19 save. Promotion Playoffs
[Yorkshire Evening] Leeds Secures Playoff Spot After Defeating Derby at Home!
The match ended in Leeds's victory.
McCormack's goal proved to be the winner.
McCormack was named Man of the Match.
It was ironic, in a way. Derby's forwards had faltered so much that Leeds's defenders were never even given a chance to stand out.
[Leeds Live] Solid Defense and McCormack Lift Leeds into the Promotion Battle.
[Sky Sports] Sin Uison Keeps Clean Sheet in Every Championship Match Since Debut!
As the season ended, Sin Uison's record became a hot topic as well.
It was only half a season, and it was the Championship.
But he had not conceded a single goal throughout that half-season.
Sin Uison's performance drew some attention even in the Premier League, beyond the Championship. Of course, that attention was soon buried by bigger news.
[Official] Promotion Playoff Schedule Confirmed.
The playoff semi-final schedule was set.
3rd place QPR.
4th place Derby.
5th place Wigan.
6th place Leeds.
A total of four teams had advanced.
The promotion playoffs were structured as a knockout tournament with 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th. In other words, Leeds's first opponent was QPR.
QPR.
Full name: Queens Park Rangers.
They had dreamed of a rosy future when a wealthy owner arrived.
But the star players they had assembled failed to gel as a team, and they fell straight into relegation.
Now they were aiming for promotion once again.
"Could we face Derby one more time in the playoffs?"
Sin Uison muttered as he looked at the fixture list.
It was possible if Derby beat Wigan.
If they met again in the final, Derby would be gnashing their teeth, craving revenge for their recent defeat as much as promotion itself.
"Their motivation would certainly be through the roof."
[The problem is that they're a team we might only meet in the final.]
"...Why do you seem to like the idea?"
[No way. Hehe.]
Sin Uison sighed and looked at QPR's materials.
Truthfully, looking at the players, the squad itself was outstanding.
There had been an exodus after relegation.
But some players had held their ground.
[For example?]
"Joey Barton."
Sin Uison named a player without hesitation.
Joey Barton had been notorious during his Premier League days for his thug-like temperament.
However, his ability and fighting spirit as a player were highly regarded, and that hadn't changed; he was currently QPR's highest-class midfielder.
"Well, it's not like I'll be clashing with him directly."
Given their respective positions, they weren't players who would see each other's faces up close very often.
At most, it would be long-range shots or set-piece situations.
Sin Uison had a different player he was wary of.
Charlie Austin.
As QPR's main striker this season.
The forward who had made a huge contribution to lifting the team to 3rd place.
He might not have been on McCormack's level, but he had performed well in the Championship this season. There was no reason not to be on guard.
'We've already faced each other once.'
Sin Uison recalled the match against QPR in the latter half of the Championship season.
Austin's greatest strength was the shots he produced from unexpected situations.
From a goalkeeper's perspective, it was an incredibly irritating strength.
[But you stopped him well, didn't you?]
"I stopped him."
That match ended in a draw.
It had been a match where even Sin Uison felt his blood run cold several times.
"Haa."
Sin Uison sighed and scratched his head.
"Are we really going to use the same counter-tactics as last time?"
That was his gripe, if he had one.
The tactics Leeds had prepared for the last QPR match hadn't been very effective, yet McDermott had said they would use the exact same tactics again.
He would follow the manager's orders, but he couldn't help wondering if having no changes at all was a bit much.
"Plus, we're not the only ones analyzing the opposition."
QPR, including Austin, would have analyzed Sin Uison as well.
QPR's manager, Harry Redknapp, was a manager who had proven his worth in the Premier League.
His experience and ability were on a level where comparing him to McDermott would be an insult.
"..."
Sin Uison looked at Austin with somber eyes.
***
[Football London] Redknapp Praises Sin Uison!
[Football London] Redknapp Wary of Long Away Trip to Leeds.
Redknapp named Sin Uison as the player they most needed to watch out for in this match.
It was a different choice from Derby manager McClaren's earlier selection.
He answered nonchalantly regarding this.
"McCormack is certainly a threatening striker. Still, our defense can handle him. But Sin Uison is different."
It was very high praise to give an opposing player.
"Before his debut, Leeds's defense was honestly a mess. To keep a clean sheet with that backline... that young man is already beyond Championship level."
Especially in a knockout tournament like this, they had to be even more careful.
Only Redknapp, who had experienced Sin Uison firsthand in the latter half of the league, could say such things.
Redknapp finished the interview and went inside.
Not much time remained before kickoff.
"Who will go to the Premier League! The promotion playoff semi-final, the first match, is about to begin!"
Elland Road.
Today, the first playoff match would be held here.
When the time came, the Leeds and QPR players entered the pitch.
Both teams were fielding their best players without injuries.
"This bastard played well last time."
Joey Barton, shaking hands with Sin Uison at that moment, grinned mischievously. Apparently, he had been deeply impressed by the saves Sin Uison had shown when they faced each other in the latter half of the Championship season.
"Well, thanks for the compliment."
"Feisty, aren't ya!"
Winking as if pleased, Joey Barton walked past.
The next player was Charlie Austin.
"..."
"..."
Unlike just now, neither spoke.
Whether it was mutual respect that needed no words.
