As Huang Hao's words fell, the meeting room was first briefly quiet, then erupted in roars!
The Cambridge United players were highly emotional, looking less like they were going to play a match and more like they were going to start a brawl!
Because each of them knew that after today's match, the League was truly entering its final countdown!
In the afternoon, Park Stadium was packed to capacity.
It was an overcast day, but the players felt invigorated after their warm-up.
Huang Hao entered the stadium 15 minutes early and sat in the dugout, waiting for the match to begin.
When Wolves' coach McCarthy walked out, he was surprised to see Huang Hao stand up and walk towards him.
The two shook hands, and Huang Hao did not exchange many pleasantries with him.
After returning to the dugout and sitting down, Huang Hao surveyed the stadium.
The explosive atmosphere in the stands was like a plague, spreading to every corner of the stadium, easily making one's blood boil.
Cambridge United fans were more excited than ever! This had nothing to do with which team they were playing at home.
Because of this, they cheered even more vigorously for their team; now, basically 10 minutes before the match starts, the stadium will be filled with the fans' singing.
Soon, the kickoff time approached, and the referee team led the starting players of both teams onto the field.
"Good afternoon, everyone! The 28th round of the Premier League kicks off today.
With exactly two months left until the end of the Premier League, it can be said that the season has entered its final stage.
The match I am broadcasting live for you today is Cambridge United hosting Wolves, who are ranked second to last.
Wolves, on the other hand, have shown a trend of rebounding in their recent three matches, having defeated Tottenham, ranked fifth, ending their six-match losing streak in the League.
Although they subsequently lost to Chelsea and Birmingham, their defensive quality has significantly improved, and the spirit they have displayed in these last three matches is completely refreshed and very aggressive.
Let's see how Wolves perform today against such a strong opponent ranked third.
Let's look at the starting lineups for both sides.
Cambridge United starts in a 3-5-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: Oblak.
Defenders: Lovren, Vida, De Vrij.
Midfielders: May, O'Connor, Ayu, Grenier, Mahrez.
Forwards: Lacazette, Vardy.
Huang Hao intentionally rested several key players today; Sun Jihai, Mings, Tadić, Juninho, and Lewandowski are all watching from the substitutes' bench, ready to be called upon at any moment.
Wolves starts in a 4-4-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: Hahnemann.
Defenders: Zubal, Hardford, Manchini, Stellman.
Midfielders: Milias, Surman, Henry, Edwards.
Forwards: Doyle, Blake.
Although Wolves have many seemingly strong players on loan, there are very few usable players, especially foreign players on loan, who have caused much heartache for Wolves fans and coaches.
Now, it's actually Manchini, on loan from Chelsea, and Henry, developed through their own youth academy, who occupy the starting positions.
Alright, let's see how both teams perform in today's match!"
With a whistle from referee Dunn, the match officially began.
Wolves attacked first, employing a very traditional two-wing attack strategy.
For a turbulent and unstable Wolves squad, the simplest tactic was ironically the one that might perform best right now.
Edwards tried to take on Grenier on the right wing, but he didn't expect that this seemingly slender Cambridge United winger would directly half-turn and use his shoulder to collide with his body while extending his leg to block him when he tried to break through.
Edwards, momentarily careless, fell out of bounds!
The Cambridge United fans in the surrounding stands cheered, expressing their approval of Grenier's action.
Referee Dunn blew his whistle, signaling a foul by Grenier and warning him to be mindful of his defensive actions.
Grenier's expression was not good; he felt he had done nothing wrong.
Cambridge United's tireless worker, Henry, proactively ran to receive the free kick taken by Zubal.
In the last three matches, if one were to say who was the most outstanding player in the Wolves squad, then it would undoubtedly be Henry!
His fearless fighting spirit on the field could motivate the entire team, and his technical ability also helped Wolves constantly create opportunities.
After receiving the pass from Zubal, Henry quickly executed a wall pass with Milias in midfield, then diagonally sprinted into the central area in front of the penalty box.
He wanted to overwhelm the Cambridge United players with an unstoppable momentum; whoever dared to get close, he would push them aside!
However, what he didn't expect was that as the ball rolled from behind him, just as he was about to control it and dribble forward, what appeared in front of him was May coming in for a direct challenge!
May came in with a powerful clearance, kicking the ball away from Henry's feet, and then Henry collided with May, losing his balance and falling to the ground!
The referee's whistle blew, and Henry looked back, only to find that referee Dunn's gesture was to award Cambridge United a free kick in their own half!
