At the 57th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest was at a draw with Sporting CP with 2:2.
No one could have expected to see that score when Forest team had been leading by two goals.
What did it mean? Sporting CP had gotten two precious away goals! This result meant that they practically had gotten half of their foot in the quarterfinals.
Were they giving up?
There was no reason to. The first round still had 30 minutes left, and the second had 90. It was much too early to give up.
Tang En turned and looked at the substitutes’ bench. The players were all warming up outside. He thought for a moment and asked Kerslake to call Mikel Arteta back.
“This is bad, Mikel.” Tang En said to Arteta. “Have you ever seen such a match on home grounds? It seems like we’re the ones on an away match. For this match, I want you to play right midfielder. Even though it’s on the wings, I still want you to play like before and set up the attacks.”
Arteta nodded. “I understand.”
Even though Arteta was a Spaniard, he had already kicked through an entire season in Scotland. It was not a problem for him to converse in English.
“We have to score again. Create opportunities for your teammates or do it yourself. Go! Tell them to attack! Other than attacking, don’t think about anything else!”
※※※
“Just 30 minutes before the end of the match, Twain has finished all three of his quota for substitution. Mikel Arteta substitutes Leighton Baines. Forest team has one less fullback. Instead, they opted for an additional holding midfielder. Clearly, Tony is not willing to end the match this way, despite already having such a terrible situation on his hands. They’ve fought their opponent to a draw of 2:2 on their home ground.”
During the period when Arteta stood on the sidelines waiting to be fielded, those who saw it must have thought that Viduka would be changed out. A forward for a midfielder. That would maintain the formation and stability of the defense; it was the normal method of substitution. Unexpectedly, Tang En took off a defender instead and was playing with only three fullbacks. He no longer cared about defense.
Tang En knew that Sporting CP’s morale was at an all-time high. It might not be effective even if they continued to fortify their defenses. Furthermore, they had already lost two home goals. Any further fortification of their defenses made little difference. They might as well go on the attack and take down the match. The two-goal losses could be considered later.
He simply could not tolerate losing this match. If they lost the match, wouldn’t Eastwood’s injury and George Wood’s penalty be for nothing? If they lost the match, what kinds of feelings could Tang En have when visiting Eastwood in the hospital?
Arteta ran onto the field and yelled at his teammates for attention. He threw his hands forward.
“Attack! The Boss wants us to attack!” U.p.dated by novelfull.Com
※※※
In the following period, Forest reactivated their attacks amid waves of cheers, each louder than the last, from their fans. They had the same thoughts as Tang En. No one was willing to lose this match. It had nothing to do with victory and everything to do with honor.
If you win through honorable means, we have nothing to say. We were simply lacking in skills. But if you use underhanded means to take advantage of us? There’s no way!
Defense? F**k that! Go ahead and attack if you can! The question is, can you get in?
“Mark Viduka! A beautiful shot! It went a little high. Ricardo didn’t even get to touch the ball even though he took a mighty leap to save it. He got lucky!”
“Forest is going on the offense now. Arteta is very active. He hasn’t even been on for ten minutes, but he’s already made two incredible passes. It’s a pity that the forwards failed to make use of the opportunities. Who will he be passing it to this time… A breakthrough! He dribbles the ball alone in a breakthrough!”
Arteta’s breakthrough threw Sporting CP’s defensive line into confusion and created chances for his teammates. But Crouch still failed to make good use of the chance this time; his shot went ridiculously wide. The Sporting CP fans on the spectators’ stand applauded him for his shot.
Even though they had not yet been rewarded for their efforts, the attitude displayed by Forest gave their fans great confidence.
Arteta was remarkably spirited. With him on the field, Forest’s organization of the midfield had much more order to it. The aim of their attacks also became clearer; they were no longer just blindly passing the ball forward. Although Albertini was similarly clear in that aspect, he was positioned further away from the front of the field. The attacks he launched depended more on long passes. On the other hand, Arteta could get closer to the opponent’s goal, causing his passes to become even more threatening.
Tang En felt extremely satisfied with Arteta’s performance. It proved that he had made no loss in his transfer. In his recollection, Arteta was the future midfield core of Everton. Only, from now on, he was to become Forest’s midfield core.
“This is hard to take in. Nottingham Forest, who is a man down, is suppressing Sporting CP. I don’t think anyone would agree if I said this was only due to the home team advantage.”
Sporting CP’s manager was already satisfied with the current result. Even if they lost the match in the end, he could ask for nothing more after having gotten two goals in the away match. When they returned to their home grounds, the two away goals here could be considered four there. So, when he noticed the Forest team’s attacks beginning to intensify, he decided that he might as well substitute in defensive players to enhance the defense. It would be even better if they could maintain the draw until the end.
