The soccer club was nearly divided again,
but through the match made possible by Coach Iwaki,
we've come to understand how important each of us is to the team.
Additionally, now knowing Coach Iwaki's true feelings,
we were, by our own choice, united once again
as the genuine Enoshima High Soccer Club.
With the inter-high competitions ahead,
the bench members were announced
and I was given a jersey number as a forward.
Raising the Curtain! Inter-high Qualifiers
The curtain has finally risen on the inter-high Kanagawa match.
On the day of the match,
we, the Enoshima High Soccer Club,
are heading to the match stadium
on the grounds at Shonan High,
a part of Keiso University.
Whoa!
So money really does make a difference.
Their field has real grass
and it's a little small, but they even have stands!
They can go straight to Keiso University after graduation,
and they're even strong at soccer...
They recruit strong players
from the Junior Youth League on sport scholarships, after all.
We might be at a disadvantage, huh?
Playing on the opponent's field.
Hey, Kakeru, Kota, Mishima-san!
Hey.
Yusuke!
What are you doing here?
Here to pick up some fan girls?
I thought so.
Meeting a celebrity isn't an everyday—
Kota, you haven't changed, have you?
I'm here to cheer you on, obviously.
Yeah.
Oh, by the way...
Kunimatsu-san's here as well.
Hey, Kakeru!
Kunimatsu-san!
Why's Nishijima here, too?
Are you doing well?
Yes.
Do you best, Kakeru.
Thank you very much, Kunimatsu-san.
You, too, Kota.
Hey, Nakatsuka.
You've got a stupid looking haircut, as usual.
Nishijima! No one asked you to come out here.
I feel bad for you.
Playing a match you're just going to lose. How pitiful.
How pitiful.
I don't really understand,
but that guy really pisses me off.
I'll kill you, Nishijima.
What are you doing? The game is starting.
Right! We're on our way.
You're playing in today's match, right, Kakeru?
I'll be on the bench, but I don't know whether I'll get to play.
I see.
But if they do put me in, I'll definitely score a goal
so you all can see it!
Yeah!
Keiso! Keiso! Keiso!
All the cheering is for the opponent, isn't it?
Ready and...
Go, Nakajima-kun!
That Nakajima guy may seem like just a playboy,
but he was a regular in the Shonan Junior Youth League.
Oh, Shimatani from Yokohama Junior League is here, too.
Shimatani-kun, you're so cool!
Look over here!
Pissed Off!
I thought they would've gone straight into the Youth League,
but they're playing at Keiso.
If they get into Keiso University,
they'll be set for the future.
I'll kill you!
We're on the same wavelength today, comrade.
You're right. Let's end Keiso.
Huh? That's weird...
This should be all right.
This is the inter-high Kanagawa match you've been waiting for.
Enoshima High Broadcast Club
This will be the first match for Enoshima High.
I'll be following the Enoshima Soccer Club for the entire tournament
and provide a heated commentary today!
As always, your broadcasters are,
from the Enoshima High Broadcasting Club, Ichiro Yamanashi and...
Momoko Fukushima.
I'd like to begin the high school soccer
Kanagawa qualifiers second match,
Enoshima High versus Shonan High at Keiso University.
Nakajima-kun! Shimatani-kun!
Whoops...
Damn. They're underestimating us.
After all, last year we lost in the second match.
Keiso, who was in the top eight,
probably sees us as an easy win.
It's all right!
We're a completely different team now.
Yeah.
Right, Brother?
Enoshima is strong.
We've even got Araki-san, the player you admired.
We'll definitely win.
Hey, Kunimatsu, Yusuke.
T-Takajo-san! You came!
Yeah.
Good morning.
Hey, Kama High's ace is here.
Yusuke, where's Suguru's brother?
He's starting on the bench,
but he'll definitely play!
If it's a boring match, I'm blaming you!
Uh, well...
I'm sure you'll be glad you came.
Good to hear.
Hey, Shimatani, they're coming at us with a three top.
Check out their number 10, Nakajima.
Let's get 'em!
His stomach is huge!
And look at their defensive line.
They only have two on defense?
Which means...
It's a 2-5-3.
Seriously?
They think they can stop our attack with just two defenders?
A complacent super offensive team?
Man, they're pissing me off.
Let's end this match in the first half.
And here's the kickoff.
