Chapter 69: Twelve

Vittini's goal panicked Paul Cody, the manager of Wolverhampton.

However, he quickly adjusted.

It was just one goal.

No big deal!

While Tyne's players were still wildly celebrating the goal, Cody was already standing on the touchline, gesturing to his players to calm and encourage them.

Although he had referenced Clayton Athletic's victory over Tyne, it did not mean he was naive enough to think he would easily win away from home.

He had indeed considered the possibility of conceding the first goal.

He had prepared a contingency plan for how to deal with falling behind.

If Tyne scored right at the beginning of the match, the plan was to compact the defense, stabilize the backline, and weather the storm during that initial period when Tyne's morale would be soaring after taking the lead. Then, they would slowly maneuver against them.

What if Tyne took the lead near the end of the match?

Then they would abandon all defense and immediately press forward to engage Tyne in an open, attacking duel.

Tyne had taken the lead neither right at the beginning nor in the final stages of the match. Cody judged that Tyne would seize this opportunity to try and widen the goal margin in a short period.

However, he would not have his team sit back in a deep defense to ensure they conceded no more.

They needed to defend, but not park the bus.

Instead, they needed to counterattack.

Tyne's players, fresh from scoring, would be very excited and eager to press the attack, which naturally made it difficult for them to maintain a compact shape.

The massive spaces left behind them would be prime counterattacking territory for Wolverhampton.

Why not do this if they conceded right at the start instead of tightening the defense to park the bus?

Because of stamina.

At the very beginning of the match, Tyne's players were fresher than they were now, and they could rely on greater running distance to cover the flaws in their defensive structure.

Even if Wolverhampton got an opportunity, it would be hard to capitalize on it.

Counterattacking at that point would yield greatly reduced results.

Therefore, even though both involved conceding a goal, the strategy for the opening minutes differed from that of the midway point of the match—though players regained some stamina after halftime, it could not compare to their initial physical condition at kickoff.

Having prepared the corresponding contingency plan and given his instructions, Cody returned to the dugout, unscrewed a water bottle, took a few sips, and sat back down in the coach's chair, waiting for the match to resume.

***

In fact, after Wang Lie joined the team, it wasn't as if other Tyne players hadn't scored.

For instance, two rounds ago in the league, when Tyne defeated Brighton White Mountain 4:0 at home, apart from Wang Lie's brace, Charlie Cohen and Ryan Graham had also scored a goal each.

So why did people get the impression that Tyne relied entirely on Wang Lie?

Because apart from the away match where they beat Bournemouth Athletic 2:1—a game in which Wang Lie did not score—in every other match where Wang Lie scored, he was always the one to break the deadlock.

In other words, the hardest part—"breaking the deadlock"—was always done by Wang Lie.

In any match, whichever side scored first could break the balance first, and the momentum would swing in their favor.

The trailing side, forced to re-establish balance, would find themselves in an unstable state, and that was the opportunity for the leading side.

This was why comebacks, where the team that fell behind ultimately won, became the thrilling "comeback" spectacles everyone loved to talk about, sparking heated discussions and topping highlight lists...

Because everyone knew the team that scored first had a higher win rate and a greater chance of victory, while the team that conceded first was much more likely to ultimately lose, making their path to turnaround extremely difficult.

Against the Scousers, although Wang Lie wasn't the very first scorer of the match, he directly claimed all of Tyne's goals in that game, making his impact even more pronounced.

In the defeat against Clayton Athletic, Wang Lie was also the sole scorer for Tyne—he netted a goal in the dying moments of the match, and prior to that, he had forced Clayton Athletic's midfielder Kevin Zimmer into scoring an own goal.

These goals were powerful evidence of how vital Wang Lie was to Tyne.

Yet, at the same time, this led some to interpret it as Tyne being heavily dependent on Wang Lie, unable to function without him...

Today's goal by Vittini marked the first time in a match where Wang Lie both played and scored that another Tyne player opened the scoring.

It could be said to hold tremendous significance.

However, Wang Lie himself didn't care about such discussions.

That was why when Vittini celebrated his goal by telling him he wasn't a burden, Wang Lie's expression had darkened—clueless outsiders running their mouths was one thing, but did you actually buy into that shit, you motherfucker?

Of course, he knew he was important to Tyne—extremely important, irreplaceable.

