Chapter 37

Before the match began, Audrich stood by the sidelines, hands in his pockets, watching the game. He wanted to show his seriousness about the match. The players on the field were also accustomed to Audrich's stance, feeling as if they were being watched by a solemn deity, making any laziness or distraction impossible, and they had to fully commit to the game.

After the match started, neither Millwall nor Middlesbrough immediately launched an offensive. The ball mostly circulated in their respective defensive areas, and the pace of the game was slow, suggesting that this match would not be particularly exciting.

A few minutes later, Audrich frowned slightly. Millwall's few attacks were all thwarted by Middlesbrough's defense, which had a clear advantage in numbers and experience.

Audrich thought to himself: Is Middlesbrough playing so conservatively that they are aiming for a draw?

At this moment, Audrich was projecting his own thoughts. If he were Bryan Robson, facing this lineup and a strong attacking Millwall, he would be content with a draw, especially since the tactical formation was defensive.

Relying solely on the previous strategy of attacking from the wings to break through Middlesbrough's defense seemed difficult to Audrich. Whether it was Pires or Schneider, even if they managed to break through the full-backs and find a gap on the wing, Middlesbrough had three center-backs who could freeze Millwall's two strikers in the box.

Taking advantage of a throw-in, Audrich shouted to the attacking players on the field. Seeing them turn to look, he gestured with two fingers pointing forward, then made a spreading motion, and finally clapped his fists together.

The four attacking players nodded to Audrich, indicating they understood what to do next.

Bryan Robson, standing by the home team's bench, looked somewhat puzzled. He had a sense that Audrich had a seasoned and calculating demeanor.

After the match started, Millwall had a slight advantage, though not obvious, as the ball was more often at their feet. The two strikers, Larsson and Trezeguet, who were positioned just outside the penalty area, continued to drop back. After a central play with Pires, Larsson and Trezeguet moved to the flanks of the penalty area, causing Middlesbrough's center-backs to follow closely.

Seeing this, Bryan Robson on the sidelines felt a sense of foreboding. Clearly, Middlesbrough's central defense was left with only one center-back, Nigel Pearson.

Durek White and Steve Wickes had been drawn away by Larsson and Trezeguet! The defensive midfielder, Robbie Matos, was hesitating whether to block Nedved's run or retreat when Pires cut inside, approaching the edge of the penalty area. He feinted a long shot to force Pearson to step up, then passed the ball.

Middlesbrough's defense saw another unexpected player in the central area: Bernd Schneider! The two wingers were playing a combination in the center, and Pearson turned to block Schneider, otherwise, Schneider would have a semi-breakaway against the goalkeeper.

As Pearson turned to chase, Schneider chipped the ball into the penalty area near the penalty spot. Pearson, seeing the ball sail over his head, broke into a cold sweat. As he stopped and turned, he caught a glimpse of a dark blue figure speeding past him.

F**k!

Robert Pires!

The two wingers had skillfully played Middlesbrough's defense, and after the ball was chipped into the penalty area, Pires had only Middlesbrough's goalkeeper, Alan Miller, to face.

Pires, without adjusting, took a powerful shot at the falling ball.

Audrich, watching from the sidelines, felt as if he could already see Pires scoring.

However, Pires missed the ball! His elegant shooting motion failed to make perfect contact with the ball, instead, his calf hit the ball.

Alan Miller, anticipating a shot to his left, dove to his left, thinking Pires, a right-footed player, would either shoot to the right or power a shot to the left. He chose to dive to his left, Pires' right.

But no one expected the dramatic outcome of Pires' shot. Audrich, seeing the ball float up, was incredulous, clutching his head in disbelief.

He couldn't see the specific situation in the penalty area, especially the goalkeeper's reaction, but even an amateur goalkeeper could have saved this shot, right?

But Alan Miller had already dived to the right. As he lay on the goal line, his eyes wide as saucers, he watched the ball, which had a strong spin but was moving slowly like a feather, fall into the goal.

Alan Miller tried to reach the ball with his hand, but his body was leaning back, and he rolled over, catching the ball in the net.

Alan Miller angrily threw the ball out of his arms!

"The ball is in! Pires scores the first goal for Millwall, and it's a bizarre goal! He was at the penalty spot with a golden opportunity, no one was around to interfere, and he set up for a standard shot, but he missed the ball with his foot and hit it with his calf! The ball drew a clear arc in the air and floated into Middlesbrough's goal. It's fair to say this goal had a lot of luck..."

Pires, who had missed the ball and slipped to the ground, was disheartened. But as he sat on the ground, he looked up at the ball's trajectory and the goalkeeper, and was completely stunned.

He wanted to ask the goalkeeper: I missed, what are you doing?

Alan Miller, after the ball bounced, dived to the left, and like Pires, looked up with a blank expression.

