857 One More Needed

Not everyone would be seated in the stands waiting for the match to start.

When the referee blew the whistle signifying kickoff, there were still people entering the stadium, looking for their seats.

As those people were looking down in the rain for the seat numbers that corresponded to the numbers on their tickets, they heard a booming cheer around them. It felt as though a tsunami was coming or an earthquake was occurring. They could not even maintain their balance.

"Boom!"

Those people looked up in a daze and saw the people around them jumping around with their arms raised. They instantly looked toward the pitch.

What is going on?

The team in red sprinted in excitement.

A voice from the live broadcast drowned out the cheers. "1:0, Nottingham Forest takes the lead! The scorer is Aaron Mitchell!"

Those people finally realized that while they were busy looking for their seats, Nottingham Forest had already scored.

"This is really too fast! The TV broadcast wasn't able to keep up with it… We can only look at the replay. After the kickoff, Şahin passed the ball back to George Wood, who distributed the ball to the flank… Fernández continued forward after a one-two with Gago. Gago lobbed the ball forward accurately and beautifully! Fernández received the ball… He crossed it! Aaron Mitchell's diving header! The ball's in! It's a goal! Barely 20 seconds into the game! This is a record for the fastest goal in the FA Cup final! It's also the record for the fastest goal for a cup final played in Wembley!"

The commentator roared in excitement.

Twain pumped his fist in the rain and celebrated the goal with the people around him.

Back in the changing room, he told his players to get the first goal. A quick goal would bring the match to their rhythm. He did not expect the team to give him such a surprise. They scored after 20 seconds.

"No matter the results of this match, Nottingham Forest and Aaron Mitchell have already etched their names in the history of the FA Cup with this goal!"

Mitchell sprinted toward the stands where the majority of Forest fans were at. He egged them on with his arms, asking them to shout louder and louder. He loved to hear those kinds of cheers.

Tottenham did not expect Forest to score so early in the game. The match had just begun, and their defense was not organized. Forest took advantage of that small window of opportunity and hit Tottenham where it hurt.

Harry Redknapp's face was darker than the London skies. He could not say anything about conceding a goal like that at the sidelines.

He had thought that Forest would take it slow in this match after a sequence of high-intensity matches, using a strategy of drawing their opponents out before hitting them on the break.

He did not expect Tony Twain's team to be so determined in attacking right from the start. That was totally beyond his imagination.

Of course, an early goal had some element of luck. However, what was the point of saying that his opponent was just lucky at this point?

They were trailing, and their opponent was leading. There would be peculiar changes in the match due to such happenings.

The worst thing that could happen in a match against Twain's team was to give them the lead. Forest could choose to continue attacking next or play a defensive game and hit them on the break. No matter what they did, it would be akin to torture for their opponents.

How should Tottenham deal with it?

Attacking?

Redknapp was not that stupid. Pressing up in attack would be like opening their doors for a few more Forest goals. He decided to shore up their defense. After all, trailing by a goal was nothing. They just needed an opportunity to level the score.

He had to stabilize his players' state of mind. They could not lose their cool and panic. They had to give Forest another opportunity to take advantage and score another goal. This match would be difficult if they were to trail by two goals.

He stood at the sideline and shouted toward the pitch, asking his players to calm down with hand signals.

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After 17 minutes, Tottenham leveled the score with a corner kick. The scorer was Michael Dawson. He did not show any mercy against his former club as he landed and accurate and powerful header. Akinfeev did not react to it as a group of people watched the ball fly into the goal. Some of the players even got their eyes blurred by the rainwater splashing up.

Tottenham leveling the score made the fans doubly excited. When they were trailing, those people were worried that the trophy would be given to Forest just like that. Now, it seemed Tottenham did not want to give up.

Twain had no intention of shoring up his defenses after Tottenham scored. Instead, he encouraged his two full-backs to continued attacking from the sideline.

Redknapp could tell Twain's intentions. Since Forest was attacking, there were bound to be spaces behind. That was how Tottenham had to attack too. Otherwise, how could they take advantage of those spaces?

One of the most exciting battles in the history of FA Cup finals had begun.

