John Hendry's thick long legs suddenly came into Keller's sight, making Keller feel like a bolt from the blue!

He could only watch as Hend's toes hit the ball and then slid into the net with the ball on his hands.

"John Hendry! John Hendry! He was not seen for almost the entire first half, but in this moment he combined beautifully with Fleming, who had come up with the assist, as he broke through the Millwall backline and then reached out to send the ball into the Millwall goal at the front post to equalise for Middlesbrough! Millwall's clean sheeting defence shattered records in front of Middlesbrough! ”

For the first time since the start of the league, Thuram Stam Southgate Neil Keller, a five-man defensive combination that includes a goalkeeper at the back, has tasted breached.

The Middlesbrough players gathered around in celebration at Aya Sume Park and headed back with their heads held high, as if they were expecting an equaliser, and their mature and experienced game experience was their greatest reliance.

Brian Robson didn't make any other moves except to clench his hands into fists and wave them after seeing the goal, but he was also calm.

Aldridge slapped his hands on the pitch with a calm face, telling the players not to be discouraged, to take 10,000 steps back, and the game was just a return to the starting point.

But Aldridge felt speechless about this conceded goal, and he knew in his heart that Robson had taught him a lesson.

Millwall's goal conceded had nothing to do with individual ability, nor was it a player error, it was entirely due to Middlesbrough's tactics working.

Tactics are all about winning by surprise.

If Middlesbrough had allowed two full-backs to step forward to assist at the beginning of the game, then Aldridge believed that Middlesbrough's two wings would not do anything throughout the game, at least Thuram's side, and in terms of defensive ability, wide players who can break through Thuram head-on are rare at least in League One.

At this moment, Aldridge suddenly realized that Middlesbrough's previous conservatism was a tactic that paralyzed the opponent's carelessness.

The defensive 532 formation deceived everyone, and the slow pace of the game created an illusion of fog for Millwall's defence, and when Millwall's defenders were "habitually" confident to grab more and less, Middlesbrough's full-backs suddenly stepped forward at high speed and caught Millwall's defence off guard.

Tactically, the effect of "winning by surprise" was achieved, and this sudden acceleration of the rhythm from slow to fast was something that even Aldrich did not expect.

Aldridge secretly said in his heart: Brian Robson, who watches the dishes, has a set.

But he is not discouraged in his heart, now this Millwall team is not fully formed at all, for the rhythm of the game, tactical flexibility, are still in the initial stage, which requires a longer tempering, and games to accumulate experience, and Middlesbrough is already a very mature team, it is difficult to improve.

The centre circle kicked off again and the Millwall defence learned their lesson, not only did the two full-backs pay special attention to the opposition's wide attacks, but Pire and Schneider also began to drop back from a distance in defence.

Seeing the Millwall players quickly adjust themselves on the field, Robson, who originally wanted to take advantage of the victory to chase after the opponent before he came to his senses, shook his head and made a calm gesture to the players, signaling not to risk attacking.

As the first half drew to a close, Aldridge was calm when he saw that the opponent was playing the same slow-paced conservative tactics again, and Millwall's defense would not be crushed by a single goal, which was the defense he had spent so hard to build.

The referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half and Aldridge left the pitch first to return to the dressing room.

Morale is such an ethereal thing as a wonderful thing.

If Millwall had conceded first and then equalised the score, they would have been on the rise.

But Millwall scored first and then equalised, and the players felt a little depressed.

Obviously, the score is 1:1, but there is always a weird feeling that something has been snatched away.

This is human nature, and Aldrich feels this way more or less in his heart.

It is this change in mood that Aldridge was very afraid of losing in the early stage of building the team, let alone being reversed, which is simply a big taboo!

The team's calm mentality and quit the psychology of gains and losses, which take time to cultivate, temper a strong heart that is not shocked by the honor and disgrace of the big scene, and there is a long way to go.

The players who returned to the dressing room were silent, sitting on the bench panting for breath, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive, as if the air had been frozen.

Aldridge didn't want them to be under pressure, which can lead to a series of negative emotions when they couldn't bear it, so he shrugged his shoulders and chuckled: "Robert, you should go back and practice shooting." ”

The players were stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly.

Pire smiled bitterly: "Boss, can you not mention that goal?" Give me a hundred more chances, and I won't slip. ”

He knew that the bizarre goal in the first half was bound to become a joke among his teammates.

