As Head Coach Atkinson led both teams onto the field, the atmosphere among the fans reached a climax, with cheers and applause erupting, giving the battle-hardened Huang Hao goosebumps.
Soon, the coin toss ended, and Cambridge United kicked off the first half.
Today, Cambridge United chose the in-form Dzeko and Lewandowski for their frontline.
There wasn't much probing from either side after the kickoff; soon, Josh Pasc's pass for Cambridge United was intercepted by Queens Park Rangers' Samoel, but an offside call on striker Agyemang brought a swift end to the attack.
When goalkeeper Cech received a back pass from his defender, suddenly, three Cambridge United players simultaneously rushed towards him!
A startled Cech hastily kicked the ball towards midfield!
May directly intercepted the ball and sent a long pass to Paul Smith on the right wing! Smith immediately lofted the ball into the penalty area!
Defender Delney was first to the ball, heading it back to the midfield.
O'Connor directly intercepted the defender's back pass and threaded it to Bennett, who was surging up the left wing!
The moment Bennett received the ball, he smoothly pushed it forward with his foot, directly dribbling past Connelly, who was marking him!
Having entered the penalty area, Bennett first pulled wide, creating enough space between himself and defender Connelly!
Then, he immediately sent a low cross in front of the goal! Dzeko held off Hall behind him and unleashed a sweeping shot, sending the ball directly into Queens Park Rangers' net!!!
One minute and thirty-four seconds into the game! Cambridge United, with their fluid teamwork, first broke open the opponent's goal!
Just as the Cambridge United players were huddled together, celebrating the goal, they heard Atkinson's whistle!
The linesman on the far side raised his flag high; Dzeko was offside!
Huang Hao immediately jumped up! He furiously rushed towards the fourth official!
"That was a good goal! That was a good goal! Look closely!!!"
The fourth official's face was cold, and he simply kept pressing his hand down, signaling Huang Hao to calm down.
Atkinson ran to the sideline and issued a warning to Huang Hao!
"Listen, watch your language, otherwise, I will show you a card." Atkinson was unmoved, and after saying this, he turned and ran back onto the field.
For a moment, Huang Hao felt a rush of blood to his head! He couldn't help but hold his forehead with his hand.
The game had to continue, and a calmed Huang Hao vigorously clapped his hands at the players, indicating that they were doing very well, and to keep going!
In the 5th minute of the first half, Cambridge United earned a corner kick on the left side.
O'Connor passed the ball directly to Ayu at the edge of the big penalty area, Ayu took two touches to dribble the ball into the box, and then followed up with a powerful shot!
Cech quickly dived to parry the ball!
The ball rebounded to Adam May's feet!
May unceremoniously kicked the ball into the goal again!
Unfortunately, Head Coach Atkinson did not blow the whistle for a valid goal!
Cambridge United was still offside!
There wasn't much controversy over this goal; May was already in an offside position when Ayu shot, so Huang Hao did not react excessively.
Two consecutive goals at the start made the Queens Park Rangers players shed their initial superiority and treat the game more seriously.
In the 11th minute, Parejo dribbled past to the front of the field, then slotted a pass to striker Blackstock, who skillfully dribbled past Suxi and took a shot, the ball narrowly missing the goal!
Cambridge United immediately retaliated!
Pantilimon kicked out a goal kick, passing it to Lovren on the left, who quickly passed the ball to O'Connor in the middle.
O'Connor glanced at Dzeko, who was positioned high up, and immediately passed the ball to him.
Dzeko kept his eyes on Connelly, who was marking him, but passed the ball to Smith, who was surging up the right wing!
Smith's control and breakthrough were seamless!
After dribbling into the penalty area, he took a delicate shot with his right foot!
Cech once again bravely parried the ball out for a corner!
Pasc intercepted Queens Park Rangers' attack, passing the ball to Dzeko in the middle, who immediately passed it to Smith on the right.
Smith stopped the ball, glanced towards Queens Park Rangers' penalty area, then immediately sent a long pass!
