In the locker room at halftime, Pan Yi took Scaloni and De Ligt to the players and found that the players' mentality was pretty good.
In the second half of the first half, although York City fought with ten men, they still stabilized the defense under the command of De Zerbi and maintained the 1:1 score until the end of the half.
To be able to do this, it is obvious that the counterattack goal after the save in the 20th minute is crucial.
It severely damaged the morale of Swansea, but at the same time boosted the confidence of York City players!
Therefore, in the current locker room, everyone is still very motivated, and there is no sign that they are at a numerical disadvantage.
"Swansea will definitely attack aggressively in the second half. We have no other choice but to continue to defend and then look for opportunities to counterattack."
De Zerbi began to lay out the tactics for the second half, while Pan Yi and Scaloni stood aside and did not interrupt.
Now it's his stage again!
Especially Pan Yi, because he didn't make much preparation for this game, and he didn't have a plan for Scaloni to be sent off, so he didn't know the opponents in this game as well as the coaching staff.
As for Scaloni, he was afraid that his tactical thinking would conflict with De Zerbi's, so he chose to hand over all command rights to De Zerbi.
This is unconditional trust between team members!
Not just between players, but also between coaches.
And De Zerbi did not feel any stage fright because of the presence of the boss and head coach, but encouraged his players confidently and boldly:
"So, from the beginning of the second half, all of you must remember one thing: defend first and defend to the death!"
"The Swansea people on the opposite side must think that they have a good chance of winning. They are at home and the referee is helping them. At the same time, they have an advantage in numbers. I can't think of any more favorable conditions than this. .”
"And what about us? We don't need to be burdened. Even a draw in this game is acceptable, and we can go back home and finish it off."
As he spoke, De Zerbi pointed at the tactical list:
"The defense in the second half must be layered, especially the two wingers who have to return to the midfield to defend. Amon and Kulusevski, you have to defend more in the second half. Can you do it?"
Amon and Kulusevsky nodded in agreement.
After De Ligt was sent off, Rice retreated to the central defender position and partnered with Westerman to play as a double central defender.
Karlström and Alonso in the midfield formed a double defensive midfielder, Amon and Kulusevski were on both sides of the midfield, and only Baker was in front.
This forms a 4-4-1 formation.
"Westerman and Rice need to stand one behind the other, so that our defense in the middle will be deeper, and at the same time, Karlström and Alonso can better protect the two wings."
"We started the second half on defense. We couldn't score a goal, and we couldn't let Swansea score a goal. I believe that if we defend for 30 minutes and let them bombard us for half an hour, they will definitely win in the last 15 minutes. Make a mistake!”
"And as long as they make a mistake, that's our chance! We have to quickly pass the ball into the penalty area, let Baker grab the point, and then the back row players are ready to step in and give them a fatal blow!"
After speaking, De Zerbi drew a schematic diagram of York City's own defense on the tactical board. His biggest requirement is to minimize fouls, especially fouls within 35 meters of his own penalty area.
After using such a defensive formation, he is not too worried about Swansea's sports warfare, but he must beware of set pieces.
In addition, he also arranged more detailed defensive tasks for each player, asking them to stand in their own positions and guard against the corresponding opponents.
At the end, De Zerbi came to Isaacson and patted him on the shoulder: "I'm going to have to work hard for you in the second half!"
Isaacson nodded, his eyes firm: "Don't worry, leave it to me!"
They all understand that although the team's defensive tactics are now well arranged, Swansea will still get a lot of shooting opportunities because of one less person.
At times like this, you have a lot of trust in the goalkeeper's performance.
But due to Isaacson's heroic save in the first half, the team has full confidence in him.
"The overall tactics are like this. We cannot beat York City. We have to tell Swansea that they failed to crush us in the first half, and even less so in the second half!"
——
It was just as De Zerbi expected.
From the beginning of the second half, Swansea once again launched a fierce attack on York City's defense.
They took advantage of their numerical advantage to firmly control the situation on the field and launched attacks on York City's hinterland again and again.
The 10 players on the York City field all had the same idea, which was to defend with all their strength and not let Swansea score again even if they were killed!
Since Rice is often assigned to play the central defender position in training, he cooperates well with Westerman, and the entire defense line still appears to be complete.
After several strong breakthroughs in the center failed to work, Swansea began to move to the two wings, using the assists of the full-backs and the breakthroughs of the wingers to create threats.
