20 save. Promotion Playoffs
-Goooal! It's a goal! QPR scores the opening goal!
-Charlie Austin doesn't miss the one-on-one chance and finishes it beautifully!
The camera caught Charlie Austin. Standing in front of the camera, he showed with his whole body just how happy he was right now.
And.
Looking at that Austin.
"Damn it!"
Bang!
Sin Uison struck the goalpost and roared.
He looked full of anger. In fact, he was very angry right now.
It was different from when he conceded the first goal against Man United.
At the time, it had felt like bad luck due to an unexpected variable.
'I could have stopped it.'
Of course, stopping a one-on-one chance is no easy feat. Therefore, one might think he was being too hard on himself.
But Sin Uison was different from others.
With the advantage of the dream training ground, he had to be different from others.
[Get a grip.]
"Huu."
Sin Uison let out a long sigh at the voice that rang in his head.
He realized something anew.
He detested the sense of powerlessness that came after conceding a goal.
Powerlessness. That which he had tasted for so long in West Ham's reserves.
The emptiness that came after conceding made him feel as if he had returned to those times.
'This is the worst.'
His mentality was shaking more than he thought.
Unlike the FA Cup, which he hadn't expected much from.
Perhaps it was because this was the promotion playoffs, a match of a different level of importance.
He felt he could understand why a goalkeeper who had been showing good performances would falter after conceding one goal.
"Yeah. I've got to get a grip."
Sin Uison comforted himself.
The match doesn't stop just because one player falters.
Let alone if the one standing before the goal shakes.
Then the match itself begins to falter.
-The QPR players look even more relaxed.
-Because they have achieved today's intended objective.
From the start, they must have had in mind not losing rather than winning away at Elland Road.
Just keeping this one goal was a better-than-expected result.
Now it was Leeds who was in a hurry.
-Leeds continues to pour on the attack!
-But the goal refuses to open!
The fundamental limitation that Leeds's attack had been harboring was revealing itself plainly.
The attack that became powerless without McCormack exerting his strength was continuously blocked by QPR's defense.
They couldn't recklessly pour on the attack because QPR's midfield, including Joey Barton, was still showing high-intensity pressure.
"Ugh."
The Leeds players floundered under the pressure coming from all sides. Having conceded the first goal like that, even playing back-passes wasn't easy.
Beep!
Just like that, the match ended.
Looking at Elland Road fallen into silence, Sin Uison let out a sigh.
They had lost.
"Damn it."
***
[Leeds Live] Red light for promotion! Leeds United!
[Sky Sports] Complacent McDermott gets schooled by Redknapp!
Sin Uison looked at the articles with a gloomy face.
Of course, a red light had turned on, but promotion failure wasn't confirmed yet.
Because the second leg still remained.
The playoff semi-finals were played over two legs, home and away.
Now Leeds had to prepare to go on an away trip to London, QPR's home base.
'London.'
To Sin Uison, London was home.
He had slept there, lived there, and dreamed of success there.
Now he had to think of London as enemy territory.
There were London-based teams in the Championship like Watford, but this was Sin Uison's first away trip to London since his transfer.
[You look gloomy. Did you have some attachment to London?]
"Hometown attachment? No way."
Sin Uison lightly dismissed those words.
What he was worried about now wasn't the away trip to London.
It was the manager, McDermott.
He was experiencing firsthand the saying that an incompetent superior is more dangerous than the enemy.
No wonder people were criticizing McDermott in this defeat. Leeds, bringing obvious tactics, unchanging tactics, had become easy prey for QPR.
"You'll make changes this time, right?"
This too was merely wishful thinking.
Biting his lower lip and suppressing his emotions, Sin Uison turned on the TV.
The Derby vs Wigan match was being broadcast just then.
Surprisingly, Wigan was ahead by one goal.
"It's a bit unexpected, even at Wigan's home."
When Sin Uison had faced them directly, Derby was the better team. In fact, he had achieved a comfortable victory against Wigan.
The match eventually ended in Wigan's victory.
Of course, Derby wasn't an easy team either, so there was still a possibility of a comeback in the second leg.
"I can't sleep."
Sin Uison, lying on the sofa, scratched his head.
Leeds wanted a comeback too.
But it didn't look entirely bright.
Sin Uison forced his eyes shut.
"So it's finally London."
Sin Uison opened his eyes and muttered, looking out the bus window.
Like that.
Three days had passed.
Currently, Sin Uison and the rest of the Leeds players were on the team bus heading to London.
The streets outside the window were familiar.
It was London, unchanged despite returning after several months.
'Has that much time already passed?'
Because he had been running nonstop, it felt like he had left just yesterday, but thinking about it, the emotions were fresh.
While lost in thought.
Screech.
The bus stopped in front of the lodgings.
"Ugh, what's with these facilities."
"Aren't we going to get sick sleeping here?"
The players vented their complaints at the shabby lodgings.
Sin Uison also frowned after spotting mold in the corner of the room.
He hadn't expected lodgings attached to a training ground, but he had hoped the sleeping area would at least be clean.
