Chương 26: Enyimba FC vs Nasarawa United
FWEEEE!
Immediately after the referee's whistle sounded, the action started on the pitch as Enyimba started kickoff.
Immediately after getting the ball, Austin Oladapo, the captain of Enyimba trapped the ball with the heel of his boot before looking up as he spotted all 3 of his forwards already bombing down the pitch, anticipating a pass.
Enyimba FC aimed to start the game strongly and score a lightning-fast goal.
Bam!
Austin struck the ball the next moment just as the Nasarawa players closed him down, unleashing a dipping shot that rose up before falling to his team's center forward, Emeka.
The opposition center backs immediately closed the center forward down but holding them off with his impressive strength, Emeka used his quick feet to tease them in, before using a quick leg over to evade and explode off with speed.
In just a moment after that sharp burst of speed, this player was one-on-one with the goalkeeper even as the chasing center back slightly tugged at his jersey from behind.
Emeka shrugged the tug off before unleashing a shot straight at the goalkeeper, that was his mistake as the ball hit the rushing and sprawling goalkeeper on the face before bouncing back into the field of play.
After a few scrambling in the box, Nasarawa United was able to clear the ball up field to safety as the game settled and started in earnest.
Just a few minutes in, it was clear that both teams were fairly even.
Despite the fact that they were playing away from home, Enyimba FC under Coach Yemi Daniel stayed firm to their footballing philosophy, playing fluid football with their 4-3-3 formation.
Nasarawa United did not play much different as they started the game with a fluid 4-4-2 formation with 4 midfielders that enabled them wrestle for control in the midfield battle led by the Enyimba midfield general, Austin Oladapo himself.
During the first few dozen minutes of the game, the game stayed tight as neither side was able to break the opposition down and create clear-cut chances, till just after the 30th minute of the game.
Winning the ball back deep in his half in the midfield, Farouk, the Enyimba defensive midfielder quickly looked before playing a short pass to his captain.
Austin held the ball, drawing the press in even as he surveyed the pitch, and this was when he spotted a run.
Bam!
Hitting the ball cleanly with the inside of his boot, he curled a pass towards the right wing where Victor Mbaoma stormed down the pitch, narrowly avoiding being caught offside.
He was able to beat his man with his pace, charge into the 18-yard box, drive forward some more and with the center backs preoccupied with marking the dangerous Chijioke who shared the same surname with him, lurking, he had all the time and space in the world to shoot and shoot was what he did.
Mohammed Galadima, the Nasarawa United goalkeeper reacted but there was little he could do as Victor slotted the ball into the bottom right corner.
"Goal!" This winger jumped and pumped his fist in the air in celebration.
In the 32nd minute of the game, Enyimba FC was up 0-1.
When the game restarted, Nasarawa United immediately upped the tempo, playing with more urgency and directness as they went for the equalizing goal but this intensity left gaps in their defense line.
This time, it was Austin again who spotted the run, playing a through pass for his attacking midfielder, Cyril Olisema to run into.
This attacking midfielder was free to run through on goal and alone with the goalkeeper, he unleashed a shot into the top left corner of the post.
Mohammed Galadima, the Nasarawa United goalkeeper stood no chance.
"Goalll!" Screaming loudly, Olisema ran to the corner flag before sliding on his knees in celebration as he pointed at himself.
Then standing up, he faced the camera and yelled. "I'm him!" He was clearly sending a message to someone.
In the 37th minute of the game, he increased his team's lead to 0-2 and from there on, Nasarawa United's struggles truly began.
They tried to no avail to break down their opposition's defense in the first half even as they stayed wary in the back against the threat of Emeka, the deadly Enyimba FC center forward.
The game stayed tight and the first half ended 0-2.
Nasarawa United made 2 changes in the 2nd half, one of them involving hooking off the 4th midfielder in favor of a more attacking player in Josiah Oche, a center forward.
Coach Yemi Daniel made no changes.
When the game restarted, Nasarawa United became even more rampant, flooding their opposition's half in numbers as they were desperate to score twice and bring the game back level in front of their fans.
Despite their efforts, Enyimba FC stayed compact, playing amazing football as Austin Oladapo stayed at the heart of their valiant resistance.
Till the 70th minute, Nasarawa United saw no breakthrough as Coach Yemi Daniel finally made a change, hooking 2 players off, one of them being Victor who scored the first goal of the game as he made his team more defensive.
On the bench, Sam fidgeted anxiously, occasionally throwing glances his coach's way but Coach Yemi Daniel never paid attention to him, staying focused on the game till the 78th minute of the pitch.
The coach briefly turned to look at him on the bench and made a signal with his hand. "Sam, get ready, you'll soon enter the pitch".
'Phew!' Sam did not care that it was in the 78th minute of the game, excitement coursed through him as he immediately got set.
After a little warming up session, in the 80th minute of the game, Sam was introduced into the game, replacing Olisema as Nasarawa United made another offensive change.
Entering the pitch finally, Sam felt like this was a defining moment in his life.
The pitch was hot but it didn't affect him, it only made him more focused even as his blood boiled to join in on the action.
Before the game restarted though, his system lit up with a mission notification for the first time in a while.
~----~
[You have unlocked a system mission: It is your debut game; make your mark, make it memorable!]
[Details: Score a goal or give an assist]
[Mission Reward: Awakened real-time game experience accumulation]
…
[Penalty for mission failure: No rewards for completing system daily quest for 3 straight days!]
~----~
'Damn, not the penalty again!'
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
GREAT
GREAT Unedited chapters, sorry, once I recover a bit of my brain power, I'll edit them soon enough.
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