Chapter 18: Breaking Wrexham's Rhythm
Saturday, 30 November
The Racecourse Ground
The away dressing room at Wrexham felt like a leftover from another era, low ceiling, chipped paint, stale air thick with old sweat and liniment. It was cold as always.
The team sat in silence, each player locked in their own little world.
Dev bent over his boots, retying the laces for the third time less about comfort, more about calming the nerves. Luka had headphones in, eyes closed, lips moving slightly. His foot tapped a steady rhythm. Too fast to be relaxed. Reece sat completely still, elbows on knees, staring at the floor. No music. No movement. Just silence.
Then there was Nate. Sitting upright, fists clenched, jaw tight. Like someone trying to hold a storm inside.
Niels stood at the front with his arms folded. He was calm, not pretending to be, he was really calm. The kind of calm that made people lean in without being told to.
"Trust what we've trained," he said, steady and low. No shouting. No theatrics. "We're not here to chase them. We're here to disrupt them. Break their rhythm. Make them doubt."
He pointed at the whiteboard. Only one change in the starting lineup, Nate in the starting eleven. Still, the message was clear: stability.
"Reece, keep the shape. Keep everyone honest. Luka, float into those gaps when their six pushes too high. Dev, don't wait for perfect passes. Play it when you feel it."
Then he looked at Nate.
"You're not in this lineup because we're short of players but, you've earned it. So don't play like you're waiting for someone to say it."
Nate gave a single nod. Small, but sharp. This was his debut match of the first team.
Luka stood, clapped once. "Let's go wreck their party."
Boots echoed on concrete as they headed down the tunnel. No words now. Just breath. Just heartbeat.
Outside, the Racecourse was already alive, flags waving, red smoke, chants that never seemed to stop. The kind of energy that could swallow you whole if you weren't ready. The wind cut through everything.
Kickoff.
Crawley didn't come to sit back. They stood up. The team was structured and played calmly, like they belonged here.
Reece was steady at the back, nudging players into position with short commands and quiet confidence. Dev showed a steady head, moving the ball quickly under pressure. Luka played deeper, pulling their defensive midfielder out of shape.
Wrexham came out hard. Fullbacks bombing forward, midfield snapping into every tackle. The crowd fed them, pushing every movement louder.
Dev got boxed in twice. The second time, he spun out of it and curled a beautiful switch to Liam on the opposite flank. No applause, just a glance from the bench. He was happy that they were playing good.
Niels leaned toward the analyst, voice low. "They're overloading our right. Nate needs to stay alert on the counter. Their fullback's leaving space."
Minute 12.
Luka dropped deep, dragging a marker. Dev spotted it, shifted the ball to Nate.
Nate paused. Then went.
First touch, it was tight. Then a push inside. One more to set it.
Then he shot the ball.
It was clean but little early. It was curling toward the far post.
It skimmed the outside of the net.
There was gasps from the stands. That kind of hush that only follows real danger.
On the bench, one of the coaches cracked a grin. Luka turned to Niels, muttering, "He's in it now."
Niels just nodded.
But Wrexham weren't stunned. They reacted like a cornered animal, pressed harder, faster, and more aggressively.
Crosses started flying in. Corners came thick. But Crawley held on.
Minute 23 They loose ball at the edge. One of theirs let ball fly.
It hit the bar.
Reece roared orders. Liam flung himself into a block. Luka sprinted back nearly half the pitch to help defend.
They held. But the pressure built.
Minute 30. Wrexham overloaded the right. Quick one-two. Cutback across the box.
Goal.
Wrexham 1 – Crawley 0.
The crowd erupted. There was smoke again. It felt like thunder.
Niels didn't move.
He stepped forward and called, "Calm down. We're fine."
Not too loud, but they heard him.
The team nodded, they reorganized. There was no panic.
And bit by bit, they grew back into it.
Dev started seeing more. Luka found little pockets again. Nate made another long run, this time not for a shot, but to pull defenders away. He squared it to Dev instead.
The goal hadn't killed them. It just changed the tempo.
Halftime.
The dressing room was a mix of steam and cold air. They were breathing heavily, but their eyes locked in.
Niels walked slowly, letting the silence hold for a moment.
"They've been sprinting for 35 minutes," he said. "Now we let them feel it. Now we make them chase."
He stopped in front of Nate.
"You've got their fullback beat. Now don't wait, Take the chance."
This time, Nate's nod came faster. His hands were open and shoulders looser.
Second Half
Crawley came back out with something different. Not arrogance—but belief.
Minute 51.
Dev split the midfield with a slick pass. Luka didn't even pause, he just turned and chipped it into space behind the fullback.
Nate was already on the move.
One touch. Then past the defender.
Then bang.
Ball went low but hard right towards the bottom corner.
Wrexham 1 – Crawley 1.
Nate let out a roar, it was raw. It was his first goal and this was something deeper.
The bench flew up. Niels smiled, calm but proud.
"Back in the game."
But the match wasn't done.
The rest was a grind. There was heavy legs, hard tackles. Ref getting ready with the whistle giving warning to the players.
Crawley stayed focused.
Dev kept finding angles. Luka slipped between lines. Reece read the game like a book, three pages ahead.
Minute 74.
Liam slid in hard, it was perfect challenge. Dev collected, and clipped it forward. Luka found Reece on the edge. He curled the ball just wide.
Wrexham were rattled.
And Crawley? They were still hungry.
Minute 88
Dev won it high. He didn't even look and just swung it wide.
Nate was there.
He drove at the defender. One feint, and then inside. Two defenders closed in.
He didn't shoot.
He passed to Luka.
Luka, at full tilt, arrived just in time.
He striked low near post. Then
Goal.
Wrexham 1-2 Crawley.
There was chaos on the bench, arms everywhere with laughter and shouting.
Niels raised both fists, then barked: "Five more minutes! Hold it!"
Reece cleared a long ball. Liam booted one high. Luka chased into the corner, wasting time like a pro.
Then there was final whistle.
They have done it.
Fulltime: 2-1 Crawley Town wins
With this win, they climbed to the 13th in the league table.
After the match
Back in the dressing room, it was chaos.
Nate vanished under a pile of teammates. Luka pulled him into a headlock, grinning wide. "You're not the new guy anymore. You're one of us."
Dev slumped back, soaked, smiling like he hadn't in weeks. Reece just gave Nate a quiet fist bump.
Niels sat down at last, finally letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
There was no need for stats.
He'd seen what he needed.
This wasn't just a win.
It was just the beginning.
And it felt like the start of something real.
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