章節 9: 1-0 or 1-1?
"Don't shoot wildly!"
A voice came from the backfield. It was Ian, who was frowning. As usual Ian had a poor relationship with Marcus whether be it on the pitch or off the pitch, and whenever he had the chance, he would try to criticize him.
"You should have kept the possession and tried to create chances for the striker!!"
Just as Marcus attempted to retaliate back, another voice sounded within the pitch, "Good try, keep it up!"
It was their captain, Gilbert clapped and encouraged him, firmly standing by Marcus's side. "Take the shot whenever you have the chance!"
As soon as he said this, many United players, who had already thought that Marcus's shot was quite good, immediately began to agree.
"Nice shot."
"Don't worry, Marcus, we all believe in your shooting ability. Hope you can score your first goal for United U17!" Carl was encouraged him aggressively to which Marcus could only smile.
Now it was Ian's turn to feel awkward. His voice was drowned out by the praise, and no one paid any attention to him.
He watched as Marcus waved to his teammates, making a gesture of regret, and noticed that Marcus's gaze completely ignored him, deliberately choosing to look past him.
He gritted his teeth and continued to move with the team's formation.
"Don't complain, encourage him more."
The team's goalkeeper, Rowl, stood behind him and reminded him, "Marcus is no longer the Marcus he used to be. Look at his shooting and his ability to contest, it's better not to make things difficult for him."
Ian snorted but didn't say anything.
He instinctively turned his head to glance at the sidelines to see how first-team coach Mourinho reacted to the shot.
Unfortunately, Mr. Mourinho had no expression on his face, and it was impossible to tell his thoughts.
"Boom!"
Liverpool's goalkeeper then made a goal kick, choosing to play the ball directly to the front, starting a fast attack.
The game resumed, and everyone focused, engaging in a battle of wits and physicality with the opposing players.
"Tap, bam bamm…!"
The sound of passing filled the air, and the pace of the game was fast. The ball changed possession quickly, and there were frequent intense confrontations.
Don't think that Mourinho sitting on the sidelines would only motivate the United players—he would do the same for Liverpool players!
Everyone on the field today was trying their best to showcase themselves, dreaming of impressing a manager such as Mourinho and being promoted to the Premier League.
Many players boldly made moves, whether it was defensive players with big blocks and tackles, or attacking players showing off their skills like dribbling past opponents or performing stepovers.
There were endless displays of individual talent.
"Oh…!"
"Go for it! Go for it! Well done!"
"Take him on!"
This also easily ignited the fans' interest. Watching this kind of match was sometimes more exciting than watching a boring Premier League game.
The turning point of the match came in the 13th minute of the first half when United captain Gilbert made a mistake and was intercepted.
Liverpool quickly spread out and launched a counterattack.
"Boom!"
Liverpool's winger quickly received the ball through aerial pass from their midfield, "BAM!!" However, carl was there he headed the ball into open space with his towering figure, Ian who was the CB had the job now to recover the loose ball however, "Quick! Quick!!"
Their midfield approached the loose ball in quick pace, Ian as if tripping staggered on his tracks and lost the duel with his opponent.
"Here! Pass here!!"
The winger who had previously lost the duel to Carl had perfectly positioned himself in the penalty box, the recovered ball quickly rolled itself towards him, Carl on the other side tried to tackle with his long jump but there was little chances for miracle.
"Swish!"
"BANNG!!"
Liverpool's number 9 jumped high, beating Carl to the ball and heading it into the United net. Goalkeeper Rowl was powerless to stop it.
1-0!
Liverpool took the lead!
"Hahaha!!!"
A cool slid by the NO.9 was enough to plumet already demotivated United players as the Liverpool studs began cheer near the corner.
"Yeah…!"
"We just have to maintain the lead now!"
"Good job!"
Liverpool players laughed in groups as they ran toward the sidelines, high-fiving each other, and finally huddled together to celebrate their goal.
United, on the other hand, fell into a brief silence. Everyone lowered their heads and stopped talking.
However one guy was angry, his expression frowned visibly as he watched Ian who walked worry free, 'Ian why did he do that?' it was none other than Rowl, other players may have missed it but he at the back to clearly see Ian deliberately loosing the duel.
