Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 14



Only Krnovel

Before the game started, I checked with my family.

Coach Yoo Jin-ho made a very strong statement before this match, saying that if he did not show an impressive performance in this match, his parents would not allow him to play soccer anymore.

So, you have to do well. Definitely.

You said you didn’t mean to be a burden, but you really are a burden.

Suyang High School and its opponent, Dongseo High School, gathered in the center of the stadium before the game and shook hands. The referee, assistant referee, and fourth referee also joined in.

The referee was a man, but all the other referees were women.

It was a bit unexpected.

I vaguely thought that all judges would be men.

Anyway, after shaking hands, we gathered in a circle for a moment to cheer each other on. And then the captain, Seungwoo Han, opened his mouth.

“There are some kids who are debuting in this match and some who have a lot of experience, so let’s not try to do well and just do as we usually do! If we play with the feeling that we won’t make any mistakes, we can definitely win! Come on! Suyang High School!”

“Come on, come on, fighting!”

It’s a good sense of unity, but the slogan is a bit childish.

After finishing our training, we each returned to our camps and took our places.

Although the location was different, the grass was artificial grass, just like at school.

The tactic is 4-1-4-1. Han Seung-woo, the star player and captain of Suyang High School, is the lone striker, and Kim Jun-young, who is making his high school league debut for the first time, is the central midfielder.

In fact, the midfielders below the central midfielder will be used as attacking midfielders in this match.

The coach said so. I don’t know the details though.

The referee in front of me glances at his watch and puts the whistle in his mouth. We have the first kick. And…

Beep-!

The game has begun.

The surrounding spectators clapped their hands and cheered them on, saying things like, “Good job!” and “Fighting!”

‘Let’s put our worries aside.’

I’ve been worrying about whether I can do well for a few days now.

Don’t think there is no way out, take it slow. Be comfortable and don’t mind getting hit.

“hey!”

“hey!”

“Here! Hey!”

As soon as the game started, it became noisy with players from each team running around making noise.

With the coaches’ comments added to the mix, it gradually became a marketplace.

“Come here!”

“hey!”

Suyang High School and Dongseo High School were tight as if they were pulling a string. The opposing team pressed the Suyang High School players who had the ball as if they were doing gegenpressing, with two or three players sticking close to them.

He also did not hesitate to make deep tackles.

We’ve just started and the whistle has already blown three times.

The match got heated as soon as it started, so the referee warned the players of both teams, but there were no signs of it calming down.

“Ahh!”

If anything, it got worse.

The person who fell after being tackled deeply was a member of Suyang High School. I couldn’t help but know his name, since I’ve had trouble with him. Choi Seong-min.

I wish my legs had really twisted, but it wasn’t that bad and I got up right away.

‘It’s fierce···.’

I watched the bloody battle in the central plains as if I were a spectator of the game.

I didn’t know what this current match situation meant. Both sides were fighting without giving an inch to dominate the early part of the match.

If you hesitate or back down here, you will be at the opponent’s pace for at least 5 to 10 minutes.

“Hey! Here we go! Get ready!”

I also shouted like that because I couldn’t just sit still. Why, isn’t there a saying that the flower of defense is the goalkeeper and that the goalkeeper gives the orders?

But the defender bastards don’t even turn their heads to what I say, let alone pretend not to listen.

They just shout among themselves.

“Hey! Number 3! Go forward and block it! Block it, you piece of shit!”

“What the heck is this kid?”

Only then do you look back.

I swore at the central defender (who was a year older than me).

“I told you to stop it before you look back! It’s coming!”

“This damn thing-”

“Hey! What are you doing! You’re not concentrating!”

Defender number 3, Youngjun Ko, hurriedly ran to defend at the coach’s command. However, he was too attached.

It would be best if the defender could snatch the ball from the opposing attacker, but usually he would keep a certain distance and not give the opponent space.

But, either because of what I said or because he was out of his mind, Go Young-jun clung to the other person, and the other person, wondering what was going on, pushed Go Young-jun away with a show of force.

A defensive gap that appeared in an instant.

The other defenders and midfielders who were guarding their positions quickly grit their teeth and run to mark the space.

And a red trail appeared.

I opened my eyes wide and bent down.

The opposing attacker was calm.

One of our centre-backs seemed to be in a hurry and ran forward to block the ball with his leg raised high, but the opposing striker endured it, pushed past him again, took two more steps and fired a powerful shot.

The shot was made in a perfectly open space, so the only person who could interfere with the shot was the goalkeeper.

Boohoo-!

I dove hard toward the trajectory just before my opponent kicked the ball. As expected, the ball landed right inside my glove, and I lay down on my side holding the ball.

This much is easy.

But I stood up with an angry expression and made a big gesture.

“Don’t do it right!”

If not now, then when else would Jjuguri get angry?

Once the game starts, there is no age or seniority.

There are only those who are good at it and those who are bad at it.

I looked around and quickly threw the ball towards the right fullback. There was no opposing team player there.

Right fullback number 11 puts the ball on the ground and moves forward like flowing water.

I turned my gaze back to the defenders who were looking at me with disgust.

“Get your wits about you and do it!”

Everyone was silent because the goalkeeper made a super save to save the goal. Yeah, what would you say in this situation?

And on the bench side, one coach was so outraged by this situation that he shouted loudly.

“Hey! Youngjun! What are you doing!”

Go Young-jun made an apologetic gesture and ran again.

‘Why don’t you do it for me?’

My lips were pouting, but I decided to stop here.

But the crisis did not stop there.

