222 Need to Win Part 2 (2/2)

During the match against Forest, Everton's Duncan Ferguson scored two goals alone and was the hero of his team. Two goals on the Forest side were completed by two different players. The first goal of the team was scored by the striker, Viduka. In the last match against Arsenal, he wasted a chance for a single-handed clear shot, but in this match, marked closely by the opponent, he had scored a beautiful header instead. The second goal of the team was scored by the veteran, Hierro. The Forest team was awarded a penalty kick, and Hierro was the team's first choice for the penalty. He easily scored a goal and equalized the score at 2:2.

That score was maintained till the end, and it was a tied game again.

The result of the game was 2:2.

If they had just looked at this result, it seemed to be a satisfactory achievement to tie the match with Everton on their home ground. But it was a little upsetting when they thought about the fact that the Forest team had tied their games for three consecutive rounds. They were clearly very close to a victory, but were unable to successfully break through. Generally, for a newly promoted team, which was only four rounds into the season, to obtain three points and only concede one game was considered pretty good. But for Tang En, a draw was useless. He needed a victory. And he strongly believed that once the first victory came, more victories would follow on its heels.

The problem was… when would the first victory come?

In the post-match press conference, while facing the reporters' questions, Twain continued to express his confidence in and support for the players, as always. He praised the team's performance and unreservedly proclaimed that he was very satisfied with their present achievement. As a newly promoted team, he was grateful to have only lost one game.

The media had been hoodwinked. They commented in their own articles:

Tony Twain is very pleased with his team's performance!

The Forest team still has a long way to go, but they are doing very well!

Nottingham Forest's goal this season should be to remain in the Premier League!

The English Premier League and EFL Championship are totally different leagues, and Manager Tony Twain feels tremendous amount of pressure!

And so on.

Such commentaries were amusing to Tang En when he read them. However, he was happy that it was this way. Why? Because it would confuse his next round of opponents.

Due to the match period for the national team, there was a break of twelve days after the end of the fourth round in August. On September 11, the battle fever of the Premier League would be reignited.

Tang En knew exactly what his team needed right now.

Victory.

He needed a victory to strengthen the players' confidence and morale, and he also needed a victory to lessen his pressure. Otherwise, he could talk it up all he wanted, but if they did not win in succession, the players would start to get ideas. His current team was newly formed. And what had brought the players together? Of course, it was not love for this team. It was because when Twain was recruiting them, he had promised them victory and glory. If every game was a draw… Even if they were to be like Arsenal, to have a record of forty-four unbeaten games in a row—and all were tied games—what was the point?

He told the players that he had an ambitious goal. What he was seeking was victory, and if they were with him, there would be opportunities for glory. Well, now was the time to do something to prove it.

In the fifth round of the league, Nottingham Forest was up against Manchester City on their home turf. This team was not an target that could be easily pushed over by Twain. However, he and the Forest team obviously could not delay any longer.