On Saturday morning the Crestwood pitch was damp from the rain it had received during the week. Coach Warren stood in front of the whiteboard. "Northbridge hasn't lost yet, and they don't give much away. They also draw many games because they don't take their chances. We need to be the ones to score first. Force them to attack and expose their defence. If we want to prove that we belong in this title race, then we need to win matches like these."
From the start it was clear why Northbridge was so hard to beat. They pressed high but stayed compact. In the 10th minute their striker curled a shot that forced the Crestwood keeper to make a tough save.
Crestwood's first real chance would come in the 18th minute. Mason intercepted a pass and drove forward before laying it off to Ethan. With his first touch, Ethan slipped the ball straight to Callum. Callum turned and shot low, only for the Northbridge keeper to push the shot wide.
For the next fifteen minutes the quality in the game disappeared. Neither side could build an attack as the passing and touches started to get sloppy.
The Northbridge left winger skipped past his man and put in a low cross into the box. The striker was able to put it past the Crestwood keeper. Northbridge had struck first in the 34th minute.
Just before halftime Crestwood had their chance to answer. Ethan picked up the ball outside the box, faked a shot, then slipped it wide to the right winger. The winger then crossed the ball to Callum who headed it home to level the match in the 43rd minute.
Crestwood came out strong in the second half. In the 52nd minute Mason broke up play in the midfield and gave the ball to Ethan. Ethan looked up the pitch and chipped the ball over the Northbridge back line. Callum won the race to the ball, took a touch, and buried the ball into the net. 2-1 Crestwood.
Crestwood had the lead, but Northbridge wasn't going to give up easily. In the 63rd minute they nearly equalized when their midfielder's shot struck the crossbar from 25 yards out.
The final minutes of the game were tense. Northbridge threw everybody forward while Mason dropped deeper to help the Crestwood back line. Ethan had one last chance to give Crestwood a bigger cushion after beating two men, but he fired his shot wide.
Finally, the ref blew his whistle. Crestwood 2 Northbridge 1.
The players collapsed onto the pitch, the win feeling massive. Crestwood had handed Northbridge their first defeat of the season.
"That's how you grind it out. Ugly or not, that's still three points," as Mason clapped Ethan on the shoulder.
Callum grinned, "Two more goals for me. Top scorer here I come."
The title race was no longer a dream. Crestwood was in the race.
League table at the midway point of the season
Rank Team P W D L GF GA GD PTS
1 Westford 9 6 3 0 21 8 +13 21
2 Ashbourne 9 6 3 0 18 7 +11 21
3 Crestwood 9 6 2 1 20 12 +8 20
4 Riverton 9 5 4 0 21 14 +7 19
5 Northbridge 9 3 5 1 18 11 +7 14
6 Greenford 9 3 3 3 12 11 +1 12
7 Marston Vale 9 0 5 4 8 16 -8 5
8 Eastfield 9 0 4 5 10 18 -8 4
9 Harrington 9 0 2 7 3 17 -14 2
10 Linton 9 0 1 8 11 27 -16 1