Chapter 232: The Future of the Qizhi Dynasty and the Football Scene in Port City...
Listening to the noise around her, Li Sishi's gaze fell on the green field, and she felt a pang of emotion.
"Cousin..." Zhou Huichang became even more nervous and uneasy when she couldn't see anyone. She secretly grabbed Li Sishi's hand, looking like she wanted to seek comfort from Li Sishi, the cousin who had always taken care of the two siblings.
"It's alright. What we need to do now is support them," Li Sishi said softly, squeezing her hand.
"Yes, there's still a second half. As long as there's a chance to fight, it's not a loss." Li Jinhao also saw Zhou Huichang's state and quickly tried to comfort her.
He also put his arm around Zhou Jiaxian's shoulder: as adults, they couldn't show their worries, otherwise it would easily make the children more worried about the current situation. At this time, Zhou Jiaxian tried to remain calm and explained to Zhou Jiayun and Liang Shao'e some league knowledge that she had crammed for at the last minute because her nephew Zhou Huiguang went to play football. At least she managed to temporarily divert their attention.
"Madam, don't worry too much. The competition isn't over yet, there's still hope." Lun Yongnan and Rong Juezhang joined forces to comfort the worried Madam Li.
Listening to the combined persuasion of the two energetic and seemingly confident "young men," and seeing the complete lack of worry on their faces, Madam Li, somewhat like the elderly who tend to "easily believe what outsiders say," nodded repeatedly, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Seeing that Madam Li had been fooled by their combined efforts, former Golden Lotus Award winner Lun Yongnan and Golden Film Award winner Rong Juezhang exchanged a knowing glance, sharing their helplessness: That being said, no matter how you look at it now, Qi Zhi's chances of winning are already quite low.
After all, if the opposing Xiangdao Football Club can secure a 0-0 draw, they can easily win the final victory. Now, Qizhi is down 0-1. Unless they can perform exceptionally well in the second half and score two goals against Xiangdao Football Club's defensive formation, they are destined to lose.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many people at the scene who were so angry that they shouted for a refund, or even simply "swung" and left.
Amidst the diverse thoughts in the stands, the second half of the match began.
"Refund! Refund! Refund!" With some audience members leaving, those who remained were also furious. As soon as Qizhi's team came on stage, they shouted "Refund!" in unison in that direction.
"Don't worry about others, just focus on our own game." Seeing that some members of his team couldn't stand the shouts from the audience and the mocking looks from the opposing team, Lei Shenglin turned around and raised his voice to warn them.
"Huh, Qizhi has changed the formation again?" Lun Yongnan looked closely and realized that Lei Shenglin, who usually plays as a striker, had been moved to midfield.
Many fans also noticed Lei Shenglin's temporary change of position, which made them even angrier: Qizhi only has Lei Shenglin who can play, and instead of letting him play as a striker to try and score goals, they moved him to midfield. Is Qizhi just giving up?!
It probably really is... As Lun Yongnan listened to the increasingly noisy commotion around him and stared at Qi Zhi's new formation, he had a different thought in his mind.
Previously, Lei Shenglin was directly surrounded and targeted by a basketball team from the opposing Xiangdao Football Club, so if he stayed in the forward position, he would basically just repeat the situation of the first half.
Instead, they should step back a bit and let the two newcomers, Zhou Huiguang and Zhu Yu, stand at the front. This way, the Xiangdao Football Club knows the skills of these two newcomers better than they do of him, and their containment plan will be somewhat lacking. Secondly, Lei Shenglin can better command the whole field from the midfield, making it less likely that the team will launch a strong attack from the front and then have their base stolen from the back.
The two newcomers, Zhou Huiguang and Zhu Yu, are quite different. One is incredibly fast and difficult to contain, while the other is tall, powerful, and unpredictable. The latter is an unstable factor for his own team, but the same applies to the opposing team.
Especially Zhu Yu, unlike Zhou Huiguang, who was Lei Shenglin's favorite disciple and was known for his speed, has had his abilities fluctuate with his form. So he has played every position in the team, from goalkeeper to defender to midfielder and now striker. The idea is to let him try different positions and eventually find a suitable one.
As such, not to mention outsiders, even Qi Zhi's own team members felt that he was quite difficult to manage. Lun Yongnan had done his homework beforehand, so he was "amazed" by Zhu Yu, a strange player who was second only to Lei Shenglin when he was in form and could be easily defeated by anyone when he was out of form.
"But precisely because of this, these two newcomers might be the key to breaking the deadlock," Lun Yongnan explained. "Lei Shenglin is now firmly in the midfield, commanding the entire field, so he can issue adjustment instructions at any time based on the situation on the field. Qizhi has been known as a 'one-man team' recently, as he has brought up all the players. When he issues an order, the others will only work hard to complete it without questioning it."
Under normal circumstances, every player has their own selfish motives to some extent, especially talented players. It is not uncommon for them to outwardly comply with commands and plans while secretly trying to stand out for themselves.
Qi Zhi, however, is different, because the team either wholeheartedly approves of Lei Sheng.
The young captain Lin, the veteran Lu Bing who works hard to assist him, are either bench players that Lei Shenglin promoted from the former Qizhi bench who were suppressed, or newcomers like Zhou Huiguang and Zhu Yu who he discovered and brought back to the team. In general, Lei Shenglin now has complete control over the Qizhi team.
