Charlton clearly didn't want to surrender the victory so easily.
Head Coach Pardew unceremoniously substituted two underperforming midfielders at halftime, attempting to go all out.
In the 53rd minute, Charlton took a throw-in on the right side of Cambridge United's attacking half.
The ball was quickly passed to Zheng Zhi, who had just come on as a substitute.
Zheng Zhi immediately sent the ball to Holland in the center.
Holland received the ball with his back to goal, attracting two Cambridge United players to press him, then immediately passed the ball to Josh Pasque, who in turn passed it to Lawrence.
Before Lawrence could touch the ball, Tadić made a sliding tackle from the side, diverting the ball from its intended path!
Lawrence was also brought down!
Bogler sprinted forward with his head down, finally intercepting the ball just a second before it went out of bounds!
Before Tadić could get into position, he immediately crossed the ball!
Bola vigorously contested the header in the penalty area, heading the ball out of the box!
Lawrence got the ball on the outside and passed it back to Zheng Zhi in the center!
Zheng Zhi looked like he was preparing for a direct long-range shot!
Lovren and Suxi simultaneously pressed him, trying to stop Zheng Zhi from shooting!
However, Zheng Zhi feigned a shot, lightly passing the ball to Ambrose on the left side of the penalty area!
Unmarked Ambrose took a shot towards the far corner of the goal!
The ball flew over Pantilimon's hands and into the net!
2:1!!! Charlton saw hope of equalizing!
In the 59th minute, Vardy received a pass from Mahrez and attempted to head the ball to Lewandowski.
However, Ayu's header was wildly off target, and the ball was directly passed back to the goalkeeper by Charlton's defender Gio.
Weaver again cleared the ball with a long kick to midfield, Lovren won the first ball, heading it back into the attacking half.
Zheng Zhi stooped to head the ball, sending it back again!
Ragusa charged a bit too aggressively, running past the ball's landing spot!
Lovren burst out from behind him, chested the ball down, and then volleyed it directly towards Charlton's penalty area!
The ball's spinning arc was perfect, just clearing Gio's interception!
Lewandowski suddenly burst out between Gio and Pebellier, and shot the ball directly towards the goal!!!
Cambridge United's lightning raid succeeded again! 3:1!!!
Charlton's hope of equalizing was dashed after only 7 minutes!
In the 79th minute, Tadić broke through along the left flank to near Charlton's byline and directly lofted the ball towards the goal!
Lewandowski, in the center, overpowered Pebellier to head the ball towards the goal!
Weaver watched in despair as the ball flew past his fingertips!
Bang! The crossbar denied Lewandowski a hat-trick!
Gio didn't dare to delay, immediately kicking the falling ball out of the penalty area!
In the 83rd minute, Mason's shot again went over the crossbar, resulting in a goal kick for Cambridge United.
Pantilimon directly kicked the ball to Tadić on the left side of the attacking half, Bogler overpowered Tadić, attempting to pass the ball to Bella in front.
Before Bella could receive the ball, Kante directly moved in front of him, intercepted the ball, and then chipped it forward!
Hill, who came on as a substitute, understood perfectly, quickly darting past Pebellier!
Pebellier cursed to himself, only able to accelerate and chase!
Gio, seeing that Pebellier couldn't catch up to Hill, who had entered the penalty area, reluctantly moved forward to cover.
Lewandowski was left behind by him.....
Hill accelerated forward, creating passing space from the side of the two defenders, and immediately knocked the ball back to the center!
Lewandowski slid to shoot, and the ball once again pierced through Weaver's grasp!!!
Hat-trick! 4:1!!!
After 37 rounds, Cambridge United had 19 wins, 12 draws, and 6 losses, accumulating 69 points, rising to third place in the League standings!
If the ranking at the beginning of the season had no reference value, then at this point, third place in the League standings was truly significant!
The media that had mocked Cambridge United wisely shut their mouths, avoiding another slap in the face from Cambridge United.
On March 11th, facing Sheffield Wednesday, who were ranked 13th in the League, Cambridge United still used a partial rotation lineup.
After all, Cambridge United would face Crystal Palace and Plymouth in the next two rounds, so Huang Hao had to ensure that the main players were as unaffected by injuries as possible.
Because this match was included in the broadcasting schedule, the kickoff time was adjusted to 5 PM, while all other League matches in this round were played at 3 PM.
Huang Hao himself didn't understand what the British broadcasters were thinking, choosing this match.
However, since there was additional broadcasting revenue, Huang Hao wished every match could be broadcast!
Before Cambridge United's match even started, the results from other matches were already out, and unexpectedly, the top four teams in the League had another series of upsets!
Wolves, who finished their match a day earlier, lost 0:1 away to Nottingham Forest.
Birmingham, who started at 3 PM, drew 2:2 away with Norwich, while Reading drew 0:0 away with Crystal Palace!
Thus, if Cambridge United could defeat Sheffield Wednesday at home today, they could narrow the points gap with Wolves to 5 points!
Sometimes, good news is also a double-edged sword.
The Cambridge United lads, perhaps due to this pressure, played cautiously and hesitantly.
Cambridge United, wanting to win but afraid to lose, completely failed to show the home team's momentum at Abbey Stadium.
