Chapter 87 - 85 - The Cost of Chasing

Chapter 87: Chapter 85 - The Cost of Chasing

Rafael stopped near the left touchline as Vargas-Ríos ran toward the corner.

Renaud was standing just outside the penalty area with his hands on his hips, while Caron had already begun walking back from midfield.

Rafael pulled his shirt away from his chest and turned toward the centre circle.

He’d barely finished celebrating Renaud’s equaliser, and now the Dijon players were gathering around another scorer.

Renaud collected the ball and returned it to halfway as the referee waited for the home side to finish celebrating.

Rafael took his place on the left again.

Metz restarted, but Dijon were already dropping more players behind the ball.

Their midfielders stayed close to the defensive line whenever Metz advanced, leaving Rafael and Perrin with room near the touchlines but fewer opportunities to find Renaud through the middle.

Caron tried receiving behind the midfield during one attack, only for two Dijon players to close around him. He returned possession to the deeper midfielders and moved into another position, but the next pass went outside to Rafael.

Dijon’s right-back followed him toward the area, while a second defender moved across to prevent him cutting inside. Rafael laid the ball back to his full-back and started forward again, but Metz switched play to Perrin instead.

The winger attempted a cross from the right, which struck the nearest defender and went out for a throw.

From the technical area, the coach called for a substitution.

Caron’s number appeared on the board.

The midfielder looked toward the touchline before jogging across, where another central midfielder was waiting to replace him. They exchanged a quick hand slap as they passed, and Caron continued toward the bench, pulling his shirt away from his chest.

One of the staff offered him a bottle. He took it but remained standing for a moment, watching Metz prepare to restart, before finally sitting down.

Rafael followed the change as he moved back toward the left.

Metz now had three central midfielders behind Renaud, with Rafael and Perrin remaining wide. The replacement moved straight toward the centre circle, calling for possession as soon as Metz recovered.

He received and passed right, but Dijon had already retreated, leaving Perrin with two opponents between him and the penalty area.

The winger returned possession inside.

Metz continued passing across midfield, occasionally attempting to find Renaud directly, but the striker was increasingly surrounded whenever the ball reached him. He held off a challenge during one attack and laid possession backwards, allowing Metz to switch toward Rafael.

The right-back followed as Rafael collected near the touchline, and his attempted pass toward the overlapping full-back was intercepted before the defender could get beyond him.

Dijon cleared down the line.

Rafael turned and chased the ball toward halfway, where a Metz midfielder recovered and started another attack.

The stadium clock continued moving toward ninety minutes.

Metz eventually found an opening when Perrin received near the corner of the penalty area and pushed the ball beyond his marker before cutting inside.

Renaud moved toward the penalty spot, drawing one centre-back with him as Perrin lifted a delivery toward the far post.

The cross travelled beyond the striker.

Rafael had started moving from the opposite side and reached the dropping ball near the left edge of the six-yard box.

He adjusted his stride and struck first time.

A Dijon defender was already recovering across him, and Rafael’s effort struck the outstretched leg before spinning behind the goal.

The referee pointed toward the corner flag.

Rafael returned to the area as Metz sent several players forward for the set piece. Perrin placed the ball inside the corner arc while Renaud positioned himself between two defenders, trying to find enough room to attack the delivery.

The cross came toward the centre, but Dijon’s nearest centre-back rose above the crowd and headed clear.

Metz recovered outside the box and attempted to return possession toward Perrin, only for the winger to be closed down before he could deliver again.

The next pass went backwards.

Rafael moved out of the crowded penalty area and made himself available on the left, where he exchanged passes with his full-back before attempting to run beyond Dijon’s right-back.

The defender followed and intercepted the return ball, clearing toward halfway before Rafael could recover it.

Metz regained possession and continued pushing forward as the fourth official indicated added time.

Almost every Dijon player was now behind the ball.

The visitors worked possession toward the right again, where Perrin managed to deliver despite having a defender close to him. Renaud attacked the cross near the penalty spot, jumping against the nearest centre-back, but the defender reached it first and headed clear.

