The second half was better, both for Will and the rest of the team. David drilling into them and giving them a wake up call turned out to be exactly what they needed to get into their groove.

Will received his first touch of the half in the forty ninth minute. He got the ball from his right back and sent a first time pass over the top for one of his team’s striker.

The striker managed to get the ball under control with his first touch and sent a low drilled shot towards the goal. Unfortunately for him, it bounced off the frame of the far post and went out of bounds for a goal kick.

"Nice pass Will!" The striker shouted towards Will, while raising his thumb.

Will merely smiled in response and assumed a good position.

In the fifty eighth minute, he had another moment of magic.

Liam got the ball from his full back on his left flank and played a pass to Marcus in the midfield. Marcus received the ball with his back to goal, shifting his body so that it looked like he was going to turn to his right before sharply turning to his left, wrongfooting the two players coming to mark him.

As soon as he turned, he saw Will making a run on the right and without thinking, he hit the ball and sent a through pass to him, threading the ball between the trialists’ last line of defense.

Will took the ball in his stride and found himself one on one with one of the Trialists’ center back. He did a few body feints before using his right leg to push the ball wide and chasing it. When he got to the ball, he faked a cross, sending the center back who jumped into a slide tackle in an attempt to block the cross.

Using the bit of time he had bought, Will looked up and picked out an easy pass to the deeper lying striker in the 4-4-2. The striker stopped the ball with his first touch and shot a low drilled shot towards the bottom left corner.

It wasn’t to be for him though, the goalkeeper of the Trialists managed to get a hand to it and push it away for a corner.

"Damnit!" Will muttered under his breath when he saw the ball go out of bounds.

In the sixty fourth minute, he was involved in yet another key play. This time, he won the ball back in the opposition half. His first touch was a tap back to his right back before he started making a run down the right flank.

His right back read his intentions well and sent a long pass over the top to him. Will got the ball under control with his first touch and then started cutting towards the penalty box. He found himself one on one with a backpedaling Trialist center back and used a La Croqueta to get past the outstretched leg of the defender and played a pass to his team’s striker who was inside the box.

As soon as the ball got to the striker, he was swamped and didn’t have space to get a shot away. Lucky for him, Will didn’t stop running, so he managed to pass the ball back to will with his first touch. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Will didn’t take a touch to control the ball, he just adjusted his body so that he would be in a comfortable position to shoot and sent his shot flying into the top corner of the far post.

The Trialist goalkeeper dived at the shot at full stretch, but he just couldn’t get a hand to it. He had no choice to watch the ball get into the back of the net.

"Goal!" Will shouted and pumped his fists. In the next second he was surrounded by his teammates who kept patting his back and congratulating him before they all walked back to the center circle.

As Will was walking back he saw a familiar holographic display with a new notification that caused a smile to form on his face.

[Goal scored: +30 Credits]

[Key Pass registered: +15 Credits]

[Credit Balance: 185]

The match ended 3-0. Will was substituted in the seventy fourth minute. He was replaced by one of the new scholars who also needed game time. The friendly was for the fringe players to show what they could do after all. He walked off to the bench to applause from the small group of observers and sat down on the bench.

As soon as he sat down, David walked towards him.

"Better". David said.

"Yeah". Will muttered while nodding slightly.

"Much much better". David said before walking back to the touchline.

As soon as the match finished and Will entered the changing room, he saw the system’s holographic interface and was greeted by a new notification.

[Match Rating: 7.8]

[Credits awarded: 50]

[Credits Balance: 215]

Will looked at the number on the ratings for a long time. It was 7.8 which meant that he was already behind the required average for him to complete the system’s mission. He would need to work harder in the coming days.

Outside the changing room, Chloe was waiting. Her notebook was shut and in her hands and the recorder was inside of her pocket.

"You scored". She said as soon as Will came outside of the changing room.

"I noticed". Will smiled.

"You did specifically tell me to watch the second half".

"I did". Will said.

She looked at him for a moment. "Can I have your number? For the article, I might have follow-up questions".

Will looked back at her. She was holding out her phone with a business poker face, but there was this little twinkle in her eyes that suggested otherwise, making a slight smile creep on his face.

He took the phone from her hand and typed his number in.

"You can call me after nine". Will said. "I’m usually training in the morning".

"Before sunrise, I know". Chloe said. "I was there".

Will handed the phone back to Chloe and she tucked it away and started walking towards the car park. At the edge of the path curving into another direction, she turned around.

"I was right, by the way". She said. "You are interesting".

Will watched her go, waiting until she was completely gone before breaking into a smile and pumping his fists in the air.

"Ws in the fucking chat!" He mutter-shouted to himself before walking back inside