Chapter Ninety-Seven: Too Ashamed to Face Anyone

The center forward was pulled out from the penalty area. In Dalian Eastern’s offensive system, there was no attacking midfielder; the link between midfield and forwards largely depended on this second striker’s technique and dribbling. Once he was drawn out of the box, Dalian’s advancing right-back, Wang Kang, immediately passed the ball to him.

As Fan Pengfei received the ball, he felt pressure coming from his side. Hu Gandang pressed his body against him without hesitation. The strong physical contact caused Fan Pengfei to stumble, but he quickly regained his balance and used Hu Gandang’s momentum to execute a one-and-a-half turn, intending to dribble past the defensive midfielder.

However, Hu Gandang was not slow at all. Almost simultaneously with Fan Pengfei’s turn, Hu Gandang anticipated his move and countered with a swift sliding tackle, knocking the ball away from Fan Pengfei’s feet.

Yun Jia Tianyu’s right-back, Yang Yong, gained possession and immediately launched a long clearance downfield. He had no choice but to do so. Although the Dalian Eastern under-89 team was typically composed and steady, in this match they adopted a high pressing tactic from the start. The moment Yang Yong had the ball, two or three Dalian players closed in on him. Nearby, his teammates who could have supported him were tightly marked, so a careless pass risked immediate interception. A strong clearance, at least, would give his defense a moment to breathe.

Long Bisheng, waiting impatiently up front, had intended to fall back in defense—his defensive skills were decent enough. But Ding Yu was shouting from the sidelines for him to stay forward. Yun Jia Tianyu now had only one striker, Long Bisheng. If even he dropped back, they would be overwhelmed by relentless pressure from the opposition.

Despite his impatience, Long Bisheng remained alert. Even he, not the quickest thinker, understood that with a player sent off early, Yun Jia Tianyu would be under sustained pressure throughout the match. Every counterattack opportunity was precious.

So when he saw the ball flying from the backfield, he immediately started moving, tracking its landing spot.

Dalian Eastern had left only two players in their defensive third during the previous attack—unusual for their normally cautious style, but understandable given Yun Jia Tianyu’s numerical disadvantage. These two were center-back Niu Ren and left-back Long Xing, while even another center-back, Zhang Han, had pushed forward into Yun Jia Tianyu’s half.

Long Bisheng retreated while keeping his eyes on the ball. Soon, he felt a solid wall behind him. Turning, he saw Niu Ren, nearly as tall as himself, pressing hard with his chest.

Long Bisheng bent slightly at the waist, lowering his center of gravity. Although Niu Ren was a burly, powerful man, several pushes from behind failed to move him. Niu Ren silently admired Long Bisheng’s strength.

Just then, the ball began to descend. Long Bisheng leapt, flicking the ball down with a header. Stretching out his long legs, he hooked the ball back, shielding it with his large frame against Niu Ren’s pressure.

“Nice work, Long, pass it here!” Dai Guangming, who had rushed forward, called out. Seeing Long Xing closing in to double-team him, Long Bisheng quickly passed back to Dai Guangming’s feet before turning to run forward, with Niu Ren still close behind.

Dai Guangming stopped the ball while running. Normally, Yun Jia Tianyu’s wingers Zhou Wei and Zhang Yi would already be surging in from the flanks. Dai Guangming could either carry the ball forward alone or distribute it to the wings. With Long Bisheng’s aerial ability and Zhong Tao’s knack for finding spaces centrally, their counterattacks would make any opponent sweat.

But now only Zhang Yi had followed up, while Long Xing had shifted left to mark him. Dai Guangming sighed inwardly and pressed on alone.

Jiang Qi had already dropped back and quickly wrapped around Dai Guangming with arms and legs. Dai Guangming struggled to control the ball, then spun one and a half turns to pass to Zhong Tao, who had advanced on the left.

Zhong Tao lacked individual dribbling skills. After a few steps, he launched a long pass directly into Dalian Eastern’s penalty area, shouting, “Long, get ready to challenge!”

Zhong Tao’s shout wasn’t superfluous; Long Bisheng, focused on running into the box, was oblivious to the situation behind him. Zhong Tao feared Long Bisheng might run blindly without observing their attack, hence the warning.

