Chapter 179: The Red Forest Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The City Ground, which was noisy just a moment ago, became silent at this moment, immediately followed by huge burst of loud cheers!
"What a great gooooal!! An unbelievable goal! Outside the penalty area, at a narrow angle, and made by Kris Commons! The young player, who had just joined the team during the winter, scored his fourth goal in Nottingham Forest. Beautiful!"
"Nottingham Forest has equalized the score! West Bromwich Albion has finally experienced the feeling of playing in an away game!"
What Motson said was right. For a long time, the West Bromwich Albion manager coach, Megson, thought he was at a home match. His impetuous and disorganized opponents simply posed no threat to his team. Once they had finished the game time, his team would be able to advance to the Premier League easily, and at that time, he would have a relaxing and happy vacation....
But, now! Kris Commons" astounding goal-in-one shot had pulled him back from his fantasies to the brutal reality: the game was not over, and it was not guaranteed that the team could advance to the Premier League. Thus, his happy holiday was just written on the planner for now.
The Forest players flocked in a frenzy towards Commons, who had just scored the goal. This is a great morale-boosting goal, not only because we have equalized the score, but more importantly, this shot was just too beautiful! Completely unexpected, just watch our opponents" dejected performance after this goal to see that!
You must have enjoyed the first half? Now, it"s our turn to have some fun!
Tang En rushed out of the technical area, brandis.h.i.+ng his fists. He had waited too long for this moment!
After scoring the goal, Commons did not seem so excited. He shouted in the crowd to his excited teammates, "Hold on, guys! This is just an equalizer! Have you forgotten what Boss said to us? We must win! Keep our eyes on that victory!" He waved his arm vigorously, "Let"s have a few more!" Then, he broke free from his teammates" hugs and ran to West Bromwich Albion"s goal. He then picked up the football from the net, and ran to the center circle, the ball in his arms. All the Forest players followed behind him.
With the score equalized, it was time for the Forest team"s real performance!
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Kris Commons equalized the score for the team, and Tang En made his first adjustment. He brought off a defensive midfielder, Gunnarsson, and brought on Rebrov, who had appeared less and less in the second half of the League Champions.h.i.+p, due to physical strength reasons.
The team formation became a diamond-shaped midfield. Crouch and Eastwood were still in the front, and Rebrov came on as an attacking midfielder, to use his skills to create opportunities for his teammates. George Wood was the only defensive midfielder. Now, it was not just Twain, but the rest of the team that had completely trusted the kid. The two wingers were Ashley Young on the right wing, and Kris Commons, who scored the crucial goal on the left wing.
This was the Forest team"s strongest attack lineup. Tang En held nothing back. He wanted to use offense to completely defeat their opponents, West Bromwich Albion. A tied game was meaningless to the Forest team. They could only overpower West Bromwich Albion with victory, and thus, rise to the second rank to qualify for a direct promotion to the Premier League.
They had to take advantage of the momentum of the goal scored just now, and win this game with this spurt of energy! They could not give their opponents a chance to breathe, nor let them have a chance to recover, so they had to crush them with a frenzied attack!
The appearance of Rebrov on the field further increased the Forest team"s midfield control of the ball. This would further allow the two wingers, Commons and Ashley Young, to bring to bear their power and, at the same time, seek opportunities for coordinated attacks in the middle, as well as threaten the West Bromwich Albion goal with long shots. It was necessary to know that both Rebrov and Eastwood had good long shot skills.
The weather and the venue no longer affected the Forest players" playing. Their entire playing state was completely inspired by Commons" goal. No one would be able to stand in their way to stop them now.
In the 68th minute of the game, the Forest team"s bombardment finally paid off. After three consecutive long shots did not manage to strike open the opponents" goal, Rebrov slightly changed the plan. He did not continue with a long shot after receiving the ball in the middle. Instead, after the opposing center back was diverted by Eastwood and Crouch, he suddenly made a cross, which Ashley Young quickly injected,, and it was not offsides!
"Don"t let him shoot ..." Russell Hoult was not done shouting, when Ashley Young made a pa.s.s!
The football flew past between Hoult and the West Bromwich Albion full back, who rushed back to defend, but neither of them reached the ball. The best scenario for West Bromwich Albion was for the football to pa.s.s through this way, and since no one could reach it, to just let it roll out the sideline or the end line ...
However!
From the time Rebrov pa.s.sed the football to that gap, a continuous roar rang out from the City Ground stands. The volume suddenly increased sharply at this moment, almost rivalling the sound of a supersonic jet taking off: "WHOOs.h.!.+"
"Eastwood!!!"
