The U18 players returned to the penalty area to defend the corner kick, casting looks of surprise at Theo.
One had to realize that this was a breakaway; for a goalkeeper, it was even more difficult than defending a penalty kick—a comprehensive test of technique, decision-making, and reflexes.
The Reserve Team also arrived in front of the U18 goal, wanting to take this opportunity to practice their corner kick tactics.
Aside from two defenders who remained in the opponent’s half to prevent a quick counterattack, everyone else was concentrated near the U18 penalty area.
After a period of chaotic man-to-man marking inside the penalty area, things finally quieted down a little.
At this moment, the referee blew the whistle, signaling for the corner kick to be taken.
Shelvey took the corner kick from the right side.
The Reserve Team players rushed forward to compete for the ball, causing the U18 formation to scatter.
It was at this moment that another Reserve Team striker, Lewis Perkins, leaped high into the air.
The vice-captain and right-back Jenkinson, who was marking him, had been faked out by the Reserve Team players’ forward pressure and their move to attack the back post.
His jump wasn’t fully extended, and he was being pressed down by Perkins’ shoulders.
He sighed to himself, “It’s over!
I’m going to end up as a background prop.” Just then, a shout rang out: “Mine!” Jenkinson instinctively dodged the shadow in front of him.
Turning his head to look, he saw a tall figure leap high into the air.
In mid-air, the figure reached over Perkins’ head and caught the football with both hands.
Theo had hesitated earlier about whether to use the [Rebound Instinct] skill, as he only had two chances.
However, during this corner kick defense, the U18 defense had been completely lured away by the opponent, with everyone rushing to defend the back post.
Perkins, at the near post, was only being marked by Jenkinson, and Jenkinson was distracted, unsure whether to stay with Perkins or go defend the back post.
As they tangled, the burly Perkins gained the advantageous position, leaped high, and prepared to head the ball into the goal.
Theo had no choice but to activate [Rebound Instinct], predicting the landing spot of the corner kick one second in advance.
He lifted his right foot in a defensive posture, leaped high, and with his wingspan extended by ten centimeters, easily snatched the football from above the opponent’s head.
Then, he clutched the ball tightly to his chest with both hands.
[Ding!
Successful interception!
Points +1!] [Current points: 2!] Theo silently cheered internally; another attribute point secured.
Morris saw this scene and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The enemy was too cunning, actually managing to fake out the entire U18 team.
Fortunately, this goalkeeper, who usually had a low presence, possessed decent skills.
Otherwise, if they had conceded two goals within three minutes of the start, their defense, which they thought was impregnable, would have been humiliated.
Getting into the Reserve Team or even the First Team later on would have become a huge hassle.
He walked over and patted Theo on the backside.
“Well done, boy!” Center-back Cousins and vice-captain right-back Jenkinson, the two U18 players with the highest future potential, also gave Theo a thumbs-up.
Only the left-back Ajayi still wore a look of confusion.
It was common knowledge that he and Jack Binks were good buddies.
He was the mastermind behind the previous targeting of Theo, frequently and inadvertently leaving gaps that allowed the goal guarded by Theo to be breached—that was also his scheme.
But today, the opponent seemed to have become a different person.
He had actually managed to save that breakaway, and being able to snatch the ball over Perkins’ head was also unexpected.
One had to realize that for that earlier breakaway, Morris had gone out to intercept Tuna.
It should have been Ajayi, who was defending the left flank, to move to the center to cover, but he had been half a beat slow, forcing Cousins to come over to fill the gap.
Who would have thought that it ended up highlighting Theo?
Watching the opponent’s save after save, he felt somewhat unhappy.
As Theo kicked the ball long, the U18 and Reserve Team players began battling for midfield possession, with players from both sides going back and forth.
Meanwhile, the several coaches on the sidelines were recording something; they needed to evaluate the players in every position, observe recent changes, and plan the next steps of the training schedule.
As both sides entered the competitive state, with U18 actively defending and retreating, the Reserve Team didn’t have any good opportunities.
Even with a few shots, they were either off target or blocked and cleared by the U18 backline.
During this time, Theo didn’t have much to do in front of the goal, just following the direction of the football, walking a few steps left, then a few steps right.
Unlike those miserable defenders and midfielders who had to run non-stop.
This made much of Theo’s initial dissatisfaction with being bound to the goalkeeper position disappear.
