Treleaven grabs a brace.
With the visitors, Woodstock Sports, being one place above the Crows in the table, thirteenth place prior to the game on Saturday, both teams knew that even this early in the season, it was a true "6 pointer" if there was ever one.
Probably there was more pressure on the home side, purely for the reason they were at home, however, it led to one of the most entertaining games seen this season and one of the best footballing performances the Crows have produced so far in this league.
When looking at the record of both teams this season, it looked like it might come down to our attacking play taking on their defence, as we are in a rich vein of goal scoring form and their strength definitely seems to be preventing teams scoring, although that's not to suggest they are a defensive side by any means.
As both teams are in mid-table, you could assume prior to kick off that they are roughly at the same level when it comes to physique, ability and confidence but in the end our forward players proved better than theirs and were able to breakdown the Sports defence.
The game started at a fair old pace which never relented, definitely for the first half and wasn't much slower in the second either. Both teams strived to get hold of the midfield from early on and it was the home side who started to dominate, with Ademiluyi firing just wide after great approach work by Funnell.
Several more shots and corners rained down on the Sports defence but it was they who had the most dangerous effort in the first 20 minutes when, following a corner, which looked the most likely way they would score, they hit the bar with a shot from the edge of the Crow's penalty area.
The Crows kept the pressure up though and in the 28th minute they got the goal they deserved when Ridley rose at the far post to nod the ball in the net following a flick on by Trotter from a Treleaven long throw.
Now the Crow's wings were really flapping and only two minutes later, 1-0 became 2-0 when Funnell fired the ball in at the near post from six yards out after Treleaven used his strength to hold off the attentions of a Sports defender.
To the credit of the away side they never let their heads drop and never gave up at anytime, still trying to go forward whenever possible but they were struggling to keep up with the pace of the home sides play and spent a fair bit of time chasing the ball down.
On 36 minutes, 2-0 was turned into 3-0 as Treleaven fired the ball home from the edge of the area after a defensive mix up between the 'keeper and a defender saw Funnell challenge for the ball which then fell to the Crow's top scorer.
The home side were now in a confident mood, however, that was knocked a bit when, in the 40th minute, the Sports scored, Taylor heading into the net from a corner after Hampson had lost the flight of the ball, so it was now 3-1 to the Crows.
Then in the 45 minute came one of the most bizarre events I've witnessed at a football match when the referee decided to award the Sports a penalty when it appeared more that Boddy had cleanly won the ball first before the Sports player crashed to the ground.
Despite some protestations from the Crow's players the penalty stood and Justin duly sent Hampson the wrong way and the ball nestled in the net, 3-2 then we all thought and the away side would definitely have the momentum after the break.
Referee, Mr. Amir, then decided that the penalty should be retaken as he adjudged that some infringement had taken place, which resulted in Trotter getting booked for the Crows and this time Justin put the ball in the same place but Hampson made a terrific save, low down to his left and the score remained 3-1 as the half time whistle blew.
Why the penalty was retaken is still a mystery to most people, it definitely upset the Sports players and management, understandably to a degree, and their number 3, Borland, was cautioned, as was one of their coaches as the players left the field.
May be the referee had brought his Monopoly cards with him as he definitely gave the Crows a "get out of jail card" which made the half time drinks taste sweeter and the half time team talk easier I would have guessed.
It seemed odd to be saying at the break that the next goal would be crucial in deciding who gets the points when your side is leading 3-1 as the second half starts but that's exactly what was being said and the way the Crows came out for the half would indicate that's exactly what was said in the dressing room.
Indeed, it was the home side who scored that vital goal when, following good work by Waterman and Funnell, Treleaven fired the ball in at the near post after 55 minutes, to score his second of the game, therefore, it was now 4-1 to the Crows and game over.
Unfortunately, no one told the Woodstock Sports players that they were supposed to now give up and like lambs to the slaughter, allow the home side to go on and score another couple of goals at least.
They now started to come back in to the game and put the home side under some terrific pressure, having large periods of the play and possession of the ball, whilst the home players seemed to tire and appeared to be heavy legged after the exertions of the previous 70 odd minutes.
The defence now came in to its own and the back four of Cameron, Trotter, Boddy and Hinkson, who had a superb game throughout until he had to be withdrawn in the 64th minute through injury, Rich being his replacement, had to work overtime to keep the Sports at bay and the score at 4-1.
That's not to say the Crows didn't have chances, the best of which fell to Funnell after he was put clear by Treleaven but his shot was just inches the wrong side of the Sports upright.
With the away side still striving to get back in the game with 10 minutes to go, the Crows made a couple of substitutions, Funnell going off after 81 minutes to be replaced by Jake Hampson and Waterman, who had run his socks off all game, being replaced by Butler in the 83rd minute.
In the end, the Crows succumbed to the pressure the Sports put them under in the last 10 minutes and Justin made amends to some degree for his penalty miss when he grabbed their second goal in the 89th minute but it was too little, too late and the Crows got the points and the win their play deserved overall.
Basically, the whole team played well on the day and deserve credit for the performance they put in after two successive defeats but in the end, my Man of the Match went to Jack Funnell who was a constant thorn to the Sports defence and supported Treleaven well after being restored to his favourite position, up front along side Treleaven, rather than out on the right wing.
A good performance, a good win, a good three points and hopefully, it will give the team confidence that they have the ability to beat any of the teams in and around them in the league.