Chapter two hundred and forty fifth kick-off at noon
After Leeds City won the match against Manchester United, the pressure was on Stan Park Rangers.
But even if it is an away game, it is not too difficult for Stan Park Rangers to play against a team like Burley.
In the end, they defeated Burley 2:1 in the drizzle and continued to maintain a four-point advantage over Leeds City.
With four rounds left in the league, Stan Park Rangers are getting closer and closer to successfully defending their title.
Of course they first have to beat Manchester United away from home.
Manchester United, who lost in this round, may not let them go so easily.
At the same time, because Tramed, who is fourth in the league, defeated Holt 3:0 in this round of the league, Manchester United is now only two points ahead of its local rival Tramed.
Although Manchester United has already locked in qualifications for next season's Champions League in advance, if they are eventually overtaken by Tramed and fall from third to fourth in the league, then their Champions League next season will have to start from the qualifying rounds.
The preparation time is shorter than that of League Three, which has a great impact on the team's pre-season training.
At the same time, being overtaken by the sworn enemy in the same city doesn't look good...
Therefore, Manchester Athletic, who lost to Leeds City in an away game, will definitely go all out when returning home.
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In the thirty-fifth round of the league, Leeds City still plays first.
They challenged Boscombe away from home, which is a relegation team. As of now, Boscombe ranks 18th with 28 points, third from the bottom, right in the relegation zone.
At the same time, they are three points behind the two teams ranked 17th and 16th in the league.
It's just a game.
This means that Boscombe will definitely fight Leeds City at his home stadium.
Generally speaking, the closer to the final stage of the league, the more difficult it is for such relegation teams to beat, often more difficult to beat than the championship teams.
After all, people are fighting for survival.
Leeds City must know this better than anyone else, because they were also such a relegation team last season.
Stan Park Rangers also hope Boscombe can stop Leeds City's progress.
And there is one good thing that is good, that is, the game kicks off at 12:30 noon.
Although it has become a habit to have games played at noon in almost every round of the Premier League, no head coach of any team would think that playing at this time is a good idea.
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In the live broadcast, strong sunlight shines on the seats in the stands opposite the camera. In the overexposed shot, the stands originally filled with Boscombe fans wearing red jerseys turned pale.
Seeing this scene, Xie Lan pointed to the TV screen and asked her husband Hu Lixin beside her: "What time is it over in the UK?"
Hu Lixin glanced at the clock hanging on the wall: nineteen forty-four.
"Twelve forty-four."
"At noon?" Xie Lan frowned, "Doesn't that mean we just play the game without eating?"
"You still have to eat, but I definitely don't eat much. After all, being full is not conducive to competition..." Hu Lixin explained.
"What should I do if I get hungry in the meantime?"
"The half-time break will replenish energy."
"I always feel like this is not the time for a serious competition..." Xie Lan muttered with a frown.
Hu Lixin was happy when he heard her say this: "You're right, it's really not the time for a serious competition. After all, it's lunch time."
"Then why arrange it at this time?"
"It's not just to take care of Asian viewers like us," Hu Lixin explained. "Although Premier League games are earlier than La Liga, they are not that early. It's because of the TV broadcast. In order to make it easier for audiences in Asia to watch the games.
Arrange a large number of games at noon and afternoon..."
Xie Lan interrupted Hu Lixin: "Then why do you have to take care of Asian audiences?"
"Because Britain used to have many colonies here and had a great influence. So of course we have to take care of the audience here. Football is also a way to deepen Britain's influence on the colonies, and it is a very good way. You see at 12:30 noon
The game here is at 7:30 pm, which is prime time. You don’t have to stay up late to watch the game, and of course it can attract more people to watch. Why La Liga has never been able to gain influence before is not because their game time is too late
It's always two or three in the morning..."
Xie Lan nodded. She felt that her husband was right. Over the past year or so, she had rarely had the experience of watching her son play in the middle of the night. Most of the time it was like today, during the prime time at night.
But if I enjoy watching football, what will it be like for my son to play football?
They definitely have to eat very early, and they are still not full after eating, and noon is the hottest time of the day... How good can they perform during the competition at such a time period?
She turned her attention back to the TV screen. The game had lasted fourteen minutes and the score was 0:0.
I don't know if it's an illusion, but Xie Lan always feels that the players are listless when playing on the court, like crops that have been wilted in the sun...
Hu Lixin knew what his wife was worried about, and comforted him: "Actually, there is nothing to worry about. If you think so, playing at noon is not good for Leeds City, but Bournemouth may not be able to adapt. So the game time is right
The impact on both teams is the same."
