Sheffield United made a substitution at halftime. They took off the team's offensive core, Michael Tonchi, and replaced him with a forward, 21-year-old Steve Kabba. Tang En's understanding of this person was limited. He only knew some statistics. For example, as a forward, Kabba had only transferred from Grimsby Town this season. He had made 25 appearances and scored seven goals, a result that was neither good nor bad. Tang En could not see anything else from this data. How were his technical characteristics? What special habits did he have?
After watching for five minutes, Tang En could only see that this person was fast. There was nothing else.
Then he had to seriously consider how he was going to deal with it.
The core of Nottingham Forest's tactics was to contain the opponent's offense in the midfield led by Tonchi. What should he do with Tonchi gone? Sheffield United was currently playing a 5-5-2. It would be a waste to put two defensive midfielders in the middle. Without the strength to counterattack, they could only passively take a beating.
He felt that in order to strengthen the offense, he should take off one of Smeka or Pope and replace him with Jess. Jess's passing and set pieces were extremely dangerous. But Tang En was uncertain. He did not know if this was the change that old fellow Warnock wanted to see.
Tang En was worried about the matter of shaking hands with Warnock in the tunnel. He had a feeling that there was a conspiracy behind every word that the old man said.
Should he make a change or not?
Tang En stared at the field in silence.
After another five minutes, it looked like Kabba was not much of a threat. The defensive line led by Dawson was completely able to handle it. Tang En decided to make a change.
At that moment, the originally calm situation on the field suddenly changed!
Kabba, who had been brought on in the second half, used his speed to force his way past Forest's left back, Davy Oyen. Then, with a kick that looked like a shot, he caused chaos in front of Forest's goal.
Then, they saw their forward, Paul Peschisolido, jump up with his arms raised.
The ball went in?
Tang En widened his eyes, hoping to confirm it. But it was clear that the fans had better eyesight than him. The stands behind him erupted into loud cheers.
"The ball went in! Sheffield United recovered a goal! The biggest contributor to the goal was Steve Kabba, who came on in the second half! Let's look at the replay, it's Peszsolido who scored! The Forest team's goalkeeper, Darren Ward, blocked the ball, but it hit right at Peszsolido's feet. He took advantage of the situation and pushed … an empty goal! What a lucky fellow! " Although he hoped that Lawrenson would shave his beard after the game, Motson was impartial in his commentary of the game.
"Damn it!" Twain cursed. Now that the lead had changed from two goals to one goal, the situation was already very dangerous. He had to make changes immediately, but this time the adjustment was not to strengthen the defense. Tang En's principle was that when he was leading by one goal, he must think of ways to expand the lead. At the very least, he would only start to consider defense when he was leading by two goals.
Ian Jess, who was warming up, was called back by Walker. He stood beside the technical area, taking off his singlet while listening to Tang En assign tasks to him.
"Jess." Tang En looked at the veteran, who was seven years older than the original him. He had transferred over from Bradford City on a free transfer this season. Nottingham Forest was in the midst of an economic crisis and could not give him a good contract. He came here because Paul Hart was there, but he did not expect Hart to take the blame and resign after half a season. But he still worked hard for the team. His set pieces were a scoring method that Tang En could completely trust. "Remember that FA Cup game against West Ham United?"
Jess nodded.
Tang En asked again, "Remember that game against Wimbledon? What I said to you after I replaced you. "
Jess nodded again. "I remember, boss. You said we would definitely win, and you still wanted to bet with me. "
"That's right. Let's make another bet today. I bet that we will definitely win this game … "
The Scotsman shook his head. "There's no need to bet, boss. I believe in you and won't let you down. What do you want me to do? "
Tang En chuckled. "You go up and replace Pop, free up Reid, organize the offense for me, and pass the ball to Harewood and Johansson. If there is a set piece in the front field, it doesn't matter if it's left or right, it's all yours!"
Jess blinked. "Just like the game against West Ham?"
"Yes, the same!"
Patting Jess on the back, Tang En brought him on.
