Chapter 72 - Half-Time (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ren Yu De recklessly crossed the ball up front. Not willing to let him down, Zhang Jun grabbed the perfect spot and dived for a header! It was an impressive move!
“Zhang Jun’s making an effort! A diving header!”
Zhang Jun nodded the ball firmly and it flew towards the bottom of the post.
A dead angle!
Dingding’s cheerleaders gasped loudly. Their Shu Guang counterparts were already applauding at this point.
“It’s going in!” Wang Qiang could not stop himself from yelling out.
“Not so fast!” Unbelievably, Xia Bo swooped down at the effort and single-handedly slapped it away from the goalpost as it bounced!
The ball went out! There was no goal!
“Beautiful! Xia Bo’s diving save can be compared to that ‘Save of the Century’ by the English goalkeeper, Gordon Banks!” Zhou Jiansheng cried.
Xia Bo held on to one of the steel posts with his other hand to stop himself from crashing into it.
Floored, Zhang Jun thumped the carpet grass, feeling irritated. The last and best chance they had in the first half was miraculously saved with a slap from the opponent’s keeper.
The half-time whistle was blown at the same time and Shu Guang stayed behind Dingding with a 1:2 score after the first half.
The big screen showed a replay of Zhang Jun’s diving header. A camera, which was held up with a mechanical arm had been set up behind the net. It recorded the game from an angle behind the posts and it caught his shot clearly.
That header of his had struck the top of the ball, jouncing it just in front of the line. And Xia Bo palmed the rebound off the line.
Liu Wei quietly exhaled in relief. If Zhang Jun had nodded the ball just a little lower, the ball would have bounced on the line instead of just slightly in front of it. If that had happened, not even the gods could have stopped it.
It was too close一Dingding barely dodged a bullet. His decision to play offside traps on Zhang Jun was correct一just one glancing chance and he almost scored again. If they had allowed him to roam behind in the first half, his team would have most likely been the one lagging behind instead.
“Such a brilliant first half!”
“Indeed, I can’t wait to see their performance in the second half.”
“Zhang Lintao. If it had been you guarding, could you have kept that ball out?” Li Yongle asked.
Shutting his eyes for a while to consider, Zhang Lintao shook his head. “Not even professionals could have kept that out.”
“Ah? Does that mean that Dingding’s goalie is better than a professional already?” Zhang Yang interjected.
“Nope. To me, it was as if the keeper had divine intervention in that exact moment.”
“Divine intervention, divine intervention…” Li Yongle repeated the word.
“Hehe! Don’t bunch your face up like that. Relax, I guarantee that Zhang Jun won’t have such a chance when we play against them!” Zhang Yang patted Lintao on his shoulder. “He’s a genius, and I’ll be the one that vanquishes that genius! Bahahaha!”
Ignoring the slightly neurotic fool, Zhang Lintao turned to Li Yongle. “To be frank, I’m also worried about that Rising Dragon. High School Soccer merely described it as ‘unbelievable’. Sima Hongxin’s a great goalkeeper too. He was fearless against Yang Pan’s powerful drives, but he was beaten by that move and he looked like a different man afterwards. I really want to witness that ‘unbelievable Rising Dragon’!”
Li Yongle nodded, smiling meaningfully. “Me too. He’s learnt another formidable trick! It’ll be even more worthwhile when we meet!”
…
Shu Guang locker room.
Ren Yu De was carried in with a stretcher. Just one look and Liang Ke was already thinking about his replacement in the second half.
Quite a few players complained noisily in the room, disappointed that such a gorgeous effort from Zhang Jun did not go in.
Li Jieguang asked An Ke if that had been him, could he have stopped it.
An Ke waved it off indifferently. “A mere trifle!”
Clearly not buying it, Li Jieguang glared at him and muttered under his breath, “What a fart!”
Naturally, he made sure that An Ke could not hear it, or the keeper’s ensuing rampage would ruin their precious half-time break with another chaotic melee. It may have even raised “An Ke’s Rampage” to fourth place in Shu Guang’s Demonic Rankings.
In their half-time talk, Liang Ke only discussed a few concerns regarding their defense in the next half, skipping any mention of the annoyances Zhang Jun and the forwards faced. He maintained his belief that Shu Guang’s offensive should be intelligent; they should not be wrapped and tangled by procedures or tactics so that the students could express themselves freely.
That was why he unleashed the forwards instead of telling them what to do. And as a matter of fact, it worked.
Shu Guang having the best attacking prowess was proof.
Therefore, he would insist that they stayed that way in the current match despite their impressive opponents. Because, he believed in his players, that they would be able to solve the problem themselves.
…
Dingding locker room.
Xia Bo was surrounded by his teammates.
“That was great! How did you make that save just now?”