Four days later, Cambridge United continued their home stand, defeating visiting Accrington Stanley 3-1, with McConnell, Sager, and Brophy each scoring a goal.
At the start of the National League season, Cambridge United's two wins and one draw placed them fourth, finally quieting some of the external doubts about Huang Hao.
However, Huang Hao dared not relax his work in the slightest.
As one of the most developed football countries, England's League system is Complete to an unimaginable degree for Chinese people.
In England's football League system, there are four levels of professional football Leagues: the Premier League, EFL Championship, League One, and League Two.
Below the professional Leagues are the non-professional Leagues, often referred to as amateur Leagues.
The amateur Leagues include the National League, North and South Leagues, and further down, three regional Leagues: Northern, Southern, and Isthmian Leagues.
Cambridge United is currently in the National League, ranking after the Premier League, EFL Championship, League One, and League Two, making it England's fifth-tier amateur League, and the highest level among the amateur League divisions.
However, even an amateur League has as many as 22 teams.
With home and away fixtures, a season requires playing a full 42 matches.
This does not include FA Cup qualifiers, the English Football Championship, League Cup qualifiers, and a series of cup competitions for lower-tier League teams.
The National League's intense and packed schedule was already astonishing to Huang Hao, who was serving as Head Coach for the first time.
If this were in China, it would probably be an unattainable dream.
China's fifth-tier League likely doesn't even have a decent professional football stadium.
Seven days later, Cambridge United embarked on another away trip.
They were heading to Whitstable in Kent, England, a famous tourist town. However, this time, Huang Hao was in no mood to appreciate the scenery.
Just two minutes into the match, Cambridge United's starting right center-back, Bennett, inexplicably fouled an Ebbsfleet United player, earning a yellow card.
Huang Hao frowned upon seeing this; no matter how he looked at it, this was a completely unnecessary foul. This would undoubtedly restrict the team's defense on the right flank.
"Ebbsfleet United's first corner of the match, Leslie raises both hands, signaling his teammates to push forward."
"Williams' header!!!"
"Oh no!!! The ball hit the crossbar!!! Cambridge United's goal is shaking!"
"Liam's sliding shot!!!"
"Beautiful goal!!! Ebbsfleet United changes the score to 1-0!"
Huang Hao gasped, 'Goodness, no wonder my right eye kept twitching, it really wasn't a good sign!'
However, although Bennett's yellow card was somewhat baffling, fortunately, Cambridge United's overall rhythm was not disrupted. After a few matches, the team had gradually adapted to Cambridge United's new tactics. They did not panic after conceding a goal, and the team slowly regained the initiative through high-pressing.
"Pasquel takes the corner! Sager heads it at the near post!!! Oh! It hit a defender!"
"But Cole in the middle is unmarked!!! Ebbsfleet United's players made a mistake!!! Cole!!! Beautiful goal!!! Cambridge United successfully equalizes the score just before halftime!!!"
Accompanied by the commentator's excited voice, Cambridge United ended the first half with a 1-1 score.
After Huang Hao and the players returned to the locker room, once everyone was seated, Huang Hao walked directly to Bennett.
"Can you tell me what this yellow card means to you? It caused the opponent to constantly attack your defensive zone."
Bennett shrugged his shoulders, not intending to respond directly to Huang Hao.
After a few seconds of silence, Huang Hao did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he turned to remind the other players to be mindful of their fouling and try to avoid actions that would lead to cards. It was clear that Huang Hao's words were indirectly aimed at Bennett.
After all, as the team's vice-captain on the field, Huang Hao didn't want him to lose too much face.
However, the scene at the start of the second half left Huang Hao dumbfounded.
"Ebbsfleet United's goal kick, Belshaw sends a long ball to the front, Baker receives it in the front. He has five Cambridge United players around him. Let's see if he can successfully win the ball?"
"Baker is down!!"
"Was it an elbow?!"
"Bennett elbowed Baker!!! That's incredible!!!"
"Bennett had four teammates assisting him, there was no need for that action!"
Not just the commentator of this match, Huang Hao was shocked by Bennett's abnormal action!
Just as the second half began, Bennett, about 15 meters from the penalty area, elbowed Ebbsfleet United's Baker to the ground! The referee immediately ran over, and Bennett seemed to want to explain himself to the referee.
Red card!!!
The referee gave Bennett no chance; this action bypassed even a yellow card.
"This is a meaningless foul. Cambridge United will have to play with 10 men from the start of the second half! Let's see what adjustments they'll make."
