Den Bosch, De Vliert.
Yang Yang's arms hung at his sides. Beads of sweat the size of beans gathered into streams, sliding down his arms before finally dripping from his fingertips.
His heavy breathing made it obvious to everyone how much energy he had expended.
The match had gone on for more than seventy minutes, but the score was still 0–0.
Den Bosch had enough strength to stand level with Helmond Sport atop the Dutch Second Division. They were naturally not to be underestimated and were no weaker than some Eredivisie teams.
More importantly, they had not gone all out in this match.
Take the left-back facing Yang Yang, for example. Their regular starter was the young and powerful twenty-five-year-old Bas Peijs, but Den Bosch head coach Gert Kruys had instead fielded veteran Patrick Perron for this match. Perron was already thirty-five, while the substitute bench held seventeen-year-old newcomer Piet Kuijtpers.
These three left-backs had clearly different characteristics. Peijs was in his prime, tall and strong, and capable of playing both left center-back and left-back. His late runs and forty-five-degree crosses were excellent, making them an important part of Den Bosch's attack.
Perron was a veteran with plenty of experience, but he was no longer young and lacked stamina. He had always served as Peijs's substitute. As for young Kuijtpers, he had never appeared for the First Team.
It was not hard to see that Kruys did not place too much importance on the Dutch Cup. His focus was still primarily on the Dutch Second Division.
Even so, they had caused Ajax considerable trouble.
Since joining Ajax, this was the first time Yang Yang had felt so thoroughly on the back foot.
Vermaelen had performed brilliantly in defense. Though he was not tall, his judgment of the ball's trajectory was