Team Spirit

Chapter 26: Dream Shattered Moment (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Wednesday, the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Three hundred fans packed the Pond Field.

Dartford once again drew the home draw.

As the Dartford Royal VCD players wearing green and white jerseys entered the field, the scene was set off a wave of enthusiasm.

They used a 451 formation today.

Eastwood is the lone striker.

Lu Kai is the left midfielder and To Madera is the right midfielder, and their wing attack tactics remain unwavering.

Barton, Kailo and another substitute player form the midfield trio. The other two are more defensive, while Barton is versatile in offense and defense.

Emily and Jiang Mengyun sat in the VIP viewing area at the entrance of the convenience store to cheer for Lu Kai.

The team's 37-year-old left winger Simpson officially retired two days ago and now becomes a volunteer commentator at the Pond Stadium, continuing to contribute to the team.

Otherwise, Lu Kai can continue to play as attacking midfielder and let Simpson play on the left.

With a whistle, the game officially begins.

Hayes No. 10 gave Dartford a warning right from the start.

He dribbled continuously and successfully created a free kick in front of the penalty area.

He then took the penalty kick himself, a high-quality free kick that hit the crossbar and bounced out.

The Dartford fans were so frightened that they broke out in a cold sweat and even their cheers were muted.

In the eighth minute, Hayes No. 10 dribbled forward on the right side of the rib and made a straight pass, but unfortunately his striker was offside, otherwise it would have been another dangerous attack.

In the 14th minute, Hayes No. 10 suddenly launched a long shot.

Kailo's leg hit the ball and changed its direction, resulting in a corner kick.

Hayes' continuous attacks made Dartford breathless.

This is also the sequelae of Lu Kai not participating in the organization in the midfield.

"Patton, come to the left."

"Eastwood, come to the left to provide support."

Lu Kai issued an order.

After Dartford got the ball, they focused mainly on the left.

Since Lu Kai, Barton and Eastwood were all of good quality, they successfully controlled the ball and tried to launch an attack.

In the 25th minute, Lu Kai passed the ball back to Barton and then made a forward run. Barton passed the ball directly to Eastwood on the left side. Eastwood made a cross kick and Lu Kai made a flying tackle but missed the goal.

But it was a threat.

You don't have to be in the middle to become the team's offensive and organizational core.

Players such as Zidane, Ronaldinho, Hazard, Messi, etc. are all core players on the wing.

Although the advantage of the wing core is not as great as that of the central core, the most important thing is to make the players play comfortably.

In the 31st minute, Patton hit the wall and Lu Kai and moved forward, dribbling the ball towards the top of the arc.

Hayes No. 10 made a decisive foul to bring Barton down, preventing him from continuing to advance.

Dartford won a free kick far upfield.

Barton took the penalty himself and sent the ball into the penalty area.

Eastwood headed the ball into the goal, but it was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Although he is only three centimeters taller than Oliver, the 1.81-meter-tall Eastwood's heading ability is obviously two or three levels stronger.

His jumping, speed, positioning, heading, etc. are all better, which can be regarded as making up for Dartford's shortcomings in heading.

In the 37th minute, Hayes No. 10 marked Lu Kai.

Although Eastwood and Button both gave outstanding performances, the engine behind the green gun was undoubtedly the youngest guy.

After receiving the ball with his back to the basket, Lu Kai had a confrontation with Hayes No. 10.

Taking advantage of the back contact, Lu Kai knocked the opponent away, used the rebound force to complete the turn, and at the same time created a small distance between him and the opponent.

But the opponent still did not lose position.

One on one!

A classic scene appeared in the low-level stadium, which is very similar to the 1V1 in basketball.

The two teams' leaders were engaged in a PK, and the younger players were expected to stay away and not participate. This kind of confrontation had a fatal impact on morale.

Obviously, Hayes No. 10 is very confident in himself.

At the golden age of twenty-five or twenty-six, with a sixth-level professional contract, he still can't hold a fifteen-year-old fledgling?

Lu Kai first made a few simple attempts to change direction, but he couldn't get through at all.

The other party is in very good physical condition.

There is a high chance of failure in a forced attack.

At this moment, Hayes No. 10 took the initiative to attack, stepped forward to steal the ball, and got stuck in Lu Kai's slowing down adjustment phase.

This is fatal.

At the critical moment, Lu Kai did a horizontal Marseille turn to avoid the pressure.

But the rhythm is wrong and it's quite embarrassing.

The opponent still did not lose his position and continued to pounce.

This kind of continuous steals is very aggressive and effective.

Lu Kai could only step on the ball with his right foot and pull it to the left, and the opponent would undoubtedly stretch out his foot.

But at the same time the opponent stretched out his foot, Lu Kai raised his other foot to knock the ball, and both feet left the ground almost at the same time.

The football bounced to the right.

Hayes No. 10's pupils shrank as he realized something.

The next moment, Lu Kai showed a sly smile on his face. He started instantly after landing, bounced out, and completed the pass.

Hayes No. 10 shifted his center of gravity while trying to pull Lu Kai, but the continuous shift of the center of gravity and the inconsistency between the upper and lower centers of gravity exceeded the maximum load on his ankles.

Pfft!
Hayes number 10 fell to the ground with a thud.

The pond stadium erupted in cheers instantly.

"Oh! Lu Kai's dribbling and ball control are quite gorgeous. He did a Marseille turn and then a powerful shot that knocked the opponent to the ground!"

"Lu Kai pushes forward in the middle, while Eastwood pulls to the side."

"Lu Kai made a through ball!"

"To Madeira cuts inside without the ball and slots into the space left by Eastwood."

"Shoot!"

"GOAL!"

"One to zero! Dartford is leading!"

"Beautiful cooperation. To Madeira did not waste Lu Kai's assist of the century!"

"Lu Kai used his personal ability to forcibly create an opportunity."

"Huh? Player number 10 Hayes hasn't gotten up yet. Is he injured?"

On the field, everyone's eyes were on Hayes No. 10.

Hayes' team doctor came to check on him and his expression was not optimistic.

Then a shocking scene appeared.

No. 10 Hayes angrily hit the grass, then burst into tears and emotionally argued with the head coach on the sidelines.

From their conversation we can learn a mixed story.

The number ten player is called Nick. He was originally a main player of the sixth-level team. After he was seriously injured, no team was willing to take over, so he joined the ninth-level Hayes to prove himself.

As a result, he led Hayes to an excellent record this season and successfully received an invitation from another sixth-level team.

Logically, he could have stopped playing for Hayes the day he received the invitation.

Because he and Hayes did not sign a substantive contract, he could come and go freely.

And even if a contract is signed, it can be breached. The contract of a ninth-level team is only worth a few hundred or a thousand pounds, which is not worth much at all.

Including Barton, Ashley Young and Eastwood, if the Premier League team asked them to report directly to the team today, they could go immediately and Dartford would have no way to force them to stay.

This is also the reason why Lu Kai wants to attack Patton's mind.

Empty promises, bah... Sincerity is the ultimate weapon!

(End of this chapter)