Wednesday 9th December. 6:30 PM St. Jame's Park Dressing Room
Premier League. Matchday 15.
The match between Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion.
The month of December in English football is not a trial of skill but one of survival.
The infamous problem of festive fixture congestion had officially begun. West Bromwich Albion were playing a game every three days, dealing with the Premier League, the Champions League group stage, and the domestic cups. The physical strain caused by having the European title was increasing with each mile traveled.
On a freezing Wednesday night with sleet, there isn't a place more unwelcoming than St. James' Park. The massive stadium located on top of the hill in Newcastle is full of hostility towards black-and-white.
Ethan Matthews was in the away dressing room and had a thick layer of thermal undergarments under his football shirt. His muscles were suffering from a deep and continuous tiredness which no number of ice baths could get rid of.
He took his phone out of his bag, his fingers having become stiff from the cold draft seeping through the old windows.
Group Chat: The Eastfield Boys
Callum: I've looked at their most recent four matches at home, Eth. They never resort to complicated formations. Instead they go for a high-intensity, direct 4-3-3. The three in their midfield are true workhorses. As soon as you get the ball, they'll immediately launch a fierce double-attack. Don't try to keep it and play tricks by spinning. Simply play it back to either Keller or Thorne with one touch and then move into the space left behind by them.
Mason: Winter football is here, General. Crestwood had a match yesterday on a pitch that was essentially frozen solid and we won 2-1, scoring two goals from set pieces. The game in Newcastle is going to be tough. Make sure you have your metal studs on and don't retreat from any tackles—let them see that you're not tired.
Mia: The heating in the pub is on full power! All of us are bundled up and watching. Get the result and then come back on the bus, Eth!
Ethan: Use one-touch to break up the double-teams. The metal studs are in, Mase. Tonight it's going to be a tough game, guys. We'll meet on the other side.
Ethan locked the phone; the fact that Callum was moving into a purely football analytical role was helping to save his legs, since there was no need for any equations, just the harsh reality of a midfield double-teams and the most straightforward way of countering it.
Julian Vance entered the room, and his breath appeared in the cold air. He then looked at his weary squad.
"THE COLD DOES MAKE US ALL QUAIL," Vance said, his voice sounding like a deep and steady rumble. "They hope that the sleet, the noise, and the fatigue will cause you to become soft. They want you to look at the clock and wish that you were back on the bus."
In front of Ethan and Liam Thorne, Vance came to a stop.
Don't check the time. Don't feel the cold. This night is not concerned with beautiful football; it's about enduring more pain than they do. Go out there and freeze their blood.
8:00 PM. Kickoff.
It was as if you'd walked into a wind tunnel when you stepped onto the pitch at St. James' Park, the sleet blowing across sideways and stinging the players' faces. Around fifty-two thousand Geordie fans, a number of them famously not wearing shirts even though the temperature was freezing, produced a loud and frightening noise like a wall.
As soon as the whistle blew, Newcastle took advantage of the chaotic energy present in the stadium.
14th Minute.
It was exactly as Callum had warned—that Newcastle's midfield consisted of a bunch of wild dogs.
Ethan was passed to by Lukas Keller. Before he had even managed to raise his head, two midfield players from Newcastle charged into him from both sides, carrying out a fierce and coordinated double-play that caused him to slide across the icy grass.
The referee allowed play to continue. The crowd shouted with a fierce desire to see violence.
Newcastle picked up the loose ball and immediately passed it on to their fast right winger. He moved to the edge of the pitch and delivered a high, floating cross to the back post.
The huge forward from Newcastle jumped into the air, completely dominated the right-back from West Brom, and directed a powerful header through the goalkeeper.
GOAL.
Newcastle United scored one goal to West Bromwich Albion's zero.
The stadium went off in a frenzy. The noise had the effect of a physical weight pressing down on the pitch.
Ethan pushed himself away from the cold grass, rubbing the sleet from his eyes. He didn't say anything to the referee; instead, he looked at Keller and nodded. The warning had then been given.
32nd Minute.
The situation was getting worse, the playing surface becoming slippy and dangerous. West Brom had great difficulty in making three passes in a row and each time Ethan handled the ball the players in black and white rushed towards him.
He recalled the straightforward instruction Callum had given: not to hold on to it, but to play it back and then move on.
Ethan changed the rhythm and began to ask for the ball in tight areas on purpose in order to attract the double team.
Thorne passed the ball. The two midfield players from Newcastle ran towards Ethan.
This time Ethan didn't attempt to turn; instead he struck the ball with a clean, first-time tap using the outside of his boot and sent it straight back to Keller, then immediately rushed into the huge empty space left by the two midfield players.
Keller, having read the play accurately, hit a first-time, high ball over the retreating Newcastle defence.
Ethan charged forward and knocked the ball down neatly onto his chest, completely avoiding the midfield battle area; he then rushed towards the penalty area and passed it to Armando, only for a frantic sliding block from a centre-back at Newcastle to clear it and give the opposition a corner kick.
