"The referee has blown the whistle to start the second half. We can see that neither side has made any substitutions, sticking with their first-half lineups, but their specific tactics have undergone some changes."
"New Manchester United kick off the second half. Juninho takes the ball and passes it sideways to his teammate Poulsen, who then passes it to Essien. Facing a press from two Kidderminster defenders, Essien immediately passes it back to Juninho."
"We can see that Kidderminster have clearly strengthened their midfield defense. Their number 6 defensive midfielder is shadowing Juninho closely. Clearly, they have realized that New Manchester United intend to use Juninho as their main outlet for the ball."
"Olić drops back to receive the ball and looks to pass to Žigić, but the opposing centre-back wins the first ball and clears it with a header."
"Kidderminster counter, and the ball is quickly moved into midfield. Poulsen commits a foul!"
"Looking at the slow-motion replay from the broadcast, we can see that as the opposing central midfielder took the ball, Poulsen reached out from behind and tripped him."
...
Just as Bruce had expected, Kidderminster launched a frantic counterattack at the start of the second half. They mounted a fierce assault on New Manchester United's defensive shape, but New Manchester United were clearly well prepared.
The double pivot formed by Essien and Poulsen was somewhat lacking in aerial defense, but it was very difficult for ground passes to get through their defensive zone. In particular, Essien and Poulsen strictly followed Bruce's tactics. Once they encountered a ball that was difficult to win cleanly, they would decisively choose to commit a tactical foul.
What did selective mean?
It meant fouling decisively in areas that did not pose much threat to the goal. This way, even if a free kick was awarded, there was no need to worry too much about the opponent threatening the goal.
It was precisely because of this tactic from New Manchester United that many of Kidderminster's attacks could not get going at all. Time and again, just after crossing the halfway line, they were either intercepted or stopped by a foul.
Because of this, Poulsen even picked up a yellow card.
...
"The opponent's number 19 defensive midfielder plays dirty, and the referee doesn't have a good impression of him. This is good. Let's attack through the middle more. If possible, get that number 19 sent off. Even if we can't, he has a card now, so he definitely won't dare to play as aggressively as he did in the first half!" The Kidderminster manager immediately smiled on the sidelines when he saw the referee show Poulsen the yellow card.
For a defensive player, receiving a yellow card was like having a weight placed on them.
The manager's intention was quickly conveyed to the pitch. The Kidderminster players immediately understood and began to intensify their attacks through the centre of New Manchester United's midfield.
The number 6 defensive midfielder took the ball and passed it to the central midfielder, who carried the ball into New Manchester United's half, heading straight for the area Poulsen was defending.
Poulsen held his defensive position steadily. He knew he already had a yellow card, so he was cautious, only using his body to hold off the opponent. However, the opponent was very careful with the ball, making him hesitate to tackle.
The central midfielder suddenly passed sideways to a teammate, then bypassed Poulsen and charged toward the defensive line. The teammate quickly returned the ball to his feet, completing a beautiful one-two.
Poulsen followed closely, trying to use his body to squeeze him away, but he did not expect the opponent's physical strength to be quite formidable. Even while running at high speed, he could withstand Poulsen's challenge.
Kidderminster's strikers were already level with Abidal and Distin. Clearly, as soon as the central midfielder found an opening, he would play a through ball, which would likely create a one-on-one chance.
What should he do? Poulsen hesitated.
Normally, he would have tackled decisively, but he already had a yellow card. If he slid in and committed a foul, it would likely result in a second yellow and a red card.
But if he did not stop him soon, the opponent would enter the danger zone.
The Kidderminster central midfielder had clearly anticipated Poulsen's dilemma. With a smirk, he felt he had this foolish defensive midfielder exactly where he wanted him.
But in that instant, he felt as if a bolt of black lightning had flashed before him. He was sent flying by the impact and then crashed heavily onto the ground.
Essien stood up from the ground, first protecting the ball, and then looked at the referee.
"No foul! Michael Essien with a very beautiful and decisive sliding tackle!" Scarlett exclaimed during the live broadcast.
On the pitch, seeing that the referee had not blown the whistle, Essien immediately charged forward with the ball.
"Michael, over here!"
Evra, who had been lurking on the left flank for a long time, also seized this rare opportunity. He took a risk and surged forward, running even faster than Essien.
Essien immediately passed the ball to Evra as he overtook him. Evra knocked the ball ahead with a heavy touch and accelerated after it.
Since this was a counterattack, the opposing defenders had no time to recover. Evra directly faced the opponent's right-back and passed it inside to Juninho, who immediately laid it back to him, returning the favor and completing a beautiful one-two.
