Tang En did not know what the Arsenal side was talking about. He only glanced over and realized that Wenger was not replacing Brady to exercise the command of the manager. Instead, he stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching the young players of the Arsenal Youth Team huddle together to listen to Brady's speech. So, he also retracted his attention.
"I think … I don't need to say anything more, right? You all know what I like, right? "
"Victory!" Morgan lowered his voice and shouted. His teammates immediately shouted in agreement.
"Very good! Arsenal is not weak, but we are also very strong. It has been raining every day during this period, and I did not ask you to train indoors. When you were drenched like drowning dogs and had to roll in the mud, battered and miserable, and could only complain in your hearts, did you ever think that we would let our opponents have a taste of that? "
Although the players were shaking their heads, the excitement on their faces was obvious.
"That's right! The Arsenal people must not have thought of it either! Go and give them a surprise, lads! "
"Forest, Forest, victory!" The players gathered together and shouted loudly, then ran up.
Hearing the shouts from Forest's side, Wenger's gaze was attracted. He turned his head and happened to meet Tang En's gaze, who was also observing him.
Wenger realized that Tang En was looking at him, so he shifted his gaze back. However, Tang En was still staring at the French scholar, as if trying to see through him.
Arsène Wenger … There will be a day when we directly face each other.
After the start of the match, Arsenal's youth team showed that they were not used to the terrible field. Many of the usually successful teamwork turned into mistakes because of the field.
If the strength of the passes was weak, the football would stop in the mud after rolling a few rounds. If they kicked it forward with all their might, it might fly out of bounds. If they ran too fast, they could not stop, and if they ran too slow, they could not receive the ball at all.
After half an hour, the score was still 0: 0. There was no change in the score, but their clean yellow Arsenal away jerseys had almost turned black.
In the 32nd minute, Forest's players seemed to have a small problem with their stamina. The pace of their attack slowed, and they began to pass the ball around in the backfield. At this time, the Arsenal players, who were getting more and more impatient as they played, swarmed over the center line, hoping to score a goal before the end of the first half. Before the match, they did not expect to be stuck in the mud with their opponents.
Seeing the players' impatient performance, Wenger raised his eyebrows. However, he did not say anything to remind Brady who was standing at the side of the field and roaring as he directed the game.
When Senderos could not hold back and pressed past the center circle, the Arsenal players who stayed behind, other than the goalkeeper, Craig Holloway, and the center back, Franklin Simek, were the only players left behind. Large areas of empty space could be seen everywhere …
Wes Morgan intercepted a pass from Papadopoulos, Arsenal's Czech Republic midfielder, and then directly drove to the front. In the eyes of many of the Arsenal youth team players, it was really a blind kick to clear the siege. Who was in front of them? Almost all of the Forest team shrank in the backfield to defend …
They were right. There was no one in front of the Forest team now. But they did not know that the Forest team had a speedy striker — Spencer Weir-Daley!
Tang En had often practiced this kind of one-on-one style of play where the defender would make a long pass and the striker would run to receive the ball. However, because Will Daley had almost nothing good about him other than running fast, the chances of success were not high. But this did not change Tang En's insistence on playing this way. Even if he only succeeded once in a hundred times, as long as he appeared at the most crucial moment, he would have profited!
Like now …
Will Daley ran past Senderos at lightning speed, seemingly completely unaffected by the mud on the field. Senderos was so shocked that he wanted to turn around and chase after the Forest player who did not have time to see the number clearly, but a piece of mud was thrown up and hit him in the face.
The football was still in the air, but Will Daley had already run past the midfield and was closing in on the opponent's 30-meter zone.
John and the others at the side of the field cheered loudly, cheering for Will Daley.
"Run! Kid! You can do it! "
Smaker, the Arsenal defender who came up to block the ball, had just started moving when his feet slipped … Then he looked up in despair as Will Daley swept past him like a gust of wind.
"Keep running!!"
There was only one person left in front of Will Daley after he received the football — the goalkeeper, Horowitz. The opponent was attacking, so the rest was simple. Under the loud cheers of the fans at the side of the field, Will Daley easily slipped past Horowitz, who had lost his balance, and shot into the empty goal!
The ball went in! The ball went in!!
Nottingham Forest's youth team was leading the powerful Arsenal youth team 1: 0 in the third round of the FA Youth Cup!
John and the others at the side of the field were excited, pushing against the barbed wire with all their might, causing it to creak. It looked as though they were about to push down the barbed wire and rush into the field to celebrate the goal with the Forest players.
"Well done! Lads! "The team's assistant manager, Kerslake, stood up to congratulate the players who ran back to the technical area to celebrate. Tang En applauded behind him. With a one-goal lead, things were much easier. Now that the initiative was on their side, Arsenal wanted to win in the away game? It was not going to be that easy!
On the other side, Brady waved his hands angrily and scolded, "That d * mn Tony Twain!"
Wenger stood behind him with his arms crossed, still not saying a word. However, his gaze had already shifted from the field to the side of the field. His attention shifted from the Arsenal youth players to Tony Twain.
He knew how to use the weather and the conditions of the field as a foundation for his own tactics. If the weather was not favorable, he would artificially create conditions that were favorable to him, making full use of every factor that could be used to win … This youth team manager was not simple.
Ten minutes later, the first half of the match ended. The visiting Arsenal youth team was temporarily behind the Nottingham Forest youth team by a goal.
