Romantic on the Field

36.

The Stoke City squad took to the field with a spleen heart.

However, the attitude of the players and the outcome of the game were different issues.

“Damn it.”

Robin, who rarely received the ball, muttered a small curse.

20 minutes into the second half already.

Occasionally Jamie would drive the ball himself and get it close to the penalty box, but nothing more.

On the other hand, Manchester City drove Stoke City fiercely even though it was not a full start.

“Drive to the outskirts!”

“Stay in the middle!”

Stoke City’s crisis continued until the 25th and 30th minutes of the second half.

“It was pierced again.”

“Mutombo! It’s Ryan!”

At the center of it all was Ryan Young, who, despite appearing as a front-line striker, was all over the Stoke camp regardless of the central flank.

“Dangerous!”

Same now. Despite Mutombo’s tenacious mark, after making several painting moves, he continued to shoot.

Fortunately, Ryan’s shot narrowly missed the post after being deflected by Mutombo’s foot.

Manchester City corner kick.

“Jay.”

“…?”

Robin approached Jamie, who was positioned in front of the penalty box.

“Are you feeling okay?”

I didn’t show a sharp look like usual, so I was wondering if there were any residual injuries that were ambiguous to talk about.

what. Never mind. As I asked, I expected such a blunt answer, but Jamie smiled surprisingly calmly.

“It’s fine.”

What is it, did I eat something wrong? Robin stared at him involuntarily.

“Robin, are you okay? It looks like it will rain soon.”

Jamie then looked up at the sky.

Robin followed him and raised his head.

“Aren’t you old enough to start hurting your knees in this kind of weather?”

“…”

Then it is. While feeling relieved for some reason, the referee blew the whistle.

Soon after, Ryan placed a corner kick.

‘oh.’

Robin flinched involuntarily.

A high-flying corner kick went past Mutombo’s head.

‘An extra goal?’

If one more goal is scored here, the chances are very slim.

In that brief moment, Robin was overcome with a hopeless mood.

puck.

Fortunately, however, Harry, who was behind him, cleared it with a header without too much trouble.

Is it a counterattack? Robin followed the ball’s whereabouts with his eyes.

Troy. it’s troy

Afterwards, after seeing right wing Troy catch the ball, Robin turned around and checked his surroundings.

Brian, on the other side of Troy, was also running.

‘What about Jamie?’

He was running too.

That’s it. It’s a definite counter-attack opportunity. Robin, convinced, started running.

“Troy!”

Moments later, Jamie crossed the half line and asked Troy for a pass.

Two-woong.

Jamie then accelerated in earnest as soon as he received the pass.

“go!”

“lee! lee!”

“GO! GO! LEE!”

The Stoke supporters felt uneasy and started chanting his name.

Even though his name wasn’t called, Robin felt a chill run down his spine when he heard that.

‘I want to give you the championship cup.’

What Jamie said in the locker room a moment ago.

Robin remembered several faces at that time.

Pastor Kane, who runs ‘Walk Ministries’. Ron and Wayne met there.

‘You must have come today, right?’

He was overcome with an urge to check the stands, but he managed to overcome the urge.

I had to focus on the game right now.

oh-oh

Jamie pierces Alex Robertson with a flip flap. At this, admiration flowed from the audience.

‘Now.’

We are now near the penalty box. Robin had a hunch that now was the time to infiltrate.

Robin in the center, Brian on the left, and Troy on the right.

A situation where as many as three Stoke players are in the danger zone.

If the ball goes to any one of them, it will lead to a decisive opportunity right away.

He pretended to go into the right corner of the penalty box, then veered left at the end.

‘done.’

The defenders didn’t follow because they were wary of Jamie.

Now, as usual, Jamie would hit a nice through pass and he would have a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper.

uh? But the pass never came.

‘Do you pass Brian?’

Robin glanced back.

It wasn’t a pass.

As if trying to shoot, Jamie’s right foot was bent far back.

‘It would be blocked by the defense.’

There were three defenders in the penalty box right now. In addition, the front of the penalty box.

If you hit a shot, there was a high probability of getting hit by the defender’s body.

oh

It wasn’t shooting. it was fake

It was a fake that even deceived the allies. Of course, the Manchester City defenders had no choice but to be deceived, and their bodies staggered at once with one of his movements.

The shooting angle opened right away.

“Hit it!”

someone shouted

Of course, Jamie didn’t hesitate.