Wang Lie had always possessed a very clear and sober understanding of his own significance.

But that didn't mean that every other Tyne player besides him was a "burden" or "just making up the numbers," nor did it mean he could carry the entire team single-handedly—even though many people who propagated this view happened to be Wang Lie's fans.

This was also why Wang Lie didn't bother with official fan clubs or interact with fans online.

Even though the media loved to hype up the fact that he had over four hundred million genuine fans across the internet, Wang Lie didn't care.

If people loved his playing style, admired his spirit, and became his fans, he felt proud and happy.

That didn't mean, however, that he would allow himself to be controlled by a massive fan base.

He was still himself, and he would not change for anyone.

Whether people loved him or hated him, turned from haters to fans, or fans to haters... it didn't matter to him.

He cared only about victory, only about football.

Sometimes fans talked utter nonsense, which he completely disagreed with. Was he supposed to issue a statement or post online just to get into a war of words with his own fans?

No, he wouldn't publicly argue against them, but he would prove through concrete actions that the nonsense was wrong.

Take the issue concerning him and his fellow Tyne players, for example.

He never considered other Tyne players to be burdens or deadweight. On the contrary, he believed that if he truly wanted to achieve the goal of playing in the Champions League next season, his teammates were crucial.

Everyone had to perform at their absolute best to make that possible.

Why else would he constantly look to push Sonny Deane?

Why else would he constantly try to shake up the "silent majority" within the team?

He was one of the top players in the world, but he never felt he could win championships and victories all by himself.

Even during the "Seven-Crown" era with Sophos United, he never thought it was solely his own achievement; he only considered himself the one who contributed the most...

In fact, during the routine training sessions over the past week, Wang Lie had sensed a change in his teammates.

At the time, he hadn't looked into it too deeply; he was simply glad that everyone finally showed more fighting spirit and drive.

Perhaps that was the greatest harvest from that defeat...

As a result, he hadn't expected that even someone like Vittini would view him as a burden...

A "burden" coveted by Madrid FC?

***

Yet at the same time, he understood the reason behind the changes seen that week...

Wang Lie had originally intended to use the opportunity of Vittini's goal—while everyone came over to celebrate—to dish out some inspirational pep talk and ease their minds.

Suddenly, he changed his mind.

To achieve the goal of reaching the Champions League, he had to squeeze every ounce of potential out of his teammates; everyone had to give their absolute all to accomplish this seemingly impossible task.

So, was Vittini even slightly better now than before?

Yes.

What about his lovely teammates?

They had also become more proactive and willing to fight.

Therefore...

This didn't seem like a bad thing at all, did it?

So he clenched his fist and waved it toward the teammates who had run over to celebrate:

"How is scoring just one goal enough? Keep up the momentum! Let's keep going!"

Katic agreed, "A one-goal lead is not safe!"

Vittini yelled excitedly, "Keep scoring! Keep going!"

***

When the referee blew the whistle to restart the match, Wolverhampton manager Paul Cody rose from his seat and walked back to the touchline to watch the game.

True to his prediction, Tyne, having just taken the lead, launched a fierce assault on Wolverhampton's goal.

They weren't satisfied with just this; they wanted more goals.

This was only human nature—who would ever feel secure with just a single-goal lead?

Even though Tyne's attacks were exceptionally ferocious, Paul Cody stood calmly on the touchline, radiating an aura of absolute composure that instilled confidence in the Wolverhampton players on the pitch.

***

Sonny Deane dropped deep into the right flank to receive the ball, retreating even deeper than Wang Lie.

When he received it, his back was facing the attacking direction, so he instantly laid the ball off horizontally to Van Ginkel supporting him in the central channel.

Then he spun and made an off-the-ball run into open space.

Van Ginkel delivered a diagonal through-ball, sending it into the space ahead of him.

The moment Deane received the ball, he knocked it hard forward while accelerating alongside it!

In an instant, he shook off the Wolverhampton player who had rushed out to press him.

Amidst the cheers of the Lytham Park crowd, Deane drove the ball down the touchline at high speed.

Just when everyone thought he was going to charge all the way to the byline, he dragged the ball inward toward the center at the thirty-meter line.

Then he cut inside, dribbling horizontally.

