At the press conference, Huang Hao changed his usual style and highly praised Luton, especially White, who made him drool with envy!
Luton’s Head Coach Sean, on the other hand, was a man of few words, as being forced to this extent at home by a newly promoted team was somewhat embarrassing.
A reporter from the Sports Newspaper asked Huang Hao, “Cambridge United is widely considered a favorite for relegation in League One this season, with odds as high as 1:4.2. Mr. Huang Hao, what are your thoughts on these odds?”
The smile on Huang Hao’s face gradually disappeared, then a perplexing smile appeared.
“I just want to tell all the Head Coaches in League One, you can underestimate Cambridge United, but don’t cry, okay! Also, let me ask what the odds are for Cambridge United to win the championship; you can secretly buy a little, maybe there will be a surprise at the end of the season.”
Seven days later, Cambridge United finally welcomed their League One debut at Abbey Stadium, with the visitors being Doncaster Rovers.
Unlike Luton, Doncaster had always played in lower Leagues, hovering around League One in recent years.
After many years, Cambridge United once again hosted a League One home match.
Local fans also showed great support, with Abbey Stadium reaching about 70% capacity, approximately 6,000 fans attending the match.
The weather was uncooperative; before the match even began, heavy rain suddenly started, making the already mediocre pitch conditions at Abbey Stadium even muddier.
Thus, the match truly reverted to traditional English football.
Both sides frequently kicked the ball with long clearances into the opponent’s half, making the game almost devoid of any entertainment!
In the 24th minute of the first half, Vardy still stepped up first!
After several rounds of tug-of-war, Warren Clark seized an opportunity and passed the ball from the byline into Doncaster’s penalty area!
Vardy seized the opportunity, making a diving header at the near post, sending the ball into the near corner!
Cambridge United successfully took the lead!
Ten minutes later, it was Vardy again!
He advanced with the ball into the attacking third and delivered a precise 45-degree diagonal long pass, sending the ball to Dzeko outside the penalty area!
Dzeko didn’t even wait for the ball to land, jumping up to volley it!
He extended the lead to two goals!
Thereafter, Cambridge United maintained their lead until the 67th minute.
Cambridge United once again pushed the ball into Doncaster’s attacking third, and Sterri threw in the ball from the sideline.
As soon as Tadić touched the ball, he was pushed, causing him to stumble!
Kieren Bennett took the opportunity to steal the ball!
Such physical contact is too common in English football; the referee didn’t even have the desire to blow the whistle!
Kieren wasted no time, kicking the ball directly to striker Edmondson!
Edmondson, who hadn’t had many good opportunities throughout the match, quickly passed the ball to his teammate Riley at the edge of the penalty area before Longolo came to defend him!
At this point, Suxi, who was marking Riley, was left two whole body lengths behind!
The rest became much easier; Riley easily dribbled past Pantilimon and slotted the ball into an open net!
2:1!
In the 80th minute of the match, Barnet had a throw-in in the attacking third.
This time, Tadić and MacKenzie combined, quickly passing the ball to the overlapping left-back Sterri, who, facing two defenders in the penalty area, tried to turn and shield the ball!
The ball was again intercepted by a Doncaster player!
It was immediately kicked to midfield by defender Saikhom!
This time, Riley returned the favor, getting in front of Suxi and directly flicking the ball forward to Edmondson!
Facing Longolo, who had tracked back to defend, Edmondson attempted to pass the ball back to Riley!
Longolo was quicker, clearing the ball with a long kick!
However, the deeply struck ball still didn’t leave Cambridge United’s half!
After several passes, Paddington again received the ball in the byline area and immediately lofted it into the penalty area!
Although Edmondson was marked by both Longolo and MacKenzie!
They still couldn’t stop this promising star on loan from Leeds United!
Edmondson powerfully slammed the ball into Cambridge United’s net!
It felt like a heavy hammer striking Huang Hao’s heart!
League One is, after all, League One; the demands on defensive players are completely different from League Two.
This also made Huang Hao a bit worried about his defense.
It must be said that dominating League Two had made Huang Hao a bit overconfident in his squad.
And so, Doncaster Rovers, with only 4 shots on goal throughout the match, scored two goals and left Abbey Stadium with 1 point.
