Capítulo 12: Derby Normand IX
Kai looked on in anticipation, as the ball fell to Chevalier's feet after getting past his marker. But the starlet had already caught the attention of all the spectators, who were cheering with delight. Chevalier with his dazzling dribbling sleek in style as he threatened the defenders , with one eye on the ball. Zakharova sensed his opportunity, and the moment the left winger entered the premise of the box, the strong defender launched a huge lunge at the high tempo player. The winger however did not take the tackle kindly, with him chipping the ball over the defender that already has a knee on the floor.
Chevalier's confidence was evident, as he felt the scene was weirdly quiet even with the crowds cheering on behind him. He was through on goal once more, facing practically an empty net. Everyone noticed him, yet none could stop him. The ball fell right in his path as he again cushioned the ball to his right side to line up his shot.
"NO YOU DON'T!"
This time the penalty box erupts as all eyes stare at the RC Lens defender Salmon and Le Harve winger Chevalier challenging each other just before the goal. Will Chevalier find the net? Salmon has drove his body in front of the shot, blocking any angle that Chevalier can take to score the goal. However Chevalier senses the fact and slides away from Salmon, with him changing his shooting attempt to an excuse to drive down the outside of goal.
The audience watched nervously as Salmon has forced Chevalier to the penalty box byline. Will his teammates come to his aid? The Le Harve left winger is no position to shoot, and if he stalls on the ball any longer, this counterattacking chance will fall apart.
The winger gritted his teeth whilst the Centre-Back Salmon barged on his shoulders, with him pushing the winger on the edge of losing his footing. Chevalier was in no mood entertaining another missed chance, but he was taken apart by how physical the defender is, and how smart he is to use his physical strength to its fullest.
"Chevalier is shoved out wide. There isn't too many players around him. HE SHOOTS!..."
The winger was determined, to beat his man. If only he had a decent left foot, Chevalier would have chosen to cross the ball in in hopes of finding a player. He might have even performed a low driven pass across goal for a tap in. But for once the winger found himself frustrated at the limited options he had in his disposal. But determined, the winger reluctantly improvised a technique to pass the ball across the goal.
Sébastien: "CHEVALIER CROSSES THE BALL WITH THE OUTSIDE OF HIS RIGHT FOOT!"
With the defender pressing him on the left side of the field, the Le Harve winger curled the ball to the centre of the goal. The winger could only hope a player, any player would arrive in front of goal and score the tap in. With the support from the pitch side coaches, the fans urged the winger to shoot from a tough angle to score.
But Chevalier felt obliged to pass the ball, and in turn earn a teammate a scoring opportunity. Chevalier stumbled on his footing as he lost his balance after performing the cross, partly due to him never practising this move beforehand. His unfamiliarity was his detriment, as he fell shoulder first onto the floor, outside the pitch.
But the last few seconds before hitting the floor. Chevalier thought he saw someone running across the goal. A player with towering height, dwarfing anyone surrounding him, his movement had an unnatural pattern, almost as if he was drifting towards where the ball was heading. No, that player is predicting where the ball is heading.
The Lens Keeper saw the floated cross from the edge of the box from a mile away, with him already making a prediction and moving beforehand to where the ball would be. The Keeper leapt towards the ball as it floated across the goal, confident in his shot-stopping as he already have a hand on the ball.
But, just when he thought the ball was in grasp, a head. The head of a player has already reached the ball before he could even get a slither of touch on it. But how? The keeper was in shock. He could barely reach the ball after jumping with all his strength and reaching with his hands. But he... he can jump that high?!
"BUT IT IS BERNARD PAAPPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
The crowd lost its voice. A sound of absolute shock, of a player that have made their first U-19 cap, scoring on his debut.
The goalkeeper could barely believe it. All he could do was watch the ball fly past his fingertip as it floated across the goal. He didn't deserve the goal. As the keeper stood, looking on disbelievingly. He couldn't believe he couldn't keep it out, and that he couldn't even comprehend that he could be making such an error.
" It is 2 – 1! Le Harve takes the lead thanks to a powerful header from Bernard Pape, who should be thanking Chevalier for that fantastic assist!"
