by Rob Childs
“No need to worry. I’ve got lots of new mates here.”
“That’s as maybe – but you can never be too careful,” she said. “Remember what I’ve told you. City folks are different to what you’ve been used to back in Wales.” Josh grinned, knowing exactly what was coming next. “Now when I was a little gal on the island...”
A huge bang made them both jump and saved Josh from yet another story about how life used to be so much simpler back in ‘the old days’. The firework display had started and they stood mesmerised by all the noise and flashing lights which kept exploding across the black sky.
“Now they’s what I call real fireworks,” laughed his mother in delight. “Last time I saw anythin’ like them was at that big party in Ossie’s garden. Remember that, Josh?”
He was hardly likely to forget what happened that night. It was when his father told Ma that he was leaving her.
As another rocket exploded into a cascade of coloured, sparkling lights, somebody lurched past them, almost knocking his mother over.
“Hey! My bag!” she screamed. “He’s took my bag!”
Josh whirled round in time to see the hooded bag-snatcher pushing his way through the crowd.
“Stop him!” he yelled at the top of his voice, but it was too late for anybody to react.
Josh gave chase himself, darting through gaps in the groups of people and almost knocking over a younger child.
Josh scurried this way and that, getting the occasional glimpse of someone else running away ahead of him. It was only when he broke free of the crowd, however, that he managed to get a better view. The black sky was again illuminated by a shower of lights and Josh saw him heading for a small wood near the lake.
As Josh sprinted in pursuit, there was something about the way the thief ran that reminded him of somebody, but he couldn’t think clearly. One thing he did know for sure was that he was gaining on him.
Perhaps the thief thought that, too, for he disappeared into the trees. Josh decided to skirt the wood, hoping to cut off any escape route towards the park gates, but the figure emerged on the far side and made for the lake instead.
Josh was not far behind by the time they reached the water’s edge where they both halted, panting. He was unsure now just what to do. Although the thief wasn’t that much bigger than him, Josh didn’t know whether he might even be carrying a knife and so kept his distance.
“You’ve got my mother’s bag!” he cried. “Give it back.” The hood was suddenly thrown back to reveal a familiar face. “Rajesh!”
“Dead right, wonder-boy! You want it – you fetch it,” he taunted. “But you’re gonna have to swim for it!”
As Rajesh swung the bag round and hurled it into the lake, Josh hurtled down the slope towards him. His momentum was such that he couldn’t stop and Rajesh was too slow to dodge out of his way. Josh grabbed hold of his arm and both of them ended up toppling full-length into the cold water, splashing and floundering in the shallows to try and find their feet.
Fortunately, the lake was not very deep, even in the middle, and Josh began to wade further out, his progress hampered by the thick mud at the bottom. He had lost all interest in Rajesh, for the time being, and was intent upon his search for the bag.
Rajesh had managed to clamber out on to the bank, cursing Josh.
“These are my new jeans for Divali!” he wailed. “And my new trainers!”
“Good,” Josh retorted. “I hope they’re not waterproof.”
Josh was lucky that the bag had not sunk out of sight into the mud. The strap had snagged on a floating branch and he was able to reach forward, now almost waist-deep in the water, to grab hold of it.
As Josh turned in triumph, Rajesh decided to make himself scarce and had disappeared through the gates by the time Josh squelched back up on to dry land, shivering, to be greeted by his frantic mother.
“Got it back, Ma!” he grinned, handing over the filthy, water-logged bag.
“Oh, you silly boy!” she cried, hugging him in relief, despite the muddy state that he was in. “You could’ve gone and got yourself drowned!”
“I’m OK, Ma. Don’t worry.”
“C’mon – home with you, young man,” she ordered, taking him by the arm. “You’re goin’ straight in that bath.”
Josh wasn’t sure he really saw the point of that. He’d already just had one. But at least the water at home would be nice and hot.
Group Games
“Who are you?”
