Chapter 105: Sunderland (3)

The match was still on. Far away on the front lines, Kazuki who was tired of waiting ahead, decided to swap tasks with Ryan. He asked Ryan to be a pure striker, while Kazuki would be a shadow striker and help Southampton's midfield in building attacks.

In the 33rd minute, Dean Smith threw the ball to Okhalo. Then, the Southampton center-back gave the ball to Wright-Phillips. Collback advanced to press Wright-Phillips. At the same time, Kazuki showed his face and signaled Wright-Phillips to pass the ball to him. Wright-Phillips immediately gave Kazuki a flat pass.

James McClean approached Kazuki, but the Japanese player calmly pushed the ball through the gap between McClean's legs and then chased the ball. McClean reacted fast enough, he immediately turned around, grabbed Kazuki's shirt and chased after him. The moment he was close to the ball, Kazuki pulled the ball with his feet, then he turned his back on McClean and pushed McClean down with his butt. A second later, Kazuki sprinted towards the Sunderland defense.

Larrson immediately approached Kazuki to stop him, but the Elastico skill that Kazuki showed made Larrson fail to focus, so Kazuki could break past him easily. Kazuki gave Crage a pass, then he immediately dashed into the penalty box. Crage gave him a pass at the right time to get Kazuki out of the offside trap. Kazuki unhesitatingly kicked the ball vigorously.

Mignolet looked good, in reaching the ball quite quickly. But the ball bounced in front of the goalpost. Just as Ryan was about to poke the ball, Cuellar slid to kick the ball off the field. Although Kazuki failed to score, he managed to make Southampton hit the first shot on target in this match.

His action also raised the spirits of the Southampton players. After being pressed for a long time by Sunderland, it was Southampton's turn now. What was unexpected was that Sunderland quickly adjusted to Southampton's changes. They would without a doubt commit fouls whenever Kazuki carried the ball. It made Southampton's attack faltered.

Seeing the figure of Kazuki who became the target of the Sunderland midfielders made George feel worried. Even though he wanted to win, but Kazuki's injury would be a very expensive price for Southampton. However, he decided to hold on, at least until the first-half ended. The reason why Kazuki dropped into the midfield was because of Southampton's inability to build up attacks. As long as Southampton resumed operations as usual, then Kazuki would return to the front.

In the 38th minute, Southampton counterattacked. A kick from outside the penalty box which was cleared by Collback was caught well by Dean Smith. The Southampton goalkeeper kicked the ball powerfully forward.

Kazuki dueled with Larrson. He managed to win the duel. Kazuki adjusted his body and kicked the ball far to the left side. Kounde and Cattermole were dueling for the ball. Kounde used his speed to pick up the ball, Cattermole prepared to block Kounde's kick. However, Kounde pulled the ball back and turned, then he accelerated into the penalty box.

Cattermole's hand gripped Kounde tightly, Kounde knew he had to pass or the attack Immediately. He chose to give Ryan the pass. Cuellar was nearby, so he immediately tried to steal the ball. Ryan pulled the ball as Cuellar stuck his foot out, he unhesitatingly twisted his body, so Cuellar had a hard time stealing the ball. Then Ryan gave the ball to the side.

Rudolf's figure has entered the penalty box, he received the ball from Ryan and immediately kicked it. Mignolet jumped up and used his finger to push Rudolf's shot. Kazuki suddenly stuck out his leg to put the ball into the goalpost. The ball moved into the net.

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"Goaaaalll! Southampton did— oh, looks like Kazuki was in an offside position. Let's see the replay, ah right he was offside. Too bad Southampton failed to score."

Southampton's players and fans who were about to celebrate the goal suddenly sighed in disappointment, seeing the linesman raise the flag. Even though Southampton scored a goal, unfortunately the goal ended offside. Even so, it was undeniable that it was a nice try. Southampton started to play better than the beginning of the match.

In the 44th minute, Wright-Phillips forced a pass towards Kazuki as Larrson kept Kazuki so Larrson easily cut the ball. Then he gave it to Collback. Collback provided a through ball to the right. Kieran Richardson received the ball, he then raised his foot and made a fake move. When Ben Carter was affected by his movement, Kieran immediately burst into the penalty box.

He provided crossing ball into the middle of the penalty box. Campbell competed with Hilton, then he headed the ball to the left. McClean came in and kicked the ball hard. Dean Smith failed to react in time. The ball goes into the Southampton goalpost. This means Southampton conceded for the first time in this match.

"Sunderland managed to break the deadlock. The mistakes made by Wright-Phillips is used well by Sunderland. The cooperation displayed by the Sunderland players are quite good."

Until the first half ended, the score was still 1-0 for Sunderland's advantage. The Sunderland players ended the first half happily. Meanwhile, Southampton looked tired from this first half. They did not expect when Southampton started to rise, it was Sunderland who scored first.

However, the most depressed was Wright-Phillips. The mistakes he made in the first half were so eyes catching. If the opponents were Liverpool instead of Sunderland, Southampton might have conceded five goals.

In the dressing room, Wright-Phillips looked down, he was not daring to look at George at all. The other players didn't encourage Wright-Phillips either. Encourage Wright-Phillips did not make things any better. This young man needed to learn from his mistakes this time. Of course, George wouldn't blame Wright-Phillips for the fall.

The first half was thrilling. Even though Wright-Phillips made mistakes, that didn't mean the rest of the players did their job right. The wing sector was successfully dominated by Sunderland. Likewise with the midfield.

Luckily, after Kazuki got down to midfield, things changed for the better. Kazuki's ability to hold the ball, dribble and pass became something that changed the direction of the match. Thanks to Kazuki's action, several golden opportunities were created. Unfortunately, this opportunity failed to be utilized properly.

In the second half. Wright-Phillips clearly needed to be replaced. It takes players who could hold the ball and also pass it forward without fear of pressure. On the other hand, George also needed some adjustments up front. Players like Kounde and Crage who were on par with the Striker make the midfield short of people. George decided to pull both wings back and make them both pure midfielders.. That way, Southampton will not lose too much in midfield.

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