In this match, the five players sitting on New Manchester United's bench were goalkeeper Almunia, centre-back Distin, defensive midfielder Poulsen, winger Hleb, and striker Olić.
However, as soon as the second half began, New Manchester United used two of their substitutions, replacing Crouch with Olić and Juninho with Poulsen.
The Rushden & Diamonds manager glanced over at the New Manchester United bench. Bruce was the same as he had been in the first half, constantly standing in front of the bench with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed intently on the pitch as if he did not want to miss even the slightest detail.
Futile resistance? The Rushden & Diamonds manager sneered.
Because their performance in the first half had been excellent, there was no reason for Rushden & Diamonds to change their tactics at this point. Therefore, they continued to use their first-half tactics at the start of the second half, hoping to break through New Manchester United's midfield and, ideally, score a few more goals.
But soon, they realized they had miscalculated!
When Rushden & Diamonds' No. 15 central midfielder received a pass from a teammate behind him, turned, and looked up, wanting to find the nearest teammate for a combination play, he felt a pain in his foot. He had been tackled to the ground by the newly substituted Poulsen.
Poulsen slid into the tackle, but quickly jumped back up, chased after the loose ball nearby, and cleared it with a long kick.
Rushden & Diamonds' first attack of the second half was dismantled just like that.
Even when Žigić challenged the opposing centre-back for the header, only for the ball to be collected by the goalkeeper because no teammates had arrived from deep to support him, the opposing No. 15 central midfielder was still lying on the grass clutching his leg, his face full of disbelief.
Throughout the entire first half, that Brazilian had not even attempted a sliding tackle, and even normal physical contact had been rare. It was precisely because of this that he had dared to turn so carelessly just now, taking his time to look for a teammate.
But he had not expected that after replacing one player, New Manchester United would suddenly become so ferocious.
Was this a warning?
The Rushden & Diamonds central midfielder glared at Poulsen through gritted teeth, while Poulsen slowly retreated to his own defensive area.
The goalkeeper played a short pass to the centre-back, and after two or three passes along the back line, the ball landed at the feet of the No. 15 central midfielder again. This time, he was careful, running forward a few steps to receive the ball, but when he went to turn, he found someone already stuck tightly to his back.
Dribbling, turning, trying to get around him, all the moves were the same as when he had faced Juninho in the first half. But just as he was about to get past Poulsen, he stumbled. His body could not withstand a light nudge from his opponent, followed by a poke, and he lost the ball!
This time, after winning the ball, Poulsen did not blindly launch a long pass. Instead, he found Darren Lyons on the right flank. This player was jokingly called the Beckham of New Manchester United by his teammates, and his crosses were extremely sharp. With the ball at his feet, Žigić became more dangerous than ever.
After receiving the ball, Lyons did not pause at all and sent a long diagonal cross into the penalty area.
During the halftime break, Žigić had received a reminder from Bruce. When the second half started, he stood firmly in the opponent's penalty area like a nail, refusing to move an inch no matter how much the opposing centre-backs pushed or shoved him.
With a 2.02-metre-tall man standing in the penalty area, nothing more needed to be said. That sheer presence alone was enough to put the Rushden & Diamonds defence under pressure. And do not forget, Žigić was not Crouch. His physical attributes and heading ability were both quite formidable.
Back when he was playing in Yugoslavia, Žigić, who scored 28 goals in 28 games, most often scored by using his strong physique and excellent heading ability to power the balls delivered by his teammates into the opponent's goal.
At this very moment, it was the same for Žigić!
Lyons' pass was not fast, but it had a beautiful arc and was very accurate. Plus, having frequently practised together in training, Žigić had established his position early. Even though he was surrounded by opposing players, Žigić still managed to shake off their interference and leaped high into the air.
When he jumped to meet the ball, the Rushden & Diamonds players could not even pull him down. They could only watch helplessly as the ball struck his forehead and changed direction.
The Rushden & Diamonds goalkeeper had been paying too much attention to Žigić, so he was positioned closer to the far post, but Žigić's header was directed toward the near post, leaving him unable to reach it.
The ball grazed the crossbar and went into the net. 1-3!
The fans at the ground exploded. Gigg Lane Stadium, which had been lifeless just moments ago, was quickly ignited with passion after New Manchester United pulled one goal back. And this was only the 4th minute of the second half. There was still more than half an hour left. Judging by the attacking momentum New Manchester United had shown since the start of the second half, equalising, or even completing a comeback, would not be difficult!
...
...
"Did you see that?" Jim grabbed the male passenger next to him tightly, gripping his hand hard, then stood up and screamed along with the surrounding New Manchester United fans.
