On March 9th, there was still one day until the match between Crystal Palace and Cambridge United.
Some belated fans slowly arrived at Selhurst Park, and when they saw the deserted ticket office, they were all stunned.
The stadium, which can accommodate 26,000 fans, had already sold out all tickets for this match!
It's over, I can't watch the game live!
The relaxed expressions of the fans just now vanished, replaced mostly by deep regret!
Although Crystal Palace is currently ranked fifth, their average attendance is only 23,000, so normally, tickets can be bought on the day of the game. Because of this, the British, whose pace of life is not fast, were not in a hurry.
But this time, the day before the match, tickets were already hard to come by! This clearly shows everyone's anticipation for this match!
At Selhurst Park, Warnock was patiently answering questions from various reporters at the press conference.
Warnock still appeared very humble; in his opinion, Huang Hao's Cambridge United's current ranking was well-deserved.
If this statement had been made at the beginning of the season, Warnock's remarks would surely have drawn curses from radical Crystal Palace die-hard fans.
Now, Cambridge United, sitting third in the League table, has gained recognition from most people through its own efforts.
Some people are even beginning to wonder if Cambridge United will continue to be a dark horse if it truly reaches the Premier League. Of course, Huang Hao also longs for this day.
Unintentionally, Warnock and Huang Hao felt a sense of mutual appreciation. Huang Hao also flattered Warnock at the pre-match press conference at Abbey.
However, when reporters asked Huang Hao if he would choose to strategically give up or rotate, Huang Hao said unequivocally:
"No, unless Cambridge United has already secured its place in the Premier League, we will treat every opponent seriously with our strongest lineup."
This time, Huang Hao's words were not a smokescreen.
On the next day's starting lineup for Cambridge United, the club's main players were prominently listed.
The only difference was at right winger; Smith, who had just recovered from an injury, pulled a stomach muscle during the team's strength training and would miss two matches. Fortunately, Mahrez was in good form, which eased Huang Hao's mind slightly.
March 10th, Selhurst Park.
When the Cambridge United team bus drove into the stadium parking area, many fans were already pouring into the stadium.
Huang Hao looked at the enthusiastic fans and could foresee that today was destined to be an intense match.
After a brief warm-up on the field, the players returned to the locker room for their final preparations for the big battle.
As usual, after Darren finished briefing the players on the key deployments for this match, Huang Hao stood in front of them.
"OK, I believe you all understand how important this match is."
"It's not about what I say that will make you win the game; I just hope you go out there and prove to everyone watching this match that Cambridge United deserves everyone's respect!"
It must be said that Huang Hao is a natural orator. With just a few words, he made the young men under his command boil with passion, their fists clenched. Everyone wanted to rush onto the field immediately and compete against Crystal Palace.
"Cambridge United!!!" Pantilimon shouted as usual.
"Victory!!!"
All the players responded in unison, ready to go!
The two teams stood in the player tunnel, listening to the announcer's introduction, and began to enter the field.
As soon as they walked out of the player tunnel, the Cambridge United players all looked to both sides!
Huang Hao, who came out last, was no exception!
What attracted Huang Hao and the players was a group of youthful and beautiful women!
At this moment, these lightly dressed beauties were lined up on both sides of the players, cheering on the players who were about to step onto the field!
Huang Hao was stunned, this, this, what kind of operation is this?
Warnock's honey trap?
Huang Hao turned and whispered to Darren,
"What does this mean?! Using beautiful women to tempt our players?"
Huang Hao was worried Darren wouldn't understand the term 'honey trap', so he asked Darren in the most straightforward way.
"Huang, this is Crystal Palace's characteristic, their cheerleaders. They are unique in all of England." Darren explained to Huang Hao with a wry smile.
Huang Hao was like he had discovered a new continent; it could actually be done this way! Warnock wouldn't have joined Crystal Palace because of this, would he! This is too blissful!
Huang Hao's eyes darted around. Why not have Cambridge United also get a cheerleading squad?
As soon as this thought popped into his mind, Lin Kexin's angry expression filled Huang Hao's brain! Scaring Huang Hao into quickly dismissing the idea!
Thinking about it, it was true.
Without cheerleaders, tickets for Abbey were already hard to come by; with cheerleaders, wouldn't fans be crawling all over the walls of Abbey Stadium!
Huang Hao, having regained his composure, quickly coughed a few times, reminding the Cambridge United players not to be misled by the enemy and forget their mission!
The Crystal Palace cheerleaders, the girls, covered their faces and laughed, as if the Cambridge United players were all country bumpkins visiting the city!
Hearing Huang Hao's cough, the Cambridge United players quickly withdrew their gazes and tried to puff out their chests, indicating that they were not affected by the beauty!
Crystal Palace's cheerleading squad, named "The Crystals," was established back in 2005.
At that time, in order to boost morale and attract more fans from London to come and cheer, the club found a group of young women to form a cheerleading squad.
Before every Crystal Palace home game and during halftime, the cheerleaders would perform hot dances, and they would also line the player tunnel to welcome the players onto the field.
To this day, they have become an indispensable part of Crystal Palace's home matches and the most beautiful scenery in all of England's stadiums.
Huang Hao withdrew his gaze and looked at Warnock, who was beside him.
Warnock was wearing a dark wool sweater today, paired with a navy blue suit, his expression confident and firm.
Crystal Palace, under Warnock's leadership this season, had lost 8 matches. The team scored 63 goals, while only conceding 36!
Cambridge United, on the other hand, scored 80 goals, leading the League, but conceded 50 goals, 14 more than Warnock's team!
Therefore, this contest between the fifth and third-ranked teams was full of highlights. Both teams had strong attacking power, and fans hoped to see an exciting attacking battle.
