Chapter 46 - Double Assist

In the 12th minute, Southampton launches an attack again. The attack was initiated by Simone who managed to snatch the ball from David jr Hoilett, After getting the ball, Simone gave the ball to Kounde.

Jason Lowe marked Kounde tightly, so Kounde pushed the ball with his heel through the space between Lowe's legs. He then turned around and passed Lowe. Kounde ran at full speed. David Dunn tried to close the Kounde running path. However, Kazuki retreated backward to help Kounde. Kounde sent the ball to Kazuki.

After receiving the ball from Kounde, Kazuki made a marseille turn and passed Martin Olson who was trying to snatch the ball. Kazuki pushed the ball into the penalty box.

Christopher Samba used his body to push Kazuki so the Japanese player couldn't aim for Blackburn's goalpost. Kazuki pulled the ball back and turned his back toward the goalpost, he gave a pass to Simone who was in the middle of the penalty box.

Simone received a pass from Kazuki, he immediately gave a volley shoot to the Blackburn goalpost. Blackburn goalkeeper managed to bounce the ball over the goal.

"Ooh!! A beautiful save made by Paul Robinson. Simone's volley bounced off the net. Southampton wasted the chance."

In the 19th minute, Blackburn gets a chance. Blackburn midfielder, David Dunn, managed to snatch the ball from Rudolf's feet. He then gave the ball to Rochina. Blackburn striker, Rochina faced Hilton, he provided a straight pass to the left, beside his left, there was Blackburn's Argentine midfielder, Formica.

Formica, who got the ball from Rochina, provided a cross into the penalty box. Yakubu did a body charge on Okhalo and managed to get a chance. Then, he kicked the ball hard into the corner of the Southampton goalpost. Unfortunately, the ball bounced out of the field after hitting the post.

In the 26th minute, Freddy stepped forward with the ball quickly. He did a body feint to get past Formica. Freddy made a one-two pass to get past Blackburn midfielder Steven Nzozi.

David Dunn used a tackle to knock Freddy down, but the ball bounced off Hugo's leg. Hugo saw that David Dunn's tackle was not a foul so he immediately dribbled the ball quickly into the Blackburn defense area.

Hugo gave a low pass into the middle of the penalty box. Kazuki used his speed and good position to surpass Samba. Just as Kazuki was about to receive the ball he saw the offside flag being raised by the linesman.

Kazuki and Hugo asked the linesman, it turned out that Kazuki was in an offside position. Kazuki could only blame himself for not realizing the offside trap that Blackburn had set.

In the 32nd minute, Kounde was brought down by Olsson in front of the penalty box. Free kick awarded to Southampton. This time, Denilson will take the free-kick. When everything is ready, the referee blows the whistle. Denilson ran slowly, then kicked the ball.

The ball spins in the air and turns to the right. Kazuki ran in the direction the ball fell and gave a volley shoot towards the middle of the goalpost. However, Kazuki's shoot hit Robinson's face and bounced off the field. Kazuki held his head surprised he missed such a good opportunity.

On the other hand, Robinson who was hit by Kazuki's kick was bleeding on his nose. Blackburn's team doctor checked Robinson's condition, then they signaled the Blackburn coach to replace Robinson.

Robinson was eventually carried off on a stretcher. The goalkeeper who replaced Robinson was Mark Bunn, so far Mark only appeared for 3 games in the 2011/2012 season. This fact made Blackburn's defense nervous. They were worried that Mark would make a fatal mistake.

The match continued. Southampton still dominates possession ball. In the 41st minute, Kounde managed to break through Lowe, he gave a flat pass into the middle of the penalty box. Once again, Kazuki managed to surpass Samba. He got the ball. Mark was in front of him, so Kazuki passed the ball to the right, Hugo came and gave a straight shoot. The ball goes into the Blackburn net.

"Goaaalll! Hugo! Southampton finally broke the deadlock in the 41st minute. A beautiful goal started with Kounde on the left, Kazuki who got the ball in the penalty area, then Hugo who put the ball in. Two Southampton wingers were involved in this goal."

The Saint's fans cheered loudly. They released their emotions in screams. Southampton players as well as the coach also celebrated the goal. This goal gave confidence to the Southampton team.

The kick-off starts again. Blackburn started to be more active than before. They took the initiative to attack. However, Southampton who was more excited managed to break Blackburn's attack.

Unfortunately, the score did not change until the final whistle of the first half sounded. The Southampton players left the pitch in a good mood.

***

During the break, George didn't talk about a change of strategy. He only encouraged the Southampton players to continue their good performance.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly, the second half of the match between Southampton and Blackburn started again.

Blackburn started the second-half kick-off. Blackburn's formation changed from 3-5-2 to 3-2-4-1. The formation change shows that Blackburn will start playing aggressively in the second half.

In the 48th minute, Blackburn launched an attack. David Dunn managed to get past Kazuki, after that, he immediately gave a pass to Nzozi. Then Steven Nzozi gave a straight pass.

Hoilett was competing with Rudolf for the ball. Hoilett managed to get the ball, he pushed the ball aside and chipped the ball into the Southampton defense. Jason Lowe competes with Freddy. Lowe managed to get the ball first.

Lowe raised his leg as if he was going to kick the ball, then, he pushed the ball to the right. The move succeeded in tricking Freddy. Lowe penetrated the Southampton penalty box.

He gave the pass to Yakubu. Yakubu kicked the ball but Okhalo blocked his kick. The ball bounces off the field.

Corner for Blackburn. David Dunn took the corner kick. Then, he kicked the ball after hearing the referee's whistle. The ball flew into the goalmouth.

Dean Smith punched the ball forward. Kazuki received the ball. He did a whiplash turn to get past Blackburn center-back Samba who clung to his back. Kazuki brought the ball quickly into the opponent's penalty box.

Olsson, running after Kazuki and managed to catch up, Olsson slowly closing the space Kazuki ran. Kazuki was forced to pass the pass towards the unguarded Denilson. Denilson who faced the goalkeeper, easily shoot the ball into the opponent's goalpost.

"Goaall! A fierce counter-attack from Southampton managed to vibrate the Blackburn net. Denilson's chip shot managed to add the advantage for Southampton."

This goal managed to make Southampton's advantage more stable.. George pulled Kazuki off the pitch in the 52nd minute, Kazuki was replaced by Osmund.