Chương 20: Clash

Paul made another change to the formation other than subbing out Arthur, he changed the positions and now Liam was playing right midfielder instead of Xavier. So Xavier could focus on defense as well as start a pliable offense.

Luthervale made some changes to their midfield as well, subbing in Umar for Tony as well as giving the team new orders to follow.

The match restarted and this time Marion had the ball, from the start line they passed back to Byron who carried the ball forward. "Nagisa." Byron passed the ball to Nagisa who took it down the wing and this time instead of a low press when they reached the midfield, Luthervale ran up and pressed them where they stood. Nagisa having nowhere to go passed it back to Byron.

"A lockdown high press." Byron looked for gaps in the opposing team but just like usual, there was never any time to stop and think on the pitch, the ball was snatched from him immediately he idled and now Marion was the one doing the defending.

"Sorry guys!" Byron chased Felix who took the ball from him and immediately he put his foot forward to kick it away, he passed to what seemed like nowhere. "A bad pass?" Byron thought as he looked at the space where the Luthervale player passed the ball to.

"Nice pass!" Just like in the last half, Cody was everywhere and this time he controlled the ball Felix passed to an open space and took it forward. Running to the Marion defense.

Luthervale's three frontmen were close to Cody and that left the midfielder with five choices and the Marion defenders didn't like that.

Cody glanced at Hal who ran down the left and once Mark caught a glimpse of the look, he moved a little bit so he could intercept the pass or cross but that was just a fake. Cody ran past Mark who moved out of the way and now he was being chased by Everest.

"Tch." Cody passed the ball back to Zack and Zack passed it to Ivanovic. "Restart the attack!" Joe shouted from the sidelines and his team did just that. Ivanovic passed the ball back to Cody once Byron came close to him.

Cody was outside the box. Both Mark and Everest were marking him tightly and even though there was room for a shot, he knew he couldn't make it. Zack ran into the box and the Marion defense didn't move.

"Replicating the offside trap, good work guys!" Cory praised the team's defense.

The midfield and defense of Marion had cornered Luthervale and it seemed impossible to maneuver anymore, "Zack-" Cody looked at Zack and he too was being marked by a defender. "Roy-" So was Roy who was on the right.

"Umar-" Cody looked back for a teammate and once he did Xavier snatched the ball from him and took it forward.

"I think I've found out the difference between us." Xavier passed the ball to Liam who ran down the right wing.

"GO FORWARD!!" The entire Marion midfield and attack ran forward putting as many bodies into the counterattack. Liam crossed the ball to Max who was ahead of him.

The counterattack started way too fast and the only defenders who stayed back were Brian and Samson and as both Max and Xiao came forward both of them back-peddled. Keeping space between them and the attackers.

Max back-passed the ball to Byron and once Byron got it he hit a through pass that stopped in the path of Nagisa who ran down the left. Luthervale was coming up as well but there was no way they could reach in time.

Nagisa passed the ball into the box and though it came in the direction of Xiao, Samson was in front of him so instead of touching the ball and passing it again. He spread his legs open and the pass went right through, going directly into the path of Max.

"Ahhhhh!!" Terry got up from his seat.

Max positioned himself and struck the ball with his weaker foot, the shot had the necessary placement but not the power. Meaning the keeper could get a hand to it before it slid into the post. "Nice!" Samson said as the ball was knocked away by the keeper.

However, the attack wasn't over yet. The ball landed in the path of Byron and this was the player's dream, the path was clear, no defenders nearby and there was enough time for the perfect shot but there was another player on the pitch with a better chance at goal. Someone he knew had the power and precision when it came to outside-the-box shots. "Take it, woman lover!" Byron passed the ball to Xavier and the Midfielder smiled.

"You truly are something else," Xavier said as he smashed the ball into the top corner of the goal.

"YESSSSSSS!!!!" Terry shouted! "And the scores are all leveled. The scores are 2-2 and this game is just beginning!!"

"What a super sub! I bet the manager is claiming an assist!" Joe said also standing. "Marion has brought themselves back into the game with a superb counterattack and passing, this is what you like to see!"

The entire team celebrated with Xavier but the game wasn't over yet, the clock was at 70' and they needed one more to seal the game.

"You guys can do it," Paul said quietly and Cory looked at him.

"Is that a smile?" Cory said surprised.

"Your seeing things."

The match restarted from the kickoff line and Luthervale passed the ball back into their midfield, trying to start a passing streak. The same tactic that got them their first two goals with Cody in the middle.

"Get some of the subs ready," Joe told his assistant.

"King, Felix. You guys are up." James who was the trainer of Luthervale told the players on the bench.

Luthervale ran down with the ball and again Marion used their tactics against them, this time being the ones that applied the lockdown high press.

Time was running down and if they didn't find a way to get the ball, they were gonna draw and the match would go into extra time. That was probably Luthervale's fear because Marion still had players like Afeez and Benjamin who could take over games with just their mere presence even though Joe knew Marion was reserving their main squad for the tougher matches. If they deemed this match one of the tougher ones. There was the possibility that they might come on.

Cody passed the ball to Umar and Umar having nowhere to go passed it back to the defense. However, the pass was hit a bit short and Xiao pounced on the error in a flash.

Xiao kicked the ball into a space inside the box, tempting the keeper to come out but the bait didn't work and Jonah got there before Xiao could slide tackling the ball out of bounds.

