Huang Hao stood on the sidelines, his head slightly tilted, witnessing everything that was happening on the field.
He had actually anticipated before that the games would be very difficult in the final stage of the season.
In the Premier League, when opponents couldn't defeat Cambridge United with team tactics, individual star power, or even luck, they could only rely on fierce confrontation to gain an advantage on the field!
This was also a tradition of English football, and from another perspective, it was also an obstacle hindering the tactical progress of English football!
Why did the England national team perform worse and worse in international competitions? Was it because they lacked talent? Or team chemistry?
These reasons were somewhat far-fetched; they didn't have superstar players, but the criticism they received was mostly on the tactical level—they were too mediocre! Because most of their local stars in English football were accustomed to gaining an advantage through confrontation, but on the international stage, facing opponents with diverse and unpredictable styles, they couldn't establish themselves, especially with the strict enforcement of rules in international matches, which has always been FIFA's benchmark for rule implementation.
The match continued, and in the 33rd minute, Cambridge United launched an attack down the right wing that created a dazzling sense of déjà vu.
De Vrij sent a direct pass from the backfield to Ayu in midfield.
Ayu, who was being marked by Hardford, didn't stop the ball but half-turned and swept it to the right wing.
This time, Stellman stepped up in defense on the left wing, adopting a pressing tactic, while Grenier, in his forward charge, lightly nudged the ball forward with his left foot, causing it to slightly change direction and roll past Stellman's left side, then Grenier, without losing speed, sprinted past Stellman's right side, hugging the sideline.
A direct nutmeg!
By the time Stellman reacted, it was too late to chase back.
Upon reaching the dangerous attacking zone, Grenier immediately crossed with the outside of his left foot.
The ball curved behind the Wolves defender with an outward spin, flying directly towards the center of the goal, where Lacazette, resisting Zubal's challenge, headed the ball towards the goal!
Seeing that the ball was only ten yards from the goal, with a high chance of scoring, goalkeeper Hahnemann instinctively made a save and blocked the ball out!
“An incredible save! Hahnemann actually blocked Lacazette's header! Wolves almost fell two goals behind!
Although Wolves' performance this season has been very poor, Hahnemann's performance has attracted the attention of many Premier League teams, and many teams want to acquire him, especially with Wolves' financial crisis, getting Hahnemann would not require too high a price, which makes him one of the hottest goalkeepers in the transfer market.”
Wolves escaped a scare, and two minutes later, Ayu received a pass from May in the central midfield, creating an opportunity for Mahrez.
As Mahrez, who was cutting in while running, was about to control the ball, Surman anticipated and slid in to clear the ball, causing Mahrez to stumble a couple of steps and almost fall.
The cleared ball rolled to Edwards' feet, and seeing Ayu coming to counter-press, Edwards decisively sent a diagonal pass to the right wing.
He had given this ball a lead, allowing Stellman to directly rush forward and complete the counter-attack.
But just as Stellman was sprinting forward with all his might, O'Connor also rushed towards the ball. This ball was very similar to the pass May had given O'Connor earlier; this time, Stellman had the chance to touch the ball first, while O'Connor chose to slide tackle!
When Stellman managed to cut the ball inside one step ahead, his individual technical skill was insufficient to allow him to change direction at high speed, so he was tackled to the ground by O'Connor!
This was undoubtedly a foul by O'Connor.
But O'Connor didn't care; he got up and turned to walk away, as the referee's whistle had blown, and he would likely receive a card.
O'Connor wouldn't plead; he hoped that walking away would downplay his foul. But he had only taken two steps when Stellman rushed up from behind and forcefully pushed the back of his head.
O'Connor stumbled forward, almost falling. He turned around and saw Stellman, his face full of anger, roaring at him: “Are you f***ing tired of living?”
Stellman's right foot was still hurting. If the angle had been slightly off, he believed O'Connor would have sent him off the field!
At this moment, O'Connor, whose back of the head was stinging from the hit, also lost his temper. He faced Stellman with a ferocious expression, gritting his teeth and saying: “You're the one who's f***ing tired of living!”
