Chapter 86: Stranger
“Eh? Be careful! Be careful!!”
“Oops!!”
“Oh——”
On the stand The Tyne fans screamed in surprise when they saw Kerten entering the penalty area.
When the football really flew into the goal, they let out a long sigh, and many people fell into silence.
The feeling of being tied after taking the lead is not pleasant, even better than being directly behind.
After all, being tied after taking a lead means that what you got is gone again. This psychological gap is even greater - which one is more embarrassing, never getting it, or getting it and then taking it away from you? Feeling uncomfortable?
Obviously the latter.
Robbie Dixie looked up to the sky and shouted, then put his head in his hands and looked at the Hackney Knights players who were celebrating in the stadium. Some people around him were cursing, while others were silent like him, not in the mood to talk.
But not long after, there was a cry from the stands:
"Tyne! Tyne! Tyne! Tyne!!"
The sound reached the stands from a distance, Everyone, including Dixie, also waved their fists and shouted loudly:
"Tyne! Tyne!!"
Such a shout was like throwing a stone into a pool of stagnant water. , causing ripples that soon spread to the entire water surface.
Unlike before, when they lost the ball, they would suffer for a long time, curse loudly, and then feel desperate and numb. Although the current Tyne fans are also very painful and disappointed after losing the ball, they will soon cheer up and shout with shouts. Tell the players on the field:
Don’t give up, we are with you!
The shouts grew louder and louder, and finally turned into singing:
“...The Tyne River, the Tyne River, the endlessly flowing Tyne River, and the tall chimneys, and The fire in the hearth. This is my hometown Newcastle--! Newcastle upon Tyne!"
The singing of tens of thousands of home fans completely suppressed the chorus of the visiting fans.
By the time the game resumed, the Hackney Knights players could no longer hear the voices of their own fans.
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Perhaps it draws strength from the shouts and songs of the fans, or perhaps the team has expected to be scored by the league's number one Hackney Knights before the game. ... Anyway, after the game restarted, the Tyne players did not panic.
They first stabilize their defense and avoid being defeated by the Hackney Knights in a short period of time - with the strength of the Hackney Knights, they can definitely do this.
Furthermore, due to the change in mentality after losing the ball, the probability of players losing concentration on the court and causing mistakes is very high.
There are still a few minutes left before the end of the first half. Even if injury time is included, it is less than ten minutes.
As long as the score can be maintained, the head coach will naturally make corresponding adjustments after the halftime break.
No need to worry now.
Sure enough, after the game restarted, the Hackney Knights continued to play according to the way they played during the period before the goal, launching a fierce attack on Tyne's goal.
However, because Tyne was prepared in advance, the whole team recovered and maintained the stability of the formation, without giving the Hackney Knight players another chance to threaten the goal like when they lost the ball.
The score did not change until the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
"The first half of the game is over! After forty-five minutes of fierce battle! Tyne temporarily drew 1:1 with Hackney Knights at home!"
"Honestly, although not The result of being able to maintain the lead before the end of the first half, but I think the score and the scene were enough to surprise everyone... You must know that in the first half of the season, Tyne was almost defeated when facing the Hackney Knights. They were unable to fight back, but today they were evenly matched with the league's No. 1 team! In the past two months, Tyne has really changed..."
Although they were beaten at the end of the first half. Kenny Knights equalized, but the Tyne fans still gave their team encouragement and applause.
When they walked to the tunnel, the Tyne fans there cheered loudly for them and praised their performance:
"Good job! Boys!"
"Come on, Tyne!"
"It doesn't matter! Come back in the second half!"
When Wang Lie walked to the entrance of the passage, When he heard the shouts of the fans, he raised his hands and applauded the fans in the stands.
Then he got more cheers from Tyne fans:
"Come on! King! You are the best!"
"GOAT! King! You are the real GOAT!!" (Note 1)
Wang heard the fans praising him, Smiling and waving to them, he walked into the tunnel again.
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“…We had predicted before the game that Tyne’s home court would not be easy to play, and the facts proved it. But I want to say that after you conceded the goal, Very good performance! We were able to equalize the score in the first half, which is a reflection of this good performance! ”
Hackney Knights head coach Paul Neves loudly encouraged and praised his players in the dressing room for their first-half performance.
“This goal proves that even if we use a method we are not good at, we can still score goals! Since we can score goals, then we can win! Tyne’s defense is not very good, Carty Qi alone can never cover the entire area in front of the penalty area, and he also participated in the national team competition."
Neves placed magnetic chess pieces on the tactical board to use the most intuitive way to let the players play. They knew what they should do in the second half.
“In the second half you have to continue to cause chaos around their penalty area. When Bok moves upfield, whether it is Kerten or Jack, they have to move closer to him so that they can make the most of the opportunities he grabs. Launch a second attack. Not only the two of them, everyone must move closer to each other when entering Tyne's half..."
After placing the chess pieces, he patted the tactical board hard.
"With forty-five minutes left in the game, we have equalized the score, and the next step is to take the lead! Remember our goal here? Victory! Win! Get three points!! The fight for the league championship starts from here and now. ! ”
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“It’s a pity to be equalized, but all of us know that it is difficult to prevent them from scoring. Instead of focusing on defense, you might as well think about how to score more goals, right?”
