I’ve been writing for Nintendo Life for about two and a half years now. In that time I’ve been to London, Paris, Poland and Dewsbury, reviewed over sixty games, written hundreds of articles and met dozens of wonderful people, from PRs to developers.

That said, there’s still that nagging feeling that, because I have a day job to pay the bills, I’m not quite a meaningful part of the industry yet. Not to say that the industry metes out status by the size of your pay packet, but to make my living solely from doing what I love to do – that is, writing about it – is a long, long way off yet.

There’s the thought that I still measure my success in a print medium, that to transfer across from writing online to getting my name on paper is a huge step up, when if anything the overall industry is trending in the opposite direction. Perhaps that explains why I’ve been so reluctant to start work on a piece to pitch to magazine editors, though it’s much more likely I’m simply being lazy.

I do wonder where I’ll go next, and I don’t mean geographically. This year promises to be a huge year for me to prove I’ve got what it takes to make a name for myself in such a hugely competitive industry. From small beginnings I have the opportunity to go global, and that brings a smile to my face.

The answer to that seemingly rhetorical question is “yes”. I am in the industry: I may not have influence, but I have a part to play. The 10-year old me would have dreamt of this lifestyle and it seems blase of me to criticise it. I have the opportunity to make my dreams come true and I’m going to do just that.

It’s been a long time since I posted here, mainly because I’ve lost Internet access at home, but now I’ve got a little time I thought I’d fill you in on what’s been happening up here in York.

Working Man

As usual I’m working myself hard at Gamestation and things are going from strength to strength. I recently organised two launch events – a 32-player FIFA 08 tournament and a 48-player Halo 3 event with networked 360s. Both were hard work but I actually had a lot of fun, and hopefully I can put on some bigger and better events in the future – you know you’re onto a good thing when the commercial director of Gamestation picks up on it!

Ring Ring

As most of you know by now, I asked Hannah to marry me in July and she said yes. We haven’t set a date yet but we’re looking at Spring 2009 in the Lake District. I can’t wait!

Flattering!

Another high point of July was settling into our new flat – it’s still in York but further out, and it’s ten times nicer than our last two places despite not being a house. I hope we’re going to stay there for a while.

I’ll try to set up some automatic posts for the next few weeks and months, but beware – it could be another six months until I post, although I promise it will be absolutely worth it.

I’m listening to Puncture Repair by Elbow, from Leaders of the Free World

Hello and welcome to another truly tremendous edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers, hosted right here at the Carnival’s spiritual home, the Collected Writings of James Newton. Normally I devote more time here, but at the moment I’m going through a period of upheaval as I’ve recently moved to a new flat, so there’s no regular Internet access! Hopefully it won’t be too long until I can come back and update regularly, but still, there’s more than enough good content in these websites to sustain you!

Don’t forget – please leave a comment on a blogger’s work and consider submitting an article yourself for next month’s carnival. It’s going from strength to strength and that’s because of your contributions, so thanks!

I’ve not enough time for the usual witty intro, but the posts speak for themselves. Enjoy them and come back in a month!

Justin Consuegra presents Unique Gift For Men: Real 1up Mushroom posted at The Men’s Gift Guide, saying, “Video Game guys are gonna love this gift idea. Absolutely unbelievable!”

Jeremy Hitchcock presents WTTF: Welcome to the Future » Archive » Quickie posted at WTTF: Welcome to the Future, saying, “Which would you choose?”

Utsay Ahmed presents Addiction not applicable to video games posted at Utsay Dot Net.

Jigsaw hc presents Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Review posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

Jigsaw hc presents Carcassonne Review posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

Jigsaw hc presents Eternal Sonata Demo Review posted at Jigsaw hc’s Rants & Reviews.

James Nicholls presents Another attack on Sequels and Clones | Gaming Legends posted at Gaming Legends.

Chris presents How I (Gradually) Became Less Obsessive About Playing Video Games posted at How to have more social success.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Working Memory Training from a pediatrician perspective, focused on attention deficits posted at SharpBrains, saying, “A new application of videogames: training worming memory, which usually is a key deficit in people with attention deficit.”

Once again, another top-notch Carnival from you all. Thank you for your submissions! You can enter the next carnival of video game bloggers by using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Thanks again for coming, and come by next month for another cracking Carnival of Video Game Bloggers!

