Sidwell stepped forward to try and clear the ball, but Juninho, who was a step quicker than him, rushed to the ball and shot directly!
Seeing the ball fly powerfully towards Aston Villa's goal, everyone turned their heads to watch. After seeing the ball fly slightly over the crossbar and into the stands, the Aston Villa players breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling lingering fear.
"Juninho's long-range shot almost extended the lead! He couldn't keep this shot down; if he had kept it lower, it would have been a goal!"
O'Neill was practically grinding his teeth on the sidelines!
Shameless! He thought Huang Hao's on-the-spot commanding was shameless!
Leading by two goals, they weren't actively pressing forward to attack. It was clear from Cambridge United's shots that they were mostly opting for shots from outside the box!
This couldn't go on!
There was still half an hour left in the match, and he certainly hadn't given up now. So, if Aston Villa wanted to turn the game around, they had to seize the time.
Just as he was making adjustments, demanding that the Aston Villa players aggressively press forward and attack, ready to fight to the death, Cambridge United made substitutions.
Huang Hao used two substitution slots at once.
"Cambridge United makes substitution adjustments. Juninho is replaced, and his substitute is Ayu, who was previously seriously injured. Tadić also leaves the field, and his substitute is Smith."
From an overall perspective, it's hard to say that these two substitutions meant Cambridge United was strengthening their defense. Instead, they looked more like like-for-like substitutions, bringing on reserve players to find their form, without much impact on the overall strength.
O'Neill pondered for a moment. Cambridge United's two substitutions might just be Huang Hao's choice to let the main players rest.
O'Neill's judgment was not wrong.
Letting Juninho and Tadić off the field to rest was Huang Hao's intention for the substitutions.
Huang Hao truly couldn't guess what O'Neill's adjustments to the match would be. In any case, for him, the overall situation of the match was under Cambridge United's control, and that was enough.
When soldiers come, generals block; when water comes, earth covers. Cambridge United wouldn't suddenly suffer a huge drop in overall strength after substitutions.
After receiving tactical adjustment orders from their coach O'Neill, the Aston Villa players immediately launched a fierce attack on Cambridge United.
In the 65th minute of the match, Ashley Young combined with full-back Luke Young on the right wing to break through Smith's defense. When they jointly advanced their offense into the dangerous attacking zone, M'Vila decisively assisted on the wing, but was still a step too slow. Ashley Young crossed from the wing at a 45-degree angle.
The ball was lofted into Cambridge United's penalty area. To the surprise of Cambridge United's center-back, Petrov made a large forward run, directly entering the penalty area, and also became the recipient of Ashley Young's pass in this attack.
In front of the penalty spot inside the box, Cole and Agbonlahor's runs created attacking depth, pulling Lovren and Van Dijk back as well. This created some space for the late-arriving Petrov. When the ball dropped, even though Kante and De Vrij on the side stepped forward to try and block Petrov, it was already too late.
Petrov, while charging forward, met the descending ball and headed it fiercely forward with his forehead. The ball flew towards the upper left corner of the middle of the goal. Oblak reacted quickly, leaping diagonally and extending a single palm to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Petrov gritted his teeth, a look of regret on his face.
"Oblak blocked Petrov's header! Wow, Aston Villa's momentum has changed, they are committing more to attack, and the tempo is starting to quicken! Has O'Neill, after nearly 20 minutes of patience in the second half, finally decided to fight Cambridge United to the death?"
Ashley Young ran to take the corner kick. The ball landed inside the penalty area near the goal. Oblak leaped high among the crowd and punched the ball away. As he punched the ball, he lost his balance in the air and fell to the ground.
The referee, Knight, blew his whistle, penalizing Sidwell for fouling the goalkeeper.
Oblak took the opportunity to lie on the ground for a bit longer. It wasn't that he wanted to waste time, but he really did feel a bit of pain from the fall!
Two minutes later, Cambridge United's steady attack reached the front field. Aston Villa had clearly increased their defensive aggressiveness. When Sidwell and Petrov rushed towards Ayu together, it indeed caught Ayu off guard. Petrov intercepted from the side, Ayu dodged with a flick of the ball, and Sidwell stepped forward again to poke the ball away.
Shorey, actively running into the middle, controlled the ball in the midfield area. He looked up to observe the situation ahead and made a direct pass, intending to deliver the ball to Cole's feet. However, the intention of this pass was too obvious. M'Vila, who was nearby, cut across horizontally as Cole made his run and intercepted the ball!
After winning the ball, M'Vila made a short pass to Kante.
Kante steadily advanced the attack. Shorey, in a rush of blood, charged forward to press. Kante and Smith executed a one-two pass and successfully reached the front field.
Ayu immediately ran towards the left wing. Petrov stepped forward to intercept Kante, while Sidwell followed Ayu, cutting off the passing lane between Kante and Ayu.
However, the area in front of the middle was empty. Kante saw Lewandowski dropping back to receive the ball, so he made an overhead through pass.
Petrov watched the ball fly over his head and immediately turned and ran towards the penalty area.
