—[WHISTLE]-
"This is getting a bit embarrassing for the home team. Takamori is now three ahead in the match, and it doesn't seem like Chiyoda will change the flow anytime soon."
Akaji exhaled deeply before kicking the ball to Yusuke.
"So Yuya, how are you feeling about this match?"
"Well, to be honest with you, it's too one-sided to have much to say about it. Takamori is in the lead, and Chiyoda only has 1 single shot since the game started."
"Honestly, we can say the game is already won. Anyway, there's not much to say until later in the match. Chiyoda seriously needs someone to break through for them, or they'll have to leave this game with nothing."
"I'll have to agree with you, Yuya. If they can't find their way before half-time, I doubt they'll have the morale to in the second."
Yusuke trapped the ball with the inside of his foot. Without turning, he used his heel to pass back to Aira before lunging forward to create a passing opportunity.
Aira then turned to her left and passed to Haruka, who in turn passed to Yui, who was already shuffling ahead.
"Looks like they're trying to keep possession of the ball as much as possible at the back."
Atsushi pointed at his feet when he noticed the opposition was closing in on them.
"Here." She kicked the ball to him.
"Nice pass."
Atsushi immediately pivoted in the direction of the other teams post while discreetly scanning for passing opportunities.
Hiro lunged at him and stuck out his feet to steal the ball, but before his boot could even graze the ball, Atsushi was already far behind him.
"Wait, what the-?"
"Ooh!" The audience gasped.
"Oh my God, he's gone past him!" Yuya shouted.
"He got past Hiro that easily, I couldn't even get to see what happened."
Haruya nodded from where he stood.
'Immediately Hiro lunged at him, I saw Atsushi slow down then half-turns before slipping behind him. He didn't even bother duelling against Hiro. But it's quite surprising how he got behind so fast.'
Then Atsushi began sprinting forward.
"Don't let him get past you!" Hiro shouted.
Atsushi slowed down again when the defenders were onto him.
'They're finally here.'
He took a quick glance to the left, 'There you are.'
He smiled slightly and then crossed the ball to the empty left flank.
They all froze for a moment.
"He's made a mistake! Go get the ball before someone else -"
Before he could complete his sentence, Ryuto dashed to the ball and swiftly controlled it with his thigh.
"Okay, I won't deny that the pass was incredibly beautiful, but what the hell was that control?! That was beautiful!"
When the ball bounced once on the grass, Ryuto began striding forward.
Kimishita ran into an open space and raised his hand to call for the ball.
Ryuto nodded slightly.
"He'll pass to that guy, Mark him!"
Ryuto was already blocked by the female right back and Slime.
He looked around and noticed Shoichi running into space. Then he smiled, placing his foot on the ball.
When Slime noticed his eyes shift to Shoichi, he shifted his shoulders slightly.
Ryuto, noticing the slight shift in his shoulders, immediately rolled the ball backwards and bounced it twice with his insteps.
When the ball bounced off the grass and caught the eyes of his markers, he flicked it over their heads with his heel and began dashing forward.
"Oh my! He got past them!" Someone shouted.
"Did you see that flick?! That was exceptionally beautiful and precise to get him past his markers."
As Ryuto dashed forward, he kept the ball close to his feet.
'Okay, I've successfully gotten round the middle. Do I keep dribbling past them and score or what?' He thought, slowing down.
That was when he noticed Atsushi cutting behind one of the defenders after sprinting diagonally.
Atsushu glanced at him and opened his palm.
He threaded the ball through a centre back, and Atsushi nodded when the ball touched his cleats.
'That was successful.'
"GOAL!!!"
Ryuto stood frozen while staring at the net, his breath uneven.
"Nice pass, Ryuto." Atsushi jogged, raising his hands for a high-five.
"Y-yeah."
"Chiyoda are finally back in the game and so close to halftime, too."
-[WHISTLE]-
The whistle was blown to signal the end of the first half.
The two teams walked back to their dressing room without saying a word to each other.
Chiyoda's dressing room was really quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the panting from the players.
Five minutes went by, and even the coach said nothing to them.
Atsushi cleared his throat, and the others turned to him.
"They may be in the lead now, but I believe it's not yet over until the last whistle of the game is blown." He walked to the middle.
He clenched his fists, then exhaled deeply. He had no plans of saying anything until the coach or anyone else did, but no one said anything, so he decided to speak up.
"If we get back out there the way we were before the break, we'll surely lose. So why don't we try working together... as a team." He continued.
The others mumbled after he paused.
"You say that like it's easy." Kimishita mumbled after a while. "They've got really good players. Breaking through isn't easy!"
He threw his towel on the floor.
"Maybe that's what you want to believe." Atsushi smiled slightly.
"Huh?!" Kimishita glared at him.
"They have really good forwards and one strong midfielder. I don't know much about their keeper, but we'll know as we go on. Their defence aren't fast to recover, so counters work well."
No one said anything for a while.
"So... what do you say we do, captain?" The coach asked, walking towards him.
"This might seem too forward from me, but we'll need to make some amendments for everyone to shine. We don't have much time, so this will be the best I can come up with." He bowed slightly.
The coach nodded, "Let's hear it, captain."