When he no longer acts as the charging fist but retreats to the center to become the brain that controls the entire field, the team members he has complete control over become his most obedient limbs, meeting the opponent's attack while also using the fastest reaction speed to give the opponent a more powerful counterattack.
Gradually, the fans at the stadium realized that Lei Shenglin had taken the initiative to step back from the front line, and the chaotic noises began to quiet down along with the intense competition on the green field.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Lei Shenglin scored a goal to equalize, bringing the score back to 1-1.
Many people in the stands cheered and applauded: putting aside how beautifully the ball was played, Lei Shenglin's magnanimity and courage in stepping down from the front line were enough to deserve their applause.
As we all know, the forward is the main position in the team responsible for attacking and scoring, so it is usually the most prominent and exposed position in the eyes of laymen; but in the eyes of those who really understand football, the midfield is the most important core position in the operation of the team, like a connector connecting the front and back, and it has to do both offense and defense well.
Lei Shenglin used to play as a striker, but he turned out to be a great midfielder. No wonder he became the team captain at such a young age!
Seeing that the situation on the scene seemed to have changed, the fan who had been reluctant to spend the money on the ticket quietly made a phone call: "Hello? Yes, it's me. I'm still watching. Qizhi has caught up with Xiangdao Football Club!"
"Lei Shenglin played exceptionally well in midfield for the first time! He not only excelled in both offense and defense but also commanded the entire field. Qizhi's morale is now high thanks to his leadership, and they might just be able to turn the tide and win!"
Wow—that attacking move was absolutely brilliant! Come back and watch, it was amazing!
Hearing his stingy old friend on the other end of the phone talking about the match, this hot-tempered guy who had "smashed away" was dumbfounded: "I've already 'smashed away,' can I still go back?"
"But wasn't the scene really that exciting...?"
Before the hot-tempered man could cautiously continue asking, another wave of regretful hisses came from the other end of the phone.
"What happened?" the hot-tempered man asked quickly.
"Qizhi's attack was blocked by Xiangdao Football Club. What a pity! If they hadn't blocked it, Lei Shenglin could have started shooting..." Gu Han Gui lowered his voice, "No tickets..."
"The venue isn't even full yet, so you sneaked in because you couldn't buy a ticket!"
The stronger one's temper, the more addicted they are to football.
After hearing his stingy friend's wonderful explanation, the hot-tempered older brother hurriedly grabbed his keys and rushed out of the house, determined to get back in and continue watching the game no matter what.
By the time the hot-tempered guy hurriedly bought a ticket and rushed back to the stadium, the match was in its most intense phase. The two sides were exchanging blows and locked in a fierce battle, which made the hot-tempered guy slump into his seat and exclaim with delight: "This is more exciting than many of the matches in the top division this year!"
After all, the most intense battles often take place in the final stages, making the last match the most exciting, especially when the scores are close and the outcome is decided in this one game. Those players are so focused on giving their all in this crucial match that they feel they have to use every ounce of energy they have in their lives to win.
With three minutes remaining in the game, Lei Shenglin finally got another chance to shoot with the help of his teammates.
The opposing goalkeeper clearly knew that this was almost a life-or-death moment, his eyes fixed on the football at Lei Shenglin's feet, his teeth clenched tightly.
Two minutes before the end of the match, Lei Shenglin found the right angle and kicked the ball towards the lower left of the goal, then collapsed to his knees due to exhaustion.
It seemed that kicking that kick had exhausted all his strength.
Maintaining such a high level of confrontation and command from the start until now would be impossible without immense determination.
The black and white football, a seamless blend of colors, hurtled towards the goal with unstoppable force in everyone's eyes. In that brief moment, many people almost held their breath—
If this goal goes in, Qizhi will be able to turn the tide and return to the top division with a brand new look!
With a bang, the goalkeeper of Xiangdao Football Club lunged forward, his taut fingertips barely managing to touch the football that seemed to be hurtling through the air, forcibly deflecting its trajectory slightly.
Immediately following was a second, throbbing impact. Lei Shenglin's kick, due to this slight deviation in its trajectory, hit the goalpost and was bounced back by the reaction force.
There was less than one minute left in the match.
The Xiangdao goalkeeper, also exhausted from the diving save, watched with excitement as the ball rebounded with such force that it flew incredibly fast and far, making it impossible for either his teammates or the Kishi team to catch it...
Just as a smile was spreading across his face, the football that had been launched into the air was suddenly intercepted by a figure so fast it was almost blurry. Then, before anyone could react, that blurry figure delivered another kick!
The same tricky angle, the same speed that surpassed the limit, and the same power that was still somewhat inferior to Lei Shenglin's—but at this moment, no one could intercept this game-winning shot.
As expected of a newcomer from the track and field team...
Watching helplessly as this goal rewrote the score in the final moments, the goalkeeper of Xiangdao Football Club collapsed to the ground. Looking at his dejected and silent teammates, and Qi Zhi, who had already begun to throw Zhou Huiguang to celebrate their comeback victory and advancement, he could vaguely sense that the future of Hong Kong football was about to usher in a completely new era.
What he didn't know at the time was that the "Qizhi Dynasty," which would hold the championship title in Hong Kong football from the First Division League to the Super League, was officially launched by this winning goal.
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