Back in the league, Southampton, with all its main players playing, defeated Derby County 2-0.
Walcott, who scored twice, extended his league goals to 3 and seemed to be competing for the position of the Saints' "number one talent".
Wang Xiaodong sat dryly on the bench and did not play for 90 minutes.
Just when Wang Xiaodong was dissatisfied with Keegan's arrangements, on September 20, the second round of the League Cup came.
This time the opponent is Mansfield Town, also from a League Two team.
Wang Xiaodong was extremely excited to return to the court.
It doesn't matter what level of competition he is in, as long as he can start!
Wang Xiaodong has begun to like the days of being cheered by fans.
Not long after the opening, Wang Xiaodong grabbed the ball at the top of the arc by taking advantage of the opponent's defender's clearance error.
Facing the goal, Wang Xiaodong sent a powerful shot without hesitation. The ball hit the goal post and bounced back.
Madsen made a quick decision and immediately rushed forward to grab the ball.
Together with the defender who tackled him, he dribbled the ball into the net.
1-0, Southampton advanced to the third round of the League Cup.
Returning to home without stopping, Southampton faced Plymouth Argyle and Reading FC consecutively.
The Saints, who have won three consecutive victories in all competitions, are frantically promoting their new stars to outsiders on their doorstep.
Sure enough, Walcott and Wang Xiaodong were on full display in the two games.
The little tiger just scored twice in the game against Argyle, and Wang Xiaodong made a pass and shot in the game against Reading.
So far, eleven rounds of the league have passed. Southampton is ranked fourth with 19 points with 5 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, and has firmly secured the promotion zone.
However, careful fans discovered that although Wang Xiaodong and Walcott's statistics were chasing each other, Kevin Keegan seemed to intend to separate the two.
So far, Walcott has not even made the 16-man roster in the League Cup, and Wang Xiaodong has never started in the league.
Keegan's explanation for this is that Walcott has received football training since he was a child and has performed stably, so he can serve as the main force in the league; Wang Xiaodong has been exposed to football for a short time and there are still many uncertainties. Let Wang Xiaodong practice his skills in cup matches and sharpen his temperament.
Fans understand this explanation, after all, what Wang Xiaodong did before was indeed a bit outrageous. If he is rashly placed in the main lineup and Wang Xiaodong is suspended for whatever reason, it will even affect the team's tactical arrangements.
However, what the fans don't know is that although Wang Xiaodong and Walcott are known as the "Saints Twins" on the surface, in fact they have never dealt with each other very well.
Walcott looked down on Wang Xiaodong, a former rugby player who became a monk on the way, but Wang Xiaodong beat Walcott like a cat again and again with fists as big as sandbags.
Although Keegan also mediated the two of them to formulate the so-called "Dongxi Plan", although the two trained together every day, they had different opinions.
Wang Xiaodong deliberately passed the ball wide whenever he had the opportunity. Walcott often did not chase the ball when Wang Xiaodong's pass was more accurate, but instead complained about Wang Xiaodong's poor footwork.
Neither of the two thorns in the team is convinced by the other, and Keegan doesn't dare to rashly put both of them into the starting lineup.
On October 1, Southampton visited Lancashire to face Preston.
Preston, who was in the middle of the game, played steadily after the start and dragged the 0-0 score into the second half.
At the beginning of the second half, Presto's right winger suddenly came in at high speed.
He inserted a line diagonally into the penalty area from the side corridor, and decisively started to pass the ball when faced with the double-team player coming over.
Preston center Lion, who was grabbing a point in the penalty area, shook his head. Goalkeeper Nimi failed to make a save and was led 1-0 by his opponent.
The sudden goal made Keegan feel numb.
After his arm healed, the England legend could often be seen directing from the sidelines.
But the more Keegan bared his teeth, the more it showed that Southampton was not well prepared for this game.
After twenty minutes of continuous attack without success, Kevin Keegan had no choice but to replace Wang Xiaodong.
I don't know since when, in Keegan's eyes, Wang Xiaodong is more than just a defensive player, and his long-range shots have also become a vital need for the team.
However, Wang Xiaodong didn't find many suitable opportunities. Whenever Wang Xiaodong got the ball, Preston's players interfered with him intentionally or unintentionally.
In the 89th minute, the game was about to end.
