NMA-11 Cup: Quarterfinals Results and Semifinals Draw

The quarterfinals of the NMA F-11 Cup took place during DGW-34 when the eight remaining teams fought to advance to the semifinals.

It was a double week, so lots of points were on offer. The top nine point-producers for the week were from double-game teams, demonstrating how important it is to load your team with double-gamers in a double-game week.

But there were several disappointments among popular double-game picks, with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne unexpectedly missing both games (picked by all eight teams left in the cup, so ultimately a wash), and plenty of others getting rested for one game. Five players tallied over thirty points, one of them managing over 40 (budget keeper Jason Steele from Brighton amassing a mighty 41.5), and a further five returned at least 29.

Of the eight teams left in the cup, four managed scores of 200 or better, but thanks to the head-to-head format, that didn’t guarantee survival.

Here are the Round 5 results in full:

The highest scorer this week was previous winner and consistently improving 183168 who totaled 213.5 points. The solid backbone of this team was Steele, TAA, Bruno Fernandes and Haaland, with 130.5 points from just those four. Add in Mac Allister and Enciso from Brighton, along with solid (and heavily discounted) single gamers Keane, Pinnock and Trippier... the disappointments of 5.5 from March and zero from KDB were hardly noticed. This team remains the team to beat in the cup, and could yet make a late bid for the league, having crept into fourth place there. They ran out winners against the unluckiest team of the round, Team msneezie31, who managed 200 points but fell just short. Had Nayef Aguerd not fallen foul of food poisoning before the second game of the week, perhaps they msneezie31 would have have made it. As it happened, this was the closest match of the round, a 13.5 point margin.

With 210 points, Paphos Toffees were second-highest of the round, defeating the last non-league survivor, Christian Soldiers, who managed a respectable 188.5 (a score good enough to get another team through). The winners managed their mammoth score despite fielding Kyle Walker, KDB and Diogo Jota who managed only 12 points among them. The losers fielded a very consistent team apart from KDB and Christian Eriksen (only 3 points), but ultimately suffered for lack of players from Brighton. The bulk of the losing margin came from Allison’s 25.5 points in goal (in most weeks a really decent score) being so far behind Steele’s 41.5.

Another previous cup winner, Team MIFFY_FC advanced to the semifinals on 200 points, more than enough to defeat the disappointing Team ColeCole, highest scorers last round but lowest this time at 139. The winners featured only two disappointing players (KDB and March), while the losers backed a series of poor performers, including two no-shows in KDB and Joel Matip, along with virtual no-show Ederson in goal. I sympathize with this last pick, having done the same thing myself over concerns that Steele might not be a nailed-on starter — only to see Ederson dropped in the second game for the first time this season after an underwhelming 1.5 point performance in the first. This matchup had by far the largest winning margin, 61.5 points.

The last tie was the only game where neither team reached 200 points, and therefore the lowest winning score, a still creditable 188.5 points for GREEK SUNSEEKER, who overcame [TyF] Ozdal City’s 161. The winners had a strong backbone of Steele, Haaland, Salah and Mac Allister, plus disappointments from only Felipe, March and De Bruyne. The losers shared those three disappointing scores and added Rob Holding who only mustered a half a point — fielding only seven double-gamers ultimately cost them.

The four surviving teams include only one ‘Premier League’ team — meaning that of the top 20 qualifiers from week 20, only one remains. There is also only one Championship team left, so remarkably, half of the remaining teams have fought through six rounds. As if to demonstrate that league position is not a good indication of success in the head-to-head format, half of the games were won by teams lower in the league than their opponents.

Looking at the league positions of the semifinalists shows how there has been quite some improvement since week 20: 4th (up 15), 17th (up 29), 27th (no change), 38th (up 12).

Here is the Semfinals draw:

So can GREEK SUNSEEKER overcome favorites 183168, and will Team MIFFY_FC be able to make it to another final? Or will the lowest-ranked remaining team Paphos Toffees make it through?

The semifinals will take place in GW-36, which takes place between the 13th and 18th of May. This will be a double-week for Brighton and Newcastle. Will going all-out for double-gamers again be the way to go?

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Did your squad participate in the quarter-finals, and if so how did it fare? Are you one of the four players left, and how is that affecting your planning? Will you be going all-in for the double week, or are single-gamers going to tempt you? Please let us know in the comments!

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