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Chapter 305 Heavy Rain
Robbie Dixie, who was intently watching the game, suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, which made him shrink back. Then he looked up at the sky and a drop of water landed right next to his eye, causing him to blink reflexively.

It was rain falling from the sky, not wine spilled from the upper stands.

Because they were already at the very top of the stands—as away fans, they were often seated furthest from the pitch to ensure their noise wouldn't affect the game—now there were no stands above them except for the roof.

Dixie glanced at the sky to make sure it was raining again, then returned to watching the game. To keep out the rain, he simply rolled up the hood of his windbreaker to cover his head and prevent rain from dripping down his neck.

His companions didn't even pull their hats up, as if they didn't feel the rain at all.

Rain is so commonplace for the British that as long as it's not heavy, it doesn't cause any problems at all—their coats are basically designed to protect against light rain.

It wasn't just Tyne fans; Sofia United fans were too. Every Englishman was used to watching football in the rain.

The game is almost fifteen minutes in, and the score is still 0-0.

Wang Lie did not score within the first three or four minutes, unlike in the previous encounter between the two teams last season.

In the first fifteen minutes of the match, Tyne pressed high up the pitch against Sofia United, while Sofia United launched long counter-attacks, taking advantage of the space left behind by Tyne's high press.

It seems to be both a deliberate act and a helpless move made after being robbed by Tyne.

After all, Tyne's pressing in the attacking third is really fierce. Any Sofia United player who has the ball in the backfield for more than three seconds will immediately attract the attention of at least two Tyne players.

Wang Lie, the oldest player in the entire game, was running like crazy, seemingly not caring about his physical strength at all.

Under his leadership, every Tyne player was running and intercepting.

This forces Sofia players to pass the ball quickly, otherwise they risk losing possession.

But under Tyne's relentless pressure, who can guarantee that they can maintain such a high level of tension throughout the entire game without making mistakes?
Of course, doing this also takes a lot of strain on the players' physical strength, and they absolutely cannot continue to play like this indefinitely.

They're doing this now simply to score as quickly as possible and break the deadlock.

But if they fail to score, Tyne will definitely pull back, slow the pace, and give them a rest. They have to do this because otherwise, their stamina will quickly suffer, and once they run out of energy, no amount of brilliant tactics will matter.

In fact, both sides were gritting their teeth and persevering from the very beginning of this match.

Unlike other competitions, the start of a match usually involves a period of mutual probing, slowly maneuvering with the opponent, patiently finding their weaknesses, or simply passively waiting for them to make a mistake and then seizing the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

Therefore, most football matches don't feel very exciting to watch because, apart from the goal moments, the rest of the time is too bland.

It's even possible that after 90 minutes of play, not a single goal will be scored, resulting in a dull 0-0 draw.

Why do many people now doubt that football is the world's number one sport, and believe that basketball should be?

Basketball does indeed have a large following worldwide.

This is also because basketball has a much faster pace than football, with so many goals in each game, which is much more exciting than football.

However, the match between Tyne and Sofia United was different from other football matches. Both sides put aside those "worldly" concepts and went straight to the point from the beginning.

Because of the special relationship between Wang Lie and Sofia United, this was destined to be an atypical match.

The biggest feature of this kind of competition is that it's entertaining.

A fast-paced game leads to more mistakes, which in turn creates more opportunities, resulting in more goals.

Aside from the fans above the stadium experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions, neutral fans will find it incredibly exciting.

※※※

Travi once again launched a long pass from the backfield, this time targeting Pablo Castin, who was making a run down the left flank.

The Spanish international primarily played as a left-back last season, but under the tactical adjustments of new head coach Mehler Shapman, he has switched from left-back to left midfielder this season.

It wasn't a case of "being forced into a position" for him, because his speed made him naturally better at making runs into the box and participating in the attack.

Just like now.

This time, he was finally not offside when he received the ball.

However, he did not get the opportunity to go to the meeting alone.

Because right next to him was Jacob Barnabas, the right-back from Tyne, who was chasing back.

Creating an offside trap isn't something you can do anytime, anywhere, or in any situation.