In the 39th minute, Tottenham Hotspurs took advantage of an opportunity to attack after Forest's right-back, Rafinha, did not rush back in defense in time. They quickly launched a quick counterattack. Pavlyuchenko made a feint with a one-on-one against Akinfeev. It made Akinfeev lose his footing and the best opportunity to dive on the ball. Pavlyuchenko rounded Akinfeev easily and put the ball into the empty net.

Tottenham had come from behind to lead 2:1.

The cheers of the Tottenham fans rang out from the stands. When Forest scored right at the start of the match, they could not imagine that Tottenham could come from behind to lead in the first half.

Their cheers only lasted two minutes. In the 42nd minute, Mitchell used his skills against three Tottenham defenders, but he got pushed to the ground by Dawson. The referee blew for a direct free kick in the attacking half for Forest.

Bale stood on the ball. The Forest fans started singing the "Song of Bale."

The ball was about 28 meters away from the goal, and the wall was very compact. As a team in the English Premier League, everyone knew about the threat of Gareth Bale's free kick.

George Wood and Gago did their best to squeeze into the wall, positioning themselves near the goal post. It looked like Bale would be shooting from that angle toward the goal. The Tottenham players pushed toward the post, trying their best to squeeze the two Forest players out.

When the referee blew the whistle, Wood and Gago left the wall as expected. The empty spaces left behind were instantly covered by Tottenham players. Nobody expected Bale to not go for that spot and choose to shoot toward the other side. The ball flew around the wall from the other end straight into the far corner of the goal.

It was obviously one of the free-kick routines they had practiced countless times.

The goalkeeper, Gomes, was deceived by the wall and tactics of the Forest team. When Bale took the free kick, he even moved his center of gravity toward the near post. As the ball flew toward the goal from the other side, he could do nothing but watch the ball fly into the far corner of the goal.

"2:2! The first half is not over, and there are already four goals between the two teams! What an exciting first half!"

The Tottenham fans kept mum this time. It was the Forest fans who sang in the rain.

Some Forest fans thought that it was weird. Tony Twain usually did not find it hard to resort to conservative tactics in important matches. Why did he suddenly choose to play an attacking game against his opponent? They were worried that if this went on, Forest might fail.

Twain's thoughts were simple. He wanted to make use of this match to check on his team's attacking prowess. Against a team like Real Madrid, it would not be sufficient to be able to defend.

When the first half ended, the two teams were level with the score at 2:2. The match was played in a quick rhythm from the start. The fans got their money's worth.

Most people did not expect such an exciting match to be played out in an FA Cup final. Nowadays, football had become more practical, so finals were usually a boring affair. That was especially so if Nottingham Forest was involved.

They did not expect Twain to suddenly have a change of heart. It made it difficult for everyone to get used to it.

Was he going to raise the flag of attacking football and play an open game with Tottenham?

Redknapp must have thought so. During halftime, he told his players to continue pressing the attack and take advantage of the spaces behind when Forest attack in the second half.

At the same time, in Nottingham Forest's changing room, Twain smiled and told his players, "We'll play on the break in the second half."

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The changes in the situation of the second half were beyond Redknapp's expectations.

His team pressed up in attack. He soon realized that Nottingham Forest did not come forward in attack too. Instead, they retreated to the back and started to position themselves to play on the counterattack.

The commentator was disappointed at this change and started to insult Twain. "Tony Twain must be afraid that his team might continue conceding goals and lose morale, or even the game, if he continued to play an open game with Tottenham. I think he can't take this failure, so he chose to play a more conservative game… What a pity. Only the first half of this final is exciting…"

Redknapp was not dumb. He knew Twain was going to play on the counterattack when they drew back their defensive line. If he continued pressing forward, he would be asking for it.

Hence, he drew back.

It was no wonder that the commentator sighed and said that the first half was more exciting.

After 20 minutes of boring football, Redknapp finally could not take it and launched the attack first.

They bombarded the Forest goal for 10 minutes without any result while the Forest team turtled in a total defensive formation.

Just when Tottenham was going to take a breather, the dagger that was hidden in Forest's hands suddenly shot out.

Akinfeev did not pump the ball up, choosing to throw the ball out to start the attack. This was a counterattack with a purpose.

Gago sprayed a long ball to the flank after receiving the ball. Moke received the ball quickly. He did not continue bringing the ball forward. Instead, he took a look at the situation in front and chose to play a direct, diagonal ball toward the front of the penalty area.

