142 Theres Someone Up There (1/2)
Chapter 142: There's Someone Up There
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Warning! This is our territory. Trespassing will be considered an illegal invasion. Please withdraw immediately. Otherwise, it will be regarded as a provocation, and I will break you!
I repeat! This is our territory. Trespassing will be considered an illegal invasion. Please withdraw immediately. Otherwise, it will be regarded as a provocation, and I will break you in three seconds!
One!
Two!
Three!
Boom!
There was a muffled thud, and beads of sweat sprayed everywhere. Cut grass scattered.
The Reading player, who was wearing a horizontally striped white and blue jersey, was pathetically hurled sideways. And George Wood stood at the point of the collision, with the football he had just seized lying still beneath his foot.
”Foul—” The Reading fans could not finish speaking before they were drowned out by louder cheers.
”Well done; beautiful!” The Forest fans all stood up and shouted.
The referee also seemed to hear the cries of the home fans. He wagged his finger at the prone Reading player, who was demanding a free kick as he ran backwards away from him.
”Give me the ball!” Gunnarsson called out next to Wood. This was a great opportunity for the Forest team to fight back.
Wood did as he was told and passed the ball, but did not follow. He firmly remembered Twain's request to him: defend, and don't let the opponents get past him to threaten the goal. The vast area between the halfway line and the line at the penalty area is my territory, he seemed to be saying. I'm the ruler here, and anyone who wants to pass through must ask for my permission! The kid from Reading just now did not get my permission.
”What a beautiful defensive block!” exclaimed Motson. ”Steve Sidwell is a player with a great physique on the Reading team, but he doesn't stand a chance in front of George Wood! Coppell is furious at the referee's penalty decision. But in fact, this was actually a reasonable collision. If he were to question why his player had flown so far... Well, there's only one explanation, and that is that George Wood is too strong! Poor Sidwell hit a wall directly while he was dribbling the ball at high speed!”
When he saw Coppell stomping in front of the technical area as though he were a monkey robbed of its banana, Tang En could not suppress his inner delight. He looked at Coppell, who had been clapping for Wood's performance a moment ago, and said to Walker beside him, ”Des, did you see that, Mr. Nice Guy is getting impatient.”
Walker smiled and said, ”I think he flew into a rage during halftime.”
”This is good. I know he wants to beat me here, so the longer the score remains at 0:0, the better it is for us.”
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Both Tang En and Walker were right. Coppell wanted to defeat Twain so badly that he was almost insane with the thought of it. During the halftime interval, he had berated all the players in the locker room, as the combined force of Reading's entire main lineup had been unable to take down the Forest team's substitute lineup in the first half. His plan was not just to obtain the three points from this match, but to obtain them beautifully. Whether it was through the gameplay or the score, he wanted to leave that cunning Tony Twain speechless.
”Don't tell me you guys can't even beat the damn Nottingham Forest Second Team! Those two center backs have never been partnered before. They've probably spent less time practicing together than you all have f**king spent in women's beds! Break through those two stupid center backs! They will collapse at the first attack!”
The players sat in the locker room with their heads lowered. Who knew what was going on in their minds?
It was not that they didn't want to win. Indeed, they launched a frenzy of offense against the home team the moment the second half started, but the two defensive midfielders were simply too powerful. Most of the offense ended in front of them, and even if they were able to get other passes through, they were collectively resisted by the Forest team's defense. They knew that the two first-time center back partners were the Forest team's Achilles' heel for the game, but still, it was as if they had formed a steel barricade in front of the Forest team's penalty area.
Sidwell's courage was admirable, but the outcome was disappointing.
The one wearing the Nottingham number 33 jersey was not a player, but a wall. A wall that ran from one sideline of the field to the other.
Sidwell still clearly saw him defending on the right wing. After a three-touch pass, the football was passed to the left wing. The Reading player was about to speed up to break through the Forest defensive line, but just as he kicked the football out, he was tackled. When he finally got up from the ground, he looked at the back number on the jersey... It was number 33 again.
The game had already been going on for seventy-nine minutes, but his speed had not varied at all!
This is terrifying!
This was the only thing Sidwell could think when he saw George Wood for the first time.
Wood could be seen repeatedly doing lateral sprints in the 30-meter zone for the duration of the match. He might look silly playing this way, simply following the football, but he still terrified his opponents. He and Gunnarsson were like a pair of steel jaws, ceaselessly opening and closing, and snapping off the Reading team's offense route.
Wood rendered Reading completely helpless, so they simply lobbed the ball from the backfield to pass it to the striker in the front. This happened to fit with Robert Huth's intention. George Wood's hyper style of play had kept him idle for too long.
Now, as he watched the football fall from the sky, he and Hill jumped up and took turns cleaning up the overhead zone of Nottingham Forest's penalty area.
Reading, who had lost Goater, was completely unable to pose any threat to the Forest team's defensive line. If they intended to break through the Forest team's intensive defense from the wings, then at least one of the two defensive midfielders would immediately help the backs defend the wings. If they were going to take a long shot from the midfield, it was highly likely that the moment the striker swung his leg, the football at his feet would be tackled by Wood and Gunnarsson.
At the eightieth minute, the latest game statistics were displayed on the television screen. Twain's team had the absolute disadvantage for ball possession, at only 31%. The Reading team had 69% of the ball control, but they still had only eight shots on goal.
”This is insane! I know that before this match, there were a lot of Forest fans looking forward to fantastic goals from their new favorite, Freddy Eastwood. But this game has become the stage for this eighteen-year-old, George Wood! I think it's worth reminding you once again that this young man wearing the number 33 is playing for Forest's First team for the first time today! This is his maiden battle, but it's so perfect that it leaves you speechless! We may be seeing the rise of another star player!” The fervor in Motson's voice could be heard across the United Kingdom through the satellite signal.
Tang En did not know how many people would watch a League One match on the television, but he knew that Wood had succeeded. The kid's performance was better than he had imagined. Much better.
Next to Twain, Walker said excitedly, ”Tony, I saw you pull Wood aside and speak to him for a while in the locker room. What did you say to him that made him so energetic in the second half? It's like he's on drugs!”
Tang En shrugged. ”I told him that because he was transferred to the First Team, I would consider giving him a new contract to replace the original youth contract.”
”Is that all?” Walker was a little disappointed.
”Of course not. I also told him that the better his performance is, the higher his weekly wage on the contract would be.”
Walker paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.
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In the VIP box, Evan was congratulating Sophia. ”Madam, you have a talented son! Tony's never wrong about people.”
Sophia smiled. ”Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Chairman.”
On their other side, the Reading chairman was depressed. He could hear Evan Doughty's laughter from several seats away. Before the game, he had been looking forward to a beautiful victory when he heard that Twain was going to send out his substitute lineup.
Damn it! Even a draw can make you so happy, you good-for-nothing Yankee!
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