The Greatest of All Time

Chapter 67 - Against Zenit Cшор II

The referee blew the whistle and the second half started with Zenit's kick-off.

Zachary moved back into the defensive midfield to intercept long aerial balls from Zenit. He was itching to score. However, he had to win the ball first.

Zenit was still using their 4-4-2 formation with their two strikers leading the attack. Zachary noticed that they had promptly positioned themselves among the NF Academy center-backs when the game restarted.

A long pass from the wing came whooshing in towards the box soon after. Robin Jatta, NF academy's center back, jumped high and headed the ball back into the midfield. Zachary chased after it, struggling to get there first before Artem Simonyan, Zenit's attacking midfielder.

However, Artem was closer to the ball. He got there faster and blasted it back towards NF Academy's goal.

Lars Togstad, NF Academy's other central-defender, replied in kind, making a first-time clearance to send the ball back whence it came. For the next twenty minutes, the game was a spectacle of long balls—just like in the first half. The score remained locked at 0:0 as the clock hit the 70th minute.

The Zenit players had managed to isolate Zachary by 'simply' choosing to pass the ball above the midfield. They hardly played any short or grounded passes. Zachary was at a loss at how to get the ball onto the ground in midfield.

The opponents also defended well as a team. Markov and Sheydaev, their two strikers, did all the attacking—while the midfielders and defenders stayed back to thwart any attempts on their goal. They double-teamed or tackled NF academy players who were lucky enough to pick up a stray ball. More often than not, they won back possession instantly and sent forth long-balls to their strikers, without moving from their positions.

Zachary sighed at the genius and stupidity of the tactic. Since Zenit couldn't commit more players forward, they were not able to score. They left no exploitable gaps in their defense but also condemned themselves to remain goalless. That was unless they could manage to take advantage of a set-piece or exploit a mistake by the NF Academy defenders.

However, the NF Academy defenders were focused and in their best shape since the beginning of the tournament. Coach Johansen had committed four defenders to keep an eye on Zenit's two strikers. Zachary was sure they wouldn't make any mistake that could lead to conceding a goal.

The second half was a monotonous game of long passes that annoyed most of the fans.

The match remained 0:0 as the digital clock on the big screen slowly approached the 90th minute.

Everyone in the stadium, including the players, slowly started to believe the match would extend into extra time—or even to penalties.

However, Zachary never gave up his belief that he could still win the game. He believed there was still a chance to bag it before the final whistle.

The goddess of luck seemed to favor his patience and rewarded him with an opportunity in the 88th minute. The Zenit players had become a little bit lax after a long period of concentration and running. They started making a few mistakes.

One of Zenit's central midfielders miskicked a ball when Zachary was close enough to pounce on it. The other Zenit players hadn't anticipated their teammate losing the ball at that moment. Before they could react, Zachary was already running through them, spearing deeper into their half.

Kasongo, Paul, and Årjan joined the lightning-swift attack, running on his left and right. They drew away some opponents from his path. He quickly advanced towards Zenit's goal, zig-zagging around the Zenit defenders.

Zachary seemed well on his way to scoring another goal with one of his signature runs.

However, Zenit was an experienced youth team. Two center-backs quickly closed him down as he bolted on the green, trying to find a way into the box. They shielded his potential paths to force him towards the sidelines.