In the next round of the EFL Championship, Cambridge United was set to travel to Aston Gate to challenge Bristol City.
After the match began, Cambridge United's players, spurred by their previous game, appeared more proactive and gradually gained the upper hand on the field.
In the 22nd minute, O'Connor won a free-kick for Cambridge United on the right side of Bristol City's penalty area, and he took it himself.
After observing Bristol City's wall and the number of players in the box, O'Connor seemed to make up his mind.
He stepped back, took a run-up, and O'Connor swung his left leg, opting for a direct shot!
The ball curved over the five-man wall and flew straight towards the right side of the goal!
Houri, the goalkeeper, who was positioned closer to the left side of the goal, clearly didn't have enough time to dive across!
Unfortunately, the ball directly struck the crossbar of the goal!
There's still a chance!
The rebounding ball landed perfectly at Bennett's feet!
Bennett followed up with a left-footed shot!
The ball hit Houri's leg and bounced out again!
The fans at Aston Gate erupted in a low groan of relief, celebrating that their goal had not been breached!
Ten minutes later, Cambridge United won a corner kick on the left side of the field.
O'Connor passed the ball directly to Dzeko outside the penalty area line!
Dzeko took a step forward, adjusted his rhythm, and unleashed a powerful shot!
The ball carved a beautiful arc and once again hit the crossbar!
Houri despaired!
Because in front of him stood four Cambridge United players!
Ultimately, the ball landed at Ayu's feet, and he unhesitatingly kicked it in the opposite direction of Houri! In the 33rd minute and 42nd second, Bristol City's goal was breached!
This goal seemed to topple dominoes, triggering a wave of attacks from Cambridge United!
In the 37th minute of the match, a Bristol City midfielder, with the ball, hesitated slightly when faced with Cambridge United players' tight defense.
At that moment, O'Connor pounced from behind him and successfully dispossessed him of the ball!
After winning the ball, O'Connor immediately passed it to Dzeko upfield; with almost no delay, the ball went from Dzeko to Ayu's feet!
Facing three Bristol City defenders, Ayu didn't rush forward; seeing Bennett charging down the right flank, Ayu passed the ball between two Villa players!
At the same time, Ayu, Dzeko, and Tadić simultaneously surged into Bristol City's penalty area from three directions!
Bristol City's four defenders, lined up in a row, faced a formidable threat!
When Bennett dribbled past Kare and passed the ball into the box, five Cambridge United players had already stormed into Bristol City's penalty area!
At this time, only four Bristol City defenders had returned to position! Bristol City's four players ultimately chose to mark Cambridge United's forwards and wingers, leaving Adam May unmarked!
So May quickly ran to the six-yard box and deflected the ball into the goal with one touch!
Facing a shot from less than one meter, Houri had no chance to save it!
0:2! Cambridge United scored again!
Bristol City's nightmare was not over!
In the 41st minute, Tadić threw a powerful long throw-in from the right side of Bristol City's attacking half, and Bennett headed the ball backward at the edge of the penalty area!
Maynard and Ayu vied for the ball; in the scramble, Ayu poked the ball with his toe to the vicinity of the penalty spot!
Lewandowski unleashed a powerful shot, and the ball once again pierced the net guarded by Houri!
0:3! Cambridge United began to dominate!
In the 43rd minute, Bristol City's Hery Hani took a corner kick; McKindu won the first header and passed it to John!
John took a powerful shot! The ball hit Vida!
Kare got to the rebounding ball and back-heeled it to Sprull!
Sprull took a powerful shot! Saint Pantilimon reappeared, making a valiant save!
Bristol City missed a golden opportunity!!!
Bristol City seemed to have forgotten how to score this season; after 21 League rounds, they had only scored 23 goals, ranking third from the bottom in the EFL Championship.
After the second half began, Cambridge United's players still showed no intention of letting up; these young lads were somewhat bloodthirsty.
In the 57th minute, O'Connor took a free-kick from the right side of Bristol City's attacking half, and the ball was quickly cleared out of the box by a Bristol City player.
May, after receiving the ball in midfield, passed it back to Sterri, and Cambridge United reorganized their attack.
Sterri passed the ball to Bennett on the left, and Bennett immediately passed it to May, who was advancing through the middle; Kare tackled May from behind!
But the ball still slowly rolled forward to O'Connor!
After a one-two pass with Ayu, O'Connor decisively chipped the ball to the right, and Bennett got the ball!
Bennett broke through to the byline, then turned and passed the ball back to O'Connor in the penalty area!
O'Connor immediately shot towards the goal upon receiving the ball!
However, the ball struck Lewandowski in front of him!
Fortunately, the ball rebounded to Tadić on the left! Tadić shot a low drive!
The ball grazed the left post and nestled into the net!
0:4! Bristol City suffered another heavy blow!
With the outcome decided, Huang Hao also sent on Kante and Gotze to gain big-game experience.
When the match entered injury time, after O'Connor received a pass from Gotze and scored again, Cambridge United's players had already given up celebrating.
Johnson slowly leaned back in his coaching seat, closing his eyes, seemingly foreseeing his future.
