For the first time this season, Crestwood was being talked about as a serious title contender. Coach Warren put a quick stop to the chatter.
"Last week was a statement," he told them on the bus ride to Greenford. "But titles aren't won by statements, they are won on the pitch. Focus and consistency are the keys to getting us to the top of the mountain. This match against Greenford will not be easy. They sit mid-table because they know how to grind out results. If we come in thinking that we're going to win just by showing up, they will punish us."
Ethan stared out the window, feeling the weight of expectation even more. It seemed like everyone in Eastfield was keeping an eye on how Crestwood was doing every weekend. Winning against Greenford wasn't optional, it was mandatory.
Greenford's crowd was smaller than most crowds in the league, but they still made a lot of noise. From the opening whistle the match was scrappy. Greenford pressed high and disrupted Crestwood's rhythm. In the 15th minute, they nearly took the lead. A game of head tennis took place following a corner, and the header from Greenford's striker forced the keeper into a fingertip save.
Crestwood finally settled into the match in the 23rd minute. Ethan found a pocket of space, skipped past a defender, and slipped Callum through. Callum struck the ball towards the bottom corner, but the keeper pushed it wide.
Crestwood broke through in the 31st minute. Mason won the ball with a crunching tackle and then fed it quickly to Ethan. Ethan looked up and passed a perfect through ball to Callum, who made no mistake this time and buried it into the net. 1-0 Crestwood.
Greenford didn't back down and responded in the 39th minute. The right winger beat his man down the flank and whipped in a cross. A scramble ensued inside the penalty area before the striker poked the ball into the net to make it one-all.
At halftime, Coach Warren's words were harsh. "You're playing like you're still celebrating the win from last week! Focus and control this game right now."
That speech woke Crestwood up, as they started the second half as the better team. In the 52nd minute, Ethan picked up the ball outside the box and curled a strike that rattled the crossbar. Callum was first to the ball and struck it towards the goal, but a Greenford defender cleared the ball off the line.
Crestwood broke through again in the 64th minute. Mason intercepted a loose pass and drove forward. He played the ball into space for Ethan, who immediately passed the ball to the right winger. The winger put in a cross into the box. Everyone in the ground thought Callum would take the shot, but he dummied it for Mason, who made the run forward, to smash it into the goal. 2-1. Crestwood.
From there Crestwood kept passing the ball around and frustrating Greenford. In the 78th minute, Ethan nearly added a third with a solo run going past two defenders but fired just wide of the post. When the final whistle blew, Crestwood survived the scare. Greenford 1 Crestwood 2.
Mason shook his head as he caught his breath. "We made that way harder than it needed to be."
"Hard or not, my goal tally keeps climbing," Callum said with a grin.
Ethan knew the performance wasn't perfect. Winning ugly was part of chasing the title, and all good teams find ways to win when they don't have their best performance. For the first time he felt like Crestwood was learning how to win in every way. The league wasn't going to hand them the title, they were going to have to fight for every point.