Act 2: Secrets of the Skies
Segment 1: Frosh Days
Chapter 1-8: Supersub
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
Chifure AS Elfen Saitama notch first win amongst home-side winning spree in Week 8
NNK Sports | Published 2021.11.02 11:12
Chifure AS Elfen Saitama have finally risen off the bottom of the table with their first win of the season, a home victory against third place Nojima Stella Kanagawa. The home side made it a gritty and physical affair, picking up six yellows in a tough defensive showing that eventually got the result with a 84' tally by striker YOSHIO Chisato. The visitors will be frustrated with losing the chance to move up the table and instead now slip into fourth because of the result at Chiba. A return for injured American international Brittany TRISTAN is not known yet, while it is confirmed that right midfielder KANETO Kaede is out for the season with an MCL injury. We wish her the best in recovery.
The Dogs continued their claim for being among the best in the league with a solid 2-0 home win against Omiya Ardija Ventus with goals by LEE Ji-min (38') and KOBAYASHI Tori (57'). The win sees them now just three points back of league leaders INAC Kobe Leonessa, who themselves resumed winning ways with a 3-0 victory over slumping Albirex Niigata after sharing the spoils in a goal-fest 3-3 draw with Urawa Red Diamonds last week. The Reds were on WAD duties this game week and gave back to the community with their support of physical activity and participation for children with special needs. They will be hoping the break gives them time to rest after falling down the table; sixth is a poor showing for a club with such a storied past and high quality.
The only game not to produce a victory was the 1-1 draw between Tokyo Verdy Beleza and MyNavi Sendai, following an excellent goalkeeping and defensive performance from the visitors from the east coast with nine saves and a goal-line clearance. The Tokyo-based home side, however, will be disappointed not to get the win, as they had made their charge up the table after a slow start to the season. Tokyo Verdy Beleza centre-back ABE Momoka found the back of the net on a set piece (18'), while Sendai levelled in the 60' on an outside-the-box free kick screamer by German international forward and FK specialist Therese REHN. With fourteen more gameweeks to go, they will be hoping for more positivity in the future.
Notably, Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina have somehow continued their run of seven straight games not only without a loss but without a goal allowed. Their emphatic 4-0 victory over the weekend maintains their second-place position, while the losing side AC Nagano Parceiro will want to quickly put this loss behind them.
LEO: 17 (5-2-0) | +12 (16-4)
REG: 15 (4-3-0) | +9 (9-0)
JEF: 14 (4-2-1) | +6 (10-4)
STE: 12 (3-3-1) | +3 (8-5)
BEL: 12 (3-3-2) | +2 (14-12)
RED: 9 (1-6-0) | +1 (10-9)
PAR: 9 (2-3-3) | -5 (7-12)
VEN: 6 (1-3-4) | -7 (5-12)
ELF: 4 (1-1-5) | -7 (4-11)
ALB: 4 (1-1-5) | -8 (4-12)
MYN: 3 (0-3-4) | -6 (5-11)
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
"Teamsheets have been posted!" yelled out the team's captain, Endoh Ayame. The veteran centre-back was waving over the team after training. "There's some new names, everyone."
Asuka glanced at the posted lineup sheet again. Her eyes weren't fooling her, right? Normally she'd never see her name. She had grudgingly accepted it – she was just fresh out of high school after all, and her nineteenth wouldn't even come around for another few months. Her birthday was in February, but it was only November, and their opponents tomorrow were no joke. It was the second-place squad, Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina. They'd never been scored on. It wasn't even just that their defense was solid. Their entire squad, top to bottom, participated in defending. They believed strongly in never giving the opposition a chance to breathe, and smothered people with their press.
The training grounds were abuzz with activity. Maria stopped next to her. "Oh, Asuka, you're on the bench tomorrow."
The bench was better than being in the reserves, at least. Asuka wondered why all of a sudden. Was it a tactical decision by the manager? Just a change of faces? There had been some minor injuries going around, but not at her position – not at right wing. Besides, Fumiko had been doing well enough for herself. Asuka figured she was third in line for a spot there, and on the opposite wing.
"I know, I'm just surprised why all of a sudden."
Maria messed up Asuka's hair. "Trust me, when you see these kinds of days, you shouldn't think too much about why, just get it done." She smiled. "That's how I got by." The Filipino hefted her bag and continued walking to the doors.
Asuka watched her go. "Just get it done, huh?" she wondered out loud. "Right!" But the nerves were building up already. Why was she nervous? It was just the bench. Chances were high she wasn't even going to be called upon. She couldn't even tell if she was walking out the club doors or skipping out. As she made her way back to the international house, she pulled up her phone.
"What does it mean to make the bench, Asuka?" asked Hawkmon.
"It means I'll be a substitution option during the game," she explained. "I might not get into the game, but there's a hope."
Hawkmon rubbed its forehead. "I don't get it. Why not just let all the other players sit on the bench then? Why does it have to be limited like this?"
"I dunno, it's just always been that way." Hawkmon did not look pleased with that answer. "Maybe for fairness reasons?"
"It doesn't seem very fair for young people like you, Asuka. Can't they play the younger ones from time to time?"
Asuka stopped in front of the internationals' residence. "That's just the way sports are sometimes. You don't want to break up something that's working, right?" She was, of course, fully aware of the player quality in the squad. Sure, she was considered a promising player, but there were known quantities playing week to week as well, and they were getting decent results. It wasn't a clean record like Hiroshima or Kobe, but it was close enough.
Before Hawkmon could respond further, Ji-min put her hands on Asuka's shoulders. Maria was with her. "Asuka, who are you talking to?"
"Ahh!" Asuka fumbled her phone and caught it before it hit the ground. "You two!"
"I thought I saw, like, a bird on your phone."
"Just my phone background, hahah." Asuka grinned sheepishly. "Birds are great." She looked down at Ji-min's hands. She was carrying bags of something from the konbini.
"It's just groceries, nothing too special," replied Ji-min. "I thought I saw it moving, though, Asuka. Doesn't that get distracting if your phone background is animated?"
"Uhh…" Asuka was in it now. "I got used to it!" She gave them an innocent grin.
Ji-min and Maria shot her a look of suspicion. Maria piped up, "Wasn't that one of those little characters that can walk around your screen or something? They used to be all the rage for PCs. I had one, even."
