After the penalty was done, the referee didn’t wait any longer. He didn’t even let Hakodate Nishi organize one last attack, as the time was indeed over already. He just let one last kick for the kick-off before blowing the whistle, ending the first half with a tie game.

It was so frustrating and demoralizing for the Hakodate Nishi players here, as they couldn’t even put up a fight after they suffered from a penalty. Honestly, they conceded the goal in the worst possible moment. All the football teams in the world knew that at one moment they should avoid conceding a goal, and that was the injury time.

Now, the damage was done, and they all came back to the locker room with dejected expressions.

"Okay, first things first..." Kumiko took a deep breath, starting her usual pep talk. "Good job for an amazing first half, everyone. You might not see it this way, but in my eyes, you have done everything you could in the first 45 minutes of the game."

Everyone snapped their head immediately, looking at their coach in disbelief. Hell, Kazawa even choked on his drink, while Denki dropped the bottle on his hand with his jaw dropping big. This was definitely not something they expected to hear, since they knew how bad they were earlier.

Indeed, just like Kumiko said, they felt like crap now, thinking that the first half went horribly wrong. However, they could see from the girl’s genuine eyes that she was being genuine here, not just trying to lift up the mood.

"It is hard to believe, right? But that’s the reality." Kumiko smiled. "You might be too busy to notice, but after suffering twice against them in the past, this is the first time we managed to bag a goal against them."

"Um?!" All the players were stunned, not even realizing that.

"Yup! For the first time ever, our offense finally could breach their brick wall." Kumiko said proudly. "While yes, it took a miracle from Usami-kun," The boy was flushed when his name was mentioned, "For us to get a goal, but don’t forget the process here. We were able to get into their right flank and cause a foul, and in that foul, Takaaki-kun is so close to scoring, right? It takes an amazing goal-line clearance for the opponent to stop us. That means our offense is strong enough to keep up against them."

Well, when Kumiko said it like that, the players realized that, indeed, their offense did a good job in the first half. While they didn’t get a lot of chances, all of them were converted into a big threat, enough to keep the opponent at bay. This was definitely different compared to their last two encounters in the past.

"As for our defense, aside from Jun’s blunder earlier in the game and his penalty foul, I don’t think we show any hint of weakness."

Jun, whose name was mentioned, had his face turn so pale white here, knowing that he was the worst player on the pitch today. Kumiko paused for a second, seeing the boy’s expression for a quick glance before continuing to speak again.

"Yes, Yuwell was able to take so many shots in the first half, but almost all of them were easy ones, not enough to threaten our defense. Other than him, the other Sapporo Otani players also didn’t do much, probably aside from Kenji Harada, who managed to send several through passes earlier. Overall, we held our own ground well, putting up a good fight in the first half."

When they heard this, at least half of the pressure on the players’ shoulders was alleviated a little bit. They knew that Kumiko was never one to give empty praise, so this should definitely be the truth.

"Still, our fight is not over yet, since we have the second half to go."

The atmosphere turned heavy immediately, knowing that this was going to be the meat of the conversation.

"First change, Sano-kun, you are in."

Kumiko called the tough-looking defender, enough to make Jun lose all the strength in his body. The others looked at him in pity, and yet, none of them were willing to stand up for him. After all, the mistake Jun had made in the first half was indeed bad, and the penalty also didn’t help his case. Honestly. It was surprising that Kumiko waited for this long, not just replacing him straight away.

"Hori-kun, you are in as well," Kumiko added.

"What?! Me?!" The boy whose name was mentioned couldn’t help but feel startled here. After all, Denki was playing well in the first half, so he thought he would just be a bench player again today.

"Yes, Senpai! Why him?!" Denki also asked here.

He didn’t mean to be rude, but this was quite an unexpected change. Even the other players didn’t know what was going on here.

"Yes, Hori-kun, you are going to play. But you are not going to replace Denki-kun in the second half." Kumiko continued, not getting bothered by their surprised gaze. "No, you will be replacing Denji-kun later."

Denji didn’t even look surprised here. The boy just smiled wryly, whispering, "I know it is foolish to expect you not to notice this, Senpai..." His shoulder slumped instantly, as if he was losing all the strength in his body.

"You did a great job masking the pain, but I know your quality. In a normal condition, you would never let the last two attacks slip from your grasp. The last collision with Yuwell doesn’t do well for you, right?"

The boy just sighed helplessly, but still accepted the order willingly. That was when everyone realized what they were talking about.

"Wait, Brother, are you injured or what?!" Denki asked immediately, his face anxious.

"No, not injured, but I cannot say that I am good right now." His twin answered. "My reaction speed is always slower, and I cannot concentrate for too long right now. My brain is fuzzy, and I don’t think I can play well enough in the second half."

The air turned heavy instantly, as everyone started cursing their opponent.

"Fuck it! I know they are dirty as fuck! They look innocent, but they always pull a trick on us!"

"Don’t worry, Denji! We will repay the favor for you!"

"Shit! Yuwell, right?! Sano, if you saw him coming, get his fucking leg immediately! Cripple him!"

"Okay, okay, stop it!" Kumiko raised her voice, starting to get a headache. It was always hard to deal with a bunch of hot-headed teenagers like this. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I don’t condone any illegal revenge activity, okay?! If you want to have revenge, do it smarter, don’t try to drag the team down with your stupidity!"