One of Metz’s midfielders collected the loose ball and attempted to play forward again, only for Dijon to step across and intercept.

The home side carried possession beyond halfway, forcing Metz’s defenders to retreat.

Rafael chased back along the left, but Dijon were content to keep the ball near the touchline rather than attempt another attack.

The referee checked his watch as the home side won a throw.

Dijon’s right-back collected the ball and prepared to restart, taking his time while the Metz players moved into position.

Before he could release it, the final whistle sounded.

FULL-TIME: DIJON 2–1 FC METZ

Rafael stopped near halfway and rested his hands on his hips.

Dijon’s players were already gathering near the touchline, applauding the home supporters as their teammates joined them. He exchanged handshakes with several opponents before following the Metz players toward the small group of travelling supporters.

A few fans were still applauding behind the barriers, although most were already gathering their belongings.

Renaud walked several steps ahead, his shirt pulled away from his chest, while Perrin approached the supporters and raised a hand in acknowledgement.

Rafael joined them briefly before turning toward the tunnel.

His legs felt heavy now that he’d stopped running, and he glanced toward the scoreboard once more before disappearing inside.

The away dressing room was quiet when Rafael returned.

Several players were already sitting near their lockers, removing their boots while the equipment staff moved between them collecting used kit.

Renaud sat with his elbows resting on his knees, still wearing most of his match clothes, while Caron was a few seats away, pulling the tape from his socks.

Rafael found his place and began getting changed.

Perrin came over from the opposite bench and dropped onto the empty seat beside Caron. He pulled off one boot and rubbed his ankle before looking toward Rafael.

"Thought you had that last one."

Rafael shook his head. "Defender got across."

"Yeah, saw it go out. Couldn’t tell what it hit."

"His leg."

Perrin nodded and reached for his other boot.

There wasn’t much else to say, and the conversation faded as the players continued changing.

Rafael removed the tape around his ankle and reached for a clean shirt.

Caron was still beside him, struggling to pull one of his socks over the tape he’d wrapped around his shin. He finally managed to get it free and tossed it into his bag.

"I could barely sit still after they scored," he said.

Rafael glanced across.

Caron shook his head and reached for his other sock.

"Just wanted to get back out there."

Rafael knew what he meant. He’d spent the closing minutes trying to find room down the left while Dijon crowded their penalty area, and several times he’d looked inside for Caron before remembering that the midfielder was no longer there.

"Yeah," Rafael replied, pulling his shirt over his head. "Wasn’t much room by the end."

Caron nodded, then returned to packing his things.

A few minutes later, Renaud got up and came across to collect something from the supplies beside Caron’s seat. He waited while Caron moved his bag, then took a roll of tape from the shelf.

Caron looked toward him.

"That header was decent, at least."

Renaud gave a tired smile. "Didn’t do us much good."

He returned toward his locker with the tape, leaving Caron to finish packing.

The coach entered shortly afterward with one of his assistants.

He waited until the remaining conversations had stopped before speaking.

"We were better after halftime, and we got ourselves back into it. But we can’t keep conceding when we commit players forward. It’s happened too often."

Nobody interrupted him.

"We’ll look at it properly when we’re back. Get yourselves recovered, because we’ve got Sochaux on Saturday."

He went through the arrangements for the journey home and left the players to finish changing.

After the coach left, the players gradually returned to changing. Rafael finished pulling on his clean clothes while Caron remained seated nearby, still removing the tape from his socks.

Renaud returned from the showers a few minutes later and began packing his belongings. He hadn’t said much since the final whistle, and Caron seemed equally uninterested in talking as he folded his match shirt and placed it inside his bag.

Rafael finished packing his boots and reached for his jacket. Around him, a few teammates were talking quietly, while others were still getting changed.

From somewhere beyond the dressing room, the Dijon supporters were singing loudly enough for their voices to carry through the walls.

Caron looked toward the doorway for a moment before returning to his bag.

Renaud continued packing, and Rafael remained beside them as the noise from outside carried on.