The team was silent as they returned to the bench. They had managed to hold off Takayama for the rest of the half, but everyone knew the truth—they couldn't survive long without changing their playstyle.
Ren sat at the edge of the bench, unusually quiet. For nearly twenty minutes, he had been invisible, shut down by marks and cut off from the ball. He hadn't been at fault for the goal they conceded, but he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it either.
It's so annoying…!
He clenched his fists. Being marked out of the game left him feeling helpless. Ren had done his best to break free from his marks, but each time he did, more players came to intercept him. They made sure he could never be a threat. Deep down, though, he couldn't blame them—he understood exactly why they targeted him.
His eyes fell on Ryo's jersey, grass-stained and dirty. His younger brother had thrown himself into every challenge, nearly stopping Takayama's equalizer.
But in the end, Takayama still scored.
"Alright, listen up!"
The sharp call snapped everyone's heads up. Assistant Coach Takigawa was the one speaking, a surprise in itself. His tone carried more edge than usual.
"Don't hang your heads just because Takayama evened the score. How long are you going to let them control the game?" His gaze swept over them, firm but not unkind.
"None of you is at fault for the goal, yet all of you could have prevented it." The players exchanged confused glances, unsure what he meant.
"Each of you could have done something to turn the game back around, yet no one did." Takigawa folded his arms. "I'll put it this way. Why did Takayama's game improve after you scored? Do you think they'd keep playing the same losing strategy? Of course not. They adjusted and got more aggressive. So why," his voice hardened, "are you still playing the same way?"
Nobody said anything as the coach's words sank in. The reason their game got better… Ren replayed the half in his head. They played better when they were marking me. They also played much more aggressively.
That's right, after we scored, they realized their playstyle wasn't working, so they chose to change it up.
We saw we were being pushed back, but what did we change? Ren sat up straight as the realization hit him. Nothing… We didn't change anything.
Ren understood what Coach Takigawa was trying to say. Takayama had realized that they couldn't win with their original playstyle, so they changed it to be more aggressive. However, when they were being pushed back, nobody changed anything about their playstyle.
Anyone could have taken the initiative to reorganize the team and adapt their play to counter Takayama's. Football is all about how well we adapt.We need to be able to adjust our strategy on the pitch.
Takigawa must have seen realization dawn on Ren, because he smirked. "Football is a game of change. Your opponents will always look for ways to get the better of you. The question is, can you adapt faster than they can?"
He let the words settle before adding, "As coaches, we gave you a formation. But how you make it shine is yours to decide. On the pitch, you are in control of how you play, not us."
A murmur of acknowledgement spread among the players. Takigawa moved on to the finer details for the rest of the break, reviewing their tactics and giving pointers to the players.
Soon enough, the half-time break came to a close, and they were summoned back to the field. This time, Ryusei would restart with the ball, and they were ready to make the most of it.
Ren glanced across the pitch, eyes narrowing at the defenders already angling toward him. We really need to start with the momentum in our favor, but they'll mark me hard again. Fine. Let's make the first move count.
The last few players shuffled into position, and the line referees took their respective positions. Silence fell over the pitch as everyone held their breath for the game to continue.
The referee raised his whistle.
Fweeet
—————————————————————————————————
The second half kicked off.
Ryo stood inside the circle, waiting for Tomoya's touch. His thoughts mirrored Ren's—they needed to secure the momentum. They couldn't afford to let Takayama take control again. If they set the pace now, the rest of the half would play out on their terms.
And besides… my quest isn't finished.
The count on the quest was still at 1/3, given that they hadn't scored for the rest of the first half.
Tomoya nudged the ball, and Ryo contemplated what to do as he received it. He had a few options to start, but when his eyes met Ren's, he knew what he had to do.
Whether it was a brotherly connection or not, Ren and Ryo didn't have to speak to each other to know what they had in mind—to them, football was its own language.
Their gazes both held the same thought: Let's push through.
The best chance to show everyone they meant business was to start strong, so Ryo instantly passed the ball to his brother. The pass surged past the midline, threading between two pressing players. Ren kept darting forward as he trapped the ball, taking control of the ball, and quickly moving past the opponent's front line.
Waves of cheers came in from the sidelines as Ren passed player after player, rapidly approaching the goal. Due to the nature of game restarts, team positions were relatively concentrated around the midline, so if a player managed to get past it quickly, most of the opposing team would be stuck behind.