Matthew was taken by surprise when a slim woman opened the front door of Josh’s house. He had rather expected Josh to come bursting out. Brad’s father was giving them both a lift to the tournament.
“Er, I’m M..Matt,” he faltered. “Josh’s m..mate at school.”
“Look, Josh won’t be comin’,” she said. “He’s got a cold startin’ and I’m keepin’ him inside.”
Matthew hardly knew what to say. “B..but we’re p..playing in the Sevens...”
“Well, you might be, but not my Josh. He’s stayin’ right here in the warm.”
“Ma!” came a cry. “Is that Matt?”
Matthew looked past her to see Josh come dashing down the stairs, wearing blue pyjamas instead of the school’s black and white stripes.
“Ma! I’ve got to go,” he pleaded. “They need me.”
“Well, they’ll just have to do without you today,” she told him and then turned back to Matthew. “I’m sorry, but like I said, he can’t go. Goodbye!”
The door closed and Matthew was left standing on the path, listening to Josh’s howls of protest and the woman telling him to go back to bed.
He trudged back up the garden path to where the car was parked and reported what had happened.
“Oh, great!” Brad muttered. “Without Josh, we’ve got no chance.”
“C’mon, then,” said Brad’s father. “Let’s get to the school and report the bad news to your teacher.”
By the time the team arrived at the venue for the Sevens, they were running late because of roadworks, and they found that their first group match was due to start. The players did not even have a chance to warm up properly.
The captain, however, was secretly relieved about Josh’s absence. Rajesh hadn’t really fancied having to face up to him after what had happened last night. “Don’t matter that Josh ain’t here,” Rajesh sneered. “We don’t need him.”
Most of the others did not share that opinion and they soon found themselves in trouble. Another lad, Jay, took Josh’s place in midfield, but it was his stray pass that led to Westgate falling behind after only two minutes.
“Sort it out!” roared Rajesh, angrily kicking the ball back upfield for the re-start. “Where was the marking?”
No one dared point out to the goalkeeper that he might have made a better effort to save the shot after the ball had slithered beneath his body into the net.
Things went from bad to worse after that and the team slumped to a 3-0 defeat, barely managing a shot at goal. Their opponents, Cranfield Juniors, were simply too strong and looked to be favourites to win the tournament, especially when they beat the other school in the group by an even bigger margin.
“There’s still a chance for us to make the semi-finals,” said Mr Blyton. “If we don’t lose the next game, we can qualify on goal-difference. A draw would be enough.”
Even that was going to be difficult after Westgate again conceded an early goal. They were still losing, despite an equalizer from Leela before half-time, when a man came up to speak to Mr Blyton.
“What’s the score?”
“Two-one to them,” said the teacher glumly. “Looks like we might be going home early.”
“I’ve only just got here,” the man replied. “Where’s my Josh?”
“Josh? Are you his father?”
He nodded. “Sure am. He don’t know his da come all the way from Wales to see him play.”
“Well, I’m afraid your journey might have been wasted, Mr Williams.�
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Mr Blyton explained the situation and the man’s face creased up in annoyance.
“That woman!” he grumbled. “My boy should be here.”
“We’re certainly missing him,” admitted Mr Blyton, who then almost missed something himself. He turned his attention back to the game just in time to see Matthew stab home a pass from Leela to bring the scores back level.
“Well done!” he called out. “Concentrate. Don’t let them score again.”
When Mr Blyton looked round to continue his conversation, he found that he was now standing by himself. Mr Williams was striding away across the playing field towards the car park.
Oh, dear! the teacher sighed. I do hope I haven’t gone and put my foot in it.
There was nothing he could do about that now – and nor could he do much about what was happening on the pitch. They had a chance to win the game, which Matthew wasted by ballooning the ball over the bar, and then they almost lost it when a slip by Anil allowed his opponent a clear sight of goal. Only Rajesh’s acrobatic leap saved them as he turned the ball around a post for a corner.
