Harbinger Of Glory

Max Power took one touch to steady himself before guiding a low finish beyond the goalkeeper and into the far corner despite the pressure.

For a split second, Power simply stood there, almost making sure it had gone in.

Then a smile broke across his face as his teammates raced towards him.

”It’s in!” the commentator exclaimed. ”Max Power has his first Premier League goal!”

”And once again, it is that young man?” the co-commentator added.

”That’s five assists already this season, and we’re not even halfway through October.”

Power disappeared beneath a wave of blue shirts as the travelling supporters celebrated behind the goal.

They had gained an advantage.

As the half unfolded more and more, Nottingham Forest began pushing the way home sides push when they were behind while also feeling the crowd’s expectation.

They had their moments with Steve Cooper’s side finding gaps and testing Amos on a few occasions, making Wigan work for the lead they were protecting.

Then, on a failed Forest attack, the ball broke to Power in midfield, and he didn’t wait, slipping it into the channel for Reyes.

With how the game opened up, it was almost uncharacteristic as Reyes slowed before slipping the ball into Will Keane, who had started again this time.

The Nottingham players who had been preparing for a run turned on their heels chasing Will Keane, but the striker had been in enough positions like this to miss this chance.

Leaning to his left, he looked like sending the ball around the keeper, but then with some sheer audacity, he lobbed the ball over the keeper into the back of the net, increasing the Wigan lead to two.

Cooper had words to say during the interval, and when the players returned for the start of the second half, it looked like the coach’s words had gotten through to them as the Nottingham players almost played like a shell of their first-half performance, though in a good way.

Eventually, Elanga and Gibbs-White combined in the sixty-seventh minute, working the ball through some sheer chemistry before the former Manchester United player found the back of the net when Wigan tried to reorganise.

When the home side scored, the City Ground found its voice again in the way it had been wanting to all afternoon.

It was almost like the goal had cleared the gloom that had been cast over the stadium, and following that, the game became more alive as Forest pressed the advantage with the renewed belief of a team that felt the crowd lifting them.

And in the seventy-seventh minute, it seemed to all work out when Elanga’s cross from the left found Joe Bennett’s arm at the far post.

The Wigan left back tried to deny it, but it was so clear to all that he stopped himself halfway, while the referee pointed towards the spot as the City ground got ready to get level.

Chris Wood stepped up, and when the whistle blew, the ball sailed comfortably over the crossbar before crashing into the advertising boards behind the goal.

The ball cleared the crossbar by a distance that made the miss look almost deliberate and for a moment, the City Ground fell quiet.

Forest’s supporters watched in disbelief, hands finding heads as the chance disappeared into the stands.

On the other side, Wigan’s players exchanged glances before turning away, careful not to celebrate their good fortune too early.

Ben Amos, hyped by the miss, clapped his hands together.

”Come on!” he shouted. ”Stay with it!”

The miss had bought them the chance to keep their lead and nothing more.

Play restarted after this, but it looked like the penalty miss got to the home side.

Forest still pushed forward, though there was a different urgency about them now.

Wigan, on the other hand, didn’t slow down.

They stayed compact, waited for the mistake, and when it came, they struck.

Deep into the closing minutes, a loose clearance ricocheted into Callum Lang’s path inside the Forest half.

The forward had only been on the pitch for moments, his first appearance since the injury that had sidelined him since before August, and he took his chance well.

One touch carried him into space, and the following was a shot as the ball skipped across the turf before nestling inside the bottom corner.

The travelling supporters erupted while Lang wheeled away with a grin that said everything, and his teammates caught him before he had made it halfway to the corner flag.

”That’ll do it!” the commentator exclaimed on the broadcast.

”Callum Lang is back, and what a return it is!”

The co-commentator couldn’t help but smile.

”Football has a funny way of writing these moments. First appearance of the season, first touch of real consequence... and he’s marked it with a goal.”

While the commentary told half of the story, the scoreboard told the rest.

Nottingham Forest 1-3 Wigan Athletic.

And after this, the remaining minutes slipped away quickly.

When the referee finally blew for full time, the Wigan players exchanged handshakes and embraces before making their way toward the travelling end.

The two parties exchanged a stretch of applause before the stands started emptying as the players began making their way down the tunnel.

Another win in what was becoming impossible to ignore.

While the Wigan bus made its way back north, Arsenal were drawing with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea side had led two-nil and had held it until the seventy-seventh minute, which was approximately when Arsenal found themselves twice in a span of eight minutes and when the final whistle sounded, it confirmed a two-two draw that nobody in the Arsenal camp wanted.

Which meant the table, when the dust settled, showed Wigan on twenty-seven points and right behind them was Manchester City on twenty-one after beating Brighton and Hove Albion earlier that day, as well as Arsenal also on twenty-one but behind City as a result of the lesser goal difference!

Six points between the first and the rest.