The coaches of Cambridge United exchanged glances, while Huang Hao tilted his head slightly, an expression of helplessness on his face.
They also didn't know what was happening today; creating two golden opportunities in the first ten minutes was already very good, but they all shot wide! Especially with both strikers missing golden chances, this was not a good sign.
Although Tottenham's goal had not been breached, goalkeeper Gomes was already terrified, and the defenders were all somewhat trembling.
Cambridge United focused on the flanks today, and both fullbacks were not very reliable. Once the flanks were exploited, the threat would appear in the penalty area!
In the 15th minute of the match, Cambridge United attacked through the middle. Because Ledley-King's position was very deep, when Palacios was the only one pressing in the front, Cambridge United could easily break through his defense in the middle.
This time, M'Vila dribbled past the halfway line and tried to send a ground pass to Tadić.
After Tadić's almost brutal breakthrough the first time, Ekotto had been reflecting on how to proceed with the next defense. He learned from the pain and could only adopt a risky approach! If he defended in a mediocre or conservative way, his defense would likely be repeatedly breached, so he might as well take a risk and be more aggressive!
So he decisively and proactively pressed forward with a large stride.
This was unexpected for Tadić. He had intended to wait for the ball in place, then Ekotto would close in, and he would suddenly accelerate again to get past the opponent with his speed.
As a result, he suffered from his youth, which meant he still lacked experience.
Perhaps with other young fullbacks, they would most likely have lost their nerve and only wanted to protect their own defensive area, but Ekotto was, after all, a player who had seen countless big matches. When he bravely pressed forward, Tadić reacted a beat late to actively run to receive the ball, and Ekotto intercepted the ball in front of him first!
When Tadić tried to counter-press again, Ekotto used his body to firmly block Tadić on the outside, then sent a through ball to the left flank ahead.
Ekotto's interception this time earned the applause of Tottenham fans.
Left winger Bale stopped the ball in the front and immediately dribbled forward to advance the attack. After he reached the dangerous attacking zone, facing Sun Jihai who came to press, he passed the ball horizontally to the middle.
Modric stopped the ball in the middle, with Juninho chasing back behind him. No one expected the ball sent by M'Vila to be directly intercepted by the opponent, leading to the opponent initiating a good counter-attack opportunity.
Facing Kante, who had just returned to the defensive line to defend him directly, Modric directly pushed the ball horizontally to adjust direction, then dribbled two steps, creating an angle to send a through ball behind Kante.
Kante turned to look, and what met his eyes was Defoe cutting diagonally from the front of the penalty area, dribbling the ball in the central area! Defoe already had a shooting opportunity. In such a situation, De Vrij and Van Dijk simultaneously closed in to defend, but before they could block his angle, Defoe threaded the ball through the middle.
Crouch, who was diagonally cutting into the penalty spot area from the rib, successfully broke the offside trap!
Sun Jihai-Lao at the far post raised his hand to signal Crouch was offside, but the linesman made no indication.
Van Dijk and De Vrij looked back, instantly turning pale with fright.
Due to Crouch's height and long legs, his frequency was slower. He dribbled one step in front of the penalty spot, and it was this step that Oblak directly abandoned his goal and rushed towards him. As Crouch took a shot, Oblak had already reached Crouch, and the ball hit Oblak's chest heavily and bounced out. The 2.02-meter Crouch faced the high-bouncing ball, jumped in place, and headed it towards the empty net!
Because he jumped in place and couldn't generate much power, the ball's flight speed was not fast. Just as the ball was about to cross the goal line, Van Dijk finally arrived, flying and hooking the ball out of bounds with his toe.
It was truly unexpected. Cambridge United, who had the complete advantage in the match, almost conceded a goal due to a passing error that led to a counter-attack!
In the 21st minute of the match, Juninho dribbled and advanced the attack on the right flank just past the midfield. Although Palacios was chasing behind him, Juninho still advanced steadily with the ball.
Ekotto watched the formidable Juninho ahead with a calm gaze. He watched the distance between them gradually shorten from about 30 yards. When they were only 10 yards apart, he initiated, bravely rushing forward to intercept.
Brazilians are Brazilians. Although Juninho is not known for fancy dribbling, Juninho suddenly changed direction to the inside when caught in a pincer movement. This cut and change of direction forced both Palacios and Ekotto to also change direction. But after creating some distance, Juninho chipped the ball behind Ekotto, still sending the ball to the right flank's byline.
Ekotto stopped abruptly and turned around, looking back to see Cambridge United's right winger Tadić going down the flank!
Tadić controlled the ball in front of the byline and looked up at the situation in the penalty area.
Ledley-King and Dawson were out of position, double-teaming Vardy and Lewandowski.
There wasn't a good passing lane inside the penalty area. If they went aerial, Ledley-King was consciously marking Lewandowski, and only he could match Lewandowski in terms of physical confrontation.
But this meant the area in front of the box was open!
Tadić saw M'Vila's run into the area in front of the box and decisively sent a cross into the open space in front of the penalty area.
The Tottenham defenders in the penalty area saw the ball flying towards the area in front of the box. They were somewhat helpless. Modric couldn't keep up with M'Vila, and the space was indeed quite large. Passively following the defense rarely allows for a sudden burst to gain the initiative.
M'Vila ran diagonally in front of the penalty area to meet Tadić's half-volley, stopped the ball with his right foot, letting the ball bounce once on the ground, and then immediately unleashed a volley!
The ball traced an indistinct parabolic trajectory and flew towards the bottom right corner of the goal!