Our beloved pet hamster, Mitzi, died this morning. We think she suffered a stroke – her mouth was very wet and she found it very difficult to walk straight or, later on, just stand up. We gave her lots of attention and said our goodbyes at around 1am today, and when I went to see her at 9:30 she was lying on her side by her bed.

She was the cutest, sweetest hammy in the world and we both miss her madly already. Even though she was only a part of our lives for about five months she brightened every single day and brought so much love and happiness to both of us. From waving her bum in the air when getting into bed to chewing toilet rolls whilst still in them, she was as unique a hamster as we are as people and she won’t ever be replaced or forgotten.

Here are my favourite photographs of Mitzi. I hope she’s okay where she is now.

I’m singing “Mitzi, the Sweet Little Hammy” by Hannah and James, from The Best Album Ever.

It’s Sunday November 24th 1996, and I’m in the Derby branch of Dixon’s – you know, the one in the Eagle Centre. I’ve come out with my parents to buy my Christmas present: a Sega Saturn. I’ve had the Master System and Mega Drive, so it’s a natural step-up for me; I’ve done my homework and know the games I want, and how much it should cost. I’m a pro by now.

The thing is, I’m not even looking at the deals or getting caught up in that wonderful pre-console rush. I’m stood frozen to the spot in front of two TVs, and have been for a good ten minutes or so. I can’t take my eyes off the beautiful falling stars beneath the blinking face I knew, even then, would grow to mean something special to me.

I keep watching and see a rendered movie of a young boy playing basketball. At one point, the ball is thrown into his chest and, as it falls to hit the concrete, the ground turns to liquid and the ball falls straight through. My jaw falls and my heart skips a beat.

Now here we are, ten years later, and I’ve got exactly the same feeling. The first screenshots of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (NiGHTS: Mugen no Tabiji according to my poor Japanese!) have emerged, scanned in from a Portuguese magazine, and there’s a definite lump in my throat. The visual style is breathtaking, and I get the feeling that graphically it’s showing the kind of ideas the Saturn just couldn’t cope with – a shimmering coral glow on the groundwork, gilded bronze on the boss chambers, stitches in the fabric texture on the boss itself. The images are easily as captivating as the original game, and stay up on my monitor practically all night.

The initial fear of a NiGHTS sequel has gone now: In Sega I Trust. They’re not the powerhouse developers they once were, but I take this as a marked step back towards greatness – giving players what they want and also taking a risk as they did originally. Of course, in their hardware days Sega had to take risks in their first-party software to sustain them as a company (the cruel irony!). The reasoning behind this NiGHTS sequel, according to Iizuka, is that he wanted to create a sequel that would offer more than just new graphics (my paraphrasing). I’ll drink to that!

I didn’t actually get the game with my Saturn that Christmas – although Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2 kept me going! – but I bought it from Makro in Loughborough after my birthday in January. They didn’t have the analogue pad so I played it digitally. For six hours. By the end of it, I could hardly move my left thumb, which remains to this day my only gaming-related thumb injury. I’m proud of that. When I first got Sonic and the Secret Rings I played it for eight hours, and when I went to bed that night I could still “feel” the controller in my hand, like some sort of phantom limb.

If NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is everything it could be, you’ll have to prise the controller from my cold dead hands.

I use my real name for all my instrumental music and work I produce for other people. Here you can find music for various screen projects, both big and small.

Film

Tanner.

1. Tanner’s theme.
2. Photoframe.
3. Let’s talk about Dad, again.

Tanner is a feature-length film written, produced and directed by Oliver Crocker, starring Frank Williams (Dad’s Army), Bernard Wrigley (Phoenix Nights) and Tony Osoba (Porridge).

About the soundtrack.

I wrote the score in around a month. One thing that was clear from the start was that each major character – Craddock, Tanner and his absent father – would all require a strong theme to set them apart. I decided to use a basic palette of piano and cello for a number of reasons including time, resources and plain old ability.

Using these two instruments consistently actually made crafting the themes easier – the common ground linked the characters, and also allowed me to explore their sounds in different areas. Extra instruments such as bassoons and flutes were used on two of these sample tracks to add colour, and other tracks include full drums, pizzicato strings, electric guitars and synthesised elements to further explore moods.

The second track, “Photoframe”, is Tanner’s (deceased) father’s theme. The third track is Tanner actually discussing his father, and beginning to understand how much like his father he has become. I particularly like the way the music works in these three tracks; it’s very pleasing to me.

Video games (NEW)

Shining Online

I started writing music for the Shining Force fangame Shining Online about five or six years ago now. Although work on the game takes place very sporadically, it’s something I’m very proud of and close to, and has inspired probably the best piece of music I’ve written.