As a result, the scene was a strange sight. Forest, who was lacking a player, was oppressing Sporting CP on their half of the field, bombarding them with attacks. Meanwhile, Sporting CP with their extra player had instead sent out defensive players, withdrawing into a passive defense in their backfield.
Nani felt rather helpless. His reason for being on the field was to attack and score goals. Yet, before being able to obtain more chances to show off his skills, the team’s tactics had changed again. Now, it became the priority to defend. He had to retreat for the defense. The front field did not even have a forward left behind, not to mention a midfielder like him. But he did not like defending. That work was way too troublesome.
Several times he drifted to the side of the team’s formation, imagining that he could get an opportunity. The opponent team would launch a massive attack and empty their defenses; his team would successfully intercept the ball, but there would be no one in the front field! At that point, he would suddenly raise an arm to signal his presence. A precise long pass would come his way, sending the football to his feet. With the wide, open field before him, he turns, dribbles, and breaks through!
Alone, he would ditch all those chasing behind him and have a face-off with the goalkeeper. He would use his flashiest moves to get past the poor goalie and stop the ball on the goal line itself. When the opposing team finally chased him down, he would tap the ball into the goal with his heel. Immediately after, he was going to put his finger to his lips and get the opponent’s fans to all shut their mouths!
What a fabulous feeling it would be!
But now… Pinto kept on reminding him to defend, defend, defend… he had gotten sick of hearing it. What was a football match? Defense? Bulls**t! It’s for attacking, for scoring goals! What’s the point of football if you can’t score goals?
Are you already happy with only a draw now?
I’m not!
Arteta was currently in possession in the front field, looking around for someone to pass to. He was deliberating about how he should pass the ball when Nani suddenly burst out from his diagonal, stretching his leg to steal Arteta’s ball!
Arteta, completely taken by surprise, allowed Nani a successful steal!
“Arteta lost the ball! This is deadly!”
On seeing Nani’s successful steal from Arteta, Tang En’s first thought was, if Wood were here, so what if it got stolen… but after returning to his senses, he dashed to the sidelines and hollered towards the field, “STOP HIM! Dammit…”
The moment Albertini saw Nani’s steal, he did not wait for Tony’s reaction before sprinting straight for the opponent. That was despite his tiredness. He was extremely tired. Without Wood, his workload was simply too heavy. Even though it was only the 74th minute of the match, he was even more tired than usual. The demand on his body already made it so that he could not participate as often during their attacks. Arteta’s appearance on the field relieved him of some of his duties, and he could stay behind in the backfield to defend.
In the past, such situations were always handed to Wood to deal with; but it was his turn now.
No matter what, I’m also a defensive midfielder!
“Move forward to support him!” Sa Pinto saw Nani’s successful steal and immediately knew that it was a chance to catch hold of a win, a golden opportunity to turn the tides. They must not just let it go. Without thinking, he waved his hand to signal his teammates to press forward, switching from defense to offense.
Nani, in possession, saw a flicker of a shadow rushing towards him. He did not know who it was, but that was not important. Regardless of who it was, they could not stop him from fulfilling his dream of making his mark.
This is my chance, I must grab hold of it!
Albertini was gradually closing in. With his speed, he was certainly unable to outrun Nani. He knew that he absolutely needed to block this ball when he got to Nani; there would not be a second shot at it.
There was only this chance, right here!
Nani had intended to abruptly switch up his dribbling rhythm and pass by Albertini, who looked as if he was rushing too heavily forward. But, as Nani lowered his speed and shot the ball between Albertini’s legs, momentarily parting from the ball, Albertini suddenly deepened his stance. Snapping together his feet and sinking, he blocked the ball.
By this point, Nani had already passed Albertini, prepared to continue dribbling forward. In other words, he had already completely lost possession of the ball; he was already intercepted!
Trying to get past me from under? Do you really think I’ve gotten old?
Albertini did not bother sparing his defeated foe a glance. Instead, he left Nani surprised and looking backward at his tall, proud back.
Sporting CP, who had been transiting between defense and offense, suddenly became stuck in an awkward position. Clearly, it was impossible for them to try to attack from this position. Defense-wise, they needed to return immediately; but would Forest team give them such an opportunity?
The answer was no. Albertini made a pass straight to Arteta, who immediately kicked it over to Viduka.
Striking a pose, Viduka lifted his feet and readied to take his shot. Just as the opponents shifted in front of him to block it, Viduka passed the ball to Crouch instead.