Like the players, Chen Yuan, sitting on the bench in the coaching area, also shivered. However, he didn't overthink it—he simply felt the autumn sun was still scorching, and after sitting for just a while, he was already sweating.
After the dead ball, Green View International restarted the game. His players took quite some time to reorganize for the next offensive play.
In truth, Chen Yuan had already deciphered Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's tactics. Overall, they were using a defensive bunker strategy and long clearances to waste time.
Chen Yuan wasn't the least bit worried about this approach.
After all, "defense" meant constantly adapting to the attacking team's rhythm, requiring intense concentration from the defenders. It drained players' stamina more than proactive offense.
In fact, judging by their running speed, enthusiasm, and frequency on the field, the students from Hongjing No. 8 Middle School were already showing signs of fatigue.
"What else have you got up your sleeves?" Chen Yuan wondered, glancing toward the Hongjing No. 8 Middle School coaching area.
Not far away, a female teacher with a short ponytail stood persistently by the sidelines.
She was a bit short, with very fair skin, and her demeanor didn't seem like that of a P.E. teacher. It was quite normal for an ordinary high school to have a female teacher leading the football team.
A female teacher in charge, no real coach...
Chen Yuan felt even more reassured—Hongjing No. 8 Middle School clearly had no tactical preparations.
Although anyone could talk about "defensive counterattacks," the actual intricacies involved countless strategies and techniques, something a team like Hongjing No. 8 Middle School couldn't possibly master.
So, their so-called defensive counterattacks were merely plain defense—after all, if they couldn't compete, that was all they could do.
While Chen Yuan was thinking and observing, the first half flew by.
The referee's whistle blew, and on the scoreboard, the black numbers 0:0 stood out starkly.
——
In reality, youth football matches aren't like the fiery scenes in anime. Even secondary leagues attract little attention, let alone high school team-level games.
Thus, when all the players retreated to the rest area, the entire field fell into sudden silence.
Two egrets descended from the sky, swaying as they strolled leisurely across the grass.
The Green View International players walked off the field just as casually.
Perhaps it was the dry weather, but Chen Yuan's temper flared instantly.
"Focus, all of you!" he clapped his hands sharply.
The players stiffened, though one couldn't help yawning.
"What's on your minds?" Chen Yuan's voice grew louder, and thinking about his own job pressure only fueled his anger. "Are you proud of a 0-0 draw against a high school team?"
"What did I say before the match? Score more goals in the first half—what were you doing? Do I need to record you so you can see how you played? Taking a stroll?"
The coach's rising tone naturally transferred pressure to the players. Often, a coach's role is to remind the team when their focus wanes.
Sure enough, after his outburst, all the players straightened up, and no one remained lax.
On the other side of the field, at Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's area.
The students here were very quiet. They drank water, wiped sweat, and at most exchanged a few whispered words—nothing more.
Lin Wanxing put away her phone. She had just sent the first-half situation to Wang Fa and had also taken a few short football videos for the coach's review.
But Wang Fa was probably still busy with matters at Yongchuan Evergrande Club—he hadn't even replied to her earliest message.Lin Wanxing put down her phone, and someone glanced at her. She unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip of water.
“What did the coach say?” Fu Xinshu asked.
“Nothing,” Lin Wanxing replied.
Qin Ao: “So we stick to what he said earlier?”
Lin Wanxing: “Probably.”
Although Wang Fa had mentioned going to Yongchuan for work yesterday, before leaving, he still gave the players their final tactical instructions.
Wang Fa said that if the students could end the first half with a 0-0 score, they would already be halfway to success.
The second half would be their real opportunity to implement "Tactic One."
At the time, Wang Fa predicted on the tactical board that if Green View International failed to score in the first half, they would grow impatient in the second half.
They would push forward more aggressively, while their retreat wouldn't be as swift as in the first half. If they had possession of the ball, they could pass it to Lin Lu for a breakthrough.
The reasoning was simple: Lin Lu was small in stature and had twisted his ankle at the end of the last game. Even a fool would know to attack down Lin Lu's side.
“I don’t get it. If the opponents are going to attack from my side, why should the ball be passed to me?” Lin Lu was confused.
“Dummy,” Chen Jianghe suddenly understood. “Exactly because they think you’re weak and plan to attack from your side. Your side will definitely push forward, and everyone will be up front. Once we get the ball, they won’t have time to fall back and defend your side.”
“Oh! Psychological warfare?” Lin Lu suddenly grew excited.
“It’s not that complicated. If the first half ends 0-0, they’ll definitely get impatient in the second half. We just need to wait patiently, and an opportunity will come,” the coach had said at the time.
On the sidelines, Lin Lu lowered his head, using a towel to wipe the sweat from his face.
Qin Ao finished a bottle of water and crushed the plastic bottle.
