Chapter 197 Hope and Despair
For a while almost every opposing player were displaying mixed emotions of astonishment, fear and disappointment on their faces. Especially Kein and Mao who were currently playing in Europe.
Playing in Europe, those two had seen all kind of players with exceptional talents but even to them, Hiro seemed like a player who was cut above rest.
"With talent such as yours, it's only a matter of time before you make it to Europe." With a subtle smile on his face, Kein mused.
As cold as Kein looked a moment ago, he was once again smiling while looking at Hiro.
After that goal, despite being the weaker team, once again Hiro's team took the lead. Statistically looking, U-23 team were the better team in the field and there was no denying to that fact. But even so, Hiro's team were more clinical.
Till date they had only shot two shots and both of those shots were not only on target but both those shots had been converted into goal as well.
And as the celebration of the players came to an end, all of the players returned back to their original position to resume the game.
The flickering spark of flames in their eyes which was on the verge of extinguishing once again illuminated brightly as it ignited furiously. Once again, players of Hiro's team were starting to become hopeful.
But it wasn't only the players of Hiro's team whose eyes were glowing with determination, Tatsuki, Kein and few other players of U-23 team were too now more motivated and determined than ever.
Not even 2 minutes passed since Hiro's second goal, Kein was already at the edge of the opposing penalty box.
Stretching his legs, he was preparing to shoot the ball. His eyes as sharp as katana, Kein looked extremely intimidating at that moment.
Just then as some defenders of Hiro's team desperately stretched their legs to block Kein's shooting course, Kein released the ball from his feet.
Swiftly evading the reach of those defenders, the ball flew like a missile towards the goalpost.
Noticing the incoming ball, Shun leaped towards the direction of the ball, desperately trying to land a touch on the ball.
But once again the result was rather disappointing, Shun couldn't land a touch on the ball. Barely avoiding the reach of Shun, it curled towards the top right corner of the post.
Kein once again showed everybody present in the field why he's the appointed captain of U-23 team despite having players like Mao Suzuki who was already playing for a tier 1 team in Europe.
His leadership qualities unquestionable, Kein was extremely skilled in terms of passing and controlling the pace of the game.
However those weren't the only traits which made him dangerous. He was exceptionally well at shooting balls from outside the box.
And even though his shots weren't as powerful as compared to Hiro or Tatsuki, it was still very precise. And moreover what made his shots dangerous wasn't power, his shots were dangerous because of his technique and precision.
As if he could see the path leading to the goal, most of his shots always ended up in the back of the net as it left his foot.
However because of lack of power, his shooting range was limited. And mostly he only took shots once he got close to 20-25 yards range.
The game was now tied once again. But even so, the game was pretty much one sided. With U-23 team dominating the possession and shots, it was pretty much clear to the selecters outside the field that Hiro's team wasn't a match for U-23 team.
And the only reason why they still looked like a contender was because of few extraordinary players in Hiro's team.
To the selecters it didn't matter if Hiro's team won or lost, afterall there main focus was to identify the players with better talents. And until now, they had roughly figured out abilities of all those 11 players of Hiro's team on the field.
Despite conceding two goals, Shun wasn't at fault. Afterall he was trying his best. And he only conceded two goals out of the 11 shots shot at him.
Statistically speaking, Shun was saving almost more than 80 percent of the shots which is pretty impressive.
So the problem sure didn't lie on the keeper. Anybody who understood football could figure that out.
Even so, despite saving most of the shots, Shun's face was saying otherwise. He wasn't a least bit proud. Infact he was quite furious and in a bitter mood.
He wanted to cuss but he very well knew that if he cussed, he'd get a card. He was extremely frustrated, yet he spoke nothing to his teammates for their mistakes.
And even Hiro was aware of the fact that anger inside Shun was bubbling like boiling tar.
And it would have been a lie if he said that he wasn't frustrated about the outcome of the team. Afterall he had to spend so much effort to give his team the lead.
And his teammates, they were easily blowing the lead away. As if Hiro could give them lead endlessly, they were so easily blowing their lead away to the point it seemed like his efforts were all useless.
And it even seemed like they were mocking his efforts.
After conceding that second goal, while Shun was still lying on the ground covering his eyes, looking all devastated, Hiro walked towards Shun.
Looking at Shun's bitter face, Hiro felt very sympathetic. Even when he conceded three goals in one of the Takamado Premier League match, he wasn't as devastated as he was right now.
Gritting his teeth, he was covering his eyes with his one hand while tightly clenching onto the grass with his other hand. His body was shaking and he seemed like he was on the verge of breaking.
Upon looking at such pitiful sight of Shun, Hiro even started to doubt whether he said encourage him or leave him alone for a while.
As such doubts started to surface on his heart, Hiro clenched his fist and mustered up some courage. After that he approached Shun. Stretching his hand towards Shun, Hiro spoke while looking at him, "What are you doing lying here, looking all pathetic. We still have more than 45 minutes left. We've got a game to play. So stand up."
Hearing Hiro's words, without uttering a single word Shun lifted his hand which was clenching onto the grass. And as he lifted his hand, he grabbed Hiro's hand.
Hiro then pulled him up.
Although he was still feeling bitter about the goal which he had conceded just now, he tucked his feelings as he forced himself to speak, "No matter what. Even if we concede another 7 goals, I'll still give my best. I'll rather get beat down than lose the will to play the game."
His voice was a little shaky and his eyes a little moist. But even so, his words were as heavy as blue whale.
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