Emmen's captain, Oliver, noticed Almeida was not in the right state and quickly comforted him, saying, "Hey, buddy, don't take all the responsibility on yourself.
It was a collective problem just now, not just your fault!"
Almeida didn't quite agree with this statement, 'That Chinese kid is, after all, just starting his professional career. If I hadn't been fooled by him, there's a good chance I could have disrupted his composure, and maybe we wouldn't have conceded that goal later!'
However, since his captain meant well, Almeida still nodded to show he understood.
Oliver didn't have time to confirm whether Almeida truly understood; seeing him nod, he immediately turned to encourage his teammates.
Emmen was the half-season champion, considered one of the most promising teams to be promoted to the Eredivisie.
That's the Eredivisie, a league Emmen Football Club had never played in its one hundred and fifteen-year history!
Oliver didn't want his team's promotion efforts to be thwarted by Ajax II.
Ajax is indeed a giant team in the Netherlands, but their second team, especially this particular second team, is nothing.
Losing to this Ajax II, especially because of a kid, Oliver felt unacceptable... Oliver's encouragement was still effective; at least Emmen didn't concede any more goals in the next few minutes. On the contrary, after recovering, they launched several attacks, and one shot even grazed the crossbar.
Most areas of the Graafschap Stadium also gradually woke up from the silence.
Exactly! We are at the top of the league; how can we be helpless against a team on the brink of relegation?
Especially in the 41st minute, Ajax launched another counterattack.
Emmen's defense was very well-positioned, not only preventing Ajax from completing a pass-and-move play but also forcing Acolatse into a hurried long pass.
As the ball flew directly out of bounds, a burst of laughter erupted from the Graafschap Stadium~
Uh~
The laughter abruptly stopped.
Emmen fans noticed that annoying Chinese kid was once again chasing the ball. Although it seemed unlikely he would catch it, what if?
Oh~
The atmosphere relaxed again.
Emmen's center-back, Almeida, reacted very quickly and also chased the ball's landing spot. He seemed closer to the byline than Sean, so there was nothing to worry about... right?
Sean accelerated with all his might. Seeing the ball about to fly out of bounds, he had a flash of inspiration, pushed off with his feet, launched himself into the air, and extended his right foot forward, using the momentum.
Ah~
Feeling his instep touch the ball, Sean didn't have time to be happy; he just instinctively flicked his ankle.
Sean flew out of bounds, but the ball deflected and flew towards Emmen's goal.
Almeida noticed the ball was about to fly out of bounds and Sean was still far from it, so he subconsciously slowed his pace.
Seeing Sean leap into the air, he immediately felt something was wrong and accelerated again with all his might, but he was still a step too late, only able to watch the ball slide past him.
...
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.....
Ajax's forward, Sana, was in position to pounce, gratefully accepting the generous gift, and easily pushed the ball in with his right foot.
"Bang!"
The ball found the net again.
0-3.
Emmen fans couldn't smile. Except for a small section of the away team's stands, most areas of the Graafschap Stadium fell silent again.
In the away team's stands, overjoyed Ajax fans were asking each other:
"What is his name exactly?"
"How do you pronounce it? Is it Sean?"
"What's his full name? Is it just Sean Martins?"
"Hey, over here, it's her, Sean is her son..."
"..."
Anna was much calmer by this point.
Watching her son rush to the sideline to celebrate his goal with a powerful sweeping shot gesture, Anna smiled broadly, nodding with slight reserve in response to her enthusiastic friends around her, while secretly calculating in her heart:
'It seems Sean's talent in football is stronger than expected, which is a bit reassuring.'
'But I can't be completely at ease; I still have to urge him to get a university degree!'
...The situation on the field didn't change in the next few minutes, and Ajax went into halftime with a three-goal lead.
Head coach Van der Gaag, however, fell into a new round of trouble, this time a sweet one—should he substitute Sean?
The lead was already large enough; it was time to make substitutions and give players experience.
And~
Sean's performance was too dazzling. If the opposing players got frustrated and resorted to dangerous tactics, it wouldn't be good.
But~
Currently, the player in the team who most needed and deserved to be tested was Sean.
Sean had scored two goals and provided one assist, which only showed he had a big heart, adapted to the game very well, and perfectly displayed his strength.
But this couldn't immediately increase his game experience.
Sean still needed a lot of games to solidify his foundation.
Van der Gaag stroked his chin and thought for a long time, finally making a decision: let Sean stay on the field!
However~
Van der Gaag was still worried. After deploying the tactics for the second half, he pulled Sean aside and admonished him for a long time,
"Sean, your main task now is to accumulate game experience. Don't be eager to pursue a hat trick, understand?"
"Understood."
"Also, don't use too many provocative actions. Do you know what provocation means?"
"I know."
"Don't try too hard either. For some potentially dangerous fifty-fifty balls, it's fine to give up."
"Got it."
"..."
"..."
...In the 51st minute of the second half, Van der Gaag was glad he hadn't substituted Sean.
At this point, Emmen's attack finally paid off: a cross from the right wing, followed by a header in the middle.
Ajax II's goal was immediately breached, and Emmen pulled one goal back.
Van der Gaag was filled with relief:
Sean remaining on the field not only ensured the team's attacking power but also allowed Sean to gain some experience when opponents gained momentum. It was truly the best of both worlds, simply perfect!
Everyone at Emmen also felt perfect.
Almeida's mood improved significantly: there's still plenty of time; we still have a chance to equalize!
Emmen's morale was greatly boosted, and they actively launched attacks.
Ajax II was temporarily pushed back into their own half until the 57th minute when they found an opportunity for a counterattack.
Emmen failed to complete the high press, and their central defenders and midfielders immediately retreated at full speed.
Ajax's defensive midfielder, Annosen, finally found an open space to receive the ball through a teammate's pass and immediately launched a long pass towards the front.
The ball fell directly to the center of the front field.
Emmen's captain, Oliver, was retreating but turned back to meet the ball upon seeing this.
However, Sean was a step faster. Without stopping the ball, he headed it first.
The ball flew directly behind Oliver, to the edge of Emmen's penalty area.
Sean pivoted his foot, bypassed Oliver, broke free from his pull, caught up with the ball, and charged directly into the penalty area.
Almeida had been fighting and retreating, and once he retreated into his own penalty area, he had nowhere left to go:
F*ck, at this distance, that stinky kid on the other side can shoot directly if he finds even a little space. How can I retreat further?!
Almeida decisively stood his ground and suddenly noticed that Sean, who was dribbling and changing direction, hadn't controlled the ball well; his touch was a bit too far. His eyes immediately lit up, and he lunged into a tackle towards the ball:
This time, I'll definitely let you know how formidable I am!
Sean, however, was prepared. He quickened his steps, poked the ball away with his foot first, and then tripped over Almeida's foot, falling to the ground.
"Bang!"
It was a truly hard fall. Sean was disoriented for a moment but still heard the referee's whistle:
'Haha, that means it's fine!'