Evra continued carrying the ball down the flank. The fastest players up front, Olić and Hleb, were also sprinting forward desperately. The attack suddenly became a three-on-two situation.
Facing such a favorable situation, Evra decisively cut inside. Olić immediately pulled to the left, drawing the attention of one of the defenders.
Evra continued to cut in. The Kidderminster left-back, who had tracked back, hesitated, unsure whether to step up and challenge.
But at that moment, Evra played a diagonal pass behind him. The young Hleb arrived like a charging horse, faced the goalkeeper directly, and slotted the ball into the far corner.
"0-2! In the 57th minute of the second half, New Manchester United have torn through Kidderminster's defense again with a sharp counterattack. The young Belarusian, Hleb, has scored another goal for the team!"
"From the slow-motion replay, we can see that the centre-back marking Žigić was simply too slow. His failure to track back in time allowed New Manchester United to easily create a three-on-two in the final third. The performance of New Manchester United's young Frenchman, Evra, was equally brilliant. He sprinted all the way with the ball and finally assisted his teammate's goal."
"If we say that New Manchester United's second goal was finished by Hleb's calm strike into the far corner when facing the goalkeeper, then Evra, who sprinted dozens of meters from the back into the opponent's box, was the greatest contributor to this goal. This young Frenchman's speed is simply incredible!"
Ethan sat in the stands. At the moment Hleb scored, he did not stand up and cheer wildly like the fans. He just clenched his hands together, squeezing them as hard as he could.
He noticed that Olić was the first to run over and celebrate with Hleb, followed by Evra and the other New Manchester United players.
Although Scarlett had not mentioned Olić in the broadcast just now, Ethan knew very well that if he had not cleverly pulled to the left and drawn away a defender, it was uncertain whether that three-on-two could have been completed.
But it was no wonder. Once a goal was scored, everyone only stared at the scorer and the assister. Few people paid attention to the player in the corner who silently made runs for his teammates to relieve defensive pressure.
Far back in New Manchester United's half, after seeing Hleb score, Poulsen proactively walked up to Essien and gave him a tight hug.
"Thank you, Michael!" Poulsen was clearly referring to Essien's sliding tackle from moments ago.
"Don't be silly, I was just completing the task the manager gave me. Besides, I should thank you too!" Essien said with a smile.
Without Poulsen's assistance by his side, Essien certainly would not have been able to perform so well. It was precisely because Poulsen was behind him that Essien could sprint across the entire pitch without restraint, never worrying about the back line.
Poulsen smiled and patted the black lad, who was younger than himself, then ran back to his defensive position.
Defense was always a team effort. It should never become one person's job alone!
Standing on the sidelines, Bruce saw the players celebrating on the pitch and smiled along with them, sharing their joy.
"Jim, we're definitely winning this match!" Bruce said with full confidence.
Cassel also nodded in satisfaction, agreeing.
Kidderminster had tried their best to attack New Manchester United for over ten minutes but failed to score. Instead, they conceded a goal on the counter. Such a setback would surely affect the players on the pitch, and even the manager.
As if to confirm Bruce and Cassel's suspicion, after Kidderminster kicked off again, they immediately lost the momentum they had during that earlier surge. Instead, New Manchester United began to push back, launching a series of fierce attacks on Kidderminster's defense.
The Kidderminster manager also seemed to see the dire situation, but knowing it was difficult to turn the tide, he could only make two helpless substitutions, replacing a central midfielder with a centre-back and a winger with a defensive midfielder.
Seeing these substitutions, anyone could tell that Kidderminster had given up on the match. Their only hope now was to avoid a total collapse.
After the substitutions, the players on the pitch began to retreat into their own half to defend, but in this state, even their defending seemed listless.
In the 82nd minute, during a wave of fierce attacks by New Manchester United, Hleb was fouled while carrying the ball on the right flank. New Manchester United won an indirect free kick in the attacking half.
Juninho stood before the ball once again. Tall players like Abidal, Distin, Steinsson, and Žigić all crowded into the opponent's box, putting immense pressure on the defense.
Juninho took a few steps and sent in a high ball. It looked like it was heading straight for the back post to find Distin and Abidal, immediately drawing the attention of the defenders and the goalkeeper.
To their surprise, the ball suddenly dipped sharply in mid-air. The unmarked Žigić was caught a bit off guard. He did not even have time to react or jump. He could only instinctively nod his head, and the ball struck him, deflecting into the net.
0-3, New Manchester United scored again!
The away fans erupted in the loudest cheers heard yet. In contrast, many Kidderminster fans in the other stand were already leaving the stadium early, clearly protesting their team's heavy defeat in this clash of titans.
In countless places across Manchester, a chorus of cheers rang out at the same time. Those were surely the New Manchester United fans!
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)