They had eighty minutes on the clock now so the match was almost over but that was something for Ronino FC to worry about because they were currently four goals down.
The fans thought they had seen it all when they scored that third goal, but the Uniques ended up grabbing a fourth goal even after the substitutions.
Five minutes after that third goal from Gregory, Norman finally decided to rest some players because they already had the match in the bag.
The first person to get taken off was Mateo and Norman had to bring in Frankie to replace him because they didn't have any other proper left winger in the squad but Frankie had the rare attribute of being able to bring out a good performance no matter the position he is in so it was okay.
Gregory also had to be replaced by Fred because Norman had no intentions of allowing the youngster to play a full ninety minutes.
Merino had to leave the stage for Carlos and then finally, Minino had to be replaced by Martinez.
Norman wasn't really expecting anything more from his team after those substitutions, he just needed them to see the game to its end but I guess he had no idea that they still wanted goals.
All it took was a nice link-up between Martinez and Frankie to get the ball into the back of the net once more.
The defensive midfielder sent the ball flying into the box toward the left from thirty yards out, and after bringing it down with his foot, Frankie quickly got around the defender in his way with a quick roulette spin before he sent the ball straight into the goalpost from the bottom right corner.
The goalkeeper had no chance of stopping that because it was stretched just too far away from him.
"Yeah, that was a beautiful goal from Frankie, and just two minutes after coming on to replace Mateo," Jim commented.
"He's a great asset for Unique FC, that one player you can put into any position and expect a good if not great performance." Steve articulated.
The match had just entered the ninetieth minute now and Ronino FC were still looking lackluster.
Unique FC were the ones with the ball now and they were just casually moving it around with no real intent to attack.
"Looks like they've finally decided to stall time even though it's pointless, there's no way Ronino FC will be able to catch up to them now."
Yeah, it was pointless but not if they wanted a clean sheet which they always want anyway.
They kept moving the ball around and because Ronino FC players weren't aggressive enough with the way they were chasing the ball, they ended up holding on to it until the four minutes of added time got exhausted and the referee blew his whistle thrice to finally bring the match to an end.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"There's the whistle, it is all over!"
At this point, Ronino FC fans had gone almost quiet all that could be heard in the stadium was the voice of Unique FC fans chanting the name of their club.
"Ronino FC looked pretty underwhelming the whole of this match and Unique FC made no mistake in taking advantage of that." Steve articulated. "That's another victory for them, another clean sheet, their twenty-fourth clean sheet of the season, Dave is surely going to get that golden glove, Perez is the one right behind him with just eleven clean sheets."
"Yeah, they have taken everyone by surprise this season after how much they struggled last season but Supreme United are not making the title race easy for them, they're pushing themselves just as much as them."
Gregory was announced as the man of the match at the end of the game which was really well deserved.
The young striker was just in the right places during the game.
This was his first Man of the Match award and he had a very bright smile on his face as he spoke to the reporter in front of him.
[ Quest failed ]
Dave was already making his way down the tunnel alongside Mateo when that message suddenly popped up in front of him.
'Why didn't this pop up right after the game? I had already forgotten about it.'
<Maybe it was a glitch>
'A glitch?'
<Yeah, you know that one time when the system just turned off on you during a match?>
'Yeah.'
<That was also a glitch>
'So, the system's faulty?'
<No, it's just something that's programmed to happen periodically that's why I made it clear to you earlier that there will be times when the system is going to fail you, it's just things that are bound to happen during some games>
'Hmm.'
<And, can I let you in on a little secret>
'You know I'm a bit scared that you're so willing to let me in on a secret.'
<Well, it isn't really a secret that's why I'm able to tell you>
'Of course.'
<Just know that the more you level up and upgrade your attributes, skills, and stats, the worse the glitch gets until eventually… >
'I know you're not going to finish that part so I won't bother asking.'
Minino was still on the pitch because he was stopped one of the reporters out there stopped him to ask him some questions so there was no running around in the locker room for now at least.
As soon as he walked into the room with Mateo, he made his way straight to the bench and sat down there.
"What a match, I got to do absolutely nothing." He remarked before stretching out his hands.
He said that with the intention of getting his teammates' reaction and I guess it worked for him.
"If the rest of our matches this season turn out like this, I'll be okay with it, you start doing a little too much when we're struggling, Dave," Aima commented.
"Yeah, a little too much for a goalkeeper," Ferran added.
"Well if he has to do a little too much for us not to lose a match then that's perfectly fine," Roland said.
"Yeah, but when he does all those things, he sort of makes us look bad," Ferran uttered with a little chuckle.
"Yeah, you've got that right," Martinez remarked before turning his gaze to Dave who was just quietly listening to everything they were saying. "But that means we have to step up our game."
"So, you guys want me to just stick to saving shots?" The goalkeeper finally spoke after listening to what they had to say.
"Hey, we never said that," Roland said abruptly.
"I mean if you want to, no one's stopping you," Aima commented with a shrug.
"Don't listen to them, Dave, just keep doing what you are doing," Adolf remarked.
"Well, I wasn't going to stop even if coach told me to." Dave asserted before leaning against the locker.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhile the players were busy sharing their opinions on the topic, Mateo was on his phone and wasn't even paying them any attention.
They weren't going to pay him any attention either until he began to smile.
"Hmm, who's turning up your mood Mateo?" Roland queried with his gaze now on the winger.
"Huh?" Mateo replied before quickly raising his gaze to look at him. "Oh, it's nothing." He added before shaking his head.
"Are you sure it's nothing? You were smiling there, It's a girl right?" Ferran just had to take the teasing to another level. "Hold up, is it that blonde reporter that's always with your sister? I know you two are close."
"I already told you that it's nothing." Mateo sighed before turning his gaze back to his phone.
"They're not in that kind of relationship, Ferran," Roland said before turning his gaze to the midfielder.
"Oh."
"But you're probably still right about the girl part."
"Can you just keep quiet?" Mateo blurted with his gaze still on his phone.
"I might if you show me your phone," Roland replied almost abruptly with a daring look on his face.
After hearing him say that, Mateo let out a sigh before getting up from his seat.
"Sorry but no, I think I'll find more peace outside." He replied before making his way out of the room.
"Yeah, and I think I might also need that," Roland remarked before quickly making his way out of the room.
<Hmm, your teammates are something and you are no exception>
'Yeah, I know I'm the worst.' Dave replied. 'Anyway, can I see my stuff now?'
<Sure, here you go>
[ Victory rewards ]
[ Goals conceded(0): +70 exp ]
[ Match rating: 6.5 ]
'Wow, those are very juicy rewards.'