Chương 4: It changes in minutes
Despite it being the tryouts a small crowd of spectators had already formed and team B was already up by five goals to nil, with Afeez having three, Ha-Jun having one and Everest having one as well. The team truly was unstoppable Byron thought as he wiped off his sweat with the underside of his jersey. The speed of Afeez couldn't be defended against easily that compiled with the accurate passes of Ha-Jun and Danny's perfect command over the offense and defense of the makeshift team. Added with Nagisa's runs and Everest's lockdown defense it would be surprising to see anything get through.
"Is this cool?" Max asked Byron who had the ball and wanted to resume play.
"What?" Byron looked at him.
"Is being 5 down cool? I thought you were hot stuff."
"Far from, I just wanted to see how they got their popularity."
"Are you sure you're a striker?" Max looked at Byron.
"What do you-"
"You don't seem concerned about the scores."
"I am," Byron looked behind him.
"You are? You sure don't seem like it."
"I am."
"Great, 'cause I'm pissed."
"What's the holdup," Cory asked and Byron passed the ball to Max.
"Okay pass it back so we can-" Byron was going to start an attack from the back but it would seem his teammate did not share the same reasoning as the striker dashed into enemy territory by himself.
"You take too long. Being calculative and precise is nice and all but when being marked there is barely enough time for you to look at the post and back However, there's enough time for you to pass since you would be behind." These were the words of the Marion coach and they had resonated with him throughout the year and that was when it clicked for him, a way he can score goals.
This method was one that would annoy him to do, but it'll expand the way he plays the game. Byron ran after Max who went in headfirst. Max dribbled past Afeez but he hadn't left the striker in the dust just yet, Afeez used his absurd pace for defense this time and it worked just as well, "Pass it here!" Byron shouted and he knew that Max was reluctant to pass the ball to him but he did anyway.
Ha-Jun had tackled in the middle of the ball's trajectory trying to intercept it but he wasn't fast enough. Xavier and Kyle had joined the attack and right before Nagisa took the ball from him Byron passed the ball to Xavier who continued the attack.
He was indeed useless by himself, that was the one thing Joseph was right about. Players like Horace and Afeez could start and finish an attack by themselves due to their exceptional ball skills and pace. However, he had his own skill and it is one that set him apart from everyone else on the pitch. Byron ran toward the left corner of the field and Nagisa chased him creating an open space within the outside of the box which Xavier took full advantage of.
Nagisa realizing his error rushed Xavier and the midfielder back passed to Kyle who drove a long pass all the way to Byron who was at the top left corner of the pitch. This was where his ability shined, another thing Joseph was right about. He knew where everyone was on the pitch and he had already played a multitude of simulations of the current situation in his head and he knew exactly what to do. He ran down through the sides reaching the goalkeeper though from a cornered angle, Danny pressured Max and Everest ran toward Byron. This was all calculated, a complete shutdown resulting in the collection of the ball by the opposition.
Everest was on him, Nagisa was on Xavier, Ha-jun was on Kyle, Afeez and Danny were on Max trying to block out any type of cross, Silvestre just started running out of the post side so he wouldn't make it in time to be useful to the attack what would he do in this situation.
Crosses won't work and he was sure he wouldn't be able to dribble past Everest so what was the next best thing? Byron ran down vertically in the box and Danny left Max trying to take the ball from him before he could secure a shot at the post, he was currently being sandwiched between Everest and Danny however this was all part of the plan. He stopped and right before Everest reached him from behind Byron tapped the ball up and hit it in an arc over Everest.
"That was supposed to be Afeez's Rainbow flick but whatever, GET IT MAX!" Right after he flicked (which was more of a tap over) the ball over Everest, Byron turned and ran after the ball which flew over the head of the defender and this was probably something only he could do. The exact positions of everyone on the pitch flashed in his head and he turned his body sharply and kicked the ball into the box.
Since he had already calculated the cross in one of the scenarios he knew exactly how to curl it. He wasn't as good as Ha-Jun who could stop all spin on his crosses and passes but he was good enough, he had trained his speed of thought and its application ever since the one-on-one with Joseph., "Take this you reckless striker, My perfectly volleyed curled cross."
Afeez was directly behind Max and immediately the cross was sent into the box the team A striker chased it. "I'm not reckless! and you suck at naming!" Max said as he slid toward the cross that fell a little bit short, Byron looked at Max and it was now he truly realized the difference between the both of them. He could never do something like that, he couldn't react solely based on impulse but Max could. In fact that was the striker's style of play, Byron thought as he saw Max slide down stretching his leg in order to tap the ball into the goal.
"That's the match." Cory blew his whistle and walked onto the field.
Byron went toward Max and stretched his arm out, the striker had something he could only wish for. "Good goal."
"Your cross wasn't perfect after all." Max grabbed his arm and got up.
"You still got it in didn't you." Byron was chuckling on the surface but deep down he was annoyed with himself, he was a striker but all he could do was pass the ball. "Pretty pathetic."
Faraway from the tryouts inside a building toward the west Joseph looked at Byron, the boy wasn't fit to be a striker. Him scoring a goal or learning how to become more impulsive wouldn't matter, there was so much he lacked and his talents weren't suited for what he wanted. His wide vision and calculative mind were at a disadvantage being that close to the front. "Max Basil, is he the final piece of the puzzle?"
"Cory will be announcing the lineups for the last match of the day." Paul wrote down some names on his note pad and Cory continued.
"The first team, labeled team C consists of Jeremiah Clinton, Mark Birch, Trevor Garrison, Gregory West, Arthur Posey and Benjamin Parker and team D consists of Roland Ian, Winston Shaw, Emmanuel Davidson, Lucas Carter, Liam Briar and Xiao Haoyu."
"Let's double their score, Benji." Arthur said as he looked at the five-to-one scoreboard.
"Let's do that." Benjamin replied as he walked toward the pitch.
"Let's show them not to underestimate us." Liam walked toward the pitch as well.
"Yep." Xiao followed him.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Jeffery_XXVI
Jeffery_XXVI Basically I was in two minds about whether I was going to show/write the other 12 players matches, but I ended up doing it anyways. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
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