285 A Win-Win at the FA Cup Part 2 (1/2)

Chapter 285: A Win-Win at the FA Cup Part 2

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The first conceded goal caused Ferguson to get up from his seat and stand on the sidelines. Although he did not say anything, the Manchester United players felt a lot of pressure. The name ”Hairdryer” was not given for nothing. Anyone who had not been a player in Manchester United could never understand the terrible feeling of a telling off by Ferguson.

After taking the lead, Nottingham Forest seemed to have forgotten that their opponent was Manchester United, the ”Red Devils” Manchester United, led by the Premier League's best manager for ten years, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Twelve minutes after they scored, Manchester United equalized the score.

The goal was scored by England's Golden Boy, Wayne Rooney. This time, he made full use of his personal ability to receive Roy Keane's passing outside the penalty area. He used his outstanding explosive force to shake off Piqué. Then, he broke through into the penalty area and shot a volley. The football pierced the bottom corner of the goal, close to the turf. Faced with such a tricky shot, Edwin van der Sar was powerless and could only watch as the football flew past his fingertips, strike the back column, and bounce into the goal.

After the goal, Rooney was so excited that he pulled the front of his jersey and rallied 27,000 Forest fans at the City Ground stadium.

The last time the two teams had competed, Rooney had not scored a goal. He had not performed much throughout the entire game. After the game, he was criticized and thought that the key to his depressed state was Manchester United team's failure to beat the Forest team. He finally vented his grievance with a beautiful goal in this game.

Tang En saw a bizarre scene on the field: his memory of Manchester United's future main goalkeeper's goal breached by Manchester United's main striker in this game. He remembered that the time from which he had transmigrated was still two and a half years away. The future that he could control was getting lesser and lesser. He had to hurry. Tang En was so preoccupied with the question that he forgot to be upset at the loss of a goal.

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Roy Keane was the captain of Manchester United. But he used to be the star hope of the Forest team, just like George Wood was now. Twain favored George Wood, just like Clough had favored Roy Keane. Thirteen years had passed. Clough had gone to heaven to vie for the top spot with God, and Roy Keane wore Manchester United's jersey to return to Nottingham. Even though they were both red jerseys, the emblems on the chests were different.

The moment he entered the field before the start of the game, Keane was welcomed by a tsunami of cheers in the stadium. However, when the game started, his performance left little impression of how much he was loved there.

The lineup sent by Twain for this game was no different from that of the past. Arteta, who had just joined the team, did not even make it to the big list. He was a spectator in the stands.

Roy Keane's scope of activity was even wider in the midfield than it had been the last time the two teams had played against each other. When defending against the Forest players, he was ferocious and never avoided any physical confrontation.

What excited the commentator was that the last time the two teams had played against each other, Keane and Wood had not had much direct contact. However, this time, thirty minutes had passed in the first half and Keane and Wood had already clashed face-to-face twice. Both times were Wood defending against Keane. And there was one more incident whereby Keane actively rushed up to intercept the ball from Wood.

The result was Keane triumphing over Wood by 3:0. Facing the mature and seasoned Keane, Wood was as tender as a newborn.

In this game, Ferguson obviously strengthened the watch over Wood, which was clear from Keane's interception. The Forest team had managed to equalize the score at the last moment in the previous game. In addition to Wood's unexpected tenacity, there had also been a lack of attention and familiarity on Manchester United's part towards the Forest team. But Ferguson had made meticulous preparations for this game. He spent a full five days studying Nottingham Forest based on the previous match, just like when he had first studied Wenger and, later on, Mourinho.

Nottingham Forest was already an enemy that needed Manchester United and Ferguson's full energy to deal with.

In this game, Manchester United was completely in control of the midfield. After the equalizer, the Forest team's morale fell and he was forced to play defense under pressure.