The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 87: Keeping the Pressure On!

The next minute truly became hell for Kenji Harada. The attacking midfield still wanted to be stubborn and get the ball, but whenever he was about to get involved, someone from Hakodate Nishi would ram him without mercy.

In the end, Sappotani High showed why they were a top team by reacting so quickly. Their head coach, a middle-aged man—young, even, for a coach’s standard—got up from the bench and whistled so loudly, attracting everyone’s attention. Then, he made a quick gesture without even hiding it, changing the team’s approach immediately.

’They are going to stretch out the play with the flank? As expected...’ Kumiko nodded as if this was already within her prediction. Still, she felt the corner of her lips twitching right now. ’He doesn’t even hide it, huh? Does that mean he believes we cannot do anything, even with us knowing what they are going to do? How arrogant!’

Then, she also got up, giving a signal to the player to follow the arrangement.

"Fujinaga-kun, tell Hori-kun to stick with the plan! Don’t hesitate to give him help when necessary!" She instructed the defensive midfielder.

"Sure, Ma’am! Consider the order done!"

Since this situation was within her expectations, of course, Kumiko had already thought of a way to solve this. The method was simple. Since they wanted to use the flank, then why not let them be?

Of course, she wouldn’t let Sappotani use the flank freely. That would be foolish of her. However, all she needed to do was let them go deep enough to not have any room to shoot, and then open up a little room so that they could cross the middle.

At first glance, it was a stupid strategy, especially considering Sappotani had Yuwell Carlson in the center. However, Kumiko also took notice of that, knowing full well that this would work for the team.

’Sappotani’s best headers on the team are Yuwell, Rin Mito, and Yuma Igari, and the last two would never go that far from their own territory except for a dead ball. That means, in an open scenario, it would only be Yuwell who poses a threat, so while he is taller than you both, Makino-kun, Jun-kun, you know what to do, right?’

The instruction was loud and clear, so there was no way they could mess things up.

Makino’s task was simple here. He would never be able to win the aerial duel. However, his job was to make sure that Yuwell couldn’t jump properly and comfortably. As for Jun, he had to take advantage of Makino’s effort and win the fight, and he also had to make sure that he cleared the ball far from the opponent’s players.

Of course, it also helped that Higo was a beast in aerial battle like this. It was probably the most noticeable talent from the goalie besides his shot-stopping ability, and Kumiko took advantage of that clearly.

Thud!

"Oh, yeah! Nice punch, Higo!"

"Come on, don’t let them get any room!"

"Push to flank! To flank!"

After one of Sappotani’s players got the rebound ball, Fujinaga and Takaaki showed their discipline by rushing toward the boy immediately, surrounding him from all places but the flank to push the ball to that place.

It was already the third cross in the last five minutes, and honestly, the one who started to lose patience was Yuwell Carlson. The Swedish striker was around 190 cm, and he was taller than both Makino and Jun. So, not winning even a single aerial duel was definitely an uncomfortable experience here.

Unfortunately, this time, Hakodate Nishi players made a slip.

Kenji Harada, the playmaker who always had one person marking him, suddenly made a run to the outer right flank, giving support to get the ball. Ishinori saw the movement, but his start was a bit late, giving the Sappotani’s boy an advantage here.

"There! Push it forward!" Kenji Harada pointed his finger at the front while sprinting toward the baseline.

"Shit!" Ishinori cursed, not expecting the move at all.

Then, as if his defensive instinct flared up, the boy suddenly made a dangerous decision here. Not wanting to let Kenji Harada break through the team’s defense from his area, Ishinori pulled the boy’s jersey lightly. It wasn’t a subtle movement, either, as the referee caught it with ease. As a result...

Brugh!

FWEEE!

The man pointed at the spot where Kenji Harada fell and gave Ishinori a yellow card immediately. "You know what you are doing, right?" He raised one of his eyebrows slightly, challenging Ishinori to complain.

"No, don’t worry, Sensei, I know that it is a professional foul." Ishinori nodded, not even voicing any dissatisfaction here.

Of course, the most annoyed one here was Kenji Harada, as a rare chance that had suddenly appeared for him was shut down instantly like this. However, the free kick was in a nice place, and with both Rin Mito and Yuma Igari mingling in the penalty box, the chance of them scoring again was quite high this time.

"Yes, Yuji! There! Together with Usami!" Higo shouted at the two people who formed a wall in front of Kenji. Then, he turned around and did the same for his other teammates. "Just keep an eye on your responsibility! Kuroki, get on the front! Don’t let him overtake you!"

The penalty box was crowded with players, but not to the point that it became too chaotic for Higo to handle. At least, it was still far better than the corner-kick in the first half, when he didn’t have any room in front of him to make a move.

Then, as he witnessed Kenji Harada about to take a shot, his brain sent another signal, a glimpse of the future that he could take advantage of.

’The ball is going straight to the goal, to the far post! Move back, move back!’ 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The reaction was proven to be crucial. With his short posture, if he were one second late, there was no guarantee that he could get the ball there. However, now, even with some players rushing to disturb him, Higo still had an easy time plucking the ball in the air.

That was when he caught a movement on the opposite flank, and without hesitation, Higo threw the ball there.

"HIROSHI! COUNTER!"