May 17, 2010, 7:45 PM.
At Charlton Athletic’s home ground, The Valley, the second leg of the EFL League One promotion play-off semi-final between Charlton Athletic and Swindon Town, the fourth and fifth-placed teams, was about to kick off.
This match would determine which of the two teams would advance to the final at Wembley Stadium.
A total of 21,000 fans from both teams arrived at the scene, packing the stands to capacity.
After ensuring his friend Lia was seated, Theo looked at Charlton Athletic’s starting lineup, which remained the traditional 4-4-2 formation.
Goalkeeper: No.
25 Rob Elliot.
Defenders: No.
2 Frazer Richardson, No.
35 Christian Dailly, No.
5 Miguel Llera, and No.
38 Gary Borrowdale.
Midfielders: No.
11 Lloyd Sam, No.
6 José Semedo, No.
4 Nicky Bailey, and No.
24 Kyel Reid.
Forwards: No.
23 Dave Mooney and No.
10 Dion Burton.
The team captain on the field was No.
4 Bailey, who had returned from injury.
On the bench, Theo sat next to the vice-captain’s younger brother, the center-forward Akpo Sodje, while Sam Sodje was temporarily absent from this match due to injury.
The match had just begun, and both sides were going back and forth, playing with extreme intensity.
The two sides had already played a match a week ago, so they were as familiar with each other as they could possibly be.
There was no initial probing; the midfield battles, passing, and shooting—the attacks from both sides never stopped.
Everyone wanted to crush the opponent right from the start.
Besides watching the match, Theo was also constantly dealing with the various questions from the chatterbox Akpo Sodje, who seemed to have endless curiosity about everything.
In the fifth minute of the game, Swindon Town’s starting goalkeeper David Lucas collided with a Charlton Athletic forward, fell to the ground, and was eventually substituted off due to injury.
This greatly diminished Swindon Town’s strength.
Seeing this, Charlton Athletic launched a massive offensive.
However, the opponent tightened their defense.
Charlton Athletic besieged Swindon Town for ten minutes but failed to score.
In the 20th minute of the first half, Charlton Athletic, unable to break through, had the ball intercepted by the Swindon Town midfield.
The left midfielder crossed from the byline, the opposing center-forward headed the ball back, and Swindon Town midfielder Danny Ward scored with a low shot from outside the penalty area.
This extended the aggregate score to 3-1, and the fans at the stadium, who had been cheering and laughing moments before, fell into a dead silence.
Most importantly, the starting goalkeeper Rob Elliot collided with the opposing center-forward while coming off his line, and his old groin injury flared up, making him unable to continue the match.
On the sidelines, Theo, like everyone else, stood by to watch the medical team’s treatment.
At this moment, assistant coach Tim Breaker told Theo to hurry up and warm up.
He was afraid that Elliot wouldn’t be able to continue; after all, it was a recurrence of an old injury, which is very difficult to handle on the fly.
Sure enough, two minutes later, the medical team confirmed that Elliot could no longer continue in the match.
Helplessly, Charlton Athletic requested a substitution.
Having warmed up for only two minutes, Theo was called into action and substituted onto the pitch.
In the players’ family stand behind the bench, Lia, wearing a No.
22 Charlton Athletic jersey with the team logo painted on her face, saw Theo about to enter the pitch and immediately shouted excitedly, “Theo, come on!” Theo, who was waiting on the sidelines to enter the game, heard a woman calling his name.
He turned his head and saw that it was indeed Lia.
Seeing that youthful, vibrant girl cheering for him, Theo’s heart skipped a beat, and he waved his hand as a greeting.
By now, Elliot had been carried off the pitch, and after receiving permission from the referee, Theo stepped onto the field.
The match continued.
Charlton Athletic, already on the edge of a cliff, went all-in on their offensive.
Losing by two goals or five made no difference now; this was a knockout match, and a loss meant it was all over.
His teammates were attacking furiously in the front court, but Theo was finding opportunities in the six-yard box to warm up.
If his body wasn’t loosened up, it would be hard to perform if he needed to make a save later.
In the 25th minute of the first half, Swindon Town intercepted the ball in the backfield and launched a counterattack.
It was Danny Ward again, advancing quickly, followed by other Swindon Town players moving up fast.
Ward looked toward the goalkeeper’s position.
It was a young goalkeeper; the data Swindon Town had gathered showed he had played four matches, and he was rumored to be a talented “internet celebrity” goalkeeper.
Just as he was about to take a long shot, Charlton Athletic defenders Richardson and Llera, who were tracking back quickly, shut him down and intercepted the ball.
Just as Richardson wanted to launch a quick counterattack, Ward slid in and tackled him straight to the ground.
The referee blew the whistle for a foul.
It was a free kick in the backfield.
Theo, who had been concentrating fully on preparing for the opponent’s attack, saw this and his eyes lit up immediately.
He ran straight outside the penalty area and requested to take this free kick.
Captain Nicky Bailey, who was originally going to kick the ball upfield, knew that during his injury recovery, a very famous young goalkeeper had emerged from the team’s youth academy, and long-range free kicks from the backfield were his specialty.
Since that was the case, Theo had no choice but to design a passing trajectory.
Theo placed the ball and stepped back a few paces.
He looked at the positions of the players from both sides outside the penalty area, ran up quickly, and following the angle suggested by the system, “Bang!” The ball was kicked out.
The football commentator at the scene shouted loudly: “Theo has come up, it seems he wants to take this backfield free kick.
He previously scored an 80-meter free kick, and not just one; he also helped the team with an assist before!” “Give it to him!
Oh, good!
Our captain has let him take it!” “I hope this free kick can also contribute to the team!
And bring us hope for advancement!” The football flew rapidly through the air, and when it reached the penalty area, it dropped sharply.
Players from both sides saw the ball and rushed to compete for it, but just as the ball dropped to 3 meters, its arc changed in a weird way.
The passionate voice of the commentator came from the scene: “Theo kicks the ball!” “The ball is moving very fast!” “It’s reached the penalty area!
Players from both sides are jockeying for position!” “The ball is dropping!
The Charlton Athletic players are all fighting for the first touch!” “Header!” “Goal!” “Goooooooooal!”