Chapter 64: The Second Half Starts with a Burst of Energy
"The Arsenal and Mallorca players have come out onto the pitch... Neither Wenger nor José has made any substitutions during the halftime break, suggesting that they're both satisfied with the first half. Mallorca's defense has been solid, giving Arsenal few chances, while Arsenal has dominated possession, needing only a goal. Overall, the first half wasn't all that exciting—Mallorca focused on defense, and Arsenal couldn't create much. Henry was lively but had few opportunities to shoot, while Bergkamp seemed subdued... However, Overmars has played well, creating chances with a few strong runs down the wing. But that's not enough—let's hope the second half is more exciting."
The ESPN commentator, watching the players return to the field, was clearly hoping for a more thrilling second half. After all, the first half had been lackluster, with hardly any notable attacks. It had made his job of commentating rather dull…
Eto'o and Tristan walked side by side toward the center circle. Although they had worked hard in defense during the first half, as forwards in such an important match, failing to score was still a source of regret…
However, the two were excited at this moment, because José had told them before the game that they should attempt to launch an attack right from the kick-off. The midfielders were ready to fully support them in hopes of getting a goal.
Undoubtedly, José's tactical suggestion was mainly because the early minutes of the second half often offered a good chance to score. Still, this strategy ignited the fighting spirit of the two forwards.
If the first half had been a sleep-inducing affair, the situation at the start of the second half immediately got everyone's attention!
"Mallorca passing the ball in their own half, Arsenal presses high… We've seen this many times in the first half. Mallorca's players are technically skilled and hard to intercept, so it looks like this will continue for a while… N'Gonga has the ball… Oh, direct pass! A beautiful pass!"
As N'Gonga delivered a precise, surgical pass, the commentators immediately became energized and excited.
"Eto'o takes the ball, passes it to the right to Ibagasa, Ibagasa crosses—fantastic! Eto'o gets to the ball ahead of Petit, forcing his way through! Petit is left behind! Eto'o continues, charging forward—Mallorca is off to a fierce attack right from the start of the second half!"
Clearly, Mallorca's sudden offensive caught the Arsenal players off guard.
Wenger had spent the halftime break thinking about how to break through Mallorca's defense, and he hadn't even considered the possibility that they might immediately launch an attack—after all, Mallorca had shown no interest in offense during the first half. This is a clear sign of Wenger's lack of adaptability under pressure.
It wasn't until Eto'o had already breezed past Petit's defense that Arsenal's backline began to respond.
Keown rushed to meet Eto'o head-on, while Vieira quickly dropped back from the side to help Keown in containing Eto'o's progress!
The crowd, which had been somewhat sleepy during the first half, was now fully alert to the action on the field!
The commentators were on fire: "Eto'o moves forward, Keown stands in front of him, Eto'o looks set to break through and create an opportunity—his momentum is unstoppable! Oh! A pass! He passed it! Just before Keown and Vieira could close him down, he threaded the ball through the gap! Tristan's got the ball in the box—"
Amid the commentator's shout, Tristan, with his back to the goal, stretched out his long leg, hooking the ball from Eto'o's pass, then quickly spun around before Adams could close him down, and blasted the ball with his right foot!
Adams was a second too slow, and the ball barely brushed against his calf as it flew past him, heading straight for the bottom-left corner of the goal!
"Tristan's shot—"
Many Arsenal fans covered their mouths in anticipation, while Mallorca fans' hearts were racing!
If this shot had gone in...
Seaman leaped into the air, but the ball curved unexpectedly outward, just beyond his outstretched hand, flying into the net behind him!
For that brief moment, Seaman felt a chill run through him!
However, almost instantly, the sound of the ball hitting the post behind him snapped Seaman back to reality!
Mid-air, Seaman, risking a neck injury, glanced back and saw the ball hit the post, then rebound back into the penalty area!
"Aha!" José had already raised his hands in celebration, but upon seeing the ball hit the post, he slammed his head into his hands, leaping in frustration.
Such a chance hitting the post was truly a pity!
Had the ball gone in, Mallorca's defense would have been that much more meaningful—holding out would have given them a real chance to win the game!
Unfortunately, the ball didn't go in—it hit the post...
