Three days later, Abbey Stadium once again welcomed a heavyweight team, Millwall.
Millwall won the England second-tier League title in the 1987/88 season, reached the FA Cup final in the 2003/04 season (losing to Manchester United), and has reached the FA Cup semi-finals multiple times. Although not a traditional powerhouse, they are a team with certain strength that can challenge strong teams when they hit their stride.
Sheringham and Cahill are considered the biggest stars nurtured by Millwall. Currently, Millwall ranks 21st in League One, facing a difficult situation.
Below Cambridge United's latest training video, netizens once again set off a wave of comments!
"Little secretary, please ask Huang Hao how many he can win!"
"Brothers, I'm going all out! I'm betting on Cambridge United!"
"Bet on Millwall, waiting to be proven wrong!"
The betting companies were not foolish. Facing Cambridge United, who showed their dark horse true colors this year, Millwall was given odds of 3.1, while Cambridge United was at 1.75.
Abbey Stadium was packed again today! Having learned from the previous Forest team match, fans obediently bought their tickets in advance this time. When they saw the ticket office close again, there was a hint of schadenfreude.
The evening breeze gently blew, and the moonlight was bright. Cambridge had good weather tonight.
Head Coach Scott blew the whistle punctually at 7:45 PM to start the match. Dzeko, Sager, and Longolo were all absent today due to injury. Huang Hao fielded Lewandowski and Vardy as his attacking partners for today.
Cambridge United showed no hesitation after the kickoff, continuing their high-press strategy and starting to attack Millwall's half.
Under Huang Hao's three years of transformation, the current Cambridge United prioritizes efficiency. In Cambridge United's matches, you won't see fancy multi-pass combinations like Barça or Manchester City, but rather simple and clear play! It's somewhat similar to Arsenal and Liverpool, often penetrating the opponent's penalty area after just two or three short passes. In the 11th minute, Pantilimon kicked a goal kick directly to Grove in midfield. Grove, facing encirclement, passed the ball to MacKenzie nearby. MacKenzie launched a long pass, and Vardy, through a strenuous sprint, got to the ball before the Millwall defender!
After breaking through to the byline, Vardy immediately flicked the ball towards the center!
Lewandowski had already arrived in front of the goal!
Unfortunately, Lewandowski's shot was too central! It hit goalkeeper David Stock directly! Because the distance was too close, Stock couldn't hold the ball and could only punch it out with both fists!
Bennett snatched the ball at the far post! Despite two Millwall defenders in front of him, he decisively unleashed a powerful shot!!! 1:0!!! Cambridge United scored!
This season, Huang Hao and Li Jianqin have been streaming Cambridge United's home matches live on the website, instead of just videos as before. So, even though it was early morning in China, many fans were still watching the match on their computers via Cambridge United's official website, and those who bet on Millwall had a bad feeling again!
Just 5 minutes later, Millwall's attack again came to nothing. Pantilimon's goal kick, and the Cambridge United players'tacit agreement reached an astonishing level; it was as if they had already found their respective positions the moment the ball was kicked, and the passing flowed naturally! This time, Hawkins was the first to receive the goalkeeper's short pass. Hawkins immediately passed the ball to Grove in midfield. Through Grove's orchestration as the team's brain, the ball quickly went to Mark Bola on the wing. After Mark Bola advanced to midfield, he sent a long pass to Lewandowski!
Lewandowski ran quickly forward under pressure from the opposing defender, attempting to receive the pass! Unexpectedly, the ball directly hit the back of Lewandowski's head!
A buzzing sound! Lewandowski was a bit stunned! He shook his head hard and immediately chased after the rebounding ball! Fortunately, Grove caught up and passed the ball back to Lewandowski. Lewandowski passed the ball to Cole, who immediately distributed it to the wing, giving it to the overlapping Tadić! Millwall at this point could only passively press the player in possession!
Tadić quickly advanced to the right edge of the penalty area, and just when everyone thought he would cross, he very subtly laid the ball back to Lewandowski at the edge of the big penalty area!
Lewandowski successfully dribbled past the marking James! A powerful shot!
The ball successfully passed through goalkeeper Stockdale's grasp but hit the far post!!!
Just as Lewandowski was about to stomp his foot and complain about his bad luck today, Vardy stood in front of the ball, facing the goal directly!
However, before Vardy could shoot, he was directly tackled to the ground by a Millwall defender! The ball slowly rolled away...
And at this moment, Tadić appeared again in a crucial position! From an almost zero-degree angle, a chip shot!!! 2:0! Cambridge United scored another goal!
Only 16 minutes and 50 seconds into the match, Cambridge United was already leading 2:0 at home.
In China, there was also a mix of joy and sorrow. Those who gambled on Cambridge United were beaming! Those who liked upsets quietly closed their computers.
In the 31st minute, Grove took a corner kick. Lewandowski, after receiving the ball outside the penalty area, played two one-two passes with Grove!
