[Laeral]

United New England v. Verwood

At the Stade Internationale Laeralien, United New England, yet to lose a match in the IDUFC, took on Verwood in the semifinals. United New England, a favorite to win the championships, was acclaimed for it's midfield, while Verwood's strong offense had already triumphed over Libertas Omnium Maximus. The two teams took to the field with a packed stadium. The first few minutes were filled with furious play, in what would become the standard for the rest of the match. New England's Miguel Ferrera-Mendez made a pass upfield to Samnang Tep at the ninth minute, which deflected off defender Bruno Coviello's shin guard only for Qalanjo Timur to score from the left side of the net, bringing the score to 1-0, New England at the tenth minute. Verwood soon scored an equalizer however, with Gary Lake making a magnificent arcing shot that caught goalkeeper Kofi Adomako off guard. The ball changed possession many times as both teams fought to control the midfield, with the score of 1-1 at halftime promising an exciting match.

After halftime, New England seemed invigorated, making a shot on goal at the 50th minute that was only miraculously saved by Verwood. A further shot, crossed from Samnang Tep to Luc Martel directly in front of the Verwoodian goal, went in, just barely crossing the line at a shallow angle and hitting the opposite crossbar. United New England followed this up with a further goal at the 73rd minute. Displaying the skill and style that had won them fans across the IDU, Peter Khoury passed through the air to Jonathan O'Shea near Verwood's goal, who headed it at the feet of Samnang Tep, who evaded defender Stephen Braybrook to score.

Having opened up a 3-1 lead, United New England quickly changed course, subbing in spare defenders and switching to a defense-oriented formation. Verwood fought fiercely, with Ethan Hunter managing to score narrowly in the 81st minute. The whistle blew at 90 minutes, with three minutes extra time, and the match was over. United New England would advance to the final, while Verwood was left to prepare for the third-place match.