Arriving in Jos, teau State, Sam did not have the luxury of taking in the sights of this entirely new state in his country to him as led by their coach, all the yers went to their hotel.


    Coach Yemi Daniel had very strict away game rules. From beginning till the end of the game, no yer was expected to leave the hotel without permission.


    They came to y a football game, and the coach would not tolerate any distractions. Just like that, Sam''s yearning for adventure was doused.


    He didn''tin though, he was happy to stay focused on the game.


    After onest tactical set-up and talk in the hotel, Coach Yemi Daniel bid his yers farewell, sending them off to sleep.


    And again, Sam shared a room with his captain, Austin dapo.


    That night, they had more time to bond between themselves, talking about teau United, their tactical set-up, their ystyle and their best yers.


    Despite their long talk though, Austin was disciplined, telling his younger teammate to go to sleep once it was past 10:00pm.


    The next morning, Sam woke up early with his captain and together, they jogged out of the hotel premises as Sam took the opportunity toplete his daily system quest.


    Watching him go through a specific routine, Austin was amazed. "This routine, how did you know to start it up?"


    Hearing him, Sam grinned. "You see, I''m very ambitious. I want to y for FC Barcelona one day, I want to be a legend there like Lionel Messi is".


    "To y for FC Barcelona, I can''t afford to ck, that''s why I created this rigorous daily training routine for myself".


    Hearing him, Austin smiled. "I believe you Sam. I can''t wait to watch you y and dominate in uing big European Champions League nights".


    "I hope you don''t forget me and get me a ticket to watch you live someday".


    "I will". Samughed.


    And with that, both yers jogged back to their hotel rooms. For the rest of the day, they used different means to rx, preparing mentally for the game in the evening and when it was time, they left with their coach on a bus.


    The Jos International Stadium, the home ground of teau United was a big stadium with a capacity of 60,000, one of the best in the country.


    For this game, though the stadium was in no way filled to the brim, there were still lots of fans in the stands cheering their team on.


    Sam was about to face-off against another hostile atmosphere alongside his teammates in away ground. Despite this though, the knowledge that Austin was on his side managed to calm his nerves.


    Sam did not let the excitement get to him.


    A few minutester, the yers finally walked out into the pitch and after the coin toss by the referee, Enyimba FC was to start kick-off.


    Austin briefly patted Sam. "Don''t let the fans get in your head, at all times, keep your head in the game".


    "Yes, captain". Sam nodded.


    FWEEEE!


    The game finallymenced.


    Enyimba FC kicked off the game, showing their intent to y their normal style despite the fact that they were in the away ground of such a strong team.


    They had no intentions of wilting under the pressure of their opponents despite the fact that their opponents were buoyed by the presence of their fans.


    From the first minute, Enyimba FC yed scintiting possession football despite the loud noise being made by the opposition fans.


    For the first 10 minutes of this game, both teams were even as they each had their moments. And the more time passed as the game settled, the tighter the game became, the perfect stage for the star yers to shine.


    24 minutes into the game, a star finally got his chance to shine as Enyimba FC won a corner amid boos from the teau United fans.


    After going to the corner g, Austin took a look before ying a quick corner.


    There was pushing and tussling in the box but in the end, Farouk Mohammed managed to rise above all the yers as this yer nted a firm headed shot towards the top left corner of the post.


    The teau United goalkeeper was rooted to the spot and could only watch as this ball nestled into his.


    Landing awkwardly but recovering immediately, Farouk charged towards the corner g to celebrate. "GOAL….!" He roared exuberantly.


    In this tight game, in the 24th minute, Enyimba FC got the lead 0-1.


    FWEEEE!


    As soon as the game restarted, urged by their restless fans, the teau United yers finally geared into another level, taking this game like a war all of a sudden as they became extremely physical.


    In the next 10 minutes, 3 yellow cards were given by the referee but then, teau United won another corner in the 35th minute of the game.


    Their star midfielder took his duty, curling a cross in as 2 yers rose highest, Onyebuchi, the teau United defender and Farouk, Enyimba''s defensive midfielder. Both yers vied for the ball in the air but in the end, Onyebuchi won, awkwardly nting a header towards the bottom right corner.


    Ojo, the Enyimba FC goalkeeper reacted, charging towards the ball as his hand pushed it a bit but it was not enough. He pushed it into his.


    "GOALLL…!" The stadium immediately came alive.


    In the 35th minute of the game, teau United leveled the score.


    With that goal, the momentum shifted as teau United rode the energy of their fans, mounting attack after attack against the Enyimba FC backline.


    And it was during this time that a certain midfielder got his chance to shine. As if he had endless stamina, Sam ran all over the pitch, winning tackles and interventions as he helped his team win the midfield battle.


    In the end, despite how nervy thest few minutes of the first half was for Enyimba FC, they managed to hold on to a draw by half time.


    The game was a tight one.


    As soon as the referee''s whistle sounded, the yers went to the dressing room where they were addressed by their coaches.