The shot he kicked from the inside with his left foot passed between the defender’s legs, grazed the goalkeeper’s hand and shook the net.

“this······.”

Robin’s eyes widened.

[ eee-YEAhhhhh! ]

A thunderous roar resounded as if the stadium would collapse immediately.

A chill ran up my spine again.

“You really are a crazy bastard!”

He couldn’t help but praise Jamie’s amazing play.

**

“lee! lee! lee!”

“Jamie! I knew you could do it! ha ha ha!”

Colleagues came running and tore Jamie’s head or slapped him on the back.

Contrary to their furious reaction, Jamie’s goal celebration was minimal. It was because I didn’t want to lose my strength.

33 minutes into the second half. Including the extra time, there were about 15 minutes left. Anything could have happened.

“lee!”

Coach Charlie from the bench gave a thumbs up. Jamie raised his thumb and returned to his original position.

“Did you say Lee?”

At that time, Ryan Young, who was on the other side, started talking to me.

“…?”

“You are really good at it. I thought it was a bubble in the first half, but it must have saved my energy. hahahaha.”

Was this guy originally a good-natured person? Jamie rummaged through his memory. Unfortunately, I don’t remember very well.

“…”

so i just ignored it.

“Uniform exchange, come with me. You can’t do it with someone else. got it?”

Ryan kept talking about it or not.

After a while, the referee called for a kick-off. Ryan passed the ball to a teammate and then crossed the half line.

“Don’t just go into the locker room because you lost.”

And he added a word as he passed Jamie.

Too many weirdos. Jamie thought to himself and shook his head slightly.

Of course, Ryan wasn’t just a weirdo.

Second half 35 minutes, then 40 minutes. Created two decisive chances.

“Oliver Nice!”

“It was a great save!”

Fortunately, once Mutombo and once Oliver made great saves and did not lead to conceding.

‘It’s dangerous.’

Jamie thought as he watched Ryan take his place outside the penalty box without taking a corner kick himself.

Originally, his mark looked dull, but due to the considerable height difference, he marked another central defender at set pieces.

“Ralph! Stick to Ryan!”

On the bench, he instructed Ralph to defend.

The kicker is Alex Robertson, who was marking Jamie.

Originally, Jamie should prepare for a counterattack outside the penalty box. But he got closer to Ryan. Because it didn’t feel good.

Soon after, Alex Robertson delivered a corner kick…

‘Also.’

The ball flew low and fast toward Ryan.

direct? Or do you grab it and hit it? Thinking of the number of cases, I attached to his side. There was Ralph on the other side, and I had to hope he cut it off.

However, Ryan did something completely unexpected. Instead of going to get a pass, they infiltrated forward.

oh. Before Jamie could react, another player behind him stepped forward and put his foot on the ball.

Tok.

The ball hit the player’s foot and led to Ryan penetrating.

‘Play promised!’

Jamie hurriedly ran toward him, but it was too far.

“hahahaha! Alex! London! Look, did I say I could?”

After scoring the goal, Ryan burst into laughter and ran to his teammates.

puck.

Helplessly, he conceded a goal. Indignant at this fact, Oliver slammed his fist on the floor.

41 minutes into the second half. It was a game that was still pushed. However, right before the end, a surprise set piece allowed a goal.

lost.

it’s a shame.

Can not help it.

Still, this was good enough.

Various expressions appeared on the faces of the Stoke players.

“…”

Jamie took a quick look at the players and ran into the net where the ball was still hanging.

“…?”

“lee?”

Several players nearby looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“what are you doing?”

Jamie picked up the ball.

“Aren’t you moving quickly? Aren’t you going to score the equalizer?”

Then he ran towards the half line and shouted.

“ah.”

“yes.”

Harry and Ralph replied blankly.

“Put it in. We make up.”

Mutombo replied with a resolute expression.

Moments later, Jamie put the ball down on the center mark and play resumed soon after.

Robin passed to Jamie, who was behind, and Jamie caught the ball and checked the scoreboard.

42 minutes in the second half. 3 minutes of regular time, 5 minutes including extra time.

“Robin.”

“···uh?”

“run.”

There was no time to worry.

Two-woong.

Giving orders to Robin, Jamie sent the ball forward and immediately sped up.

A situation where all eleven players are on the opposing side.

Trying to break through alone was no different than just giving the ball to the opponent.

But Jamie tried.

Ryan, who was nearby, suddenly reached out for him.

The distance was very close, but the tackle itself was very clumsy. And it wasn’t Jamie who would lose the ball to such a clumsy tackle.

