Dream Training : The Champions

Entering the second half, both teams did not make significant changes. Southampton still used their players but Norwich replaced Chris Martin with Simeon Jackson.

The match started with a kick-off by Norwich City. In this second half, George focused on play steady and maintaining a low rhythm as much as possible. He wanted Southampton to save their energy to face a devil schedule in December.

In the 49th minute, Orlando stole the ball from the Simeon Jackson. He then gave the ball to Wright-Phillips. In this match, Wright-Phillips' performance did not disappointing. It seems Wright-Phillips was more serious in practicing his skills and reducing his time to visit the bar.

Back in the game, Wright-Phillips provided Ryan a pass. Ryan passed Bradley Johnson with a tricky move. Soon, He passed the ball to Crage who moved into the middle. Crage gave a back-pass to Ryan, who ran towards the right side. Ryan faced Javier Garrido. He dribbled the ball towards the side line, then, he pushed the ball into the penalty box and chased it.

Fortunately, the Norwich centre-back managed to get the ball first than Ryan. He kicked the ball off the field. Southampton's chance at the start of the first half failed to be exploited. But fortunately, there was still plenty of time for Southampton to get another chance.

In the 56th minute, Osmund teamed up with Ben Carter. They broke through the Norwich defense from the left side. Ben Carter then moved the ball to the far right of the field. Crage received the ball, he sent the ball to Winsley Hart, who broke into the middle of the penalty box. Winsley Hart received the ball, soon, he gave a powerful shot. But unfortunately, his shot was blocked by Sebastian Bassong.

In the 66th minute, Kounde came in to replace Osmund. Simone also came in to replace Ryan. Southampton started to tighten their defense. The ball posession was also held in the hands of The Saints.

Norwich began to lose the will to press Southampton. They seem to have given up to try disrupt Southampton's dominance of the ball. This made Southampton able to control the ball well. They really put pressure on Norwich. In the 73rd minute, Norwich conceded again. Simone gave Kazuki a long pass. The Japanese player was clamped by two people, so he had difficulty controlling the ball.

Kazuki could only pass the ball towards the left. Wright-Phillips into the penalty box. He received a pass from Kazuki and launched a powerful shot into the Norwich goalpost. The Norwich goalkeeper leaped towards the ball. His finger managed to touch the ball and push it. Too bad the ball hit the post and bounced into the net.

The Norwich players and coaching staff seemed to have their heads lowered. Meanwhile the loud voices of Southampton fans filled the stadium. Southampton's victory was in sight. In their eyes this match was over. Norwich chance to turn things around was only a few percent.

In the 81st minute, Norwich tried to build an attack. John Ruddy caught the ball. He immediately kicked the ball to the right. Russell Martin received the ball and pushed it in front of Kounde, who was disturbing Martin, but Russell Martin got past Kounde. He then gave the ball to Robert Snodgrass. Robert soonly channeled the ball to Bradley Johnson.

Bradley Johnson received the ball and passed it far forward. In front Simeon Jackson grabbed the ball before Orlando received it. He then he dribbled the ball past Orlando. Then, he sent a breakthrough pass to Grant Holt who escaped the offside trap. Grant Holt took a pass from Simeon Jackson. A flat kick launched by Grant Holt.

Dean Smith stuck his foot to the left, he was trying to block Grant's kick. But he missed Grant's shot too far from his feet. As a result Southampton failed to get a clean sheet once again. Fortunately, that goal was the last goal that happened in this match. Southampton with a mighty 3-1 win over Norwich. Too bad another match, Man City and Chelsea also won.

A week later, Southampton visited the Swansea City stadium. In the 16th round of the English Premier League Southampton against Swansea. Southampton's victory against Norwich yesterday made Southampton confident to win at the opposing stadium. In this match George reserved Kazuki. The reason being, he wanted to save Kazuki's energy for the next match.

George fielded another main player besides Kazuki. At the back, Freddy, Hilton, Okhalo, Benson returned to guard the Southampton defense. Combination of defensive midfielders was Simone and Rudolf. Then in front were Rustan, Bennet, Kounde. Ryan became the player who replaced Kazuki.

The match immediately started after a while. Swansea city started the first half kick-off. In this match Southampton played quite relaxed. They allowed Swansea to calmly build on the attack but would put pressure on Swansea when Swansea City's players entered the Southampton half.

In the 5th minute, the long pass that targeted the Swansea striker was immediately secured by Hilton. Hilton then pass the ball to Freddy. Freddy quickly dribbled the ball. He then changed the direction of the ball and avoided a tackle by Swansea players. Soon, Freddy gave the ball to Simone. Simone flicked the ball to the left and gave Bennet a pass.

