My Goalkeeping System

The free-kick was set to be taken now and the person standing over the ball at the moment was none other than Dave Richards.

It was a free-kick on their side of the pitch so there was no need for a wall and that was a sort of advantage for the goalkeeper even though it didn't really matter to him if there was a wall or not.

"Seventy-eight minutes into the game and Unique FC are still leading three goals to one. Dynamo FC don't have much time here and now they have to face another free-kick from Dave." Jim articulated.

"Ordinarily, a free kick from this far out wouldn't prove to be much of a threat especially if the player decides to go for a direct kick but Dave Richards is a goalkeeper who is known to have caused a couple of upsets from his side of the pitch a couple of times."

"He's done it enough times for the goalkeepers from the opposing sides to know what to expect when up against him," Steve added. "There's a reason why Victor has made a conscious effort not to stray too far from his goal line since the start of the match."

Since there was no wall, all of the players were on the other end of the pitch with Dynamo FC players trying to trick the eager Unique FC players into falling into their offside trap by not getting too close to their box.

<So, what are you going to do now? A direct kick has a fifty-fifty chance of going since Victor is standing firm on his goal line but it could be higher or lower than that depending on how you take the shot and how he moves>

'So, what are you saying?'

<Trying to find someone with good enough positioning to not be offside is the best option but it's your call, at this stage of the game, it doesn't really matter what you choose to do>

'I see, so it's my call.'

The referee blew his whistle at that moment, and as soon as the goalkeeper heard it, he slowly took two steps backward before taking a deep breath.

"Alright, here goes nothing." He muttered before rushing to the ball.

He might have listened to everything Catherine just said, but before she even began speaking, he had already made up his mind.

He decided, that he was going to take the option that was most likely to lead to a goal.

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Lifting the ball nicely with just enough power, the goalkeeper sent the ball flying toward the right, he was looking for Merino.

The winger had Matip trying to keep him in check while also hoping that he would move into an offside position just before any ball would come flying his way.

The winger quickly pushed past the midfielder just in time to get his foot on the ball, and despite raising his hand to call for an offside, there was no response from the goalkeeper as Merino raced toward the goalpost, nobody standing in his way.

"He's onside, oh it's another marvelous chance for Unique FC. Surely they'll get that fourth goal!"

Frustrated that the referee didn't do anything, Matip desperately chased after the winger, his teammates closing in from the other sides alongside the opposing players who were looking to give their teammate a hand if the need for that arose.

Desperate to put an end to their current helpless situation, Victor rushed out just as Merino got to the edge of the box but that turned out to be a mistake as the winger was fast enough to chip the ball over him just before he could get to him.

There was nothing the goalkeeper could do besides sit there as the ball bounced into the goalpost.

"Goallllll!!!"

"Goallll!!!" The voice of the fans resounded as the winger took off to the sidelines, a bright smile on his face.

This was a grand moment for the home team, however, something seemed to be off, and that was the fact that the referee had yet to blow his whistle or point to the kick-off spot to confirm the goal.

"What's this? Looks like there are doubts about whether Merino was offside or not."

The home team had to calm down their celebration as Dynamo FC players gathered around the referee, trying to get him to rule in their favor.

It wasn't going to change much as they would still be behind, but going three goals behind would mean crushing the last bit of hope they were clinging on to, and they just couldn't have that.

Back at the other side of the pitch, Dave could be seen observing everything from the edge of his box, his arms crossed.

'What do you think, Cat?'

<What do I think? Well, we'll have to wait and see what VAR decides before I tell you>

'Fair enough.'

As expected, the referee had to go to the VAR monitor to see what actually happened and make a decision, and while he was doing that, Dynamo FC players and fans waited anxiously.

The home team didn't really have anything to worry about, whether it was ruled for or against them, they were still confident that they had this match in the bag.

"I don't think he was offside, what do you think, Steve?"

"Yeah, he didn't seem to be offside to me but let's see what the officials decide."

After a while, the referee came rushing back to the pitch, and as soon as he did, he blew his whistle before pointing to the kick-off spot.

At that moment, the screens hanging above the decision displayed the agreed decision to everyone.

[ Goal to Unique FC ]

Merino quickly jumped up at that moment, his teammates quickly gathering around him as the fans screamed in jubilation.

"And Unique FC have their fourth goal, a wonderful three goals advantage against Dynamo FC now." Jim articulated.

"Once again, it's Dave being the bearer of trouble for Dynamo FC, an unbelievable goal and assist for the goalkeeper."

"Yeah, this guy is just unbelievable, Unique FC are really lucky to have someone like him as a goalkeeper. Undeniably the goalkeeper of the tournament going into the Semi-finals."

Seeing his teammates jumping and celebrating from his side of the pitch, Dave couldn't help but smile, but he did also notice the Dynamo FC players, sitting on the floor with devastated looks on their faces.

'That's just football for you.'

As you would expect, that goal was the final nail in the coffin for Dynamo FC.

For the first time in years, they were brutally defeated by Unique FC and what made it more devastating was that they conceded two goals against them after they had lost one player.