The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 359: Another Round of Gritty Defense!

"FUCK YEAH!"

"Come on, Hori! Come on! That’s a fucking ridiculous pass!"

"Hahaha! I know you will be there!"

Hori and Yuji laughed his ass off as the latter jumped on the fullback’s back for a piggyback. They both cried hysterically, finding this situation to be exhilarating. Those two couldn’t even express their happiness properly right now, still laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. Coming from the bench after waiting for two games for their first appearance in the national tournament, who would’ve thought that one would bag a goal, while the other provided the assist?

The others also followed up, some with the same joyous expression, while the others brought their dumbfounded look to the party.

"Haha! You broke everyone’s mind, Hori! Yuji!"

"That’s what we are looking for from you! Come on!"

"Damn, Senpai! How in the hell could you find Yuji-senpai from that angle?!"

"Hey, that’s what you call teamwork, you know?!"

Meanwhile, some of Hannan University High’s defenders were trying to complain to the referee here. From their perspective, it looked like Yuji was in an offside position, what with him jumping alone in front of the goal without anyone guarding him. However, the referee saw everything more clearly from his spot.

"It is a diagonal pass with that number 19’s position behind the number 2, parallelly. Not only that, but your number 3 is also slightly further on the back, so it is clear that Hakodate Nishi’s number 19 is far from offside." The man explained.

When Taiga Nagai heard his jersey number was mentioned, the boy was so pale. Even if he was a national-team caliber player, being pointed out as the one who allowed the opponent to score a goal in such a crucial moment in a knockout tournament like this was still a huge blow for a teenager like him.

"Tch! This is not good." Kei Murakami clicked his tongue in annoyance. Then, he turned around and made a signal to the bench quickly. "A change needs to be made. We only have about ten minutes to tie the score again."

The coach there also nodded solemnly. Soon, another boy came on the pitch, replacing the right back who didn’t really do anything since Denji’s intensity was far from being aggressive. The boy occupied the midfield area immediately, forming a triangle with Kei Murakami and the other substitute player who was in for Matthew Edwards earlier.

"So, they want to increase the number in the midfield, huh?" Kumiko frowned when she saw the change. After pondering for a second, though, she shook her head firmly. "It will trouble Takaaki-kun a little, but not that much. We can still hold on until the end of the game. We can do this!" She clenched her fist unconsciously.

With that goal from Yuji, the pressure shifted to Hannan University High right now. The Hakodate side could revert to their cocoon-like defense, and there would be nothing that the Osaka team could do. The first goal involved a lot of luck, and honestly, they were not confident they could pull something similar again in the last ten minutes.

That didn’t mean they were going to give up, though. No, more direct passes were launched from the back, and with more midfielders fighting for the ball, they occupied Hakodate Nishi’s territory immediately. More physical contact happened close to the penalty box, and they also took more shots. However, while they did great, their final execution was always lacking.

"Come on! Send it through! Send it through!"

"Shit! He escapes!"

BAM!

"YES!"

Another shot was taken, and once again, another good chance turned into a bin. This time, the shot taken flew so high that Higo didn’t even need to take action. HE just jumped with one hand extending to the crossbar, making sure that it didn’t drop unexpectedly.

"Fucking hell... Again?!"

"Come on, guys! We need to be better!"

It was clear that Hannan University High was getting panicked right now. Not only was their shooting quality dropping, but they were also in a hurry to score a goal that their setup was a mess. In their mind, as long as there was an angle to take a shot, they would do it, not even caring whether there was a better option or not.

Not just that, the snowy pitch also made so many of their shots either fly away or just roll gently out of Higo’s grasp. While some could adjust it properly, most of them couldn’t quite grasp the technique, resulting in them just trying to kill the bird in the sky.

Then, to make it worse, the effect of the delay earlier started to kick in. Their movement became sluggish with some of them even having cramp out of nowhere, delaying more time for their team to put a fight back. It seemed, during that 15-minute break, some forgot to do a proper warm-up.

Of course, Kumiko would also make a move here. Five minutes before the game ended, she put Kuroki on the pitch, using that tall boy to replace Hiroshi. It was a risky move, since if a penalty shootout happened, Hiroshi’s lack of presence could cost them the game. However, with Yuji on the pitch, the pressure on the frontline was far better, so rather than wasting the next five minutes with Hiroshi hovering around aimlessly, it was better to put Kuroki, a fresh blood, on the pitch.

The tall striker also did his role well. He didn’t even mind being put on the back, as Kumiko used him as another tall figure to combat the aerial battle. Even though he was shorter than anyone from Hannan University High, he could still jump higher, clearing everything that was on the way to Higo’s goal.

"Be more patient! Be more fucking patient!"

"Don’t shoot it! For God’s sake!"

BAM!

"Oh, come on!"

The last five minutes were spent quite dully, with Hannan University High still struggling to pry Hakodate Nishi’s defense open. They tried with all their might, but once Hakodate Nishi’s defense started to get into its discipline mode, even a small fly wouldn’t be able to escape.

After waiting for a while, the referee finally glanced at his watch, and the moment he blew the whistle...

FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!

Hell broke loose immediately.