Chapter 144 Kawasaki vs Tokyo I
Upon hearing the sound of the whistle, Tatsuki passed the ball to Hiro and started the kickoff.
Without wasting any time, from the get go, players of FC Tokyo charged forward like starved predators who couldn't wait any longer to chase it's prey.
Tsubasa Watanabe, FC Tokyo U-18's number 7, lunged towards Hiro just as Tatsuki passed the ball to him.
Hiro however remained completely unfazed. Calm and composed, he hit the ball with the outside of his right foot and without wasting any time, he again hit the ball with the inside of his same foot. Thus inturn, Hiro swiftly dribbled past Tsubasa who was recklessly charging towards him by performing an elastico.
And just as Hiro unintentionally made a fool out of Tsubasa by dribbling past him, Kawasaki's fan burst out into laughter, "Hahahahaha"
[Oops!! You ought to be careful when you're facing the Wizard of Kawasaki] Joked the commentator while watching the scene of Hiro unintentionally toying with the star player of FC Tokyo U-18.
Hiro then started to dribble the ball forward. Tsubasa however was fuming. And thus, to retrieve his lost reputation, he once again charged towards Hiro who was charging the ball forward.
'Why is that idiot behaving like that?' Thought Junpei while looking at the sight of Tsubasa.
"Ryunosuke" Junpei called out the name of the player with jersey number 10.
Looking back, Ryunosuke nodded his head.
Pointing towards Tsubasa, Junpei gestured Ryunosuke to tell Tsubasa to calm down.
Nodding his head, Ryunosuke then left his position to chase Hiro.
Upon seeing Ryunosuke approaching him, Hiro immediately passed the ball towards the left flank towards one of their left wide midfielder who happened to be Kenta Yui.
After passing the ball, Hiro rushed forward without wasting any time to receive the ball.
"Tsubasa calm down. Don't play recklessly. Remember we're a team." Saying such, Ryunosuke lightly patted on Tsubasa's back and began to fall back to defend.
Upon seeing the approaching opposing attackers, FC Tokyo's defensive midfielder and right back rushed towards Kenta Yui who was playing as a wide midfielder instead of a winger in that match.
Despite being righty, Kenta was often played in the left side of the field making him a typical inverted winger who liked to cut in from the flanks.
Seeing the approaching opposing players, Kenta slowed down all of a sudden. Looking towards his right, he noticed Hiro being marked by both the centre backs of FC Tokyo.
Tatsuki who was almost inside the penalty box seemed free and unmarked. However Junpei was still lingering behind Tatsuki waiting for the perfect opportunity to ambush Tatsuki.
Thus, instead of passing the ball to his team's two forwards, Kenta chose to pass the ball back towards his teams center midfielder's.
Passing the ball back to Takeshi Ogawa, Kenta began to fall back.
And just like that their attack got disrupted by the players of FC Tokyo U-18.
At 22nd minute of the match, Junpei Isido got the ball in his feet.
Just like in previous match, he tried to pull off the same move. However Hiro and his teammates who had studied about his tactics in detail didn't allow him any space to make his run.
Standing relatively closed to each other, Tatsuki, Hiro and Akihiro blocked Junpei's pass course.
Unable to find any space open to make his run, Junpei passed the ball back to his team's keeper. The keeper inturn passed the ball to the right back.
And instead of attacking from the left flank, they tried to attack from the centre.
Passing the ball to Ryui Asada, FC Tokyo U-18's number 20 who played as a defensive midfielder in that game, they tried to build up their plays around Ryui.
Capable of holding the ball and dictating the pace of the game as per his will, Ryui Asada was the sole anchor in FC Tokyo U-18's squad.
Hiro being close to Ryui, rushed towards Ryui to snatch the ball away from him. However to snatch the ball away from Ryui was easier said than done.
As if the ball was stuck between his feets, Ryui didn't let go of the ball despite the constant pressure from Hiro.
Keeping Hiro away using his upper body, Ryui was manhandling Hiro.
'Tch!! Is he somekind of mountain? Why is he so sturdy?' Thought Hiro while battling for the ball.
[Even the wizard is finding it difficult to move the mountain of FC Tokyo. The duel between the two of them is finally revealing the weakness in Hiro.]
[No doubt Hiro is skilled in terms of techniques but however it's quite evident from the duel that he still lacks in terms of physical aspects compared to the other big guys in the field] Commented the commentator while observing the scene where Hiro was getting manhandled by Ryui.
"Yeah show that boy that he can't do everything as he pleases." Shouted one of the fan of FC Tokyo.
Ryui too was enjoying the attention he was getting from the supporters of FC Tokyo. Thus, instead of passing the ball to anyone else, Ryui continued to keep hold of the ball.
Enjoying the limelight, he mumbled meekly with a smile on his face, "Struggle some more kiddo"
Hiro however didn't pay any attention to his words and kept his eyes focused on the ball. Waiting for the perfect opportunity, Hiro was devising plans to steal the ball.
Just then, Hiro retracted his force. And just as Hiro retracted his force, Ryui lost his footing and tumbled because of his own force.
Making use of Ryui's momentary distraction, Hiro took the ball away.
[Hoho... I think Ryui got a little too arrogant. And Hiro made sure to pay Ryui for his arrogance.] The commentator burst out into laughter after seeing the sight of Ryui stumbling because of his own force.
Hiro then began to rush forward with the ball. Without looking back, Hiro began to dribble the ball towards the goalpost.
It took Ryui few seconds to regain his balance. And just as he regained his composure, he rushed towards Hiro.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