Second Half Chapter 27

Momentum is everything in any sport. This is even truer for a weak team like Yorktown. Having crawled up from the second division only to decide on a consistently defensive strategy—despite the risk of being criticized for playing a boring game—their grit not to give up the opening goal easily was clearly readable. The moment you concede the opening goal, your momentum crumbles.

It was a perfectly understandable tactic. However, from the perspective of those being subjected to it, it was inevitably annoying. Jerim and Aaron, who were being tightly marked, found their arms and legs stained with grass and bits of turf clinging to their black uniform shorts only ten minutes into the match.

‘This is rough.’

Jerim, brushing off the grass fragments that pricked his thighs, looked around. The Yorktown players seemed to have no intention of penetrating the opposing half, standing densely packed near their own goalpost. If they played only in their own territory like that, they would eventually have to concede a goal, but it seemed they intended to stall for as much time as possible.

Possession, of course, was overwhelmingly dominated by Sefton. Since the opponents wouldn’t even come into the Sefton half, it was no different from using only half the court; naturally, Sefton’s possession grew as they circulated the pass here and there to find a gap.

Yorktown couldn’t connect their chances into counterattacks even when they stole the ball. It was the typical image of an inexperienced team.

‘Once the opening goal comes, they’ll collapse immediately.’

Jerim had faced such teams countless times, so he knew their weaknesses well. Their characteristic and weakness was that once a gap was breached and their momentum broke, they would crumble endlessly. Unable to figure out how to fill the opened gap, they would scramble in confusion and end up suffering a massive defeat.

However, the problem lay in the fact that the physical builds of the opposing players were sturdier than those of the Sefton players. Aaron was the only one who could manage the physical struggle; even the center-backs, William and Robin, seemed to be struggling with the strength. Jerim, who was reasonably adapted to rough play, was no different.

Should he rather use a bit of acting to draw a foul and aim for a free kick? Since the players over there were playing roughly anyway, that method might be better to create an opening goal…

It was then.

“Jerim!”

The moment Aaron signaled, the ball rolled rapidly toward Jerim’s feet. In front of Aaron stood three or four opposing players, looking imposing. Leaving behind the impression that he had managed to find space for a pass in that situation, Jerim sprinted toward the flank of the enemy territory as if he had grown wings.

Flank penetration was easy thanks to the defense swarming Aaron. This was why he said they would eventually be scored upon. The opposing team wasn’t stupid, so they rushed toward Jerim immediately, but Jerim wasn’t stupid either. He instantly found an empty space and sent up a cross. It was toward Aaron, who had dashed into the center after shoving an opposing player aside with his shoulder the moment he saw Jerim penetrate the flank.

The ball flew exactly over Aaron’s head. Literally a position where it would touch if he just put his forehead to it. At the same moment Aaron leaped, the ball was sucked into the net without even grazing the goalkeeper’s fingertips. It was a perfectly angled header goal achieved through an accurate cross and exquisite power control.

“Crazy, what is with you guys!”

As soon as the numbers on the scoreboard indicating the score went up, the Sefton players, without exception, cheered and rushed toward Aaron and Jerim. Aaron ran as he was, sliding on his knees across the grass and roaring toward the Sefton cheering section. Unreserved cheers rained down upon the striker who had proven himself the moment he transferred.

Jerim also celebrated by joining the huddle of other teammates while stroking Aaron’s head. He wasn’t so tactless as to throw cold water on the situation, and for now, a good job was a good job. He felt good since he had notched an assist starting from the first match thanks to Aaron.

Aaron, perhaps surprised by the hand stroking his head, wore a somewhat dazed expression before soon smirking mischievously.

“I was worried thinking you had dementia, but fortunately, it seems your skills aren’t dead.”

“Bullshit. You’re the one who said you’d shove in five goals; you’re only scoring now?”

“It’s only the 17th minute. It’s plenty. …And over there, all that’s left is for them to fall apart.”

