Chapter 73: Battle of the Underdogs IV

The second half of the semifinal between NF Academy and ADO Den Haag ensued, running at the same tempo as the first. The Dutch team mostly used wing play to attack while the Norwegian team sat back and defended most of the time.

Zachary was impressed with how his teammates managed to maintain a high level of focus throughout the game. They worked together admirably, using teamwork to keep ADO Den Haag at bay by disrupting most of their wing attacks.

Kasongo and Paul, NF Academy's wingers, helped the wing-backs—whenever they were faced with an attack by ADO Den Haag on the flanks. On the other hand, the three center-backs kept a close eye on Catalin Tira and Papito Merencia, ADO Den Haag's center-forwards. They managed to clear most of the crosses that managed to reach the box.

In the 75th minute, NF Academy's defense and midfield were still putting up a good fight. The score was still 1:1, thanks to their efforts.

However, Zachary was feeling frustrated due to the scarcity of balls coming to his position. He was still playing as a half-striker/half-milder in the 5-3-1-1 formation, just behind Örjan, the center forward. He had to wait for more than five minutes in-between touches on the ball. Zachary fancied playing in the midfield instead. That would have let him be more involved in both offense and defense.

Zachary broke off his thought process when Robin Jatta, NF Academy's center-back, made an incredible interception within the box. He stopped a dangerous cross from finding Catalin Tira, the ADO Den Haag forward. Without losing his composure, he immediately cleared the ball away, towards the left-wing where Martin Lundal, the left-back, was lurking.

Martin controlled the ball beautifully close to the touchline, skipping away from Tyronne Ebuehi with a deft first touch. He followed that up with a perfectly executed cut-back pass towards Magnus, NF Academy's defensive midfielder, on the inside of the pitch.

However, Danny Bakker intercepted the pass before it could make its way to its target. He controlled the ball with an adroit first touch, using the back of his heel to loop it over the towering form of Magnus, who'd closed down on him quickly before he could run away with the ball.

He moved seamlessly like a fish navigating water, bringing the ball effortlessly back to the ground. He immediately unleashed another of his trademark raking passes to the right-wing, where Ibrahim Fofane was waiting. The creative midfielder had managed to catch the NF Academy defense unawares with a sudden switch to the wing once again.

Uncontested, Ibrahim Fofane, ADO Den Haag's winger, deftly chested the ball, propelling it onto the path of Tyronne Ebuehi, the right-back, who'd run into open space. The two of them exchanged short passes, playing one-twos, speeding along the touchline. They weaved through NF Academy players before cutting back into the pitch. Their coordination was flawless.

Before the defenders could close them down, Ibrahim let loose another of his teasing crosses in-behind NF Academy's defensive line.

Catalin Tira, ADO Den Haag's number-9, pounced on the ball, like a cat that'd seen some catnip.

The number-9 had an uncanny capability to lose his marks and slip through the ranks of defenders. He showed the same brilliance at that moment, sliding in-between Robin Jatta and Lars Togstad, NF Academy's center-backs, before tapping the ball towards the goal.

However, Kendrick Otterson, NF Academy's goalkeeper, had been at the top of his game the entire match. He reacted immediately by stretching out his left leg and managed to get a slight touch on the ball, driving it away from the goal.

Zachary felt a shiver run down his spine as he watched the ball smash off the post before bouncing back into the field of play. The threat to NF Academy's goal wasn't over yet. Calvin Valies, ADO Den Haag's left-winger, came speeding into the box with the intent of shoving the ball into the back of the net. Kasongo was close, hot on his heels.

[Will he be able to get to the ball away in time?] Zachary mused while following the proceedings from his advanced position, close to the center-circle. He felt a little helpless since he couldn't return to his half to help defend against the relentless sequence of attacks from ADO Den Haag.

