THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-141

"Rosenborg's chance isn't over yet, though," Kjell Roar, the commentator, yelled at the top of his lungs. "Nicki Nielsen, the Rosenborg number-9, has just pounced on the ball that has just smashed off the crossbar. What have we here?"

Kristin's eyes were still following the ball. She quivered with anticipation as she saw Nicki Nielsen skip past Miika Koppinen, the Tromsø captain, and direct a diving header towards the inside of the right post from around the penalty spot. She could feel it deep in her bones that Rosenborg was about to score.

However, the goddess of luck seemed to have abandoned team Rosenborg. Marcus Sahlman, the Tromsø keeper, sprang into action once more. He leaped from the ground like a leopard and intercepted Nicki's effort with an outstretched arm.

"Oh, what a chance—and what a save!" Kristin heard Kjell Roar utter words at the pace of a machine gun. "Nicki Nielsen was the quickest to the rebound. He managed to plant that beautiful diving header towards the goal. But the ball is just shy of the right post by mere centimeters after being intercepted by the keeper's strong arm. The linesman points to the corner flag, awarding Rosenborg BK a corner kick."

"This is some unbelievable stuff from Marcus Sahlman, the Tromsø goalkeeper. He has managed to make two incredible saves within a span of a single minute. I can't believe it. Harald!"

"Well," Harald, the pundit, chipped in, his voice thundering over the sighs of the dejected Rosenborg fans in the stadium. "Yes, I agree with your conjecture. At the moment, it's Rosenborg versus Marcus Sahlman. The way he managed to cover ground across his line and save Zachary's effort was something out of this world. But what was better was how quickly he reacted to intercept Nicki's rebound effort and deny the Troll Kids from taking the lead in the 17th minute. He is in top shape today."

"Thank you, Harald," Knell Roar said. "Let's take you back to the action. Jonas Svensson, the Rosenborg holding midfielder, is getting ready to take the corner..."

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*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle, signaling for Rosenborg to take the corner. Jonas Svensson took the corner-kick and delivered a teasing cross into the crowded box.

Zachary assessed the trajectory of the corner ball in nothing but a flash. He then shrugged off his mark and pushed through the rest of the players with the intent to meet the descending ball. All the while, he kept his eyes locked on it as his mind worked in overdrive to judge the best way he could connect with it.

He'd already practiced a variety of corner drills with his teammates during the pre-match training sessions. He was sure that his running wouldn't affect or interfere with the rest of his teammates when attacking the corner ball in team Tromsø's box.

So, he confidently took advantage of his looming height, pushed off the ground like an amphibian, and then out-jumped all the other players in the box to connect with the ball. He managed to shrug off one of the opposing center-backs in midair and planted a header from around the penalty area towards the inside of the right post. [Please go in.] He thought to himself as he started his descent back to the ground.

"BAAM"

But no sooner had his feet touched the ground than he saw the ball smash of the right post before bouncing back into the pitch—towards the right flank. Zachary didn't dawdle—but chased after it by sheer reflex. But Miika Koppinen, the Tromsø captain, beat him to it and cleared it to safety. The referee pointed to the corner flag once again.

Zachary could only punch the empty air before him in dejection while sighing inwardly at the missed opportunity. The goal post had denied Rosenborg a chance to take the lead once more in the 21st minute. The deadlock between the two sides was still on.

**** ****

In the home team's dugout, Coach Johansen frowned on seeing his team miss another chance. Nicki Nielsen had managed to latch on to a precise through-pass from Zachary Bemba before firing a low shot towards the right side of the net. However, Marcus Sahlman, the Tromsø keeper, leaped like a salmon to deny him with an outstretched foot. Tromsø had once again survived conceding a goal in the 42nd minute just before halftime.

"We're quite unlucky in this game," Coach Johansen said to Trond Henriksen, his assistant. "On a good day, the two attempts by Zachary should have turned into goals. Even Nicki's rebound effort should have found its way to the back of the net. But in this game, they were just mere shots on target. We're quite unlucky."

"Yes," Coach Henriksen said. "By my estimation, I believe we're dominating possession by 70% and above. We even have more than ten shots on goal. However, we have still failed to score, and this is turning out to be quite the hard game."

"Exactly, we need to score soon, or else—we'll face problems later on during the game," Coach Johansen concurred, still following the proceedings on the field of play.

Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg's number-9, had just latched on to the cross from the corner kick. He was the first player to get to the rebound from the corner ball—but the Tromsø keeper managed to save the day once again. The keeper committed himself to a full-body dive and made a comfortable save.

