Reverse

Chapter 210 Team Football and Individual Heroism

After Wang Lie helped Tyne pull one back thirteen minutes into the second half, Tyne's fans believed that the invigorated Tyne players would continue to attack Clayton Athletic in the following game, and that Clayton Athletic would fall into chaos, making it possible for them to score another goal in a short time and equalize the score.

However, the game did not go as Tyne's fans had hoped.

On the contrary, Clayton Sports played steadily and scored another goal, widening their lead again.

Now it's Clayton Sports fans' turn to hope that their team will control the ball and the tempo of the game as usual. Judging from the first half, perhaps Clayton Sports can score again and completely seal the victory?

However, after the referee blew the whistle to kick off, the game did not continue as Clayton Sports fans had hoped.

This game is all about "rebellion"...

After kicking off, Wang Lie passed the ball back to Pisano and then ran forward.

But before him, Vitini and Ribeiro had already rushed out ahead.

Before receiving the ball, Pisano adjusted his body orientation and then launched a long diagonal pass to Ribeiro on the right wing, meeting the ball that Wang Lie had passed back to him!

Ribeiro has a height advantage and is capable of winning headers, so Pisano chose to pass the ball to him instead of Vitini.

Rushing forward to contest headers with opponents is not the Brazilian lad's forte.

Ribeiro turned his head and saw the football flying towards him. While judging where it would land, he adjusted his pace and ran towards the landing point.

This ball definitely required him to challenge Clayton Sports' left-back Lucas Balaski for the header.

He and his opponent jumped towards the ball at the same time, but he ultimately gained a slight advantage and placed the ball in the middle.

Because there was a familiar figure there!
After kicking off, Wang Lie rushed up to the Clayton Athletic goal, used his chest to gently push the ball forward from Ribeiro's header, spread his arms to block Clayton Athletic midfielder Kevin Zimmer behind him, and then swung his right leg to unleash a powerful shot before the ball even hit the ground!
"Wang—!!! OHHHH!!"

As commentator Connor Cowley's drawn-out roar echoed, the football soared over the Clayton Athletic penalty area and flew toward the goal!

Clayton Sports goalkeeper Nathan Daye made a desperate dive to the side, managing to tip the ball with one hand. The ball bounced upwards, struck the crossbar, and then rebounded!

At that moment, a huge gasp and booing erupted from the stands, as if the Clayton Athletic fans were terrified by the dangerous moment the ball landed in front of the goal.

But actually, they were startled by Wang Lie's shot just now; it was just that the sound was delayed, and the ball had already hit the crossbar and bounced back onto the field before their exclamations came out...

Before their hearts could even settle down, another exclamation arose!
They saw a figure wearing Tyne's dark blue jersey rushing towards the ball's landing point!
"Vitini!"

Dusan Ratkovic also noticed the Brazilian youngster and immediately cut across to try and block Vitini.

But Vitini got to the position before him and headed the ball with a diving header!

At the moment he headed the ball, Latkovic collided with him.

Vitini, who is not good at heading, made a desperate and forced header, and with Latkovic's interference, the ball went directly out of bounds...

The third gasp from the Clayton Sports fans finally rang out, and their hearts, which had been pounding so hard they felt like they were about to jump out of their throats, slowly calmed down.

The commentators finally had a chance to speak – Tyne's series of attacks after the kickoff had been so fast that they could only provide brief commentary.

such as:

"Wang Lie shoots!"

"besides!"

"Dive to the top!"

"Oh!!"

Now they are shouting excitedly:
"Tain almost scored right after kickoff! Both Wang's long-range shot and Vitini's follow-up shot were quite threatening!"

"Clayton Athletic were caught off guard! They never expected Tyne to launch such a dangerous and high-quality attack right after conceding the ball!"

"Tain's lightning attack almost succeeded!"

"Wang Lie's volley was of such high quality! It's such a pity it didn't go in... Sigh!"

Unlike the neutral commentator's excitement, Luo Jin sighed deeply.

"If this ball goes in, the score difference will be back to one goal, and then the game is still going... Tyne's morale will also be boosted..."

As he said this, the television broadcast showed Vitini pounding the ground.