Lewandowski was in the middle outside the penalty area, facing the dropping ball. Sidwell had already given up on Ayu and was rushing towards Lewandowski.
Defender Davis pressed close behind Lewandowski. Lewandowski chested the ball down without letting it bounce, then used his left foot to tap the ball to Vardy, who was making an inward run in front of the penalty area. Vardy's breakthrough, with Ayu providing cover, was quite unexpected.
Defender Dunn immediately stepped forward to block, but Dunn and Davis were positioned diagonally, one in front and one behind, creating a passing lane between them.
Vardy, under pressure from Sidwell, Dunn, and Luke Young from different directions, did not hold onto the ball. He made a diagonal pass behind Davis.
Davis' defensive attention was entirely on Lewandowski. He wasn't too worried when he didn't see Lewandowski making a forward run, but feeling someone rush past behind him, he immediately turned around and was stunned to see Smith, who had come on as a substitute, charging towards the goal, one-on-one!
Although Smith's overall attacking ability was not as good as Tadić's, in terms of technical characteristics, he was not as versatile as Tadić.
However, he had been converted by Huang Hao from the left wing to the right wing a year and a half ago. His playing style was to use his skilled left foot as a modern winger. In terms of cutting inside and creating dangerous runs, he was actually more adept than Tadić!
In this wave of Cambridge United's attack in the front field, Smith directly ran into the space in the ribs by cutting inside. Smith, after accelerating with a burst of speed, caught Shorey, whose explosive power was clearly weaker, off guard. Shorey couldn't even keep up with him, let alone chase him!
Cutting into the penalty area, he nudged the ball diagonally with his left foot. Smith, who had moved from the middle to the left side of the penalty area, faked out goalkeeper Friedel's direct blocking angle, then used the inside of his left foot to shoot from a tight angle.
The ball quickly rolled into the net. Friedel changed direction, trying to make a save, but ultimately gave up!
Smith smiled in surprise after scoring. He hadn't expected to get a goal after coming on as a substitute!
Of course, he cherished every minute he was on the field!
And he was always ready!
To fight for Cambridge United!
"Smith! Huang Hao has a group of super substitutes! They are always able to make an immediate impact after coming on as substitutes, and Smith's performance this time, coming on as a substitute, is once again astonishing!
This was a combination by Cambridge United's attacking trident. When Kante made an overhead through pass to Lewandowski, Lewandowski, Vardy, and Smith created a wonderful chemical reaction. Aston Villa's defense absolutely would not have expected the final finisher to be Smith!
This English homegrown winger scored his second goal of the season, and his first Premier League goal. Although his goal statistics are not outstanding, for a substitute player who plays less often, what more can you ask of him?
He contributes his strength in limited playing time, which is already very commendable.
Some might ask why Cambridge United is so united? I think this must be related to the players' happiness within the team.
Cambridge United has a statistical record that is unmatched in Europe's top leagues: in all competitions, 12 players in the Cambridge United team have scored goals!
When players can score goals while playing for the team, they become the focus, and this will certainly fill them with confidence and joy!
Finally, it must be said that Huang Hao's coaching is excellent; he has built Cambridge United into a team that truly has a comprehensive attack!
It's 3-0. Will O'Neill's Aston Villa still struggle?"
After scoring, Smith rushed to the sidelines and hugged Kane, his good friend within the team, who was warming up. Teammates ran over one after another. Perhaps Smith wanted to use his goal to encourage Kane, telling him not to give up, that patience and full effort would definitely be rewarded!
Huang Hao was preparing to call a halt to the battle. He was about to substitute another player who had been playing for a long time with hardly any rest.
Van Dijk.
O'Neill, on the other hand, suddenly erupted in a fit of rage at the sight of his team's defense being breached and conceding a third goal. He was somewhat exasperated, his mentality completely collapsing!
Being three goals down could already be considered a crushing defeat. He wanted to save face!
It wasn't that he couldn't lose; Aston Villa was playing away, so losing was losing, and not many people would find it strange. But O'Neill couldn't get past himself!
He was a coach who had led a team to win the League Cup!
He was the most famous young coach in the English football scene before Huang Hao emerged out of nowhere. By all accounts, he was more qualified to be called a famous coach than Huang Hao, who had no honors whatsoever!
Precisely because of this, leading Aston Villa to Park Stadium, O'Neill neither wanted to appear too pathetic on the field nor did he want the match to end with a score that would make him lose face again.
He roared at his players on the field, pointing at Cambridge United's goal and shouting, "Attack! Are you willing to lose the game like this? Don't act like cowards! If you're still men, show some courage and drive!"
At the very least, he wanted to see Aston Villa threaten Cambridge United's goal. He couldn't leave like this; he couldn't let Cambridge United watch them depart, battered and bruised, completely unharmed!
O'Neill's mindset had exploded, while the Aston Villa players had completely lost heart for the match.
In truth, O'Neill had been ambivalent about the match from the preparation stage: should he firmly aim for a draw, or boldly and unrestrainedly go toe-to-toe with Cambridge United?
O'Neill himself probably didn't know what he truly wanted.