THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Battle of Underdog IV

The second half of the semi-final between NF Academy and ADO The Hague occurred, running at the same tempo as the first half. Dutch teams mostly use wing play to attack while Norwegian teams sit down and defend more.

Zachary was impressed by how his team-mates managed to maintain a high level of focus throughout the game. They worked together admirably, using teamwork to guard ADO The Hague by disrupting most of their wing attacks.

Kasongo and Paul, the NF Academy winger, help the full-backs—every time they face an attack from ADO Den Hague on the wing. On the other hand, the three centre-backs continue to keep an eye on Catalin Tira and Papito Merencia, ADO Den Hague centre-forward. They managed to clear most of the crosses that made it to the box.

In the 75th minute, the defense and midfield of NF Academy still look good. The score is still 1:1, thanks to their efforts.

However, Zachary had felt frustrated because of the lack of balls that enter his position. He still plays as a half-striker/half-milder in a 5-3-1-1 formation, just behind rjan, the centre-forward. He had to wait more than five minutes between touches on the ball. Zachary prefers to play in midfield. That will make him more involved in attack and defense.

Zachary halted his thought process when Robin Jatta, the NF Academy's centre-back, performed a superb interception inside the box. He stopped a dangerous cross from finding Catalin Tira, the ADO Den Hague attacker. Without losing his composure, he dodged the ball straight away, heading towards the left wing where Martin Lundal, left-back, lurked.

Martin controlled the ball beautifully near the edge of the field, passing Tyronne Ebuehi with a deft first touch. He continued with a perfectly executed cut-back pass towards Magnus, the NF Academy defensive midfielder, on the inside of the pitch.

However, Danny Bakker intercepted the pass before it could reach its target. He controlled the ball with a nimble first touch, using the back of his heels to loop it over the towering figure of Magnus, who had approached him quickly before he could escape with the ball.

He moved seamlessly like a fish wading through water, carrying the ball easily back to the ground. He immediately unleashed his trademark sweeping pass to the right wing, where Ibrahim Fofane waited. The creative midfielder managed to catch the NF Academy defense unknowingly with a sudden switch to the wings once again.

Undeniably, Ibrahim Fofane, the ADO winger Den Hague, deftly tackled the ball, pushing it into the path of Tyronne Ebuehi, the right-back, who ran into open space. The two exchanged short passes, playing one-two, cruising along the edge of the field. They weaved through NF Academy players before cutting back into the field. Their coordination is perfect.

Before defenders could close it, Ibrahim fired a tempting cross behind the NF Academy defensive line.

Catalin Tira, number 9 ADO The Hague, pounced on the ball, like a cat looking at a catnip.

Number-9 has the uncanny ability to lose track of him and escape the ranks of defenders. He showed the same brilliance at the time, sliding between Robin Jatta and Lars Togstad, the NF Academy's centre-back, before knocking the ball towards the goal.

However, Kendrick Otterson, the NF Academy goalkeeper, was at the top of his game throughout the game. He immediately reacted by stretching his left foot and managed to get a little touch on the ball, keeping it away from the goal.

Zachary felt a tremor in his back as he watched the ball hit the post before bouncing back onto the field of play. The threat to the NF Academy goal is not over yet. Calvin Valies, the left winger of ADO Den Hague, came in at high speed into the box with the intention of pushing the ball into the back of the net. Kasongo is near, hot on his heels.

[Can he get the ball in time?] Zachary pondered as he followed the course of the match from his advanced position, close to the center-circle. He felt a little helpless as he could not return to his half to help defend against the relentless barrage of attacks from ADO The Hague.

He could see that Kasongo was struggling to catch the ADO Den Haag-11 short. However, the goddess of luck seemed to be on the NF Academy's side that day. Kasongo made a bold and timely sliding tackle, successfully pushing the ball out of the game before Calvin could reach it. Zachary let out a long sigh, letting his body relax. His team survived that deadly attack without conceding a goal.

The referee pointed to the corner flag.

Zachary returned to his box to help against the corner.

"Let's defend, let's defend" he shouted at his team-mates. "Man to man. Don't—don't leave anyone unmarked in the box." He shouted with all his might, clapping to give the emphasis to motivate his teammates.

Tyronne Ebuehi took a corner kick and sent the ball into the crowded penalty area. However, Magnus jumped over the rest and headed the ball out of the box, seemingly safe.

Zachary immediately chased after him.

However, in the middle of his escape, he noticed that the ball was moving straight towards Danny Bakker, ADO Den Hague's dangerous attacking midfielder, who was waiting on the edge of the box. Danny is in the process of lifting his leg to release the rebound missile back into the net.

"Not under my supervision" roared Zachary as he dashed towards the midfielder.

Danny maintained his composure and managed to dribble towards goal, without a fight. But luckily, Zachary managed to get his body in front of a timely rebound effort. He jumps high and blocks the ball, directing it away from the intended path, away from the goal.

Kasongo pounced on the loose ball and cleared it off the field with a first-time volley. He gave ADO The Hague a throw-in. Once again, NF Academy managed to come out unscathed from another deadly attack.

Team-mate Zachary, who defended from the start, was under great pressure. Underdog what? Zachary reasoned that the sentence was complete nonsense. The Dutch team looked much more menacing than Zenit, especially when they attacked through the wings.

"Zachary" shouted Coach Johansen from the sidelines. "Go back and leave the defense for the rest. You cause more trouble by retreating to hold on. Look at that." The coach pointed to the middle of the field.

Zachary turned around and saw the two ADO Den Hague defenders who had previously watched him have moved into the NF Academy section, seemingly joining the attack.

He understands Coach Johansen's reasoning. If he leaves the attacking half for even a minute, he will release the defenders responsible for guarding him. That would increase the pressure on his other team-mates if the free defenders also attacked. So, he immediately ran back to his position without complaining and patiently waited for the ball to come to him.

Tyronne Ebuehi takes a throw into ADO The Hague. He unleashed a long throw, hoping to pick Catalin Tira in the box. However, Robin Jatta managed to dispel the ball from the penalty box with a timely volley. He sent the ball back to the right wing where Kasongo was waiting.

The short right winger controlled the ball like a professional and unleashed a first-time cut-back pass into midfield, towards Magnus.

Zachary immediately escaped from the two defenders who escorted him, darting to the right wing, without bothering to see if Magnus managed to hold the ball. He just hopes the defensive midfielder can predict his run and release him as soon as possible.

Magnus did not disappoint. He sent a high pass towards Zachary.

The counterattack is underway.

Zachary used his edge vision to measure the trajectory of the incoming ball while running. He noticed that the ball came high and would probably be out of the game if he could not control it in time. Worse, a defender is in a hurry and will not give him time to turn around and control the ball with his chest.

He soon realized that he would have a hard time controlling the ball. He had to intercept it in the next few seconds to prevent it from coming out of the game and turning into a throw-in into another ADO The Hague.

Even so, he did not panic. Continuing his run, he kept track of the ball while his football brain quickly devised the best option to make good use of the situation. Fortunately, a solution came to him when he was almost at the touchline.