The unmarked Eastwood used all of his force to sweep the football into the empty goal, and the ball entered as expected, igniting everyone.
"We"re in the lead! We"re in the lead!" The Nottingham Forest radio commentator exclaimed. His excited voice traveled over the airwaves to all the Nottingham people, who were watching the game. When they heard the news, they all jumped, no matter what they were doing at the time.
"Nottingham Forest is leading against West Bromwich Albion at their home ground! They were still behind by 1:2 in the first half, and now, they are leading 3:2!" At the same time as Motson"s commentary, the television screen displayed the latest league table: the Forest team with a two-point advantage pressed ahead of West Bromwich Albion, and became second in the League Champions.h.i.+p, while West Bromwich Albion fell to the third in the League Champions.h.i.+p!
"If the score stays to the end, then Nottingham Forest shall return to the Premier League after four years!"
At the same time, a song that raised the spirits of the Forest folks rang out from the North Stand: "When we are in the Premier League next season, where will you be? West Bromwich Albion, where will you be?" The lyrics had been changed from the same tune that the West Bromwich Albion fans had used in the first half, and now it had become a weapon that the Forest fans were using to taunt their opponents.
Sure enough, the West Bromwich Albion fans were silenced, when they heard the song.
When you mock us, this is the most powerful comeback!
Apparently, the Forest fans, like Manager Tony Twain now, liked to stab a knife into their opponents" heart, twist it, and then sprinkle salt into the wound. However, the 3:2 score did not guarantee the success of the Forest team, because West Bromwich Albion would only need to put effort into it, score another goal in the next 20 minutes, and that would make the Forest team"s efforts come to naught, especially if the goal was scored during the injury stoppage time, then, there would not even be enough time to turn the situation around.
Consequently, at this point, Tang En was trying his hardest to yell at the players on the field, "Keep calm! Keep calm!" He pointed his hands at his temples, reminding the players to stay calm and not let their heads be turned by the situation before their eyes, "The game is not over yet!"
This was a critical moment, and they could not afford to be careless. Defense was always more difficult than offense, especially after they had just scored a goal. Because the players were too easily distracted, due to their over-excitement, to stay focused. They could ignore important things, such as a leak in their defense, the loss of a position, and so on.
Fortunately, among the excited crowd, George Wood, the Forest team"s midfield protective barrier, was calm and steady as ever. He seemed to have been completely unaffected by the fervent atmosphere at the home ground, and just dutifully continued to do his job well.
The rest of the game was a test for the heart of anyone who supported Nottingham Forest. West Bromwich Albion, who had already fallen behind in both the score and the league table, was not resigned to lose this game just yet. They launched a series of attacks on the Forest team"s goal, with each wave surpa.s.sing the previous wave, hoping to equalize the score as soon as possible, and thus, regain control.
But their efforts lasted only twelve minutes, before it was ended. At the 81st minute, when the game only had nine minutes left before the injury stoppage time began, the Forest team seized an opportunity, while the opponents were launching a large-scale and high-pressured offense, to equalize the score. Crouch scored a decisive goal, locking in their victory!
"4:2! The City Ground has gone crazy!"
The Forest fans in the stands surged to the front row, like the tide coming in, as if they would break through the gap between the police and billboards at any time, and rushed onto the field.
"The Forest team returns to the Premier League!" A voice roared out the heartfelt wish of all Nottingham Forest fans in the stadium broadcast.
"The West Bromwich Albion players just sank to the ground, as they can"t believe the score ... Tony Twain"s Forest team gets the last laugh again! There are still about ten minutes left in the game. Let"s have a look at West Bromwich Albion now, they can"t possibly turn the situation around with two consecutive goals, the Forest team will not give them such a good chance!"
This time, Tang En no longer asked his players to remain calm. The players on the field all rushed to, and piled up, at the sidelines, and the subst.i.tutes also flocked to join the celebrations. As for Tang En, he looked back at his partner, Des Walker, whose face was so wet that he could not make out whether it was the tears or the rain.
"Des, we"ve won. We"re back!"
Walker pressed his lips together and nodded hard. He was speechless at this very moment.
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The next day, the front-page headline of the latest publication of the was a large photograph of Tony Twain, surrounded by countless reporters, pointing at the camera. The headline above the photograph read:
"Young manager issued a declaration: English Premier League, we"re back! The Red Forest is back in the European Champions.h.i.+ps!"