Chương 48: Phillips’ Smile
Charlton, also known as Charlton Athletic Football Club, was established in 1905 and was once one of the Premier League teams. Its home ground is located in The Valley in Charlton, Greenwich, south London. The golden era of the Charlton team was from 1933 to 1956. They first won the Third Division South in 1935, followed by the runner-up of the League One in 1937, the runner-up of the FA Cup in 1946, and in 1947, the team reached the peak of its history by winning the FA Cup.
Currently, although Charlton is in the League One, its strength is quite formidable, making it one of the hot teams to be promoted this year. As of January 20, 2012, the League One had completed 26 rounds, and Charlton, with one game less, scored 57 points and topped the table! That's four points more than the second-place Sheffield United, who had played one more game!
Therefore, this match is a tough battle for Sheffield United and also an important opportunity.
If they can defeat their opponent, they will have an advantageous early start in the subsequent league and lay a good foundation for advancing to the Championship. However, if they lose the match and Huddersfield Town, in third place, wins, they will be caught up, casting a shadow over their Championship challenge.
On this day, January 21, 2012, or the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, just two days before the Chinese New Year's Eve, Zhang Xu arrived in London, UK, with his team at Charlton's home ground, The Valley.
For today's match, Zhang Xu spent all the massive experience points accumulated during the winter break and joining Sheffield United the night before, finally leveling up to 25.
Now, Zhang Xu's attribute panel displayed:
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Name: Zhang Xu
Level: 25
Experience: 84/12000 (Assignable attribute points: 0)
Weight: 70.5KG
Height: 181.8cm
Current Ability/Potential Ability: 53/67 (The lowest for a professional player is 30, the highest is 99)
Current Physical Fatigue/Condition: 21/85 (The highest is 99)
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Technical attributes (each attribute maxes out at 99):
Crossing: 32
Dribbling: 33
Shooting: 33
Heading: 55
Long Shots: 32
Marking: 57
Passing: 41
Tackling: 54
Ball Control: 38
Technique: 44
Penalties: 32
Corners: 25
Free Kicks: 31
Throw-Ins: 31
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Mental attributes:
Aggression: 44
Anticipation: 55
Bravery: 81
Composure: 71
Concentration: 61
Vision: 45
Decision: 42
Determination: 83
Creativity: 37
Influence: 71
Off-the-ball: 43
Positioning: 55
Teamwork: 57
Work Rate: 94
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Physical attributes:
Acceleration: 82
Agility: 47
Balance: 52
Jumping: 78
Stamina: 88
Speed: 92
Stamina: 89
Strength: 88
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The biggest change compared to the data before the winter break is in defensive attributes, with almost every defensive attribute, such as marking, tackling, and positioning, improving by two to three points.
Zhang Xu had specifically spent 10 experience points to check the attributes of captain Beattie, the team's highest-paid player. Beattie's attributes, such as shooting, were only 56 points, and long shots were only 45 points, while other attributes, like technique and passing, were generally fluctuating around 50 points.
However, Zhang Xu's defensive attributes have almost comprehensively surpassed 50 points, reaching 55 points, with some even exceeding 55 points, like marking, which has reached 57 points!
Although the difference between 50 and 55 points is only 5 points, it can be an absolute overwhelming effect on the pitch, let alone a huge gap of 5 points!
Therefore, Zhang Xu believes that with this series of 55-point defensive attributes, he will definitely be able to stand his ground in the League One!
Today's Valley Stadium is much livelier than usual. The stadium, which can accommodate 26,500 people, is nearly full.
As soon as you enter the stadium, almost everything you see is the bright red of Charlton fans. Jerseys, scarves, flags, etc., all dazzling red, as if you are in a sea of red, being slapped over and over again by the red waves, making you involuntarily sway crazily with them.
Especially the North Stand, the gathering place for Charlton's most fanatic and loyal fans, is beyond simply lively, the only word that can describe it is "crazy"!
Countless faces painted with the Charlton badge, numerous bare upper bodies, countless Charlton flags flying in the air, numerous scarves swinging in unison, this is what true Charlton fans are, this is the crazy North Stand!
Seeing this scene during the warmups with the team, Zhang Xu felt not nervousness and unease, but a kind of pride, a kind of ambition to conquer this place!
At 2:45 p.m., the team returned to the locker room to listen to the final tactical arrangement from head coach Wilson.
"First of all, I announce today's starting lineup," Wilson said calmly with a tactical board: "Goalkeeper: No.1 Simonsen, defenders: No.2 Matthew, No.3 Francoise, No.19 Harry, No.15 Neil, midfielders: No.8 Michael, No.14 Williams, No.27 Kevin, No.28 Stephen, forwards: No.9 Evans, No.17 Cresswell. The formation is a standard 4-4-2, focusing on defense while strengthening the team's attack!"