Even the founder, Zidane, avoided the tackle with the Marseille turn, which he said was a ‘technique that has no practical use’, and continued to move forward without slowing down.

Manchester City players were no fools either. It was only Ryan who was taken aback, and immediately the players around him began to put pressure on him.

Took. Jamie passed to Robin in front of him without hesitation.

swish The eyes of the players were focused on Robin.

“Give me.”

Jamie said right away, and Robin did.

Per-billion. The moment Jamie received the pass, one of the midfielders hit his body violently.

“…!”

An obvious foul to anyone. The referee put the whistle in his mouth.

“…”

However, Jamie still had the ball. The referee put his arms forward and declared the advantage.

Jamie drove the ball in a precarious position on the verge of falling, almost crouching forward.

Manchester City players had no choice but to hesitate in that fierce momentum. Jamie continued to run while keeping the distance without being able to do this or that.

“lee!”

“Look ahead!”

At that time, Alex Robertson, who was marking him, raised his foot high and made a sliding tackle.

In a situation where the game is about to end, it was judged that even if he received a card, he should stop him immediately.

“what?”

It wasn’t easy to tell whether the ball had risen first or Jamie had jumped high. The ball went up anyway, and Jamie avoided Alex Robertson’s tackle.

“Don’t run!”

A coach shouted from the Manchester City bench.

There are still many players to defend. There is no need to rush ahead and reduce that number.

At his cry, the players quickly backed away. Although it is said to be the 1.5 team, it is a strong team that won the league title last year. There was no player who could not judge the situation to this extent.

Chet. Jamie was sorry, but he didn’t care much. He stabbed a pass to Brian penetrating from the left.

Brian Lecca. Player currently scoring double digit goals in the league. Although he is playing in the 3rd division, his kicking power alone is at the level of the Premier League.

Manchester City players knew this too.

“Don’t follow me! Stay seated!”

But again the coaches shouted, and the players stopped walking to the side.

OK. That’s how it comes out. Jamie sighed and moved to the side of Brian.

uh? The pupils of Man City’s players shook.

“Give me and go inside.”

In the meantime, Jamie, who had reached near Brian, spoke quickly, and Brian passed as he instructed and went into the penalty box.

whoops, whoops. Jamie’s breathing became rough.

From the half-line to here, I ran non-stop. In the middle of the tackle, I made turns and jumped big. It was natural to be tired.

‘If I hadn’t saved my stamina in the first half, I would have been in big trouble.’

Jamie thought to himself as he headed for the penalty box.

Brian and Robin, and on the other side to Troy.

‘rest of it?’

Harry and Ralph, maybe even Mutombo, had come up. He glanced in front of the penalty box.

‘there is.’

There was Harry and Mutombo.

Jamie sent the ball forward one more time and then increased his speed.

Just at this time, Harry raised his hand and penetrated the penalty box.

It was a very good timing for a cross.

But Jamie didn’t post. I pretended to do so, but I dug further inside after passing the player running into the Cruyff turn.

“this······!”

Now Manchester City players don’t have many options. It was either sticking to Jamie to reduce the shooting angle, or marking another player in the center.

However, they couldn’t even choose that.

It was because Jamie had shot before that.

puck-

The shot, which Jamie hit hard with the instep of his right foot, was hit by the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand reflexively.

However, the shooting was too strong.

The ball then hit the underside of the crossbar, then hit the floor again, then flew back and shook the net.

“eee-YeeeAH!”

More than 20,000 home spectators all stood up from their seats and cheered.

At this moment, they and most people on the pitch expected Jamie to run over the Stoke City goal and into the home crowd. After that, I thought he would do a goal celebration to his wife in the power analysis room.

But he didn’t. Rather, he went into the Manchester City goal and came out with the ball.

“Come back quickly!”

“···uh?”

“hurry!”

Jamie was in a hurry.

My stamina was showing the bottom.

Besides, the sky looked like it was about to pour rain or snow or whatever.

Then the stamina consumption is doubled.

If the second half ends like this, it will go into overtime, and then Stoke City’s odds will inevitably drop exponentially…

Jamie judged that.

‘A minute or two before the end of the game. Now is your chance.’

Stoke City, who thought he would win lightly even if he came out as a 1.5 group, was struck by an unexpected blow. That too, in the form of winning and conceding an equalizer just before the end of the game.

Manchester City couldn’t help but be embarrassed. I had to catch myself off guard now that things hadn’t been sorted out yet.

