Chapter 69: The Amazing Goalkeeper
Two days of training went by in a flash. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć InfoOn April 23rd, Myburgh FC played at home against Ips. Before the game even started, the Riverside Stadium was lively early.
It's Saturday and the fans arrived early, all dressed in Myburgh jerseys and waving their Myburgh scarves. Today is a big day for Myburgh fans as they watch their favourite team lift the Championship trophy. They have reason to believe that next season's Myburgh side will be just as good in the Premier League.
Myburgh's opponent in this round is Eaps. Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk County in the east of England. Founded in 1878, the team was nicknamed "The Tractor Boys", partly because of Ipswich's agricultural background, and partly dubbed "redneck" by other team fans. Head coach Mick McCarthy, home at Portman Road.
Ipswich won the English top flight in 1961/1962 and the UEFA Cup in 1980/1981. Ipswich was also one of the founding members of the Premier League when it was founded in 1992. Ipswich Town were relegated to League One in 1995 and returned to the Premier League in the 2000/2001 season, finishing fifth in the Premier League that season and qualifying for the European Championship the following season. Unfortunately, Ipswich had a sluggish 2001/2002 season and were relegated to League One after failing to defend the legation. Since the inception of the Championship in 2004-05, Ipswich have been playing in the Championship.
Ipps have been in fine form this season and currently sit seventh in the league, but are seven points clear of sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday and still have a glimmer of hope of a play-off with just three games remaining.
"The Riverside Stadium today is really lively, almost every Myburgh fan who is there is a dress up, jerseys and scarves are essential." Smith looked at the bustling stadium and exclaimed, "After the game, we will receive the championship trophy, and I can't wait!" ā
"Today is destined to be one of the liveliest home stadiums of the season for Myburgh, with fans coming for the awards celebration." Foster was also delighted, "What could be happier than winning a trophy?" ā
"However, Myburgh still beat Eps before receiving the trophy." A hint of gloom flashed across Smith's face, Rips is also a strong team and retains qualification for the play-offs, so it will not be easy for Myburgh to claim the final trophy with a win! ā
'It's true, Ipps will have to work hard to qualify for the play-offs.' Foster chimed in, "Although Myburgh will win the trophy regardless of whether they win or lose, Karanka will definitely want to welcome the next award celebration with a victory, and this is when coach Karanka's lineup is even more important!" ā
'In the last game against Burnley, coach Karanka rotated half of the team's main players. Smith had a worried look on his face, "If it weren't for Pang's free kick in the second half, Myburgh would definitely not have been able to escape the fate of losing away." ā
"Today is the award ceremony for Myburgh, and Myburgh must send their main squad to make sure nothing goes wrong." Foster said seriously, "There are a lot of big names here today, and if the Myburgh team loses at home, the atmosphere of the award ceremony will definitely be much inferior......
It wasn't long before Smith and Foster got their starting lineups. After seeing the starting list of the Myburgh team, Smith's gloomy face suddenly became sunny.
"Karanka sent out the main team with a starting lineup of ......" Smith announced loudly, his voice relaxed and pleasant, "with Pang and Rhodes up front...... With Myburgh out in full force, Coach Karanka clearly wanted to celebrate Myburgh's triumph with a home win. ā
"I'm relieved!" The expression on Foster's face was much more relaxed, "If nothing else, the Myburgh team will grace the post-match award ceremony with a victory......"
On the pitch, the game officially began, and Myburgh launched a tidal wave of attacks against Ipps at the beginning. Today is the day of the championship and awards, and the eleven players on the field of Myburgh are working hard to win this game. Fat Man and No. 9 Rhodes also frequently besieged Ipps players in the front court.
Eaps chose to defend from the start, which was also the tactic that head coach McCarthy laid out before the game. Facing a strong Myburgh team, their tactics were to focus on defense in the first half and strive not to concede goals; In the second half, he looked for an opportunity to score. This is a game that Maps cannot lose, and if Maps loses this game, they will completely lose their qualification for the play-offs.
After the start of the game, both teams implemented the tactics laid out by the head coach before the game, with Myburgh attacking with all their might and Ipps defending. The fat man also basically gave up breaking through with the ball, and the opponent's half was too dense with players. Facing Eaps' bucket formation, the two wings of the Myburgh team, No. 19 Downing and No. 18 Ramirez frequently crossed 45 degrees or down, and the fat man and Rhodes, who were outflanked in the middle, grabbed the goal.
Twenty minutes into the game, Myburgh bombarded the Gaps goal for 20 minutes, but did not knock on the opponent's goal.
'Ipps prepared well for this game, with a lot of targeted defence against Myburgh's attack, so it's going to be tough today. Smith frowned, "The Ips players are the last people in the Riverside Stadium who want to see Myburgh win the championship because they don't want to be the background wall of the championship......"
Smith was right, Rips did study Myburgh's offense before the game. There are as many as three players defending the fat man, with the central defenders No. 5 Smith and No. 8 Skousey specifically marking the fat man, and No. 15 Pringle supporting at any time; Specifically targeting Rhodes is No. 6 Bella. After Eps strangled the two points of Fat Man and Rhodes, the attack of the Myburgh team became thunderous and rainy, which made the eleven players on the field of the Myburgh team anxious.
Coach Karanka obviously also anticipated the opponent's defensive strategy, and began to let the fat man take the initiative to retreat to get the ball, pull the opponent's defense, and constantly switch positions with Rhodes to look for opportunities. This tactical adjustment paid off immediately, and Myburgh began to get shots on goal.
