Chapter 23 - Call From The First Team
George Eastgate looks at Southampton u-23 vs Swansea u-23 scoreboard. Southampton beat Swansea 5-0, and there is still a second half for Southampton. Although the intensity of premier league 2 matches is very less than premier league, this kind of massacre is rare even in premier league 2.
Originally he came here to see Kazuki's play in person but right now he saw more than that. George saw that the quality of Southampton u-23s was also very good. Maybe it has to do with coach Elen Sharen.
Many factors caused Swansea to play badly, but the main one was because of Southampton's aggressiveness at the start of the half and the efficiency of Southampton's under-23s scoring goals was great.
If Southampton u-23s fail to score or only score 1 goal in 20 minutes, then, Swansea will not be so stressed because they will think that this match can still be won. But by scoring 3 goals in less than 20 minutes, Swansea City U-23s were in chaos. Their tactical system failed, the players were confused by this situation.
Who was the most important in Southampton U-23's first 3 goals? This is debatable. Ryan Jr had a big contribution in organizing attacks and helping Southampton control the midfield. Rustan's speed was also the beginning of the first goal and the third goal.
However, George would choose Kazuki. People who saw Kazuki play might think like this, 'He's lucky to have such a good team-mate, the striker just needs to receive the ball and put it in.'
George would slap anyone who thought like that. Look at the state of the Southampton first team, how many chances has the Southampton forward missed? Being a striker is not as easy as turning the palm
"The ability to run without the ball, the ability to read the direction of the attack, being able to make decisions within seconds, having good shooting and passing technique, and calm in front of goal," George muttered the list of Kazuki abilities that George saw in this match.
Premier League and premier league 2 are different things but as a coach, George's job is to give a chance, whether Kazuki can shine or not depends on the player himself.
After deciding to call Kazuki to the main team. George decided to leave. There is nothing more to watch from this match. Obviously, Swansea city will lose, the only debatable thing is how many Southampton under-23s will score.
***
After being knocked down by an opponent, Rustan was taken to the hospital for further treatment. The first round ended, Kazuki and his comrade immediately approached Elen and inquired about Rustan.
"He has an injury to his leg muscles, it will take a month before he recovers. You can see him after the game is over. For now, focus on the game."
Kazuki could conclude that Rustan's injury wasn't too severe. Even though the injury wasn't too severe, it didn't mean it wouldn't have any impact on Rustan. In terms of mentality, Rustan might be afraid to play aggressively again, because he is afraid of getting injured. In the physical aspect, the injury can make Rustan's speed decrease, Rustan is a player who relies heavily on speed, when his speed decreases, Rustan's value for the team will also decrease.
The most undesirable thing is when Rustan has to be an injury-prone player. Many talented players lose their shine due to injuries too often. Players like that are good enough when appearing as a substitute but can not be relied on to appear as the main player.
Of course, Kazuki hoped that Rustan would fully recover.
This time Elen did not give any specific orders regarding the second half. It frees up its players to play as they please. Whether to choose to attack or defend, Elen will leave the decision to the players themselves.
Starting the second half, Swansea did not intend to reduce their advantage. The Jacks just wanted to defense, so that Southampton's goals did not increase anymore.
Without Rustan's pace, Southampton struggled to break down Swansea City's defense. Southampton can only possess the ball but cannot attack the Swansea penalty box which continues to defend.
Kazuki couldn't do much, he was tightly guarded by two people so he had no room to shoot. Occasionally he bounced the ball at Ryan who tried to break into the Swansea penalty box, but Ryan's shot was always saved easily by the Swansea goalkeeper.
Swansea's defense was quite successful until in the 68th minute, Kazuki managed to break into the Swansea City U-23 goal with a rocket kick that went into the corner of the net. This goal became Kazuki's fourth goal in this match and Southampton's sixth goal in this match.
In the 74th minute, Zhukovsky managed to score, after Southampton's corner managed to wreak havoc in the goalmouth. In the chaos, Zhukovsky managed to get the ball into the net.
In the 81st minute, Elen took out several players including Kazuki and Ryan. Theodor stepped into the field as a substitute for Kazuki. Although the score had changed to 7-0, Theodor clearly did not want to miss the opportunity to score a goal.
Theodor managed to score from his header, after receiving a cross from Zhukovsky. Theodor's goal this time was the last in this match.
In this match, Swansea conceded 8 goals and failed to put a single ball into the Southampton goal.
***
After he finished changing his clothes, Kazuki saw Elen's trainer gesturing for him to come closer. Without asking much, Kazuki approached coach Elen. Elen said to Kazuki, "The first team has called for you, starting tomorrow you will train with the first team."
Kazuki smiled happily, this was the news he had been waiting for. Call from the first team. It was finally time for Kazuki to start his senior career journey.
Kazuki bowed slightly as he said, "Thank you very much for guiding me all this time."
Elen said, "You don't have to be like that, it all depends on you. Don't miss this opportunity. I don't want to see you back in the reserve team because coach George didn't want you."
The other players who saw Kazuki bow to Elen knew that something good had happened. Ryan became the first person to approach Kazuki.
"Hey, what happened?" Ryan asked.
"I will go to the first team," Kazuki replied with a smile.
Kazuki's words were heard by all his comrades.
"Really? So fast! I remember you just joined Southampton under-23."
"That's natural, Kazuki played well in his first 3 games, after all now Southampton is short of forwards."
"Well anyway congrats Kazuki, don't forget about us when you become a star footballer later."
While Kazuki's other companions were cheering and congratulating, Theodor muttered in a low voice, "Star? At most he will just sit on the bench."
Kazuki heard Theodor's muttering, but the Japanese player ignored him. It was Theodor's right as a loser to be envious.. On the other hand, Kazuki also had the right to ignore a loser like Theodor.