McNeil asked his players in the locker room.
He did not intend to really ask the players to answer this kind of scoring question. He continued: "We have a huge advantage in offense, so offense is what we should do. But on defense, we It's not like we don't do anything. When defending, everyone must pay attention, stay alert, and always pay attention to the situation around them. In fact, the reason why we lost the ball was because we were not focused enough when defending. There is a loophole...
"It's obvious that they intend to use Bok to cause chaos near our penalty area. So we can't mess with ourselves. If the ball falls in the dangerous area, don't think so much, just kick the football forward with your big foot. Wang, if the football flies over, You have to pay attention to controlling the landing point in front."
Wang Lie nodded, indicating that he understood.
“When they attack, we don’t press, we guard our defense and make sure there are no loopholes. In any case, the defensive formation cannot be chaotic... Without Pope, their ability to break through dense defense is not as good as before , As long as we don’t give them a chance, they will eventually have to rely on long shots and crosses from the side to find opportunities. And we have enough advantages in header defense, as long as we don’t let them get the second shot..."
According to the characteristics of Hackney Knight, McNeil made a very detailed layout.
Then he finally encouraged the players: "Although Hackney Knights are first in the league, judging from the first half, the gap between us and their strength is not big, and we are even better than them in some aspects. Even better! So why can't we beat them at home? We've already beaten the Scouse here, now let's add the Cavaliers to our list of losers!"
Then he asked Wang Lie: "Wang, do you have anything to say?"
Wang Lie shook his head and waved his hands: "No, boss, you said it very well, I have nothing more to say."
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As the players walked out of the locker room one after another, McNeil left Wang Lie alone.
When there were only two of them left in the locker room, McNeil asked: "Wang, does your national team have any particularly powerful physical coaches?"
Wang Lie was very surprised: "Why do you ask that, Sam?"
"Because your physical condition is obviously better than before you went to the national team. So I wonder if it is because of the Chinese team's The physical trainer is very good..."
Wang Lie actually had a premonition that the subsequent changes in his body functions would not be hidden from everyone. He could not pretend that he was still thirty-eight years old in order to conceal this situation. His physical condition - then wasn't his death in vain?
So he had already thought of some rhetoric specifically to deal with questions like McNeil's.
He shook his head: "Of course the physical fitness coach of our national team is very good, but my physical condition has little to do with him. On the one hand, it is because I have my own physical recovery method, and on the other hand, this Maybe it's my own talent..."
He used this ambiguous statement to explain, without going into too much detail, but it was more convincing.
The "unique" physical recovery method is his own "unique trick". Of course, it is impossible to explain it in too much detail. If everyone knows how he recovers from physical fatigue, he will lose his "exclusive skill". "The nature of it?" This is human nature. When he said this, everyone understood and would not continue to ask about the specific recovery method.
What? Do you think this "unique to Wang Lie" recovery method is some kind of magical "little pill"? Then you really underestimate Wang Lie who has been enjoying the top doping test treatment for all these years... If he had taken drugs, with the dirty look of Chinese athletes in the world sports world, he would have overturned eight lifetimes ago, and he could still wait until he was thirty-eight years old. ?
Then adding the "talent theory" will increase the persuasiveness of his rhetoric.
Because Wang Lie has a very special physical talent, this is no secret in world football - after all, he has never suffered a major injury since the two serious injuries when he was 19 and 20 years old. Sickness is a fact.
Since he has not been seriously injured in his eighteen-year career, it means that his body must be different from ordinary people. So now that the body is recovering quickly and acting more vigorously than its actual age, it doesn’t seem to be unbelievable...
As for why there didn’t seem to be such a recovery effect before... of course it’s because Wang Lie also recently You just got this "unique skill".
Sure enough, after listening to Wang Lie's explanation, McNeill nodded and accepted: "Okay. I was worried about your physical condition before, and wanted to ask if I should replace you in advance..."
Wang Lie shook his head: "No, don't replace me early, I can definitely play the whole game."
"Your tasks will be heavier in the second half... You have to keep retreating to respond. If you go forward, there will be more anaerobic exercises such as return running and sprinting..." McNeil reminded him.
Wang Lie still shook his head: "That's perfect, I'm very motivated now."
McNeill laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, let's go out!"< br>
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Jiang Dongxun was very dissatisfied with his performance in the first half.
Although the head coach didn't say it, he knew very well that the lost ball had something to do with him - if he could have snatched the ball away from Wang Lie at that time, or if he hadn't been thrown away by Wang Lie at high speed, then there might not have been any. In the subsequent corner kick, Wang Lie would not use that tactical corner kick to score with a header...
And he knew that most of the time he almost seemed to disappear from the game, without any outstanding performance. The team's equalizing goal had nothing to do with him.
So during the halftime break, he was always worried that the head coach would replace him.
Until the second half was about to begin and the players were about to return to the court, the head coach still did not announce any substitutions.
He was secretly relieved.
But when he was about to walk out of the locker room, he was stopped by head coach Neves.