He could see that Kasongo was struggling to keep up with the short ADO Den Haag number-11. However, the goddess of luck seemed to be on NF Academy's side that day. Kasongo made a brave and timely sliding tackle, managing to shove the ball out of play before Calvin could reach it. Zachary let out a long pent-up breath, allowing his body to relax. His team had survived the deadly attack without conceding.

The referee pointed to the corner flag.

Zachary returned to his box to help out against the corner.

"Let's defend, let's defend," he shouted at his teammates. "Man to man. Do—not leave anyone unmarked in the box." He bellowed at the top of his lungs, clapping his hands for emphasis to motivate his teammates.

Zachary had a feeling that if they conceded another goal, they would probably lose the semifinal. He couldn't accept such a fate, not when they were so close to the final. Zachary wanted to be a champion and to earn some Juju-points. He 'simply' couldn't accept a defeat in the semifinals. So, he continued roaring at his teammates, encouraging them to focus as they awaited the corner ball.

Tyronne Ebuehi took the corner kick and sent the ball into the crowded penalty area. However, Magnus out-jumped the rest and headed the ball out of the box, seemingly to safety.

Zachary immediately chased after it.

However, amid his run, he noticed that the ball was moving on a course straight to Danny Bakker, ADO Den Haag's dangerous attacking midfielder, who was waiting on the edge of the box. Danny was in the process of raising his foot to unleash a missile of a rebound back at goal.

"Not on my watch," Zachary roared as he dashed towards the midfielder.

Danny maintained his composure and managed to blast the ball towards the goal, uncontested. But luckily, Zachary had managed to get his body in front of the rebound effort in time. He jumped high and blocked the ball, driving it away from its intended course, away from the goal.

Kasongo pounced on the loose ball and cleared it out of the pitch with a first-time volley. He'd gifted ADO Den Haag a throw-in. Once again, NF Academy had managed to come out unscathed from another deadly attack.

Zachary's teammates, who'd been defending from the start, were under immense pressure. What underdogs? Zachary reasoned that the phrase was utter crap. The Dutch team seemed vastly more threatening than Zenit, especially when they attacked through the wings.

"Zachary," Coach Johansen bellowed from the sidelines. "Head back to the front and leave the defense for the rest. You're causing more difficulties by falling back to defend. Look at that." The coach pointed towards the middle of the pitch.

Zachary turned around and noticed the two ADO Den Haag defenders who had previously been marking him had already moved into NF Academy's half, seemingly to join the attack.

He understood Coach Johansen's reasoning. If he left his half-striker position even for a single minute, he would free-up the defenders responsible for marking him. That would increase the pressure on the rest of his teammates if the freed-up defenders also joined the attacks. So, he quickly ran back to his position without complaint and waited patiently for the ball to come to him.

Tyronne Ebuehi took ADO Den Haag's throw-in. He unleashed a long throw, hoping to pick out Catalin Tira in the box. However, Robin Jatta managed to clear the ball out of the box with a well-timed volley. He sent the ball back to the right-wing where Kasongo was waiting.

The short right-winger controlled the ball like a pro and unleashed a first-time cut-back pass into the midfield, towards Magnus.

Zachary immediately ran away from the two defenders marking him, dashing towards the right-wing, without bothering to see whether Magnus had controlled the ball successfully. He only wished the defensive midfielder could predict his run and release him as soon as possible.

Magnus didn't disappoint. He sent a lofted pass in Zachary's direction.

The counterattack was on.

Zachary used his peripheral vision to gauge the incoming ball's trajectory while running. He noticed that the ball was coming in high and would probably go out of play if he couldn't control it in time. To make matters worse, a defender was hot on his heels and wouldn't allow him any time to turn and control the ball with his chest.

He immediately realized he would have a tough time bringing the ball under control. He had to intercept it within the next few seconds to prevent it from going out of play and turning into another ADO Den Haag throw-in.

Nonetheless, he didn't panic. Continuing his run, he kept track of the ball while his soccer brain quickly worked out the best options to make good use of the situation. Luckily, a solution came to him when he had almost reached the touchline.