As an attestation to this, most of the Takayama players were still anchored to the center line, having little time to react after Ren suddenly shot past them right at the start of the game.
Following closely behind, the rest of Ryusei's attack was shadowing Ren, ready to capitalize on the situation.
Ren seems to be doing just fine by himself, though.
He had already dribbled past 4 players by himself in quick succession, showcasing his insane talent, rapidly approaching the defense.
Before anyone could contest him, Ren passed the ball backwards, making its way to Ryo. Without delay, Ryo swept the ball forward in one motion, finding Ken, who was already heading for the goal. Ken had also been itching for an attack at the start of the half, so he had burst forward right after the whistle sounded, keeping up with Ren's breakneck speed throughout the attack.
Ken, in such a chaotic position, looked for an opening to shoot the ball. His line of sight to Ren was completely cut off, and Takayama players were encroaching on his position.
He saw his chance open up for an instant, so he shot the ball with substantial force, but before it could make it far, it was deflected off course. A defender had grazed the ball, but with such speed behind the shot, it continued moving forward until it went out of play to the right of the goal.
That's good, Ryo thought. I wasn't expecting a goal, but if we can maintain this pressure, they will eventually crack.
And break them they did. Minute by minute, Ryusei turned the tide, dominating possession of the ball and rarely letting it fall into their half. Their attacks were relentless, and frustration was starting to show on the opponent's faces.
Slowly, they were able to get some shots on goal. Sometimes the goalie deflected it, awarding them a corner kick. Other times, the goalie took possession and sent it downfield.
Either way, Ryusei was able to maintain the pressure, contrary to how they played at the end of the first half. At the helm of the attack was Ren, who had become much more mobile in the second half. Part of it was because of his intense motivation, but another part was because Takayama's defenders were getting tired.
Man-marking was a difficult and exhausting process, with players having to follow their marks closely, constantly sprinting after them. Adding this to the fact that Ren was always trying to shake them off, it made sense for the defenders to be exhausted after chasing him for a total of 30 minutes.
The crowd reacted as a shot bounced off the crossbar, an anticlimactic end to a brilliant attack by Ryusei. In this most recent play, Ryo, along with Ken and Taiga, drove the ball up the left flank before delivering it to Tomoya. The team's captain launched it past several defenders, and although it looked like the ball was headed into the goal, it hadn't dropped enough, so it ended up hitting the crossbar.
This time, however, the corner kick was Ryo's. The coach had made it clear who was to take each set piece, and Ryo had been assigned to take corner kicks from the left side. Up to that point in the half, all of their corner kicks had been taken from the right side. But now, Ryo was the one stepping into the corner.
So with a calm expression, Ryo set up the ball below the flag and analyzed the field as he stepped back. It's a good thing I practiced these so much with Ren… let's see…
We are slightly outnumbered in the box, but that's not too big a problem. Should I send it outside of the box, or should I curve it closer to the goal?
As Ryo pondered his dilemma, his eyes met Ren's. Read his brother's confident gaze, a calm expression washed over Ryo.
Ah… so that's what he wants to do.
A simple, yet effective plan that the goalie would definitely overlook. With a plan now in place, Ryo waited for all of the players to settle down in their positions. He stood there, watching Ren subtly direct the players on the field, when a ripple of jeers came from behind him.
"Hey, doesn't Number 18 look too small?" Someone teased in the crowd, clearly saying it loud enough for Ryo to hear.
I know I won't hit my growth spurt for a while, but I'm not that short. Ryo thought, slightly hurt from their jabs at his constitution.
"That's right, he'll probably just roll it short since he wouldn't be able to score anyway," Someone else answered.
"Look at his jersey, he must be a reserve player. Seriously—do numbers even go that high?"
"It's good for us; we might be able to counterattack if he messes this up."
"Yeah, that's right," then, turning to Ryo, they started taunting him.
"Don't mess up," they both hissed.
Seriously, did they not even see my long pass in the first half? I guess they'll be in for a nice surprise then…
Ryo still had an unwavering expression, even though the words should have provoked him. Unbeknownst to him, Ryo's D-rank skill Mental Fortitude was in effect, helping him maintain a perfectly cool head amidst the taunts.
So, with one last look of confirmation from Ren, Ryo signaled his run-up to his teammates. As they each set in motion, Ryo shuffled up to the ball and swung his leg hard, much harder than he usually would for a corner kick.