On the morning of February 16, the tension before the game had already enveloped Wigan. Many Wigan fans gathered on the streets, holding various slogans, as if they were parading.

If you don't know, you will think that something special happened. In fact, these fans gathered on the street to intimidate the opponent and tell them that this is Wigan, and today is the home court of Wigan Athletics, so that they can know how powerful Wigan is.

At noon, they waited for Bolton's bus.

The small town of Wigan is not large, and there is generally no traffic jam on the street. However, it still happened today. The only thing that was blocked was Bolton's bus. The bus was very difficult to drive on the street. If you didn't walk a few hundred meters, you would encounter a group of fans standing in the middle of the road. Although Wigan police came to stop it, it was difficult to stop so many fans. Many fans risked being taken to the police station and threatened the bus.

The Bolton players naturally feel bad.

They thought it would be a smooth game, but they didn't expect that they would have been harassed before they even entered the stadium.

An hour later, the bus entered the stadium safely.

In this regard, the media who came to support Bolton did not think that there was anything. This was the away game, especially in Wigan Sports passive game, so their fans naturally would not show mercy.

In the media's opinion, this can better show that Bolton's situation is very good. "Look, this Wigan fan is already panicked, they can only use this method to stop Bolton!"

Their words reveal a sense of superiority.

When talking about the two teams, they basically decided that Bolton would appear and there would be no chance for Wigan Athletics.

This cannot be said that Bolton is arrogant.

Bolton leads with two goals, with a score of 3:1. Such a score is equivalent to Bolton entering the finals with one kick. Any team with such a score will feel that it is a sure win...

The Wigan people were unhappy and unwilling to accept it!

They hope that the team will have a chance, they will try their best to help the team, they hope that the team will eliminate Bolton, and they will be willing to do so even if they have a little more chance and work hard.

However, within Wigan Athletics, the players have different views from the outside world. They believe that the team still has hope. This is their confidence and it also comes from Zhang Tiehan's away goal.

One goal is still two goals away from Bolton's three goals, but it is better than three goals, right?

With this ball, it is not completely impossible for them to win. They have not reached the point of despair. They have gone from hopelessness to hope. They believe that as long as they work hard, they can seize this glimmer of hope.

They didn't care about the past two rounds of the league. Before the match against Ipswich and Derby County, Jewell only simply arranged the tactics. Whether it was the players, coaches or clubs, they believed that the second round of the league was much more important than the two rounds of the league.

The game ended and there was no chance, so they were preparing for the battle with all their might.

For ten days, Wigan Athletics has been adapting to a new tactic. The tactic content is to let Zhang Tiehan retreat in his position and rank with Kennedy. In this way, he is equivalent to replacing Ridell's position, but he does not need to organize an offense. This task is Kennedy's. All he needs to do is to keep looking for opportunities to shoot long distances.

In addition, his task is defense.

This seems to sacrifice some of Zhang Tiehan's offensive ability, for example, he will definitely have fewer heading opportunities, but after several days of tactical exercises, the players of Wigan Athletics have increased their confidence, and Zhang Tiehan is also looking forward to the game!

It seems that his header was sacrificed, but in fact, his shooting chances increased a lot.

This is an adjustment made by Javier to have a chance to win.

This adjustment method was temporarily formulated by him and the coaching staff for a night. In terms of current team strength, without Ridell, the team's offense and defense are worse, and the gap with Bolton is quite obvious.

And the best card in his hand is Zhang Tiehan.

The team needs Zhang Tiehan to play an important role in offense, and at the same time, Zhang Tiehan also needs to play a role in defense. He also needs to continue to fight in the midfield to ensure that the team will not be suppressed by Bolton in the situation, thus bringing more offensive opportunities.

With everything added together, Zhang Tiehan could not become a forward who was at the forefront.

So he must retreat to the midfield or even later position. If he wants to have a chance in this position, he can only shoot from a long shot. The player who inserts the ball in the back will shoot from a long shot, and it will be difficult for the opponent to limit it.

Zhang Tiehan was also very adapted to the change of position. It sounded complicated, but this was just a midfielder with more offenses, and he didn't need to organize the attack. He quickly adapted to the position.

After a few days of tactical training, this game is the time to test the results. Wigan Athletics is looking forward to the game.

...

In this game, the starting lineup of the two teams is not much different from the previous game.

Bolton coach Allardyce still attaches great importance to this game. He sent all the starters and was cautious when facing the media before the game.

“Everything can happen before the game is over, so football is like this. So we need to take the game seriously.”

Allardyce said so.

However, Bolton players may not think so. They personally experienced the game against Wigan Athletics. In the last game at Reebok Stadium, perhaps the only two points of the opponent were the last goal, which was created by one of the opponent's players and had nothing to do with them as a whole.

Football is a team sport, and the overall performance is not good and they are completely suppressed by them. What should I care about?

They don't think there is any threat to Wigan's competitive skills.

