Volume 1: Playing football with me will break your legs Chapter 51: It’s not that easy to practice shooting!
Saturday, October 25th.
The 15th round of English League Two kicked off.
Wimbledon host Tranmere Rovers at the King's Meadow.
Mike Taylor, vice president of the Fans Association, arrived at the main stand early and led his friends to set up banners and flags.
Someone asked:
"Mike, I heard your sister is dating Polo Lee?"
Taylor responded simply:
"Yes, Seven."
The guy called Seven showed a look of disgust:
"You didn't try to persuade her either? Your ancestors were nobles!"
Taylor rolled his eyes:
"Come on, it's 2014, and you're still talking to me about nobility and bloodline? You just don't like Chinese people, right?"
Seven muttered:
"No, I don't like Japanese, Korean, Indian, or African, South American, or Middle Eastern people. French, German, Nordic, or Italian people are not okay either..."
Taylor was speechless:
"Then go marry your sister."
Seven's face suddenly changed, like a cat whose tail was stepped on:
"H-How do you know?"
Taylor looked at him, and three symbols appeared on his head:
"???"
Fortunately, at this time, Lisanna came to the scene with her best friend Mira, chatting and laughing about the upcoming game.
Mira is checking the long list on her phone:
"Is your boyfriend the first player today?"
Lisanna nodded:
"The three-game suspension really irritated him."
Mira stretched out her arm, poked her, and smiled mischievously:
"You're so depressed? Aren't you here?"
Lisanna blushed and slapped her elbow away:
“I don’t understand!”
Seven came over again:
"Lisanna, are you really with that Chinese boy?"
Lisanna nodded politely:
"That's right."
Seven coughed:
"I advise you to think carefully again. That kid has no future."
Lisanna put away her politeness:
"I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. Goodbye."
Mike pulled Seven over:
"Watch your ball!"
…
When night fell on the stadium, the game finally officially began.
As mentioned during training, Adre made a major rotation of the starting lineup.
The three captains Fuller, Smith, Phillips, main strikers Akinfenwa, Dubis, midfielders Porter and Boorman were all excluded from the starting 11, and some did not even make the bench.
Li Polo and his three roommates were all in the starting lineup, and McDonnell made his first appearance of the season. He was so excited that he almost couldn't sleep all night. If he hadn't taken a nap at noon, he was really worried that he would fall asleep during the game...
Li Polo and Goodman form a partnership, with Kennedy and Olasja on the left and right. The average age of this defense line is less than 22 years old.
The midfield is led by "Beckham's Crazy Gang" Rigg, with Reeves, Suitland and Francon lined up in a row, with an average age of only 23 years old.
As for the forwards, the 37-year-old veteran Connolly is paired with the 20-year-old Aziz. The childish Aziz can definitely call Connolly "uncle"...
Since the three captains were not present, Adre was willful and handed the captain's armband to Connolly, the oldest member of the team, and asked him to lead this group of little kids who had not even grown all their hair.
As an old veteran who was about to retire, Connolly, wearing the armband, was not only not excited, but rather a little worried.
He cherishes the hard-earned opportunity to start very much, but... there are so many little brats behind him, and only Rigg and Brancon are reliable. Will this work?
Especially the third goalkeeper McDonnell, who had never started, was frantically drawing the sign of the cross on his chest before going on the court, hoping to get God's blessing.
[If we lose the game, the head coach and the fans won’t blame me, right? ]
…
“Ding~~~”
The young people at Wimbledon soon proved to the old man with their actual performance that his worries were unnecessary!
Only 3 minutes into the game, Rigg sent a sharp through pass to Aziz who was running forward at high speed from the middle, instantly creating a one-on-one opportunity!
Aziz broke into the penalty area and volleyed the ball, but unfortunately the shot was too small and was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick opportunity.
The corner kick from Rigg was simple and direct, and Li Polo did indeed overpower the defender and head the ball towards the goal. Unfortunately, the opposing goalkeeper was highly focused and had been staring at his movements from the beginning, and actually caught his header steadily...
"cut!"
Li Polo waved his hand with some regret and turned back to his own defensive area.
Lisanna in the stands jumped up even more excitedly:
"Ouch! Just that little bit!"
Mira glanced at her:
"I think it's quite a bit off. He hit it too straight, there's no angle at all."
Lisanna snorted.
"The game has just started, he will definitely score a goal!"
Big brother Mike patted his sister on the head from behind:
"Your boyfriend's job is a center back, and defense is his first job!"
Lisanna hugged her head, but still not convinced:
"But he is second in the team in terms of goal tally this season!"
Mira nodded thoughtfully, revealing a smile that was considered obscene for a girl:
"Oh yes, of course you know how good he is at shooting."
Lisanna raised her fist and hit her best friend mercilessly:
"Mira, find a man as soon as possible!"
…
Almost at the same time, Cox in the coaching booth also expressed his views:
"Tranmere are well prepared to defend against set-pieces."
Adley rubbed his hands together, feeling a hint of late autumn chill:
"Our opponents are not fools. This little guy has scored more headers than many forwards in three months. How could no one notice him?"
Cox smiled heartily:
"That's right, but this guy's jumping ability and ability to predict the landing point, as long as we continue to explore, maybe we can train a Bierhoff or Klose!"
Adley smiled and asked again:
"I heard that this kid has been practicing shooting recently. Did you arrange this?"
Cox waved his hand:
"It's not me. I'm not that free. He and Xie A are in the same boat, so this developed into a one-on-one pairing. Anyway... we don't have a full-time goalkeeper coach."
Adley shrugged noncommittally:
"His technical foundation is too poor. It's not easy to improve his shooting skills..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the situation on the field suddenly changed!
This was the 7th minute and 23 seconds of the game. Tranmere's attack finally broke through the home team's midfield defense, but was blocked by Li Polo.
Li Polo, who completed this precise interception, immediately moved to the right and found his roommate Reeves.
Reeves showed off his dribbling skills this time. He first wiped out a defensive midfielder with his feet, then dribbled the ball forward more than 30 meters in one go and directly entered the core area of the opposite side.
Cox opened his mouth slightly.
Adley frowned:
“He brought too much!”
"Two more steps and he'll overlap with Aziz!"
This is indeed the case. Aziz, who was originally playing as a right winger, was almost squeezed out of position by Reeves, while the opposing full-back, left center back, a defensive midfielder and a midfielder all surrounded this area!
Even Aziz was a little unhappy:
"Why don't you pass the ball? What on earth do you want to do?!"
Reeves, who had been dribbling the ball for a long time, finally raised his head, but he had no intention of observing his position at all. He kicked the ball before the defensive players surrounded him!
The ball drew a parabola and fell rapidly into the penalty area!
"This brat... the pass was too far! There's no one on the left!"
Connolly, who had already moved to the right, cursed inwardly, but could only turn around and chase after the defense again.
Tranmere's left centre-back quickly grabbed him and would never let him chase the ball.
But they all miscalculated.
Connolly only ran one step and saw a figure rushing into the penalty area at lightning speed, and then with a leaning and bombing move, he smashed the football directly into the goal!
On the back of the blue shirt, there is a simple number and surname printed:
"Li!"
"1!"
Li Polo, who was suspended for three rounds, scored his first goal!
