Chapter 40 - 38 - The Second Ball

Chapter 40: Chapter 38 - The Second Ball

Metz recovered the rebound and cleared.

Rafael slowed near halfway as the defenders pushed back up the pitch.

Renaud approached him while Differdange prepared for the throw.

"Rafa, where were you going?"

Rafael looked at him. "You went early. I thought you were waiting for the ball to go back."

"I had the centre-back. You were meant to stay inside."

Rafael glanced toward the holding midfielder, who had already moved back into his position.

"Yeah, I know. I followed you."

Renaud rubbed a hand across his mouth before looking toward the ball.

"Just call it next time."

"I will."

They moved apart as Differdange restarted play, and Rafael recovered his position with his jaw still tight.

He had expected Renaud to move like a striker he already knew, and when the movement came earlier than anticipated, he had followed it instead of holding the central lane.

Vasseur had needed to rescue them from a mistake Rafael should have avoided.

Differdange eventually recycled possession toward their goalkeeper, and Rafael moved closer to Renaud while the ball travelled across the defensive line.

"Mat, I’ve got the six. You go when it comes back."

Renaud glanced toward him and nodded.

The goalkeeper played short, and Renaud waited until the centre-back received before starting his run, while Rafael moved across the passing lane into the holding midfielder.

"Inside’s covered!"

The centre-back looked toward midfield and found no easy pass, so with Renaud continuing to close him, he moved possession toward the full-back instead.

Perrin accelerated from the right and reached the receiver before he could turn, forcing him to play hurriedly down the touchline.

Caron stepped across his opponent and recovered possession, although the attack that followed ended with Differdange clearing Perrin’s cross.

Renaud passed Rafael on the way back.

"That’s better. Just tell me when you’re set."

"Yeah."

The next time Differdange’s centre-back received possession, he recognised the pressing angle and sent the ball long before Renaud could close him. Metz won the first header but failed to secure the second, allowing Differdange to move possession toward the opposite flank.

Their opponents were also becoming less willing to offer Metz the same opportunity when defending.

Rather than following Rafael whenever he checked toward midfield, Differdange’s centre-backs began passing responsibility for him between themselves. The holding midfielder stepped closer whenever Rafael entered his area, leaving the two defenders free to remain alongside Renaud.

Rafael tried dropping toward Caron during one possession, but the midfielder already had a defender close enough to prevent the turn. He returned the ball and moved forward again, only for the nearest centre-back to hold his position instead of following him.

Several minutes later, Renaud received a direct pass and laid it toward Rafael, but Differdange’s holding midfielder arrived before Rafael could face goal and forced him backwards.

Rafael sent the ball wide, and the attack ended with Perrin crossing into a penalty area where both centre-backs were waiting.

Renaud contested the delivery, but the first defender reached it and headed clear.

As Metz recovered possession, Rafael glanced toward the clock. They had spent several minutes with two strikers on the pitch without creating much, while Differdange had already produced a better chance than anything Metz had managed since the substitution.

The holding midfielder was watching Rafael closely as Caron received possession again, and Rafael could see him preparing to step forward if he dropped.

Instead, Rafael stayed closer to the defensive line and moved away from the midfielder’s immediate reach, forcing the centre-back behind him to keep checking his position.

Caron moved the ball toward Perrin on the right.

Rafael drifted toward the edge of the penalty area while Renaud occupied the centre-backs, and Differdange’s holding midfielder hesitated before following him.

Perrin had room to attack.

Perrin accelerated toward Differdange’s full-back and sent a low delivery into the penalty area, but the nearest centre-back stepped across and blocked it.

The ball bounced out toward Rafael, who had moved away from his marker near the edge of the box.

He collected it with his right foot and looked up.

Three defenders stood between him and goal, with Renaud still near the front of the six-yard box and two of them positioned close enough to block any shot travelling through the middle.

Perrin had continued his run after delivering the first cross and was moving into the space behind the full-back.

Rafael’s body had already started setting itself for a shot when he saw him.