Jerim followed the direction Aaron was glancing. The Yorktown players, with clear signs of discouragement, were wearing long faces. They seemed unable to manage their expressions because they had conceded the opening goal faster than expected.

“Still, don’t let your guard down.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Boss.”

Boss, my foot. Even though he’s the national team captain in Spain himself, he only acts respectful like a captain at times like this. However, it was true that the title ‘Boss’ was quite satisfying, so Jerim tugged playfully at Aaron’s hair before letting go.

The match proceeded as expected after that. Yorktown was busy just trying to block Jerim’s penetration, and Jerim took advantage of that to rotate the pass in various ways. Is there any effort as inefficient as struggling to maintain ball possession when you can’t win the physical battle? Every time the opposing players rushed him, he mocked them by handing off short passes to nearby teammates and sprinting away.

He didn’t even need to be obsessed with racking up assists. After all, once this season ended, the Playmaker of the Year trophy would naturally be his. He usually claimed the top assist provider title anyway, but this time he had a hunch bordering on certainty. Both the Premier League top scorer and top assist provider this season would be produced by Sefton.

And for good reason.

<<Aaron Reyes, he’s absolutely insane. A hat trick in just 42 minutes of the first half! Yorktown is collapsing one after another. They really need to organize their line.>>

<<Wow, it’s truly fantastic. It might be a slightly painful topic for Sefton, but Reyes didn’t record a hat trick in the last Champions League final by fluke! Number 9 on his back—as soon as he arrives, he’s worthy of it!>>

<<Fritz might be a bit jealous.>>

<<Ah, at those words, the camera pans to Fritz’s face on the bench. His expression isn’t bad.>>

<<A teammate scored, so of course he should be. More than that, our player Ban Jerim looks like he’s going to die of happiness. The corners of his mouth are about to tear.>>

<<Ban Jerim is also doing really well today. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like his chemistry with Reyes is perfectly aligned yet, but even so, for the first match to be at this level, there’s a lot to look forward to in the future.>>

Even if they were a weak team, scoring three goals alone in the first half against a team with a two-line defense, and in a state where he hadn’t yet perfectly matched chemistry with his teammates. He couldn’t help but recall Yeobin’s evaluation that he was a monster. Furthermore, there were still three minutes plus several minutes of extra time left before the first half ended.

With Jerim scoring immediately after skillfully obtaining a free kick during extra time, Sefton ended the first half with a score of 4 to 0. Since it was such an overwhelming score difference, Manager Verdi just muttered not to get careless, as if there wasn’t much to say. He also mentioned that at the right time, he would substitute Aaron and Jerim.

Normally they would want to play the full time, but since draining stamina pointlessly in such a match was also not the right move, the two had no choice but to agree. And as promised, Aaron put in one more goal in the second half, finally bringing Sefton’s score to 5, and was substituted along with Jerim.

The final score was 6 to 0. Lehmann, who came in for Aaron, recorded one more goal, and Sefton secured a massive victory from the very first match of the league opening.

“What more words are needed when I’m playing with the world’s best midfielder? It’s going to get even more fun from now on. I guarantee it. You guys will find it worthwhile to write articles. Much more than just repeating boring rumors of a feud.”

To the interview asking for his impressions and ambitions regarding his Premier League debut, Aaron answered very much like himself. Though it was hard to understand why he bothered to add that last comment. Since they both felt the same way about reporters, Jerim ended it by just pinching Aaron’s back as a warning.

And after teasing him about whether he had dementia, it didn’t feel bad to have him bolster his pride in a formal setting by even attaching the objective modifier “world’s best.” Whatever else happened, it seemed he intended to keep the one rule of not sniping through interviews.

Even after the joint interview with Aaron ended, Jerim was dragged here and there with Manager Verdi, so he returned to the locker room late. The locker room was empty except for Frederic, who was sitting on a chair completely naked, as if everyone was in the middle of showering. Frederic was a guy who always washed up and came out first.