Back in League One, Cambridge United continued their impressive performance, easily defeating Crewe, who were at the bottom of the table, 3-1 at home, and then securing a dominant 3-0 away victory against Scunthorpe United, who were in the lower half of the rankings.
With two fewer matches played, they were five points ahead of second-placed Swansea!
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, had one win and one draw, directly falling to third place.
If they couldn't adjust their form in time, they were highly likely to miss out on direct promotion to the EFL Championship, and once they entered the playoffs, there would be too many uncertain factors.
At 8:15 PM on March 30th, Wembley Stadium in England once again hosted the final of the EFL Trophy.
League One's Cambridge United faced League Two's Grimsby.
After a season of lessons, British media and betting companies naturally wouldn't raise Cambridge United's odds again, especially since it was a match between two different divisions.
Before the match, the odds were 1.35 for Cambridge United and 4.05 for Grimsby, with Cambridge United having a significant advantage!
This time, Cambridge United was not overly low-key.
On their official domestic account, the little secretary proudly posted a two-word update: Home Win!
The reason the little secretary was so proud was that she had received authorization from Huang Hao.
Six days earlier, Grimsby had lost 1-2 to Brentford, causing their League Two ranking to drop to 12th, only six points from the relegation zone.
Although they had a bye week due to the EFL Trophy final, it was still unknown how much effort Grimsby would put in against the red-hot Cambridge United, given the pressure of avoiding relegation.
Huang Hao naturally didn't care about the quality of the opponent's lineup; he even wished the opponent would forfeit!
It would save him the trouble of meticulously directing the match.
Moreover, in six days, Cambridge United would also challenge the strong Barnsley!
Although the opponent was a 1.5-tier lineup, Huang Hao still sent out all his main players.
100,000 pounds was still money!
Better to be safe!
Before the match began, facing his overconfident players, Huang Hao instead sang a different tune, urging them not to underestimate the opponent.
After all, at this level, even with significant skill differences, players were still pretty evenly matched!
If they underestimated their opponents, they would surely pay the price!
"If there are no surprises, this will be our last EFL Trophy match for the next few years, or even ten years!"
"Lads, you've had an unparalleled season.
Go out there, respect your opponent, respect our fans, and with a beautiful victory, let's add another championship trophy to our trophy cabinet!"
"Cambridge United!!!" Captain Sager shouted the slogan again.
"Must Win!!!" A resounding echo, full of the players' desire for the championship!
With a long, clear whistle, Head Referee Mike Dean started the match.
Grimsby kicked off in the first half and, after several passes, advanced the ball into Cambridge United's half.
McKay-Cullen won a free-kick for Grimsby on the left side of the attacking third and immediately kicked the ball to Williams in the center.
Seeing no players pressing him, Williams took two steps forward and, from 25 meters out, unleashed a sudden shot!
The ball didn't have much spin but was powerful!
It flew straight towards the goal!
Pantilimon was very focused, rising and extending his palm towards the right side of the goal, tipping the ball over the byline!
The Cambridge United players also snapped to attention, immediately shedding their pride and taking the match seriously!
Grimsby's corner was headed directly out by Hawkins.
Bielby, from outside the box, passed the ball back into the penalty area, but McKay-Cullen was offside, and Cambridge United won a free-kick in their own half.
Zhu Lu and Cole exchanged a pass, then Zhu Lu launched a long ball upfield!
Grimsby defender Rogers got in front of Vardy and kicked the ball back to midfield!
The returned ball landed perfectly at MacKenzie's feet!
Seeing this, Sager immediately started running towards the Grimsby penalty area!
Just as Sager passed Tam, the ball landed right in front of him!
Sager wasted no time, striking the ball powerfully from the corner of the six-yard box towards the near post!
The ball grazed over Philip Wright's head and into the goal!
Cambridge United broke the deadlock 1-0!
At this point, only 2 minutes and 53 seconds had passed in the match!!!
Wright silently picked up the ball from the net and then angrily kicked it towards midfield!
Clearly, he couldn't understand why his team's defense had been so easily breached by Cambridge United!
Wright's anger didn't enlighten Grimsby's defenders.
MacKenzie and Sager had played together for three full seasons, and their chemistry was key to Cambridge United's fluid attacks.
In the 28th minute, Warren threw in the ball from the back, and again, Cole received it and passed it to MacKenzie in midfield.
This time, MacKenzie was further back, having retreated behind the center circle when he received the ball.
The 30-year-old veteran Maltz looked at MacKenzie.
Years of defensive experience told him that from such a distance, he wouldn't pass the ball; just hold position.
At this moment, Sager next to him started another high-speed run!
Maltz, with a look of disbelief, had just turned to look at Sager when he saw MacKenzie had already kicked the ball high into the air!
The ball, as if it had eyes, obediently landed between Maltz and Rogers!
And this position was exactly Sager's path of advance!
Rogers, while secretly cursing Maltz's entire family, desperately tried to close in on the center, attempting to block Sager!
Wright, in front of the goal, felt as if the two defenders in front of him were acting like fools!
