The next day's fixture is the one on March 29, when Wimbledon Athletic host 16th-placed Mersham on their home turf.

As in the previous sixteen games, before stepping onto the pitch, Wimbledon players had a win in mind, a new club record of seventeen consecutive wins.

But after 90 minutes, the winning streak was almost over.

Wimbledon took advantage of the home field and bombarded the opponent's half for 90 minutes before scoring a goal, and it was a goal in the opening four minutes, and nothing has been achieved since. Gavin. Once again, Borger showed his scoring prowess. This time it was the opponent's corner kick, Chu Zhongtian judged the right place of the ball, stuck the position in advance, and pushed the football out halfway. The ball he pushed out landed right at the feet of Bolger, and he did not hesitate, turning and running with the ball, taking his speed advantage to the extreme, whether it was chasing or blocking, he was defeated in front of his simple change of direction and acceleration. In this way, after a long run with the football, Borger faced the goalkeeper and calmly hit the ball into the empty goal behind the opponent.

The protagonist of the next game became Chu Zhongtian, the team's defensive core.

Falling behind or leading at the start of the race is a double-edged sword. It's not a good thing to start the game behind, but the team behind has a lot of time to turn this bad thing into a good thing.

In the ensuing game, the away team Melsam dominated by the opponent and attacked actively, but once pressed Wimbledon and was forced to retreat to play a defensive counterattack. Chu Zhongtian's tireless running and interceptions in the midfield have taken a lot of pressure off the team's backline, and he is always able to appear in key places at critical times, make key defenses, and then solve problems. There were several attempts to attack from midfield, but he anticipated them and then broke the pass.

Just as Russell is extremely talented in attack, Chu Zhongtian is also quite talented in defense.

It's just that Chu Zhongtian's defensive talent can only try his best to ensure that the team does not lose the game, but he can't bring a safer score to the team - 1:0 always makes the opponent feel that they have a chance to equalize or even overtake, so they will always be high-spirited, like a hungry and thirsty strong man who has not seen a girl for ten years.

And Chu Zhongtian's task is to resist the impact of these hungry men again and again, shouting "Don't, no, no". Sometimes he can hold on, and sometimes he will lose the ball, and those villains will laugh at him, "I don't want to say this on my mouth, but it's already wet below", this kind of humiliation made Chu Zhongtian unbearable, and he wanted to tear the opponent, but he couldn't help it, he had more than enough heart and not enough strength.

If Russell is still on the field, his job is to pick up a folding stool and smash it into the heads of these crazy perverts, and tell them "Fuck yourselves, bastards!" The latter is obviously more gentlemanly, and Chu Zhongtian also hopes that one day he will be able to do such a gentleman's thing.

Without Russell, Wimbledon lacked variety in attack, and the lack of accurate through balls became apparent. They had to rely on wide crosses, but Kevin. Cooper and Joe. Shirin is not the kind of tall, physically strong center forward. Cooper had great awareness and a brilliant header, but he had no better way to get out of his defense and score with two men caught between them.

In the past, Russell's possession in the middle has always attracted the attention of opponents and created opportunities for other teammates to run, and he also has a very penetrating through ball that can send the ball to the most dangerous places. Schilling and Kevin. All Cooper needs to do is simple – run, catch the ball, shoot, and celebrate with open arms.

Since Russell's absence, Eames has fielded two midfielders in midfield, Chu Zhongtian and Lee. Sidwell started with his partner. It's a way he used a lot when Russell was rotated, and it's basically a routine. The advantage of this is to strengthen the defense of the midfield, but the disadvantage is to reduce the attacking threat to the enemy, and the pressure on the front of the opponent's penalty area is sharply reduced, so that Wimbledon can calmly deal with the attack on the wing.

Eames was aware of this shortcoming, but what could he do?

Wimbledon were hastily formed less than a year ago, and there are still many imperfections in the squad, such as the lack of long-range shooters in their squad, so that the opponent is obviously wide in the middle, but no one can make the most of it to threaten the opponent's goal. Chu Zhongtian rushed up and shot two feet in the game, but one kick was ridiculously off, and he went in the corner flag; One foot flew high over the crossbar and flew straight out of the pitch. As a result, the game had to use a spare soccer ball, and the soccer ball had to be retrieved after the game. Although he often uses seven or eight soccer balls a game in amateur games because of the venue, this time the reason was that he shot the goal and flew away, which still made him feel very ashamed.

He knew that the world wave in the game that day was just luck, so he didn't go up to waste offensive opportunities anymore, and only defended in the backfield, anyway, the backward Melsam team's counterattack wave was also higher than one wave, and it would be too irresponsible for him to rush up and attack again.

