Chapter 137 137 Chaos
Chapter 137 137 Chaos
I demand your power stones as I was deemed worthy by the singularity to present you with its hero\'s tale, so motivate me to write more and upload chapters faster.]
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[Ding: Match Quest]
-Provide 3 Assists (3/3)
-Win the match
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\'Looks like I\'m a step closer to completing the mission,\' I thought to myself after seeing the mission pop up. I don\'t quite like these types of mission especially when it doesn\'t tell me the rewards beforehand. I can\'t really complain though as the system gives me a lot of boosts, so if it wants to set random quests, I\'ll just have to suck it up.
[Mystery missions like that are the ones with the most value so make sure to complete them.] Eva commented making me look forward to the mysterious reward that I\'m destined to receive since this match is pretty much won. Unless by a stroke of luck, they decide to score 3 goals in a row to equalise the score.
The game was quick to restart but coach utilised the moment of pause to make a few substitutions. Max was substituted for Jake Smith strengthening our defensive line to a flat four. Ben was also substituted for Damian to further strengthen our defence as I dropped down to midfield making it a flat three.
With us playing a 431 formation our midfield and defence took a qualitative leap with us managing to gain more control of the match. The East River players who were now trailing by three goals started to launch reckless attacks at our half. They didn\'t seem to have a plan and just wanted to somehow reach our goal through solo heroic\'s or the occasional teamwork.
Their consistent pressure beard fruit in the 45th minute when their left winger managed to slip past Finn. Charging forward he speed down the flank leaving Finn in his rear-view mirror. He was quickly met with Logan Foster\'s aggressive charge quickly closing down on him.
Seeing this the winger slightly hesitated debating whether to take the defender on or look for a passing option. Knowing he didn\'t have time to deliberate he looked towards the edge of the box where his team\'s striker lurked. Spotting a clear passing lane, he swung his left foot ready to send the ball over.
The expected pass never came though as his foot kicked the ground poking the ball forward upon seeing Logan lunge towards the direction he was going to pass to. Slotting the ball through his legs he speeds past him quickly entering the box before Jake could fully close him down.
Forced to come to a stop as the imposing body of Jake hovered over him blocking his path at goal. Performing a quick step over with his right foot in an attempt to bate the defender he quickly knocked it to his stronger left. Jake remained steadfast not moving in the slightest but that only emboldened the winger.
With a cheeky smile, he rolled the ball forward towards Jake\'s open legs causing the defender to panic. In an attempt to stop the ball, he quickly closed his legs by bringing his feet together. But the expected ball never came as his opponent dragged the ball back performing a roulette turn and accelerating past him.
Just as the winger was about to shoot the ball that was a step in front of him a pair of boots knocked the ball away. He could only watch with frustration as Ole got up from the sliding interception with the ball at his feet. The defender seemed unbothered by his actions promptly sending the ball out of the box with a weighted pass.
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In the 50th minute, the Crocodiles received a free-kick when Damian brought down their striker at the edge of the box. The striker managed to slip past the midfield line after a failed eagle\'s counter looking to charge through the gap in the defensive line to charge into the box.
Just as he was about to enter the box, he was sent tumbling to the ground by Jake who came in with a sweeping slide tackle. Before the striker could even land on the ground from the tackle the referee blew the whistle. He came running towards the two of them signalling a freekick not liking the tackle.
Luckily none of the two players were injured by the collision quickly getting up from the turf reedy to resume the match. Jake couldn\'t get away with just a waning though as the referee reached into his pocket pulling out a yellow card. he had not been in the game for a long time and now needs to be very careful not to end up in the official\'s books a second time.
The striker on the other hand although frustrated by the tackle didn\'t cause a fuss much more preoccupied with taking the set piece. He didn\'t have to wait long as the referee quickly brought the situation under control as the Eagles mounted a four-man wall in front of the ball. This was a complete contrast to the chaos that broke out within the box. Players could be seen pushing each other as they tried to compete for the best position.
The referee had to intervene with quite a few rowdy players who were getting too rowdy for his liking. His warning bore fruit in calming the atmosphere within the box allowing the ref to signal the start of the set-piece. A short silence spread throughout the ground as all eyes gathered on the striker waiting to see what he would do with this opportunity.
They didn\'t have to wait long as the striker quickly closed in on the ball the moment, he received the go-ahead sending it towards the goal. His shot focused on power narrowly avoiding the four-man wall heading towards the goal. Mike on his goal line barely had enough time to take two steps before leaping into the air.
He barely managed to bring his fingertips to the ball slightly deviating its course. His fingertips weren\'t enough though as the ball still managed to enter the net after ricocheting off the post. With the ball in the net, the listless away fans were spurred back to life loudly cheering on their players.
The striker who scored didn\'t bother celebrating opting to fish the ball out of the net in order to resume the match as soon as possible. All the East River players felt a sense of excitement spread within them as they returned to their own half. All of their efforts proved effective, and this goal was just the icing on the cake.
Perhaps the only ones not feeling the excitement were the eagles who seemed to sense the dangerous turn the match was taking. They had already started thinking about their next opponents and stopped taking this match seriously. It was only at this moment that they realised that their opponents were ready to fight till the last minute and they could still lose their lead.
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With a score of 4:2, the match took a drastic turn in the last five minutes of the match. Both teams started to actively battle for possession of the ball not willing to give up by an inch. The Eagles having received a wake-up call by their opponent\'s last goal were unwilling to concede another. Whilst the Crocodiles whose morale is at an all-time high bravely charged forward with a do-or-die mentality.
This created a deadlock within the middle of the pitch with no team being able to mount much of an attack. Let alone attack they were unable to hold onto the ball for too long due to how congested the middle of the park became. It was only in the last minute of the math when the East River right winger managed to break free and took off on a run down the flank.
Rakim was hot on his trails using his speed to quickly reach his side and started harassing the winger. The two speed-stars raced shoulder to shoulder down the wing as the Crocodiles winger tried his best to protect the ball. It looked like Rakim was getting ready to slide in, but he wasn\'t too confident and thus opted to continue to harass his opponent.
By positioning himself in a way that made it impossible for his opponent to run across him he forced the winger all the way to the corner flag. The winger\'s attempt to quickly change his direction was met with Rakim steeping in front of his path. However, that proved to be a mistake as the winger was simply trying to bait him and it worked.
Seeing Rakim take the bait he charged past him along the baseline entering the box in a single breath. The winger continued into the box blazing past the Eagles left back ready to shoot at any second. Mike decided to scramble off his line trying to pounce on the winger before he could shoot.
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To Be Continued...