As the second half began, Bristol Rovers, hoping to continue their momentum from the latter part of the first half, launched a furious offensive.
In the 50th minute, Bristol Rovers earned their third corner of the match, and Lambert's header was safely gathered by Pantilimon.
Just then, as players from both sides were slowly retreating to midfield, Pantilimon launched a powerful throw, directly passing to Cole on the wing.
Upon receiving the ball, Cole immediately threaded a through pass to Tadić.
Before the Rovers players could close in, Tadić, with his right foot, curled the ball in a beautiful arc, perfectly clearing two Rovers players!
At this moment, Dzeko appeared just outside the Rovers' penalty area and, without stopping the ball, executed a diving header.
The ball traced a beautiful parabola, soared over goalkeeper Campbell, and landed in the net.
4:1!!
In the 77th minute of the match, with only 13 minutes remaining, Rovers launched their fifth corner kick, and the ball was headed out by Suxi.
Cole, gaining possession in midfield, once again demonstrated his super-accurate passing ability, sending the ball directly to the edge of the Rovers' penalty area.
The substitute right winger, May, and Rovers' defender Jones started almost simultaneously, chasing after the ball!
Just as May's toe touched the ball, Jones arrived at the same time, and after his high-speed run, he couldn't stop himself!!!
He watched helplessly as he collided with May, who was dribbling!!!
Penalty!!!
Atkinson didn't hesitate for a moment, pointing to the penalty spot.
Captain Sager stood before the ball, took a deep breath, held it, and then began his run-up, shooting the ball into the bottom left corner!!!
Campbell flew out to save!!!
But he was a split second too slow!!!
Swish!!!
The ball found the back of the net!!!
5:1!!!
With this goal, it seemed to drain the strength from players of both sides, and they tacitly began to play possession football.
As time reached 90 minutes, Atkinson seemed unwilling to wait any longer, blowing his whistle to signal the end of the match.
Huang Hao and his Cambridge United secured their first trophy in history.
The EFL Trophy champions received a prize money of 100,000 pounds.
Huang Hao instructed Ouyang Bing to distribute it directly to the Cambridge United players based on their playing time.
For players whose weekly wages were only a few hundred to a thousand pounds, this was a decent income.
With the prize money, the players were in good spirits.
After a short four-day rest, the team hosted Swindon, who were ranked third in League Two, at Abbey Stadium.
Perhaps boosted by the EFL Trophy champion's buff, under immense pressure, Swindon gifted Cambridge United an own goal after only 23 minutes of play!
Tadić also continued his excellent performance, scoring two goals with both his head and feet, and Dzeko also found the net once.
Ultimately, Cambridge United achieved a resounding 4-0 victory over Swindon at home, further solidifying their advantage at the top of the League table.
In League round 42, the team visited Walsall.
The young lads of Cambridge United continued their strong form.
After just 4 minutes of play, Tadić opened the scoring for Cambridge United, and before the end of the first half, Pasquel added another goal for Cambridge United!
Although Walsall pulled one goal back in the second half, Dzeko once again shattered their dream of equalizing.
At the end of the match, Cambridge United defeated their opponent 3-1.
After 42 rounds of League play, fans were pleasantly surprised to discover that Cambridge United was now a full 18 points ahead of fourth-placed Swindon!
This meant that Cambridge United had already been promoted to League One!
This was something probably no one could have imagined before the start of the season!
Moreover, Cambridge United was leading second-placed Hartlepool by as many as 11 points, with the championship within reach.
Currently, Cambridge United has 30 wins, 9 draws, and 3 losses in 42 matches, accumulating 99 points and scoring 105 goals.
The League Two historical scoring record was 102 points set by Plymouth in the 2001-02 season, and everyone predicted that Cambridge United could break the record a few rounds early.
The team's previous goal-scoring record of 90 goals, held by Yeovil in the 2004-05 season, had already been broken.
Cambridge United's next opponent was Boston United, currently ranked 20th.
Boston United was currently 1 point ahead of Wrexham in the relegation zone and had not completely escaped the risk of relegation to the National League, so they clearly craved victory in this match more.
However, to defeat Cambridge United at Abbey Stadium, known as the 'Devil's Home Ground' this season, was truly a luxury.
Even when facing a Cambridge United team that had almost all its main players rested.
Huang Hao maintained his individuality; even though this match held so much significance, he stuck to his rotation strategy.
After all, Cambridge United's first team only had a standard roster of 23 players, and Huang Hao didn't want to visit any of his main players in the hospital at the end of the season.
This season, Cambridge United's average attendance was around 4,000 people, which, although doubled compared to their National League days, still didn't fill Abbey Stadium.
Today, however, Abbey Stadium, which can accommodate 8,000 people, was almost sold out!
Everyone was looking forward to witnessing Cambridge United's championship night at home.
The Cambridge United players, having already experienced big occasions, were not overly nervous, just as Huang Hao had said before the match: this was just another ordinary match for Cambridge United.
The main players who were not selected for this round's squad sat in the stands behind the team's dugout, enthusiastically greeting, taking photos, and signing autographs with the surrounding fans.
In the lower Leagues, players are very approachable and easy to encounter in the not-so-large neighborhoods.