Lewandowski accelerated past Hall and successfully received the pass!
Hall constantly interfered from behind, causing Lewandowski's shot to be slightly delayed!
Cech immediately rushed out and blocked Lewandowski's shot!
Dzeko followed up with a rebound shot!
The ball struck Hall's leg and went out for a corner!
In the 22nd minute, O'Connor reorganized the attack in midfield. Seeing that Dzeko on the left was not marked, O'Connor immediately sent the ball.
Dzeko immediately lifted the ball into the penalty area!
Defender Hall blocked Lewandowski's header and cleared the ball!
O'Connor won the aerial duel! He passed the ball to Bennett on the left!
Bennett, under Connelly's defense, managed to send the ball through!
Queens Park Rangers' defense made a mistake!
Hall and Rolands, who had been performing well since the start, both tried to let the incoming ball go to the other!
Dzeko snatched the ball from the somewhat flustered Rolands and passed it to Lewandowski nearby!
Lewandowski met the ball with a powerful shot!
The ball entered Queens Park Rangers' net for the third time!!!
This time, Cambridge United finally heard the Head Coach blow the whistle for a valid goal! The entire Loftus Road became exceptionally quiet after Lewandowski's goal.
Only Mikel's The U's Legion behind the goal celebrated the goal with abandon.
Queens Park Rangers, clearly unwilling to be a backdrop for another team at home, immediately intensified their attack after conceding the goal.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Bola threw in from midfield, Lorrefa directly pinned Bennett down, won the header, and passed the ball to Parejo!
Parejo, facing the defense, immediately shifted the ball to Mahon next to him, who made a beautiful through ball that landed perfectly between Suxi and Pasc!
Agyemang quickly burst out from behind, was first to the ball, and immediately dribbled into the penalty area!
Facing Pantilimon, Agyemang took a touch to the right and curled a shot!
The ball was directly punched out by Pantilimon with both palms!
In the 28th minute, Parejo took a direct free-kick! The ball hit the wall and was then gathered into Pantilimon's arms!
In the 32nd minute, a Queens Park Rangers forward pass was headed by Lovren to May, who directly headed the ball in the air to Smith on the right!
Facing his former club, Smith was full of energy!
After receiving the ball, Smith immediately accelerated towards the front of the field, then delivered another precise curved through ball!
The ball, as if equipped with a remote control, accurately bypassed Hall and landed at Lewandowski's feet!
Lewandowski adjusted his steps in the penalty area, then chose to push the ball towards the near post!
The ball quickly zipped past Cech!!!
It directly struck the left post!
Hall quickly covered and kicked the ball out of danger!
Huang Hao regretfully slapped his thigh! Cambridge United missed another good opportunity!
The fourth official quickly raised the 2-minute display board, and the first half entered injury time.
Paul Smith in midfield was orchestrating Cambridge United's final attack.
Today, Smith was exceptionally active on the right wing, becoming a sharp weapon in Cambridge United's offense.
Seeing that Lewandowski was closer to Queens Park Rangers' penalty area than Hall, Smith decisively kicked the ball, lofting it in Lewandowski's direction! Hall keenly sensed the danger, immediately accelerated, overtook Lewandowski, and intercepted the ball!
Lewandowski did not give up, accelerating to chase the ball towards the byline!
After touching the ball, Hall immediately spotted Lewandowski rushing over and put more power into it, trying to shift the ball to the left side of the penalty area!
However, the ball directly went over Rolands in the middle!
Bennett gained an unexpected bonus behind him!
Bennett deliberately stopped the ball, and the moment Rolands and Lorrefa tried to close him down, he suddenly flicked his calf, and the ball quickly passed between the two, reaching Dzeko's feet!
Dzeko pushed the ball towards the near post!
Cech could no longer reach the ball!
The ball once again struck the outside of the left post and flew out for a goal kick!
The home fans at Loftus Road erupted in a huge groan! They broke out in a cold sweat!
Fortunately, Head Coach Atkinson blew the whistle for the end of the first half, giving Queens Park Rangers a chance to breathe!
