CHAPTER 152: VERY NEARLY.

Leo tugged his inner sleeves tighter against his skin as he stepped into the flow of the match, easing himself into a slow walk while his eyes scanned the pitch.

Sunderland restarted with a throw deep in their own half, and the commentary picked up instantly, already reading the patterns forming across the grass.

"It’s Michut dropping in to collect," the commentator said as Michut shaped his body well as the ball arrived, taking it on the half-turn with a smooth touch that drew Aasgaard in.

The Frenchman kept his balance, rolled his foot over the ball, then shifted it out of reach.

Aasgaard lunged but only brushed his shoulder as Michut slid past him, head up, scanning for a passing lane after he got space, and he found it a moment later on the left, slipping a neat pass into Jack Clarke’s stride.

Clarke slowed the play for a heartbeat, letting the pitch breathe, then began to push forward.

His first few touches were measured, almost casual, but he gained ground steadily.

With the Wigan back line retreating, Clarke glanced up and drilled a diagonal ball toward the box, hoping for a reaction from his teammates, but it was Tilt who rose to the skies early and met the delivery with a strong header that sent the ball looping out of danger.

Leo, standing on the edge of the box, reacted first, sprinting toward it.

He didn’t wait for the bounce, throwing himself forward with a firm header just to nudge it further away from the crowd of red shirts.

The ball spun toward the halfway line, and he chased it again, legs stretching, breath tightening.

But Sunderland were quicker to reset.

Their back line had already stepped up, and Wright, under pressure from Lang coming behind him, knocked a back pass toward Patterson.

But the ball didn’t have enough weight on it.

"Oh, that’s short," the co-commentator said sharply.

Leo, who had followed after his clearance, felt that same urgency and broke into a gallop.

Leo might not have been the fastest, but relative to the players he was going against, he might as well have been Usain Bolt, with his strides cutting straight at the loose ball.

The Sunderland keeper reacted late but then rushed out, eyes locked on the danger as the commentary bounced between the two like a rally.

"Leo’s closing in."

"Patterson’s out quickly."

The keeper reached it first eventually, stretching through the challenge and swinging his boot through the ball just as Leo arrived.

Patterson’s clearance skidded away, but not far enough.

It dropped straight to Max Power, who took one steadying step forward.

The keeper had already turned and was sprinting back, trying to regain his line.

"Power’s seen Patterson still off his mark!"

A hush broke across the pitch, and before anyone could utter a word, the ball lifted into the air as the Sunderland keeper broke into a run.

Patterson looked from the flight of the shot to the goal, his feet scrambling, body twisting, trying to judge the drop and whether he could get there.

Only when he reached the shadow of his crossbar did he leap, fingertips brushing the rising ball, pushing it over the crossbar, as groans spilt across the stadium, a mix of frustration and relief.

The commentator exhaled audibly, chuckling slightly while Patterson lay on the pitch, catching his breath.

"Sunderland will be thanking their stars for the save, but what an effort from Max Power. That ball was travelling."

The cameras switched to Power with his hands pressed on top of his head, the disbelief clear in his eyes.

"It’ll be a corner," the broadcast continued as the Wigan players pushed up into the Sunderland box, but this time, leaving Darikwa, Mclean and Lang at the back while Leo jogged toward the corner flag.

The Sunderland fans behind him whistled and tried to hurry him along, but he didn’t look at them.

He set the ball right on the arc, nudged it once with his boot to fix the angle and raised an arm before taking a few steps back,

When he glanced up, he saw Broadhead coming for the short, but Leo’s voice carried over the noise.

"Back post. Stay up," he called.

Broadhead listened and turned back towards the box, dragging the player that had chased him back into the box, where the bodies inside tussled as his teammates adjusted.

A bit of shoving, a few Sunderland shirts tugging for position.

Leo, after the routine, swung the ball in with pace, but his delivery didn’t make it to the middle, because that was never the place to go.

Tilt, reading the option early, broke free near the front post and met it with a sharp flick toward goal.