Meanwhile, Wang Lie made a diagonal run from the center into the right half-space of the penalty area.

Deane's aggressive run drew the attention of most Wolverhampton players, and no one paid attention to Wang Lie's movement.

Then Deane passed.

While dribbling across, keeping his eyes on Vittini at the far post, he used the instep of his left foot to sweep the ball toward the right half-space of the box, feeding the diagonally cutting Wang Lie!

"Wang—!"

Cutting in, Wang Lie adjusted his stride mid-run and let the ball run past him.

As the ball rolled from behind him to his front, he unleashed a fierce, first-time shot!

Although Wolverhampton's central defender threw himself into a desperate sliding tackle, he was half a step too late!

Struck cleanly by Wang Lie, the ball skimmed the turf and hurtled toward the far corner of the net!

Wolverhampton's goalkeeper was shifting toward the near post, but Wang Lie had driven it across to the opposite corner. The keeper could only scramble back in a panic, a fraction of a delay too late in movement and falling short by a palm's length...

He could only turn his head and helplessly watch the ball bouncing across the grass and into the back corner of the net!

"Wang Lie!! He's scored again!! Only four minutes after Vittini's goal, Wang Lie extends the lead with another strike! 2:0!!"

"Wang!! He has scored in four consecutive matches! After the defeat to Clayton Athletic last round, some people questioned whether his hat-trick against the Scousers and brace against Brighton White Mountain had burned the last drop of fuel in his tank. Well, now he's using goals to tell everyone: there's still plenty of fuel in my tank!"

"Wang's ninth goal since joining Tyne! His tenth goal of the season! An assist from Sonny Deane! After scoring, he pointed at Deane, and the two embraced... Both this assist and this celebration completely shatter the rumors of internal discord and a falling out between them!"

Watching the scene of Wang Lie and Deane embracing, soon swarmed by more Tyne players, Luo Jin remarked with emotion: "Some people say Wang Lie brings trouble wherever he goes, but at Tyne, Wang Lie is neither trouble nor a problem—how can goals and victories ever be trouble or problems?"

Zhao Chuanfeng added a sharp remark from the side: "Unless someone doesn't want goals, and doesn't want to win."

Luo Jin couldn't help but let out a laugh: "Ha!"

He knew his partner was taking a veiled jab at Sophos United, taking a jab at Sven Helden.

Because earlier that afternoon in a Premier League match, Sophos United had been held to a 0:0 draw at home by Southampton Ank.

No goals, and no victory.

Sven Helden and his team were now winless in three matches.

If not for an FA Cup match in between where Sophos United won, defeating East London United 3:1 to advance to the quarterfinals, it would have been a four-match winless streak across all competitions...

That FA Cup victory had temporarily bought him some time, slightly muting the baying for his blood in the media.

***

The cheers at Lytham Park shook the skies as Tyne fans went wild over Wang Lie's goal.

Wolverhampton manager Paul Cody stared blankly at the pitch.

Come on, man...

Why on earth wasn't Cochea's method working?

I know Clayton Athletic is stronger than us, Wolverhampton, but we played quite well in the first half. No matter what, it shouldn't allow the opponents to score two goals in the span of five minutes, right?

In the previous league round, both Vittini and Deane had very ordinary performances.

Yet in today's match, one scored a goal and the other provided an assist...

Could it be that you guys deliberately hid your strength in the last round?

Were you guys playing me?!

It was no wonder Cody thought this way.

Because to say the entire Tyne squad had made massive progress and undergone a complete transformation in just one short week was truly hard to believe.

He'd rather believe that in the previous league round, knowing they couldn't beat Clayton Athletic, the entire Tyne squad had willingly given up and hidden their strength just to set a trap for his Wolverhampton in this match.

And hadn't he just walked right into it?

Paul Cody desperately wanted to look up and let out a long sigh.

***

In hindsight, Tyne's two quickfire goals within five minutes effectively killed off any suspense regarding the outcome of the match.

Yet while the game was ongoing, no one dared to draw that conclusion just yet.

Because only fifty-seven minutes had been played, leaving Wolverhampton over half an hour.

If they could pull themselves together and come up with the right response, it was entirely possible to claw their way back—though difficult, it wasn't impossible.

The situation Tyne faced when they trailed the Scousers by two goals within thirty minutes at home was far tougher than what Wolverhampton was currently facing.

