On the last play, most of Suwa Cono's players could only watch helplessly, and the few that were involved in the defense had been completely outmaneuvered. They had fully believed that Ren had scored, but by some miracle, the assistant referee flagged it as offside.
But that goal was a wake-up call for them. They now have a fire lit under them, so they will be playing at their best. That means this game is only going to get harder for us.
Ryo didn't shy away from the challenge. Whenever the ball came near him, he stepped in to confront the opposition and helped drive the ball up the pitch whenever he gained possession of it.
Despite being awarded several corner kicks, Ryusei were unable to score off any of their chances. Cono's three defending midfielders were by far the biggest obstacle for Ryusei's attack. At the first signs of danger, they would quickly drop back, which often created pressure from seven different players at once, leaving almost no space to exploit.
So despite keeping up their earlier pressure, Cono's defense did not crumble. If anything, they were starting to find opportunities to initiate small counters of their own.
By the twenty-second minute, the game, which could swing in either direction, resumed with an aggressive goal kick from Cono.
Shit, they're going to push us back. We need to be more careful with our defense in the middle.
"Tomoya!" Ryo called out. "We need to tighten up the center!"
Without directly acknowledging him, Tomoya turned his head and relayed the message across the midfield. However, Ryo's message was a hair too late. Off the goal kick, the ball went over Ren, and the attackers quickly weaved their way through near Hideki before he could close the gap.
Ryo retreated as fast as he could, slowly closing in on the center, trying to make himself useful by marking number 12—their right attacking midfielder.
Only Tomoya managed to recover quickly enough to chase after the attack alongside him, turning it into a five-on-six. Ryusei had the numerical advantage, but in a fast-paced attack like this one, it hardly made a difference.
With a quick series of passes, the ball reached Ryusei's defense. Their whole line had shifted to the right to guard against the initial run, so now, only their two left-most defenders—including Taiga—could protect the center.
Ryo stayed close to their number 12, completely marking him from behind as they ran forward. Seeing this, Taiga felt comfortable enough to double up on the striker in the middle. Despite that, the central midfielder still passed the ball into him.
Are they planning to use the same attack we did? I need to be careful with the return pass.
Although Ryo had positioned himself slightly on the inside of the run, there was still technically a passing lane, though they would need to be extremely precise to execute that pass.
Just as he had expected, the ball quickly returned to their central midfielder, who instantly forced a pass forward as number 12 entered the box.
That guy's pass is almost perfect.
Ryo clenched his teeth and pushed himself to intercept it. His opponent did the same, slightly cutting in to meet the ball first.
With their arms almost touching, Ryo kept his focus locked on the ball to his left, and the moment it came close, he extended his left foot forward. His toes got a touch on the ball, just enough to send it bouncing over the goal line. At the same time, Ryo's opponent, who had been slightly ahead, tried turning his body to cross the ball back to his teammates. But the rain betrayed him—he lacked any proper grip on the ground, and was carried forward by his momentum, causing him to fall before his foot could reach the ball.
Well, shit…
Ryo had barely managed to stay on his feet himself, so he wasn't able to react in time as the midfielder came crashing down in front of him, and they ended up with their legs tangled as they both slid across the grass.
Ryo instantly felt slightly relieved that he had managed to clear the ball, so he pushed himself up once they finally came to a stop.
"Are you alright?" Ryo extended his hand to his opponent, who had remained seated on the ground.
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," the midfielder answered, accepting Ryo's hand as he lifted himself off the ground.
That's good... That could have been dangerous.
"Ryo, are you okay?" Taiga called out, being the first to approach him.
"Yeah! All good," he answered.
A few of Ryo's other teammates gathered around him, but then the head referee also came up.
It's nice to see him check on us after that fall, but… Why does he look angry?
The thought barely crossed Ryo's mind before he saw the referee reach into his pocket, pulling out a bright yellow card and holding it out in front of him.
"I don't want to see that again," the referee said sharply. "Tackling a player like that in the rain is way too dangerous!"
"Sir, he fell on—" Ryo began, trying to clear up the situation.
"Save it! Don't try to make excuses!" The referee snapped. He turned away and left Ryo behind, then sounded the whistle while motioning towards the penalty spot.
Fuck! Again?
Ryo took a deep breath in and, with the help of his Mental Fortitude skill, calmed himself and accepted the situation.
Whatever… It's not like arguing will change anything. Since the referee was far away, he probably didn't see it clearly, so when number 12 slipped, he must've assumed it was a tackle.