At 7:45 PM, referee Bramall confirmed the time was correct and blew the whistle to start the match on time! Both sides showed no signs of testing each other from the kickoff.
After Cambridge United kicked off, the ball was quickly intercepted by Crystal Palace's midfielder, Sean Derry, and Crystal Palace quickly advanced to the front field.
Suxi stepped forward, snatched the ball from Derry's feet in the penalty area, and immediately kicked it to Tadić on the right side of the front field.
Tadić dribbled the ball directly towards Crystal Palace's byline. Just as he reached the edge of the penalty area, the ball was directly kicked out of bounds by a flying slide tackle from Hill!
And at this point, only 50 seconds of the match had passed! The pace was so fast that it was astonishing!
In the 9th minute of the first half, Sean Derry once again dribbled the ball along the left sideline of the field.
Sun Jihai marked him all the way but still couldn't stop Derry from crossing! Lovren got possession at the far post and headed the ball directly out of the penalty area!
Carl intercepted the ball again outside the penalty area and immediately passed it to Moses beside him.
Moses saw Tadić and May rushing towards him simultaneously, so he quickly passed the ball back to Hill behind him.
Hill passed it wide, and then the ball returned to Carl's feet again!
Carl dribbled the ball, attempting to break into the penalty area!
Lovren and Suxi moved quickly horizontally in the penalty area, blocking Carl's breakthrough!
Sun Jihai stood in the middle of the goal, blocking Dauns behind him and the restless Kuchi!
Carl cleverly spotted the gap between Lovren and Suxi and unleashed a sudden shot from outside the penalty area!
Lovren was caught off guard! The ball directly hit his knee and deflected!!!
Pantilimon, who had already run to the left side of the goal, had no time to react to the ball suddenly deflecting and flying towards the right side of the goal!
The shot, which originally had neither great speed nor power, somehow miraculously found its way into Cambridge United's goal!
1:0!
Just 10 minutes into the game, Crystal Palace fortunately took the lead!!!
However, no one expected that this goal was just an appetizer for today.
Huang Hao looked at Lovren with a helpless expression, never expecting that Crystal Palace's honey trap would work so quickly.
Warnock, on the other hand, happily accepted the gift. It seemed today was a good day; nothing was happier than winning against a competitor, especially Huang Hao!
This setback was not fatal for the Cambridge United players. Soon, Cambridge United also broke into Crystal Palace's territory.
Mahrez dribbled past the right byline of Crystal Palace and was directly pulled down by the assisting Kuchi!
Cambridge United earned a free kick almost right on the edge of Crystal Palace's penalty area.
Warnock immediately became nervous!
The power of Cambridge United's set pieces should not be underestimated!
O'Connor still stood alone in front of the ball, calmly observing the situation inside the penalty area.
The entire Crystal Palace team retreated to defend the penalty area, two forming a wall, two marking May and Mahrez in the big penalty area, and the remaining six lined up in front of goalkeeper Speroni!
And in between, there were also four Cambridge United players.
The referee blew the whistle, and O'Connor did not hesitate, directly passing the ball to the far post!
Eitel and Lawrence immediately rushed over!
However, O'Connor's landing point was extremely precise, landing right on Vardy's head!!!
Vardy jumped in place and, at the highest point, powerfully headed the ball into Crystal Palace's goal!!!
2 minutes!!! Cambridge United equalized the score just 2 minutes after conceding a goal!!!
The smile that had just appeared on Warnock's face vanished in an instant.
In the 18th minute, Cambridge United won another free kick at the edge of the penalty area!
Warnock rushed up, clapping his hands and yelling at the defense, reminding them to be careful with their defensive actions!
This was like giving Cambridge United a scoring opportunity!
Fortunately, O'Connor's set piece this time, after curving around the wall, did not hit the goal and flew directly out of bounds from the left side of the goal!
Speroni kicked the goal kick to Hill on the right side, and Hill unleashed his long-range shot technique from the edge of his own penalty area!
The ball, powered with full force, instantly shot up and flew across more than half the field, landing in Cambridge United's front field!
Kuchi successfully beat the offside trap!!!
Crystal Palace broke through all of Cambridge United's defensive lines with just two passes!!!
Kuchi dribbled directly into the penalty area. Fortunately, Sun Jihai's speed was not inferior, and he quickly closed in! Kuchi directly shot from the right side of the penalty area!
Pantilimon did a good job of blocking the near-post shooting angle, successfully deflecting the ball out of bounds!
Huang Hao clicked his tongue in wonder, what a Warnock, he was going to defeat Cambridge United with Cambridge United's own tactics!
In the 20th minute, Suxi cleared the ball from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball kicked towards midfield was again intercepted by Crystal Palace's Derry, who immediately passed it to Carl in the front field.
After quick passes, the ball landed at the feet of right winger Townsend. Townsend was in Cambridge United's front field, sandwiched between Mahrez and May.
Townsend suddenly pushed the ball forward, turned, and slipped past the two defenders, rushing towards the top of the penalty arc!
Cambridge United players immediately retreated, setting up a defense in the big penalty area.
John and Kuchi constantly moved in front of the penalty area, disrupting Cambridge United's defense!
Soon after dribbling past the top of the penalty arc, Townsend suddenly stopped short! He put his entire body weight on his right leg, quickly exerted force with his left leg, and powerfully shot the ball towards the goal! The ball flew directly towards the left side of the goal!
Pantilimon, standing on the right side of the goal, was too far to reach, becoming the backdrop for the goal!
2:1!!! Crystal Palace took the lead again!
Warnock knelt on both knees, raising his arms and cheering, not hiding his excitement in the slightest!