Watch over Enoshima Soccer Club's first match, Brother.
Okay. Let's give 'em a show!
You won't get through here!
Run, Nakajima!
All right!
They've slipped through a gap in the defense.
They're already in a pinch.
Of course...
So that's why they're in 2-5-3...
No chance, no chance, no chance!
Okay.
They went to cover like they were waiting for it.
The defense is tight, too.
Their only option is to send it to the sidelines.
Not a chance.
A-Aren't these guys supposed to be short on defense?
They've gone for a cross!
The ace, Nakajima, is after it!
A rabbit caught in a trap
can't do anything.
I-Impossible.
All right. All right.
Everything's going according to plan so far, right, Coach Iwaki?
Yes. From now on,
we'll be showing off the stronger points of the SC's retreat defense.
Recruit defense?
Retreat!
A defensive strategy where, when the ball is stolen,
the entire team falls back to reform the defense.
A new form of the retreat defense,
where we intentionally leave holes in the defense
to trap the ball and take it back.
I call it the "booby trap formation."
Good one, Oda-san!
He sent it straight to Mako-san's feet from that distance.
From here, the FC's
fast and accurate pass work will come into play.
Yakumo!
All right.
Araki-san!
Yeah!
You're too slow, fatso.
Wh-What?
Why, you...!
What's with this fatso?
Amazing!
He passed the ball over Shimatani-san's head with a heel kick
and slipped the ball through another defender's legs.
Ryuichi Araki, huh?
He's gained so much weight, he looks like a different person,
but that's definitely the guy
who once teamed up with Suguru at the U-15 training camp.
It seems so.
I had heard the story from Kakeru, but that's amazing.
Kaoru!
Hino-san!
Finish it.
The keeper is right-handed.
If it were me...
A cross?
It's mine!
Through the legs?
Goooal!
An amazing play made by the forward, Hino!
That was skilled execution.
The score is 1-0.
The first goal is ours!
Just what I'd expect from Hino-san.
Making a calm decision even in front of the goal.
All right! First goal down!
Yeah!
First?
It's Enoshima High again!
Kakeru-kun, Takase-kun. Kota-kun, too. Start warming up.
If we're up by three, we can substitute in the first half.
Seriously?
I thought that while we were doing the booby trap formation,
attackers like us wouldn't have a part to play.
Up by three goals...
Goooal!
At 10 minutes into the first half,
the second goal is scored by the middle, Araki.
One more goal.
If you don't start warming up soon, you won't make it.
Right!
It's in front of the goal!
Only minutes left on the clock.
This makes... three goals!
Nice save.
That's the end of the first half.
All right. Two goal lead!
Yeah.
Going easy in the first 10 minutes hurt us.
We still have the second half.
Now that we know their 2-3-5 is a trap,
they won't score any more.
What's wrong, Araki? It's only the first half.
I'll play even harder in the second half.
I'm counting on you, boss.
Leave it to me.
I see... So that's what Iwaki-chan was going for.
To be fat means that there's greater stress on the lungs
and heart to pump that volume of blood to the entire body.
Another way to say it is,
going through harsh training and matches in that body
will strengthen the cardiovascular system.
In order to overcome his counter point,
this was the only way.
I thought they'd have a larger lead by the end of the half.
In the second half, as Araki tires,
it'll be difficult to predict the outcome.
Unlike the first half, in the second half,
possession bounced back and forth.
Nakajima!
All right!
Nakajima has an open path.
Oh, that was close!
Looks like the Nakajima-Shimatani hotline
is starting to connect.
Obviously! They're well known in the Junior Youth League.
As long as they don't hold back,
they'll take out Enoshima like that.
Besides, look. That fatty is exhausted.
With the conductor like that, they're done for.
That 2-5-3 system is quite physically demanding, after all.
Nakajima!
I'll crush you!
Goal!
The hard shot from Keiso's ace, Nakajima, rings true,
and they've scored a goal.
All right! 1-2. One more goal!
The game starts now.
This isn't a joke, Kakeru.
Don't you lose without playing.
Coach, he's at his limit.
Let's substitute Araki-san.
I will not substitute Araki-kun.
But...
Kota-kun,
I'm having Yakumo-kun come out
and Sawamura-kun move to the right side,
so take the left side.
Already?
We're in trouble if this keeps up.
I'm putting you in early.
