Chapter 34 Invitations to Professional Teams and the FA Cup

This happy mood was maintained until Li Qingshan came to the training ground. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

But he noticed that today was a little different, and usually when he came, Nick had already started his training. Today, Li Qingshan found Nick sitting alone on the lawn of the court, surrounded by a pile of scattered footballs.

"Hi Nick, I'm here." Li Qingshan walked forward and said hello.

Nick glanced back, and turned his head away. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but didn't.

At this time, Li Qingshan, who was very arrogant, finally discovered that something was wrong with Nick.

"Do you have anything to say?" Li Qingshan walked up to Nick and did it.

"That ....." Nick looked up suddenly, "There's something. ”

"On the way to training, I bumped into Graeme. Turner. ”

Li Qingshan frowned, indicating that he had not heard of this name.

"It's the manager of that team yesterday, Hereford United." Nick explained.

'He said Hereford United wanted to sign me. He's very optimistic about my speed. ”

Li Qingshan's originally happy mood was instantly clouded. He wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything. Who wouldn't be tempted to receive an invitation from a professional league team?

He finally asked, "You agreed?" ”

Nick looked up: "Yes, I want to play in the professional league." ”

He paused and continued: "Everything from my childhood to now revolves around football, and I don't know what else I can do if I can't play football. ”

Li Qingshan didn't know what he felt in his heart........ he was a little envious, a little lost, and maybe a little longing.

"Good luck, Nick." In the end, Li Qingshan didn't say anything.

However, the news that Nick was favored by the second division team quickly spread within the team. Quite a few people came to ask if Nick was real. After receiving Nick's admission, everyone's reactions were mixed, some were envious, some were indifferent, and some wanted to persuade him to stay but couldn't speak.

It's not uncommon for a seventh-tier amateur team to have players poached by the professional league, but it's not uncommon. Most of the people in this squad have been trained professionally in football, and it's no surprise that some of them are qualified to play in professional leagues.

This season, in particular, they have won all of their league games so far, and have eliminated a team from the second division in the FA Cup. Maybe next season there will be more players poached by other teams. FC United is only an amateur team, if there are better opportunities for development, how many people can not be tempted?

The news that Nick will soon leave the team has caused a little stir within the team and has not affected the team's performance in the league. They will meet a non-league team in the fifth tier on 25 November in the second round of the FA Cup, Mansfield.

There is still more than a month to go until this game, and before that, they will play six league games.

In these six league games, FC United finally suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 3-4 at home to Rachel Olympique on 17 November. Although Li Qingshan scored twice in the game and also assisted Nick to help the team score three goals, the team's lax defense allowed the opponent to score four goals.

With the defeat, FC United's winning streak this season ended at thirteen. Broke the team's all-time winning streak, but did not break the league's winning streak.

This made Li Qingshan feel a little regretful, and he was still thinking that if he could break the league winning streak, he might be rewarded with a football training camp.

Marginson didn't care too much about the defeat either, after all, after winning thirteen consecutive league games, if you count three FA Cup qualifiers and one FA Cup main match, they have won 17 games this season without a defeat, not even a draw. It's a pretty scary record, after all, players aren't robots, and when a winning streak becomes a pressure, losing a league game that doesn't matter to the big picture at the right time isn't too much of a problem.

At least it's much better than losing the second round of the FA Cup.

This round of the draw is undoubtedly a good draw for FC United, and the lack of a league team has greatly reduced the pressure on Marginson. If played well, it will no longer be a dream to lead the team to the third round in history.

Of course, it is not so easy to knock out a team in the fifth division, and for Mansfield, drawing FC United Manchester is even more of a sign.

In a way, it will be more difficult for FC United to draw a team from the fifth tier, as the team in the fifth tier is undoubtedly much stronger than the seventh tier. Moreover, FC United just eliminated a second division team in the last round, and Mephistopheles naturally does not have much underdog thinking. What's more, the winner of this round will advance to the third round of the FA Cup, where the Championship and Premier League teams will also join, and if they are lucky enough to draw a big team, ticket revenue alone will be a windfall for an amateur team.

