119 The Hard-Nosed Millwall Part 2 (2/2)
In this way, the Forest players were enraged by this sort of defense from Millwall, and this anger was further ignited by the home ground fans' incessant booing, laughter, and jeering.
Full of youthful vigor, when Eugen Bopp saw his teammate assaulted by the Muscat again and again, he was determined to find the opportunity to retaliate against him and to let him know that the Forest team was not to be trifled with!
When Muscat had just stopped a pass through a suspected foul slide tackle, he rushed forward. He looked like he wanted to seize control of the ball. In fact, he used his upper arms to push the other man in the ribs. The impact lifted the unprepared Muscat from the ground!
The referee blew his whistle, and the surrounding Millwall players rushed up. The Nottingham Forest players also joined in. There was a loud hiss from the stands.
It was a chaotic scene.
”This b*stard!” Tang En scolded Bopp from the sidelines. ”Isn't this just what Millwall wants? He's too immature!”
Because of the referee's hurried whistling and a few clear-headed players from both sides, a fight did not happen. The referee called out Eugen Bopp and gave him a yellow card.
The Millwall players were dissatisfied with this result. They believed that a red card should be given for such an intentional foul. The referee ignored their complaints and called Muscat aside to give him a few words of admonishment. Muscat thought that this matter was okay, and he was still complaining. He did not expect the referee to also raise his hand to flash a yellow card in front of his eyes!
The Millwall players rushed around the referee again. The booing from the stands also switched their target to the referee.
Tang En who saw this scene from the sidelines, snorted, ”They have gotten what they want with a cheap shot and still pretend like it's nothing, from the manager to the players, to the fans, all of them are sons of b*tches!”
Walker sighed. He was powerless in the face of such a match. Everything was against them.
”Des, how much longer do we have before the end of the first half?” asked Tang En when he heard Walker sigh.
”Nine minutes.” Walker looked at his watch and said, ”Tony, the situation is not so bad... At least Bopp didn't get sent off, and we didn't lose any more balls.”
Tang En interrupted him, ”You'd better not say that before the first half is over. In addition, Bopp will miss the EFL Cup semifinal match due to this yellow card—that is if we can make it to the semifinals. Gunnarsson is also in danger, he also carried a yellow card from the previous game.”
Upon hearing what Twain had said, Walker did not know what to say for a long time, and stood with his mouth open. The situation was worse than he thought.
”Let the entire team regroup. Do not press on, so that Millwall will not fight back. It's easiest to lose the ball in the midfield right before the end of the game.” Tang En instructed, and Walker got up to convey his intentions.
Now they could only hope that the score would not change before halftime. They could still make a comeback at 0:1. If it were 0:2 in this situation, it would be very difficult to make a comeback.
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The referee broke up the Millwall players buzzing around him like annoying flies. Muscat's yellow card could not be changed like the score. In fact, they should be glad that the referee only showed the card now, otherwise the center back's previous actions were enough to get him sent off twice.
The game resumed, and once the Nottingham Forest players took the ball, the hissing in the stands became louder than before. The Millwall fans believed that Eugen Bopp should be sent off right away. They even thought that the entire Nottingham Forest team should be sent off.
The group of fanatical home fans began to verbally attack the Forest players on the field, insulting their families and all their female relatives. They changed their tactic, hoping to provoke the Forest players. Not only that, they were also trying to attack the Forest fans in the visitors' stands.
The Den appeared to be the scene of a noisy foul language competition. This type of swearing and booing was only suspended when the Millwall players had possession of the ball. As soon as a Forest player touched the ball, the noise would start again. It was like a well-trained symphony orchestra.
Tang En did not take such noises to heart. He had led his team to many away matches, and this was not the first time that he had encountered such a scene. Even though when the noise started, and he felt like a heart attack could be brought on just listening to it, it no longer affected his mood in the end.
Suddenly, a song came from the stands behind the technical area, from far to near, and as it became louder, it was getting increasingly clearer. Not only did Tang En hear it, but even the players on the bench and the members of the coaching team were so shocked that they stood up.
Then this voice spread to the entire stand, the Millwall fans, ruddy from their drinking, sang excitedly with their arms in the air:
”There was a kid named Gavin! He used to like Nottingham Forest! And now he's lying on the ground, his trampled face was all smashed up! All smashed up! Get lost and go home! All you Nottingham b*stards, that dead boy is your example!! Oh, oh, oh, oh! Gavin, Gavin! All smashed up! Yea, yea, yea, yea! Gavin, Gavin! All smashed up!”
Tang En's heart suddenly tightened and almost stopped beating.