“Good clear!”
“Vogel, well done!”
“That's it, iron defense!”
St. Pauli fans cheered at the right moment, applauding their center-back and captain, Vogel.
Vogel walked over to Hofmann, rubbing his head, and said, “Don't take it to heart. That Eastern kid has some tricks. Stay focused.”
Hofmann calmed down after being comforted by his captain. He understood that Fan Tao was trying to provoke him. His eyes, like a hungry wolf, locked onto Fan Tao. He vowed to mark this Eastern kid tightly for the rest of the match!
The match entered a stalemate, with neither side having many good opportunities.
The game reached the 30th minute.
In this match, Fan Tao was forced to participate in central defensive coordination, so his strolling time wasn't long.
【Strolling time 8 minutes, accuracy +80%】
So far, Fan Tao hadn't felt the wide-vision sensation he experienced in the last match. The game felt like it was played in a swamp, with both sides committing rough fouls, and the rhythm of the match constantly interrupted, preventing good opportunities from emerging.
The two teams seemed to have come to fight but brought a football, and the fans were watching WWE for free on the football field.
The head referee for this match was very lenient, having only issued 3 yellow cards so far. After all, it was a city derby; if he were stricter, at least two players would have been sent off, and then how would the game continue?
At this moment, Hamburg II's Betz had the ball, looking for a passing opportunity in midfield. The opposing defense was dense, and he couldn't find a good chance for a while.
Just then, Bala quickly burst out from his blind spot, making a sliding tackle to win the ball!
“Still too young!”
On the sidelines, Schweinsteiger punched the air in frustration. There was nothing he could do; young players just needed more experience, considering it a tuition fee.
After winning the ball, Bala immediately passed it to Knight. This midfield orchestrator keenly spotted the open space on the right wing and passed the ball to Ajayi's feet.
St. Pauli II's right winger, Ajayi, was fast and good at cutting inside.
After receiving the ball, he quickly moved towards the center. Hamburg's center-back and captain, Kreyer, held his position, blocking Ajayi's passing lane.
But Ajayi was a selfish player and had no intention of passing.
He made a feint, pretending to go to the byline but actually cutting into the middle, faking out Kreyer. With a touch of his right foot, the ball came to a position one step outside the penalty area. He wrapped his left foot around the ball and struck it hard, a powerful curling shot!
Mateisha flew to save, but unfortunately, he was too far.
The ball drew a beautiful arc and fiercely drilled into the top left corner of the goal!
“GOAL!!!!!!!!”
“That's a world-class shot!”
“Ajayi of St. Pauli II delivered this incredible goal!”
“Kreyer's misjudgment put the team in danger!”
“In the 32nd minute, St. Pauli II leads 1-0!”
The Hamburg II players quickly came over to comfort their captain, Kreyer. “Captain, that wasn't your mistake. Don't take it to heart.”
Kreyer's center-back partner, Ambrosius, also quickly added, “Exactly! A world-class shot like that can only be attributed to his good luck. He wouldn't necessarily score it again if he tried ten more times!”
The young goalkeeper, Mateisha, ran over to take the blame: “I should have saved that ball; it was my mistake.”
Looking at his comforting teammates, Kreyer just shook his head: “No, that goal was my mistake. It's alright, I believe we can come back.” His eyes were sharp, full of fighting spirit, “In this match, I won't let them score another goal!”
Seeing his captain's high spirits, Fan Tao loudly declared, “We're only one goal down! We'll score three goals against them!”
“Yes, three goals!”
“Three goals!” the crowd chanted in unison.
Schweinsteiger looked at this scene with relief. It was good to have fighting spirit. World-class goals like that occasionally happened and couldn't be helped. As long as they didn't lose their fighting spirit, there was still a chance in the match!
It seemed these rascals had truly grown!
The 40th minute of the match.
Hamburg II had been looking for opportunities, but St. Pauli II's players were like they were injected with adrenaline, constantly pressing high, not allowing the ball to be easily played out from the back.
Betz was too young and physically weak, getting bruised and battered by St. Pauli II's midfielders.
Kinsombi had been constantly covering for him, helping him out of trouble, and several times the opponent almost broke through the midfield.
The left and right wingers, Amari and Joshua, also dropped very deep, trying their best to help with midfield defense, while also having to cover the flanks, causing their stamina to drop rapidly.
“Ah—!”
With a painful shriek, Joshua fell to the ground, clutching his left leg, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The referee immediately stopped the game. Hamburg II's Joshua and St. Pauli II's Zander had collided, and Zander's studs had unintentionally scraped Joshua's calf.
Although this wasn't a malicious foul, Hamburg II's captain, Kreyer, immediately rushed over, grabbed Zander by the collar, and pushed him to the ground.
Fan Tao accelerated in a straight line, faster than his sprints on the field, arriving at the center of the chaos and directly colliding into it.
Damn it! If you injure one of our main wingers, how am I supposed to rack up assists?
Besides, how could I miss out on a fight!
Players from both sides quickly surrounded them, pushing and shoving each other, spewing colorful language.
The fans were also wildly cheering them on:
“Yes, kill them!”
“Fight back! Don't you have balls?”
“Spin kick! Give them a spin kick!”
“Punch him! What are you waiting for!”
......
“Beep beep beep—!”
The referee blew his whistle frantically, trying to separate the players from both sides. Stadium staff also rushed onto the field, forming a human wall between the two teams.
With great difficulty, the players from both sides were finally separated.
The head referee quickly pulled out yellow cards, giving one to Zander (dangerous play), one to Kreyer (grabbing collar), one to Fan Tao (bumping into someone with his backside), and one to Hofmann (groin grab).
The team doctor arrived promptly, pushed through the crowd, and came to examine Joshua's injury.
A calf laceration, no tendon damage, and very minor muscle injury. This type of injury was common. Based on experience, he would likely be out for 2-3 weeks due to the injury.
The other players breathed a sigh of relief, a blessing in disguise.
Zander proactively came over to apologize to Joshua, stating that he didn't do it on purpose.
This made the Hamburg II players feel a bit better. After all, collisions where both sides couldn't control their body positions were common, and it indeed didn't look like a malicious foul. Having just had a fight, both sides' heads were clearer, and they no longer dwelled on it.
Schweinsteiger followed beside the stretcher, doing his best to comfort Joshua: “Don't worry, young man. Recover well and get back as soon as possible.”
“I'm sorry, coach…” Joshua covered his face in distress.
“Hey, don't say that. You performed very well. You were trying your best to defend, and I saw that.”
Upon hearing this, Joshua's tears flowed even more uncontrollably.
Schweinsteiger patted his head: “This is just a small injury. Recover quickly, and there will always be a place for you on the team.”
“Mm…”
Joshua knew his injury wasn't serious and managed a smile, telling Schweinsteiger not to worry too much, and then left the field.
Jatta replaced Joshua, playing as the right winger.
In the 45th minute of the match, it officially entered injury time.
The Hamburg II players were like they were injected with adrenaline, frantically pressing high in the midfield. As soon as they won possession, they quickly pushed forward. If they lost the ball, they went right back to win it!
The offense and defense of both sides became even more intense. Fan Tao remained calmly observing the situation; the momentum was slowly returning to Hamburg II.
He had a premonition that an opportunity was about to appear!