Hidden Challenges

The late goal from Arbelaez pretty much ended the game then and there. With Le Havre back in the lead, the sky and navy blue team reaffirmed their defensive intentions as they got their entire team back to hold the fort for the dying minutes of the game.

Try as they might, Lille wasn't going to give up without a fight. But they struggled to find any luxury as the Lille forwards hardly got touches not the ball. What resulted were long shots. Numerous long shots were taken by Lille as they couldn't get through the stubborn Le Havre defence.

Many attempts were sent to Faira, but they were of low quality as Lille kept attempting long shots from distance. The chances of these desperate shots getting past Faira are akin to impossible. The game concluded under the desperate Lille players taking potshots at the Le Havre goal. There was a wide smile that Kai couldn't quite shake off his face as he noticed the cheery team celebrating their victory. Arms raised high as they high-fived one another for their efforts.

Marley also joined in at the antics, sharing a moment with the players as they congratulated each youth player for their fantastic result. A much-needed three points following their disappointing draw with Amiens. Though Lanier didn't share the same mood as the others, the coach immediately pulled Kai by the scruff of his neck, reprimanding the player for his unnecessary yellow card. Though he carried a half-serious tone when Lanier exposed his dissatisfaction, evidently still jovial by their victory.

As Kai, Lanier, Marley and the others were reunited on the sidelines, talking and commiserating about the result, Marley had a different mindset. He knew there were still games to be played, and that Le Havre still has tough games ahead of them. He also figured there was a good chance they were not going to hit his lofty ambitions if things don't work out.

Le Havre has already dropped 2 points against Amiens. Their gap against the group leaders widened during that time. Their side has a respectable 33 points thus far in the league, but they are only 4th in the table. The youth league's current title contender is PSG, with them having a total of 40 points, 7 more than what Le Havre has accumulated.

With the league already past its halfway point, including this game against Lille, there are only 10 more matches till the end of the season. Is there still a still to do something memorable with the players? Marley questioned if his selfish desire could ever materialise, but the manager shook his head before he caught himself in this cycle of fixation.

On the team bus, the chatter was now more frequent than the trip to the away team as they are now no longer burdened by their dissatisfaction. Each player's mood took a turn for the better over their victory over a strong opponent.

Kai took a seat by himself in a hidden corner as he stared out from the bus window. He came from the past and knows pretty much everyone in the team whether by name of their little secrets. Yet he was uncomfortable being around next to them, an awkwardness dwelled on him as he feared initiating a conversation. But during the time the team were heading back, Kai didn't let it go to waste as he stared out the clouds in the sky, analytically processing the match in search of anything they could improve on.

Control? Creativity? Defending? Kai only thought about these things for a short moment before he signed a big breath. There are still things they could have done better. No, what Kai could have done better to turn the tides to Le Havre's favour.

At the end of the trip back, as Kai left the bus, the whole team thanked the coaches for taking care of them. Almost everyone was complimentary to the coaches, but these players are always considered inferior to other players in the league. Lanier often felt ashamed and frustrated by this fact, and though he tried not to focus on it, he felt even more intensely after they have just grasped victory from the jaws of defeat.

As the team reach home, the atmosphere became relaxed. Coaches met each player and talked a little. Marley discussed the boys about their match, using words such as "fantastic" and "magnificent" to describe their victory.

Though untraditional, Marley celebrated the victory by sending everyone to the Le Havre medical centre before "kindly" asking the physiotherapists to give the players a shoulder massage or a leg massage for the fatigued. The on-duty physio almost cried as he was the only person that was working today, and thus had the responsibility to serve the entire u-19 side by himself.

By the following day, after a miserable physio decided to request an absence due to being "sick", and the entire Le Havre team well rested as they had a night's sleep, they returned to the club ground as Le Havre youngsters resumed their training.

"Hello? Kai? Do you have a minute?" A deep voice said on the other end of the phone.

"… Yes, Lanier. I do." Kai replied.

"Good. Um.. Nobilo turned up surprisingly to watch us train."

Nobilo is the first team manager of Le Havre, currently shaping the club under his guidance.

He sighed: "Go on, my ears are open."

"Well… it's about the Le Havre first team."

This was about one of the most critical meetings Kai had ever had.

"First team?"

"Yes. The main team. You know.. the Le Havre squad that is competing in Ligue 2? The situation is like this: The first team's next match is against a relegation-tipped side and Jean-Marc Nobilo wants to give some game time to our players."

Jean-Marc Nobilo is Le Havre's first team manager, currently leading the first team and competing in Ligue 2. Surprisingly, the first team is lurking near the top of the league so far and has a real shot at possibly earning Le Havre a promotion to Ligue 1.

Lanier: "And because of that... we would be losing some players for our next U-19 match against Quevilly-Rouen."

"..."

"Who's unavailable for the next game?"

"Ehm.. Chevalier, Roys, and Arbelaez..."

Kai was startled, his thoughts were racing and confused. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even paying attention anymore, trying to understand the implications of this decision.

"WHAT!"

It was his turn to be startled, and to a degree, dismayed. Yet although he felt a tangible burden weighing down his shoulders, he gritted his teeth as he shook his head. He took a big breath in, trying to get his mind to think objectively.

"... I told Mr Nobilo we can do without them."

"HUH!"

"It's the best for them... to have their debut for the first team."

"but."

"Youth games are nothing, Kai. Nothing. I know that what I'm saying might upset you, but we have a duty to let those youngsters develop into the best possible version of themselves. We have to create future world-class talents for our club, and allowing them to play for the first team is a small step in doing so."

"Well, I'm all for it. But…"

"No buts, Kai. I'll call Marley and tell him what's up, why must he be in the toilets just when Nobilo turned up..."

As he was going to say more, Kai noticed that Lanier wasn't saying anything anymore, and had his eyes closed, watching the players practising on the club grounds. The players were evidently more energised than normal, clearly putting on a show, motivated by the appearance of the first-team manager.