"I'm so sorry!" Umar apologized.

The two substitutes came on for Ivanovic and Hal. With Felix taking on the helm of the right midfielder and King taking on the helm of the center forward. The injection of fresh blood into the team was needed if they were going to get that last goal and even though Cory pressured Paul to change some of the players, he didn't budge. Not because he wanted to reserve the strength of the other players for the next match but because he didn't want to disrupt the team chemistry the current players had.

The entire defense, midfield and attack of Marion right now were functioning as a squad and throwing another piece into the mix would disrupt their efficiency.

Nagisa took the throw and the ball landed at the feet of Byron who hit a deep pass into the middle. Xavier got the ball and ran down with it. He had another opportunity to score but there were too many bodies in the box so he passed it to Liam.

Liam crossed the ball into the box and the suggestion that followed it was something Xiao had done before. A tap-up volley, Xiao tapped the ball with his chest and as it was dropping he spun his body, putting all his strength into his left leg and kicking it.

The Luthervale defense turned their backs to the strike and kept their arms to their sides to remove a risk of a penalty. The ball hit one of the defenders and although it was primed to land at the feet of Liam again, someone nabbed it before it could land.

"GO UP!" Cody ran with the ball, this time creating Luthervale's counterattack. The commentators were shouting with each second that passed by, the clock was at 85' and the last goal could be the one to seal this game.

Cody passed to Felix who continued the run down, and although the Marion defenders were still protecting their goal. The front three of Luthervale as well as two of their midfielders were running toward them. The Marion midfield sprinted back immediately after the Luthervale attack started but they were still ways away.

Silvestre tackled Felix but before the player fell he passed the ball to Cody and since the play hadn't ended the referee called the advantage and let it go on. Mark, Everest and Kyle marked the Luthervale top 3 leaving Cody open in a position outside the box.

Cody ran with the ball and he saw two spaces open up, the first being when a run inside was being made by Roy and the second one being a space that was created when Everest when shifted to man mark King properly.

The goal was right in front of him and there was a space for a through pass that would set up Roy perfectly. He measured his options quickly and passed the ball, a decision he wished he didn't make.

Immediately the ball left his feet, it was stopped by the outstretched leg of Xavier who turned and started running to the Luthervale post.

"How did you know!?" Cody said as he chased behind Xavier trying to get the ball back quickly and salvage the play.

"I found the difference between both of us, it's not much because are more or less the same." Xavier passed the ball to Liam who took it forward again. "But... I knew you couldn't take the shot, and that's what ultimately set us apart."

Again Liam tried for the volley link-up play with Xiao and again the same result came about, the shot was blocked by the backs of the defenders and once it bounced out again it landed at the feet of Nagisa who shot again into the lower right corner of the goal. The keeper got his hand to it pushing it out of the goal and toward the right corner kick flag.

Cody ran with all his strength, the last thing he wanted was for a loss to come off his blunder. He chased and chased until he felt like throwing up but even then he kept chasing. Getting into the top half of the Luthervale side.

Liam crossed the ball into the box and Max headed it into the goal, the attempt was again foiled by the keeper who punched it farther out again. The attack seemed to be stopped but it landed at the feet of the person who wanted it the most.

"NOOOO!" Cody cried out but to no avail.

Xavier took a quick look into the box once he saw the space he smashed it in and in that moment of ecstasy, the commentators, bench, fans and even Paul were on the tip of their toes. And once the ball landed in the back of the net the screams that were heard in the stadium probably broke some kind of law.

"GOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!" Both commentators shouted!

"GOAALL!" Paul shouted and once he realized all eyes were on him, he put his hand to his mouth and coughed. "I anticipated that,"

"LETS GOOOO!" Byron said as he hugged Xavier, the entire stadium lit up like a festival. With each of them celebrating the defining goal that came in the last minute.

Everyone in the stadium was shouting for him and this moment was what truly reminded him that he made the right choice in picking football. "Thank you..." Xavier put his jersey over his face and wiped his tears.

"Don't cry champ!" Liam tapped Xavier's back and ran back to his position. "There are girls watching."

"Yeah." Xavier removed his jersey from his face and laughed. "They're all looking at me."

The entire team laughed and the referee blew the whistle after 3 minutes. Marion was going on to the next round and they knew it was only going to get tougher from here on out.

"You guys might've done my heart in." Paul put his hand on Xavier's shoulder. "But I had no doubt you'd show up,"

"Thanks, coach." Xavier laughed as Byron put his arm over him.

"Enjoy the win, but don't forget. We have a match in 2 days and we have to put everything we have into that." Paul advised the team.

"Yessir!" The team said in unison.

Before heading back to the hotel, Joe Tristan walked up to Paul and shook his hand. "It was a good game." The Luthervale coach acknowledged that today he was beaten. "But don't expect to get a win off us next time."

"Never." Paul let go of Joe's hand and the opposing team's coach walked away.

Paul looked at the pitch and the Luthervale players cried and hit the grass. He knew exactly how they felt, especially after putting their all into the match. "it was a good match, don't beat yourself up." Paul thought before he walked away with his team.

There was another match set to happen today, with the two teams being Wrenchester and Goldbridge. This match was going to decide who moved first in the B- bracket and in 2 days on this same pitch, another match would be held. One whose results would show who would progress to the second stage for the A bracket. The match between Marion and Statham.