On The Bench
That day, all they did was some light training and passing drills. Being that it was the eve of a very huge match, the lack of preparation spoilt the morale of the team. From the onset, they would be considered the underdog of the match. If they had trained well or done something meaningful with the training sessions, then they would've been feeling a lot more confident, but for they had one training session before the match and all they did was light training.
After the training concluded, Michael gathered all the players and addressed them.
"Alright lads, I know that all of you are currently demoralized because of the lack of preparation, I understand but currently some of you have suffered random unpredictable injuries and I hope that you can all understand if I don't want to take risks" Michael said. "Now, we're going to Norwich tomorrow, and I just wanted all of you to go there feeling down and de-motivated. But the way I see it, we're not the underdogs. I refuse to see all my players look down because some statistician said that the other team is supposed to win. It's not done like that"
Whatever Michal said visibly improved the morale of the players in the team. Michael was right, some stupid lads writing on some papers or doing some calculations shouldn't make them feel like they were supposed to lose.
"The way I see it, football isn't a game of favorites and underdogs, football is a game of grit, determination and surprise. Football is a game where the best team of the game wins. How many 'underdogs' have managed to shock every one and come out on top?!"
The players already had smiles on their faces. Michael was right, they weren't going to lose, there were no favorites and underdogs in football, there were just two teams playing to win.
"So tomorrow, we're going to fly to Norwich, snatch a much needed three points and fly back like nothing happened!"
Every single player let out some cheers. Omari pumped his fists while shouting, Ayanfe that could be considered reserved and quite was caught by the atmosphere as well. He looked to the sky and started shouting.
After the pep talk, all the players began to disperse one my one. Eventually, Omari went home as well.
When he got back home, he had a long chat with his parents about random subjects. He told them to watch him and in his own words 'do better than his old man'. After that, he did his usual post match ritual and was about to drop his phone when he saw a file attachment sent to the group.
It was the list of players who were expected to make up the squad that were travelling to Norwich.
Omari didn't expect himself to be part of the players involved. He only checked the squad list out of curiosity and was given the shock of his life when he realized that he was on the list.
Although he was probably not going to get any game time from the match, it was nice to know that he was three matchday squads away from getting the rewards promised by the system.
He reread the squad list and realized that David was also going to travel along with the first team squad. Ayanfe, Ekon and Jack would most likely feature in the reserve league this weekend.
The next day, Omari and his teammates that were chosen to play the match traveled to Norwich. That very match was the headline of the day… Teesside vs Norfolk Fc
The next day, Michael revised the tactics with the team inside the locker room. The match was very important to the team so they couldn't afford to make any form of mistakes. They had to play to perfection. The players, the coaches and the manager were aware of this fact.
A few hours before the match, the starting lineup was revealed by the manager. To the surprise of nobody, Omari and David ended up on the bench and they were most likely going to stay there until the end of the match.
After Michael gave the team a pep talk, they went outside of the tunnel feeling a lot more motivated. Omari smiled. Michael had a way of getting all his players fired up.
While they were walking out of the tunnel, Omari felt his heart pounding against his chest. Even though he wasn't going to play, he felt nervous. He was going to come out in front of a crowd consisting of thousands of people, most of which wanted his to lose.
The mood of the squad did nothing to the outcome of the match. After the first forty five minutes, the two teams were locked in a goalless draw.
To the frustration of Michael and the squad, Teesside had lots of chances in the first half. In the end, it was just the simple case of shooting themselves in the feet.
Even though they had lost of chances, they weren't clinical enough in their finishing. To make things worse, they had another injury.
Michael was feeling angry and frustrated, but he didn't let his emotions show on his face. He kept a straight face while addressing his team and telling them the tactics that they were supposed to use in the second half.
"Goddamnit!" Omari muttered under his breath. He and the other players could feel the anger that Michael felt within, even if he didn't show it. As a result, there was a really tense atmosphere in the locker room.
Michael made a change when it was time for the second half to begin. He subbed the starting striker off.
The referee came into the locker room and called them out. Once again, Omari felt his heart slamming against his chest. He walked out of the locker room while clenching his fist.
Even though he wasn't playing, he knew one thing… Teesside had to win!
A/N: Alright, here's an update on how the bonus chapters are going to work.
I think I should've stressed the conditions for the bonus chapters enough that I don't need to repeat it anymore.
The number of bonus chapters earned during the week will be posted on Sunday (Mass release day)
During the week, I might also have one or two extra chapters to spare (let's all hope that United do well )