Capítulo 12: Goals Galore
The opportunity soon presented itself in the twelfth minute.
Bram, the defensive midfielder for Team A, had the opportunity to intercept a pass after one of Team C's midfielders mishandled it.
Bram wasted no time in charging forward and pushing the ball into the attacking third of Team A.
Benjamin called for the ball as he darted between two defenders and ran up the left flank.
Luka, the attacking midfielder, saw Benjamin's run right away as Bram passed the ball to him.
"Here!" As he noticed space opening up ahead of him, Benjamin called for the ball with a shout as he neared the final third.
Benjamin's signal was picked up by the attacking midfielder, who was flexible and fast on his feet.
He and Benjamin played a one-two pass, and Benjamin broke past his marker with a nicely timed run.
Benjamin was in the box in a split second, and the only person he had to beat was the goalkeeper.
His mind felt at ease, but his heart was pounding.
This is it...
Time seemed to slow down as he got closer to the box, and Benjamin could hear his heartbeat in his ears. He had only a moment to make up his mind.
Right foot or left?
He moved slightly, giving the goalkeeper the impression that he would use his left foot to attempt a shot. Then, quickly, he aimed for the bottom left corner and hit the ball neatly with his right.
It was too late when the goalkeeper stretched out. The ball settled into the back of the net.
"Yes!" Benjamin shouted with his fist punching in the air. His teammates rushed to give him a slap on the back and ruffle his hair.
Benjamin jogged back to his position with a wave of confidence washing over him. His first goal in the trial match was just what he needed to calm himself down. They had momentum now.
From that point on, Team A started to dominate the match. The attacking midfielder Luka, together with Tariq and Bram, kept the ball moving and controlled the game's pace.
Team C found it difficult to regain control as Team A pressured them high up the field, forcing them into making errors in their own half.
Benjamin was in another excellent position three minutes later, in the fifteenth minute. As soon as he had the ball on the left wing, he sensed two defenders were closing in on him. He knew that he had to act quickly.
Both defenders were caught off guard as he dropped his shoulder quickly, feinted to the left and then cutting inside. The excitement in the crowd was evident as Benjamin sprinted forward.
Now that he was in space, he sprinted to the box with his eyes searching for options.
Pieters, their tall forward, was running into the penalty area when he spotted his run. Benjamin whipped in a teasing cross, curling the ball with the outside of his right boot toward the six-yard box.
Pieters' jump was perfectly timed as he soared over the defenders and headed the ball into the goal.
"2-0!" the crowd of onlookers cheered from the stands as Benjamin jogged over to Pieters, clapping him on the back.
"That was all you, Ben!" Pieters grinned, clearly thrilled with the assist.
Benjamin grinned, feeling elated. Two goals up in less than 20 minutes, it was exactly the start they needed.
Everything was falling into place for Benjamin. He was playing with a confidence he hadn't had in a long time and his team was in control of the game.
However, Team C had no intention of surrendering the game.
They quickly regrouped and changed their formation before pushing more forcefully.
They launched their own counterattack in the twenty-third minute with the intent to pull one back.
One of their midfielders found an opening in front of Team A's defense. He quickly passed the ball to their forward who was already moving.
Their striker was a tall and imposing player, and he managed to slip past the defense after the clever through ball from his teammate.
The striker took one touch to control it, sprinting toward the goal and despite the best efforts of the defenders he managed to squeeze a low shot towards the corner of the goalpost.
The ball slipped past the outstretched arms of Team A's goalkeeper and into the back of the net, and suddenly, the score was 2-1.
Benjamin felt a knot of frustration in his stomach and he clenched his jaw, annoyed that they'd conceded but he quickly pushed the frustration aside.
It was a good goal and Team C had earned it. Now they had to respond. The game wasn't over yet. The first half was winding down, but there was still time to increase their lead.
The game resumed, and Team A went back to dominating possession. There was only a few minutes left in the first half.
Coach Jansen watched on from the sideline. He couldn't give out instructions as the coaches were only responsible for setting the formation of their respective teams
In the 28th minute, just before the halftime whistle, Team A won the ball back deep in their half. Benjamin was running down the left flank when Bram intercepted a sloppy pass close to the halfway line.
Benjamin once more had room on the left wing. He ran ahead, maintaining focus on the ball as Bram threaded a perfectly struck pass through the defense.
Benjamin controlled it with his right foot and glanced up, spotting his teammate on the right wing, completely unmarked.
He saw Pieters and their right-winger, Elias, sprinting into the box.
With a quick shift of his weight, Benjamin sent a defense-splitting through ball across the field toward Elias, who had found himself in acres of space on the right. The pass was executed flawlessly to catch Team C unprepared.
Elias touched the ball once before recovering his bearings and sprinting ahead, easily surpassing his markers.
Benjamin saw as Elias gently slotted the ball past the goalie and into the back of the net after taking it in stride and dribbling past the final defender.
3-1.
Shortly after the referee sounded the halftime whistle, the players from both sides rushed off the field while sweating profusely and panting loudly.
Coach Jansen smiled at Benjamin and his teammates as they made their way to the sidelines. "You guys are doing a fantastic work. You're having a significant impact, Benjamin."
Benjamin wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded. "I'm grateful, Coach. Though, there's still more work to do."
There was still the second half to go and anything could happen.
He felt delighted, but soon after sighed in disappointment, 'Unfortunately, Diane couldn't make it to watch the trials.' She had much work to do at the hospital.
Benjamin soon cleared his thoughts and prepared for the second half of the game.
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