"BANG!"
The sound of the ball smashing against the crossbar sounded next, causing most of the Rosenborg fans to sigh with regret. Just one more inch below, and the ball would have, without a doubt, found its way into the back of the net since the tremendous force behind the shot had already rendered the keeper helpless. Even coach Johansen had already raised his arms up in the air to celebrate due to the surety of the moment.
However, it seemed like the goddess of luck wasn't on Rosenborg's side that evening. With a slight swerve at the final moment, the ball had deviated slightly from its intended course before smashing off the crossbar and bouncing back towards the box.
"Hurry up and clear the ball!"
Suddenly, the voice of Vincenzo Montella, Fiorentina's head coach, reverberated across the pitch like thunder just as the ball was about to land in the box.
The Fiorentina defenders didn't need their coach's reminder since they were already pouncing towards the bouncing ball as if their lives were at stake.
In particular, Stefan Savic, one of Fiorentina's three defenders, was a notch faster than his counterparts. He arrived in the box like a whirlwind before kicking the ball hard without regard for anything. He hadn't even dared to take a single touch on the ball since Nicki Nielsen was right on his heels.
"Damn!"
Zachary could only sigh as he watched the ball flying out of the field for a corner kick. His mood was slightly down since he'd missed out on an opportunity to score and bring the proceedings on the pitch back to level ground.
But more than disappointed, he was also slightly startled. That was because he'd just noticed that both his technique and power while shooting had improved tremendously over the past few months. It seemed like the breakthrough of his agility, body control, and strength attributes to the S- grading had also pushed the power and lethality of his shots to another level. As a result, he could already release missiles of balls from outside of the eighteen-yard box without expending much effort.
What a pleasant surprise!
Within an instant, various thoughts flashed through Zachary's mind as his heartbeat accelerated. He was no longer feeling depressed over the missed opportunity after realizing that he'd unknowingly made another significant breakthrough on his path to become a football great.
As long as he could effectively utilize his recently-improved power and lethality of his shots, then he would have a lot more options while on the attack. Whenever an opportunity presented itself, he could choose to either unleash missiles at goal from outside the eighteen or break through the defense and step into the box with skills. As a result, his playing style would evolve and become more lethal.
"Zachary! Don't mind, don't mind..." the voice of Mikael Dorsin, the assistant captain, suddenly made it to his ears as he was considering how he could utilize his new weapon to evolve his own playing style. "It's only the first half. You'll get another chance to score sooner or later. So, don't worry, and let's prepare for the corner kick."
"I understand," Zachary said while nodding at the left-back. "Thanks. Let's prepare for the corner."
"Good." Mikael flashed him an encouraging smile before heading towards Fiorentina's box.
Zachary also didn't dare to dilly-dally any longer. He followed after the left-back since he was also looking forward to attacking the corner ball. He wanted to utilize every opportunity to score since his team was facing off against a powerful opponent. So, taking part in the corner kick was a must for him.
However, no sooner had he stepped into Fiorentina's box than a silhouette dressed in a blue jersey was upon him. It was Stefan Savic, one of Fiorentina's three defenders. Without regard for anything, the defender stuck to him like superglue, not allowing him even an inch of space within the box.
Nonetheless, Zachary wasn't the least bit daunted by the defender's aggressiveness. He just ignored the defender and kept his eyes pivoted towards the corner flag where Borek Dockal was getting ready to take the corner kick.
Why fight off an opponent even before the ball could arrive? Zachary saw no point in that as it was simply a waste of energy. Moreover, it was the sort of behavior that could easily earn you a yellow card from the referee. So why hustle? He would wait for the corner ball before trying to outmaneuver his opponent.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee finally blew the whistle after a few more seconds. Borek Dockal, Rosenborg's left-winger, immediately floated a teasing cross towards the box from the corner flag.
It was finally the moment. So, Zachary started moving right away. He shifted his center of gravity from left to right before spinning around and heading to the other side of the box.
With that well-timed almost-instantaneous movement, he'd managed to throw off Stefan Savic, his marker. As a result, he was unmarked as he rushed towards the direction of the descending ball.
At that moment, he felt as if the time had come to a standstill as he pushed off the ground to meet the corner ball. Then, before the opponents could react, he angled his body slightly before planting a header towards the goal.
"Please go in... go in..."
He willed the ball to find its way into the back of the net as he started descending back towards the ground. He so much wished to score so as to help his team bring proceedings back to leveled ground. But the next moment, his heart sunk to the abyss of desperation once again. It seems like luck wasn't really on his side that evening.
That was because Neto, Fiorentina's goalkeeper, had stretched himself and snatched the ball out of mid-air with a diving save to deny Rosenborg a chance to score. As a result, the score was still one goal to nil in favor of Fiorentina during the 40th minute.
"Don't let him start the ball before we fall back into defense!"
Suddenly, someone shouted and broke Zachary out of his moment of desperation. But the shout had come a little too late. That was because Neto was already rushing towards the edge of the area with the ball in hand. Before any of the Rosenborg players could close him down, the goalkeeper made a one-armed throw towards the right flank where Alessandro Matri, Fiorentina's striker, was lurking.
"It's a counterattack! Hurry up and rush back to defend..." The voice of Coach Johansen reverberated from the sidelines. He was like a madman as he waved for his players to run back at full speed to prevent Fiorentina from scoring another goal.
However, the switch from defense to attack by Fiorentina was so swift that almost no Rosenborg player had managed to react in time. As a result, not even the quick-footed Zachary could catch up to the fast-flying Fiorentina forwards when they were already more than thirty yards away. So, it was only up to the two Rosenborg players who hadn't partaken in the corner kick to stop the counterattack. Otherwise, Rosenborg would concede the second goal on the night, for sure.
