“Thud!” The football slammed heavily against the crossbar and bounced away.
“Wow!” A collective gasp echoed from the sidelines.
All the Reserve Team players were stunned.
The moment Shelvey took the shot, they were already about to celebrate.
It was an incredibly high-quality free kick, with great speed and a tricky angle, but the opponent had actually saved it.
This U18 goalkeeper’s reflexes were absolutely insane.
The coaches off the pitch also looked at each other in astonishment.
Shelvey’s free kick was beautiful, but Theo’s save was even more spectacular.
Theo looked at the prompt message.
[Ding!
Successful save!
Points +1!] [Current Points: 3!] “Tweet!” “Corner kick!” At this moment, the referee blew his whistle, signaling the still-dazed Reserve Team to prepare for the corner kick.
Perhaps affected by the previous free kick, the delivery of this corner kick was poor and was headed away by Bellamy on the perimeter.
In the subsequent play, perhaps due to a drop in stamina, everyone’s tackling and contesting wasn’t as aggressive.
Seeing this, the two coaches continued to sub on the remaining four players who hadn’t played yet.
Only then did the match pick up a bit of energy.
In the 90th minute of the second half, in the final moments, the Reserve Team pushed forward in attack.
As Tuna dribbled towards the penalty area, he pushed the ball a bit too far ahead and was dispossessed as the U18 team’s Morris and Cousins closed the gate on him.
Just as Bellamy received the ball and was about to launch a counterattack, he was pulled down by an opposing midfielder.
Free kick.
And it was in their own half.
Theo’s eyes lit up when he saw this.
You have to know, in this match, he had only managed to get 3 points from his high-level blocks.
If he could score a goal, that would also be 3 points.
And his [Three-Point Domain] hadn’t even been used yet.
Thus, Theo felt tempted.
At this moment, he saw Morris preparing to take a quick free kick from their own half, but the opposing forward Tuna stood in front of him, preventing Morris from taking it quickly.
He quickly ran over.
“Captain, organize the defense, let me take it.” Seeing it was Theo, Morris’s expression softened slightly.
If it had been the old Theo, he probably wouldn’t have even paid attention.
A goalkeeper taking a free kick?
What nonsense!
But in this match, Theo had performed outstandingly—saving a one-on-one, a direct free kick, and coming out early to claim a very dangerous header.
He had essentially saved the entire defense.
A free kick in their own half was just a matter of hoofing it forward anyway.
So letting Theo take it wasn’t out of the question.
The match was almost over; perhaps once the ball was kicked, the final whistle would blow.
So he nodded and said, “Alright.
Hoof it forward, or if there’s no good option, you can pass it to me.” “Thanks, Captain.” Theo wasn’t about to be polite at a time like this.
He looked towards the opposing goalkeeper, Jack Binks.
That guy had always had a grudge against him.
In the team, players like Ajayi often tripped him up, sometimes deliberately defending poorly to let opposing forwards through, which caused the original host to perform badly in several trial matches.
Gradually, the coach rarely even let him play in trial matches.
Theo directly activated [Three-Point Domain].
When taking a free kick outside the penalty area, the flight path of the football can be planned.
Uses per match: 1.
In an instant, a long-distance flight path for the football appeared in Theo’s mind.
He aimed for the top right corner of the opponent’s goal.
Run-up.
Kick.
With the help of the system’s mighty power, the football, like a precision missile, carved a beautiful arc through the air, heading straight for the opponent’s goal.
By this time, Jack Binks had already walked into the penalty area.
He was extremely dissatisfied with the Reserve Team’s attack today.
It was already the 90th minute, and they still hadn’t breached the goal guarded by that useless Theo.
He wished he could push forward and take a shot himself, but his remaining rationality told him that if he dared to step out of the penalty area now, the head coach would strip him of his starting position tomorrow.
But just standing idly in the six-yard box was no fun either.
For twenty minutes, the U18s hadn’t had a decent attack, leaving him with no chance to show off.
