The Rise of the Iron Wall!

The rest of the game had turned immediately into a show-off stage for Higo. He really became a monster, an iron wall that repelled all the attacks coming from the opponent’s team.

A strong header by the captain? His hand could still reach it before the ball could cross the line.

Another low shot to the edge of the goal? He reacted faster than anyone else, using his hand to deflect the ball from the goal.

A tricky shot from the half-space area inside the penalty box, straight to the far post? His upper body was still there to block it.

Hell, even the closest chance the opponent team had, one where Park Han-Gyeol once again managed to sneak through Hakodate’s defensive line and even escaped from the escape trap, Higo was still able to stop it. This time, he used his left foot, blocking a low shot aiming at the near post of the goal.

Higo suddenly became the biggest menace on the pitch; his presence was so big that he blocked all the threats from coming to his goal.

"Damn! How many saves has he made so far?! Anyone counting it?"

"That should be the eighth, right?"

"Holy fuck! Eighth?! Are you sure you are not counting wrong?!"

"Bah! It is just him being conservative! If you count all the aerial claims he earns, it would be close to 15!"

"Holy hell..."

It was a no-brainer that, with this performance, Higo stole the limelight, becoming the center of attention on the pitch. Even Mamoru and Park Han-Gyeol were overshadowed, especially since they still failed to score, even with Hakodate Nishi only having ten players on the pitch.

Still, the crowd’s cheers were far from enough to calm Higo’s nerves. If anything, the closer they were to the end of the game, the more he felt all his hairs stood on end, seeing danger all over the place.

It wasn’t from Shimizu Higashi having a stronger attack. No, if anything, it seemed they had already exhausted all of their resources, what with them putting two more attacking players on the pitch after Ishinori was out. Even with all of that, they still failed to breach Hakodate’s defense so far, and that was why Higo wasn’t worried about them.

No, the worry grew from his side, as some of his teammates started to show a hint of exhaustion.

Takaaki and Usami, the engines in the midfield, starting to pant heavily, and Kazawa, the one who had to keep an eye on Park Han-Gyeol since he came on the pitch, could also be seen holding his knee with sweat drenched on his jersey. Hell, even Makino, the one with a horse’s worth of stamina, also started to slow down, fatigue taking over and messing up with his movement.

This was an unavoidable situation. Not to mention they were down by one player, but this was also their third game in a week. Exhaustion hit a toll, and combined with the weather that, somehow, was at its hottest right now, it wouldn’t be strange if someone soon collapsed on the pitch.

’Fuck it, this is not good!’ He cursed. As the one on the back, Higo had the clearest view of all of his teammates, so he was the first one to notice their decline. ’Kumiko-chan, you’d better make a move quick, or we are going to be screwed.’

On the bench, Kumiko also knew that the situation was quite dire. However, her hand was tied here, not being able to do anything. The girl bit her lips, glancing at the two bench players left on her side.

’Shall I take a risk with Sano-kun? No, even though he is good on the ball, his defensive ability will be overwhelmed so quickly by the opponent. Kenji-kun? Putting him on the front as a deterrent? No, that won’t do. He alone will not be enough to push back the line to Shimizu’s territory. Still... What can I do?’

Well, in all honesty, there was not much Kumiko could do. This was the stage where she had to trust her players the most, as no adjustment would be good enough to help the team survive.

The game went further on, starting to get closer to the final whistle. However, a strange occasion happened here. Shimizu Higashi, who really wanted to have a goal, became calmer and more patient, while Hakodate Nishi, who just had to hold on for a while, started to show a hint of impatience, with the number of fouls increasing more as time went by.

Not only that, but some attacks also managed to slip here, from Jun miscalculating where the ball would land, which allowed Park Han-Gyeol to have a free ball inside the penalty box to Makino, who found it harder to stop Mamoru from shaking him off with the boy’s exquisite dribble.

The only saving grace for the Hakodate team was Higo’s presence under the goal, as the boy really became an iron wall that was impenetrable by anything on the pitch. However, that was definitely not enough, as Shimizu High’s strategy was also quite clear right now; Get more shots on target to wear him down and steal a late goal before the game ended.

For Hakodate Nishi, it was as if they were walking on thin ice, just to realize the ice itself had started to crack. Now, it was a race of whether they could reach the solid surface safely first or they would be drowned in the abyss before that.

Unfortunately, luck did not seem to be on their side this time.

When the game was just three minutes away from the final whistle, another attack came from Shimizu Higashi’s side. This time, the left flank was the target, with Denji and Makino having to repel the opponent’s attack from their territory.

It looked like their encirclement was about to work when the opponent suddenly twisted his body, trying so desperately to send a cross to the penalty box, even if he himself had to fall on the ground. It was a successful attempt beyond what anyone could imagine, as the ball got blocked by Jun’s body, and right after that, the referee suddenly blew the whistle.

FWEEE!

When all the eyes turned around, everyone was so stunned to find out that the man was pointing at the small spot inside the box.

A penalty kick for Shimizu Higashi High.