Chapter 43: Groningen’s Counterattack!

[At 37 years old, you scored with just 2 touches and 1 shot, truly terrifying performance.]
[Reward: Counter-Attack Points * 10]

"Just like that, beautiful!"
Ten Hag raised both hands, sharing the joy of this goal with Tang Ye.
Seeing Tang Ye's training pay off, Ten Hag was naturally delighted.
Was the goal on the pitch brilliant?
It was all earned through hard work!

The match continued. Because of Tang Ye's opener, the Groningen players on the pitch had to raise the tempo of the game.
Because they were trailing!
And trailing out of nowhere!
The opposing number 99 had sneaked into their penalty area like a thief and then placed the ball right into their own goal just like a thief!

"Pull yourselves together, pull yourselves together! Keep your heads in the game!"
John kept shouting to the players on the pitch: "We can win this, keep your composure, watch the tempo!"

Taking advantage of the moment during the next kickoff when his teammates were slowly walking back to their positions, John called over Bonnet and Droste.
John issued an unprecedented instruction.
That was to properly target that thief-like number 99!

"King Tang has helped Utrecht establish an advantage, and now it depends on whether Utrecht's players can hold onto King Tang's advantage."
"The away team is pressing hard. Number 17, what's the name of number 17? Droste, okay, Droste is moving forward!"
"Tang Ye! Tang Ye, who was waiting in the center, is running up!"
"Being singled out and marked against by King Tang, Droste is in trouble!"
"Tang Ye, stick out your foot and go straight for..."
"Tang Ye got shaken right past!"
"Is there any defensive player who can come over and help?!"
"The situation is urgent! Amrabat is drifting toward the center, but it seems a bit too late!"

Captain Droste handled the ball exceptionally well. He secured open space after leaving Tang Ye trailing on the grass.
Facing teammates calling for the ball, Droste wasn't in a hurry to pass it away.
He dribbled forward himself!
Droste, much like Ramselaar, liked to carry the ball himself.
However, Ramselaar was a counterfeit ball-controlling midfielder.
Droste was a genuine ball-controlling midfielder in every sense!

After running nearly 20 meters, Droste still hadn't passed the ball. In the end, it took both Amrabat and Strieder stepping up to press together to force the captain to pass.
He passed to Antonia!
Antonia, cutback...
Ngcongca, who had tracked back, cleared Antonia's pass with a decisive boot.
Unfortunately, the cleared cross still fell to the feet of a Groningen player.
It's you again, Tibbling!

"I'm here!"
Tang Ye slowly ran back from the frontcourt. His jersey was smudged with blades of grass—the mark of the vanquished.
He had been juked and knocked down just moments ago!

Tibbling, 45-degree cross!
In the central penalty area, this was center-forward De Leeuw's chance!
Bang!
De Leeuw did not live up to his teammates' expectations, leaping high to successfully head the ball into Utrecht's net.

"GOOOOO——AAAAAA——LLLLLLL!!!!"
"De Leeuw!"
1:1!
The Dutchman De Leeuw's header successfully helped Groningen equalize.
De Leeuw did not make contact with any Utrecht defenders during the header, and the linesman did not raise his flag for offside.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with this goal!

"What the hell are you doing?!"
Goalkeeper Ruiter shouted at Strieder: "You couldn't even mark a single man? Why?"
Ramselaar and Timo Letschert hurriedly ran over to pull the two apart.
De Leeuw's goal not only leveled the scoreline, but it also brought the underlying tensions between Utrecht's defenders and goalkeeper right out into the open.

Realizing the situation was amiss, Ten Hag shouted instructions, ordering Tang Ye, who had been playing as an attacking midfielder, to drop deeper.
Huh?
Tang Ye didn't quite catch Ten Hag's intent, but since it was the head coach's order, he had no choice but to comply.

Nineteenth minute, 1:1 draw, the match continued.
As soon as he stepped into the defensive midfield position, Tang Ye immediately felt the intense pressing from the opposing forwards. De Leeuw, Linsen, and Antonia all pressed forward together.
Forget about passing and attacking; you didn't even know how to shield the ball!
Under this sort of onslaught from the opponents, the weaknesses of Utrecht's 5-3-2 formation began to expose themselves.
Facing De Leeuw's fierce pressing, Tang Ye found himself having a thoroughly miserable time.
Eventually, right before the end of the first half, Antonia won a penalty in the box, and De Leeuw, taking the spot-kick, made no mistake.
The scoreline was overturned!
Unsurprisingly, Strieder and Ruiter started arguing again.

[Damn, isn't this completely over?]
[Fuck, seeing Tang Ye score made me think this match was in the bag...]
[Groningen has incredible stamina; this high press has Utrecht completely unable to even pass the ball out.]
[Regretting it, brothers, should've bet on Groningen.]
[You've lost faith in my King Tang already?]
[Your King Tang got moved to defensive midfielder by the coach, do you think Utrecht still stands a chance?]
[Damn it, idiot Ten Hag, I'm done, is Tang Ye fucking a defensive midfielder that he gets used as one?]

"Ah, fuck..."
Tang Ye clenched his teeth, his condition looking somewhat poor.
Groningen's pressing was fierce, which meant not only was he exhausting himself, but he also couldn't find any attacking opportunities.

"Beep, beep-beep!"
The referee blew the halftime whistle, and the players from both teams began walking toward the tunnel.

"Keep it up!"
"Tom! Let's go!"
The fans' cheers were loud and clear. Tang Ye heard his name once more, which made his mood feel considerably better.

Inside the locker room, Ten Hag and Pascal Jansen gave the players a series of emphatic instructions regarding the second half.
The topic quickly turned to Tang Ye.
"Tang..."
Ten Hag turned to look at Tang Ye, hesitating slightly as he spoke.
Clearly, the Dutchman himself wasn't entirely confident about the tactical setup he was about to deploy.
"Around the 50th minute, we're going to substitute you off."
Huh?
What?!
Tang Ye spread his hands: "What?"

Tang Ye was already prepared to debate with Ten Hag, but the man suddenly changed his tune: "Umm... let's have you play a bit longer. Go back to your attacking midfield position and give it a try. Defensive midfield will be left to Barakat and Sofyan."
Ramselaar, whose name was called, stood up: "The opponents have 3 forwards pressing together; with just Sofyan and me, it's going to be very difficult to handle."
"Then find a way to get the defenders involved!"
Ten Hag shouted.
During those few minutes in the first half, he had already seen it clearly—playing Tang Ye as a defensive midfielder was completely useless.
He was only capable of sliding tackles.
If he missed the first tackle, Tang Ye's defensive ability was actually inferior to those kids in the U15s!

"Thank you."
Learning that Ten Hag was willing to give him a few more opportunities, Tang Ye offered a brief word of thanks and then began to ponder.
He had already scored 1 goal, but the Portuguese Treasure Chest in his system still displayed the label [Advanced].
Clearly, a single goal wasn't enough to elevate the Portuguese Treasure Chest to the [Superstar] tier.
He had to find more opportunities!
They were already trailing by a goal at halftime.
Tang Ye needed to find his chances in the second half!

This second half concerned whether Tang Ye could upgrade his treasure chest to a higher tier, and it was equally vital for the starting appearance he had fought so hard to earn.
How to avoid Ten Hag's malicious extra training?
Solidify his position as a starting player.
How to solidify his position as a starting player?
Conquer Ten Hag with a sufficiently stellar performance.
And then...
Relegate Ould-Chikh to the bench for good!