Last Kick

Alexis took a deep breath and moved three giant steps away from the ball. The Clifford Academy goalkeeper was taunting him and trying to play mind games. Occasionally, he threw in one or two insults, which made the referee caution him.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the referee blew his whistle and gave Alexis permission to take the penalty. Alexis did a slow run-up and played the penalty straight down the middle. The Clifford Academy goalkeeper made a full stretch dive to his right and could only stare back in confusion when he saw Alexis's shot smash into the net.

"That fucking bastard."

"Did he just Panenka me?!"

Alexis's goal celebration was something that would be considered "cold" by everyone watching. That was because he didn't celebrate the goal at all. He immediately picked up the ball from where it had strayed, dropped it at the center of the field, and went to his position, eagerly waiting for the referee to restart the match.

To the people watching the match, what Alexis did could be considered arrogant in many ways. If they knew what was at stake for him, however, they wouldn't complain. He had a limited amount of time to make something happen.

After Clifford Academy restarted the match, they began playing defensive football. Charles Patterson, who had been playing leisurely the entire match, started playing with purpose, much to Alexis's delight.

The red card to the Clifford Academy defender had been the turning point of the match. Initially, the Charles Patterson players didn't care about the result; in their minds, it was all fun. Now that their opponents had been reduced to ten men, they were playing for their pride. It would be quite embarrassing if they couldn't win against an average team that had been reduced to ten men.

**41'**

After having a flurry of attacks shut out by Clifford Academy, Charles Patterson finally found a breakthrough.

Marcus played a progressive pass to Alexis, who was in the middle of the field. Alexis drove the ball forward for a bit, then played a through ball to Harry Morgan, Charles Patterson's left midfielder, who was making a run on the right flank.

Harry drove the ball forward for a short distance before finding himself facing the Clifford Academy right-back. He held on to the ball for a few more seconds, teasing a take-on, then played a through ball to Alexis, who was making an overlapping run.

Alexis looked into the box and, after spotting a number of targets, sent a left-footed cross into the box.

Clifford Academy had several defenders swarm the box and effectively mark the attacking threats inside. Even though they did well against the players in the box, they couldn't contain Marcus Pearce, who made a bullet run into the area.

With little obstruction, his head connected with the ball, sending a powerful header towards the goalpost. The Clifford Academy goalkeeper didn't even bother to try and save the shot. He knew there was no hope and could only heave a sigh of relief when he saw the ball brush the top bar.

"Fuck." Marcus and Alexis spoke the same word at the same time. They, along with almost everyone watching, thought the header was a sure goal.

**[What a miss by Marcus Pearce. There was some beautiful play from Harry Morgan and Alexis Butcher on the left-hand side, with Morgan just creating space for Butcher to get the cross away. Marcus Pearce made a good run into the box, but unfortunately, he couldn't finish off the chance.]**

**[I think it's the best chance that has been created all afternoon. Marcus Pearce will be gutted not to score, but that's a positive for Charles Patterson. They've been out of the game for such a long time now. The red card might've played a part, but I think they'll be happy with this chance and will be working towards creating a few more chances like it.]**

After Marcus Pearce's missed header, Charles Patterson created a couple more chances. None of them resulted in a goal, however, causing Alexis to feel quite anxious.

**45+2'**

At the end of the first half, Charles Patterson had one last chance to take the lead. Their center-back sent a long ball to Harry, who was favorably positioned on the left flank, near the middle of the field. Due to Clifford Academy playing a low block, there wasn't any immediate pressure on him. He had time to push the ball forward and search for an open teammate.

When the first of the Clifford Academy players began to move towards him, Harry played a cross-field pass to Alexis, who was quite open. Alexis got the ball under control with his first touch and ran at the box. Almost immediately, he was marked by a Clifford Academy defensive midfielder. He got past the midfielder without much trouble and found himself being swarmed by the large number of players inside the box. He quickly passed the ball wide to the right-back, who ran towards it and sent a cross into the box.

The Clifford Academy defender managed to head the ball away, but it only went as far as Alexis. He touched the ball a bit, ensuring that it bounced once on the floor, then hit it on a half-volley.

The defenders were stunned by the speed of the ball and couldn't even move to block the shot. They only watched as the ball zipped past them and went towards the post. Unlike the rest of his teammates, the Clifford Academy goalkeeper managed to react and dove towards the ball at full stretch.

He couldn't keep the shot out, however, and the sound of the ball hitting the net and the referee blowing the whistle to signify the end of the first half echoed in his head.

Alexis, meanwhile, dropped another "cold" celebration. He heaved a huge sigh of relief and turned around to walk to his team's locker room. It wasn't that he didn't want to celebrate the goal, but that was the last thing on his mind. The mission given to him by the system occupied his thoughts, so he didn't have the expected reaction of someone who had just scored from the last kick of the first half.