At that time, if Shen Cheng Hai Bo had pressed relentlessly in the midfield, they could have disrupted their opponents' rhythm, making their already shaky offense even more error-prone.
In this psychological battle between the coaches, Shen Cheng Hai Bo played it too safe, giving their underdog opponents a chance to triumph.
The ball circulated continuously among the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School players.
The plays were all ones they had practiced countless times in training.
The two full-backs pushed forward, constantly receiving passes on the wings. As Wang Fa had instructed, when they encountered pressure, they passed to Wen Chengye to redistribute the ball, allowing them to regroup before launching attacks.
The tactics weren't complicated, but in football matches, executing set plays successfully is remarkably difficult.
Hongjing No. 8 Middle School repeatedly mounted attacks in Shen Cheng Hai Bo's half. Their passing was rapid, and they showed no fear of failure.
Wen Chengye organized a cross, and Zhi Hui, positioned perfectly, received the ball and even attempted a long-range shot. The ball sailed over the goal, heading straight toward a few Shen Cheng Hai Bo fans in the stands, drawing mocking laughter.
But Zhi Hui, naturally quiet and steady, remained unfazed. He simply turned to Wen Chengye and signaled that the pass was excellent! Wen Chengye nodded in acknowledgment.
Following their coach's strategy, after thwarting several clumsy attacks from Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, Shen Cheng Hai Bo's players began to believe they had numerous opportunities to seize.
Against another opponent, Shen Cheng Hai Bo might have continued defending—after all, a draw would see them through to the next round, so holding their lead was sufficient.
But facing Hongjing No. 8 Middle School, they had defended for a while, and according to their coach's plan, the opponents should be nearly exhausted. They could push forward slightly, create space, and counter-press.
Wang Fa was betting on this moment—when the opposing players lacked composure and their transition from defense to attack was disjointed.
Wen Chengye received the ball again. Instead of passing to Qin Ao, who was making a routine run, he directly fed it to Chen Jianghe, who had pulled out of the penalty area.
Based on Chen Jianghe's usual habits, he should have charged into the box immediately after pulling wide, expecting a teammate to send a high ball to Qin Ao for a header pass, allowing him to dart in for a shot.
But Wen Chengye passed to him instead!
The earlier high-intensity attacks had sharpened Wen Chengye's focus, and he was fully concentrated. After controlling the ball smoothly, he noticed Lin Lu, who had been overlapping on the wing, dropping back a couple of steps, while Qin Ao also moved out of the box to provide support.
The two of them stretched Shen Cheng Hai Bo's defensive formation.
At that moment, Wen Chengye surged forward. It was the tacit understanding born from countless training sessions, the trust in Wen Chengye that Wang Fa had emphasized, and his instinctive belief in the best choice at that instant.
Among three passing options, Chen Jianghe once again passed the ball to Wen Chengye.
The two Shen Cheng Hai Bo players, who had just formed a tight mark near the edge of the penalty area, were caught off guard. Their earlier push forward had left gaps behind them, and Wen Chengye precisely exploited one of those newly opened spaces!
Shen Cheng Hai Bo's players reacted quickly. The wide players immediately started tracking back, and the central defenders stepped out to block Wen Chengye's shooting angles.
Wen Chengye swung his foot and played a lateral pass to the wing.
Lin Lu, who had dropped back, collected the ball.Chen Jianghe was already making a run into the penalty area, while the opposing defenders were still scrambling to cover the gap left by their earlier mistake.
The defensive line had been torn open.
A golden opportunity!
Without a second thought, Lin Lu lifted his foot and sent the ball arcing into the penalty area!
Lin Lu’s cross, Chen Jianghe’s forward dash, and the opposing defenders shifting their positions—all three actions happened almost simultaneously. It was a moment driven by instinct faster than thought, a display of extraordinary tacit understanding and coordination.
In that split second, Chen Jianghe found himself unmarked inside the penalty area.
