My Goalkeeping System

Chapter 404 Back In The Game

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Mateo had to be taken off the pitch for now because the game had to continue with or without him.

The winger was receiving treatment outside the pitch now as Unique FC got ready to take their penalty kick.

Merino was the one standing over the ball in the penalty spot with everyone else right behind him as the referee observed carefully to make sure that nothing was out of place.

"A massive goal-scoring chance for Unique FC just ten minutes into the game. Will Merino be able to successfully send it home and give his team the lead?" Jim commented.

After making sure that everything was ready, the referee blew his whistle and now it was over to Merino.

The winger let out a sigh before slowly taking three steps backward.

After that, he paused for a while before he slowly began to approach the ball, and just as he was about to get close enough to it, he did a little leap with his left foot before firing it toward the goalpost with his right foot.

The ball was fired toward the right side of the goalpost with just a little bit of elevation and even though the goalkeeper managed to get the tip of his gloves on it, that wasn't enough to stop the force as the ball kept pushing forward until it smashed into the goalpost.

"It's in! Calm and collective and he's smashed it right into the goalpost." Jim expressed.

"A well-taken strike and now they have the lead."

The atmosphere in the London stadium changed immediately as Unique FC fans started breathing some liveliness into the game with their chants.

'That's what you get for injuring Mateo.' Dave said subconsciously.

Mateo was sitting on the floor as one of the medical staff cleaned his nose with a cotton wool and he got excited as soon as Merino sent that ball home.

He wanted to get up but she held him down before he could even try it.

"Hey, don't do that."

"How did you know I was trying to get up?" The winger asked before turning his gaze to her.

"This is not the first time you're trying something like this, remember that time against Spree City and the other time against Lace City." She said as she threw the pieces of cotton wool covered in blood into the small trash can she had with her.

After that, she opened up the first aid kit to bring out a bottle of what looked like methylated spirits.

"Oh, yeah, what was that your name again?"

"You forgot my name?"

"No, it's just that my memory is a little fuzzy right now but if you could help me remember."

"Ah, I guess I can't really blame you." She said before letting out a sigh. "It's Natasha."

"Oh, Natasha, nice name."

She didn't say anything as she used the scissors to dip a piece of cotton wool into the methylated spirits.

"Are you going to put that inside my nose?"

"No, it's for the bruise outside your nose hole, I take it that you already know how this feels."

"Yeah." The winger replied with a nod.

After applying the spirit there, she brought out a little piece of bandage and used it to cover the bruise.

"Your nose sustained a little fracture but it's not that serious, still, it could become serious if you get hit there again so I would advise you to…."

"Don't worry, I've got this." The winger said before she could finish what he was saying.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and helped himself up. She kept her gaze on him as he stretched his hands before turning his gaze to her.

"Thanks, Natasha, I feel much better now."

"I'm just doing my job." She replied.

"Well, you still deserve a thank you." The winger said before he began to make his way to Norman.

Norman gave him the green light because he wanted him back in the game as soon as possible but the winger had to wait for a pause in the game before he could rejoin the game.

It didn't take long for that to happen as a West Ham United player was brought down about twenty-five yards away from Unique FC's goalpost.

The home team now had a free kick in a pretty good position but that was also Mateo's cue to rejoin the game.

The away fans let out screams and applause as the winger made his way back to the pitch.

"Obviously, the fans are happy to see Mateo back into the game, it's a good thing that didn't put him out." Jim expressed.

Felipe was standing over the ball now with his gaze on the wall as Mateo quickly made his way to his position.

"Dave has not conceded a goal from a free kick since the start of this season, he's saved all of them that have come close to going into his goalpost but can Felipe break that streak tonight?" Jim expressed.

"Unlikely, but let's see what happens," Steve said.

After making sure that everything was ready, the referee blew his whistle and now it was time to see what Felipe could do.

The striker slowly took three steps backward before he quickly closed up on the ball and fired it toward the goalpost.

The ball was sent flying toward the top right-hand corner and that looked like a deadly strike right there, but Dave was able to get to it right on time and punch it out with both of his gloves.

"I said it, unlikely but my that was a well-taken strike, if that was just any other goalkeeper, that would have gone in," Steve commented.

"Yeah, that was a well-placed strike, unfortunately, he was up against Dave."

"That said, they now have a corner kick, Dave has conceded a few goals from corner kicks this season, maybe they could add to that number," Steve said.

Sunblade was standing over the ball in the spot now while the players from both teams ran around inside the box.

The referee observed to make sure everything was in place and as soon as he was sure of it, he blew his whistle.

As soon Sunblade heard that whistle, he slowly took two steps backward before he closed up on the ball and sent it flying into the box.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have placed it way too close to the goalpost as Dave quickly sprung up and caught it before anyone could get his head on it.

"Dave gets up to grab it and now he's sending it out to start a counterattack!"

As soon as Dave got hold of that ball, he threw it toward Ferran who had his path blocked by one of the defenders but he had Mateo on his left and immediately sent the ball flying to him with a lob.

Mateo also had a player right in front of him but he didn't have any trouble dealing with him as he sent the ball over the player with his backheel.

"He's through and now it's just him and the goalkeeper!"

The winger raced toward the goalpost as everyone else chased him from behind but he wasn't going to give the ones closest to him the privilege of catching him.

The goalkeeper knew this was a tricky situation but he still attempted to sweep it off the winger's feet as soon as he got to the edge of the box, but that was a mistake because as soon as he left his goal line, Mateo sent the ball flying into the goalpost from above.

There was nothing he could do at this moment besides watch as the ball fell into the goalpost.

"He has done it!" Jim exclaimed as the winger raced to the sidelines with both of his arms stretched out. "It's Unique FC's Wonder Kid getting on the score sheet just a few minutes after returning to the pitch!"

"Yes!" Dave yelled as he raised both of his arms.

The fans were going wild now and so were some of the players who were screaming in front of them now.

"With the way things are looking now, it looks like Unique FC are getting that qualification to the next round in this match," Steve commented.

The match continued after Unique FC's wild celebration but West Ham United weren't able to strike back in any way and all of Unique FC's attempts to get a third goal went to waste.

West Ham United held their ground against Unique FC's suffocating force until the forty-fifth minute when the referee finally blew his whistle twice to bring the first half to an end.

"There's the whistle, West Ham United players will be delighted to hear that because Unique sure have been on their throat for quite a while now. They'll have to patch themselves up in the second half otherwise Unique FC are easily running away with this one." Steve expressed.

"Well said, Steve. The first half comes to an end in quite an interesting way but it was expected, it's West Ham United nil, Unique FC two."

*****

Hope you enjoyed the last chapter of this month.

Happy new month in advance and thanks for all your support this month.