Pablo Castin made a forward run from the wing, covering a longer distance, and without the suddenness of beating the offside trap, allowing Tyne's defense to handle the situation relatively easily.

Taking advantage of Castin's slowed-down state while controlling the ball, Barnabas quickly moved close and grabbed the latter's arm.

Seeing that he couldn't force his way through with speed, Castin slowed down, turned around to protect the ball, and then passed it to Stanley Harris in the middle to receive him.

As Harris received the ball, he made a feint to turn towards the center, tricking his defender, Tyne midfielder Lenny Isara, into turning in that direction. Then, he suddenly flicked the ball to the opposite side with the outside of his right foot, attempting to dribble past his opponent.

But the ball he flicked away hit Isara's foot and bounced off!
Tyne left a "leg" in his lower back, preventing Harris from completely shaking him off.

That kick thwarted Harris's dribbling breakthrough.

Harris quickly turned to chase the ball, and although he regained control of it, Tyne's players also retreated to their defensive positions.

He's not just facing Isara now, but also Ribeiro.

Meanwhile, Barnabas was still by Castin's side.

There might still be a chance in the middle, but Harris is currently facing away from the direction of the attack, away from the middle, with Isala behind him and Ribeiro in front of him, surrounded by two Tyne players, and unable to defend himself.

It's good enough if we can keep possession of the ball; there's simply no way to look back and check the situation in the middle behind us.

He didn't dare risk passing the ball behind him, in case it was one of Tyne's players.
Therefore, he could only choose a conservative passing route, passing the ball back directly to the defensive line.

Sofia midfielder Aaron Scouten saw Harris pass the ball back and ran back towards his center-back teammate Pablo Vitali, who was receiving the ball.

This way, Vitali can pass the ball directly to him without stopping it, avoiding getting surrounded by Tyne on the defensive line due to holding the ball for too long.

Sure enough, Wang Lie was running towards Vitaly.

Therefore, Skouten's support is crucial at this point.

Vitaly saw Wang Lie rushing towards him and immediately passed the ball directly to Scouten.

However, Scouten did not completely shake off Tyne's pressure, because Renzo Pisano closed in from behind him.

Unable to turn around, Scouten could only pass the ball back, this time to the young center-back Stephen Trave, who was capable of passing the ball out.

Travi swung his right foot to meet the rolling ball, and Vitini, who was rushing over, jumped up, intending to use his body to block Travi's pass.

As a result, when Travi swung his right foot, he only managed to flick the ball to the left, and Vitini, because he was rushing too hard, was caught out.

The Sofia fans in the stands cheered loudly for Travi's move.

Vitini and Ribeiro have been blacklisted by Sofia fans ever since they shared the video mocking Sofia United online.

Sofia fans may have mixed feelings about facing Wang Lie.

But when facing Vitini and Ribeiro, Sofia fans didn't have any of those messy thoughts.

Just shh!

So when they saw Travi outmaneuver Vitini, the Sofia United fans felt as if they were the ones outmaneuvering Vitini, and they were thrilled with satisfaction.

They not only cheered for Travi, but also jeered at Vitini.

The commentators also praised Tel Aviv:

"Terravi is truly fearless! Facing Vitini's pressing, he remained calm. It's hard to believe he's only twenty years old, yet he's so composed!"

"Sorford United brought in several players this summer, but honestly, I think the only one who lived up to his price tag is the young center-back Stephen Travey!"

"Taylor Murphy, Pablo Vitaly, and Stephen Travey should be the strongest defensive pairing at Soford United right now. I think Shapman should stick with this combination and stop oscillating between three and four defenders..."

Amid cheers from the fans and praise from the commentators, Travi, having shaken off Vitini, launched another long pass.

He still looked for center Ricky Weddell.

Wedel received the ball up front, and this time he was not offside.

He used his physical advantage to hold off Tyne's center-back, Maje Katic, and brought the ball to his feet.

He then passed the ball to Stanley Harris, who came up to receive it.

The latter received the ball and took a step forward, charging towards Tyne's penalty area!
The cheers from the stands were even louder.

