“Chinese Team Becomes Champions!”
“EFL Championship! Cambridge United!”
“Hao is Our God!”
“Three Consecutive Promotions! Cambridge United Achieved the Impossible!”
As expected, after Cambridge United won the League, the media once again changed their tune. Huang Hao looked at the morning newspapers with a schadenfreude expression, loving to tease them like this!
For the last two rounds, Huang Hao planned to use all substitute players. Facing Nottingham Forest, ranked 3rd in League One, Cambridge United’s substitutes, who previously had few opportunities to play, cherished this chance greatly, fighting fiercely at Nottingham Forest’s home stadium.
At 38 minutes, Hill received a pass from Clark and shot into the bottom left corner of the goal, scoring the first goal for Cambridge United. Although this young player from Cambridge United's youth academy wasn't highly talented, he had always been diligent, and Huang Hao was willing to give such players opportunities.
The 1-0 score between the two teams remained until the 85th minute. Robinson, who hadn't had many standout performances since joining Cambridge United, made a somewhat inaccurate pass from the backfield, which was directly intercepted by Nottingham Forest’s midfielder, Perch, who immediately sent it forward!
When the ball reached the front of Cambridge United's penalty area, the excellent-anticipating forward Tyson was already two body lengths ahead of Tutanda. Tyson easily dribbled past Stevens and shot into an empty net! Nottingham Forest equalized the score in the final moments!
Four days later, Abbey Stadium welcomed Cambridge United's final home game of the season. Without suspense, the ticket sellers at Abbey Stadium once again clocked out early.
After today's match against Walsall, there would be Cambridge United's League One championship award ceremony. This was the first time Cambridge United had won the League One title in over 90 years since its establishment; their previous highest ranking was 5th in League One. Walsall was currently ranked 12th and had already lost their qualification for the promotion playoffs, but this did not mean they would be accommodating guests. On the contrary, without any match pressure, players often performed even better.
Hill and Lewandowski stood at the center circle, waiting for the kickoff. With a whistle from referee Hicks, Hill immediately passed the ball to Sager on the left wing, and then both ran towards Walsall's penalty area.
After Sager got the ball on the wing, he immediately pushed forward. Riley, one of Walsall's two defensive midfielders, immediately moved to the wing to press!
Just as Riley was about to close in, Sager sent a diagonal long pass directly into Walsall's penalty area!
Hill, who had just run into the penalty area, quickly jumped, overpowering defender Emore, and passed the ball in the air to Lewandowski at the far post!
Lewandowski took a sweeping shot near the penalty spot! The ball found the net! 1-0!
The referee pressed the pause button on his watch: 12 seconds!!!
The match had only been going for 12 seconds, and Cambridge United used only three passes to break through Walsall's goal!
Some late-arriving fans had barely touched their seats for less than a second before being pulled up by the surrounding crowd to cheer!
Seventeen minutes later, Cork and Sager successfully connected again! After gaining possession in midfield, Cork decisively kicked the ball towards Walsall's attacking third!
Sager successfully beat the offside trap at the moment of the pass! After receiving the ball, there was no one in front of him except the goalkeeper! After entering the penalty area, the captain, who had personally witnessed Cambridge United's three consecutive promotions in three years, directly shot into the far corner, scoring another goal for Cambridge United!
“Sager! Sager! Go! Go! Go!”
“Sager! Sager! Goal! Goal! Goal!”
Mikel and “The U’s” legion immediately chanted the captain’s name and sang the cheer song specially composed for him.
And Sager, since joining Cambridge United, had already scored 20 League goals for the team!
At 26 minutes, a somewhat over-excited Tutanda unfortunately brought down Walsall’s Hanlan with a tackle inside the penalty area, and the referee immediately awarded a penalty kick!
Walsall's forward, Shiff, scored from the spot, pulling one goal back for his team!
At 30 minutes, Walsall won a free kick opportunity in the attacking third.
Brown cleverly sent the ball to the far post, and Butcher, who burst out of the crowd first, poked it in, once again breaking through Cambridge United's goal! 2-2!
Walsall stubbornly equalized the score!
The fans’ enthusiasm did not wane because the score was tied, as today was a day worth celebrating. The more than 8,000 fans present continued to cheer for Cambridge United rhythmically. As Cambridge United's captain, the in-form Sager would not allow Walsall to spoil the atmosphere of the award ceremony!
