From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Goal Contributions Surpass 10!

September 25th, the eighth round of the Championship, an away game against Leeds United is approaching.

Gilbert’s suspension has been announced yesterday, and it’s clear from the lengthy investigation process that Garrispeed’s efforts had something to do with it.

Ultimately, he was suspended for three matches and fined 3,000 Pounds.

This is a lenient punishment, barely at the minimum level, and Garrispeed and the club must have put in a lot of effort.

In the fallout from this farce, the referee of the game also received a suspension due to his poor officiating.

He was suspended for two matches, and The English FA ultimately concluded that his hesitant decisions were one of the main reasons for the ’retaliatory actions’ that followed.

And thus, this incident is concluded.

In a bid to make up for his brother’s absence from the game, Ma’el wrote Gilbert’s name on his shin guard and promised to celebrate by throwing the shin guard if he scored in the next three matches.

Driven by this sentiment, Ma’el sat in silence on the back of the team bus on the way to Leeds United’s stadium for the first time this season.

The match kicked off at 3:30 in the afternoon. Leeds United was slightly stronger than Sheffield, but the latter had higher morale and was not at a disadvantage in the game.

”Barely three minutes into the game, Leeds United’s Snodgrass has been shown a yellow card. He’s quite heated and his actions are rough all around.

”They need to be careful with such actions; from what happened in Sheffield United’s last game, provoking them won’t bring good results!”

”...”

”Another yellow card! Again, for Leeds United, McCartney pulled down the breaking Ma’el from behind, giving Sheffield United a set-piece opportunity!

”A header clears the area! No threat! Both sides are defending well, but the match has been somewhat dull so far.”

”It looks like the first half is going to end like this, nil-nil. The home fans look visibly displeased, while the traveling Sheffield United fans are calm, seemingly accustomed to the team’s fluctuating performances.”

”...”

”The second half begins, and both teams switch sides to start a new round of battles. Let’s hope for an exciting half.”

”Snodgrass with a long pass! Johnson is advancing and receives the ball, Carl Wei is marking him! He’s gotten past him, a beautiful breakthrough, and Johnson is heading rapidly towards the inside line.

”A shot!! Oh...!! One-nil! Johnson shows the qualities of a top Championship forward, using his personal skill to give his team the lead!”

”...”

”We’re past the 70-minute mark; does Sheffield United still stand a chance? They desperately need consecutive wins to build confidence, as inconsistent performances could affect team morale.”

”Ma’el, physically holding off McCartney, who has a card and dares not use his hands!

”He’s past him! Ma’el bursts into the penalty area! Evans is retreating to receive the ball. Can Ma’el spot the inverted triangle position?

”Beautiful pass! A push shot... Goal! One-one!! Sheffield United have finally equalized the score, with Evans scoring brilliantly and Ma’el’s vision playing a crucial role too!”

”...”

”The referee blows the final whistle, it’s one-a-piece! Both teams take a point each!

”We can see from the broadcast that neither team’s players are satisfied. Indeed, they were just one goal away from three points, and there were plenty of chances moments ago.

”We hope they achieve better results in the future.”

After the match, Ma’el sat on the field doing stretches, slightly regretful.

Looking at the shin guard on his calf, he lamented not seizing a scoring opportunity in the first half.

However, he was content with having an assist to his name, a satisfactory performance.

His current level is already quite good in the Championship, but there’s still some way to go to completely dominate.

Keep grinding, aiming to max all skills to Level 3!

He intends to comprehensively overpower Championship defenders and build enough capital to push into the Premier League!

......

Four days later, on September 29th, another away league game comes around.

Sheffield United heads to Nottingham Forest’s grounds, engaging a team with a glorious history, having won back-to-back Champions League titles.

They started this match well.

”Budanovic! Receives a pass from Luton inside the box, and shoots with a crisp turn!

”It’s a goal! Beautiful!! One-nil! Sheffield United takes the lead away from home, and within just six minutes of kickoff, this is good news for them!”

”.....”

”Sheffield United holds onto their lead into halftime, raising hopes of securing this win and capping off September on a high note!”

”The second half begins! Sheffield replaces Butler with Carl Wei, and Garrispeed did not discard this experienced defender despite the poor performance last round.”

”...”

”Bertrand! A cross! Three Nottingham Forest players are surging through the middle, there’s.... Pang!!

”Header goal! Pang equalizes for Nottingham Forest! A goal in the 70th minute, and Sheffield United is in trouble now!

”Pang doesn’t celebrate; he grabs the ball and runs back to the center circle. They haven’t given up and want to fight for the win in the last twenty-odd minutes! It’s commendable spirit!”

”...”

”We are in injury time, and any goal now could determine the match’s outcome, sending one side into euphoria!”

”Sheffield United wins a throw-in, Carl Wei steps up to throw, sending it to Janu in midfield!

”A pass finds the striker Evans! Nottingham Forest players don’t want him to turn, marking tightly... A back pass, beautiful one-two, Janu advances up front!

”There’s no receiving point, but Ma’el quickly moves towards the center, Janu pushes lightly! He’s setting Ma’el up!”

In the footage, Ma’el glances at the goal before focusing solely on the ball.

He opts not to stop the ball, but instead, lowers his instep to meet the oncoming pass with a violent strike.

”Bang!!” The onsite audio equipment captures the sound of the brutal strike, as if trying to burst the ball.

Then, people saw the flying Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, his empty grasp, the ’swish’ of the ball hitting the net, and the sight of Sheffield’s traveling fans rising from their seats.

”Yeah!!”

Amidst the frenzy of thousands, the live commentator’s voice becomes heightened and excited, at its peak: ”Wow... Ma’el!!!”

”A thunderous strike!! Ma’el secures a last-minute victory! This superstar from Arsenal saves Sheffield once again, claiming 3 points for them!

”You’ve got to love these young dynamic forces; they represent all possibilities. No opponent hopes they get possession at such crucial moments! It’s a night of celebration, as the emotions of Sheffield United fans soar to heaven!”

In the footage, Ma’el, his body trembling, rushes towards the home fan section, skillfully dodging his Sheffield teammates trying to tackle him.

He reaches near the advertisement boards, takes off the shin guard from his right leg, clutches it in his right hand, and performs the classic bow-drawing big eagle shooting celebration. At the peak of fan emotions, he hurls the shin guard into the stands.

”Oh...!” This action prompts another round of cheers from the fan section, with someone grabbing the shin guard and raising it high.

Ma’el barely has time for another move before being tackled by a number of teammates.

”Still trying to dodge!”

”A last-minute winner! Your first last-minute winner! Hahaha!”

Numerous people pile on, playing human Jenga without regard for appearances.

Once they’ve had enough, giving Ma’el a chance to stand, he smiles and approaches the camera, making a double five gesture.

The message is clear: 5 goals, 5 assists!

Creating over 10 goals in his career so far!