The half-time whistle was a welcome relief, a brief respite from the slow, methodical strangulation being performed by the Wolves team.
The Apex players trudged into the away dressing room at Molineux, their faces a mixture of exhaustion, frustration, and utter confusion.
"It's impossible," Jonathan Rowe said, slumping onto the bench and throwing a water bottle against the wall. "You get the ball, and there are three of them there. You pass it, and there's a guy already standing where the ball is going to be. It's like they're reading our minds!"
"They're not even fast!" David Kerrigan complained, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. "That's the most frustrating part! They're just... there. Always in the right place. It's like playing against a team of ghosts."
Ben Gibson, the stand-in captain, just shook his head. "It's the system. Catenaccio. It's designed to frustrate. It's designed to make you make a mistake."
