With two different relaxed mindsets, the two teams entered the New York Stadium, and at the referee's whistle, the game began.

Holloyd sat calmly in the dugout for the home team.

He was not very worried about the game, one was that the strength of the Wigan Athletic team that came to the game was limited, and the other was that he arranged the corresponding tactics for the game, which was a tactic that he had studied Wigan Athletic for a long time to think of.

There is a saying in the Art of War, 'Strategically despise the opponent, tactically value the opponent'.

Holroyd may not have known what he said, but that's how he did it. Verbally, and even psychologically, he didn't think Wigan Athletic could threaten his team at home, but tactically, he was still very much more than that, and he spent a whole day practicing against the opponent, which is the tactical importance.

There's a reason Holroyd was able to do that.

Rotherham's ability to maintain consistent results in several seasons is inseparable from the importance he attaches to his opponents, and often the weaker the team, the more he attaches importance to it, because it is easier to score points on the weak team, and against the strong team, even if the effort is generally in vain.

He doesn't need a team performance that is too good, as long as he is stable in League One.

Holroyd still knows his team well. The strength of his own team is not bad, but it is a bit fantastical to say that he wants to fight for a promotion place, the club has given him too little money, and it is difficult for him to bring in a strong frontfielder.

That's the biggest obstacle to the team's development.

But this game, it's not about that, all they need to do is beat Wigan Athletic, and at New York, it's not difficult to do that.

……

Rotherham players don't have that many ideas, they play whatever the coach tells them to play.

Under the arrangement of the coach, they all know a little about the current opponents. This team has a strong forward line, good offensive ability, but the defensive ability is relatively poor, three fronts, the forward line and the back line are very average, the only stronger is the middle of the midfield, Andy Riddle, this player is very famous in League One.

Sidewalk...... They're so much worse!

So what they need to do is to attack from the middle, expand to the two wings, try to threaten the ball from the wings, look for good opportunities, and as long as they can score one goal at home, then the game will be much better.

This is the tactic that Holroyd has laid out, and it can also be said to be the way of attack.

Once the game started, the Rotherham players played according to tactics, and they did the right thing to do, because Holroyd's research on Wigan Athletic was not bad, Wigan Athletic's wing was really weak, and the only thing that was not quite correct was that Holroyd ignored Zhang Tiehan's defense.

How strong is Zhang Tiehan's stealing ability?

It's hard to put the numbers into words, but there are very few players in League One who can get past him alone, or even take advantage of him in scrambles.

Rotherham's players didn't know anything about it, so they suffered and it was midfielder Frecklinton who made the mistake first.

As usual, after Frecklinton received a pass from his teammates, he took the initiative to push forward, and after crossing the halfway line, a player from the opposing side ran over to interfere, Frecklinton didn't think much about it, just wanted to change direction to protect the ball, and looked up at his own formation, and then looked down to see the opponent rushing over.

Freclinton stabbed the ball to a nearby teammate!

But it was too late.

The opponent's explosion was too fast, and he suddenly fell to the ground to tackle, and the point against him happened to be in the direction of the football rolling, and Frecklinton never touched the ball at all, and the football was already shoveled out by the opponent. Fortunately, the football fell to the feet of his teammates behind him, and he let out a long breath.

"It was really dangerous just now, that guy is so fast!" Running to the side and passing by to pick up his teammates, Freclinton said.

"Be careful." Teammates admonished.

Only then did they notice that it was the opponent's No. 13 who had just tackled.

Wigan Athletic's No. 13, they also have some impressions, head coach Holloyd studied the recent Wigan Athletic game information, naturally the last game is indispensable, this No. 13 performance is good, it is said that the stealing ability is very strong, but a newcomer, how strong can it be?

"Is that really the case?"

Freclinton thought about the tackle just now, and suddenly had a bad premonition.

Three minutes later, Rotherham made a steady push and the ball was launched from the right, passing down the middle before returning to the right.

Full-back Nicky Walker is very fast, he is a player of Serbian descent, he is very small, fast, and very skilled with his feet, he changed direction with the ball past Lee Makalocchi and continued to rush towards the baseline.

