Chapter 279: [279] "STALEMATE FOR NOW"

"Fine," Cillian spat, ripping his shoulder out of Klaus’s grip. "I drop into the base. I cover the passing lanes to their wingers. You take the middle."

"I take Neji," Klaus confirmed. He turned his broad shoulders, squaring his frame toward the Phocéen half. "He does not get another free yard in the center. Get into position."

The referee checked his watch and blew the whistle.

Luc tapped the ball backward to Hugo Blanc. The teenager received the kickoff and immediately pushed a grounded pass back to Amadou Fall.

The match resumed its grueling rhythm. SC Valois settled into their possession structure. Stade Phocéen was no longer operating with that cautious, probing distance they had utilized in the opening ten minutes. Empowered by the equalizer, the home side pushed their lines forward, compressing the middle third of the pitch.

Amadou looked up, the ball rolling slowly at his feet. Any free space for a pass to the midfield pivot was heavily congested. Fresko was hovering ten yards away, not aggressively pressing the center-back, but positioning himself to cut off the direct pass to Klaus.

Amadou shifted his hips and played a safe, lateral pass to Hadj.

Hadj received the ball on his favored foot. He surveyed his left. Sordell was higher than Florez, hugging the touchline, maintaining maximum width, but the Phocéen right-winger was tracking him tightly, leaving zero margin for a progressive pass. Hadj opted for retention, cycling the ball backward to Pinto.

The Valois backup goalkeeper did not panic under the approaching pressure of the Phocéen striker. He trapped the ball, took one touch to open his angle, and drove a pass out to the right flank.

Gabriel Assis controlled the ball on his chest, dropping it to his laces. Operating as a right-back required a completely different spatial awareness than his natural winger position. When he received the ball in the defensive third, his instinct was to turn and accelerate. But the Phocéen left-winger was already coming at him, initiating a high-speed chase against the chalk of the touchline.

Gabriel chopped the ball backward, shielding it with his body, and slipped a short pass inside to Cillian.

Cillian took the ball on the half-turn. The Irishman checked his shoulder, recognizing the shifting blue shirts closing in around him. He did not attempt to dribble as utilized his mass to hold off a charging midfielder and drilled a pass into the feet of Hugo Blanc.

Hugo was operating in a tight spot. The teenager was surrounded by three Phocéen players, the space around him shrinking by the millisecond. He did not think about an attempt to control the ball. He let the pass run across his body, using the sole of his boot to flick it blindly around the corner, trusting the blueprint Henri had drilled into them.

The ball rolled perfectly into the path of Bachra Goza, who had dropped deep from the right wing to offer an outlet.

Bachra received the ball in stride, spinning away from his marker. The Spanish teenager accelerated into the middle third, driving the Valois transition forward. The Phocéen defensive line backpedaled rapidly, refusing to commit a center-back to step up and challenge the dribble.

Bachra reached the edge of the final third. He looked for Luc, but the Valois captain was isolated. The two veteran Phocéen center-backs had established a physical sandwich around Luc, leaning their heavy frames against him, ensuring he could not make a clean run toward the penalty box.

Finding no central option, Bachra chopped the ball onto his left foot and attempted to thread a diagonal pass toward Sordell on the opposite flank.

The pass lacked the required velocity. The Phocéen right-back stepped forward, intercepted the ball cleanly, and immediately pushed it into the center.

To Neji.

The Phocéen playmaker trapped the ball effortlessly, turning his hips to face the Valois goal. The transition began.

Klaus Becker stepped into the space.

He did not charge forward like Cillian had. Klaus understood the exact mechanics of Neji’s evasion. Neji relied on the momentum of the pressing defender. If a defender sprinted at him, Neji simply sidestepped, using the attacker’s own motion to take them out of the play.

Klaus refused to provide that energy. He anchored his cleats into the turf, widening his stance, keeping his center of gravity low. He established a wall eight yards away from the playmaker, completely blocking the direct pass to Fresko.

Neji assessed the new marker. The Phocéen midfielder took two slow touches forward, eating up the open grass, waiting for Klaus to commit.

Klaus did not. He kept his eyes locked firmly on the ball, ignoring the subtle drops of Neji’s shoulder and the shifting of his hips.

Neji brought the ball to a stop. He hovered his right boot over it, executing a rapid and deceptive step-over designed to force Klaus to shift his weight.

Klaus remained static. The German’s discipline was absolute. He knew that as long as he stood his ground, Neji could not advance through the center, and the direct supply line to Fresko was severed.

Realizing the bait had failed, Neji dragged the ball backward and played a simple pass out to his left-winger.

The stadium groaned. The local supporters had anticipated a surgical through-ball or a highlight-reel assist. Klaus’s refusal to engage had killed the transition, forcing Stade Phocéen to rebuild their attack from the wide channels.

The winger received the ball and attempted to drive at Gabriel. Gabriel, fueled by the defensive discipline he had forged in the previous fixture, locked onto the attacker’s hips. The winger tried to push the ball down the line, but Gabriel stepped across, executing a clean standing tackle that knocked the ball out for a throw-in.

The war of attrition continued, not to the liking of either side or their respective fans.

For the next fifteen minutes, neither side managed to penetrate the opposition penalty area. The middle third of the pitch became a congested battlefield where possession changed hands anytime, usually as a result of an intercepted passes.