Luca Helic came from the side, and Stanley Harris slowed down while raising his right foot, seemingly to use the outside of his right foot to flick the ball towards the center, but this was just a feint.

He feinted with his right foot, then cut the ball into the penalty area, accelerating and pushing off the ground to catch up before unleashing a shot with his left foot!
Hlic made a powerful tackle to expand his defensive area.

The ball flew past his toes and headed straight for the far corner of the goal! Goalkeeper Elliott Goetz dived to his side but missed the ball!

Then, in full view of everyone, the football grazed the outside of the far post and rolled out of bounds!
The cheers from the stands instantly turned into a huge sigh.

"Oh no!! Just a little bit short!"

"Stanley Harris' shot was decisive and dangerous! It was the most dangerous shot created by Sofia United since the start of the game!"

"Compared to the league match between the two sides last season, Sofia United were much better prepared this time. At least for the first seventeen minutes of the game, they hadn't conceded a goal!"

Commentators from various countries praised Harris's performance.

The last one, it's unclear whether he's praising Sofia or making a sarcastic remark about Sofia...

Is it something to be proud of that we didn't concede a goal in the first seventeen minutes against Tyne?

Normally, of course not. Not to mention, Soford United is a top English club; how could they be so humble?
However, if we look at the match between Sofia United and Tyne last season, we will realize that this is indeed a remarkable improvement.

Because of that match last season, Tyne was already leading Sofia United 4-0 at this point, and Wang Lie scored four goals all by himself...

Stanley Harris, who had been praised, watched the ball slide across the goal, then regretfully put his hands on his head and yelled to the sky.

Even more regrettable than Harris is Sofia United manager Meler Shapman.

As Harris took his step, he stood on tiptoe, leaned forward slightly, and held his breath, ready to rush out and celebrate at any moment.

The soccer ball slid wide of the goal, and he almost collapsed to his knees...

The frustration and regret he felt... were definitely greater than Stanley Harris's!
If this ball goes in, the situation will suddenly open up, everything will be much clearer, and Solskjaer and his team will have a one-goal lead. The players will be more confident and their form will improve, especially at home...

No matter how you look at it, the advantage is in my hands.

The ball didn't go in!

Seeing the football glide past the outside of the goalpost and roll out of bounds, he even had a strange feeling, as if God was manipulating things...

Shapman crouched on the ground, staring intently at Tyne's goal, completely oblivious to the increasingly heavy rain that was soaking his suit.

※※※

Although Stanley Harris didn't score, it still boosted the team's morale.

Moreover, this attack proved one thing:
A long pass from center-back Stephen Trave to the tall forward Ricky Weddell to launch an attack is a viable option and could pose a significant threat to Tyne's goal.

In particular, it greatly boosted confidence in Tel Aviv.

The rain is getting heavier, making it more difficult to play on the ground. We should be using more accurate long passes to get past the midfield and behind Tyne's defense.

Travi believes he can play a key role in this match and become a hero!

So when Sofia United gained possession in their own half, Travi looked around.

Based on his observations, he realized that if he wanted to deliver a deadly long pass unexpectedly, he needed to be further forward.

So he asked Felipe Mega, the defensive midfielder who was in possession of the ball, for the ball.

Mega was under pressure from Cabella and unable to turn around, so he immediately passed the ball to her.

After receiving the ball, Travi immediately passed it to Aaron Skoten.

He should have stayed in his position, but instead he suddenly moved forward!

At the same time, ask Skouten for the ball!

Seeing this, Captain Tyler Murphy behind him shouted, "Come back!"

But Travi remained unmoved, whether he didn't hear in the noisy stadium or was pretending not to hear...

Seeing this, Murphy had no choice but to have defensive midfielder Felipe Mega drop back to cover and temporarily fill in as a center-back.

It was at this moment that Skoten passed the ball to Travi.

Instead of passing the ball immediately, Travi made a gesture as if he was going to pass, but instead dribbled the ball forward!
Ribeiro was caught off guard and was knocked past!

