Wimbledon's manager, Stuart Murdoch, had nothing to do with the other Keith Rupert Murdoch, even though they had the same surname. The latter was a world-renowned media mogul, while the former was just an unknown manager of a low-level team. Like Tony Twain, he only had a certain amount of prestige in the team's local area.
This season was his first time coaching a team as a manager. Wimbledon's terrible results were also related to his poor ability. He always misjudged the situation on the field and then made the wrong decision, which finally led to a wrong failure …
Like now. He had just signaled for the team to press forward, and the Forest team counterattacked.
The Nottingham Forest captain, Michael Dawson, intercepted the pass from the Wimbledon captain, Nigel Reo-Coker, and then passed the ball straight to Andy Reid on the flank. Reid dribbled two steps and passed the ball to Ian Jess, who was plugging forward.
Seeing Jess take the ball, Hailwood recalled Twain's roar on the sidelines. He always felt that the manager would really replace him, even though it was not even 30 minutes. Therefore, he did not dare to be negligent and desperately looked for gaps in the front field. This time, he must receive the ball!
After Wimbledon pressed forward, there were bound to be many gaps in the back. Large areas were like towns located in the English countryside, scattered here and there.
Ian Jayce saw these gaps and he had to decide where to pass the ball in the shortest amount of time to lead to a goal. It was not that he would pass the ball whenever he saw an opening. It was a problem if there was anyone there to receive the ball or if he could receive it.
Hailwood ran to the left side. He pulled a Wimbledon defender, Mikele Leigertwood, and there was a short gap in the middle. Where was Johansson?
Jess turned his head to find him. He found that Johansson had the possibility of plugging in from the right side to the middle. Therefore, without hesitation, he pushed straight. The football quickly rolled through the no man's land in front of the penalty area and penetrated Wimbledon's defense!
Johansson moved at the same time and plugged diagonally into the middle. He received the football from behind everyone!
The other center back, Dean Lewington, who was out of position, raised his hand to signal to the referee that Johansson was offside and basically gave up on returning to defend.
The assistant referee did not raise his flag, nor did the referee blow his whistle. The stands in the City Ground stadium erupted in loud cheers.
"Johnson is now fighting Davis one-on-one!"
Wimbledon's goalkeeper, Kevin Davis, was a goalkeeper with Premier League experience. He had quick reflexes and agile hands, and was especially good at one-on-one battles with strikers. Unfortunately, Johansson was not good at one-on-one matches with goalkeepers …
When Johansson saw Davis coming out, he hastily raised his leg to shoot. The shot was of some quality as it flew towards the back corner of the goal. But Davis reacted faster. As he fell to the ground and pounced towards the near corner, he extended his foot towards the far corner. The football hit the tip of his foot and bounced off course. It did not fly into the goal but flew to the other side of the penalty area.
The few hundred away fans suddenly cheered. Just now, their hearts were in their throats and could jump out at any time. Davis had saved the team, and their hearts.
However … the test of their hearts had yet to pass!
When Jess passed the football to the middle, Harewood had just run over from that route. He thought he had missed it again this time. He did not expect to see the football flying towards him when he turned around!
Where's the goalkeeper? He was still lying on the ground. He could even feel Legtwood frantically trying to squeeze in front of him to intercept the ball.
But this is my f * cking chance. If I don't get in, I'll be replaced! I won't let you get what you want!
Harewood could not care less. He desperately put Legtwood behind him and then … leapt towards the top!
The football flew into the empty goal without any suspense!
The oppressive atmosphere in the City Ground stadium was finally released. The red stands were like the crater of a volcano, spewing hot magma.
The stadium broadcast shouted the name of the scorer, "Malone —"
The 30,000 fans then shouted, "— Harewood!!"
Tang En jumped up from his seat, clenched his fists, and hugged everyone around him in celebration.
"How many kicks?" he asked Walker. Walker replied excitedly, "Four kicks!"
"Great! This is the proof! "
"Tony! We played what was required in training … "
"Well, let's continue like this."
Tang En had just finished speaking to Walker when Harewood ran over excitedly. He shouted at Tang En, "You don't have to replace me this time, right?"
"It's not enough. Score one more!" Tang En happily shouted back. "Score more!"
The radio said that the Forest team today was very strange. They were playing football that everyone found unfamiliar. It was completely unlike the Nottingham Forest team of the past, and they were unable to break through. McDonald was a little anxious. Was there something wrong with the team?
Just as he was feeling uneasy, he suddenly heard a sharp roar coming from the radio.
"Harewood! And`a`Goooal！！！ 1: 0. The Forest team is in the lead! "
Old McDonald jumped out of the small house again. He stood in front of the door and shouted along with the voice from the radio. It was as if he was also in the stands of the City Ground stadium, surrounded by his companions in Forest's red jerseys. They were jumping and shouting, "Forest, Forest!"
Having just finished his celebration, the old man was about to return to his room to continue listening to the game when he heard another thunderous shout from the radio. "It's a …? It‘s`a`Goal！！ Malone Harewood, a brace! 2: 0! "
When Harewood smashed Reed's pass from the flank toward the goal, the commentator, Motson, was still a little hesitant. The huge roar from the stands made the television broadcast shaky, and he could not see clearly if the ball had gone in. But he quickly saw David Johnson and Ian Jess with their arms raised, as well as the dejected Wimbledon goalkeeper, Kevin Davis. The football was blocked behind these people, but there was no doubt that the ball had gone in.
"This is too exciting! Twenty-nine minutes ago, the Forest team's performance was unconvincing. But in just three minutes, they've scored two goals! Malone Harewood has become the hero of the City Ground stadium. His performance is inspiring! "
Tang En waved his fist at Michael behind him in the technical area. He then turned to Walker and said, "Quick! Direct! Simple! Efficient! Wimbledon completely did not expect us to do this. This second goal is proof! Malone, I just said it was not enough, and he scored another. I can't ask more of him. "
Walker smiled. "The players are all great. But maybe you don't even know it yourself, Tony. It's precisely because of your performance at halftime in the game against West Ham that they saw you in a different light and were willing to follow you wholeheartedly. To be able to win the hearts of the players, your first step as a manager is very successful. "
Tang En scratched his head in embarrassment. He did not think that his decision back then would bring him so much help and benefit.
For the rest of the game, although the Forest team's ball possession rate still did not increase, everyone could see that the situation was in the hands of the home team. They repeatedly threatened Wimbledon's goal. If it were not for Kevin Davis' excellent play, the score would have risen steadily.
Tang En was quite satisfied with this. The initiative was on his side.
The first half passed quickly. The home team led by two goals. The fans in the stands did not hesitate to give their applause to the Forest players and coaches.
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