After a day of rest, the players arrived at Cambridge United Training Base in high spirits.
Two days later, they would face fifth-placed Sheffield Wednesday at home.
Sheffield Wednesday currently had 73 points, a 9-point gap from Cambridge United. To overtake Cambridge United, it was estimated that even if Huang Hao defected, it would be too late.
To Huang Hao's surprise, Sheffield Wednesday released their starting lineup two days in advance. They, who should have been preparing for the playoffs, actually sent out their full main squad!
Such an incredible thing could only make Huang Hao sigh that England was also a place that valued connections!
It seemed that Birmingham had done a lot of behind-the-scenes work! Because there were only two days left until the match, Cambridge United's players mainly focused on recovery training.
Returning to their home ground this time, Huang Hao believed that as long as the referee did not interfere, Cambridge United would secure all three points, regardless of whether Sheffield Wednesday played with their full squad!
On April 25th, a warm afternoon, Abbey Stadium was not only packed inside, but the square outside was also teeming with people!
Thanks to Li Jianqin, the clever one, who suddenly had a brilliant idea. After seeing tickets sell out for every match this season, he directly installed a huge LED display screen outside the stadium at a high cost, which could also broadcast the match live in real-time!
At first, Huang Hao was heartbroken about spending tens of thousands of pounds to build such a thing. But when it was truly completed, the square outside Abbey Stadium was directly overflowing!
The surge in numbers also boosted the sales of club merchandise. It was believed that the cost of this screen would be recouped soon!
This made Li Jianqin incredibly proud! He would come to Huang Hao every now and then to show off.
However, for Huang Hao, the most important significance of the LED screen was that he directly saw the potential of Cambridge United fans! Cambridge was a relatively wealthy city in England, and everyone had high purchasing power, which provided him with enough confidence for rebuilding the stadium in the future!
During the pre-match briefing, Huang Hao did not say much. The significance of the upcoming matches was self-evident.
Every soldier of Cambridge United was striving forward towards their boldest goal this season!
Therefore, at this critical juncture, motivating the team was no longer something Huang Hao needed to worry about!
Amidst the cheers of 7,800 home fans at Abbey, Cambridge United launched a fierce offensive from the very beginning of the match.
In the 7th minute of the opening, Vida intercepted Sheffield Wednesday's pass in the backfield and headed it to Tadić in front of him.
Today, Tadić was directly arranged in a forward position on the right wing, while Mahrez was on the left wing.
Tadić saw that Mahrez on the right had already started, and immediately passed the ball over, while he himself sprinted quickly towards Sheffield Wednesday's penalty area!
After Mahrez quickly carried the ball to the front field, he glanced up briefly, and the ball at his feet flew directly towards the top of the penalty area arc!
While running, Smith, who was exactly in the path of the pass, immediately lowered his head and let the ball pass over him!
Wood, who had already stopped and was preparing to contend for the ball with Tadić, was slightly stunned!
In the instant he was distracted, Tadić started again, flashing past him!
And Vardy at the top of the penalty area arc immediately jumped up and passed the ball to Tadić with his leg in the air!
The cooperation of the three was incredibly tacit and seamless!
Tadić, who received the ball, had only the goalkeeper Grant in front of him!
Tadić's shot easily chipped over the diving Grant, gracefully falling into the net! 1:0!
This time, Tadić finally heard the referee's whistle confirming the goal!
Just 8 minutes into the match, Cambridge United successfully scored the first goal!
Playing at home, Cambridge United was not satisfied with just one goal.
Cambridge United once again unleashed their signature pressing tactic, moving their defensive encounter line directly to the front of Sheffield Wednesday's penalty area!
Sheffield Wednesday, being constantly pressed and harassed by Cambridge United, showed obvious discomfort, often making passing errors. In the 15th minute, Sheffield Wednesday finally got an opportunity to push the ball into Cambridge United's backfield. As soon as McAllister touched the ball, May sprinted towards him as if his life depended on it!
Startled, McAllister immediately tried to pass the ball to the left wing!
Before his teammate Potter could receive the ball, Vida once again intervened, heading the ball to Mahrez!
Mahrez delivered a curling shot, and the ball arced noticeably in the air, drifting towards the left side of the front field!
Simeck's speed was clearly superior to Vardy's. With his acceleration, he finally got the ball ahead of Vardy.
However, Vardy did not turn back, but instead ran directly towards Simeck, starting to press him in Sheffield Wednesday's penalty area!
In a hurry, Simeck took a big kick, attempting to clear the ball to midfield!
But when the ball landed, he realized that the one who gained possession was still Mahrez, wearing the yellow jersey!
Mahrez, with his back to the goal, gently nudged the ball forward, directly sending it to the feet of the running Adam May!
Just as Gutierrez and McAllister went to surround May, May passed the ball back to Mahrez through the gap!
A perfect one-two!
Mahrez, who once again received the ball on the right side of Sheffield Wednesday's penalty area, calmly sent a low, curling shot towards the goal!