He could have struck through the crowd and hoped the ball found a gap, but Perrin had reached a much better position before the full-back could recover.

Rafael returned the ball immediately.

The pass travelled firmly into Perrin’s path, allowing the winger to attack the full-back before the defender had recovered from blocking the first cross.

Perrin took one touch toward the byline, forcing the full-back to turn and chase him, before looking up for another delivery.

Inside the area, Renaud began moving toward the near post.

Differdange’s two centre-backs narrowed around him, anticipating another ball into the congested six-yard area, but as Perrin shaped to deliver, Renaud checked his run and pulled away toward the penalty spot.

Perrin sent the second low delivery back into the box.

Renaud reached it first and met the ball with his right foot, sending a firm finish past the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.

Metz’s substitutes shouted from the technical area as Renaud turned toward Perrin and raised both arms.

Rafael jogged across to join them, reaching the pair just as Caron pulled Renaud into a brief embrace.

Renaud turned when Rafael’s hand touched his shoulder.

"Finally got one!" Rafael said, laughing.

Renaud grinned before looking toward Perrin. "Good ball, mate."

Perrin nodded toward Rafael.

"Good return as well. Thought you were going to hit that."

Rafael shook his head. "Too many bodies."

Caron was already telling them to get back toward halfway, and Rafael followed the others as Differdange prepared to restart.

Metz led 1–0.

Rafael was still smiling when Renaud moved ahead of him and received another congratulatory slap from one of the senior midfielders. The midfielder said something about the finish, and Renaud laughed before taking his place near the centre circle.

Rafael’s gaze moved briefly toward the technical area.

The head coach was speaking to his assistant, who had a tablet in one hand, while another member of staff was recording something on the match sheet.

Rafael looked back toward the pitch before anyone noticed him watching.

The rebound had fallen perfectly for his right foot, and he could still remember the instant he had wanted to shoot. Returning the ball to Perrin had been the better decision, but watching Renaud receive the congratulations did not make Rafael forget how badly he wanted a goal of his own.

The referee restarted the match, and Rafael moved back into position.

Differdange pushed forward after conceding, forcing Metz to defend for longer stretches as the final minutes approached.

Rafael and Renaud remained ahead of the two compact banks behind them, dropping when necessary without chasing the ball all the way into their own midfield.

Metz recovered possession near halfway, and Caron immediately looked forward.

Rafael moved into the space behind Differdange’s advancing full-back, reaching Caron’s early pass before the covering centre-back could come across.

He carried the ball toward the penalty area, but by the time he shifted onto his right foot, the defender had recovered enough ground to narrow the shooting angle.

Rafael struck low toward the near corner, forcing the goalkeeper to drop and push the ball away.

Perrin chased the rebound, although the full-back reached it first and cleared into touch.

Rafael slowed near the penalty area and took several deeper breaths while Caron collected the ball for the restart. His legs were beginning to feel heavier, and the burst that had taken him into the box had required more effort than he wanted.

The remaining minutes passed with Metz protecting possession whenever they could and dropping into their defensive shape whenever Differdange advanced.

Differdange eventually worked possession back toward their goalkeeper, and Rafael moved closer to Renaud while the ball travelled across the defensive line.

"Mat, wait until it comes out before you go. They’re still looking for the six."

Renaud glanced toward the midfielder dropping into space behind them.

"Yeah. You taking him?"

"Unless he drops behind me. I’ll call it."

Renaud nodded before moving back toward the centre-back.

The goalkeeper played short, and Renaud held his position until the receiving defender took his first touch before curving his run to close him from the outside.

Rafael stayed between the centre-back and the holding midfielder rather than following Renaud toward the ball.

Differdange attempted to play inside, but Rafael stepped across the passing lane and forced the midfielder to turn away from goal before he could advance.

Caron arrived immediately and pressed him, sending possession backwards toward the defence.

Renaud continued closing the centre-back, who attempted a longer pass toward the opposite flank, but Metz’s full-back intercepted and returned possession to midfield.