Therefore, the appearance of Sager and the main players did not cause too much commotion.
In the 24th minute, Jack Diamanti, on loan to Cambridge United, opened the scoring for Cambridge United, and the fans became excited!
Cambridge United had practically embraced the championship trophy!
Subsequently, Aaron Cole and Mason Clark scored two goals in the 54th and 63rd minutes, securing the victory!
At this point, all the spectators at Abbey Stadium stood up!
The front-row spectators were already standing behind the advertising boards, just a step away from the pitch!
Everyone was looking at the big screen, waiting for the result of another match.
In the 90th minute of the match, the big screen showed the result of the other match: Lincoln City 1-1 Chester.
Abbey Stadium immediately erupted in deafening applause.
Referee Collins was very sensible; before injury time was even over, he quickly blew the final whistle!
He then immediately ran towards the players' tunnel, skipping all formalities like shaking hands in a line!
Because the frenzied Cambridge United fans, at the moment the whistle blew, surged over the advertising boards like a tsunami, rushing towards the center of the pitch!
Thus, a rather comical scene unfolded at Abbey Stadium.
One by one, Cambridge United players were chased by hundreds of fans behind them!
Soon, the besieged players had nowhere to escape and were engulfed by the ecstatic crowd!
Fans who couldn't reach the players set off fireworks, held up Cambridge United scarves, and joyfully jumped, ran, and sang on the pitch!
The entire Abbey Stadium was like a giant party, transforming into a sea of happiness!
After embracing Assistant Coach Darren, Huang Hao was about to turn and leave when he was grabbed by the substitute players and quickly tossed into the air!
This miraculous Oriental man had become the spiritual totem of Cambridge United!
It seemed that under his leadership, the distant Premier League stadium was not just a dream!
The next day, the front pages of Cambridge newspapers were dominated by Cambridge United players and Huang Hao, who was being held aloft!
After 15 years, Cambridge United returned to League One!!!
And below the report, prominently printed was the quote Huang Hao had told reporters during a pre-match interview: "Records? They are meant to be broken!"
After breaking numerous records, the last two League rounds became a mere formality for Cambridge United.
In League round 45, Cambridge United traveled to Crown Ground to challenge Accrington Stanley.
Cambridge United was no stranger to this team, which had won the National League championship last season.
In fact, Accrington Stanley had directly defeated Cambridge United twice in the National League last season.
This season, Accrington Stanley also performed well, ranking tenth in League Two.
However, Cambridge United's phenomenal performance this season was so dazzling that not many people paid attention to Accrington Stanley's performance.
In this match, Cambridge United fielded a lineup of 11 pure substitutes.
Accrington Stanley, with no pressure whatsoever, played with their full main squad, partly to avenge their first-leg loss and partly because they were displeased seeing their opponent's limitless glory.
After the match began, Cambridge United's three armies fought with all their might, with almost no probing, and immediately launched an attack into Accrington Stanley's heartland.
It was May who first broke the deadlock for Cambridge United.
This young player on loan from Swansea, in the 16th minute of the match, received a corner kick pass and scored a low shot, giving Cambridge United the lead!
After taking the lead, Cambridge United's offense became even more ferocious!
However, due to familiarity issues, passing errors also greatly increased.
In the 27th minute, Accrington Stanley capitalized on a Cambridge United back-pass error; Saquiel intercepted the ball, dribbled past the onrushing goalkeeper Stevens, and equalized the score at 1-1!
In the 38th minute, May broke into the left side of the penalty area, attracted two defenders, and then cleverly laid the ball across to the middle.
Clark didn't miss the opportunity, directly pushing the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal!
2:1!
Facing Cambridge United's easy goals, boos erupted at Crown Ground, clearly showing strong dissatisfaction with the home team's performance!
After all, it was Accrington Stanley's home ground, and Huang Hao had to walk to the sidelines, pressing his hands downwards, motioning for his players to ease up and give the home team some face.
Accrington Stanley's Head Coach Coleman's face turned completely dark after seeing Huang Hao's gesture.
During the halftime break, he thoroughly berated his players!
The players, invigorated after being scolded by their Head Coach, continued to fight.
In the 55th minute, Accrington Stanley, from a corner kick opportunity, had Sambu equalize the score again.
As the match approached the 80th minute, Accrington Stanley was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area.
After Brent directly broke through the Cambridge United goal, even Huang Hao stood up and applauded, expressing his appreciation for the brilliant goal!
However, Coleman continued to wear a dark expression, believing that the Oriental man's action was entirely mocking his team!
Ultimately, Cambridge United lost 2-3 to Accrington Stanley away from home.
If one only looked at the score, they might think it was a thrilling match, but when a reporter interviewed fans at the scene, the fans muttered a curse word and then walked away, leaving the reporter bewildered.
In the final round, Cambridge United, playing away again, faced the bottom-placed Torquay United.
Their full-substitute lineup still won convincingly 3-0 against their opponent!
With these 3 points, Cambridge United's League Two points this season reached a terrifying 106 points!
This broke the League record of 102 points set by Swindon in the 1985-86 season and Plymouth in the 2001-2002 season!