Looking at the players who were crestfallen and in low spirits after coming down from the field, Wenger suddenly asked Brady, who was busy comforting them, "Liam, did you bring a spare pair of boots this time? The ones with long spikes. "
Brady understood and nodded. "Yes, I brought them. I'll get them all to change into them now." Then he turned to the young players and said, "Everyone, change into long spikes. We'll show those bastards in the second half how good we are!"
Immediately, the sound of shoes clashing could be heard. Wenger nodded lightly. As long as the team got used to the slippery and muddy field, he believed that with the overall strength of the team, they would still be able to defeat Forest.
Thinking of this, he turned his head to the Forest team's technical area, wanting to see what Tony Twain was doing.
"You guys did great!" Twain was loudly praising the players. "When we run freely on this kind of field, our opponents have to roll and crawl to keep up with our pace. Continue to play like this in the second half. Strengthen the pressure on their players with the ball and make them keep making mistakes, mistakes, and more mistakes! "
"Good!!!"
Hearing the cheers from the Forest team, Wenger called Fàbregas to one side.
"Cesc, what do you think of your performance in the first half?"
Fàbregas shook his head honestly. "Not too good, sir."
"What's the reason?"
"Uh, I don't want to find a reason … But the field was really terrible. I've never played on such a lousy field before. I couldn't carry the ball at all. " Fàbregas pointed to the field behind him. It looked like it had just been plowed by a tractor. It was indeed terrible …
Wenger expressed his understanding. "You're right. The field did restrict your performance. But I think, after the first half, you should have adapted to this field, right? "
"Yes, sir."
"Pass the ball more, do your best to reduce the contact between the football and the ground. Bring the ball less to break through. "Wenger patted Fàbregas on the shoulder." Remember, Cesc. You're the midfielder, the core of the team, the brain. You have to use this place to play more. " He pointed to his temple. "If the situation is not good, change your own way of dealing with it. The coaches can't call you over at any time to instruct you on what to do next. On the field, you have to be the second manager."
Fàbregas nodded his head vigorously. "I understand, sir. I know what to do! " He turned around and returned to his teammates. His gaze at the Forest team was especially firm because he had a clear goal.
Not long after the second half began, Twain felt that something was wrong. Fàbregas, who had been trapped in the quagmire in the first half, was resurrected. He was the core of Arsenal's midfield. His resurrection meant that Arsenal would also be resurrected.
The Spanish youngster sat in the midfield to make arrangements. The French defender, Clichy, would occasionally plug in from behind him to assist, pressuring the Forest team's defensive line. Michael Papadopoulos received Fàbregas's passes in front and then used his skills to shake off the defenders in search of an opportunity to shoot and score. After being criticized by Brady during the halftime interval, Senderos rarely pressed forward in the second half. Unless there was a free kick or corner kick in the front field with a good position, he would defend from the back at other times. Will Daly no longer had any chances.
Arsenal was like a machine, and Fàbregas was the core controller of this machine. Everyone else operated around him. If he was normal, the team would be normal. If he was not normal, the team would be in danger.
In the first half, the Spanish-made controller was clearly soaked in mud and water, causing it to short-circuit. In the second half, it started operating again.
Twenty minutes passed. If not for the Forest team's good luck, their goal would have been penetrated at least three times. There was one time when Papadopoulov's powerful long shot almost entered the goal. The Forest team's goalkeeper, John Lukic, pounced on the ball and let it go. The football slowly rolled toward the goal line, but it was kicked out by Wes Morgan, who had rushed over on his horse, just before the white line!
"Ah!" A sigh broke out in the Arsenal technical area, while the Forest team's side let out a long breath.
"We can't go on like this," Kerslake said to Tang En. "That Spanish kid is very good! His passes are amazing! He can almost find our vital points every time … "
Tang En pinched his chin and muttered, "Yes, yes, you're right, David. He's indeed very good, very good … But do we have anyone who can defend against him now? "
Kerslake was speechless from Tang En's questions. That's right. Was there anyone in the team who could defend against the best player in the FIFA Under-16 World Youth Championship?
The two coaches stared at Fàbregas, who was very active on the field, and could not come up with any ideas. George Wood, who sat furthest from the substitutes' bench, did not care about the current situation on the field. He had been restless for almost sixty-five minutes and could no longer stay there and learn any experience from his teammates on the field. He stood up abruptly and walked in front of Tang En, blocking his view.
"George?" Tang En raised his head to look at Wood.
"Let me play." Without a word of nonsense, Wood went straight to the point.
"Now? This is not a good time … "Tang En was right. Fàbregas's performance in this match had exceeded his expectations. He had originally planned to let Wood play in this match, but after seeing Fàbregas's performance in the second half, he changed his mind at the last minute. "In line with the principle of protecting young players …"
"Let me play!" Wood repeated his request.
"Tell me the reason." Basically, George Wood still listened to Tang En's words. There were only a few times when he would throw a tantrum, like today's unyielding attitude …
Wood hesitated for a moment, then pointed to a secluded corner outside the field and said, "My mother is here. I want her to watch my match."
Tang En looked in the direction of Wood's finger in shock. Indeed, he saw Sophia hiding in a corner that was not easily noticed, far away from where John and the other fanatical fans were, standing behind the barbed wire to watch the match!
"Why is she here?"
Wood was unwilling to explain the matter, so he repeated, "Let me play."
Tang En looked at Wood's determined gaze and thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, go warm up. You only have three minutes, then come back to me."
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