Football System: Touchline God Chapter 13: The Spark Ignites III

Maddox’s breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening as Kai approached the edge of the final third.

"Go on, kid... trust yourself..." and he murmured under his breath, his voice a silent prayer carried on the wind.

A Crestford midfielder lunged desperately but he was too slow, too late with the tackle. Moreno sidestepped the challenge with a neat touch off the outside of his boot, the ball dancing away from the tackle as if mocking the defender’s effort.

Up ahead, Bradley Gorran, the lanky substitute striker who had been less impactful but much better than Nathan Keene for much of the ga, sensed his mont.

He’d been relentless, pressing, shifting defenders, and holding his line with a tenacity that belied his limited chances. And now, for the first ti, he broke free from his marker, cutting diagonally into the left channel of the 18-yard box with the grace of a predator stalking its prey.

Moreno saw it instantly, his vision honed by hours of extra practice. His right foot planted firmly, his body twisting with the elegance of a dancer, and then he released it—a through pass that split two defenders like a razor through the finest silk.

The ball was struck perfectly, neither too strong nor too short, a thing of breathtaking beauty that seed to defy the tension of the mont.

Bradley Gorran pounced on it like a hawk diving for its target, letting the ball roll just ahead of him before caressing it with the outside of his boot inside the penalty area.

The Crestford goalkeeper rushed forward, his arms flailing in a frantic bid to close the gap, but Gorran remained composed.

’Not this ti.’ He thought.

With a predator’s focus, he drew back his right leg and hamred the shot low and hard across goal.

The ball skimd the dew-kissed grass, a blur of motion that smashed into the bottom corner with a resounding—thwack—. The net bulged violently, the sound, a crescendo that ignited the stadium.

The crowd exploded with cheers, Silvergate’s sparse faithful unleashing a roar that shook the stands, while the Crestford supporters fell into a stunned hush, their earlier confidence shattered.

[> "OH MY! It’s three for Silvergate!" "Bradley Gorran with the finish—and it’s Kai Moreno this ti around, the midfield maestro with the assist!" "From 6-0 to 6-3. Maddox’s boys have found sothing magical here—sothing unstoppable!"