Harbinger Of Glory

Chapter 173: ”That’s Her Brother!”

The camera cut away from the restart and found Dawson on the touchline, half a step from the fourth official, jaw tight, words already spilling out.

Nolan had an arm across his chest, pulling him back before it went any further.

Dawson still leaned forward, pointing once toward the pitch before giving up and turning away, escaping without being booked.

”You can see the frustration from the Wigan bench,” the commentator followed from the gantry.

”Without VAR at this level, there’s no second look. From their point of view, that decision’s cost them an early lead, and both the coach and the players are convinced it should have stood.”

The broadcast drifted back towards the pitch.

But in the stands, Mia was already on her feet, arms raised.

”He’s blind,” she shouted toward the referee, and in classic football fan fashion, the men below her cheered her on.

Sofia laughed with half of her while the other half was trying to get her to calm down.

A few seats along, Carlo barely reacted.

His eyes stayed locked on the pitch, posture stiff.

Gianna saw that and leaned closer before nudging him with her elbow.

”Che c’è?” she asked quietly. [What’s wrong?]

Carlo shook his head.

”Nothing,” he said, causing Gianna to nod.

She rubbed the thigh of her boyfriend for a moment before looking away.

Carlo, after that, then added under his breath, almost to himself, ”If only they could...”

Another roar brought back the attention of the fans as on the pitch, Blackburn were trying to regain some control, passing the ball with more care now, the earlier scare still fresh.

On the touchline, their coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson, clapped his hands sharply, shouting instructions, urging his players to settle and move the ball quickly.

”They’ll want to calm this down,” the commentator noted.

”That disallowed goal has clearly rattled Blackburn, and Wigan can sense it.”

In that moment, a sudden break saw Blackburn push forward with purpose, space opening for a moment down the right.

Darikwa reacted instantly, stepping across Harry Pickering and bringing him down just as the move threatened to turn dangerous.

The whistle went, and immediately, the referee reached for his pocket.

”That’s a yellow card for Darikwa,” the commentary confirmed. ”He’s taken one for the team there. It stopped something that could have caused real problems.”

Darikwa nodded once, accepting it, before going back as another Blackburn player helped Harry Pickering up to his feet.

Blackburn, using their free kick, sent a teasing ball into the Wigan box with pace, bodies rising together as the ball dropped, but Wigan’s defence caught on.

Whatmough met it cleanly, getting his forehead to it and sending it back out beyond the area.

It landed loose, just long enough for Leo to turn and chase with the Blackburn right midfielder.

”That’s well dealt with by Whatmough, and that sets off the loose ball.”

Ryan Hedges took control near the left side of Wigan’s half, trying to steady things.

He barely had time to lift his head before Leo was on him, tight and relentless, pressing from behind, shoulders low, forcing him toward the line.

Hedges tried to use the pressure, nudging the ball toward touch, hoping for a throw, but Leo read it.

He jumped, flicking the ball away before it could cross the line, and suddenly it was loose again.

”Clean anticipation from Leo and this could set it off for Wigan,” the commentary said, just before McClean arrived, clipping the ball forward and wide into space on the left.

It looked like it might run out, but Leo stretched for it, legs pumping, just managing to hook it back into play.

The crowd felt it and rose with him, putting their grit into their chants to empower their players.

And it did, because it seemed like Leo’s confidence had gone up a notch just from that.

He cut inside, almost seeming like the round possession was tethered to his feet, but he was still able to keep it moving.

A Blackburn player, running from behind, tried to cut Leo off at the point he anticipated Leo would pass next, but Leo shifted first, sliding his body between man and ball, causing the defender to slow down and stumble a bit.

On the left, McClean stayed available.

Will Keane drifted right and Fletcher powered through the middle, level with Leo, forcing Blackburn’s back line to hesitate.

No one committed, and so everyone was open.

Leo, using that to his advantage, leaned toward Fletcher, shaping to pass, and that finally got a reaction out of them.

The nearest defender followed the movement, just enough, and that was all Leo needed.

With the outside of his right boot, he nudged the ball beyond the defender’s reach and into shooting space.

His eyes snapped upwards, searching for Will Keane, but then the noise swelled instantly around.

”Shooooooot!!!!!” came the call from the stands, thousands of voices at once.

Even Will Keane, eyes making contact with Leo, slowed a bit, resignedly, and so Leo steadied himself.

He slowed, took one final touch to set the ball, and leaned into it before moulding the ball with his feet.

”He’s got room here... he’s going to hit it...”

The shot flew, clean and true, threading through bodies, skimming past outstretched legs and then bending away from the keeper’s dive.

And under the gaze of the 25,000+ crowd at the DW, it kissed the inside of the left corner and slammed into the net.

The net snapped back as the DW exploded, the sound rolling across the stadium in pure release as the ball settled into the back of the net.

”GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!”

The shout tore through the gantry as Leo turned and bolted toward the corner flag, dropping into a short slide on his toes before popping back up, fists clenched.

The roar from the DW followed him, loud and constant, spilling down onto the pitch before commentary took a breath and steadied.

”A rocket of a shot. A cracking effort, and that one will stand. They’d been denied once, but not this time. Leo Calderon pulls the levers to break the deadlock!”

Wigan shirts swarmed him.

Arms wrapped around shoulders, hands thumping backs with bodies crashing together in a tight circle of noise and movement.

Leo disappeared for a second, buried under teammates pumping their fists and shouting into the cold air.

Across the box, Blackburn players stood still, a few glancing toward the referee, hoping for something, anything.

The referee gave them none.

He pointed calmly toward the centre circle, clear and final.

On the touchline, Dawson celebrated, a little too openly, punching the air and turning just enough toward the Blackburn bench.

Their coach, who had smirked after the earlier disallowed goal, no longer looked so amused, and that got a smile out of Nolan, who had covered his mouth with his hand.

Back near the corner, the Wigan players peeled away from Leo, leaving him grinning and chest rising and falling fast.

”That’s his third goal of the Championship season,” the commentator said.

”Maybe not a huge number, but for a seventeen-year-old playing deep, it tells its own story. Four assists already as well. He’d probably be just fine if he stopped scoring now and kept doing that.”

Leo turned, scanning the stands.

His eyes moved quickly, searching, then stopping after a moment.

When he found them, he smiled and lifted his hand, blowing a quick kiss toward the section where Mia, Sofia, Vittoria, Carlo, and Gianna sat.

Then he turned back, jogging toward his half with the rest of his teammates as the noise rolled on and the game waited to restart.

In the stands, Mia shot to her feet, voice cutting through the noise.

”That’s my brother! That is my Brother!”

A couple of men a row below turned around, laughing as they stood too, pointing back at her.

”That’s her brother!” one of them called, grinning as he nodded toward the pitch.

Sofia leaned forward at once, hand coming up to shield her face, already regretting the attention Mia was drawing.

Mia, of course, didn’t care.

She was still beaming, arms half raised as more and more fans got in, with Leo, who was walking back to his half, turning after the noise in her section caught his ears.

Leo shook his head once after realising it, and then waved at the section, drawing another roar collapsing from the upper stands to the middle to lower area where Mia was.

Just like that, the camera soon found Mia and the men who had now turned into something of his minions and were still pointing at her.

Vittoria, seated beside Mia, only smiled wryly before she reached out, caught Mia by the sleeve, and gently pulled her back down.

”They know now,” she said quietly, amused.

Mia laughed as she dropped into her seat and then nudged her aunt, Sofia, who let out a long breath and sat back properly.

Down on the pitch, the players finally got to their respective positions, and soon, the referee’s whistle brought the game back to life.