Hunter and Hussar

Chapter 54

In the locker room of Xiling Middle School, Mi Le and I noticed the black gauze that Ye Ruiyang wore on the left arm of his jersey.We know what that means.

The day before yesterday, he asked for leave for his evening self-study, and I felt something was wrong.Maybe it was a fluke, maybe it was just fear, I didn't ask him, and he didn't say anything.It's been just over a month since we knew about it.

"Ye Ruiyang?" Huang Minxue suddenly walked in front of the three of us, his voice was very soft, like a breeze.He pointed to his left arm politely, his eyes were gentle and concerned.Mu Zheng also quietly followed behind him.

"My uncle." He forced a smile, "The day before yesterday."

Xuexue stretched out her small right hand, held Ye Ruiyang's left hand firmly in the air, and pulled him up from the chair after changing his clothes.

"Let's work hard together." He looked at him and said.This is probably the most gentle sentence I have heard from Xue Xue.

"Ah."

"Come on, everyone." Brother Chuan also came, and silently bumped fists with the two of them.Suddenly found that he was the only one besides Ye Ruiyang with black veil wrapped around his arms.Against the backdrop of the white jersey, this touch of black makes people feel stuck in the throat.Mi Le and I don't know what to say, so we can only pat our partner and tell him that we are by his side.

The winter has not subsided yet, the sun is far from warm, it is as bleak as the breath of winter, undulating on the football field, like a frozen lake.The home court of Xiling Middle School can be called the devil's home court. Yue Yin told us on the way here that they haven't lost at home for a year and a half.Before that, senior Yuan Yikong recalled last year's quarter-finals rather unconvinced.In the first round, Yizhong defeated Xizhong 2:1 at home. He and Kuang Hao each scored a goal.But carelessness in the backline in the final moments of the game led to a conceded goal.In the second round, Yizhong paid the price for this conceded goal-Xizhong won a small 1:0 victory at home, and the total score was 2:2.But because of the away goal rule, Xizhong was able to advance with a goal scored at home by No. [-] Middle School.

"Actually, Xizhong's home field is nothing special. The strength is that it is too far away from the urban area. The visiting team has to travel a long distance, and the car is exhausting. No wonder, Xiling was a county a few years ago, and now it is divided into Jiangyuan Last year we were unprepared, we took an hour and a half by car and couldn’t find a place to eat when we arrived. But this year is different, and our intelligence work is getting better and better, isn’t it?” As Yuan Yikong said, he looked approvingly at Yue Yin who was sitting across the aisle.She listened with us, seemingly concentrating, but seemed absent-minded when the senior asked her.Xu Mu reminded her, and she nodded hurriedly, accepting the compliment.

Xuexue snorted.

"Isn't our home game the devil's home game? We haven't been behind for a minute in the group stage, and we have scored 1 goals in 3 games. It should be the most goals scored at home by all teams, right? In the second round, Xizhong came to our place. Very tired, win the game today, go back to the home court, we can tear the creek to pieces."

"That's what I said, but the knockout round is completely different from the group round. There is still a chance to make mistakes in the group round, and any mistake in the knockout round may send us home. So we still have to be careful and learn from last year's lessons." The captain said "We are much stronger this year than last year. We will fight steadily and we will be able to take down the one in the stream."

On the school bus, everyone was still talking and laughing, full of confidence, even though I didn't say anything.Nothing more than the fear of motion sickness.The school bus is no better than my own car, everyone is on it, if I can't help but spit it out, I will definitely make everyone sick again.Knowing that it would take an hour and a half by car, before I even got on the bus, a smell of gasoline roiled in my mind.However, after getting in the car today, I didn't feel too uncomfortable.Mi Le teased me a few times, but I still had the energy to fight back.In the past, I would feel dizzy when I moved in the car.

Could it be that I have grown up?I heard from adults that children will not get carsick when they grow up.

Not necessarily.Senior Zeng Shuoshi was obviously not in the right state after getting off the car, squatting on the side of the road for a while.The captain went up to ask him and asked him to take a few deep breaths before helping him into the locker room with us.Soon, the coach told me that I was going to start this game.In this game, we changed to a 331-[-]-[-] formation. Yuan Yikong, Ye Ruiyang, and He Mingming are the three defenders. Huang Minxue is on the left, Kuang Hao is on the right, Li Baichuan is in the center, and Mu Zheng has a single arrow.Taotao didn't come, I thought the coach would give Mi Le a chance to start.

Standing in front of the door, I saw Ye Ruiyang's figure further ahead, and the joy of being the starter was soon covered by the black veil fluttering in the wind.I secretly bit my lip.At this moment, there is only one thing that is crystal clear: focus.Winning the game is the best way to help my friend.The coach also found Hei Sha in the locker room. She greeted Ye Ruiyang very caringly, and I heard her ask him if he would like to play today.Our boss gave a firm answer: Of course he would, and he would do his best.