But still, Ryo was slightly fuming on the inside. He understood the severity of the ruling and would have been completely willing to accept it if he had actually tackled the player. Even his teammates tried to protest the decision, but they were waved off just the same.
And it's not like the opponents would speak up for my sake.
After confirming that both players were fine, the referee began preparing for the penalty.
Sorry, Kenta… I hope you can defend this.
During that entire play, the crowd went through a range of reactions. Their cheers had crescendoed as the attack approached Ryusei's goal, falling into a wave of gasps as the two players slid across the ground. And when the card was issued and the penalty awarded, only those with a clear view of the attack had protested the referee's decision.
Standing just outside the box, in a relaxed stance but ready to rush in the moment the penalty was taken, Ryo watched the back of number 12's jersey as he situated the ball on the penalty spot.
In the goal, Kenta bounced up and down to ready himself for the penalty. Around them, the rain still fell heavily, providing quite a challenge for both the goalie and the shooter.
Under the gaze of the entire arena, Cono's number 12 measured his steps back from the penalty spot and took a deep breath in.
Fweeet!
The midfielder quickly shuffled his feet forward, then took two longer strides and struck the ball.
It flew towards the left side of the goal, and Kenta reacted instantly, diving with his arms outstretched to block the shot. Ryo watched as Kenta closed in on the ball, managing to get his fingers on it, only for it to slide right off his gloves and find its way into the back of the net.
The spectators roared to life, celebrating the first goal of the game, and the Suwa Cono players all rejoiced. They ran wildly towards the corner flag, mimicking number 12 by holding out their arms like wings.
0–1… Can't say I'm too happy about that.
—————————————————————————————————
"Don't worry, Hideki," Ryo had assured him as they reset. "Our plan hasn't changed at all. We just need to score once more than they do."
Although Ryo had said that, he wasn't entirely sure how they would make it happen. Ever since Suwa Cono scored off the penalty, they became even more invigorated.
But now, Ryo was done being pushed around. After a goal that had been overruled for being offside, and a contactless tackle that led to a goal for their opponents, Ryo was ready to score a goal that would actually count.
And after fourteen minutes, Tomoya intercepted a bad pass while he was still near the center circle, leaving most of the pitch in front of him open. Ryo, not missing this chance, sprinted forward to catch up to Tomoya's run and support him. Aside from them, Ken and Ren had also spun on their heels and shot upfield.
"Tomoya! On your left," Ryo called out the moment Tomoya encountered Cono's players. The captain barely glanced at him before sending the ball his way. Ryo received it cleanly and lifted his head to observe the positions of both strikers.
Ken's already too far forward to be a safe option, and I don't have a good passing angle. Ren still has some distance before the defensive line… and I have a good line of sight.
Taking advantage of the space he had, Ryo didn't hesitate to wind up for a long pass. If he had done one thing right today, it was practicing his long passes before the game. Without that, he would have had to guess how the weather would affect the trajectory of the ball.
Planting his left foot into the ground, Ryo swung through with his right leg, making sure to hit harder than usual to compensate for the bad weather. Ren tracked the ball as it flew towards him, adjusting his course to receive the ball where it would land.
Two of the defenders scrambled to contest the ball as it fell. Ren, unwilling to give up this chance either, used the one thing he possessed that neither defender did—momentum.
Instead of waiting for the ball to hit the ground, Ren slightly bent his knees at the end of his run and launched himself into the air. Even with hair sticking to his face and water droplets impacting his eyes, Ren's focus never wavered from the ball. The two defenders hadn't even considered that Ren would jump to receive it—he had only just crossed into the box, so there was no way he could generate enough power to score. And in that sense, they were right. When Ren whipped his head into the ball, he didn't aim for the goal, but for Ken.
The long pass had given plenty of time for the goalie and all the defenders to adjust their positions. The goalie had already closed the angle in anticipation of a shot, the two defenders beside Ren had attempted to stop him, and the other two defenders next to Ken had subconsciously relaxed their mark. Not only did Ken have a clear shot at the goal, but he was also free enough to receive the ball.
So when Ren's header veered off to the side, the goalie's eyes widened in shock as he turned his body towards Ken, but it was far too late. Even with a desperate lunge, the ball had reached Ken too quickly for the goalie to block his shot or for the defenders to stop him.
From afar, Ryo watched as Ken slotted the ball neatly in the bottom corner of the goal, causing a wave of applause to emerge from the stands.