The crowd reacted as if the audience has just witnessed some kind of bizarre scripted drama. The boys from Le Harve celebrated their goal as if they won a trophy. And as the sound of the crowd subsided and the referee blew his whistle for the restart, the spectators went in awe of what they had just witnessed.
The lanky Pape only felt his head dizzy and the world spinning in circles as he fell on the floor. He didn't know if he headed the ball in, all he saw was the ball floating in the air, and he instinctively made a jump for it. He didn't knew if he missed, or if he scored. All he could hear was the referee and the silence in the stadium. But the noiseless scene only lasted for a few seconds as the crowds let out a cheer, chanting the strikers name like it is their purpose in life.
Players rushed like a tsunami as they gathered around the tall Pape, and threw their arms around him, showering him in praise and love. Bernard Pape knew there are no words to describe the impact he has on the game, only players and fans knew.
Lanier jumped up and down like a wild animal. The tactical coach from Le Harve almost screamed after the goal, but was oblivious to the fact that he will have a portion of the home crowd watching him up close, with several family members of the youth teams taking out their devices in hopes of recording such a frantic coach in the midst of the act. The parents are having concerns regarding such a volatile figure acting as their child's coach.
The coach from Le Harve, Marley, although taken aback by the goal, was aware of the threat posed by his opponent. And was more concerned with how they should make any changes, any adjustments to hold on to their 1 goal lead. But his facade of silent confidence disappeared as he was left praising the players, especially Bernard for scoring. For delivering his first goal for the U-19 team. "Kid... congrats..." Marley muttered under his breath.
Kai silently celebrated as he watched on from the sidelines . The fact that Le Harve were able to keep fighting was evidence of how stubborn their team is, who wouldn't know they can score a goal, if they didn't see it?
Though the world of Cardot seemingly collapsed as he felt his legs giving up on him. At this moment, he could only think of how he, of all people, has contributed to this downfall, and is still contributing to it. He could hardly make out any voices or shouts from behind him. He had had enough of seeing this collapse. He could only watch as the bodies of his players collapsed to the ground. The Lens U-19 manager dejectedly faced his assistant manager, who was busy wondering what Lens should do next, but Cardot had no answer. The only reason Cardot was turning to his assistant manager was to see if he had any solutions, for he is completely dumbfounded by what he should do.
The goal had come in the 72nd minute during the second half. And as Le Harve supporters are still celebrating, the referee blows the whistle as he urged the Le Harve players to reposition themselves on their side of the pitch. Cardot cursed at the referee for allowing Le Harve to blatantly waste time, and wasting three-minutes of his life that he will never earn back.
As the ball once again repositioned at the centre circle, things are quickly going from bad to worse for RC Lens. Just when the players are eyeing their manager for any solutions, Cardot only shrugged his shoulders as he was lost for any words. Confusion and miscommunications occurred throughout the pitch as the Lens players were left in two minds. The attacking players became more aggressive, getting further and further up the pitch in order to score a goal. Whilst their midfielders only dropped deeper to recycle possession. What resulted was a vast distance between the attackers and midfielders, which only made the situation worse for Cardot's demand for a patient passing game, with the attackers unable to find a touch on the ball.
This moment will be remembered by the U-19 coach and the entire team. The only man to remain calm and still, knowing that Lens had no solution to the tactics that had set sail before them. Kai smiled cheekily as Cardot's actions only grew quieter and quieter, until the Lens manager became deftly silent, abiding to fate as he wished for nothing more but this match to end.
In the 75th minute, Cardot substituted 3 players onto the field. A defensive midfielder was introduced in place of the long drained Toro, who did nothing more but chase the likes of Chevalier and Eze attacking centrally, but failing miserably. Winger Bo Kyu-Bong had been replaced by a fresh pair of fast legs in the form of a speedy winger on the Right Wing. Full-Back Jason Henders has also been demanded off the pitch, as he had already depleted all his stamina with his aggressive overlapping runs in the first-half.
Marley responded to the substitutions 5 minutes after. With him subbing off Chevalier and Arbelaez and replacing them with fresh legs. Chevalier, though had scored and assisted in the match, had been long drained of all his energy and his hair was nothing more than a wet mop by the time he got off the pitch. Arbelaez, though performed to a decent standard, is substituted in response to Cardot getting 2 new players, both attacking minded, playing on the right flank.
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