After dribbling into the right side of the six-yard box, Lewandowski unleashed a powerful shot! He finally blasted the ball into the net! Excited, he immediately formed a machine gun gesture with his hands, sweeping across Millwall's penalty area!
Ultimately, Millwall conceded three goals and suffered a bitter defeat at Abbey Stadium.
The most infuriating thing was Huang Hao, who, at the post-match press conference, when asked by reporters about his feelings on the victory, humbly replied:
"We are just a team fighting to avoid relegation. These three points are very crucial!"
The Millwall Head Coach next to him was fuming, his teeth itching. A relegation team... Relegation your ass, I'm the relegation team!!!
Cambridge United's big victory had already numbed the media, whose faces had been swollen by Huang Hao. The next day's news report simply mentioned "Cambridge United defeated Millwall 2:0" and quickly moved on to report on other teams' matches.
Although there was only half a month left until the winter transfer window, Huang Hao had already begun his actions. The scenes from the matches against Luton and Doncaster Rovers kept replaying in his mind, making it difficult for him to let go.
Furthermore, the high-intensity confrontations in League One posed a risk of player depletion for Cambridge United. Sager and Longolo were still hospitalized, and Dzeko, Warren, MacKenzie, and others had minor injuries requiring a few days of rest. The 26-man squad needed some fresh blood.
Losing a match is not a low-probability event in a long 46-round League season. But being completely suppressed with no ability to fight back is somewhat inexcusable.
Especially Sterri, who was considered one of the best in League Two, although still very reliable against ordinary opponents, appeared somewhat overwhelmed when facing excellent wing players.
The winter transfer window has always been about making minor adjustments. Finding a heavyweight player who can turn the tide is truly difficult for Cambridge United, who is still on the path of debt repayment.
Every week, Huang Hao insisted on participating in the team's scouting meetings, understanding the progress of the scouting team's work, and discussing the team's reinforcement plans with several scouts. He also frequently visited the reserve and youth teams to see how his young talents were developing.
At this moment, the projector was displaying a player's profile, with more than ten pages of information, which made Huang Hao sigh with emotion, feeling that the scouts' weekly salary of a few hundred pounds was truly a bit unfair.
John Zhu Lu, 20 years old, Arsenal player, plays as a center-back. This summer, still unable to secure a place in Arsenal's first team, he was loaned by Arsenal to Birmingham for three months and was about to return to Arsenal.
The scout then played a highlight reel of John Zhu Lu's matches during his loan spell at Birmingham. Huang Hao watched intently. He had excellent physical condition, could play as a center-back, right-back, and even a defensive midfielder, having made guest appearances in midfield during his time at Birmingham, with outstanding interception ability. His weaknesses were inconsistent form and average passing accuracy.
Finally, Huang Hao placed his hand on John Zhu Lu's profile,
"Contact Wenger at Arsenal. We hope to loan Zhu Lu, and we can cover 50% of his salary. It would be best if we can sign him until the end of the season. Also, ask Wenger if we can loan Lansbury and Wilshere from their youth team as well. We, Cambridge United, will give them sufficient playing time."
Just like that, a few days later, Zhu Lu, Wilshere, and Lansbury appeared at Cambridge United Training Base. After all, for young players, playing matches is the only way to train themselves, and in England, there is no more suitable team than Cambridge United.
While loaning the three Arsenal musketeers, Huang Hao also decided to promote Kante and Mahrez to the first team. Since he was helping others level up, he might as well level up his own players too.
However, what is borrowed must always be returned. Cambridge United cannot always loan others and help them level up; when they take their players back, Cambridge United would be in trouble. Without a system or a golden finger, he could only rely on a good mind.
After much deliberation and strenuous recollection, Huang Hao decided to send Li Jianqin and Adams on another business trip to Prague to bring Jan Oblak, Dejan Lovren, and Domagoj Vida back to Cambridge United (although Huang Hao also really wanted to go, he couldn't get away).
A few days later, the team welcomed their first FA Cup match. In Huang Hao's words, matches with prize money always fill one with anticipation!
However, Cambridge United's luck was average. Their first-round opponent was Huddersfield, a veteran powerhouse also from League One. Cambridge United had drawn 1:1 away against them in a previous League match, so they didn't have a significant advantage.
Huddersfield had won the top-tier League title for three consecutive years in the 1920s, making them the first team in England's history to achieve a three-peat. In 2003, the team was on the verge of bankruptcy, and their performance had been consistently poor. This season, Huddersfield had a rather poor start, currently ranking only 18th in the standings, greatly disappointing their supporters. Huang Hao had no intention of offering comfort at this time, as winning this match would bring in approximately £20,000 in prize money! Before clearing the debt, Huang Hao was like a hungry wolf!
Over 6,000 fans came to Abbey Stadium today. Looking at the almost full stadium, Huang Hao felt exceptionally pleased! This not only meant that Cambridge United had regained the support of its fans, but also that this match would bring in a substantial amount of income! He definitely had to ask Ouyang Bing about it later!