857 One More Needed (1/2)

Not everyone would be seated in the stands waiting for the match to start.

When the referee blew the whistle signifying kickoff, there were still people entering the stadium, looking for their seats.

As those people were looking down in the rain for the seat numbers that corresponded to the numbers on their tickets, they heard a booming cheer around them. It felt as though a tsunami was coming or an earthquake was occurring. They could not even maintain their balance.

”Boom!”

Those people looked up in a daze and saw the people around them jumping around with their arms raised. They instantly looked toward the pitch.

What is going on?

The team in red sprinted in excitement.

A voice from the live broadcast drowned out the cheers. ”1:0, Nottingham Forest takes the lead! The scorer is Aaron Mitchell!”

Those people finally realized that while they were busy looking for their seats, Nottingham Forest had already scored.

”This is really too fast! The TV broadcast wasn't able to keep up with it… We can only look at the replay. After the kickoff, Şahin passed the ball back to George Wood, who distributed the ball to the flank… Fernández continued forward after a one-two with Gago. Gago lobbed the ball forward accurately and beautifully! Fernández received the ball… He crossed it! Aaron Mitchell's diving header! The ball's in! It's a goal! Barely 20 seconds into the game! This is a record for the fastest goal in the FA Cup final! It's also the record for the fastest goal for a cup final played in Wembley!”

The commentator roared in excitement.

Twain pumped his fist in the rain and celebrated the goal with the people around him.

Back in the changing room, he told his players to get the first goal. A quick goal would bring the match to their rhythm. He did not expect the team to give him such a surprise. They scored after 20 seconds.

”No matter the results of this match, Nottingham Forest and Aaron Mitchell have already etched their names in the history of the FA Cup with this goal!”

Mitchell sprinted toward the stands where the majority of Forest fans were at. He egged them on with his arms, asking them to shout louder and louder. He loved to hear those kinds of cheers.

Tottenham did not expect Forest to score so early in the game. The match had just begun, and their defense was not organized. Forest took advantage of that small window of opportunity and hit Tottenham where it hurt.

Harry Redknapp's face was darker than the London skies. He could not say anything about conceding a goal like that at the sidelines.

He had thought that Forest would take it slow in this match after a sequence of high-intensity matches, using a strategy of drawing their opponents out before hitting them on the break.

He did not expect Tony Twain's team to be so determined in attacking right from the start. That was totally beyond his imagination.

Of course, an early goal had some element of luck. However, what was the point of saying that his opponent was just lucky at this point?

They were trailing, and their opponent was leading. There would be peculiar changes in the match due to such happenings.

The worst thing that could happen in a match against Twain's team was to give them the lead. Forest could choose to continue attacking next or play a defensive game and hit them on the break. No matter what they did, it would be akin to torture for their opponents.

How should Tottenham deal with it?

Attacking?

Redknapp was not that stupid. Pressing up in attack would be like opening their doors for a few more Forest goals. He decided to shore up their defense. After all, trailing by a goal was nothing. They just needed an opportunity to level the score.

He had to stabilize his players' state of mind. They could not lose their cool and panic. They had to give Forest another opportunity to take advantage and score another goal. This match would be difficult if they were to trail by two goals.

He stood at the sideline and shouted toward the pitch, asking his players to calm down with hand signals.

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After 17 minutes, Tottenham leveled the score with a corner kick. The scorer was Michael Dawson. He did not show any mercy against his former club as he landed and accurate and powerful header. Akinfeev did not react to it as a group of people watched the ball fly into the goal. Some of the players even got their eyes blurred by the rainwater splashing up.

Tottenham leveling the score made the fans doubly excited. When they were trailing, those people were worried that the trophy would be given to Forest just like that. Now, it seemed Tottenham did not want to give up.

Twain had no intention of shoring up his defenses after Tottenham scored. Instead, he encouraged his two full-backs to continued attacking from the sideline.

Redknapp could tell Twain's intentions. Since Forest was attacking, there were bound to be spaces behind. That was how Tottenham had to attack too. Otherwise, how could they take advantage of those spaces?

One of the most exciting battles in the history of FA Cup finals had begun.

In the 39th minute, Tottenham Hotspurs took advantage of an opportunity to attack after Forest's right-back, Rafinha, did not rush back in defense in time. They quickly launched a quick counterattack. Pavlyuchenko made a feint with a one-on-one against Akinfeev. It made Akinfeev lose his footing and the best opportunity to dive on the ball. Pavlyuchenko rounded Akinfeev easily and put the ball into the empty net.

Tottenham had come from behind to lead 2:1.

The cheers of the Tottenham fans rang out from the stands. When Forest scored right at the start of the match, they could not imagine that Tottenham could come from behind to lead in the first half.

Their cheers only lasted two minutes. In the 42nd minute, Mitchell used his skills against three Tottenham defenders, but he got pushed to the ground by Dawson. The referee blew for a direct free kick in the attacking half for Forest.

Bale stood on the ball. The Forest fans started singing the ”Song of Bale.”

The ball was about 28 meters away from the goal, and the wall was very compact. As a team in the English Premier League, everyone knew about the threat of Gareth Bale's free kick.

George Wood and Gago did their best to squeeze into the wall, positioning themselves near the goal post. It looked like Bale would be shooting from that angle toward the goal. The Tottenham players pushed toward the post, trying their best to squeeze the two Forest players out.

When the referee blew the whistle, Wood and Gago left the wall as expected. The empty spaces left behind were instantly covered by Tottenham players. Nobody expected Bale to not go for that spot and choose to shoot toward the other side. The ball flew around the wall from the other end straight into the far corner of the goal.

It was obviously one of the free-kick routines they had practiced countless times.

The goalkeeper, Gomes, was deceived by the wall and tactics of the Forest team. When Bale took the free kick, he even moved his center of gravity toward the near post. As the ball flew toward the goal from the other side, he could do nothing but watch the ball fly into the far corner of the goal.

”2:2! The first half is not over, and there are already four goals between the two teams! What an exciting first half!”

The Tottenham fans kept mum this time. It was the Forest fans who sang in the rain.

Some Forest fans thought that it was weird. Tony Twain usually did not find it hard to resort to conservative tactics in important matches. Why did he suddenly choose to play an attacking game against his opponent? They were worried that if this went on, Forest might fail.

Twain's thoughts were simple. He wanted to make use of this match to check on his team's attacking prowess. Against a team like Real Madrid, it would not be sufficient to be able to defend.

When the first half ended, the two teams were level with the score at 2:2. The match was played in a quick rhythm from the start. The fans got their money's worth.

Most people did not expect such an exciting match to be played out in an FA Cup final. Nowadays, football had become more practical, so finals were usually a boring affair. That was especially so if Nottingham Forest was involved.

They did not expect Twain to suddenly have a change of heart. It made it difficult for everyone to get used to it.

Was he going to raise the flag of attacking football and play an open game with Tottenham?

Redknapp must have thought so. During halftime, he told his players to continue pressing the attack and take advantage of the spaces behind when Forest attack in the second half.

At the same time, in Nottingham Forest's changing room, Twain smiled and told his players, ”We'll play on the break in the second half.”

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