Chapter 93 - The Last Second (2/2)

As soon as those words were said, the cheers from Ke Da’s fans doubled in volume.

At the same time, Kaka who was being chased by Luo Bin passed the ball straight ahead.

Zhang Jun was still a little far away from the ball’s arc. He sped up to get in front of the ball. Li Yongle following closely behind.

The ball bounced on the ground and decreased in speed. Zhang Jun had reached it. The ball bounced ahead once more. Li Yongle did not know what Zhang Jun wanted to do and did not dare to act rashly. However, this time he heard Zhao Defeng shout loudly. “Foul him! Foul him!”

Zhao Defeng’s idea was correct. If he was fouled, he would be given a free kick. Although the distance would be closer, the chances of Shu Guang scoring would be lower with Zhang Lintao’s play. Even if they themselves were penalized for tackling from behind, this red card would not be carried forward to the National Championship. The tactical foul would be worth it.

Just as Li Yongle was about to tackle, he was surprised to see Zhang Jun leaping towards the side of the ball.

“He jumped? What does he want to…”

Whatever happened next was beyond the imagination of his and everyone else present.

Zhang Jun had jumped sidewards onto the ball. He kicked the ball that just bounced up with his right foot and sent it behind him. The ball rolled past Li Yongle’s left side. Zhang Jun continued to move forward and went pass Li Yongle’s right side. A quick change of direction and a swerve later, he was past Li Yongle.

‘The run-around? Like this?’

Li Yongle was stunned by what had happened in front of him. When he turned his body around, he became paralyzed and fell to the ground. He then watched Zhang Jun catch up to the ball. Zhang Jun used his right foot to step on the ball, causing it to bounce up and avoid Deng Rui’s flying tackle.

Now, only Zhang Lintao was left in Zhang Jun’s way.

Zhang Lintao had already covered all the angles. Zhang Jun’s final kick would not be an easy one.

Liu Chao had already abandoned Ren Yu De and rushed over.

The referee was watching on intently.

Zhang Jun did not have much time left.

Zhang Jun lifted his right leg.

Liu Chao initiated a flying tackle three meters away from him.

The referee held the whistle in his mouth.

The ball bounced up. Zhang Jun’s right leg was like a whip as he kicked the lower middle part of the ball. Zhang Lintao leapt towards the near post out of reflex but the ball flew past him from above. He unexpectedly managed to raise his left hand to stop the ball when he fell to the ground. In fact, he managed to touch the ball but another severe pain came from his left wrist. His wrist gave way and the ball rushed past.

Liu Chao’s foot also arrived but it was too late. He only managed to scrape the sole of Zhang Jun’s boot.

The ball crashed onto the underside of the crossbar and then bounced in.

The referee’s whistle could then be heard in the quiet stadium.

Then came the loud uproar from Shu Guang’s fans.

The commentator tried to keep his voice from being overwhelmed despite the noisy environment. He shouted loudly and hoarsely. “Goal! Goal! Zhang Jun scored an incredible goal! The score is now 2:2! Both sides are tied!”

Zhang Jun climbed up from the ground. He stretched out his hands, ran towards the corner flag and roared as he stood there.

Yang Pan was closest to him. He leapt onto Zhang Jun’s back and roared with him, hands flailing furiously.

Within a short moment, they were surrounded by overjoyed teammates.

Liang Ke did not say anything. He punched the air in a hidden corner as though he would not be able to vent his nervousness if he did not do this.

Su Fei did not jump and scream like everyone else. Instead, she buried her heads within her two hands tightly.

Sun Laihong fiercely knelt on one knee and punched the ground. The victory that was in their hands is now gone.

Ke Da was overwhelmed as they watched Shu Guang’s team members celebrate.

Zhang Yang then went over and pulled Li Yongle up. “How are you? How is your knee?”

Li Yongle shook his head and replied, “I can still hold on for thirty minutes!”

The captain, Zhao Defeng then comforted his teammates. “Don’t worry! It is just a tie! There is still the overtime match! Raise your spirits and defeat them!”

The large screen was replaying the goal as the commentator calmly analyzed it.

“The best part of this is how Zhang Jun escaped from Li Yongle. Li Yongle’s defenses was very satisfactory such that Zhang Jun rarely broke through successfully. However, at that moment, he ran to the ball and jumped up. He used the back of his right foot to kick the bouncing ball back before passing around in the opposite direction to get past Li Yongle. It was an incredible run-around. His back kick was the critical moment. If there was even a little bit of carelessness, it would lead to a complete failure. Zhang Jun managed to do this in such a tense environment. He is truly skilled and bold!”

“This is truly a match where a victor cannot be decided until the last second! It is an awesome final match! The second half was truly fantastic!”

The referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the of the second half just as Ke Da’s goalkeeper released the ball.

“The second-half is over! The two sides are tied and we will now enter the thirty minutes of overtime match. The overtime match will be based on the golden goal rule. Whichever team scores the first goal, that team would be the winner and the match would be over. Now, both teams are not to enter the dressing room and will rest on the pitch. The match will continue after ten minutes!”

Chen Huafeng looked at the dazzling sun. ‘Even the audience is starting to sweat. Is it El Nino?’

‘If the winter this year is warm, it must be because of this group of youths…’