The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 78: Sappotani’s Hideous Plan!
After a moment, the game continued again. The spectacle was also finally over, with one yellow card flying toward Sappotani’s player with the number 20. It was the left back, and he complained so fiercely that he even ignored the captain’s interference, resulting in a direct yellow card and a warning for a red card.
As for Hakodate Nishi’s players, fortunately, they didn’t do anything excessive, just letting the captain handle this situation. Makino was also smart enough to keep provoking the other side while still restraining himself, acting as the team’s captain to protect his teammates.
This was definitely the best-case scenario for the team, since, as a defensive-oriented team, they couldn’t afford to get any player suffering from a yellow card this early. This would only result in a targeted offense from the opponent’s side, which would be dangerous in the long run.
After this, the game continued from a foul ball that Sheva kicked so far, even reaching the opponent’s penalty box. He still couldn’t control his power and accuracy, resulting in him wasting the team’s possession. Still, no one complained about it, since he had just done a great service to the team.
On the back, Jun looked so dejected, getting depressed from the current situation. He knew that he had done terribly in the last two attacks, and yet, the boy still found it harsh to be relieved from his duty this quickly.
’Unfortunately, Jun-kun, even though we are so lucky in those two occasions, we cannot afford to suffer from the same method again. That’s why you will move back a little as a sweeper, acting as our backup to kill any leaks escaping through our wall. Let Makino-kun handle this matter thoroughly.’
The instruction from Kumiko basically killed any argument he had inside his brain. In the end, he just accepted this matter, knowing that this was the best thing he could do to help the team.
"Hey, don’t be so gloomy like that!" Makino slapped his back quite violently. "You know Kumiko-chan means good, right? Also, once you are adapted to his rhythm, you can help me restrain his movement!"
The encouragement was successful, as Jun found himself burning with determination. Fortunately, the boy was quite simple-minded, not used to thinking too much in this scenario.
Makino sighed, then his eyes turned to Yuwell Carlson, looking at the Swedish striker solemnly.
’If it is an aerial duel, I am definitely not a match for him. But for any other balls... Let’s just stick with him and become an annoying leech for the rest of the game.’
With that kind of thought, he started keeping his eyes on the Swedish striker, asking for his teammates’ cooperation whenever he had to leave his position.
Of course, Yuwell Carlson was also a smart person here, trying to drag Makino as far away from the penalty box as possible. However, that didn’t work, since Fujinaga would take over the dirty job once he dropped too far into the midfield area.
The game also started to slow down a little. After a tense first five minutes, both teams—or more like Sapporo Otani, as the one who held the possession the most—didn’t want to get engaged in a high-paced battle that would only drain their stamina. No, they went for a positional battle, trying to pry open the great wall in front of them, brick by brick.
"Yuwell! Left! Left!"
"Captain, switch with me!"
BAM!
"Yes, Nori! That’s how you do it! Keep it up!"
It was another collision, but the referee just shook his head, asking Yuwell Carlson to get up quickly. Even though the Swedish striker fell, it wasn’t due to malicious contact. Ishinori just aimed at his center of gravity, enough to make the boy lose balance.
Yuwell Carlson groaned, starting to feel frustrated. It was not often that the boy felt this way, but in the last fifteen minutes, he was completely chained, unable to touch the ball even for a second before he got pestered so fiercely by his opponent.
This was the strategy that Makino used. He didn’t stubbornly try to fight a fair one-on-one duel against Yuwell.
No, that would be a chivalrous yet stupid decision.
No, instead of that, he used the same strategy to lock down Iwai from Ritsumeikan High, using his teammates’ help to switch whenever the boy moved to the other area. This time, though, only Ishinori and Fujinaga were involved, since they were the toughest cookies in the team.
They were probably the only players who had the guts to fight against Yuwell, and that was what Hakodate Nishi needed right now.
"Good job, Nori! But communicate more! You need to tell Fujinaga or me if you need to switch!"
"Yes, Senpai! Don’t worry!"
Looking at the harmonious atmosphere on Hakodate Nishi’s side, all the Sappotani players frowned, with some of them not even hiding their scowls. While they admitted that the defense in front of them was tough, they still had the pride as the best team in Hokkaido, and this performance was definitely subpar to their standard.
"Tch! They thought they could stop us by shutting down Yuwell, huh?" Kenji Harada, the playmaker, sneered in disdain. "What a naïve thought... Let’s break this into pieces in the next attack..."
With that thought in mind, he started to give a subtle signal to his teammates. After this, they didn’t wait any longer, starting to initiate a different attacking pattern that caught the Hakodate Nishi players off guard.
The first one who noticed this was Higo, whose clairvoyance ability flared up, telling him where the ball would go. "SHIT! Teme, don’t catch the bait! He is going to the right!" He tried to warn the captain.
"What?!" Makino was startled when he suddenly heard Higo’s anxious shout.
True enough, if usually, the ball would come to Yuwell Carlson, this time, Sappotani decided to utilize the flank, specifically the right one, where Hori was defending. Makino could feel the blood drain from his face, finally realizing the opponent’s plan all along.
When he saw a through ball there, and Hori was challenged into a race on that side, Makino only had one proper reaction in his mind.
"FUCK!"
