The decision was made in a heartbeat.

At first, Mamoru wanted to bend the ball to the far post normally, as the angle also supported him to do so. However, after pushing the ball slightly closer to the penalty arc, his eyes caught Higo had already made a move toward that side, so the boy changed his mind in a snap.

’If this is still not enough to get us the goal, I don’t know what else I could do. So, please go! Let this fucking in!’

Thud!

Instead of a sophisticated curly ball that everyone expected, Mamoru did the complete opposite thing here. He kicked the ball to the near post with his balance getting thrown off instantly, forcing him to fall with his butt first. As for the shot, the awkward stance made the power not that impressive, and it didn’t even float or roll that fast.

Still, Mamoru was infamous for his accuracy, and this time, it showed in the quality of his shot. Somehow, the ball managed to slip in between Kuroki’s legs, rolling gently and even bouncing at the snow bump close to the near post.

Mamoru could see Higo hitting the brake and turning his body around quickly, wanting to jump back to where the ball would fall. He had the corner of his lips twitching a little, somehow too speechless to comment on another one of Higo’s ridiculous actions.

’He can even react after getting into the wrong direction? As expected, Higo-san is different. Still, this is not enough!’

Indeed, the ball rolled straight to the near post, at the spot where Higo would never be able to reach. Hiroshi had already raised one hand, getting ready to celebrate. However, one last time, the God of football seemed to hate his team, as instead of crossing the goal line, the ball just hit the post lightly before rolling back to Higo’s reach.

Thud!

Seeing the ball coming at him, Higo didn’t even hesitate, catching it with a dive before clutching the ball like it was his own son. He also put the ball on the ground straight on the goal line, wanting to show that it had never crossed the line at all.

Seeing this, silence followed before Mamoru scowled, throwing his hand in the air out of frustration.

"Fucking hell?! This is not enough?!"

He only said short sentences, but everything resonated with the thought of all the people here. They just stared at the ball that was still within the line, recalling how Higo changed direction so sharply at the last second to grab the ball.

While the failure was also due to the shot that only hit the post, if only Higo’s reaction was slower, the ball would’ve rolled past the goal line already, and the thought of what could happen there was enough to frustrate the Shizuoka team more.

Coincidentally enough, as a cherry on top, Jun suddenly fell with his butt first on the ground, then the boy, clutching the back of his knee in pain. It seemed that some of the muscles there were strained, and there was no way he could be blamed for this. However, the timing was perfect to delay more time and destroy Shimizu Higashi’s momentum, which only irked the home team more.

"Sensei, you cannot let this happen to us. This delaying tactic is unfair." Miki Yamane tried to complain to the referee.

However, Higo also came to make his case. "You cannot say that this is a delaying tactic. Look, he is really in pain. You cannot fake this expression, right?" He pointed at Jun, who was sweating like a bullet while groaning in pain as he was being treated by the medical team. "Moreover, we are already down by one player. If you force us to continue with only nine players, this would be more unfair for us."

Inwardly, though, he gave Jun a hat off for falling at the right moment. Oh, Higo knew that the boy wasn’t acting. He was truly in pain right now. However, that was what made things convincing. Now, while waiting for the medical team to treat the boy, he could at least try to keep his breath steady, still feeling the adrenaline from Mamoru’s attack earlier.

Fortunately, the referee also agreed with Higo’s statement. Hakodate Nishi High had already been down by one player; it would be unfair to continue the game when another one was not ready. He completely ignored Miki Yamane’s argument that it was Hakodate Nishi’s own fault that they were down by one player right now.

In the end, though, it seemed the strain on Jun’s knee was too much to bear. The boy couldn’t even get up properly, having to be brought off the pitch on a stretcher. Soon enough, he left with a huge applause from the crowd, getting replaced by Sano.

"Okay, Jun is out, but he gave us one last precious present, which is more delayed time and the end of their momentum," Higo whispered to Kuroki. "So, keep continuing this pace, and tell the others if they see Mamoru dribbling the ball, just shut down all the routes to shoot. As long as he doesn’t shoot, I think I can take him."

This was definitely the highest praise that Higo could give to Mamoru. After all, before this, he had never shied away from the challenge. However, Mamoru, with his unpredictability, really pushed him to the edge right now, and he couldn’t afford any single mistake until the end of the second half.

Kuroki just gave a single nod, walking away before telling the others his message. After this, the game continued, and since the last play before the game was paused was Higo catching the rebound ball, the possession was completely on his side right now. The boy kicked it far away, and just like before—no, this time should be more intense than before—Shimizu Higashi started to rush forward, desperate for their second goal.

"Come on, Mamoru! Do it again!"

"Shit! Get closer to him! Provide some help! Provide some help!"

"No, what are you doing?!"

BAM!

Another clearance was made out of the miss-pass from Shimizu Higashi players. Then, as they turned around to see where the ball went, their pupil shrank instantly as the fourth referee had already raised his board.

5 minutes of additional time before the normal time was over.