THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The cheers rose into the air like the greatest of celebratory firework explosions. The sounds of the crowd flooded into Zachary, enhancing his dejection.

"Fuck," he couldn't help but swear as he watched the Riga players celebrating. His fears during the half time break were coming to fruition. The Riga team had gained all the momentum they needed for a comeback after scoring their first goal.

"Focus, focus," Coach Johansen bellowed from the sidelines. "Defenders. You need to stay sharp and close down all the spaces," he shouted, waving his arms around like a mad man.

The game restarted. For the next eight minutes, the Riga players took the initiative. They utilized the entire width of the pitch to penetrate the NF academy's half. Their wing-backs made several runs and unleashed several crosses that gave the defenders a hard time.

In the 83rd minute, the Riga captain sent a teasing through-pass into the NF academy's eighteen-yard box. One of the Riga strikers made a run behind the defenders, latched on to the carpet ball, and immediately raised his foot to take a shot towards the goal.

However, Robin Jatta, one of NF academy's center-backs, made an aggressive sliding challenge, sending the striker tumbling to the ground. The referee blew his whistle for a foul.

Zachary winced as he watched the referee make a quick call and point to the penalty spot. It was a big chance for JFC Riga. The cheers and boos from the home fans exploded and filled the air as the referee walked up to Robin Jatta and showed him a direct red card.

The center-back had denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to the Riga number-9, an offense punishable with a penalty kick. He was instantly sent-off of the field and forbidden to play for the remainder of the match—leaving the NF academy down to ten men.

As Zachary watched Robin walk off the pitch, he wondered how the game, supposed to be a sure win after the first half, had reached the verge of turning into a loss. He prayed the Riga team captain would miss the penalty, letting the NF academy maintain their two-goal advantage. Otherwise, Zachary and his teammates were in for one hell of a match-ending.

However, the goddess of luck did not seem to be on their side. Dāvis Indrāns, Riga's captain and attacking midfielder, won the battle of wills. He sent an unstoppable penalty past Kendrick Otterson—into the right side of the goal.

3:2.

The Riga team was only one goal down. The cheers of the fans rose to a crescendo, drowning out every other sound from the pitch.

Zachary sighed and habitually turned towards the technical area for instructions. He noticed Coach Johansen yelling and signaling him to come to the touchline.

He did not dawdle. He ran past the celebrating Riga players and reached the coach after a few seconds.

"Zachary," Coach Johannsen began. "I need you to play as a lone striker for the remaining few minutes."

"Eehh," Zachary exclaimed. He was confused by the coach's instructions since they had just lost a defender. However, the coach wanted him to abandon the midfield and play as a forward—instead of preserving NF academy's one-goal advantage. They risked conceding more goals if they didn't focus their efforts on defending.

The coach smiled when he noticed Zachary's confusion. "Don't worry about the defense. I'm bringing in both Simen Gi?ver and Aleksander Foosn?s. The two of them will handle the midfield and the defense. Aahh! The match has turned into a disaster." He paused, pulling at his red beard in frustration.

Zachary remained silent, waiting for the coach to continue. He was already used to the coach's antics and mood swings. Meanwhile, he stepped into Riga's half of the pitch so that the gameplay would not restart without him. The referee would not allow a kick-off when a player was offside in an opponent's half.

"You need to take the pressure to their half," Coach Johansen continued. "We can take the pressure off our defense if the three players that have been marking you follow you into their defense. If they stay in the midfield, try your best to punish them." He added, his tone conclusive.

Zachary remained stationary before the coach. He was sure that Coach Johansen would have one final instruction since the game was yet to restart. That was his habit.

"One more thing," said the coach, holding on to Zachary's shoulder. "Tell Kendrick to release long balls towards you whenever he takes our goal kicks. It will be upon you to keep their defense on tenterhooks. That is the only way to reduce the pressure on the rest of our players. Understood?"

Zachary nodded while chugging down some water. He also noticed that Coach Bj?rn was standing next to the fourth official registering the substitutes. The two NF academy players had already donned their jerseys and were waiting to enter the pitch. Zachary wondered whether they had gotten the time to warm up.

"Go and do your best," Coach Johannsen slapped his back as he sent him back into the pitch.

Zachary winced at the contact. The coach had a strong swing.

He ran to Kendrick first and whispered the coach's instructions in his ear. He then went around slapping the NF academy players on their backs, encouraging them to stay focused in the final minutes. He was trying to fulfill his role as a captain.

Meanwhile, ?rjan B?rmark and Paul Kasongo trotted off the pitch, giving way for the defensive-minded substitutes. Zachary sprinted towards the center circle to start the game. For a moment, he felt nervous and out of position since he often played behind a few of his teammates. But he took a deep breath and forcefully calmed himself while waiting for the referee's whistle.

*FWEEEEEEE!*

The gameplay restarted. Zachary kicked the ball towards Magnus in the defensive midfield before running towards Riga's box without looking back. He positioned himself in-between the two Riga center-backs that were in the process of moving up their defensive line.

The three players that had been marking him were momentarily confused by his actions. They tried to follow him back to their defense. However, their coach's shouts from the sidelines dissuaded them quickly. Zachary was left alone in the company of two center-backs standing on his left and right. Meanwhile, Riga's defensive midfielder moved back a bit—taking on the role of intercepting passes to Zachary.

What followed was a long wait. Zachary watched the Riga team attackers use high-pressing tactics against his teammates, forcing them to lose possession on several occasions.

Dāvis Indrāns, the Riga team captain, was everywhere around NF academy's 18-yard box. He became more active after being freed from his responsibility of marking Zachary. He intercepted balls in midfield and sent teasing passes into the box on several occasions.

However, the NF academy defenders seemed to have woken up from their slumber after conceding two goals. They managed to clear the dangerous balls whenever they entered the box. Riga's chances to score often ended with desperate clearances by Zachary's teammates.

In the 88th minute, Riga's captain came close to scoring. He created a yard of space for himself and tried an effort from outside the box. However, Kendrick Otterson was well-positioned and stretched to push the ball away from his goal with his fingertips. The ball smashed off the right post and flew back midair towards the outside of the box.

One of the Riga strikers got the rebound just outside the box. But his attempt was blocked by Magnus, taking the sting and power out of the shot.

Kendrick Otterson managed to make a comfortable save before quickly kicking the ball high—towards the center-line where Zachary was waiting with his bodyguards.

Zachary instantly raced towards the ball as it descended to the ground. He could feel two of the Riga team's center-backs shadowing him on his way to the NF academy's half to collect the ball.

He was desperate to relieve his teammates of the pressure they had been facing over the previous few minutes. The only way to do that was to hold the ball for as long as possible.