The North Stand, which had been suppressed for almost 30 minutes, finally cheered!
The cheers of Mikel and others instantly drew the displeasure of Cardiff City fans!
Soon, both sides escalated from verbal abuse to pushing and shoving!
Security personnel were once again dispatched urgently, but the fierce Cardiff City fans showed no respect, even beating up the security personnel!
The commotion lasted for more than ten minutes before gradually subsiding with the help of reinforced police.
To prevent further conflicts between the two sides, the police simply lined up directly between the two sets of fans until the end of the first half.
Cardiff City led visiting Cambridge United 2:1 at home.
The players returning to the locker room were clearly affected by various factors in the first half, and their moods were not good.
O'Connor even hung his head, not saying a word.
Looking at the somewhat dejected young player, Huang Hao sighed softly, "O'Connor, this is the price you have to pay for your growth. Just remember this lesson."
"Boss, I really touched the ball first." O'Connor's face was full of grievance.
"We saw it too, Head Coach!"
Cole and others also reconfirmed O'Connor's innocence.
"Darren, we will appeal for O'Connor after the match."
Huang Hao believed that the players would not lie with their eyes open.
“But you still need to pay attention to the scale of your fouls. I have said that Cambridge United players need a fierce side, but it cannot be at the cost of crippling the opponent.”
“Alright, lads! Cheer up! I have to say, the environment at Ninian Stadium is indeed a bit rough.”
“But for you, this is also a very good test. After all, we defeated Charlton in the first round. If you don’t experience some setbacks, I’m afraid you will look down on the EFL Championship.”
“We are now one man short in the midfield, so everyone needs to pay attention to defensive cooperation, run actively, and utilize our speed advantage on both wings to try to equalize the score as soon as possible! Kante, you will come on in the second half, replacing Cole, and utilize your running advantage.”
Huang Hao had no intention of substituting a forward to compensate for the midfield shortage. If only one forward was left, it basically meant that Cambridge United had given up on this match. Since they were already behind, what was there to fear!
What Huang Hao never expected was that the situation in the second half seemed to be different from what he had imagined.
In Cambridge United's first attack of the second half, Bennett's pass was a bit too strong, flying directly out of bounds.
Barella took the goal kick, and Kavanagh directly flicked the ball to Bonner in midfield.
With the lead, Cardiff City's players were clearly more relaxed. When Bonner attracted both Tadić and Kante to press him, he cleverly flicked the ball with his heel!
The ball was passed to Enshao behind the two!
Enshao carried the ball to the left side of the penalty area and curled a very beautiful low, arcing shot with his left foot!
The ball seemed to have eyes of its own, just bypassing Lovren, who came to defend, and landing at the feet of Bolan, who was following up in the middle!
Bolan dribbled the ball forward to near the penalty spot and unleashed a powerful shot!
Facing such a close-range shot, Pantilimon was powerless, and the ball once again pierced Cambridge United's net! 3:1!!! The gap was once again widened to two goals!
After taking a two-goal lead, Cardiff City's offense slowed down. For a time, although Cambridge United played with 10 men, there was not much difference in the situation on the field.
In the 68th minute, Sun Jihai carried the ball to Cardiff City's attacking third, with Bennett and Ayu waiting to receive on the left side of the penalty area and in the middle, respectively.
After receiving Sun Jihai's pass, Ayu looked up to check his teammates' positions and kicked the ball to Bennett on the left. Bennett received the ball with his back to the goal. Experience told him someone was chasing him!
So Bennett shielded the ball in front of him, trying to wait for Ayu to come over and receive.
Gabbidon, however, had no intention of giving him that chance. He rushed forward and directly kicked Bennett's ankle!
Accompanying the referee's whistle, Bennett painfully fell to the ground.
The Head Referee, Mason, only verbally warned Gabbidon and made no gesture to pull out a card!
At this, Huang Hao was furious! Seeing his favorite player fouled and injured off the field, while the opponent only received a verbal warning!
He angrily rushed to the fourth official, pointing forcefully at his own eyes with his index and middle fingers, "Can you believe it?! Referee! This action is only a warning?! My player is lying on the ground!"
The fourth official kept pressing his hands down, signaling Huang Hao to calm down.
Cardiff City fans, seeing the opposing Head Coach so agitated, naturally refused to be outdone. Boos rang out continuously, followed by various projectiles!
Just as Huang Hao turned to return to the bench after applying pressure, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his right eyebrow bone! He instinctively covered his right eye!
When the pain subsided slightly, Huang Hao lowered his right hand, and the bloodstains on his palm made him freeze!
Rage exploded silently in his heart at this moment! When he looked at the Cardiff City stands, the fans were smugly yelling at him!
Cambridge United's team doctor froze for a few seconds, then immediately rushed forward to treat Huang Hao's wound!
Tadić and Kante, who were closest to the Head Coach, also quickly ran to Huang Hao!
The already restless Ninian Stadium was now in complete chaos!
Mason came to Huang Hao and, after confirming that the injury was not serious, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Huang, you now have the right to request to terminate the match, and I will include this incident in the post-match report."
Huang Hao looked at the scoreboard in the distance, which conspicuously displayed the current score of 3:1, then shook his head.
"Mr. Head Referee, I will not leave with my players under such a score. However, I still want to tell you that I believe Gabbidon should have at least received a yellow card just now."
