Mark Daphne

“I’ll mark Daphne,” you say.

Charlie raises his eyebrows, impressed. “You’re a braver man than me,” he says, chuckling.

Once the rest of the guys have picked their targets, you spread out in Keegan’s half. Daphne doesn’t even look at you as you approach, instead watching Katie and Khloe set up for kick off in the center circle with an intense expression on her face. Despite being a good few inches taller than the Asian girl, she exudes an intimidating aura that almost makes you afraid to get close enough to mark her.

Katie and Khloe kick off, and instantly Daphne is away, pulling every trick in the book to put space between you and her. You stick with her for the most part, but soon enough you can feel your breathing starting to labor. Still, your pressure means that she only has enough time to knock off quick one-touch passes to the other girls rather than coming up with an incisive play.

Then, with Mars on the ball, Daphne darts forwards. You chase after her as Mars passes towards her, and Daphne slows to receive the ball. Almost in slow motion, she runs over the ball without even touching it, and you try to move your legs to stop the ball that is now moving far faster than you were expecting, but you can’t get there quickly enough. The ball goes through your legs, and Daphne is already running onto it behind you.

“Oh, shit!” Jack laughs.

You don’t have time for anger as you turn and chase after her. Charlie is too far away, and Daphne is quickly closing in on the edge of the box. You put on a burst of speed, and as she pulls her foot back for a shot, you drop into a slide. Hooking the ball with your foot, you lock it in place as her foot blasts through it, and the **** of her shot sends her sprawling in the mud.

“Jeez,” Keegan says as he easily collects the ball.

You quickly jump to your feet. “You okay, Captain?”

Despite the hard fall, Daphne stands up, ignoring your extended hand. The front of her shirt, along with half her face, is caked with mud. “Yeah, I’m fine. Good tackle, Alex,” she says as she wipes the mud from her cheek.

Daphne runs you ragged for the rest of the half, keeping the ball so close to her feet that you can barely make a clean challenge, but you manage to keep goal-side of her so that she can’t get a good shot off. Eventually, after one of her shots ricochets off the post, she blows her whistle.

“Alright, switch sides,” she shouts. “Good play, Alex,” she mutters under her breath.

“You sure?” you pant. “Because my legs are burning.”

An amused smile curls at her lips, but Daphne doesn’t reply.

The other half of the game is frustrating for you. {if Jack <= 0}Pretty much every time Jack gets the ball, he tries to dribble through Mars and Val, and while it works once or twice, soon they form an impenetrable blockade that stops him at every turn. Despite this, he refuses to pass to you even when you’re in a better position than Jason, Javier or Charlie.{else@}Despite getting several opportunities and mostly maintaining possession, you’re unable to convert your shots into goals. Daphne seems to chase down almost every ball, the twins lock off the short passes, and Mars and Val are there to mop up the ball when it flies loose. Jack tests Keegan once or twice, and in frustration you take a longshot that he barely tips over the crossbar, but the back of the net remains untouched.{endif}

The shrill whistle calls an end to training. “Good job, team,” Daphne says as you join into a huddle. “Our defensive chemistry is good, we just need to make the same happen on the offensive. Alex and Charlie, I want to see you making yourselves an option to spread the play. Jack, learn when to get rid of the ball. Jason, Javier, start making those incisive runs down the wing and cut in when you can.” She looks around at you all, seemingly satisfied. “Alright, go get changed.”

Daphne +10