The noise from the Rec drifted across in uneven waves, sometimes a proper cheer, sometimes just the dull rhythm of voices carrying over concrete and Haru sat with his back against the wall of the futsal court, one knee drawn up and with Rui’s water bottle resting loosely between both hands.
Rui had given up on stopping Haru from dispossessing his bottle from him and just rested until it was their turn.
Ken drifted over without either of them really noticing when and he dropped down beside them, before looking at Haru.
“So how did team Gold, get their goals?”, he asked Haru.
Haru sat up a little, took a deep breath and the tiredness in his voice giving way almost immediately to the particular energy of a boy who’d finally found an audience worth performing for.
“You want me to tell how they got the goals, like commentary?”
Ken shrugged.
“Sure.”
Rui looked up already listening, and hoped his friend kept it short.
Haru rolled the bottle once between his palms, then set it down and leaned forward.
His voice slipped into a commentator’s rhythm almost without trying.
“They got both goals in the second-half, the first goal starts on our left as a pass find Reiji on the touchline, who was now playing as winger after switching with his, with the ball at his feet. Eiji’s already sprinting and overlapping with all of his strength with his boots chewing up the field or whatever’s left of it. It was a good attacking run, and we expected a pass to him then going in behind straight to the byline. But the pass never happens because Reiji doesn’t release it as he holds it and slows down…”
One of the boys who had been listening in interrupts Haru with a question, “Why would he slow down, if the fullback had made a good run?”
“Because him slowing down allowed his team mates to get into position,” Haru replied, already locked in as he continued “and when he slows down instead of releasing it, Shoma cuts inside, losing our right back, at full pace and Eiji keeps burning down the flank. Three options at that moment and our whole back four is busy trying to track all three at once and Reiji got to action when Kosei commits a step to close down Shoma, as he slides it inside right through the gap that just opened behind the defence.” This story is hosted at novelping . com.
He kept going without pause, the story gathering its own momentum.
“Akio receives it in the middle. First touch glues the ball fo his foot and pushes it forward, forcing the midfield to focus on him and the moment he does he leaves Masuru with space to run into behind the defenders. The lane opens behind and Masaru’s already drifting into it, Kiyoshi and Gen tried to close down the space but it was too late” Haru took a breath, still fully in it.
“Akio had seen it and sent a weighted pass perfectly into the space Masaru’s already accelerating onto. He meets it in stride as Masaki explodes off his line to close the angle and bail us out again, same as he’s done all match but Masaru takes one touch across the middle, sells the near post completely, and slides it low and hard across for the goal. The ball crossed the line before Masaki even finished the dive.”
“And that’s the equalizer,” Haru confirmed what they surmised ” it was a Simple finish, nothing spectacular but if you think about how it happened the danger was in the build-up.
We were puppets on strings now that think about it.”
Ken exhaled.
“Simple but he still had to finish it.”
“Only after they picked us apart” Haru said, “I’m not saying the goal was easy.”
Rui’s eyes hadn’t left him and was now intrigued, “What about the second, was it also the same as the first?”
Haru’s energy shifted here it became quieter, more reluctant.
The specific tone of someone arriving at the part where he doesn’t come off looking as good.
“Second one’s different, We were actually attacking when it happened and that’s what makes it worse.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
He picked the bottle back up, then put it down again, using both hands now, fully back in the mode.
“Ball goes right with Daizen picking it up with room to turn, plays it inside to Shingo. Shingo’s cushions the ball just as two of their midfielders close in from both sides. He tries to spin away but as he does a turn, the ball was whisked away by a tackle. He did try to shield it for half a second and I thought he’d gotten away with it, but the little touch he needs to get away from them gives their guy just enough of a window to poke it free.”
Haru leaned forward, hands moving like he was still watching the counter develop in real time, “Reiji’s onto the loose ball first in full stride and doesn’t just pass it forward when. Reiji feints with his whole body like he’s cutting inside, Takeru buys it and steps across to shut the inside lane but he slid the ball wide, at the last second, to Shoma who embarrasses us.”
Ken sat up a little.
“Nutmeg? Rainbow? What’d he actually do?”
“Nothing flashy. That’s what made it worse.” Haru shook his head.
“Shoma takes it in stride, doesn’t sprint blindly to the box, just carries it patient while Reiji keeps running beyond him on the overlap and we dropped back and watched it happen.
“You were also drooping back,” Rui said, more of a fact than a question.
“Yeah I was sprinting back, my lungs burning as I could see exactly what was coming and I couldn’t do a single thing about it.” Haru laughed, short and a little pained.
“Shoma slides it through right as I’m closing the gap to the defence and finds Masaru at edge of the box, alone with space in front of him, our defence recognising the blunder charged out as he shaped to shoot…”