If New Manchester United's morale had hit rock bottom after going three goals down in the first half, then after scoring two goals back, they had completely seized the momentum from their opponents. Coupled with the support of the home fans, the Rushden & Diamonds players suddenly found it difficult to move on the pitch.
Why were home games easier than away games for the vast majority of teams?
Besides being more familiar with the pitch and the stadium facilities, it was also because of the home fans supporting the team. Wasn't it often said that fans were the twelfth player on the pitch?
Since its establishment, New Manchester United's home atmosphere had always been known for being intense. Now, they were beginning to spread that fire to the National League!
After scoring two goals, New Manchester United's players became increasingly active, especially Poulsen in the middle and Olić, who kept dropping back. The substitutions of these two players played a crucial role in this match. The former injected toughness into New Manchester United's midfield, while the latter, although lacking in technical skill, possessed the most valuable quality of tireless running.
Ethan sat in the stands. From the moment of the second goal, he had seen Olić panting with his tongue out, but even after that, Olić continued to run all over the pitch. When attacking, he could be seen near the opponent's penalty area, ready to assist Žigić in competing for the second ball. When defending, he could return to the front of his own penalty area to help the exhausted Karl Marginson.
Just as Ethan had seen when he first scouted Olić, he was not the type of efficient striker, nor was he technically gifted, but he was the kind of player who would give one hundred percent the moment he stepped onto the pitch.
There were many players like this, such as Gattuso, who joined AC Milan this season, Inter Milan's Zanetti, and Makelele, who currently played for Celta, but there were very few strikers like that. The ones that left the deepest impression on Ethan were Kuyt from the Netherlands, Tevez from Argentina, and Rooney from Manchester United. They were all that type of all-action player.
However, among them, Olić was the fastest, and also the one who could run the most.
To put it jokingly, those as fast as him could not run as much as he could, while those who could run as much as he could did not have his speed. So, being both fast and full of stamina was truly rare. After all, such players rarely became the stars or main characters on the pitch, but they could play a crucial role for the team.
If Ethan had not followed Bayern Munich in his past life and known this player, he probably would not have brought him to New Manchester United ahead of time.
...
With the outstanding performances of Poulsen and Olić, New Manchester United, while maintaining a solid defence, launched wave after wave of attacks against Rushden & Diamonds.
After conceding two goals in a row, Rushden & Diamonds began to worry. Their manager stood up restlessly, called over a tall centre-back, and pointed at Žigić, who was dominating their penalty area, as if giving instructions.
In fact, there was no need to guess what he was saying. It was nothing more than telling him to go on, use his height to restrict Žigić, and preferably stop that damn tall guy from New Manchester United from being too arrogant or getting to crosses so easily.
At the same time, he substituted his left midfielder because the defensive work of Lyons and Kevin Evans on New Manchester United's right flank meant that this player could not create many opportunities. Furthermore, the Rushden & Diamonds manager had realized that New Manchester United's right flank was simply impenetrable.
But just as the manager was frantically organizing his tactics, an even louder cheer erupted from the crowd.
"What's going on? Damn it!" the Rushden & Diamonds manager turned back to ask his assistant.
"They... they've equalized!"
"What?" The Rushden & Diamonds manager looked up at the big red scoreboard, where the number 2 representing the home team was changing to a 3. The score on the pitch had become 3-3!
My God, this blow came too suddenly, didn't it?
"The opponent's left midfielder received a long cross-field pass from the right midfielder and fired a long-range shot from outside the penalty area!" The assistant was clearly unable to accept this fact either.
Yes, just over twenty minutes ago, they were still confidently predicting that this match would be a big victory, and they were still discussing in the dressing room how to celebrate after the game.
But in just 29 minutes, the score had become 3-3!
"Boss, should I still go on?" the centre-back preparing to come on asked cautiously.
"Go on, of course you're going on. Go up and tell Kerse to mark that number 7. Do you see him? That damn right midfielder! Tell Kerse to mark him tightly and don't let him pass the ball again!" the Rushden & Diamonds manager roared, losing his composure.
Just a moment ago, he had thought that New Manchester United's two midfield substitutions were a desperate attempt to resist, but now it seemed they had sounded the horn for a desperate counterattack. He had been too careless and had not noticed that the opponent's substitutions could bring such a change to the entire team.
That No. 17 striker and No. 19 defensive midfielder had performed brilliantly after coming on. Their presence completely destroyed Rushden & Diamonds' central attack, and since Rushden & Diamonds' flanks were weak, the entire team's attacking system completely collapsed.