The referee’s whistle sounded before the kick could even be taken, leaving the scores level at 2-2.
“We’re through!” screamed Panna.
“Don’t get too excited,” growled Rajesh. “It’s only the semis next, not the Final – and we ain’t gonna win that, the way you lot are playing.”
There was a short break before the semi-final matches and Mr Blyton told the children to put their coats on, have a drink of water and try to keep warm.
“Who are we playing in the semis?” asked Brad’s father.
“The team that won the other group,” said Mr Blyton. “And they look pretty good from what I’ve seen of them.”
“Pity Josh isn’t here.”
Mr Blyton nodded. “It certainly is,” he murmured, wondering whether the boy might yet appear.
As Westgate kicked off their semi-final, however, Mr Williams was still arguing with his ex-wife and demanding that Josh get his kit on. Only with the greatest reluctance did she agree to let their son play – and then only on the condition that he was brought straight back home afterwards.
By the time Mr Williams had bundled Josh into the car and managed to get through the roadworks again, the match was already over. Josh dashed from the car park towards where he spotted his teammates grouped around Mr Blyton.
“Look! It’s Josh!” cried Leela.
“Sorry!” he shouted. “Hope I’m not too late.”
Rajesh ran forward to meet him. “What for?” the captain demanded.
“To play,” said Josh. “We’re still in it, aren’t we?”
“Less of the we, kid,” Rajesh sneered. “You can’t even bother to turn up.”
“Well, we both know why I’ve got this cold, don’t we?” retorted Josh. “After what you did last night.”
“Have you told anybody?”
“Course not.”
“Good job too,” Rajesh retorted. “Or you’d be dead!”
Josh ignored the threat. “My da said we were struggling.”
“Did he, now? Well you can tell him we’re in the Final – no thanks to you.”
The rest of the team surrounded them, bubbling with excitement.
“We won one-nil...”
“Raj was brill...”
“Brad got the winner...”
“First goal I’ve scored all season...”
“Glad to see you, Joshua,” Mr Blyton smiled. “Are you fit enough to play?”
“Sure am!” Josh grinned, opening his coat to reveal his kit. “Can’t wait.”
“You won’t have to,” the teacher told him. “We’re on again soon.”
Final Touch
“Shoot!”
Leela shot. She was going to, anyway, no matter what Josh might have shouted when he passed to her. The ball beat the diving goalkeeper but struck the foot of the post and rebounded to safety.
“Bad luck!” Josh cried. “It’ll go in next time.”
Leela shook her head and sighed. She knew there might not even be a ‘next time’. The team had barely managed a single shot against Cranfield Juniors in the group game and needed an early goal in the Final to boost their confidence.
Josh, however, had not played in that match and treated the Juniors as just another team. “C’mon, men!” he demanded as if he were the captain. “We can beat this lot.”
Leela did not bother to remind him this time about the fact there were two girls in the side, but his cries did not go unnoticed by the opposition
“Who’s the mouthy kid?” asked one of the Juniors who was marking Matthew. “Didn’t see him before.”
“He’s our secret weapon,” he grinned. “We were just saving him for the Final.”
“Huh! You’ve still got no chance against us.”
Josh had attracted the attention of Cranfield’s teacher too. He wandered up to Mr Blyton on the touchline and put the same query more politely. “Who’s the lad wearing the number four shirt? He looks quite useful.”
“You might know his uncle better,” chuckled Mr Blyton.
“Oh, yes? And who’s that?”
“Ossie Williams!”
The man’s jaw dropped open. “Really!” he gasped. “Where have you been hiding him all morning?”
Mr Blyton smiled. “It’s a long story. I’m just glad he’s here now.”
His teammates felt exactly the same way. Even Rajesh had to admit that Josh now gave them a better chance of success.
