Good to be back.
The whole team had picked up on Percy's loss of form at this point, but none of them had any clue as to why it had happened nor how it could be reversed. Percy himself was none the wiser and his growing frustration only seemed to make things worse.
"I don't know," Jason said, mystified, when Annabeth asked him during training. "I've known him for what, three years now? Never seen him like this." He shook his head. "The Percy we all know would get stronger with every setback. Something's affected him, but I just don't know what."
"It seems to me that he's holding himself back," Frank told Annabeth. "He's usually one of our most cheerful guys in training. Now if you look at him, he's serious all the time. He used to hit such amazing balls that nobody could stop. His form and power was unmatched. These days he seems to be concentrating on accuracy and precision, but if you ask me that isn't his style. He doesn't have that clinical edge like me. He's more like a sports car, but now the sports car is stuck on fourth gear."
"What's stopping him from going to fifth?" Annabeth asked, having no idea if a car actually did have five or more gears.
"Himself," Frank replied. "He's pulled the handbrake because he wants to drive more correctly. But that's made him slow."
"I still don't get it," Annabeth told him. "I can't drive, so I don't really understand half of what you're saying."
Frank scratched his head. "What I'm saying is not so much important as compared to how it can be fixed. I don't know the answer to that. But you should ask Nico. He's known Percy since kindergarten."
Nico, as always, came straight to the point.
"He's beating himself up over the suspension he got."
"That was weeks ago." Annabeth was incredulous. "He still hasn't gotten over it?"
Nico shrugged. "I don't know why he hasn't. But he's gotta sort it out soon so we can start picking up points."
Goode's next game was a cup tie away to Point High. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to give such a name to a school, nobody knew. The standard of their football team matched their dreadful name; they had been dead last in the league since early in the season, and had recorded so many bottom-table finishes and game losses over the past years that people had nicknamed them No-Point High.
Annabeth deployed an unchanged lineup from the previous game, Percy and Malcolm up front flanked by Chris and Ron. Her players, Percy included, seemed fairly confident and she didn't expect much trouble from this game.
Unfortunately it seemed that things wouldn't be that straightforward. Point High's underdog status meant that they played primarily on the defensive, ceding possession and sitting deep. This meant that Goode had to go on the offensive, something that they were neither set up for nor were they accustomed to.
Goode's old problems resurfaced as they found themselves faced with a wall of black shirts. There was no space for their attackers to run into and they didn't know how to get through. With Point unwilling to take the game to them and Goode unable to break them down, the game petered off into monotonous possession with zero forward motion. Goode's crosses and long balls were turned away. Their forwards were surrounded and harassed each time they tried to carry the ball upfield.
To make things worse, Percy's poor performance continued right where it had left off. His first touch was erratic, gifting possession to the defenders surrounding him whenever he received the ball. He was unable to connect with any of the crosses or high balls, missing headers and fouling players with his efforts or getting fouled himself.
Chances fell to him over the course of the first half, but he was unable to score with any of them, heading over the bar, then firing well wide under pressure.
His frustration grew as the game progressed and he began to drop into midfield just to get time on the ball, which worked to Point's advantage as they had one less attacker to deal with. This compounded Goode's problems as well, further blunting their attack. Annabeth realised this and came out to the touchline immediately.
"Get back up!" She shouted at Percy, pointing upfield. "Stay high so you can be involved in the attacks."
Percy shook his head, gesturing to the large number of defenders guarding Point's penalty box. Annabeth's eyes widened at his defiance.
"Get back up there or we'll lose the game if you keep dropping deep," she roared across the field.
Percy looked slightly startled by the ferocity in her tone. He still looked like he disagreed, but obediently turned and jogged back upfield.
Point High settled into the game as they saw that their opponents didn't know how to get through them. Their play sharpened, coordinating their passes and runs to exploit the numerical disadvantage in Goode's midfield. Annabeth responded by getting Malcolm to defend against Point's CDM whenever he fell back to get on the ball. The tactic worked and Point soon lost possession, going back on the defensive.
Point reverted to their deep-defending pattern. Goode continued their laboured efforts, and duly received the same results.
Point realised that they could dispossess Goode's attackers if they waited long enough for them to enter their lines and got players around them. Allowing Goode's attackers to enter the penalty area with the ball had its risks and Goode nearly scored three times in quick succession, Chris flashing a narrow-angle effort across the goal and Malcolm managing to shoot from the penalty spot, a decent effort that was blocked by three defenders around him. Point's biggest scare was when Percy twisted and turned through their defenders and got a clear shot, only to fire the ball straight at the goalkeeper. Annabeth and the small cluster of Goode supporters applauded in recognition of his effort, but Percy grimaced as he jogged back into position, his latest failure to score only adding to his frustration.
