Despite the opposition scoring, and the roar of their fans echoing through the stadium, Nobles FC held their composure, watching Kings FC celebrate.
"The atmosphere here never ceases to amaze," Coach Anderson murmured.
Jaden muttered under his breath, "The low block… I like the tactic, but I don't have the patience for it. I hate giving space behind our defensive line. Still, it's better than inviting constant pressure, one mistake under that weight and you're done."
He paused, eyes narrowing. "The low block is a double edged sword. It frustrates opponents, makes them desperate, forces long shots. But how do you break it? Can my players overcome this? Good thing I always keep an ace up my sleeve… I just need the right moment."
Anna, clutching her tablet tightly on the bench, frowned. "Can our players keep their composure? Our defensive line is so high, and they're lightning quick on the counter. Does Jaden really have a plan?" Anna muttered.
The ref blew the whistle for the restart, Nobles FC had possession, Kings FC sat deep, patient, content with their lead.
For thirty long minutes, Nobles dominated the ball, 80% possession but failed to register a single shot on target. As frustration mounted, they resorted to long range efforts, Jeremy wide, Ramothwala wide, Jeremy again in stoppage time… wide.
The whistle blew for halftime. Nobles went to the tunnel, heads low, disappointment etched on their faces. Followed by Kings who had the opposite on their faces.
"We became desperate… just like I foresaw," Jaden muttered, hand on his chin, lost in thought.
"Jaden! Stop daydreaming, everyone's waiting!" Anna snapped, tugging his arm while balancing her tablet.
At Sosh Plata Jioh, a pub in Soshanguve, Mr. Tau sat alone in his Nobles FC shirt, beer in hand, surrounded by Kings FC supporters.
"You really think that lucky little manager of yours can beat a South African giant?" one man scoffed.
"Yeah, he got lucky once, pulled your team out of relegation zone. But today? His luck runs out," another chimed in.
Tau sipped his drink before replying. "The boy has surprised me time and again. Just watch, he and the boys will win." He hesitated inwardly. "But this one… this one might not be so easy." He thought
The crowd erupted in laughter. "Still funny as ever, Tau... the lion on the field!" three men jeered in unison.
In the locker room, silence hung heavy. Players sat grim, waiting for Jaden.
"We've slain giants before," Jaden declared, louder than usual. "We'll do it again. This giant will fall."
For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Then a voice rang out,"You heard the manager! Let's slay another giant!"
"Yeeaaahhh!" the squad roared, staff included.
Jaden grinned. "Now, second half. No tactical board today. Wingers... Ramothwala, where's your dribbling? I thought you loved to dance buddy."
Ramothwala chuckled nervously. "I do, coach."
"Then dance, Thwalas. Dance."
Anna laughed softly, drawing everyone's gaze. "It's good to see this side of you. I'm glad you're connecting with them."
Jaden scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Side? What side?"
The room erupted in laughter.
"Decent, the players are back out," Shakes announced from the commentary box.
"Is it me, or do Nobles look in better spirits than when they went in?" Shakes asked.
"It's not just you," Decent replied. "I wonder what Jaden Senzo said to them."
The referee blew for the second half. Du Praise kicked off, sending the ball to his midfielder, who quickly passed it to the center back, then to the goalkeeper.
Kings pushed high into the opposition's half. Their goalkeeper launched a long ball forward, aiming for his center forward, Du Praise. He leapt to head it, but Bob rose higher and nodded it to Max, who was facing his own goal in the middle of the pitch. Max cleverly dummied, spun, and threaded a piercing through ball to the center, where his front three were already making runs.
"Cheeky little bastard," Jaden muttered with a chuckle.
"That's my move!" shouted the furious Kings FC midfielder.
"Wait, they copied our move!" Du Praise exclaimed, sprinting back.
It was three vs three at the back again. Ramothwala latched onto the through ball and tried to slip a pass for Jeremy. But as he looked up to find his teammate and swung with his left foot, Du Praise had already tracked back and stuck a leg in to steal. Ramothwala, however, flicked the ball back with the tip of his boot, and Du Praise caught him, resulting in a foul.
Ramothwala went down clutching his lower leg.
"What! How is that a foul? Are you blind, referee? He's clearly faking!" Du Praise shouted.
"That's a foul, ref!" Coach Anderson argued animatedly.
Jaden stood calmly, hands tucked into his tracksuit pockets.
"Watch your tone," said the referee, approaching and issuing a yellow card.
Du Praise tried to protest, but his teammates held him back and calmed him down.
The whistle blew again, and Kings immediately dropped back into defense.
"Nobles have been dominating possession, but still no end product," Decent said.
"I don't know, Decent, but something feels different. They seem to be passing more patiently," Shakes pointed out.
"I see. Max has it at the back, switching play to the other side, where he finds Matlala out wide. Matlala looks for space with clever footwork but sends it back to Max, the conductor of this match. He's completed more passes than anyone on the field today," Decent observed.
"This kid continues to impress. I love how he helps the defense with distribution," Shakes added.
Time ticked on to the 80th minute. Nobles kept exchanging passes, patient in the final third. Some Kings FC players showed fatigue, despite fresh substitutions.
"Aren't we going to bring on fresh legs?" Coach Anderson asked.
"Why? Look at our players... they aren't looking tired in the slightest. They haven't run that much today. That's the advantage of having most of the possession," Jaden replied, folding his arms.
"Oh, I see," Anderson said, narrowing his eyes, hand on his chin. "Despite time running out, he's calm… but why? Wait, was this part of his plan?" His eyes widened as he looked at Jaden.
"Dance, Ramothwala, dance!" Jaden suddenly yelled, arms spread wide.
Anna chuckled softly on the bench.
Ramothwala, in possession on the left, smiled when he heard Jaden's voice piercing through the noisy atmosphere of the FNB Stadium. He cut inside, weaving past two defenders, at the edge of the box with fancy footwork. Another stepped up to block him inside the box, but Ramothwala nutmegged him and slipped through.
At an awkward angle inside the box, coming from the left side of the goalkeeper, he didn't look up for options. Instead, he struck with his weaker foot, curling the ball into the top right corner.
"It's a goaaaaaal!" Decent shouted.
"Stunner! Absolute stunner!" Shakes yelled.
"What just happened?! He dribbled! He nutmegged! And then that crazy finish!" Decent exclaimed.
"He silenced the whole stadium. Everyone's in disbelief, even the Nobles fans aren't cheering. They're stunned. Oh my goodness," Shakes said.
"Huh…" Jaden muttered, mouth slightly open.
All the Nobles players held their heads, while Kings were lost for words.
At the Soshanguve Sosh Plata Jioh Pub, the only sound was the music. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen, watching the replay over and over again.