This substitution quickly paid off. Jess's appearance on the field revitalized the Forest team's midfield. His passes caused a lot of trouble for Sheffield United's defense. Not to mention that he also had a beautiful free kick. Sheffield United's defenders were always extra careful when defending.
But such caution could not be maintained for long. Everyone knew what England's defensive style was like. How could there be no physical contact and no fouls?
Ian Jess created a free kick at the front of the penalty area, and then he personally took the penalty. When Tang En saw Jess place the ball at the top of the penalty area's arc, he began to pray with both hands by his mouth.
He did not believe in God, but that did not prevent him from calling God out to help when he needed God.
Sheffield United had just scored a goal, and their morale was currently at its highest. If they allowed the situation to develop without doing anything about it, then the situation would deteriorate to an extent that Tang En would not be able to control. The opponent's counterattack must be strangled in the cradle. It was most important to suppress their arrogance. What to use to suppress? Goal!
Didn't you just score a goal to narrow the score gap to one point? Very well, I'll widen the gap again.
So, Jess, don't let me down.
On the television screen, Ian Jess looked down at the ball, quietly waiting for the referee's whistle to allow the ball to be played. The audience could not see his expression, but that did not prevent the fans in the Forest bar from cheering him on loudly.
"Shoot the ball in, you can do it!"
"Smash their human wall!"
"Even if you can't get in, you have to knock a few down for me!"
Burns looked up at the television. Although he did not say anything, in his heart, he was also looking forward to the scene that those people shouted — a goal.
As a professional player, he knew how delicate Tang En's current situation was. A goal could break the original balance, and another goal could bring this balance back.
"Ian Jess, Nottingham Forest's free kick expert, Tang En's most trusted free kick player, 32 appearances, three goals — all from direct free kicks." John Motson's voice came from the television speaker. The noise in the bar gradually died down, and everyone held their breath as they watched the television screen.
In the moment before Jess took the penalty kick, the crowded bar was instead silent. Almost everyone was in the same posture — looking up at the television, still holding a large mug of beer that they did not have time to drink.
The picture on the screen cut from a close-up to a distant view from the stands. This was the signal that the penalty kick was about to be taken. Suddenly, the bar could not even hear the sound of breathing.
In this silence, Motson's voice clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Jess, he's going to kick …"
"Clang!" The sound of the football hitting the goalpost.
"What a pity … Oh! GOOOOAL —! Rebounded into the net! A beautiful free kick! Jess did not disappoint! "
"He never disappoints! Forest, Forest! "The people in the bar raised the glasses in their hands at this moment and clinked them together." Cheers! "
Burns clenched his right hand tightly into a fist and smashed it on the bar.
"3: 1! Nine minutes after Sheffield United's goal, Forest once again dealt a heavy blow to Sheffield United! They still maintain a two-goal lead, and the situation is great! Mark, I ask you again: Do you prefer the electric one or the manual one? Haha! "Motson laughed loudly. Lineker, who was watching the game on the monitor in the BBC headquarters building, also laughed. There were people next to him who came up to clap with him, celebrating that he had finally "schemed" off Lawrenson's beard.
Lawrenson sighed helplessly. Sheffield United was too disappointing. It looked like his beard could not be preserved today.
Tang En cheered with his arms raised high on the sidelines, but he was quickly hugged by an excited Walker.
"Tony! I see the Premier League waving at us! "
"I see it too. I can even hear its footsteps coming towards us!" Tang En excitedly hit Walker's back. "Listen! Thump thump! "
"What powerful footsteps … Cough, cough!" Walker coughed from Tang En's hits.
After sending Walker back to the technical area, Tang En deliberately looked at the adjacent technical area. He found that Neil Warnock was still standing on the sidelines with his arms folded. He did not say anything. His team had once again fallen behind by two goals. Was he not anxious? Was he not angry? Would he not fly into a rage?
This manager was a very straightforward person who liked to scold non-stop. In the two previous matches between Tang En and him, his mouth had almost never stopped for 90 minutes. Why did he change so much in this game?
What exactly was this old man plotting?!
Tang En's brows furrowed again. His good mood from earlier suddenly vanished.
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