Lagarde High School 1 - 2 Dresden Prep School
30' Baumgartner (LHS), 39' Wade (DPS), 61' Lysander (DPS)
Game Time - 74:28
Just over 5 minutes of regular game time remain, and Lagarde is on the backfoot. Deploying their usual 4-5-1 formation, they've hit a dead end in the 2nd half of this match. Elric, in particular, finds himself in quite a precarious situation, with the only goal that Lagarde scored coming from an irregular flow of play for which he was the catalyst. Dresden is playing a 4-2-3-1 formation with a double defensive midfield pivot. Their wingers tuck in occasionally to overload the midfield, then their full-backs do most of the work in attacking and defending the flanks. Of the 2 deeper-lying midfielders, one drops in and out of the backline between the 2 centre-backs and the other serves as the main transition link from deep, picking up the ball and looking to pass it to their #10 or any other attacking players.
All of this is what Elric noticed within more or less the first 15 minutes of the match, which he believed was pretty obvious. However, he had to begrudgingly bide his time since they were slowly losing the midfield battle of ball possession due to this. Lagarde was used to this to an extent, hence the low-block tactics. The only reason that Dresden went close to 30 minutes without scoring was that as well-drilled as they are in possession, they didn't have much of a killer instinct up front. They rely heavily on fluidity in attack and making noise for the Lagarde backline. The breakthrough Elric had after half an hour of play was when he spotted their #8 slowly dropping into the backline, and as this was happening, one of the centre-backs gave a slower pass than usual to the #6 that served as the link for midfield and attack. Breaking Lagarde's setup, Elric darted to the #6, whose jersey read 'Lysander,' and before he knew it, found the ball swiped out from his feet mere moments before he could even have a first touch. This threw both teams into a brief moment of chaos as Elric drifted towards the left to exploit a bit of space left by the right full-back, who over-committed to his forward run too early. Baumgartner, a bit slow on the uptake by a second or two, makes a direct run into the back 3 that's still in transition, with the #8 as the momentary weak point. Without looking up, El crosses a high ball into the box, and Liam does what he always does: Fly high and head the ball past the keeper. 1-0.
The team celebrated, and Elric kept his distance and let out a sigh of relief. His brief solace was shattered by Ingel on the sidelines, scolding him for breaking the formation. "Stick to the damn plan, Elric!" he bellowed. The rest of the team ignored this exchange, riding the momentary high of Baumgartner's goal before they regrouped for the restart. In his peripherals, Elric felt Lysander, the opposing team player he caught off guard for the goal, giving him an inquiring look right before going to convene with the #8 and the backline. When the game restarted, not much of anything changed, and the frustration Elric had felt before the goal came back in an instant. Nearly 10 minutes later, Elric finds himself in the same scenario that preceded the previous goal. With no hesitation, he darts towards Lysander, but this time as he gets right behind him, Lysander shields and turns will the ball with a skilful Roulette, leaving the inside left part of the midfield exposed. Lysander, the right fullback and right winger, worked in tandem to blitz through Lagarde, with Elric tracking back but not making it in time before Dresden levels the game with an inside shot from their winger Wade at the edge of the box. This sends Ingel into a frenzy, with the entire team having a mix of looks of contempt at Elric. They may as well have echoed Ingel's sentiments, with Baumgartner verbatim shouting at Elric, "What the fuck are you doing?! Tighten up!"
The ref blew the whistle for halftime right after the restart, with the locker room huddle consisting of Ingel and most of the team, albeit silently, berating Elric for that last play. On the surface, he was as calm as ever. However, his frustration was turning into a simmering disdain for all of them. He thought to himself, "The same plan. Every. Damn. Time." He wasn't much of a passionate person, but there's a part of him that always hated being talked down on by people that, unbeknownst to him, he subconsciously deemed to be 'below him.' Ingel continued his berating and eventually calmed down, then repeated the same old song. Elric had drowned everyone out of his mind a while ago, with the final thought that echoed throughout his head as he looked at the entire team stand up for the 2nd half being this: "... Fucking useless."
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The second half kicked off, and not much changed. Dresden recycled the ball as much as needed while chipping away at Lagarde's defensive structure. El saw that this wasn't going to work in the long run, but his ever-present apathy fettered his earlier rage. If following orders meant that the team would fall on the sword of Ingel's stubbornness, then so be it. Then, as it was written, Dresden went 2-1 up right after 60 minutes. A 20-meter free-kick scored by Lysander, their CDM that Elric noticed long ago was their key player in the match. Dictating tempo, maintaining the ball, making long passes to the flanks for their attacks, and he's a deadball specialist from the looks of it. All of Lagarde's players deflated, and now they're wondering what they need to do. Elric, on the other hand, didn't have much change in his stature. Stamina-wise, he still had more than enough to keep going, whereas the rest of the team was already on their last legs. The constant defending wore on everyone physically and mentally, which anyone with a lick of sense about the game would understand.
"This is such a drag," El said out loud. Right behind him, Baumgartner grabs him by the shoulder, having heard that remark, "Oh yeah? Then fucking defend and get me the ball like you're supposed to!" El, stared at Baum in silence. The earlier irritation he felt in the locker room bubbled up again, not because of the score, but because of something, or someone, 'useless' talking to him like that. "Aye aye, captain," Elric said sarcastically after shrugging off Liam's grip. Now, to the present, Elric has discovered something in the minutes that followed Dresden's second goal: They're not that skilled at retaining possession for the sake of stalling or defending. Their lack of a clinical finisher was evident, and now, having bagged a 2nd, they've resorted to a semi-balanced time-wasting play. On top of that, one oddity was that Lysander started man-marking Elric. Always staying in his vicinity but making sure never to overcommit for a tackle. This was because El had lost all interest in winning this match, so he'd always play the ball square or behind him.
"Come on. That's it?" Elric was taken aback at first because Lysander hadn't spoken to him this entire time. Both teams were generally vocal in their plays, but both Elric and Lysander went about their business 'under the radar,' so to speak. Still surprised, Elric responds, "Hm? What's this about?" The play had come to a pause because two opposing players clashed, and both medical teams were performing checkups. Lysander let out a sigh. "I'd thought you'd be a better challenge, to be honest. What happened after the first half?" They both make eye contact for a moment, then El just shrugs, "Blame our coach. He's pretty useless, you know?" The blunt delivery or weight of the truth must've been at play because Lysander let out a genuine laugh after Elric's statement. "I mean, that's probably true, but that can't be all of it. You're the only worthwhile player here besides me. Your guys' goal was for sure not in the plan. Why not do that again? Or try?" "Beats me," El continued while the checkups took longer than usual. "? don't care much for this match anymore. It's so boring."
Lysander just stared at Elric for a moment, but before he could retort, Liam shouts "The fuck are you doing?! We've got less than 3 minutes left, Elric! GET ME THE BALL SO I CAN SCORE!" This sent El over the edge, but his demeanour remained as passive as ever. "Who the fuck do you think you are? You half-baked one-trick pony," as he
Elric closed his eyes, tilted his head to the sky, opened his eyes, and quietly said, "... Okay, Lysander." "Oh?" he replied. "You said I was the only worthwhile player here besides you, so..." At this point, his head tilts back to the field, staring blankly at someone or something Lysander couldn't see. "I guess I'll make these final minutes a bit more interesting, yeah? 'Cause one thing I can't stand is a pleb talking to me like they're a king."