Rafael turned toward Renaud as the play moved away, and they exchanged a quick glance before recovering their positions.

Differdange launched another attack shortly afterward, although Vasseur cleared the cross and Metz kept possession long enough to move the ball away from their own penalty area.

When the referee finally blew the whistle, the score remained 1–0.

Rafael slowed near halfway while players from both teams began exchanging handshakes.

Renaud approached from behind and held out his hand, which Rafael slapped before turning toward him.

"Good game, Rafa."

"You too."

Renaud smiled before joining Caron and the others near the technical area.

Rafael followed them, and the familiar blue light appeared as he reached the touchline.

[MISSION COMPLETED]

[Justify the Trade]

[Reward Available: Off-Ball Movement +0.2]

[CLAIM REWARD]

Rafael selected the prompt.

[Reward Claimed.]

[Off-Ball Movement increased by 0.2.]

[CLOSE]

The panel disappeared as Rafael accepted a bottle from the equipment staff. He drank while the head coach called the players toward the changing building, then followed the rest of the group inside.

The changing room was noisy when Rafael returned.

Renaud was sitting near his locker with a towel around his shoulders, while Perrin was insisting that the goal had come from a shot rather than a cross.

Caron had stopped arguing with him and was looking for his other boot.

Rafael took a seat nearby and began removing the tape from his ankle.

Perrin passed behind him and squeezed his shoulder.

"Good game, mate."

"Cheers."

"Thought you’d hit that rebound yourself."

"I nearly did."

Perrin nodded before continuing toward the showers.

The head coach came through several minutes later, reminded everyone of their recovery arrangements and told the players to check the updated training allocations before Monday.

Rafael had almost finished changing when the assistant coach appeared at the doorway.

"Rafa, got a second?"

Rafael looked up from his boots. "Yeah, what’s up?"

"Have you seen Monday’s groups yet?"

"Not yet. I was just getting changed."

"Have a look before you go. You’re working with Loïc for part of the attacking session."

Rafael paused. "Vautrin?"

"Yeah. We want another look at you in that second-forward role."

"All right. Same shape?"

"We’ll go through it Monday."

The assistant gave him a brief nod before continuing toward the other players.

Rafael finished changing, collected his bag and followed the corridor toward the exit. Monday’s programme was posted outside the changing room, and he stopped beside it to check the attacking allocation.

His name appeared beneath the two-forward assessment group, alongside Vautrin’s, while Renaud had been placed with another group for the same block.

Rafael read the allocation before checking the rest of the programme.

Vautrin was not the same kind of striker as Renaud. He moved earlier, preferred quicker combinations and already understood the senior midfielders’ timing well enough that Rafael would have to adjust his own movements around him.

He could work off Renaud’s strength because Renaud was comfortable staying between the centre-backs while Rafael moved into the spaces around him. Vautrin was different. He was already accustomed to leaving the defensive line, receiving between midfield and defence and arriving late inside the penalty area.

Rafael had spent enough of his previous career playing alongside other forwards to recognise the problem that could create. He would not be able to occupy the same spaces he had enjoyed against Differdange and expect Vautrin to remain high for his benefit.

His attention moved toward the medical update beneath the attacking groups.

The second senior centre-forward had been cleared to rejoin partial team training on Monday.

Rafael read the update before returning his attention to the attacking allocation.

He and Renaud had already been promised the rest of preseason, but neither had been offered a permanent place in the senior squad.

The returning striker would make the competition harder, although Rafael was more interested in what the staff intended to do with him now.

He had spent the opening weeks proving that he could still contribute when another striker occupied the central position, and Saturday had given the coaches a reason to continue examining that option.

Monday would put him beside a forward whose movements overlapped with his own.

Rafael adjusted the strap of his bag and headed toward the exit, already considering how he would approach a partnership with someone who had no reason to change his established game for a seventeen-year-old academy striker.

The question was no longer whether Rafael could make Renaud more dangerous.

On Monday, he would have to show what he could offer when the striker beside him already knew exactly where he wanted to play.