Chapter 24: After the Draw
The enclosed room was filled with members. Staff, coaches, and players sat in rows upon rows of seats that faced a broad wall-hung projector that was replaying the match between Le Harve and Amiens. On the screen, there was a distaste as the players watch themselves being run into the ground on the consecutive play.
The match had long concluded, but they were boxed in this room to reflect, to reflect on their failures as a team. It was a moment for reflection and reflection on what this meant for the Le Harve U-19.
You could not see the leader, but you could tell that the team has a leader in Gérald Roys. He was bitter, the most bitter of them all as the captain's armband tolled on him. The attackers were silent, pale even to see themselves being played by the defenders, failing to find the net no matter how many shots they have taken.
"And what do you think the issue was?" said Lanier.
"I am at a loss for words..."
"I know. This is sad."
"You are quite right, I am at a loss for words," The manager voiced. "Even if you expect results to be different, the reality is that the team is playing to the level it is. This is a poor showing. This is the same level of quality that we had last year. The inconsistency that always lurks within you. "
"But that's not why I called you here. You may hate to fixate on your loss. But you have, you must, you absolutely must look back at this loss and learn what you could have done better."
"Yes, I agree."
"Yes, we have won against Lens and lost against Amiens, but this is no time to despair," he said as he got to his feet. "This is no time to be depressed. We have to look at ourselves. There were times when we were second to the ball, and time and again we gave up the first goal of the game. For that, we must take action and fix it."
He raised his hands and shook his head. "That team of ours does not win matches. We can't blame the referees. We can't blame the opponents. We have to learn how to play better, and then win. It is that simple."
Marley stood up as he approached the front podium, whereupon it sat the computer that had the entire match recorded in pixel details. "Roys! Be a leader. What cost us?"
"Well, what do you expect? This is a crucial time for us. This is the time to show what we can do. We can't just sit around on our asses and feel sorry for ourselves. We have to push forward." The captain yelled.
"Enough of this. You are our captain, take charge." Marley pointed at where he stood. "Take over."
Roys walked down the rows of seats before standing on the podium. He closed his eyes as he reflected. "This is a problem I know I have." He went on to describe the mistakes. "I... I didn't do much in the match. I stayed back too often, concerned about the entire back line. I wanted to be the man who everyone falls on, but neglected the other side of the game."
"And?"
"And once we were down a goal. I didn't react. I stayed further back, not forward. I didn't do enough."
Lanier walked on as he brushed the captain aside. "Do you know what went wrong in the match?"
There was a silence as others didn't chime in at the queue. Roys already voiced his perspective so he didn't elaborate.
The tactical took the opportunity as he spoke, venting his frustrations.
"Andre won the ball on his own end. Azad would have been freed up on the left wing and you two, Roussel and Eze, would have and must immediately track back and help the defence. But instead, you two were slow and let him go by and failed to get to him before he was in the perfect location to cross. And then you let him go, where he got onto the ball and crossed it into the box. And that's the worst part. 2 strikers against 3 players in the box. You all had your eyes focused on Granger but you failed to notice Oyensui lurking at the far post. You were too relaxed! And they took that chance and punished you. Punished all of you."
"You know this, but you did nothing to help them out. You were complacent. You were complacent and this led to the loss."
Marley walked out of the wooden panel and pointed at the computer. "What happens here has everything to do with the win or the loss. Do you think those mistakes won or lost this match?"
Roys shook his head. "We were there, we were right there, but we failed to do what was needed to stop them. This is a failure on our part. This isn't a lack of effort, this is a lack of focus."
"Yes, I agree." Marley said, "This is a loss. This is a failure. This is a failure. This is a failure."
"I need to remind myself this is a team game and not one player's individual game."
The captain took a deep breath. "You are the captain and you can't allow yourself to become too focused on what you need to improve. This is your life. Your life is you, your opinions, your opinions. Get back to what you do best. This is your life and you are in control of it. You can be better. We can be better. We have to be better."
Lanier stared at him for a few moments before looking back at the laptop.
"This is a team game. Don't criticise the defenders if they conceded a goal. Don't take that out on the back line. Go score goals. Don't criticise the attackers if they fail to score a goal. Defend better, protect the goal with pride."
Marley started to walk off. "And we will do it better next game. The title is still within reach. Damn it." He mumbled under his breath.
.
The players were left in the room by themselves as the staff and anyone but the players left the room one by one, carrying a mutual silence on their actions as their thoughts struck upon their defeat. The staff and coaches have disappointment with their results.
Kai was in the room, he too sat with the players, and sat with the staff as he reflected on the draw. It was called 'The Hour of Reflection'. where the players are locked within a room, filled with darkness as they silently ponder over what went wrong.
The foreign player exited the compound as he slowly trembled his way out of the building, leaving the confines of the indoors back to the training grounds where the football field lay. Without thinking much, he walked to the pitch, wiping off the water residue that was left on the benches before taking a seat.
It was already evening. At 5:58 pm, clouds enveloped the sky as the 60 minutes of reflection time tickled down to the wire. But so did Kai was out of words, as he looked out into the distance at the white lines on the pitch. He used to use football as a distraction from the past. But now, football has slowly become yet another source of torment.
For a moment he pondered, and questioned if he was the source of the issue. Was he the one that was at the heart of their draw? Were the tactical suggestions he gave to Lanier the issue to it all? What if he didn't stand his ground and offer his perspective? What if he thought that he was the problem?
He rose his head and glanced at his watch as he looked to the heavens. The time of sun dipped in the sky and clouds once again covered the sun, hiding it from sight, and turning it into a grey orb.
Something about it all was too perfect. His chance to transmigrate back to the past. Is it the right choice to proceed down this hopeless dream? It was one thing to be a soccer player, and quite another to be take on the role of a coach. It's safe to say that he still has a lot to learn, not only in the sport but in life as well.
So he stood up, stepped down to the pitch, stretched and took a few steps forward as he picked up a forgotten football that was left on the pitch. He paused and looked up at the roof of the buildings, letting the wind pass through his hair as he let a smile form on his face.
"It's going to be alright," he said aloud, closing his eyes, letting the wind bring his voice to the pitch.
And with that, the wall of darkness dissipated as his eyes dimmed, and a ray of light soon replaced his vision. The light that was in front of him faded into view as his eyes became vivid once again. And from the corner of his eyes, the beam of light grew closer as he had the choice to look away from it.
The light shone on him as it began to warm his face. He closed his eyes once more, looking up, looking up and staring into his soul. This light was not the sun. It was not a light coming from a smartphone. It was light from the sky. Something that can only be seen at night. It was right there in front of him, he could take it.
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