On February 25th, Craven Cottage, with a capacity of 25,000, was filled with a staggering 20,000 fans.
For Fulham, whose attendance rate this season hovers around 60%, this was a good result.
However, when Huang Hao finished his pre-match preparations and stepped onto the field with his players, he was stunned!
At this moment, nearly half of Craven Cottage was wearing yellow jerseys!
Fulham's home kit is white, which meant that today there were nearly 10,000 Cambridge United fans here!!!
Huang Hao never expected that as Cambridge United's performance soared, their appeal was also growing stronger!
People were gradually accepting and identifying with this team, which had a strong Chinese element!
The idea of expanding or even rebuilding the stadium also surfaced in Huang Hao's mind.
Thinking about the meager funds in the account, Cambridge United's path to revitalization was long and arduous!
No matter what, they had to defeat their opponent today and not disappoint the Cambridge United fans!
Huang Hao was full of confidence, hoping his team would achieve a big victory. However, as time went on, Huang Hao realized he might have been too optimistic.
Although Fulham was currently ranked 8th in the League, they seemed to play effortlessly against Cambridge United!
Vardy, Lewandowski, Tadić, and O'Connor, Cambridge United's attacking players, were all tightly marked by Fulham.
At all times, there was always someone closely marking them, something that had never happened in other matches.
Several players felt they were receiving star-level treatment, which was disproportionate to their status.
Casually, Huang Hao glanced at Fulham's dugout, and his eyes suddenly lit up!
Sitting in the Head Coach's position was none other than the famous England legend, Roy Hodgson!!!
Old Man Hodgson was his idol. For a moment, Huang Hao felt some regret; his team's excellent performance had made him somewhat overconfident. In the first leg, Old Man Hodgson was unwell and didn't lead the team to Cambridge, and he hadn't even noticed that Fulham's manager was Hodgson. He also hadn't spent too much effort analyzing the match, after all, he had Darren, who had followed him for several years, and a professional data analysis team by his side!
Hodgson's man-marking tactics were very effective. Cambridge United players had always delivered fatal blows when left unmarked.
But now, their every move was tightly watched. Cambridge United's famous one-touch passing and highly penetrating through balls behind the defense were like Cinderella at midnight—all their magic had disappeared.
In the 30th minute of the first half, Bola took a throw-in in Fulham's attacking third. Ayu headed the ball, attempting to pass it to Mahrez. Konchesky, who was marking Mahrez, stayed glued to him. As Ayu passed the ball, Konchesky immediately moved in front of Mahrez, preventing him from moving!
Defender Hangeland easily gained possession, delivering a long diagonal pass to Simon Davis on the left side of midfield. Davis didn't stop, smoothly lobbing the ball forward!
Zamora suddenly burst between Lovren and Warren, and after receiving the ball, he was through on goal!
Unfortunately, Zamora's speed while dribbling was slightly slow, allowing Lovren and Warren to catch up from behind. Left with no choice, as soon as he entered the penalty area, Zamora attempted a direct shot!
The shot wasn't tricky in terms of angle, but it had immense power. Pantilimon didn't dare to be careless and directly pushed the ball out for a corner kick!
Although the ball didn't go in, Huang Hao vaguely felt that this match might be a bit precarious!
In the 44th minute of the first half, Fulham's army once again pressed towards Cambridge United's goal. Fulham's players seemed not to be in a hurry to attack, instead, they switched sides repeatedly outside the penalty area, trying to tear open Cambridge United's defense.
The ball was passed to the edge of the penalty arc, and Danny Murphy suddenly unleashed a long-range shot!
Warren reacted swiftly, immediately diving to block the ball! However, the ball rolled towards Davis on the right side of the penalty area!
Davis unleashed a powerful shot!
The ball traced a beautiful arc, but because of the distance, Pantilimon easily jumped up and caught the ball!
Pantilimon kicked the ball to Lovren nearby, and Lovren passed it to O'Connor in front.
Etuhu quickly closed down O'Connor, cutting off his forward passing lane!