Indeed, Zhang Xu had anticipated this outcome in his heart. It was his first time being selected for the 18-man squad, so it was not possible to start him right away.
Wilson continued: "Substitutes five, namely No.35 George, No.30 Marcus, No.4 Nick, No.10 Beattie, No.25 - Zhang!"
YES! Hearing his own name, even though Zhang Xu was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but cheer inwardly!
After announcing the lineup, Wilson briefly arranged the tactics. Actually, the overall tactics had been arranged before departure, and this tactical adjustment before the match was mainly based on Charlton's starting lineup for detailed adjustments.
Today Charlton arranged a 3-5-2 double pivot attacking formation, strong in attack and relatively robust in defense. Naturally, special attention needs to be paid to the opponent's No.10 captain, Wright Phillips!
Phillips is Charlton's star player, having previously played for Premier League team Manchester City, possessing extremely strong individual ability and offensive organizing capability.
The main task for Sheffield United today is to keep an eye on Phillips! As long as they can limit Phillips, half the battle is won!
So, during the tactical arrangement, Wilson demanded everyone, especially every member of the defense, to tightly mark Phillips!
Finally, Wilson waved his hands excitedly and shouted loudly, "Okay, guys, when I came to Valley Stadium today, the media asked me to predict the result of the match, and I said: I have two knives, and he, Charlton, only has one sword! So, whether the blades are sharper or the swordsman is stronger, it's up to your performance, tell me, do you have the confidence to win?"
"Win! Win! Win! Win!..." The entire away team locker room was filled with the passionate shouts of the Blades players...
At 3 p.m., the starting players of both teams came out of the player tunnel to deafening applause.
Zhang Xu and the other substitutes came to the bench, wrapped in thick winter gear, and calmly sat down to watch the performance of their starting teammates.
"Whistle!" With the referee's whistle, the match between the first and second in the league officially began.
From the start, both sides were engaged in intense contention.
Both teams had once been in the Premier League, and their strengths were not much different. If there was a gap, it might be the subtle difference between one being at home and the other away.
For a while, Charlton and Sheffield United went back and forth on the pitch, full of exciting moments. Either a shot went wide, or a shot was thrillingly saved by the goalkeeper, with the fans' screams and boos erupting from time to time over the Valley Stadium.
However, overall, Charlton, with the advantage of playing at home, still slightly took the initiative in the match.
In the 33rd minute of the match, Charlton controlled the ball.
Their No.18 Prichard slowly advanced with the ball, and when he approached the halfway line, he was marked by Michael. So, Prichard passed the ball sideways to No.20 Chris who came up to meet.
Chris was right beside Stephen, so he didn't stop the ball but directly pushed it with the instep, passing it to No.10 Phillips who came back for the ball.
As soon as Phillips got the ball, all Sheffield United players tensed up, and Kevin and Williams both pounced on him.
Phillips smiled slightly, pulled the ball with his right foot, dodged past Kevin, then flicked the ball over Williams' head with the tip of his foot, landing it at the feet of No.7 Danny standing behind Williams.
After receiving the ball, Danny immediately turned around, with a broad channel between him and Sheffield United's defense line ahead.
Naturally, Danny wouldn't be polite, so he immediately started to accelerate, driving the ball towards the heartland of Sheffield United. Behind him, Phillips followed closely with Kevin and Williams.
Danny quickly approached Sheffield United's defense line, with Matthew the first to confront him. He didn't rush to tackle but took small steps closely marking Danny, his body lightly blocking the direction Danny might break through.
But Danny wasn't looking to break through; as Phillips passed him and Matthew, he opened up a space and then decisively made a straight pass.
The ball grazed past Matthew and rolled towards the open space between Sheffield United's penalty area and the larger box.
At this moment, Phillips arrived just in time, without any hesitation, he immediately kicked for a shot!
The ball traced a lightning path, flying past the outstretched hands of Simonsen, drilling into the net behind him!
Goal scored!
Charlton took the lead with a splendid frontcourt combination, one - zero!
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!" A high-pitched scream from the commentator instantly ignited the Valley Stadium, and countless Charlton fans began to celebrate wildly.
Neil looked at the ball lying in the net with quite a bit of annoyance, as the goal was largely due to his failure to timely cover the space left by Matthew's forward push.
Playing away, trailing 0-1 in the first half meant Sheffield United was entering a challenging phase.
At this moment, head coach Wilson stood up from the bench, quickly walked to the side of the pitch, and shouted loudly, "Don't mind that goal, continue to solidify the defense! We are the Blades, we can do it!"
The timely comfort and encouragement from the head coach dispelled the players' sense of loss, and they returned to their positions, waiting for the match to restart.
In fact, Wilson himself was very anxious inside. Trailing by one goal in the first half was very fatal for Sheffield United.
Restlessly muttering to himself about defense, he suddenly realized something and immediately turned his head to look at the substitutes' bench, where Zhang Xu was also looking towards him…
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