"I told you! We can win. Even if we're three goals down, we can still turn this around!" Jim roared.
The surrounding fans heard this and immediately joined Jim in shouting. Suddenly, a wave of chaotic cheers erupted from the stands. Some shouted for a comeback, some shouted for a goal, some shouted Nikola Žigić's name, and some shouted Poulsen's.
But soon, their chants turned into, "Score another one!"
...
After pulling one goal back, New Manchester United's morale was high. Conversely, Rushden & Diamonds seemed stunned by the momentum New Manchester United showed at the start of the second half, and they were also intimidated by the fans in the stands. With the shift in momentum, the game immediately tilted in New Manchester United's favour.
After replacing Juninho, Poulsen continued to put in an eye-catching performance. He was full of energy, constantly running and intercepting in midfield. Although he often used some little tricks, and some of his tackles were indeed a bit excessive, they were still within the rules, so the referee only issued warnings for the more obvious fouls without showing any cards.
Poulsen built the first wall, and with Marginson providing support behind him as the second line of defence, New Manchester United's back line was immediately reinforced. Rushden & Diamonds' first-half tactic of attacking through the middle was completely contained.
Among all the New Manchester United players, there was one more who had to be mentioned: Olić.
This young Croatian player could be said to be the busiest player on the pitch besides Poulsen, as he was constantly running back and forth from the opponent's penalty area to his own, never seeming to tire.
When Bruce set the tactics at halftime, the task he gave Olić was to link the forward line and the midfield, and Olić had indeed accomplished it.
After New Manchester United pulled a goal back in the 4th minute, they launched a furious counterattack against Rushden & Diamonds. By this point, even the slowest manager could see that Rushden & Diamonds had lost the momentum, and the most necessary thing to do was to defend solidly and avoid New Manchester United's strongest spell.
Therefore, Rushden & Diamonds immediately made a substitution, taking off a forward and bringing on a defensive midfielder.
...
...
Marginson intercepted the ball in the defensive third and passed it to Poulsen. By this time, two opposing players were already moving toward Poulsen, while two others were cutting off the passing lanes between Poulsen and Krzynówek and Lyons.
Since the substitution, Rushden & Diamonds had been using this tactic, which kept New Manchester United's attack in check.
Poulsen immediately used his body to hold off one of the defensive players, then spread his arms to protect the ball at his feet, avoiding getting trapped.
The opposing forward was prowling between Marginson and the back line, which made Poulsen worry that if he played the ball back, it might be intercepted, which would be dangerous.
What should he do?
"Christian, here!" A voice called Poulsen's name in awkward English, and then a red figure appeared within his line of sight.
It was Olić! He was running from Poulsen's left side at top speed.
Poulsen passed the ball almost without thinking. After receiving the ball, Olić immediately shifted it to the left, where Evra, who had just retreated to defend near his own penalty area, was making a rapid forward run.
Although Bruce's instruction to him was to defend solidly, that did not mean he could not push forward.
From receiving the ball near the halfway line to entering the danger zone, Evra seemed to do it in the blink of an eye.
Inside the penalty area, Žigić was desperately using his body to hold off the opposing centre-back, firmly maintaining his position.
The opposing defensive midfielder pressed in, but Evra beat him to it, sending a long diagonal cross into the penalty area.
If anyone who had seen Evra's crossing ability a year ago saw this cross, they would surely shout, "Oh, that idiot has wasted another opportunity!"
But in reality?
Evra's cross indeed did not land perfectly on Žigić's head like Lyons' cross, but Žigić had judged the landing spot early, ran forward a few steps, and swung his head forcefully to meet the ball.
The opposing goalkeeper had followed the movement this time, but Žigić cleverly hit a downward header that bounced off the ground, leaving him to watch helplessly as Žigić sent the ball into the goal once again.
In the 13th minute of the second half, New Manchester United pulled another goal back. 2-3!
This goal was like adding fuel to the fire, instantly pushing the atmosphere among the fans throughout Gigg Lane Stadium to its peak.
All the fans were shouting, "Score another one!"
That intensity, let alone the Rushden & Diamonds players on the pitch, even the manager sitting on the bench felt a hint of fear, as if his heart had been shaken.
Žigić climbed up from the ground, stepped over the goalkeeper, who was lying on the ground and slapping the turf in frustration, picked up the ball from the opponent's goal, and without celebrating, ran all the way to the centre circle and placed it on the kick-off spot.
None of the New Manchester United players showed any excitement after pulling back another goal. They were already battle-ready, having returned to their own half, staring at the Rushden & Diamonds players who were still moving sluggishly, as if to say, "Come and meet your doom!"
(To be continued.)
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