The break between the second half and the extra time was only five minutes, so instead of going back to the locker room, both teams were allowed to stay there to make sure that the players didn’t cool down first. This was the general rule before going to the extra time, so right now, in front of the bench, all the players were standing there, enjoying the cold sensation of their bottle of water while also listening to the coach’s words.
"Okay, listen clearly here!" Kageyama-sensei’s voice boomed throughout the bench even amidst the noises from the crowd. "With that penalty failure, they will be more afraid to go to the shootout, so they will try to push further into our territory! This is the most crucial time for us, so defense! No slacking off even for a second!"
"Yes, Sensei!" Ito nodded as the defensive line’s representative.
The rest of the players nodded as well. Even if they didn’t get reminded here, they still knew the difficult task waiting for them in the extra time.
"Don’t let Lee Kang-In and Oh Se-Hun sneak into our box again! Twice is enough today, kick them out of our box!" The man emphasized this point more. "Also, keep an eye on Park Han-Gyeol! He has been quiet since the game began; now it is time for him to use all the stamina inside that he hasn’t used so far! He will explode later, so get ready to protect yourself!"
Miki Yamane nodded solemnly as he heard that. As that boy’s captain in high school, Miki Yamane knew well enough how dangerous Park Han-Gyeol was in a clutch situation. The striker had been saving his energy for the entire game earlier, so he would definitely explode in the extra time later.
"Then, offense! You will have a lot more space later! When you have a chance to pick up the ball, make sure you do damage where it hurts them the most!" Kageyama-sensei turned his attention to the attacking line. "Suzuki, you have just come in, so your stamina bar is still full! Kawabe, I know you were just slacking off earlier, but I will need you to run more and be more aggressive! Miyashiro, if you cannot handle the physicality there, drop back a little, let the others take over the situation there!"
Notice that the man didn’t say anything about their tactic, but just emphasized something obvious?
Well, yeah, in the extra time, the players didn’t need to be burdened more with sophisticated tactics that they couldn’t execute. No, that would only make everything chaotic, and the team would be more prone to mistakes.
The best way to handle this break was by reminding the players once again what to do. It might seem meaningless, but after 90 minutes full of adrenaline, some players started to forget what to do and got carried away with how the game unfolded. So, yeah, it was important to get them back on track, letting them remember their original role despite how the game would go later.
After this, the coach just let the players rest, with him chatting to some to make sure that they were okay to play in the extra time. Both teams would have two more additional substitutions entering the extra time, so they could use it carefully.
However, there was no way any players here would admit they were exhausted or ask to be replaced. They all were so close to the decisive moment, and everyone intended to see everything till the end.
Higo himself didn’t really get that much attention during the break. However, he still took his time sitting with Zion. After all, even though he always considered the younger boy to be loud and annoying—no, it was not him being jealous—at the end of the day, they were still friends, and he couldn’t help but feel concerned about the boy.
"Hey, I told you that everything will be okay, right?" He patted Zion’s shoulder reassuringly. "You have done a great job protecting our goal in the first 85 minutes, so leave the rest to me. I will let you guard our goal again in the quarter-final." He said in a joking tone.
Fortunately, the boy got the reaction he wanted. Even though Zion was still drowning in sadness, a little smile appeared on his face with a hint of brightness that he usually had.
"Don’t be so pretentious like that, Senpai. Your role is just to handle the shootout. Other than that, I am still better at everything than you. The weak don’t have the right to console the strong, you know?"
Higo just snorted when he heard that. "You are cuter when you are depressed, you know? Your sharp tongue is definitely going to be the death of you."
Still, inwardly, Higo was glad to see Zion recover well on the bench. As for the boy’s statement that he was weaker here, Higo himself didn’t care. He still believed that he was a better goalkeeper, and that was what mattered here. They both had confidence, and coincidentally enough, they were quite at a similar level right now.
"Anyway, I need to talk to Kumiko-chan first. Just watch me quietly from the bench like a good boy, okay? I will bring back the ticket to the next round for you." He patted the boy’s shoulder mockingly before leaving, not waiting for any answer.
Five minutes seemed to be a short time, but the team tried to use every single second there without any waste. Some players were still listening to the coach’s instructions, while some were also receiving a massage from Ogai-sensei to help them relax their muscles.
Soon enough, though, the referee finally blew the whistle, asking for the players from both teams to come back to the pitch. The first half of the extra time was about to begin, the one that would decide everything.
"Hey, Chibi!" Makino suddenly shouted, stopping Higo from entering the pitch immediately. When Higo turned around, he saw his friend offering a fist bump there. "Try your best, and don’t embarrass us, Hakodate gang, okay?"
Higo paused for a second, then accepted the fist bump with a little snort. "Ha! Don’t worry about it! Watch from the bench; I will bring the quarterfinal ticket to the team!"