Helplessly, O'Connor could only kick the ball to Kante nearby, and Kante directly launched a volley, sending the ball flying towards Fulham's penalty area!
Lewandowski shook off Hughes and quickly dribbled into the penalty area!
Unexpectedly, Jean Hughes was incredibly fast! When Lewandowski entered the penalty area, he accelerated directly, appearing in front of Lewandowski again!
Lewandowski immediately passed the ball to Vardy nearby, and Vardy took a direct shot amidst the crowd!
The ball hit the crossbar!
Stoor directly kicked the falling ball out of bounds!
Cambridge United missed their best chance of the first half! Vardy crouched on the ground, unable to believe he had missed that goal!
During first-half injury time, Cambridge United once again had a great opportunity!
Fulham gave Cambridge United a free-kick near the top corner of their own penalty area.
Facing a five-man wall, O'Connor took a run-up, put power into his left foot, and after kicking the ball, he spun half a circle in place!
This free-kick, struck with the outside of his foot, had an extremely strong spin!
After clearing the wall, it rapidly dipped towards Fulham's left post!
Fulham goalkeeper Schwarzer dove towards the left side of the goal in a half-kneeling position, scooping the ball off the goal line!
The Cambridge United fans in attendance had already started cheering!!!
However, referee Maurice did not blow the whistle for a Cambridge United goal, and play continued!
Clearly, the ball had not entirely crossed the goal line!
Cambridge United, having repeatedly missed scoring opportunities, finally paid the price.
Just two minutes into the second half, Fulham won a corner kick from the left.
Murphy directly sent the ball in front of the goal!
Zamora leaped high, heading the ball towards the far post!
Mahrez, who was not adept at defending, completely failed to notice the 191cm strong man who had already leaped behind him!
Fulham's center-back Hughes directly pressed down on Mahrez's shoulder, heading the ball into the near post!!!
1-0!!! Fulham sealed the deal!
In the 57th minute, Cambridge United also won a corner kick from the left side of the attacking third.
O'Connor kicked the ball to Vardy outside the penalty area, and just as O'Connor kicked the ball, Stoor quickly ran from the penalty area to Vardy's front!
Clearly, Hodgson had already made key deployments for Cambridge United's set pieces!
Vardy, having lost his shooting opportunity, reluctantly headed the ball to Ayu in the middle!
Ayu took a left-footed volley!!!
Schwarzer punched the ball out with one hand!!!
Kante intercepted Fulham's clearance in midfield, and directly passed it to Tadić on the right wing!
Tadić crossed from the right byline!
Lewandowski won the first ball in front of the goal, passing it to Mahrez on the left. Mahrez took a side-footed volley!
The ball hit the side netting on the left side of the goal!
Cambridge United fans once again sat down in disappointment!
Unbeknownst to them, the match had reached the 80th minute, leaving Cambridge United with only 10 minutes left.
Vida once again attempted a high through ball from the back!
Lewandowski finally got past the offside trap, dribbling towards the goal!
However, Fulham's Hughes and Hangeland quickly formed an angle, closing in rapidly from different directions, blocking Lewandowski before he could shoot!
Thus, Lewandowski's shot was inevitably blocked out for a corner by Hangeland's foot!
Cambridge United's subsequent corner kick posed no threat, and the attack ended abruptly.
Huang Hao suddenly felt as if he was stripped bare standing in front of Hodgson! This old man had studied him thoroughly!
In the 93rd minute, Fulham's last corner kick of the match almost broke through Cambridge United's goal again, but Pantilimon reacted extremely quickly, seizing the ball first.
Maurice immediately blew the final whistle.
In the FA Cup playoff, Cambridge United lost to Fulham, stopping at the fifth round.
Two days later, The Hive hosted Charlton.
Without suspense, Bennett's name once again appeared in Barnet's starting right winger position.
Charlton's performance plummeted after being relegated to the EFL Championship, and they were currently at the bottom of the League table.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Charlton's attack ended with a shot wide of the goal.
Pantilimon took a goal kick, passing it to Sun Jihai nearby.
Sun Jihai, from the edge of the penalty area, directly launched a volley, sending the ball directly to Tadić on the right side of midfield!
