The buzz around Crestwood had been building ever since the win against Northbridge two weeks ago. Crestwood put themselves in a position to battle for the league championship in the second half of the season. The first game of the second half of the season was a home match against second place Ashbourne. Parents and locals surrounded the training ground. This was the largest crowd Ethan had seen at one of his games.
In the changing room Coach Warren's voice was firm. "Ashbourne are unbeaten for a reason. They're disciplined, physical, and don't make many mistakes. We got a draw at their place last time. Now we're on our pitch in front of our fans. Let's go out there and make a statement."
Ashbourne started the game with confidence. They pressed aggressively and their midfield snapped into tackles. In the 12th minute Ashbourne nearly silenced the home crowd. The winger had beat his man and cut inside then forced the Crestwood keeper to make a diving save.
Eight minutes later Crestwood had their chance. Mason intercepted a pass and found Ethan in acres of space. Ethan turned quickly and slipped a pass to Callum. Callum's shot was tipped over the crossbar by the Ashbourne goalkeeper.
The first goal of the game came in the 29th minute. Ethan picked up the ball outside the box, faked going right, then slid a pass into Callum's stride. Callum drilled the ball into the low corner. Crestwood had struck first.
Ashbourne tried to find a response immediately. In the 38th minute their striker muscled past a defender and fired a shot that rattled the post.
Just before halftime they had another chance. Following chaos from a corner, their captain knocked the ball past the goal line to level the match for Ashbourne.
Ashbourne pressed even harder when the second half started. Crestwood had a lot of trouble trying to get out of the defending third of the pitch. In the 52nd, a slick passing move left the Ashbourne winger one-on-one, but Crestwood's keeper pulled off a stunning save to keep the match at one all.
In the 60th minute Ethan danced past two midfielders and slipped Callum through again. Callum's shot was saved, but Mason was in position for the rebound and tapped it home to help Crestwood regain the lead.
"Come on!" Mason exclaimed after he scored.
Ashbourne threw everyone forward, desperate to find an equalizer. In the 70th minute curling shot from their midfielder forced another save from the keeper.
With just a few minutes left Ethan nearly scored a third goal for Crestwood. His shot curled but couldn't find the top corner of the goal.
The final minutes were frantic. Ashbourne sent a bunch of long balls, but Crestwood's backline held firm. When the referee blew the final whistle, the pitch erupted. Crestwood 2 Ashbourne 1.
The players collapsed but were ecstatic. They had beaten one of the giants in the league. "That's how you make a statement." Mason said.
Callum grinning "Two goals in two games against them, they must hate me by now."
Ethan looked at the celebrating crowd. For the first time he felt Crestwood wasn't chasing the leaders anymore. They were neck and neck with them.