The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 134: The Game Against Akita Chuo

Author’s note: Thanks a lot for KosherBeef52, Crazyjr_96, Hattorin, and DaoistP7ZBaD for eight more Golden Tickets to this story! I will add another double update for the next Sunday, so we still have that day and Friday for the double update. Thank you for your generosity, and if you want to add more double update day, shower this story with more Golden Ticket! Thank you!

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In the end, the game the next day turned out to be way easier than everyone initially thought.

Knowing that the opponent was wounded, Hakodate took the initiative to control the game from the beginning. It was definitely an improvement compared to the past, when they only had Takaaki as the control tower in the center.

Now, with the presence of Kenji, who liked to drop back slightly to get more ball—everyone knew he just wanted to get the most attention—and the twins, who were willing to help the center, they had a more solid midfield line, able to control the tempo of the game flawlessly.

’Yes, as expected, more players mean more flexibility. I can finally do more things that I couldn’t even imagine with only twelve players on the team.’ Kumiko let out a deep sigh as she watched with melancholic eyes her boys fighting for their lives on the pitch right now.

The opponent team also didn’t really do a great job today, which made it easier for the Hakodate team to take over the game. They were like a bunch of headless chickens, wandering around with no coordination at all, as if their coach had never taken any strategic class before.

Hell, at some point, their central midfielder even clashed with the left back due to them not communicating at all, resulting in a loose ball for Hakodate. To make it worse, this wasn’t the only accident in this game, as even more basic mistakes still happened on that side.

If anything, they liked a bunch of strangers who coincidentally gathered at the same time, and even though they didn’t like each other, they still decided to form a temporary team to have fun. No one wanted to work with the others, and that team was definitely in shambles right now.

"Man, the fall from being a top team to this recipe of disaster should hurt their senior members, right?" Kumiko could hear someone muttering from the bench. She didn’t know who it was, but the girl completely agreed with that sentiment.

’It would be heartbreaking for the senior members to see the team turning into this mess in their last year. Well... That is if they have one, of course.’

It was just a suspicion, but seeing that there was no leadership on the opponent’s side, Kumiko believed that they didn’t have any senior members in the team. All the players there were just rookies, not knowing how to take control of the game properly.

Well, not that she cared, of course, as right now, her attention was completely on the pitch. She kept watching her players trying to pry open the mystery of their opponent’s defense, and while some of them were struggling, the girl still encouraged them all to try more.

"Come on, Takaaki-kun, you cannot always set your eyes forward! Look around you and find teammates who are in a better position!" She reminded the glasses boy carefully.

Takaaki was a good player who could switch the team’s tempo from a slow one to everyone running rapidly like a bunch of mad dogs, and yet, his problem was obvious. He was so fixated on a progressive pass, sometimes even forcing it, even though no one was really in a good position.

Honestly, this was not something that he could be blamed for. After all, for a defensive-minded team like Hakodate Nishi, the moment they got the ball often led to a quick counterattack, which would only give him one choice there: rush forward. This was the habit formed for a long time, something that couldn’t be changed just in one game.

Now that the team was able to control the ball more in the middle, Kumiko used this game as a way to train the boy to be a more complete midfielder, giving the team a boost in their possession quality.

"Usami-kun, you don’t need to always move around like that! Your teammates will also lose track of you! Just get into a spot where everyone can see you, and if you are getting pressured, pass back and move again!"

Usami’s problem was also an old habit here. The boy’s first instinct once the team had possession was to get into an empty spot, ready to link the defense to the offense. However, he moved too fast, and sometimes, his teammates wouldn’t be able to find him, which resulted in a direct ball to the front that was far less effective.

This time, Kumiko also used the game as a chance to get a better box-to-box midfielder out of Usami.

The girl kept standing tall on the sideline, watching carefully while calling some of her players quite a lot to give her instructions. It was rare to see a coach be this active in guiding the players, but her presence itself was also an anomaly. After all, who would think that a teen—a girl, nonetheless!—could lead such a good team to go this far?

Well, Kumiko herself didn’t really care about it. No, she knew that what mattered the most was her players, so she kept her eyes carefully on each one of them, thinking on the fly about the mistakes they made and figuring out a solution within a few seconds.

Much to her surprise, though, the one she thought would be in trouble, Sano, was having a decent performance right now.

Since the team itself didn’t receive any threat, he didn’t showcase any defensive ability. However, he received the ball a lot, and after the first few attempts, where he was a bit awkward with the ball, the boy adapted slowly, and his presence on the back was enough to relieve the midfielder’s pressure there.

’He is such a natural ball-playing defender.’ The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, finding the boy to be more interesting than she thought. ’This is a big discovery. If Jun-kun is not careful, he will have to be ready to get benched later.’

While thinking about that, the girl also checked the watch on her wrist. It was the 44th minute of the first half, and they were about to enter the break. However, even though the Hakodate team controlled the tempo, they failed to get a goal, and this was enough to make them feel anxious.

’Oh, indeed, we need a goal soon.’ The girl slapped her forehead inwardly, somehow forgetting the most important thing here. ’Well, the time is tight, so we wouldn’t be able to do anything. In the second half, though... What kind of adjustment should I make to break through their defense?"