Knowing their opponent in the final actually put Gao Bo at ease.
How to deal with Liverpool? Gao Bo didn't have time to think about it yet, because what was coming up next was the most crucial match in the league.
April 23rd, League Two, Round 43, Luton will host Wycombe Wanderers at home!
Luton's fans and players were quite confident about this match, and even Gao Bo was full of confidence.
However, the result of the first half of this match made Gao Bo's face darken.
In the final moments of the first half, Wycombe Wanderers broke through Claude's goal with a direct free kick, taking a 1-0 lead over Luton on the road!
This result made the players of Wycombe Wanderers ecstatic, and Wycombe's coach, Peter Taylor, even rushed onto the field to celebrate, receiving a yellow card...
During the halftime break, Gao Bo said with a gloomy face: "Do you think we've already won the league title?"
"We haven't gotten anything yet!!! If we play as carelessly as we did in the first half, the league title?! The league title will slip away from your eyes!!!"
Gao Bo almost roared while pounding the table.
The players' relaxed expressions also disappeared. Although Wycombe were the top team in League Two, Luton's players didn't take them too seriously, after all, they had defeated several Premier League teams, let alone any Championship teams, so they seemed a bit unmotivated when playing against League Two opponents.
After being scolded by Gao Bo during the halftime break, the players also realized that if they lost this match, the league title they had in hand really had a chance of flying away...
After the players walked out of the locker room with serious expressions, John came over and said: "The recent schedule has been too dense, and the players' physical condition may be somewhat problematic."
Gao Bo nodded: "I know this, John, but even if they are a bit tired, they shouldn't show such an attitude when facing Wycombe. We can't afford to lose any of the remaining league matches!"
John also nodded. Even if they won against Wycombe Wanderers, Luton would only be one point ahead of their opponent, and it wasn't time to relax yet.
"Fortunately, the FA Cup final is on May 20th, and we will have a full ten days to prepare by then."
Gao Bo nodded. If Luton had any advantage in the FA Cup final, it was that the last round of the League Two was on May 10th, while the Premier League matches were still in full swing at that time. Liverpool still had to fight for their league title, so compared to Luton, who could rest for ten days, Liverpool had much less rest time, three days before the FA Cup match on May 20th, Liverpool would also have to challenge West Bromwich Albion away, which was the thirty-seventh round of the Premier League. If Liverpool still had hope of winning the league title by then, they would definitely go all out in this match.
Compared to Luton, the more packed Liverpool's schedule, the more tired their players would be, which was undoubtedly a good thing for Luton.
However, in the next ten days or so, Gao Bo didn't plan to focus on preparing for the match against Liverpool. Gao Bo valued the League Two title very much, and he would definitely not allow this title to fall into the hands of others!
Therefore, during this period, Gao Bo asked the entire team to temporarily forget about the FA Cup and focus on the remaining League Two matches!
As soon as the second half started, Luton launched a frantic attack on Wycombe Wanderers!
Wycombe Wanderers had also prepared for their away defense. In fact, their coach, Peter Taylor, had made major adjustments to Wycombe's formation in this match.
Five defenders, four defensive midfielders, with only one fast striker up front!
This was a complete defensive counterattack, completely abandoning the midfield and frontcourt.
They placed two tight lines in the penalty area, allowing Luton to constantly besiege from the outside.
Under this kind of dense defense, Luton was actually not very good at attacking this kind of positional warfare.
What are the ways to attack positional warfare?
Long shots might be a solution, but in addition to strengthening long shots for the team, Gao Bo also planned to let Adam play, increasing dribbling breakthroughs to create threats.
In the 60th minute of the match, Gao Bo brought on Adam, replacing Lewis, and the team's formation became 433. Kevin Keane shrunk to the center, forming a double midfielder with Drinkwater and Kante, while Adam was pushed to the front line, forming a three-striker lineup with Vardy and Charlie Austin.
Adam's appearance greatly disrupted Wycombe Wanderers' defensive formation. Facing Adam's dribbling breakthroughs on the wing, they had to frequently shift their formation to the left.
However, the real killer move was not on Adam's side.
In the 69th minute of the match, when Wycombe Wanderers' formation leaned towards Adam's attack side, Drinkwater horizontally transferred the ball from the left to the right.
Kevin Keane took a shot in an unguarded situation!
The ball passed through the dense crowd in the penalty area, hit the bottom edge of the crossbar, and bounced into the net!
One to one!! Luton equalized the score!
This score obviously couldn't satisfy Luton, and they continued to press forward to attack in the following time.
Wycombe Wanderers' fans were a little nervous. As Luton's offensive continued to intensify, their defense also began to show frequent dangerous situations.
In the 76th minute of the match, Charlie Austin received a cross in the penalty area and poked the ball with his toes, the ball hit the post and went out of the baseline, almost helping the team equalize the score.
This ball startled Wycombe Wanderers' fans, but just as they were rejoicing, Luton's attack came again.
Adam feinted past the defending player on the left and dribbled into the penalty area, passing the ball into the penalty area when he was near the baseline.
Vardy's header was saved by the goalkeeper, but Charlie Austin's follow-up shot left the opponent with no way to deal with it.
Charlie Austin was very excited after scoring. His goal helped the team overtake the score.
If the victory was maintained until the end of the match, Luton could overtake Wycombe Wanderers to top the league standings!
From minus thirty points at the start of the season to now being the top team in the standings!
Luton can be said to have created an astounding record, because it means that if they hadn't had points deducted, they would now be leading the second-place team by as much as thirty points!!
What a terrifying point difference! Luton's performance is enough to show that they are definitely not a team of League Two level.
"They have at least reached the strength of a mid-table Premier League team!!" Wrightkinson said during the TV broadcast.
The level of Luton's strength is interpreted differently by different people, and the miracle created by this team this season is destined to become a topic of conversation.
After Luton overtook the score, Wycombe Wanderers had no way to deal with it.
They did want to counterattack in the final stages of the match, but they were limited by their own strength, and instead allowed Luton to score another goal through a counterattack.
When Adam White dribbled past the goalkeeper and sent the ball into the empty goal, the Vauxhall Road stadium was plunged into jubilation!
The fans were jumping in the stands, causing the entire stadium to shake.
While Gao Bo was applauding and cheering for the players' performance, he was also worried that this somewhat old stadium would collapse because the fans were too crazy...
Gao Bo's worries were unnecessary. Until the end of the entire match, the stands were still safe and sound, but the atmosphere of the stadium reached its peak at this moment!
Luton defeated Wycombe Wanderers, and they have now overtaken their opponents to top the league standings!