Although Amon and Kulusevski frequently retreated to defend according to Scaloni's request, they were not professional defensive players after all.
Kulusevski is okay. Under the guidance of Pan Yi, he can switch between midfielder and winger, but he is also more offensive in the midfield;
Aman is a forward who plays more often. It is indeed a bit difficult for him to defend desperately.
Therefore, even though the two experienced defensive midfielders Karlström and Alonso frequently helped them fill positions, they still allowed Swansea to seize many opportunities.
Fortunately, Isaacson performed very steadily at this time, connecting high and low, and defused Swansea's threatening shots several times, saving York City's defense, and at the same time making the players more confident as they defended.
After struggling for 10 minutes, Swansea's offense restrained somewhat.
But De Zerbi felt that this was probably a precursor to a more violent attack from the Swansea team!
So he made a decisive substitution, replaced Aman, and replaced him with veteran midfielder Joe Partington, who was more defensive.
Sure enough, not long after, the Swansea team also asked for substitutions, playing midfielder Carroll and adding forward Routledge, while adjusting the formation to 4-2-4.
Their head coach Clay goalkeeper has obviously made up his mind to strengthen his offense and vows to defeat York City at his own Liberty Stadium and directly enter the semi-finals!
However, because York City had prepared a response in advance, their defense seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.
Although Swansea still got some chances, they were basically long shots and crosses from a 45-degree angle.
Isaacson's performance was very outstanding. One moment he turned sideways to save the opponent's long shot, and the other moment he jumped high to confiscate the high ball.
De Zerbi also frequently issued new instructions on the sidelines to guide players to strengthen defense, and the York City players on the field did not panic at all.
"Boss, De Zerbi is really great!" Scaloni said to Pan Yi in the stands, "I suspect it won't be long before you replace me with him..."
Pan Yi laughed loudly: "Is there anyone I found who can't do it? But don't worry, I won't drive you away unless you want to leave."
"Haha, just kidding." Scaloni laughed, "I don't want to leave such a good place. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless the Argentine country calls me." Scaloni looked at the sky, where there were blue sky and white clouds, and that was also the color of the Argentina national team jersey.
"One day, I will never stop you, and I will even support you." Pan Yi said with a smile.
Isn't it? Scaloni will eventually belong to Argentina...
——
On the field, due to Isaacson's outstanding performance and the tenacious defense of the players, although York City was at a numerical disadvantage and passive on the field, Swansea was never able to break the deadlock on the field.
This made the Swansea players more and more impatient, and they even frequently stepped up their actions to anger the York City players.
However, the York City players still controlled their tempers and did not quarrel with each other.
This was mainly due to the fact that the referee suffered two consecutive losses in the first half. It would definitely not be cost-effective to act foolishly and make moves with the opponent again at this time.
Not to mention giving red cards and yellow cards, even if he gives the opponent a few free kicks, the opponent's Sigurdsson is not a vegetarian!
As time passed by, Swansea's offense also dropped slightly. After all, it is impossible for any team to maintain a fast-paced offense for 90 minutes.
At this time, De Zerbi decisively asked Lin Liangming to replace captain Karlström.
This is mainly because Karlstrom has not returned to his best condition after recovering from injury, especially in terms of physical fitness.
After more than an hour of tenacious defense, he began to show fatigue.
At this time, letting the physically fit Lin Liangming play will help the team better on both offense and defense!
At the same time, De Zerbi also moved Kulusevski a little further to the center and asked him to play as a pseudo-winger, while Lin Liangming played as an attacking midfielder to provide support behind Baker.
At this time, York City's formation also changed to a 4-3-1-1.
In this way, York City still maintains a defensive formation while also having a certain ability to counterattack.
This is mainly reflected in Lin Liangming, who just came on the field. His position as an attacking midfielder connects the midfield and backfield with forward Baker, and he can pass more threatening passes after getting the ball.
But Swansea didn't pay much attention to York City's changes.
In their view, now that the team has firmly suppressed York City, the top priority now is how to break the goal guarded by the Swedes as soon as possible, instead of worrying about York City's counterattack.
However, on the surface, Swansea still has the initiative, and wave after wave of attacks on the field are rushing towards York City. However, in fact, York City's defense appears to be more stable than at the beginning of the second half. Give Swansea the opportunity to face the goal directly.
The central defender combination of Westerman and Rice still performed well, and the two full-backs also provided very good defense.
