The game continues.

The two sides exchanged blows, and the rhythm of offense and defense became faster.

But until the end of the first half, the score on the big screen at the Westden Stadium was still Brighton 1:0 Southampton.

Southampton played very impatiently, and the players' actions gradually became rough, with the number of fouls reaching 16! In contrast, Brighton's fouls were only 9 times.

However, in terms of the number of cards, the referee showed a total of four yellow cards in the first half, with Brighton and Southampton receiving two each, which was evenly matched.

Brighton were very aggressive in their explosions through the middle.

This is also the established tactic of Brighton head coach Poyet.

The 41212 attacking formation is by no means the desperate attack of Huddersfield Town, but rather it is to control the middle first and then look for opportunities to attack.

It has to be said that this tactic and mentality was obviously restraining for Southampton, who used 442 defense and counterattack at the beginning.

Due to the bad weather and pitch, Southampton played a bit chaotically.

Gu Ran worked very hard to organize breakthrough passes on the left side. Almost the entire rainy field was filled with Gu Ran sprinting. Lallana also played a good role as a second pass in the attacking midfielder position. On the surface, Southampton's offense seemed to be okay.

But the problem is that Southampton's forward line is too weak.

Apart from one pass, Lallana had no control over the middle of the front court.

So it seems that Southampton's number of attacks is far higher than Brighton, and the ball possession rate is also higher than Brighton, but there is no real coordination in the frontcourt.

Especially when faced with rain and water accumulation, it was difficult for Barnard and Garrod to hold on to the ball.

There were several times when Gu Ran had already put the ball in front of their mouths, but they were a little slow because of their ball-stopping skills, and in the end either their shots were off target, or they were saved by predicted shots, or they were destroyed by Brighton's highly focused defense.

Southampton's competitive form today seemed to have never heated up.

As time went on, Southampton fans became more and more anxious.

On the other hand, Brighton's game was becoming more and more relaxed.

Brighton's style of play is very clear, which is to concentrate superior forces to explode in the middle.

Southampton's 442 formation has two players responsible for guarding the center, Lallana and Hammond. One of them goes forward as an attacking midfielder, and the other goes back as a defensive midfielder. From a defensive point of view, the central axis is very empty.

Especially Lallana, who is not an engineer-type explosive player. In addition, Lallana has just returned from injury, and he suffered a clear disadvantage in the midfield confrontation.

Southampton needs a strong engineer-type midfielder to sweep across the field.

Gu Ran is of course the best choice.

But the problem was that when Gu Ran quickly cut in from the left to the middle to intercept, there was no protection behind him.

In the past, whether it was Walton or Jaidi, they would try their best to take care of the space behind Gu Ran when Gu Ran rushed to the middle.

But the central defender this time is Siberia, and Siberia's performance... Let me put it this way, Siberia is like a dog seeing a bone for the first time. As long as the football approaches the penalty area, Siberia will follow the ball.

As a result, he couldn't resist, couldn't intercept, and couldn't steal the ball.

Just run around randomly following the person holding the ball.

If Gu Ran hadn't sprinted back and forth in the rain many times to intercept the ball in the middle, let alone the current score of 1:0, it would have been a blessing for Southampton to avoid being defeated by Brighton.

Brighton originally used the tactic of explosive attack in the middle, and Southampton had such a large gap in the middle that any move would affect the entire Southampton team, making them very passive.

Gu Ran's physical energy consumption was much greater than the previous two games combined.

Southampton also picked two tough opponents, and today on a rainy day they hit a hard rock, and the team's overall performance was extremely poor.

The rain continued to fall, and every drop of rain was like a tiny needle, piercing the players' faces and bodies. The accumulated water made the field slippery, and every run and every pass required the players to put in more effort.

Southampton's physical strength also reached the window period near the end of the first half...

In the 44th minute of the first half, the game was about to end, and the fourth official raised the card, indicating 2 minutes of injury time.

Southampton relied on Gu Ran's interception in the middle to force a counterattack.

Lallana received Gu Ran's precise backcourt pass at the top of the arc, and then turned and shot! Brighton's veteran goalkeeper Casper Ankergren was in a good position and jumped up to save the ball.

Garrod rushed forward recklessly to fight for the second point, but was cleared by Brighton's No. 6 central defender Adam El Aboud, who passed the ball to the retreating midfielder Augustin Battipidi.

Brighton then launched a quick counterattack! Battipidi passed the ball to Matt Sparrow not far ahead. Matt Sparrow did not wait for Southampton's defenders to press and immediately passed the ball forward to midfielder Greg Nunn! Brighton's offensive system was simple and direct!

All of Southampton's defensive players rushed up to double-team Nunn, preventing him from passing the ball.

Nunn immediately passed the ball to Baz! Baz dribbled the ball diagonally into Southampton's right penalty area! Southampton's central defense was as fragile as paper and was instantly penetrated. No matter how long Gu Ran's whip was, he was still anxious and powerless!