However, after he finished pounding the grass in the Clayton Athletic penalty area, he got up from the ground without throwing a tantrum or yelling at the referee to complain about Ratkovic's foul.

He turned and ran back.

It seems a little different from before...

"Vitini!!"

On his way back, Vitini heard Wang Lie shout his name. He turned around and saw Wang Lie giving him a thumbs up.

"here you go!"

He received Wang Lie's praise, but there was no happy expression on his face, because he knew he hadn't done a good job.

Wang Lie praised him only to encourage him, but he himself knew in his heart that this was by no means a reason for him to relax!
※※※

"Did you see that ball just now?" McNeil, standing on the sidelines, suddenly turned to ask assistant coach Cesar Varo behind him.

"You mean Wang's shot? Of course. What a pity, if that ball had gone in, it would have been a huge boost for us..."

Varro was interrupted by McNeil before he could finish speaking:
"No, it wasn't Wang's shot, it was Vitini's header when he rushed into the penalty area... Go call Nova and Parker back, quick! Run there!"

As if waking from a dream, Varo immediately turned around and ran to the warm-up area to call back the young left-back Anderson Nova and central midfielder Joshua Parker, who were warming up.

Although McNeil didn't explain in detail, the tacit understanding developed over years of working together had already allowed him to guess what McNeil wanted to do.

It's highly likely that Nova will replace the team's starting left-back, Charlie Cohen.

Charlie Cohen has a wealth of experience, but he is getting on in years and played for so long with one less player, which has taken a toll on his stamina.

If the team needs to tighten its defense now, keeping Cohen on the field will allow them to utilize his experience to help the team.

But what if the team needs to attack?

Cohen's offensive ability and physical fitness are both insufficient to meet the requirements.

Therefore, they need to replace him with Anderson Nova, who is younger, more energetic, has better physical fitness, and is faster.

As for Joshua Parker, he should be substituted for Pisano. After all, Pisano had just received a yellow card for a foul and was also very fatigued. Bringing in a fresh player would enhance the team's control in midfield.

As for why Joshua Parker was substituted instead of offensive midfielder Mattis Van Ginkel, it's because Parker is more versatile, and he might have to focus on defense after he came on.

Sure enough, when he called the two back to the bench, McNeil first told the 21-year-old left-back, "You come on and replace Cohen. When the team is attacking, you need to actively push forward and participate..."

He didn't give much tactical advice, but instead asked the young left-back, "Do you remember what Wang said at halftime?"

Nova nodded and replied with great certainty, "I remember every word, boss."

McNeil was very satisfied. He patted Nova hard on the back, making two muffled thuds.

He then turned to Joshua Parker: "Go up and protect Isara, try not to let him become a weak point for Clayton. If necessary, foul decisively!"

Parker nodded. He was basically just a blue-collar worker, doing the dirty work and tiring tasks, to help Isala, the real defensive midfielder, relieve some of the pressure.

※※※

"Something seems off..."

Jon Berger suddenly spoke in the away fans' stands at Ashton Road Stadium.

Not only him, but Theo Collins next to him also nodded: "It's a little different from what we expected. Although they conceded another goal, the players don't seem to be giving up..."

"Is this still the 'mercenary' we know?" Robbie Dixie murmured.

“That’s no longer the case, Robbie. How could ‘mercenaries’ possibly qualify for the Champions League? Just managing to avoid relegation is a testament to their professional ethics for being paid to do their job,” Collins said.

"Could it really be Tang?!" Ryan, who had been in a daze, suddenly exclaimed.

Dixie was speechless: "Stop kidding, Ryan! I've already said, we're tens of thousands of kilometers apart. Even if Don is lucky, there's nothing he can do right now!"

“Eight thousand,” Ryan said.

"What the hell?" Robbie Dixie didn't understand.

“I mean it’s only 8,000 kilometers from the Chinese capital to here, not as far as you said, more than 10,000 kilometers!” Ryan retorted seriously.

Dixie rolled his eyes at him and decided not to argue with this idiot.

Damn it, what's the difference between 8,000 kilometers and 10,000 kilometers?!

Almost ten minutes have passed since Vitini's header went wide and Tyne made a substitution.

In those ten minutes, Clayton Athletic did not capitalize on their renewed goal advantage to completely overwhelm Tyne, nor did they take control of the game.

