The penalty kick was set to be taken as Maldini stood over the ball with his gaze on it while Dave stood at the center of his goal line with a calm expression on his face.
"I thought the person to take the penalty was going to be either Rivaldo or Nolan but it looks like they're leaving it for Maldini maybe because he's the one that won the penalty," Jim said.
"Yeah, maybe."
<You know focus will be really useful in a situation like this>
'So, I should put myself in that state because of a penalty kick in a friendly match that will only result in an equalizer if it is scored.' The goalkeeper replied. 'No, thank you, I'll try to save it myself, and besides it's just one penalty kick, not a penalty shootout.'
The referee made sure that all the players were out of the box before he slowly made his way into the box from the side and blew his whistle.
"There's the whistle."
Maldini didn't move as soon as he heard the whistle, he slowly raised his head and took three steps backward before he quickly closed up on the ball and sent it flying toward the goalpost.
Dave reacted quickly toward the ball which was sent toward the left side of the goalpost with a little elevation.
"Maldini!"
His left hand missed it but with the tip of his right glove, he was able to push it up a little but that push wasn't enough to take care of the ball completely as it hit the crossbar and fell off toward the crowd of players.
"I can't believe it! Dave with another goal denial but it's not over yet!"
Pirlo was the person to get hold of the ball first but before he knew it, it was forced off him by Alberto from behind.
Alberto quickly got hold of the ball and quickly drilled it low to Rivaldo who seemed to have been kept onside by Roland but before the striker could get his foot to the ball, Dave stepped off his line and grabbed the ball with both hands before covering it up with his body.
"Nice handling from Dave, the goalkeeper said no, and just like that, Manchester United's goal drought continues," Steve said.
"When I heard the club wanted to sign him, I didn't expect him to be this gold, this guy could literally replace me if the club signs him but I have more experience so it's going to take some time." Patti Moreno muttered from where he was standing in his box.
'Letting you go now would have been a mistake.' Norman said subconsciously.
"I know Dave stepped up his game near the end of last season but it looks like he's a whole different person now, those saves were spectacular and I never thought he would save that penalty and stop the attempt from the rebound on time." One of the fans in the stands said.
"I don't think there's any reason to be surprised, he's just starting to take his job seriously as he should have done from the start." The lady standing beside him said. "Or maybe it has something to do with him getting married recently." She whispered.
The game continued with Unique FC in possession of the ball and right now it looked like they were just trying to keep hold of the ball and delay time until the match came to an end.
<You've pulled off yet another save, this time one coming from the spot>
'I told you I didn't need focus to do it.' He replied.
<Yeah, I wonder what they'll be thinking of you now>
[ 58% stamina remaining ]
[ 77/127 Energy ]
'I don't know, I'm just glad I don't have to worry about stamina deficiency anymore.'
"Looks like Unique FC are just trying to delay time here and Manchester United are not liking it," Jim said.
Minino quickly passed the ball back to Adolf after being aggressively chased down and as soon as Adolf got his foot on the ball, Maldini and another midfielder quickly began to race toward him.
There were no clear passing options for him so he passed the ball back to Dave who had to leave his box to receive it.
The Manchester United players were a bit wary to attack as they were expecting Dave to send the ball in but Dave wasn't in a hurry to do that as he wanted to delay time a little bit.
<Why don't you try aiming for the goalpost from here?> Catherine suggested.
'Really?'
<Yeah, all those crossbar challenges and long ball training weren't just for passing, you can use it for something else like scoring from here, that would be an iconic moment don't you think?>
'An iconic moment, yeah.'
Seeing that Dave was being hesitant to send the ball out, the players quickly charged toward him but before they could get to him, he pulled his leg back and sent the ball flying toward Manchester United's goalpost.
"What's Dave trying to do here?" Steve said.
"Can't you see, he's aimed for the goalpost?" Jim said.
The ball flew past all the players from above and was now heading toward the top left side of the goalpost.
Moreno had to quickly retreat a little past his goal line before he was able to jump up and push the ball over the bar for a corner kick.
As soon as the ball was pushed out, almost everybody in the stadium including the players let out loud gasps.
"What the heck was that?" Jim expressed with a surprised tone to his voice. "I thought that was going to fly over the bar but it was on target, if Moreno had not reacted fast enough, Unique FC would be two goals up by now."
"Dave Richards is really turning into a nightmare for Manchester United in this match today, the guy's not only an impenetrable goalkeeper, but he can also fire shots like that from that far out," Steve commented.
"I thought they used to know that guy as one of the worst goalkeepers in the Bilbeth Premier League," Moreno said after he was pulled up by Alberto.
"Yeah, I watched the highlights of some of his matches from earlier last season and he was really that bad, he only stepped up a little near the end of the season, I never expected him to be this good," Alberto said.
"That guy is something else, you guys need to figure out a way to put that ball past him, we're running out of time," Moreno said with his gaze on Dave who was standing at the edge of his box now.
<That could have been an iconic goal, your first career goal, too bad he saved it>
'Yeah, but I'm not surprised, Patti Moreno is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, I would have been disappointed if he had not been able to save it.' Dave replied.
"Unique FC have a corner kick now. Can they make good use of the opportunity to double their lead and seal the win with only five minutes of regular time left?"
The ball was quickly sent into the box by Minino but instead of sending it from the top, he decided to go low and to a certain someone who was right at the edge of the box.
Gregory got hold of the ball and quickly stretched it further down the line before Alberto could get to him and once he had a clear sight of the bottom right side of the goalpost, he sent the ball flying toward there from below.
"Gregory!"
Moreno dived toward the ball but his hand wasn't able to get to the little space that the ball could go through but fortunately for him and his team, the ball didn't go close to the space and hit the post instead before rolling out for a goal kick.
"Oh, it hit the post!" Jim exclaimed.
"That was so, so close, second woodwork hit by Gregory," Steve said.
"Unique FC have failed to convert two consecutive chances which would have sealed the game for them and with just four minutes of regular time left, things aren't looking good for Manchester United either way," Jim said.
*****
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Two magic castles= two extra chapters.
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