At 38 minutes, Tutanda intercepted Walsall's attack in the backfield, then transferred the ball to Sager on the left wing. Sager seized the opportunity, put all his strength into it, and launched a long-range missile!
After hitting a Walsall defender, the ball bounced and slowly rolled a couple of times, stopping about 3 meters from Walsall's penalty area.
Lewandowski and Shiff chased after the ball simultaneously!
Seeing his speed falling behind, Shiff hardened his heart! He directly tackled Lewandowski from behind! “Holy crap!!!”
In a moment of desperation, Huang Hao yelled a Chinese expletive at Shiff!
Fortunately, Shiff’s tackle failed to catch up with the high-speed running Lewandowski! Cambridge United’s forward escaped a scare!
Next, Lewandowski burst into the penalty area and directly struck a curling shot with the outside of his foot, sending it into the top right corner of the goal!
A brace! Cambridge United led again 3-2!
Lewandowski once again became the hero of Cambridge United fans! Cheers, applause, and fireworks erupted at this moment.
As the first half neared its end, Cambridge United’s players once again stormed Walsall’s penalty area. After a scramble, Sager poked the ball to Cork, who had surged up on the wing. The young player, under no pressure, directly chipped a shot, extending the score to 4-2!
The completely ignited fans' cheers almost lifted the entire stadium roof!
Although Walsall scored again from a free kick in the 85th minute, no one cared anymore. The fans had already gathered around the advertising boards surrounding the pitch, ready to rush onto the field at any moment!
Referee Hicks blew the final whistle even before injury time was over, then he and the linesmen sprinted towards the players' tunnel.
Instantly, Abbey Stadium erupted like a mountain flood, with fans surging directly from the stands onto the center of the pitch!
Security personnel maintained order for two minutes before simply giving up and joining the celebrating crowd!
The players were once again chased in disarray; even if they ran fast during the match, it was useless now, and they gradually gave up resisting! They were quickly stripped bare one by one by the fans!
When Sager broke free from the encirclement and ran towards the players' tunnel, all he had left was a pair of white underwear. Huang Hao tried his best to hold back his laughter, but finally, when he saw Sager waddling towards him, he couldn't hold it in anymore! He burst out laughing and fell to the ground!
Back in the locker room, the disheveled players looked at each other's embarrassing states and laughed incessantly.
They stood there naked, hugging, singing, and dancing, celebrating this surprising season!
The satisfied fans finally returned to the stands with peace of mind. The players, having tidied their attire, returned to the center of the pitch, standing behind an advertising board marked “English League One Champions.” On the central trophy stand, the English League One championship trophy was prominently displayed!
Everyone leaned over, patting the advertising board in front of them with both hands, deliberately lowering their voices to make muffled sounds. Sager grabbed the trophy and lifted it high with all his might!
Fireworks around the stadium ignited instantly, and the players freely sprayed celebratory champagne. Accompanied by the thunderous cheers from around the stadium, Cambridge United was crowned League One King!!!
For Huang Hao, the most important thing in May was recruiting players!
According to English Football Association regulations, players who had not received contract renewals could freely sign with other English domestic teams the following month.
And these players, who either failed to reach an agreement with their teams for various reasons or were released by their clubs, would immediately become targets for snatching by teams across all domestic Leagues.
As a seasoned expert in finding bargains, Huang Hao naturally couldn't miss such an opportunity.
Although players would welcome their most anticipated vacation in mid-May, Huang Hao's vacation was often entirely dedicated to team building. It was precisely this relentless effort that allowed Cambridge United to achieve its current success.
In May, besides Huang Hao, the busiest person was Ouyang Bing, who managed the team's finances. Under the meticulous organization of this brilliant student, Cambridge United’s accounts were in perfect order, making Huang Hao constantly exclaim that Li Jianqin had found a treasure!
Before May 30th, the team would fully disburse various bonuses to the players based on their performance throughout the year. This included complex goal bonuses, assist bonuses, cup competition progression bonuses, and even some players received bonuses for being substitutes who didn't play!
Of course, these were meant to torment Ouyang Bing and the finance staff. Huang Hao, however, dedicated all his energy to player transfer matters. Nevertheless, Ouyang Bing’s playful remark about a “big surprise” filled Huang Hao with anticipation for the season's financial settlement!