Chapter 95: Unavoidable Confrontation

When confrontation is inevitable, victory favors the bold!

Liang Ke clenched his fists.

“Ladies and gentlemen. You are now watching the Luoyang final qualifying match for the 15th National High School Soccer Championship. The teams competing are Zhongyuan in blue, Shu Guang in white. Both sides competed against each other for eighty minutes and tied at 2:2! They have entered overtime according to the rules. Overtime is based on a golden ball system where the team that scores the first goal would win. Overtime has already been going on for ten minutes. In another five minutes, the first half of overtime would be over. It seems that the chances for the match to be decided over penalties is getting bigger and bigger! If this is the case, players from both teams would be physically and mentally tested! In professional soccer matches, deciding the winner with penalty kicks is considered ‘cruel’. Who would be the victim today?”

Although Yang Pan allowed Ren Yu De to break through the opponent’s defenses regardless of any concerns, his stamina would not be able to last much longer. Continuing on this way would mean giving up the second half. That was why they had to end the match in the next five minutes if they wanted to win it. There was no chance of winning if it went down to penalties. An Ke was a stubborn person and was straining himself. He had hit the goal post quite hard and it was better not to expect him to be able to save any penalties.

When confrontation is inevitable, victory favors the bold!

Yang Pan thought that it was strange that he was able to think of this sentence. However, it made sense. The match had been going on for ninety minutes. Their opponents were also in bad shape and this was the time to show their courage and determination.

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He raised his arm and adjusted the captain’s armband.

Come, let’s see who the bold are in the last five minutes!

Wang Ning relied on his body to shove Zhang Yuchao out of play. Shu Guang then quickly threw the ball back in.

Yang Pan took the ball on the right with Lu Qing tracking closely behind him again.

Yang Pan used his hand to block Lu Qing’s body while protecting the ball. When everyone thought that he could only pass the ball in desperation, he unexpectedly kicked the ball forward and chased after it.

Lu Qing was deservedly Zhongyuan’s main player with such quick responses and agility. When Yang Pan kicked the ball to the front, he read Yang Pan’s intentions and hurriedly gave chase.

For a time, the two engaged in a battle of speed on the right flank of the pitch.

“The distance between both of them remains unchanged! Lu Qing is not any inferior to Yang Pan! They are equally-matched!”

In general, the outcome of their battles were determined by Yang Pan, where he would give the ball a flick and quickly change directions to get past Lu Qing. However, this trick gradually lost its effectiveness as Lu Qing saw through it many times. However, this time, Yang Pan did not have any intentions of slowing down. He merely kept his head down and rushed on ahead.

When confrontation is inevitable, victory favors the bold!

Yang Pan murmured these words in his heart as he once again sped up and rushed forward.

Lu Qing was shocked by Yang Pan’s imposing momentum. Although he himself did not slow down, Yang Pan gradually surpassed him.

When a person is determined to do something, nobody would be able to stop him. There was only one thought in Yang Pan’s mind: to break through forcibly. As a result, he became alarmingly fast like the wind, like typhoon.

The typhoon swept past Lu Qing and ravaged half of the left side of Zhongyuan’s pitch from the halfway line to the goal line. Zhang Yuchao could be considered fast amongst those in Zhongyuan but all he could do was look at the typhoon from behind and feel helpless. Zhang Yang who was a defender on the left flank could only be a complete bystander in the storm.

For the first time, Lu Qing who was known for his speed found that the gap between himself and this Number 7 was not just in position. He had been miserably defeated.

Yang Pan spared no effort and crossed the ball from the goal line to the front of the goal.

Li Yongle may be bad at heading the ball but that did not mean that he does not have a good head on him. This kind of high ball would not be a problem if he used his height advantage to obstruct Zhang Jun. The rest could be handed over to Zhang Lintao.

Sure enough, Zhang Lintao leapt high with his hands stretched out, ready to hold onto the ball. However, Zhang Jun who was supposed to be held firmly by Li Yongle had at some point rushed over and jumped at the ball.

Zhang Lintao was so shocked that he hurriedly parried the ball away with both hands.

The ball flew about six meters out of the penalty area. The battlefield had now shifted to one between Kaka and Luo Bin.

Luo Bin hoped to use his own physical strength to suppress Kaka but Kaka was 1.83 m tall. The two of them were equally matched.

As a result, no one touched that ball. The ball bounced on the ground and continued to fly towards the middle of the pitch.

Wang Ning and Zhao Defeng ran towards the ball at the same time.

At the same time, the both of them stretched a leg to reach the ball in midair. As Zhao Defeng was closer to the ball, Wang Ning’s longer legs couldn’t serve as an advantage.

Who would be able to get the ball?

The answer was that they both reached it at the same time.

