Showstopper

Goal!

Blaise Atkinson actually managed to clear the ball out of the goal. It's just that his clearance took place once the ball had already crossed the goal line…

He looked on, while wiping his sweat, as the diminutive winger cartwheeled his way into the edge of the pitch in celebration of that banger of a goal. 

The noise inside the stadium after the goal was deafening. 

Blaise thought the winger deserved it, with a shot like that. 

They are down early again. It would've been nice if his first block was the end of it. 

Oh well, gotta buckle up, and do my job better. There's still a lot of football left to be played.

Sheffield put that bad set piece defense behind them, hoping to relaunch their efforts to score an equalizer. The wing play was solid, as the balls from the middle kept hitting all the right spots, thanks to the captain, vice captain, and Blaise holding down the fort.

They didn't play desperate, and instead played as calm and composed as a team that was ahead of their opponents. That goal was nothing but a blip in their radar after all.

Hastings played a quick one-two with Alain Prosser on the left wing, who got a shift at the wide area because of his insistence of wanting to play there. He made his case to the boss, and was granted a start there after toiling in practice ever since he was benched for repeated tardiness.

It was a proud moment for the youngster. He wanted to show his loan boss that he will do what he can to not only survive here, but also thrive. An audition at left wing is a pretty good thing in his books.

Prosser got the ball again in a switch after another flurry of quick passes found its way to the Doncaster final third. He was marauding, waiting patiently for the play to open up. So when the ball came in, he pounced.

A quick show of his preternatural dribbling skill showed itself, with the wingback close to him forced backpedal. He cut inside, and after a couple of stepovers, threaded the ball through the defender's dragging legs. 

He wanted to get to the end of that ball to complete his nutmeg, but he didn't expect that the striker, George Williams would be at the end of it. 

He also didn't expect what their in form goal getter was about to do.

Williams made the reception facing the corner flag, so instead of an instant change of direction, which he wasn't that confident he'd succeed in doing, he back-heeled it to what he thought would be Alain's path. 

It inevitably turned into a miscue.

Williams thought the ball was for him, so he went for it… while Prosser just wanted to nutmeg his man…

Prosser didn't go further inside like Williams thought, so the ball was easily dealt with by the last line of defense. 

Alain didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this comical error…

In the midfield, Blaise chested the ball down to his feet, as he scanned the field. He understood what happened in the front, and launched the ball into the wider areas again with another pinpoint pass.

"You really know me a lot, Blaise!" Alain was back for vengeance. He wanted to do the same thing he tried earlier… but his defender was ready this time, and won't allow him the space to carry out his plans. 

This guy! Am I that predictable?

He's forced by his defender to almost hug the corner flag. He has one foot on top of the ball with his back against the defender trying to steal the ball from underneath him. 

'Heh. Thanks for allowing me to do it again.' A keen smile appeared on the youngster's face as he hacked at the ball with the back of his other foot. 

The ball went through the legs of the wingback again, and this time, he was able to race for it without a teammate chiming in. The wingback was stupefied for a second, but managed to hold on to the fight, giving Alain his money's worth.

There's a lot of pushing and pulling going on between the two, but Prosser's ball skills went through for him this time around, hooking the ball down the middle… 

He doesn't even care anymore if anyone's there or it'll be cleared…

But as he saw the ball sail in the air, and bounce once outside the box, he saw a figure wearing the same red and white jersey as him arriving late in the opponent area…

Blaise Atkinson!

Blaise ignored the team's structure and his own position to surge forward like this, and to be honest, he had already steeled himself for the criticism he would get from Steve Bronson come halftime. But… he knew that Alain Prosser would pull through. 

And pull through he did. Blaise waited for the ball to bounce once before lashing his feet like a whip at it. 

In George Williams' point of view, which is closer to the goal… Blaise looked like a world beater at this moment. The fluidity, and technique needed to even attempt that move is astonishing enough, and yet! He can do it without hesitation!

The ball flew like a rocket above the defenders' heads, and flirted with the diving goalkeeper's outstretched left fingertips before slamming into the post.

Williams' heart pounded hard. He moved like a hawk swooping in for its prey, and attacked the rebound with all the instinctive strength coursing through his body. 

Finally, there is an equalizer to be had.

Sheffield United equalizes! 1-1!

His simple tap in nestled to the bottom right corner of the net, out of reach of the keeper stuck the other way. George then ran and found Blaise, before carrying him like some sort of a doting father carrying his beloved kid. 

"Are you off your rocker? That attempt was nuts!" Williams spoke as if he was not the one who scored and instead was Blaise.

"Hey, you should praise me too, you know? I delivered that cross!" Alain pointed at himself with a straight face. 

"I should've scored that though…"

Blaise knew that he should've scored that, if he wanted to make a bigger splash. But, all's well as long as a goal had been scored in the end. He's going to make opportunities for everyone in the meantime.

He continued fulfilling his duties as a diligent defensive mid after the restart. Wherever he's needed, he'd do his absolute best to get there. If there's a hole that needs to be filled, he'll fill it. If there's a lose ball, he'd fight for it. If someone needs cover, he'd cover for it. If he sees a well-timed run, or a busted coverage while holding the ball, he'd find it. 

He slid in to try to dispossess the same diminutive winger that had scored the first goal of the game, but failed spectacularly. This man, even with his slight stature, was the biggest threat in Blaise's eyes. He can't really remember if he'd ever seen this person rise to the peak of English football, but with what he's seen so far, there's no way this player would be stuck here long. 

Real gems tend to get picked up rather quickly.

The diminutive winger had already made his way to the Sheffield final third, he skipped past Trent Hastings, whose attempt to stop him would most likely make blooper reels.

Blaise tried to get back in the thick of the action, but the man's speed made him almost uncatchable once he got momentum. 

Once the diminutive winger got close enough to the box, there's now way he won't show everyone what he's made of. His strike was filthy.

Bang.

The winger went from his own half, skipped past several defenders, evaded tacklers, and unleashed an unstoppable strike.

Blaise could truly feel the heat now. He tried his hardest to recall who this guy was, but failed.

This guy can't be a nobody!

2-1.