The players take their positions again after Shūdan-teki's goal, while the students in the stands buzz with excitement.
"That was insanely fast!" Sato bursts out.
"For real! What a counter!" Yuzuki nods, sharing her excitement. "Those two wingers are absolute arrows. If they get space, you're done."
Kadoshima stands over the ball, ready to restart. The whistle blows and the match resumes.
Naruse receives the ball and plays it right to Taichi, but Tamura pressures him immediately, forcing a pass back.
Naruse processes everything in an instant—but Nishimura closes him down fast. The Tōen midfielder turns and fires the ball back to his keeper.
They're pressing even harder… he realizes.
Naruse drops toward the edge of the box. "Here!"
He motions for the keeper, receives the pass, and before Kaneko can pounce he plays first-time into Kadoshima, who has dropped deep to help the build-up.
Nishimura stares at him. Why is he all the way back here!?
Kadoshima drives forward with Nishimura tight on him.
Tamura shifts toward him as well, blocking the passing lane toward Taichi.
Even so, Kadoshima finds Teppei, who also drops back to help the play.
They're all rotating… Nishimura thinks, uneasy as he chases.
Teppei turns and feeds Kanzaki, who shields the ball with his body against Aoki.
Coach Ishii narrows his eyes. Aoki is struggling.
"This isn't good…" he mutters.
Kadoshima keeps advancing, signaling for the return ball. Teppei obeys. The No.10 charges toward the box—but Noguchi anticipates it perfectly, stepping in hard to win it.
The ball spills loose. Kanzaki is ready to shoot, but Noguchi springs up instantly and hammers it out for a throw-in, shouting in triumph.
"Nice one!" Tamura says, slapping his hand.
"Aoki! Be decisive!" Coach Ishii calls. "You can anticipate him. You do it every day in training!"
Aoki hears him, frustration on his face.
Teppei takes the throw-in, scanning quickly. Kadoshima is coming toward him, Tamura trailing behind. He gives it to the captain anyway.
Kadoshima controls it toward the right. Ueno rushes to stop him, but Kadoshima flicks it back with his heel to Teppei, who cuts inside for a shot—but Tamura blocks it immediately. The ball pops up.
Then Naruse appears out of nowhere.
He counts the steps and volleys with everything he has.
The shot rockets toward goal—but crashes off the post. Andou was beaten.
The keeper exhales in relief, but the ball is still in play, rolling along the byline.
"Clear it!"
Kadoshima charges toward it, but Ueno reaches it first and even sells him a feint before finally clearing long.
It drops near midfield. Kaneko traps it on his chest—but he's isolated. Both Tanaka and Shimizu are marked.
He's swarmed and loses it.
Damn it!
Taichi pushes forward with the ball but is tackled hard by Tamura.
This guy is everywhere… Taichi thinks, annoyed.
"Taichi, here!" Naruse calls, still high from the previous attack.
Taichi plays it to him. Nishimura closes in, but Naruse turns wide, using his body well.
He's heading outside? Nishimura thinks, until he notices.
Kadoshima has dragged Sugimoto and Tanaka toward the flank.
Naruse drives at Noguchi. The center-back steps up, creating space behind him. Kanzaki sees it and bursts forward, Aoki chasing.
Naruse threads the perfect pass into the box. Kanzaki swings his leg—
—but Andou slides in at full speed, smothering the ball.
Kanzaki accidentally hits him in the stomach as he tries to shoot, sending Andou sprawling.
The whistle blows. Foul for Shūdan-teki. The ref checks on Andou.
Coach Ishii uses the pause to gather Aoki and Nishimura.
"You two are missing your defensive tasks. Nishimura, read the patterns. Aoki, like I said—anticipate him. You can. You always do in training. Understood?"
"Yes!" they answer.
"Good. Go."
He claps sharply, then looks at Shimizu.
"Shimizu!"
Shimizu jogs over.
"Tell Kaneko to fight harder for those balls. The team needs relief. If he can earn fouls, we can push up."
"Got it."
Shimizu goes to Kaneko.
Coach Ishii sighs and looks toward the bench.
The players meet his eyes.
Coach Suzuki steps beside him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing for now… but warm up Kinoshita, Yasuda, Nakamura, and Aliberti."
"Understood."
He turns to the bench. "You heard him. Come with me."
The four players rise.
Sato notices immediately, eyes drifting to Riccardo with a faint smile.
"He stood up…" she whispers.
Soon everyone in the stands catches on.
"He won't come in during the first half… their coach must be planning something for after the break," Yuzuki guesses.
Kaneko moves across midfield—then sees Riccardo warming up.
He's warning me… telling me to push harder…
The stoppage ends and Andou takes the free kick, motioning his teammates up before launching long toward Kaneko.
To hell with it. I'm not getting subbed out!
Kaneko fights with everything he has, eventually earning a foul after being shoved from behind.
He rises. Nishimura slaps his hand. "Nice."
Kaneko locks eyes with him.
"I'll do the dirty work to move the team up… but you guys better give me chances in return."
Nishimura smirks at his fire.
"Of course we will. That's our football, isn't it?"
[Minutes pass — Halftime]
HT — Shūdan-teki 1 | 0 Tōen
Inside the locker room, Kaneko looks exhausted.
"I fought like hell for nothing…" he mutters to Nishimura.
"I know… they practically bombarded us…"
Tanaka sighs. "Yeah. If Ryota wasn't in goal, we'd be three down."
"You got that right," Coach Ishii says sharply as he enters. "And do you know why?"
Silence.
"…Because we were scared of conceding and dropped too deep," Nishimura answers cautiously.
"Exactly. We've said it a hundred times—we have a weapon against them: our counters. They handed us those opportunities and we're not using them!"
The team says nothing.
"For the second half I'm making two changes: Yasuda for Tanaka, and Kinoshita for Ueno."
Noguchi blinks. "We're switching to a back three?"
"Yes. We practiced this. We're going 3-5-2. Aoki left center-back, Kinoshita right, Noguchi you're in the middle. Sugimoto becomes a left wing-back."
Shimizu hesitates. "Won't that hurt our offense a bit…?"
"It's temporary. I need to see their adjustments first. Our priority is keeping the lead at all costs. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Everyone heads out. Riccardo is the last to rise.
"Guess you're not going in yet," Nishimura says, waiting for him.
"Seems like it."
"I'm sure the coach has plans for you. You are his favorite," he jokes.
"I wouldn't be so sure. No one really knows what's in his head."
They chuckle together as they walk out onto the field.