Chapter 51 - 49 - Another Way In

Chapter 51: Chapter 49 - Another Way In

The team bus reached Stade du Schlossberg a little over an hour before kickoff, slowing as a steward opened the gate and waved them through.

Rafael looked through the window while they passed the entrance. Supporters were already filtering toward the ground beneath the afternoon sun, and several children in burgundy shirts had gathered near the barrier where the buses came in. One of them noticed the Metz crest on the side of the vehicle and started waving, prompting a few players near the front to raise their hands in return.

Renaud leaned forward from the row behind Rafael and looked outside.

"More people than I expected."

Rafael shifted slightly to let him see past the window frame. "It’s Saturday and the weather’s good."

"That’s your explanation?"

"What were you expecting?"

Renaud gave a small shrug before sitting back. "I don’t know. Something more inspiring."

Rafael smiled and reached for his bag when the bus stopped.

Jérôme Hennequin had not travelled with them.

The scan on Friday had confirmed another problem in the same area that had kept him on a restricted programme during the opening weeks of preseason, so the medical staff had stopped his return to full training almost as quickly as it had begun. Nobody had given the squad a recovery date, and Rafael had not asked for one because he had spent too many years around treatment rooms to expect certainty the morning after a recurrence.

For now, all they knew was that Hennequin was unavailable.

Rafael followed the others into the changing room and found his place near Renaud’s. A staff member was moving along the benches checking the equipment while players unpacked their bags and began changing.

Perrin was standing near the doorway with one boot on and the other in his hand.

"Have you got scissors?" he asked the staff member passing him.

The man stopped. "Why?"

Perrin held up the boot and showed him the lace. "I’ve somehow pulled this into a knot."

Caron looked over while fastening the tape around his wrist. "Somehow?"

Perrin ignored him.

The staff member took the boot, worked at the lace with his fingers for a few seconds and eventually loosened it without needing the scissors.

"There. Don’t pull it so hard next time."

"I didn’t."

Caron lowered his head, smiling to himself.

Perrin noticed. "Say it."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

"I wasn’t."

"You’ve got that face."

Rafael sat down while they continued and began changing. The exchange faded naturally when another player asked Caron for tape and Perrin finally got his second boot on.

A few minutes later, the assistant coach entered carrying a folded sheet.

"Everyone decent?"

A couple of players answered while others looked up from their boots.

"Good. We’ve got the rotations, so listen in."

He confirmed the starting side first, then worked through the second-half changes. Rafael was adjusting his shin pad when he heard his name.

"Rafa, you’re coming in from the left today."

Rafael looked up.

The assistant pointed toward the board beside him.

"Mat stays through the middle and Noah will be on the other side. We’re looking at around sixty, but be ready before that in case we change anything."

"All right."

The assistant nodded and moved on.

Rafael finished fastening his sock.

Renaud, already dressed, glanced across while taking a drink.

"Left side?"

"Looks like it."

"You played there much?"

Rafael looked at him before remembering that Renaud could only know what this version of him had done.

"A bit." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Renaud nodded as though that answered everything. "You’ll probably see more of the ball out there."

"Maybe."

"Just don’t forget I’m in the middle."

Rafael smiled faintly. "I’ll try to remember."

Renaud gave him a suspicious look, then stood when the rest of the starters were called toward the door.

Rafael remained with the substitutes for another few minutes before following them outside for the warm-up.

Playing from the left did not bother him. He had spent enough of his previous career starting from wider areas that the movements were already part of him, even if most people at Metz had only seen him used centrally or beside another striker.

What interested him was the timing.

Renaud had already shown the staff that he could give them a conventional option through the middle, while Vautrin had years of senior football behind him and Hennequin would eventually return. Rafael did not need anybody to spell out what another usable position could mean, so he joined the warm-up line and left the thought there.

Fortuna Sittard showed the difference in level within the opening ten minutes.

They were not overwhelming Metz, but they were quicker at turning small mistakes into dangerous situations. Their defenders stepped into midfield whenever the first line of pressure opened, and their midfielders usually knew where the next pass was going before the ball reached them.

Caron learned that early when he tried to roll away from pressure near halfway and had the ball taken from him.

Fortuna attacked before Metz could completely recover their shape. Their right-sided player carried possession forward and switched it across the pitch, where the eventual shot clipped the outside of the post.

Caron raised one hand while jogging back.

"My fault."

The centre-back nearest him said something Rafael could not hear, and play resumed.

Rafael watched from the bench without studying every movement as though he had never seen senior football before. The tempo was familiar to him, so he paid more attention to how Metz handled it than to the speed itself.

They settled as the half progressed.

Perrin started finding more room on the right, while Caron stopped trying to turn whenever Fortuna’s midfield had already closed around him.

Metz’s opening goal came midway through the half.

Perrin received near the touchline and carried the ball inside, drawing one midfielder with him before playing back toward Caron. Instead of remaining behind the move, Caron had continued forward into the space Perrin created.

The return pass reached him near the edge of the penalty area, and he drove a low finish across the goalkeeper.

Several substitutes rose from the bench.

Rafael clapped as Caron ran toward the corner, where Perrin caught up and grabbed him around the shoulders.

By the time they returned toward halfway, the two of them were talking again, although whatever Perrin said made Caron push him away with a laugh.

Fortuna responded well to falling behind.

Their midfield began switching the point of attack more quickly, forcing Metz to defend longer stretches without the ball. Vasseur cleared one dangerous cross at the near post, and another attack ended when the goalkeeper came through traffic to claim a high delivery.

The equaliser arrived shortly before halftime.

Fortuna worked the ball down the right and sent a low pass into the penalty area. The first shot hit a defender and bounced loose rather than clearing the danger, allowing another yellow shirt to arrive first and strike through the rebound.

The goalkeeper was still recovering from the initial effort when the second shot passed him.

1–1.

Rafael leaned forward with his forearms resting against his thighs while Fortuna celebrated, and the score remained level until the interval.

Inside the changing room, the starters gathered closer to the coaching staff while the substitutes took water and waited to hear whether any of the planned rotations had changed.

Renaud sat beside Rafael and dragged a towel across his face.

"You all right?" Rafael asked.

"Yeah." Renaud dropped the towel over his shoulders and looked toward the board. "Annoyed about the goal."

"You were already up the pitch."

"I know."

Rafael took a drink.

Renaud glanced toward him. "That’s not stopping me being annoyed."

Rafael smiled. "Fair enough."

The assistant coach called for the substitutes to be ready earlier than planned, and the conversation ended as everyone started moving again.

Metz regained the lead eight minutes after the restart.

Caron received facing forward and slipped the ball into Perrin between Fortuna’s full-back and midfielder. Perrin turned before either could get close enough to stop him and carried possession toward the box.

Renaud made the central run, drawing one centre-back across with him.

Perrin shaped as though he would release the pass, waited for the defender to shift another step and then opened his body onto his left foot.

His shot stayed low and reached the far corner before the goalkeeper could get down.

2–1.

Perrin ran toward the corner with one arm raised, and Renaud reached him first.

Rafael could not hear the beginning of their exchange from the bench, but Perrin pushed Renaud’s hand away when he tried to tap the top of his head.

Renaud laughed and said something else that earned him another shove before they separated for the restart.

Several minutes later, the assistant turned toward the substitutes.

"Rafa, start moving."