Smack!
O'Connor slapped Stellman hard!
WOW!
A collective gasp!
Stellman, slapped across the face, his face slightly twisted, was stunned. After he reacted, he gritted his teeth and immediately swung his hand, giving O'Connor a slap in return!
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
A scene that stunned many people in Park Stadium and viewers in front of their televisions unfolded.
O'Connor and Stellman didn't get into a brawl, but they were like two people playing a game of 'whoever chickens out loses,' slapping each other's faces, one after another!
Perhaps people were used to seeing men fighting by punching and kicking each other, where it was simply about who was more ruthless.
But O'Connor and Stellman seemed to be hurting each other under an unwritten rule!
You hit once, I hit once.
No one launched a continuous attack.
The scene was very strange.
But the audience felt a lot of pain watching it! Those slaps were really powerful!
After exactly five slaps each, referee Dunn rushed to the two players, pushing them apart, one to the left and one to the right, staring at them as if they were monsters.
O'Connor's left cheek was swollen, and Stellman's lip was cut and bleeding.
Dunn truly seemed to be scolding them with an incredulous tone: “Are you two f***ing crazy?”
Teammates who rushed over protected their respective players, and then Blake started looking for trouble. Ayu came over and stood in front of him, warning him not to cause any more trouble!
“Uh, a conflict occurred during the match. O'Connor's fierce tackle on Stellman caused Stellman to lose his temper, but this was not a sudden, accidental situation. There had been friction between the two before, and this time, they couldn't hold back.
Cambridge United's recent matches always seem to have controversies. A week ago, at Portsmouth's Fratton Park, Ayu was sent off with a red card due to an irrational act.
Now it's O'Connor's turn, only the way he and Stellman clashed makes us feel… perhaps that they were too rational and civilized!
Slapping each other, with no other actions, I can't understand what they were thinking, especially when one person did it, and the other cooperated so well.
After calming the situation, referee Dunn pulled out red cards and showed them to both players. Well, the two who had such good chemistry can now leave the field together.”
Cambridge United fans in the Park Stadium stands naturally supported O'Connor; they cursed Stellman from the stands!
Damn it, wasn't it just a tackle that hit you?
Was it necessary to get so agitated and attack O'Connor from behind?
When our players were injured by tackles, who retaliated so irrationally?
O'Connor was still furious. As he walked off the field, he coldly stared at Stellman, who was also walking towards the sidelines not far away.
He finally got a start, and Stellman made him lose his temper!
Damn, that bastard!
Stellman was equally in an extremely bad mood. What was O'Connor?
If Juninho had been on the field today, Stellman probably wouldn't have even dared to fart! He would have thought, 'That's Juninho!'
He's a midfielder who can speak with his strength and rank among the top three in the Premier League!
If he suffered a loss at his hands, there was nothing to complain about.
But O'Connor?
What was he?
An unknown nobody, it was only natural to bully him.
But after truly acting irrationally, Stellman realized he had made a big mistake. Fortunately, O'Connor was also provoked, so he wasn't the only one sent off with a red card.
Huang Hao's expression on the sidelines was a bit grim, not because O'Connor was sent off.
But because Cambridge United had players sent off with red cards in two consecutive matches. Needless to say, there must be a problem with the team!
However, this problem was not on the level of discipline or unity.
Perhaps they were bullied at first and now wanted to bully others, but the transition was too large, and the team itself hadn't adapted.
Huang Hao looked at O'Connor, who was walking off the field from not far away towards the player tunnel, with no blame in his eyes.
Cambridge United was, after all, a very young team. The starting lineup still had shortcomings, let alone the substitute players; they couldn't be given too much pressure. The entire team was basically under 23 years old. If Sun Jihai and Juninho were not counted, it was a proper U23 youth team.
Huang Hao had asked them to fight fearlessly before the match, and they did. Perhaps they went too far, but as the head coach, he couldn't complain or blame them for not controlling the extent. Everyone needed to go through experience to truly grow.
He withdrew his gaze and looked towards the field.