If only I had an excellent wide attacker right now, that would be great! the Rushden & Diamonds manager sighed helplessly.
...
But not far away, as soon as Bruce saw the opponent make a substitution, he immediately called over Hleb, who was warming up.
"Alexander, what do you think of what you've seen so far?"
"It's going very well, sir. If the current trend continues, we will win this match. The opponent has given up, which is why they're bringing on a centre-back to defend!" Hleb was a smart player. He was not just sitting in the stands, he was observing every move on the pitch, preparing to come on.
"Good lad, Alexander. I want you to go on now. Use your excellent technique and your attacking ability. I give you absolute freedom on both flanks. You have only one responsibility, make our attack smoother. Can you do that?"
Hleb nodded heavily. He had absolute confidence in his own technique.
...
The Rushden & Diamonds manager, who had already used up all his substitutions, looked with some concern at the youngster Hleb, who was waiting for a dead-ball opportunity to come on. He had investigated this youngster. He had excellent technique and was a good wide player. Substituting him on at this moment was clearly intended to strengthen the attack.
And when he saw that Bruce had substituted Hleb for Lyons, whom he considered the biggest threat on the pitch, he could not help but curse, "Damn it!"
Given the situation, he had to make changes, but now that he had, New Manchester United immediately adjusted as well. This left the Rushden & Diamonds manager feeling very discouraged, and he even suspected that this match might end in a comeback.
...
Hleb jogged onto the pitch, hugged Lyons as he came off, and then ran to the left flank.
Krzynówek had already received Bruce's instructions. Both flanks belonged to Hleb, and his job was to support, cut inside, and shoot whenever there was an opportunity.
During training, Krzynówek's long-range shots were very accurate and powerful, and just a few minutes ago, he had received a pass from Lyons and fired a powerful shot into the net from the edge of the penalty area.
New Manchester United's players were used to frequent position changes, as Cassel had often organized and trained them for this during practice. Moreover, their movement was not fixed. It flowed freely like water.
When everyone else is fixed and only one person moves, it creates conflict. But when everyone moves, keeping a perfect distance from each other and maintaining close contact, that is a very sophisticated off-the-ball movement system.
New Manchester United had not reached that level yet, but this was Cassel's goal!
But with New Manchester United's current ability, in front of a strong team of the same level like Rushden & Diamonds, their movement was already sophisticated enough.
Evra came to the left sideline to throw the ball in. Under pressure from the opposing right-back, Hleb lifted his foot and controlled the ball very lightly. It was as if the ball was glued to his foot. A pull, a turn, and acceleration, and by the time the opposing right-back reacted, Hleb had already created some distance, and there was no catching him.
The fans in the stands rarely saw such brilliant individual displays, and they immediately erupted into warm applause and cheers for Hleb. This young Belarusian player won the love of the New Manchester United fans with just this one move.
After dribbling past his opponent, Hleb crossed the ball, but his cross was a bit off. Žigić tried very hard to get to the spot, but the opponent's newly substituted centre-back pushed him desperately, causing his header to go over the crossbar.
"Damn it, stop pulling my shirt!" After landing, Žigić slapped away the hand still pulling his shirt, feeling a bit angry.
Although he had already scored two goals, no one would complain about scoring too many goals, right?
Although they did not score, this brilliant combination still thrilled the fans in the stands, while making the Rushden & Diamonds team break out in a cold sweat.
However, this was clearly just the beginning.
A minute later, Olić intercepted the ball in front of his own penalty area and passed it to Hleb's feet again. This time, he appeared on the right flank, with large stretches of space in front of him and no defending players. So, he accelerated with the ball, went to the byline, and crossed!
This time, Žigić firmly pinned the opposing centre-back behind him and jumped up to meet the header. Out of the corner of his eye, he clearly saw that the opposing goalkeeper had already rushed out, so he guided the ball with his head.
Unlike Lyons' pass, Hleb's pass, although lacking accuracy, was very fast, so the ball immediately changed direction, hit the ground first, and flew toward the near post.
But as it happened, the pitch at Gigg Lane was also in poor condition. When the ball hit the ground, it changed direction slightly, causing a deviation, and it hit the near post and bounced out.
At this moment, all the players near the Rushden & Diamonds goal must have felt a sense of relief. If this ball had gone in, this match would probably have turned Rushden & Diamonds into a laughingstock.
But very quickly, they saw a panting red figure rush past them, and the ball that had bounced off the near post was bundled into the goal by him.
4-3!
New Manchester United had completed a miraculous comeback!
(To be continued.)