Patience pays off in the end.
This game against United was a carbon copy of the game against Deal Town last week, one team wanting to try and win the game, the other trying as best as they could to get a draw by whatever lawful means possible.
Their game plans were identical, get plenty of men behind the ball, defend deep, compete for every ball whether it be in the air or on the ground, be strong in the tackle, launch the ball as far as you can at every opportunity, including out of the ground if necessary but definitely, don't give away anything cheaply.
To be fair, as one of the top teams in the league, we must accept that teams will come to the Community Stadium and try to put us out of our comfort zone and stop us playing our usual style of football but the difference in this match against United compared to the game against Town, was that we took our chances when they came along to a certain extent.
As for the match itself, there was a debut for new signing Matthew Whitehead at left wing back, something we have rather fudged a bit for most of the season by using a right footed player, so it was good to actually have a left footer doing the job, although everyone who has played that position so far during the season has done a tremendous job and not let anyone down.
However, so much about football is instinct and thinking ahead rather than worrying about what to do when the ball arrives so having a natural left footer on that side can only help and Matthew acquitted himself well during his time on the pitch.
The first half wasn't too exciting in reality and everyone with the Crows seemed to be a bit nervous and hesitant at times and due to the approach to the game adopted by the visitors, the ball spent an awful lot of time in the upper reaches of the atmosphere or way outside of the ground. Those tactics, combined with a high work rate, meant that space and time were very limited for our players when they were in possession.
Still, what chances were created fell to the Crows and Elder in the United goal had to be at his best on quite a few occasions throughout the game to keep the score down. Crabb was the first to have a shot in the 7th minute which had to be saved well by Elder. Turner then had a header from a corner which hit the base of the post and was cleared and as the half time break approached Appiah, who had his best game since joining the Crows, had an effort that was saved by Elder and then cleared off the line before another Crow could tap it home.
During the break Perry, who looked to have received a dead leg earlier, had to be replaced by Pearson who's pace at least seemed to upset the back four of United at the start of the second period, especially as they started to play higher up the pitch this period.
Pearson was certainly busy from the off, heading wide from 12 yards out and having a one-on-one effort well saved by Elder who was starting to frustrate not only the Crow players but the spectators as well.
There was only one yellow card in the game, Gonzalez-Bello getting it for what appeared to be a deliberate handball in the 56th minute. Only two minutes later the Crows got the breakthrough they wanted, great work by Attwood out on the right hand side of the area saw him burst in to the box and he hit a hard high cross which found Pearson perfectly situated six yards out, in the centre of the goal, unmarked and with a header the ball flew in to the net for 1-0.
After 62 minutes debutant Whitehead was replaced by Muggeridge as the Crows looked to put the game to bed. Six minutes later, United replaced McDermott with James Alderman but the flow of play wasn't interrupted much as the Crows put more and more pressure on a now tiring United defence.
Pearson should have made it 2-0 in the 73rd minute when he chased down a through ball and beat the on-rushing Elder, only to see his lob hit the top of the goal and out of play. At the same time, Gonzalez-Bello was replaced by Rothery for United. A little later, Appiah went off to be replaced by Carrington for the Crows and Collis went off for United to be replaced by Rob Alderman.
With time running out it looked like one goal would be enough but our players haven't given up for one minute this season and so they didn't in this game. Crabb found himself just inside the United area on the right hand side and his low cross was turned in to his own net by the United captain, Andy Pierce, the ball hitting the underside of the bar before bouncing to the back of the net, 2-0 it was, much to the delight of all involved with the Crows.
There were some outstanding performances for the Crows on the day, Boddy, Attwood and Appiah all had an influence throughout but the Player of the Match went to Jack Walder whose calming presence throughout the 90+4 minutes on the match and his side was a great example of defensive midfield play.
The news that the Crows were now top of the table due to Ashford United drawing 3-3 at home to AFC Croydon Athletic further enhanced the mood of the Crows as we are now two points clear of the Nuts & Bolts and still have a game in hand.
Therefore, we can look forward to our home game against Croydon FC on Tuesday safe in the knowledge that if we win our remaining games we'll be top of the league at the end of the season. However, there are many twist and turns left in this 2016/17 season and nothing can be taken for granted, never before has the cliche "take one game at a time" been more true.