But the Juniors were still strong favourites to win the trophy and were determined to do so. They mounted a series of raids and only failed to score because of good defending and a remarkable save by Rajesh. The on-form keeper was wrong-footed by a deflection, but somehow managed to block the ball with his trailing leg.
“Mark tight!” he demanded. “Don’t give ’em so much room.”
It was almost inevitable that all this pressure would lead to a goal, which it did just before the interval, but Westgate were performing much better than they had done in their first encounter with the Juniors.
“Keep this up!” Mr Blyton encouraged the players during the short break. “Try to get the ball to Josh as much as possible. He’s fresher than anyone else on the pitch, even if he’s not fully fit.”
It was true, Josh was feeling the effects of his cold, but he took inspiration from the fact that his dad was watching him play.
“C’mon, my boy!” bellowed Mr Williams as the teams lined up again for the second half. “You show ’em how Ossie would do it!”
Cranfield’s teacher had also warned his players about who Josh was, but that had perhaps only served to make them a little more nervous and wary of him when he had the ball at his feet. They gave him too much respect, and certainly too much space. And it wasn’t long before he made them pay the price.
Receiving the ball just inside his own half of the pitch, Josh moved forward, looking for a striped shirt to pass to. Instead, he found the opposition backing off, allowing him to advance deep into their territory.
Josh wasn’t one to refuse an opportunity to shoot. As soon as he had a clear sight of goal, Josh let fly with his right foot and the ball was bouncing back from the net before the keeper had time to react. The poor boy only caught hold of the ball on its way out.
“What a goal!” screamed Mr Williams as Josh was mobbed by his celebrating teammates. “You beauty!”
To their credit, the Juniors recovered from the shock of conceding the equalizer and hit back with more attacks of their own. Time and again, the favourites went close to restoring their lead but could not find a way past Rajesh again.
The captain was having the game of his life, perhaps spurred on by the desire to outdo his rival. The goalkeeper pulled off a number of fine saves, the best of which had all the spectators applauding.
The Juniors simply could not believe they had failed to score. Rajesh had dived full length to turn the first
shot against a post and then had somehow recovered in time to block the rebound at point-blank range.
“Great stuff, Raj!” cried Josh generously. “Fantastic!”
Rajesh grinned as teammates came up to slap their keeper on the back.
“Right, I’ve done my stuff,” he told them. “Now you go and do yours at the other end.”
Josh did exactly that. With time running out and the prospect of a penalty shoot-out to find a winner – Josh started a rare Westgate raid by sweeping the ball out to Matthew near the touchline.
“Take him on, Matt,” he cried. “Beat him for speed.”
His opponent found out just how fast Matthew was. The striker pushed the ball past him and sprinted after it, leaving the defender for dead. The ball almost went dead, too, but Matthew just managed to catch it up before it ran out of play. He looked up to see Leela’s waving arm, signalling where she wanted the ball.
The cross was perfect, right into her path, but both her marker and the goalkeeper had closed in to make any shot very difficult. Leela didn’t even bother touching the ball. She suddenly let it zip past her, selling them a dummy, and the ball rolled invitingly across the deserted area.
The only player who could reach it was Josh. He had continued his lung-bursting run forward, outpacing any defender, and now he stretched out a leg in a desperate attempt to make contact with the ball.
He did so – just. The ball hit his shin rather than his boot, but it was enough to send it bouncing into the unguarded net to put Westgate 2-1 ahead.
Josh was almost too weary to stand up by himself and he was hauled to his feet by teammates. Exhausted by the effects of the cold, he was in no fit state to carry on and Mr Blyton replaced him with Jay for the last two minutes of the game.
“That’s my boy!” cried his father, giving him a big bear hug on the touchline. “Pity your ma ain’t here to see what you done.”
Josh wished his mother had come, too, but right now he was simply hoping and praying that the team could hold on to their precious lead. When the final whistle sounded, Josh leapt into the air in relief, forgetting his tiredness, and raced on to the pitch to join in the celebrations.