My Goalkeeping System

That goal from Dave was just what the team needed to boost their confidence and the same could be said about the fans who were loudly chanting the name of the goalkeeper as he made his way back to his goalpost.

"Another free-kick goal for Dave, when was the last time we witnessed a goalkeeper with so much precision, Unique FC have gems in their squad, they have everything it takes to win this game." Jim articulated.

"But anyway, that's his fourth free kick goal out of seven tries, he has only really failed to score from a free kick twice, the other one was an assist." Steve expressed. "At the moment, he's the best free-kick taker in this team, I think he's taken enough free kicks to establish that."

'Looks like we need one more goal now to seal this, Cat.' The goalkeeper said subconsciously after getting to his goalpost.

<It's not going to be that easy, remember you still have to stop yourself from conceding and considering you conceded three goals last time>

'Hey, what's wrong with you? Being pessimistic is my role, you're supposed to be the optimistic one.'

<Really?>

'Yeah, but anyway, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we win this since I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, just sit tight and watch, Cat.'

<Hmph>

The match resumed after the goal celebrations and Lyon got straight to work.

They needed to score a goal to make sure something unfortunate didn't happen to them today because if Unique FC scores a second goal and then decided to park the bus, then everything was over for them.

They still had the advantage, and they had to make the most of that.

Unique FC thought they were going to get more aggressive with their attacks like they did in the first leg but that wasn't the case.

Playing things safe would be better for them because putting most of their attention into the attack was going to leave them open enough in the back for Unique FC to counterattack whenever they got the chance.

They didn't exactly park the bus but more of their effort was now in their defense, it was obvious that they were leaning toward ending the match this way, it was their safest option after all.

Their play progression slowly began to slow down and Unique FC began to get more aggressive winning the balls in the toughest situations.

The home team were starting to have more possession of the ball but every attacking attempt by them had failed so far.

There was always someone there to block the attempt and the only shot they had managed to get off came from Merino.

The winger got to the edge of the box after somehow managing to dribble past both of the players in front of him, but he only managed to stagger his way through, and with no time to compose himself properly, he just took the shot.

The ball went straight toward the right side and ended up hitting the post before flying out for a goal kick.

The match had just entered the sixtieth minute now and Unique FC were the ones with the ball.

They were passing around on Lyon's side of the pitch trying to get closer to their box but the away team were doing quite well in preventing their advancement so far.

'Hmmm, I see what they're trying to do here.'

<Oh, and what's that?>

'It doesn't make sense that they suddenly stopped trying to attack that much, they're the better team offensively and they know that, but the way we've organized the defense and the midfield to help out everywhere, their direct approach hasn't been that effective against us like it was in the first leg.'

<So?>

'They're trying a different approach, they want to make us feel like we're overpowering them, and then when we make a mistake up front, they can quickly move the ball up front and create a counterattack, that way, their chances of turning this around will be higher.'

<Wow, I'm impressed>

'Huh?'

<That's exactly what's going on and you figured it out>

'Yeah, I wouldn't tell you about it if I wasn't sure about it and why do I feel like this is one of your 'I'm no longer dumb moments?'

<Because it is. But anyway, you know what to do, right?>

'Yeah, just step further upfront and prevent the chance of a counterattack ever happening.'

He was standing near the edge of his box before but now he was moving further up front, he made sure not to move too far away from his goalpost because they could just lob the ball over him from far away and that would make him look really bad.

'This could also work against them because of how close they're letting us get to their side but let's see how things play out.'

Merino received the ball from Ferran and pushed a little down the right wing with it before he turned and quickly sent it rolling to Minino.

"Minino," Jim commented. "Unique FC are starting to look like the better team here, that was uncertain before, looks like that goal really pushed their serious button further down."

"Either that or it pulled Lyon's serious button a little up."

Minino quickly sent the ball flying over to Roland down the left wing and without hesitation, the wing-back pushed the ball back to Ferran just before the player heading toward could get to him.

The player quickly turned to the midfielder and he used that opportunity to send the ball rolling back to Roland.

The wing-back got his foot on the ball and quickly took off down the wing with it.

He was just about to run into the right back there when he quickly pulled back with the ball to disorient both him and the player right behind him.

With those two out of the way, he quickly drilled the ball in low toward Fred who was moving into the box at that moment.

The striker had two opposing players tagging along with him so he did the only thing he could do in that situation.

He skipped over the ball and that sent it off toward Frankie who was unmarked near the edge of the box.

"Oh, this could be their chance!"

The midfielder quickly struck the ball with his left foot just before any of the opposing players could get to him.

"Frankie!"

Giovanni quickly dived toward the right side of the goalpost at that time and with the tip of his glove he was able to send the ball rolling out for a corner kick.

"Oh, what a close save from Giovanni! He's doing everything possible to make sure his team stays in this."

"They have a corner kick to deal with, but before that, it looks like there's going to be a substitution from Olympique Lyonnais," Steve commented.

Lyon were making the first change of the game and it was Novich coming out to be replaced by Duncan.

"Making the first substitution and it's Duncan making his way to the pitch, Lyon just got some upgrade, or maybe not."

With the attacking midfielder now on the pitch, the corner kick was set to be taken as Ferran could be seen standing over it with his gaze on the players running around inside the box.

Once everything was confirmed, the referee blew his whistle and as soon as Ferran heard it, he took a deep breath before taking two steps backward.

He didn't rush to kick the ball and studied the movements of the players inside the box for a couple of seconds before he closed up on the ball and sent it flying in with his left foot.

"He sends it flying in."

He was trying to find Frankie in the middle near the edge of the box but one of the defenders in the area figured that out in time to close up on the area and head the ball toward the right back.

"Uh oh."

Roland tried to close up and steal the ball but he had already sent it flying forward.

"They're trying to start a counterattack here!"

Mason held Adolf down just to give Duncan the chance to push forward.

The ball flew past the halfway line and bounced on the floor but just before the attacking midfielder could get his head to it, Dave swooshed in and stole it with his head.

"Woah, that's a dangerous move from Dave and he's not clear yet!"

Mason rushed in to sweep the ball off the goalkeeper's feet because doing that would surely guarantee them a goal but Dave was fast enough to chip the ball over him before quickly jumping over him.

After that, he proceeded to push the ball a little forward before he proceeded to fire it straight toward the goalpost.

'You're always so quick to dive toward the right.'

He sent the ball flying toward the top left-hand corner, that could have been the big moment for Unique FC but somehow Giovanni managed to get the tip of his gloves on it just enough for it to hit the crossbar and fly over.

"Oh, that was so close! What a wonderful strike from Dave and what a magnificent save from Giovanni!"

"That was risky though, any wrong move and things would have gotten worse for them," Steve commented. "But anyway, they just won another corner kick and it looks like there's going to be another corner kick."

"Oh, they're bringing in their secret weapon, looks like Mateo Smith will be joining the match."

<I guess he's decided he can't win this without him>