Chapter 56: Where the Miracle Came From
Three top-flight titles, six FA Cups, one Community Shield and one League Cup final.
The glory of the past is the pride of Ewood Park.
It is also the pride of Blackburn Rovers fans.
Despite the team's poor record after the new millennium, falling into the Championship in the 11-12 season, fans still believe that the team will return to glory.
Three wins in a row in the new season have made the team the last two teams in the Championship to keep winning all of them, along with Bournemouth.
"We can get another one."
"No, there will be another one."
Two completely different expressions appeared on the faces of the players on both sides, and they also represented the mood of the players on both sides at this time.
After the goal, something unexpected happened on the pitch.
Harry Aert was tackled by his opponent during the attack and could not continue the game, and Bournemouth had no substitutes.
And Corey Evans, because of the tackle just now, was shown a yellow card by the referee.
Two yellows turned into one red and he was sent off the field.
Both teams are now playing with 10 players.
The intensity of the competition was beyond anyone's expectations.
Blackburn went from leading by three goals to being tied by just 30 minutes, and everything was like a dream.
Boo!
The home fans booed their displeasure with the manager.
With a three-goal lead, shrinking the defense, timidity, and lack of fighting spirit, such a performance is a disaster.
Blackburn Rovers also had a substitution in the form of removing full-back Jason Lowe for centre-forward Varney.
This signal to strengthen the attack did not satisfy the fans. In their eyes, this is just a last shred of face for the manager to save himself.
The fans are not stupid, what your manager thinks, you can see it from the way the players attack.
After Varney came on, he formed a forward line with Gastead, and Rhodes dropped back to maintain a midfield four configuration.
Both of them are slow high forwards in this line, so they will have to threaten the goal with long passes.
But the two wings couldn't break through Bournemouth's defence and were all for show.
Both sides are now playing with 10 players, and each player has more room to move around than before, which requires more physical fitness.
Defensively, Rossi dropped back into his original Harry Ated position to keep the team in control of the midfield.
Once an attack is formed, Rossi quickly rises up again and appears in the center position.
This is called offense, and this is bloody.
If you are a viewer who has just turned on the TV, you may feel that it is the Blackburn Rovers who are in a physical crisis.
With Rossi in midfield, his control of the team in midfield has improved significantly, and Blackburn Rovers have no advantage and can only find the heads of the two high strikers in the front line through long balls from full-backs.
Regardless of whether the quality is good or not, even if the 193cm Gastead can easily compete for the landing point, but the teammates around him are not speed forwards, unable to advance with the ball, and the offense is anticlimactic.
If the pass is returned, but the midfield is suppressed by Bournemouth, it has become disjointed and cannot form a secondary attack.
A full ten minutes passed, and Blackburn had only a couple of unthreatening aerial duels and no bright spots in attack.
And Bournemouth, due to Rossi's retreat defense, was a little hesitant when it came to switching between attack and defence.
The physical crisis also made them repeatedly miss opportunities to fight back.
[Looking at the current form of both sides, it is difficult to score another goal.] 】
[Blake was hesitant, wanting to attack but afraid of being beaten back. And Bournemouth's 4-2-3-0 position now does a good job of intercepting their best through balls. 】
[The Bournemouth team is powerless. Rowe dropped back into midfield to deprive the team of a pick-up point on the counter-attack, and Wilson was depleted of fitness. 】
[Bournemouth would love to score another goal, but it's a pity.] But we still have to give them a round of applause, they were amazing in the second half. 】
In the 87th minute of the game, Blackburn made a long pass from the backfield and gave it directly to the head of center forward Gastead.
Repeated headers were unsatisfactory because the quality of the passes in this backfield was too poor and the landing point was not good.
This time, Gastead did not choose to head the ball and used his body to resist Cook's interference and unload the ball with his chest.
It's dangerous to let the centre-forward get the ball in the box, he can turn around and shoot, or play the ball to a buddy who is inserted.
By the time Gastead stopped the ball with his chest, his body had already completed a half-turn to the left.
As soon as the ball was about to hit the ground, Gastead took the ball half a metre to the left with his right foot and turned to shoot home.
It was the centre-forward's back-to-back turn to shoot, and despite Gastead's stature, the whole action was done without any lag.
Cook suffered a loss in the first confrontation, and at this time, he rushed up and was used by his opponent to squeeze his position out of position.
Therefore, on the premise of maintaining a certain distance from the other party, he kept his eyes on Gastead's next move at any time.
Bang!
Cook reached out with his left foot to block, and the ball hit his foot with a deflection that neutralized most of the shot power and was easily confiscated by the goalkeeper.