"N-no! I've never heard of those for phones!"
Maria brushed past Ji-min and Asuka and cracked the house door open. "Well, whatever. Send me the link to where you got that background, I want to see if I can find more."
"O-oh, okay." Asuka watched Maria disappear into the house. Ji-min stepped past her. "Not coming in?" She slowly started closing the door.
"R-right!" Asuka slipped through the gap and closed the door behind her. The house was a mess, as usual. Out of the three of them, only Maria was bothered by the array of stuff lying around – bottles, dishes, clothes, bags, and more. If it weren't for all of the JEF United Chiba gear lying around, it wouldn't have looked out of place as a college dorm.
Ji-min didn't even bother putting the bags away except for the things that needed chilling. "Asuka!" She tossed a bag of wasabi peas from across the living space and started unpacking some fresh groceries. She was the only one who had learned to cook at all. Asuka had never had to, and Maria admitted she had tried to before and got frustrated with it. She had even set off the smoke alarm a few times in the house and Ji-min had promptly taken over that duty.
Asuka caught the snack bag. "Thanks!"
Ji-min was about to ask her something about the game tomorrow, but Asuka hurried upstairs. "Asuka, by th- never mind," she snorted. "She'll be fine."
Asuka retreated into her bedroom and collapsed onto the mattress. "Yikes, Hawkmon, that was a close one."
Hawkmon finally had a chance to emerge from her phone. Some days it chose to remain in her bedroom where it was almost certain to be safe, but there were days like these when it ventured out. It had already seen the inside of their locker room a few times, and fortunately, had been fast enough to disappear whenever some cleaning people or staff walked in.
Asuka cracked open the bag of rice puffs. The waft of wasabi powder made her crinkle her nose. She offered it to Hawkmon, who plucked one out. "So, Asuka, do you have to prepare for tomorrow?" it asked. "There must be something special you have to do."
"Just show up to practice and pre-game and travel with the group, it's not too difficult. They'll walk us through it all. Are you going with me?"
"Of course! Even if nothing comes of it, I'll be right there supporting you!" it exclaimed.
There was a muffled voice from outside, clearly Maria's. "So you are talking to somebody! Ji-min, I was right, she is seeing someone!" There was a mischievous giggle from a distance. Hawkmon froze in a panic.
Asuka indignantly yelled back, "This is not at all a romantic relationship!"
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
JEF CHIBA UNITED TEAMSHEET – WEEK 9 – 2021.11.07
FIELD PLAYERS
HASHIUCHI Nonoka | GK | 1
TANIGUCHI Kawai | RB | 2
ENDŌ Ayame (c) | CB | 3
HIRAYAMA Fujiko (ac) | LB | 5
CRUZ Maria | CM | 6
KOBAYASHI Tori | RW | 7
UETO Mioko | CM | 8
SAITŌ Shinobu | LF | 9
NAKANO Kanna | RF | 10
HAMAMOTO Erika | CB | 18
LEE Ji-min | LW | 29
SUBSTITUTES
ISHIGE Misuzu | GK | 13
NAGISA Shizuru | CB | 17
HIGASHIYAMA Kasumi | LW | 19
ARIKAWA Chiho | RB | 23
IWAKI Amane | CM | 27
NAGATOMO Asuka | RW | 35
SUGAWARA Saya | ST | 51
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
Asuka stepped onto the pitch and looked back up from the tunnel. There were a few thousand fans. She'd seen it from above, of course, on the days that she wasn't selected, but it was very different from down below. Somehow the drumming seemed more resonant at the grass level. The eyes of some nearby spectators followed her as she walked to the bench. She could hear two of them talking about her dyed hair, but she wasn't sure if it was positive or not. It didn't matter.
A familiar voice yelled out from above. "Asukaaaa!" She turned around. Both Takaharu and Yuuka were sitting in the stands. Takaharu waved with both arms overhead. "Yuuka told me you were going to be on the bench today, so I came as quickly as I could!"
Asuka gave them a thumbs up and turned back to the pitch. She hadn't messaged the group because she didn't want to get their expectations up.
One of her teammates and fellow youngster Saya asked, "Those your friends?"
"From high school, yeah."
"Ah… I wish mine could do that, but Nagasaki is so far away. You should go see them after!"
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
SANFRECCE HIROSHIMA REGINA TEAMSHEET – WEEK 9 – 2021.11.07
FIELD PLAYERS
ASO Hikari | GK | 1
YAMADA Ayumi | LB | 2
MURAKAMI Kyo (ac) | CB | 3
KUROYANAGI Takeko | RB | 5
MIYAZAKI Eriko | LM | 6
BERTRAND Collette | CM | 7
ONO Chinami | CM | 8
ASAYAMA Manami (c) | CM | 13
COOPER Janine | RW | 16
MAEDA Kasumi | RF | 18
KOBAYASHI Ran | ST | 20
SUBSTITUTES
MIYASHIRO Satori | ST | 11
SASAKI Fumie | LM | 15
YAMADA Takayo | CM | 19
NAKAGAWA Nanae | CB | 25
NAKAGAWA Chiyako | GK | 30
IWASAKI Reona | CM | 33
FUKUDA Suzuka | LB | 70
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
The players disbanded from their huddles as the referee looked on, put the whistle in her mouth, and blew. Game on! Hiroshima kicked off first, and immediately set themselves up to pin themselves to Chiba shirts. The Hiroshima captain, Asayama Manami, took her woman on – Maria, of course – and Maria jostled with her for the ball. Manami passed off to a teammate making herself available.
Asuka watched nervously as the play unfolded. Already the home side was looking jittery and nervous against the quality of the side they were up against. Ji-min had to cover for Fujiko as the left back had stepped too far inside to the centre, and she wasn't the best at defensive interceptions. She stuck out a foot, but it was too late – the ball flew past her and to Regina's right winger Janine, who made the early cross.
The crowd let out a relieved cry as the header fizzled over the bar by centimetres. A warning shot, but a dangerous one, and one Chiba couldn't let happen again. It was only the fourth minute and it had all been the away team so far.
Nonoka looked up and waved to push higher. Kanna was plenty tall enough for the long kick, which went up into the sky and was gusted backward by the wind. It never reached the right forward. It spun and zipped back towards midfield, landing at the feet of the French international Collette, who played to Hiroshima's Eriko bombing up the wing.
