The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 20: Send them to hell

Before this league match, the Millwall coaching staff had a discussion, setting a rather modest goal for the entire game: to avoid losing. Aldrich, on the other hand, expected his team to hold a draw in the first half and see if Shrewsbury would become anxious in their attacks, offering Millwall a chance to strike on the counter.

To everyone's surprise, by the end of the first half, Millwall was already leading by two goals. This delighted Aldrich, but what pleased him most was his team's defensive performance.

As he entered the locker room, Aldrich greeted each departing player, patting them on the shoulder before being the last to walk through the players' tunnel.

Peter, with a dark expression, hurried toward the visitor's locker room the moment the halftime whistle blew, while his players walked off the pitch looking dejected.

In the stands, fans were relaxed, engaging in light-hearted conversation. The tensions that had arisen from the club's tumultuous preseason had dissipated. From their performance in the preseason friendlies to the current match's first 45 minutes, Aldrich's team had gradually won over the fans.

Inside the home locker room, the players were beaming with joy. They didn't feel tired; they had executed a solid defensive strategy in the first half and appeared to be in complete control. In contrast, the aggressive players from Shrewsbury were left gasping for breath, having not only exerted themselves but also conceded two goals—a heavy blow indeed.

As Aldrich approached the locker room, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the visitor's locker room. The Lion's Den Stadium was small and lacking in amenities, resulting in poor soundproofing. The furious scolding from the away locker room was audible enough for Aldrich to tell that someone was throwing a fit inside.

Aldrich couldn't help but smile, channeling his excitement as he pushed open the door to his team's locker room, maintaining his grin as he looked at his players.

As the seated players rested, they noticed Aldrich standing at the door, not bothering to close it, as if thrilled beyond words, their gaze firmly fixed on him.

Aldrich pointed to his ear and said softly, "Listen closely."

The players fell silent and strained to hear, faintly picking up the roaring from the away team's locker room.

One by one, each player, seemingly inspired by Aldrich, broke into knowing smiles.

Aldrich quietly closed the locker room door as if he were a thief, which made the coaching staff stifle their laughter.

However, Jansen frowned, wanting to remind Aldrich not to get too cocky.

Yet Aldrich's next words relieved Jansen's worries.

With his arms wide open and a big smile on his face, Aldrich exclaimed, "You played perfectly in the first half! Look at what the opponents did! They haven't even managed a single shot on target! Just now, I saw their players come off the field, and they looked like it was the end of the world. I swear! You are the demons in their minds! So, in the second half, we're going to send them home in tears! Is there anyone here who feels sorry for them and is thinking of taking it easy in the second half?"

The players were taken aback, exchanging glances before instinctively shaking their heads.

Take it easy?

What a joke!

Aldrich laughed heartily and said, "Exactly! We're going to send them to hell! In the second half, we need to keep up the pressure! But strategically, we should make some adjustments to hasten their demise!"

The players perked up, fully focused as Aldrich moved to the tactical board. He picked up a pen and marked the positions of the opposing back line on the field diagram, using numbers to denote the positions of Millwall players.

Aldrich said solemnly, "We did well defensively in the first half; we must carry that momentum into the second. My requirement is simple: since we didn't concede in the first half, there's no reason to let them steal even one goal in the second. But Behrend, Robert, you two listen carefully."

Pires and Schneider sat up straight, locking eyes with Aldrich.

Aldrich marked large areas on both flanks, areas near the front sides closer to the middle, but not including the zone extending from the opponent's penalty area to the sidelines.

"In the second half, the opponent will fight back fiercely and commit more attacking players than in the first half. Robert, you and Behrend can operate closer to the middle. In the attack, Pavel will be responsible for distributing the ball, deciding whether to attack from the left or right. And once you receive the ball, your passing routes should look like this."

Aldrich drew a large arc on the tactical board, illustrating the trajectory he wanted the ball to follow.

"In the first half, Henrik scored after receiving a through ball from Robert that caught them offside. In the second half, the opponent will surely learn from their mistakes and be wary of our same-side through balls. If we continue playing as we did in the first half, it will be difficult. So, Robert and Behrend, your passes in the second half should be diagonals between their center-backs and full-backs, leading to the far side. Our forwards have a clear advantage—speed. David, Henrik, I expect to see you both coordinate your movements in the second half. When such an opportunity arises, you need to execute overlapping runs; this will draw the defenders away instead of racing directly against them. Try to be clever players and not just rely on talent. Can you do that?"

The two forwards who had scored in the first half nodded earnestly. Aldrich clapped his hands in satisfaction and offered a few reminders about defensive issues, such as urging Nedved to pay closer attention to the coordinated defense on the left flank. After 45 minutes of play, even a fool like Peter could see that Shrewsbury's left-side defense was weaker than the right. After all, the left was manned by the young Lucas Neill, not the strong Turam on the right.