To a casual onlooker, the flurry of chances made it look like Goode's dominance was increasing. Annabeth thought the increase of chances was a positive sign and didn't notice the subtle change in the game.
A flowing Goode attack broke down as Malcolm was dispossessed. Goode's confidence and frustration at their ineffective dominance had gradually led to more and more of their players heading upfield, leaving almost half the field empty behind them.
Point High sprung into action. Multiple black shirts surged past Frank and Dakota in midfield, who looked momentarily stunned by the turn of events before they recovered their composure and began chasing the ball down. The Goode centre-backs, outnumbered, gave ground. Luke and John, caught out of position, were racing back.
Annabeth started to sweat as Point High's right winger got into Goode's penalty box before finally being faced down by Matthew. He took the ball to the byline and whipped a cross into the box. Point's centre-forward went for the ball. Mark went with him and neither player got it, but Point High's left winger picked it up just inside the box, completely unmarked, and bent it into the far corner. He even had time to jump out of the way as John came sliding uselessly in from behind, catching his trailing leg and bringing the Point winger down. The Point supporters cheered as the ball came to a bouncing stop inside David's net. The referee arrived to book John for his challenge, rendering him suspended for the next match due to accumulation.
"Damn it!" Annabeth raged on the touchline, swinging a clenched fist through the air angrily.
Goode pressed hard from the restart, but Point High were brimming with confidence from their sucker-punch and put up a robust defence. They surged forward once more as a pass toward Percy was intercepted. Goode were alarmed and raced back to defend their goal. The three Point forwards could not find a way through, but they cut the ball back to an onrushing midfielder who struck the post with a dangerous left-footed effort. The rebound bobbled back into the box and players from both teams scrambled to reach it. Point High's centre-forward was denied by Mark's outstretched foot. Luke got on the loose ball and tried to send a long pass to Percy, which was intercepted by Point High's CDM, who played the ball into the enemy winger inside the box. John was in position this time and blocked the shot, then Mark finally managed to boot the ball clear. Malcolm and Percy both tried to chase the ball down and were outmanoeuvred by Point's superior numbers upfield. The ball came toward Goode's goal again and a thirty-yard shot followed after a few dangerous passes. David punched the ball away. John got to it the quickest and blasted it into orbit.
"Dakota! Frank! What are you doing in the back line?" Annabeth shouted. "Your job is to block those shots! Stop dropping so far behind!"
The ball was recovered by Point High defenders and sent forward down the wing. Chris fell back to guard against Point High's winger, allowing the Point High fullback to get forward unopposed.
"Stop him!" Annabeth pointed to the fullback. "Leave the winger, John's got him. You pressure the ball."
The entire Goode team had lost confidence and was starting to collapse on itself like a house of cards. The midfield had fallen back to join the back line because they were afraid of being bypassed. This created a vacuum between them and the strikers, who chased the ball whenever it went forward but got bypassed every time because there was no support from midfield. Annabeth shouted instructions, needing to reform Goode's structure line by line. Any other team would have ruthlessly punished their disorganisation by now, but the division's bottom team only knew to launch direct attacks that Goode were able to fend off. In a ludicrous twist, Point High were now facing the same inability to break down a defence that Goode had been struggling with the entire game. Annabeth flexed her jaw unhappily, then turned to the bench.
"Jason, Nico, start warming up."
Point High weren't anything to be afraid of, even if their ultra-defensive tactics were causing Goode problems. Annabeth would turn the screw in the second half and blow them away with Goode's attacking firepower.
Goode were able to keep Point High at arm's length for the rest of the half. The referee's whistle sounded at last and the two teams trudged toward the dressing rooms for the much-needed break. Point High's smiling coach was in good spirits, slapping his players on the back as they headed down the tunnel. Annabeth resisted the urge to shake her head at what she saw. Point High's ramshackle performance wasn't anything to be excited about.
Goode's players were an unhappy bunch as they came into the dressing room. Frank pulled his shirt over his head and threw it into the corner of the room where he usually sat, a look of irritation on his usually placid features. Percy dropped into the nearest seat, next to the door, and let out a sigh, resting the back of his head against the wall. David was scowling as he pulled off his gloves and headed toward the back for a pee.
