Although it is a new account, with the support of his teammates' forwarding, many Hurricanes fans who follow them were quickly attracted to Willard's account.
"Is this Alan Willard's account?"
"Follow it! Pay attention!"
"Come on Willard, keep an eye on you!"
"Is this video the result of Willard's extra practice in the morning? Willard worked so hard!"
"Villad will definitely become a national-level star, just pay attention first."
Soon, the number of Willard's fans on various platforms reached hundreds, and it is still slowly rising. It should be no problem to reach several thousand within a few days.
On October 5th, in the 12th round of the second half of the AFC Champions League, it was also the first round of the second half. It was the turn of Hurricane Athletic to challenge CA Tamboli away from home.
In the first round of the first half of the competition between the two sides, Hurricanes beat Tamboli 3-0 at home and got a good start in the league. They are now ranked second in the standings and are in good shape for promotion to the First Division.
Of course, Tamboli is not bad either, currently ranked fourth, only 1 point behind the Hurricanes.
Generally speaking, the duel between these two teams can be regarded as a strong dialogue between the championship teams. But in fact, Mario Binco sent out a 4231 defensive counterattack formation for this game and rotated most of the main players. Only goalkeeper Diaz, captain Mancinelli, midfielder Velarde, and central midfielder Luca Si and a few other main players were able to start.
Not because of the away game, nor because of fear of CA Tamboli, but because the next game in three days is the Argentine Cup quarter-finals, and the opponent of Atletico Hurricanes is another A-League team.
The Hurricanes Athletic Team, which aims to win the championship on both fronts, will naturally focus on the Argentine Cup and preserve its strength for the Argentine Cup. Well, the second half of the league has just begun. Losing one game will not be the end of the road, and we can make up for it later.
But when it comes to the actual game, the Hurricanes Athletic Team will certainly not lose on purpose, but will also go all out. Although I was mentally prepared to lose this game, it would certainly be the best if I could not lose, or even win.
In this game, two of Velarde's friends, Bonnie Fashaw and Dalia, both started, but Dalia played not as a forward, but as a right midfielder. But when attacking, it is natural to move forward and become a winger.
After training with Velarde for a long time, Bonny Fashaw and Dalia not only gained the favor of the coaching staff, but also improved a lot in strength. It is natural for them to become regular substitutes and occasionally rotate into the starting lineup.
After the game started, CA Tamboli, which was behind the Hurricanes in points at home, boldly attacked, trying to take advantage of the fact that the Hurricanes had rotated most of their main players, lacked team coordination, and it was not easy to get into the game quickly because they were playing away games. Opportunity to score first and win the final victory.
But when the game actually started, CA Tamboli discovered that although the Hurricanes had rotated a lot of main players, goalkeeper Marcos Dias, center back Mancinelli, midfielder Alan Velarde and central midfielder Lucas Villaruel did not move, ensuring the stability of the Hurricanes' penalty area and the area near the front of the penalty area.
It is still very difficult for Tamboli to attack the Hurricanes' penalty area with a ground pass. Alan Willard, in particular, continued to maintain his super high strength and stable performance, and defended the area directly opposite the goal at the front of the penalty area, leaving Tamboli's players helpless.
Even with teamwork, they couldn't penetrate Willard's defense zone.
In the 17th minute, when faced with Velarde's interception, Tambori forward Dinino played a one-two with attacking midfielder Sambuesa and hit the wall, trying to break through Velarde's defense and reach the line of the penalty area. Shoot.
But Velarde reacted very quickly and turned back to defend in time. Dininno didn't even receive Sambuesa's return pass, but was destroyed by a flying tackle from Velarde halfway.
In the 32nd minute, when central midfielder Ilona faced Velarde with the ball, he tried to break through Velarde with a fried ball. But his proficiency with fried balls is completely different from Barcelona's Iniesta. Velarde easily saw through his fake move, and took the ball away with a decisive move.
Moreover, Ilona also bumped into Velarde, and was unable to match the strength. He lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground, but the referee ignored it.
With his best performance game after game, as well as steals, destruction, clearances, and blocking time after time, Willard proved that at the A-League B level, it is really difficult for anyone to break through his defense zone head-on and get a shot. Chance.
CA Tamboli can only create threats through crosses from the wing attack, inward shots, inverted triangle passes, etc.
But the back line headed by Mancinelli, coupled with Velarde's quick defense due to his high attribute awareness, can also resolve most of Tamboli's wing attacks.
The last thing left was that CA Tamboli only had two threatening shots that successfully hit the goal frame in the entire 45 minutes of the first half, and they were easily resolved by Marcos Dias.
After the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 0-0.
This score is naturally acceptable to the Hurricanes Athletic Team, which played away games and rotated most of its main players. But it is not acceptable to CA Tamboli, who play at home and are one point behind the Hurricanes in the standings.
They lost 0-3 in the first leg of the first half, and now it is the second half and second leg. They cannot take advantage of the opportunity to return to home, and the Hurricanes have also rotated most of the starting lineup in preparation for the Argentinian Cup. , when will we wait?
Therefore, after the start of the second half, Tamboli continued to insist on their offense, while Hurricane Athletic also continued to defend and counterattack.
In the 55th minute, Tamboli winger Brendan broke through from the left, cut inside and passed the ball in an inverted triangle, and passed the ball to the feet of attacking midfielder Sambuesa in the gap in the penalty area.
There was no one around Sambuesa when he received the ball. If he had hit the goal without stopping the ball, he might have created another threat. If he hits it within the goal frame, he might even score a goal.