That's right.Let's work together.The moment the whistle sounded, I hammered the school badge on the chest of the team uniform with my gloves.

Perhaps knowing the exhaustion of the visiting team from afar, Xizhong's combat plan to grab the start of the game was fully demonstrated in the first minute of the game.The forwards and advances of the offensive players are very resolute, like a pack of wolves swarming up. Even if the ball is at our feet, the forwards in Xizhong will press down relentlessly.It has become extremely difficult for us to play the ball in the backcourt, and it is even more difficult to switch from defense to offense.It stands to reason that our 1-331-331 formation will form a very flexible front. However, Xizhong's fierce pressing is like a stapler, squeezing our formation. Huang Minxue and Kuang Hao, who should have appeared in the midfield, were forced to retreat. The back line assists the defense and is completely unable to organize the offense.The formation of three backs was once suppressed into five backs. In addition, Brother Chuan was in charge of midfield defense. Six of the seven players other than the goalkeeper retreated to the vicinity of the penalty area. 601 directly became 10. Except for Mu Zheng, We don't have another offensive player.In the first [-] minutes of the game, he didn't even touch the ball a few times, and almost disappeared in the opponent's half alone.

It was too suffocating, even in the away game against Beichuan Middle School, they had never been suppressed so thoroughly.I pushed a long shot that went straight to the lintel over the crossbar, and struggled to stand up amidst the shouts of my teammates "like to pounce".I really don't know who Huang Minxue said "tear to pieces" in the car.If we continue to kick like this, we will probably be the ones to be shattered.

Xizhong's corner kick was taken, in the front point, very close to the goal.I rushed out subconsciously, trying to pick the ball off or hit it out.Its speed was extremely fast, and it was a little erratic. I was halfway through the rush, and the opponent's No. 10 forward had jumped high. He rubbed lightly, and the ball flew over my head by coincidence.My raised arm didn't touch it, but my body kept moving forward.

"Pretty!"

I couldn't help shouting, and hit Ye Ruiyang's arm hard with my forehead, and he also patted me hard on the shoulder.After the ball passed over my head, it was he who appeared in the ball's flight path in time and shook his head to push it away from our gate.Senior Kuang Hao got the ball at the second spot, without even thinking about it, the big foot kicked the ball out of the sideline.And I was just barely turning around to witness the recovery of my teammates.Accurate, timely, and resolute, Ye Ruiyang's appearance really saved my life, not to mention whether the ball will fly directly into the net, but if he is one step earlier or slower, the players in the creek behind will touch the ball , The score on the field may also change immediately.

"Good defense! Shout out more!" The coach clapped his hands and shouted from the sidelines.

"Don't panic, get rid of the siege!" Senior Yuan Yikong also shouted, "Hold on! Be more energetic!"

As soon as the words fell, the foul ball in Xizhong was thrown.I didn't have time to think about the mistake just now, and I had to concentrate again.Ye Ruiyang gave me a chance, but people don't always have chances.In the next game, we still take a defensive position.As the coaches and seniors said, the knockout round is very different from the group stage.Every teammate in Xizhong seemed to be equipped with a perpetual motion machine, with inexhaustible physical strength, which kept us firmly in our own half.It wasn't until halfway through the first half that Mu Zheng got a chance to shoot.It was a long shot over the crossbar, which didn't give the opponent's goalkeeper a chance to perform.And my teammates and I were a little bit exhausted.In addition to that corner attack, Xizhong also got a one-handed chance, which originated from a pass error made by Xuexue on the left.We had just won the ball, we were still recovering, we were preparing to attack, but we were forced to go back to defense because of a mistake that was caught off guard.The through ball from Xizhong pierced our entire defense line. No. 10 took the lead, threw off our three defenders, and rushed towards the goal.

In any case, I'm going to give up the door and attack.With a determined mind, I rushed out of the goal and rushed towards him again.There is a change in his stride rate, which is a signal from his body to shoot.So, I spread my limbs as far as I could, like a flying squirrel—the kind of squirrel that stretches its body and glides in the air, in order to expand the defensive area and interfere with his shots with all our strength.I should have yelled, I really thought of all the ways I could think of.Seeing me rushing out desperately, No. 10 seemed to be a little shaken. He didn't choose to pass me, but shot a hastily before I rushed forward. The ball hit my right leg, bouncing and bouncing. Out of line. No. 10 hugged his head in frustration, and Mingming just rushed to the restricted area and pulled me up.

"Sorry, that pass was too casual." After the halftime whistle, Xuexue walked towards the defense out of breath.After hearing Xuexue's words, the defenders just gave a few "huh" in a daze.It's not perfunctory, nor is it angry at him, it's just too tired.The physical strength of the three of them has reached the bottleneck, just like a balloon out of control, floating aimlessly on the field, this is to recover their physical strength and heartbeat through slow walking.