Goalkeeper Gomes's heart pounded as he attempted to save, but he knew he was already powerless!
Bang!
Cambridge United fans were practically on the verge of collapse.
They once again buried their heads in disappointment, watching M'Vila's long-range shot hit the outside of the bottom right post and bounce out of bounds, feeling immense regret.
"Oh my god! What bad luck has Cambridge United had today! M'Vila's shot was already perfectly struck, with power, angle, and trajectory almost flawless, but it was just that little bit off!
The ball actually hit the outside of the post and bounced out of bounds!
This is similar to the chance Vardy missed.
It seems Cambridge United players aren't wearing their shooting boots today!"
M'Vila himself didn't show much change in expression; there was still plenty of time in the match.
Moreover, Tottenham's defense also had problems. Juninho's dribbling effectively pulled Tottenham's defensive focus, which could create defensive vacuum zones in localized areas for Tottenham.
Since Tottenham had obvious defensive flaws, Cambridge United didn't need to worry too much about not creating chances.
Work hard to seize the next opportunity! This is what Cambridge United should do now.
Huang Hao looked up at the sky from the sidelines, seemingly also feeling that luck was not on their side.
In the 22nd minute of the match, after Defoe made a wide retreat to receive a pass from his teammate, he dribbled forward alone in the central area of the front. M'Vila stood in front of him like a mountain, with Kante lurking nearby.
Defoe changed direction twice but couldn't shake off M'Vila. From 35 yards out, he had no choice but to pass the ball horizontally to Bale, who was coming over on the left flank, and then he ran forward. After he ran past M'Vila, Bale, on his inside cutting line, also encountered Sun Jihai, who had moved inside. Seeing his inside cut blocked and the passing lane not very good, Bale decisively pushed the ball to the left, chipped it behind Sun Jihai, and then directly used his speed to accelerate towards the ball!
The football match turned into a 30-meter sprint race between Bale and Sun Jihai. Soon, Bale overtook Sun Jihai and ran towards the ball. Realizing he couldn't beat Bale in speed, the experienced Sun Jihai did not choose to follow but decisively chose to retreat, blocking Bale's inside cutting route and allowing Bale to go to the byline for a cross.
The small Bale dribbled diagonally into the penalty area's rib zone. He already had an opportunity to shoot himself! Goalkeeper Oblak moved towards the near post, but Bale's next choice was to pass the ball horizontally to the far post.
Van Dijk was in an awkward position while chasing back. He couldn't make a sliding tackle interception; that would very likely result in an own goal!
So he could only blindly run back, then adjust the direction he was facing when he reached the goal line to prevent the opponent from shooting at the far post.
Crouch caught up with the ball at the far post and took a push shot. Van Dijk fell to the goal line to block with his foot, but it was too late!
Van Dijk watched the ball roll into the net, and his foot only touched the ball. If he could have cleared the ball, it might have caused the referee to make a judgment error due to the speed of the ball, but the off-balance Van Dijk merely touched the ball and did not kick it out of the goal.
The ball hit the side netting inside the goal.
1:0!
"OMG! Crouch! He scored Tottenham's first goal of the match, giving Tottenham the lead away from home!
Crouch celebrated with a confident smile. Tottenham manager Redknapp, composed and steady, merely applauded, but his glance towards Huang Hao was filled with satisfaction!
Most of the Cambridge United coaching staff looked unwilling, while Huang Hao simply stood up from his seat and walked to the sidelines. He gestured to the players on the field, meaning to tell them not to change their tactical approach and not to lose their composure.
Sun Jihai, meanwhile, fully played the role of a veteran, encouraging the young Cambridge United defenders to shed their burdens.
M'Vila's arrival helped Cambridge United build a thick barrier in the back. Modric and Defoe's breakthroughs in the middle were often fruitless, but Bale, as a wide attacking threat, was very difficult for Sun Jihai to defend.
Now Huang Hao has two choices: 1. Have Tadić focus on defending Bale, which would stagnate Cambridge United's right-wing attack. 2. Attack to counter attack, and it would be up to fate to see whether Tadić or Bale would collapse the opponent's defense more.
How will Huang Hao adjust?
"With a one-goal lead, Tottenham manager Redknapp finally couldn't restrain his emotions anymore. He waved his arms wildly on the sidelines, celebrating as if putting pressure on Huang Hao.
Huang Hao, on the sidelines, lost his temper with his players on the field. He repeatedly hit his left palm with his right fist, his expression clearly showing anger as he reprimanded his players on the field.
"Defend more aggressively!"
"Hesitating like a bunch of women!"
"What are you doing with your heads down? Lift your heads up!"
"Show your male fighting spirit and wildness!"
Given the increasingly fast pace of the Premier League, Tottenham's overall lineup has a relatively strong frontline.
The Crouch and Defoe combination is still very threatening. It's a fact that Cambridge United's defense is unstable right now, but today, on one hand, it's a home game, so they must play more proactively.
On the other hand, from being 0-1 down, Cambridge United must play more aggressively to chase the score, which will definitely give Tottenham more counter-attacking opportunities. At this point, if the defense is still mediocre, with ample attacking space, Tottenham's frontline combination has great potential.
The purpose of more decisive and aggressive defending is not to injure or restrict the opponent's strikers, but to cut off the opponent's offensive organization!
Modric, Bale, Lennon, these players who are supplying ammunition behind Crouch and Defoe, should all be restricted!
Huang Hao's rare outburst struck the Cambridge United players like a thunderbolt, and they instantly became revitalized, their morale completely different from before.