But the ball was still at the feet of the Preston players.
Faced with his opponent's kick that completely delayed the opponent's time, Wang Xiaodong, who had pursued the ball several times without success, was furious. He rushed forward and pushed the midfielder holding the ball to the ground.
"Beep! Beep beep beep beep!!!"
The whistle sounded immediately.
Looking at the yellow card above Wang Xiaodong's head, even Kevin Keegan couldn't help but shake his head.
"Dong's temper is too hot, and no one in the team can restrain him!" Jack sighed.
"Yes, if Dong himself can't control his temper, then he will never be able to become a starting team member!"
Looking at his opponent who was clearly not seriously injured but still holding his legs and groaning, Kevin Keegan muttered silently, "Winter's way of handling it is really stupid. Can't he learn to be smarter?"
Preston's avant-garde and superb acting skills decisively pushed the time into stoppage time.
He wasted one and a half minutes of the 3 minutes of stoppage time.
When he got back to his feet, there was even a round of applause at Deepdale Stadium.
"Fake, when I find an opportunity, I will definitely blast you in with one shot!"
Wang Xiaodong stood in the wall and looked dissatisfied at the proud free throw players not far away. He thought that even if he tried his best, he would still stop the ball.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle, the Preston forward rubbed his left foot, and the ball drew an arc and flew straight into the Southampton penalty area.
Wang Xiaodong's head was empty.
Didn’t get it?
Looking back, I just saw a Preston striker appear behind the defense, headbutt the ball into the net without any defenders around.
"OH, NO!!!"
The Southampton fans in the stands immediately let out a groan.
It rained all night, and Preston's goal ended Southampton's hope of equalizing.
"Faq, what are the defenders doing for food?"
"Who guarded that person?"
"How did you miss him?"
Both the fans and the players on the field were somewhat angry when they saw this scene.
It doesn't matter if you can't get through the crowd, but you can't let the opponent's striker pass directly?
Who saw this person?
Whose responsibility is this?
At this moment, Wang Xiaodong suddenly had an idea flash in his mind.
What if it’s not the teammates’ responsibility?
If it's not the responsibility of his teammates or this guy's own strength, then is he taking a trick?
That is to say...
Is he offside?
Wang Xiaodong immediately raised his right hand and looked towards the sidelines while running.
as expected!
The linesman raised his flag high.
Offside!
While Preston's players were still celebrating and his teammates were complaining to each other, Wang Xiaodong pushed away Nimi who was lowering his head to pick up the ball.
With a big hand, he picked up the ball, ran to the spot where his opponent had just headed the ball, pressed it, and suddenly swung his legs to get out.
Bang!
The sound of sneakers hitting leather woke everyone up. Price, who had just scored, was stunned by the forward, and then he remembered to look to the sidelines.
However it was too late.
With the blessing of the advanced aiming charm, Wang Xiaodong's long pass without leaving any room flew straight into the sky, heading towards the arch of Walcott's right foot.
At this time, the little tiger didn't care about anything else. When Wang Xiaodong took off, he was still behind the center line, so there was no mention of offside at all.
"Dong kicked a long pass..."
"Theo..."
"Oh my God!"
"Southampton fights back!"
"Single sword!!!"
No one could keep up with Walcott, who was flying at full speed. When the ball landed accurately at his feet, the little tiger almost bit his lip.
"Damn it! Damn Dong, so many deflected balls during training are indeed intentional!"
After scolding Wang Xiaodong in his heart, Walcott raised his head and saw the goalkeeper and the goal in front of him.
Facing the goalkeeper who lowered his arms and attacked in panic, Walcott rubbed his left foot and the ball flew into the net from the Preston goalkeeper's right shoulder.
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”
The Southampton commentator finally let go of his throat at the last moment and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“WonderfulGOAL!!!”
"Theo~~Walcott!!!"
The absolutely flat little tiger once again became the focus of fans and cameras.
However, at this moment, people who really know football are focusing on Wang Xiaodong in the penalty area of the backcourt.
If he hadn't noticed the referee's penalty at the first time, if he hadn't kicked the ball out at the first time, would Walcott have such a good one-on-one opportunity?
After a long while, Keegan finally spit out a few words from his throat: "I have to take back what I just said... Dong is smarter than anyone else!"
