Haunted Woods won! (6 Jul 2006)
For weeks, the tension had been mounting - which team would be crowned champions of the first international edition of the Altador Cup tournament (and the first Altador Cup competition in over a thousand years)? Heading into the weekend, the Darigan Citadel and Haunted Woods were poised to square off in a match for the ages, pitting the Citadel's all-around ability against the Haunted Woods' stingy defence. Despite all the excitement leading up to the match, the championship game proved more than capable of living up to the hype, as the outcome remained in doubt until the last few seconds of the contest.
To everyone's surprise, the game began with a quick score by the Citadel's Tandrak Shaye. Fanetti, the Haunted Woods' goalkeeper, got a little sloppy with a pass to Chelo Binay, which Shaye came rushing in to intercept. In one sweeping motion, Tandrak caught the Yooyuball and sent a shot screaming back at the Meerca goalie, who was totally unprepared for the Gelert's sudden strike. The fans had hardly settled into their seats before Darigan was already up 1-0.
Rather than panic and compromise their defence by desperately trying to score and tie up the match, the Haunted Woods settled down and locked into their usual defensive stranglehold, keeping the Citadel's star scorer, Layton Vickles, from springing free and getting so much as a single shot on goal. The defensive stalemate continued on until Krell Vitor forced a fumble and, scooping up the ball, lobbed an outlet pass to Zo Junior, who'd broken in the direction of the Citadel's goal as soon as the ball popped loose. Striding just beyond the reach of Darigan star defender Tormo Frein, Zo made an incredible over-the-shoulder grab, followed by a vicious stutter step that sent the Citadel's net minder, Mungo Lifler, diving to his left. As soon as Lifler was airborne, the speedy little Korbat easily lobbed the Yooyuball into the net and tied the score at one.
Then, with the match still tied and less than thirty seconds left, the game's decisive sequence took place. In a desperate attempt to get possession, the Citadel sent a double team at Wan Dirx, forcing the rookie into an errant pass (meant for Zo Junior) that was picked off by Kep Bonnefie. The Buzz defender, with a clear path to the Haunted Woods' goal, broke for the opposing team's net in a dead sprint. Unbeknownst to Kep, however, Wan Dirx was quickly gaining ground from behind, closing in as he got ready to shoot. Just as Bonnefie reared back to fire on the Haunted Woods' goal, Dirx made a phenomenal diving leap, blocking the Buzz's shot from behind and sending the Yooyuball squirting away.
Bonnefie momentarily looked around, unsure about what had just happened, while Dirx scrambled to regain possession of the Yooyuball and dash in the other direction. By the time the Buzz figured out what had taken place, he was woefully out of position and unable to get back on defence in time. On the other side of the field, Dirx made the most of the momentary four-on-three advantage, dishing the Yooyuball to a briefly unguarded Chelo Binay, who in turn flicked the ball to Krell Vitor when his defender rushed over to keep the Chia from getting a wide-open shot. In one swift movement, Vitor took Binay's lob and sent a one-timer screaming past the reach of Darigan's goalie, giving the Haunted Woods a 2-1 lead as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Stunned by the turn of events they'd just witnessed, the crowd grew dead silent for a brief moment before erupting in a burst of delirious cheering. The referee's whistle could barely be heard in all the earsplitting chaos, but there was no mistaking what had just taken place - in a miraculous finish, the Haunted Woods had managed to score during the game's final moments and earn the right to take home the Altador Cup.