Chapter 21

The goalkeeper took possession of the ball and began to dribble forward carefully, this was a trigger to the opposing team who saw only one man between them and the ball. The players attempted to press while closing of his passing routes to the centre backs who had split apart. The players in his defence were constantly moving to draw players away and he found a clear passing route to his left back who was at a diagonal to him. The left back who was eager to dribble forward and move to attack, saw he was being working into a dead end by the midfielders and decided to draw them onto him. The noose got tighter around him and before the trap was sprung, he passed the ball back to where his centre back had moved up to support. The centre back took a single touch and then passed it to an area of weakness where a member of the double pivot was free who then released it straight to the left attacking midfielder who had space on his side.

Through this passage of play, the ball had passed between Kjell, Valentin, Ravil, Andre and then finally Marcelino in attacking midfield. The build up play had been ordered and well planned to allow them to get out of a press in complete control with a numerical superiority. The new manager was ecstatic on the touchline as he saw his team perfectly execute a routine that he had been drilling into them. The play was far from over though and he was about to be even more impressed.

Marcelino took possession of the ball and immediately vacated the wide position heading towards the area between the lines. A player then came out at him to block his forward momentum but a quick sideways pass to an expectant George Hall who was playing in the middle of the pitch allowed him to bypass the tackle. George then lightly tapped the ball onwards into the run of Marcelino who now found himself in that hole between the defence and midfield which attacking midfielders so loved to occupy. Facundo had begun to run and open himself up and to all watching it seemed like the play was about to move to the right. It was at that time in which Marcelino sent a slicing pass towards the area between the opposing right back and centre back. The ball was remorseless and seemed like it was about to go straight out for a throw in when a small bolt of ginger hair appeared and took the ball into possession. Valentin who had followed up the play ever since he had done his task had now become the starring man. He then drove forward as quickly as he could, only for a centre back to come out and attempt to stop him. The centre back was panicked and rushing to get something on him as he was able to read the danger. The opponent seemed to have no idea who he was dealing with which was partially true on account of the young man missing out the entire preseason due to his entry issues. The young man had some of the fastest feet in the entire team and simply stood on the ball and released it in a different direction to quickly breeze past the defender. He had a direct line to the goal now and was baring down on it with venom in his eyes, the keeper decided that he wasn't receiving any help so moved out to close the area. This was what Valentin was waiting for as he was aware of his teammates positioning so he simply passed the ball to his right. Emanuel who was playing up top had been jostling with the last defender and gotten himself free to poke in an easy goal that would be the first of his campaign.

Eman was jubilant having struggled to come across goals so far and the team celebrated with him. The fans who had been quiet so far erupted with noise as well and the team went to the corner, they were in to celebrate with them. The game restarted and his team pressed from the front, the front four were attempting to close passing routes for the opposing team and lead them where they wanted. The ball had gone down the right side and Facundo was snapping at the heels of the attackers making it difficult for them to relax in possession. The ball landed to the winger on that side who was up against Jobe who had moved out to support that side. The winger held the ball as Jobe sent an early thrust at it, the ball was pulled back and he attempted to get past while the young man was unbalanced. Jobe wouldn't allow himself to be beaten so easily though and redirected his momentum and closed the hole he planned to escape through. The winger almost lost the ball to his second attempt so decided to exercise more caution just as his support came and he was able to pass it off to the overlapping full back. The winger had a smug smile on his face directed at the Jobe who had his head down, only to put it up with a smile on his face at the sound of two bodies colliding behind him. Matheus had been waiting in reserve for the opportunity to steal the ball and the moment that the full back received it, he threw himself at the ball and recovered possession. The bait had been laid by the academy player and the opponents had taken it only for Matheus to come out with a prized trout.

The full back took the ball and immediately sent it back to the defence to prevent any counter press occurring and secure the ball for their team. The young manager shouted instructions from the side line, it was the only thing he could do to not get emotional at how his ideas were being translated to the pitch. Ravil took control of the ball and the opposing attackers moved in to reform their press when he calmly drove into the space that existed between them and taking two players out of the game immediately. The ball was passed to Jobe who calmly traded a string of passes with Facundo as they progressed the ball. The team were cautious with the ball and eventually found themselves in a position which was taken by Facu and saved by the opposing keeper. This allowed Reading to finally have the ball back which they used to pass around for a while and kill the game momentum.

