The Rise of the Iron Wall!-Chapter 95: Post-Match Reaction (I)
"YES! WE WIN!"
The moment the referee blew the whistle, all the Sappotani players, from those who were on the pitch to the benchwarmers who didn’t even have a chance to step onto it, all ran frantically in all directions, celebrating wildly over the win.
It was strange, honestly, to see the team that had been dominating the whole prefecture for more than a decade to celebrate over ’merely’ advancing to the final of the prefectural tournament. However, no one could blame them for this. Everyone who watched the game knew how hard those boys fought today.
Yeah, even though the final score, 2 – 0, was a solid one, the path itself was not so smooth for Sappotani. There were so many occasions where they could concede a goal, and honestly, their luck in this game was just slightly better.
Of course, no one could dismiss Yuwell’s role in this game. While celebrating, they didn’t forget to pat—or slap, to be more exact—the Swedish boy’s back, knowing full well that without him, it would be impossible to win this game. His last goal, more particularly, was basically the dagger that killed Hakodate Nishi straight on the spot, letting them die standing on the pitch.
Yeah, it was an apt description to picture what happened on Hakodate Nishi’s side right now.
Most of them were still standing, but their eyes were so hollow. They kept staring at the scoreboard, looking at it with a hint of disbelief.
Honestly, everything that happened in this game was something beyond their mind.
They entered the game getting intimidated by the crowd, walking on the pitch with legs shaking as the underdog, and as time went by, everything looked bleak for them. However, the red card gave them hope, and even though it didn’t last long, in the last fifteen minutes, they were dominating completely, making some threats that gave them a real chance to tie the score.
However, the final blow from Yuwell was what dragged them, a group of dreamers who were ascending to heaven, back down to earth. Now, after such a wild roller coaster journey, they were back to the real world again, facing the fact that they lost in this game just as everyone expected beforehand.
"Come on, Makino-kun..." Kumiko whispered, patting the captain’s shoulder gently. "Ask the others to gather. We cannot stay in this place for too long."
Makino just nodded silently, yet his mind was still wandering away. His brain recalled his last attack, the shot that hit the crossbar before the disaster struck. So many ’what-ifs’ scenarios flashed, and yet, in the end, only one thought really stuck inside his head.
’So, even with all of our effort, we still lose the game, huh?’
Later, everyone gathered on the bench, yet their souls were still drifting around aimlessly. Kumiko was so heartbroken when she saw this, knowing full well how much effort her players poured into this game.
"First of all," She finally spoke, ignoring the heavy lump in her throat. "I am so proud of you guys."
That sentence....
That sentence alone was enough to snap everyone’s thoughts and bring them back to reality. They all stared at the coach one more time, blinking for a moment to make sure that they didn’t mishear anything here.
"From losing seven goals to just two goals, even pushing them back until the end... I think, no high school team in Japan dares to say that they are improving faster than you." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
This praise made their hearts bloom for a moment, just to be withered instantly when they thought that it didn’t change anything. Even though the improvement was real, at the end of the day, they still lost, so any consolation was no use here.
They were out of the tournament, and they had to wait for the next six months before having another chance for revenge.
"Also..." The girl trailed her words behind, yet this time, hesitation flashed on her face. Before anyone could ask, though, she suddenly bowed so deeply that it startled them all here. "I am here to apologize because I think I am responsible for our defeat today."
The sudden humility from the girl definitely startled everyone here, making them all panic.
"No, Kumiko-chan, this is not your fault!" Makino said quickly, the panic couldn’t be hidden from his face at all.
"Yes, I think it is." She got up quickly, but her tone definitely told them all that she was convinced by her own argument right now. "It is my fault for not seeing Ishinori-kun’s possible cramp... I mean, I know he is the one who runs the most today, and he fought in so many physical battles as well. I should’ve noticed that something like this would happen..."
This...
Everyone just stared at each other, not knowing how to respond. Kumiko’s words really had some truth in them. Managing every player should be her task, yet she failed to notice it until the crucial moment was on the pitch. However, this was definitely not her fault alone.
In the end, though, it was Ishinori, the one who fell in such a crucial moment, who spoke for her.
"No, Senpai, if you said so, it is also my fault for not telling any of you about my state. I had already felt something was wrong a couple of minutes before that, but I still forced myself to run without resting even for a second. In the end, my calf screws you all over, and I am definitely the most responsible one here."
Another reasonable one here, and yet, once again, no one dared to blame the boy for the loss. They saw how hard Ishinori fought in the entire game, so it was not fair to blame the boy for having his body collapse in the last minute.
In the end, Makino let out a deep, tired sigh; his wandering mind was back again to his body.
"It is no use to blame each other so emotionally like this. Let’s just talk about it later when our brains are back, and we start evaluating everything thoroughly. For now, let’s just go to the stand and thank the supporters first. We owe them a big time today, right?"
