Tasty couldn't help but feel happy as the ball rolled towards him, he didn't even know why the pressure wasn't as intense as it had been that day, despite feeling he was now facing a more brutal marking.
What he didn't realize was that his increased strength and endurance stats were quietly working in his favour, making it much easier for him to handle the physical demands to go against Idris slightly, it was all because his physical stats were no longer far off from Idris's either.
It showed just how quickly talented players could catch up, but Tasty had no intention of testing himself against Idris directly, this was an eleven-a-side match, not a duel to stroke his ego, he definitely knew he still had a long way to go before he could easily bruise past the Bariga Young Boyz captain.
So, instead, he used the side of his left foot to chop the ball toward Bhola, as he had just pulled Idris out of his central position, due to Idris's obsession of marking him.
That single move gave Bhola a clean shot at goal, and he didn't even hesitate.
Relying on pure instinct, he took a quick step to balance himself before lashing the ball with his stronger right foot, as it soared straight toward the upper-left corner of the post.
Swish!
A mechanical beep followed, as it signal that a goal had been scored.
Bhola stood frozen, trying to process what had just happened. Was it real? Did he really score? Before he could find an answer, Tasty's cheer rang out nearby, and the rest of the team rushed in to celebrate, crowding around him in pure excitement.
Bhola still couldn't believe he had been the one to score, everything felt surreal, but the celebrations couldn't last forever as they started walking back to their half, on the other side of the field, the visual projections of the Bariga Young Boyz didn't look pleased, their expressions had turned serious as they silently returned to their positions, forcing the Dark Elites to do the same.
The whistle blew again, as The Bariga Young Boyz resumed play, this time more cautiously.
They avoided lofted passes and kept the ball on the ground, clearly unwilling to risk another counter attack.
Though the Dark Elites might not yet be on the same level overall, But their midfield and attacking lines had improved just enough to react better—and faster—to Bariga Young Boyz's play.
And as long as they kept their heads in the game and relied on their growing tactical awareness, the Dark Elites weren't at a major disadvantage, the match entered a stalemate phase as they gradually adapted to the Bariga Young Boyz's pace.
Though the Bariga side had a few threatening moments and chances to break through, however, Jezzy Vingz and Ricky Lambert were relentless—executing sliding tackles, intercepting passes, and controlling the midfield, this made it difficult for Idris to link up with his two attackers effectively all the way from the back.
It became clear that the Bariga Young Boyz's weak spot was their midfield, which struggled to keep up with the tempo and sharpness of the Dark Elites' own midfield unit.
However, the Dark Elites had a glaring weakness of their own—their defence.
This was likely why Vingz and Lambert were pushing themselves beyond the limit to maintain their lead, Mojo and Oyebuchi were both falling back to support them though in the midfield , but Oyebuchi was consistently outmatched by Alaba, whose stats were far superior, while Mojo's defensive skills were simply poor.
And there was only so much Vingz and Lambert could do to compensate for their weakness.
Their repeated sprints to cover for the defence were beginning to take a toll, even Mystic could see it: that the stamina bars above their heads were depleting faster than the rest of the team's.
That's when the Bariga Young Boyz struck, they reminded Mystic why levels still mattered.
While most of the Dark Elites weren't as exhausted as Vingz and Lambert, they were still visibly more fatigued than the Bariga squad, who had been patiently waiting for the right moment.
In the 30th minute, the equalizer came.
Idris decided to carry the ball forward with pace before sliding a sharp cut pass to the central midfielder ahead of him, Bhola was on the man, forcing him to receive the ball with his back turned.
But Idris didn't stop after passing, instead, he kept charging forward into the midfield, as the central midfielder, who was still shielding the ball from Bhola, suddenly executed a smooth back heel pass right into Idris's path.
The pass slipped right under Bhola's leg and found Idris, who was cutting through the heart of the midfield.
Meanwhile, the central midfielder of the Bariga Young Boyz who made the back heel quickly dropped back to defence, covering for Idris, who had clearly decided to take matters into his own hands.
As the ball reached Idris, he immediately made a sharp one-touch pass to his right, just before colliding with Lambert, who had been closing in on him, the move wasn't accidental—Idris used the contact to shake Lambert off, and it worked.
As Lambert, who is exhausted and running on fumes, couldn't keep up with a Bronze-rank defender who still had energy to spare as he was sent to the ground.
The midfielder on the right received the ball, and though Vingz moved in quickly to intercept, it was all part of the plan, the midfielder curved a brilliant ball through the middle, and Idris who was already in motion—sprinted onto it and trapped it with precision.
With both defensive midfielders now bypassed, Idris bore down on the defence, his presence alone was intimidating, his posture, speed, and raw strength made it clear he could barrel through without much resistance.
Iyang didn't hesitate; as he rushed in to confront Idris, and that was when the opening appeared.
Idris smirked, he had been dictating the flow of the play from deep, and now, as the defenders broke formation, he punished them for it.
With a subtle pass to the left, he didn't even glance, he just slid it toward Alaba simply, who had been waiting in perfect position, it was as if Idris instinctively knew Alaba would be there.
The through ball rolled into Alaba's stride, and he looked poised to blast it.
Okududu, the second central back of Dark Elites, has already begun turning his body to block the incoming shot, as he braced himself, expecting impact, but it never came neither did the he see the ball flash past him.
Alaba, instead of shooting, feinted with the same foot, performing a flawless Cruyff turn that left the entire defence off balance, then, after regaining his footing, he flicked the ball forward with his left boot, into the side of Adekunle who is completely unmarked due to all the chaos.
The ball hadn't even touched the ground before Adekunle delivered pure justice.
[Bronze Rank Skill – Power Shot.]
The instant his foot connected with the ball, Mystic witnessed his first true display of magic on the pitch.
The ball ignited in a burst of fiery light, and zoom—it vanished, as a blur streaked through the air, and the next second, it crashed into the net with such ferocity that even the goalpost shook violently.
The sheer velocity was otherworldly, something no normal human should've been able to produce.
Kado didn't even react, as he froze in his stance, arms spread, he hadn't realized the ball had already flown past him, It wasn't until he saw the disappointed faces of his team mates and the mechanical chime rang while the scoreboard updated to 1:1 that the reality hit.
Slowly, Kado turned to see the ball nestled deep in the back of his own net, the Bariga Young Boyz were already celebrating, their cheers echoing through the empty stadium.
"So that's what a Bronze Rank skill looks like... magical," Mystic muttered to himself, the weight of it finally sinking in.
It was now clear: the Bariga Young Boyz hadn't played at full strength during their last match, but what puzzled him was why Adekunle hadn't unleashed a shot like that before on the day of the match.
Such a strike could have broken the Dark Elites' will completely, to continue resisting, but as Mystic pondered, his gaze drifted back to Adekunle—and that's when he finally noticed something…