However, Travi did not continue dribbling forward because he collided head-on with Tyne's midfielder Renzo Pisano!

The experienced Argentine midfielder judged that the kid was up to something as soon as Travi left his position and ran toward Scouten.

So he rushed up ahead of time and blocked Tel Aviv's path as he dribbled the ball!

Travi was completely unprepared for this; his attention was entirely elsewhere. He had just passed Ribeiro when he saw Pisano blocking his path!
The distance was too close, and there was no time to avoid it. He could only stop abruptly, step on the ball and turn, blocking Pisano behind him and protecting the ball in front of him.

But in his haste, he forgot that there was Ribeiro behind him whom he had already beaten!

So when Travi turned around, although he blocked Pisano behind him, he bumped into Ribeiro!

The latter stuck out his foot and poked!
Travi hurriedly stretched out his foot, trying to kick the ball away.

The ball was first poked at Travi by Ribeiro, then hit Travi's shinbone and bounced out.

It flew directly sideways towards the middle lane!

Wang Lie is there!
"Tella has lost possession!"

"Taine's chance!"

"Wang Lie!!"

Amidst the excited exclamations of the commentators, Wang Lie charged toward the incoming football.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, there wasn't a single Sofia player around Wang Lie!
The defenders from Sofia United were about six or seven meters away from him, and the midfielders were about the same distance away!
Scouten saw the football flying sideways toward Wang Lie and immediately turned around to chase after it.

However, Sofia United's defense did not rush up to approach Wang Lie, but instead stayed in front of the penalty area.

They were afraid of being overtaken by Wang Lie...

At the same time, Ribeiro, who had successfully won the ball back, turned and sprinted straight ahead towards the Sofia penalty area.

Vitini, who was originally in the middle, quickly ran from behind Wang Lie to the left flank.

The two players, one on the right and one on the left, were there to create space for Wang Lie to face the Sofia defenders one-on-one.

However, Sofia United's defense remained unmoved, with both center-backs Murphy and Vitali, and a makeshift center-back, Mega, even moving towards the center!

Amidst a huge gasp, Wang Lie received the ball and dribbled directly towards the penalty area.

He dribbled the ball toward the center of the penalty area, and the three Sofia defenders also moved further toward the center... or more precisely, toward Wang Lie.

In addition, there's Scouten, and Travi, who's desperately chasing back after losing possession!

The five men were like a chain, determined to keep Wang Lie firmly bound in front of the restricted area!

The first to engage was Mega, who was playing as a makeshift center-back, because Wang Lie was dribbling the ball specifically to him.

Facing Mega, Wang Lie slowed down, lowered his left shoulder, and raised his right foot, as if he were about to shoot.

Without even considering whether Wang Lie was faking it, Megan immediately slid in to tackle the ball.

And then he was rejected!
Wang Lie gently deflected the ball with the outside of his right foot, and Megan missed his tackle!

Travi, who had been chasing back all the way, finally caught up at this moment. Wang Lie managed to clear the ball and get past Mega. This was his chance to make amends!
As long as he can get to the ball before Wang Lie shoots!
Moreover, his success rate is very high because Wang Lie has no idea that he is being chased from behind.

The ball was so close, I could just stick my foot out and poke it away...

But he didn't succeed, because Wang Lie dribbled past the fallen Mega, caught up with the ball, and shot directly without making any adjustments!

A powerful shot from just outside the penalty area!
The football whistled past Tyler Murphy, who was standing in front of him, and crashed through the rain. The splashing water even blinded Murphy, causing him to reflexively close his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw his goalkeeper teammate Diego Ferrer standing in front of the goal line, his body twisted to the left, his left foot stepping out, and his left hand outstretched, but he didn't touch the ball at all.

He could only dejectedly lower his left hand and watch the football fly into the goal he was guarding!

※※※

Meler Shapman watched the football fly into the goal and looked up at the sky.

The rain poured down, hitting him in the face, and he grimaced as he got soaked.

Only then did he realize that the rain had gotten so heavy without him noticing!
The icy rain lashed at his face, soaking his clothes and drenching his heart.

That man scored!

(End of this chapter)