1. Shrine theme.
2. Vagabond

I intend to upload more of my Shining Online music in the near future.

Documentary music (NEW)

Dad’s Army and Beyond: The Frank Williams Story

A documentary about the popular Dad’s Army actor Frank Williams. For this I wanted a nostalgic sort of feel, so went for my old favourites: piano and bassoon. I like this song, but I’m aware that if a real bassoon player tried to play it they would almost certainly suffocate.

1. Amber Leaves

“Diversification: The Future of Farming?”

Using a completely different style to Tanner, this combines rustic sounds and rhythms with soothing spacial synths, and is some of my favourite work yet.

1. On the Farm.
2. At the Day’s End.
3. Ambient Farming.

Ask for more!

As the Pepsi adverts used to say.

If you’d like me to write some music for your film, television program, game, advert or anything at all, drop me an email with your idea and what you’d like it to sound like and I’ll get back to you!

Long Distance (2005)

1. Long Distance (2:48)
2. New Leaf (3:43)
3. Charity (2:52)
4. Throwing It All Away (3:18)
5. Where the Silence Is (2:52)
6. Break the Silence (3:28)
7. Leaving Song (2:40)
8. Decayed (3:37)
9. Sky Lights (3:33)
10. Beeman (1:01)

Thanks to: Hannah for everlasting love and inspiration, Phil for web design and support, Jim for musical mastery and the support to make it possible and you, for wanting to listen.

All tracks written, performed and recorded by James Newton, apart from New Leaf, recorded by Jim Parker; Beeman lyrics by Chris Day. Acoustic guitar solo on New Leaf courtesy of Jim Parker.

Making the album

What started as my desire to write and record an album in the summer of 2003 took until August 2005 to finish. It took me much longer to write ten songs that I had originally anticipated, but I had them all written long before I recorded them all. When I got my new PC in August ’05 I decided enough was enough, and recorded very rough versions of them all in about two days. My bedroom was a mess, with an electric guitar and amp, acoustic guitar, two mics and a keyboard all interweaving, much as they do on the record (ho ho).

It was hard work but I enjoyed it, and even though the temptation is there to re-record them with better production and more polish, the time has come to lay them to rest, which is partly why I’m putting them online – although they’ll always have a place in my heart, these songs have had their moment, and it’s time to leave them behind and see what comes next.

What comes next?

Good question. Just as I had the title and artwork for Long Distance far in advance, my next album under the Prosody name will be called “Alight”. I don’t have any songs for it, but it might be taking a more relaxing, ambient path, as you’ll hear if you head over to the James Newton section…

Lyrics

I decided to break with my five-year silence on lyrics and post them up, mainly because some people have said they struggle to make out just what the Hell I’m singing about. Worry no more, friends!

Long Distance

Look at us now, torn apart
But together all the same somehow.
This for us is a new start
We’re closer than ever now.

You were so far away,
Something I have always wanted to say
Is when you cry look towards the time
When we’ll be together every day.

This is one journey I don’t want to end.

Where do you see this going?
Where will we go from here?
There’s never any true way of knowing,
But what we want was never so near.

Though now I’m so far away,
Things won’t always be this way.
Lift your eyes, push them up to the skies,
We share in all that beauty every day.

This is one journey I don’t want to end.
This is one journey that won’t ever end.

New Leaf

I’m in need of repair
My body is shattered,
My heart is scattered,
Here and there, don’t know where.
Inside out for too long,
Waiting for a feeling,
I’m waiting for healing,
I’m hanging on.

I’m waiting for a new life,
Strange as it sounds I want to go under the knife.
I feel like I should be terrified,
But not with you by my side.

You got under my skin,
You came in through a cut
And you sowed my skin together,
No longer under the weather.
Black and blue fade out,
Wounds are all repaired,
I’m still amazed that
Someone cared, you cared.

I’ve turned over a new leaf,
So this is what it feels like to breathe.
You bring me
You bring me relief.

I’ve turned over a new leaf,
So this is what it feels like to breathe.
You bring me
You bring me relief.

Charity

I don’t see myself as anything more than I am
Without you I can’t see all the good you see in me.
So why do you give all you have to me?
You know I love your charity.

I can’t hear myself, all my words just let me down.
But you see through my wrongs to find the good in me.
So I slide away in search of peace,
That’s where I find your charity.