Fu Xinshu ran through the passing routes for Tactic One one more time in his mind.
The referee re-entered the field. The second half was about to begin.
—
Startled egrets took flight as the football, like a bullet, swiftly cut across the field.
At the start of the second half, Green View International indeed shifted gears abruptly, launching a storm of attacks like a sudden squall.
Following Chen Yuan’s instructions, the players used the golden five minutes after kickoff to fiercely break through Hongjing No. 8 Middle School’s penalty area defense.
After a series of passes, a Green View International midfielder received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and immediately took a long-range shot!
Fu Xinshu quickly interfered, and the shot veered wide of the goal. But soon after, a second long-range shot followed.
The football flew like a cannonball, this time on target. Goalkeeper Feng Suo dove to make the save, pinning the ball firmly beneath him.
“More interference at the edge of the penalty area!” Fu Xinshu shouted to the defenders inside the box.
A third long-range shot came just 30 seconds later. Qi Liang rushed over and blocked the ball with his body, while his teammate Zheng Ren fell to the ground.
Zhi Hui ran over to help him up. “Are you okay?”
Zheng Ren touched his chest and shook his head.
The match continued, minute by minute. Green View International’s attacks grew increasingly fierce. Their defenders pushed past the halfway line, leaving only two players in their own half.
This was also part of Chen Yuan’s plan.
In his view, Hongjing No. 8 Middle School’s tactics relied solely on long passes, making them easy to defend against. There was no need to keep too many players in the backfield.
Lin Wanxing watched the back-and-forth on the field when her phone vibrated.
She quickly pulled it out, only to find a promotional text message. There were no new notifications on WeChat either. Lin Wanxing put her phone away.In the 23rd minute of the second half, with only a quarter of the match remaining.
The score remained frozen at 0-0.
Chen Yuan on the sidelines could no longer maintain his composure.
He rose from the bench and stood by the pitch, intensifying pressure on the players. He continuously waved his arms, signaling them to push forward, further and further. He demanded they drain every last ounce of their energy to breach Hongjing No. 8 Middle School's defense.
30 minutes.
The scenario Wang Fa had once described finally unfolded.
Green View International broke through Lin Lu's defense on the wing and delivered a direct pass into the penalty area. Qi Liang tangled with Green View's striker.
The ball rolled past both their feet, neither managing to control it. Zheng Feiyang appeared timely in the ball's path, lifting his foot to secure it firmly.
At that moment, Lin Lu—who had been beaten as the breakthrough point—appeared inexplicably at the corner of the large penalty area. And before him, there was no defender.
Zheng Feiyang immediately lifted his foot, sending a ground pass to Lin Lu!
After receiving the ball, Lin Lu turned instantly, and Fu Xinshu—who had waited a full 75 minutes—appeared perfectly within his line of sight!
Lin Lu smoothly lifted his foot, delivering another ground pass to Fu Xinshu. He began sprinting forward, relentlessly.
On paper, "Tactic One" was a simple passing combination.
But behind the straightforward passing routes lay unpredictable variations with every touch of the ball by human feet.
It was the force and angle of the pass, the speed and trajectory of the run, the positioning and posture when receiving the ball, the precision of transferring the football from one point to another.
It was what they had repeated, been corrected on, and repeated again countless times over three days.
The football raced across the green field like a white lightning bolt.
Fu Xinshu received the ball and turned, immediately pressured by Green View International's midfielder.
Two days, sunrise to sunset, countless repetitions.
When Fu Xinshu looked up, Qin Ao—dropping back—naturally appeared in the most optimal position within his vision.
Fu Xinshu lifted his foot again, sending a ground pass near the midfield line. Qin Ao controlled the ball!
Just like that, Hongjing No. 8 Middle School tore through Green View International's midfield blockade with sharp, simple combinations.
With no defenders near him, Qin Ao immediately dribbled toward the opponent's half.
Chen Jianghe led the front, Fu Xinshu positioned centrally slightly behind, Lin Lu on the right—they formed an attacking formation with Qin Ao and simultaneously began their sprint.
Everything aligned perfectly with the lines Wang Fa had drawn on the tactical board.
The sky was clear, stretching cloudless for miles.
Ahead lay the vast green field, while behind them, Green View International players scrambled to recover, as if waking from a dream.
But it was already too late.
Qin Ao dribbled all the way to the edge of the penalty area before a defender hastily retreated. He came to an abrupt stop and passed the ball horizontally.
Chen Jianghe, following through the center, was completely unmarked. Meeting the rolling ball, he directly pushed a shot.
Time seemed to slow abruptly.
The Green View International goalkeeper's face froze in astonishment as his entire body slowly collapsed toward the ball's trajectory. The black-and-white ball skimmed the goal line, lightly kicking up a few blades of grass.
The next second, the white net billowed backward as the football slammed into it!
1-0!
OpenNovel