Chapter 646: The Second Goal!

"It went... In?"

For a moment, not just the supporters, but even those people around were confused. One second they saw Nassim was surrounded by four players with yellow jerseys, and in the next one, the ball somehow managed to slip through them flawlessly. Hell, they even thought that it was just a weird hallucination, and when they blinked again, everything would be back to normal.

However, the moment Nassim ran to the stand, they realized that the goal was indeed valid, and that was when hell broke loose inside the stadium.

"FUCK YEAH! COME ON!"

"WHO IS OUR PRINCE?!"

"NASSIM! NASSIM! NASSIM!"

Nassim Boujellab just spread his arms wide while enjoying his name being chanted by the supporters in front of him. Soon enough, the rest of the Schalke players rushed toward him, some even jumping on his back to celebrate the goal itself.

"Fuck, Nassim! What kind of black magic did you pull?! Their goalkeeper couldn’t even move!"

"Hahaha! Whatever you did, great job! We are leading by two now!"

"Come on!"

It was clear that the home team was ecstatic. They hadn’t been controlling possession that much today, only having 30 percent of it. Hell, they just took 4 shots so far, way too few compared to Dortmund, who had already taken 12. However, out of those four shots, two resulted in goals, which was something worth celebrating.

Higo himself could also be seen celebrating with the defenders around. The grin on his face couldn’t be wider right now as he was so ecstatic with this goal. Even though everyone seemed to forget about it, everything started from his long pass, one that his goalkeeping coach would scold him for if only it didn’t bring the team this result.

’Well, at least, they couldn’t scold me and ask for something ridiculous like always keep the ball low or something like that, right?’ He grinned secretly.

Meanwhile, on the away team’s side, all the players there just bowed their heads dejectedly, with the goalkeeper lying on the ground, covering his face in shame.

This was not like the first goal, where they could make an excuse about how they failed to return in time from the counterattack scenario. No, three players surrounded Nassim earlier, with two more getting ready to shut him down. In no case should the winger be able to take a shot, and yet, he did it anyway.

The worst part, though, was that the shot was pathetic. It was slow, bouncing on one of them. However, that was also the reason why the ball could get into their goal, as their goalkeeper didn’t anticipate the deflection.

Now, facing a two-goal deficit, they didn’t know what to do here, not feeling confident that they could flip the table.

Soon enough, the game restarted again, and while they still maintained their possession, their offense lacked the sharpness they had earlier. It was dulled by doubt, as most of them had already thought that the game was over even though they still had the second half to play.

Of course, this was enough to make Schalke’s defensive line happy. They recognized the change in a heartbeat and took advantage of it by slowing down the tempo, burning the clock till the end of the first half.

Of course, there would still be some dangerous threats coming here and there, but none of them was enough to make Higo sweat. Hell, even one time Joseph Boyamba tried to force his way through the penalty box, Brackelmann managed to repel that winger forcefully with a brutal and yet clean tackle, enough to intimidate the boy.

What was left were some small attacks that Higo picked up easily, from a weak shot by Fuhrich to the pathetic header attempt by Steffen Tigges. In both chances, the ball just found its way to Higo’s clutch, not even enough to make him jump or even dive.

This state went for about ten minutes before in the end...

FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!

"OH! The first half is finally over!"

"Good job, boys! You destroy those Lüdenscheid-Nord bastards!"

The referee blew the whistle three times to end the first half, but somehow, the supporters celebrated it as if the game was finally over. Well, they couldn’t help it, since a two-goal lead was a result that they could never imagine. Now, they just wanted to end this game as quickly as possible, having a great pint at Bosch or their local bar and getting drunk until tomorrow to celebrate the win.

Meanwhile, the players walked into the locker room slowly, enjoying the deafening cheers that were directed at them. Even Frohling’s urge failed to snap them out of their daydreaming, as they were walking back with a shit-eating grin on their face.

Not that the coach minded, since the first thing he addressed in the locker room was... "Great! Fucking! Job! Everyone! Without three of our best players, we destroyed those bastards who tried to steal the points from our home today! This is definitely something worth celebrating for!"

"HELL, YEAH!"

The players cheered the moment they sat in the locker room, slamming the bench and the other things that they could reach to create noise and show their excitement. Higo himself just smiled a little at the back, taking a big sip from his bottle while not showing any big reaction to the game so far.

It wasn’t like he was unhappy with the current result, but the boy had learned from Kageyama-sensei during his time in the national team to not open the champagne before the game was over. He might have never suffered from it, but the boy didn’t intend to make the game today his first experience taking that bitter pill.

"Okay, okay, enough of that!" Frohling clapped loudly; any trace of a smile on his face disappeared in a blink. "While 2-0 is nice, don’t forget our opponent’s fighting spirit! The more desperate they are, the more dangerous they would bite. Let’s not suffer from such a wild dog, okay?! Let’s try to kill those Lüdenscheid-Nord bastards!"

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!"