Chapter 216: Shoot, Our Hero!
Chapter 216: Shoot, Our Hero!
Because of Hayama, this match had attracted huge attention.
Everywhere was packed – the stands, the grounds under the stands, and the areas outside the pitch.
“Go, Hayama!”
“You’re the best, Hayato!”
“Toyosaki for the win!”
…
Shout, shout away, while you still can… before we shoot.
The Meiwa members exchanged glances, sneering inwardly.
…
Beeeeep—
The whistle sounded. The match officially began!
The cheerleaders in the stands became even more energetic and passionate.
“Toyosaki, Toyosaki, invincible forever!”
“Hayama, Hayama, the field’s slickest player!”
Damn, those cheers were embarrassing to hear. Even Himekoji felt awkward and ashamed on Hayama’s behalf.
How the hell did Hayama manage it? Acting all cool on the pitch like nothing was wrong, even with this going on…
Fortunately, before many minutes passed, the roaring cheers were suddenly cut off again by another whistle blast.
Beeeeep—
“Meiwa scores the first goal!”
“The score is now 0-1!”
Who was the idiot who decided to announce the score over the loudspeaker like that?
Were they not embarrassed enough already?!
Himekoji stood grim-faced by the sidelines, cursing inwardly.
After the announcement, the entire stadium fell into a weirdly sudden silence for a moment.
The people who had been cheering wildly moments ago now stood dumbstruck, staring in disbelief onto the pitch.
The football was spinning, bouncing… inside their own goal.
And the goalkeeper had his eyes closed!
…
Wait a second!
Had even a minute passed since kick-off?
Toyosaki had taken the kick-off first!
And they’d been scored on already?
This was way too casual!
What a joke?
The opposing striker, a tall, bald guy, just gave a lazy wave of his hand after scoring. No celebration at all.
It showed they didn’t take Toyosaki’s soccer team seriously in the least!
…
“Don’t get discouraged.”
Hayama was also shocked by how fast they’d conceded, but he only hesitated for a moment before quickly snapping back. He was the first to speak up and encourage his teammates.
Sadly, it had little effect.
Conceding just that one goal had already beaten down the fighting spirit of many players on the Toyosaki team.
No, no. Actually, some of the players seemed to have never brought any fighting spirit with them in the first place!
“The gap… it’s too big…”
“I didn’t even see how that guy stole the ball.”
“They’re impossible to play against… their number 7 is like a monster… he ripped through our entire defense all by himself.”
“Our team, which gets knocked out in the first round every tournament… how could we possibly compete against Meiwa High? They reached the finals undefeated…”
Of course, there were also people whose fighting spirit was actually aroused by the goal.
Kaito raced to the goal to grab the ball out of the net. Sprinting back towards the center circle in long strides,
he placed the ball down. Kaito waved his arm fiercely, shouting with newfound enthusiasm to fire up his teammates –
“It’s just one goal! Don’t rush! We have plenty of time left!”
Idiot! ‘Plenty of time’ was the scariest part!
What the hell was this ridiculous ‘cannot lose’ mission? Himekoji figured Hayama and the others would probably lose by at least ten goals!
“Don’t rush the attack! Control the ball first! Organize the midfield! Look for the chance to pass to Hayato!”
The coach, the PE Sensei, yelled serious instructions from the sideline.
Indeed, the previous goal resulted from Tobe rushing things.
Right from kick-off, he had dribbled deep into enemy territory alone. He got easily surrounded, had the ball stolen, and Meiwa launched a fast counter-attack.
…
Control the ball?
The moment the Toyosaki players on the field heard that word, they understood!
Right! As long as the ball was under their control, the other side couldn’t score!
Okay, so pass the ball quickly to a teammate for them to control it!
Controlling the ball was definitely not something you should do yourself. What if you lost it while it was at your feet? Wouldn’t you be blamed for it?
Who should he pass it to?
Player A pondered this question, his foot resting on the ball.
Then, he spotted Hayama making a decoy run towards the flank. Hayama was out in open space now, on the wing in the middle of the opponent’s half, raising his arm high, demanding the ball.
Good!
Player A immediately executed a clean, smooth turn and kicked the ball… back towards his own defense!
You absolutely should not pass the ball forwards!
The coach said not to rush the attack.
He was absolutely right!
If he tried passing to Hayama, that meant passing forwards. But what if the pass wasn’t on target? Or if it got intercepted halfway? Then it would totally be his fault!
So many people were watching the game live! He couldn’t bear that kind of humiliation!
After careful thought, indeed, passing backwards was the best option!
Player A understood this, and Player B naturally understood it too.
After receiving the ball, Player B kicked it back to his defender without any hesitation in a quick flick.
And the defender was a smart player; without thinking, decisively passed it to the goalkeeper.
Yes, in just over ten seconds, this smooth “triple passback” was finished!
During this, no one lost the ball! No one took the blame!
Simply perfect!
A world where no one is blamed was achieved!
……
“Oh heck, isn’t the goalkeeper human too!”
The overweight goalkeeper was nearly crying from anger.
Seeing the fierce Meiwa High School players charging right at the ball, the goalkeeper was so scared his legs went weak!
He wanted to pass it back too!
But behind him, only the goal was left!
No, also blame!
Now, the blame was firmly stuck on his back!
He couldn’t shake it off!
……
“Oh heck, kick it long!”
The goalkeeper gritted his teeth and made that helpless decision.
He knew well that with his poor long pass skill, kicking it long almost meant giving the ball to the opponents.
But what could he do about it?
He was desperate too!
Also, he said “almost” because he was still hoping for a lucky break from luck.
But the poor goalkeeper’s powerful kick didn’t bring luck; instead, it brought bad luck!
Nervous and weak-legged, he accidentally messed up the kick!
The ball rolled shakily and softly to the edge of the penalty area, where a Meiwa player in uniform dashed out from the side!
He fired a strong shot at the ball!
Without needing to stop the ball or adjust, it was just a clean, powerful strike.
Not for angle or curve, just for power!
Power alone was enough!
“Whoosh!”
The ball went straight into the net!
The second goal!
……
“Save it!”
“What are you doing just standing there?”
The watching crowd shouted angry words wishing he would fight back.
Save it?
Hearing the talk around him, the stunned goalkeeper reacted after several long seconds.
Blushing, in a flash, he made another decision —
He would pretend and try to act!
As the referee blew the whistle to confirm the goal, the overweight goalkeeper pushed off with his calf and dove sideways.
What a delayed save of over ten seconds!
Everyone was amazed by his dedication!
“Damn it! Almost! Almost he saved it!”
To play it out, blamed, the goalkeeper fell to the ground, angrily punching the grass.
Yes, just “a little bit” away!
……
“Meiwa scores another goal!”
“Game score: 0-2!”
……
This goal came even faster!
Less than thirty seconds!
The whole field fell silent.
Could it be… our school team would be crushed by the visiting Meiwa High School?
No way!
Our players just hadn’t gotten into the game yet!
The Toyosaki students all turned their eyes to Hayama.
They expected a Hero to step up —
To save the match and turn the tide!
……