"Their goalkeeper's form is also a problem for us today," Coach Trond Henriksen commented. "I'm proposing that we switch to the 4-3-3 attacking and lose the double pivots in our defensive midfield. That way, we'll be able to commit more bodies forward and test the keeper more frequently than we have been doing ever since the start of the match."

"We can't do that with Tromsø," Coach Johansen replied, shaking his head. "I'm sure that Coach Agnar Christensen has been waiting for us to do exactly that. If we dare move even a single defensive player forward, we'll regret it. I have a feeling that Tromsø can beat us easily on the counter."

"So, what are we to do then?"

"Let's be patient with the boys," Coach Johansen replied, his eyes still following the goings-on on the pitch. "We are still tied at 0:0. So, we'll try to motivate the attacking midfielders and forwards to work harder and create more chances during the second half. All that matters is that we get a goal as soon as possible. I believe that one goal will be enough to kill the defensive momentum of Tromsø."

"Okay, then," Coach Trond Henriksen replied, nodding.

**** ****

Emily Anderson, Zachary's agent, started feeling quite agitated as the match proceeded on to the later stages of the second half. She'd hoped that Zachary would score another goal and heighten his reputation among the Rosenborg fans. That way, he would be able to attract more endorsement deals. But the match had progressed in an undesirable way, beyond her expectations.

Rosenborg had played good attacking football, pressurizing all the Tromsø players back into their own side of the pitch ever since the beginning of the second half. Balls always seemed to smash off the crossbar—while at other times, the Tromsø keeper made flamboyant saves to deny Rosenborg any chance of taking the lead. Thanks to that, the game still remained at a 0:0 deadlock with only five minutes to go. Emily could feel the frustration slowly starting to pulse through her veins.

"Although Rosenborg has failed to score, your client has still put up quite a good performance," Ryan Bellmore commented after seemingly noticing her frustration. "So, cheer up already."

"A good performance doesn't mean much if it doesn't translate into match-winning opportunities," Emily replied, her eyes still following the goings-on in the game. "For instance, if Rosenborg fails to win or worse, loses the game—then all that the fans will remember will be the team's poor performance. Nothing else will be on their minds since they care most about the results."

"Oh, I see," Ryan replied, nodding. "But you should know that if your client were to score in such an intense game, where his team is struggling, the effect would be much more impactful on the Rosenborg fanbase. He would be able to grow his reputation in an instant as the match-winner."

"I'm also hoping for that," Emily replied, smiling. "It pains me that I haven't been able to get him a single endorsement deal within two months. I hope this situation changes soon. Otherwise, I'll have failed him as his agent."

**** ****

Zachary received a return pass from Mike Jensen as he stepped into the middle third of the playing field. He controlled it like a pro, skipping past Ruben Jenssen, one of Tromsø's defensive midfielders.

He could feel that the game was almost ending and knew well that he couldn't afford to dilly dally with the ball. He needed to distribute it to the forwards so that they could create goal-scoring chances for Rosenborg immediately. He didn't want his first game at Lerkendal to end in a draw or worse—a loss.

So, he looked up the field—and an instant later, he managed to spot Tarik Elyounoussi, the Rosenborg left-forward, unmarked in the left-wing. Zachary smiled to himself before flicking the ball further forward and slaloming his way past a sliding tackle from one of the opponents. A moment later, he smacked the ball—with the outside of his boot, sending it on a swerving trajectory towards the left-wing, where Tarik was waiting.

Tarik controlled the ball beautifully and sped off in a wavy run across the left touchline, spearing deeper and deeper into Tromsø's half with his incredible pace. He managed to dash past a couple of Tromsø players even before they could react. In a matter of seconds, he stepped into the final third and started cutting into the pitch, heading towards Tromsø's goal.

Tarik seemed to have gained an extra boost of energy. He skipped over a sliding tackle, bringing the ball with him before continuing his mad dash towards Tromsø's box. It seemed like he could keep going with the ball and score by depending on his incredible pace. However, his run was soon brought to an end by Miika Koppinen, the Tromsø captain, a while later. Mika galloped towards the sprinting Tarik like a runaway horse and slid in, sending Tarik tumbling to the ground in the left flank.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew his whistle and awarded Rosenborg a free-kick. He then ran up to Miika Koppinen, the Tromsø captain, and showed him a second yellow card. After that, the referee awarded him a red card and asked him politely to leave the field of play. Rosenborg then had the one-man advantage over Tromsø.

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