Chapter 219 Ultimate Showdown IX
With every passing seconds Tatsuki was growing even more restless.
Even though he had an another option which was to try to dribble the ball past the opposing defenders, he wasn't confident enough right now.
Just then while slowly moving the ball upfield, at the periphery of his vision, he noticed Takeshi making his run in the right flank.
Although Kosuke Shinzawa was tailing him, passing the ball to Takeshi seemed the safest option right now.
However just as he thought of passing the ball, he hesitated. His pride didn't allow him to run from the challenge infront of him.
The defenders who were infront of him were clearly taunting him to try and dribble the ball past them.
Although he couldn't hear the words they were whispering, he could clearly see their gesture telling him to beat them if he had the guts.
Seeing their eyes filled with mockery, how could he run away?
Although it may seem like a lot, he had thought of all those things in only few seconds while sweeping his gaze around him.
Thus, he gave in to his pride as he thrusted the ball upfield, rushing towards the opposing defenders.
Making use of his explosive pace, Tatsuki accepted the challenge of the opposing defenders as he tried to reclaim his honor.
Seeing Tatsuki moving upfield, Hiro immediately rushed towards opposite direction to lure the defenders who were marking him.
He wanted to open up some spaces for Tatsuki.
Ryotaro on seeing Hiro running in another direction made a gamble as he chased after Hiro, leaving his position.
Even though he couldn't tell why Hiro was acting in such a way, his instincts told him that leaving Hiro unmarked would only create him and his teams some unnecessary troubles.
Thus at the risk of leaving a gap for Tatsuki, Ryotaro chased after Hiro.
Now that he had decided to chase Hiro, he had no choice but to trust his fellow defenders to somehow block Tatsuki.
Tatsuki then making use of his dribbling prowess, easily dribbled past the first defender. However just as he was about to reclaim the ball, another defender who was just behind that defender whom he dribbled past slid down as he cleared the ball away.
Tatsuki stumbled upon the feet of that defender and fell down.
However the referee didn't stop the game. Clearly it wasn't a foul.
Still the crowd had a different reaction. Some were grumpily shouting and cursing at the referee, "Are you blind ref?"
"That's a foul"
"Why aren't you blowing your damn whistle?"
With a mixed reaction from the crowd, the stadium tured chaotic for a moment.
The ball then landed on the feet of the opposing midfielder. That midfielder inturn started to move the ball forward.
At the same time both their fullbacks sprinted forward as well.
"Sagan Tosu are now counterattacking" commented the commentator.
Hiro immediately turned around as he rushed backwards to help defend against the impending counterattack.
Yuto stepped forward to stop that opposing midfielder who was moving the ball upfield. And while Yuto stepped forward, Akihiro rushed backwards.
He was quick to decide on the player he had to mark at that moment. He rushed towards one of the opposing forward.
Shun having learnt from his mistake became vigilant as he rolled his eyes all over the field looking for any possible threats.
"Ehara watch out for that left back."
"Minato keep track of that right back"
"Nakahara watch out for the forwards"
Instructed Shun as he commanded his team's defenders to become more vigilant.
Although there were only defenders left in their half at that moment, Shun's eyes were as calm as still water. He wasn't a least bit panicked. Infact he was very coolheaded at the moment.
The opposing midfielder passed the ball to another midfielder. That midfielder inturn released the ball to one of their forward.
However the pass was short. It wasn't aimed to reach the feet of the forward as behind that forward, Akimasa Nakahara was waiting for his opportunity like a snake to hack at him.
Understanding the intention behind that pass, that forward who was currently being stalked by Akimasa Nakahara rushed towards the direction of the ball to collect the ball.
After collecting the ball, he then started to move the ball upfield.
Nakahara wasn't dumb either, he had noticed the intention behind that pass as well. Thus the moment when that forward rushed forward to collect the ball, he had rushed forward as well.
Witnessing the sight of Nakahara, that forward started to look for his teammates to pass the ball.
However unlike the previous time, each and every single one of his teammates who were in the attacking third were now marked.
Right back was marked by Minato, left back was marked by Ehara and the other forward was marked by Yuhito.
Seeing all of his teammates infront of him marked, he panicked for a moment.
However he regained his composure immediately as he advanced towards Nakahara with unwavering determination.
Just as he reached Nakahara he tricked Nakahara by using body feint and got past Nakahara.
And as he dribbled past Nakahara, he noticed a gap between the defence of Kawasaki. However he could feel that gap narrowing because of the incoming defenders.
Thus without wasting anytime, seizing the opportunity he shot the ball from outside the box. His eyes glowed with hope and his lips curled up to a smile as he made that incredibly powerful long shot.
He was quite optimistic about that shot.
However the glow in his eyes and the smile in his face didn't last long. What followed soon after was a feeling of disappointment.
In his eyes, the figure of Shun making a superb save and denying his chance of scoring was reflecting at the moment.
Just like a wall, Shun was standing between him and the goal.
"What an incredible save!!" Commented the commentator.
The ball then as it touched Shun's palms went out of bounds.
With that save, the opposing team were awarded a corner kick and Kawasaki had prevented a possible threatening situation.
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