Tadić looked up at the incoming ball, quickly moving towards the touchline.
Just as the ball was about to go out of bounds, Tadić quickly extended his right foot and gently hooked it!
The ball instantly obediently stuck to Tadić's foot!
Abbey Stadium immediately erupted in warm applause!
Tadić, having brought the ball down, then used his right foot to push the ball to his left! He directly bypassed Charlton's Malone!
After taking two quick steps, Tadić directly threaded the ball to the edge of the penalty area, where Lewandowski smoothly received it!
Lewandowski immediately took a touch after receiving the ball, evading Gio's press, then swung his right leg wide, taking a long-range shot directly from outside the penalty area!
Charlton's goalkeeper Weaver was anticipating Vardy, who was lurking in the middle, when he suddenly saw Lewandowski's long-range shot and hurriedly prepared to come out!
However, after only two steps, the ball from Lewandowski's foot had already rushed in front of him!
Weaver leaped with all his might, but the ball whistled over his head, skimming the underside of the crossbar and soaring into the net!!!
1-0!!! Lewandowski scored with a single strike!
After conceding, Charlton immediately organized a counter-attack.
In the 32nd minute, Gio intercepted Sun Jihai's header in the backfield, passing it directly to Haskaan nearby, who received the ball and immediately launched a high ball into Cambridge United's penalty area!
Warren was positioned slightly deeper, and Cambridge United's offside trap failed!
Ambrose flashed past Sun Jihai, rushing towards Cambridge United's penalty area!
As Ambrose burst into the penalty area, the ball landed perfectly at his feet!
Facing Pantilimon, Ambrose tried to open up the shooting angle! Just as Ambrose adjusted and tried to shoot towards the near post, a pair of legs suddenly appeared at his feet!
Sun Jihai tracked back into position, directly sliding the ball out for a corner kick with both legs!
Pantilimon patted Sun Jihai on the back from behind, thanking him for helping to defuse the danger.
Lawrence chose to take the corner kick to the near post!
Pebellier accelerated towards the landing spot and then leaped with all his might!
Sun Jihai was firmly pinned beneath him!
The ball was headed by Pebellier towards the far post! Pantilimon quickly retreated, his body fully opened backward, barely managing to poke the ball, which was about to enter the goal, out for a corner kick with his fingertips!
Saint Pantilimon's heroic performance once again brought applause to Abbey Stadium!
This time, Lawrence's corner kick posed no threat, being headed out of the danger zone directly by Sun Jihai.
In the 46th minute of the first half, the match had entered injury time.
Charlton once again won a corner kick from the right side of the field.
Lawrence chose the far post this time! Sun Jihai immediately anticipated the passing lane, heading the ball out directly before Gio could get to it!
Ayu accelerated to catch up with the ball, and Cambridge United organized a counter-attack!
Facing Haskaan's tight marking, Ayu immediately shifted the ball to Lewandowski on the right side of the attacking third!
Lewandowski advanced with the ball, met with Bogler's obstruction, and seized the opportunity to pass the ball directly into the penalty area!
Vardy got ahead of the Charlton defender, heading the ball towards the goal!
Clearly, heading was not Vardy's strong suit; the ball lacked power, and Weaver simply crouched down and gathered it.
After everyone retreated, Weaver directly launched a long kick towards midfield.
Lovren won the second ball, and with a powerful shot, he immediately kicked the ball back into Charlton's half!
Gio, who had just reached midfield, cried out in dismay, watching the ball fly over his head and land at Lewandowski's feet!
Lewandowski and Vardy formed a two-on-one situation in the attacking third!
Only Pebellier remained in the middle!
The two accelerated into Charlton's penalty area, with the indecisive Pebellier constantly stuck between them, trying to intercept the ball!
Lewandowski suddenly slammed on the brakes, catching Pebellier off guard, and the ball was smoothly passed from behind him to Vardy in the middle!
Vardy, at the penalty spot, this time took a steady curling shot, and the ball sailed past Weaver's outstretched hands and into the net!
2-0!!! Cambridge United ended the first half contentedly!