Yet hadn't Tyne ultimately defeated the Scousers 3:2?

It was just that Wolverhampton failed to show that kind of fighting spirit and capability in the remainder of the match.

On one hand, conceding two goals in such a short span dealt a heavy blow to their morale; on the other hand, it seemed to indicate that the targeted tactics they had prepared all week had failed, severely shaking the confidence of the Wolverhampton players.

Moreover, finding themselves two goals down, they were forced to push out and attack, inevitably leaving more spaces in their own defensive third...

Right at the seventy-fifth minute, Tyne struck again, extending their lead to three goals.

The scorer this time wasn't Wang Lie, but Vittini.

The Brazilian youngster had secured a brace!

"Vittini!! Brilliant! This is his second goal of the match! And his first brace of the season!"

Having scored, Vittini didn't run to embrace Wang Lie this time; instead, he excitedly ran over to the camera by the corner flag and broke into a samba dance.

Then he turned around to embrace his other teammates who had rushed over.

"3:0! Tyne has practically won this match! All suspense is gone!"

Lytham Park erupted in cheers.

Commentators shouted in rapid succession.

Following the defeat to Clayton Athletic, quite a few people had expressed concern over Tyne's prospects.

Not because they were writing the team off after a single loss.

It was mainly the manner of the defeat.

Tyne had offered virtually no resistance in that loss, relying solely on Wang Lie's individual brilliance to save face.

A Tyne without Wang Lie was merely a relegation-tier team.

Clayton Athletic had demonstrated once again how to deal with Tyne and Wang Lie.

If other teams followed suit and learned from that example, Tyne's future matches would be very tough.

Wasn't that exactly how the first half against Wolverhampton looked?

It seemed like they were truly about to follow in the footsteps of the previous round's loss to Clayton Athletic...

Then Vittini and Wang Lie scored in succession, utterly shattering those people's doubts and worries.

At the very least, it proved that Clayton Athletic's approach wasn't applicable to every team.

Perhaps only teams noticeably stronger than Tyne could pull it off.

As for teams on par with Tyne, or even weaker, they were better off not trying to copy it lightly.

Otherwise, trying to imitate a tiger only to end up looking like a dog—just like Wolverhampton today, suffering a 0:3 defeat.

Ultimately, until the final whistle, Wolverhampton failed to mount any fierce counterattack or equalize, failing even to pull a single goal back.

The final score stood at 3:0, with Tyne crushing Wolverhampton at home.

Right after suffering a defeat, they immediately used a victory to sweep away the clouds and fog shrouding every Tyne fan's heart.

Vittini bagged a brace and was named man of the match after the game.

It also proved to the outside world that Tyne was not a one-man show relying solely on Wang Lie.

***

Clutching the champagne bottle representing his Man of the Match award, Vittini skipped and hopped his way back to the dressing room.

Continuously lifting the champagne bottle in his hand, he chanted loudly:

"Twelve! Twelve! Twelve!"

Some players in the dressing room joined in, chanting along with him:

"Twelve! Twelve! Twelve!"

This wasn't some internal code between them, but carried a distinct meaning—it was the point gap between them and the Champions League qualification zone.

Because Sophos United had been held to a draw by Southampton Ank in this league round, they currently sat on forty-eight points. Their lead over Tyne, which had been fourteen points before this round, was now shortened to twelve.

Tyne's 3:0 victory over Wolverhampton was the final fixture of the twenty-seventh round of the Premier League.

Now they could look at the final standings in the league table:

Tyne had thirty-six points, ranking ninth.

Shushro had thirty-nine points, ranking eighth.

Kensington had forty points, ranking seventh.

Brighton White Mountain had forty points, ranking sixth on goal difference.

Waltham had forty-four points, ranking fifth.

Sophos United had forty-eight points, ranking fourth.

The Scousers had fifty-four points, ranking third.

If Wang Lie's goal was merely to reach European competition, the gap was four points—the UEFA Conference League counted as European competition, after all.

But if the goal was the Champions League, they would have to surpass each of the teams ranked above them one by one.

It was not an easy path to walk.

Yet it was a path worth taking.

Once traversed, the scenery would be unimaginably breathtaking.

Just thinking about it made the heart race with longing.

(End of this chapter)