As soon as the question of participation in the Vexillium Cup was on the table of the Allsomerish Fellowship of Football (AFF), tremendously impressive work has been carried out, especially by the AFF chairman, moreover coach for the national side, Mr Weill Bradger. Knowing full well the tough competition in international football he was careful in forming his judgment of the chances of the Somerish side. "I'm watchfully optimistic", he said at the press conference yesterday where he also made known the roster of players for the first game in the group play. His choices contained no surprises, apart from choosing Seill Pidgers among the forwards. This top player from the Perthy Shuilers twisted his ankle not long ago, but Bradger claimed that doctors had examined it just a day before departure and they had declared the injury healed. Pidgers' presence is important, in Bradger's opinion.

The other two sides in Somery's group may prove difficult opponents, especially Armatirion is worrying, but, to quote Mr Bradger: "We can only do what we do best, and that's to play football!".

What most football experts in this country had expected also happened yesterday, at the first game in group D, which Somery shares with Armatirion and Afrazure, in the Vexillium cup. At a game attended by a good 36,000 spectators, at the Kikongawa Stadium in Niokolo Koba, Armatirion showed a sample of what makes them one of the top favourites, if not the favourite, for the tournament, in their first match against Afrazure. In spite of good performance of the Afrazurean side they didn't have much to put up against the well oiled machinery of their opponents. The fact that the game was played not far from the Armatirian border, bringing supporters by the busload to the game, was, to put it mildly, not to Afrazure's advantage.

The game ended, with a strong, and not very surprising 4 goals to 0, giving Armatirion an impressive, yet well-earned head start. This tells us a little about what our boys are up against on the 20th. Before that we have to prove ourselves against Afrazure on the 16th. The outcome of that game might give a hint of what our chances might be, if any, against the Armatirian goal spitters.

The Shiffles committed their debut on the Kikongawa Stadium yesterday before practically filled stands, and showed with a certainty that Somery does have a place on the map of international football. They did very well against their Afrazurean opponents, although the game could have started better, with forward Tewell Fawrbryn being forced off the field after only 10 minutes by what apparently was a strained sinew. His replacement, Sedgwy Kirther, filled his shoes with a vengeance, though, scoring Somery's first goal in the tournament, in excellent collaboration with midfielder Winfield Herthen, after just 10 minutes on the field. This teamwork harvested another goal 7 minutes later, but this time Herthen got the honour of scoring. The remaining match showed mostly defensive play on both sides, and the dramatic situations were few. The game ended with Somery's 2 goals against Afrazure's 0, which of course was quite sufficient to keep the hopes of the Somerish supporters alive.

A qualified guess would be that Weill Bradger will keep the current lineup for the game against Armatirion on Sunday, letting Fawrbryn get some rest, trying out a similar strategy, as the one used yesterday, against the big fellers. Maybe team Herthen/Kirther can make us all happy once again. Even more happy for that matter, since beating Armatirion would taste very sweet. But, although optimism is a virtue, we still have to be realistic. Beating Afrazure, although an experienced side, is one thing, but taking on one of the heavy favourites of the tournament is quite another matter. Let us keep our fingers crossed, and come Suneve, our boys will show what they're really made of.

Final score: SOMERY 2 - AFRAZURE 0
Played at: Kikongawa Stadium, Kikongawa, Niokolo Koba
Attendance: 36,000
Referee: Sakhov (GUW)
Goals: Kirther (SOM, 20.), Herthen (SOM, 27.)
Yellow cards: Bullalah (AFA, 10.), Scowell (SOM, 12.), Fetlala (AFA, 21.), Balulu (AFA, 35.), Wednesleigh (SOM, 62.), Jubala (AFA, 79.)
Red cards: none
Substitutions: Kirther for Fawrbryn (SOM, 10.), Durel for Bazari (AFA, 45.), Livier for Mard (SOM, 55.), Makombo for Abdullah (AFA, 64.)
MVP: Wednesleigh (SOM)

Hearts sank when the Armatirian side scored goal after goal in the second half of the match, and some prophets of woe voiced their opinions that Somery had nothing to do in the Vexillium Cup in the first place. A more sober way to look at it was Weill Bradger's comment at the press conference after the game, where he stated:

"At least we now know a bit about where we stand. We know a little about where our weaknesses are, but also where our strength lies. We came here as rookies, taking on a world champion in the second match. Only magic, or hard work for which we haven't had enough time, would have brought us beyond this. I know our boys has it in them to go far, I just need time to get it out in the open."

Final score: ARMATIRION 4 - SOMERY 0
Played at: Kikongawa Stadium, Kikongawa, Niokolo Koba
Attendance: 36,700
Referee: Claris (MOA)
Goals: Parker (ARM, 40.), Cunliffe (ARM, 50.), Cunliffe (ARM, 55, penalty), Dunlop (ARM, 82.)
Yellow cards: Bell (ARM, 31.), Dodds (ARM, 56.)
Red cards:
Substitutions: Livier for Mard (SOM, 52.), Keart for Scowell (SOM, 58.), Dunlop for Cunliffe (ARM, 66.), Coggins for Fern (ARM, 66.)
MVP: Latta (ARM)