Chapter 177: The Lucky Strike
November 17th, 2010
The whistle blew sharply, cutting through the noise of the crowd.
The Southampton striker moved the ball forward, and the game started with focused energy.
The Saints didn't waste any time. They pressed hard, moving as a tight, well-organized team.
In midfield, they surrounded Dev, Jamal Osei, and Tom Whitehall like a solid wall, leaving them little room to move.
Dev felt the pressure right away.
A Southampton defender, quick and determined, was on him the moment he got the ball nothing like the softer defense they'd faced last time.
He knew how much was at stake, one mistake could change everything.
He quickly passed the ball to Jamal, but Jamal was immediately surrounded too, pushing him to make a fast, uneasy pass to Liam McCulloch.
For the first ten minutes, Crawley was struggling to keep up.
They had hoped to control the game calmly and patiently, but Southampton's constant pressure wouldn't let them.