Especially Fu Yasu Jianyang, he is fast, has good jumping ability, and has good physical confrontation ability. He is very flexible and makes people shine.
Seeing Fuan Jianyang's outstanding performance on the court, Scaloni had to look at Pan Yi next to him with admiration.
At the beginning, Pan Yi overcame everyone's objections and gave the special genius clause to Fuan Jianyang, and he endured a lot of criticism for this.
But now, this young Japanese player who can play all positions on the back line has proven his ability with ironclad facts and has become an indispensable player in York City.
Of course, apart from Fuan Jianyang, which player in this game was not brought in by Pan Yi himself?
It can be said that if York City can achieve today's results, regardless of whether it can really reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup today, this season will be a successful season.
And behind this success, Scaloni believes that the biggest credit is definitely not his own, but the boss sitting next to him, Pan Yi! ——
There is not much time left in the game, and the time board above the stadium already shows that 80 minutes have passed.
Swansea has also used up all the substitutions. They have added more offensive players and plan to make a desperate effort to defeat York City at home.
After all, unlike York City, who are comfortable in the league, Swansea still have to avoid relegation in the Premier League. They really can't play one more game!
But York City’s defense remained tenacious.
In the 82nd minute, Rice, who had been running up and down at the center back and midfielder positions, even suffered from cramps.
This made the Swansea fans in the stands booed dissatisfiedly, thinking that this was a deliberate delay by the York City players.
But in fact, York City's team doctors are very clear that the players are really working hard and their physical fitness has reached the critical point.
In fact, with York City's current training level and physical reserves, cramps are unlikely to occur under normal circumstances, especially for young players like Rice.
But it was because one man was sent off in a short period of time after the start of the game, and ten men had to be used as eleven in a battle. Everyone had to run more and fight more to prevent problems with the team's defensive system. This made The players were exhausted.
Rice is located between the two veterans Westerman and Alonso. He needs to chase and tackle more, and has more physical confrontation with opposing players, so he overdraws faster.
But after all, Rice is still young and has strong recovery ability.
After the team doctors came in and took care of it briefly, he jumped on the grass a few times and then returned to the court alive and kicking.
His will to never give up also inspired his teammates.
Lin Liangming, who came on as a substitute, was like a tireless machine, running back and forth.
From time to time, he runs back to his own penalty area to participate in defense, and then as soon as he gets the ball, he will quickly advance forward, forcing Swansea to return to defense, which can also reduce his own defensive pressure.
In the 88th minute, Lin Liangming took advantage of an oversight by a Swansea player and suddenly came out from behind and stole the football from the opponent's feet laterally. The ball came to Alonso's feet.
Alonso raised his foot and passed the ball without thinking, because Lin Liangming had already quickly moved forward the moment he passed the ball to him.
This also made the Swansea players a little unexpected, so they did not follow closely.
Alonso's pass also happened to give an advance, right on the route of Lin Liangming's running.
Lin Liangming chased forward desperately, almost running as fast as he could, and finally stopped the ball in front of the baseline.
At this moment, the York City fans at the scene responded with a burst of warm applause and cheers!
Then Lin Liangming raised his head and glanced into the penalty area.
But this time he ran so fast that even his teammates couldn't catch up. All he could see were Swansea players wearing white jerseys.
Judging from the peripheral vision, there is a tall man in a red jersey running in the distance. That should be Baker, but his speed is not fast.
At least not so fast that Lin Liangming can find someone just by passing the ball now...
But at this time, the opponent's defenders were already approaching, and there were more than one.
Lin Liangming knows his abilities. With his current dribbling skills, it is really difficult to break through two Premier League-level defenders at once.
So he decided to simply take the ball into the penalty area close to the baseline. If he can pass it, he can pass it. If he can't, it's also good to get a corner kick.
In this situation, it is impossible for York City to invest too much force on the offensive line. It is a better opportunity to get a set piece.
But Swansea's players are also very experienced.
Central defender A. Merson blocked his position and was not in a hurry to take action, while the other central defender Fernandez formed a second line of defense behind him, ready to step forward and grab the ball at any time.
Lin Liangming looked up again and found that Baker was still running, but still not in the right position.
Can't wait any longer!
Lin Liangming no longer carried the ball, but directly flicked the ball with his left foot, created a gap, and volleyed directly with his big foot!
At this time, Lin Liangming didn't think too much. He just thought that instead of being cut off, it would be better to try his luck.
