Tyler's goal seemed to have ignited something within Valhalla Academy. If before the goal the match could be described as an open fire between the two teams, now it was a one sided onslaught.
After Tyler scored his absolute beauty of a goal, Valhalla Academy started pressing hard for the equalizer and began to dominate possession, occasionally unleashing one or two dangerous shots in the process.
It was as though a switch had been flipped within them. They swarmed the midfield, closed down passing lanes, and forced Rising Stars Academy to retreat deeper and deeper. Ten minutes after Tyler's goal, everyone in the Rising Stars Academy team basically wanted to kiss their goalkeeper. It was safe to say that if not for the unbelievable shift he was putting in, then the match would have been out of their reach already.
Their keeper pulled off save after save, stretching to his limits to keep the scoreline intact. He parried a stinging drive from the edge of the box, tipped a curling effort around the post, and even rushed off his line to smother a one-on-one. He was playing like a man possessed.
That all changed in the fortieth minute though. Valhalla Academy's relentless barrage finally bore fruit.
Their attacking midfielder, who had been a nuisance all match, picked up the ball from their number eight and went on another dangerous run. He drove forward with real intent, rushing between Rising Stars Academy's pivot before laying out a pass to the left flank.
Valhalla Academy's left winger took a touch on the ball, then looked up, driving it slowly towards Rising Stars Academy's right back. The crowd buzzed as he began to size up his opponent.
The left winger's legs flashed over the ball as he did a couple of step overs, then bent his right shoulder in as if he wanted to cut inside before exploding down the flank. The right back, unsure of what to commit to, was left flat footed.
Right when the winger was about to reach the byline, he sent a blind cross into the box with his left foot, praying that someone somehow managed to get on the end of it.
His prayers were answered in the form of Valhalla Academy's tall striker. He managed to outmuscle the center back marking him and rose into the air, his head cleanly connecting with the ball and knocking it into the back of the net.
Valhalla Academy scored the equalizer. 1-1.
Tyler watched on as the center forward scored, a bit of frustration in his eyes. Aside from his dazzling run and goal, the rest of the first half had been practically dry for him.
Valhalla Academy had done a very good job at cutting the wingers out of the game. Anytime he got the ball, he was double teamed or sometimes even triple teamed, forcing him to pass the ball back. That seemed smarter than losing possession.
He was tempted to dribble quite a few times, to take on the players and ignite the game again, but this was not the type of match he could afford to take that kind of risk in. After all, scouts were watching, and he did not want to embarrass himself.
After Valhalla Academy scored their equalizer, the match regained a lot of its excitement. The momentum shifted again. Valhalla Academy stopped dominating it, and once again it was an open fire between the two teams.
There were moments of chaos and brilliance. A through ball almost found Jason in behind. Israel managed to whip in a threatening cross, only to see it punched out by the Valhalla keeper. The midfield battles were fierce, and both teams were matching each other stride for stride.
Unfortunately or fortunately for both sides, neither could break the deadlock before the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the first half.
The two sets of players made their way to the locker room for a short respite before the second half began.
"Alright boys, I don't know what you were doing out there, but if you want to get to the finals then you have to do a lot more," James said to everyone as soon as he entered the locker room. They were all sat, surrounding him in sort of a U shape, breathing heavily, sweat dripping off their brows.
"After we scored the first goal, a lot of you switched off and allowed them to dominate the game. That cannot happen again. How many times do I have to tell you that if we take the lead in a match, we keep pushing for the second goal, and then the next goal until we've scored as much as we can?"
"Attack. Attack. Attack."
The players nodded slightly as James talked, some of them still catching their breath, others absorbing every word.
"Another thing I've noticed is that they've effectively phased the wingers out of the game. They want you attacking centrally and you're playing right to them. Look what happened when we attacked from the wings, we scored a goal. So you know their weakness. Punish them for it."
"But they're double teaming me, coach," Israel, Rising Stars Academy's right winger, said. "There's no space to go forward."
"If there's no space then you make the space. Take on your man. You can't just keep obediently passing the ball backwards. Even if you lose the ball, I need you to take them on and disturb them. Rattle them. Force them to make mistakes."
Tyler nodded when he heard James's words. He had been so concerned with playing a perfect match for the scouts that he would have just had a forgettable match. The system told him to put on a show and that was what he had to do.
He could not afford to play safe. This was not the time to shrink. This was his moment.
After a few minutes, James finished talking with the team and made a few tactical changes. The room buzzed with tension and purpose. A match official came to call them out and before long, the two teams filed out for the second half.
The beginning of the second half was the complete opposite of the first. The two teams were looking to score a goal and take the lead as fast as possible.
It was more chaotic, more explosive, more desperate. There was no time to settle. Players pressed higher. Tackles flew in harder. Everything felt accelerated.
In the first ten minutes, both teams tested their goalkeepers a fair bit but the match remained deadlocked. The goalkeepers were earning their wages, flying and diving and organizing their lines with booming voices.
In the fifty seventh minute, that changed.
Valhalla Academy's left back got the ball from Israel and started sprinting down the left flank. He played a one two pass with his team's central midfielder to get past Rising Stars Academy's right back and then sent a cross into the box.
Valhalla Academy's striker, who was lurking in the penalty box, seemed to have been waiting for that moment. He timed his run perfectly, jumped into the air, and got a clean head to the ball. His neck snapped forward, and the ball was guided into the back of the net.
2-1. Valhalla Academy took the lead.
Tyler sighed when he saw the striker score again, the same way he scored the first goal. Unmarked, rising high, and punishing them for not learning their lesson. He clenched his fist as he walked back to his side of the pitch. The system had told him to put on a show. And that was what he was going to do.
His team going behind... it was all part of the show.
It was all part of his show.