Harbinger Of Glory

In Wigan’s dressing room, Leo sat quietly while he finished getting ready.

The medication had helped, but he still did not feel like himself.

Dawson walked over as the players finished their preparations.

He stopped in front of Leo and looked at him for a moment.

"How are you feeling?"

Leo adjusted the bottom of his shirt and then nodded.

"Better."

"That’s not what I asked."

Leo looked up at him and then gave up, sighing.

"I’m tired, but I’ll be fine."

Dawson held his gaze before agreeing.

"You tell me if that changes."

"I will."

The manager nodded, although the look on his face made it clear he wasn’t completely convinced.

"Good."

He turned away, and Leo followed the rest of the players toward the tunnel.

Villa Park was already loud.

The home supporters had been building toward this game all week, but the Wigan end had made sure they could hear them.

Blue and white filled the away section, flags moved above the heads in the front rows, and every Wigan player who emerged received a roar from the travelling support.

The players took their positions, looking to make their impact known after the seemingly long international break, and the official didn’t make them wait too long.

Before the roar of the crowd could settle, Aston Villa kicked off at quarter past three, and they came forward immediately.

They moved the ball quickly through the middle, their midfielders rotating into the same areas and forcing Wigan to make decisions before they wanted to.

Their full-backs pushed high whenever the ball went wide, while the midfield stayed narrow enough to give Wigan very little room to play through.

For the opening ten minutes, Wigan were forced to defend, and they did so expertly.

Reyes dropped deeper to help, Carlo tracked runners, and Dawson spent most of the opening spell shouting instructions from the technical area.

Then Wigan found their way out after Carlo stepped up into the half space between the Villa midfielder and the right back, receiving a very keen ball from Leo.

He stepped in front of the pass just inside the Villa half, took the ball cleanly and immediately drove forward.

"Go!" the away end roared as the Wigan forward line broke off, each finding spaces and just confusing the home team.

Carlo carried the ball toward the centre, weaving left and right and just keeping the Villa players on their toes as they all tracked Jake, who looked like the likely target, but then with a slight poke, Carlo pushed the ball to his right and then dashed.

Reyes took one touch, and the return came straight away, not giving the Villa players a chance to even look at him, and the timing was perfect.

The ball rolled into his path just as he reached the edge of the area, and he didn’t need another touch.

He opened his body and passed the finish beyond Emiliano Martínez as the ball slid into the bottom corner and almost instantly, Villa Park went quiet.

Then the Wigan end exploded.

"YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Carlo sprinted toward the corner, arms spread, before Reyes caught up and jumped onto his back.

"That’s it!" Reyes shouted amidst the roaring company of fans as Carlo laughed, with more and more Wigan players arriving.

On the touchline, Dawson punched the air in excitement.

Villa had started well, but Wigan had shown exactly why they had won their previous nine matches.

They had absorbed the pressure, waited for their chance and punished Villa the moment it appeared.

For the next few minutes, they controlled the game and through it all Unai’s men adjusted.

Their midfield became even narrower, giving Wigan almost no space between the lines.

The full-backs moved higher, and whenever Wigan tried to build through the middle, two or three Villa players immediately collapsed around the ball.

It forced Wigan backwards as eventually, the home supporters found their voice again.

Leo was still involved, dropping toward the ball and trying to give Wigan another passing option, but something about his game wasn’t quite right.

The ball came into midfield, and Leo moved toward it and took his first touch.

It looked like any regular ball for Leo, but somehow, the ball got away from him.

Still, it wasn’t by much, as normally, he would have recovered it before anyone could react, but Leo could only backpedal as Douglas Luiz stepped in and took it.

Leo turned immediately and then gave chase.

"Shit," he mouthed as he gathered every failing breath in him, trying to catch up to Luiz, but Luiz didn’t waste the opportunity.

He carried the ball forward and released it into the path of John McGinn right as Leo got to him, but it was already late.

McGinn took one touch to set himself, and then he struck it.

The ball flew through the crowd of players and beyond the reach of the goalkeeper before finding the net as Villa Park erupted.

"McGINN! ASTON VILLA ARE LEVEL!"

McGinn wheeled away toward the corner as his teammates followed.

Wigan’s players stood where they were, particularly Leo.

He raised one hand toward his teammates and then pointed at his chest with the other hand.

His mistake and the co-commentator picked up on it immediately.

"That’s very unusual from Leo Calderon. He almost never gives the ball away there."

"And Villa have punished him within seconds," the commentator replied.

Douglas Luiz reads the loose touch, McGinn finishes it, and Aston Villa are right back in this."

Leo lowered his hand before turning towards the Villa half.

Across the pitch, Dawson was watching him.

Their eyes met briefly, but Dawson, who would have usually asked Leo what went wrong, didn’t even speak, and that was almost worse.

The remaining minutes of the half passed with Villa pushing for a second, but Wigan held.

When the referee finally blew for half-time, the Wigan players headed toward the tunnel.

Leo followed them and had barely stepped into the dressing room when Dawson walked over.

The manager picked up a jacket from the bench and tossed it toward him.

Leo caught it.

"What?"

"Put it on."

Leo looked at the jacket, then back at him.

"Dawson, I’m fine."

"I know you think you can."

Dawson kept his voice low enough that the rest of the room could carry on around them.

"You’ve been ill, but I had to find out from the doctor when he found out I had started you. I’ve watched you for forty-five minutes, and you’re not moving properly."

Leo looked away.

"I can still help."

"You’ve already helped us enough," Dawson pointed toward the bench.

"Sit this one out."

Leo hesitated.

"Dawson..."

But the manager was resolute.

"No."

Leo looked down at the jacket in his hands and then nodded.

"Alright."

Dawson gave his shoulder a brief squeeze before turning back toward the rest of the team.

"We’ve got forty-five minutes to win this."

Leo pulled the jacket on and sat down, an action that caught the gazes of almost the whole team.

Despite Leo playing below his usual par, he was still decisive for them, so his absence was something that they had to try not to let get to them too much.