten minutes in the closing minutes, when a player had to go off injured after they had already made all of their substitutions. With the last kick of the game, Chagos Islands came close to a second consolation goal, when a free kick right on the edge of the area by Hansley Sagai was well saved low to the keeper’s left. But it was Tuvalu who finished their campaign very much on a high, and enjoyed some reward for their long, long journey of well over 9,000 miles to participate in this tournament. As for Chagos Islands, full credit to them for taking part in fixtures with precious little  preparation time and just a few days notice, and they deserved a narrower defeat today. They will hope the two friendly fixtures were a taste to build towards qualification for future tournaments.

Although this was a very low key game, with quite a small crowd and none of the atmosphere, noise or colour of many other games in this tournament, it was still a most enjoyable game to watch, with both teams contributing to a competitive game, generally played in very good spirits, with it quite clear how much it means to play for their respective countries.

Northern Cyprus 3 v 1 Tibet

Saturday 2nd June 2018
ConIFA World Cup Group B
Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield
Admission: £11.00
Programme: £5.00 (covering entire tournament)
Attendance: 1,200 (estimate)
Match Rating: 5

Following my earlier game at Haringey, I made my way northwards by bus to the home of Enfield Town, for the game I was looking forward to the most today, being played between two teams whose participation in the tournament was controversial to say the least. It would also be intriguing to watch a match that would be surely well attended thanks to a large Turkish Cypriot population in London, and a rare opportunity to watch a team representing Tibet in action, who would surely get a large sympathetic support, as well from Tibetans in exile.

The Queen Elizabeth II Stadium is about a five minute walk from Cambridge Gardens bus stop, or about a half hour walk to Enfield Town train station, and has seen no noticeable alterations since my previous visit in 2013. Spectators enter in one corner of the ground, with a large building stretching roughly between corner flags. The clubhouse and changing rooms are located on the bottom floor, whilst on the top bar, there is an additional bar, along with a seated area, and a balcony either side of the seating area to watch the game from. Closer to the pitchside railings, there are separate areas of a few open terrace steps to stand on. Straddling the half way line on the other side there is a black modern metallic stand, whilst behind both goals, modern metallic stands cover a few terrace steps. Unfortunately an athletics track runs around the pitch, meaning views are somewhat distance along both lengths (which makes the first floor balcony on the clubhouse perhaps the best area to watch the action from), although spectators are much closer to the pitch behind both goals.

Both teams had to endure considerable pressure against their participation in this competition. Greek Cypriot organisations protested loudly about Northern Cyprus being allowed to play in an area with a large Greek Cypriot population, and additionally contacted each Council hosting matches in the competition (not just those involving Northern Cyprus) asking them to force the hosting club to pull out. According to the competition organisers, potential sponsors of the tournament pulled out, concerned about China's reaction to the participation of Tibet, leaving just bookmaker Paddy Power as the sole sponsor for the tournament, a big blow for a volunteer run organisation that struggles to raise sufficient funds as it is. Fortunately, such pressure had no influence. Northern Cyprus were ranked third in the ConIFA rankings, and are traditionally one of the power houses of the organisation, finishing in fifth place two years ago and runners-up in 2012 in previous editions of the World Football Cup, and were runners up in the European Football Cup last year. Tibet, drawn from players exiled from their homeland, were very much an unknown quantity, and were offered a wild card to participate in this competition. This would be their first World Football Cup tournament. In their opening fixtures in this competition on Thursday, Northern Cyprus drew 1-1 with Kárpátalja, while Tibet lost 0-3 to reigning World Football Cup champions Abkhazia.

With temperatures still remaining very warm for this evening game, the scheduled 5pm kick-off time was delayed by 15 minutes due to crowd congestion at the turnstiles. Indeed, the crowd would be a reported record for the ground, and there was a real carnival atmosphere all around, with flags of both "nations" abundant all around the ground, with plenty of singing taking place throughout, and a couple of Northern Cyprus supporters circulating the ground pretty much throughout the match banging a drum with a trumpet playing. Northern Cyprus were big favourites to win this match. And with barely two minutes on the clock, they took the lead. Halil Turan ran onto a ball over the top down the right wing, and he powerfully struck the ball from just inside the outer corner of the penalty area across the keeper and into the net. They went on to dominate much of the first half, but squandered chances that came their way. Tibet battled gamely to stay in the game, and they were fully rewarded two minutes before half time with a goal to level the scores when Kalsang Topgyal deflected a low cross from the left into the net via a deflection through the goalkeeper, to cue wild celebration amongst the Tibetan supporters. So a surprising half time scoreline, one that rewarded Tibet's tenacity, although Northern Cyprus really should have put the game to bed long before the equaliser.

Tibet actually started the second half the stronger, looking quite comfortable and even looked just about the likelier to take the lead, and four minutes after the break almost took advantage of a defensive slip, when a long range shot hit the post. Gradually, Northern Cyprus got back into the game, and on 61 minutes, a ball curled into the box was flicked on by a head, to divert the ball onto the top of the bar. But on 64 minutes, Northern Cyprus retook the lead. The ball was played diagonally into the penalty area, and Turan ran onto the ball wide of the six yard box and fired the ball home, beating the keeper at his near post - the keeper really should have done better with it. And on 70 minutes, Northern Cyprus opened up a two goal cushion with their third goal. A perfectly judged flighted ball over the defence found Ugur Gok, who chipped the ball over the keeper and into the net. That sealed the victory, as they comfortably controlled the rest of the game, and progression to the quarter finals is very much in their hands, just needing to avoid defeat to Abkhazia tomorrow. Tibet have a tough task ahead to gain a positive result in their final game against Kárpátalja, and will probably have to wait for the following placement matches to gain a positive result. But they certainly impressed with their style of play, and whilst second best for long periods today, looked far from outclassed.

As I made my way to the train station after the game, I felt exhausted after two games standing in hot conditions, but reflected on a thoroughly enjoyable day, where pride in their respective "nations" was really evident, giving a gloriously colourful, friendly international feel to proceedings, with little of the trappings of the modern commercial game. It left very much looking forward to my next taste of the competition, on finals day next Saturday,