The crowd at Ayresome Park was initially silent, then the away fans erupted in joy.

The ball is in!

We, the Lions, are leading!

Bryan Robson, covering his forehead, didn't know what to say, only cursing in his heart, lamenting his bad luck, and then began to shout instructions to his players.

Audrich, on the other hand, experienced a roller coaster of emotions, from hope to disappointment, and then to surprise. Faced with this goal, he could only smile, unable to suppress his joy.

Pires got up from the ground, rubbing his buttocks, and greeted his teammates who ran over to celebrate his goal.

"Robert, when did you learn to shoot with your calf?"

"Teach me sometime!"

Amidst the laughter, Millwall's players began to walk back to their half.

After calming down, Bryan Robson, while encouraging his players, also made adjustments on the field. He realized that the old man Ferguson's warning not to underestimate Millwall was not an exaggeration. It wasn't just because Millwall had a powerful attacking duo, but also because the young manager on the sidelines, who was nearly twenty years younger than him, was a capable coach.

No one had expected Millwall's two wingers to move to the center to play a combination. Even in previous Millwall matches, the wingers would participate in central attacks, but mostly for support or to draw defenders. The true starting point of the attack was still on the wings or in the flanks. The two wingers had never directly linked up like that before.

This was already at the Premier League level. In terms of tactics, Premier League teams' wingers don't just cross into the penalty area; they also make precise long passes or play combinations in the central area. However, such plays were rare in the rough and simple Division One, limited by the players' abilities.

With a lead, Audrich instructed his players to be more composed. With a one-goal advantage, he believed they would handle the game more confidently.

In the following game, Audrich had to give Middlesbrough more credit. Despite the early goal, their psychological defense was not broken. Middlesbrough's pace remained steady, and their defense quickly adjusted to Millwall's wide-ranging attacking movements. The full-backs and center-backs quickly covered for each other, disrupting Millwall's attacks before they could penetrate the penalty area.

Middlesbrough's attacks were simple, not the typical long balls and crosses of Division One, but trying to break through Millwall's defense with ground passes, which seemed overly optimistic given their numerical disadvantage.

Hignett and Blackmore, along with striker Cavan, ran back and forth in the midfield, but after receiving the ball, they were always marked by Millwall's defensive midfielder, Makelele. The receiving players were tightly marked, and the midfielders who retreated to help would quickly swarm and regain possession.

By the 35th minute of the first half, Middlesbrough hadn't even taken a shot!

Even the TV commentator couldn't stand it.

"Millwall's defense is outstanding. They always use numerical superiority to break down Middlesbrough's attacks. Blackmore and Hignett's few breakthroughs were cleanly stopped by Millwall's defenders. Clearly, this tactic isn't giving Middlesbrough any advantage. Bryan Robson should at least try long balls. Even though their striker, John Hendry, is terrible at headers, the 20-year-old Cavan can still play a supporting role. It's worth a try; there might be a surprise, like Pires' goal..."

Audrich, still standing by the sidelines with his hands in his pockets, was curious and occasionally glanced at Bryan Robson.

How could he not see Middlesbrough's clear disadvantage on the field?

Why was he so calm?

As the first half neared its end, Middlesbrough organized another attack. The defensive midfielder, Masto, passed the ball to the wing-back, Blackmore, who, after receiving it, immediately played a long diagonal pass to the left wing. There, the versatile Hignett chested the ball down beautifully.

Makelele charged from the side, and Thuram blocked his path.

Audrich, standing on the sideline, saw a red figure speed past, and he was startled!

Who was that?

Audrich focused on the player's number and name, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

It was 25-year-old Middlesbrough left-back, Curtis Fleming!

The left-back, who had been defending in the back for the first 40 minutes, suddenly charged forward and sprinted straight to Millwall's backline, catching Makelele and Thuram off guard. As they moved to close in on Hignett and prepare to swarm and disrupt Middlesbrough's attack, Fleming sprinted past Thuram, and Makelele chose to slide tackle to delay the attack. But Hignett, prepared, pushed the ball forward, and it rolled past Thuram's left side.

Seeing this, Audrich instinctively turned to look at Bryan Robson, who had lost his calm expression and now had a fierce, predatory look in his eyes!

F**k!

He had been fooled!

Middlesbrough wasn't playing a defensive 5-3-2!

It was a damn 3-5-2!

Audrich turned back to his team's defense and, as expected, saw Fleming charging down the baseline, with Thuram in hot pursuit.

Fleming, before Thuram could get close, took a near-volley and shot towards Millwall's goal!

Cassely Keller was well-prepared to catch the shot, but as he bent down to grab the ball, a foot appeared in front of him, the toe touching the ball like a sharp blade!

The ball changed direction just a meter in front of Keller, tearing through Millwall's iron defense!

PS: Thank you to "№Xiaosheng" for the support!

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