Both their legs came into contact with the ball, causing it to fly to the left. Zhang Yuchao rushed up immediately. Li Hao also wanted to rush up but he was too heavy and needed more time to accelerate. In the end, the ball was taken by Zhang Yuchao. After several twists and turns, the ball once again fell to Zhongyuan.

Charge!

It was like a cavalry charge heading straight towards Shu Guang’s goal, their spears dazzling under the winter sunlight.

“It is the quick counterattack that Zhongyuan is skilled in! Shu Guang is in danger!”

Chen Bo did not dare to go up and greet it as he would be easily bypassed. He did not want the team to lose because of his recklessness. So, he changed his usual reckless attitude and merely tracked Zhang Yuchao.

After entering into the area about 30 m from goal, Zhang Yuchao cut into the corner of the penalty box that he was accustomed to and took a shot at goal.

An Ke felt terrible as he could see three Zhang Yuchao and four balls. As the ball approached, he did not know what to do and froze on the spot.

Just as he was feeling overwhelmed, Li Jieguang once again played the role of goalkeeper and used his body to block Zhang Yuchao’s shot.

The assassin He Jialin then made his appearance and quickly retrieved the ball instantly followed by another shot at goal.

This time, An Ke saw two balls. This time, he decided to make a gamble. He hesitated for a moment and then rushed towards the far post. However, his movement was clearly still affected by his eyesight. Although he went in the right direction, his estimate of distance fell short. He stretched out his hand and but was unable to reach the ball.

Just as Zhongyuan’s fans were about to cheer for the goal, Lin Xiaofang quickly leapt in. He dived and headed the ball away from goal.

“A narrow escape! Both shots by Zhongyuan’s strikers were blocked by Shu Guang’s tenacious defenders!”

“An Ke’s performance is somewhat abnormal. It must be related to that save.”

“In that case, would Zhongyuan only needs to keep shooting from afar to defeat Shu Guang?”

“It is definitely possible. If the shots were aimed at the upper corners, the defenders would be helpless.”

After Lin Xiaofang made his save, he jumped up and shouted. “Don’t let them near the goal! Don’t give them the chance to shoot at all! There are still four minutes left! Hold on!” His appeared to be the leader of the defense.

An Ke looked at Lin Xiaofang’s figure from the back and felt annoyed at his own ability during this critical moment. He had dragged down the entire defense line. This would cause the offense and defense to be disjointed. The attackers would not be able to receive support from the defenders. As their attacking power weakened, the pressure placed on the defense would increase. This was a vicious cycle!

As Zhongyuan pressed forward, Kaka and Yang Pan returned to defend.

During this time, Zhongyuan had already realized that An Ke could not hold on anymore. So, they all took chances at long range shots. As expected, that move was effective. For a moment, Shu Guang’s goal was in grave danger.

Yang Pan had just tackled away Zhang Yuchao’s ball, only for Zhao Defeng to steal it away. Wang Ning rushed forward. He stole the ball but cunningly passed it to Lu Qing. Lu Qing immediately passed the ball to Zhang Yulin on the right flank. Compared to the well-guarded left flank, the right was slightly weaker because Ren Yu De did not track back to defend.

Zhang Yulin did not try and break through when he came up against Xie Wei. Instead, he passed the ball directly to the middle.

As An Ke was incapable of hitting the ball out, it would all depend on the defenders.

Lin Xiaofang did not disappoint Shu Guang’s fans. He successfully obstructed He Jialin. After that, Kaka kicked the ball out of the penalty area.

Because of a shortage of manpower, Kaka who had the advantage in heading had to also return to the penalty area as a defender.

An Ke remained silent during this time. His “roar” could no longer be heard on the pitch. On one hand, he had problems with his eyes. He could not see the situation on the pitch clearly nor could he give the right commands. On the other hand, he was not in the mood to make criticisms.

“Both teams are competing fiercely, with casualties on both sides. I am a little worried. Li Yongle is injured and An Ke’s injuries are unclear. In the end, even if they qualified for the nationals, their main players would have already fallen. Isn’t this too great a price?”

“I understand what you mean but I disagree. At this point in the match, do you think the players and coaches still care about the nationals?”

“What does Master Zhou mean?”

“Right now, Shu Guang and Zhongyuan are desperately competing for victory. Victory. This is the only word in their minds. They only want to defeat their opponent. They do not have the time to think about what happens after that. What you are saying is something to be thought of only after the final whistle. It is something they would only remember during celebrations.”

“They are only concerned about this match?”

“Yes. Though it sounds unreasonable, this is indeed a fact in their minds. This match is a decisive battle that is more important than the entry ticket to the national tournament!”

Author’s note: 

P.S. I want to explain to those saying that I’m dragging things on for too long. It is not that I do not know what to write next but it is that there will not be a next thing to write. This is the last battle. After this, the story is finished. In the final battle, I would naturally need to come up with the best and most exciting things. A lot of things need to be resolved in this match. It may be unsatisfactory if it was short. The story is coming to an end, so thank you for your support!