Mitchell followed the ball with his long legs as Michael Dawson followed beside him.

The pass Moke played was a rolling ball. It was very fast on the wet grass. Mitchell was not a fast player, but he was fast enough when compared to a center back. He also had long legs, which were a useful advantage, especially now.

Moke's pass was a little bit forward. It was difficult to receive such a ball, let alone control it.

Mitchell did not even think about controlling it.

When the ball reached the arc of the penalty area, the 6-foot-6 Mitchell suddenly jumped and slid toward the ball.

Michael Dawson did not expect the tall fellow to slide toward the ball from outside the penalty area. He was momentarily stunned and lost track of his target.

Gomes originally wanted to come out for the ball but dropped back after realizing that Dawson was following his target. He also did not expect Mitchell to slide after the ball from outside the penalty area.

Why is he sliding the ball? He's not a defender!

The football told him about Mitchell's plan in the next second.

Mitchell successfully reached the ball, which flew directly toward the goal after changing direction.

It had been established that the ball would roll especially fast on the wet grass. Gomes did not expect Mitchell to shoot a sliding shot from outside the penalty area.

Gomes could not dive in time. The ball rolled past his fingertips. It quickly rolled toward the goal on the grass.

Dawson ran past Gomes toward the ball, planning to clear it.

He was a step too late. He kicked air as the ball rolled past him, hit the post, and went into the goal.

"3:2! A brace for Mitchell!"

Mitchell became the hero of the Nottingham Forest fans. He raised his arms and thanked God for giving him the opportunity to score a brace in the FA Cup final.

His childhood dreams were being fulfilled one by one.

The Nottingham Forest's players were excited as they surrounded Michell, slapping him on the head and shoulders.

Their target this season was the treble. They had already won the league title, and they were leading Tottenham by 3:2 in the FA Cup final with victory in sight. Two trophies would improve their morale and confidence.

Twain was only happy for a while before shouting at his team to focus and not let off in their attack. A lead of one goal was not safe.

Redknapp knew that Twain would do that. Taking the chance of Forest scoring, he waved his hand. Tottenham was to continue attacking. They had to score before Forest scored again.

He almost succeeded.

A long shot from Modric was out of Akinfeev's reach, but it came back off the crossbar and out.

The Forest Fans broke out in cold sweat from the shock.

The rain started to fall heavier.

Twain had already forgotten his wife's instructions before the match. He stood straight on the touchline and allowed the rain to drench him with no intention of moving back. He encouraged his team to use the method.

His players were playing in the rain. As a manager, he had to brave the rain with them.

The teams started to play an intensive game after 20 minutes of a quiet game. The match became more exciting.

It might have been because of the weather condition, but the excitement of the match deteriorated. Mistakes became more abundant following the drop in energy level. The match after that was difficult to watch.

However, Twain and Redknapp were still focused. They were not looking at what was happening on the surface but what was happening on a deeper level. Everyone was making mistakes. It was now about which side could capitalize on the other side's mistake.

On the 81st minute, Nottingham Forest capitalized on Tottenham's mistake first. Agbonlahor, in as a substitute for Mitchell, assisted from the flank. Şahin followed up from the middle and fired the ball into the goal.

This goal basically pronounced the death sentence for Tottenham.

Following that, Tottenham struggled for a while more, but they could not break through the Forest goal. Nottingham Forest shamelessly played with everyone in defense after taking a two-goal lead and did not give Redknapp's team any chances.

When injury-time started, the Forest fans started to sing and dance on the stands in the rain. They were singing Queen's, "We are the Champions," announcing their victory ahead of time.

When the referee blew the whistle for full time, the fans' singing became thunderous cheers.

The Forest bench rushed onto the pitch with Twain leading them as they embraced the players on the pitch.

"Congratulations, Tony Twain! He finally got the first FA Cup trophy in his managerial career! In all the competitions that he participated in, other than the UEFA Europa League, he has won all the trophies that he could win! This is a historical moment! The most successful manager in England for the past decade has etched his name on this trophy with the longest history in English history! He and his team are creating history!"

Twain was lifted by his players above their shoulders and paraded around.

He extended his arm and pointed toward the sky. They just needed one more trophy.

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The day after the match, the media used a photo of him pointing with the caption:

Nottingham Forest, pointing their sword toward the UEFA Champions League!