He seized the chance instantly. Controlling the ball, he let it settle on the instep of his foot. The next moment, he was face to face with the goalkeeper, pulling back his leg to shoot!
The ball whistled through the air like a blade, grazing past the Shen Cheng Hai Bo goalkeeper’s face. The shock and disbelief on the keeper’s expression were magnified tenfold.
The ball slammed into the back of the net, sending the white mesh billowing upward.
Goal.
The stadium fell into an eerie silence—a silence so profound it was almost deafening.
Did… the ball just go in?
The referee’s whistle echoed across the pitch. Even the die-hard fans in the stands were stunned into disbelief. Yet, there the ball lay, unmistakably and motionless, inside the goal line of Shen Cheng Hai Bo.
It took a moment for Lin Wanxing to process what had happened. She leaped up from the coach’s bench, grabbing Wang Fa’s arm and bouncing up and down in excitement. “It’s in! It’s in!”
On the field, the players piled into a celebratory huddle.
Everyone ruffled Chen Jianghe’s closely cropped hair. The goal-scorer himself wore a dazed expression, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
The students’ celebration ended almost as quickly as it began. Even before Lin Wanxing had let go of Wang Fa’s arm, the players had already broken apart.
Wen Chengye and Qin Ao sprinted into the goal together…
Qin Ao got there first, scooping up the ball before turning and dashing back toward the center circle.
“Let’s get another one!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The dazed Shen Cheng Hai Bo players snapped back to reality.
You scored one, and that’s not enough? What do you mean, “another one”?
The taunt ignited a fire in the eyes of every Shen Cheng Hai Bo player on the field. They grew desperate. If they failed to equalize in the remaining twenty-plus minutes, their chances of advancing to the knockout stage would be dashed.
For the players of Shen Cheng Hai Bo’s youth team—a professional academy—such an outcome would be nothing short of catastrophic.
The entire team, including their head coach Lv Liwei, tensed up.
“Push forward! Attack! What are you afraid of?” Lv Liwei roared from the sidelines.
The earlier goal had taught him a lesson: if they allowed their opponents to maintain possession and press forward, their defense would inevitably crack.
Defense was reactive; the initiative had to be in their hands. With just over twenty minutes left on the clock, there was no reason to play conservatively now.
After the restart, Shen Cheng Hai Bo launched a fierce assault on Hongjing No. 8 Middle School’s defense following a successful tackle in the attacking third.
Compared to Hongjing No. 8’s somewhat unpolished but spirited pressing and opportunistic attacks, Shen Cheng Hai Bo played with more composure, resulting in a slightly slower offensive rhythm. They refrained from taking reckless long-range shots, opting instead to wait for clear chances.
But the players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School were most adept at weathering sustained attacks.
They dropped into a compact defensive shape, their minds clear of distractions. Every player was intensely focused. Though their bodies were exhausted and their jerseys soaked with sweat, in those moments, they seemed impervious to fatigue, fully immersed in the battle unfolding on the green pitch.Their intentions were pure, and their performance reflected that purity. They continuously fended off Shen Cheng Hai Bo’s attacks, not entirely satisfied with just a one-goal lead. Their formation didn’t fully retreat either—they were poised to counterattack at every opportunity.
Compared to merely breaking through the defense line, Hongjing No. 8 Middle School’s almost fearless stance of engaging in an open exchange of attacks felt utterly unreasonable to the Shen Cheng Hai Bo players.
Why weren’t they defending after taking the lead?
Why were they still pushing forward?
The more composed Hongjing No. 8 Middle School played, the more impatient Shen Cheng Hai Bo became. Emotions on the field had a profound influence on each other.
They had to score, or they would lose!
Just one goal would level the score, and they would still advance!
These thoughts swirled in the minds of the Shen Cheng Hai Bo players.
Under such circumstances, their attacks became disorganized. Unconsciously, they pushed their entire formation forward, trying to exert more pressure on their Hongjing No. 8 Middle School opponents.
In the 77th minute of the match, Shen Cheng Hai Bo launched a highly threatening attack!
