MATCHDAY- PRESEASON MATCH AGAINST TAKAMORI TITANS.]—
"We see new faces, new techniques, greater opportunities, new aspirations, and greater excitement. It's matchday, the preseason match between Chiyoda F.C and Takamori Titans. We're live at Chiyoda metropolitan dome. I'm your commentator, Daiki Nakamura, and beside me is Yuya Maeda."
"Well, thanks for the introduction, Nakamura-San. It's nice to have you, too."
There were loud chants coming from the audience as the players made their way into the field.
"The home team has gone with the 4-2-2-2 formation, and the away team uses the same formation!"
Atsushi adjusted the captain armband after shaking hands with the opponents.
'Okay, I've got to make my mark.'
"So tell me, Maeda-san. What are your predictions for this first match?"
"Sincerely, I don't know. It's not like I've seen any of them play. But I can't wait for their performances."
—[WHISTLE]—
Akaji tapped the ball to Kimishita immediately he heard the sound of the whistle.
"Okay, the game is finally starting. I wonder what surprises we'll be seeing today."
Kimishita turned and passed the ball to Aira.
Aira immediately passed to Yusuke, who made himself available.
Atsushi smiled lightly while waving at Yusuke, 'Well, things are going well for now.'
Yusuke kicked the ball to Kimishita and pointed towards Atsu's direction.
"Tsk..." Kimishita turned back again and passed it to Yui.
'I guess I spoke too soon.' Atsu sighed.
"Oh! He passed back! But what are they gonna do now that Takamori is pressing forward?!"
Yui scanned the field before passing to Ryuto.
"They are finally pushing forward, but what's that?! The ball has been intercepted, and now it's a throw-in."
"What?" Ryuto asked.
The midfielder who had intercepted smirked while stepping back.
"You'll have to be a bit faster than that." He whispered.
"Nice intercept, Slime-kun!" One of their players shouted.
'This damn...!' Ryuto clenched his fists.
"Calm down, Ryuto. The game just started." Atsushi pat his back.
"Tsk, you let go of me." Ryuto muttered, slapping his hand away.
"Okay." Atsu smiled and then stepped back.
Kimishita looked around the field and threw the ball towards Ryuto.
'This time around, I'll show him how good I am, damn it!' Ryuto thought, bringing the ball down with his chest.
"Ooh! What a touch from Ryuto!"
Ryuto smirked.
He immediately turned and faced the opponents post.
"Ryuto! Behind you!"
He turned, but it was already too late.
Slime-kun was back.
'Dribbling past him won't be hard.'
Ryuto tried shielding the ball from Slime-kun while also trying to run forward.
Shielding the ball wasn't as easy as he thought, but there was still a chance for a sudden burst since the wing was almost free.
"Ryuto!" Atsushi called, raising his hands while striding forward.
'I should pass. If I pass to him and he passes back to me, I'll be able to cross the ball into the box once I break free...' Ryuto groaned, getting ready to pass the ball.
'But what if he doesn't pass back? What if he tries running into the box alone and scoring? Wouldn't that be bad for Akaji? Why did I even think of relying on him? I can get past this guy alone!'
Ryuto forced his way past Slime, but during the time he was busy thinking, their defending midfielder had already come to assist Slime, and the ball was stolen.
"And they've lost possession!"
"Damn it! If you can't hold the ball, then pass it!" Someone among the audience shouted.
The midfielder immediately passed the ball to the centre back, who played a long ball forward.
"Nice pass!" Jo, the SS shouted, then played a lobbed through pass to Kaneko, who was by his left.
The centre forward immediately accelerated and shot the ball to the net.
"Jo found Kaneko, who is shooting into the net and... Gooooal!!! He scored!"
"Oh my God! That was a rocket!" Yuya shouted.
"And as soon as the LMF flopped, they immediately went for a counter. That was really impressive."
"It's the first shot of the match, and it went right in. We might be in for some fun."
Takamori Titans were celebrating their goal while Ryuto, who was the reason for that goal, stood by the flank, his head bent in embarrassment.
"Fuck!" Kimishita cursed. "It hasn't even been 10 minutes, and we've already conceded."
"Everyone, stay calm! They've scored early, but that doesn't mean we don't stand a chance. We just need to respond quickly, but it's still not time to act rash. We've trained a lot for today. One goal won't bring us down." Atsushi motivated.
Ryuto glanced up to Atsushi, who smiled at him.
"These things happen. You've just gotta learn from them and play better. We're just starting, so just have more faith in your teammates." Atsushi said in a low but comforting tone.
Ryuto looked up at him, then nodded, "I'll do my best, captain."
"Great!" Atsu grinned.
Atsushi turned and walked towards the other behind.
"This is our tuff, we can't let outsiders win against us here. Let's not make wrong decisions. Try your best to defend. We're trusting you with the back and forward support."
'Tsk, like we're buying this stupid talk.'
—[WHISTLE]-
Akaji tapped the ball to Kimishita.
"Kimishita, over here." Ryuto called, pointing at his feet.
'They'll just end up intercepting the ball again. Just go to hell.'
Kimishita sprinted forward, breaking through the midfield, then defence. He then played a through pass to Akaji, who took his stance and shot the ball to the net.
"One, two, and... ooh! The keeper saved it!"
"That was a nice save from the keeper. It would have been embarrassing if they had scored."
"And now, it's time for the corner."
"Ryuto, why don't you take the corner?" Atsushi asked.
"You sure...?"
"Hell no! He'll just end up hoarding the ball. I'll take the corner instead. Just stay in the box, or just get far away." Kimishita scoffed.
He grabbed the ball and walked out to take the corner.
The ref blew the whistle, and Kimishita crossed the ball into the box.
The players in the box jumped to hit the ball, but the keeper jumped higher and caught it.
"The keeper's got the ball!"
The keeper kicked the ball out of the box and into Chiyoda's half of the field.
Hiro, the RMF received the ball and burst forward.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Atsushi shouted.
"And Hiro is bursting forward! One down, two to go!"
"Someone stop this guy, or he'll score a second!"
"Hiro! Hiro! Hiro!" The audience screamed.
The second goal was scored, then the third at half an hour.
"Ha..." Atsushi exhaled deeply.
The ref raised his whistle to his lips.
Atsushi turned to Ryuto and smiled, "Can I trust you with getting to the flank and dribbling towards the middle?"
Ryuto stared for a moment before nodding, "That's what I'm best at."