FWEEE!
The first half of the extra time finally began. With only fifteen minutes to play, time was quite tight for both teams to play it slow. However, as Kageyama-sensei expected, South Korea went all out from the beginning, putting more players on Japan’s territory quickly.
"Come on, Sugawara-san! Don’t let him cut!"
"Naoya, you bastard! Where the fuck are you going?! Protect that pocket area!"
"Don’t let him shoot! Don’t let him shoot!"
BAM!
"HELL, YEAH!"
Another chance missed from the South Korean team, as Ito managed to land himself straight in front of Park Han-Gyeol when the striker wanted to take a shot. It was a timely rescue from the captain, because Kobayashi and Morita failed to close down that open space quickly enough before the shot was launched.
Still, even though he high-fived the captain, Higo didn’t dare to lower his guard here. Even though he acted so casually outside the pitch, once the game started, he only had one thing to do, which was to prevent the opponent from scoring.
After not playing for a long time, once he was on the pitch, the boy could feel his brain working hard, giving one image after another of what would happen a few seconds later. Even with his basic abilities strengthened a lot since he started playing football, his clairvoyant ability was still his foothold, one that gave him the edge against anyone else.
That was also exactly what happened in the game. He gave the team stability and a sense of safety on the back, enough to let the players in front of him sigh in relief.
"A cross is coming! That’s mine!"
Another attack was coming, and this time, it was a low cross whipped by Lee Kang-In to the area close to the penalty spot. In a crowded space, it was impossible for any normal goalkeeper to get that, as they often opted to wait on the line. However, Higo moved right before the pass was delivered, pouncing at the ball right in front of Oh Se-Hun.
BAM!
As a result...
FWEEE!
The referee blew the whistle while pointing at South Korea’s side, giving the sign that it was Oh Se-Hun’s foul toward Higo. Not only that, but the ball was also in Higo’s grasp, as even with the contact earlier, he still clutched it tightly and never let it go. This show was enough to intimidate the opponent, giving them an image that Higo was not inferior to Zion.
Of course, there would also be some sides that people didn’t like about him.
BAM!
As the free kick was launched far to the front line without hesitation, Akiba-sensei couldn’t help but frown, shaking his head in disapproval. "He bypassed the midfield immediately and made us lose the ball in a second. If only he could be calmer, distributing the ball slowly and methodically from the backline to midfield to the frontline, we would still retain possession. It seems Zion is indeed still a better goalkeeper here."
Kumiko snapped her head immediately when she heard that, looking at her mentor speechlessly. ’You only dared to say something like that right now?! Where the fuck are you when Ryukkun saved that penalty earlier?! Where the fuck are you when he put his body on the line earlier?! How dare you say something like that right now!’
Of course, the girl would never say that out loud. No, she was not suicidal enough to mock her unreliable mentor openly. However, she was having enough of him and his brainless opinion, not when he himself still thought that he didn’t say anything wrong here.
Kageyama-sensei himself just gave his assistant a side-eye. He heard the words earlier, and in return, the man said, "I don’t mind losing possession right now; we are still capable enough to win it back. Also, Higo gives a great sense of security on the back, so this is not as bad as you thought, Akiba-kun."
The assistant coach just bit his lips, wanting to say something here before; in the end, he just swallowed all of the words back into his throat.
The game continued on the pitch, and South Korea was still taking the initiative to attack. However, their offensive quality also declined slowly as they were so anxious to score a goal right now. After the penalty failure from Lee Kang-In, the last thing they wanted was for the game to enter the shootout, putting them into the penalty spot when their best player had just missed one earlier.
Unfortunately, one chance after another had only met the wall that Japan built on their territory. Even though Ito and the others had already gotten tired and moved quite sluggishly, they still maintained the same level of discipline on the back. They were able to do that because they knew that they had someone to cover them on the back.
’Yeah, if it is Higo, he can do this!’
’No need to think too much, I have him on the back! He will stop everything!’
’Come on! He has done his part, I also have to do my job!’
This was the confidence that a good goalkeeper gave to his teammates. No matter how hard the South Korean front line tried to push, they would only meet the iron wall at the back. Hell, if anything, it was Japan who was more threatening so far.
Even though their chances were fewer, every single one of them was enough to send danger to Korea’s side. Mamoru tried to launch a low shot once where it was just a few inches slightly on the left side of the opponent’s goal, and the combination between Morita and Kawabe managed to let Mitsuki Saito escape to the penalty box, just for Kang Do-Jin to react faster than anyone else to grab the ball.
The only unfortunate part here was that even with all the good chances on the pitch, no goal still came to reality. Both teams tried hard, but today was far from their luck. In the end...
FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!
After the first fifteen minutes were over, the referee blew the whistle, ending the first half of the extra time still with the score 0-0.