Chapter 174 Sunday match
July 19, 2022
Kanagawa Prefectural Hodogaya Park Soccer Field
Inside a stadium packed with 100 or more peoples, a match was taking place in full swing between Kawasaki Frontale U-18 and Yokohama F Marinos U-18.
With only 10 minutes left on the clock, the scoreboard read as such- Kawasaki Frontale U-18: 4 and Yokohama F Marinos U-18: 2.
Since the match was taking place in weekend and the venue was a community soccer field which was easily accessible to any people, apart from the fans of both the teams, normal people such as school students, elderly people, were also present in the stadium to enjoy the match. People who had come with their families were also present in the stadium to enjoy some quality time with their loved ones.
After slightly lifting his head to look at the ball which was levitating in the air, Hiro sprinted forward towards the opposing goal post.
[An impressive long pass by Akihiro. But will Hiro be able to reach the ball?]
Perspiration falling off his forehead like droplets of rain pouring down from the rain clouds, Hiro was dashing forward while making use of his skill "Lightning Steps".
And this was already his second time using that skill in that day. After figuring out the loophole in the system, he had once again activated the skill "perseverance" first before activating the skill "Lightning Steps" again to reduce the chances of injury.
While the defender's of Yokohama were blocking his path infront, midfielders and forwards of Yokohama were reluctantly chasing him from behind him.
Even so, no one in the pitch was able to match his speed.
While most normal fans were enjoying the sight of Hiro chasing after the ball with smiles on their faces, fans of Kawasaki and fans of Yokohama had different reactions.
While the faces of fans of Yokohama displayed trepidation, faces of fans of Kawasaki showed a glimpse of anxiousness and expectation.
Expecting Hiro to reach the ball before it went out of bounds, they were anxiously following Hiro's movements while holding on to their breaths.
The scorching summer heat which was at it's peak was causing them to sweat profusely. But even so, they seemed unbothered by the summer heat.
Hiro on the other hand was completely focused. Even while making that run, his sharp eyes were focused at the spot where he had predicted that the ball would fall.
Skimming through the defender's of Yokohama like wind passing through the gaps of the mountains, Hiro was swiftly evading defenders of Yokohama while also making his run.
And since the ball was heading outside the penalty box of Yokohama F Marinos, Yokohama's keeper was hesitating to leave his position.
Just then as the ball was about to fall a little infront the goal-line at the left corner, Hiro slightly lifted his left leg and tapped the ball before it touched the ground.
And as the ball bounced off his foot, Hiro immediately spun and turned around. The ball which bounced off Hiro's left foot, bounced over his head and also over the head of the right back who was behind him.
After spinning about 180 degree, Hiro then once again lightly touched the ball as he began to dribble the ball towards the goal-post.
[What an amazing move by Hiro. The ball simply flew over Yuma's head and he didn't even realise.]
Sharply staring at Hiro who was cutting in at the moment, Yokohama's keeper was as vigilant as ever.
And while Hiro was moving the ball forward, one of the defender of Yokohama was rushing towards him, while the two other defenders were positioning themselves inside the penalty box.
Dribbling the ball along the outer edge of the penalty box, Hiro was trying to find himself a suitable location to shoot the ball.
Just when he was at one corner of the penalty box, he was faced with Yokohama's defender who was rushing towards him.
With no changes in his facial expression, Hiro slightly touched the ball with the outside of his right foot and dribbled past that defender.
Upon witnessing Hiro dribbling past his team's defender who was supposed to stop Hiro, Yokohama's keeper sensed a sudden danger. His intuition was telling him that Hiro was going to make his shot.
Thus he who was already vigilant was now even more vigilant than before.
'He'll probably shoot with the right foot. Aferall he'll have to change his direction if he want to shoot with the left foot. And behind him there's already two of our defenders. So it's definitely gonna be right.' In a split second, Yokohama's keeper deduced Hiro's future actions based on his observations.
And he was indeed right too, since Hiro was moving toward the right, it was easier for Hiro to shoot with his right foot.
And he would have done exactly as predicted by the keeper under normal circumstances. But now that he was ambidextrous and he could shoot equally well and equally powerful with both his foots, he no longer had to perform as per others prediction.
Also even after obtaining the talent "Ambipedal", Hiro had rarely revealed his cards. And although he had scored couple of goals with his left foot, his goal tally still tilted more towards his right foot.
Thus, because of such reasons, people normally assumed that although he was good with both legs, he was still right-footed.
But just as Yokohama's keeper was about to dive, Hiro shot the ball with the outside of his left foot instead.
The ball inturn curled towards the top right corner. Swiftly evading the reach of one of the centre back present inside the box, it flew towards the top right corner.
Yokohama's keeper who had predicted that Hiro was going to shoot from his right leg was caught off-guard. Thus, because of that his reaction was delayed.
But even so, he dived towards the top right corner in hopes of saving the ball.
Due to the unusual spin on the ball, the ball's trajectory curved as it landed at top right corner of the post.
"Gooooaaaaallllllll!!"
[Gooooaaaaallllllll!!]
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