Honestly, before throwing the ball, Higo had already caught three different players moving from all over the pitch.
Fabian was pointing forward, asking for the ball to be in the space in front of him.
Luca Schuler was standing in the center circle, ready to receive any high ball with his big body.
Jason Ceka also hugging the right wing, trying to spread the opponent’s defensive line thin.
Still, instead of sending the ball in their direction. Higo decided to go for a familiar face. It was none other than Morita who was standing behind the center line, as the boy received the pass with his chest easily. Even though he might not be the fastest among those three, at least his control was absolute in midfield, and Higo knew what a genius like Morita could do in a counterattack situation like this.
True enough, even though he was still facing Schalke’s own goal, after controlling the ball with his chest, he turned around slowly yet precisely, fooling the player who was guarding him. Then, Morita began to accelerate, and while his speed was not the best, he was at least still fast enough to cross to the opposition half and go to the danger area without any problem.
"Shit! Stop him!"
"No, push him to the flank!"
Two players came to put pressure on Morita, while another one was chasing from behind. This was the kind of gravity that the boy had, always attracting so much attention on his side. Of course, he also knew how to take advantage of it.
BAM!
The moment those three were close enough to him, Morita pinged a long ball diagonally, going straight to the opposite flank for a switch play. There, Jason Ceka was already running, letting his wavy hair flow following the wind. The right winger didn’t even have to adjust his run, as the ball itself fell in front of him. No, he just needed to turn around slightly, rerouting his path so that he could push the ball to the penalty box immediately.
"OH! What a pass!"
"That boy number 8 is killing it again!"
"Hey, have we really recruited such a great talent?! How much money did we spend?!"
The crowd was full of praise for Morita’s imaginative pass. However, the attack itself was not over. Jason Ceka did as he intended to do earlier, turning around slightly to enter the penalty box. Even though some of the opponent’s defenders tried to go toward him, they didn’t dare to rush blindly, knowing that Morita had already spread their defensive line thin.
This allowed Jason Ceka to take advantage of the situation directly, as with just one push to the penalty box to control the ball, he got all the space in the world right now. Facing such an opportunity, he didn’t hesitate, swinging his right foot, aiming at the near post.
BAM!
It went through the area below the goalkeeper’s hand, just next to his waist. That poor man reacted accordingly, but it still wasn’t enough. He couldn’t save the ball, and as a result, it just hit the back of the net, giving Schalke II the second goal of the day.
"OH! Another goal!"
"Damn, we are killing them right now!"
"That’s Ceka, right?! I know that boy will be good for us!"
"Don’t forget about that long pass! It went straight to his foot, damn it!"
"His name is Koki Morita, and he is from Japan!"
The crowd cheers excitedly as they also begin learning about Morita. It couldn’t be helped, because the boy was vital in the team’s first two goals. While the first was just a key pass to the assist, the second one was a direct assist from 30 meters away, going straight to his teammate’s foot. This alone was enough to show how good he was in terms of quality.
However, the boy didn’t celebrate the goal with Jason Ceka. No, he went to the backline, hugging Higo fondly while looking at the crowd and pointing his finger at the goalkeeper at the same time. It was as if he was asking everyone to recognize Higo as well, as the boy was the main perpetrator of this counterattack.
"Yeah, how could we forget that goalkeeper?! He moved so decisively to kill that attack!"
"It seems that we don’t have to worry about the second team even after Nubel left!"
"Hey, he seems to be from Japan as well, right? Damn! It seems we dug a treasure trove there!"
Higo himself was beaming brightly at this gesture. Even though he didn’t feel like what he did was special, it was always good to be appreciated like this, especially from the star player of the team.
"Thanks, Morita-san. You know you don’t have to do this, right?" He asked jokingly.
"Bah! What are you trying to say?!" Morita swatted his shoulder playfully. "The attack is successful because you are initiating it, and you also saved our defensive line with that quick action! Don’t be too humble, Higo! That is unbecoming for a young player like us!"
Well, this was just how a goalkeeper was. They were often forgotten except when they pulled a crazy play, either in a good or a bad way, so it was easy for them to brush off their effort. However, for those who noticed, like Morita here, they would appreciate more of the goalkeeper’s effort, knowing that he was the lone hero on the back.
"Anyway, we are leading by two goals right now!" Morita patted his shoulder before turning around, walking back to the midfield. "We don’t need to always be in a rush mode. You can slow down a little bit and play with the tempo; this will also give you a chance to show off." He winked secretly.
Higo was stunned for a moment before he nodded rapidly, understanding what Makino was trying to say. The purpose of this game was never to beat the opponent, but to see how ready the players were. The only way for the coach to tell, though, was when they were in action, and Morita basically just said that it was his time to get involved as well.
’Yeah, I cannot just stay here and wait, right?’ He took a deep breath; his expression turned solemn. ’Now, it is time for me to show off the result of my training as a sweeper-keeper! I can do this!’