And just like that, when Wimbledon won the game with a score of 1-0, everyone had the urge to breathe a sigh of relief...... Although they won the game, it was extremely difficult to win, and they found that winning sixteen consecutive games had made it difficult for them to adjust to the feeling of leaving Russell.

Eames was obviously aware of the problem, but what could he do? If he can solve this problem, he won't have to coach in the ninth division, although he is a Wimbledon legend and he loves Wimbledon football, but there is a better stage and he will definitely not refuse.

'We don't have a replacement, but it's impossible to find a replacement until the end of the season. He said this to assistant coach Ingerlich.

Ingrid felt helpless, and he couldn't solve such a situation. He could only comfort himself: "At least we won this game." ”

"What's next?" Eames asked.

"Let's just win one game at a time." Ingrid replied weakly.

Eames stopped talking, he knew it was all there was to it for now.

This one was won, so what about the next one? Win game after game, where you go...... When every step requires all the strength of the body, who can guarantee that the next step will not fall over? Who knows how many more steps will be taken?

※※※ In the evening at the Dons Bar, everyone was also enthusiastically discussing the afternoon game. In their opinion, the team won a bit of a fluke, and it was mainly Chu who was able to win, because he led the back line to withstand the opponent's indiscriminate bombardment for dozens of minutes without conceding a goal. You must know that the pressure you face when defending is very high, and if you are not careful, a node collapses, which will cause a total collapse.

Everyone congratulated Chu Zhongtian and praised him for his outstanding performance in this game. Although the best of the match went to goalkeeper Andy. Bale, the people in the Cortense Bar think that Bale can be elected the best of the game, because many of the most threatening shots have been nipped in the bud by Chu Zhongtian, so he has not encountered a really serious test at all.

For everyone's praise, Chu Zhongtian was not happy at all.

Defense can only ensure that the team does not lose, and in football games, in addition to winning or losing, there is also a draw...... He wants to have the ability to win games.

But as long as he thinks of his two shots in the game, he feels depressed, is that goal against North Grenford United really an "irreproducible classic"?

The devil believes it!

He wanted to practice shooting, but he didn't have the right field. Practising dribbling and ball control doesn't require much on the court, as long as you have a foothold. You can practice with the ball while running, and you can also practice with the ball. What to do with a shot? If you don't have a goal, you have to have a space to shoot...... Anyway, there is a small courtyard at the back door of the Dons bar, which can barely meet the requirements. Chu Zhongtian didn't dare to practice shooting anywhere, because he was worried that he would break the glass of the boss's residence upstairs...... After shooting high many times on the court, Chu Zhongtian insisted on thinking so.

Breaking someone's glass isn't a good thing.

Chu Zhongtian could only think of a way when he went to train.

His solution was to stay and practice, so he discussed with Boss John's boss that the working hours in the evening would be adjusted from eight o'clock to nine o'clock, although this would reduce his total working hours and his income would naturally decrease. But at this time, Chu Zhongtian couldn't care about it.

※※※ Chu Zhongtian didn't tell anyone that he wanted to practice, and he didn't drag a basket of soccer balls to the field to practice shooting, in fact, even if he wanted to, he couldn't do it. When the Wimbledon training session was over and the players were leaving, the stadium management locked the door and he couldn't get in if he wanted to.

He stood outside the pitch with his own Umbro football, and behind him was the parking lot belonging to the King's Ranch, which was spacious enough for him to shoot. He looked up at the façade of the tall main stand – tall for his height, but shabby compared to the pitch of any Premier League club.

The red brick wall didn't have a single window, and it was just right for shooting. The first step is to make sure that every kick doesn't fly, and if you shoot at the wall, you can save most of the time when you run to pick up the ball, because the ball bounces back.

In training, coach Eames said: "It's better to shoot off target than shoot high, and if you miss your team-mate, you have a chance to make up for it or get a corner." If you shoot away, you have no hope, and you will give the opponent a goal kick. Which one do you calculate? ”

Obviously, the shot is the best in the back of the net...... However, for people like Chu Zhongtian, it is very good to be able to suppress the ball without shooting first, and compared with shooting and shooting, the latter is more deserved.

Chu Zhongtian looked at the wall in front of him that was about ten meters high, this height should ensure that the ball he kicked out would not fly directly over the wall and fall into the court...... So he found a stone on the ground, and drew a rectangular area the size of a goal on the wall, and his goal was to shoot into this area. After doing all this, Chu Zhongtian threw away the stone and retreated with the football in his arms. After about twenty meters of retreat, he stopped, and looked at it like the distance from the top of the penalty arc to the goal.

Chu Zhongtian was satisfied, he retreated and then ran and shot!

Bang.

This time, the ball didn't shoot high, but went straight to the right.