“Mutombo!”

Jamie calls mutombo as play resumes and Manchester City begin to turn the ball in a lukewarm manner.

No long words were needed. He moved out of his original position and rose to the position of defensive midfielder. The Stoke bench saw the spectacle, but said nothing.

whoops, whoops. Then, with bated breath, Jamie began to press the players who were passing the ball in his half.

‘At this time, Jamie, no one else, presses the front?’

The members of the ‘Stoke City Personal Training Group’, including Robin, Brian, and Harry, who saw this, immediately joined the pressure.

They have been working together almost every day for the past few months. I could understand his intentions without having to say anything.

‘uh?’

Right before the end, the Manchester City players were perplexed by the sudden forward pressure.

Among them, central midfielder Patrick, who is making his adult game debut today, was particularly strong.

He clumsily kept the ball, but when he saw Harry approaching right in front of his nose, he casually kicked the ball away, saying, “I don’t know.”

chin. And the ball landed in front of Mutombo, which was higher than its original position.

“Mutom…!”

Mutombo passed Jamie before he could finish his sentence.

A position that has already crossed the half line.

‘Jamie who crossed the half line is unstoppable.’

The moment Jamie received the pass, the Stoke players, bench jin, and supporters remembered the above sentence.

The regular game time is already over, and the additional time given is almost over.

“run!”

“go! go!”

“lee! run!”

Jamie ran.

whoops, whoops. Breathing heavily, I continued running without wiping off the liquid I couldn’t tell whether it was sweat or the rain that had already started to fall.

“Stop!”

“Bump!”

They didn’t say it outright, but obviously the Manchester City coaching staff were screaming for a foul to cut Jamie.

swish-

But Jamie wouldn’t allow even that. He changed direction in an instant, avoided Alex Robertson, who was bumping into his body, and reached the front of the penalty box.

There are Robin, Brian, and even Harry around.

“Lida!”

“Narrow the shooting angle!”

I shouted urgently from the Manchester City bench again, but it was already too late.

The ball left Jamie’s feet.

“…!”

Sean, Wayne, Kane and the rest of the crowd at the home supporters’ table.

Coach Charlie, Coach Nick, and other staff were sitting on the bench.

Robin, Brian, Harry and the rest of the Stoke City players were nearby.

Everyone else in the stadium followed the ball with their eyes.

The ball was sucked into the lower right corner of the goal with a low, fast, and beautiful trajectory.

“…!”

Jamie stared blankly at the ball in the net.

thud.

thud.

thump, thump.

I heard my heart beating.

My heart was beating wildly, as if I was feeling very stuffy inside, as if I wanted to jump out immediately.

thump, thump, thump.

It felt like the strong beat was knocking from the inside out.

“… you son of a bitch!”

“······child!”

thump, thump, thump.

Could it be because of the loud heartbeat? Or was it because he was extremely excited?

Jamie couldn’t hear his teammates very well.

At first glance, it sounded like swearing, but I wasn’t sure.

[ eee-YeeeAH! ]

However, I could hear the cheers of the crowd that rang right away.

“Leee! Leee!”

“LEE! LEE!”

The crowd chanted his name to leave the stadium.

**

[Gooool! goal! Jamie Lee, it’s Goal! ]

[Just before the end of the game, Jamie Lee scores a gearco hat trick! ]

[With less than a minute left, it’s the moment Stoke City rewrites history! ]

[ That’s right! And the protagonist of that new history is definitely Jamie! ]

“…”

Jamie stared blankly into the goal post, then turned around and started running towards the other side as if he had remembered it.

“LEE! LEE! LEE!”

As if in response, the home crowd shouted excitedly as if they were about to come down the field.

After blowing the emblem kiss at them, Jamie turned his gaze to the glass wall of the power analysis room above them.

“…!”

Beyond the glass wall, Hannah was jumping in place and shouting something.

I couldn’t hear anything, either because it was blocked by glass or because the crowd was so loud. Probably both. Assuming so, Jamie shouted at Hannah.

“what? I can not hear you? ha ha ha.”

Even in the midst of this, my heart continued to beat like crazy.

It wasn’t just the heart beating. I could feel the place where the lungs were supposed to be under my chest was also shaking like crazy.

“Didn’t I say I’d give you a present?”

Jamie, who had shouted loudly even while out of breath, continued to mutter softly.

The real gift starts now.

Beyond Stoke City’s new history, it was the moment when Jamie’s real history began.