Gastead looked up to the sky and sighed that when he was holding the ball with his back, he would force a turn and shoot without a teammate to cut in to answer it.
He roared and ran back, not knowing if he was dissatisfied with himself or with the manager's tactical arrangements.
At the end of this attack, the fourth official on the sidelines held a time card.
Stoppage time, 3 minutes.
After the Bournemouth goalkeeper served, Eddie Howe signalled to control the tempo, stall and be patient for opportunities.
Blackburn, on the other hand, contracted the defence and used the high point of the air defense to prevent the opponent's crosses.
The boos of the fans, from the beginning of stoppage time, have not stopped.
Such a good tailwind start, such a neat staffing, such a warm home atmosphere, and finally played this bad hand.
As the head coach, the on-the-spot command at the last moment is actually timid, how can the team make progress under the leadership of such a person.
Looking at the opposite side, Eddie Howe has been directing the battle with enthusiasm from the second half, reminding his players to attack with all his might.
With such a stark contrast, how can it not make the fans angry about it.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Bournemouth looked for an opportunity in midfield.
Gosling shifted the ball laterally to O'Kane's feet.
At this time, Blackburn's defense line has been very flat, and even the center forwards have come back to participate in the defense, and it is impossible to penetrate from the middle.
At that moment, Gosling ran from the back position, all the way to the wild.
Since coming off the bench, he has been defending in a midfield position and has never taken the initiative to get forward.
So no one thought at all that at this last moment, he would give up his defensive position and join the attack.
Gosling's forward step forward allowed Bournemouth to establish a numerical advantage in the middle.
O'Kane hurriedly passed the ball over.
Gosling leaned on his defender Kellney to break through the first barrier in midfield and drive the ball towards the edge of the box.
However, he couldn't shake off Kellney's defense and was entangled by him.
If you don't pass the ball at this time, the closer you get to the opponent's penalty area, the more likely you are to be caught and tackled.
And at this time, to his left, O'Kane also appeared there at his fastest speed.
Abandon defense?
Gosling's first reaction was that where O'Kane appeared, it meant that the team completely abandoned the defense.
He didn't know if it was the manager's intention or O'Kane's impromptu move, and his only thought now was to attack.
The ball was once again handed to O'Kane on the left.
The insertion of the double back is something Blackburn did not expect at all, and it is the center forward Rhodes who defends opposite O'Kane.
Rhodes, as a center forward, has average defensive ability, and hurriedly grabs.
O'Kane is confident that he can keep the ball steady, but if he delays the team's attacking speed, then Gosling's forward step is meaningless.
He didn't have a tough style of play, he had a good pass, and when he looked up, Rossi had already run from the midfield position to the central striker position.
The Irish midfielder, with the corners of his mouth raised, slid the ball through with the arch of his foot.
Rossi ran towards the gap between centre-back and left-sided centre-back, while Bournemouth cut forward on both flanks to create a 1-on-1 chance for Rossi.
Centre-back Grant Hanley, while chasing back, occupies a favorable position in the middle and wants to force Rossi to the outside.
Rossi glanced at the goal, the goalkeeper in the near corner was already in place, and there was an interception from Grant in the far corner, and there was no angle to shoot.
He took a big step forward with his left foot, as a foothold, his body had already overtaken the ball, and his right foot stepped forward, and the ball hit his heel as he landed.
What is this operation?
Grant was taken aback, this looked like a mistake with the ball, but how could the action be so natural and free, and there was no trace of deliberateness at all.
He braked hurriedly, and when he turned back to chase the ball, Gosling appeared in the trajectory of the ball.
Grant then understood that Rossi was not a mistake, but a pass.
But why?
He hadn't looked behind him when he had stepped forward, how did he know that Gosling would be there.
Could it be that he is a monster with long eyes on his back?
Puzzled and angry, Grant fell to the ground and shoveled, throwing his entire body out.
But it's still a step too late.
Gosling's powerful shot went straight into the corner of the goal, and the ball hung on the net for a full second before falling into the goal.
【GOALLLLLLLLLL!!! 】
[Unbelievably, in the last minute of injury time, Bournemouth scored the game and completed an incredible comeback. 】
[This game, perhaps with the Istanbul miracle, is talked about by fans. 】
[However, fans who have watched the game may have the same thoughts as me. 】
[Where there are miracles, they are all the natural results of the players' hard work. 】
[Bournemouth's victory is a victory of their tenacious spirit, a victory beyond the technical and tactical victory of the game, let us congratulate the Bournemouth team. 】