NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Goals Galore
Then, in the 12th minute, the chance came.
One of Team C's midfielders misjudged a pass, giving Team A's defensive midfielder, Bram, the chance to intercept. Without wasting a second, Bram surged forward, pushing the ball quickly into Team A's attacking third.
Benjamin sprinted up the left flank, darting between two defenders and calling for the ball. Bram passed it to the attacking midfielder, Luka, who immediately spotted Benjamin's run.
"Here!" Benjamin shouted as he entered the final third, calling for the ball as he saw space opening up ahead of him.
The attacking midfielder, sharp and quick on his feet, caught Benjamin's signal.
He played a one-two pass with Benjamin, who timed his run perfectly to break past his marker. In a flash, Benjamin found himself inside the box, with only the goalkeeper to beat.
His heart raced, but his mind was calm.
This is it.
Time seemed to slow. Benjamin's heartbeat echoed in his ears as he approached the box. He had a split second to decide. Left foot or right?
He shifted his body slightly, fooling the goalkeeper into thinking he'd go for a shot with his left foot. Then, in a swift motion, he struck the ball cleanly with his right, aiming for the bottom left corner.
The goalkeeper stretched out, but it was too late. The ball nestled into the back of the net.
"Yes!" Benjamin yelled, his fist pumping in the air. His teammates rushed over to congratulate him, slapping him on the back and ruffling his hair.
Benjamin jogged back to his position, a wave of confidence washing over him. His first goal in the trial match and it was exactly what he needed to settle his nerves. Now, they had the momentum.
From that moment, Team A began to take control of the game. The midfield trio, Tariq, Bram, and the attacking midfielder, Luka, kept the ball moving, dictating the pace of the match.
Team C struggled to regain possession as Team A pressed them high up the pitch, forcing mistakes.
Three minutes later, in the 15th minute, Benjamin found himself in another promising position. He received the ball on the left wing and immediately felt the presence of two defenders closing in on him. He knew he had to act quickly.
With a quick drop of his shoulder, he feinted left before cutting inside, leaving both defenders flat-footed. The crowd buzzed with excitement as Benjamin surged forward.
Now in open space, he charged toward the box, his eyes scanning for options.
He spotted the tall forward, Pieters, making a run into the penalty area. Benjamin whipped in a teasing cross, curling the ball with the outside of his right boot toward the six-yard box.
Pieters timed his jump perfectly, rising above the defenders and powering a header into the back of the net.
"2-0!" the crowd of onlookers cheered from the stands as Benjamin jogged over to Pieters, clapping him on the back.
"That was all you, Ben!" Pieters grinned, clearly thrilled with the assist.
Benjamin grinned, feeling elated. Two goals up in less than 20 minutes, it was exactly the start they needed.
Everything was clicking into place. His team was in control, and he was playing with a level of confidence he hadn't felt in a long time.
But Team C wasn't about to give up.
They regrouped quickly, adjusting their formation and pushing harder.
In the 23rd minute, they launched a counter-attack of their own.
One of their midfielders found a pocket of space in front of Team A's defense. With a quick pass, he sent the ball through to their forward, who was already on the move.
Their striker, a tall, imposing player managed to slip past the defense after the clever through ball from his teammate.
The forward took one touch to control it, sprinting toward the goal, and despite the best efforts of the defenders, Daan and Johan, he managed to squeeze a low shot into the corner of the goalpost.
The ball slipped past the outstretched arms of Team A's goalkeeper, Freek, and into the back of the net, and suddenly, it was 2-1.
Benjamin felt a knot of frustration in his stomach, he clenched his jaw, annoyed that they'd conceded but he quickly pushed the frustration aside.
It was a good goal. Team C had earned it. Now they had to respond. The game wasn't over yet. The first half was winding down, but there was still time to increase their lead.
The game resumed, and Team A went back to dominating possession. There was only a few minutes left in the first half.
Coach Jansen watched on from the sideline. He couldn't give out instructions as the coaches were only responsible for setting the formation of their respective teams
In the 28th minute, just before the halftime whistle, Team A won the ball back deep in their half. Bram intercepted a pass near the halfway line and immediately spotted Benjamin making a run down the left flank.
Benjamin found himself with space on the left wing again. He sprinted forward, keeping his eye on the ball as Bram threaded a perfectly weighted pass through the defense.
Benjamin controlled it with his right foot and glanced up, spotting his teammate on the right wing, completely unmarked.
He saw Pieters and their right-winger, Elias, sprinting into the box.
With a quick shift of his weight, Benjamin sent a defense-splitting through ball across the field toward Elias, who had found himself in acres of space on the right. The pass, perfectly timed to catch Team C off-guard.
Elias took one touch to steady himself, he sprinted, easily outpacing his markers.
Benjamin watched as his teammate took the ball in stride, dribbled past the last defender, and calmly slotted it past the goalkeeper and into the net.
3-1.
The referee blew the whistle for halftime shortly after, and the players from both teams jogged off the pitch, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat.
As Benjamin and his teammates walked toward the sidelines, Coach Jansen approached them with a smile. "Great work out there boys. Benjamin, you're making a real impact."
Benjamin nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Thanks, Coach. Still more work to do, though."
"Exactly. Keep up the intensity in the second half. Don't let them back into the game."
Benjamin grabbed a bottle of water and took a long sip, feeling the cool liquid soothe his parched throat. His mind was racing, replaying the first half in his head.
He had scored a goal, created an assist, and helped set up another. But the job wasn't done yet. There was still the second half to go, and anything could happen.
He felt delighted, but soon after sighed in disappointment, 'Unfortunately, Diane couldn't make it to watch the trials.' She had much work to do at the hospital.
Benjamin soon cleared his thoughts and prepared for the second half of the game.