Not everyone would sit in the stands and wait for the game to start.
When the referee blew the whistle for the kickoff, there were still people coming in from the stands to find their seats.
While these people were still looking down in the rain for the corresponding seat number on the ticket, they heard a deafening cheer in their ears. It felt like a tsunami was coming, and it also felt like there was an earthquake under their feet. They could not even stand steadily.
"Boom —!!"
These people looked up blankly at the crowd around them who jumped up and raised their arms, and then looked down the field.
What did they see?
The players in the red jerseys were running excitedly!
A voice sounded on the live broadcast, suppressing the cheers, "1: 0, Nottingham Forest is in the lead! The goalscorer is Aaron Mitchell! "
It was only now that these people realized that Nottingham Forest had already scored while they were busy looking for seats!
"That's too fast! The television broadcast couldn't even keep up … We can only watch the replay. After the kickoff, Şahin passed the ball back to George Wood, and Wood distributed the ball to the side … Fernández and Gago continued to plug forward after a one-two. Gago passed the ball over his head, and it was beautiful and precise! Fernández received the ball … and he directly passed the ball! Aaron Mitchell's rush to the top! The ball went in — the ball went in!! It only took 20 seconds! This is the fastest goal in the FA Cup final, and also the fastest goal in a cup final held at Wembley!! "
The commentator roared excitedly.
In the rain, Tang En also waved his fists and celebrated the goal with the people around him.
In the locker room, he told the players to strive to score first and score as soon as possible to drag the game into their orbit. He did not expect the team to give him such a big surprise — they actually scored within 20 seconds of the start of the game.
"No matter what the final result of this game is, Nottingham Forest and Aaron Mitchell have already left their names in the history of the FA Cup with this goal!"
After scoring, Mitchell sprinted in the rain to the stands where the Forest fans were gathered. Below, he constantly waved his arms to signal the fans to shout louder, louder, and louder. He liked to hear such cheers.
Tottenham Hotspur did not expect the Forest team to score so early. The game had just started and their defensive line had not even had time to organize. The Forest team took advantage of this time gap to catch Tottenham Hotspur off guard.
Harry Redknapp's face was darker than the sky in London. He stood on the sidelines and had nothing to say about the goal concede.
He had thought that after a series of high-intensity battles, the Forest team would first take it slow in this game to attract the opponent to attack and then play a defensive counterattack strategy.
He did not expect Tony Twain's team to be so determined in their opening attack. It was completely out of his expectations.
Of course, there was an element of luck in scoring so early. But at this time, what was the point of saying that the other party was just lucky?
Lagging behind was lagging behind, and leading was leading. This was the truth. The match would also undergo some subtle changes because of this.
In a match against Tang En's team, the most frightening thing was to let them take the lead. In the following matches, Forest Team could either continue to attack or play defensive and counterattack. No matter what they did, it would be a form of torture for their opponents.
How would Tottenham deal with it?
Should they attack?
Redknapp was not that stupid. Pressing forward to attack meant opening the door to welcome Forest Team to score a few more goals. He decided to stabilize the defense first. After all, a one-goal deficit was not a big deal. As long as there was a chance, there was no need to worry.
The first thing was to stabilize the players' mentality. They could not panic or panic. They could not let Forest Team take this opportunity to score another goal. Two goals behind would make this game difficult to play.
He stood on the sidelines and kept shouting at the field. At the same time, he gestured for the players to calm down.
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Seventeen minutes later, Tottenham Hotspur used a corner kick to equalize the score. The goal was scored by Michael Dawson. Against his former team, he showed no mercy. This header was accurate and ruthless. Akinfeev did not even have time to react. A group of people watched as the football entered the goal. The splashing water even blinded some people.
Tottenham Hotspur's equalization made the Tottenham Hotspur fans even more excited. When they were trailing just now, these people had been worried that the title would be given to Forest. Now, it looked like Tottenham Hotspur did not want to give up.
After Tottenham Hotspur scored, Tang En did not have the intention to stabilize the defense first. Instead, he urged the two full backs to continue plugging in to attack.
Redknapp also saw Tang En's intention. If Forest Team wanted to attack, there would definitely be gaps in the back. So, Tottenham Hotspur also had to attack. If they did not attack, how could they take advantage of these gaps?
One of the most exciting battles in the history of the FA Cup finals had begun.
In the 39th minute, Tottenham Hotspur seized the opportunity when Forest Team's right back, Rafinha, did not return to defend in time after pressing on to assist. When Pavlyuchenko faced Akinfeev one-on-one, he made a feint. Akinfeev's feet slipped and he lost his balance. He also lost the best opportunity to pounce on the ball. Pavlyuchenko easily bypassed Akinfeev and sent the football into the empty goal.