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"Kick-off is at 12:30, and the team meeting will be held at 10 o'clock... I really want to thank the Premier League for not arranging the game in the morning, otherwise our team meeting will be moved to early in the morning..." Sam
Randhir looked at the game in front of him and said sarcastically.
Clark smiled when he heard what he said: "I thought you were used to it. We are often scheduled in the afternoon this season."
He is right. Because of Hu Lai's presence, Leeds City does have many games scheduled for the afternoon this season, including games that kick off at 12:30 noon.
Everyone knows that this is to take care of the Chinese audience, so that they can more conveniently watch the performances of their country's football heroes. TV broadcasts pursue the highest ratings, and of course it is impossible to leave such a huge piece of cake uneaten.
"That's different, Tony." Randall shook his head, "The previous games don't matter. But now is the critical moment for us to compete for the championship. I don't want to let some off-field factors affect the team..."
"I don't think it matters. Thanks to Sam Tohu, we have many afternoon games this season. The players will definitely be more adaptable to this time period than Boscombe's players. Look at Hu's performance
Are you very positive?" Clark said looking at Hu Lai on the court.
In his eyes, Hu Lai was actively running back and forth under the scorching sun, raising his hand to ask for the ball from his teammates.
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Hu Lai seems to be very adaptable to playing games at noon, because he is still running on the court during this time, which reminds him of his high school years.
During that time, he would receive special training from coach Li Ziqiang in the empty stadium of the school every noon.
Under the scorching sun, I poured tap water over my head, and my wet hair dried quickly. The artificial turf on the school field was hot to the touch, and I had to get up quickly if I fell to the ground, otherwise I would feel uncomfortable.
At first there was no one on the court, just him and the coach.
Later, as more and more teammates joined in, a large scale was formed. In the end, the whole team gathered on the court for training. This was initially just a special training period for Hu Lai, and it became a special training period for the entire team.
The tradition of Dongchuan Middle School...
It is said that the Dongchuan Middle School football team still practices at noon.
So what’s wrong with kick-off at 12:30 noon?
No, that’s so right!
Playing football during this period of time, Hu Lai felt like he was revisiting his old hometown and returning to his high school days.
His body has developed muscle memory for this period of time.
Speaking of which, I really have to thank his high school team coach Li Ziqiang again...
Many of the trainings he conducted on himself have become valuable assets, which have benefited Hu Lai from high school to the professional era to this day.
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When Leeds City's right back Josh Lawler picked up the ball on the wing, Boscombe's center back Roy McCardley noticed that Hulay suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the goal, so he immediately
He also started to pounce forward and got stuck between Hu Lai and the goal.
Josh Lawler passes the football to Charlie Porter who runs in along the sideline.
McCardley quickly turned around to look for Hu Lai, and sure enough, he saw Hu Lai turning back halfway and pulling to the outside. He was trying to get rid of himself!
McCardley immediately moved outwards and got stuck in the path of the football towards Hulay.
At the same time, he looked to the side again, and Charlie Potter made a pass.
The Northern Ireland player looked back for the third time to confirm Hulay's position, but this time he saw nothing!
Hu Lai disappeared from under his nose!
McCardley was startled, and then turned to look in the other direction!
I saw the leaping Hu Lai spread his arms to maintain balance, and shook his head to push the flying football towards the goal!
"Hu Lai header!!"
McCardley was a little outside of Hulay, and he turned his head and watched his goalkeeper teammate Pierce Thompson soar into the air, stretched out his arm backwards, and tried to fish the football out...
But he didn't do it!
He didn't touch the ball!
Amidst the huge noise, the football flew into the goal!
"HUUUUUUUUUUUU He has scored goals in four consecutive games. When the team needs goals the most, Hu Lai, who was full of firepower in the first half, is back!!"
Amid the shouts of Matthew Cox, Hulay, who scored the goal, turned back to confirm after landing, and then opened his arms and ran towards Charlie Porter who passed the ball for him.
"The Eastern spell has worked again, Charlie! Congratulations on hitting double figures in assists in the league!" He hugged Porter hard.
Potter smiled very happily.
"Fortunately, I listened to you, Hu! I didn't wash off the tattoo...haha! Just be myself!"
"That's right, be yourself, Charlie!"
Williams, who was running up to celebrate the goal, heard the conversation between the two people. He hesitated and finally slowed down. He didn't pounce on the two people immediately. He didn't want to be associated with these two idiots...
But behind him, the excited teammates rushed up and bumped him into Charlie and Hu Lai. Then they stuck closely together and huddled together, making it impossible for Williams to escape even if he wanted to.
He could only be forced to be with these two "idiots" and celebrate the goal together...