During the halftime break, Huang Hao didn't say much, he encouraged the players' performance, hoping that the lads would seize opportunities better in the second half, as wantonly wasting chances would surely lead to lessons learned.
At the same time, everyone was told to watch their actions, as it was clear that the referee in the first half was not on Cambridge United's side.
The second half began with Queens Park Rangers kicking off first.
After receiving a pass from his teammate, Delney attempted to directly pass the ball to Beasley on the left wing.
However, before Beasley could even reach the receiving spot, the ball was directly intercepted by Lovren, who passed it to Smith.
Smith, with his back to Beasley, held him off and immediately launched a precise shot directly to Dzeko upfront!
Queens Park Rangers' interim Head Coach, Ainsworth, thoughtfully watched Paul Smith; Smith, who previously only had occasional chances to play for Queens Park Rangers, seemed like a completely different person.
He wondered if the team had failed to discover his strengths, or if Cambridge United had brought about a complete change in him.
On the field, after Dzeko received the ball, facing Delney who was tightly marking him, he attempted to chip the ball towards the far corner of the goal!
Unfortunately, the ball that cleared Cheney also cleared the crossbar!
In the 52nd minute, after a brilliant passing combination between Smith and May on the right wing, Smith suddenly shifted the ball to O'Connor in the center.
O'Connor did not stop the ball, but directly played it through to Dzeko at the edge of the box!
Dzeko's shot again went wide of the goal!
Huang Hao, off the field, was a bit restless.
Although his team was currently leading by one goal and gradually dominating their opponent, this score gave him no sense of security.
Cambridge United had to score another goal!
"Dzeko! Lewandowski!" "Aim for the goal, the goal!!!"
Huang Hao didn't care about anything else, roaring at the stadium like a furious dragon!
Both teams played a somewhat rough style, so key areas in the midfield often saw players falling over.
After Rowlands received the ball cleared by Cambridge United in the midfield, he suddenly felt a cold wind coming from behind!
Dzeko directly tackled the ball from the side, and Rowlands also fell heavily to the ground!
Bennett retreated two steps to catch up with the ball, then directly launched a long pass towards Queens Park Rangers' penalty area!
Dzeko, while Rowlands was still down, quickly sprinted forward to chase the ball!
Rowlands only just caught up after Dzeko had moved to the left edge of the penalty area!
Dzeko immediately shifted the ball to O'Connor in the center!
O'Connor played a diagonal through ball directly to Smith on the right wing!
Smith curled a shot towards the near post with his left foot!
Cheney failed to save it!
The ball hit the net!!!
Cambridge United successfully scored their second goal! Smith slayed his former club!!!
As Smith was excitedly running towards the sideline, a sharp whistle suddenly blew behind him!
Smith stopped his celebration and looked back at the referee in confusion.
Offside!!! Goal disallowed!!!
An enraged Smith immediately rushed towards the referee, loudly explaining that the moment he received the ball, he was perfectly in line with Delney!
Atkinson remained expressionless, coldly pointing his hand towards the midfield, indicating a Queens Park Rangers free kick!
Huang Hao could no longer tolerate such a decision and angrily ran towards the fourth official again!
Huang Hao angrily pointed to his own eyes with both hands!
"Are you going to ruin this match!!! This is the second time, damn it!!!"
"Please watch the TV replay! This is blatant crime!!!"
Atkinson once again quickly rushed to the sideline, and facing Huang Hao, he directly pulled a red card from his pocket!!!
Huang Hao stood stunned in place!
He was completely frozen!
A minute later, he looked at Atkinson, revealing a mocking and disdainful smile, then turned and walked towards the players' tunnel.
Behind him, countless Queens Park Rangers fans cursed and booed.
A red card! Huang Hao's first red card in his coaching career appeared so absurdly!
In the 62nd minute of the second half, Cambridge United suffered a non-combat casualty; not only was their goal disallowed, but they also lost their Head Coach!
After calming down, Huang Hao appeared next to Mikel of The U's.
