Harbinger Of Glory

The DW was split clean down the middle.

One end was a sea of yellow and black, scarves swaying above raised arms as the travelling supporters embraced a position few had expected them to be in, determined to enjoy every second of it.

The rest of the stadium had fallen subdued, the home crowd still searching for a reaction to something they hadn’t quite processed.

The broadcast camera swept across the touchline, and once it did, it found Dawson standing with his arms folded.

The brows of the Wigan manager slightly furrowed, squinting at the pitch.

The man had the expression of rampant thoughts, running through options and not immediately finding the one he wanted.

”We have to be honest,” the commentator said, ”this is not what anyone was expecting when they sat down for this one. Wolverhampton Wanderers have come to the DW Stadium, and they are almost running away with it.”

The broadcast camera cut to the scoreboard where it showed, [Wigan Athletic 0 — Wolverhampton Wanderers 2]

One glance at the scoreboard was all it took for the travelling supporters to burst into another gear, their celebration swelling until it spilt into every corner of the ground.

”And the numbers make it even more puzzling,” the co-commentator said.

”Wigan have had four shots on target in this first half. Four. They’ve had the lion’s share of possession.

By every conventional metric they should be in this game. And yet Wolves have taken their moments and made them count, which is essentially using Wigan’s own momentum against them.”

Standing on the pitch, Leo let out a quiet breath and shook his head before turning towards his own half as the clock crept closer to the interval.

The first goal still lingered in the back of his mind.

It had come from a corner.

The delivery had curled in from Wolves’ right, bodies colliding almost immediately inside the penalty area.

Hwang Hee-chan had attacked the near post first, glancing his header across the face of goal before Amos could shift his weight, snapping the net back.

The away end erupted as the referee pointed back towards the centre circle without hesitation.

Through it all, several Wigan players had thrown their arms up, convinced there had been a shove somewhere in the crowd before the ball arrived, but the referee decided he hadn’t seen enough and neither had VAR.

Conceding from a set piece had a habit of knocking teams out of rhythm, especially sides that had spent the opening weeks of the season playing from in front.

But Wigan never really allowed it to.

Within minutes they were back on the ball, back attacking sharply and back forcing Wolves into mistakes, and the equaliser began to feel more like something steadily approaching.

Tiehi drove one narrowly wide from the edge of the area, and Jake’s header forced Sá into a sharp save.

In another instance, Leo clipped one pass between two defenders that Carlo almost reached before the goalkeeper smothered it.

The opportunities kept arriving but just not the goal.

And football has a cruel way of punishing that.

With only minutes remaining before the break, Cunha collected possession almost thirty yards from goal and spun away from Tiehi before striking through the ball.

O’Shea stepped across instinctively as the block took enough pace off the effort to stop it reaching Amos.

Unfortunately...

...it also redirected it perfectly.

The ball rolled straight into Hwang Hee-chan’s path.

For a split second the South Korean forward struggled to redirect himself, but then he was through.

Darikwa reacted immediately, recovering across the line to cover, and he did so well, reaching the ball first.

Or at least...

...he should have.

Hwang charged straight through him with the challenge sending Darikwa stumbling off balance before Hwang gathered the loose ball and continued his run as though nothing had happened.

The roar around the DW changed instantly, half outraged and the other half in anticipation.

”Surely that’s a foul!” the co-commentator exclaimed on the broadcast as it went on, but the referee thought otherwise.

He brought both of his hands to the front before waving play on as Hwang rounded the advancing Amos before delicately lifting the ball over him.

It bounced once...

...and settled inside the empty net, sending the away section into another explosion of cheers.

Cheers that had lasted up till that point.

The away section exploded.

Yellow and black scarves had disappeared beneath another deafening roar as Wolves’ players sprinted towards the corner flag.

Around the rest of the stadium, disbelief quickly turned into anger as hands shot into the air.

Boos followed the referee wherever he moved.

Leo stood still for a moment, staring towards the official before turning away.

There was no conversation to be had.

The decision had been made.

Will Keane marched into the goal, scooped the ball from the net and carried it straight back towards the centre circle.

He had barely placed it on the spot before the referee glanced at his watch.

And when he passed a second later, the whistle sounded for half-time.

”A difficult forty-five minutes for Wigan Athletic,” the commentator said as both teams began walking towards the tunnel.

”They’ve created chances, they’ve had spells where they’ve looked the better side, but they’re walking off two goals behind.”

The co-commentator nodded on the broadcast as they began transitioning out of the game and into the break.

”And Shaun Dawson has a problem to solve.”

”His team have responded well every time they’ve been asked questions this season.”

He glanced towards the tunnel.

”This is the biggest question they’ve faced yet, and I really hope to see what this manager does.”

.....

[A/N: I wanted to put this in the author’s note section, but whatever, most readers like to skip it. I have been getting a few comments talking about the novel and as I always say, I am more than glad to answer them, so don’t shy away. Also, it seems I haven’t really been keeping you guys updated on things like the table and the goal scoring charts as well as the assist charts. I will do so soon. I was just waiting for us to reach the 8th matchday so It would feel a bit heavier or serious. Also, if you have any suggestions, do so to let me know.Thank you!]