[How pathetic.]
"It's the sorrow of a club with no money."
Sin Uison sighed after unpacking his luggage.
The Leeds players, having unpacked, got back on the bus.
Sin Uison had changed into training clothes because today's schedule wasn't over yet.
Since they still had to sync up one last time, they had briefly rented a training ground from a nearby place called James Football Academy.
"Do it like this here, and if QPR's winger comes this way, you guys..."
McDermott was speaking passionately.
Of course, since the second leg was tomorrow, there wasn't enough time to change anything.
"Tch."
Sin Uison clicked his tongue and focused on his own training.
If there was one change in mindset due to the first leg's defeat.
It was that Sin Uison had developed something like an obsession that he had to do it himself rather than trust his teammates.
***
Match day.
Loftus Road Stadium.
QPR's home ground.
Waaaah!
The cheering of both teams' fans filled this place.
In fact, the atmosphere itself was better on the QPR fans' side. If they could finish this match without conceding, they would advance to the playoff final.
The relegation despite spending so much money last season had been a disgrace, but.
If they got promoted right away, it would be a good story regardless.
"You lot have even tasted the Premier League air!"
"It's our turn this time!"
Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!
Leeds United fans who had come the long way together raised their voices in support, refusing to lose.
-The atmosphere is heated.
-Both teams have good reason.
QPR fans who had watched the team fall apart despite having a wealthy owner, and Leeds fans who wanted to return to their glorious days.
Both sides were desperate enough.
"Huu!"
Sin Uison, standing in front of the goal, touched the brace on his right knee once.
It was fine.
It wasn't a difficult task.
To not concede a single goal.
The match began.
Kickoff was Leeds's. Even though it was an away match, they took an attacking posture. They had no choice.
-McCormack takes the ball!
-He tries a shot but it goes over!
Today the burden placed on McCormack was heavy.
Perhaps because of that burden, McCormack's body looked heavy today too.
Sin Uison watched that situation with visible frustration.
In the first leg, QPR had properly prepared for Sin Uison's passes, and this had shown in the results.
Sin Uison's passes hadn't been very effective.
And after the match ended.
McDermott had firmly told Sin Uison not to interfere with the play at all.
It was unpleasant because it seemed like he was implicitly blaming him, but he had no choice but to accept it since it was the manager's order. But even so, there was something he couldn't understand.
"What kind of intention is telling me not to interfere at all?"
Therefore, Leeds's current play had returned to the state when Sin Uison wasn't involved.
It was frustrating and meaningless.
Of course, the ball occasionally came to Sin Uison. When they couldn't withstand the pressure and circulated the ball back until it reached in front of the goal.
Aside from that, Sin Uison's current play was minimized.
Still, it was the manager's order.
Sin Uison suppressed his frustration and didn't step away from in front of the goal.
-Leeds can hardly seize any chances.
-Yes. Not having a single proper shot on target is a bit serious.
Clearly, if you compared the number of shots, Leeds had overwhelmingly more.
But comparing actual shots on target, QPR's counterattacks were more threatening instead.
Beep!
The whistle announcing the end of the first half blew.
In the locker room, Sin Uison silently listened to the manager's words.
"Alright, let's do well in the second half too!"
McDermott shouted and left the locker room first. It was when the players were getting up with increasingly resigned faces.
"Excuse me, Mr. McCormack."
Sin Uison, who had been silent, opened his mouth for the first time.
McCormack, who had been scrunching up his face, stopped as if asking what was wrong.
Looking at McCormack like that.
Sin Uison continued speaking.
***
The second half began.
Overall, it was a similar pattern to the first half.
It meant Leeds's attack wasn't sharp.
-Ah, the Leeds fans' cheers have died down.
-Time keeps passing; at this rate, it seems like a waste of time.
Things were bad enough that even the commentators were criticizing them.
Perhaps conscious of that criticism, the camera caught Leeds manager McDermott.
He was restless and fretting but couldn't come up with any real answer.
'At this rate, we'll win comfortably.'
That situation put the QPR players at ease.
Just as their vigilance was loosening.
QPR's midfielders momentarily lost track of McCormack's movement.
The fact that he hadn't created much threat despite running around until now meant they hadn't paid him much attention.
Only Joey Barton and manager Redknapp sensed something was off.
"You useless bastards, what the hell are you doing!"
Joey Barton urged the players on.
The veteran's instincts were sending danger signals.
What are those bastards aiming for?
Right.
Where's the ball?
Joey Barton's gaze headed toward the far end.
The back-pass was going to Sin Uison.
"If there's a chance, it's now."
Sin Uison saw the pass coming right in front of him and took a run-up.
While doing so, he checked with his eyes where McCormack was.
Simultaneously.
He predicts where he will move.
"Ugh."
A sudden, strong headache came over him.
But he could endure this much.
Bang!
A long pass loaded with immense power was fired very far.
Past the halfway line.
All the way to where QPR's penalty area was.
-Aaaah!
-McCormaaaaack!
And standing in a free position without pressure.
McCormack struck the shot.