Bennet received the ball, he then held Swansea defensive midfielder. Then he gave the pass to Ryan who retreated backwards. The Swansea centre-back was a bit forward to follow Ryan. Ryan received a pass from Bennett. He then provided a through ball to Kounde. Kounde brought the ball into the penalty box through the gap left by the Swansea City centre-back. A few meter from goalpost. he hit the ball hard but another center-back jumped and blocked Kounde's shot.

Southampton's first attack immediately failed to be blocked by the Swansea centre-back. The match continued to minute 14. Ryan and Bennet made a counter-movement. Ryan moved forward to lure the Swansea centre-back while Bennet moved behind the Swansea centre-back. Simone provided a through ball towards Bennet.

Bennet received the ball, he then dribbled forward and crossed to the right of the Swansea defense. Rustan stopped the ball with Rustan foot, the referee raises the flag. Rustan was in an offside position. Southampton attack again failed.

In the 23rd minute, Dean Smith managed to catch the Swansea striker's hard kick. He then threw the ball far forward. Bennett saw Dean Smith's pass, he turned and ran while adjusting his position. Bennett received the pass with his foot then he saw Rustan who raised his hand. Bennet immediately sent a through ball to Rustan.

Rustan received the ball and pushed it forward. The Swansea center-back reached out his hand, he was trying to grip Rustan's shirt. But too late, Rustan had accelerated leaving the other players. He dribbled the ball diagonally towards the center. He entered the penalty box and faced the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper stepped forward and was about to ambush Rustan.

Rustan flicked the ball to the right. Then keep running. He then easily put the ball into the empty net. The Swansea fans who saw the goal fell silent. They looked disappointed to see Southampton's goal. Even though Kazuki's absence from the starting lineup made Swansea feel excited. But sadly, Southampton made Swansea aware that even without Kazuki this team was already a good team. With the potential and the help of the new feature [Dream Training] Kazuki was sure Southampton was at least a mid-level club in the Premier League without Kazuki's presence though.

In the 31st minute, Southampton attacked again, this time, Rudolf managed to cut the flow of the ball. He then gave the ball to Simone. Simone dribbled the ball forward and fed Kounde. Kounde received the ball he didn't break through to the wing but sent a pass to Bennet. Bennet accepted it, he stopped the pass to Swansea defensive midfielder and then provided a cross into the middle of the penalty box.

Ryan took the pass with his chest. Just as he was about to control the ball with his feet, the Swansea centre-back dropped it. The referee immediately blew the whistle and pointed to the spot. The Swansea players surrounded the referee pleading for mercy. Penalties didn't change, Southampton got a penalty kick.

Ryan stands in front of the ball. He took a deep breath and kicked the ball powerfully to the left. Too bad the Swansea goalkeeper got the ball right. He caught Ryan's kick. The Swansea fans immediately applauded giving the goalkeeper the award. Ryan looks disappointed. He often saw Kazuki score a penalty goal with ease. He thinks the penalty was not a big problem.

I can do that too. Such a thought crossed Ryan's mind. However, it turned out that it was not as easy as Ryan imagined. The atmosphere and pressure of taking a penalty kick was really something no normal one can endure.

The first half ended with Southampton winning 1-0 over Swansea. The match continued in the second half after 15 minutes of half-time. Immediately after 15 minutes both teams walked out of the hall and onto the field. Southampton became the team that started the kick-off.

In the second half, Swansea tried to launch an attack. At the start of the second half, Southampton felt the storm of attacks launched by Swansea. Fortunately the Southampton players could withstand the onslaught of Swansea. Dean Smith's performance coupled with stable defense from Okhalo and Hilton made Southampton able to withstand Swansea's attacks.

In the 66th minute, Southampton scored again. They scored with Rudolf's powerful shot from outside the box which bounced through the bodies of the Swansea players before heading into the net. This goal made Southampton's advantage to two goals. Thanks to this goal, Southampton also began to reduce the attack Swansea.

In the 78th minute, Swansea made a substitution as well as Southampton. George wanted to add to the defense while Swansea wanted to attack Southampton more fiercely. In the 84th minute, the Swansea winger provided a pass into the middle of the penalty box. The Swansea striker made an overhead kick and managed to reply to Southampton with a goal.

The goal was unfortunately the last goal in this match. Southampton managed to secure victory with a score of 2-1. Not a bad score. But again Southampton failed to get a clean sheet. Southampton's attacking strategy may be the reason why this team concedes a lot.

By adding energy to the attack, the defense will automatically be thinner. Although people say that attack was the best defense but without a good defense as a base it was very difficult to launch an attack.

Again, defense was a sector that must be reviewed carefully by George. On the other hand, Southampton was not a club like Manchester United. It's natural to have flaws. But to win the championship, Southampton must be able to fix these shortcomings as well as possible.

Southampton's win over Swansea, also extend their lead over second-placed Man City who suffered a draw while Chelsea tasted defeat in this round.