"Cover! Cover!" yelled out the Dogs' coach, Fukao Ami. Ami was tapping a pen on her open palm impatiently. Her squad was looking rattled by the wind blowing off the coastline, even though they played often in these conditions. Kawai struggled to keep pace with her mark but made a last-ditch tackle to send the ball off for a corner.
"Hey! Keep your marking clean!"
The inswinger came nastily close to goal, but Nonoka reached up and grabbed the ball in a throng of hair and headbands. Chiba players rushed forward hoping to start something quickly, and Nonoka rolled the ball out without hesitation to left back Fujiko, who tapped the ball to Maria. She looked around and saw Tori open on the wing and made the play. The right winger skipped past her mark, Eriko, and found Shinobu coming up the middle. She continued charging forward with Hiroshima defenders and midfielders marking her down, and ran into trouble at the top of the eighteen. She went for the shot anyway. Hiroshima goalkeeper Hikari dived low just in case, but the shot had insufficient curl and sailed wide.
Ami clapped on the sideline. That was better from them.
Takaharu looked up at the clock. "Nine minutes… Man, the wind off the sea is cold. Are you good, Yuuka?"
"I told you to wear a scarf! November's cold!"
"Hah, oops." Takaharu stuck his hands in his gloves. At least he had remembered to bring those, otherwise he would have frozen just sitting there. He brought his phone up. "This is a lot more exciting in person, isn't it, Lomamon? Lomamon, please, wake up." The Digimon was very much uninterested in the game of soccer in front of them. "Ah… I can't believe this. What a guy."
Falcomon asked, "Why don't they just send the ball to the front all the time?" Yuuka shrugged. She had no idea either.
Takaharu replied, "That might not be the best play, especially since Hiroshima's defenders are so tall. They'd be able to take the space away." Just like that, Chiba's back line booted the ball upfield due to the tight press from Hiroshima, only for Kyo to knock the ball away with her head to a teammate. "They can't play static aerial balls like that. Maybe if Hiroshima were running backward, but they're solid in transition. Their first chance came off a quick restart. They need to make their midfield panic."
Falcomon blinked. "I think I understood that."
Takaharu was too engrossed with his own thoughts. "Plus, any of the Hiroshima players start getting smart and pull forward, then Chiba will be caught offside repeatedly, and that's an unnecessary turnover. They should be playing through the wide spaces if they're going to play a 4-4-2 diamond like this, or maybe Maria can float into the half-space instead. I don't know. I guess the game plan is to have something closer to a double pivot? I'm not sure I'm seeing it."
"Takaharu…" started Yuuka.
"Like, why don't they just change to a 4-2-3-1 and stretch the field? That might be better if Hiroshima is going to snuff out the wings anyway. That's what the 3-5-2 is good at. I'm sure there's going to be a pocket behind those wide mids."
"Takaharu!"
"What?" Takaharu stared at Yuuka perplexed.
Yuuka stared back. "Slow down."
The action on the pitch, meanwhile, was not slowing down at all. Hiroshima had the ball again, and it seemed like they were the night's aggressors so far. Collette and Manami played the ball between each other, looking for an outlet. Kasumi dropped into a gap in Chiba's left defensive structure. Ji-min went over to cover the obvious passing lane, allowing Janine to move up and wide into the now-empty space. "Fujiko, Fujiko, cover!" Ji-min pointed to the American moving to the open gap. Chiba's left back did the best she could to squeeze down the running space to force Janine to play back, but instead the American winger flicked up the ball up and over Fujiko, who scrambled backward to catch up.
"Aaghh!" she yelled in frustration as she jostled with Janine to try to stop the wide play and stuck an errant foot out. The ball went out to the touchline, but so did Janine, who rolled onto the grass in a heap. The referee whistled for the foul. "Please, that wasn't a foul!" The referee shook her head. The call was already made anyway. Fujiko shook her head and went to help Janine back to her feet.
"That's going to be a problem all night, I think," Takaharu commented.
The ensuing free kick bounced oddly off the head of Ayame and landed right in front of the semi-circle at the penalty box. Collette reared back and punted. The shot seemed destined for the bottom right corner, but then bounced off Mioko's extended foot, then off an unaware Maria's thigh, and sent Nonoka the wrong way as it gently graced the left post and nestled into the net.
Hiroshima players wheeled away in amazement to celebrate as green-jacket wearing fans buried their heads in their hands. What a silly deflected goal. Nonoka and Maria stared at each other, dejected.
Goal, Hiroshima, scored in the twenty-first minute by Bertrand, Collette. The Dogs' coach yelled out in encouragement, "Keep pushing forward!"
Kanna kicked the ball back from centre circle to Maria, who was marked down by Ran, forcing her to go back to Ayame, who played wide to Tori. The right winger advanced with the ball, then turned around as Hiroshima shirts gathered around her. She played back to Kawai, who pinged the ball long upfield to Fujiko making an overlapping run with Ji-min in support. The left back held the ball up in the corner in wait for her teammates to arrive, then played back to Ji-min to find an opening.
The Korean midfielder didn't like her options. She held her position for a split second as Shinobu began to run back from the box in support. Ji-min passed to her, then pointed forward. Shinobu completed the one-two play successfully. "Yaa!"
The shot from Ji-min forced Hikari to leap to her near post. The sound of fabric striking plastic came milliseconds before the sound of plastic striking hollow metal. Ji-min looked skyward in disbelief, and so did the green-jacketed fans. How had Hikari reacted so quickly? Hiroshima players gathered around their keeper to thank her for her service.
Maria walked over to take the corner. The wind would send her inswinger away from the Hiroshima net. Most of her teammates, however, were crowding the box. She waved at them to stand further away from goal, then took the kick. Erika went up to try to claim the header, but Kyo was standing right in her way and made the shot attempt too difficult. It spun past the far post. "Oi, what a miss…" Erika muttered and jogged back to her position on Chiba's back line.
Hikari grabbed a ball for the goal kick and played it short to Ayumi, who played up to Eriko, then to Chinami, where Hiroshima once again recycled the ball in wait for an opening. Now that they had a tally, they figured Chiba would be willing to squeeze farther up to get the ball back. This time, Janine made the forward run, making Fujiko run backward to make sure she wasn't beat again so easily, leaving a stretched and bent China backline exposed to the outside run of Kasumi.