Sure enough, FC United underestimated the difficulty of this game.

They were already two goals behind at the end of the first half. James Spencer frustratedly scooped the ball out of his goal and kicked it into the sky.

Marginson was also frowning off the pitch, unhappy with his team's form on the road, which seemed to be stuck on the last league defeat. However, he didn't have much better to do, and the team was still in a defensive counter-attacking position, but it didn't prevent the opponent's onslaught in the first half. And the opponent's long-range shot penetrated the goal of James' handle. The probability of scoring from a distance is not high in the first place, but now the opponent has scored two long-range shots after 30 minutes of play, which makes the FC United players helpless.

He glanced at Li Qingshan on the field, as the team's most relied on scorer, Marginson can only count on his performance now.

Luckily, before the end of the first half, Li Qingshan created a set-piece close to the baseline, which was closer to the goal than a corner.

Li Qingshan then headed in from a free-kick from Dean Stott to pull one back. This goal also reassured Marginson's hanging heart a little.

After that goal, the first half of the game ended quickly as FC United entered the dressing room with a score of 1-2.

There was some silence in the locker room, and in addition to the team's first-half deficit, it certainly had something to do with Knick's departure. After this game, Nick will report to his new team. After all, Nick is on an amateur contract with the team, and he can leave the team at any time, but he still waits until the second round of the FA Cup.

He hopes to help the team advance to the third round. However, in the first half of the game he did not have many chances to perform, and the opponents obviously knew the characteristics of FC United's players.

Nick, who was already a bit introverted, is now even more silent.

Li Qingshan saw the silent atmosphere of the team, and a fire gushed out inexplicably, and he suddenly stood up from his seat.

"We even eliminated the teams in the second division, and this team is an egg."

The surrounding teammates all looked up at Li Qingshan in surprise, Li Qingshan rarely spoke in the locker room, and it was the first time to stand up and speak like today.

Seeing his teammates looking at him, Li Qingshan suddenly didn't know what to say next, but fortunately, captain Dean Stott also stood up at this time.

'Lee was right, we had chances to score in the second half, and everyone knows the power of Lee's header.

"That's right, I won't give them a chance to shoot from distance in the second half!" Defensive midfielder David Butch also stood up and said.

……….

Teammates stood up and the locker room quickly shook off its previous silence.

Marginson stood outside the door, initially a little worried about the morale of the team, but now it seems that he has not to worry much.

He pushed the door open and walked inside. Start arranging the tactics for the second half.

FC United's tactics in the second half were simpler, they seemed to have given up on the midfield, except for Li Qingshan, the other players retreated to the penalty line to defend, and kicked forward as soon as the ball was broken.

In the sixty-first minute of the game, Li Qingshan took the ball with his back in the front court, and the opponent's defenders tried to interfere with the steal, but now Li Qingshan is no longer what it used to be, relying on the physical advantage of height and long legs, it is difficult for the opponent to snatch the ball from his feet.

After observing Nick's movement with his peripheral vision, he swept the ball forward. Then he turned and ran towards the restricted area.

Nick used his speed to shake off all defenders and catch up with the football, and without stopping the ball, he went straight to the box and crossed. Li Qingshan jumped high in the penalty area and shook his head to attack the goal. With the landing point judged in advance, it is difficult for the defender to defend successfully in such a passive situation.

The ball is in! FC United equalised.

This kind of offensive combination has been played out regularly this season.

It's a pity that it won't be seen after this game, and Marginson sighed in his heart. Despite the equaliser, he wasn't very excited, and he's now thinking about the offensive routine without Nick.

After the equaliser, Mephistopheles pressed hard and finally Nick seized the counter-attack opportunity to score a third goal, with which FC United won another hard-fought away victory.

They also advanced to the third round of the FA Cup!

Marginson's side made history by reaching the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history!