It looked like it might sneak under the bar, but Patterson reacted again, springing up to palm it over.

"Yeahhh!!!!" his mates roared as they picked him back up, like they had just scored a goal.

"Another big save from Patterson,"

the commentator cut in as the home end groaned.

"Wigan are getting closer and closer to levelling the score, but Sunderland aren’t going to give that up so easily."

Leo, after the corner jogged out toward the edge of the box, while Ezra arrived at the other corner flag for the second attempt.

The Wigan fans behind the goal were suddenly louder, sensing the shift in momentum going for their team.

Ezra placed the ball and took a short run-up, but the cross barely lifted above hip height.

It dropped into a crowd of bodies and somehow bounced free toward Leo, who reacted before anyone else.

He stepped onto it cleanly and struck through the ball.

The shot rose and bent, but fizzed just past the right post.

"Oh, that’s not far at all," the co-commentator said. "Leo catches that sweetly. Sunderland need to wake up."

Leo turned away with the collar of his jersey between his teeth for a second, more irritated than anything.

He let it go and jogged back toward his half.

Behind him, Patterson was already hurrying to gather the ball for the goal kick, eyes flicking to his backline as he barked orders.

The Wigan end didn’t need any cue.

Their chanting swelled back to life now that momentum was finally theirs, rolling like a wave across the stadium.

"Wigan have found some spark here," the commentator followed.

"Sunderland were cruising for a while, but this pressure is getting uncomfortable."

On the touchline, Sunderland’s manager came tearing down the technical area, clapping hard.

"Switch on," he shouted at his midfield. "Stop letting them run at you. Sort yourselves out."

His men turned towards the touchline, listening to his instructions, but it was easier said than done when you were not the one in the thick of it.

Up in the stands, a man in a navy Wigan jacket nudged the friend beside him with the back of his hand.

"I told you, bro," he said, nodding toward the pitch where the players were resetting.

The friend adjusted his scarf and exhaled.

"Alright, fine. You did. But if he’s this good, why doesn’t he start more often?"

The first man lifted his shoulders.

"Beats me. It looked like he was going to be a regular in the squad, but all of a sudden, he wasn’t playing anymore. For like 3 games, I didn’t see him, but it turns out he was called up to play for his national side."

On the pitch, Sunderland got play going again, but they still looked rattled.

Every forward pass seemed halfhearted, every touch a shade too heavy.

After a while, the Sunderland coach stepped to the fourth official with two names already ready.

If something wasn’t done, it was only a matter of time before Wigan equalised, and so to break the momentum, he decided to use the rest of his substitutes.

Jay Matete jogged to the touchline, followed by Patrick Roberts pulling his shorts up before he even reached the technical area.

The board went up.

Off came Michut, who didn’t look pleased with it, and Jack Clarke, who was met with applause from the Sunderland fans behind the dugout.

Roberts entered with a sharp clap of his hands, trying to lift his side while the commentator followed the change.

"Not very reasonable changes for Sunderland, but it needed to be done."

Wigan reacted almost instantly.

Their bench was already up, and Dawson signalled for two of his own. Nyambe checked in for Hughes, slapping hands with him before stepping onto the pitch.

A moment later, Chris Sze got the call for Ezra.

Ezra made his way off with a tired grin while the Wigan fans along the side rose to their feet, clapping him out after a strong shift.

He acknowledged them with a small wave and a tap on his chest before disappearing into the technical area.

"A nice show of appreciation for Ezra," the co-commentator said. "He’s worked hard today, and it’s such a shame he couldn’t do more."

Play resumed, and Sunderland tried to use their fresh players to build something.

Roberts drifted inside with his first touch, looking for a gap, only for Darikwa to read him perfectly.

The captain timed his slide with precision, sweeping the ball cleanly off Roberts’ boot and rising with it under control as the Wigan supporters roared their approval.

"And that’s top work from Darikwa," the commentator cut in. "Wigan win it back again," but before he could finish, Wigan started another attack.