Soon enough, the second half was about to begin, and players from both teams also came out of the tunnel. Mamoru had already been preparing to come in, but he wasn’t the only one there. South Korean player with the jersey number 7 was also warming up next to the fourth referee, waiting for the man to announce the substitution.
After a while, they were finally allowed to step in, and to everyone’s surprise, that number 7 was replacing Cho Young-Wook, the team’s target man on the front line.
The surprise was that Cho did a very good job in containing Ito and Kobayashi in the first half. His presence was so strong that it was hard to ignore, giving Park Han-Gyeol and Oh Se-Hun so many chances to sneak into Japan’s defense. Even though in the end, no goal was created, his presence was still a headache for Japan to solve.
Still, the fact that Cho was out didn’t send a relief toward Japan’s defensive line. If anything, it added more pressure, because this only meant one thing.
’That number 7 is shorter, and he is leaner as well. He is either the speedy type or the organizer one. However, it is clear that South Korea is going to try a new scheme here. We have to be careful about it.’
At least, that was what Ito and Kobayashi thought silently. They didn’t need to communicate loudly, since those two were smart enough to recognize the problem in front of them. Now, all they had to do was wait and react, and hopefully, the opponent’s new attack was not as troublesome as they thought right now.
A similar state also spread on Team South Korea. Out of all the players here, two studied in Japan and became teammates with some of the opponent’s players, so they knew full well what the new player here, Mamoru Suzuki, was capable of doing.
’The boy might be a bench player, but that is only because he is the youngest there.’ Park Han-Gyeol reminded them all earlier. ’Technique and vision-wise, he is way beyond everyone on his team. Honestly, I believe that once he is a little bit older and stronger, no one would give a shit about his status as the youngest anymore. He will become Japan’s best player in the future.’
That was a bold statement, but not one that could be brushed off so easily. That was why, the moment they saw the boy number 20 coming onto the pitch, they were tensed unconsciously, couldn’t help but wonder what Mamoru would do next.
With both teams getting wary of each other’s change after the break, the second half also started quite slowly. No one dared to open up their formation that easily, just testing each other first.
The first chance was finally on the board, coming from Japan’s left flank. Mamoru tried to spread the opponent’s defensive line thin by dragging the full back wider to the sideline. This created a little pocket area on the half-space, and Koki Morita filled that spot perfectly. Miki Yamane also saw this, so instead of passing it to his kouhai, the boy delivered a low and strong pass in that direction.
Thud!
’Yes! Nice pass, Miki!’ Morita nodded quietly.
The opponent’s center back tried to react, but it was easy for Koki Morita to shake him off. He even had a chance to turn around, letting himself face the opponent’s goal. However, he was surrounded quickly, and his teammates were also getting shut down in their spot. Honestly, for a moment, it looked like he didn’t have any chance to advance further.
Then, the boy suddenly smirked, before, without even looking, he sent a low chip to the penalty box, right to the flank side that he had just left a moment ago. There, Mamoru, who a moment ago was just wandering around, suddenly made a cut, ready to receive the ball.
"SHIT! HE ESCAPES!"
"What the fuck are you doing, Tae-Hyeon?!"
The chip was perfect, and Mamoru just used his chest to push it slightly forward before recoiling his right foot. However, the moment he was about to swing it, the boy felt a slight push from behind, and in the end...
CLANK!
The shot still went to the far post, going far out of Kang Do-Jin’s reach. However, it was not the way Mamoru wanted it to be, and as a result, the ball just floated higher than his original intention, striking the goal post before bouncing out of the pitch.
"Sensei, foul!" Kawabe, who was the closest one to the referee, rushed toward the man quickly. "Look! He pushed Mamoru! It should be a pen!"
Miyashiro also came forward. However, his main task was to make sure that Kawabe didn’t go overboard, as he pushed the winger back immediately. Of course, he didn’t forget to complain here. "That’s a blatant push, and everyone can see it, Sensei! That should be a pen for us!"
Unfortunately, even under the pressure here, the referee didn’t budge. He just stared at the boys flatly before saying, "No contact is made, and he took a shot perfectly. No foul."
The man was so decisive here, and he had a reason to be. From his spot, the contact was less obvious. Hell, even he himself was not so sure why Mamoru fell, and the fact that the shot was still on target meant Mamoru was doing okay. So, no foul was given toward them, let alone a penalty kick.
The boys just clicked their tongues in annoyance. However, they didn’t continue their pursuit anymore. After all, even they themselves were not really sure about the contact earlier, and they just wanted to try their luck.
The only one who was wronged here was Mamoru, as he was truly getting pushed by his opponent. The boy just stared at his defender earlier, his brows furrowed deeply while his expression was quite grim.
’Tch! It seems this guy is not as I thought it would be.’