The winner of the bloody battle in the Central Plains was Dongseo High School, and we quickly lost the initiative.

‘I heard he was moving as an attacking midfielder…’

The coach’s instructions and the grand strategy of the game were completely ruined within the first five minutes.

However, Suyang High School moved very quickly as new instructions were given.

The four attacking midfielders became four defensive midfielders, and they moved organically to exert pressure on Dongseo High School.

In particular, he never gave up space because he almost lost a goal by wasting space.

The ball passed back and forth between the players could not easily spread out due to the organized defense.

In other words, Dongseo High School took the initiative in the beginning, but it was not able to lead to an attack.

But the attacks continued.

The persistent strategy of deploying players deep in the front line to somehow create space made Suyang High School’s defense increasingly weak.

And all those attempts eventually succeeded.

The opposing winger broke through the side and entered the penalty box. And at that moment, he tried to pass the ball to the central striker.

Beep-!

The referee blew the whistle.

Ko Young-jun extended his hand to block the pass that was about to be connected, making a sliding tackle, but the ball ended up hitting his hand.

Of course, the referee’s decision was a penalty kick.

The players rushed over and tried to gesture at the referee to show their displeasure, but it was no use.

Even the goalkeeper of the same team thought it was a fair decision.

‘Shut up···.’

I glared at Ko Young-jun.

That kid, isn’t he deliberately trolling me to get me to leave?

Well, actually, it was natural that a goal was scored from a penalty kick. No one would criticize a goalkeeper for not stopping a penalty kick.

But I’m different.

To be exact, I have to stop it because of the situation I’m in.

I can’t afford to make a single mistake today.

I think I could definitely block it since I have the ability to see the trajectory of the shot, but I was still a bit nervous about the penalty kick.

If you get the timing wrong just once, it’s a goal.

If my opponent hits even half a beat slower, I’ll just dive into the air, and my opponent can watch my movements and shoot in the opposite direction.

This time, he didn’t curse at Ko Young-jun or anything, but calmly prepared for the penalty kick.

Anyway, since the situation has come to this, I have to show my parents an overwhelming performance before they will allow me to play soccer.

‘You can do it. In fact, you can see the future and stop it. If you can’t stop it even after seeing it, you’re an idiot.’

The penalty kick is ready.

The referee held the whistle in his mouth as he gave instructions to the players.

and.

Beep-!

The opposing attacker slowly approached the ball, sweating profusely. A trajectory was also created. I felt my heart pounding and jumped toward the trajectory just before the opponent got close to the ball.

Boohoo-!

It was blocked with a cheerful sound.

A perfect save. But perhaps because I was still immature, I couldn’t catch the ball. The ball went into my hand and then disappeared.

What happened next happened in an instant.

After seeing that the attacker had missed the ball, he ran over quickly, and I also ran over quickly, hesitating.

‘What the hell!’

But the ball went a little too far.

The opposing attacker got it first and took another shot.

I looked at the trajectory and flew back halfway up.

“Oh, shit!”

The opposing attacker screams and grabs his head.

Luckily the ball bounced off my hand. It was a save. I made it again.

“Oh shit! I’m sorry! I love you!”

Ko Young-jun, who brought things to this point, hugged me. I wanted to curse him and tell him to get lost, but I couldn’t because I was out of my mind.

And then other players came running and ruffled my hair.

“Hey! Chew! Good job! You did it right!”

“Show and prove it! Show and prove it!”

Oh, I’m losing my mind. Get out of here, you guys.

“Ah, that’s enough! Get ready for a corner kick!”

The opponent’s attack right is not over yet.

The following corner kick.

I used the trajectory to block another header from the opponent, and this time I didn’t miss.

And he shouted at them to run forward.

I looked around and saw Kim Jun-young raising his hand, so I quickly threw it in his direction.

Kim Jun-young, who received the ball, started a counterattack. In the chaotic atmosphere, Kim Jun-young quickly overtook the opposing players and ran through the team’s camp.

It took him about five seconds to break through the centre circle just outside the penalty box and pass the ball to the right-sided midfielder who was running alongside Kim Jun-young.

Instead of a pass that falls in front of your feet, aim for the space.

The opposing right side was empty.

And then the right midfielder flicked a pass back towards the empty defensive line of the opponents, and Han Seung-woo, who had already entered the opponents’ penalty box, received the ball.

“ah!”

But I couldn’t properly watch the ball because I was too close to the opposing defense.

In reverse, the opposing defender touched the ball and kicked it away.

Eventually the ball rolled away and towards a place where there were no players.

‘Huh?’

Kim Jun-young clearly did his part.

He started the counterattack and passed the ball to the right midfielder, who did his job.

But he didn’t stop there, he continued to run at full speed and won the ball back when he didn’t have possession.

And then he kicked it hard with his right foot towards the corner of the opponent’s left goal, and it went in amazingly.

The opposing goalkeeper tried to lie down, but the ball had already gone through the net.

“Wow!”

Suyang High School scored the first point with an artistic counterattack.

I was dumbfounded as I watched the scene from afar.

‘No, this is high school soccer?’

I don’t know if it was because the level was high or because they were just lucky, but the people watching were all surprised and let out exclamations.

It was a very classic and speedy counterattack.

I instinctively looked toward where my family was. Mom and Dad were looking at the striker who had scored a goal, but Kim Shin-ah was looking at me.

Kim Shin-ah raised her right hand and giggled so loudly that it could be seen from afar.

Of the five fingers, only the thumb was raised.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am

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