Although he couldn't be in the dugout, he could still watch the match from the stands.
Mikel patted Huang Hao's shoulder comfortingly,
"We can all see, that was a damn beautiful goal!"
Huang Hao glanced at Mikel, shrugged helplessly, and sat down behind the goal.
After switching sides, the away team's fan section was directly behind Cambridge United's goal.
The disadvantage was that Huang Hao could only relay messages through the goalkeeper, which was damn too far!
While he was still contemplating, Queens Park Rangers attacked Cambridge United's goal!
It was the first time Huang Hao saw the opponent's attack from this position, and he couldn't help but feel nervous!
Lorrefa passed the ball to Gutierrez on the right side of the penalty area with his heel!
Gutierrez unleashed a powerful shot directly from outside the box!
The ball flew over the crossbar and headed straight for Huang Hao!
Huang Hao looked incredulously at the flying ball!
While he was still dazed, Mikel, who was beside him, directly extended his bald head and headed the ball back, then raised his arms and roared!
Like a lion, demonstrating in his territory!
"Good heavens! I'm even considering recruiting you into the team!"
Huang Hao, having come to his senses, patted Mikel's shoulder!
"Hahahahahahaha! I want top salary, Huang!"
"Forget it, you should just remain the boss of The U's!"
Although there were no player reductions on the field, Queens Park Rangers still capitalized on Huang Hao's departure by intensifying their attacks.
Cambridge United's players, united in spirit, continuously fended off Queens Park Rangers' counterattacks!
In the 85th minute of the match, Queens Park Rangers attacked the front again.
Beasley passed the ball to the late-arriving Parejo.
Parejo keenly spotted a defensive gap in Cambridge United's defense and directly threaded the ball to Blackstock on the right wing!
Just as Blackstock was about to shoot, Bola caught up from behind and directly made a sliding tackle, blocking the shot out for a corner!
Queens Park Rangers earned their 10th corner kick of the match.
Queens Park Rangers' corner kick strategy was very unusual; they only had three players positioned inside the six-yard box, while four other players stood near the penalty spot, attempting to rush into Cambridge United's penalty area at the moment of the pass to disrupt Cambridge United's defense.
Huang Hao, watching Queens Park Rangers' positioning from behind the goal, felt a sense of danger in addition to surprise.
Parejo quickly took the corner kick to the near post!
The waiting players suddenly swarmed in!
Cambridge United's penalty area was in chaos!!! Suxi leaped high at the near post!!!
Missed header!!!
O'Connor behind him reacted too slowly! The ball directly hit O'Connor's left arm and bounced into the goal!!!
O'Connor, having come to his senses, immediately covered his face with both hands and squatted on the ground.
Listening to the surrounding home fans' unrestrained cheers and celebrations, Huang Hao also held his forehead, thinking, this is truly unlucky!
Queens Park Rangers, having equalized in the final moments, were greatly boosted in morale!
In the 91st minute, as the match entered the final stage of injury time, Gutierrez gained possession in midfield, easily dribbled past a dejected O'Connor, and passed the ball to Talpares.
Talpares immediately passed to Agyemang at the edge of the box.
Agyemang, with his back to goal, laid the ball back to the onrushing Parejo!
Parejo swung his left foot and unleashed a powerful shot!
The ball flew directly over Pantilimon's head!!!
Thud!!! It hit Cambridge United's crossbar!!!
Josh Pasc immediately kicked the ball out of bounds!
Huang Hao felt his heart was about to burst!
Finally, the eventful 4 minutes of added time ended without further incident, and Cambridge United, having scored all the goals away from home, drew 1-1 with Queens Park Rangers!
At the post-match press conference, Huang Hao didn't even sit down; he directly bent over and leaned into the microphone:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to say, someone didn't want us to win this match! We will immediately submit an appeal and hope to receive the fairest treatment from English Football Association!"
With that, Huang Hao directly left the press conference, leaving behind a chaotic group of reporters and an embarrassed Ainsworth.
"How ill-mannered!"
Ainsworth muttered a curse.