So he planned to pass the ball around with the defenders inside the penalty area.
It would be perfect if he could get a long-range assist.
But right at that moment, that useless Theo launched a long kick.
It was incredibly high and straight, with absolutely no danger.
“Huh?” Jack Binks’s expression suddenly changed dramatically.
The trajectory of the ball was wrong.
The ball was heading straight for his goal.
He retreated rapidly, trying to block the ball, but he was a bit too far from the goal.
He leaped up, attempting to intercept it in mid-air, but he couldn’t reach it, falling flat on his face as he crashed to the ground.
The football sailed directly over his hands and flew into the top left corner of the net.
The venue erupted into a frenzy.
On the stands, the young white guy from the basketball court yesterday roared loudly: “Oh my god!
What did I just see!
An 80-meter long shot, even better than Beckham’s!
What did I say!
Theo would definitely score!” Charlton Athletic’s training pitch was a standard football field, measuring roughly 101 meters by 63 meters.
This shot, from the edge of their own penalty area to the opponent’s goal, indeed spanned over 80 meters.
And because of this ultra-long-range lob, the coaching staff all remembered this goalkeeper named Theo, as well as Jack Binks, who served as the background prop.
At this moment, the U18 players also ran over quickly to celebrate the goal with Theo.
A lob from that far out was incredibly cool.
If it had been before, his U18 teammates might have only given Theo a perfunctory nod.
But today, Theo had proved with his performance that he was also an excellent goalkeeper.
Especially Morris, center-back Cousins, and right-back Jenkinson—Theo had turned the tide several times, helping the defense stabilize the situation.
This match was being watched by coaches from the U18s, the Reserve Team, and even the First Team.
There were even club youth academy directors and high-level executives in the stands.
Perhaps they would catch someone’s eye and enter the First Team’s radar.
Who wouldn’t want to become a professional player?
Theo also raised both hands in celebration.
Although no one would blame them for losing to the Reserve Team, the feeling of winning was absolutely fantastic.
And they had left an even better impression in the minds of the coaches.
Just then, a pleasant sound rang in his ears.
[Ding!
Successful shot!
Points +3!] [Current Points: 6!] 6 points was equivalent to 6 attribute points.
Awesome!
It was just a pity that there weren’t many match opportunities right now.
If he wanted to grow faster, he had to secure the starting goalkeeper position, and represent the U18s in the Youth Premier League.
Or go to the First Team to represent Charlton Athletic in the English Football League One.
Meanwhile, due to financial austerity and a reduction in the First Team squad, the Reserve Team no longer participated in the official Reserve League.
Theo pondered his future plans.
Just then, the referee blew the final whistle.
After the U18 players celebrated with each other, they packed up their gear by the sidelines, while the assistant coach summarized their performance.
At this moment, U18 Head Coach Damian Matthew, accompanied by Director Steve Gritt, walked over in this direction.
“Theo!
Come over here!” Damian Matthew called out loudly.
Theo was listening to Assistant Coach Steve Avery analyze the defensive tactics of this match, and upon hearing the head coach call him, he quickly stood up.
“Coach!” Damian Matthew pointed to Steve Gritt beside him.
“Director Steve Gritt has something to discuss with you.” Theo looked at Gritt.
“Hello, Mr.
Gritt.” Gritt looked at Theo with a smile and praised, “Your match today was very wonderful, especially that goal.” “Thank you for the compliment!
It was just luck!
Morris gave me the opportunity,” Theo replied modestly.
“Haha, even if you let Morris take it, he wouldn’t have had that kind of luck!” Gritt laughed heartily, then said, “Your youth contract is about to expire, and we are going to prepare a professional contract for you.
Get ready and come to the manager’s office to find me at 9:00 tomorrow morning.” Hearing this, Theo was stunned.
A contract?
And a professional one at that.
It seemed he would be able to stay.
Isn’t this just perfect?
“Alright, I’ll be there on time tomorrow.”