"How on earth are we one-nil down?" Chris spoke between swigs from his water bottle. "They aren't even good."
"They sucker-punched us, that's what," Ron told him.
"We'll do them back after half-time," Malcolm said.
"Yeah," Dakota pulled his boot off with a wince. "We've been trying to do that this whole half. It isn't working."
"There just isn't any space to exploit," Malcolm thumped a hand onto the bench. "Every time we're on the ball we just get swarmed."
Annabeth had been writing an angry speech in her head as she'd walked down the tunnel, but she threw it out the window the moment she walked into the dressing room and saw the frustration on her players' faces. They were restive, wounded by their poor performance that they could not understand. Even though they'd performed badly as a team, their individual performances had been solid and she knew they would not accept any of the criticism that she'd been lining up. Adding her own frustration into the mix now would surely backfire.
"Sorry coach." Frank, mortified at being caught without his shirt on, pulled his knees up to his chest.
Annabeth clenched her jaw to force it shut, throttling her intended response. Any escalatory reaction would only make things worse. She held up a hand.
"Five minutes for you to cool down and get dressed. Then I'll give a short brief. Could one of you wheel the board to the front, please?"
"Sure thing." Dakota got up to get the board, walking across the room in his socks.
"Thanks, Dakota." Annabeth turned and walked out the door.
Annabeth re-entered the room five minutes later, finding her players seated prim and proper on the bench. They'd even put their boots back on. Annabeth found their over-obedience a little too formal.
"You can leave your boots off. I don't mind," She said to Dakota.
"It's alright Coach," Dakota replied. "I was worried you'd find my socks and feet distracting."
A slight titter went through the players at that.
Annabeth decided to go along with it.
"I spend so much time looking at your feet because I want to observe your form, not because I find them interesting. I don't have a foot fetish."
The players broke into laughter at that. Annabeth allowed herself a smile, then turned to the board.
"So, here's what we're going to do. You didn't play badly in the first half. The reason why things haven't gone well is because our setup isn't suited to playing against their's. But we don't have to completely change the way we play. The formation remains the same. We just have to be a bit faster and sharper. When we play against their deep lines," here she started to move the magnets around. "They'll try to crowd us out when we get too close. To get through that we need to pass and move faster than they do. Midfielders," she turned to eyeball Frank and Dakota. "If the ball is on the flanks, one stays central, one follows the ball to support the buildup. Provide short options so we don't lose possession. Whoever has the ball and thinks you're gonna lose it, send it back. He's there." She tapped the magnets on the board that represented the midfielders.
"The far side winger comes into the box." Annabeth dragged the magnet over. "Look for him when you cross. Strikers," she rested her fingers on the two magnets. "Inside the box or outside, you decide. See where the opponent has gaps, or what the team is trying to do. Mix up your movement to confuse them."
"If the ball is in the middle, then you've got even more options. Same principle, one midfielder forward, one back. Keep in mind the players we've got." Annabeth tapped the two magnets representing the wingers. "Right wing is Nico. He's going to cut in, take players on. He'll want the ball to his feet. Left wing, Ron. He wants to cross, wants players around him to create play. When that happens, Percy you come over to provide options. Stretch their defenders, see if it opens gaps for Jason and Nico. If Jason's on the ball, start looking for space because if he can't shoot, he'll try to find someone else who can."
Annabeth looked round the room, seeing renewed optimism on the players' faces. Her heart lifted seeing the confidence they had in her words, but there was one player who didn't look convinced. Percy stared at the board, his expression inscrutable. This was a marked change in behaviour from the way his eyes usually followed every action she made. Annabeth felt a touch uneasy, but pushed it down.
"We do this for forty-five minutes, we'll break them for sure. They won't be able to keep up with us. We're better than them. One hundred percent. Come on guys, let's go!"
The players broke into applause and cheers, getting to their feet. Percy stood up with them, but didn't look any more enthusiastic. Annabeth's heart sank as she wondered just what it would take for him to break out of his stupor.
A fit and firing Percy would make him double the player he was at the moment, trebling the team's strength. Right now he seemed to be the weak link holding the team back, which was equal part perplexing and incredulous considering who he was. Annabeth shook her head. Allowing Percy to continue like this for any longer would eat at his confidence. Each mistake would weigh him down further, which would be detrimental to both himself and the team. She would either have to bring him back up or drop him to let him sort things out.