In the 40th minute of the game, although the fat man had several chances to shoot on goal by constantly running in these 20 minutes, they were all defused by Eps's brave goalkeeper No. 33 Biakovski.
'Hey, it's evil today!' The fat man couldn't help but sigh. You can't blame the fat man for thinking so, the fat man had two very good shots on goal, and the goal must have been there when he was replaced, but today he was saved by Ips' goalkeeper Biakovski. The fat man feels like the goalkeeper of Eps has taken a stimulant, and now it is "oil and salt do not enter"!
In the coach's box, Coach Karanka stood on the sidelines and commanded the game loudly. Today, for the post-match celebration of the championship, he gave up the plan to scout the substitute players and sent the whole main team out of the station, with the only goal of winning. Although Ipps did a lot of targeted defense, after the Myburgh team's countertactics were sent, the Myburgh team still controlled the field, but they did not translate the advantage into the field, which made coach Karanka very frustrated.
Football matches are like this, no matter how dominant they are on the field, the goals they don't score are in vain. In the end, the result of the game is won or lost by the goal.
At the end of the first half, the Rips players tried their best to keep the goal open, and the score was still 0:0!
Fans at Riverside Stadium were disappointed to see the team's performance in the first half.
"Myburgh's offense today, it always feels like something is missing?" An old fan muttered to himself.
"Ipps is not an easy opponent to beat and Myburgh will have to show more!" A young fan was in a hurry.
"The Gaps goalkeeper has done really well, he's saved a lot of dangerous goals from Myburgh!" Another veteran fan was surprised.
There was a lot of talk among the fans, and the two commentators were also summarizing the first half of the game.
"Myburgh played well in the first half but were a little bit unlucky...... Smith commented, "The opposition defended well and Myburgh had to work harder in the second half if they were to win......
"The goalkeeper of Ipps was the busiest man on the pitch in the first half, but he was also the one who played the best...... "Foster commented", "The attacking feeling of Myburgh always felt that there was something lacking......
At half-time, neither team made any personnel changes. Coach Karanka simply told the Myburgh players to be more patient when attacking. Coach Ipps was pleased with the result of the first half and told his players to play resolutely on the counter-attack of Myburgh in the second half.
On the field, the second half of the game began, and the battle between the two teams continued. The fat man learned to be smart this time, and resolutely recovered, and the fat man was ready to try a long shot.
Once the Myburgh team attacked, the fat man retreated to the midfield to get the ball. The fat man stayed away from the opponent's penalty area, and the defending fat man's Ipps players began to relax. The fat man handed the ball to the 19 Downing on the wing, and then slammed into the gap in the middle of the opponent, and the No. 15 Pringle who defended the fat man was instantly left behind by the fat man. Downing saw the fat man get rid of the defense and pass the ball back. As soon as the fat man got the ball, the opponent No. 8 Scoutey forced him again, and the fat man accelerated with the ball and passed No. 8 Scuse. The fat man continued to dribble the ball, feeling like a demoman, weaving his way through a hail of enemy bullets, relying on speed and agility. At this time, Ipps's No. 5 Smith and No. 4 Chambers pressed again. The fat man didn't continue to dribble the ball forward, he cut directly horizontally and inward, dodging an angle, which was a kick! The ball flew towards the goal like a cannonball out of the chamber.
Just when the fat man thought the ball was going in, a sturdy figure came out and saved the fat man's shot. Needless to say, again the opponent's goalkeeper Biakovsky.
"Pong's breakthrough shot...... Oh, it was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper......" Smith looked regretful, "It's a shame this goal, Pang is a little unlucky......"
"A spear and shield duel." Foster said seriously, "If Pang wants to score in this game, he must break through the defense of the opponent's goalkeeper Biakovski, and it will be a spear and shield duel......"
On the court, the fat man had a little regret, but his inner fighting spirit was stronger. The fat man felt that he had found a good opponent in this game, which was Ips's goalkeeper Biakovski. The fat man really wants to see if he can break through the goal guarded by Biakovsky in this game. Although the fat man's shot was saved, he found a good way to break the goal.
Next, Myburgh's Downing and Ramirez had a series of long-range shots, but they were both saved by Biakovski. The Rips team looked for opportunities to play Myburgh counter-attack in the second half, and due to the high defensive pressure, Maps did not put many personnel into the attack, mainly their front trident No. 19 Khayyam, No. 20 Sears and No. 10 McGoldrick. The trio worked together tacitly, counterattacked quickly, and got a few shots, but unfortunately they didn't take it. The second half lasted 20 minutes, and the two teams attacked and defended each other, but neither changed the score.
At this moment, Fowler, the Ips commentator, is frantically singing praises to Biakovsky: "Great Biakovsky...... In this game, he deserves to be great...... He's saved four must-have goals for Myburgh, and Ipps has been able to hold on so far without conceding a goal, and Biakovski has a lot to do......
On the pitch, the fat man is still running hard, looking for opportunities. So far in this game, the most positive performance is the fat man. In the first half, the fat man kept charging in the opponent's half, and in the second half, the fat man kept shuttling through the midfield, looking for opportunities to shoot from a distance, but unfortunately they were all resolved by the magical play of the opponent's goalkeeper. With 35 minutes to go into the second half, Biakovski kept the goal from the back of the net.
"Ips' goalkeeper Biakovski was so good today that he almost single-handedly blocked the attack of Myburgh!" Smith began to sing praises for Biakovski's performance, "In today's game, Myburgh is likely to get a draw......