[ HELLO AGAIN. HOPE YOU ARE WELL. PLS DONT FORGET TO RIGHT IN THE COMMENTS OF PROBLEMS YOU HAVE. IS THE MC BORING? IS THE PLOT ARMOR NOT ENOUGH? ANYTHING .PLS JUST MAKE IT KNOWN,. AND I'D APPRECIATE A FEW POWER STONES. PLS EVEN 1 POWER STONE WOULDN'T HURT.]
"A nice goal from Vasquez, indeed."
Jolar was on the ball. He passed to Riley, who passed it back, but it was intercepted by a Vilaoin midfielder moving down I.Land's defensive line.
Riley, as well as the midfielder, chased the ball. Both players were equally fast and reached it at almost the same time, but Riley got the first touch and shielded it. The midfielder put up a good struggle, but it was soon stopped by the referee's whistle.
The first half was over.
I.Land returned to their locker room, where Moz briefed them on the second half. They were attentive—or so he thought. Kibb was lost in his own thoughts about the first half.
"Man, this is much tougher than the Elite Divisions," Kibb sighed. Then he continued, "These players are on a different level. Is this what it takes to be here?"
He began imagining how good players had to be to reach this level.
"They're stronger, faster, they're..."
Kibb was interrupted by Xavez.
"Um, Neto, the second half is starting," Xavez informed him.
The crew got outside, maintaining their original formation.
Kibb was determined to try harder.
Vasquez made the center pass to Diego. He passed it back. I.Land's attackers rushed in, but Vilaoin maintained good possession.
Riley stole the ball and initiated a counterattack. He crossed to Samba, who was 14 yards from goal. It was a high ball, and Samba jumped for it.
The keeper claimed the ball in the air and threw it to his right-back. The defender passed back to his goalkeeper.
Diego made a run, noticing the eye contact from his keeper. He was unmarked, though I.Land's players quickly charged toward him.
On the other flank, Vasquez accelerated.
"He's gonna cross," Kibb noticed.
Leaping, Kibb cleared the cross.
The ball was headed by a Vilaoin midfielder to Andol, and then to Jolar.
Since I.Land were playing with two forwards, each striker had two defenders to deal with. The right-back and right center-back moved toward Jolar.
Slipping through the gap between them, he sprinted forward and curled a shot with his right foot.
The keeper saved it and cleared the ball to Florence.
Vasquez made a run, and Florence responded with a through pass.
Kibb was still on him.
"Bro, get off me," Vasquez growled as he tried to muscle Kibb away.
Before the pass could reach him, Kibb blocked it.
Vasquez recovered to chase the loose ball, but Andol cleared it.
Samba shook off his marker and controlled the ball. He was on the right flank and crossed it into the box.
Jolar attempted a shot, but the goalkeeper slid at his feet and smothered the chance.
The goalkeeper held the ball, waiting for I.Land's players to disperse.
He passed to his center-back.
Samba and Jolar rushed forward to press, but they found themselves confused by the defenders' passing combinations.
For the first time in a while, Vasquez could feel his shirt free of tugging.
"That hogger isn't here anymore," he sighed in relief as he looked for a good position onside.
His center-back spotted him and launched a pass.
"Shit."
I.Land's defense realized they had left him unmarked.
Vasquez was on the ball when he suddenly felt tension at his side.
"No."
That was all he thought as he guessed the hauler had returned.
And he was right.
Kibb was there.
They chased the ball together.
"That ball is high, and at this rate I doubt I'll beat him in a physical battle or a header," Kibb realized.
Jumping, he cleared it for a corner.
"Nice one, man," Dogo commented. "We might be losing, but you're doing well."
From the sidelines, Moz shared the same opinion.
He was doing well for a rookie center-back.
Florence crossed the corner, and Diego's header rattled the crossbar.
Riley cleared the rebound to Vilaoin's right-back.
Jolar tackled him as he tried to control it, sprinted forward, and took a shot—though it was little more than a pass to the opposing goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper then made a sloppy pass.
Samba intercepted it and lofted a ball toward Riley.
The goalkeeper jumped to catch it, leaving Riley near the goal.
A quick counterattack followed for Vilaoin.
Florence got the ball and played a direct pass toward Vasquez on the flank.
Kibb slid in and cleared it away.
Vasquez gnashed his teeth.
While Kibb was still on the ground, the ball came back to Vasquez's side.
Vasquez sprinted toward it.
Kibb got up and chased him.
Just then, an opposing midfielder ran past, and Diego found himself on the ball.
Reading their intentions, Kibb stretched out a leg and intercepted the pass.
He attempted to pass to Andol, but a Vilaoin midfielder stole it.
Kibb chased him, tracking his gaze as it shifted toward Diego.
Kibb ran left.
Sliding into the passing lane, he made another interception.
This time, the opposing defense looked shaken.
Kibb cleared the ball toward Xavez—unknowingly.
Xavez passed to Shroder.
Surrounded by four tacklers, Shroder used two stepovers to shift the ball to the right and burst forward.
Then he faked a shot, sending two defenders the wrong way, before delicately chipping the ball toward Riley.
One of the remaining defenders recovered and won the ball.
He immediately passed it to Diego.
Vasquez once again searched for space, and Kibb was aware of him.
It was an all-out counterattack in the final minutes of the match.
Kibb sprinted back, noticing the understanding between Diego and Florence.
Then he realized something.
Shroder was completely free.
"Finally," Kibb thought.
"A chance at goal. I just have to get that ball."
Diego released the pass.
Kibb had already moved, and Florence noticed Vasquez was free.
He smirked.
To be continued