As both sides returned for the second half, Aldrich stood on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets, while Peter wore a deep scowl, remaining silent.

At this moment, Aldrich had no desire to get into any more conflicts with Peter nor was he interested in verbal provocations. Instead, he drifted into his thoughts, placing himself in Peter's position, pondering how he would react if the opposing coach had provoked him prior to the match, or if his own team had responded similarly.

How would he handle it?

Aldrich learned a lesson from Peter: no matter the circumstances, maintaining composure was essential, and personal emotions could not cloud his tactical decisions.

Just as Aldrich was lost in thought, a gasp from the stands snapped him back to reality.

Bang!

The crossbar of one of the goals rang out with a resounding thud, and Aldrich could even hear the reverberations.

He watched as the ball struck Millwall's crossbar and bounced out!

Millwall had almost conceded right at the start of the second half!

Aldrich quietly blamed himself for his earlier daydreaming. He knew that he had let his guard down a bit; after all, leading 2-0 at halftime made him feel confident about victory. He understood that such complacency, before the game was over, should serve as a cautionary tale, yet the pride inside him was difficult to suppress.

Fortunately, the recent scare had served as a wake-up call.

Aldrich turned around and beckoned to Jansen. Just as Jansen let out a sigh of relief and walked over, thinking Aldrich was about to make a substitution, he was unexpectedly met with Aldrich's quiet inquiry: "What happened just now?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'?"

"That ball just now."

"Aren't you standing right here? Didn't you see it?"

"I was thinking about substitutions and didn't pay attention."

With a sense of helplessness, Jansen described the situation to Aldrich.

After finishing, he returned to his seat on the coaching bench.

Aldrich couldn't help but glance over at Peter Dawson not far away, who was covering his face in regret over the ball that had hit the crossbar.

That old guy certainly has his skills!

Peter decisively adjusted Millwall's attack. Though they primarily focused on long passes and high balls into the box to create threats, they noticeably increased the number of attacking players, having the wide midfielders and central midfielders alternate pushing into the penalty area for headers.

Just now, it was the left midfielder who sent a high ball into the box; the forwards were closely marked by Stam and Southgate, and the central midfielder who entered the box was tightly covered by Makélélé. Only the right midfielder got into the box, shaking off Lucas Neil's defense and managed to head the ball toward the goal, but luck was against them, as it hit the crossbar.

Understanding this situation, Aldrich observed the flow of the game and made no changes nor shouted at the players, as Nedvěd had already dropped deep to assist Lucas in defense.

After ten minutes of Shrewsbury's attack, apart from that initial header which struck the crossbar, Millwall's self-adjusted defense was quickly back to being impenetrable.

At this moment, Makélélé intercepted an attempt from the opponent to switch to a through ball, then distributed the ball to Schneider, who had dropped back to receive it on the right.

As Schneider turned with the ball, he found a large area of space in the midfield. Shrewsbury had committed many players to attack, leaving only one midfielder who had also dropped back to bolster their defense.

Schneider sent a ground ball to the left side of the center circle, where the defending midfielder, Nedvěd, was perfectly positioned to receive it. Without hesitation, he made a short pass forward to Pires.

It was a counterattack for Millwall, three against five!

Larsson was on the left, Trezeguet on the right, both being closely marked by Shrewsbury defenders, but they were still somewhat far from the penalty area.

The two forwards understood each other well and began to reposition; rather than running straight toward the penalty area, Larsson angled to the right while Trezeguet angled to the left, like two sharp blades stabbing into the enemy's flanks!

The Shrewsbury center-backs were alarmed, especially as Trezeguet's run was toward the area where Pires could slip a through ball. There was no one there, as the full-back had moved up, ready to intercept Pires' dribble.

After a moment of hesitation, the two center-backs switched their defensive targets, but they were already a step too slow.

Pires, before the opposing full-back could close in, curled a right-footed ground ball.

The ball zoomed between Shrewsbury's full-back and center-back, racing toward the back post of the penalty area.

The Shrewsbury defenders didn't expect Trezeguet's run toward the near post to be a distraction, as at the far post, Larsson was chasing the ball, prepared for the impact as it slid by. Behind him, one of the center-backs attempted to slide in from behind, but he quickly realized he had already stepped inside the penalty box and could only watch as Larsson pulled further away from him.

Just as the ball glided past the edge of the small box, a deep blue figure slid in, executing a fine shot to aim the ball towards the near corner!

Shrewsbury's goalkeeper lowered his center of gravity, but after Larsson's shot, he made a move to dive, only to helplessly spread his palms; by the time he reacted, the ball had flown into the impeccably angled slot, rolling into the net right beside the post.

Millwall 3:0 Shrewsbury!

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