Chapter 301 Qualifier finals XVIII
Yet despite his efforts, he failed in the end as Park Seung-gyu completely outmanoeuvred him and beat him to win the ball.
In that instance, Shun's eyes constricted as he sensed danger. Shun then slightly twisted his feet, solidifying his footing to prepare himself for making a dive while keeping his eyes on the ball.
After outmanoeuvring Akutsu, Park Seung-gyu flicked his head as he headed the ball towards the post.
Bouncing off of his head, the ball then flew towards the direction of the post. At the same time, Shun's body showed signs of movement as he shot himself towards the direction of the ball.
Leaping from the ground, he stretched his arms to his utmost limit. His reaction speed was like that of lightning, extremely quick.
However although his reaction was quick, the speed of the ball wasn't slow either. Rapidly heading towards the post, it was evident that if Shun failed to stop this shot, Japan were bound to concede a goal.
This heart palpitating moment caused many fans of Japan to contort their face in horror. Their eyes became extremely frantic upon seeing the action taking place on the field.
'Please save it' such desperate thoughts started to surface in their mind as they unwittingly started to pray.
Barely touching the ball with the tip of his fingers, Shun managed to slightly change the direction of the ball.
Tung!!
However fate had something else stored for them as even after slightly obstructing the path of ball, the ball hit the pole and still found it's way inside the net.
Swoosh!!
"Gooooaaaaallllllll"
The once tensed crowd who were on their wit's end rose from their seat as they shouted at the top of their lung, relieved and joyful.
Their happiness knew no bound as they celebrated the goal scored by their player by letting them completely lose. It didn't matter to them who was sitting beside them at this moment. If they were celebrating like them, then they wouldn't shy and hesitate to hug the person close to them.
In this moment the entirety of the fans of South Korea became united as they celebrated the hard-earned goal of their team which now tied them with the opposing team.
This goal was a game changer. With only 17 minutes remaining on the clock, one could say that this was one of the most important goal of the game for South Korea.
The morale of the team shot to an all time high since the begining of the match as players of South Korea rushed towards Park Seung-gyu wearing big wide smile on their faces to celebrate the goal.
It was like finding a log while on the verge of drowning.
Even the scene at the substitution box of South Korea was a sight to see. With both their players and coaching staffs jumping and shouting, they seemed extremely enthralled and joyous.
It was like, at this moment the whole of Korean national team had become united. The harmony in the team literally seemed unbreakable as they continued to celebrate the goal.
However the scene at the other side was completely different. If the scene at the South Korean side was all sunny and bright then the scene at the Japanese side was all dark and gloomy.
With their head lowered and their face seemingly looking grim, they all seemed extremely disappointed at this moment. Not even one of them who was on the field had the heart to open his mouth.
Their eyes dull, their face pale and their expression grim, right now their dejected look was like that of a troop who had suffered miserable loss in the war.
As there's a saying, Heroes rise at the desperate moments.
And right now in this moment, a hole was starting to form in the dark cloudy sky. A ray of hope was starting to descend onto this gloomy dejected team.
"Don't mind guys, we still have more than 15 minutes on the clock. We can still change the outcome guys" while encouraging his teammates, Hiro walked towards the direction of Shun with his usual calm demeanor as if he wasn't affected in the slightest.
Compared to his teammates dull eyes, his radiant eyes were glowing with vitality and hope. Even his facial expression showed no signs of sorrow in them.
Devastated by the goal, Shun was lying on the ground with his face against the ground.
Those words full of warmth and encouragement was like a light of candle, flickering in the dark room. Although it wasn't enough to completely dispel the darkness of the entire room, it was still enough to at least brighten up some spaces.
It was still enough to give those living in the darkness a hope.
"Guys let's not wail over this goal. The game hasn't ended yet. And we haven't lost yet either. It's sad to lose the lead and I'm sad as well. But just by grieving over this goal, we won't win the game. So guys put your shit together and rally like your life depends on it" saying so, Hiro approached Shun.
Despite having his face buried in the ground, Shun was still listening to the words of Hiro. Previously he had promised Hiro that he would give his best. He had promised to himself that he would become the best keeper in the world.
But what was he doing right now? He was grieving and wailing. That wasn't the attitude of a winner. That was an attitude of loser.
Yes, he did concede the goal. And yes he had every right to get disappointed.
But even so, instead of burying his face on the ground, he could have been encouraging his teammates like Hiro. There were still a lot of things he could have done even in this miserable situation.
But what did he choose? He chose to shut his mouth and grieve over his failure instead of trying to correct his failure.
Thinking about his actions, he felt extremely guilty.
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