When they had possession, Tyne players used running, pressing, and fouls to stop Clayton Athletic, disrupting the rhythm of the game. Every foul by Tyne drew boos from the Clayton Athletic fans in the stands, but they didn't care.

Because the effect is really good.

Tyne's fans naturally noticed their team's performance, so every time the Clayton Sports fans booed, they cheered as loudly as possible to support their team.

Although their cheers were always ultimately drowned out by Clayton Athletic.

However, Tyne fans didn't care; they were genuinely happy and proud of their team—our team didn't give up despite facing such a disadvantageous situation!
Then what reason do we have to give up?

Even if our voices are drowned out, that is no reason to remain silent!
So cheer, sing, and cheer for the team!

※※※

"what!"

Kevin Zimmer screamed and fell to the ground. Beside him was Tyne midfielder Joshua Parker, who was getting up from the ground.

The referee's shrill, urgent whistle pierced through the enormous noise.

As he ran toward the scene of the incident, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a yellow card.

Parker, who committed the foul, made no attempt to defend himself, and before the referee showed him a yellow card, he had already started running backwards.

This doesn't mean he knew his move of sweeping the German midfielder from the side was a foul, but rather that he didn't want to waste game time arguing with the referee.

Tyne are now down by two goals, and time is of the essence for them.

"I have to admit, Tyne's tenacity exceeded my expectations. McNeil brought Parker on specifically to be a 'workhorse'..."

During a break in the game, Rajon Kochea listened to the Clayton Sports fans in the stands behind him shouting and cursing at Tyne player Parker, and remarked with emotion.

Assistant coach Pasqual Molina said, "It's just a desperate struggle. They're only wasting their energy. Seventy minutes are up, and they'll be completely exhausted soon."

Kochea shook his head: "We can't assume that this ideal situation will definitely happen. What if they score before their physical condition collapses? Then, under the influence of adrenaline, they might not feel fatigued."

The assistant coach had no rebuttal, because he remembered Wang Lie's goal after the start of the second half.

Tactically speaking, Clayton Sports essentially dominated McNeil's Tyne before scoring the third goal.

Judging from the first half, there was not a single piece of evidence that Tyne could turn the game around in the second half, not to mention that they were down to ten men.

But Wang Lie scored.

Was that goal the result of Tyne's meticulous planning and repeated practice in training?

Obviously not!
Does this reflect the true overall level of Tyne's team?
Nor is it.

It is a perfect demonstration of Wang Lie's personal abilities.

This kind of goal, which is an extreme display of individual heroism, is completely out of line with Clayton Athletic's football philosophy, but it still went in... As the coaches of Clayton Athletic, where can they go to complain?

Therefore, no one can guarantee that Wang Lie won't use his individual skills to score another unreasonable goal...

"Let Victor play; we need to relieve some of the pressure on Kevin."

Ulysses Victor is a midfielder with excellent footwork skills who can play in multiple positions from attacking midfielder to central midfielder, and is especially good at ball control.

Kochea brought him on in the hope of strengthening the team's ability to control the ball in the midfield and attacking third, in order to counter Tyne's simple and brutal "tree-cutting" tactics.

Having an additional skilled player who can control the ball more often will allow them to wear down Tyne's stamina more quickly, while also increasing the chances of him getting a card for fouls.

Currently, several players have received yellow cards in Tyne's efforts to drag the game into a stalemate.

However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that all the players who received yellow cards in the second half were attacking players: Vitini, Ribeiro, and Wang Lie, in addition to Parker, who had just received a yellow card, and Pisano, who had already been substituted by Parker.

The defending players, on the other hand, didn't receive a single yellow card.

Especially their defensive midfielder Isara, who remained "clean" under such immense pressure.

It's clear that Tyne's players are intentionally "protecting" the defensive players.

In that case, it would be normal to switch to Ulysses Victor and put more pressure on Isara, forcing him to make a mistake.

※※※

Ulysses Victor came on and replaced Eninho, who had performed well today.

Kochea, however, did not get the result he wanted.

Perhaps it was from Clayton's substitution that they realized they didn't have many opportunities left.

The Tyne players were actually motivated to perform even better.

"Vitini... Great shot! Beautiful!"