With the referee’s whistle, both sides ended the somewhat dull first half of the match.
The players headed to the sidelines to rest, hydrate, and listen to the coaches’ arrangements for the second half.
Theo also walked off the field.
Assistant Coach Steve Avery smiled and handed over a bottle of water.
“Kid, good performance.
You have a good chance of staying after tomorrow’s assessment.” Theo smiled and accepted it.
This was handed over personally by the coach; didn’t he see that even Morris had to bend down to the ground to get his?
He feigned flattery and replied, “It’s all thanks to the coach’s teaching!
Thank you, Coach!” Assistant Coach Steve Avery laughed and scolded, “Nonsense, hurry up and rest to prepare for the second half.” After the players sat down, Assistant Coach Steve Avery began to lay out the tactics for the second half.
The defensive counter-attack strategy remained unchanged, but the formation needed to be tightened.
The midfield had to keep a close eye on the opponent’s midfield core, Shelvey.
The opponent had strong organizational skills, and his long passes and crosses were very lethal.
The second half resumed with the sides switched.
As expected, the Reserve Team strengthened their midfield power.
One of the opponent’s center-backs moved up, and both full-backs frequently pressed forward, attempting to open up the channels on the left and right sides to create space for Shelvey in the middle.
The U18 backline became jittery and anxious.
In the 58th minute, Tuna broke into the penalty area again and shot before the two center-backs could close him down.
This time, the system gave no prompt.
Theo made a normal save, and the opponent shot over the bar, but it still broke him out in a cold sweat.
However, it also made Theo realize that the system didn’t give prompts for shots that weren’t on target.
This could be considered an indirect improvement in the efficiency of using system skills.
In the 65th minute, both sides began making substitutions, letting other substitute players come on to experience the feel of the game.
On the U18 side, a striker, Bobo, and two midfielders were substituted off, which significantly compromised the U18 midfield’s interception and organizational capabilities.
In the 75th minute, while left-back Ajayi was pressing forward, the ball was intercepted by the Reserve Team midfield, leading to a quick counterattack.
After receiving the ball, Shelvey surged forward quickly, and Bellamy had no choice but to pull him down.
A free kick in the attacking third.
At the top of the arc of the left penalty area, this position allowed for a direct shot or a pass to the right side for teammates to compete for a shot.
It was extremely threatening.
When setting up the wall, Theo began to direct the arrangement.
“Ajayi, move a bit closer to the center!” Ajayi glanced at Theo; he didn’t want to move, but Morris was also staring at him, urging him to get it set up quickly.
With no other choice, Ajayi moved a few steps.
Seeing that the wall was set, Theo felt much more at ease.
Although he could use skills to make saves, it was still early; using fewer skills increased the probability of keeping a clean sheet.
Compared to points, his most important goal today was not to concede a goal.
“Beep!” Seeing that the wall was set, the referee signaled to Shelvey that he could take the free kick.
The opponent took a few steps in his run-up and struck the ball with his right foot.
Theo had originally thought that since the wall on the left was set, there wasn’t much space for a shot.
Since the opponent was taking the kick with his right foot, a cross was highly likely.
He was just preparing to move to the right side of the goal to defend, where two Reserve Team strikers, several midfielders, and defenders were crowded together with the U18 players, making the possibility of a header on goal very high.
But just at this moment, the system’s notification sound rang out: [Ding!
Opponent’s shot trajectory detected, threatening the goal!
Enable Block Moment?] Block Moment (Level 3): Predicts the opponent’s shot trajectory 1.5 seconds in advance.
Uses per match: 2/3.
Theo was shocked—why the left flank?
He definitely had to use it.
He had already moved one step to the right, and now it was too late to readjust his positioning.
He could only activate it and then dive for the ball immediately.
Theo silently chanted in his heart: “Enable!” At this moment, Shelvey took the free kick, striking it directly with the instep of his right foot.
The arc of the ball wasn’t high, but Ajayi only jumped symbolically.
The ball flew past the top of Ajayi’s head, heading straight for the near post.
With the trajectory and timing of the opponent’s shot known, Theo quickly moved two steps to the left.
Without pausing, he pushed off hard with his left foot and dove toward the top left corner of the goal.
The football had already crossed over Ajayi’s head.
Theo stretched out in the air, extending his arm, his fingertips reaching for the football.
While cursing Ajayi in his heart, he could only silently chant, “Stretch a bit further, get a bit closer!”