The referee blew his whistle. The second half started.
As soon as the referee signified the start of the second half, all the Manchester Red players retreated further into their own half of the pitch. It seemed as if they didn't plan on attacking any more. They would be focused on defending their four goal lead.
Omari sighed as soon as he saw their tactics. It was one of the oldest trick in the book. They probably planned to draw majority of the Teeside players to their side of the pitch and engage in quick counterattacks whenever they had the opportunity to do so.
The fact that Omari saw through the tactic immediately didn't mean that his teammates were that sound when it came to gameplay tactics. They immediately started pressing forward.
Omari could've sworn that he saw the manager and Steve slap their foreheads when they saw the attacking approach of the team.
After some thought, Omari decided that he didn't mind the attacking play of the team. Even though they would be playing into the hands of their opponent, they also desperately needed a goal.
47'
Their high pressing football paid off. Jack sent a well weighted pass to the right towards Joshua. Joshua skillfully dribbled the ball to the edge of the box and sent a low cross to the central area.
Anthony manager to fire a one time shot but his effort was parried away by Manchester Red's goalkeeper for a corner.
"Fuck it!" Omari muttered. He was lingering in the penalty area hoping to at least get a rebound.
'What a shot by Anthony Waller, What a save by Timothy Miles! Beautiful play from Middlesbrough but once again Miles denies them a goal. Fine passing from Jack Ryans, finer play from the right flank by Joshua Taylor, good finishing from Anthony but at the end, Timothy Miles sent their effort away for a corner'
'I think Teeside have been playing attacking football right out of the gates. It's yielded a result but they have to be careful in order not go have their defenders go too high up the pitch'
'Well like they always say, no risk no reward. Teeside are risking everything in search of a first goal, but will they get their reward'
51'
Another brilliant pass from Jack found Omari who making a run on the left flank. He trapped the ball with a touch and turned to face the opposition center back.
Stepover.
His legs flashed over the ball, he followed the movement by moving the ball slightly to his left. The right back however, didn't seem to be fazed by the trick.
Stepover. Stepover.
His legs flashed over the ball multiple times. He also added new movements, moving the ball along with his feet at times. Nothing worked.
"Fuck it!" Omari muttered to himself.
He used his left leg to kick the ball further in front. Him and the right back sprinted towards the box. At first, Omari thought of a first time left footed cross into the box, then he remembered that crosses weren't exactly his strong fort.
So instead of crossing into the box like the defender probably expected, he cut back to his right foot, catching the defender who already slid to make the tackle off guard.
|Ding! Hist has unlocked a new skill|
Omari almost stopped playing right there and then, the notification from the system caught him off guard. It was only when he remembered that he was still playing a match that he put his focus back on the ball that was a few inches from his feet.
He dribbled into the box and was about to cut back to set himself up for a shot when faced with the onslaught of Centre backs rushing towards him. He took a heavy touch and unintentionally passed the ball to Jack who was waiting at the edge of the penalty box.
Jack teased a shot with his left foot before cutting back to his left foot. The defenders and the goalkeepers didn't expect the trickery so they already moved in the direction of the anticipated shot. They were scrambling to get back in a favorable position when they saw that the ball hadn't left Jack's feet.
Jack heaved a heavy sigh to calm himself, a bead of sweat forming on his already damp forehead. It was a somewhat empty net and as such the only thing needed for him to score was for him to get his shot on target.
With all these thoughts in his mind, he kicked the ball and watched as it sailed over the heads of the defenders in the penalty box, dropping down into the top right corner.
'Oh! And it's in. What a goal from Jack Ryan. I have to say, that looks like a goal of the season contender. Fancy bit of footwork from Omari Hutchingson. I don't think he intended to pass the ball but it all worked out fine. Teeside pull one back'
'Well we all knew that the goal was coming as soon as the second half started it was just a matter of when it was going to come. They've played good football since the start of the second half and it's nice to see them get a reward for their performance'
'I'm sure the Manchester Red players would be furious with themselves, falling for that but of trickery by Ryan, allowing him to shoot into the basically empty net, I'd think that they'll want to start coming out of their side of the pitch and start playing more attacking football'.
'I honestly don't see why. Teeside got one goal, they still have to score three more it they want to come away with the win. Whether they like it or not, they still have quite a bit of a mountain to climb'.
"Booooo!"
As soon as the goal went into the back of the net, the crowd watching didn't bother to hide their feelings regarding the goal. Multiple 'boos' erupted.
The Teeside players couldn't care less about the sentiments of the home crowd. Even though they didn't celebrate extravagantly, because really who celebrated a cancellation goal when your team is still down by three, the joy on their faces were quite evident.
While the Teeside players were happy about the goal, Omari had a wide grin on his face for another reason. He reckoned that the rest of the match would be quite enjoyable for him.