From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 66: Chapter 5: Brace! November Ends! Garrispeed’s Big Bombshell! [5/5]

On November 27, Sheffield United faced their last match of the month.

They headed to Bristol City’s home ground at Aston Gate Stadium for a tough away game.

With this being the last match of the month, the players took it seriously, stepping onto the field with a desire for victory.

But the game’s development was far beyond their expectations.

”Header bomb! Robert’s save! A rebound, Adoma faces an open goal, will he get Bristol City ahead?”

”He fell! It’s Ward who came back with a sliding tackle, the referee called a foul, ruining a perfect scoring opportunity, Ward is being impulsive, he shouldn’t have rashly tackled from behind!”

”Red card! In the 11th minute of the match, Sheffield United is down to ten players. This might be a turning point in the game!”

”Bristol City gains a penalty kick opportunity, Pittman is stepping up to take it!”

The camera focuses on Garrispeed’s face, he bites his lower lip, evidently speechless.

But at this point, blaming anyone doesn’t help.

”Evans, cover right on Ward’s position, leave Bolodanovich alone in the middle!”

He makes a simple adjustment, ”Bolodanovich! Go up during attacks, if there’s no chance, fall back to midfield defense, understood?”

Seeing the nod, he turns to communicate with Evans and Ma’el again, ”When he retreats for defense, you two move towards the center as much as possible, hold the middle position.”

After finishing these, he returns to the coaching seat, takes a sip of water, and looks at his wristwatch with a long sigh.

Being down a player so early, it seems the goal to end the month with a victory is slowly drifting away.

...

”Pittman with a calm shot! Tricking the goalkeeper, securely putting in the penalty! One-zero, with an extra player, Bristol City leads at home!”

”The match’s momentum is entirely in their favor, they might just take down Sheffield United!”

”.....”

”Sheffield United’s attacking opportunity, Janu Hans comes up with the ball, only Gilbert around to support, can he make a play?”

”Passes to Gilbert, Gilbert also gets trapped in a sandwich! He opts for a chipped pass targeting the tall center forward’s head, Bolodanovich! A header lay-off, the situation opens up!”

”Evans receives the ball, a horizontal pass! The person Bristol City least wants to see receiving the ball has it!”

”Ma’el didn’t hurry to shoot, he’s blocked by a defender, Evans on the right rushes back up, will he pass?”

”No! He wants to go solo... a feint! Ball forward, change direction, ball forward again!! Oh.....! He sidesteps and maneuvers past two from the middle position, entering the penalty area, a dipping shot!!”

”Oh oh oh...!! Are you kidding me?!”

With the commentator’s British accent erupting, the football glamorously traces across the side net and spins fiercely towards the inner net.

The Bristol City players gape, then lower their heads shamefully, not daring to face their fan group.

”Yeah....!” A faint cheer comes from the away fan stand, Sheffield United’s fans are ecstatic, momentarily overshadowing Bristol City.

Ma’el temporarily pushes the team’s struggles aside, reveling at the sideline in celebration of this daring solo goal.

With improved speed and coordination, the impact of his breakthrough skills significantly strengthens, giving him the confidence to thrust from the middle into the penalty area, ultimately finishing this goal with superb technique.

Ma’el recalls that fleeting sharpshooter Piatek, mimicking dual pistols with his hands, knee-sliding along the turf, accompanied by roars: ”Boom! Boom! Boom.....!”

The essence of humanity celebration is naturally an indispensable scene on the field.

For a moment, Ma’el feels that he should never exhaust his emotions.

Each celebration brings a moment to unleash himself, possessing a strong sense of satisfaction, which also serves as the mental nourishment supporting his daily grind of training.

He won’t slack off, as this is merely his debut season; he hasn’t visited a truly large stadium to experience the taste of celebration there.

Someday, he intends to tour all the world’s famous stadiums, leaving his mark in those places.

...

After the kick-off, Sheffield United’s situation hasn’t improved.

Bristol City, being an established team, leading with an extra player, if they can’t take advantage of the situation, the players and coach might as well retire.

”Pittman! An opportunity outside the box, he goes for it directly! Aerial strike!!”

”World-class goal!! His performance today is brilliant! A brace! Bristol City leads once more!”

”Their local numerical advantage is evident, this advantage, ultimately converts into one goal after another, falling on their heads!”

”.....”

”This time it’s Jamie McCartlist! A deft push, three to one! The goal at the 79th minute essentially kills off the game!”

”Let’s take a look at the replay, coming from the full-back position, Bristol City forms a three-on-one situation on the left flank, or say, a four-on-two, this numerical advantage, Sheffield can’t defend.”

”They virtually passed the ball into the net, using a ’four ounces can move a thousand pounds’ way to secure 3 points!”

Sheffield United’s defensive strength isn’t strong, that’s a fact, among this batch of defenders, only one has played a full Championship season, the rest are all newly promoted.

Their strong players mainly gather at the front-midfield, like Ma’el, Evans, Janu Hans, and Ward, etc.

In the past, when these guys could pressure the opponent significantly, forcing their attack capabilities to suffer, they didn’t face huge pressure, their performance was decent.