The first half came to an end with the team in the lead which wasn't something which happened often, so the team talk had to be slightly different than usual.

"That was a very good half, you were on the front foot from the first moment and took the game to them. The game is not over though until the whistle has been blown and we can't sit on our laurels. Second half, you carry on and score some more and build a cushion between you."

"Yes Boss" the chorus called back as the players encouraged each other.

The players went back on the pitch with Mvoue now playing attacking midfield instead of George. The midfielder had needed to be patient to get his position back and for multiple reasons he wasn't entirely suited to the formation the team played. Yusuf had been moulding him from the moment he came into a player who could be a dominant presence on the field and now they would see the product of all that work.

The game restarted with Reading in possession of the ball, and they were immediately pressured by the attackers. The players were young and had been training hard so were able to maintain a high level of intensity which made it difficult for the opponents to progress. The moment they moved forward a player was moving to cut off their retreat and force them down a side which they could smother. Reading had done well to not lose the ball so far and played it long to one of the strikers who had come deep to collect it. Steve knew what his job was and stuck onto the striker well making it difficult for him to receive the ball. The ball instead rolled into open space between Facundo and a Reading midfielder, they both ran towards the ball. Facu was never the type to pull out from a tackle and threw himself wholeheartedly, reaching the ball first and receiving the opponents' studs to his thighs in reward. The foul was given and Facu jumped right back up to continue play.

The resulting free kick was put into the box and Eman attacked with all his will, but the keeper claimed it before any danger occurred. The goalkeeper than kicked the ball out quickly hoping to disturb the highly effective pressing game and catch the opponent in transition. The ball was released to the wing and then passed centrally for a counterattack to occur. Before the move could even begin, Andre had slid into and intercepted the ball and killed the danger. The attackers immediately hounded him to get it back and continue but he passed to his right where Jobe was available. He had placed himself in a comfortable position to receive the ball and immediately played a through ball to the right side where Matheus was making a run. The opponents had been pushing up to make them offside, but he had timed it beautifully to find himself in acres of space. Emanuel had once again tried to make himself available for the pass but was getting marked out squarely by one of the defenders. This didn't concern Matheus at all as he took a touch and then drilled a low shot into the opposite corner. This had always been a facet of his game and the sound of the ball hitting the post was followed momentarily by it hitting the back of the net.

Following the celebrations, the opposing team thought that they could attempt a quick attack but as they were now that was completely impossible. The Blues were deathly focused on receiving this win and were not in the mood to make any mistakes. The game continued on with Reading attempting tentative moves but not really believing they could win while his team were making sure they made no silly mistakes to open the game again. The only note worthy event being when Emanuel managed to get on the score sheet for the second time that day. The move was beautifully crafter with the ball coming to Steve in the midfield who used his body to hold off the opposing players. He then passed the ball to Facundo who managed to escape his marker and run past him. This gave Facu an option as the defenders were occupied with Eman, so he drove into the space behind them. He postured as if he was going to shoot and was just finding the right position which made one of the defenders leave Eman to deal with him. He delicately put a off the ground through ball into the area where that defender vacated. Emanuel did phenomenally as the sole striker putting his body between the other defender and the ball as he bought it down. He then took a single touch to open up the angle and drilled the ball into the near post. This made his manager feel really grateful, as he knew strikers were creatures that thrived on confidence, and this would do him the world of good. The fans were equally excited having come through the dire results in pre-season their expectations had been low but now they were looking forward to the season.

The final whistle blew, and the young team almost threw themselves onto the floor from the exhaustion of maintaining concentration and he couldn't be prouder of their efforts.

Trivia:

There are two nicknames to look at today. The first of which is The Biscuitmen, which was a former nickname used on account of the presence of the Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Company which based in Reading, Berkshire. The company was huge and one of the world's first global brands. They also created the Nice Biscuit, which is a personal favourite of mine. The nickname fell out of use when the factory collapsed. The second nickname which they use currently is The Royals. This is because Windsor Castle the royal residence, is in Berkshire and the Queen recognised the county as The Royal County of Berkshire.