First Training Session (3)

Alexis sprinted into the open space without hesitation. He looked up to try and find someone inside the box that he could pass to. Michael Uche spotted his glance and turned around to run forward. He would've made a pass of not for the fact that he saw Archie pointing at the central area of the box. There was an abundance of space to run into.

Michael Uche didn't make the run with the intention of getting the ball, he made the run to attract the attention of the defenders and drag them deeper into the box so that Alexis would have more space to run into.

As Alexis realized this, he ran into the space and set himself up for the shot. When the center backs saw this, they realized that they had been played. It was too late to do anything about this however, Alexis's left leg had already made contact with the ball.

The ball curved and bent round a center back, making a small arc as it dipped towards the lower left corner of the post.

Andy made a quick dive to his right, arms outstretched in a bid to push the shot away. His fingertips managed to touch the ball, but all of did was push it towards the steel post. It would've been enough if he got the angle right, but the ball bounced off the steel post and entered the post.

"Team 2 goal!" Xavier said then blew his whistle.

Alexis smiled and jogged back to his position, feigning nonchalance as he scored. While he was walking back, he was pushed around by some of his teammates celebrating his goal. The only people who didn't react were Michael Uche, Archie Black and David Archer. He turned to look at David and found that David was already staring at him. David gave him a slight nod and turned to stare in another direction.

After Team 2 scored a second goal, Team 1 decided to abandon their defensive approach and went on the offensive. Trey and Liam Walker were wreaking havoc on the flanks while James took a central role, dropping through balls from the width for the two wingers to chase after.

Because James left the right hand side, it was exposed and has lots of space to be exploited. Team 1 covered it well however and didn't allow Team 2 to exploit it.

51'

Team 1 were on the offensive. James sent a through ball to the left towards Trey. Trey and Ben Lawson (Team 1 right back) raced towards the ball. They ran at the same pace but Trey managed to get to the ball most before him. Ben still decided to continue running. He believed that Trey was going to push the ball forward because he had some space in front of him.

Instead of pushing the ball forward like Ben predicted. Trey used his left leg to chop back. He moved the ball towards the box and found himself face to face with Charlie Bennet (Team 2 center back). His legs flashed over the ball as he did consecutive stepovers then forced his way into the box. He moved the ball away from an outstretched leg and wiped it towards the goal.

The speed at which the ball moved towards the post was astonishing. There was no fancy technique, no curve at all, just the ball moving at the post. Even Sam Butland couldn't do anything. He could only sigh a sigh of relief as he watched the ball go out of bounds. If it was a few inches closer then he was sure he would've been hearing the ball smashing the net.

The rest of the match happened without any major incident. Team 2 managed to keep the score line at two goals to one and win the training match. The remainder of the match allowed Alexis to see that Archie Black was really a top tier defensive midfielder.

While it was just a training exercise, it was quite obvious that Archie had taken it seriously. If not for his defensive presence the Trey would've gotten more opportunities to pull the stunt that he said earlier. Team 2 would've probably conceded another goal without him.

"Alright boys, come together". Xavier called everyone together after the match. He gave them a short pep talk then briefed them about their schedule. According to him, they would be having three friendly matches and then they would start the preliminary round of the Proprietor's Cup.

The Proprietor's Cup was the main competition of the school football calendar. It was where all the schools in Birmingham played against each other for the purpose of being known as the best school in the state. The winner also went on to play for the National Cup and if they won that, players, coaches and school would receive a fat amount of money.

"There will be another training session after school. This light exercise was just so that I could get to see your abilities". Xavier said. "As you should all know, not everyone will get to play. Some of you will start every match. Some of you will start some matches and end up on the bench. Some of you will start on the bench and end on the field and some of you will stay on the bench and end on the bench".

Xavier's last remark made some of the boys chuckle a bit. He tried to look serious but he also couldn't stop himself from smiling. "In essence, what I'm trying to say is that you all should put in your best, nobody has a guaranteed spot in my starting lineup. Even the six wankers I was forced to guarantee a place in the squad may not necessarily play. If you're good enough, you start. That's my philosophy".

When Xavier was done talking, he dismissed everybody. Alexis went and got his bags. He quickly changed to his school uniform and went to class. As a result of their training, everyone in the football team had missed the first class of the day. The teachers didn't complain however, they were accounted for.

The rest of the day passed without anything eventful happening and soon it was time for the afternoon training.