And I feel our life
Is slipping away from me
And all I see
Is you
You’re drifting away.

I don’t feel like myself any time when you’re not near.
I know our day will soon come, but that won’t chase away this fear.
So why?

I feel our life
Is slipping away from me
And all I see
Is you
You’re drifting away.

You know I love your charity.
You know I love your charity.

Throwing It All Away

You came to me without warning,
You turned midnight to morning.
I was so eager to be yours,
To have someone to sail the same course.

I thought that I could do no wrong,
You were all I’d wanted for so long.
But I’m not the perfect one
Out of the two of us.

This is what I’ve waited for all my days,
So why does it feel like I’m throwing it all away?
I’m throwing it all away every day.

I’d tell you all of my mistakes
If I had the courage it takes.
But every time I get near,
I’m hit with fear and step on the brakes.

I tried to work out where I went wrong
I thought I’d find the answers in a song.
I’ll never be the perfect one
Out of the two of us.

This is what I’ve waited for all my days,
So why does it feel like I’m throwing it all away?
Throwing it all away every day.
Throwing it all away every day.

Where the Silence Is

I can’t sleep some nights,
My eyes crave images and light.
Distractions invade my mind,
Colours, thoughts and shapes of every kind.

So I go to where the darkness is.

At night my mind is full of sounds,
Rushing winds, fat rain and crying hounds.
I explore the world through the noises in my head,
Until my thoughts turn to quietness instead.

So I go to where the silence is,
And when I’m there, you’re what I miss.
So I go to where the silence is,
And when I’m there, you’re what I miss.
Where the silence is.

Break the Silence

Five hours have passed
Since I last heard
A simple “thanks”,
An empty word.
Since six o’clock
My ears have been numb,
There’s a fear here
I just can’t overcome.

My belly, chest and head
All sting.
My heart and soul
Explode and sing.

Break the silence,
Break the silence.

One word says love,
But it doesn’t say it loud enough.
This demon draws and sucks
The warmth right out of us.
This black surprise
Now has its nails in you.
We’ll fight it off together,
We’ll come through.

If you break the silence.
Break the silence.
Break the silence,
Break the silence.

Leaving Song

If there’s one thing I want,
It’s to have you in body, not in font.
I’ve built up my substitutes,
I wheel them out for comfort when it suits.

Yesterday was just another day spent waiting,
Yesterday was the day that we let fate in.

Another day age goes by,
It’s the one thing between us and our life.
Time is all we have but it’s fleeting,
It keeps us apart, stops us meeting.

Yesterday was just another day spent waiting,
This is wasted time, it’s so frustrating

Decayed

They say you don’t know
How hard it’ll hit you.
But take it from me,
There’s no escape once it’s bit you.
You move around in a place of no sound
Looking for comfort but there’s none to be found.
Got to look above to find
Someone that you love.

I wonder what you would say
If you’d not run away that day.
I wonder what you would be.
Would you be anything like me?

Even now I’m still hiding
From what I want to say.
Trying to write ten years in a three minute song,
Can’t do it, no way.
Take a deep breath.
I’ve got something to say,
And you’re not getting away this time.

I wonder what you would say
If you’d not run away that day.
I wonder what you would be.
If you’d be anything like me.

I wonder what you would say
If you’d not run away that day.
I wonder what you would be.
If you’d be anything like me.

Sky Lights

It’s an ink-black night,
And the air is thick with heat.
See the last star die,
And to the clouds admit defeat.

Hidden away for another day,
As the black rain pours over me.

Lightning crackles through the sky,
Burns its path upon my eye.
Thunder shakes me, the smell awakes
The stirring soul inside.

The bright lights in the night sky return,
Behind the clouds a million stars burn.
A million stars burn.

A grand amber sun on the horizon.
The air fills with colour
Light has won.

Beeman

Beeman, Beeman,
Does whatever a hornet can.
Stings your nose in the park,
Catches thieves in the dark.

Beeware! There goes Beeman!

Is he strong?
I’ll bet you money.
He’s got radioactive honey!
Can he fly?
Yes he does!
Take a look, overheard!

Beeware! There goes Beeman!
Beeware! There goes Beeman!

Miguel Trincado Settier’s rising stars take on the experienced Spanish strong hands in the first elimination round of the Konami Cup. Forced to rest regular keeper Curtis and midfield inspiration Delgado, how will Settier‘s partly reshuffled team fare in the pressure cooker of the second round?