Annabeth took a deep breath. "Guys, can I ask for a favour?"
"Whatever you need, Coach." Luke said contritely. The other players nodded in agreement.
"I need five minutes with Percy. Alone." Annabeth hated herself for putting him in this situation. She would have to trust the other players not to make Percy a target because she'd singled him out like this.
Percy looked startled. The other players gave small noises of assent, filing out of the room without another word, until it was just the two of them. Dakota was the last one out and closed the door behind him.
Annabeth turned to face Percy, trying to quell the butterflies in her stomach. She had no idea how this private talk would end up. Worst case scenario, she thought, he'd blow up and storm out of the room, leaving her alone.
"What?" Percy asked, looking confused.
"I'm not here to condemn you," Annabeth told him. "No one is. Everyone here wants you to succeed."
"Look, I know I'm not playing as well as I used to," Percy said. "And I'm trying to get back to my best. I just don't know why nothing's working out."
"We all make mistakes sometimes," Annabeth said. "Don't let it get to you. You're still the same player you've been this whole time."
"I know that, but…" Percy faltered. "Nothing's working."
"What's going through your mind every time you get on the ball?" Annabeth asked. "What's your first thought?"
Percy shrugged. "I can't fail. I've gotta score. This has to work."
"That's just it." Annabeth's brain seized on his words at once. "You're working yourself up too much. Too focused on getting it right. You need to let go. Relax. Enjoy the game. Enjoy getting the better of your opponents."
"Let go? Relax?" Percy looked at her like she'd gone insane. "Are you kidding me? I've worked harder than ever this past month and things have gotten worse. How am I supposed to let go of anything?"
Annabeth felt sick at the sight of Percy's anger boiling over. His expression was a mixture of anguish, sadness and guilt. It was painful to look at, and then it hit her. Percy had the exact same expression the day he'd gotten the red card, after she'd yelled at him in the dressing room. Suddenly, she realised what she'd done. Her heart felt like it had broken into a hundred pieces. For a moment, all she felt was unending sorrow.
Then her mind sharpened. There was still a game to be played. It was her mistake now, and she had to fix it. She willed the pieces of her heart back together. Emotions could wait till later. Right now she still had a job to do.
Her left arm came up to clasp Percy's right shoulder, jolting him. She looked into his eyes, into the glow of endless green.
"Percy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I spoke to you that day. I'm sorry for making you feel bad. I'm the reason why this is happening. Not you."
Percy's eyes widened. "No, you're not. How can you say that?"
"Because I see it in you, Percy. It isn't you. This isn't you. It's me, it's been me this whole time."
"I don't—" Percy seemed to slump slightly. "I'm the one that's playing. Not you."
"And I'm the one that's supposed to tell you how to play." Annabeth felt a trace of bitterness.
"It's not your fault." Percy insisted.
"No, it is." Annabeth suppressed the horrible feeling rising inside her chest. She summoned her courage. "Listen to me. When you go out there, onto that field, every second you're out there, I want you to feel the sun on your face. Feel the wind, feel the grass under your boots, and remember how much you enjoy playing football. When you get the ball, picture it in the back of the net. Picture yourself going through all those players. Think about nothing else. Go out there and be the Percy Jackson that's the best player on the field, because I know you have it in you."
The words poured from her mouth like a fountain. Annabeth paused, her mind going a million miles a second. She decided to add in a clause.
"If you come back to this room after the end of the game and things haven't gone the way you want it to, it isn't your fault." A small smile ghosted across her face without her conscious control. "It'll be mine, because I spoke to you and told you these things."
The buzzer rang, indicating the end of the half-time break. Annabeth looked up at the clock, then back at him.
"Go join the rest of the guys. I'll see you on the touchline."
Percy walked out of the room without a word. Annabeth remained behind, intending to wait for the players to exit the tunnel so that she didn't have to face their immediate reactions.
Outside, Percy rejoined the group just in time to walk out together, stepping into the line behind Frank. He kept his eyes straight ahead, ignoring sideways looks from Dakota, Matthew and John as he walked past them. Jason was behind him and clapped him on the shoulder, focused on the game but clueless as usual.
"Let's get them, bro."
Percy nodded, his eyes narrowing as he stepped out into the sun.
"Yeah. Let's get them."