Instead of playing to Janine, it was a trap. Kasumi pushed forward herself with Ran and captain Manami in support toward the centre of the box. Ayame, Maria, and Erika fell back to make sure they stayed ball-side, and pushed to their right as Hiroshima played left. Kawai was preoccupied with Eriko too late to recognize the danger, and it left Ran completely open at the left side of the pitch. Kawai dashed to stop the shot, if at all possible. She got in the way of Ran, forcing her to take another touch and go ever further wide. The shot from Ran was a slow one, and Ayame hurried back to the far post, and kicked the ball away, as Nonoka had been covering her near side.
A sigh of relief rippled around the stadium. Thirty minutes in, and at least it was still one goal down.
"Girls, I have to be honest, we're getting churned up in midfield." The head coach was very clearly unhappy with that showing. "We cannot allow ourselves to be so easily broken out." It was a true statement, but the five midfielders were pulling apart Chiba's system anyway. "We trained for this last week, now it's time to play it. Shinobu, when we're in defense, fall back into midfield, and same for Mioko. I need you to be level with Maria so she isn't the only one in the defensive midfield area." They nodded.
Ami pointed at a board of tactics. "Janine is absolutely killing us with her pace. We need to prevent those crosses as much as we can. Fujiko, I've seen you've started marking her tighter. Good. Continue doing that, and if you have to take the yellow, take it. We can't let her get free on that side. Everyone else, we'll need to make sure we stay in line with her. We'll all pull back a bit more. We're a goal down, but given our opponents, any result is better than this." Fujiko nodded. She was already not in the referee's good graces tonight – she was sitting on two fouls, after all – but if she kept her hands off Janine, she might get away with one more before getting booked.
"Kanna, pull back from their back line. We should try to play short and fast to make them stumble in transition. I know we're getting tired, but since we're a goal down, they're not going to sit so high on us anymore. We need to make them scramble. Got it?"
The players shouted in acknowledgement. "Good. Keep steady. We will get a result from this!" Asuka and the substitutes went out early to warm up further while the field players stayed back to rest their legs for a bit longer.
Yuuka was scrolling through the statistics. "Takaharu, I thought they had more shots than that."
"Shots on target?"
"They only had two. Really?"
"Blocked shots don't count." Hiroshima had outshot the home side seven to five and had forced Nonoka into four saves already versus two for Hikari. It was a strong performance from both goalkeepers that the game was still a one-goal game.
• • • • • • •
Sumida Tamers
Tokuda Satsuki
Gooooo Asuka!
Even though she's on the bench
17:51
Ishida Yuuka
You're still up?
Isn't it 2 am in California
17:53
Tokuda Satsuki
Daylight savings time is going to end soon
It'll be 1 am after that
17:54
Ishida Yuuka
Still.
17:54
Koyama Ryuta
We'll be fine, it's Sunday morning for us right now
I have nothing important
17:54
Tokuda Satsuki
Exactly!
17:55
Ishida Yuuka
Ryuta Go to bed
17:55
Koyama Ryuta
you're not my mom
17:55
Shimizu Kazuhiko
I'M DEAD OMG
17:56
Ishida Yuuka
i will kill you
17:58
Koyama Ryuta
(。・ω・。)
17:58
• • • • • • •
A snort and a giggle interrupted Yuuka from replying further. "Oh, shut up, Takaharu." That only served to make him erupt with laughter.
Asuka sighed and sat back down on the bench as the field players emerged for the second half huddle. This would be the perfect game for her – sit back, find a gap, stretch the field, explode forward. She tapped her fingers impatiently on her knees as Chiba kicked off the second half. The shift in formation was starting to pay dividends.
"Look, they're doing it. I said they should have switched formations earlier!" Takaharu sighed. "Maybe they'll have some room to run now."
Hiroshima were still up to their usual tricks and playing a possession-heavy setup. The ball shifted back and forth and back and forth, but the trio of Chiba midfielders clogged things up. Then, Maria stepped forward on an errant pass by Collette, and stole the ball away. She charged forward with Ji-min and Tori in support and Kanna forcing the Hiroshima shirts to run with their backs to the ball. Tori was first to get space, and Maria sliced her lob toward her. Tori leapt up to chest it down, but it allowed her mark to catch up. She cut inside and yelped as an errant foot brought her down to the turf.
The referee blew her whistle and walked up to Eriko, the Hiroshima left wingback for the day. "No more fouls!" Eriko nodded and helped Tori back up to her feet. Clearly, the referee was not in a mood to tolerate sloppy tackling despite the plunging temperatures and the tired legs. There had only been one card issued so far for Kasumi obstructing and getting in the way of Nonoka, but that now seemed like it would change quickly.
The free kick was taken quickly and set up Mioko to step forward with the ball. Kanna provided an outlet, but two Hiroshima shirts surrounded her. She flicked it away before they cut off the lane, and redirected the ball to Tori, who made the cross to Shinobu. However, Takeko, the centre-back on the far side, had guessed it would be coming, and headed it away before any Chiba players could reach it.
The ball recycled out to Maria. She had an open look. Why not? She went for the top right corner. Hikari leapt up to cover the space, but the ball skipped off the crossbar. "So close!" Maria exclaimed.
Now it was Hiroshima's turn to restart. The goal kick went long, but like the kicks from that end of the field before, it blew backwards in the air. Kyo headed the ball forward, and Chinami took advantage and went a different way. If Chiba were going to clog the midfield, then they might as well hold onto the wings. She gestured for Ran to tuck in and played to Janine, who held up the ball in wait for Ran to get free. The Hiroshima forward, however, was being carefully watched by Ayame, and Ran got herself right into trouble.
The turnover encouraged Chiba to run forward again, and Mioko received the pass from her captain. She looked up. Kanna was probably onside, so she lofted it up into the air. The wind now carried the ball further away from them, and Kanna chased after it, followed closely by Kyo and Takeko. The ball carried further and further in the wind, though, and rolled all the way to the edge of the box, where Hikari was chasing it down first, and punted it away again.
Kanna sighed, turned around, and gave them a thumbs up. It was a good idea, just that the wind wasn't cooperating tonight. The drumming continued and the minutes ticked on with Hiroshima managing to settle themselves after Chiba's initial outburst. Another shot sailed wide of the post on both sides.