The trap had been broken and Ethan had discovered the pattern in the ice.
Halftime.
Newcastle United scored one goal to West Bromwich Albion's zero.
The only sound in the dressing room was the violent shivering of the players as the physios moved about carrying hot towels and fresh dry shirts.
Vance didn't use the tactical board at all.
"Their only source of power is adrenaline," Vance said to his cold warriors. "They are using a huge amount of energy in order to carry out that press. Move the ball with a single touch. In the last twenty minutes their legs will become frozen and that is when we will attack."
The Second Half.
65th Minute.
The game had become a complete struggle from exhaustion. The sleet had changed into a heavy, wet snow, which stuck to the grass and caused the ball to skip in an unpredictable manner.
Lukas Keller was giving an incredibly long shift, throwing himself into the freezing puddles in order to win the tackles and completely nullify Newcastle's counter-attacks. Thorne was a true giant in the air and managed to head away each and every cross that came into the box.
However, West Brom were still behind and the clock was running.
78th Minute.
Vance's prediction started to come true. The constant, chaotic pressure from Newcastle decreased in intensity. The double teams were arriving half a second later.
Ethan noticed the change and then had full control of the midfield, organizing the action and moving the tired Newcastle players from one side to the other.
Ethan shouted "Push!" and waved Kalu and Hayes up the pitch further.
86th Minute.
The breakthrough finally came as a result of sheer determination.
Ethan picked up the ball at a distance of thirty yards. The Newcastle midfield, just as tired and unable to press, retreated and formed a desperate low block.
Ethan moved forward, covering the distance between them. When he got to the edge of the D, the centre-back from A Newcastle finally came out and charged in with a fierce and heavy challenge.
Ethan deflected the ball by a microsecond before it made contact. He accepted the blow and fell heavily just outside the penalty area.
The referee sounded the whistle and awarded West Brom a free kick from twenty-two yards out, it being a dead central kick.
The spectators at St. James' Park gave out a loud and fierce round of boos, but underneath the anger there was a clear feeling of dread.
Ethan got to his feet, his breath forming clouds in the cold air. He took the ball, rubbed the snow off it with his sleeve, and then put it gently onto the grass.
He stood there with his hands on his hips and looked at the huge wall of Newcastle. At the same time he looked at the goalkeeper, who was shouting out instructions in a frantic manner.
Ethan blocked out the noise, the cold, and the fatigue.
He stepped back three times.
The referee sounded the whistle.
Ethan rushed up and kicked the ball skilfully using the inside of his right boot. The shot wasn't one of pure power driven with force; it was a masterpiece of technique.
The ball went over the jump wall in a perfect arc, dipped violently at the very last moment, touched the underside of the crossbar and then settled against the back of the net; the goalkeeper didn't move a bit.
GOAL.
Newcastle United scored one goal to West Bromwich Albion's one.
Delirium broke out at the away end, high up in the heavens of St. James' Park.
Ethan didn't celebrate in a loud or extravagant way; instead he jogged to the corner flag, his face showing a complete mask of cold determination, while Keller and Thorne almost threw him into the snow.
90+4 Minutes.
Whistle. Whistle. Whistle.
Full Time.
Newcastle United scored one goal to West Bromwich Albion's one.
A harsh, painful, and yet invaluable stage on the journey. They had entered the freezing environment of Tyneside, taken a severe setback, and still refused to give in.
Ethan exchanged his wet shirt with that of the Newcastle captain, shivered as the cold wind hit his naked skin, and then rushed down the tunnel towards the warmth of the dressing room.
11:00 PM A1 Motorway. The Team Coach.
The heating on the coach was turned up to its highest setting, and Ethan was sitting wrapped in a thick club blanket with a cup of steaming tea in his hands.
He took out his phone.
Group Chat: The Eastfield Boys
Mason: What a free kick! You're absolutely filled with determination, General! That's the way to earn a goal in winter. Although you've been put under pressure tonight, you never stopped moving.
Callum: The change made in the 32nd minute, which involved the first-time layoff, completely nullified their double-team tactic. You turned their own aggressive play to your advantage and created vertical space. As for that free-kick, it was executed with perfect technique even under severe physiological stress.
Mia: Our screaming was so loud that it made the windows in the pub rattle! On the bus, Eth, get some sleep – you looked completely frozen at the end.
I don't think I'll ever be warm again, boys. Cal was right when he made the one-touch pass and that kept my legs safe tonight. Mase, you were correct—it was ugly and it was brutal.
Mason: That's what December football is like, friend—you have to carry on even if you don't enjoy it. Better get some rest; we'll be doing it all again on Saturday.
Ethan locked his phone and drew the blanket more closely around his shoulders. The winter season was a totally different kind of sport, but the machine from the Black Country was made for cold weather. The defence of the title was still on, one degree below zero at a time.