“All that we fought for, all that we believed in. Everything will finally be decided shortly,” Tokiwa thought.
“The first period kicks off here!”
“Aoki with a deep cross…Shiozawa is there! Wide.”
“Terakawa picks up the return pass from Nagai, tries the shot…keeper has it covered there.”
“Ishizuka floats the free kick in…Mizuzawa heads it out…Abe puts it back in…scramble here. Loose ball…Katou! Wide! How did he miss?”
“Nagai lays it back for Yokoi. Yokoi runs inside of Tamashiro. He chooses to pass. Terakawa turns with the ball and shoots! Wide! That would have been some goal.”
“Neither side can’t seem to get the goal…”
“Takahashi…gave the ball away. Here comes Tokiwa. Tokiwa releases Nagai on the left. Oka with a superb overlapping run! Miura is caught in no-man’s land. Oka with the cross…Nishizawa has to head it over his own bar!”
“Corner to be taken by Oka. Swung in to the far post…missed everyone!”
“Shiozawa, neat 1-2 with Katou…Shiozawa with a powerful drive…palmed away by Aoyama. Katou pounces on the ball. He can’t get a good touch! Mizuzawa manages to clear it.”
“Akiyama picks up the loose ball, gets past Aoki, swirling cross in…Evades everyone…Oka is there! Over the bar!”
“He did not connect well…he just managed to reach it there…”
“Katou flicks the ball over Yokoi, Katou swings…oh misses the ball completely. Yokoi takes it back. All the way to Yoshida. Gave the ball away. It’s Yamaguchi. Cut out by Tokiwa.”
“Nagai with the volley! Over the bar!”
“Tokiwa plays a wonderful ball between Nishizawa and Abe! Terakawa squeezes through…he tumbles in the box! No penalty! He looks absolutely disgusted with the decision.”
“Ishizuka goes by Yokoi…Tokiwa is there to check his run. Tokiwa flicks it to Yoshida. Yoshida switches flank…nice play there. Oka pushes it past Tamashiro. Tamashiro managed to hold him off there.”
“Nagai throws the ball into the box. Terakawa flicks it backwards to the far post. Akiyama…he gets a touch! Off the line by Abe! Terakawa is claiming it has crossed the line!”
“Corner sent in by Aoki! Headed out by Takeda. Ishizuka is there unmarked…Poor touch. One more step. Tokiwa goes in…”
Tokiwa made a last-ditch lunge for the ball. At that moment, Ishizuka swung and connected. Tokiwa craned his neck to see where the ball went. When he saw the net bulged, he collapsed again.
“Goal!”
“I think the keeper got a touch to it, but it wasn’t quite enough.”
Ishizuka sank to his knees. He could not believe that it went in. Tokiwa lay beside him, controlling his tears. He was close. He almost reached the ball. Almost. But it was not going to be the magical season he had hoped for.
“It was a great match. But there must be a winner and Kunimi wins the title again.”
In Kyoto, Hirayama was watching the match on TV. “Idiot. How did it go in? What were the gods of football doing? Idiot. Tokiwa, why didn’t you stop him? Thank you. I have never felt so touched before. I have never seen another team which fought as hard. Thank you for letting me see that. You are worthy, Tokiwa, you are worthy.”
“Takuro!”
“Sister…”
“Sister finally understood what football means to you. I am proud of you. I am sure Father and Mother would be too…and Grandmother.”
“The first period kicks off here!”
“Aoki with a deep cross…Shiozawa is there! Wide.”
“Terakawa picks up the return pass from Nagai, tries the shot…keeper has it covered there.”
“Ishizuka floats the free kick in…Mizuzawa heads it out…Abe puts it back in…scramble here. Loose ball…Katou! Wide! How did he miss?”
“Nagai lays it back for Yokoi. Yokoi runs inside of Tamashiro. He chooses to pass. Terakawa turns with the ball and shoots! Wide! That would have been some goal.”
“Neither side can’t seem to get the goal…”
“Takahashi…gave the ball away. Here comes Tokiwa. Tokiwa releases Nagai on the left. Oka with a superb overlapping run! Miura is caught in no-man’s land. Oka with the cross…Nishizawa has to head it over his own bar!”
“Corner to be taken by Oka. Swung in to the far post…missed everyone!”
“Shiozawa, neat 1-2 with Katou…Shiozawa with a powerful drive…palmed away by Aoyama. Katou pounces on the ball. He can’t get a good touch! Mizuzawa manages to clear it.”
“Akiyama picks up the loose ball, gets past Aoki, swirling cross in…Evades everyone…Oka is there! Over the bar!”
“He did not connect well…he just managed to reach it there…”
“Katou flicks the ball over Yokoi, Katou swings…oh misses the ball completely. Yokoi takes it back. All the way to Yoshida. Gave the ball away. It’s Yamaguchi. Cut out by Tokiwa.”
“Nagai with the volley! Over the bar!”
“Tokiwa plays a wonderful ball between Nishizawa and Abe! Terakawa squeezes through…he tumbles in the box! No penalty! He looks absolutely disgusted with the decision.”
“Ishizuka goes by Yokoi…Tokiwa is there to check his run. Tokiwa flicks it to Yoshida. Yoshida switches flank…nice play there. Oka pushes it past Tamashiro. Tamashiro managed to hold him off there.”
“Nagai throws the ball into the box. Terakawa flicks it backwards to the far post. Akiyama…he gets a touch! Off the line by Abe! Terakawa is claiming it has crossed the line!”
“Corner sent in by Aoki! Headed out by Takeda. Ishizuka is there unmarked…Poor touch. One more step. Tokiwa goes in…”
Tokiwa made a last-ditch lunge for the ball. At that moment, Ishizuka swung and connected. Tokiwa craned his neck to see where the ball went. When he saw the net bulged, he collapsed again.
“Goal!”
“I think the keeper got a touch to it, but it wasn’t quite enough.”
Ishizuka sank to his knees. He could not believe that it went in. Tokiwa lay beside him, controlling his tears. He was close. He almost reached the ball. Almost. But it was not going to be the magical season he had hoped for.
“It was a great match. But there must be a winner and Kunimi wins the title again.”
In Kyoto, Hirayama was watching the match on TV. “Idiot. How did it go in? What were the gods of football doing? Idiot. Tokiwa, why didn’t you stop him? Thank you. I have never felt so touched before. I have never seen another team which fought as hard. Thank you for letting me see that. You are worthy, Tokiwa, you are worthy.”
“Takuro!”
“Sister…”
“Sister finally understood what football means to you. I am proud of you. I am sure Father and Mother would be too…and Grandmother.”
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