THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Frustratingly

The referee blew the whistle, and the match restarted as soon as Molde's players finished celebrating their second goal. Nicki Nielsen immediately lifted her foot and kicked the ball back to Zachary in midfield.

Zachary controlled the ball with a deft first touch a few yards from the centre circle before glancing around, looking for possible pass options. But he instantly realised that the Molde forward had already begun to throng the Rosenborg area with renewed motivation and energy born from scoring the equaliser. They seem to have turned their strategy into a high-pressing tactic to stop Rosenborg from dictating the process on the field of play once again.

Zachary's sharp eyes managed to catch a glimpse of the strapping figure and bearded face of Jo Inge Berget, the Molde midfielder, who was running towards him. The view of the Molde man was like the case of a racehorse running towards the finish line at the racetrack—the finish line was himself in that case.

However, Zachary is undaunted by the expectation that the midfielder will need a few seconds to reach his position. So, he put a smile on Jo Inge who approached quickly before flicking the ball to his left foot and passing it towards Mikael Dorsin, Rosenberg's left-back.

Without delay, he ran into another space to let himself receive the ball back before his pass could connect with Mikael. His immediate goal is to help his team rebuild dominance by ensuring that Rosenborg will continue to dictate tempo in midfield. So, he was determined to do all the hard work and make all the necessary runs across the field to make it happen as quickly as possible.

Mikael Dorsin received Zachary's pass close to the touchline on the left wing. He handled the ball beautifully and then handed it to Mike Jensen, one of Rosenborg's two defensive midfielders on the pitch.

Mike Jensen accepted it and gave it to Jonas Svensson, another defensive midfielder, who positioned himself to his right. Jonas doesn't even try to control the ball because Magne Hoseth, Molde's captain, approaches him like a hunting predator. Instead, he gave it to Tore Reginiussen, Rosenborg's captain, with his first touch.

Zachary immediately went further than his goal and created enough space for himself to receive the ball when he saw Tore complete Jonas' pass. Captain Rosenborg is a player with good vision. In an instant, he managed to see Zachary from the crowd of players in midfield and then pass the ball to him in the next second.

Zachary brought the ball under control with his right foot. He then pushed it forward, moving further away from Jo Inge Berget to create a couple of yards for himself. However, just as he was about to take another step and dash into Molde's half, Etzaz Hussain, the substitute Molde midfielder, closed him down and barred his sprinting path.

Zachary didn't try to dribble. He was one hundred percent certain that Jo Inge, his bodyguard for the day, was somewhere right behind him. So, he flicked the ball to his left foot before passing it to the left wing, where Tarik Elyounoussi had long since started running along the touchline.

Tobias dribbles in style, according to the position of the agile winger. He immediately passed Martin Linnes, Molde's left-back, before beating him for speed. But as he began to cut into the field, running towards Molde's 18-yard box from the wing, he found a roadblock in the form of Knut Olav Rindaroy, the blue-clad centre-back.

Knut Olav Rindaroy timed his tackle perfectly to slide in and steal the ball from Tobias' feet in an inexplicable manner. And without a moment's delay, Knut got up from the ground and kicked the ball hard and high— onto the other side of the field.

Close to the centre circle, Zachary started running back to his half to defend as he saw the ball flying high above him, towards the Rosenborg box. He did not want to let Molde's players make a successful counterattack again.

However, he could not travel faster than the ball, and his speed could not help him move between the two places in an instant. So, he could only watch helplessly as the ball reached its highest point before it began to drop to the third of Rosenborg's defence. And to make matters worse, Daniel Chima Chukwu and Mattias Mostrom, Molde's dangerous attacking players, are already lurking like thieves around the ball's goal area.

Zachary immediately increased his speed and continued the path towards the Rosenborg beak. He is well aware that his team-mates in defence have not stabilised after conceding two goals. So, his immediate intention was to return to the defensive third as quickly as possible— to help defend against the new threat.

But even before he could cover a dozen yards, he saw Daniel Chima Chukwu, Molde's centre-forward, connected with a long pass. He outscored Stefan Strandberg, one of Rosenborg's centre-backs, for air superiority and then passed the ball to Mattias Mostrom, Molde's left winger.

Mattias pounced on Daniel's pass before another Rosenborg defender reacted and then darted like the wind, avoiding Jonas Svensson, Rosenborg's defensive midfielder. With quick strides and nimble footwork, he ran past three other Rosenborg players, including Tore Reginiussen, and was soon on the highway to goal.

However, Tore Reginiussen, the captain of Rosenborg, did not allow him to do as he pleased. He followed fast winger Molde and managed to get close to the edge of the box. Without hesitation, the captain slid massively and managed to drive the ball out of the game. But during the process, he also tripped Mattias Mostrom, making him fall to the ground, just inside the 18-yard box limit. The referee immediately blew the whistle and pointed to the penalty spot when the stands occupied by Rosenborg supporters became silent to almost total silence.

Molde managed to win a penalty in the 69th minute, just four minutes after scoring their second. But it wasn't the worst thing that happened to Rosenborg back then. The referee refused to listen to Tore Reginiussen's plea and showed him a straight red card for the last-person professional foul he had just committed. The situation on the playing field was a terrible nightmare that managed to shake all the Rosenborg players on the field, including Zachary.