If this result was unacceptable, at least for the fans, it wasn’t.
After all, Cambridge United was just a newly promoted team in League One.
But for the ambitious Huang Hao, he felt somewhat unwilling.
The number of shots was three times that of the opponent, and the possession rate was also higher than the opponent, but football is like that; no matter how good the statistics are, the score decides everything.
Huang Hao and his players were still struggling to await their first victory in League One.
After a night of hard thinking, the defensive personnel were just that; short-term improvement was unrealistic.
The original mad dog tactic had been dominant in the National League and League Two, but in League One, where individual abilities are stronger, mistakes increased.
Mad dog plus Tiki-Taka, I wonder how that would work.
And so, Cambridge United’s training ground…
Seven days later, Cambridge United traveled to Vale Park to challenge their third opponent in League One, the veteran League One and League Two journeyman team, Port Vale.
A few seasons ago, Port Vale had won the EFL Trophy, but for most of the time, Port Vale was a regular in League Two, occasionally making an appearance in League One.
Just 15 minutes into the match, Sager was severely kicked in the ankle by Olaha during a challenge, with his shin bone clearly protruding through his sock.
The once lively Vale Park instantly fell silent, with only Sager’s wails echoing across the stadium.
Huang Hao could no longer sit still and rushed to the home team’s coach, Page.
“Is this playing football? You’re a damn murderer, you should be hanged!”
It took Darren and the fourth official’s strenuous pulling to drag Huang Hao back to the dugout.
Red card; referee Andy unhesitatingly showed Olaha a red card and sent him off directly.
Sager was taken directly by ambulance to the nearest Royal Stoke University Hospital, and Huang Hao reluctantly substituted Bennett onto the field.
Perhaps affected by the injury incident, Cambridge United’s performance was noticeably impacted.
Tadić’s close-range shot went directly into the goalkeeper’s arms, making Huang Hao almost unable to bear watching!
Port Vale’s counterattacks were also very sharp; when Smith’s shot grazed the post and went out of bounds, it made all the fans present break out in a cold sweat!
At halftime, although both teams had exchanged attacks and defenses, the score remained 0:0, and the game was somewhat dull.
In the locker room, Huang Hao did not criticize the players’ performance, only telling everyone that Sager had been sent to Royal Stoke University Hospital (this hospital is famous for treating broken legs; don’t ask me how I know, just say there are many cases) and that the best specialists had been called.
Everyone’s anxious hearts instantly calmed down.
Ten minutes into the second half, the game still showed no improvement.
Huang Hao once again had Lewandowski warm up, then substituted him on for Grove.
In the 66th minute, Tadić launched an attack from the right wing!
A half-volley through ball was passed to Dzeko’s feet!
After Dzeko brought the ball down in mid-air, he immediately dribbled towards Port Vale’s penalty area!
At this time, four Port Vale players stood in front of Dzeko to defend!
But he didn’t hesitate at all, choosing to push the ball into the far corner of the goal through a gap!!!
The goalkeeper’s dive became the backdrop for Dzeko’s goal!
“Goallllllllllll! The Bosnian youngster Dzeko scores a goal for Cambridge United!”
After scoring, Dzeko and his teammates gathered in a circle and made a praying gesture, hoping that Captain Sager would be safe and sound.
In the 83rd minute, Tadić, after receiving the ball in midfield, accurately found Lewandowski, and a beautiful pass was steadily received by Lewandowski!
After receiving the ball, he once again charged towards Port Vale’s penalty area!
But this time, defender Vincent Jean stuck to Lewandowski the whole way, preventing him from getting a shot off!
Just as the two were gradually running towards the byline, Lewandowski made a cut-back pass, and Vardy, coming from behind, met the ball, with no defense within 1 meter!
Goalkeeper Lewis didn’t even make a save; Vardy blasted the ball into the net!!!
2:0!
Abbey Stadium was completely ignited by Cambridge United’s two consecutive goals!
Fans set off fireworks in the stands.
As soon as the clock reached 90 minutes, referee Andy blew the final whistle.
At the post-match press conference, Huang Hao strongly condemned Olaha’s dangerous tackle and demanded severe punishment.
English Football Association’s reaction was also swift.
The next day, the disciplinary decision was released: Olaha was suspended for 5 matches.