The second half began with renewed energy as Tasty attempted to recreate the move he'd used in the real match—only this time, against the stimulation that was brought up by the system which have recorded every detail of that game, this just goes to show that it wasn't really a good idea,
Because the system which already had an idea of his move was determined to prevent such an easy goal from happening again, while Tasty was high on confidently delivering, despite the play still being repeated more perfectly something different managed to unfold this time around.
As soon as the whistle blew, Tasty darted into the center of the Bariga Young Boyz' midfield, and on both flanks, Mojo and Apari, who were still unaware of his exact plan, sprinted in as well, dragging their markers with them and opening up space.
Without hesitation, Bhola passed the ball back to Ricky Lambert, who had been waiting.
The moment the ball touched his feet, Lambert scooped it high into the air, aiming for Tasty, who was already ahead with only one midfielder shadowing him.
Tasty grinned—as he had clashed with the midfielder before and felt confident that he couldn't match his physical prowess.
But just as the ball was about to reach him, a shadow streaked past—so fast it caught Tasty by surprise.
It was a rude reminder that his prior play had been read, he had scored a similar goal in their last match, and he had assumed he could pull it off again since his was a stimulation.
Mystic, who was watching from above in the VR Pod room smiled knowingly, the system wasn't going to allow something that had happened before bypass it that easily, especially when Tasty was being so predictable.
The player who intercepted Lambert's lob was none other than Idris, who calmly nodded the ball down and resumed play.
What followed was a drawn-out battle as the Dark Elites fought fiercely to keep the Bariga Young Boyz at bay from increasing their lead.
They did this by Leveraging their strongest asset—which was their superior midfield which the Bariga Y.B couldn't seem to match up against —they effectively cut off all forward service, locking the game into a stalemate.
At one point, Idris even dropped deep into the midfield, hoping to intercept a pass and spark another brilliant play that might extend their lead again.
But that slight opening nearly led to a goal for the Dark Elites, because while Idris had been man-marking Tasty in the midfield, during one sequence, Tasty cleverly dragged him away further from his position, just enough to create space.
And Mojo seized the opportunity, entering one of his eccentric dribbling phases, as he weaved in from the left flank, dazzling defenders before sending a beautiful low pass that cut through to the right side.
Apari, stationed on the far right, met it with his left foot, curling the ball beautifully toward the far post.
The stadium held its breath as the shot curved... and smashed against the post, a rude awakening for the Bariga Young Boyz.
From that moment, their tactics shifted, they fell back into a more defensive setup, tightening their lines and frustrating the Dark Elites' buildup, both teams began trading possession, and despite expectations, the Dark Elites managed to keep their composure, surprising Mystic with their discipline and ability to hold the game steady.
From the way the simulation played out, it was clear the Dark Elites had learned from their first-half mistakes.
They doubled down on their strengths to mask their weaknesses, though they were lower levelled and possessing a weaker back line, but their structured approach and their midfield control kept the Bariga Young Boyz from finding another goal, and eventually their resilience paid off in the 79th minute.
The Bariga Young Boyz launched a counterattack, the ball was played to Alaba, who had been muted throughout the second half thanks to Apari's relentless harassment, Apari wasn't Alaba's equal in skill or pace—he knew that—but Mystic's instructions had been clear: throw him off, frustrate him, make him uncomfortable.
And Apari had done just that, shadowing and pestering Alaba nonstop.
But finally, Alaba broke free.
As he sprinted into the Dark Elites' half with only Jamiu and Adekunle ahead of him, as Jezzy Vingz stepped up to intercept, Alaba didn't hesitate, he feinted to the left, baiting Vingz into shifting position, then slipped the ball between his legs with his left foot and darted past—clean and fluid.
With that single move, he broke free and opened up space, leaving Vingz scrambling behind.
The next second, Alaba fired the ball at Jamiu's back, not toward Adekunle's feet or in the path of a run—but directly at Jamiu's back, it was an odd trajectory, because it was not a through ball or a cross.
But just before impact, Jamiu subtly turned, positioning his body to deflect the ball leftward, right into the path of Adekunle, who was waiting in space.
That was when Mystic realized the brilliance behind the play, Alaba had used Jamiu's body as a deliberate rebound to bypass the defenders that had been harassing Adekunle and deliver the ball to him without much hassle.
Earlier, both Eboye and Nonso had closed in on Adekunle, marking him tightly though it looked like they were no problem for him, however Alaba was not interested in risking a contested pass, and he had engineered the rebound instead.
The moment he struck the ball toward Jamiu, it drew both defenders slightly out of position, shifting their focus to the right and freeing up Adekunle just enough.
Now the ball was rebounding perfectly toward a wide-open Adekunle, he didn't even wait for it to touch the ground—as his body tilted, leg drawn back, ready to hook the ball toward the top-left corner.
His posture, the arrogant smirk on his face, and even the celebratory tilt of his frame irritated Mystic, it may have been just a data-driven avatar, but somehow the system had even captured Adekunle's cocky demeanour along with his skillset.
But just as Mystic braced himself for the goal, Kado appeared like a phantom—gliding in with outstretched arms, and not only did he catch the shot mid-air, but he followed through and rolled safely to the ground with it in hand.
"Kado!!!" Tasty roared, overwhelmed with relief and admiration.
The look on Adekunle's face said it all—stunned disbelief.
Kado quickly got to his feet and launched the ball high into the air, though it was just a simulation, but Mystic felt an immense surge of pride, at least now, he got to see that smug face finally humbled.
The ball reached Tasty, who turned his back to the Bariga Young Boyz's goal, he wasted no time trapping it with his left foot before flicking it up and slamming it into the open space on his left with his right.
Bhola was already there, driving the ball forward with confident strides down the right channel, as Bhola pushed forward, Tasty veered left, with Mojo flanked out wide on the far left wing, and Apari surged along the right flank just behind Bhola.
The Bariga defenders were in a tight spot. Idris, hoping to break the developing play, stepped forward to challenge Bhola, while the remaining two defenders held the line, waiting for backup—but the moment Idris stepped out of formation, Bhola lifted the ball into the far-right corner, where Apari had caught up, as Apari delivered a perfect low cross into the heart of the box.
Tasty slid effortlessly into the space Idris had left behind, one calm tap-in was all it took and then came the mechanical beep signalling a goal, Tasty exploded in celebration, ripping off his shirt and sprinting toward the corner flag, where he slid across the turf, turning with a triumphant grin as his teammates ran to embrace him.
His upper body looked like it had been carved from stone by an ancient Greek Sculptor—proof of the brutal training they'd endured and unlike the others had no problem showing it off, his arms were wide as his teammates swarmed him in celebration.
Without delay, the game resumed, with the Bariga Young Boyz began dictating the tempo, and though the Dark Elites were completely spent, but they sill fought like warriors.
Learning from the first half—and the mistake that had led to them conceding a goal they defended with everything they had, with their aggression sharpening , as if the match had now become a life or death event.
Even though it was just a simulation, it was clear: the Dark Elites refused to lose.
And Mystic, who is watching from the side, couldn't have been prouder.
And just like that, they held the line until the final whistle.
Dark Elites 2 – 2 Bariga Young Boyz.