Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 56
Only Noblemtl
#56 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1656452
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I only watch the first half
The formation that Kishin deployed was really strange. The central defenders were Dixon, Marco, and Black. Jose was a little ahead of them, and in front of them were Cha Beom-soo and Eduardo. There were six players who were focused on defense.
Sven was on the left, Bonavich on the right, and Ward started in his first official match as an attacking midfielder. Hunter started as a central striker. In theory, if Notts County won 2-0, they would advance to the final on away goals. However, Kishin’s starting lineup seemed to have completely abandoned the defense of both sides.
Lyon played in a 4-5-1 formation. This is the tactic that Lyon uses most often and is familiar with. In the last game, they used a 4-4-2 formation to knock Kishin’s back of the head cold, but Lyon, which had a 2-goal advantage, did not use unconventional tactics in this game. Unconventional tactics can be used too often and lead to defeat.
The game started with Notts County’s first goal. Marco kicked the ball back long forward. The Lyon manager shouted loudly and then looked at Kishin with a mocking expression, implying that it was at best a long ball. The camera captured the scene vividly.
Hunter headed the ball in despite being blocked by two defenders. Bonavich, who received Hunter’s headed pass, attempted to break through but was blocked and passed to Ward.
Today is a memorable day for Ward. It is his first time starting in a regular game. Up until now, Ward has mostly played in the second half when the opponents are very weak. He wondered if his dribbling would work against defenders who are fully energized, and today he found out the answer. As it became difficult to take the ball from Ward, three defenders ended up surrounding Ward.
Ward’s dribbling is very unique. Ward raises his head while dribbling to check the positions of other players. Usually, he raises his head when he is about to beat an opponent or in a safe situation where there is some distance, but Ward does the opposite. So defenders think Ward is just dribbling with his head down.
Suddenly, the defenders turned their heads in panic as Ward’s left foot sent the ball far away. Hunter’s large body was running like a leopard to the threatening space where Ward had passed the ball. The keeper rushed out, but Hunter caught the ball first and fired a powerful shot.
The defenders breathed a sigh of relief. Hunter’s shot hit the post and rolled out of the goal line. When it came to defense, Ward stayed at the front, while Bonavich and Sven dropped down to almost wingback positions to join the defense. Hunter also dropped down to midfield to help in the aerial battle.
The attackers come down and the defense comes up appropriately, creating a compressed defensive line in the midfield. Ward checks the positions of the defenders and is careful not to be caught offside. When he receives the ball, he must keep possession of the ball until other players come up through dribbling.
Ward is very good at dribbling, but his breakthrough ability is weak. It may seem contradictory, but it is not wrong to say that Ward’s breakthrough ability is weak because he is slow and can quickly catch up with defenders even if he gets away from them. In the end, it is correct to think of it as dribbling, not breakthrough, because he cannot shake off defenders.
Cha Beom-soo blocked the opponent’s pass with a wonderful slide. Cha Beom-soo is the player that Ward envies the most. Cha Beom-soo, who has a lot of stamina, trains personally for 4 hours every day. Thanks to that, he is now able to kick free kicks well and the quality of his passes has also improved greatly. As Cha Beom-soo blocked the ball, Hunter, Bonavich, and Sven started to run forward.
Cha Beom-soo passed the ball to Jose. Jose was recently given a new role by Ki-shin. He was to stand between the central defender and the midfielder and support both sides. The purpose was to relieve Jose of his psychological burden by not giving him any special responsibility, and fortunately, Ki-shin’s prescription was very appropriate.
Jose easily shook off the opponent’s pressure. He was supported by the center backs, so he was less burdened by mistakes, so his movements were smooth. Jose’s long ball found Hunter, who passed it to Sven, who was close by. Sven and Bonavich also play the role of central strikers depending on the situation.
Sven’s style is to break through with speed rather than technique, so he is not very good at breaking through in the center. Sven, aware of his shortcomings, immediately passed the ball to Ward and moved to the touchline. One defender followed Sven.
Eduardo and Cha Beom-soo also joined the attack, dispersing the defenders for Ward, who had the ball. Ward, who was dribbling skillfully and passing two defenders, suddenly passed the ball to Hunter and made a sudden stop. Hunter immediately turned 180 degrees and passed the ball back to Ward, who was running.
The defenders tried to follow Ward in a hurry, but Ward’s change of direction was too sudden, and Hunter’s attention was drawn to him the moment he caught the ball, so they lost sight of Ward for a moment. Ward, who was in a free situation, shot without wasting even two seconds. The ball drew a beautiful arc, avoiding the keeper’s gloves and going into the goal.
Ward finished the celebration by raising both hands. He wanted to play the entire first half as much as possible, so he was trying to save energy for the celebration. When the game resumed, Ward slowly walked forward, and the remaining players focused on defense. In particular, Bonavich and Sven defended in the wingback position. The Lyon manager was racking his brain because he couldn’t understand Kishin’s intentions. If this continues, there will be more than one or two players who will run out of energy in the second half.
