Coming from the bench

On Saturday afternoon, the football pitch at Helen Parkhurst School was the venue for an intercollegiate league match.

As the two teams taking part today are from Almere, they have attracted a lot of fans from the city, and the stadium, which has no stands, is completely closed.

The two participating teams are the hosts Helen Parkhurst School against the veteran team ROC Flevoland.

Helen Parkhurst School is one of Almere's most prestigious private schools, but sport is not its strong point. It was not until the rise of the city's new Almere Football Club that Helen Parkhurst School fully cooperated with the other's youth training.

But Almere has only been up and running for less than seven years. Even though the youth academy cooperates with Ajax, it has not yet become a stable enough entity. Instead, ROC Flevoland are an old school with a little more ability than them, and in this game they deliberately focused their defence on Helen Parkhurst School midfielder Henk Dimer.

The star of the Almere youth team, Henk Dimer was hailed as the first player to hope to make the Ajax youth team. His strength is outstanding in Almere and he is the team's playmaker on the pitch.

Under the pressure of ROC Flevoland, however, his teammates' support was not enough for him to make a difference with his technique, and he was isolated by their defence and found it difficult to make an impact.

On the other hand, Flevoland were very active on the left. The speed of their left-winger kept breaking down Helen Parkhurst's defensive line, before he sent a cross into the box. The striker, who was left unmarked, quickly caught up with the ball before leaping in front of goal and heading the ball into the top corner of the net, with the goalkeeper beaten.

After the goal, Helen Parkhurst played a chaotic game, with Henk Dimer in particular looking a little irritated on the pitch. He often made mistakes and was repeatedly caught out by the Flevoland defenders.

The first half ended with Flevoland leading by one goal.

The Helen Parkhurst players who came off the pitch all looked very upset, obviously unhappy with the outcome of the first half.

Yang Yang, a rookie on the team for the first time, was mentally prepared not to play, but kept a close eye on the game throughout, especially the two players on the left side of the Flevoland team.

Helen Parkhurst played a 4-2-2 formation and the tactics were relatively simple. Once the ball had reached the forward line, it was basically up to the left midfielder to use her speed to break through the defensive line and cross the ball into the penalty area.

Helen Parkhurst's problem was that their main right-back Nick was injured and missed the game, and the substitute was not strong enough, looking nervous on the pitch and not playing to his level. Flevoland made the most of this opportunity and often threatened to score on that side of the pitch.

Almere coach Johnny Rep also made an appearance in this game, but he was more of a peripheral figure. The coach on the field is still assistant coach Dick Vanpoel. He also seems to be aware of the problem. During the break he called all the players together and rearranged the defence on the right.

From start to finish, he never thought about replacing the right-back.

...

...

"Why do you want to watch this game?"

Truss curiously asked the middle-aged Dutch man next to her as the fans watched from the sidelines.

He has deliberately stayed away from football for almost half a year. He hasn't even been to a football match in half a year. To Truss' surprise, the first match he watched six months later was an amateur match.

The middle-aged Dutchman was still looking blankly at the home team's distant training ground. Vanpoel had called everyone, and behind him Johnny Rep was helping to make suggestions. It seemed his old friend couldn't sit still either.

Truss, already used to her husband's attitude, rolled her eyes and turned her head.

Three Chinese stood beside her. From the young girl's words, Truus knew that they were the family of the Chinese teenager who was training in the skateboard area. They had come to cheer him on, but the teenager was still sitting on the bench.

Judging by the current situation, he may not play in this match.

If the main team can't do anything, a player with poor basic skills and strength won't be able to do any better.

But at this moment, Truus suddenly has an idea in her head, is it for him?

"You came to watch this game just for him?" Truus is a little surprised.

The middle-aged Dutchman neither admitted nor denied, "I'm worried about our bet".

But that wasn't really an answer, Truus couldn't believe it, and she was even more curious.

What was so interesting about this Chinese teenager that made him worth running to see his game?

"You will definitely be disappointed. He will not be able to play in this game." Truus shook his head.

But unexpectedly, the middle-aged Dutchman still said lightly: "The game is not over yet, who knows what can happen?"

Truus rolled her eyes again in frustration, but she was happy.

He was finally beginning to cheer up.

...

...

The second half of the game started again.

Flevoland stuck to the strategy of the first half, concentrating on Henk Dimer in midfield, and when he tried to counterattack he would have two players on him to prevent him from playing comfortably.

Either Johnny Rep or Dick Vanpoel felt a bit helpless, but there was no way.

Their weak right-back was up against their strong left-winger. If Flevoland hadn't taken advantage of that, it would have been strange.