Right!
Takase-kun, Kakeru-kun, you're going in, too.
Right!
Yes! I get to play in the game!
Brother, I'm finally going to play in the match.
I'm definitely going to score a goal!
But if we put in three offensive players at once,
Araki-san will...
That Enoshima High coach is tough.
What? Why?
Enoshima High's coach is already planning for
what comes after this game, and recreating his team.
Coach, I know you're trying to overcome Araki-san's weakness,
but he can't keep playing.
Whether or not he can keep playing is his decision.
What?
Take a look at Araki-kun's expression.
Because he's been moving his heavy body around constantly,
he's nearing his limit.
However, his eyes are saying,
"Don't sub me yet. Let me keep playing."
That's why I'm bringing in
those three offensive players at this point.
I believe in Araki-kun.
Araki-san!
There it is! Araki's through pass!
Aizawa's one-on-one against the keeper!
Goal! 3 to 1!
First year, Kakeru Aizawa,
in combination with the conductor, Araki,
scores his first goal.
All right!
How was that?
Shit.
What'd you think, Takajo-san?
Aren't you glad you came?
Ow!
A chance goal like that is a gimme!
Otherwise, Suguru would be rolling in his grave, crying!
Suguru had high hopes for him.
He believed in his brother recklessly.
We almost took the championship, didn't we?
If you had been there, we wouldn't have lost!
Hurry up and join the upper division, King.
Next year is nationals...
Yes. And the year after, the best in the nation.
Assuming the knight wakes up.
If you're looking for a knight, he's right here.
Takajo-san, you're not a knight.
You're half-king,
and you're not the type that a conductor can control.
You cheeky middle schooler.
No, to anyone on your bad side, you're more frightening than a knight.
You're just saying that.
So what's this knight you're waiting for like?
Let's see...
A striker who can show me a world
I've never even dreamed of.
Sounds like a brother complex.
Wh-What is that?
If you're really that good, show me.
I can't lose here!
Araki-san!
Shit. Not again.
Araki-san!
Don't look at the ball.
Be aware of it...
He's imagining too much, and his feints are clumsy.
He hasn't kicked that habit yet!
Brat!
Don't get too confident!
Now!
Close.
It's going up! In the remaining time,
we're getting another goal!
Okay!
One more goal!
One more goal.
One more goal! For the sake of every future match!
Let me score a goal!
Give it to me!
It's in! Goal!
How was that? I put it in, Kaoru.
Nice header, Takase.
That's the game! 4-1, Enoshima High's first win!
It's the first win for the newborn Enoshima High Soccer Club, isn't it?
Yes.
In the high school Kanagawa qualifying match between
Enoshima High and Shonan High at Keiso University,
with a score of 4 to 1, Enoshima High wins.
Thank you very much!
That's enough already. It's embarrassing.
Okay.
You're a mess, King.
Shut up.
Good work, King.
You're really harsh.
Usually, we substitute at 15 minutes into the second half.
But you were able to play for the whole game, weren't you?
I haven't seen that in a while.
Araki-kun, you played your best up to the last second.
What are you talking about?
That wasn't even close to my best.
Enoshima High! Let's keep this up!
Yeah!
Interesting...
Win your way to the top, Enoshima High.
I wonder what it is.
I get it in theory,
but am I still looking at my feet?
Sorry.
Didn't mean to surprise you.
Here, put this on.
Huh?
Well?
What is this?
You were practicing with me with this restricted field of vision?
It smells good. Is this...
Here I come, Kakeru.
Is this an indirect kiss?
Where are you looking?
I'm coming to get it.
The mask slipped and I can't see anything!
Where's the ball?
Ball?
No! If you look at the ball,
then you defeat the purpose of the—
The ball disappeared?
Where?
Huh? I slipped past?
K-Kakeru, what was that just now?
Huh?
Next Episode: The Mythical Feint
The powerful special move born of coincidence.
Kakeru tries it out numerous times in a match,
but he's substituted out before he can succeed.
Kakeru's frustration is clear,
but Nana senses that Kakeru is close to realizing
his potential as a true striker.
Plus, fate reunites him with the source
of his personal trauma, Koichi Hibino.
For Kakeru, the time of trial was close.
Next time on Knight in the Area,
episode 14: "The Mythical Feint."
Just a little more.
Don't give up, Kakeru!