Mason looked at this somewhat stubborn Oriental man with some disbelief, nodded, and ran towards the location of the previous foul. Huang Hao immediately comforted the players beside him:
“Alright! Continue the match! I don’t want to use such a reason to let Cardiff City fans laugh at us as a bunch of deserters!”
The players looked at their Head Coach, nodded vigorously, and successively ran back to their positions.
At this moment, Darren came to Huang Hao, “There’s bad news, Scott can’t continue, we need to make a substitution.”
“Let Liyade come on, replace Scott.” Huang Hao instructed Darren to arrange the substitution while receiving treatment from the team doctor.
Gabbidon's foul earned Cambridge United a direct free kick on the left edge of the penalty area.
Ayu stood over the ball, his eyes filled with solemnity!
Step back, run-up, direct shot!
Ayu struck a high-quality knuckleball! After clearing the wall, the ball suddenly dipped rapidly, accompanied by intense inswing!
In a flash, the ball grazed the left post and nestled into the bottom corner of the goal!
Barella stood frozen in place!
3:2! Cambridge United pulled one back! This was the best response to the provocation!
After scoring, Ayu ran wildly towards Huang Hao, saluting.
In the 70th minute, Kante successfully stole the ball in the backfield and kicked it directly to the front!
At this time, Dzeko, Vardy, and Tadić had already rushed to Cardiff City's attacking third! And Cardiff City only had two defenders!
Dzeko ran quickly along the right sideline, constantly looking back to confirm the position of the aerial ball!
Just as he had steadily brought the ball down with the arch of his foot, Buck, who had caught up to him, directly pulled Dzeko down!
Hearing the Head Referee's whistle, Buck's heart suddenly clenched! He already had a yellow card! To prevent Cambridge United from getting a clear one-on-one chance, he had no choice but to resort to this tactic!
So Buck immediately ran to the referee, and before he could even speak, he saw Mason holding a yellow card above his head!
Two yellows make a red! Buck clocked out early! However, Cambridge United also lost a golden opportunity to equalize the score!
In the 73rd minute, Mahrez, who replaced Bennett, received a pass from Sun Jihai in the middle. Using his astonishing explosiveness, he directly shook off the encirclement of Kavanagh and Bolan, quickly dribbling the ball towards the left byline!
This young player's crosses were quite outstanding during training, and everyone placed their hopes on him.
However, Bolan resorted to his old trick, using defensive cooperation to slow down Mahrez, then fouled him again! He kicked Mahrez down!
This time, Mason cleanly and decisively showed a yellow card.
Cambridge United's attack was successfully thwarted once again!
Time was ticking away minute by minute. After Cardiff City had one player sent off, they focused most of their energy on defense, trying to maintain their one-goal lead.
The repeated fouls also caused frequent interruptions to the match, and a sense of unease rose in Huang Hao's heart.
In the 85th minute, Mahrez, who came on as a substitute, used his excellent dribbling to easily get past center-back Legge in the right bottom corner!
At this moment, Dzeko and Vardy in the middle were all in position for a cross!
Mahrez seized the opportunity, just about to shoot, when he suddenly felt himself flying!
Then he fell heavily outside the byline!
This time, Legge collided with Mahrez, sending both him and the ball out!
After the foul, Legge knew he couldn't escape a red card and walked directly off the field!
Mason chased after him, showing both a yellow and a red card to Legge's retreating back!
Cardiff City fans once again became agitated! A small number of fans tried to climb over the advertising boards to confront the referee directly! Fortunately, the security personnel were all on high alert at this time and quickly quelled the disturbance.
With two center-backs sent off, Cardiff City Head Coach Dave Jones had no choice but to substitute two forwards for two reserve center-backs. Seeing this, Huang Hao waved his hand decisively, bringing on Lewandowski for Suxi. The opponent had no forwards left, so what was the point of having defenders.
Ayu stood at the penalty spot, making a '3' gesture. Cambridge United players in the penalty area desperately rushed towards Cardiff City's goal, drawing Cardiff City's defenders into the six-yard box. But Ayu passed the ball to the edge of the penalty area, where only Sun Jihai was standing outside the box.
Sun Jihai ran while looking at the goal, and with a shot aimed at the top right corner, “Clang,” the ball fiercely hit the top right corner and rebounded. While everyone was still watching the ball's trajectory, only Lewandowski gently extended his right foot and tapped it, and the football rolled into Cardiff City's goal.
3:3!
The U's Army in the North Stand went wild, 900 people erupting in an astonishing roar. After a brief silence, Cardiff City fans rushed towards The U's Army, and they started fighting in the stands. Security personnel were once again dispatched urgently, and the scene was in complete chaos.
Seeing this, Mason decisively blew the final whistle, telling both sets of players to quickly return to the locker room.
At the post-match press conference, Huang Hao, with gauze taped to his forehead, naturally became the focus.
Facing a barrage of questions from reporters, Huang Hao simply waved his hand, pointed to his wound, and then said:
“Thanks to the Cardiff City fans for letting me know that EFL Championship matches are so exciting!”
“I hope English Football Association can maintain order on the field, and I hope I, this unlucky fellow, am the only Head Coach injured in England this season!”
“Finally, I wish Cardiff City the same good luck at Abbey Stadium today. Thank you.”
After speaking, Huang Hao stood up and left the press conference, leaving behind an embarrassed Cardiff City Head Coach Jones.