However, under Allardyce's solemnity, they dared not show anything. In Bolton, Allardyce has absolute authority and no one dared to question or provoke.

In the home team's locker room, Javier is making his final efforts, and he uses his words to improve everyone's morale and fighting spirit.

"We have lost the FA Cup and the League Cup, which is the only honor we can win except the league. Perhaps two months ago, we didn't dare to say we were going to Cardiff Millennium Stadium, but we have come to this point!"

"As long as we can cross Bolton, we can enter the Cardiff Millennium Stadium. I think we are now not trying to fall in the semifinals, our goal is to enter the finals!"

"Only one step away, only this game!"

"We defeated Chelsea, defeated Aston Villa, defeated Everton, and now facing Bolton, they defeated us 3:1 last time, but I think this is a good thing. They made us clear that the League Cup, or the Premier League teams are not so easy to defeat. We have been facing strong teams since we entered the League Cup. What we have to do now is to play this game as the final of the League Cup!"

"Now! Let's enjoy this final battle!"

...

The competition is about to begin.

More than 25,000 fans sat all over the stands, and bursts of shouts made the atmosphere on the court gradually become hot.

Below the audience, a group of reporters were sitting or standing there waiting for the game to begin, and they were chatting about the game while waiting.

"Bolton can still enter the finals, and it will be difficult for Wei Gang to win."

"Bolton is very strong. They won the league in the last round. If they enter the finals, they may win the championship if they fight to the death."

"How is the match between Arsenal and Middlesbrough?"

"Middlesburg has a ball advantage, but this time it's in Highbury."

"Which two teams do you think will be in the final?"

"Arsenal and Bolton, sure."

"Middlesburg is likely to eliminate Arsenal, and they may meet Bolton in the final."

Some Wigan reporters were upset and said, "Weigan Athletics may also win."

"You said Wigan's competitive skills turnaround?"

"That's a miracle."

"Yes, miracle! I hope miracles will appear, so that the game will be interesting."

"Impossible! Bolton will definitely win, and Wigan Athletics will not be the opponent! Who would think that Wigan Athletics still has a chance, that must be confused!"

"No, Wigan Athletics has the potential to win!"

As they were talking, Bolton and Wigan Athletics supporters were about to start arguing, while neutral journalists hoped to see a wonderful game. Of course, if Wigan Athletics won in the end, they would be very happy.

Who makes everyone think Bolton will win?

If Wigan's competitive skills create miracles and eliminate Bolton, the result will be the best, because then there will be big news to report.

In short, it is natural for Bolton to enter the finals, and Wigan Athletics enter the finals...that is a miracle!

...

Finally, the competition officially began amid the chaos of everyone.

After the game started, Bolton did not attack in large quantities like he did in the last game, but instead narrowed some formations, and the kicking was not aggressive in the previous game, and the defense was much tighter.

This is a balanced style of offense and defense.

Bolton's choice seems conservative, but this is Allardyce's choice. He requires the whole team to be more cautious in defense rather than paying attention to offense - this is inevitable, and the offense can only lead more when attacking. The result is the same. A relatively conservative balance of offense and defense will allow Bolton to win the Wigan Athletics with a sure victory. They have the advantage of both balls, so there is no need to take risks.

If the attack fails and the opponent scores a goal, it will be a bit dangerous.

And this is in the away game, with a more stable tactic, much better than pursuing offense. Allardyce believes that as long as the team stabilizes and plays slowly without rushing or slowing down, the situation will always be controlled by Bolton, and eliminating Wigan Athletics will be a planned thing.

Seeing Bolton's style of playing, Jewell also frowned.

The opponent is not in a hurry to attack, which makes it more difficult for the team to get back the score, because similarly, Wigan Athletics' tactics are relatively conservative.

It's not that they don't want to attack.

The game has just begun, and they must be conservative even at home, otherwise they will really have no chance if they scored a goal by Bolton.

Both teams have conservative tactics. The game started with not being intense at all, but was very peaceful, neither too anxious nor too slow, and it was no nervous, which made the fans drowsy.

In this way, Wigan Athletics couldn't help it.

Bolton can take time, but they can't, because they are two balls behind. If they want to eliminate their opponents, they must first catch up with the score in order to stand on the same starting line as their opponents.

They have no other choice.

...

The task assigned by Javier to Zhang Tiehan is very heavy. He not only has to work hard to defend, but also shoulders the heavy responsibility of scoring goals.

However, at the beginning, it was not easy for Zhang Tiehan to find opportunities. The opponent's defense line was very stable. Most of the time when he ran to the frontcourt, the ball was lost.

He is a player who is inserted in the back, with two forwards in front of Ellington and Roberts. Even Kennedy is in front of him. After he comes forward according to tactics, the football has already passed to the opponent's penalty area. It will not be easy to pass the ball out at this time.

At the position, Bolton was not good at defending him, and he felt very relaxed, but Bolton used all these defenses on other Wigan Athletics players.
To be continued...