Instead, Sheffield Wednesday, fighting for relegation, played with fierce determination!
In the 41st minute of the first half, Sheffield Wednesday attacked Cambridge United's attacking half once again.
Rimmer tried to directly loft the ball into the penalty area from the right side of the attacking half, and Tyreke Warren quickly retreated to win the first ball, heading it out.
Sterri made a mistake in controlling the ball, and Rimmer quickly dispossessed him!
Rimmer quickly got to the byline and then crossed the ball in front of the goal!
Josh Pasque and May actually collided while defending!
João benefited from the confusion, flicking the ball with a back-header to near the penalty spot!
Barnes swept the ball low towards the goal from close range! The ball shot into the net from the bottom right corner of the goal!!!
0:1!!! Sheffield Wednesday scored first away from home!!!
Until the end of the first half, Cambridge United failed to equalize, returning to the locker room dejectedly with a 0:1 score.
They originally thought they were about to face Huang Hao's usual scolding, but inside the locker room, it was surprisingly calm.
Huang Hao seemed to be deep in thought, and the players naturally didn't disturb him.
"Vardy, how many rounds are left in the League?"
Vardy's head buzzed! How did they end up with such a nonsensical boss!
"Uh, boss, there are 6 rounds left."
Despite his thoughts, Vardy honestly answered the question.
"May, how many points can you get in 6 rounds?"
"Boss, my math isn't very good......"
"18 points!"
Tadić nudged May, quickly giving the answer.
"Very good, so everyone, this isn't the last round, there are still 6 more matches."
"If you're like this with just this much pressure today, won't your legs be trembling when you go out for the last round?"
After speaking, Huang Hao even made a trembling leg motion.
Although the scene was quite comical, the Cambridge United players dared not laugh.
"We are just a relegation team! We are now 28 points ahead of the relegation zone, what's there to be afraid of?"
"Put your hearts at ease! Don't think about anything except the match!"
Huang Hao's words greatly improved the players'Mindset.
After the second half began, Cambridge United gradually regained control.
In the 49th minute of the second half, Lewandowski and Vardy successively attacked Sheffield Wednesday's goal from both wings.
Kante received the ball with his back to goal in the penalty area, with two defenders pressing him from behind.
Kante glanced at Cole outside the penalty area and passed the ball out.
Cole received the ball, took a touch forward, and then passed the ball back to Tadić in the penalty area!
Tadić received the ball and shot in one smooth motion!
Just as Tadić was running towards the fans on the sideline, the assistant referee raised his flag high!
Offside??? Tadić turned and ran towards the referee, his face full of grievance!
However, the assertive referee Duncan directly signaled to continue the match, leaving no room for discussion!
Huang Hao was furious again!
A frustrated Huang Hao could only shake his head helplessly, hoping that Cambridge United's players wouldn't be affected by the disallowed goal.
In the 66th minute of the second half, Vida passed the ball forward to Mahrez on the left side of the attacking half.
Mahrez used a change of pace to create space against defender Bramall, then directly crossed the ball in front of the goal!
Lewandowski held off Rhys behind him at the near post, received the ball, and then poked it towards the goal!
Ayu volleyed the ball! The ball once again found the net!
This time there was no doubt, Duncan blew the whistle for Cambridge United's goal!
1:1! Both sides were back on even terms!
Resilient Sheffield Wednesday immediately organized a counter-attack!
In the 68th minute, Tonelli made a long pass from the back, and the ball went directly to Barnes in the attacking half!
Barnes attracted two defenders, then poked the ball through a gap to João on the side!
João unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the big penalty area!
The ball grazed the right post and flew out of bounds!
The Cambridge United fans had a moment of fright; that was a really good chance!
Matches are often like this: once you miss an opportunity, you might be punished very quickly.
In the 71st minute, João's pass near the edge of Cambridge United's penalty area was a bit careless, and Sun Jihai directly intercepted the ball in the passing lane!
Sun Jihai passed the ball back to Pantilimon, who kicked it high, and the ball flew over midfield, landing at Mahrez's feet on the left side!
Mahrez sprinted down the left touchline with the ball!
Upon reaching the byline, Cambridge United's golden left foot immediately delivered a powerful cross!
Vardy and Lewandowski of Cambridge United, and three Sheffield Wednesday defenders, were all crowded at the near post!
Vardy got there first, flicking the ball towards the far post!
Unmarked Lewandowski easily scored! 2:1!!! Cambridge United finally took the lead!
The match entered injury time, and Cambridge United won a corner kick on the right side of the attacking half.
Lewandowski passed the ball to Mahrez at the edge of the penalty area, Mahrez, with his back to goal, gently pushed the ball, and Kante shot directly!
The ball struck his teammate Tadić, and rebounded to Pasc!
Pasc at the goalmouth made a deflection shot!
Although the ball went into the net, the assistant referee's flag was also raised.
This offside was not unfair, and no one cared about this decision anymore.
Ultimately, Cambridge United came from behind to defeat Sheffield Wednesday 2:1 at home, successfully narrowing the points gap with Wolves to 5 points!
Three days later, Cambridge United will travel to Selhurst Park to challenge Crystal Palace, who are ranked fifth in the League.
Huang Hao will also face Warnock for the third time.
