八字万年历

Chapter 390: Devil Mode... On IV

After being lucky to get two past a strong opponent in the first half, it would be very stupid and unbecoming of an underdog team to play attacking football in the second half.

That much could be easily predicted and even the manager had made plans for it in the gameplan adjustments during the half-time break, but what the manager hadn’t made plans for was his player’s performance.

No matter how much one adjusted and tweaked a plan, if the people who were to perform failed to show up, then there was not going to be a change in the results.

As soon as the second half started, the Guimares team had immediately gone on the defensive, and with the goal being in the center, it stood to reason that the center was the most guarded place, which was coincidentally the place where Mylo would be playing.

Normally, it wouldn’t matter much and as long as the Oporto team kept going at it, chances for Mylo would pop up, but for today, Jason didn’t think Mylo would be able to do anything.

First and foremost, it was clear that the Oporto players were playing a bit sluggishly and were not playing at the peak of their prowess which could be easily explained as bad form.

Looking at the line-up, Jason could already imagine what would happen and luckily, it was happening.

Since Diaz and Corona were wingers, their jobs were to make runs down the flanks with the ball, hence they would only be able to supply crosses into the box which would be difficult for Mylo to get to.

As for Otavio and Viera in midfield who could send passes at Mylo in the middle, they would rather choose to send passes down the flanks when they saw that there was no way down the middle.

Sure as can be, it did not take long for all forward passes to be made down the flanks instead of the center after Mylo lost the ball more than five times due to being boxed in the center.

For Mylo who didn’t have the agility to escape his markers, this was the only conclusion, and soon, Mylo became little more than a scarecrow in the center while all the forward passes were made down the flanks.

This was what Jason had been waiting for… Mylo’s isolation on the pitch.

His team was losing and time was continuously running out, but for once Jason didn’t allow himself to care and just took pleasure in watching Mylo amble aimlessly around the field, unable to get his leg to the ball.

It was like watching prime comedy that left him feeling satisfied instead of humorous.

At this point, Jason was already thinking that if the team lost, then so be it… It was worth it to watch Mylo be useless on the pitch throughout the match.

However, fate had other plans in store for the Oporto team.

The clock ticked and tocked and time drained away every second.

It felt longer than usual to the Guimares fans and felt shorter than usual to the Oporto fans.

It was all a matter of perspective, yet the scores remained unchanged and the hope of the Oporto fans was slowly draining away while the game went on.

The Oporto fans were mentally biting their nails watching the infuriating game while wondering why Jason was still sitting on the bench.

The Oporto team could use a little Jason magic at that moment, yet the manager was keeping him seated on the bench, having him watch the game instead of actually participating.

“What the hell is that Corona guy even doing? He’s not even getting into the box!!!” One infuriated Oporto fan muttered in annoyance as he pulled at his hair in exasperation.

The game was slowly slipping away from them and there were only ten minutes left till the end of the game, yet they were still two goals behind.

At this point, even the most optimistic of Oporto fans were already beginning to admit their team’s loss in the game, yet the worst was yet to come.

#82nd minute…

As if he had heard the viewers complaining about his bad performance in one-on-one situations in the match so far, Corona finally decided to take a risky chance at getting a goal and once he got the ball, he first darted out wide, pulling his marker along as well as another defender.

Once they were out wide, Corona suddenly changed directions and began cutting back into the center, weaving his way in between every bodily figure he came across.

He went past one, two, three, but just as he was beginning to forget himself, a strong tackle slammed into his heel from behind and brought him back to reality with a sharp jolt of pain as he crashed to the ground.

The referee immediately ran over and pulled out a yellow card to show the opposition player who made the tackle, but after a few more seconds, Corona still hadn’t stood up and was rolling in pain on the green.

The medics didn’t need an invitation and soon ran onto the field to administer first aid to Corona’s injury, but even after administering first aid, it was clear that Corona was finished for the day.

“Jason, warm-up quickly, you’re on,” the injury instantly made the manager look inward.

“Hurry up, you have one minute to get ready.” he called to hurry Jason.

Originally, the manager harbored belief that his team could equalize much earlier, but when that didn’t happen, he had chosen to give up on the game and instead rest the remaining players on the bench for the next game.

Hence he had not made any substitutions after Mylo and was already prepared for a loss, yet with the current situation, he had no choice but to bring Jason on.

Jason stood up with expectation, not having much hope for the game’s results either, but not willing to turn down the chance to play… not that he could anyway.

He quickly did a few warm-up stretches and soon ran back to finish dressing up while the manager fired off a burst of instructions in his ears.

The instructions were a mere formality and was literally the manager telling him to get on the field and play.

“Dribble if you have to, and if you see a chance, shoot,”

That was all Jason heard, and that was all he needed to hear as it was exactly what he was going to do.