As the clock ticked past the sixty-minute mark, Ami had seen enough to make a change. Tori had been slowing down ever since the second half started, and it was understandable why – she was coming off a cold from the previous day. Asuka looked on as Kasumi and Amane were called up, expecting to see Lee Ji-min and either Maria or Mioko exit.
She sighed and continued warmups on the sidelines as the electronic board went up. It wasn't Ji-min; it was Tori and Mioko. She was telling Ji-min to swap to the other side, as they wanted to take advantage of Janine staying up so high with fresh legs to run into space. Asuka watched with a heavy heart as Tori made her way to the bench. That was supposed to be her chance. "Asuka, one day soon enough, I'm sure," Saya murmured next to her. Both of them were quite young and in the same situation – waiting on an opportunity to break through.
"I know, I just… I just expected it since it was my first bench appearance."
Takaharu shook his head. "That sucks for Asuka."
"What?" asked Falcomon. "Aren't they putting on a left winger? It says so right here."
"They're taking Tori out though, and Ji-min is switching sides. That probably means that's the end of that opportunity. I think they realize Ji-min is tiring too, but that side isn't as promising for the attack, so they're choosing to sacrifice Tori to have some speed on the left side instead," Takaharu explained. Yuuka wasn't paying attention. She was distracted by what Falcomon had said.
"Falcomon, you can see what I'm looking at on my phone from inside?" Yuuka asked. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I thought you knew."
"No, I didn't… whatever. It's too late to say anything." She hoped Falcomon didn't also have the ability to browse through her phone contents, especially after Ryuta's latest picture.
The referee's whistle and a roar from the crowd got them back to the game. The referee was running over to Chinami with a hand in her front pocket. She produced a yellow card. Chinami raised a hand to acknowledge her transgression while Mioko picked herself off the ground right in front of the box. If only she had advanced a few yards more, they might have had a penalty instead of a free kick.
The crowd watched with bated breath as Shinobu stepped up alongside Maria. Both of them had been known to take kicks. The referee blew her whistle a few times and ordered the Hiroshima wall to actually stay ten yards behind and no silly business. They did as they were told, but they were trying to use as many opportunities as possible to slow the game down and hold the lead. They, too, were tiring, after all.
Maria paced forward, then stepped over the ball. It would be Shinobu instead. Fans gasped as the free kick spiraled and twisted past the wall. Hikari stepped to her side a few times and leapt to cover her corner with a raised palm and batted it away with her fingertips.
"Oh, damn!" Takaharu exclaimed. Yuuka had her hands over her agape mouth. "What a save!"
Shinobu put her hands on her hips and gazed at goal with tired eyes, then laughed a few times and shook her head. It was about as good as it would get, and it wasn't fast enough to beat the Hiroshima keeper. Ayame patted her on the back as she went forward to take position for the ensuing corner.
Maria punted the ball in for the corner, only for Fujiko's header to redirect into the grateful palms of Hikari. They jogged back into position, though Hikari put a hand up to signal to stay close, and rolled the ball out to Kyo, who passed over to Ayumi, then back, and then over to Takeko. Hiroshima were more than willing to let Chiba chase the game now.
Eventually they did play forward to Collette, who under the press of Kanna, sent the ball to Eriko. She didn't like her options, but she did spot Janine open on the far side and lofted the ball skywards to her. Janine was immediately covered by Fujiko and passed back.
Takaharu sighed. Chiba would never win like this, not while Hiroshima were so organized and content to run a round of passing drills. "Come on, someone step up and step in…" he muttered, trying to squash his neck down into his light jacket. The clock was nearing the seventy-minute mark, and the sun had gone down, leaving only the stadium lights to illuminate the pitch.
Instead of Chiba stepping up, it was Hiroshima that took advantage of a quick three-pass sequence, zipping the ball into the wide player Eriko, who played on with Manami and Collette in support with Ran ahead of them. Kawai was forced to make a clumsy and late tackle on Eriko and sent her tumbling to the turf. Kawai put her hands out as if to profess her innocence, but the referee was already reaching for her pocket. She'd had enough of that. Out came the yellow card.
The ensuing free kick came from the corner of the eighteen. No direct shot to be had unless the free kick taker was feeling ambitious. The fourth official hoisted the substitution board anyway, interrupting the game. This time, it was Hiroshima's turn to substitute. Out came Kasumi and Chinami, who were already on a yellow. In came Takayo and Nanae. It seemed like Hiroshima had experienced enough of Chiba terrorizing their backline and were shoring it up by moving to a 4-5-1, with Ayumi going left and Takeko right, and Nanae entering the backline, with Takayo entering the point of midfield.
"A midfielder for a forward and a defender for a midfielder. Takaharu, are they done with attack?"
"It seems they are. Their mistake!" he thundered ominously. "One-goal leads should never be seen out like this!" He pointed skywards as if somehow a storm was supposed to rumble at that moment. Yuuka snorted. When he got excited, he got excited.
The header from the Hiroshima free kick sailed well over the crossbar as Ayame had put Kyo off enough. The game slid back the other way, despite the defensive changes from Hiroshima. It seemed Chiba were up to the task. The ball cycled forward and backward as the Dogs probed for an opening for a few minutes, then the ensuing shot by Kanna bounced off a Hiroshima defender for a corner.
The fourth official raised her board again. This time, substitutions from Chiba. Ayame clapped for the crowd as she stripped her armband off and handed it to Fujiko, then made her way around the edge of the pitch. They were still a goal down, but they had shown grit to try to level it. The crowd stood for the veteran centre-back as she made her way around. As she passed by the remaining substitutes, she told them, "It's coming, believe that it's coming!"
Shizuru stepped into her spot on the back line. She was a good deal taller than her counterpart in the captain. It seemed head coach Ami was looking for set pieces to get the game winner. Chiho stepped up to the line as well to relieve a tired Kawai.
"Just one slot left," commented Asuka. "Ah well. If she calls on you, good luck, Saya."
"Thanks, you too."
