Chapter 286 Qualifier finals III
Thus he had ignored his warning thinking that he was only worrying needlessly.
Not only back then, even today before the start of the match, Hiro had reminded him to be wary of Park Seung-gyu.
And just like back then he had once again turned deaf ear to Hiro's reminder. But now upon witnessing the craftiness of Park Seung-gyu first-hand, he felt a bit regretful that he didn't listen to Hiro sooner.
While the referee may have failed to notice the collision because of the obstruction, Akutsu who had remained in the backline had clearly seen the sneaky move made by Park Seung-gyu.
With every passing seconds Park Seung-gyu was getting closer to the penalty box. And not only Hiro but also the coaches had strictly warned the players from letting Park Seung-gyu inside the box.
Akutsu then checked his left and right before moving forward himself to block the incoming attacker.
At first Park Seung-gyu tried to dribble the ball past Akutsu. However Akutsu was like a snake, coiling it's body around him.
Not only was he finding it difficult to dribble the ball past him, he was also feeling that his movement was being restricted to some extent.
Park Seung-gyu's way of dribbling was quite straightforward. He tried to trick Akutsu by using body feints but to no avail.
He tried to use his pace but Akutsu simply didn't provide him any space to escape.
Not only that time was also running out of his hands. With Ayase and few other opposing players closing in towards him, his hopes of moving forward was getting slim with every passing seconds.
Finally after trying to dribble past Akutsu for a while, Park Seung-gyu's forehead right now was covered with beads of sweat while his eyes were showing signs of anxiousness.
Unable to dribble the ball past Akutsu, he had only one option left and that was to pass the ball to his teammate.
However the moment he kicked the ball, Akutsu slid down with his legs stretched; inturn intercepting his pass.
This unforeseen event totally caught Park Seung-gyu off-guard as he made a bitter expression before falling back.
Japan's victory until this stage could mostly be attributed to Hiro. However that didn't mean Akutsu's contribution was any less.
Hiro's contribution was just too big of a factor that it was shading the contribution of Akutsu and the others.
The crowd was exhilarated by Akutsu's defending. Not only did he subdue Park Seung-gyu, he even managed to snatch the ball away from Park Seung-gyu.
At that time both Ayase and Takeshi were falling back. Thus after getting deflected, the ball then landed on the feet of Ayase.
Ayase inturn send the ball rolling towards Takeshi and initiated a counterattack.
The players of Japan who were falling back quickly changed their direction as they moved upfield for the counterattack at lightning speed.
At the same time opposing players who were on the offense a moment ago began to fall back with a flustered expression. The tables had turned now and now it was their turn to defend.
Despite having excellent physique, Takeshi wasn't fast. His main arsenal were his ball control, defense and passes. Speed wasn't his forte.
And he was well aware of his shortcomings. Thus he didn't keep the ball with him for long. As he found an opportunity, he immediately released the ball towards Yutaka who was charging from the left side.
Yutaka wasn't like Takeshi. Although he wasn't fast like Hiro. His passing stats was even at the same level as Hiro.
However within some moment of receiving the ball, Yutaka ran into a trouble. He came face to face against Kim Il-sung.
Enveloped by a thick overpowering aura, Kim Il-sung as he came face to face against Yutaka, glared at Yutaka with his eerie black eyes while flaring his nostrils.
Immediately a cold sweat ran down his face as he locked eyes with Kim Il-sung. Even so it might have been a different scenario if they had met outside. He'd have even run away if he had met him outside.
But right now, he was in the field. How could he let this menacing man affect him?
**** ****
"You need to be more courageous Yutaka. In field no one can harm you directly. So what are you afraid of? The only thing you should be afraid of is not being able to display your full potential while you're on the field" gently placing his hands atop Yutaka's shoulder, Hiro encouraged Yutaka, pointing out his flaws.
The sky was a tapestry of red and orange. The sun while on the verge of setting down was casting an ethereal glow on the surface.
Hiro and Yutaka's silhouette were elongated on the grassy green field which was glowing with golden hues right now.
Upon hearing Hiro's gentle words, full of encouragement, Yutaka who had been looking down since a moment ago, slowly lifted his head to look at Hiro.
His glossy eyes were filled with reverence and timidness. Surge of emotions was rising within his heart. However he wasn't being able to convey the feelings in his heart.
The golden rays of the sunlight which was shining on their faces was making their sweaty face sparkle. And the gentle wind which was blowing while caressing their body was making their jersey and hair flutter.
The golden sunlight, the ethereally beautiful sky filled with the hues of red, orange, purple and pink and the comradeship this two friends were sharing was making this whole scene extremely dreamy.
However this was not a dream. It was something which had happened in reality some days ago.
**** ****
While facing Kim Il-sung, this particular memory flashed in his mind. And out of nowhere, a surge of courage rose within his heart. Although it didn't entirely helped him cope with his fear, it still gave him a bit of courage to face his fear.
"I'll be fine" muttering such, Yutaka strode forward with a new found courage. His eyes which was shrouded with a thick veil of fear glowed with courage; inturn lifting the curtain of fear from his eyes.
However reality struck him hard instantly as he found it extremely difficult to get past Kim Il-sung. He tried his best but he was no match to Kim Il-sung.
He was so focused at facing his fear that he was even ignorant of his strengths. He wasn't a natural born dribbler like Hiro.
Although he could dribble pretty well. Right now the opponent infront of him was just too tough.
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