NOVPUB"He’s looking for a pass, but the Hearts fans are doing a good job shutting down any passing avenues. Oh, he shoots from way out there!" Roy commentated with excitement and a hint of astonishment not quite believing what he was seeing. "Yeah, but what is the goalie doing Roy, he’s out of position," Callum instantly added after realising just how far off his line Zamal was and that this seemingly hopeful shot was a genuine threat.
The ball soared through the air like a missile, spinning toward the Hearts goal with terrifying speed. Zlamal, the Hearts goalkeeper, scrambled to backpedal, eyes wide as he realized the danger too late. Never in his life had he wished for longer legs or to be fast than he did at this moment as he felt like he was moving in slow motion.
His heart thundered in his ears, drowning out the roar of the fans, who’s face’s seemed to blur together. The shot dipped sharply at the last second seemingly trying to mock his effort as it homed in on his goal. He desperately jumped back stretching out to the max, trying to reach the ball but he was too far to reach it.
However, Luck seemed to still favour him though as the ball impacted the woodwork rattling the goal as it flew out of the park. A loud groan was instantly heard in Hampden Park drowning out the sighs of relief from the Hearts fans who felt their heart stop beating for a second. The shot from the Celtic CDM had come as a suprise for everyone instantly awakening those who were feeling sleepy from the current games stalemate.
"Oh, would you believe that? Off the crossbar!" Roy exclaimed, his voice echoing the disappointment of the Celtic supporters. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
"Zlamal got lucky there, Callum, but he won’t get a second chance if Celtic keeps testing him like that."
"That was a thunderbolt from McGregor," Callum replied, his voice still filled with astonishment. "And it came out of nowhere! Celtic’s never been afraid to take risk’s but I’m pretty sure not even Lennon knew he would try that."
The Hearts goalkeeper scrambled back to his feet, his heart still racing from the close call. Zlamal glanced around at his defenders "WTF are you guys doing? You just gone give him a free shot at my goal. Wake the TF up and do your job, if you’re tired get the fuck off the pitch!" He bellowed a tirade of curses and instructions at his teammates instantly causing them to feel embarrassed. Some of them felt indignant not understanding why they were getting a tonge lashing when they didn’t do anything wrong.
"Haring, Edwards, And Djoum, have you guys signed out of work and haven’t told us? If your tired or lost the will to fight get off my pitch, if not show some fight in the midfield and stop letting those bastard embarrass you." Hearing themselves be singled out the three midfielder instantly felt their rage rise but they couldn’t find it in themselves to argue back. They had indeed taken a back seat strictly following the coaches instruction and not doing more than they have too.
None of them wanted to mess up and felt it was safer to strictly stick to the coaches instruction rather than try some heroics. Because unlike popular belief that the defence is what causes a team to lose its actually the midfield. A poor midfield can instantly ruin the rhythm of a good team and mor importantly a single mistake in their can cost a team dearly.
Seeing that his teams midfielder got the message form their keeper and he got his chance to vent Berra the team’s captain spoke up. "Thats enough Zlamal, they get the message and will do better," he told the keeper with a smile slapping him on the back as he guided him back to his goal as he had marched to the edge of his box in his rage filled rant. "Right boys?" Berra asked the rest of his player who were watching this to wish he instantly received an affirmative response.
~~~
The game resumed with a new intensity. Zlamal’s outburst had lit a fire under the Hearts players, who now pressed higher, with renewed urgency in their movements. Haring, Edwards, and Djoum, stung by the criticism, looked sharper, cutting off passing lanes and snapping into challenges with more aggression.
Celtic, however, were unfazed. McGregor, fresh off his near wonder goal, calmly controlled the ball in midfield, dictating the tempo as if he hadn’t just rattled the crossbar moments earlier. He exchanged quick passes with Brown, pulling Hearts players out of position as they tried to press.
"McGregor has been the heartbeat of Celtic’s midfield today," Callum noted, admiration in his voice. "It’s going to take something special from Hearts to disrupt him."
Just as Callum finished, the ball was worked out wide to Rakim, who had been biding his time on the left wing. Receiving the ball with his back to Smith, he quickly spun on his heel with a reverse Croqueta, leaving his marker a step behind as he sped past him. Cutting inward he scanned the field, searching for an opportunity in the field of marron in front of him.
Rakim spotted Forrest’s diagonal run, but with defenders closing in, threading the pass seemed too risky. In a flash, he switched gears, dragging the ball back and burning down the touchline, leaving Edwards in his dust. "Rakim’s off! And Edwards struggling to keep up!" Roy’s voice rose with excitement.
"Yes’, Look at Rakim go!" Callum shouted, his voice nearly cracking with excitement. Rakim’s pace was electric, instantly causing the heart beats of the Celtic supporters to quicken as he crossed into the final third. The ball seemed to stick to his green Puma boot’s as he continued to switch what feet was in contact with the ball.
Despite the pace he was moving at he deftly controlled the ball approaching Smith at a dangerous Speed. The Hearts right back had been unable to keep him under control always hesitating on due to his tricky skills. Since he was already on a yellow card, he didn’t feel like risking getting sent off and that caused him to be overly cautious which was not something you want to be when facing a dangerous player like Rakim.
In this case it was similar as instead of steeping up to close the distance he continued to drop back trying to guid Rakim towards the corner flag. However, the winger had no intention of letting him do so as he performed a quick stepover before feinting a cut towards the middle. Seeing this smith panic and immediately lunged forward trying to block off the route forward but the expected contact never arrived.
Instead of breaking through Rakim transitioned into a silky reverse elastico and he skipped past the Hearts right back who had already committed to the challenge. Reaching the side of the box he didn’t hesitate in launching a crisp cross into the box. The ball was sent curving towards the back post into the area where Edouard was running towards.
Edouard timed his run perfectly, rising high just beyond the five yard line. With his eyes locked on the ball, he positioned his body in front of Berra who had been tracking him ready to deliver a powerful header. Souttar scrambled to turn and try to intercept the ball but immediately realised that it was too late. Edouard’s header connected cleanly, sending the ball rocketing downwards as he couldn’t control it more than that.
Zlamal, in-between the sticks were still rattled form McGregor’s earlier effort, and could only react instinctively, throwing himself across the goal. His outstretched fingers brushed the ball just enough to send it skimming past the post. The entire stadium seemed to gasp in unison as the ball flashed wide.
"Unbelievable save!" Roy exclaimed, half in disbelief. "Zlamal keeps Hearts in it with a fingertip touch!"
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To Be Continued...