Tottenham Hotspur overtook by 2: 1!
The stands rang with the cheers of the Tottenham Hotspur fans. When Forest Team scored in the opening game, they did not expect Tottenham Hotspur to overtake in the first half.
But their cheers only lasted for two minutes. In the 42nd minute, Mitchell Cherley used his personal skills to face Tottenham Hotspur's three defenders alone in the front field. In the end, he was knocked to the ground by Dawson. The referee awarded a direct free kick to Forest Team in the front field.
Bale stood in front of the ball. The Forest fans began to sing "Bale's Song".
The ball was about 28 meters away from the goal. The human wall was very tight. As a Premier League team, everyone knew the power of Gareth Bale's free kicks.
George Wood and Gago squeezed through the human wall and stood at the near corner of the goal. It looked like Bale would shoot the ball towards the goal from this angle. So, Tottenham Hotspur's human wall desperately leaned towards the near corner, trying to squeeze the two Forest players out.
After the referee blew the whistle, George Wood and Gago did indeed retreat. The gap they left behind was instantly filled up by Tottenham Hotspur's human wall … But no one expected Bale to not shoot the football at this angle. Instead, he shot the ball in the opposite direction. He went around the other end of the human wall and flew directly towards the far corner of the goal!
This was clearly one of the free kick tactics that had been practiced countless times before the match.
The goalkeeper, Gómez, was deceived by the human wall and Forest Team's tactics. When Bale kicked the free kick, he even shifted his center of gravity towards the near corner of the goal. When the football flew over from the other end of the human wall, he was already powerless. He could only watch the football fly into the far corner of the goal!
"2: 2!! The first half is not over yet, and both sides have already scored a total of four goals! What an exciting first half! "
The Tottenham Hotspur fans were speechless. This time, it was the Forest fans' turn to sing in the rain.
Of course, there were also Forest fans who thought it was strange. Tony Twain had always been conservative in important matches. Why did he suddenly choose to go head-to-head with his opponent in this match? They were worried that Forest Team would lose if they continued to attack.
In fact, Twain's thinking was very simple. He planned to use this match to test the team's attacking ability. Against a team like Real Madrid, it was not enough to just be good at defense.
At the end of the first half, both sides were tied at 2: 2. The pace of the match was very fast from start to finish. The fans were very satisfied watching.
Many people did not expect such an exciting match to appear in the FA Cup final. Nowadays, football was becoming more and more utilitarian. As long as it was a final, it would definitely be boring. Nottingham Forest played it to the extreme.
They did not expect Twain to suddenly change his attitude, and everyone could not adapt to it.
Was he going to raise the flag of offensive football in this match and go head-to-head with Tottenham Hotspur?
Redknapp must have thought so, because during the half-time interval, he told his players to continue to strengthen the attack in the second half and seize the gaps left by Forest Team's attack.
But at the same time, in Nottingham Forest's locker room, Twain said to his players with a smile, "In the second half, we will play defensive counterattack."
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The situation changed in the second half, and it was also unexpected for Redknapp.
His team pressed out to attack, but he quickly realized that Nottingham Forest did not press out as well. Instead, they retracted their defensive line and put on a defensive counterattack stance …
The commentator was very disappointed with this change, and began to criticize Twain again, "Tony Twain must be afraid. He is afraid that if the team continues to attack Tottenham Hotspur like this, it will affect their morale, or they might just lose the match. I don't think he can withstand this kind of defeat. So, he chose to let the team be more conservative … What a pity, this final match is only interesting in the first half … "
Redknapp was not a fool. Seeing Twain retract his defensive line, he knew that he was going to play defensive counterattack. If he still pressed out, he would be asking for death.
So, he also retracted.
No wonder the commentator said that the first half was even more interesting.
After the two sides fought for twenty minutes, Redknapp finally could not take it anymore and pressed out first.
They surrounded Forest Team's goal and attacked for ten minutes to no avail. Forest Team was like a tortoise with its head in its shell, retreating on all fronts.
Just as Tottenham Hotspur was about to take a breather, the daggers hidden in their hands suddenly stabbed out!
Akinfeev did not kick the ball, but threw the ball with his hands to launch an attack. This was a counterattack with a purpose.
Gago received the ball and passed it to the side. Moke quickly cut in to receive the ball. He did not continue to dribble the ball forward. Instead, after looking at the situation in front, he chose to directly pass the ball diagonally and passed the ball to the front of the penalty area.
Mitchell strode forward with his long legs, and the person beside him was Michael Dawson!