Commentator Connor Cowley exclaimed in surprise as Vitini suddenly changed direction in front of the penalty area, faking out right-back Ed Hutchinson and bursting into the box!
Then, facing the center-back Francisco Ferreira who came up to cover, he swept the ball towards the middle with his left foot and passed it to Wang Lie!
As Wang Lie ran toward the football, he chose to use the toe of his right foot instead of his left foot to poke the ball toward the goal!
This surprised Dušan Ratkovic, who had been marking Wang Lie closely but was unable to stop the ball from rolling toward the goal!

Fortunately, his goalkeeper teammate Nathan Daye reacted quickly enough. Before he could save the ball with his hands, he used a "lotus seat" move, sitting down on the spot and stretching out his leg to block the ball out of bounds!

"Wang Lie—! Oh my! Dai Ye made an amazing save!"

Shi Bo, who was standing in front of the sofa looking at the ball, suddenly fell backward onto the sofa with a thud.

This time, however, Shi Gaojun didn't scold his son for making noise. Instead, he slapped his own thigh, making a particularly crisp sound, but he didn't hear it at all because he was wearing headphones!

His ears were filled with boos and clamor coming from Ashton Road Stadium.

※※※

"Hold!!"

When Wang Lie saw Dai Ye block his shot out of bounds with his toe, he couldn't help but curse.

He gave Vitini a thumbs up: "Well done, Vitini!"

Then he clapped his hands loudly and beckoned to his teammates, signaling them to come up and take the corner kick:

"Keep going! Keep kicking like that!"

Tyne's corner kick posed no threat to Nathan Daye's goal.

The ball was headed away by Clayton Athletic's center-back Ratkovic, and after spinning around, it fell to the feet of Tyne's full-back Barnabas.

Parker gestured to Barnabas, signaling him not to rush forward and to pass the ball to him.

After Barnabas passed the ball to him, he charged forward.

Parker passed the ball to Miguel Ribeiro, who had pulled back to the right flank to receive it.

Ribeiro received the ball and turned, while Barnabas continued his forward run, preventing Clayton Sports' left-back Balaski from immediately marking Ribeiro.

Kevin Zimmer, who had just gone out to defend Parker, turned around and lunged at Ribeiro.

Ribeiro didn't pass the ball to Barnabas or anyone else; instead, he dribbled towards the penalty area!
Seeing this, Baraschi decisively abandoned Tyne's right-back position and lunged at Ribeiro.

Meanwhile, Clayton Sports midfielder Ulysses Victor, who was originally in the center, also moved closer to Ribeiro.

With Zimmer behind him, Ribeiro attracted the attention of three Clayton Athletic players all by himself.

Then, as he dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area, he used the outside of his left foot to pass the ball to Wang Lie, who was right next to him.

Wang Lie was originally positioned on the flank, but upon seeing Ribeiro dribbling towards him, he immediately moved laterally towards the center.

When he received the ball, he was positioned inside the penalty arc, facing Ribeiro.

But as the ball rolled toward him, Clayton Sports' center-back Dušan Ratkovic also rushed toward him.

Wang Lie seemed completely unaware of what was happening behind him. He half-turned, adjusted his footing, and swung his right leg, seemingly about to shoot directly at the goal!
Ratkovic lunged forward, attempting to close in from the side and rear, while simultaneously stretching out his leg to block Wang Lie's shot.

But Wang Lie's kick wasn't a shot on goal!

He swung his right foot down and gently flicked the ball to the left with the inside of his foot, and the ball went through between Latkovic's legs!
Then Wang Lie turned around on the spot, letting the onrushing Ratkovic pass, and pushed off the ground to chase after the ball!

"king!"

"Chance!"

Another Clayton Sports center-back, Francisco Ferreira, also lunged forward.

But in the end, Wang Lie was faster!
He pointed the instep of his left foot and slapped the ball towards the near corner of the goal!

The football is incredibly fast!
Deye was right at the near post, and it looked like he only needed to swing his arm to save the ball, just like he did just now...

But this time when he swung his hand, he didn't touch the ball!

Because the ball grazed his body and flew into the goal before he could even reach it!
In the 71st minute, Wang Lie scored his second goal!

Tyne has pulled one back!
(End of this chapter)