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Developers World Championship: Match Report - Austria v England (Group C)

Glow Doodle Snake (Austria) vs Arachnadoodle (England)

Developers World Championship: Match Report - Austria v England (Group C)
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AUSTRIA Glow Doodle Snake (NER Brothers)

VS ENGLAND Arachnadoodle (Connect2Media)

Doodle v Doodle was bound to end in a 'draw', wasn’t it?! Well, if that were to be the case, then England would be guaranteed to top its table and set up a showdown with the runners-up in Group D, which could be any one of Hong Kong, Australia, or even Germany.

Of course, there were 90 minutes of action to come from iStadium II before any such eventualities could be discussed in the online media.

NER Brothers’ second showing at the 2010 iPhone Game Developers World Championship, Glow Doodle Snake, was solely playing for national pride this afternoon, since Austria had already been eliminated before kick-off. Two defeats in five days left the central Europeans rooted to the foot of Group C with nowhere to go but heim.

England’s fate today was in Connect2Media and Arachnadoodle’s many hands, which, for the collective sanity of the host nation, would hopefully prove more dependable than a certain West Ham goalkeeper’s.

Kick Off: 3pm, 23rd June

The critical view: Our pre-game assertion was looking rather prescient in the first quarter of an hour, since neither side was willing to commit to attack in any great number. England didn’t necessarily need to press, of course, as a tie was all they required.

Glow Doodle Snake’s negative, one-dimensional mindset wasn't entirely unexpected, too, for returning to Vienna Airport pointless could result in a few rotten tomatoes heading its way at Arrivals. A point gained, therefore, against one of the hotly-tipped nations would recover some degree of respectability.

Fortunately we were spared a repeat of the Austrian's 'convenient' 0-0 in the '82 World Cup, as both sides discovered their shooting boots late on.

Taking inspiration from the ol’ Nokia phone gem Snake, Austria wormed its way into the box on its first serious foray into the English half, forcing the dread-locked, eight-legged netminder to fling himself across the goal line.

Spurred on by that close shave and a 2D animated coach, Connect2Media’s Peggle meets Bloons puzzler fashioned a glorious chance for its superstar, spidery forward, Boris.

The 21-year old Mancunian didn’t disappoint the home crowd, spinning on a sixpence and unleashing a thunderbolt past the reptilian defence.

Now with extra impetus, Arachnadoodle’s 32 levels and OpenFeint integrations pressed on for that reassuring second. In the fourth minute of added-on time, the pressure finally told, as Austria’s centreback pairing got tangled up in a glorious web of inter-passing, allowing Boris to leap unchallenged to the resulting cross and head home for a first-half brace.

Half time: Austria 0 – 2 England The Fans’ 45: To the strains of 'Football's Coming Home', England's fans were re-living the halcyon days of 1996, hopeful that The Three Lions (and one spider) could on this occasion go at least one step further than Gazza, Shearer, and co.

The omens were good, for, under strict orders from their taciturn coach, the England boys shut up shop after the break, defusing any possibility of a comeback by Glow Doodle Snake and its global high scores.

Having earned maximum points in the group stages, the hosts were on a roll. Proudly proclaiming that they could take on anyone in the next round (although preferably not Germany), the team were rightly hailed by fans and press alike.

Across the nation Englishmen (and their development teams), dared to dream. Could they really go all the way???

Full time: Austria 0 – 2 England Latest Group Tables - Fixtures & Voting - Squads

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Richard Brown
Richard Brown
With a degree in German up his sleeve Richard squares up to the following three questions every morning: FIFA or Pro Evo? XBox 360 or PS3? McNulty or Bunk?