"They've obviously studied us thoroughly." Dick Vanpoel shook his head dejectedly.

Even though it is only a youth team for an intercollegiate competition that no one pays attention to, he is still the independent coach and of course he did not want to lose.

But when he looked at the situation on the pitch and then at his bench, who could he trust to come in and break Flevoland's momentum?

As he pondered, the Flevoland players on the pitch broke the ball up in midfield. Henk Dimer failed to pass the ball in time, and there was no time to try and recover after the interception. After Helen Parkhurst had been dispossessed, the ball was passed to the left again.

The following goal was a carbon copy of the one they conceded in the first half. Flevoland crossed from the left and the striker in the box leapt high to head the ball, this time it hit a defender but bounced back to the striker, who didn't miss this time and fired into the right side of the net.

0-2 to ROC Flevoland. 

...

...

Although he didn't play, Yang Yang was sitting on the bench for the first time, hoping his team would win.

Maybe the team will score a lot of goals and the coach will bring him on in the last few minutes?

Unexpectedly, the team comes up against a strong opponent and loses embarrassingly.

When he looks at his team-mates on the pitch, who have been making fun of him so much, but now they can't play at the level they do in training, especially Henk Dimer, he plays like a headless fly running around trying to catch the ball. Is this Almere's top prospect who has hopes of making the Ajax youth team?

When he was in China, Yang Yang was the number one player in the team. He didn't feel much. But now, sitting on the bench, he suddenly realises that even if he is as strong as Henk Dimer, if he is isolated by the defence like that, no matter how much he has improved, he will not be able to play at his normal level.

At the end of the day, football is a team game and it is impossible for one person to carry the team.

Even if he doesn't play, it doesn't mean he can't learn something from the game.

Zax gives him a task to do before the game, which is to watch the game carefully and think about three questions at the same time. If it is him, how will he run? How will he receive the ball? What should he do when he receives the ball?

These three questions may seem simple, but the combination of information is huge and the game situation is constantly changing. Even though Yang Yang is aided by God's vision, he is still human and can often be overwhelmed, so he can only focus on the two players on the right side of the pitch.

That's why he noticed that the right-back who came off the bench in this game wasn't playing at half his level from training.

...

...

After more than an hour's play, Flevoland led Helen Parkhurst's side 2-0. This was a huge blow for the home team. On the other hand, the morale of the visitors was high.

But just when it looked as if Helen Parkhurst were going to be beaten, things changed.

Helen Parkhurst's right-back was defending and competing with the opposition's left-winger for speed, and although he managed to chase down and intercept the ball, he collided with one of the opposition's players, who fell off and hit the turf hard.

The fans on the touchline went into a frenzy.

The referee quickly stopped play and signalled for the team doctor to enter. A stretcher soon followed, carrying Helen Parkhurst's right-back off the pitch. The initial diagnosis was a sprain.

Helen Parkhurst's supporters on the touchline shook their heads in disappointment, clearly desperate for the game to go on.

Both right-backs were injured. How would they cope with Flevoland's powerful left wing?

Dick Vanpoel was equally desperate. The frowning Dutchman clenched his fists tightly with both hands. He knew he had to make a decision in a hurry.

The substitute must be replaced.

But with whom?

A centre-back?

The game would be lost and everyone would think his decision was conservative.

Dick Van Poel looked over the bench, his eyes full of confusion, no matter which one was inappropriate.

In the end, his eyes fell on Yang Yang.

This Chinese teenager has made great progress recently, especially on the defensive end, and he has repeatedly made eye-catching steals, and his physical fitness is very abundant, and his speed is fast. At this time, let him go up, maybe they can reduce the massacre.

At this thought, Dick Vanpoel gritted his teeth, maybe he will unexpectedly find usefulness in something that seems worthless. He immediately pointed at Yang Yang.

"Yang, quickly change and go to the right back position on the field."

"Ah?" Yang Yang couldn't believe his ears. The whole person stood up and looked at Dick Vanpoel.

This time he was asked to come off the bench?

"I believe in you, Yang, you will be able to make a difference." Dick Vanpoel encouraged him.

But even he didn't believe it, and neither did Yang Yang.

"In short, after you go upstairs, you don't have to think about anything, just do one thing well, which is to defend, mark the left winger, don't let him make the runs he made in the last 60 minutes".

When he had finished speaking, Dick Vanpoel gave Yang Yang a vigorous tap on the shoulder and pushed him to the touchline.

Yang Yang's head felt dizzy. He hadn't expected to play.

He didn't smile until he stood on the sidelines and saw his uncle's family on the other side of the court waving at him, shouting and cheering loudly.

Yes, it was his turn at last.