The commentator shook his head in disbelief. For Cambridge United, such a non-combat loss of a player was truly incredible.
After receiving the red card, Bennett silently walked off the field. Neither he nor Huang Hao showed any expression as they brushed past each other.
"Oh~ We see the Asian man on the sidelines, he looks a bit grim. Clearly, this wasn't part of his plan. Let's look at Cambridge United's substitute lineup, they only brought one 19-year-old center-back!"
The commentator seemed a bit gleeful seeing Huang Hao's expression.
Suddenly, Cambridge United's goal was under intense pressure as Ebbsfleet United launched wave after wave of attacks. Fortunately, the 10-man Cambridge United fought with increasing vigor. Pasquel dropped back, and Ibe came on for Brophy to play as a right winger. The high-pressing, rarely seen in lower-tier Leagues, combined with the opposing players' rough technique, helped them.
Ultimately, both teams scored one goal each in the second half, and Cambridge United was fortunate to take a point from Ebbsfleet United.
From the moment the referee blew the final whistle, Huang Hao did not say another word.
Even a fool could see Bennett's abnormal behavior in this match.
Although Huang Hao was new to the scene, he was not completely ignorant of match-fixing after several years in England.
It was just that Huang Hao was unwilling to associate his team's captain with this matter.
But besides this reason, Huang Hao really couldn't think of any other reason why Bennett would act so brainlessly on the field. In England, the gambling industry is a completely legal industry, and there is a wide variety of things to bet on: number of corners, number of red and yellow cards, who scores the first goal, who gets sent off – everything can be bet on.
However, professional team personnel and players are strictly prohibited from participating; this is a red line.
After decades of operation, very few betting companies now try to manipulate match results to gain huge profits, but that doesn't mean players cannot profit through other means.
After all, the meager salaries compared to the Premier League cannot satisfy everyone's desires.
As the team's Head Coach, Huang Hao naturally detested this.
Such a situation would never be allowed in his team.
At this moment, Huang Hao could only silently pray, 'God bless, Bennett, please don't disappoint me!'
"Boss! You called for me?"
Pasquel rushed to the Bird's Nest Bar.
"Sit~"
Huang Hao motioned for Pasquel to sit down and asked the bar owner, Ron, to hand him a drink.
"Boss, professional players can't drink during the season!"
Pasquel said, then deliberately straightened his back, showing his firm resolve.
"Alright! You little rascal! Stop acting in front of me. Drink, this one has no alcohol!"
Huang Hao slapped Pasquel on the back of the head. As one of the few trusted confidants promoted all the way up, Huang Hao naturally doted on this young player.
Pasquel quickly ducked his head, took the glass, and took a big gulp.
"I really do have something to talk about with you today."
Huang Hao looked around and said in a low voice,
"You saw the last match. Bennett's red card was not right."
"I want to hear your thoughts."
Upon hearing this, Pasquel did not respond immediately. Instead, he continuously rubbed the glass in front of him with his hand.
Although he was nearly six feet tall, he was still just a 17-year-old boy with a youthful face.
"Boss, although I also feel something is off, there's no evidence after all."
After thinking for a while, Pasquel still cautiously said.
"The captain and his group have their own small circle. They rarely discuss private matters in the locker room."
"I only know that they often meet at an underground bar in the Chinatown area of the city. Other than that, I'm not too clear."
As an old hand, Bennett naturally knew that not everyone in the locker room was on his side, so he was careful in his actions; after all, caution is the parent of safety.
"Small circle? Who's in it?"
Huang Hao pressed on.
"Iliat, and Brophy."
Pasquel did not hesitate this time and truthfully reported the situation to Huang Hao.
Huang Hao couldn't help but gasp. The situation was much more complicated than he had imagined. Iliat and Brophy were both core players in Cambridge United's current squad.
Cambridge United's current situation was not good. Harris and Perrotta had been sent down to the reserve team. If three more key players were to be sidelined now, Huang Hao's team would essentially be half-crippled and could directly aim for relegation.
Thinking of this, Huang Hao felt a headache coming on. But since things had come to this, he had to continue.
"When do they usually get together?"
Huang Hao thought for a moment and then asked Pasquel.
"Uh, it's hard to say, but usually the day before a match and after a match, Bennett will invite them. And I heard they always bring their wives, like a family gathering."
Pasquel held nothing back; after all, Huang Hao had brought him step-by-step from the youth academy to Cambridge United's first team.
After listening to Pasquel, Huang Hao basically had a clear idea in his mind.