Fonte and Aaron Martin quickly closed the door to Baz, but Baz's body was very strong. Fonte and Martin had already stuck to Baz, but Baz knocked them open in an instant! Baz stood up and passed the ball to the middle from the left side of the small penalty area! Chris Wood carried Sibernet who was pulling his arm, faced the fast-rolling football, and shot violently! Davis was helpless...

The ball went in! Chris Wood scored twice! At the end of the first half, the score on the big screen at the Westdam Stadium was immediately changed to Brighton 2:0 Southampton! The Seagulls fans at the scene were completely excited! The two-goal advantage made them so happy! This was not just a two-goal difference. The fans could see that in today's knockout match of the British Championship, Brighton's performance was much better than Southampton's!

If they continue to play like this, Brighton will definitely end Southampton's winning streak and eliminate the last British Championship champion!

The fans of the Seagulls even sang a song mocking Southampton superstar Gu Ran! The Saints fans were furious and made various humiliating gestures towards the Seagulls fans, such as feeding birds with bird food.

This goal also dealt a heavy blow to Southampton's morale.

Logically speaking, Southampton's flank attack was very fierce and they had many shooting opportunities in the first half, but they were still unable to score a goal.

As a left-back, Gu Ran was greatly restrained by Brighton's central attack. In addition, there was a lot of water on the field, making the football difficult to control. Gu Ran had no chance to rush into Brighton's penalty area alone.

This decisive battle in the rain is not only a challenge to Southampton, but also a test of Gu Ran's personal abilities.

Looking at the Brighton players cheering and celebrating on the field, Gu Ran couldn't help but take a deep breath——

During the halftime break, it's time to allocate talent points.

With the referee's whistle, the first half of the game ended and the two sides were temporarily tied at 2:0!

Brighton players returned to the bus to rest in high spirits amid the enthusiastic cheers of the Seagulls fans.

The Southampton players frowned and walked back to their buses.

The Saints fans who came from afar did not leave and continued to cheer loudly when Gu Ran and his teammates left the field.

The rain was still falling, but every Saints fan was very sure in their hearts: Gu Ran could create a miracle! Some brave Saints fans even took advantage of this time to buy the last-minute bet to make a comeback from 2 to 3!

When Gu Ran returned to the bus, the team doctor Mike and physical therapist Gregory immediately brought a thermal blanket and wiped Gu Ran's whole body. Then they knelt in front of Gu Ran to check his physical condition and perform physical therapy massage.

The atmosphere in the bus was a bit depressing.

The other players were soaked by rain and exhausted, with no fighting spirit in their eyes.

It has to be said that Southampton's schedule is too tight.

Not only do they have to play in the fierce English League One, but they also have to play in the increasingly fierce English League Cup knockout rounds, and the English Championship knockout rounds.

There are 7 matches this month, and next month, the FA Cup knockout round will also begin...

With such a dense and competitive schedule piled up together, even a strong team would feel a little suffocated.

In contrast, other opposing teams basically only fought on two fronts and gave up everything they should give up.

The Southampton team's fatigue is not only physical, but also the mental fatigue caused by maintaining high pressure for a long time.

Exhausted both physically and mentally, Southampton faced the most difficult game of the season.

In their hearts, many players have already wanted to give up this knockout match of the British Championship.

Of course, not all players have the idea of ​​giving up in their hearts.

For example, Chamberlain.

Chamberlain, who was on the bench today, kept chattering, "I'm so anxious, so anxious! How can we let a century-old rotten team like Brighton lead by two goals at halftime? Hurry and replace me, without me the team will fall apart!"

Captain Davis frowned and shouted: "Chamberlain, shut the fuck up!"

Chamberlain immediately shut his mouth obediently.

Gu Ran said in a deep voice: "Brighton is the second in League One. Although this is not a League One match, they really want to use this match to prove that they are better than us, the first in League One. If we are soft this time, it will be even more difficult to play against Brighton in the future. Therefore, whether it is to win the knockout match of the British Championship or to maintain our momentum as the first in League One, we cannot lose this game! We must not have a surrender mentality! Isn't it just a disadvantageous situation? We just need to fight back in the second half!"

The players' fighting spirit suddenly increased.

Coach Adkins, who was still a little hesitant about whether to give up the British Championship, immediately said after hearing what Gu Ran said, "Everyone played very hard in the first half. We had many beautiful attacks, but we lacked a bit of luck. Our current situation is not as bad as we imagined. We are only two goals behind Brighton. With Gu Ran here, we will definitely be able to catch up in the second half."

"Of course, I am also responsible in the first half. I should have been more decisive in making substitutions and adjusting the formation. I'm sorry everyone."

The players all gasped! This was the first time that Coach Adkins took the initiative to apologize and admit his mistake! Chamberlain smiled and patted Adkins on the shoulder, "Coach, it's great that you can take the initiative to admit your mistakes, so I forgive you!"

…

(End of this chapter)