The rebound was controlled by Dixon, who quickly passed to Vieira. Vieira began to carry the ball forward.
Tristan shot Adams a frustrated look—his attempt was foiled because Adams had deflected the ball with the outside of his leg, causing the ball to veer off course and hit the post instead…
This Arsenal captain was quite troublesome…
While Tristan simmered with frustration, Arsenal's counterattack had already quietly begun!
Vieira, instead of passing the ball, surged forward with the ball at his feet. Eto'o, dropping back to defend, was easily shaken off, and after a quick one-two with Keown, Vieira passed to Overmars, continuing his run forward.
José, still fuming on the sidelines, jumped up and shouted, "Careful—defend!"
Arsenal's counterattack was swift!
Though Mallorca had just struck the post, Arsenal immediately launched their counterattack—not with long passes, but a quick, ground-based transition—this was Wenger's greatest gift to Arsenal over the years!
Apart from Vieira and Overmars, several other Arsenal players surged into Mallorca's half, including Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Overmars, Parlour, and even Keown, who had pushed forward after a pass!
Luckily for Mallorca, they still had several players in defense, who hadn't rushed forward for the ball. They kept a solid defensive formation and swiftly began to fall back, trying to snuff out Arsenal's attack early.
José's eyes scanned the field, quickly assessing the situation. After taking in the defensive positioning of his players, he let out a slight breath of relief—there were enough defenders in Mallorca's half to cope with the threat, and the rest of the team was tracking back hard to prevent Arsenal from gaining momentum.
Arsenal's players seemed to realize this as well. After two quick steps, Overmars didn't carry the ball any further and made a diagonal pass to Henry, who was storming down the wing!
At this distance, Henry could show off his speed and technique to full effect!
Dribbling forward, surging ahead, relentlessly pressing on!
The Arsenal fans in the stands jumped up, raising their arms in eager anticipation—though Henry wasn't yet the iconic figure he would become, he had already gotten the fans to raise their arms and cheer countless times during the past season!
Henry stormed forward, the wind howling in his ears—this was his favorite kind of situation—wide open spaces, where he could leave defenders behind in his wake!
But what frustrated Henry this time was that, despite his long sprint, he hadn't been able to shake off a single defender. It wasn't that he wasn't in good form; it was that his opponents were retreating and offering no chance for him to dribble past them.
No matter how skilled you are, you can't escape someone not directly confronting you.
As Henry reached the area parallel to the penalty box, Mallorca's four defenders had already retreated into the box. In no time, they would make it almost impossible to break through again…
Henry realized that trying to get past them would be difficult, as the smaller the space, the less freedom he had to play—of course, relative to situations where he had more room to maneuver…
Bergkamp was tightly marked by N'Gonga and Soler at the edge of the box, Vieira was further back, and Overmars had been surrounded by Mallorca players as he entered the box—only a few Arsenal players were still in position to support Henry…
Henry surveyed the situation in the penalty area, gritted his teeth, and decided to cut to the byline again!
This time, Ole Solera stepped up to block him, not expecting to steal the ball, but simply to prevent Henry from cutting inside into the box. It was better to stop him from entering the box altogether…
But Henry didn't seem to be interested in cutting inside. Just as he reached the byline, he pulled the ball back and, as Solera expected a cross, he lifted his right foot and drilled a cross instead!
Overmars leaped to meet the ball at the near post but missed it!
Bergkamp and Vieira, both in the center, couldn't get to the ball either, as they were also under tight marking by Mallorca's defenders!
The ball sailed to the far post, and just as Mallorca fans began to breathe a sigh of relief, a figure wearing a yellow jersey surged forward from the back post, leaping to volley the ball!
It was Keown! After helping clear a previous attempt, he had sprinted forward and seized the golden opportunity!
Franco, having been deceived by Overmars and Bergkamp, spun around to face the goal—by the time he turned, Keown had already taken his shot!
From such close range, he had no chance to react!
Like Seaman on the other end, Franco's heart froze!
But as he turned around, he saw something that made him incredibly relieved—the ball was soaring high and had narrowly missed the crossbar, flying out of play!
Arsenal's attack had come to nothing!