The following corner forced Hikari into a save from a weird looping volley from the edge of the box by substitute Kasumi and out for another corner. The next corner was headed away and cleared away, allowing Hiroshima a moment to breathe. The ball ended up back with Shizuru, who played out to Ji-min. She advanced not far and got tangled up in Hiroshima shirts. She scrambled for control of the ball as she worked her way out, then broke free. The crowd gasped and got up to their feet as she nutmegged Eriko, who stumbled and spun around. Fortunately for Hiroshima, Ayumi was there to cover if something like this happened, and Ji-min was again forced to stall. Instead, this time she kept it simple and cut inside. It wasn't her preferred foot, though, so she passed in the box to a supporting Kanna, who lined up her shot hockey-style and took the one-time. Hikari again was up to the task and dove away to send it out for yet another corner. The crowd let out a sigh.
Hiroshima made their third substitution then, swapping the tiring Eriko for Fumie. It seemed the unwillingness to pick up another yellow meant that Chiba was getting more opportunities now. Maria went over to take the corner as bodies jostled in the box. She put her hand up, and then put the ball up.
There was a sudden chaos of bodies in the box as Hikari went out to punch and crashed into multiple people at once. She went up and over at least two people.
"Ouch," Takaharu remarked. "That's a bit wild."
"Oh, was that necessary? She went through her own teammates."
"You do what you have to in sport. Ah… there are players down. That's a shame." In fact, both a Hiroshima and a Chiba player were lying on the pitch after the hard landing. Hikari seemed to be just fine with it, but both Ji-min and Kyo were laid out on the grass. The referee jogged over, took one look, and immediately signalled for the medics, who rushed forward from the benches. Players stood around them. Kyo was just lying there gasping for breath, but she waved off any concern, even when the medic came over to check her.
Ji-min was clutching her shoulder, however. It seemed she might have landed on it underneath both Hiroshima players, and she wasn't happy with the way it felt. Yuuka stared with concern, as did many green jacketed fans. Losing Ji-min was a blow. Kasumi was already on the pitch, left-winger Hirao Shinobu had gone on loan, Tori was substituted already, and Chikako was out injured. It was just Asuka left now.
The medic shook her head and signalled for a substitution. Ami, arms crossed, rapped her fingers against her arms as the assistant coach consulted with her. Asuka watched expectantly. Surely now it was her time. The assistant coach came over with a substitution paper in hand. She could already see her name on it.
"Asuka, let's go. Right wing. We've moved Kasumi back to the left. Other than that, no change to the game plan. We just need to finish our chances."
"Got it!"
"Hey, do us proud, okay?" Saya cheered. She knew that was it for the game – it wasn't a concussion injury, so there would be no extra window – but she hardly cared. Just watching a fellow youngster make the pitch was exciting. Asuka trembled as the crowd applauded with Ji-min getting to her feet. She was clutching her shoulder still, but at least could walk without too much discomfort. The medic led Ji-min off the pitch at the goalmouth. "Kasumi!" Asuka yelled out, then pointed at herself and motioned to the far side, and then motioned for her teammate to come close. Kasumi nodded and jogged back to her normal position on the left.
Substitution, Chiba United, in the eighty-second minute. Exiting the game, number twenty-nine, Lee Ji-min. Entering the game, number thirty-five, Nagatomo Asuka!
Takaharu got to his feet and yelled. "Asukaaa! Yeaaaah!" Yuuka tried to tug him back down, but he was immovable. "Woooo!"
"Whh… whaz happenin'?" asked a very sleepy Lomamon.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, you finally woke up. Asuka's getting into the game, look!" He pointed his phone camera at the action.
Asuka realized then and there that she was very nervous. Suddenly the bench seemed so far away, and the action so close. She breathed to calm her nerves. "This is nothing at all. I am prepared for this moment." Hikari punted the ball downfield after the drop ball to get rid of it, which Shizuru promptly collected and played out.
"I've practiced for this all season. I… This is nothing." She cracked a shit-eating grin. "Last March we were in deep shit. This is just a soccer game." The ball ended up with Maria, who glanced at Asuka. Instinct took over. She exploded forward, but Maria was a touch too slow with the pass. Just as Asuka thought she had a chance to run, the linesman put her flag up, and the referee agreed. Both Asuka and Maria raised their hands in frustration, but the game's overseer would not budge.
"Asuka!" yelled Ami. "Patience!" Asuka put a hand up in apology. With a game this late, her fresh legs would effortlessly carry her past the tiring Ayumi. She had to take advantage of it, though, before Hiroshima made their own substitution to put on Suzuka, or else the speed differential might disappear. Stoppages like that were just increasing the chance that it happened.
Hiroshima took the free kick short and played central to Kyo, who was more than happy to let Kanna chase. She and Shinobu took turns pressing up against the Hiroshima backline. Both of them sighed as the back four played back and forth. Minutes ticked down towards ninety. Sure, there would be some added time for the substitutions and injuries, but it might not be much.
The ball moved forward to Manami, who put her head up and looked for an outlet. Collette was open, but not for long, and she played back to her captain, who went back to Nanae. The centre-back substitute had seen enough, and spotted Ran hanging on the edge of the back line. The forward long-ball was knocked down by the tall striker to her teammate in attack Janine, who accepted the ball and took the play out to the edge. Instead of wearing down the clock, however, she wanted the second goal to seal the game. She played the cross in for Ran, who leapt up to head it.
Seconds turned to minutes as people were sure this would seal the game. The ball was headed for the top corner, and Nonoka was a bit off her line. She leapt up and backward with a palm extended. Her hand contacted the rubber just as the ball sat right above the goal line, and as she fell backward, she pushed it out and away. The ball spun away to a grateful Chiho, who looked to counter.
The crowd went berserk, with drums and even brass instruments wailing from the supporter's deck. Even Nonoka, after pulling herself off the netting, seemed in disbelief that she had just done that. She got her bearings back and yelled at Chiho. "Switch! Switch!"
Asuka had already gotten herself into position, sitting right in an awkward pocket of space Hiroshima had left behind. It seemed the save had stunned them as well, and they were nowhere as defensively coordinated as they should be. Chiho looked up and saw the gap. With a hard punt, the ball sailed over everyone, and with the wind, Asuka slipped past her marks. The ball rolled forward over the grass, then Asuka took one touch to take it further down the pitch. She glanced to her left. Players were coming. If she held it up a bit longer at the goal line, maybe there would be enough people there to take advantage of a low cross. In fact, she spotted Kanna and Shinobu doing just that.
With a huff, Asuka slid the ball across the grass, sending it between the legs of a tired Kyo and straight to the grateful right foot of Kanna. It was an easy tap-in from there.
