28 Kazuki Brace

Kazuki opened his eyes looking at the green field in front of him. A sight he had always dreamed of. This was Kazuki's first step in reaching his goal.

The stadium was quiet. There were a lot of Southampton fans who went home early because they thought Southampton might not come back in this match. There were no special cheers when Kazuki and Wright-Phillips entered the field. Only a few spectators clapped softly to encourage the two teenagers.

Kazuki walked to the position left by Osmund while Wright-Phillips walked to the center of the field filling in the position left by Rudolf.

Southampton started the game again. Vicente threw the ball back into the field, after earlier, the ball had gone out of the field. Hilton received the ball, he passed it to Wright-Phillips.

The teenager dribbled the ball into the middle of the field, after that, he gave the ball to captain Simone. In the middle of the field, Tottenham began to apply pressure. Simone passes the ball to Hugo. Shradder and Rouch closed Hugo's space while trying to take the ball from Hugo's feet.

Hugo pulled the ball back then pushed it aside. He then provided a long pass to Southampton's left side. Kounde ran and received Hugo's long pass. Kounde gave the ball to Wright-Phillips who came forward. Wright-Phillips broke into the wing position and changed Kounde who went to the middle. Zouma goes up to prevent Wright-Phillips, but the teenager uses the V behind technique, and passed Zouma.

While Wright-Phillips passed Zouma, Kazuki who was in the Tottenham penalty box was tightly guarded by Gregor while Denilson was guarded by Anderson. Wright-Phillips brought the ball further forward and then crossed it into the middle. Kazuki used his hands to restrain Gregor's body while leaning forward. After that, he shoots the ball with one touch through between Llorente's leg.

"Gooaalll! Player number 28, Kazuki Kazeshima scored a goal with his first touch after successfully receiving a pass from Wright-Phillips. These two teenagers worked together to score Southampton's first goal in this match.

There are still approximately 15 minutes of normal time. Let's see if Southampton could equalize against Tottenham or they have to accept the defeat result in this match."

On the pitch, Kazuki hugged Wright-Phillips and said, "Thanks, your passes give me chances to score goals."

"I also didn't think you could turn my pass into a goal, thanks to you I got my first assist of this season," Wright-Phillips replied.

The Southampton fans who were still present at the stadium cheered for Kazuki's goal, although they were still pessimistic about the possibility of a draw, they still appreciated the teamwork between Kazuki and Wright-Phillips.

With these goals, Southampton began to rise. Tottenham again used short passes to reduce the rhythm of the game, but Southampton continued to give Tottenham high press.

In the 80th minute, Flaminho made a mistake in receiving the ball. He didn't receive the ball that was passed nicely. Kounde grabbed the ball immediately after Flaminho failed to control the ball. The Southampton player dribbles forward.

Kazuki prepared to receive the ball but behind him, Gregor clung tightly. Gregor whispered to Kazuki, "Don't even think about running past me, I'll be watching you." Gregor seemed ready to commit a foul to stop Kazuki.

Kounde passes the ball to Kazuki. Behind him, Gregor pressed Kazuki so tightly that Kazuki swayed slightly. However, Kazuki managed to bounce the ball to the side, then, he turned his body so that he was facing the direction of the Tottenham Hotspur goalpost. This technique is called Whiplash Turn. One technique that is quite simple but very useful.

Gregor held onto Kazuki's shirt so the Japanese player couldn't run. Kazuki provided a through ball to Denilson. Anderson tried to cut off Kazuki's pass but he was too late, Kazuki's pass was too fast for Anderson. Llorente leaned to the right trying to close the space for Denilson. Denilson eyed the left corner of the net but his shot was missed. The ball bounced again, Kazuki came to take a shot and the ball went into the Tottenham Hotspur goalpost.

"I can't believe this! Kazuki scored again! Gregor, what are you doing?! You let a genius striker slip away. Amazing performance from the Japanese teenager, Kazuki Kazeshima!"

This time all Southampton fans shouted together. Noise filled St Marys stadium.

"We scored a goal!! I can't believe this, we scored 2 goals so soon."

"It's a miracle! Thank God for giving Southampton a miracle."

"Southampton! Southampton! glory Southampton!"

Southampton fans felt happy and moved to see Kazuki's goal. They are loyal fans of The Saints. They will support Southampton no matter how bad Southampton plays. However, it is undeniable that Southampton's recent poor results have made Saints fans feel depressed. The pressure and frustration all along broke out after Kazuki scored the goal.

On the other hand, Kazuki didn't celebrate his goal, he took the ball from the Tottenham net and signaled the referee to immediately restart the game. Kazuki's actions were noticed by the commentators and the fans.

"Kazuki didn't celebrate his goal, it looked like he wanted to start the game quickly. An extraordinary attitude from a 19-year-old teenager. He knows that Southampton still has a chance to equalize or even win this game."

Meanwhile, the Southampton fans were applauding Kazuki. They appreciated the 'don't want to lose' mentality that Kazuki had.

Harry Greenknap made a substitution. He replaced Luminaire and Shradder with defenders. He doesn't want Tottenham to lose another goal. The Tottenham forward leaves only Gareth Neill alone.

Tottenham started the Kick-off, Southampton gave Tottenham high press again but this time Tottenham who was superior at the back were able to overcome Southampton's pressing nicely. Southampton tried to commit a foul to take the ball but Tottenham delayed game time by pretending to be sitting and tired or cramped. Southampton was angry to see Tottenham continue to postpone the game, they asked the referee to be firm. As a result, several Tottenham players were shown a yellow card.

In the 86th minute, Moric suddenly made a through ball deep into the Southampton defense area. Gareth Neill ran fast to catch the ball. Benson was competing with Gareth Neill, he didn't hesitate to tug on Gareth Neill's shirt so the Tottenham man couldn't get past him. However, Gareth Neill accelerated his run, Benson slowly released his grip until he finally fell after he lost his balance.

There are no Southampton players in front of Gareth except the goalkeeper, Dean Smith stepped up to knock Gareth down. This time Gareth didn't choose to chip the ball, he tricked Dean Smith and passed him. He then kicked the ball into an empty goalpost.

The atmosphere in the stadium became silent. No one expected that when Southampton's momentum rise, Gareth Neill as a former Southampton player scored a goal. At the end of the second half, Tottenham managed to score a goal through Gareth Neill's solo action, the score was 4-2 with the advantage for The Lilywhite.