The only defense member who can move normally is me, and I am going to go up and pat him.However, Xuexue was also exhausted and leaned against me. I was shocked, but I still supported him.Almost everyone helped each other back to the locker room, and they all slumped on chairs once they got back.When Yue Yin and Xu Mu knocked on the door, none of the people closest to the door could get up, and it was Mi Le who ran over to open it.The two of them each came in with a plastic bag of sports drinks. Needless to say, everyone was about to burst into tears, as if the guerrillas had finally seen the folks after a night of fighting, and clearly said that they should change their name to "Timely Rain".

"Xizhong has also become stronger. They weren't so crazy last year, they just wanted to swallow us up in one gulp." Xu Xiang said while opening drinks for everyone.

"It's okay, they fought so fiercely in the first half, and sooner or later they won't be able to keep up physically. As long as we don't beat us to death, we can kill them in the second half." Yuan Yikong gulped down a blue blueberry-flavored drink.After finishing the drink, he wiped his mouth hastily, and came over to me and Ye Ruiyang and said that we can be more excited when defending, saving a goal is equivalent to scoring a goal, and we can even celebrate, like the Italians.After defender Chiellini finished defending, goalkeeper Buffon would always raise his arms and hug his teammates to affirm his wonderful performance in killing goals.Treat defense as something that needs cooperation and passion just like offense. Excellent defense will destroy the opponent's confidence.

The coach didn't say much and let us rest for a while.Then the adjustments for the second half were announced: Brother Chuan was replaced by Yan Xi, and Kuang Hao returned to the middle.He also told us that if we don't know how to handle the ball, we should try to pass it to the captain or Yan Xi. They are the best dribblers in the team and know how to protect the ball.

"Don't panic, don't panic. Go all out, then decline, and three times, last year's runner-up can't beat us, so what about Xiling?" When the coach was silent, Yuan Yikong was like another coach, constantly encouraging everyone , "Death prevention. As long as they don't lose the ball and return to our home court, they are absolutely useless!"

"By the way, isn't there another female player in Xizhong?" Mi Le asked suddenly, "Is she going to play in the second half?"

"That's right, senior sister Tong Jing. She's super cute, and she speaks very sweetly. Yue Yin and I just chatted with her in the tunnel." Xu Mu said, "She went to the bathroom to change her jersey, and she will definitely be in the second half."

"Is she better than boys?" Mi Le asked.

"At least her technique is better than many boys in Xizhong, that's what their official account says." Yue Yin said.

Ye Ruiyang and I looked at each other. In the first half, Xizhong's offensive was quite fierce. If another offensive player is replaced in the second half, the defense will undoubtedly face a greater crisis.

"No, another girl came up, how to prevent this?" Mingming frowned.

"Defend as much as you want, shovel and bump, it's as simple as that." Xuexue said, "What is there to ask?"

I suspect that Xu Mu is really going to beat him this time.

"She's a girl." Mingming was puzzled by Xuexue's attitude.

"What's wrong with the girl? Do you look down on her?" Thanks to being tired, Xuexue's voice was not so loud, "She is here to compete, not to play. Since she is ready to stand on the court, there is nothing special Yes. Damn it, this is the arena. Everyone relies on their own strength and the arrangement of the coach. She has the ability and qualifications to play, so she has to be like everyone else. She is just an ordinary opponent. What does it matter if a man is a woman?"

"He is right. If you treat girls specially, you will look down on girls. Be normal. We respect every opponent and try to defeat them, which is the best respect for them." The coach came over and tapped Xuexue on the head, and then Looking at Mingming, Mingming hurriedly apologized and said that he didn't look down on girls, but was just a little worried, and now he fully understands what to do.

In fact, we all know it well, and he doesn't need to explain it to us.Xu Mu patted him friendly and told us that in the tunnel before, the senior sister asked her to tell us that she will play later, everyone should not have any worries and play normally.

"She also said she would score for us. No girl has ever scored in the Mayor's Cup before." Yue Yin smiled and walked to me and Ye Ruiyang, "Don't let her set a record."

"You should just focus on Huang Minxue's theory. This guy's pass in the first half gave me a heart attack. I'm so embarrassed to talk about it here. I really want to wring his head off." Xu Mu smacked his lips, lightly He kicked him lightly, but Xuexue didn't fight back.

"It's okay, let's work hard together." Ye Ruiyang said, got up and walked behind Xuexue's chair, and gave him a high five.

　Knockout rules:

　　1. The player with the most goals in the two rounds wins.

　　2. If the total number of goals scored by the two sides is the same, the team with the most goals scored in the away game will win.

　　3. If the above two items are the same, the winner shall be decided by a penalty shootout after the end of regular time in the second round, and the winner of the penalty shootout will win.

　　4. The final is a single match.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)