On the morning of February 16, the pre-match tensions had already enveloped Wigan, and many Wigan fans gathered in the streets, holding signs of all kinds, as if they were marching.

If people who don't know the road will think that something special is happening, in fact, these fans gathered on the street just to intimidate the opponent and tell them that this is Wigan, and today is Wigan Athletic's home stadium, so that they know how powerful Wigan is.

At noon, they waited for Bolton's bus.

Wigan town is not very populated, the street generally does not have any traffic jams, but today it still happened, the only blocked is the bus of Bolton, the bus is very difficult to drive on the street, not a few hundred meters, you will meet a group of fans standing in the middle of the road, although there are Wigan police to stop, but it is also difficult to stop so many fans, many fans risk being taken into the police station, but also to intimidate the bus.

Bolton's players naturally don't feel good.

They thought it was going to be a smooth game, but they weren't expecting to be harassed before they even entered the court.

An hour later, the bus entered the stadium unharmed.

In this regard, the media who came to support Bolton Wanderers did not feel anything, and the away game was like this, especially if it was a passive game for Wigan Athletic, and their fans would naturally not be 'merciful'.

In the eyes of the media, this is more indicative of Bolton's situation, "Look, this Wigan fan has panicked, they can only use this means to stop Bolton!" ”

There was a sense of superiority in their words.

When talking about the match between the two teams, they have basically decided that Bolton will show up and Wigan Athletic will not have the slightest chance.

Nor can this be said to be Bolton's hubris.

Bolton led by two goals and the score was 3:1, which is equivalent to Bolton entering the final with one kick......

Wigan people are unhappy and unwilling!

They want the team to have a chance, they want to do everything they can to help the team, they want the team to get rid of Bolton, even if it takes a little more opportunity and puts in a lot of effort, they are willing.

Within Wigan Athletic, the players have a different perception from the outside world, they believe that there is still hope for the team, which is their confidence, and it also comes from Zhang Tiehan's away goal.

One goal, two goals short of Bolton's three, but better than three, right?

With this ball, it is not completely impossible for them to win, they are not to the point of despair, they go from no hope to hope, they believe that if they work hard, it is possible to seize this line of hope.

They didn't care about the last two league games at all, and before the game against Ipswich Town and Derby County, Jewell simply laid out the tactics, whether it was the players, the coach or the club, they all thought that the second leg against Bolton Wanderers was more important than the two league games.

When the game was over, the chances were gone, so they prepared with all their might.

In the past ten days, Wigan Athletic has been adapting to a new tactic, the tactical content is to let Zhang Tiehan's position retreat, level with Kennedy, in this way, he is equivalent to replacing Riddle's position, but he does not need to organize the attack, this task is Kennedy's, what he needs to do is to keep looking for opportunities to shoot from a distance.

Other than that, his job is to defend.

This seems to have sacrificed some of Zhang Tiehan's offensive ability, such as his header opportunities will definitely be fewer, but after a few days of tactical drills, Wigan Athletic players are full of confidence, and Zhang Tiehan is also looking forward to the game!

It looked like it was sacrificing his header, but in reality, his chances on goal were much higher.

It was a change that Jevier made in order to have a chance to win.

This adjustment method was improvised by him and the coaching staff for a night, and in terms of the current team strength, without Riddle, the team's offense and defense are worse, and the gap with Bolton is quite obvious.

And the best card in his hand is Zhang Tiehan.

The team needs Zhang Tiehan to play an important role in attack, but also needs Zhang Tiehan to play a role in defense, and he also needs to constantly fight in the midfield to ensure that the team will not be suppressed by Bolton in the situation, so as to bring more attacking opportunities.

All together, Zhang Tiehan cannot be a striker at the forefront.

So he has to retreat to the midfield, or even further back, in this position to have a chance, can only shoot from a distance, and the player who inserts it back to shoot from a distance, it will be difficult for the opponent to restrict.

For the change of position, Zhang Tiehan is also very adaptable, it is complicated to say, but this is just a back waist with more offense, and he does not need to organize the attack, he quickly adapted to the position.

After a few days of tactical training, this game is the time to test the results, and Wigan Athletic is looking forward to the game up and down.

……

In this game, the starting lineups of the two teams are not much different from the previous game.

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce still valued the game, fielding all his starters and being cautious in front of the media.

'Anything can happen before the game is over and that's what football is. So we need to take the game seriously. ”

Allardyce said so.