Sven, Bonavich, Hunter, Cha Beom-soo, and Edouard are all unlikely to last the entire 90 minutes. Ward is also expected to be replaced in the first half. Lyon’s manager, who had been pondering for a long time, instructed the players to focus on defense. If they just endure the first half, see what tactical changes Ward makes, and then make player substitutions and tactical changes accordingly, they can gain the upper hand. Just like the first game.
When Lyon’s players showed that they were more focused on defense than offense, Kishin smiled inwardly. This way, Bonavich and Sven would have less physical exhaustion. Cha Beom-soo and Jose would also be able to conserve their physical strength. Ward showed his presence with amazing dribbling and a goal, and the Lyon coach, aware of his presence, played passively. Fortunately, up to this point, everything went according to Kishin’s plan.
As Ward, who had been walking slowly, suddenly accelerated and shook off the defender and caught the ball, two defenders ran towards him. Ward refrained from dribbling and passed the ball directly to Cha Beom-soo. After passing the ball, Ward turned his body and ran, and two defenders followed him. Ward turned his body, clenched his fist, and extended his thumb and little finger and shook them. Cha Beom-soo, who realized Ward’s intention, made a sharp pass through the pass route that appeared as the defenders chased Ward.
Hunter, who had ruthlessly shaken off the defender’s hand that was holding his uniform, fired a lob shot instead of a strong shot like before. When the goal was declared, Hunter ran around the field like a male in heat who had found a beautiful female. He was excited, but he also wanted to give Ward a little more rest. Ward’s muscles are said to tire easily because they lack the ability to decompose.
The score was 2-0 after 26 minutes of the first half, and if the game ends with this score, Notts County will advance to the final. However, the Lyon manager is not thinking about substituting players or changing tactics. He is thinking about substituting players after watching who Kishin puts on and what tactics he uses.
‘It’s amazing how a small change in thinking can have such a big effect.’
Kishin thought of Ward as a poisoned dagger. It is a deadly dagger that can strike a deadly blow when the opponent is tired, although it is easily broken and cannot hit the opponent’s weapon. However, in order to win this game, he thought about many things and decided to use Ward as bait. By starting Ward, he will make the opposing manager keep thinking about Ward. He will focus on what tactics Notts County will use after Ward is out, dull the reaction, and decide the game in the first half.
In the second half, we have no choice but to trust the players’ fighting spirit. Since there is an objective difference in skill level and the ability to digest tactics is also lacking, Kishin decided to take a risk. The goal is to score as many points as possible in the first half when Ward is there. This is a possible strategy because the genius Ward has become sharper as he has gained experience in less than a year.
Black made two errors, one saved by Marco and one by Turner. Turner had over 20 offers from clubs when the winter transfer window opened, but the Notts County management turned them all down. It is hard to imagine a Notts County without Turner and Hunter. Hunter had a bad reputation in the past, so there were not many offers, perhaps because they were waiting to see.
At 35 minutes into the first half, Ward was walking around instead of running. As Ward’s stamina seemed to be running out, the Lyon manager ordered him to strengthen his attack. Notts County also did not participate in the defense, unlike the first time.
Ward kept walking, even though his legs were not strong enough. If he stopped, he might not be able to run any further. His legs were not strong enough. It was like someone who had just run a marathon. But he kept walking because he thought his muscles would get stiffer if he stopped.
As the referee’s whistle blew, Ward walked toward the ball like an ant drawn to honey. Bonavich had tried to break through and had won a free kick. Ward nodded when asked if he wanted to kick. He sat down once and stood up, checking his knees and ankles. They were still much softer than he had thought.
As the referee’s whistle blew, Ward took two steps back and then ran slowly toward the ball. The ball, which made brief contact with Ward’s right foot, drew a cool trajectory and shook the goal net. The keeper did not move at all, probably thinking Ward was faking.
After the score changed to 3:0, Notts County and Lyon exchanged attacks. Ward just walked around, but forced Lyon’s defenders not to dare to foul in the danger zone. Thanks to this, Notts County’s attack rhythm was not easily broken. On the other hand, the referee was relatively lenient on Notts County’s strong physical fight, so Lyon’s attack was cut short.
At the end of the first half, Ward collapsed on the grass. He wasn’t hurt or anything. He just felt weak. The crowd gave Ward a big round of applause and cheers as he was carried into the locker room by the players. Ward, who scored Notts County’s first Europa League goal, was very popular with the fans. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t play in many games due to physical problems, but he made many people happy when he played well in a crucial and important game.
“Ward gave us the win in the first half. Our job in the second half is to somehow defend the win that Ward created. We have to put everything we have at Notts County on the line in the second half and defend this win.”
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