Chapter 17 Tops the list
While the world's media and fans are paying attention to the UEFA Champions League group stage draw for the 2003/04 season, Yang Cheng is taking his players to Bayswater to actively prepare for the game.
Playing three games in one week left many of the problems exposed by the team unresolved.
After the Brighton battle, Yang Cheng also decided to further adjust the midfielder's authority and position.
However, no one cares about the actions of a team that is close to the relegation zone in English League Two.
A week later, on September 6, Bayswater Chinese challenged Brentford away.
This is the 6th round of English League Two.
The Bayswater Chinese, who sent out their main force to fight, launched a rapid attack from the beginning.
After repeated practice and running-in in the previous dozen games, Yang Cheng's main lineup has become more and more consistent and has begun to stabilize.
In the 9th minute, Ribery broke through with the ball from the left and passed it across. Martin Roland sent a wonderful pass from the left side of the penalty area. Steed squeezed the defensive player and hit the goal in front of the goal. .
1 to 0!
But under the initiative of the Bayswater Chinese, Brentford quickly responded.
In the 27th minute, center Ben May took advantage of a mistake in the defense to equalize the score for Brentford.
The tie remained until the second half.
In the 60th minute, Yang Cheng made a substitution.
The veteran Steve Jenkins was replaced with the younger and more impactful Kevin Fury.
It was precisely this substitution that allowed the Bayswater Chinese to kick out the threat from the right.
Just 2 minutes later, French winger Ribery received a pass from Martin Roland, and the Bayswater Chinese exceeded the score again.
In the 84th minute, it was another attack from the right. Martin Devaney received an assist from Kevin Fury and sealed the victory for the Bayswater Chinese, 3-1!
In the end, the Bayswater Chinese defeated Brentford 3-1 away from home.
This is the Bayswater Chinese's second victory this season.
After this round, the league ranking rose to 11th.
……
On the afternoon of September 13th, in the 7th round of English League Two, Bayswater Chinese faced Luton at home.
The game entered the rhythm of the Bayswater Chinese from the very beginning.
The Bayswater Chinese, who have been playing more and more smoothly in recent times, showed an aggressive momentum, and the two wings were also very active.
Luton's head coach Mike Neville did not do a good job in targeted defense.
This led to only 6 minutes into the game, Steve Jenkins sent a precise cross from the right, and Jonathan Steed scored a header from close range, opening the scoring for the Bayswater Chinese.
Although in the 25th minute, Paul Hughes from Chelsea's youth training equalized the score for Luton.
But then, the game completely became a stage dominated by the Bayswater Chinese.
In the 34th minute, the Bayswater Chinese counterattacked quickly, and Devaney scored again, 2-1!
This is Devaney scoring goals in two consecutive rounds.
In the 42nd minute, Martin Roland shot in from behind, expanding the team's score to 3-1!
In the first half of stoppage time, Steed scored twice with a header from Tony Capaldi's pass from the left, 4-1!
At halftime, the Bayswater Chinese players came off the field amid the cheers of more than 2,000 fans at the scene.
In the second half, after a change of sides, Martin Roland scored again, and then Lambert, who came on as a substitute, also scored.
In the end, the Bayswater Chinese defeated Luton 6-1 at home.
This is another hearty victory.
But the most gratifying thing is the spirit and technical and tactical content displayed by the team in this game.
Especially the increasingly skilled pass-and-cut coordination, which made the Luton players dizzy and the fans at the scene mesmerized.
This kind of football style is unique in lower leagues.
After this battle, the ranking of the Bayswater Chinese jumped to 8th place.
……
On the afternoon of September 16th in the middle of the week, in the 8th round of English League Two, the Bayswater Chinese challenged Peterborough away.
Only 10 minutes into the game, Ribery dribbled the ball into the penalty area and created a foul and won a penalty kick.
Martin Roland took the penalty calmly and scored in one stroke, 1-0!
This is also Martin Roland's fifth goal this season.
Whether it is scoring efficiency or personal performance, it far exceeds all his previous seasons.
More importantly, at Bayswater, he seems to have gotten over the haze of injuries in the past two seasons.
Although Andy Clark equalized for Peterborough afterwards.
But in the 84th minute, Tony Capaldi's goal sealed the victory for the Bayswater Chinese.
2 to 1, the Bayswater Chinese won 3 consecutive victories.
The league ranking also rushed directly to 5th place.
……
On the weekend, the 9th round of English League Two ushered in.
The Bayswater Chinese are still away from home in this round.
The opponent is Wrexham.
Double matches in one week, two consecutive away games, this still has an impact on the Bayswater Chinese.
Only 7 minutes into the game, as the goals improved, Jonathan Steed, who became more and more confident, used a furious shot from the edge of the penalty area to break Wrexham's goal.
Subsequently, the Bayswater Chinese always controlled the situation on the court.
But in the 72nd minute of the second half, after losing the ball in midfield, Wrexham launched a counterattack.
Koscielny chose to foul when he had already received a yellow card and was sent off with a red card.
Wrexham took advantage of the numerical advantage to launch a fierce attack.
But in the 90th minute, the Bayswater Chinese used a quick counterattack, and Martin Rowland helped the team gain another victory.
2 to 0!