Aldridge spread his hands and said: "No, no, no, if you are given another hundred chances, it doesn't matter if you slip a hundred times, just kick the ball in for me, even if you shoot with your hips, I will applaud you." ”

Haha

The atmosphere in the dressing room suddenly became cheerful, and the gloom caused by the goal conceded at the end of the first half also dissipated most of it.

After laughing, Aldrich pressed his hand, and everyone put away their smiles and listened to his tactical arrangement.

Aldridge is never shy when it's time to be serious, and he never thinks that just motivating the players will win the game.

In front of the tactical board, Aldridge drew the position of the opposing defenders and said softly: "The Middlesbrough backline spent most of the first half near the penalty area, rarely risked forward pressing, and never tried to create offsides, which is why we couldn't penetrate the attack in the first half, and in the second half you have to do very simple, we have to draw their defence out and force them to make space in the box for our attacking players to cut forward." Robert, Bernd, Henrik, the three of you can move in front of the penalty area, take the ball and shoot from a distance when you have time, you don't need to pursue the angle, the key is the number of kicks and the range of the goal, David, you play the role of the center attack fulcrum in front of the front in the second half, once the opponent's defense line compresses our long-range shooting space, you have to be ready to fight offside, understand? ”

The players nodded earnestly.

Aldridge reminded the players of the defensive issues before giving the players a break to prepare for the second half.

He is confident in this backline that he will not fall twice in the same pit and that a sudden break down the wing like in the first half will never happen again.

In fact, Aldridge also had to thank Shebrien Robson, and the goal conceded also made Millwall's players improve their defensive awareness, which is the accumulation of experience.

Experience is never learned, nor is it practiced, and for defense, it is imprinted in the mind of getting up from failure.

Back on the sidelines, Aldridge was still standing, and the second half of the game began quickly, with the cheers of fans from both sides filling every corner of the stadium at Aya Sume Park.

Aldridge watched Middlesbrough's tactical changes in the second half with great concentration, and after watching the game all over Europe for many years, he seemed to have developed a subconscious habit of simulating the overall formation of the opposition when looking down on the pitch.

Millwall began to shoot from distance on the basis of solid defense, threatening the Middlesbrough goal on several occasions, which made the fans of both sides very nervous, and Brian Clough was quick to react, he did not let the defensive line press forward, instead, he let the players in front of the field recycle, except for John Hendry who swam around in the front court, the other players returned to the half, forming a situation of more grabbing less.

After winning the ball, Middlesbrough's counter-attack also used the width of the pitch to divert a wide range of long passes, but the effect was not obvious, and their full-backs stepped forward to participate in the response, and they were also entangled by the Millwall wide players who returned to the defense.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, the game was a stalemate, with the ball moving back and forth between the two halves of the penalty area, and it was almost impossible for either side to get a shot on goal.

It was only at this time that Aldridge had a thorough understanding of Brian Robson's tactical setup.

Neither the defensive 532, nor the 352 on the wing, more precisely the asymmetrical 442, although visually such a formation is a bit weird, but the formation itself does not say anything, the technique and tactics are a combination of formation and style of play.

Middlesbrough's two full-backs have a tacit understanding of assisting, never having two wide players step forward at the same time, always maintaining the position of at least four defenders at the back, and the tacit understanding of the combination makes them never have a numerical disadvantage at the defensive end.

But the miracle of two wings taking turns forward often catches the opponent off guard.

Aldridge is deeply admired, and it is no wonder that Middlesbrough has gone through a turbulent summer, and the overall strength of the team has not improved significantly, but they have played well in the first nine rounds of League One.

Brian Robson still has some ability to build a team like this with limited resources, but it's only in League One.

What surprised Aldridge even more was that when England was still poisoned by Charles Hughes's famous POMO theory in the seventies and eighties, Middlesbrough's style of play was biased towards the ground attack, and did not swarm attacking players in the front field to press directly into the penalty area.

In this era, the teams that can counter the "long pass rush" and "maximum position chance" POMO theory to play ground offensive coordination are unique in England, which is why Nottingham Forest's European champions twice, Brian Clough has been pushed to the altar of greatness with outstanding achievements, and his coach of Nottingham Forest is using ground short passes with attacking tactics.

Aldridge was a bit hesitant and the situation on the pitch was deadlocked, and if his side could take a point here, it would be more good than bad for the whole season, at least they haven't lost away to League One favourites Middlesbrough, which will be crucial to the morale and psychological impact of the players.

Whether to use risky tactics to win a victory or hold on to a draw, just as Aldrich is making a move, the situation on the field suddenly changes!