The corner was taken short this time. Perring to Bhatt, back to Perring. Perring crossed it into the far post. Stones headed it down for Navarro, but the striker's shot was blocked again.
The forty-third minute felt like a siege. Northcastle had all ten outfield players in the Foxmere half. The ball moved from left to right, back to the center, then out to the left again.
[> "It's a wall of blue," <] Michael Harrison observed. [> "Foxmere have all eleven men in their own eighteen-yard box. There is literally no space for Northcastle to work in." <]
[> "They need a bit of magic, Michael," <] Peter Walsh said. [> "A bit of individual brilliance to unlock this." <]
As the clock hit forty-four minutes, the fourth official held up the board. Four minutes of added time.
[> "Four minutes for Northcastle to find a breakthrough before the half," <] Michael Harrison noted. [> "Maddox looks like he's calculating something." <]