Sure enough, as soon as he heard the call, Long Bisheng glanced back while sprinting forward, then suddenly sidestepped and jumped high!

“Long Bisheng’s judgment of ball trajectory seems much better than last year,” Chi Shangbing said with some surprise.

The assistant coach nearby chuckled: “After another year at Yun Jia Tianyu Football School, some progress is inevitable… Like just now, he controlled that long ball and passed back to Dai Guangming very well. Not like last year when he struggled after winning headers—made me want to smack him.”

Chi Shangbing laughed as well: “True… If he were still at last year’s level, Yun Jia Tianyu would have dropped him long ago. Their youth training isn’t a joke. Chen Yongjun came here and made the starting lineup but was still eliminated by them.”

Meanwhile, Long Bisheng had completed his header attempt. However, Zhong Tao’s cross wasn’t perfectly placed, and with Niu Ren’s interference, Long Bisheng’s header went over the crossbar by more than half a meter. That was why Chi Shangbing and the assistant coach could chat so casually.

“Long Bisheng! Good job, keep it up!” Ding Yu gave a thumbs-up from the sidelines. Unable to make adjustments now, he chose to have Zhong Tao return to left midfield, relying on long passes to launch counters. With Long Bisheng’s height and ball protection up front, he acted like a lighthouse, tying down two opposing defenders. They would endure the first half this way and adjust tactics during halftime.

In the ensuing match, Yun Jia Tianyu, down a man, focused on solid defense. The backline led by Wu Bufan and Li Jie guarded the penalty area tightly. Although Dalian Eastern’s forward Dong Fanghong had a height advantage, Li Jie, accustomed to dueling even taller Long Bisheng, contested him fearlessly and prevented him from gaining an inch. Meanwhile, Fan Pengfei was tightly marked by Hu Gandang, so Dalian Eastern’s attacks failed to seriously threaten Yun Jia Tianyu’s goal.

Dalian Eastern opted for gradual buildup, circulating the ball within the opponent’s half and shifting it laterally to stretch Yun Jia Tianyu’s defense. With one fewer player, Yun Jia Tianyu’s stamina would wane faster. But they were prepared, positioning four defenders in a compact, “tiger-in-the-den” formation inside the box. Hu Gandang, Zhang Yi, and Zhong Tao provided support near the penalty area, while Long Bisheng and Dai Guangming held central positions, poised to counterattack.

They could launch long balls directly to Long Bisheng or pass to Dai Guangming for orchestration. Dai Guangming rarely tracked back but carefully monitored opposing captain Jiang Qi’s defense. When Jiang Qi gave him space, he dribbled; when Jiang Qi closed in, he passed away and used his skill to shake off defenders. After all, Jiang Qi, no matter how fierce, could not recklessly foul a player without the ball like Dai Guangming—that would surely earn him a second red card in the match.

In fact, after last year’s games, the Football Association had cracked down on players who employed dangerous tactics. Such behavior was unacceptable in youth matches, as players were mostly children with undeveloped bones, vulnerable to serious injury. This year, punishments for severe fouls were harsh. Jiang Qi had received a red card in the group stage’s opening match and had since tempered his aggression.

Both teams played with remarkable discipline, making few mistakes—a rarity in youth matches. Yet the college students watching from the sidelines found the game rather dull—no goals, no intricate plays. Dalian’s attacks consisted mainly of passes back and forth in the front third; Yun Jia’s counters relied on long balls or Dai Guangming’s individual skills. Boring.

Under these circumstances, two college students began chatting. The first said, “Yeah, this first half’s really boring. No goals, no teamwork. Our department matches are better—at least they have more goals.”

“True,” the second nodded. “The interesting part was earlier—that little guy actually cursed the referee and got sent off two seconds after kickoff… Haha, that was something. Hey, where’d that little guy go? Haven’t seen him since.”

“Right, where’d he run off to so fast? We should show those who missed that classic moment.”

On the muddy ground amid a group of girls, a boy bowed repeatedly, whispering, “Ladies, help me out… hide me… I’m too ashamed to show my face.”