Bayswater Chinese won Wrexham away from home and achieved 4 consecutive victories! As both teams drew away from home, Queens Park Rangers and Swindon Town.
The Bayswater Chinese, who have won 4 consecutive victories, have taken the lead with 18 points and are ranked second in the English League Two standings, second only to Port Vale with 19 points.
……
After the 9th round, we returned to London and the team had a week of rest.
Yang Cheng also took this opportunity to hold a meeting.
He can clearly feel that with the team's consecutive victories, everyone's confidence has been inspired.
In addition, the cooperation between the players is becoming more and more tacit, and the operation is becoming more and more harmonious, and the entire combat effectiveness is demonstrated.
Everyone can clearly see that this is indeed a team that has the potential to compete for the championship!
On the one hand, Yang Cheng affirmed everyone's performance and efforts, but also reminded everyone that only 9 rounds of the 46 league rounds have been played.
"The league is still very long, we all have to work up the spirit of 120,000 points!"
And taking advantage of this breath, the Bayswater Chinese won the 10th round of the English League Two at home with Ronaldo Two goals from Jay Johnson and Stead defeated Barnsley neatly.
As Port Vale suffered a draw with Wycombe at home in this round, the Bayswater Chinese topped the League Two table with 21 points, surpassing Port Vale's 20 points.
This is the first time in the years since Bayswater Chinese entered League Two that they have topped the League Two standings.
Even if it’s just temporary.
What makes Yang Cheng even more happy is that in the home game against Barnsley, a total of 3,000 fans entered the Bayswater Stadium. This is also the largest number of fans in the past three seasons.
This made Lin Zhongqiu very happy and believed what Yang Cheng said even more.
As long as the team's performance improves, the games are played well, and word of mouth spreads, more and more fans will come to the stadium.
When the team has money on hand, it will naturally launch a series of measures to give back to the fans, further shorten the relationship with the fans, and build the team's own basic base.
……
Although Yang Cheng has paid great attention to it, some things are still unavoidable.
For a team like the Bayswater Chinese, the ups and downs of young players' mentality often lead to the ups and downs of the team's overall combat effectiveness.
After finally reaching the top, the team was held to a 1-1 home draw by mid-table Bristol in the 11th round of English League Two.
Steve Jenkins, who helped the team equalize the score, was also injured during the game.
As Port Vale defeated Peterborough at home in this round, they overtook the Bayswater Chinese and returned to the top of the list.
Bayswater Chinese are even ranked third after Brighton.
The one-week tour of the top spot is still a big blow to the young players of the Bayswater Chinese.
But Yang Cheng doesn’t think it’s a big problem.
It is normal for young players to have ups and downs in their status. This is a very important training opportunity for the team.
At the same time, it is also a reminder to the players that the cruel league does not allow for any slack.
Not to mention blind arrogance.
……
In the 12th round of English League Two, the Bayswater Chinese played against Wycombe away from home.
Although they took the initiative throughout the game, the team was not in very good shape and was never able to score.
It ended with 0-0.
But what is interesting is that the Bayswater Chinese are still ranked 3rd in the league, surpassing Port Vale who lost this round.
Brighton tops the list with 24 points, and Queens Park Rangers ranks second.
From 5 consecutive wins to 2 consecutive draws, Yang Cheng didn’t even criticize the players, but rather provided guidance and comfort.
In his view, this is a stage that any young team must go through if it wants to mature.
As the head coach of the team, what he needs to do is lead the players out.
...
On October 11, in the 13th round of English League Two, Bayswater Chinese faced Tranmere Rovers at home.
The number of fans entering the stadium exceeded 3,000 in a row, which made Yang Cheng very happy.
The players have gradually come out of the downturn of the past two weeks and have been very positive since the start.
But the most unexpected thing is that in only 7 minutes of the opening, Huddlestone seized an excellent opportunity, stepped in from the back row, and fired a furious shot to break through Tranmere. Rangers goal.
This also opened the door to victory for the Bayswater Chinese.
After that, the game completely entered the rhythm that the Chinese in Bayswater are most familiar with, and staged a one-sided crazy massacre.
The fans at the scene also experienced a hearty goal feast.
6 to 0!
The Bayswater Chinese beat Tranmere Rovers at home.
Moreover, 6 goals were scored by 6 players, which can be said to be all over the place.
Three days later in the middle of the week, the Bayswater Chinese played again at home in the first knockout round of the British Championship. With Steed’s brace, Koscielny and Lambert’s Scored a goal and beat Bristol 4-0.
This also allowed the Bayswater Chinese to successfully advance to the second round of the British Championship.
At the same time, the number of fans attending this game reached 4,000.
Although it is because of the lower ticket prices of the cup, it can be regarded as a historic record.
At the weekend, we ushered in the 14th round of English League Two.
The Bayswater Chinese beat Port Vale 5-1 away from home.
Not only did Martin Roland score twice, Steed, Devaney and Modric all scored one goal each.
After two consecutive draws, the Bayswater Chinese made a strong recovery and ushered in three consecutive victories.
With two big wins in the league, Bayswater Chinese surpassed Queens Park Rangers and Brighton with 29 points with 27 points, and topped the English League Two standings for the second time.
The day after returning to the top spot, Lin Zhongqiu received a call from Chris Hunter.
Happy National Day to everyone!
(End of this chapter)