An unforgettable second half
Breathing heavily, with a serious look in his eyes, Sam paid attention to his coach as he addressed his players animatedly.
"Victor, Chijioke, give up on trying to beat their fullbacks one-on-one every time, it's not effective. Those boys are just too good at one-on-one defending".
"Instead, whenever you get the chance, cut the ball back into the middle, into the running paths of either Samuel or Austin".
"I want the ball to get to them more often".
"If you don't know what to do with the ball, pass to either of them. If you're in danger of losing possession, pass to them".
"If you're in the box and you're not confident of scoring, pass to them".
Coach Yemi Daniel didn't join his players on the field, but at this moment, he was sweating even more than they did as he addressed them.
He focused on his center forward. "Emeka, continue putting all your effort into the physical battle against their defenders. Keep on dragging them out of position, be the decoy for your teammates to shine".
"I know you don't like this role, I'm sorry, but for the team, do it".
"To win this game, we need to make sacrifices".
"Yes coach".
Coach Yemi finally paid attention to his 2 star midfielders. "As you can tell, they're targeting both of you already. Getting a few fouls from them is good, but don't overdo it, I don't want any of you 2 getting injured, that will be disastrous".
"Most importantly of all, enjoy yourselves out there".
"Yes coach".
FWEEEEE!
When the second half started, Cairo International Stadium was louder than ever. The Al Ahly fans were bullish, they were dissatisfied with the current situation on the pitch, they wanted their team to win and to do it fast.
Buoyed by the unrelenting loud noise being made by their fans, the Al Ahly players upped their game, running all over the pitch and this was when Sam discovered a shocking reality.
One Al Ahly player was tasked with marking him in the 2nd half.
Personally, as the game wore on, to Sam, it became incredibly taxing to function with a player always breathing down his neck but at the same time, this became even more validation and motivation for him.
Being man-marked only meant that the opposition team recognized his threat. To Sam, that was close to the greatest validation he could receive on a pitch.
It motivated him to perform even more.
His incredible stamina reared its head like a monster as he dragged his marker left and right all over the pitch, making this player suffer.
Despite his incredible performance still in the midfield battle alongside his captain, Al Ahly remained the dominating team and their dominance finally paid off 15 minutes after the start of the second half.
In the 60th minute of the game, after a dangerous cross into the box, there was some scrambling before a player jumped acrobatically, unleashing an unexpected overhead kick ball as the ball fell into an empty net.
"GOALLLL…!" Mohamed Sheriff, the Al Ahly striker rose to his feet as he celebrated his goal with pure euphoria.
The Enyimba FC players were deflated but not for long. In the second half, they were playing well, just not good enough.
They simply needed to improve.
Standing in the touchline, a sweating Coach Yemi Daniel clapped his hands aggressively as he motivated his players. "Come on, we're still in the game!"
On the pitch, Sam scanned the Al Ahly players, lost in his thoughts. 'I can't afford to lose now, not after coming this far'.
'I can't afford to lose…, I can't afford to lose!'
'I must win!'
To Sam, this was definitely the most difficult game of his life. The quality of their opponents was unlike anything he had seen in the NPFL since he started his professional career, they were a level above.
It was hard, but the harder it was, the more he wanted to win.
His eyes gleamed. 'This is my moment; I must seize it!'
FWEEEEE!
When the game restarted, Enyimba FC tried their best to get back in the game led by Austin as marked by the Al Ahly player, despite his incredible work rate, Sam struggled to do much on the ball.
Enyimba FC could only try though, the Al Ahly players buoyed by their fans put in just as much work as the Enyimba FC players did, also determined to win.
They kept on dominating this titanic battle in their home ground.
This game no longer felt like a game of football. Rather it felt like a gladiator battle, with the stadium being the coliseum, and the 22 players on the pitch being the gladiators who must fight to the death for glory.
As the game drew closer to the death, the tension increased and with it, fouls became more frequent.
The referee handed out yellow cards left and right.
The physicality of this game increased as the players did everything they could to retain control over the ball, and do something to damage their opponents.
Despite how much Enyimba FC tried, in the end, it was Al Ahly who came closest to scoring again simultaneously in the 83rd and 85th minute of the game.
The longer the game wore on, drawing closer to the death, even as his teammates became agitated and frustrated, in contrast, Sam became calmer with it. It was eerie, almost as if he was a robot that could not feel.
With every touch, Sam's game became more ruthless, more efficient, and more devoid of unnecessary movements.
Having tried everything in his arsenal and not working, Sam already accepted that to win, he must improve.
That was why he was trying to evolve in the dying minutes of this game.
5 months of professional football experience, plus the rewards of his system, plus his own training experience, at this moment, Sam broke his football technique down, remolding everything from the scratch again so he could evolve it.
Every touch of the ball, every pass, every feint, he took everything in with greater clarity till, in the 90th minute, it finally clicked.
Receiving the ball in the halfway line, Sam did a body feint, evaded an Al Ahly player challenge before crossing the ball to the right where Victor ran. It was a pin-point over the top pass as Victor controlled the ball in his strides.
This time, Victor managed to dribble his marker, cutting the ball back just as his coach instructed as Sam trapped this ball just outside the Al Ahly 18-yard box.
"BOOOO…!" The Al Ahly supporters drowned him in boos but Sam didn't hear any of it, having entered the zone state already.
A leg stuck out, and instantaneously, Sam's leg moved, hitting the ball.
He nut-megged the first player that came for him, skipping past his challenge into the 18-yard box. As more players came, with an effortless body feint, he evaded both players, letting them collide against each other in their own box.
It was pure chaos.
Whoosh!
A sliding tackle came but with a la croqueta, Sam penetrated deeper into the opposition box, somehow still remaining on his feet even as his marker subtly tugged at his shirt from behind. Sam refused to fall to the pitch.
As another player charged in, he used a roulette skill to spin again to the right and just before the ball could roll out for a goal kick, he trapped it with the heel of his foot before using his back heel to kick it back into the box.
Sam didn't kick this ball randomly though. With his spatial awareness, despite all the players in this box at this moment, he was still able to pinpoint the player with which he had the most chemistry, Austin.
As the ball rolled back, most of the Al Ahly players caught off-guard, Austin tried to shoot the ball on his first touch as the Al Ahly goalkeeper dived.
It was a feint though, Austin passed to his unmarked center forward.
Isolated at the left corner of the 6-yard box, despite the pass being unexpected even for him, Emeka's reflex helped him tap the ball into the empty net in the 90th minute of the game, a perfect poacher's goal.
At the last minute, Enyimba FC equalized!
"GOALLLL…!" Emeka screamed at the top of his lungs.
2-2…, the game was tied again!
The fulltime whistle came shortly after.
Extra time came as both coaches made a few changes, bringing in fresh legs but Sam and Austin remained on the pitch. Sam's legs were now as heavy as lead but sheer willpower kept him going.
Both teams had their moments in extra time but none was able to score again. And after 120 minutes of incredible football, the referee's whistle sounded.
FWEEEE!
The game went to penalties!