Chapter 74: Chapter 31: Maybe Fifth, Maybe First!
...
In the second half, San Remo was rejuvenated.
Their players erupted with an incredibly strong fighting spirit.
Because for them, this match, along with the next one, could almost decide the happiness of many of them for the rest of their lives.
This could truly mean twenty years less struggle!
They had to win!
San Remo’s aggressive pressing made the Tirana players very uncomfortable.
They couldn’t control the ball at all.
And as Vedian stopped fooling around, Morici began to organize the attack systematically.
Releasing threatening passes one after another.
Vedian crossed from the wing, San Remo’s central forward headed towards the goal, almost changing the scoreline.
Undoubtedly, San Remo was gaining momentum.
In the seventy-seventh minute of the match.
San Remo won another corner.
Morici aimed it towards the near post.
Naji contested the position but was pushed even further forward by the opponent, leaving him no angle for a direct header.
Instinctively, he bent down to flick the ball backwards, sending it to the far post.
There, Lu Yang and the opposing center back had just landed from mid-air.
The ball seemed to be sliding past the goal.
Yet, Lu Yang quickly sprang up after landing, executing a Lion’s Head Shake.
Bang!
The ball smashed into the net, the opposing keeper was helpless.
"GOAL! San Remo has equalized, Lu Yang scores with a header, a beautiful header!"
"Naji, winning that first contact, performed exceptionally, reaching almost the best level of a normal center back in terms of offensive involvement."
"Of course, you can’t compare to Lu Yang’s center back performance, as Lu Yang might be the most explosive attacking center back in the world."
"Oh, we see Lu Yang isn’t celebrating, he rushes to pick up the ball from the net immediately."
"This is Lu Yang, a calm on-field executioner. He always knows what to do at the right time."
"With twelve minutes left, San Remo still has a chance."
Soon, Tirana kicked off.
But right after kick-off, they were met with Lu Yang’s Copper Wall and Iron Wall-like blockade.
Since the second half began, Lu Yang and Morici have switched positions.
Morici appeared at the left defensive midfield position, while Lu Yang was on the right.
This threw Tirana’s right-side-focused tactics against San Remo into disarray.
Lu Yang covered a large range, with excellent tackling and interception skills.
If getting the ball past other defenders just required a 50 cm gap between the ball and them, with Lu Yang, you had to keep nearly two meters away.
Moreover, you had to avoid Lu Yang’s sudden accelerations from anticipation.
This drastically blocked Tirana’s passing routes, pushing their attack into a dead end.
In the eighty-fifth minute.
Yet another brilliant interception by Lu Yang.
He quickly handed the ball over to Morici and then surged forward.
This was a move he almost didn’t make in the second half.
He committed fully to defense, leaving breakthroughs to Morici and Vedian.
Thus, his forward insertion was unexpected.
Morici and Lu Yang executed a one-two pass combo, followed by a swift pass and shot, a specialty of his.
Vedian received the ball on the flank and directly crossed it into the box.
The San Remo central forward drew away one center back, and Lu Yang gained possession, in battle with the other.
But with someone blocking him from behind and another opposing midfielder coming to intercept, he couldn’t turn and shoot.
Fortunately, Morici boldly charged forward as well.
Morici received the ball and passed it to the oncoming Vedian.
At this point, the opponent’s penalty area was crowded.
On the San Remo side, except for the two center backs and a right midfielder, virtually everyone was pressing in this half. Both left and right full-backs were near the penalty area.
And Tirana almost had their entire team there as well.
San Remo was desperate to snatch points, and Tirana was determined not to lose one in the final moments, both teams were fighting hard.
Lu Yang ran out, Vedian passed the ball along the ground to Lu Yang, who was back to the goal, leaning on the defender.
Two players were marking Lu Yang, one on Morici, and one on the central forward, leaving San Remo without any chance.
"Charge!"
But as the ball rolled over, Lu Yang suddenly called out.
Morici, on the same wavelength, dashed towards the goal.
Many didn’t understand Morici’s actions.
Morici was already in the penalty box, with very limited sprinting space, possibly reaching the goalkeeper without gaining speed.
Moreover... there were three people between him and Lu Yang, two walls, making it impossible to receive the ball.
However, at the next moment.
Lu Yang didn’t stop the ball, but instead made a heel pass.
Redondo’s heel!
The ball rolled between the legs of the defenders next to Lu Yang, entering the box.
The opponent hadn’t even realized this yet, still keeping a close eye on Lu Yang.
The ball sped past several defenders, appearing in front of the goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper quickly rushed out.
But a foot reached the ball before him, poking it into the net.
The San Remo players embraced each other passionately!
A last-minute goal!
Lu Yang delivered a deadly assist, and Morici completed the decisive poke shot!
San Remo leads two to one!
"Oh! My heavens! This is truly celestial football!"
"Under such enormous pressure, Lu Yang executed a heel pass."
"This play was so stealthy that even after the goal, Tirana’s defenders were still marking Lu Yang, not knowing when he had passed the ball!"
"Morici’s timing was superb, even slightly slower, and the goalkeeper would have claimed the ball first."