An early passage of play in the fourth minute saw Peter Lewbrant threaded into the penalty area by strike partner Binoth Rooijmans, but opposition keeper Sanzol saw the danger early and intercepted the pass. Lewbrant was put through again less than five minutes later when Rud Risum‘s vision caught the striker unmarked in the box, but the referee’s assistant raised his flag with a controversial decision that brought hoots of displeasure from the home fans. TV replays showed Lewbrant‘s right leg had strayed just beyond the last defender, justifying the decision.

Frustration

Pierce found himself free on the left with ten minutes played and checked inside before taking a fierce shot at goal that looked nearer than it actually was. Although a formidable striker of the ball, even Pierce would have been fortunate to see such an optimistic shot swing into the net.

Kevin Karkfeld had impressed in the previous game and so won another starting place, and was unlucky not to put his team ahead early on. A magnificent turn on the edge of the box put him clean away from his marker, but his right-foot shot was rather tamely hit and Sanzol pushed it around the post for a corner. Rooijmans shouted at the youngster, gesticulating at his feet as he was some eight yards out, unmarked and rather more of a natural goalscorer than Karkfeld.

Not all the action was around the Osasuna goal, however. Sorensson almost landed his team in all manner of trouble when a soft pass to the Dejesus was intercepted by Aloisi, but he was unable to control the ball and it bobbled away from him for a goal kick.

Impatience

LGU quickly broke down the other end and when Rud Risum picked the unmarked Prince out in the box with a chipped ball the LGU fans rose as one. Prince‘s first header ballooned upwards, buying the Osasuna defence time to bring numbers back and clear the danger. Sighs and groans rippled around the fans; the atmosphere in the stadium was different today, not one of patient hope but impatient expectation. After the last two excellent displays LGU fans’ hope has given way to belief that this year they have the quality.

They endured a nervous thirty seconds as Osasuna had three real chances, all caused by poor passing play from LGU defenders, but thankfully for the increasingly frazzled supporters Dejesus was bright and aware in his first start to take care of the danger.

The half-time whistle did little to calm the supporters’ nerves. For the first time this season, I heard derisive whistles in the LGU Arena, and so set about to interview some of the fans to see what they thought of their team so far.

“Fans are unrealistic”

“I think we’ve had the better of the game, we haven’t had many clear chances but with the players we’ve got all it takes is a Lewbrant shot or a Rooijmans header and it’s 1-0,” self-entitled überfan Sean Landgraff told me.

When I asked him about the boos at half-time, he replied “I think all the press attention we’ve been getting has boosted our profile and maybe now we’re getting a few more non-fans at the games, people who expect three goals a game. We’re a small club on a cup run, you know? Let’s be realistic here.”

The boos were quieter but still noticeable when the teams took to the field for the second half. The real jeers, however, came when Rooijmans finally shook off his marker and burst into the penalty area. With Rud Risum and Peter Lewbrant both free and waiting for a pass, the referee mystifyingly blew his whistle to signal a free kick to Osasuna, making a pushing movement. The whole stadium seemed to sigh and throw its arms in the air at such a bizarre decision.

LGU had their clearest chance of the day when Lewbrant found himself in half a yard on the edge of the box and let off one of his increasingly-famous right-foot shots, but somehow an Osasuna defender got across to cover. The rebounding ball fell to Prince, and his cross fizzed across the six-yard area just inches above Rooijmans‘ desperate leap. The fans’ reaction told you they were beginning to believe it just wasn’t their day.

In the 80th minute, this feeling swelled. The usually strong defensive team of Adinolfi and Hoogstrate were nowhere to be seen as Aloisi was put clean through, and not even Dejesus‘s sprint and lunge could prevent him from trickling the ball into the empty goal for 0-1.

When the whistle blew the boos had disappeared, replaced by stunned silence.

Landgraff United 0 – 1 Atletico Osasuna

R.C.D. Espanyol 0 – 3 Landgraff United

LGU progressed to the next stage of the Konami Cup this evening with a commanding 3-0 victory against Spanish champions Espanyol.

As early as the 10th minute, Rooijmans stole a yard from his marker and confidently slotted across the face of goal to take his team into the lead. Ten minutes later, his strike partner Peter Lewbrant perfectly showed his team’s “never say die” attitude by pressing the Espanyol fullbacks, pinching the ball in the eighteen-yard box and pushing it past the goalkeeper for two-nil.