Shen Cheng Hai Bo’s No. 18 forcefully broke through on the wing and delivered a cross.
Zheng Feiyang was a step too late in covering the position, only managing to deflect the ball slightly. The ball flew toward the far post, where a rapidly advancing Shen Cheng Hai Bo striker was left unmarked. He immediately took a shot!
For an instant, the entire stadium seemed frozen.
But the next second, the ball struck the goalpost with a heavy thud and bounced back into the penalty area!
Before Lin Wanxing could even break out in a cold sweat, Wen Chengye, who had been near the edge of the penalty area, began moving in the opposite direction.
Inside the penalty area, Qi Liang slid in with a flying tackle before the opposing striker could attempt a follow-up shot, clearing the ball out of the penalty area!
The ball, now rolling outside the penalty area, was seized by Fu Xinshu. An opposing midfielder immediately pressed him, leaving Fu Xinshu no time to check Wen Chengye’s position. Relying on his instinct for Wen Chengye’s likely running route, he kicked the ball straight upfield!
Wen Chengye, already on the move forward, received the pass…
Meanwhile, near the center circle, Qin Ao had accelerated into a sprint, closing in on the last defender just shy of the halfway line…
Wen Chengye lifted his foot and, with a resounding “thud,” sent the ball soaring far into the distance.
Wen Chengye’s long-passing ability was nothing extraordinary, but in that moment, all he needed was to kick the ball into the opponent’s half.
The ball whistled through the air, soaring high and then diving into Shen Cheng Hai Bo’s half. Qin Ao poured every ounce of his strength into his run, accelerating again and again as he charged into Shen Cheng Hai Bo’s territory.
Near the 30-meter mark, Qin Ao received Wen Chengye’s long pass and was not offside.
Shen Cheng Hai Bo’s goalkeeper rushed out first, but in an instant, his hair stood on end.
Before he had even covered half the distance, Qin Ao had already gained control of the ball, leaving the goalkeeper in an awkward position.
Qin Ao swiftly dribbled toward him, the scar on the opposing striker’s face magnifying in his retina.
The tall striker from Hongjing No. 8 Middle School feigned a shot, sending the goalkeeper tumbling to the ground, then calmly dribbled past him and kicked the ball into the empty net.
2:0!
The Shen Cheng Hai Bo players stood frozen, stunned and unable to move for a long time.
This time, the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School players erupted into wild celebrations. Teammates rushed toward Qin Ao from all directions, surrounding him! Hands slapped Qin Ao’s head enthusiastically, and he grinned from ear to ear, beaming like a flower.It took quite a while for Qin Ao to finally break free from his enthusiastic teammates. When he turned around, he saw Wen Chengye standing behind him, wiping sweat from his brow.
Qin Ao froze for a moment, then raised his hand and gave him a thumbs-up.
Wen Chengye paused in wiping his sweat. Looking at the gesture Qin Ao made, he finally broke into a smile as well.
For Shen Cheng Hai Bo, the second conceded goal had already sealed their fate. Although they launched a frantic offensive against Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's goal in the final few minutes, desperate to equalize the score, the more impatient they became, the heavier the weight on their chests felt.
Such hasty attacks were no match for the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School players, whose form and morale had already peaked.
After several seemingly aggressive but ultimately harmless offensive attempts, the referee blew the final whistle, signaling the end of the match!
On the field, the players of Hongjing No. 8 Middle School rushed toward the coaching bench.
Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa were quickly surrounded by the boys.
The lush green grass, the blinding sunlight, the heavy scent of sweat, and the clamorous wind—the joy swelling in their chests was incomparable. The elation of victory seemed to fill the entire stadium.
Everything felt so surreal.
Amid the crowd, Lin Wanxing caught a glimpse of Wang Fa.
The young man’s expression remained relaxed and composed. Unable to resist, Lin Wanxing mouthed at him, "Stop acting so cool!"
Wang Fa’s eyes crinkled as he flashed her a radiant smile.
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