The 21,000 fans at Aston Gate witnessed their home team being massacred by a promoted team right in front of their eyes; dissatisfied boos overwhelmingly echoed from all around the stadium after the match ended!
As soon as this match ended, Huang Hao immediately walked quickly to Johnson, with a hint of apology on his face.
"Sorry, Gary, these lads played a bit too aggressively today."
Johnson gave a bitter smile upon hearing Huang Hao's apology.
"It's alright, a match should be played with full effort, and your team played very well."
"Good luck, Gary."
Johnson smiled and nodded to Huang Hao, then walked towards the player tunnel.
Behind him, the relentless boos continued to ring out.
The big away win greatly relieved the pressure on Cambridge United's players; although Huang Hao outwardly said, "You guys were too brutal," the subsequent mischievous grin explained everything.
After defeating Bristol City, Cambridge United's ranking rose to third place, and their next opponent was Sheffield United, who ranked fifth in the League table.
Sheffield United had historically won one top-flight League title and four FA Cup titles.
On December 13th, this highly anticipated match of the EFL Championship round began on time.
After the match began, Dzeko and Vardy, the starting forward duo, immediately felt the pressure from Sheffield United's defenders.
Sheffield United's center-backs Morgan and Gilgallon successfully neutralized both players.
In the 26th minute, Bennett attempted to chip the ball to Dzeko in the attacking half in his usual manner from midfield, but Gilgallon accurately judged the ball's landing spot, getting in front of Dzeko to head the ball to Montgomery in midfield.
Montgomery advanced with the ball for two steps, then gently chipped it with his right foot; the ball flew over the defender and was received by Brown on the right side of the penalty area!
At this moment, Bola and Lovren had already returned to defend near Brown; even when facing two defenders, the veteran Brown, who transferred from Birmingham, showed no sign of panic.
Utilizing the gap in their co-defense, Brown seized the opportunity, quickly put power into his right foot, and the ball, skimming the turf, quickly passed between the two defenders!
Vargas had already set himself up before the ball was even passed; at the moment of touching the ball, he immediately completed the shot!
Even though Pantilimon had fully stretched his body and dived to the left side of the goal, the shooting distance was too close; before he could get into position, the ball had already nestled into the net!
0:1! Sheffield United successfully took the lead on the road!
London, where it rarely rained at this time of year, was now experiencing a drizzling rain. When raindrops fell on Huang Hao's neck, it made him shiver with cold!
The overcast sky, the annoying cold rain, and the trailing score made his mood truly unpleasant at that moment.
The players didn't make obvious mistakes, nor did they show any lack of ambition, yet Sheffield United's defense was like an impenetrable wall, causing Cambridge United's numerous attacks to return empty-handed.
In this extremely oppressive atmosphere, the first half of the match was already drawing to a close.
Sheffield United was repeatedly passing the ball in midfield, seemingly waiting for the referee's whistle. Brugman received the ball and suddenly kicked it forward!
Bola clearly didn't expect Brugman to suddenly launch an attack! He nervously watched the incoming ball, trying to intercept the attack!
But he overlooked that Sheffield United's forward, Brown, was standing beside him at that moment!
The moment Brugman passed the ball, Brown suddenly accelerated, shaking off Bola who was marking him!
He successfully beat the offside trap!
After receiving the ball, Brown quickly dribbled into the penalty area, adjusted his steps, and pushed the ball into the near post! Goal!
His killer instinct was fully displayed! The 34-year-old Brown, in terms of stamina distribution and seizing opportunities, gave the young Cambridge United forwards a vivid lesson!
The rain grew heavier, and soon Huang Hao's suit was drenched, and his heart was also chilling.
After the change of ends, Huang Hao and Cambridge United still couldn't find a way to score.
Ultimately, Cambridge United completely lost themselves in the heavy rain, losing 0:2 at home again.
At the post-match press conference, Huang Hao, having lost the game, was naturally in low spirits.
The reporters, however, didn't care; accustomed to Huang Hao's triumphant demeanor, a sudden loss made them somewhat gloating.
"Mr. Huang, what impact will losing to Sheffield United have on Cambridge United?"
The reporter was quite blunt, directly picking the question most likely to provoke Huang Hao.
Huang Hao glared at Connor; this reporter from "442" magazine seemed to have a grudge against him.
"I say, Mr. Reporter, what impact do you think it will have? It affected us getting 3 points, making us drop from third to seventh place."
"Cambridge United has been losing more games recently; what problems do you think the team is experiencing?" Connor clearly had no intention of letting Huang Hao off easily.
"Would you be interested if I told you the team had infighting? Or that I lost control of the locker room?"
Upon hearing this, Connor's ears perked up; he picked up his pen, looking at Huang Hao with eager anticipation.
"Unfortunately, none of those are true. If you absolutely must find a reason, I can tell you, we were simply outplayed."
"We are just a relegation team, with mostly young players, so fluctuating form is normal."
The host, seeing the increasing tension between the two, was afraid that Huang Hao would leave the scene again if things escalated. So, he quickly and hastily ended the press conference.
"Huang Hao Admits Cambridge United Was Outplayed!"
Huang Hao gave a bitter smile when he saw the news the next day. As expected, reporters' headlines never disappoint.