Hans on the sidelines scratched his head and returned to the coach's seat, secretly observing Mourinho 's expression.
Still expressionless, it seemed like this had nothing to do with him.
"My bad, sorry everyone."
On the field, United captain Gilbert was the first to lift his head and waved to his teammates.
"I thought… forget it, mistakes happen."
"No worries, no one blames you."
"Let's go, we still have time, just need to score one goal."
A round of encouragement followed, and Marcus walked up to Gilbert, patting him on the back.
"Give me the ball when you get the chance, I'll shoot from long range, and you can get an assist to make up for it."
"Haha…"
Gilbert showed a faint smile at the half-joking remark but didn't refuse.
"Alright, don't let me down."
"Of course."
Marcus shrugged, then turned his attention back to the offensive direction.
"Boom!"
As United's center forward, Gabi, kicked off again, Marcus walked back into the opponent's half, waiting for an opportunity.
Having now adapted to the pace of the youth team match, he had shaken off all his pre-match worries. All that was left was the anticipation of scoring.
It wasn't hard to hold his position, nor was it difficult to gain possession of the ball. Similarly, completing the final shot was also not difficult.
As long as he was given two or three more chances, he was confident he could send the ball into the opponent's goal!
Marcus second chance came in the 21st minute of the game, and it was none other than team captain Gilbert who passed him the ball.
"Boom." After judging the ball's path, Marcus glanced around and saw the goalkeeper positioned to the left. He then guided the ball toward the center, aiming for the far-right corner.
"I've got this!"
A confident shout came from behind. Liverpool's center-back came out to block, trying to intercept Marcus shot.
He had seen the confrontation between Marcus and his left-back and realized that Marcus was no easy opponent, so he decided to step in and defend himself.
He was strong and muscular, with excellent physicality compared to other youth players.
Marcus, originally wanted to take a quick shot but realized the center-back was moving too quickly.
A direct shot was likely to be blocked by him.
Feeling a little helpless, Marcus stepped forward with his left foot, while his right leg drove his body toward the left side, trying to shove the defender off.
"Bang!" The sound of flesh and bone colliding echoed as both players stumbled a step before regaining their balance.
The Liverpool center-back's eyes clearly showed surprise. He was much bigger than Marcus —how could they be evenly matched?
'Hum, it's all thanks to the food by the old man!!'
In a long month Marcus hadn't only been practicing shooting but also his physique on the gym, after all in coming decades people were sure to recognize just how important physicality was by the dominance of players like Rudiger and Haaland.
In a place where no one noticed, Mourinho's eyes flickered, slightly surprised.
"Boom!!"
A second later, Marcus reacted first, folding his right leg and just before launching it up in the air, 'POWER SHOT!!'
The front was empty with the full back in the sideline and the other CB marking their striker, Gabi the space to goal was open for Marcus.
BOOOM!!
[Power Shot had been employed.]
The ball soared into the air with almost no spin or curve, flying straight toward the goal, however the goal keeper reacted second faster and body blocked the powerful shoot.
"BAAM!!" The ball hitting the goal keeper's shoulder rolled outwards.
What an incredible save!
This was everyone's first reaction on the field because they could all see how high-quality the shot was.
"Whoo…" The Liverpool goalkeeper secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his gloves.
Giving up a corner kick was already the best result.
That United number 13—his long-range shot was that good?
"Boom!!"
Before Marcus could even finish lamenting over the missed opportunity outside the penalty area, the corner kick was already taken.
The first header was predictably cleared by a Liverpool defender, who was much taller, sending the ball out of the penalty area.
As for the second ball...
When Liverpool players turned their heads to the outside of the penalty area, they saw a face they desperately did not want to see.
A look of fear appeared on their faces, as if they knew what was about to happen.
"Boom!!"
The figure stopped the ball and stretched his body, unleashing a powerful shot in one smooth motion.
It was like an ancient archer drawing a bow and firing an arrow, the force of the shot wasn't at all overwhelming however the goalkeeper couldn't even predict it's path.
The Liverpool goalkeeper closed his eyes and leaped toward the ball's general path, but he missed. The ball curled sharply where the goalkeeper had previously stood.
By the time he realized it, the only sound behind him was the net rippling as the ball hit the back of the net.
"Swish!"
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票