With one game a week, it is natural to take a holiday after winning. After the holiday, the team will start daily training to prepare for the next round of competition.
On Monday, August 17, Willard spent another 2 skill points to increase "Inverse Foot" from 66 to 67, leaving 300 skill points left.
In the next few days, Willard continued to practice morning and evening, going all out to prepare for the next round of competition.
Even though he was reborn through time, this is after all the place where his career started after his rebirth. He didn't want to leave any regrets before leaving his home team. At the same time, winning the double crown of the Argentine League and the Copa Libertadores will also help him strive for a higher status, more salary, sufficient playing time, etc. when moving to a new European club.
On August 23, in the 21st round of the A-League, Hurricanes faced Lanus at home.
The weather in this game was not good, it was drizzling, and the field was a little slippery. Lanus, who was ranked in the middle, sent two tall centers, one 183cm tall and the other 190cm tall. They wanted to use aerial attack to defeat the Hurricanes. Scored goals and points against Atlético.
However, this was just their idea, but it failed to come true in this game. The current ability of the Hurricanes to defend against aerial balls is second to none. Not to mention the several tall central defenders on the back line, the running position, grabbing points, physique, and jumping advantages formed by Velard after returning to defense are not Ranu. Sri Lanka's center can seize the opportunity.
Instead, it was the Hurricanes' counterattack that threatened Lanus' defense several times. If Lanus hadn't frequently used tactical fouls to prevent the Hurricanes from counterattacking, the Hurricanes might have already scored.
After receiving three yellow cards in just half an hour, Lanus finally did not dare to use foul tactics unscrupulously. If you commit another foul, you may get a second yellow card and be fined from two yellows to one red.
The Hurricanes Athletics also took advantage of this opportunity and scored before the end of the first half.
In the 39th minute, right midfielder Turaza made a pass. Alan Willard, who advanced to participate in the attack, rushed into Lanus' penalty area. With his sharp speed, running position and ability to grab points, he got stuck in the opponent's center. Defender Braguieri still held his own despite being pushed, grabbed the spot, and successfully hit the goal with his head, helping the Hurricanes open the scoring and take a 1-0 lead.
Despite the rain, more than 30,000 die-hard fans still came to the scene to cheer for the team's sprint to the A-League championship. Seeing Willard's header break the deadlock for the team, more than 30,000 fans immediately burst into warm applause and cheers in the rain.
In the remaining minutes of the first half, Lanus counterattacked for a while, but failed to break through the Hurricanes' defense. The two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 1-0, and the Hurricanes Athletic Team, playing at home, temporarily led by one goal.
After a 15-minute rest, the two sides changed sides and fought again in the second half. The rain not only did not decrease, but intensified, turning into moderate rain.
Under such circumstances, the ground attack is basically useless, and both sides can only compete with air power.
But Lanus cannot compare with the Hurricanes in terms of the quality of crosses from the wing or the ability to compete for the top in the penalty area. Moreover, the Hurricanes' aerial defense is much stronger than that of Lanus. Lanus's few headers were only within the goal frame twice in the entire second half, and the angles were not awkward. , is not very powerful and poses no threat to goalkeeper Marcos Dias.
However, the Hurricane Athletics used another corner kick in the 70th minute of the second half. In the end, Eduardo Domingos grabbed the first point in the opponent's penalty area and succeeded with a header, expanding the score to 2-2. 0.
Although Lanús stormed back in the remaining minutes to try to score, tie the game and take a point away from Duke Thomas Stadium.
However, with the Hurricanes leading by two goals and basically locking the victory, they not only retreated significantly in formation and began to play the game in the least labor-saving way, but also began to make substitutions one after another to delay time, using all three substitution places. It's over.
Until the end of the game, Lanus failed to score even a goal, let alone equalize the score.
In the end, Hurricane Athletic defeated Lanus 2-0 at home, won the 21st round of the league, and continued to top the standings.
On Monday, August 24, Willard spent another 2 skill points to increase "Inverse Foot" from 67 to 68, leaving 298 skill points in the balance.
On August 30, in the 22nd round of the league, Hurricanes challenged River Plate away.
There is no doubt that this is a strong enemy and a highlight of this round of the A-League. If the super giant River Plate cannot stop the Hurricanes, it will be difficult for any team to stop the Hurricanes' winning streak and then prevent the Hurricanes from winning the championship.
Because River Plate once faced the Hurricanes in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals away from home, they scored 3 goals against the Hurricanes and defeated the Hurricanes with a score of 3-2 at the Thomas Duke Stadium. , just because they conceded two goals in the first round, they finally lost to the Hurricanes with a total score of 3-4 and watched the Hurricanes advance to the semi-finals.
With such a historical record in hand, and the fact that this league is held at River Plate's home court, the media and audiences have reason to believe that River Plate will go all out to prevent the Hurricanes from scoring points from themselves.
River Plate is currently ranked fifth in the league, 17 points behind Atletico Hurricanes, and there is basically no possibility of competing for the championship. However, as the pride of a wealthy club and the desire to avenge the humiliation of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals, River Plate cannot let go at home and will definitely have a bloody battle with Atletico Hurricanes.
In fact, this is also the case. River Plate played all the main players in this game, and they promised before the game that they would not let the Hurricanes score a point at the Monument Stadium.
The reason why River Plate dared to speak like this, in addition to boosting their own side's confidence and morale, was also because the Hurricanes' main goalkeeper Marcos Dias suffered a minor injury while diving for the ball in training and will miss this game. Mali O. Binco had to send substitute goalkeeper Giordano to play.
In addition, the main center back Eduardo Domingos will be automatically suspended for one game due to accumulation of yellow cards, so Santiago Echeberria, who does not play often this season, can only start.
The absence of a goalkeeper and a main central defender has created hidden dangers in the Hurricanes' defense. This is also one of the sources of confidence for the River Plate team.
However, the Hurricanes Athletic Team will naturally not be afraid. Although they lost to River Plate 2-3 at home, they also won 2-0 against River Plate at the Monument Stadium and defeated River Plate with a total score to advance to the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores.
In addition, the Hurricanes have Alan Willard as a anchor, so even though it is an away game and even though the goalkeeper and main central defender are absent, the Hurricanes still step onto the lawn of the Monument Stadium with confidence, ready to compete with River Plate. A peak showdown.
By winning against River Plate, one of the two super giants in the country, the Hurricanes will be one step closer to the league championship.