After a long exhale, Wright immediately moved forward, trying to block Sager's shooting angle!
Sager, as if deliberately trying to annoy Wright, suddenly gave the ball a gentle flick!
The ball slowly floated over the onrushing Wright, landed in front of Grimsby's goal, and then slowly rolled into the net!
Like the 'four ounces deflect a thousand pounds' principle in Tai Chi, this lob shot caused little damage but was extremely humiliating!
Just 29 minutes into the match, Cambridge United was already leading 2-0!
The official data showed that 30,000 fans visited Wembley Stadium today, and a full 23,000 of them were Cambridge United supporters!
They wore Cambridge United's yellow and black jerseys, with the team's emblem painted on their faces, hoping to witness their beloved team lift the championship trophy.
Even if its prestige was considered average, who cared!
It was a championship trophy!
At this moment, Grimsby's fans sat there in silence.
Was the difference in skill between League One and League Two so obvious?
It hadn't been this difficult against other League One teams before!
Just as the fans were feeling uneasy, Grimsby won two consecutive free-kicks in the attacking third.
After the first shot flew wide, Tam decided to try a different approach this time!
At this moment, Rogers in the penalty area glanced at Tam, and Tam's eyes lit up, understanding immediately!
So, Tam quickly kicked the ball into the crowd, landing precisely in front of Rogers, who launched a flying header at the goal!!!
The ball slammed into Cambridge United's net!
Grimsby pulled one back!
Just as Rogers raised his arms in celebration, ready to run towards Tam, he caught sight of the distant linesman raising his flag...
Offside!!!
Tam immediately followed with an F***!
Then he ran back to his own half with his head down!
Until the 69th minute of the second half, neither side scored again, and the 2-0 score remained unchanged.
But just then, Cambridge United defender Tutanda advanced with the ball into the attacking third and then passed it to Tadić on the left wing.
Tadić dribbled the ball towards the corner flag to maintain enough distance from Grimsby's defender Alden, then delivered a beautiful curling cross!
The ball flew over Grimsby's defenders, as well as Dzeko and Vardy!
Just when everyone thought the cross was too long, right-winger Bennett arrived in the nick of time and pushed the ball with the inside of his foot!
The ball instantly shot towards Grimsby's goal!
This time, Wright didn't even have time to make a save before the ball nestled into the net!
3-0!
Head Referee Mike Dean blew the final whistle precisely on time, and Wembley once again became a lucky ground for Cambridge United!
When Captain Sager proudly lifted the trophy with the words "Papa John's Pizza" on it, the more than 23,000 Cambridge United fans present still gave their loudest cheers.
The next day, another championship trophy was added to the bookshelf next to Huang Hao's office.
Huang Hao stroked his chin contentedly, thinking, it seems it's time to set up a trophy room!
After winning the championship, Cambridge United didn't celebrate extensively.
After all, the League was not over yet, and the EFL Trophy championship itself was not considered particularly prestigious.
For Huang Hao, who preferred to keep a low profile off the field, it wasn't worth a grand celebration.
The team was given a day off as usual, but Huang Hao still appeared punctually in his office.
Six days later, Cambridge United would step onto Wembley Stadium again, and this time their opponent was the EFL Championship team, Barnsley.
Although his team had previously defeated Sven-Göran Eriksson's Manchester City, that was only the third round of the FA Cup, and Cambridge United had not received enough attention from Manchester City.
However, Barnsley's opponents on their path to promotion were no weaker, and even stronger, than Cambridge United's.
They first eliminated Blackpool 2-1, then narrowly defeated Southend United 1-0, followed by a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, and a 1-0 defeat of Chelsea, showing their true strength.
But now, there was only one step left: the FA Cup final!
His little tricks, like fouling to disrupt the match rhythm, could occasionally create surprises, but when brought to a semi-final level match, their effect was almost zero.
On April 6th, the highly anticipated FA Cup semi-final officially kicked off.
At this moment, Huang Hao, in the Wembley changing room, suddenly grinned at his grim-faced players.
The Cambridge United players looked at their smiling Head Coach, utterly bewildered.
Was he under too much pressure, had the boss lost control?
"Alright, lads!"
"Relax!"
"The FA Cup semi-finals, two years ago, that was an unattainable dream for us."
"But today, we are truly standing here, about to challenge Barnsley in front of 90,000 fans!"
"Perhaps some people think that Barnsley isn't as famous as Manchester City or Boro, and that's true, but are they necessarily easier to deal with than Manchester City or Boro?"
"In this match, I don't think we can easily defeat Barnsley, after all, they have beaten Liverpool and Chelsea, so Barnsley is definitely not a weak team; on the contrary, they are a hidden big BOSS."
"Put aside your thoughts of underestimating the opponent, treat every opponent seriously, and enjoy this match.
90,000 spectators, where else is there a better stage than this!"
"So lads!"
"Cheer up!"
"Show Barnsley your attacking talent!"
"After this match, we want everyone to remember Cambridge United!"
"Cambridge United!!!"
"Must Win!!!" The Cambridge United players still firmly shouted their slogan.
