149 The Better Interceptor Part 2 (2/2)
The visiting team was now playing a defend-to-the-death tactic, and Okocha seemed dispensable on the field. And Wood was still following him...
”George!!” Tang En yelled from the sidelines, and Wood temporarily took his eyes off Okocha and turned to his manager on the sidelines.
”Protect the Ukrainian!!” Tang En pointed to Rebrov, who was tangled with Nolan. ”Don't let him lose the ball!”
In such a noisy environment, he could only summarize, and could not exhort repeatedly as he would in the locker room. Now he could only wait to see how much Wood could comprehend.
Rebrov planned to dribble past Nolan, but the ball at his feet was cut by Nolan. Cheers erupted again on the south stand; this was a chance for the Bolton Wanderers to counterattack!
But when Nolan had just bypassed Rebrov and was about to drive the ball away, he saw that a man had also charged to the front of the ball. The man was wearing the red home team jersey!
They each had a chance! Nolan did not intend to give back the ball without a fight. He exerted his utmost strength to charge past the man. He planned to use the momentum of his recent successful interception to intercept the ball again!
However, the person he faced this time was no longer Rebrov, but ...
”Boom!” The two men's feet clashed ferociously, and the football swerved to the side. Nolan wanted to intercept, but he could do nothing because he had tumbled to the ground. Even though his opponent staggered, the man was able to maintain his balance, and he ran past Nolan without turning back.
The entire City Ground broke out great cheers on the stands. George Wood, the ”magic kid” who had done the crazy incepting in the midfield and eventually assisted with a sixty-meter long pass in the previous match, was back!
Rebrov turned his head back and saw Wood. He immediately abandoned his plan to turn back to intercept. He knew this kid's ferocious intercepting skill from training. With Wood by his side, he only had to think about how to attack. He did not have to worry about losing the ball and the opponent fighting back; he could go forward boldly without fear.
Wood caught up with the football and, without any hesitation, chose to pass the ball to the nearest person he could see, and the one to whom he could pass the ball most easily—Rebrov!
Nolan was powerless. As he lay on the ground, he turned to look back at his own defense zone being breached. There were no Bolton Wanderers players around Rebrov, and he had plenty of time to decide whether to shoot for the goal or pass the ball once he had taken control of it...
”Nottingham Forest has gained the advantage with its offense! With no one to mark Rebrov... Here comes the long shot!” Martin Taylor called out.
After seeing Nolan being broken through, the Bolton Wanderers' Finnish goalkeeper, Jussi Jääskeläinen, was ready for Rebrov's long-range shot. When he saw his kick, he leapt and soared, and used both his fists to strike out!
”Beautiful block by Jääskeläinen! He saved the goal!”
There was a huge collective sigh from the stands, but soon the fans applauded Rebrov, who had tried to shoot, and George Wood, who had intercepted the ball for the counterattack.
Although the counterattack had not resulted in a goal, it gave the Forest team more confidence, especially for the attacking players. They all knew what type of person was backing them up: he was tireless and had excellent interception ability. It was like having a wall of silence standing tall and upright inside the halfway line, giving them support and a peace of mind—You can attack as boldly as you want, I'm here to watch your back.
That was it. Tang En would recover by allocating a dedicated bodyguard for the core of the organization.
Mr. Allardyce, do you think that players like Kevin Nolan, Giannakopoulos, and Iván Campo are good at intercepting? Very well, now, let them see who the better interceptor is!