The football that hit the wall bounced to the side, and Chu Zhongtian had no spare ball, so he could only run over and bring it back by himself and shoot again. This time, the football is not biased, but it is unsuspensefully high. The advantage of shooting high is that he doesn't have to run out to pick up the ball at least - the ball just bounces back.

After stopping the football with his chest, Chu Zhongtian did not rush to continue shooting, he stepped on the football under his feet and began to think about the problem of the two shots just now. Neither foot is right, which means that there is something wrong with his movements, and I'm afraid it's not just about his movements. If you continue to practice recklessly, you may not be able to make any progress if you practice for another hour.

Why did Russell teach himself those things that he could improve, it was because someone taught him - Russell would demonstrate it once on the side, explain it in detail, answer Chu Zhongtian's questions, and finally let Chu Zhongtian practice it himself.

Now I don't have the conditions to practice myself like that - someone is around to correct my mistakes at any time and demonstrate them himself. But he still remembers what Schilling had said to him before the game against North Glenford United. I still remember every sentence, and I haven't forgotten it.

'First of all, technically you have to keep your toes straight when you shoot, that's the basics.

"When you touch the ball, you have to straighten the arch of your foot and point down on your toes, otherwise you will shoot the ball high!"

"When you shoot at goal, you don't have to shovel your foot into the bottom of the ball and then you have to shoot high......"

"When shooting, try to keep the knee of your foot above the ball so that you can get a lot of power...... Lean forward, don't lean back, you're a long shot, not a long pass! ”

"Keep your head steady, don't shake around, and keep your body center of gravity balanced!"

"Keep your eyes on the ball!"

"Don't think about what the shot misses, you have to tell yourself: this goal must be scored!!"

Chu Zhongtian recalled these words in his mind, and then reopened his eyes and looked at the "goal" twenty meters away.

He recited these things silently in his mind like a mantra, shooting with his feet, and strictly following the "mantra". The result was much better after the shot was taken, and although it still didn't hit the woodwork, it was only a little worse.

Then he came with another kick that hit the centre of the goal and hit the frame, but he just shook his head.

With such a positive shot, unless the goalkeeper is mentally retarded, he will not let the ball in...... There's nothing to be happy about shooting in the frame, and what's the point of shooting if every shot is kicked back to the opposing goalkeeper?

There is another problem, you have to remind yourself of some precautions before shooting every time, it is really a waste of time...... In a game, how can an opponent ask you to recite the "mantra" before shooting?

Actually, that's the purpose of the exercise. Repeated practice is to use the body to memorize these technical details, and to form an instinct thoroughly. Just like when he practiced his defensive skills, whether it was tackles, stags, or top battles, he didn't know how many times he practiced repeatedly, and even on the floor tiles at home, he kept practicing his tackling skills, falling over and over again on the hard and cold floor, and paying the price of bruises on both knees and calves for several days. Now those techniques have become the instinct of his body, as long as the other party shows the slightest flaw, the body will react immediately. Even after a three-year "football vacuum", these skills have not been forgotten. It's like learning to ride a bike, once you learn it, even if you haven't ridden it for a long time, as long as you start riding again, the skills you have learned will naturally become proficient, and you don't need to learn it again.

※※※As the head coach of the team, he is always the last to leave, which is not surprising. What is strange today is that when he was still sorting out today's training log in the office provided for him by the club, he heard the sound of "bang bang bang" from outside.

It was a familiar sound, the sound of a ball hitting some non-metallic solid object, or more precisely, the sound of a football colliding with a wall.

The incessant sound seemed to tickle his heart, and he couldn't sit comfortably in his office and attend to work, so he decided to go out and find out who was still playing football outside so late.

He walked out and looked in the direction of the stadium and saw that there was a lot of research in Jack. At the end of Goodchild Lane, in the parking lot, a figure is kicking a soccer ball against the opposite wall, and then running to pick it up and shoot it back at the outer wall of the stadium's main stand.

Eames had never seen such a scene here at this time, and he stood in the doorway and watched with great interest for a while.

It was getting dark, and he couldn't see who it was, but he knew it had to be a player from his team.

With a "bang", the football hit the red brick wall, and it seemed to splash a little dust, but it was not real from such a distance.

Then the football bounced to the side, and the man ran to bring it back with his foot. Then he ran to his feet, so there was another "bang". This time, the landing point of the football was a little high, and the rebounding football was stopped by the person with his chest, and the stop ball was very beautiful and standard, and the football was cushioned by the chest and fell down. The man seemed to be interested, and this time he didn't wait for the ball to land, so he directly volleyed!

Just this kick was ridiculously off, bouncing diagonally against the wall and rolling in the direction of Eames......

(To be continued)