113 Tang En’s Return Part 3 (2/2)
Just as he finished chanting in his heart, Nottingham Forest managed to steal Andrew Johnson's ball in the backfield. Gunnarsson passed the ball to Rebrov, who was waiting in front—Tang En had specifically instructed previously, to hand over the task of organizing Nottingham Forest's offenses to Rebrov, place sufficient trust in him, and hope that they could see a completely different, super player.
Rebrov, who received the ball, discovered that for the first time, there were actually no defenders from the opponent's team rushing up to him, kicking and shoving to steal the ball from him. He calmly adjusted the ball, before dribbling the ball over toward Crystal Palace's defensive line.
”Serhiy Rebrov, he dribbles past one… The second one! It's really hard to believe that this is the Rebrov we saw in the past! He got past the third Crystal Palace defender, breaking into the penalty area—”
Rebrov suddenly discovered that the defenders who had once made him extremely scared, were no more than wooden stakes. Yes, with a change in perspectives, he saw the world in an entirely different light!
Crystal Palace's defender, Darren Powell, rushed forward, but Rebrov agilely avoided him. Right as Rebrov was about to continue his advance, he was tripped by Powell.
”Darren Powell… Penalty! Penalty!” The television commentators shouted.
Not waiting for the referee's whistle to blow, City Ground Stadium erupted into an uproar.
”Penalty—!”
Tang En, who saw this scene unfold, jumped up in joy. Damn, I placed my bet correctly!
The referee ran toward the spot where the foul occurred, and at the same time, pointed his finger at that white spot in the middle of the penalty area—that's right, penalty!
”This is undoubtedly a penalty! Rebrov managed to single-handedly break past the entire defensive line of Crystal Palace and won the team a chance to even the score. His performance is as though he is another person! What did Tony Twain, the magician say during the halftime break? Just from letting Rebrov change his position, this Ukrainian managed to be reborn!”
Rebrov, who fell inside the penalty area, got up on his feet. He saw the Crystal Palace players surrounding the referee and begging for mercy, while his Nottingham Forest teammates ran toward him with their arms open, after which, he once again fell on the field.
Penalty? I was the one who made it happen?
This feeling is really good!
When Andy Reid scored the penalty chance which was created by Rebrov, the viewing platform once again burst out into cheers. They were cheering for Reid, who was about to leave the team during the winter break period. Of course, Rebrov's name also appeared amongst their cheering noises this time.
Nottingham Forest brought the score to a tie, stunning the players and managers of Crystal Palace. After 15 minutes, Rebrov finally scored a goal!
When all of the defenders were trying to prevent Rebrov from breaking through, he chose to shoot from outside the penalty area. The football ball was like a cannonball, directly blasting into Crystal Palace's goalpost!
”Serhiy—Rebrov!” The viewing platform erupted into loud cheers.
”This is the real Rebrov! This is the person who partnered with Shevchenko and made AC Milan and Barcelona experience fear, Rebrov!”
Rebrov was once again pressed against the floor by his teammates, while Tang En was once again hugged by the excited Walker beside him.
”I believe you, Tony! We can, we really can!”
At the same time, Doughty who was in the VIP lounge stood up from his seat and extended his hand toward the depressed Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan. Although he was happy, he did not do something rude like dance and shake his butt in front of Simon Jordan.
”What a pity, Mr. Jordan,” he smiled and said. ”Although you share the same name with one of the NBA gods, but it's a pity that this is a football match.”
Simon Jordan's facial expression became even more awkward. His hand was extended in midair, unsure of whether he should shake or not…
Outside the lounge, the shouting of Nottingham fans could be heard. ”Victory!” Crystal Palace's chairman's pale face was just like a streak of lightning in the night sky.
Pierce Brosnan, who was at the news reporters' seats, looked around the excited viewing platform and looked again at Tony Twain, who was celebrating the goal with the players who were running back. He suddenly thought of that sentence, that sentence which he heard when he was brought to Forest Bar.
That man just stood there amongst a group of worshippers and opened his arms, as if he wanted to hug the entire world. Amidst the ”Tony! Tony!” shouting, he was just like a lion, the king of the jungle, leading the pack in their roaring.
”One day, I will return one day! When that time comes, you will hear an even louder cheer!”
Louder cheer… The viewing platform beneath his feet shook amidst this ”even louder cheer.” His eardrums started to hurt, and he could not hear anything clearly, but he knew that the shouting was that which welcomed that man back.