"ROSENBORG! *Clap*Clap* ROSENBORG! *Clap*Clap..."
A wave of thunderous cheers resounded across the entire Ullevaal Stadium when Tobias Mikkelsen, Rosenborg's right-winger, chested down Zachary's pinpoint pass. The noise around the stands continued increasing until it was almost unbearable.
That was when the winger turned around with the ball hooked to his foot. Before long, he was darting across the touchline and spearing into Molde's half amid rising cheers.
Knut Olav Rindaröy, Molde's left-back, soon came rushing forward to intercept Tobias' run. However, the speedy Rosenborg winger didn't try to take on his new opponent. He just flicked the ball to Thomas Partey, Rosenborg's defensive midfielder, who was running in sync with him through the middle.
Without losing a moment, the agile winger stepped past the Molde left-back before receiving a return pass from Thomas Partey. In a matter of seconds, he was rushing along the touchline once again, long before any other opponent could intercept him.
Zachary's heart stirred with anticipation as he watched the winger skip past a few other opponents before ending his run with a teasing cross into Molde's box. It was the moment of truth, and Zachary kept his eyes trailed on the ball as he, too, raced towards the Molde's goal with all the haste he could muster.
He didn't slow down even as the ball started descending into the box. He even continued running as he watched Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg's ever-reliable forward, jump high and plant a header towards goal from around the edge of the 18-yard box.
It was then that he felt a momentary silence descend upon the entire stadium as Nicki Nielsen's header flashed towards the top right corner like a bullet. He was almost halting his run, thinking that Nicki Nielsen had scored. But then, at the last moment, he saw the keeper leap high and push the ball slightly off its course with his outstretched fingertips.
"BANG!"
The sound of the ball smashing off the crossbar resounded across the then almost silent stadium, inducing another wave of frustration among the Rosenborg players. In the 44th minute, they had failed to convert yet another chance and bring proceedings back to a leveled ground.
"Shit! What bad luck we've had during this match!" Zachary couldn't help but curse under his breath as he increased his speed towards Molde's goal once again.
Although he was very frustrated at the missed opportunity, he hadn't given up on scoring before halftime. He knew that there was still a chance to turn things around as long as the Molde defenders failed to clear the ball in time.
"Nicki!" He yelled at the top of his voice without reducing his speed. "Go after the ball."
It was as if the sound of Zachary's voice had woken up Nicki from his frustration. The center-forward reacted immediately and raced towards the direction of the slowly descending ball like a flash.
However, he didn't manage to make it since Even Hovland, Molde's center-back, was a step ahead of him. The center-back had reacted promptly to avert the danger with a well-timed back volley before Nicki could close him down.
"There's still a chance."
Zachary slowed down and adjusted his course after noticing the defender clear the ball. With his high game intelligence, graded at A by the system, he could already deduce that the ball wouldn't travel far from the box. It would most likely land towards the border of the final third. Zachary was hopeful he could get to it before the opponents.
"Clear!!! Don't allow that Zachary to get to the ball."
He could hear the booming voice of someone, probably the Molde coach, roaring out commands as he inched closer to the ball. But that didn't slow down his actions in the slightest. He managed to get to the position of the descending ball quickly by relying on his long strides. Without losing a moment, he brought it under control before turning around to face Molde's goal.
He could already feel adrenaline pumping into his system since he was eager to help his team equalize before halftime. However, just as he was about to take the first step towards Molde's box, he noticed a sliding tackle approaching his foot, as sudden as a slippery snake in the grass. It seemed one of the Molde defenders had decided to risk bringing him down rather than allowing him into the box.
Zachary had no intention of dancing to the opponent's tune. He dug his boot under the ball and lifted it off the ground slightly to escape the sliding tackle by mere centimeters. Before the tackling defender could react, he was already an arm's length away, his strides eating up yards of space like there wasn't a tomorrow.
However, he had to slow down again a moment later after running into another obstacle in the form of Vegard Forren, the second Molde center-back.
The defender was quite clever in his approach. He had angled his body in such a way as to force Zachary towards the flanks as he waited for his colleagues to catch up and help him deal with the danger.
However, Zachary wasn't going to wait around for the Molde defense to shape up. He stepped on the ball and dragged it back slightly with his left foot before following that up with a 180 degrees spin around the defender to complete a Marseille Turn. By the time the defender realized what was happening, Zachary had caught the ball with his other foot and rolled it behind and away. Without losing a moment, he then continued his run towards Molde's box like a thunderclap amid a wave of thunderous cheers.
Zachary's mind was working in overdrive as his strides consumed yards of space in a matter of seconds. He was already in the zone. His superb awareness could deduce all the dangers around him. Be it the two defenders blocking his path towards the box or the midfielder trying to pull his shirt from the back — he could see them all clearly. So, he made a prompt decision to shoot from outside of the box instead of taking on the defense.
"Here goes nothing."
Without losing a moment, Zachary flicked the ball to his right foot and pushed it further away from himself before the opponents could catch up to him. He then drew his leg back like a bowstring and swung down hard, slicing the ball on one side with the inside of his boot.
"BANG"
He couldn't help but let out a breath as he heard the clearly audible sound of his boot making contact with the ball. Without delay, he lifted his head and saw the ball spinning around the defense and flashing towards the goal like a rocket.
Örjan Nyland, the Molde keeper, reacted immediately and tried to block the shot with a despairing dive. However, his efforts were fruitless. The ball just whirled past his outstretched fingertips and homed into the back of the net.
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