Chapter 740: Instant Change II
Ihenacho hit the ball powerfully at the goal, aiming at the bottom right corner and Omossola dived just in time to reach it and push it away from the direction of the goal.
{Oh!! What a save!} the commentator and the swelling cheers of the fans quickly turned to agonised howls that the ball had not ended up at the back of the net.
{Cameroon barely survive losing their lead!}
{The Nigerian Supa Eagles get a corner and this attack spell isn’t over yet. They’ll be hoping to get another clear chance on this corner}
Iwobi jogged over to take the corner while the other players got took position in and around the penalty box, waiting for the ball to come flying in.
As the players shoved against each other, Jason suddenly ran up to the corner flag and Iwobi quickly laid the ball off to him and moved infield so he could receive it back.
When Jason had come running over, a Cameroonian player had been right behind him and quickly began trying to hassle him from behind.
Turning to his right as if he wanted to pass the ball to Iwobi who had run out, he tricked the player behind him into trying to follow his movements, only for him to turn back to the left, freeing himself as he turned towards the penalty box where the other players were still waiting.
Picking out Osimen, Jason crossed the ball over to where the man was waiting and Osimen rose to the air powerfully to meet the ball and head it towards goal, fighting off his markers.
{Heads it toward goal!}
The ball flew toward the top left corner, but Omossola somehow managed to reach it, punching it over the crossbar.
{Another fantastic save from this goalkeeper!}
{He’s saved his team twice now in the last one minute and Cameroon are really struggling not to concede here!}
{Nigeria have another corner}
Once again Iwobi went to take the corner kick and this time Jason didn’t run over for him to play it short, choosing to wait a few meters away from the penalty box since he was one of the faster players and could help the team stop counterattacks if the Cameroon team tried to break through quickly after the corner.
Focusing on the taller players inside the penalty box, Iwobi swept the ball in trying to pick out Troost Ekong, but before the ball reached the Nigerian defender, a Cameroon player jumped higher, inserting himself between the ball and the Nigerian man, heading the ball outside the penalty box and in the direction of a certain person.
Seeing the ball flying his way, Jason carefully positioned and angled himself and hit the ball just a few centimeters before it touched the ground, sending it at the goal powerfully.
{Volley!!!}
The ball spun powerfully towards the bottom right of the Cameroon goal and though the goalkeeper had dived as soon as he saw the ball flying at him, he wasn’t sure he could reach it in time.
However, before the ball reached the goal line, a leg shot out, entering the ball’s path and the ball bounced powerfully against it, flying up and over the goal.
{OHHHHHH!!!}
{Cameroon survive yet again! It’s seems they are determined not to lose their lead out there today!}
{I think it’s getting too close for comfort now. I don’t think the goalkeeper had that last shot covered and he was spared the agony of picking the ball from the back of his goal thanks to the alertness of his defenders, however, they can’t be this lucky for much longer}
{On the other side of this coin are the new substitutes for the Nigerian team and this man especially has hit the ground running, trying against all odds to get that equalizer his team needs to be able to play a freer game} the commentator said and the screens showed Jason getting back on the edge of the penalty box as he and his teammates waited for the ball-in again.
*Fweeeeeeeeeee!*
At the referee’s whistle, Iwobi sent the ball into the penalty box again and the players of the two teams once again rushed toward the path of the incoming ball.
Soon the players took to the air, fighting against one other as they tried to reach the ball first, but when Troost Ekong managed to get his head to the ball first, he tried to head it towards the goal.
However, his opponents had done enough to force him to hit the ball off target and the ball flew harmlessly over the goal, half a meter over the crossbar.
The Nigerian fans who had been on the edge of their seat for the last few minutes fell back disappointedly into their seat, seeing that the ball had ended up behind the goal while Obassola picked collected a ball for a goalkick.
The last few minutes had been tension-filled and action-packed for the two sides and the fans of each side had their hearts in a lurch with every attempt at goal and at every time the ball had not ended up at the back of the net.
However, somehow things had remained the same even after such a tense attacking spell and the fans of both sides were now feeling more unsatisfied than ever.
The Nigerian fans were dissatisfied with the fact that they had somehow not equalised, but they had no one to blame but the Cameroon players and their goalkeeper especially.
On the other hand, the Cameroon fans were now scared that if their players allowed Jason to have a little more free rein on the ball they might soon be saying goodbye to their lead.
Their manager wasn’t lost out on this sentiment and sent a meaningful look at his players as the ball flew in from Omossola who had taken the goal kick.
For the next few minutes after that anyone with a trained eye could see a slight change in tactics on the field.
The Cameroon players still stayed behind the ball, but they seemed to be putting more focus on defending the side of the field Jason was on.
If Jason received the ball, he was quickly surrounded by at least four players, and even when he wasn’t with the ball, he would have two to three players shadowing him depending on how far up the field he was.
The other Cameroon players not marking Jason had also switched from man marking to intercepting, ensuring that even if the other Nigerian players tried to use the other sides of the field, they wouldn’t be able to kick off any momentum.
Also, they were well positioned to try blocking any passes from Jason if he somehow made it past his markers.
The game was heating up for Jason, but he had another issue troubling him alongside his already dire situation on the field.