4 Scouts in Attendance
Paul McArthur has been annoyed ever since he got the task of scouting the exit trials from his bosses. He bemoans the fact he's always the one getting sent to these exit trials that they won't be getting a single prospect anyway. He's a Sheffield Blades scout for a decade already, for God's sake!
"Sigh… well… let's just write some notes, and get this over—" Paul's eyes widened at the sight of a young trialist's play. "Interesting… huh…"
The third game of the day featured Blaise's team, Team F facing off against Team E. As for what Blaise can remember about his teammates from his past life, there's only one that he had played against.
One of his teammates made it to the Premier League like him.
The ball was on Blaise's foot, and he's currently rampaging through the middle of the park looking for options out in the wider areas.
He's playing the center midfielder role he always played since he's a kid. It's the engine of most football sides because of its position at the very center of the pitch. He's the main playmaker that sprays passes left, right, forward, and back.
Right now, 17 minutes has passed, and the game is being controlled by Team F. They have the lion's share of possession, and made the most of it by surging forward through their pacy, fast wingers.
'Here he is again, that mad left winger!' He lobbed the ball ahead to his left winger who's already burst past the opposing right defender. The pinpoint pass drew ooh's from the crowd of scouts.
Peter scanned Blaise's profile without the indifference he showed earlier. His face twitched a little as he remembered this player as a member of Manchester Under-17's team. He wrote 'in consideration' on his file before searching for the pacy winger that received the pass.
Meanwhile, the play continued as the speedster on the left ran straight to the left edge of the penalty area, and looked to cross the ball inside the box.
The cross came in high, and the opposing defenders and their team's two strikers both jumped into the air to fight for the ball.
In a wild scramble, the ball missed both of the opposing defenders and forwards, and landed with a huge bounce close to the goalkeeper's far post and their left back.
But before Team E's left back can get to it, Blaise swooped.
Goal!
He stuck his right foot onto the path of the ball before it was cleared out by the defender. He smiled as he reached it and smashed the bottom right corner of the goal.
The team crowded into him in celebration. Blaise though, ran straight to the left winger whose name will reach the Premier League in the future and gave a high five.
"Awesome cross, man. Thanks for that!" Blaise complimented.
"That cross is not intended for you though… I missed my target." The brutally honest reply by the winger surprised Blaise.
"Don't miss the target next time, Cam!" Blaise of course knew Cameron Okojo's name, so he stretched out his fist and ran back to the center of the field.
"I won't, Atkinson."
As play resumed, it was more of the same. The midfield dominance shown by Blaise continued catching the scouts' rapt attention, along with the speed and skill combination of Okojo.
The chances on goal might be few and far between, but the control and possession time of Team F allowed the unabated build up of momentum on their side, until the half time whistle sounded.
Adrenaline, and their unwillingness to fall here, were probably the only reasons Team E's players are continuing to play. Nevertheless, it has been a thorough demolition from the get go.
"Team F. Fantastic job out there in the first half. You're dominating them. Don't let up, and continue doing your best for the full 90 minutes." The stand in coach of Team F reminded this ragtag group of trialists. "All of you are fighting for your lives here, so don't think your job's done. Even if your performance was great in the first half, don't let up. Your opponents will be fighting even harder in the second half, because they know that to impress, they need to at least match your first half display."
"Okojo, Atkinson. You two have the scouts focused on you. Don't leave them hanging. Keep their eyes on you."
A tall and muscular man that is one of their central defenders put his right hand out in the middle of the group. One by one, the other members piled their hands on top of each other, and after everyone had their hand in the pile, the defender yelled.
"Will we stay on the offensive?
"Yeah!"
"Will we clinch our ticket back to the Football League?"
"Yeah!"
"Let's take them down!" Their hands went high up in the air as the ragtag crew went out for the 2nd half of play.
***
The group of scouts were buzzing. The game they're currently watching was being run by only two people. The fact that these two were so dominant, should not be understated by the fact that they only have a single goal to show for it.
Through the file, all of them knew that the central midfielder is a Manchester graduate, and the left winger is a Sheffield Sunday academy product.
The scouters are raving from the two's pedigree alone.
A lot of phones were on the ears of the scouts in the stands, but as the players came back out to the pitch, the noises died down. These guys know that they have to judge every single person on these two teams fairly.
***
Team E came out firing at the start of the second half. They have abandoned their defensive first half style, in favor of a more fluid, attacking football.
Sure, the scouts have noticed that they are playing with more passion from the off, but the scouts also know that they aren't the only team with that glint on their eyes.
Spearheaded by Atkinson, Team F tackled harder, marked their opponents tighter, jumped the passing lanes faster, and moved as a team better.
The effect was an up and down battle. Both teams getting shots in at a rising frequency, with the possession heavy first half display of Team F making way for a direct and forward passing offense.
The people in the stands, along with the other trialists, were enjoying the chaos and adrenaline of the match.
At last, the goals came finally at the 66th minute. Blaise Atkinson beat his man after a failed tackle, before a pinpoint through ball connected this time to the other winger on the right. The guy capitalized and squared the ball to their free striker in the middle.
2-0!
The floodgates have opened.
Just 5 minutes later, in the 71st minute, Okojo was tripped trying to cut inside from the left wing.
A dangerous position for a free kick as it was just less than 25 yards out.
What's even more dangerous, was the young man known for his free kicks.
Blaise was behind the ball, after talking it out with Okojo on who'd be taking this free kick.
The scouts in attendance who were already mesmerized by Atkinson's play were looking forward to what his scouting report said he does best— free kicks.
He ran up to the ball in a slow and steady manner. The people inside the box are already jostling for position. He winds up, and as his right foot swung from behind him… he muttered.
"It's showtime."
