The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 43: Sapporo Kita VS Hakodate Nishi!

"Hey, right side! Right side!"

"Hori, he gets through your defense again! Recover quickly!"

"Oh! Nice cover, Teme! Slow him down, don’t give him any room!"

BAM!

"YES! Nice clearance, Fujinaga!"

It was thirty minutes since the game began, and honestly, while his passion was still there, Higo couldn’t help but also start to feel bored here. After all, other than shouting commands from his position, shifting back and forth from one goal post to another, he didn’t really do anything much, as the opponent couldn’t really get through the defensive line in front of him. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The score was 1-0 already, with Yuji, the quick-feet striker, managing to escape from the offside trap in the 12th minute of the game just to receive Hiroshi’s killer pass. In a one-on-one situation, he showed the boy his cold-blooded side by beating the goalkeeper with a calm shot to the bottom corner of the goal, giving Hakodate Nishi a lead up until now.

This goal not only gave them a point, but also hurt the opponent psychologically.

After the goal, Sapporo Kita started to tighten their defense, not wanting to suffer from any leaks anymore. They kept eyes on everyone, putting more numbers back, and made a layered defense that would not give any room for the opponent to penetrate.

That was nice, but it seemed they forgot that they were down a goal right now. It made things easier for Hakodate Nishi, since they didn’t have to sweat too much to neutralize the plain attack from the home team’s side.

During this period, Higo also used his free time to observe his teammates better. While he was proud to say that he got close with everyone here, that didn’t mean he knew his teammates on the pitch. No, to truly understand them, he had to watch carefully, finding everything about them thoroughly.

’Fujinaga, the defensive midfielder.’ Higo took a note of the tough player number 6, who had just gotten up after an aerial duel against a taller opponent in the midfield. ’The team’s lapdog. Not nice, indeed, but he will bite everyone with a jersey other than white and black to death. He is also a very disciplined player on the pitch, never leaving his territory, no matter how tempting the opportunity is. Definitely a team player that everyone wants.’

Then, his eyes shifted to the boy next to Fujinaga, the number 8 on the team. They were currently whispering at each other, and after a single nod, Fujinaga went back to his territory immediately as if he just received enlightenment.

’Usami, the central midfielder.’ Higo took another note. ’The boy has a low presence, but for those who know where he is, it is not that hard to pinpoint him. Still, this sneaky attribute makes it easy for his game, and with his unlimited stamina, he could appear anywhere on the pitch so easily, covering more ground than the other players. The team’s engine, the player who keeps everyone running.’

BAM!

"Oh, come on, Hori! This is the fourth time in a row! What the hell are you doing?!"

At the collision that just unfolded on the right side, Higo’s eyes darted in that direction immediately, just to find out that the ball almost got stripped from Hori’s position.

’Hori, the right back.’ He carved the boy’s face deeply inside his head, knowing that in this tight defensive wall, the crack would often appear from that side. ’He is an aggressive fullback and has a lot of stamina, but he likes to push forward too much, often late to go back when the possession changes. He also likes to hang onto the ball for too long, which often puts the team in an unfavorable position. He is the team’s biggest danger, but when attacking also becomes a huge asset to support the frontline. A double-edged sword.’

In just one half, Higo could find a lot of things from his teammates that were always hidden in the training session. The boy himself was clearly astonished by the result. Then, he remembered what Kumiko said beforehand.

’In the game, even if you didn’t have a lot of things to do, try to observe your teammates better. You will find some of their habits that will not appear in the training session. That is what a real game brings: your teammates’ real personalities. Your teammates will also judge you with the same standard, so try to minimize any small mistakes, okay?’

Well, during this short period, Higo indeed gained some important information. However, there was no way he could do that for the full 90 minutes, especially since the team didn’t face any dangerous attacks from the opponent. Hell, even Makino, the most disciplined defender on the team, started to push his luck and move forward to the midfield area.

Honestly, it was still strange to see the team thriving like this. Higo had only been playing for two games for this team, and yet, those two games ended up with him always in constant tension, waiting all the time for the ball to get into his possession.

Now, in the second half of the game, the opponent didn’t even have a chance to cross the half-court line, which made him basically jobless on the back.

’Yeah, no wonder Kumiko-chan didn’t mention even a single shit about them. They really are not worth being scouted to.’ Higo smiled wryly.

It was hard being the last person on the back, because he couldn’t really see what was going on at the frontline clearly. However, Higo still managed to keep track of the ball, and in the 72nd minute of the game, he witnessed the miracle called Hiroshi.

Yeah, the freshman midfielder, the one holding the number 10, dropped by to the half-court line to receive a pass from Fujinaga. Then, in a Messi-esque fashion, he started to rush forward, using pure speed and a ballerina-like agility to dance and wreak havoc on the opponent’s side.

He got through the first opponent with a simple feint.

Then, before the second opponent arrived, he tapped the ball gently for a quiet nutmeg.

Two more players came, and yet they were blown away by his speed.

Until Hiroshi was so close to the penalty box, before anyone else could get closer to him, the boy slammed the ball with full power, and before anyone knew it...

BAM!

The ball slammed the net, leaving Sapporo Kita’s goalkeeper with jaw dropped from the shock of the shot.

Seeing this, even Higo himself had both hands cupping his face, getting flabbergasted by the scene that he had just witnessed with his eyes.

’Goddamnit! He is a fucking monster!’