Zachary glanced up at the digital clock on the big stadium screen and noticed it was already the 85th minute.
He had a few seconds of rest from the intensive action while waiting for Strømsgodset to take a throw-in. That was right after Mikael Dorsin, the Rosenborg acting captain, intercepted another Strømsgodset attack through the right-wing to send the ball out of play with a sliding tackle.
*FWEEEEEEE*
It was then the referee blew the whistle and signaled for a substitution.
Zachary immediately glanced towards the sidelines and noticed that both John Chibuike and Borek Dockal were on the touchline waiting to enter the field of play. For a moment, he could not help but frown, thinking that the coach was about to substitute him out of the game.
But a moment later, when the fourth official raised the substitution board, a smile returned to his face as he instantly relaxed. Tobias Mikkelsen and Tarik Elyounoussi, the two wingers, were the ones to give way to the two substitutes.
He was glad the coach had chosen to keep him on since he wasn't feeling tired even after playing 85 minutes of intense football. He was certain he still had a lot to give on the pitch. That was especially so since both his stamina and endurance attributes had made a breakthrough to the S-grading.
"Zachary," he heard Borek Dockal, the first substitute, call out to him just as he was making his way towards the left-wing to defend against the throw-in.
"Yes, Borek," he replied, braking instantly to hear out his teammate.
"The coach has a message for you," Borek said, smiling. "He wants you to have a few moments of rest by playing as a winger on the left flank. He says that you can only do that while away from the midfield."
"Oh," Zachary said, raising a brow and looking towards the Rosenborg technical area. He could indeed see that Coach Johansen was busy gesturing for him to take up the position on the left flank.
"And who is going to play my number in the attacking midfield if I switch?" He asked, looking away from the sidelines and returning his focus to Borek.
"Me," Borek replied, pointing at himself and smiling. "Before I forget, the coach also mentioned that you should try to use your pace to break through the wing. He says the Strømsgodset players on the flanks are starting to look fatigued. So, if you play your cards right there, you'll most likely create another goal-scoring opportunity for us."
"Oh, okay," Zachary replied, letting out a breath. Without another word, he trekked away from Borek and moved closer to the left touchline to take up his new position.
At the bottom of his heart, he wasn't happy with the Coach's instructions. He didn't like leaving his position in the midfield — not even for a single minute. He feared the coach would start to routinely consider placing him in the wing if he played well there. He couldn't have that happening to him in the future.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle, signaling for the Strømsgodset players to take the throw-in right after John Chibuike, Rosenborg's second substitute, took up his position on the field of play.
Zachary immediately forgot all his displeasure and returned all his focus to the game. It was as if all the other thoughts had disappeared, leaving him in a trance and ready to defend against the Strømsgodset throw-in. Without wasting a second, he marked Adama Diomande, Strømsgodset's right-winger, who was the player closest to him.
Lars Vilsvik, the Strømsgodset right-back, did not waste time after hearing the referees whistle. He immediately made a long throw — towards Rosenborg's box where Péter Kovács and Gustav Wikheim, the two Strømsgodset attacking players, were lurking.
Péter Kovács, their center-forward, immediately jumped high to meet the ball after having outmaneuvered Stefan Strandberg, the Rosenborg center-back. He chested the ball, bringing it under control before flicking it to Gustav Wikheim, his attacking counterpart.
Gustav Wikheim didn't hesitate in the slightest when he received it. He immediately let loose a missile of a shot towards the Rosenborg goal from just outside the box.
It was the first decent shot on goal from the Strømsgodset players in over ten minutes of gameplay. However, Daniel Örlund, the highly experienced Rosenborg goalkeeper, made an incredible leaping save, pushing the ball out of the field of play.
The referee blew his whistle right away and pointed to the corner flag.
Zachary immediately started making his way back to the box to defend against the corner kick. But just as he'd taken a few steps, he heard Coach Johansen yelling.
"Zachary," the coach hollered out to him. "You don't need to head back into the box to defend. Stay put and open in the left-wing. I want you ready to initiate a counterattack in case there is an opportunity."
Zachary immediately gave the coach a thumbs up before making his way back to the left flank. However, a moment later, he noticed that Abdisalam Ibrahim, one of the Strømsgodset midfielders, had followed him there.
"Do you really believe we'll leave you alone and unmarked even though it's us taking the corner?" the midfielder asked as he approached his position. "If you're hoping for a counter, forget it since I'm here now."
"So, don't you want to score?" Zachary asked, stepping away from the defender who was already standing too close to him.
"Of course we do," the midfielder replied, "but we don't want to concede either." He stepped closer to Zachary once again, seemingly intent on denying him even an inch of space on the field of play.
*FWEEEEEEE*
It was then that the referee blew the whistle, signaling for Strømsgodset to take the corner. Jarl André Storbaek, the left-back, immediately took it, floating a teasing ball into the crowded Rosenborg box.
Péter Kovács, the Strømsgodset center-forward, reacted quickly to meet it. He escaped from his mark and leaped high to plant a header towards the top right corner from around the edge of the box.
Zachary winced slightly despite himself as he watched the ball sail past the goalkeeper's outstretched hands. He could even hear a momentary silence descend upon Lerkendal. The ball looked to be on a straight course to the back of the net.
But luckily, it seemed to change its course at the last moment, smashing off the crossbar and bouncing back into the crowded box. However, the danger had not yet passed.
Panic welled up within Zachary as he watched Adama Diomande, Strømsgodset's right forward, pounce on the rebound ball and poke it back towards goal with an outstretched boot.
But once again, Daniel Örlund, the experienced number-1, came to the rescue. He committed himself fully, making a diving save that denied Strømsgodset the chance to score once more.
"Daniel, Daniel, pass here quickly..."
Zachary started running away from his mark, yelling for the ball, after seeing the goalkeeper make the save.
The experienced goalkeeper sprung up from the ground with the agility of a cat that'd just caught the scent of catnip. Without wasting time, he then raced to the edge of the box before making a powerful one-handed throw towards space in the left-wing before the opponents could react.
Zachary accelerated in an instant and shrugged off Abdisalam Ibrahim, the Strømsgodset midfielder, who'd already caught up to him once more.
Heart thumping hard as adrenaline coursed through his system, he connected with Daniel Örlund's long throw just as it was about to head out of play. From there, he didn't look back as his long strides consumed yards of space along the left touchline within seconds.
The Rosenborg counterattack was on once again.
A Strømsgodset defender came to close down Zachary soon after. However, he didn't lose his cool since he'd already grown accustomed to the pace of the Tippeligaen football over the preceding month.
After taking in the posture of the defender, he slowed down slightly before pulling the ball towards himself with the inside of his right boot. He looked like he was about to take the left side and continue dashing across the touchline. But a moment later, he pushed the ball away from himself and flicked it through the approaching defender's legs with the outside of his boot to initiate an elastico dribble variant.
The defender did not expect the seamless and almost instantaneous flip-flap play from Zachary. So, he landed on his butt, seemingly still confused by what had just transpired.
Zachary didn't give the defender any further attention and kept running. At one point, he somehow skipped past two simultaneous challenges from a pair of Strømsgodset defenders, emerging with the ball still in his possession. Unbelievably, seconds after leaving his half, he found himself bearing down on goal as the cheers in Lerkendal rose to thunderous heights.
A deft touch took him past the final defender before he expertly looped the ball over the keeper from around the edge of the box to seal the deal. Without halting, he continued to the corner flag to celebrate Roseborg's 3rd goal.
**** ****