But Brendan's pass was a bit fast, and Sambuesa might have felt unsure, so he stopped the ball and adjusted it before taking off and hitting the goal.
It was his stoppage and adjustment that allowed Velarde, who was returning to defense, to rush back into the penalty area and fly to block the hole of the gun in time, just in time to block Sambuesa's shot.
The ball hit Velarde's calf and bounced into the gap on the left side of the penalty area. Hurricanes defender Lucas Sosa kicked him out of the penalty area to clear the ball.
Willard made another crucial save.
As the game time went by, the Hurricanes Athletic Team became more and more stable, and CA Tamboli became more and more impatient.
Obviously, the Hurricanes, who have rotated most of their main players and played away from home, can accept a 0-0 draw. Tamboli, who was playing at home and trailing the Hurricanes in the standings, couldn't accept it.
From the 65th minute to the 76th minute, CA Tamboli used up three substitutions and replaced them with new offensive players to continue to strengthen the offense.
The Hurricanes, on the other hand, continued to defend their defense and wait for opportunities to counterattack.
The commentators and guests were talking a lot:
"Tamboli still had nothing to do against the Hurricanes' defence."
"Alan Willard's physical fitness and physique are so good that he covers almost all areas at the front of the Hurricanes' penalty area."
"At this level of the Al-Arab League B, almost no one can break through him head-on."
"Even if the team cooperates, Willard's positioning and defensive awareness make it difficult for the opponent to get excellent opportunities."
"Coupled with the help of Mancinelli and others on the back line, Tamboli basically didn't get any decent opportunities."
"It seems that it is already difficult for Tamboli to break the Hurricanes' goal."
"On the contrary, it's the Hurricanes. Although they don't have many counterattacks, once they get the chance to counterattack, they can create quite a threat."
"It's a pity that the Hurricanes' main attacking midfielder Gonzano Martinez, center Thomson Mira, and shadow forward Espinosa did not start in this game, and the final kick was a bit inferior."
"Otherwise, maybe the Hurricanes, who are playing away from home, are in the lead now."
"Even so, for the Hurricanes, who are ahead of Tamboli in the standings, a draw is acceptable for them."
…
Of course it is acceptable, but if you can score a goal and leave with a victory and 3 points, then it is naturally better.
Therefore, Willard is not only fully defensive. While defending, he was still observing the situation and ready to counterattack at any time.
Even though his shooting attributes are not high, he has good strength, and his header, bounce and speed are not bad, and his skills are decent, so he may not have no chance.
When the time passed after 85 minutes, there were only a few minutes left before the end of the game, even if injury time was added. At this time, CA Tamboli no longer cared about defense, and all the players attacked fiercely. Even the two center backs pressed to the edge of the Hurricanes' penalty area.
At this moment, Tamboli full-back Patricio Romero made a 45-degree cross from the left wing and passed the ball into the Hurricanes penalty area, trying to let their forwards compete for the top.
However, Villard, Bonny Fashaw, Mancinelli, Lucas Sosa, Bismara and others in the penalty area are all tall and did not give the opponent's forward a chance to grab points.
The ball was grabbed by Federico Bismara at the first point, and he pushed out of the penalty area for a clearance.
Lucas Villaruel, who was returning to defense, grabbed the second goal, but there were players from Tamboli around him who counterattacked, so he did not stick to the ball and directly volleyed it and passed the ball to the side. Bonnie Fashaw of Road.
Bonnie Fashaw moved the ball forward down the wing to initiate a counterattack. Avila, Dalia, Lucas, Velarde and others in the middle rushed out of the penalty area and rushed towards CA Tempoli's half.
It was a quick counterattack.
Although CA Tamboli's players were also trying their best to defend, this time the counterattack Hurricanes played a high level of pass-cut coordination. The passing passes in progress made the opponent unable to guard against it, and they did not even touch the ball.
Especially after rushing into the Tamboli half, Lucas Villaruel passed a ball to Velarde. If Velarde really caught the ball, the Tamboli defender in front of him would immediately It will cause counterattack and interference for him.
As a result, Willard's consciousness reached 80% and he made the correct judgment in an instant. He did not stop the ball at all, but raised his foot and missed the ball, letting the ball roll diagonally to the right wing.
His friend and winger Dalia, who was on the wing, just caught the ball, moved forward, and successfully made a pass along the wing.
Dalia's pass was average. Center Avila, who rushed into the penalty area, failed to grab the first point. Tamboli center back Bojanic, who was back on defense, grabbed the first point and pushed out of the penalty area to clear the ball. .
However, Bojanic's hurried ball just landed in front of Alan Willard who was running in from the back row.
There were also players on the other side who were returning to defend Velarde. He had no time to stop the ball and adjust, and he didn't have the skills. He could only directly stretch out his right foot, shoot the ball in the air, and use all his strength to kick the ball towards the goal.
Everyone only heard a "bang" sound, and the ball changed direction instantly and hit CA Tamboli like a cannonball.
With Willard's 51 shooting skills, it is generally difficult to score a volley. There is a high probability that he won't even be able to hit the right spot and will just kick it.
But there is another decisive factor on the court, which is luck. And Willard's volley was unlucky. Not only did he hit the ball firmly, but he also successfully kicked the ball within the goal frame. It was even very powerful, very fast, and hit the ball. Tricky angle.
This tricky angle prevented goalkeeper Crivelli from even making a save. He stood on the goal line and turned around to watch the ball, like lightning, fly into the net against the left post.