Even if you don't go to the door, you can still hit the opponent on the leg!
Then……
The ball actually passed directly between A. Mawson's legs, and then hit Fernandez's legs hard, changing direction!
At such a close distance, no one would have time to react.
And surprisingly, after the ball changed direction, it flew directly towards Swansea's goal!
At first, Swansea goalkeeper Fabianski was a little hesitant because Lin Liangming's powerful shot was a bit like a powerful cross pass in front of the goal.
In this case, the goalkeeper's best option is to step forward and intercept to avoid the ball being passed to the most dangerous small penalty area.
However, no one from York City followed to the door. Is it necessary to attack?
But just at this hesitation, he discovered that the ball had arrived very quickly, and it was heading towards the near corner of the goal!
Fabianski instinctively raised his foot to block it, but it was too late.
The ball passed through the gap between his waist and the near post. Fabianski could only watch as the ball hit the net!
The ball went in!
The ball really went in!
Lin Liangming's shot actually scored!
Almost everyone present looked in disbelief. Who would have thought that this guy was so lucky that his seemingly helpless shot actually bounced directly into the goal through a "Bandanle"!
God, is there anything more incredible than this in the world?
Even Lin Liangming, who scored the goal, couldn't believe it. He suddenly fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands.
He even wondered if he was dreaming. He would never believe it to his death that he actually scored a goal from this almost zero-angle position!
"Beautiful, Lin!!!" At this moment, Baker rushed up from behind and pushed Lin Liangming to the ground.
Lin Liangming was still immersed in the shock of the goal. He just shook his head blankly, and then he felt his body getting heavier and heavier. It turned out that the teammates behind him ran up one after another and played on top of him.
All the players were laughing, and so were all the York City fans. They also sang a song in the visiting team's stands. This is Lin Liangming's song!
On the sidelines of the pitch and on the coaching bench, everyone was hugging each other. In such a difficult situation and with a numerical disadvantage, York City actually turned defeat into victory. This is something worth celebrating!
In the stands, Pan Yi first hugged Scaloni next to him, and then hugged De Ligt tightly.
"Did you see it? I said we will win!"
De Ligt also looked very excited and hugged Pan Yi tightly.
"Boss, this is your team, your best team... I'm yours too... Ah, no, yes, I'm from your team!"
De Ligt was even a little incoherent due to being too excited.
They were all so happy and excited!
——
"What a surprise, this goal! No one thought that Lin Liangming, who seemed to be fighting alone, actually scored a somewhat lucky goal from a zero angle!" Lineker also looked very excited.
York City was suppressed throughout the game. They were sent off one man and awarded two penalty kicks, but they did not give up and persisted until the end. As a result, they unexpectedly reversed course!
"Although it seems a bit lucky, this goal is the best reward for York City's tenacious fighting spirit throughout the game!"
"With this spirit, I believe they will really grow into a strong team. English League One is not where they should be, they can go to the Championship or even the Premier League!"
"Players, tactics, technology, fighting spirit, hard work... they have all the conditions that a strong team should have. Fortunately, we have witnessed the growth of a team with our own eyes!"
"Looking at the current field again, after York City scored this goal, Swansea's morale seemed to be deflated all of a sudden..."
In fact, after the goal and celebration, there was not much time left in the game.
When the Swansea players lost their fighting spirit, York City, relying on the momentum of the reversal, took the initiative on the court, frequently threatening Swansea's goal, and almost even scored a few times.
When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, the scene completely turned into a paradise of joy for York City, and the Swansea fans left the field in frustration.
They got two penalty kicks in one game and sent off a player and a coach of the other team with a red card. They still couldn't win against a League One team. What else could they say?
Forget it, it doesn’t matter if we don’t play in the FA Cup, we should just go back to the Premier League and avoid relegation!
After the game, Isakson was also elected as the best player of the game.
There is no doubt that without his saves and the quick break after the saves, it would have been difficult for York City to win today.
What's more, during most of the time after the equalizer, Isakson also helped York City get an impeccable victory through his wonderful and steady performance!
After the game, the media also interviewed Pan Yi and asked him what he thought of the game, especially the two penalty kicks and two red cards that appeared in the game.
Obviously, this is to create some hot news to increase media traffic.
Pan Yi said grandly:
"Thank you to the referees for giving us more opportunities to practice. Otherwise, we don't know that we can beat a Premier League team without a head coach and one less player..."
(End of chapter)
