"AAAAH!"

After jumping back to get up from the ground, Takeshi’s first reaction was to scream.

Yeah, scream.

"AAAAAH!" He ran so frantically all over the place, both hands covering his face as if he was in utter disbelief. "I SCORE! AH! I SCORE!"

Soon enough, all of the Ritsumeikan players followed along. They ran in chaos, following Takeshi from behind until they were on their own bench, jumping crazily to celebrate the goal. Hell, someone even jumped so high that he was on top of the others.

"HAHAHA! Good lord, Takeshi! You blast a bomb there!" One player laughed while slapping Takeshi’s head so hard in enthusiasm.

"Hey, look at the captain! He cries, for God’s sake!" Another boy pointed at Iwai, and true enough, while the captain was limping, his eyes went watery, as if he couldn’t hold back his emotion right now.

"Oh, shut up! You don’t know anything at all!" Iwai retorted with a glare, snorting a little bit so that he could put up a tough face in front of his kouhai, which only made them laugh harder.

Well, he couldn’t be blamed here. Even though the process looked simple, in reality, everything was so difficult for the away team, especially for their captain. The boy had to fight against three of the opponent’s best players alone, staying calm until the right moment before sending the pass that would get through them.

The mental exhaustion from that calculation alone was almost the same as him playing a regular 90 minutes, and yet, they were still at the 23rd minute of the game right now. This just showed how difficult the play was for Iwai earlier.

Meanwhile, the home team’s side also showed a big reaction. However, instead of joy and excitement, they all frowned silently, with some even kicking the grass in frustration. The goal was definitely unnecessary, and now, all the players involved wanted to take the blame here, finding their performance to be subpar compared to their usual standard.

"Sorry, everyone." Hiroyuki apologized weakly. "If only I could stop him earlier, this goal wouldn’t happen right now."

Yuwell Carlson didn’t understand what he said fully, but the Swedish boy was intelligent enough to catch the nuance in his words, so the boy shook his head strongly. "No, no, no, Hiroyuki. That is definitely my fault. If only I hadn’t gotten attracted by him and let you handle him properly, our defense wouldn’t have been dragged away so far to the left."

"Okay, no need to make it a blaming game." Rin Mito finally interrupted, his voice stern. "If you want to do that, you will have to put me for getting attracted by him, and Okamura, who didn’t defend the left side properly. However, that would be pointless since it will not change anything, anyway. Let’s just focus on what’s next, because we have to return the favor, okay?"

"Sure!" All the Sapporo Otani players nodded solemnly, knowing that they couldn’t dwell further on this goal. No, the game still had a long time, and anything could happen during that period.

Right after that, the game restarted, and Sapporo Otani burst into the scene violently, encircling Ritsumeikan High into their own area. They put their pressure higher than ever, not letting any loose ball escape from their grasp. Right now, they even have nine players on the opponent’s half, only leaving Rin Mito and their goalkeeper for an emergency case.

However, Ritsumeikan High also showed a strong display here. They abandoned their attacking philosophy, putting all eleven players on their own half to fight for their lives. This was not like them last year, who still insisted on attacking and even gaining a three-goal advantage in the first half. However, all the Ritsumeikan players didn’t shy away, willing to do all the dirty work for the team.

’Yeah, who cares if we scored four goals if in the end, we would only lose five? Hakodate Nishi’s style is ugly, but at least they know one thing right. We have to defend with our lives to get this win done!’ Iwai gritted his teeth, making another run to repel the attack.

It was the sight that no one expected. Ritsumeikan, the team infamous for its defense, was now shrinking back like a cocoon. Each player also cooperated well with their teammates. If one player was down and beaten, the other would cover up quickly, and another would also do the same to form a flawless defensive shape that was impenetrable by their opponent.

The most important thing here was that they all were willing to run.

"SHIT! SOMEONE, COVER FOR ME!"

"Ao! Run! Run! Run!"

"Slow him down! Slow him down!"

BAM!

"YES! KILL HIM!"

One dribble after another, one combination attack followed by a dangerous run, and so many shots being barraged by Sapporo Otani players, and yet, none of them was enough to break through their opponent’s defense. It was an intimidating sight, as everyone could see the away team was willing to die for this game.

No one slacked off, jogging around lazily. All the players with the yellow jersey put their hearts on their sleeves, running for their lives to get rid of the attack. No one knew whether they could survive this ordeal for the whole game, but the grit and determination on display were enough to touch all the people in the stand, even Sapporo Otani’s fans themselves.

Looking at all the yellow jerseys that started to get darker from the sweat, and the boys who wore them who also started to pant on the pitch, somehow, Makino couldn’t help but mutter, "You know what, I thought it would be us who beat Sapporo Otani. However, now, I don’t mind giving this honor to Ritsumeikan."

This statement startled everyone, especially since this came from the captain himself.

"What? They are willing to put down their pride and lower themselves to the mud, going for an ugly football for the win. They are also willing to run, covering each other whenever someone is down by Sapporo Otani’s players. It is like watching us play, you know? At least, I don’t want the team that is representing our style to be beaten before they meet us."