But like today, there’s truly no way.

As time slowly passes, Sheffield United’s players gradually realize that it might be hard to avoid defeat in this match.

However, they’re not playing negatively; they’re still tirelessly running and fighting for each ball.

Even if they lose, it’ll be with dignity.

In the last minute of stoppage time, Evans playing in unfamiliar territory can’t resist the silence and makes a last dash on the flank.

He cuts the ball towards the middle and slices in from the flank, charging all the way towards the baseline.

”Bang!”

Due to his body balance not being Stable, he didn’t make an Observation of the situation in the middle and used an instep strike to make a Crossing.

It indeed was a good choice for Crossing, using extreme ball speed to disrupt the opponent’s defensive line.

Whether our players managed to get a touch or the opponent’s attempt at a clearance inadvertently went wrong, it’s possible to create a goal.

”Bang!” The Bristol City Defender twisted to clear the ball outward, but indeed misjudged it.

He didn’t even judge the landing spot; the football came hurtling over and struck not his foot, but the shin guard on his calf.

The only consolation was that since it hit the outer side of the calf, the football didn’t fly towards the goal but to the outside of the penalty area.

”Watch out!!”

The Defender just took a breath, hearing the Goalkeeper’s tense voice ring out, ”Block him!”

He turned his head to see Ma’el, the nemesis in the Sheffield United jersey, somehow appear on his clearance path again.

”Damn it.” The Defender felt extremely frustrated, gritted his teeth, charged forward, and slid towards the football under Ma’el’s feet.

”Bang!!” A shocking explosive shot resounded throughout the stadium, the football soaring straight away from Ma’el’s feet, rising with no arc or spin, devoid of elevator effect.

It went directly and coldly towards the goal position.

”Swish!” The Bristol City Goalkeeper didn’t even move to save it, as the football embedded into the net, forcing the net backwards.

Two to three!

At the last moment, Sheffield United scored another goal!

”Yeah....!” The visiting fans cheered again, while the home crowd was silent.

Ma’el glanced at the time, realizing the stoppage time was over, he didn’t return the football to the center line but stood in place, fist raised in celebration.

Two goals in one match!

His emblematic Long Shot goal had finally reappeared on this field!

His teammates quickly rushed over, arms wide open, charging towards him.

The Bristol City players felt complicated, a cold sweat broke out on their backs, yet a bit relieved.

Is this the resilience and grace that a star player brings to a team....? It’s fortunate they played well earlier and seized the opportunity.

Otherwise, this match could have been hard to call.

After restarting the play, the referee immediately blew the whistle to end the match.

In the end, Bristol City secured a hard-fought victory at home, and Sheffield United, holding their heads high, walked out of Aston Gate Stadium, accepting the defeat.

”An unforgettable match!”

The commentator concluded with these words: ”Ten-man Sheffield United gave Bristol City immense pressure, ending the match with the smallest score difference!”

”Ma’el, in today’s match, showcased his personal Heroism, scoring two goals that kept the home fans in constant fear.”

”Many often debate whether personal Heroism on the field equates to selfishness, whether it is a derogatory term, but I think it’s not.”

”It’s a transformation every superstar undergoes early in their career, building strong nerves, courage, and accumulating confidence!”

...

On the return bus, Ma’el wore headphones, watched the fleeting cityscape outside the window, and pondered.

November ended just like that, appearing in 4 of the 5 matches this month, creating 3 goals and 3 assists, his performance was excellent.

Compared to last month, his biggest change was more diverse scoring methods, making Championship Defenders more unpredictable.

The statistics seem to dip slightly, but the in-game performance improved.

As more teams learn about him, take him seriously, and deploy more defenders against him, he needs multiple solutions to cope.

Only in this way can he avoid being a flash in the pan, and like Messi and Ronaldo, ensure an efficient and long-spanning illustrious career.

”Twelve goals done.”

Garrispeed moved seats during a red light, approached Ma’el, and first expressed congratulations: ”Graham from Watford now has fourteen goals, leading you by two, keep it up.”

Ma’el nodded and smiled without saying a word, knowing Garrispeed probably had more to say.

”Two wins, two draws, and one loss this month, earning eight more points.”

Garrispeed gazed outside, and as he spoke, turned to Ma’el, ”Nineteen rounds, thirty-seven points, this result is excellent, in any season, it’s the momentum to clinch a playoff spot.”

”Do you have other thoughts? Or, do you like this club?”

”I like it.”

Ma’el answered the latter sentence first; it was here he made his debut, earned fame, and broke through from nothing.

How could he not like a place that carries countless significant moments and the highest emotions for him?

”Thoughts....” He understood what Garrispeed meant by the first sentence. It’s just difficult to answer.

”The Welsh Football Association invited me.”

Garrispeed dropped a bombshell, lowering his voice, ”That’s my hometown, from my first day in coaching, I dreamed of wielding the whip there.”

”But now, I’m hesitant.”

He looked into Ma’el’s eyes sincerely, ”And I must admit, my hesitation is closely linked to you.”

...

ps: The first day’s five updates are done, over 16k words, continuation tomorrow! Thanks for your support! Asking for monthly votes!