Moke passed a ground ball, and it rolled very quickly on the slippery turf. Mitchell's speed was not considered fast, but compared to a center back, he was still alright. Also, his legs were long, which was a very useful advantage. Like now …
Moke's pass was a little forward. It was difficult to catch such a ball, let alone control it.
But Mitchell did not want to control it at all!
When the ball was passed to the top of the arc, the 2.02m tall Mitchell suddenly flew out and shoveled the ball!
Michael Dawson did not expect this big guy to shovel the ball outside the penalty area! He was stunned for a moment, and lost his target just like that.
Gomez, who originally wanted to attack but then realized that Dawson was following the target and chose to retreat, obviously did not expect Mitchell to choose to directly shovel the ball outside the penalty area …
Why did he shovel the ball? He was not a back!
In the next second, the ball told him Mitchell's plan.
Mitchell successfully shoveled the ball, and the ball flew directly towards the goal after changing direction!
As mentioned before, on the slippery turf, the ball rolled especially fast. Gomez did not expect Mitchell to directly shoot … to directly shovel the ball outside the penalty area!
Gomez could not save in time, and the ball flew past his fingertips! It brushed the turf and rolled rapidly towards the goal …
Dawson went around Gomez and sprinted towards the ball, intending to clear it.
He was a step too late and missed. The ball flew past his feet quickly. It crashed into the goalpost and went into the goal.
"3: 2! Mitchell scored twice! "
Mitchell became the hero in the hearts of the Nottingham Forest fans. He raised his hands high, thanking God for giving him such an opportunity — to score two goals in the FA Cup!
His childhood dreams were becoming reality one by one.
The Nottingham Forest players were very excited. They surrounded Mitchell and patted his head and shoulders.
Their goal this season was the Treble. They had already won the league title, and now they were leading Tottenham Hotspur 3: 2 in the FA Cup final. Victory was in sight. Winning two championships would definitely greatly boost their morale and confidence.
But Tang En was only excited for a while before he once again shouted at the sidelines to remind the team to pay attention and step up their offense. A one goal lead was not safe …
Redknapp also knew that Tang En would do that. While Forest was fighting for a goal, he waved his hand — Tottenham Hotspur continue to attack. They were determined to take down the Forest team's goal before they could score!
He had almost succeeded.
Modric's long shot bypassed Akinfeev's ten fingers, but hit the crossbar and flew straight out of the end line.
It shocked the Forest fans into a cold sweat.
The rain was getting heavier.
Tang En, on the other hand, completely forgot his wife's advice before the match. He stood straight on the sidelines, allowing the rain to pour from his head. He did not have any intention of retreating. He was using this method to motivate the team.
His players were playing in the rain. As a coach, he also had to be in the rain with them.
After more than 20 minutes of silence, both sides once again launched an intense attack. The match was becoming more and more intense.
But due to the restrictions of the weather, the excitement of the match was greatly reduced. The number of mistakes started to increase as their stamina decreased. The later matches were simply tragic.
But Tang En and Redknapp still watched attentively. They did not look at the situation. They looked at something deeper. Everyone was making mistakes. It was just a matter of who could catch the other party's mistakes first.
In the 81st minute, Nottingham Forest took the lead in catching Tottenham Hotspur's mistakes. The striker who came on as a substitute for Mitchell, Agbonlahor, went to the flank to assist. Şahin followed up from the middle and swept the shot into the goal.
This goal basically sentenced Tottenham Hotspur to death.
After that, Tottenham Hotspur struggled for a while. They still could not break through Forest's goal. Because Nottingham Forest shamelessly began to defend on all fronts after taking a two goal lead. They did not leave any chance for Redknapp's team.
From the start of the injury stoppage time, the Forest fans sang and danced in the stands in the rain. They were singing Queen's "We Are the Champions", announcing their victory in advance.
When the referee blew the whistle to end the match, the fans' singing turned into thunderous cheers.
And Forest's substitutes rushed into the field under Tang En's lead and hugged the players on the field.
"Congratulations, Tony Tang En! He has finally won the first FA Cup title in his coaching career! In all the competitions he has participated in, except for the UEFA Europa League, he has won all the titles he can! This is really a historic moment! The most successful manager in England in the past ten years has carved his name on the oldest trophy in England's history! He and his team are creating new history! "
Tang En was surrounded by the players. Once again, he was lifted over his shoulders and paraded.
He stretched out his arm and pointed to the sky. There was only one championship left!
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On the second day after the match, the media used this action of his as a headline photo. The accompanying text was:
Nottingham Forest is aiming for the UEFA Champions League title!
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