Yuuka was surrounded by a raucous, thundering herd of green jackets. It was a draw now, but a point rescued nonetheless. Takaharu shook her by the shoulders. "Aahh! She did it! They did it!"
"Takaharu, please-"
"There's no way she's staying on the bench after that now!"
Yuuka sighed and turned back to the game. There was also no way she was going to bring this guy back to earth tonight.
Goal! Scored in the ninetieth minute by number ten, Nakano Kanna!
Kanna had her pointed straight at Asuka with a grin and a laugh. "What a run!" Maria exclaimed as bodies piled into the corner. In the distance, the coaching staff and the bench had all gotten up on their feet with the fans.
Then came the signboard for added time: four minutes. If they were lucky, there might be a chance for a second goal. Then the fourth official lowered her board, then hoisted it again. Hiroshima had seen enough and weren't going to let Asuka away so easily a second time. Out came the left back Ayumi, replaced now by Suzuka, as well as the goalscorer Collette, replaced by Reona.
Hiroshima returned to centre circle, dejected about having given up the equalizer. They hung onto the ball while Kanna and Asuka terrorized the back line. They pressed hard, hoping for Kyo or Nanae to make another mistake.
The persistence paid off. Kyo's pass to Suzuka was errant and slow, and Asuka rushed forward to intercept. Suzuka was hot on her heels, and the two jostled for control of the space towards goal. With a great huff, Asuka shook her off, dipped her shoulders, and nudged the ball forward into space. She glanced at her left. Nanae was too slow, and Kyo was even slower with a full game's worth of running in her legs. Just Hikari left.
She stared down the Hiroshima goalkeeper. She was already covering her angle. Taking a shot would be risky, what with Hikari's giant armspan and quick feet. No, she had to do something else. With her preferred foot, she prepared a shot. Hikari set herself. That was the bait.
Asuka flicked the ball hard left just before she motioned to shoot, and Hikari scrambled. Asuka was free now. She took two, three steps across the face of goal, and the tap-in was as simple as Kanna's from earlier. She wheeled away, yelling incoherently, as the Chiba players turned into a dogpile at the corner flag. Kyo squatted down on the pitch, sweat dripping from her face, and shook her head. What a terrible mistake to make by an experienced player.
Yuuka was pretty sure this time, the stomping was going to be detected on a seismograph in the vicinity. Maybe this was a bit too much for her, but Takaharu was busy yelling with the stranger next to them in glee.
Goal! Scored in the ninetieth plus minute by number thirty-five, Nagatomo Asuka!
The crowd yelled her name in time with the announcer. Not only had they completed their comeback victory, but they had also done it against the "unforgiving" team, the one that had never yet let a goal in to date.
Just a minute later, the referee blew three times and pointed to the benches. Another round of cheers went around the stadium. Players did their customary bows, and then Asuka was paraded around the sidelines alongside Kanna and Nonoka, a wide grin on her face. She fist pumped before the thousands of fans.
Eventually the festivities had to end, and the players made their way down the tunnel. Maria stepped gingerly around as her legs were cramping up with the chilly wind off the coastline. "Asuka, that was nuts."
"Hah! Thanks."
They came to the locker room, where another round of "oooohh!" went around the players. Finally, Ami, the head coach walked in, hands held out. She nodded to everyone else around the room. "That's how we get it done around here!"
"Hey, where's Ji-min?" Asuka asked. Both her and the medic were gone.
Nonoka dried herself off after the shower. She needed one after that dirty stop on Ran. "Probably already headed to the hospital for a scan. I think she'll be fine. Just needs a few weeks." Nonoka ruffled her hair. "I hope, anyway."
Asuka's red-streaked hair was still sopping wet. She patted it dry as much as she could. "You think I can visit her?"
"Maybe? Might not be allowed to, though, if she's going under examination right now. I'm sure she'll be back out tomorrow." Asuka didn't look convinced.
"First time seeing an injury like that?" asked the captain, Ayame. "She's a strong girl. Last time I picked up a shoulder injury like that, I came back in a week. It's probably a bad bruise."
"I guess."
Ayame ruffled Asuka's still-wet hair. "Ah, it's part of the business. You'll get used to it. Everyone gets knocked about some day." Ayame slipped on her change of clothes and into a training jacket. "Tell you what, I'll go find out how she's doing, and if we can see her, we'll go together."
"Sure, that sounds good," Asuka replied. Ayame paced out of the locker room to find the other medical staff for an update.
"Asuka!" yelled Kawai and Chiho. Kasumi also got her from behind. "How are you going to celebrate your first goal and assist?"
"Uh… I, uh… I haven't thought about it, to be honest!" she laughed. She hadn't really been expecting to see the pitch at all, never mind score and assist the first day.
Ayame re-entered the locker room. "She's already on her way home."
Hawkmon was buzzing as much as Asuka was. "I heard everything! I thought the building was coming down, but then I heard the cheering! Asuka, that was incredible," it gushed. "We're going to watch the highlights after, right?"
"Obviously!" she remarked.
"You talking to your partner again?" asked Maria from right behind Asuka.
"Aah!" she yelped and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Maria!"
"Heh! She's dreaming now," Maria waved her arm up at the night sky. "World Cup, Olympics maybe… gold medal game."
"I –" Asuka huffed. Maria was right. She was thinking about it. Surely the U-20 program was noticing this. Surely, even, the senior team.
"Mmhm. Don't let me keep you down! Hey, maybe we'll meet in qualifiers too!" Maria said as she walked off. Asuka jogged to keep up with her. "Aren't you going to catch your friends tonight?" she asked.
"Ah… We did, briefly, but Takaharu had to rush to catch his train back out west, and Yuuka had to help her mother with something."
"That's unfortunate. You can always celebrate over the break, though." They cracked open the door to the international house. Ji-min was sitting on the couch with some quantity of bandages and something pressed to her shoulder and a Korean drama cast to the TV.
"Oof, Ji-min, that looks rough," Maria remarked.
She shrugged. "Bruised, nothing terrible though. I think I'll be fine in a few weeks." Asuka and Maria let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, I heard from the medics about the result. Asuka, I wish I could have seen it, haha, but they rushed me off as soon as they could."
"Why did they?! It was just another, what, ten minutes?" Asuka waved her arms about.
