Chapter 34: Killing the Bloody Road
Because the United States did not receive the live broadcast signal of the League Two, David did not watch the battle between Notts County and the league leader, but David knew the result of the game as soon as the game ended.
Notts County won, and it won't be easy.
It's a big game, and maybe it shouldn't be in League Two.
Playing at home, Notts County got into the groove from the start, launching a series of fierce attacks and opening the scoring with Andres Iniesta opening the scorer.
However, after conceding the goal, Brighton quickly stabilized their position and stepped up their attacking momentum, taking advantage of a mistake by the Notts County defence to equalise just before half-time.
In the second half, the two teams fought fiercely, and although Notts County had a certain advantage in the attack, and the Brighton defence was more threatening, neither could find the back of the net until the 75th minute.
At this time, Notts County made personnel adjustments, removing Alonso, who had appeared in consecutive games and was slightly physically exhausted, and replaced it with Villa, Loew was a little desperate.
His substitutions had an unexpected and immediate effect, as Villa's first touch of the ball resulted in a penalty that was met by Maggio on the flank, and he slid it in, before the unsuspecting Brighton defender kicked Villa down behind him, and the referee did not hesitate to award a penalty.
Although the Brighton players kept protesting around the referee, the referee who was not far from the place of the incident saw clearly that the penalty was an indisputable fact.
Villa took the penalty themselves, deceived the goalkeeper and sent it into the Brighton net, giving Notts County the lead once again.
After taking the lead, Notts County began to consciously recycle and strengthen their defence, after all, there was not much time left, and they could only keep the score until the end, and Notts County will beat league leaders Brighton and win four in a row.
However, Loew underestimated Brighton's tenacity.
Brighton attacked aggressively and brought on a substitute striker, plus a centre-back up front, and three tall players appeared in the Notts County penalty area.
Brighton's style of play is no longer efficient, playing directly from the flanks and playing high-altitude bombing with Notts County, which is also a common style of play used by many English clubs.
Although this attacking style is very direct and brutal, it is not a small threat to Notts County, who are not dominant in height at the back.
Lescott was suspended, Westman and Bolaruz started the game, the two were not inferior in their high-altitude ball defense, but the opponent had three high points, and the two couldn't defend at all, and for a while, there was a lot of noise in the Notts County penalty area.
Loew made a quick substitution and replaced Hubnell with the tall Mertesacker, so that at least the one-on-one side did not fall behind.
But before they could make a dead-ball substitution, Mertesacker was still waiting for a substitution to enter the pitch, and Brighton blew up the Notts County goal with this brutal but effective high-altitude bombardment.
Loew almost didn't scold his mother, just a moment away, and the opponent's luck was really good.
There is no way, the substitutions still have to continue, and the opponent will take advantage of Notts County's weakness to continue the onslaught.
At this time, there is no way out, either you die or I live, Loew replaced Ribery with a speed advantage, and only a small and agile combination was left in the frontcourt, and he wanted to use speed to break the opponent.
In the final hours of the game, the pace of the two sides was extremely fast, you came and went, and watched the fans on the scene boil with enthusiasm.
When the fourth official raised the sign for three minutes of stoppage time, none of the players on the pitch noticed that their attention was fully focused on the game.
Just when everyone thought that this fierce match would end in a draw, Villa once again stepped up and became the savior of the team.
Once again, the attack ended in vain, the ball was controlled at the feet of the opposing full-back, Villa actively grabbed it, and the opponent did not choose to kick the ball out of the sideline in a panic, but chose to pass it to the goalkeeper who was not far away.
The Brighton goalkeeper didn't expect his team-mate to pass the ball back to him at this time, and in his haste, the stop was a little big, and Villa had already pressed it quickly.
Brighton's poor goalkeeper predicted the pace of both sides and sadly found that if he had kicked wide, the ball would have been blocked by the Notts County striker, or even straight into the net.
So, in a flash of light, he gave up his big foot and chose to buckle Villa.
I thought that if I beat Villa and kick out, everything would be fine, after all, the Notts County striker does not have the defensive awareness and skill of a defender.
But who would have thought that Villa did not jump and turn around rashly in the face of his big foot feint, and this time the Brighton goalkeeper was directly petrified.
Villa easily cut off the ball at the feet of the Brighton goalkeeper and pushed it lightly, and the ball rolled into the Brighton gate under the watchful eyes of the fans.
Who would have thought that a substitute striker could miraculously score two goals in a row and become the biggest contributor to the team's victory?
The last-minute winner turned Meadow Lane into a sea of joy, with the players celebrating wildly on the pitch and the fans celebrating wildly in the stands, with only the Brighton players a little confused and their expressions full of incredulity.
Brighton's goalkeeper sat on the ground as if the whole world had abandoned him.
Winning this crucial battle, Notts County's strong team has a strong temperament, and no one will underestimate England's oldest professional club after a series of tough battles with the top two teams in the table.
However, despite the win against Brighton, there is still a three-point gap between them and Brighton, and Notts County are already quietly in third place in the table.
Major bookmakers have changed their markets, and Notts County's odds to win the title have dropped significantly, even surpassing Mansfield, who are second in the league table, and only slightly above Brighton.