Point High attempted to boss possession from the restart, moving the ball around the pitch with a purpose and firmness that they hadn't had in the first half. Goode stood their ground and the two sets of players got to grips with each other in Goode's half of the pitch. Point High managed to slip past Goode's midfield after a few attempts and Goode's defenders sprang into action. Mark clattered robustly into Point High's centre-forward as he attempted to dribble forward. Dakota got onto the loose ball, turned with it and was dispossessed by an enemy midfielder. Point High looked to strike quickly and John raced to stop the enemy winger from whipping a dangerous cross in, chasing and harassing him until he passed the ball back. Nico tackled the receiving player and the ball went out for a Point High throw-in, much to his infuriation. Point took the throw quickly and the enemy centre-forward got on the ball again close to the edge of the box. Mark stopped him with another inch-perfect tackle and the ball bobbled to Point's winger who had a shot blocked by Matthew. The ball ricocheted to Dakota again who this time sent it short to Frank before he could be closed down. Frank skipped aside as Point's CDM attempted a sliding tackle that went nowhere near the ball. The Goode midfielder pulled his boot back and sent the ball upfield to where Jason was waiting near the halfway line. The two Point High centre-backs closed on him like a pincer trap and he rolled the ball sideways to where Percy was barrelling upfield past the fullback trying to keep pace with him. Percy received the ball and took it all the way to the edge of the penalty area where the onrushing goalkeeper tried to wipe him out. Percy smoothly dodged past him and cut the ball back to Jason. The two centre-backs had placed themselves on the goal line in an attempt to protect their goal and came charging out. Jason let them come and nudged the ball right for Nico to slam it into the back of the empty net. Annabeth smiled in satisfaction as the black-haired winger wheeled away in celebration, arms aloft. 1-1.
Point High attempted to strike back immediately, pushing Goode back into their own half. Goode stood firm once again and Point High's efforts came to nothing as they could not find a way past Goode. They retreated past the halfway line, then came forward again. Their opening goal had given them hope of salvaging the game, but Goode were not the same team that had buckled in the first half. Point High were not a team that was used to having the ball and soon played themselves into a trap.
Ron, Percy and Luke sprang into action as Point sent the ball short to their fullback, recognising an opportunity to catch them in possession. All short options were covered and the panicked fullback sent a wayward pass toward his winger that was intercepted by Luke, who surged forward and sent it infield toward Frank. Point High's midfield was slow to realise the danger, allowing Frank to send the ball forward for Jason, who ran onto it in the box and slammed a second inch-perfect goal past the stricken Point High keeper. 2-1.
Point High were demoralised by going behind and made a brief effort to equalise back before fading back into their own half. Goode were content to let them pass the ball in front of them, waiting for another opportunity to strike.
The game plodded on through the second half. Frank tired and Annabeth sent Leo in to replace him. Point High made substitutions of their own, none of whom added any threat to their game. They continued to hold the majority of possession and without Frank's presence in Goode's midfield the margin increased even further. Point High used their numerical superiority in midfield to rotate possession near the halfway line, dropping players to get on the ball. Percy and Jason worked hard to block them and the tempo of the game increased slightly as Point High started to drag Goode's forwards around. Goode chased the ball back to their keeper and Point High went long, trying to stretch Goode's lines. Neither side could sustain possession. Point High realised that Goode's midfield wasn't as solid without Frank around and started to become more confident in playing the ball. Annabeth saw how they kept winning loose balls and responded by withdrawing Ron for young midfielder Paul. She told him to carry a message to the other midfielders to start man-marking Point High's players in order to stop them from recycling possession. Paul, Leo and Dakota were up for the fight and chased their opponents around for several minutes until Point High got the message and stopped testing Goode's midfield. They passed the ball around their back four until Goode's front three got into position to cut them off. Goode forced them long once again and the midfield scramble resumed as both sides fought for control.
Percy dropped in on one of Point's midfielders, scenting blood. The startled midfielder lost possession and Percy poked the ball to Leo before he could recover. Leo darted upfield and sent it to Jason, who held off his marker to lay the ball off into Percy's path. The black-haired winger burst into the box. Point High's fullback tried to match him for speed and got left behind. The enemy centre-back stood up to him and Percy nutmegged him before firing the ball past the goalkeeper and into the far corner. 3-1.
"Yes!" Annabeth howled. Relief flooded through her. There would be no painful apology in the locker room, no curling up in bed crying into her pillow that night. Her gamble had paid off. Percy's turnaround was complete. The flying winger's long road to recovery had reached its end at last.
I cannot thank you guys enough for all your support. As always, hope you liked it, tell me what you think.
Cheers, Josh SB