John Oblek Regen
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[For one of the two teams playing today, it's their first match in the Proprietor's Cup. It's last year's finalist, Charles Patterson Institute of Learning, versus Williamson Memorial College.]
[It's going to be a banger of a match tonight. Williamson Memorial haven't conceded a goal in their last four matches; three out of those four matches have ended in a nil-nil draw. Their goalkeeper, John Travis, has not conceded a single goal since he got between the posts.]
[He'll be looking to keep that streak alive, but he's against one of the most, if not the most, lethal strikers in the entire Proprietor's Cup, Michael Uche. Very rarely does he take a shot that doesn't end up in the back of the net, and John Travis has never faced a shot that ended up in the back of the net. It's a really exciting meeting, isn't it? The most clinical forward from last year versus the best keeper this year.]
[Whoever is going to be the winner of this confrontation, we'll find out quite soon.]
As everyone marched out onto the field, Alexis was taken aback momentarily by the huge crowd that had turned up. Of course, the majority of the crowd were cheering for Williamson Memorial College. Alexis faintly glanced at the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of his mum.
The two teams went to their halves of the field and got into their positions. The referee blew his whistle shortly after, and the match began.
Williamson Memorial started the match. As soon as they took the first kick, the ball was sent long to their goalkeeper. John held the ball for a few seconds, giving his wingers time to make deep runs before sending the ball long. Unfortunately for them, though, Archie managed to intercept the pass meant for the right winger.
As soon as Archie got the ball, all the Williamson Memorial players retreated to their half of the pitch, putting together a very compact defensive shape. As soon as Archie saw this, his lips twitched. He lazily sent the ball back to David while moving to maintain the same pace as him.
"Fucking shameless low blockers," Archie muttered under his breath.
**7'**
If you asked anyone watching, they would undoubtedly tell you that the first seven minutes of the match were extremely boring. It was basically Charles Patterson knocking the ball around in their half of the field. Anytime they tried to advance to Williamson Memorial's side of the field, they would be heavily pressed and would be forced to pass the ball back. Fortunately for them, Williamson Memorial didn't seem interested in pressing for the ball as long as it wasn't in their half of the field.
Finally, Charles Patterson managed to find space to launch an attack. Archie and Dave were leisurely knocking the ball between themselves when, all of a sudden, Dave played a long pass to Trey, who was making a run on the left.
Trey brought the ball under control with a deft touch on his right foot. He found himself face-to-face with Williamson Memorial's right back. His legs flashed over the ball a couple of times before he pushed it forward and ran towards it. He and the Williamson Memorial right back ran towards the ball. Trey got to the ball and set himself up for a cross. The Williamson Memorial right back threw himself on the floor in a full-fledged tackle to block Trey's cross. He could only look in dismay as Trey cut back.
After scanning for a brief moment, Trey found Alexis free slightly behind the central area of the penalty box and passed to him.
Before Alexis's legs even touched the ball, he was rushed by Williamson Memorial's defensive midfielder. He was the only defensive midfield player in what seemed to be a 4-1-3-2 formation that was being used by Williamson Memorial.
Alexis dragged the ball back, causing the Williamson Memorial defensive midfielder to kick the air. He used his left leg to move it slightly to his left and set himself up for a shot. Just as he was about to take the shot, he noticed Michael freeing himself from the two defenders that were tightly marking him.
Alexis immediately changed his mind. Instead of shooting the ball like everyone thought he was going to do, his side foot chiseled the side of the ball, causing it to chip over the head of the defender directly blocking him.
The ball bounced nicely in front of Michael, who took a step back before blasting the ball towards the post with all the strength he could muster in his legs.
"What the fuck?"
"No fucking way!"
"Am I dreaming?"
"John Oblek regen!"
"Figures, his name is also John!"
Everyone in the stadium lost their minds as John pulled off the most mind-blowing save ever. Michael was inside the penalty box when he took the shot. He was in front of the penalty box, less than twelve yards in front of the post. The ball bounced in front of him, and he hit it on a half-volley. Even if John was well-positioned, the power behind the shot made one consider it a sure goal, especially from John's close proximity to the goal post, but somehow, John managed to get his whole body in front of the ball and knock it out for a corner.
[What a save?! What a save from John Travis. Alexis Butcher set himself up for what everyone assumed was going to be a shot. Maybe he changed his mind, but he set up Michael Uche for a shot at point-blank range, and somehow John Travis managed to get his body in front of the ball to save the shot. Everyone thought that shot had gone in.]
[I think even some of the best goalkeepers in the world wouldn't be able to keep out a shot like that. Insane reflexes from John to be able to position his body there. It wasn't just a hand, Carrey, he put his entire body in front of the ball.]
[I don't think just a hand is going to keep a missile shot like that out. Charles Patterson have got a corner from that John Oblek-esque save by John Travis. They'll be looking to capitalize on it.]
After the ball bounced off his body, John immediately went to the floor while clutching his ribs. Michael did use all the power he could muster in his legs for that shot. It would have been shocking if he used his body to block it without any side effects.
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