The singing continued from the stands of the City Ground stadium. Time ticked by. In the final stages of the game, West Ham had a slight counterattack. They did not want to end their trip to Nottingham in such a pathetic manner.
Unfortunately, West Ham, who had replaced Defoe, had lost their last offensive spearhead. They could only send Joe Cole up. Joe Cole was not suited to be a striker. He was like a fish in water in the midfield. Once he entered the penalty area, he was at a loss. Michael Dawson defended against such a Joe Cole with ease. There was no need for Tang En to worry about anything off the field.
Instead, West Ham, who had pressed forward, gave Forest more opportunities to counterattack. On the sidelines, Tang En saw the anxious Rode constantly waving his arms to signal for the team to press forward. He sneered in his heart. What's the use of pressing forward at a time like this? Worried that a one-goal advantage is not enough? What were you doing earlier?
Tang En decided to use the second substitution for this game. He called David Johnson, who was warming up, to his side and signaled for him to replace Leicester. He and Harewood would take turns to attack West Ham's defense. Tang En had discovered a problem. West Ham's replacement in the second half, Gary Breen, was actually playing as a trailing center back. He was often at the back of the defensive line. This was clearly a good opportunity for a quick counterattack. So, Tang En let Johnson go up to pass a message to Reid. "Be more direct. Don't be afraid of being offside. As long as you seize the opportunity, you can kill them! "
The fourth official raised his card again. Johnson replaced Leicester.
When Leicester walked to the sidelines, Tang En took the initiative to extend his hand to him. "Well done, Jack. Go to the locker room and take a shower. "
Leicester extended his hand but shook his head. "No, I don't want to go back to the locker room at this time. I have to be with everyone."
Tang En smiled and shook his hand. "Then you can stay here."
At this time, Tang En was still full of confidence in winning this game. It was strange. No one told him that they would definitely win this game. In his memory, he had never heard of this game. He did not know what the final score was or what the outcome would be. But he firmly believed that they would win. Where did this confidence come from?
Perhaps it was the fans in the stands who were singing non-stop, perhaps it was the players who were running hard on the field, perhaps it was Des Walker who was sitting behind him and supporting him, perhaps … it was something else.
He closed his eyes slightly, and the excitement in his heart finally calmed down. For the first forty minutes, he felt like he was in a dream. What he was stepping on was not solid ground, but white clouds. Did he really lead a First Division team to force a Premier League team into such a sorry state? I'm not playing Football Manager, am I? The players running on the field to carry out his orders weren't just numbers, they were real people. He was not an armchair strategist in a pub with a group of drunk fans. Everything had really come true. His set of skills could defeat the enemy.
Tang En felt that this was his greatest gain.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw the full stands and the players running back and forth on the field. His heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
Johansson's appearance on the field reflected Tang En's talent and brilliance in the field of command. He had only been on the field for half a minute, and he had already obtained an excellent opportunity. Unfortunately, when he faced James, the Jamaican shot the ball off target.
Seeing the ball brush past the goalpost and roll out, the Forest fans let out a huge sigh. There was not much time left in the game. If the ball had gone in, they would have been able to take down West Ham United. All of the Forest fans were looking forward to how they would celebrate this victory that night.
Tang En also felt it was a pity. He hugged his head and squatted on the sidelines, sighing like a fan. He did not have the calmness and steadiness of a manager.
He stood up again and looked at the electronic scoreboard. There were only three minutes left. The fourth official had not indicated how many minutes of injury stoppage time would be, but after Bowyer and Defoe's disturbance, there should be at least five minutes added. There were still eight minutes left. To score two goals … seemed a little difficult.
At this moment, he once again resented the referee on the field. If Dawson's ball had not been blown out, they would have eliminated West Ham United with just one goal.
Just as he was feeling vexed over this, the Forest team once again obtained an excellent opportunity!
It was Reid again. It was another diagonal pass from the midfield. Johansson's beautiful start, he received the ball in front of the penalty area and raised his leg to blast the goal!
The ball violently crashed into the net!
But this time, before the Forest players and fans could cheer and celebrate, the assistant referee became the main character. He raised the flag horizontally and pointed to the far end. The meaning was clear — Johansson was offside.
Johansson did not understand this decision. He pointed to himself and asked the assistant referee, "What" and "What". The assistant referee did not answer his question. He only raised the flag horizontally and looked to the front. It was as though Johansson, who was standing in front of him, was air.
The other Forest players also crowded around to question the assistant referee's judgment. Loud boos rang out from the stands. This time, it was not targeted at their own team. The target of the fans' dissatisfaction was the referee.
On the contrary, Tang En, who was on the sidelines, did not show any signs of agitation.
Seeing that the ball had been ruled offside by the referee and the assistant referee, the fourth official turned his head to look at Tang En. This dangerous person did not do anything. He only turned to face the technical area and opened his arms, shaking his head helplessly.
Even his partner, Walker, found Tang En's "meek" performance strange.
He saw Tang En walk back and sit down beside him. "Tony, are you okay?"
"What could happen to me …" Tang En glanced at the players who were still arguing with the assistant referee. "Des, we've lost this match. With a referee like this, there's nothing you can do. "
Sitting on the chair, Tang En buried his head in his arms, appearing very dejected.
Yes, I had accurately calculated the reaction of the opposing manager. I had also calculated the performance of my own players. My tactics had completely suppressed the opposing team. I had inspired the confidence and fighting spirit of this group of players. But the only factor I had not calculated was the referee. There are always such accidents on the football field. Today, it's my turn.
Seeing how dejected Tang En was, Walker did not know what to say. They had a wonderful start to the second half. Unexpectedly, they had to helplessly accept defeat in the end. "Tony … I think you've already done very well. Before halftime, who would have thought that we would see a team like this? There are some things that we can't control … "
The referee insisted on his ruling of offside. The West Ham United manager, Rod, heaved a long sigh. Like him, there were more than a thousand West Ham United fans. They felt that today's match was simply an adventure in a dense forest where danger lurked in every corner. In the end, they were lucky enough to escape from death.
The final result of the match was as such. Forest Team lost to the super team, West Ham United, on their own home ground.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Forest Team's players were clearly not satisfied with their result. Tang En even saw the tears in Dawson's eyes from the sidelines. He had worked so hard, but he did not reap a victory that he deserved.
After celebrating the victory with his own people, Rod had wanted to shake Tang En's hand and say a few words. But when he turned his head, he could not find the home team's manager in front of the technical area. Tony Tang En had already walked towards the players' tunnel.
Des Walker was originally busy comforting the players. He realized that Tang En had actually walked out of the field without shaking hands with the opposing manager. He planned to call out to him, "Tony, where are you going?"
"Back."
"You still have to shake hands with the opposing manager!"
"Help me shake hands." Tang En did not even turn his head and continued walking in.
"But you still have to attend the press conference! I can't take your place anymore … "
Tang En stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at Walker and nodded. "Alright, I'll go."
Looking at that stubborn back, Walker sighed. He really did not know what to do with him. He realized that Rod was looking at him. He hurriedly gave an apologetic smile and reached out his hand to walk towards him.
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