The ball, after leaving Mahrez's foot, seemed to have eyes, bypassing the interceptions of Wood and Leistner!
When Grant saw that the two players closest to the goal were actually Vardy and Lewandowski of Cambridge United, tears almost fell!
Finally, Vardy received the ball, almost brushing Grant's face, and chipped the ball into the goal!!!
2:0! Cambridge United scored another goal in 16 minutes!
With a two-goal lead, Cambridge United's players relaxed slightly, and the intensity of their pressing also decreased significantly.
Sheffield Wednesday was like a spring; once the pressure was relieved, they instantly bounced back!
In the 26th minute of the first half, McAllister passed the ball from the right side of the backfield to Weimann in front.
The Austrian international easily dribbled past O'Connor's slide tackle, crossed the midfield line, and approached Cambridge United's penalty area!
Despite three Cambridge United players encircling Weimann, he still found an opportunity and passed the ball out!
Under the organization of this 30-year-old veteran, Sheffield Wednesday managed a rare series of fluid passes in Cambridge United's front field.
Finally, Potter delivered a brilliant backheel pass at the top of the penalty area arc, breaking through Cambridge United's last line of defense!
Vani received the ball in the penalty area and chipped it towards the upper corner of the goal!
The ball flew over Pantilimon's head and hit the crossbar!
Lovren quickly rushed up and kicked the rebounded ball out of bounds!
The Cambridge United fans, still shaken, immediately burst into enthusiastic applause without a word, cheering on their team.
Five minutes later, right-back Lorrefa delivered another beautiful overhead long pass!
Vani, despite Lovren's pulling, still successfully controlled the ball, and the two tangled all the way to the front of Cambridge United's penalty area!
Seeing Vida providing defensive support from the wing, Vani directly took a long-range shot!
Pantilimon pushed the ball out of bounds with both hands!
The dangerous situations in front of Cambridge United's goal made Huang Hao extremely dissatisfied. He immediately rushed from the coaching bench to the sideline and scolded the players!
The overly smooth progression of the match made the young players prone to complacency. If such arrogance were allowed to grow, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Fortunately, the scolded players adjusted their emotions in time and did not continue to let the opponent run wild.
As the first half drew to a close, Cambridge United earned a corner kick on the right side during a counterattack.
O'Connor cleanly delivered the ball to the front of the goal!
Sun Jihai, only 183cm tall, through flexible positioning, successfully got to the first point of contact in front of the goal and headed the ball into the net!
3:0!!!
Cambridge United added another insurance goal for victory!
"Oh oh oh ~ Oh oh oh ~ We are fearless, we will go to the top League. Although we don't know when, we will eventually return!"
This familiar song echoed again at Abbey Stadium.
In the past, this song was a distant dream for Cambridge United, who were in the fifth-tier League.
Now, it was only a stone's throw away from being realized. When Cambridge United scored their third goal, even the more than 300 Sheffield Wednesday fans present believed that Cambridge United would win today's match.
And the reason why football is so charming is precisely because sometimes, it has too many uncertainties.
St. Andrews Park, home team locker room.
McLeish's roar could be clearly heard in the player tunnel!
Facing Preston, who were in the promotion zone, Birmingham's players seemed listless, failing to score a single goal by halftime.
Learning that Cambridge United was already leading Sheffield Wednesday by three goals at home meant that if the score remained the same at the final whistle, Birmingham would fall 3 points behind Cambridge United!
With only one match remaining, this advantage was undoubtedly fatal! Although McLeish was already furious, Birmingham's players seemed somewhat unresponsive.
Phillips sighed lightly. As the player with the longest running distance and most activity in the first half, he still could not break through Preston's dense defense alone without the support of his teammates.
It seemed that at the end of this season, he really needed to seriously consider where his future lay.
Meanwhile, Cambridge United, playing at home, calmly walked onto the field to continue the second half against Sheffield Wednesday.
Cambridge United's first attack after the kickoff ended quickly with Vardy being offside.
Grant took a free kick from the backfield, directly passing the ball to right-back Lorrefa.
Under Weimann's guidance, Lorrefa continuously penetrated into Cambridge United's front field through a series of passes and receptions!
Lorrefa, who successfully broke through near the end line, directly passed the ball into the penalty area!
The pass was a bit too strong, and Vida directly intercepted the ball at the back post!
The moment he stopped the ball, Vida felt a chill down his spine! He glanced quickly and saw Odowada rushing towards him like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey! Although it wasn't the first time he had faced such pressing, Vida still felt a little nervous inside.
Seeing the angle to pass to Pantilimon getting smaller and smaller, Vida steeled himself, accelerated one step towards the end line, and forcefully kicked the ball towards midfield with his less dominant left foot!
The moment the ball left Vida's left foot, Vida realized that Odowada was not the only one behind him!
Sheffield Wednesday's star striker Vani had already jumped high at this moment, successfully heading Vida's assist into the far corner of the goal!!!
3:1!