Wolves had a free-kick on the wing in the attacking third. After they took it, the match continued.
However, in less than a minute, Huang Hao suddenly noticed Darren, who was sitting in the corner of the substitute bench, suddenly running towards the player tunnel. He turned his head to look at the player tunnel and saw the pitch announcer, the club staff member who introduced the starting lineups before the match, peering into the player tunnel.
Huang Hao didn't know what was happening inside the player tunnel, and he couldn't run over to see, so he could only suppress his curiosity and turn back to continue watching the match on the field.
It turned out that after O'Connor and Stellman walked into the player tunnel together, the two clashed again, and this time it was a truly explosive brawl!
Stellman might have misunderstood one thing.
He thought O'Connor slapping him on the field was a very “girly” act.
But O'Connor was actually holding back!
His remaining rationality on the field at that moment made him maintain restraint.
Only Cambridge United's teammates knew that O'Connor was a young man who practiced free combat in his spare time!
He enjoyed outdoor activities and had been consistently practicing free combat for the past two years, whether for self-defense or fitness, perhaps both.
Now it came in handy.
When Darren rushed into the player tunnel, he saw Stellman, who was about half a head taller than O'Connor, being straddled by O'Connor, only able to protect his face and shout for O'Connor to stop!
O'Connor had already knocked out two of his teeth, and there were several bloodstains on the floor next to Stellman's head, all from the blood he had spat out.
The surrounding staff were all stunned for a moment; no one dared to step forward to break up the fight because O'Connor's fighting stance was too wild!
Darren immediately rushed over and pulled O'Connor off Stellman, and incidentally, he also pretended to accidentally “step on” Stellman's hand, then dragged O'Connor towards the players' changing room.
At this point, the staff nearby finally went up and helped Stellman, who was almost crying from the beating, to his feet.
Inside the stadium, whenever Wolves players had possession, a loud booing sound would erupt.
Then, before the end of the first half, Cambridge United fans began to mock Wolves.
“You're going down! La la la, Wolves are going down!”
Hearing the Cambridge United fans' song, the Wolves players on the field must have been provoked, but this did not help their performance on the field.
After Stellman was sent off, McCarthy had Surman play on the right wing, which was an absolutely terrible decision; Surman basically had no effect on the wing.
Especially since he had very few opportunities to gain possession, because Cambridge United didn't change their formation!
O'Connor was sent off with a red card, one less central midfielder, so be it.
And Wolves were down one right-back.
After Huang Hao discovered that Surman had moved to play right-back, he remained inactive.
Originally, Surman was the team's defensive midfielder, and he would actively help the team with offensive and defensive transitions.
Now that he had gone to the wing, it meant both sides were down one player in midfield.
With fewer other distractions, Ayu could be said to have free rein in the attacking third.
The first half ended, and both teams returned to the changing rooms. Only then did Huang Hao learn that O'Connor and Stellman had clashed again in the player tunnel.
He didn't take it to heart; they already had red cards anyway, at most they would be suspended for a couple more games.
However, after the half-time break ended and the players had all returned to the field, McCarthy called Huang Hao over at the player tunnel exit.
Huang Hao didn't know what he wanted. After walking over, he heard McCarthy righteously say: “Huang Hao, you should discipline your players properly. This is your home ground, but your players are full of violence! Their behavior is too egregious!”
Huang Hao looked around, making sure no one else was present. When he looked back at McCarthy, a wicked smile appeared on his face.
“McCarthy, I don't know what you're thinking. You've been at Wolves for many years.
Firstly, it's not your place to tell me what to do. How I do things is none of your business.
Secondly, isn't this what English fans most want to see? Explosive confrontation, fierce clashes, blood-pumping excitement that allows people to fully vent!
Finally, I would be delighted to see Wolves relegated. Although it's not entirely your fault, you failed to save Wolves during your tenure, you performed a tragedy. I will sit on my sofa, drinking red wine, listening to the news of Wolves' relegation, and enjoying the tears of the Wolverhampton people when they cry. Many people will sympathize with Wolves, but unfortunately, it has nothing to do with me!”