219 Forgone Conclusion Part 1 (1/2)
Chapter 219: Forgone Conclusion Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Playing football was like fighting a war; it was a fight between the teams' morale. In his face-off with Henry, George Wood's successful defense greatly boosted the Forest players' morale; it told them that they were not inferior to Arsenal. Even the opponent's captain, their strongest forward, was unable to get an edge over Wood. In the face of the Forest team, the rest of Arsenal would be the same!
Soon after, Arsenal adjusted. In the 67th minute, Wenger replaced Pennant, who was not performing well, with Ljungberg. Even though the young man was Nottinghamian, he received the most jeers from the spectators when he was fielded. He was a player nurtured under Notts County, Forest's rival.
Next, Wenger replaced Bergkamp, who had been completely clamped down by Wood and Albertini, with Reyes. As Reyes was entering the field, Wenger pulled him aside and told him to relay one thing to Fàbregas: ”Keep your cool.”
George Wood performed brilliantly, not just in his successful face-off against Henry, but in his close-marking defense with Fàbregas; it rebuffed his advancement countless times. Against such an unreasonable defender, the Spanish lad really had no better ideas about what to do.
Still, Wenger insisted that Fàbregas stay on the field. On one hand, he had no better option to replace the Spaniard; on the other, he felt that the experience would be good training for Fàbregas. If Cesc wanted to become a player like Vieira, this match was necessary for him. Only after experiencing setbacks would he be able to take a step forward; otherwise, this could be as far as he went.
He needed to learn to cool down and use his brain, not just his body, to play football. That could be very helpful to him. After all, Fàbregas's physical capability was far from Wood's, and a competition of physical abilities between players would continue to occur in all sorts of matches. If Fàbregas always failed to play up to his usual standards just because he was faced with a fierce defender, he could not amount to much.
The appearance of Ljungberg and Reyes on the field increased the offensive abilities of Arsenal, improving their initially weakened wings. Wenger's players were gradually taking back control, but time was running out for them.
”The match is already into its 75th minute and the score remains 1:0. Home team Nottingham Forest is leading against Arsenal. Against Forest, who is aggressively pressuring them in defense, Arsenal's players are lacking options. They've made too many mistakes. If the situation continues, it's only a matter of time before Forest wins their first three points in this league's season.”
Only a matter of time...
That must be what the players from Forest were thinking in their hearts. Though it was not impossible, whether in theory or reality, for a newly promoted team to defeat the defending champions, the notion of defeating defending champions, who had not yet lost in 42 matches, still stirred the players up.
The veterans with experience who had already gone through all sorts of similar situations knew exactly how to handle the match. But there were too few veterans on Forest team; they could not stop the young players, who were thinking in their hearts, ”We're about to defeat Arsenal! We'll soon become an amazing dark horse that overturned the defending champions! Their streak of 42 no-losses is going to end at our feet!”
It really was a seductive future.
Just like Medusa's alluring face, it tempted the young of Forest team to forget that they were still in the midst of an intense match; to forget what sort of dangerous creature they were facing.
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The match time passed into its 80th minute. Forest maintained its lead and the enthusiastic cheers from the spectators' stand rose and fell with no sign of stopping.
As the players began losing their focus, Forest's oppressive-style defense started to show cracks, with more and more of them appearing quickly. This resulted in Arsenal's players beginning to feel that they could keep possession of the ball for a longer time. In fact, some of Forest's players no longer tried to press for the ball in the first place. Instead, they looked and waited to see if they should go for the ball or simply retreat and box them out.
Tang En sensed the danger in the air. He took up a position at the sidelines and hollered while gesturing with his hands agitatedly, ”Press for the ball! Press for the ball! PRESS FOR THE BALL! Don't give them a chance to get it! Dammit!”