"Nikki Walker! Nicky Walker! ”

The Rotherham fans in the audience shouted and watched with excitement as Nicky Walker ran at such speed that he was halfway across the pitch in the blink of an eye.

A Wigan Athletic player greeted him.

"Get past him! Nicky Walker! Keep moving! "The fans shouted that they didn't care who was coming, and who could snatch the ball from under his feet when Nicky Walker started.

Under the shouting of the fans, Nikki Walker was full of confidence, only swept the opponent in front of him, directly closed the ball to the left, and stepped forward to continue to run.

On a technical level, there is nothing wrong with that.

The player with the ball has been started, even if he has the ball, he has an advantage over the defending side that sticks over, and when he really runs, it is often the player with the ball who is faster, and he goes forward to chase the ball, and the side with the ball has a more advantage in running, because the defending side often has to start, and it is difficult to catch up when it is pulled away.

It's a pity that Nicky Walker ignored the card slotting problem.

If the opponent does not take the initiative to grab the ball, but the position of the regular card owner, even if there is physical contact next, it is a normal body collision.

This problem is quite serious!

Nicky Walker didn't think about it at all, and then he felt like he had hit a wall and almost collapsed to the ground, but the opponent easily resisted his body and passed the ball to a nearby teammate by the way.

That's when Nikki Walker saw the player's number - thirteen.

Number 13? It seems that somewhere have heard of it.

He didn't have time to think about it at all, as he launched a quick counter-attack after a steal, Rotherham went straight ahead, and Wigan Athletic passed the ball to Makalocchi after a few passes, who made a big foot from the flank to the middle.

There's Ridell! Andy Riddle!

There was no need to explain at all, even the Rotherham fans were aware of the danger, and Holroyd in the dugout stood up with wide eyes on the ball.

Ridell rushed forward, there was no one to support him, but there was only one defender around him.

At the edge of the box, he stopped the ball with a header, then won the scrum and dribbled to the left bottom line in the box, and the goalkeeper protected the corner. Ridell pulled the ball back and jerked it on his toes.

Shot!

It's a very technical pick!

"Ridell--"

Amid the screams of the TV commentator's elongated voice, the ball sliced through the air in a graceful arc that bypassed the Rotherham goalkeeper who blocked the goal......

And then plunged headlong into the goal!

“GOOOOOOOOOAL！！！ Ridell! Ridell! Andy Riddle! Ridell scored the first goal for Wigan Athletic! ”

"1 to 0! Wigan Athletic is ahead! ”

The Wigan Athletic fans who came with the team in the stands broke out instantly, they were small in number, and they were always suppressed by the voices of the opposing fans, and at this moment, time belonged to them, and they erupted into a tsunami of cheers.

Ridell scored!

Our Ridell scored the first goal!

Haha

Riddle's popularity is undoubted, when it comes to Wigan Athletic, you can think of Riddle, he is the team's first star, and Wigan Athletic's native star, in the hearts of Wigan fans, Ridell is the prince of the team!

Just like Raul in Real Madrid!

After the goal, Ridell hugged each other and showed quite composure, but you could still see the excitement on his face, after all, it was a goal, and it was not easy for a midfielder, especially a player like him who was responsible for organizing the attack.

……

Seeing Ridell score, Zhang Tiehan was also very happy.

Although it wasn't his own goal, Rydell usually had a good relationship with him, not to mention, it helped the team take the lead.

As he said in front of reporters, 'We're here to take away the victory!' ’

However, Zhang Tiehan is still very envious, goal, what a wonderful word, he also hopes that he can score, but he is a defensive player, and the tactics arranged by the coach in this game are defensive counterattacks, and he can get few opportunities.

Since you don't have many chances, let's defend well!

Defense is also important!

Zhang Tiehan wanted to score a goal in his heart, but he knew very well that his defense was very suitable for him in terms of fans, coaches, and even skills, and if he really wanted to attack, he really couldn't do it well.