Or a small battle of nerves.
Having finished shaking hands with all the players, Sin Uison went to stand in front of Leeds's goal.
"Hoo."
Sin Uison touched his knee brace once and exhaled deeply.
It was a habit he had developed over half a season of playing.
Every player had various superstitions or habits before a match.
Some had to listen to a specific song, some had to eat a specific food.
Some tore at the grass, or prayed to the god they believed in.
For Sin Uison, this small check was his superstition.
[How is it?]
To her question, Sin Uison clapped several times while wearing his gloves.
The sensation reached all the way to his fingertips.
"Not bad."
The match began.
In the midfield battle, QPR held the upper hand.
It was clear that Leeds couldn't exert much strength against the midfield centered around Joey Barton.
It wasn't simply because Barton was in good condition.
'They prepared their countermeasures well.'
Sin Uison could tell. That they had come well-prepared today.
'It'll work out.'
He had felt uneasy in the last match against Derby too, but hadn't they won in the end?
Sin Uison decided to cast aside his uneasy thoughts.
"Joey Barton intercepts the pass. He's reading Leeds's play completely."
"Niko Kranjcar makes his run."
QPR's winger, Kranjcar, was a player with abundant Premier League experience, having played for Portsmouth and Tottenham.
The unusual thing was that he had been under Redknapp's guidance at Portsmouth, Tottenham, and now QPR.
Redknapp himself had ostracized Kranjcar at Tottenham.
And Redknapp himself had reached out to him again at QPR—a rather amusing relationship, all things considered.
"Kranjcar dribbling down the flank."
"Mark Austin more closely!"
Sin Uison shouted to Leeds's defenders.
He had seen Austin inching into position following Kranjcar's movement.
At his words, Leeds's center-backs turned their heads to check on Austin.
"Tch."
Austin clicked his tongue at the attention focused on him. He gestured to Kranjcar not to pass.
"Kranjcar passes back again."
"There's no need to rush, being the away side."
Then a Leeds midfielder won the ball with a rough challenge. The referee didn't call a foul, and just when Leeds seemed to have seized a rare opportunity...
"You fucking bastards!"
Joey Barton barged in.
Barton bumped in roughly.
In the meantime, Austin dropped back to defend, hassling the Leeds midfielder from front and back.
In the end, the Leeds midfielder gave up on passing forward and handed the ball to a nearby teammate. After several back-passes, the ball reached Sin Uison.
"The ball goes to Sin Uison, ah! Austin is pressing high again!"
"He's running very hard!"
Austin disrupted Leeds with aggressive pressing and defensive participation.
Especially when dropping back to defend, he and Joey Barton squeezed the life out of Leeds from front and back, making it difficult for Leeds players to play their own game.
"So they won't give us any breathing room."
Sin Uison shrugged as he watched Austin running toward him.
As if challenging him to come if he dared.
It wasn't as if no team had tried this kind of pressing before.
Thump!
A pass was floated over Austin's head.
The ball was comfortably received by Leeds's right back, who had been relatively free from pressure.
"Everyone hold your positions, you bastards!"
At that moment, Joey Barton barked at his teammates.
In response, QPR's players maintained their spacing and pressed the spaces.
The Leeds right back looked around with a troubled expression.
'Should I pass to the midfield?'
But doing so meant dealing with Joey Barton glaring in the midfield.
There weren't many options at a time like this.
Just as the Leeds right back tried to play another back-pass...
"Huh? Oh!"
"A fatal mistake!"
Of all times, a misplaced pass.
The direction wasn't off, but the speed was far too slow.
So slow that it wouldn't take long for Austin to intercept it.
"Austin! Austin intercepts the ball!"
"Austin immediately runs toward goal! It's one-on-one!"
"No other players around!"
"Fucking hell."
Sin Uison cursed at the stupid mistake.
That guy couldn't even clear the easiest passing drill.
[Focus.]
"I am!"
Sin Uison crouched and tensed his muscles, ready to stretch his hands toward the goalpost at any moment.
Sin Uison glared at Austin.
The situation was the complete opposite of just before.
Now it was Austin charging in with a look that said, 'Stop me if you can.'
'I have to increase the odds, even by a little.'
Trying to calculate how to slightly improve his chances of making a save made his head hurt.
Should he rush out and narrow the shooting angle?
Or should he buy time for his teammates to recover?
Sin Uison glanced to the side.
He saw center-backs running toward the penalty box with pale faces.
Who would be faster, his teammates or Austin?
His intuition cruelly raised the latter's hand.
'Then...!'
Sin Uison, rooted to his spot, stepped out of the penalty area.
Unfortunately.
Having just felt a strong intuition, he would need time to feel that level of intuition again.
From now on, he had to rely solely on luck, or on Sin Uison's reflexes.
"Sin Uison is closing the distance!"
"This is the Sin Uison who has saved so many one-on-ones!"
The moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived.
Charlie Austin and Sin Uison.
The duel between striker and goalkeeper.
Sin Uison narrowed the angle from inside the goal outward.
Austin's choice was.
A bold shot.
Bang!
At the same time as the shot, Sin Uison launched his body.
But he couldn't reach it.
"Son of a... bitch."
Sin Uison turned only his head to check the ball.
The ball was rippling the back of the net.