Jiang Dongxun’s heart almost stopped—could it be that what was supposed to come had still come? Are you finally going to replace yourself?
Neves looked at Jiang Dongxun, who was obviously a little worried, and his first sentence made the latter feel like he was struck by lightning: "Luke Milne just posted an X article online, saying that I should be in the game "Jake" is Jiang Dongxun's name in the UK, and he is called "Jiang Dongxun" in the Korean team. , while in Hackney Knight he was called "Jack Ginger".
Jiang Dongxun, who was still very unruly in front of his national team teammates, was like a good baby in front of the club's head coach. He bowed his head and admitted his mistakes with a good attitude: "Sorry, boss, I was wrong..."
Although he doesn't know what he did wrong, when facing the head coach with a bad expression, he should forget about that and just bow his head and admit his mistake. This can't be wrong, right?
"I don't care whether you are wrong or not, I just ask you, do you think I should take you off before the game?" Neves stared at Jiang Dongxun and repeated his question.
Jiang Dongxun speculated in his mind about his head coach's thoughts, and then said bravely: "No, boss, I will prove that you were right in leaving me on the court in the second half!"
Inside Weiss said nothing, but still stared at Jiang Dongxun.
Under his gaze, Jiang Dongxun's breathing gradually became heavier, and at the same time, under his tight lips, there were teeth that were clenched hard.
Just when he could hardly stand the boss's gaze, Neves finally broke into a smile, nodded, and said to him: "Well, don't let me be laughed at, Jack."
Jiang Dongxun was relieved. He clenched his fists and said in a firm and powerful tone: "Don't worry, boss. I will try my best for the team!"
"Well, let's go out now."< br>
Jiang Dongxun turned around and ran out of the locker room as if he had been granted amnesty.
And because the head coach stayed in the locker room to say a few more words, his teammates have returned to the court.
So Jiang Dongxun was in the player tunnel and unexpectedly bumped into the home team Tyne players coming out of the locker room - they were not in a hurry to play, but just stood in the tunnel, scattered in twos and threes, chatting, in a daze... as if et al.
As soon as Jiang Dongxun saw the dark blue back, he reflexively wanted to hide.
But he quickly came to his senses - why should I hide? I didn’t do anything wrong!
So he held his head high and passed the group of Tyne players without looking away, heading towards the exit of the tunnel.
When he appeared in the tunnel, he immediately attracted the attention of these Tyne players.
Jiang Dongxun could feel the undisguised malice in the eyes of the Tyne players.
Especially that Vitini, he looked at himself as if he wanted to bite off his own flesh - his mouth was indeed moving, and he didn't know if he was secretly scolding himself... …
This kind of "malice" that can almost turn into reality seems to make the air in the passage solidify. Jiang Dongxun spends a lot of effort every step he takes.
It was obviously not a long distance, but now he felt that the exit was out of reach.
But he couldn't run - that would make him look scared.
Unless he ran into the passage from the beginning, and now he runs halfway, it really feels like running away...
Suddenly, the gaze that seemed to weigh heavily on Jiang Dongxun suddenly disappeared. , those malicious intentions disappeared.
Jiang Dongxun felt like he could breathe normally again.
Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him.
“Are you all here? Very good, come on!”
After these words, the sound of intensive spikes clashing sounded in the player tunnel.
A man walked past Jiang Dongxun first. He glanced at the figure from the corner of his eye, and it turned out to be... Wang Lie!
Wang Lie walked past him without squinting, as if he were nothing but air.
Behind him were the other Tyne players, who surrounded Wang Lie and walked forward. It seemed that they were waiting for the captain Wang Lie in the channel just now.
Some of these people cast their eyes on him, but quickly looked back and followed Wang Lie's steps towards the entrance of the passage.
Jiang Dongxun, who was at the back, came to his senses and found that he had stopped at some point...
He was shocked by Wang Lie's appearance just now!
He mocked Wang Lie almost semi-publicly online, but offline, when Wang Lie was next to him, he was so frightened that he couldn't even take a step...
He was ashamed and angry. He quickly lowered his head, started to jog, and ran out of the tunnel behind Tyne's team and onto the court.
When he came out, the Tyne fans were singing:
"...London is full of high-rise buildings, Liverpool is whistling, and Manchester is bustling with traffic. When I walk alone in these cities, the only thing I miss is Newcastle-upon-Tyne——"
"The Tyne, the Tyne, the ever-flowing Tyne, the joys and sorrows of life and death are changing, but the ever-flowing Tyne will never change. This is my hometown of Newcastle -! Newcastle upon Tyne!!"
“The Tyne, the Tyne, the ever-flowing Tyne, the rows of chimneys, and the dancing fires in the hearths. This is my hometown of Newcastle—! Newcastle upon Tyne! ! ”
They are warming up for the second half with singing.
This is not the first time Jiang Dongxun has played at Lizer Park Stadium, but only this time, he feels that this stadium is a bit unfamiliar...
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Note 1: GOAT, the original meaning is goat. But it is also the abbreviation of "GreatestOfAllTime", which means "best in history".
(End of this chapter)