Dunn believed May's clearance was fine, but Henry's subsequent collision with May was potentially a foul.
I fouled?
Henry's jaw and chest were throbbing.
He couldn't believe the referee would call a foul on him!
He immediately stood up and ran towards the referee, needing an explanation, but at that moment, Mahrez kicked the ball back from the front, and O'Connor placed the ball at the spot of Henry's foul and quickly took the free kick.
Henry had no time to argue with the referee further and gritted his teeth, retreating to participate in the defense.
Cambridge United showed sufficient aggression after the kickoff; before Wolves could even react, Cambridge United launched their offensive first!
At Park Stadium, from the very beginning of the match between Cambridge United and Wolves, Cambridge United displayed a surprising level of aggressive confrontation that astonished Wolves.
Relying on such fierce confrontation to dismantle Wolves' defense and resistance, they quickly and smoothly organized attacks during transitions, soon gaining an advantage on the field.
Today, Huang Hao's tactical arrangement was relatively simple: play a wing breakthrough and cross tactic.
Vardy, Lacazette, plus the late-arriving Ayu, formed a three-point threat to Wolves' goal inside the penalty area.
In the 14th minute of the match, Grenier received a pass from Juninho in the central area in front of the box on the right wing.
He moved towards the center, controlled the ball with his left foot upon receiving it, and immediately sent in a cross.
The ball, with a strong inswing, dropped towards the far post in the penalty area.
Lacazette attracted the attention of two Wolves center-backs in the middle of the box, while Vardy cut inside and jumped to head the ball towards the goal!
This was a good opportunity, but Vardy headed the ball too high.
A sigh rose from the stands, followed immediately by applause.
The Wolves players were under immense pressure because they wanted to continue surviving in the Premier League!
Driven by the belief of fighting for survival, their attacking charges were extremely tough.
In the 17th minute of the match, Milias had just received a pass from Edwards in the attacking third and intended to release the ball to Henry on the wing, but after releasing the ball, he was knocked down from behind by May!
The Wolves players were infuriated by Cambridge United's aggressive tackling!
After referee Dunn whistled for May's foul, Milias still stood up and argued with May relentlessly.
The two stood face-to-face, unyielding, with fierce expressions, staring at each other.
When the referee approached, May lightly pushed Milias away, and Milias was about to retaliate but was held back by Doyle.
The referee also warned May.
Doyle stepped up to take the free kick, thirty yards from the goal.
He took a direct shot, and the ball flew towards an angle unobstructed by the wall, which happened to be the goalkeeper's defensive area.
Oblak easily collected the ball.
Cambridge United immediately launched a quick counter-attack.
Mahrez started from the deep midfield on the wing.
Upon receiving a pass from O'Connor, he first nudged the ball towards the center.
Henry immediately moved to intercept head-on.
Mahrez then changed direction, moving back to the wing, while simultaneously using the instep of his right foot to tap the ball behind him back to the wing.
Mahrez, back on the wing, dribbled straight forward, immediately picking up speed.
Henry, turning to chase, was already left in the dust.
Mahrez was very confident and in good form today, with his dribbling and ball control almost perfect.
When he reached the dangerous attacking zone, he proactively changed direction and cut inside before Manchini could even press him!
Hardford attempted to charge diagonally to press, but Mahrez slowed his dribbling tempo, proactively shielded the ball with his body, used his shoulder to block Hardford, then pulled the ball with his left foot, forcing his way into the middle of the penalty area.
Hardford didn't expect Mahrez to initiate contact and was momentarily caught off guard, allowing Mahrez to slip past him!
At this point, defender Zubal had no choice but to move to Mahrez's front.
Mahrez quickly scanned his surroundings and used the inside of his right foot to play a short diagonal pass to Lacazette in the middle of the box.
Lacazette, receiving the ball with his back to goal, had Wolves veteran Stellman marking him tightly.
His powerful physical strength meant that even when Stellman fairly challenged and pressed him, it was to no avail.
Surman turned to tackle, and Hardford also rushed towards Lacazette.
At this moment, Lacazette gently tapped the ball sideways from his position.
Suddenly, Vardy, cutting diagonally to his right, took the ball in stride and immediately broke through, going one-on-one with the goalkeeper!
Goalkeeper Hahnemann immediately rushed out, but Vardy's shot was even more decisive, blasting the ball into the top left corner of the net!
He gave Hahnemann no time to react whatsoever.