However, Bolton players don't necessarily see it this way, they have personally experienced the game against Wigan Athletic, the last game at Reebok Stadium, maybe the only two points of the opponent are the last goal, which is still made by one player of the opponent, and it has nothing to do with them as a whole.

Football is a team sport, the overall performance is not good, and the team that is completely suppressed by them, what is there to care about?

They don't see any threat from Wigan Athletic.

However, under the solemnity of Allardyce, they did not dare to show anything, in Bolton, Allardyce has absolute authority, and no one dares to question and provoke.

In the home team's dressing room, Jewell was doing his best work, and he used his words to boost everyone's morale and fighting spirit.

"We've lost the FA Cup, the League Cup, it's the only honour we can fight for besides the league, maybe two months ago, we didn't dare say we were going to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but we've come this far!"

'As long as we can get past Bolton, we'll be in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and I think we've come so far, not to fall in the semi-finals, we're aiming for the final!'

"Only one step away, only one game away!"

'We beat Chelsea, we beat Aston Villa, we beat Everton and now we face Bolton, they beat us 3-1 last time, but I think that's a good thing, they made it clear to us that the League Cup, or the Premier League, is not so easy to beat, we have been facing strong teams since we entered the League Cup, and now what we have to do is to play this game as if it were the final of the League Cup!

"Now! Let's go and enjoy this showdown! ”

……

The game is about to begin.

More than 25,000 fans filled the stands on all sides, and the atmosphere in the stadium gradually became hot with a burst of chanting.

Below the spectators, a group of reporters sat or stood waiting for the game to start, chatting about the game as they waited.

"Bolton can still reach the final, and it will be difficult for AJC to win."

'Bolton are strong, they won the league in the last round and if they get to the final, Arsenal could win the title.

"How was the Arsenal and Middlesbrough game?"

'Middlesbrough have a ball advantage, but this time it's in Highbury.

"Who do you think will be the final?"

'Arsenal and Bolton, for sure.'

'Middlesbrough are likely to knock out Arsenal and they may meet Bolton Wanderers in the final.'

Some Wigan reporters were upset and said, "Wigan Athletic could also win." ”

"You say Wigan Athletic can turn the tables?"

"That's a miracle."

"Yes, miracle! I'm hoping for a miracle so that the game will be fun. ”

"Impossible! Bolton will definitely win, Wigan Athletic will not be an opponent! Who thinks that Wigan Athletic still has a chance, it must be a confused brain! ”

"No, Wigan Athletic could win!"

With all that said, the two supporting reporters of Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic are already arguing, while the neutral reporters are hoping to see a good game, and of course, they will be happy if Wigan Athletic wins at the end of the day.

Who made everyone think Bolton would win?

If Wigan Athletic can pull off a miracle and knock out Bolton, then the result will be the best, because then there will be big news to cover.

In short, it is only natural that Bolton will reach the final, and Wigan Athletic will be in the final...... That's a miracle!

……

Finally, in the chaos of everyone, the game officially began.

After the start of the game, Bolton did not attack as aggressively as in the previous game, but shrunk some formations, playing less aggressively than in the previous game, and at the same time defending much tighter.

It's a balanced style of play.

Bolton's choice seems very conservative, but this is Allardyce's choice, he asked the whole team to be more cautious in defense, rather than focusing on attack - this is inevitable, and then attacking can only lead more, the result is the same, and the relatively conservative offensive and defensive balance will allow Bolton to win Wigan Athletic with a safe victory, they have two ball advantages in hand, there is no need to take risks.

If the attack fails and the opponent scores, it is really a bit dangerous.

And this is away again, the tactics are more stable, than the pursuit of attack is much better, Allardyce believes that as long as the team is stable, do not rush or slow to play, the situation will always be in the hands of Bolton, and the elimination of Wigan Athletic will also be a matter of planning.

Seeing Bolton's style of play, Jewell also frowned.

The opposition is not in a hurry to attack, which makes it more difficult for the team to recover the score, because again, Wigan Athletic's tactics are relatively conservative.

It's not that they don't want to attack.

The game has only just started and they have to be conservative even at home, otherwise they will really have no chance if they are scored by Bolton.

The tactics of both teams are very conservative, the beginning of the game is not fierce at all, but it is very peaceful, not in a hurry and not nervous, which makes the fans drowsy.

In this way, Wigan Athletic couldn't help it first.

Bolton can waste time, they can't because they are two goals behind and if they want to knock out their opponents, they have to catch up before they can be on the same page as their opponents.

They have no other choice.