Ji-min waved the complaint away. "It's protocol, it's fine." She grunted as she adjusted the wrapping a touch. "I feel a bit bad for Tori, though."
"Oh. You think I'm going to replace her?"
"It's possible." Ji-min sighed. "Honestly, it might even be me."
"But you're on the left!"
"Both Tori and Kasumi can switch sides, so it won't matter." Asuka stared awkwardly at the TV. "Asuka, that's soccer. It's just the way the business is. We just push each other to do our best, and whatever the coach and the office decides is up to them."
"But…"
"Trust me, once you've been around the sport for long enough professionally, you get used to it. I'm still friends with some people back home, but the same thing happened to me eventually. Circumstances change. We'll all retire soon enough anyway," she laughed a bit darkly.
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina finally defeated! And more from WE League Week 9
NNK Sports | Published 2021.11.08 10:56
How about that for late night, last-minute drama?
Before the review of some incredible action in Chiba, Saturday noon's game under light drizzle in Tokyo featured Tokyo Verdy Beleza against Nojima Stella Kanagawa. The sole tally of the game came from a combination of internationals, with Canadian Annabelle-Margerite OUTREMONT setting up German Karin Elsa ZIMMERMAN for the incredible bicycle kick (9'). The game would turn physical after that, a change from previous Verdy Beleza games featuring high scoring from both sides. Instead, both Verdy Beleza and Stella Kanagawa would record five yellows apiece, with goalscorer ZIMMERMAN joining the list of cautioned players.
Following that, WE League went along the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kobe, where INAC Kobe Leonessa tied up their match 1-1 with mid-table AC Nagano Parceiro. The visitors drew first blood in this game, finding the back of the net by a penalty set up and scored by captain TAKEUCHI Saori (33'). The hosts would scramble and push for a goal, and Nagano bent under wave after wave of pressure, until the home side found a goal by a penalty of their own scored by FUKUDA Konomi (72'). Kobe would push further for a gamewinner, but an outstanding goalkeeping demonstration by back-up keeper TAKEDA Miho would preserve the draw. Starting goalkeeper FUKUMORI Umi did not travel, as the club has made arrangements for their family to have a child, and the league wishes them the best.
MyNavi Sendai continue their bottom-lurking ways with an unfortunate 0-2 home loss to visiting Urawa Red Diamonds, who with the win, look to continue their attempts to get their season back on track. The Reds found the net twice in the second half after a poor offensive showing from both sides in the first forty-five minutes, with a headed goal by centre-back KATO Minako (50') and a tap-in goal by ENDOH Harue (81'). However, the Reds have also now lost key midfielder OKUHARA Mana to yellow card accumulation, who will be suspended for the next match.
Then on Sunday, WE League returned to Niigata Athletic Stadium as Albirex Niigata took on Chifure AS Elfen Saitama. The outfit from Niigata made solid work out of their opponents, although it remains to be seen if the 3-1 win is merely a blip on the radar or a true indication of a turnaround for the side. AS Elfen will be unhappy that they could not follow up their previous shock win with another positive result. Niigata goals were scored by captain IZAWA Yoshiko (17'), HIRAO Aki (23'), and YAMADA Mayo (88'), while AS Elfen's only goal was an own-goal due to an errant foot extended by Niigata defender FUKUZAWA Reiko (75').
Finally, to conclude the gameweek, a blustery JEF United Chiba played host to defence queens Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina. From the start of the first half the game was dominated by the away side as the Dogs played into the wind. The home side persisted, however, and both traded decent looks on goal, until a recycled set piece landed at the opportunistic feet of French international Collette BERTRAND, whose shot pinballed on its way to goal (37'). A wrong-footed HASHIUCHI Nonoka could only watch helplessly as the ball rolled into her net.
Despite the positivity from both sides, the half ended 0-1. But as the sun set and temperatures dropped, the intensity only increased, as Chiba surged from the start and did not take their feet off the gas pedal. A series of warning shots were traded back and forth for approximately thirty-five minutes, with Philippine international Maria CRUZ, NAKANO Kanna, SAITŌ Shinobu, HIRAYAMA Fujiko, and substitute HIGASHIYAMA Kasumi all with attempts goalward, but none finding the back of the net due to heroics from Hiroshima goalkeeper ASO Hikari.
Eventually, an injury to LEE Ji-min would allow newcomer and high school graduate NAGATOMO Asuka to make her first appearance in professional soccer, and what a start it would be. After the action was traded back and forth a few times more, the youngster received a long ball from deep and made good of her run, finding teammate NAKANO Kanna in the middle of the box for a tap-in goal (90'). Then, Asuka would get a goal of her own off an errant pass by Hiroshima defender MURAKAMI Kyo. She would push her way forward and fake out ASO Hikari for the solo goal (90'+2) to reclaim all three points for the Dogs with a final score of 2-1.
Notably, this brings Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina's perfect record and lossless streak to an end as they finally give up two goals in this loss, their first of the season, and the result now puts JEF United Chiba in second place, one point behind league leaders INAC Kobe Leonessa. The league leaders, predictably, have yet to taste defeat, and with so many teams not far behind, they cannot afford to get sloppy. However, Kobe is not the only team to go undefeated; somehow, Urawa Red Diamonds have gone an incredible seven games without a loss, though they have only picked up one win as well, leaving them below the halfway line in standings. Should those draws turn to wins, surely the Reds will recapture some magic from last year's glittering run to the championship.
Head coach for JEF United Chiba was quoted in the press interview following the game that "this is simply the grit the girls have" and she is "overjoyed to have this kind of sisterhood in the locker room". The injury to Ji-min, she confirmed, will keep her away for "at least a few weeks".
LEO: 18 (5-3-0) | +12 (17-5)
JEF: 17 (5-2-1) | +7 (12-5)
REG: 15 (4-3-1) | +8 (10-2)
BEL: 15 (4-3-2) | +3 (15-12)
STE: 12 (3-3-2) | +2 (8-6)
RED: 10 (1-7-0) | +1 (10-9)
PAR: 10 (2-4-3) | -5 (8-13)
ALB: 7 (2-1-5) | -6 (7-13)
VEN: 6 (1-3-4) | -7 (5-12)
MYN: 4 (0-4-4) | -6 (5-11)
ELF: 4 (1-1-6) | -9 (5-14)
―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ―――――― ――――――