LGU’s momentum builds

Landgraff United totally dominated the first half, deflating their opponents’ attacks resulting in a very impressive zero shots on goal for the home team. Miguel Trincado Settier‘s pairing of Hoogstrate and Adinolfi in central defence has been the rock of his team’s recovery from that disappointing early defeat in the first game; with strength, awareness and good communication, this is a first-rate defensive partnership that Settier will do well to keep hold of. With growing crowds and interest in LGU’s Konami Cup, it is surely a matter of time before a more wealthy club comes in with a generous bid for one – or both – of these two.

After the restart LGU came out as they had finished the half, putting pressure on the opposition and challenging for every ball. Unfortunately Lars Jonsson got a little carried away, resulting in a booking for a rash challenge in the 64th minute.
Despite all their good play, LGU didn’t have this game all their own way, and with fifteen minutes to go David Garcia brought down first-time starter Marcel Vanderzyppe. Vanderzyppe was immediately stretchered from the pitch and played no further part in this game; after the game, physios revealed he had torn a hamstring and will be out for eight weeks, ruining his Konami Cup after just an hour and a quarter of play.

Settier’s risky move

With Vanderzyppe injured and an already-weakened bench, Settier was forced to bring William Pierce onto the pitch, despite intentionally resting him from this game to allow him to recuperate. This proved a smart move on Settier‘s part, but had LGU failed to qualify having had their most influential midfielder available but rested, surely Settier would be feeling the heat from the LGU fans.

Back on the pitch, the resulting free kick was some thirty or more yards from goal, and with set piece man Vanderzyppe off the field, LGU were forced to improvise. Delgado tapped the ball across to Lewbrant, who unleashed a wicked curling right-foot shot that totally deceived Kameni in the Espanyol goal, hitting the net inside the top-right corner: another great goal from this rapidly-developing forward, putting him joint second in the competition’s top goalscorer list.

At 3-0 up, LGU were cruising, although four serious goalscoring opportunities within seven minutes proves there was no slacking. Settier has done well to instill a tremendous attitude in his squad, who kept playing right until the final whistle signalled their passage into the elimination stage of the Konami Cup.

It’s been said before, but with a well-rested team on form, LGU could certainly challenge for the top honour in this competition. Finishing second in their group, LGU now come up against Atletico Osasuna in the quarter final stage.

Quarter final: Landgraff United vs. Atletico Osasuna

LGU’s cup campaign was fully back on track today after an impressive 3-0 win against highly-fancied French team Somesterrine.

The enormous noise of the loyal Landgraffites made the LGU Arena a foreboding place for the travelling fans, and within just two minutes the massive stadium was even louder, as fan favourite Binoth Rooijmans capitalised on an early defensive error to curl a shot around the keeper from close range.

Seven minutes later his strike partner Peter Lewbrant had doubled the advantage with another impressive strike. Closed down by two defenders on the edge of the box, Lewbrant still managed to squeeze a shot from outside the box between the two and around the diving keeper.

LGU’s dominance was telling for the next twenty minutes, as they pulled their opponents’ defence around searching for an opening. They nearly scored a spectacular third; Janot in the Somesterrine goal was clearly confused when Steen Rud Risum‘s long-range shot bobbled off the pitch, but his relief was obvious when the ball came back off the base of the post.

Patrick Curtis had little to do but receive the ball from the ballboys following a few unconvincing attacks from the visitors, the most troubling coming in the 34th minute when Hellebuyck struck, but Curtis was equal to it.

Going in at 2-0 up, LGU coach Miguel Trincado Settier must have been on cloud nine, but would have been fuming when Fernando Adinolfi received a yellow card for a reckless tackle from behind on the troublesome Hellebuyck, who had a good chance from the resulting free kick that Curtis was glad to see pass the goal. Adinolfi continued to walk a tightrope for the remainder of the game before being wisely substituted in the 75th minute.

Settier’s shouting from the touchline must have spurred on his players as they built up another attack. Jonsson and Sorensson linked up well before feeding William Pierce on the edge of the box, whose crisp low shot skimmed past three defenders and into the bottom corner of the goal; 3-0 to a dominant Landgraff United.

LGU were satisfied with playing a defensive game for the remainder of the match, confident that their three vital points in this group stage were secure. At the back, Hoogstrate and Sorensson were strong and co-coordinated, and the famous midfield of Prince, Pierce, Delgado and Rud Risum made a magnificent showing with tireless running and playmaking.

Perhaps it could be Landgraff United’s year after all.

Next match: R.C.D. Espanyol vs. Landgraff United