"Oh! Another long shot! Hakodate Nishi goes crazy today!"
"Come on!"
No one really expected a long shot to come, not when no one from Hakodate Nishi was on the box for the rebound. Not only that, Sapporo Otani’s defense had already recovered to its best state, so it looked like a desperate attempt from the away team to pry the lock open.
However, the one who did it was Takaaki himself.
After the national winter tournament a few months ago, where he had to be replaced right after creating a miracle with his knuckle shot, the boy had been training to increase his accuracy in taking a long shot. This spot was also one of his sweet spots, where the distance wasn’t that far, but also wasn’t close to being blocked by the opponent.
So, when he received the short pass from Denki, the boy didn’t even blink. With one control with his left foot to slow the ball down, the glasses boy switched to his right foot immediately, swinging it as hard as possible.
As a result, the shot he made moved like a bullet, piercing the wind to go straight to the opponent’s goal. This was exactly how the first goal went, and the moment Takaaki took that shot, everyone couldn’t help but get excited.
However, Sapporo Otani’s goalkeeper was still as excellent as ever. He was one of the most talented goalkeepers on the island, one whom the team scouted carefully. Even in the earlier goal, the boy managed to save the ball before losing the goal in a rebound scenario, so there was no way he would lose against this long shot.
With a quick reflex, he shifted his body to the right immediately, covering the far post in one go. Then, once the timing was right, the boy dove in the air like Superman, one hand extended far to reach the ball.
As a result, his fist managed to touch the ball in the last second, and...
BAM!
This time, the ball bounced far outside of the pitch, not giving any Hakodate Nishi players a chance to get the second ball from him.
"Ah! Fuck it!" Takaaki groaned, regretting how the ball almost got onto the opponent’s goal. "Just a few inches more!"
Right after that, the audience also started applauding, finally getting snapped out of their shock earlier.
"Oh! What a shot!"
"As expected of Takaaki, his shot is a laser!"
"That save, though! Don’t forget about that! That goalkeeper has something in him!"
The crowd exploded immediately with the almost-goal chance from Takaaki. Of course, the Sapporo Otani’s side was not so amused by this. The goalkeeper got up from the ground immediately, starting to roar at everyone else in the vicinity.
Not that anyone could blame him here. Somehow, even though the defensive shape looked perfect, everyone forgot to shut down the biggest threat that the opponent could pose, the long-shot scenario.
Hakodate Nishi had already established itself as a team with so many snipers in it. They had Takaaki, Hiroshi, Kenji, and, if necessary, Usami could also launch a direct rocket from any side of the pitch. Sapporo Otani knew about that very well, as they had scouted this team so many times before this, and yet, at the most crucial moment, somehow, everyone forgot about that.
There was no way in hell the goalkeeper would be happy, having to sweep the mess that the team created.
After this, Hakodate Nishi had a corner kick to play, and Hiroshi became the one who executed it. With Sano, Kenji, and Jun on the box, they had the advantage in height, so Sapporo Otani didn’t dare to lower their guard. Not only that, but they also kept their eyes closely on Takaaki, not wanting to be surprised like before.
Fortunately, nothing happened in this scenario. While Hiroshi’s cross managed to reach Jun, the boy headed the ball far too high, and the goalkeeper didn’t even need to make a move. He just jumped lightly, trying to make sure that the ball didn’t go into a dangerous place.
Then, Sapporo Otani also started showing off their fangs. After conceding a goal at the beginning of the second half and being dominated for a while, they tried to get out of this predicament by putting two fresh midfielders to reinforce the central area. This worked to some extent, as their fresh stamina allowed them to fight more fiercely against Hakodate Nishi’s trio of midfielders.
Yuwell also started to be more aggressive. He hadn’t launched a shot yet so far in the second half, but his positioning became more dangerous as time went by. Not only that, but he would also receive the ball at the most dangerous position, forcing Sano to keep fouling him over and over again.
Having no choice, Toda-sensei finally made a substitution here. He put Fujinaga for Sano, then dragged Kazawa back to the defensive line. The purpose was simple. He felt like Sano was getting targeted too much, and it was time for the second-year defender to take a rest.
As for putting Kazawa as the central defender, well, he couldn’t help it. The team didn’t have any backup CB right now, and Kazawa was his spare tire on the team, being able to cover the whole position in the back. That was the advantage of having such a multitasking player in his team.
Then, he also made one more change, putting Yuji for Kenji on the front line. Poor boy, he was so dissatisfied to be replaced in the most crucial moment. However, his work rate had already dropped in the second half, and his stamina couldn’t catch up with the pace of the game. So, it was better to put Yuji, the team’s mad dog, to bite everyone else on the front line.
Still, even with so many replacements that both teams made, neither of them managed to advance further in their offense. Their defense was still as strong as ever, not giving their opponent any chance to create something.
It wasn’t until the 76th minute, when Jun slipped before receiving the ball on the back, that everyone finally jumped out of their seat.
"SHIT! THIS IS BAD!"