……

Jewell gave Zhang Tiehan a heavy task, he not only had to defend hard, but also shouldered the heavy responsibility of scoring goals.

However, at the beginning, it was not easy for Zhang Tiehan to find opportunities, the opponent's defense line was very solid, and most of the time when he ran to the front, the ball had already been lost.

He is a player who is inserted in the back, and there are two strikers in front of Erlington and Roberts, and even Kenedy is in a higher position than him, according to the tactics, when he comes forward, the football has already passed to the vicinity of the opponent's penalty area, and it is not easy to pass the ball out at this time.

Positionally, Bolton didn't have much to defend against him, he felt relaxed, but again, Bolton used it against other Wigan Athletic players.

Bolton's defensive strategy is simple, that is, to stabilize the formation, there will be no holes in the whole backfield, as long as the formation is stable and there are no holes, they do not believe that Wigan Athletic can have a good player to find opportunities with the ball alone.

It's a very solid defence.

Their strength is already stronger than Wigan Athletic, with a 442 formation, two 44 defensive lines, and Bolton players everywhere at the back, it is too difficult to rely on passing to find opportunities.

Jewell frowned as well.

He turned his head to look at the other side, Bolton's coaching box, where Allardyce sat calmly with a faint smile on his face, thinking that he had also made full preparations, took the game very seriously, and did not have the slightest carelessness.

However, in this way, it will be too difficult for the team to score.

……

In order to score goals and get opportunities, Wigan Athletic gradually fought fiercely.

In the 11th minute, Kennedy, the captain of the team who started to replace Riddle, used a tackle to block the opponent's dribble, this tackle did not foul, but it was still suspended by the referee's whistle, and he received a verbal warning from the referee, mainly because the action just now was too dangerous.

Kennedy was a bit more skilled.

Two minutes later, Jenson was at the back and directly kicked the opposing striker to roll twice on the grass, not even touching half of the ball, and was shown a yellow card by the referee.

Jenson didn't mean the slightest apology, but glared at the Bolton player viciously.

Soon Bolton's 'revenge' came, Kennedy won the ball in front of the court, was tackled by the opponent, Kennedy stood up and pushed and yelled with the opponent, and finally the referee awarded a yellow card to each side.

In the shouting of players on both sides, Zhang Tiehan did not pass, he was stepping on the ball and looking at the opponent's goal.

This position is more than 30 meters away from the goal, usually in the shooting training, he can still score the ball, but the distance is indeed a little far, and he is not very sure, especially if the opponent has a wall, it is not easy to pass through the wall.

He looked down at the ball, looked up at the goal, and still wanted to try.

……

When the noise was over, everyone returned to their positions, and the referee awarded Wigan Athletic a set-piece, which was about 35 meters from the goal, which was a bit far away.

Bolton doesn't see this as an opportunity.

However, they still symbolically expelled the two-man wall, and the other players stood very messy, completely unconcerned, waiting for Wigan Athletic to make a free throw.

Zhang Tiehan stood in front of the ball.

Waiting for the referee to signal, he raised his foot carelessly, and even the two players of the opponent's wall were ready to run away, at this time, Zhang Tiehan suddenly made a force under his feet, and the surface of his right foot was directly stuffed behind the football.

Boom!

Loud bang!

The fans were stunned, and the Bolton players listened to the sound before they looked over, and then saw that the football had flown over the penalty area.

Straight to the goal!

"Direct shot! "Mick Williams only had time to say a word when he saw the ball fly across the box and into the left corner of the goal, with Bolton goalkeeper Kevin Poole standing in front of the goal and not even moving.

A lot of people stood up.

Head coach Jewell and other Wigan Athletic substitutes in the dugout also stood up.

"Bump!" There was another muffled thud, and the ball hit the post and flew off the baseline.

The "Hula ......" stands resounded with the lost voices of fans.

The Boltons were all looking in the direction of the goal in surprise, looking at the football flying out of bounds, they had just reacted until now, thinking about the ball just now, they felt a chill in their backs.

No one cared, but the ball almost went in.

It's just a little bit ......

Zhang Tiehan opened his hands and clenched his fists fiercely.

It's really a little bit close!

He poked the grass with his right foot, feeling that he was in good shape today, the goal was not scored, but he saw hope, as long as he could get a few chances, he believed that he would be able to score the ball.

Just hit it like that!

He looked at Bolton Wanderers in the half with empty eyes, and then as long as he had a chance, he must let these people from the outskirts of Manchester taste the power of his right foot!