153 Backfired Part 2 (2/2)

And who was the culprit behind all this?

George Wood ran towards the celebrating crowd, but after a few paces, he stopped. He really wanted to celebrate the goal with those people... But he did not know how to blend in—how to laugh happily, shout excitedly, pump his fists.

It was he who had created the goal. It was his assist, but now he was like an outsider.

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Trailing behind, Bolton Wanderers replaced the malfunctioned Kevin Nolan with Djorkaeff. Nolan was disappointed with Allardyce's decision. After he was brought off, he went straight to the player's corridor without shaking hands with his manager or returning to the substitutes' bench. Tang En noticed the scene. Was there a rift between the men? This was good news for the Forest team's next round.

Allardyce did not care about how Nolan was feeling now. He had already used one substitution slot, and was faced with the predicament of having to use another; Giannakopoulos was injured, and the team doctor advised that it was best not to let him continue. He had to be brought off immediately.

This gave him pause for a moment. He had wanted to replace Kevin Davies, who was still recovering from his injury. Giannakopoulos's injury had disrupted his entire deployment plan.

He decided to let Giannakopoulos hold on for a while to observe the circumstances of the game.

The team doctor spoke some comforting words to the Greek, showered him with painkillers, and allowed him to return to the field.

The game continued.

Although Nottingham Forest players' celebration on the field was over and the game was back on track, the fans in the stands were still celebrating the recent goal. George Wood was rushing from the back field to the front, relentlessly trying to intercept the ball, and eventually succeeded in cutting a pass to assist his teammate, laying waste to two opposing players—one was brought off, and the other was hobbling. Such exploits were praised by the fans through word of mouth, and unknowingly, Wood had become a favorite of the City Ground stands, even though before the previous game, few people had even heard his name.

Allardyce hoped that the team could quickly regain their morale and resume their offense against the Forest team. How could Bolton Wanderers, a Premier League team, lose to a team which was in the middle rankings of League One?

But only two minutes later, his team was hit hard again; Nottingham Forest had scored another goal!

This time, the Forest team had taken advantage of the bombardment on the Bolton Wanderers and launched a highly effective counterattack. Wes Morgan kicked a long ball to the front, and Rebrov stopped the ball and dribbled it into the Bolton Wanderers' penalty area. Jääskeläinen and Crouch rushed to the ball at the same time.

If Jääskeläinen had been facing Eastwood, then he would have had a more than 50% chance of getting the ball, because he could use his hands; when the ball was shot high, he could jump up and save it directly.

But the man who was fighting with him now was the incredibly tall Crouch!

His chances were far from 50/50! They were 80/20!

The distance between Crouch and the football looked closer than the distance between Jääskeläinen and the football. The Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper must get this ball... but then he extended his leg!

Jääskeläinen saw the football suddenly soar in front of him, and over the top of his head. And then, in the midst of the thunderous cheers of the City Ground, it fell into the goal behind him!

3:1! Nottingham Forest was leading by two goals on its home ground!

What was more lethal than this goal was the time when the goal was scored; it was less than two minutes after the previous goal. Just when Bolton Wanderers was about to raise its spirits and morale to equalize the score, they lost another goal instead.

This third goal came so quickly that the Bolton Wanderers were completely crushed. Even if the veteran Djorkaeff was brought onto the field, it would not change anything in the game; they were sure to lose.

Listening to the singing in the City Ground and looking at the surge of a red tide in stands, Allardyce emphatically spat and reluctantly accepted the inevitable outcome.

Davies and Okocha were brought off, and a defensive midfielder and a center back were brought on. The haughty Premier League manager had to lower his head before the League One team, and bow down to accept defeat.