Chapter 247: We Will Definitely Win Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Ribéry"s pa.s.s… Beautiful!"
Eastwood acted at the same time and appeared right behind Taylor. By the time the panicking Taylor turned around, he was already unable to catch up with Nottingham Forest number 11.
Boumsong"s first reaction was to raise his hand, signaling to the referee that Eastwood had gone offsides. Instead of hearing the referee"s whistle, he only saw Viduka swiftly turn to run past him towards the penalty area!
"The offsides is reversed! Celestine Babayaro is right at the back!"
"Dammit!" Souness cursed as he jumped up. He saw Forward Eastwood receive the ball and Given"s hasty defense.
The away stands suddenly burst with cheers. Over a thousand Forest fans had stood from their seats, screaming Forest"s name over and over.
"Forest, Forest!!"
"Eastwood gets past Given, the angle is really tight… and he shoots-"
At this point, it was no longer a concern for Tang En. Immediately after seeing Eastwood pa.s.s Given, he had already raised his arms in preparation for celebrating on the sidelines. Both the commentator and he shouted at nearly the same time, "GOOOOOAL!"
"GOOOOOAL! What an extraordinary goal! Freddy Eastwood!! The miraculous Romanian! He only allowed the joy of Newcastle"s fans to last 10 minutes! 1:1, both teams have returned to the starting point!"
"GOOOOOAL-!!!" All of Nottingham Forest"s fans surrounding Tom Sawyer bombarded him as if they were about to swallow him whole. Sitting among the hollering people, Cousin Tom could only shrink his neck and lower his head, allowing those people to season his ears with their spit. Now, he really regretted accepting the ticket from Tony.
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The morale of Forest team climbed, and they pressured Newcastle into their side of the field. This time, it was Forest"s fans" turn to sing incessantly.
The first half ended on the high notes of Forest"s fans" singing. Both teams had fought back onto even ground for the moment. The players of Forest were obviously excited as they left the field, practically skipping as they made their way out. On the other side, the players of Newcastle seemed somewhat low in spirits. Their team captain, Shearer, had tightly knotted brows as he hurried into the players" corridor. It looked like he was even unhappier with the team"s performance in the first half than the manager was.
Halftime was a respite for Shania"s cousin. He found an excuse and hastily bade goodbye to Shania, escaping from the stadium. He would rather fork out money and cheer at a bar with other Newcastle fans than continue watching the game while being surrounded by a bunch of Forest fans. As for Cousin Judy, who was not willing to go, he"d just let her be!
Shania laughed heartily as she watched Cousin Tom make his hasty escape.
Just as the figure of her cousin disappeared into the stairwells, a fat man by Shania"s side laughed pointedly. "Look at him. Frightened out of his wits."
Shania shrugged and smiled at the man. "Thank you, Uncle John."
"No need for thanks, la.s.s. When I saw the boy and you together, and the expression on your face, I put it together. I say, your tickets were given to you by Tony, were they?"
This fat man was not just anybody; it was John, who had followed the football team to the away field to help cheer for them. Those around him were the people from Forest bar. They saw Shania when Tony first brought her to Forest bar to eat. She was also considered someone they knew. Naturally, they had to give her a hand when she was in trouble.
Shania nodded.
"What a jerk!" John laughed out loud. "You just relax and enjoy the match here. Watch how we"re going to butcher these Northerners! You don"t mind me saying that, do you?"
"I"m Brazilian." Shania grinned. "I"m Tony Uncle"s fan!"
"What an enviable guy!" John said with a frown.
Someone by the side immediately said aloud, "Hey, John! Watch it, or I"ll tell your wife!"
His remark sparked off guffaws from the rest of the people around.
Sitting amid the group of men, Shania did not seem to have the same concerns as her cousin. She felt more comfortable in this crowd than anywhere before. So, when the men were loudly laughing, she too laughed along with them without a pause.
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While Shania was having fun with John and the rest of the gang on the spectators" stand, Tang En was praising the performance of the team in their locker room.
"Guys, everyone did well in the first half, especially that last part. We have to play the same way in the second half. Newcastle"s defense is still their biggest issue. As long as we grab another opportunity, we can end them!" Tang En said, waving a fist.
Eastwood stood up and said, "Boss, you don"t have to worry. We"ll definitely win this match. We don"t want you to lose face in front of that girl! Don"t we, guys?" he turned and shouted at the room full of his teammates.
The audience started to echo him in agreement.
"That"s right, Boss! But how did you get to know that girl?"
"Boss, what"s her name? Where is she from?"
"Ashley, are you hitting on the boss" girl? Don"t you want to keep your position and chances for getting fielded?" Eastwood jumped out and reprimanded Ashley Young.
"Oh-"
And someone simply began whistling.
Faced with the crowd of excited men, Tang En could only give a forced laugh and shake his head. It seemed like he would have to keep his meetings with Shania from them in the future. Otherwise, they would surely keep bringing this up to joke at his expense.
"Ashley, if you want to know, you can go ask on your own. Don"t worry, I won"t stop you." Tang En said as he pointed to Ashley Young, embarra.s.sing him instead.
In Newcastle"s halftime, Souness must have been busy criticizing the team"s defense and setting up tactics to cope with the second half. On Forest"s side, they were so relaxed it was as if they were at a party. If Souness knew what their opponents were doing, he wouldn"t know what to think.
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After the second half of the match began, Alan Shearer was switched out by Souness. Watching him limp back, Tang En realized that the media had not reported false news at all. Alan Shearer truly was playing with an injury. Playing for half the match had worsened his injury, and he was forced to take an early leave.
With the absence of Shearer, the offensive power of Newcastle also dropped a level. Kluivert was no longer the same boy genius who had beaten the buzzer in the Champions League against AC Milan, nor was he the world-cla.s.s Forward who had a stable seat in Barcelona. The s.h.i.+ne he used to have, after the effort he had put into his colorful nightlife, was gradually fading away.
With Shearer getting called off the field and Newcastle"s offense becoming a mess, Nottingham Forest took the opportunity in that slip and took another point. With Viduka"s a.s.sist and Albertini"s banana shot, they blasted open the gates guarded by Given.
2:1. Forest became more and more relaxed, while Newcastle tensed up under Souness" bombardment.
When the referee blew the final whistle of the match, St James" Park, which had a capacity of 50,000 people, was filled with only the singing of Forest"s fans. In facing his junior, Tony Twain, whether he was willing or not, Souness had utterly lost.
"…Tony Twain"s team was remarkable. It was only right for them to have won. I have nothing else to say…"
During the press conference, no hint of pride could be detected on Souness" face.