Duel - Ch4

The second half started, and the senior team seemed to have a lot more confidence now that Keisuke was on their side. The football club seemed to have quite a lot of respect for the tall boy, who clearly stood out from his peers. Not just because he was tall and athletic, but also because he still wore his normal school uniform.

The second half started just like the first one ended. The junior team always tried to get the ball to their striker. The moment Ju touched the ball for the first time, he noticed something different. At the end of the first half, he would be guarded by at least two opponents. But now it was different. The senior team didn't even try to properly defend Ju.

[Perhaps they gave up.]

Ju decided not to think about it too much and just made his way towards the goal. But something was in his way. No, not something, but rather someone. Someone tall and athletic wearing a school uniform. Ju instantly noticed the change of atmosphere. This guy is clearly much better than the rest.

[I played against a lot of good players in Germany as well. I can do this.]

Ju wasn't intimidated. He was rather stoked about facing this challenge. He decided to run straight at the defender, just to change his direction at the last moment. It was one of his favorite moves. The goal was to make the defender attempt to steal the ball, just to change direction when the ball was just out of reach. This usually gave Ju enough time to run past his opponent. But this time was different.

Instead of targeting the ball directly, Keisuke anticipated Ju's move and effortlessly stole the ball from the striker's foot. It was the first time in this match that Ju felt like his opponent might be on the same level as him.

The ball was now in the possession of the senior team. And they were keen on using the opportunity that Keisuke gave them. They decided to use a number of short passes to outplay their younger peers. And due to the freshmen not being used to playing together, the senior team got to the goal without much difficulty. The captain of the club, Yūya Tani, had no problem finishing the job.

4:4

"Nice one!", Masao screamed, feeling like the freshman team's streak was now broken. Keisuke didn't seem to care much about his team's goal. The center back had his eyes fixed on Ju, seemingly challenging the striker to another duel.

[I'm not going to lose again!]

The game resumed with Ju's team having possession. And after a few moments, a familiar duel happened again. A striker with bright hair faces a tall defender wearing his school uniform.

Ju looked for a weakness in the defense. And he quickly found it. Actually, he didn't find it; he found them. Aside from Keisuke, every defender was making some kind of mistake, which would usually be exploited by the attacking team. But the attackers had a different problem. Nobody on Ju's team seemed to notice these mistakes, making it impossible for Ju to integrate them into the play.

[Looks like it's a 1v1 again.]

Ju was in a bad spot. Since Keisuke could just focus on him, it was almost impossible to get past the defender. And his opponent knew this. Ju only had two options:

1. Try to dribble past Keisuke.

2. Pass to one of his teammates, hoping they would be able to make use of the weak defense.

Both options were less than ideal, and their chances of success were low.

[There has to be another way. There is always another way!]

And then it hit Ju. Instead of focusing on the defenders, he looked toward the opposing goalkeeper.

[Maybe I don't have to get past the defense.]

Even though he was still about 20 meters from the goal, Ju decided to take the shot. This surprised everyone, even Keisuke. But most importantly, it surprised the keeper.

The shoot was hard but not very precise. Usually, not a shot, a goalkeeper would have a problem saving. But the senior team goalie was so surprised, he didn't even react.

5:4

"Well, I didn't expect that", Keisuke admitted, laughing. "I guess we are even now. 1:1," the defender continued. "But don't think I'm going to let you do that again."

The game continued with the senior team making its way to their opponent's goal. After not using a few big chances, it was the captain, Yūya, who scored a goal.

5:5

The scores were equal, and there was barely any time left.

After kick-off, the junior team managed to get the ball to Ju, who instantly made a run for the goal. But when he closed in on his target, Keisuke was in his way once again. This time, he was standing farther away from his goal.

[Seems like he wants to keep his promise of not letting me make a long-range shot again.]

Ju looked around, but all of his mates were too far back, and there was no time to make another attempt.

[I have to do this myself.]

The striker started a sprint. He planned on using the large distance to the goal to shake his defender with his speed. Ju had no idea if he was faster than Keisuke, but he had to put all his eggs in one basket. Unsurprisingly, Keisuke started to chase after Ju, not letting his prey get away.

But suddenly the defender disappeared from Ju's sight, as if Keisuke suddenly stopped running. Even though he was a bit irritated, Ju made his way to the goal and finished with a well-placed shot in the bottom left corner.

6:5, and only a few seconds left to play.

The junior team screamed, knowing that their opponents didn't have enough time to make a comeback. After celebrating his goal for a moment, Ju was curious why Keisuke suddenly stopped giving chase after him.

He turned around and saw the defender standing up from the ground, holding his tailbone. "I guess I shouldn't have played in my school uniform", he said while laughing a bit. Apparently he slipped since he didn't play in proper football boots.

The defender walked up to Ju and held out his hand. "I have to admit, you beat me," he said while shaking Ju's hand.

"Well, if you wore better boots, it might have ended differently," Ju admitted.

"Maybe", Keisuke said. "But disregarding my gear, you still showed extreme skills out there. I know somebody who could use someone like you."