After scoring, Vardy ran towards the sideline, leaped high, and roared with a raised fist!
Park Stadium erupted in deafening cheers!
"Cambridge United have scored! Vardy gives his team the lead!
What a brilliant short passing combination! Mahrez, Lacazette, and Vardy broke through the opponent's defense in the middle of the Wolves penalty area, with Vardy putting the ball into the net.
Both the combination and the final shot were crisp and clean!
Cambridge United leads Wolves 1-0 at home!"
Wolves coach McCarthy's face was grim.
He knew deep down that if Wolves were to create a miracle at Park Stadium, the team had only one path: confrontation!
If they couldn't overpower Cambridge United playing at home through confrontation, then everything else was irrelevant!
But unfortunately, this was at Park Stadium!
Cambridge United's home ground!
Even young players playing here, buoyed by the passionate support of the home fans, receive an indescribable boost and mental encouragement.
They were not afraid of confrontation; in fact, they became even more proactive due to Huang Hao's pre-match motivation.
This was something Wolves had completely not anticipated, or perhaps they had thought too simply!
It is common for home and away matches to have vastly different states and momentum.
After the match restarted, Wolves continued to orchestrate attacks.
In fact, their current left-winger Edwards was performing better than Henry, but unfortunately, he was too young and not given much importance on the field.
In the 23rd minute of the match, Edwards finally got a chance to show what he could do on the left wing.
Stellman saw his active run and threaded a diagonal pass to him, ahead of De Vrij.
Edwards sprinted forward, seemingly intending to receive the ball, dribble past De Vrij, and break through his defense, which made De Vrij focus heavily on protecting the space behind him.
But what he didn't expect was that Edwards suddenly stopped short upon receiving the ball, pulled it back, and then crossed with his right foot.
The ball, with an inswinging arc, floated into the penalty area.
This caught the Cambridge United defense completely off guard.
Doyle charged forward in the middle of the box, and it looked like he might head the ball directly at goal, but the ball's arc was too high; as he charged and jumped to head it, he found the ball flying past his forehead!
His failure to connect wasn't critical, but it did momentarily disorient Oblak.
The ball bounced off the ground at the far post of the six-yard box and then flew up again.
Oblak turned his head to look, thinking in surprise, "No way?"
Bang!
The ball hit the outside of the far post and went out for a goal kick.
Phew!
Oblak felt a lingering fear, and so did the Cambridge United fans in the stands!
Edwards' inswinging cross, a mix of pass and shot, almost resulted in a lucky goal for him!
Why lucky?
Because Edwards himself surely intended to cross; if he had truly aimed for Cambridge United's goal, the ball's trajectory would definitely not have been like this, and its quality might have been much worse.
Wolves began to adopt a high-pressing tactic in defense, as they were already trailing and needed to actively disrupt Cambridge United's rhythm.
In the 28th minute of the match, Henry pressed high in the attacking third, trying to block Grenier, and Blake also came over to help.
Grenier calmly short-passed the ball to May, who had run to receive it, despite being double-teamed.
Seeing Henry charging menacingly towards May, May, without taking a touch, swept the ball to the left wing.
The pass was very fast; as the ball rolled towards the left wing, Edwards rushed up to intercept, and O'Connor also charged forward.
May's pass was definitely intended for O'Connor, so O'Connor would be the first to touch the ball.
However, just as O'Connor was about to touch the ball, he saw Henry's fierce sliding tackle coming in!
In his urgency, he could only instinctively kick the ball forward and immediately dodge after kicking it.
He jumped, but was still clipped by Henry's raised lower leg from the sliding tackle.
Fortunately, his body was very flexible, and he rolled once on the ground with self-protective movements, then smoothly stood up again.
Although Mahrez controlled the ball up ahead, referee Dunn still blew his whistle, penalizing Edwards for a foul.
O'Connor, standing up, turned with an angry expression and walked towards Edwards.
Edwards, standing up, refused to be outdone and faced him, and they started cursing at each other.
"Bastard, what the hell did you just do?!"
"I'll do whatever I want! None of your business!"
"Don't think I won't cripple you!"
"You?! Son of a bitch! You think I'm scared of you?!"
The referee, seeing their foreheads pressed together, immediately ran over to separate them.
O'Connor was actually at a disadvantage because he was shorter.
After being talked back by the referee, he spat on the ground.
Dunn showed Edwards a yellow card because his tackling action was indeed too excessive.
Not giving a red card was to avoid the match losing its suspense too early.