But when it comes to defense, that's the old business!

Defend! Defend! Defend!

Next, Zhang Tiehan worked harder to defend. Although he can't score, his own contribution to the team's victory cannot be less than that of his team-mates, and that's the only way to do it. You have to defend as if you were a goal.

……

Maybe because of Riddle's goal, few people noticed Zhang Tiehan, but in fact, the counterattack just now was launched from Zhang Tiehan's steal.

As a result, Rotherham was still not taken seriously.

They quickly learned their lesson, and time and time again, in just ten minutes, they conceded six balls in attack, three of which were direct tackles by Zhang Tiehan!

How threatening is a direct steal?

Every offense starts with interception and stealing, if it is directly tackled, the team's formation has no time to adjust, and it is very dangerous to face the opponent's rapid counterattack, and many teams will even choose tactical fouls at this time.

It's a pity that Rotherham doesn't seem to have this consciousness at all!

Until now, they don't know what they are always stealing, at first they thought it was a bad performance, and finally after another ten minutes, they reacted, the other party's thirteenth...... The steal ability is too strong!

From the opening to now, no one has even been able to take the ball away from him!

How terrible is this!

It's a pity...... It seemed to be a little late, just at the third tackle, Ellington and Riddle passed three times in a row, directly into the opponent's penalty area, Ellington penalty line straight plugged, Ridell stuck to the offside line street ball, a push shot into the empty goal.

Brace!

Two to zero!

The Wigan Athletic fans who came here went crazy!

In Wigan, there were so many Wigan Athletic fans who sat at the TV and watched the live broadcast went crazy!

"Andy, my baby Andy! Andy Baby! The tall landlady of the bar jumped for joy.

"Look, he's scoring again! Sure enough, it's Andy! ”

The others were also happy, clinking glasses to each other in celebration, and the excitement was palpable.

……

Riedel's brace was indeed a cause for celebration, and he was the center of attention, even on the big screen at New York Stadium.

Often behind the goal, there are many unknown players who have made a very big contribution.

Ellington, for example, it was his delicate passing.

Another example is Zhang Tiehan, who only has a chance to counterattack with his steals.

Only Riddle knew about them, so he hugged each other with every team-mate who came to him, because he knew that the goal belonged to the whole team and not to himself.

The players knew it, but the fans subconsciously ignored it.

All they know is that Riddell scored two goals and he was the brightest of the bunch, as for the others who contributed to the attack? When it came time to celebrate the goal, they didn't have time to analyse it.

But again, the fans don't care, the players do.

Rotherham players care a lot!

When it was time to kick off again, they finally noticed Zhang Tiehan. Once you are stealed, it can be said to be a coincidence, twice you are stealed, it is not in good shape, three, four, more times, then it is definitely not a coincidence.

Where did so many coincidences come from?

This Wigan Athletic's No. 13 is too strong, and recall that Wigan Athletic's two-goal advantage now is inseparable from this No. 13.

Their tactics are good, and their quality is good.

But in less than half an hour, this No. 13 alone made five steals, five times, which also represented five good opportunities for quick counterattacks, and the opponent also scored two goals in two of them to take the lead.

Not paying attention to this thirteenth is the biggest mistake!

What Riddle, what Ellington, they have strong offensive ability, good skills at their feet, but they also have a chance, if the team defends tightly, let them attack, don't think about simple goals. The most important thing to pay attention to is this number three, his steals are too sharp, too sharp......

Is...... It's so sharp!

If they continue to play like this, there is no way to continue to play, they finally pushed in the past, and they were tackled by the opponent, which became a good opportunity for the opponent.

This guy has always been inconspicuous, and he is really cunning!

The Rotherham players were indignant, they felt they had been cheated and the team had been cheated.

But in fact...... They don't want to think about it, the opponent is not hiding at all, but has been trying to perform, but they underestimated the opponent before the game, and as a result, they still don't pay attention to the steal when they get to the game.

I don't think about it until now, and it seems a little late.

PS: Please...... If you don't have a collection, you can collect it!