From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Show Them the Power of Your Cannon Shot!

On October 24th, Sheffield United faced the 13th round of the Championship, an away game against Doncaster.

Doncaster is a team in the Championship fighting relegation, currently ranked 20th in the league, not very strong.

Most of the time, the team is mixed in the third and fourth tiers of the league.

To ensure core players are well rested, Garrispeed still didn’t choose to let Ma’el start, and he even placed Janu and Luton, two key offensive players, on the bench.

He had a reason for doing this; recently, Sheffield has been unstoppable, in great form.

Moreover, with the Championship spanning 46 rounds in the season, there indeed needs to be a better resting mechanism to ensure the players’ combat effectiveness in the late season.

If nothing unexpected happens, then something unexpected is about to happen.

Inside Kipmot Stadium, over ten thousand home fans created a cheering formation today, overwhelming in momentum, feeling like thirty thousand people present.

”Bang!”

In the 33rd minute of the match, Doncaster’s number 10 key player Sharp reached the edge of the field and swept a low shot in front of the goal.

Center Keping Jie followed up with a push shot, and the football flew into the goal with lightning speed, leaving goalkeeper Robert with no time to react!

One to zero!

”Oh.....!”

The cheers erupted, Keping Jie rushed to the sidelines to celebrate with a passionate knee slide, then stood up and let out a roaring cheer toward the stands.

It wasn’t over; 9 minutes later, Sharp received a pass at the top of the arc and immediately passed two players to break into the penalty area, using his reverse foot to power the ball into the far corner.

”Whoosh!” The football hit the right side of the net; the goalkeeper was really too late to get down, only able to watch the ball go into the net.

Two to zero!

Sharp’s heroic performance with 1 goal and 1 assist helped the team expand their lead.

”Yeah.....!”

After the goal, he raised his hands high, making a ruling-the-world celebratory gesture, as if controlling the entire field.

This is a team full of vitality; even if their hard power is insufficient, occasionally they can give those who underestimate them a heavy blow through their strong cohesion.

On the sidelines at the coach’s seat, Garrispeed’s expression was more serious, feeling quite frustrated.

Since taking office, he has often paid ’tuition’ for lack of experience, frequently making wrong judgments and decisions.

However, this cost is not something he can bear alone.

He must consider the club’s fans, management, and some players with bigger aspirations.

No one enjoys losing or failing.

Something must be done!

After hesitating for a while, Garrispeed still shook his head slightly; changing formation and fully pressing forward in attack at this stage is not the best strategy.

The most reliable solution is still to substitute the three resting players to see if they can change the game’s direction with their abilities.

This is his only attempt capable of executing at the moment.

”Janu, Ma’el.”

Garrispeed decided to substitute two players first and leave one in reserve, ”Warm up, substitutions after halftime.”

His eyes held hope, a sense of entrusting all hope upon these two players.

On the bench, Ma’el quickly stood up, ran to the sideline’s warm-up area for jogging and stretching.

The main referee soon blew the whistle, marking halftime’s end, with both starting eleven returning to the dressing rooms to rest.

Ma’el didn’t return; he was still making final preparations with Janu.

They knew what it meant for Garrispeed to send them onto the field at this time.

...

After halftime, the match was about to resume.

Garrispeed walked out of the player tunnel, calling Ma’el and Janu to his side, holding a tactical board for final instructions.

”O’Connor and Joseph are weaknesses in the opponent’s defense; they have a record of being frequently broken through in the Championship.”

He first looked at Janu, ”Try to pass towards their left flank where they are located, let Ma’el attack, and you also move closer and attack this side.”

Janu nodded, taking a deep look at the opponent’s left center back and left back.

”Ma’el, seek one-on-one breakthroughs against Joseph more.”

Garrispeed gestured on the tactical board, arranging Ma’el’s tactical requirements, ”He is not your match; be more confident.

”Also, I asked the players during the break, and the ground is very wet, even slightly slippery.”

”This must be Doncaster watering heavily before the game, trying to catch us off guard by exploiting our discomfort.”

He closed the tactical board after speaking, ”Your long shots can stick to the ground more, or hit the ball to bounce off the ground.”

Ma’el understood, the wet field indeed facilitates long shots.

Whether it’s the smoothness of a ground ball or the acceleration of the ball bouncing off the ground, it will create great trouble for the goalkeeper.

He nodded to show understanding, then turned and stood by the field with Janu.

When the fourth official raised the substitution board, Garrispeed specifically came over, looked at the two with expectation, patted their shoulders, and expressed his last entrustment: ”Go for it! It’s up to you!”

”Go go!”

The two clapped hands and ran into the field with a renewed attitude, somewhat affecting other somewhat discouraged Sheffield United teammates.

”Ma’el, show them your cannon king prowess!”

Gilbert had recently noticed Ma’el’s advancement in long shots, was the first to remind with a smile: ”I’m rooting for you.”

Ma’el laughed out loud, not paying much mind, only reminding, ”You better say it all next time.”

”Beep!!”

As the players from both sides were in position, the referee blew the whistle for the start of the second half.

Ma’el collected his other thoughts and ran towards the opponent’s half.

Today, indeed is the perfect opportunity to test his boosted long shot abilities against Doncaster.

...

In the 57th minute, Janu got the ball and footed it to the flank towards Ma’el, following closely himself.

”Bang!”

The two produced an excellent two-on-two play, Ma’el reached the edge and curled a cross, the football directly landed towards the far post in the penalty area.

Unfortunately, Gilbert, who charged into the far post, underperforms, missing the header and letting the ball slip behind.

On the right-wing position, Ward rushed to regain control of the football about to roll out, ensuring the team kept possession.

Ma’el saw this point and lightly breathed a sigh of relief, moving closer toward the center, hoping to clutch a shot opportunity at the top of the arc.

He deliberately slowed down his steps, running behind the opposing defenders, not eager to sprint up.

Ward quickly grasped his intention and discovered a hidden passing lane.

”Bang!”

Not hasty, Ward took a few steps towards the baseline, compressing the opponent’s defense, then suddenly reversed direction, his ankle delivered a ground ball.

The pass quality was high, unfaltering mid-flight, precisely landing on Ma’el’s running path.

Great ball... Ma’el thought, lowering his center of gravity to stop the ball and raising his eyes to observe the opposing goalkeeper’s position.

Seeing the goalkeeper leaning right, he took the ball outside step, preparing for a volley at the far corner.

”Bang!!”

At the moment of shooting, his ankle suddenly twisted inward, blasting the ball towards the near corner!

Aiming right, hitting left, feigning east, striking west!

The football skimmed the ground at an incredibly fast speed towards the goal, splashing scattered water droplets in its path.

”Whoosh!!” Doncaster’s goalkeeper stood motionless, watching the football roll into the net, hitting the left bottom dead zone of the near corner!

This was a perfect long shot, even without height, without a net break, yet in technical application and final result, it was perfect!

”Yeah.....!”

The over three thousand traveling Sheffield United fans stood up in an uproar, seeing hope once again.

Scoring the 6th goal of his professional career, Ma’el was full of accomplishment, spreading his hands to slide on the wet grass, sliding six or seven meters away.

One to two!

An immediate gain upon playing!

Level 4 grade long shots reduced the randomness of his shot quality; once he shot, there was a substantial opportunity to challenge the goalkeeper!