Chapter 153: Backfired Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the box, Evan Doughty watched the scene unfolding on the field. He suddenly recalled the first time he had gone to the youth team to find Tony. He had seen the kind of training that took place on the training ground—a group of players would form a small circle, and Wood would go back and forth in the middle to intercept the other players' passes. Any player whose pass was intercepted would be made to run laps as a penalty. At that time, many players were punished, and he still remembered a young kid running out and saying to the coach, "The distance was too close, Wood intercepted the ball before it could even be passed!"
Ah, it's similar to today….
Giannakopoulos stood in the same spot waiting for the football to be passed, while at the same time he adjusted his legs, intending to continue dribbling the ball forward without stopping. This impulsive, silly boy is so easy to fool, he thought.
"George Wood rushes to the opposing half to force an interception!"
Giannakopoulos soon realized something was wrong; he was doomed to fail at receiving the pass. Nolan's passing was not very powerful or swift, and they did not expect George Wood's to be so fast!
Their plan had backfired!
The panicked Greek's intention was to move forward to receive the pass, but Wood was one step ahead of him. He lowered his body to skate past and, using the speed and momentum of his continuous sprint, rushed ahead of Giannakopoulos and intercepted the ball.
Giannakopoulos risked being injured by Wood's tackle, but the football rolled past his foot.
"George Wood's steal was a success!" exclaimed Gray. "Nolan was too careless! His pass was too gentle... How could he make such an irresponsible pass when his opponent was closing in on him?"
"The Forest team's fighting back! The ball broke through the line of defense... and Eastwood!"
Cheers erupted throughout City Ground again. Their best striker for January received the ball from Wood's interception. Because Nolan's return pass was cut off, the Bolton Wanderers' entire line of defense had no reaction to the seizing of the ball. They just looked on helplessly as Eastwood received the ball without anyone to mark him. He then swung up his right foot as he faced toward the goal...
A legendary manager! A legendary striker! My foot is about to kick open the door to a glorious future!
"What a goal!! A genius strike! This is Freddy Eastwood's second goal in this game, and his fifth goal in three consecutive games since he has joined Nottingham Forest!"
The City Ground was rocking, and Tang En felt as though he was in a volcanic crater about to erupt; he was swaying on his feet.
"George Wood scored consecutive steals from the backfield to the front field, and he finally succeeded in intercepting Nolan's pass! Eastwood shrewdly appeared right where he should be! An eighteen-year-old, a twenty-year-old, plus the nineteen-year-old player, Ashley Young, who made the penalty kick in the first half! Nottingham Forest's young stars are on the rise!"
After the goal, Eastwood had originally planned to find Wood, who had given him the assist, and to take this opportunity to show him friendship. But next to him, Crouch's long legs appeared in front of him as he hugged him tightly. Then, more of his teammates rushed up and surrounded him. He could not see the situation outside. How's Wood? Is he in this group? Or is he standing blankly outside like before?
"Poor Kevin Nolan; his passing mistake in the first half gave the Forest team a chance to equalize the score with a penalty kick. In the second half, it was still his passing blunder that gave George Wood a chance for an assist again! Today is not his day!"
Seeing his highest-valued player continuing to make such low-level errors, Allardyce felt flustered and exasperated. He turned to the Frenchman sitting on the substitutes' bench and shouted, "Djorkaeff, get ready to play!"
He had decided that Nolan was out of form today. His only question was how his gameplay had taken such a nosedive, even though he had scored in the beginning of the game.
If Kevin Nolan had known that he had been brought off because of this misstep, he would certainly have felt aggrieved. It was not a mistake. His plan was flawless! Just blame it on that number 33; he was too fast! If it had been a different team and opponent, his plan would have surely succeeded!
He stood in the same spot with the annoyed Nigerian next to him. And in front of them was Giannakopoulos, who had fallen to the ground. The Greek had bravely clashed with Wood without any regard for his personal safety, and the result was that he had hurt himself instead. He held his ankle as he lay sprawled on the ground with an expression of agony on his face.
They were rendered speechless in the face of the situation.
And who was the culprit behind all this?
George Wood ran towards the celebrating crowd, but after a few paces, he stopped. He really wanted to celebrate the goal with those people... But he did not know how to blend in—how to laugh happily, shout excitedly, pump his fists.
It was he who had created the goal. It was his assist, but now he was like an outsider.
※※※
Trailing behind, Bolton Wanderers replaced the malfunctioned Kevin Nolan with Djorkaeff. Nolan was disappointed with Allardyce's decision. After he was brought off, he went straight to the player's corridor without shaking hands with his manager or returning to the substitutes' bench. Tang En noticed the scene. Was there a rift between the men? This was good news for the Forest team's next round.
Allardyce did not care about how Nolan was feeling now. He had already used one substitution slot, and was faced with the predicament of having to use another; Giannakopoulos was injured, and the team doctor advised that it was best not to let him continue. He had to be brought off immediately.
This gave him pause for a moment. He had wanted to replace Kevin Davies, who was still recovering from his injury. Giannakopoulos's injury had disrupted his entire deployment plan.
He decided to let Giannakopoulos hold on for a while to observe the circumstances of the game.
The team doctor spoke some comforting words to the Greek, showered him with painkillers, and allowed him to return to the field.
The game continued.
Although Nottingham Forest players' celebration on the field was over and the game was back on track, the fans in the stands were still celebrating the recent goal. George Wood was rushing from the back field to the front, relentlessly trying to intercept the ball, and eventually succeeded in cutting a pass to assist his teammate, laying waste to two opposing players—one was brought off, and the other was hobbling. Such exploits were praised by the fans through word of mouth, and unknowingly, Wood had become a favorite of the City Ground stands, even though before the previous game, few people had even heard his name.
Allardyce hoped that the team could quickly regain their morale and resume their offense against the Forest team. How could Bolton Wanderers, a Premier League team, lose to a team which was in the middle rankings of League One?
But only two minutes later, his team was hit hard again; Nottingham Forest had scored another goal!
This time, the Forest team had taken advantage of the bombardment on the Bolton Wanderers and launched a highly effective counterattack. Wes Morgan kicked a long ball to the front, and Rebrov stopped the ball and dribbled it into the Bolton Wanderers' penalty area. Jääskeläinen and Crouch rushed to the ball at the same time.
If Jääskeläinen had been facing Eastwood, then he would have had a more than 50% chance of getting the ball, because he could use his hands; when the ball was shot high, he could jump up and save it directly.
But the man who was fighting with him now was the incredibly tall Crouch!
His chances were far from 50/50! They were 80/20!
The distance between Crouch and the football looked closer than the distance between Jääskeläinen and the football. The Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper must get this ball... but then he extended his leg!
Jääskeläinen saw the football suddenly soar in front of him, and over the top of his head. And then, in the midst of the thunderous cheers of the City Ground, it fell into the goal behind him!
3:1! Nottingham Forest was leading by two goals on its home ground!
What was more lethal than this goal was the time when the goal was scored; it was less than two minutes after the previous goal. Just when Bolton Wanderers was about to raise its spirits and morale to equalize the score, they lost another goal instead.
This third goal came so quickly that the Bolton Wanderers were completely crushed. Even if the veteran Djorkaeff was brought onto the field, it would not change anything in the game; they were sure to lose.
Listening to the singing in the City Ground and looking at the surge of a red tide in stands, Allardyce emphatically spat and reluctantly accepted the inevitable outcome.
Davies and Okocha were brought off, and a defensive midfielder and a center back were brought on. The haughty Premier League manager had to lower his head before the League One team, and bow down to accept defeat.