BRADFORD VS NOTTS COUNTY PART 4

 Full-Time 

The final whistle echoed across Wembley, signaling the end of regular time.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, the weight of 90 minutes crashed down on the players like a tidal wave.

Some collapsed to the ground immediately, their bodies unable to take another step. Others hunched over, hands on their knees, desperately sucking in air.

A few lay flat on their backs, staring blankly at the sky above them, their chests rising and falling with heavy, labored breaths.

The stadium lights glared down mercilessly, illuminating the sweat-soaked jerseys, the dirt-stained socks, the raw exhaustion etched into every face.

Jake stepped onto the pitch, his boots sinking slightly into the grass.

His players were drained, every ounce of energy poured into the fight.

But when he looked into their eyes—past the fatigue, past the frustration—he saw something else.

They weren't broken.

They weren't defeated.