by Theo Walcott
Ariyan played a smart one-two with Rafi and he was away down the wing. Leila was racing forward, trying to get into the penalty area, when Mr Potter started shouting at her.
‘Leila, get back!’ he yelled. ‘You’re midfield. Rodrigo, you too. Stay back!’
Ariyan looked up as he reached the goal line, searching for someone to cross to.
There was only Rafi, and he was completely surrounded by Swinburne defenders. ‘Pass it, Ariyan!’ shouted Mr Potter, and Ariyan shrugged his shoulders and obeyed. He knew it was pointless. They’d practised for this situation loads of times with Mr Wood. The midfield players should have been bursting forward to give him something to aim at. And Tulsi should have been there, standing tall among the defenders. Ariyan’s cross never reached Rafi. A Swinburne defender nodded it down to the goalkeeper who booted it up the field.
The ball bounced once and landed at Rob’s feet. He controlled it without any trouble, but then he looked up to see Leroy bearing down on him. He seemed to freeze, like a rabbit caught in the glare of a car’s headlights. Danny ran to help him out, but once again Mr Potter was shouting at them.
‘Danny, stay in your position,’ he called. ‘Clear it, Rob. Get rid of it!’
At the same moment Jamie called out, ‘Rob! Pass back to me.’
Rob hesitated, and the hesitation was fatal. Leroy pounced on the ball and smashed it past Jamie into the goal. Now Swinburne were leading 2–0.
Standing on the touchline, TJ saw the spirit draining away from the Parkview players. Their heads were down, while the Swinburne players were all surrounding Leroy and congratulating him. ‘He shouldn’t have put Rob in the team,’ Tulsi said. ‘He’s just not good enough.’
‘Yes he is,’ replied TJ. ‘Imagine if it was you. You wouldn’t like having to go on and play as a defender, would you?’
‘It doesn’t look as if either of us will get to play,’ Tulsi said gloomily.
‘And even if we do, it might be too late,’ said TJ.
The Parkview players looked beaten. Mr Potter kept up a steady stream of instructions, but they made no sense at all. ‘Get back,’ he yelled. ‘Where’s the midfield gone? Push up, push up. Drop back! Everybody up! Keep in your positions!’
Swinburne attacked freely. The Parkview players never got near the ball, but Jamie put on a magnificent display of goalkeeping. He was the busiest player on the field, and by the time the half-time whistle blew he had saved at least seven certain goals.
Thanks to him the score was still only 2–0.
As the teams trooped off the pitch Mr Burrows went up to Mr Potter. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said. ‘You’ve left two of our best players standing on the touchline while the opposition run rings around us. Well done, young Jamie, by the way.’
‘I can’t take any more of this,’ Mr Potter said, getting to his feet. ‘I came back to Parkview because everyone said that the school had changed. But it’s still the same. The children just won’t listen to me.’
‘Oh, I say, Mr Potter, I don’t think that’s fair—’ began Mr Burrows, but Mr Potter interrupted him.
‘I don’t care what you think,’ he spluttered, very red in the face. ‘If you think you can run this team better than me, Mr Burrows, then you’re welcome to try.’
‘But where are you going?’ Mr Burrows called out, as Mr Potter limped off across the Astroturf.
‘Home,’ replied the teacher. ‘And this time I’m not coming back.’
CHAPTER 13
THE PARKVIEW SCHOOL football team stood and stared after Mr Potter. Mr Burrows and Miss Berry stared too, and when they all turned back they realized that the Swinburne team had been watching.
Mr Burrows shook his head and looked at the squad. ‘I’m very sorry about that,’ he said. ‘You mustn’t think too badly of Mr Potter. He hasn’t been well. But now we have a real challenge on our hands, and I’m afraid I’m not much of a football coach.’
Everyone laughed, and instantly they all felt better. ‘I’m happy to organize the team, Mr Burrows,’ Miss Berry said. ‘I think I know what Mr Wood would have done. Rob, you’re going to play in midfield with Rodrigo alongside you to take care of the tackling. OK, Rob?’
‘I . . . I don’t know,’ said Rob. ‘I was rubbish.’
‘You were in the wrong position,’ said TJ.
‘Give it a try, Rob,’ Miss Berry told him. ‘We’ll have Danny and Tommy at the back and TJ and Tulsi up front. Get out there and show them what you’re made of, Parkview. Two goals and you’re level. You know you can do it.’
Swinburne started the second half. Leroy was on the ball at once. He exchanged passes with another player, but Rodrigo stepped forward and tackled him. He slipped the ball sideways to Rob, but instead of playing one of his penetrating forward passes, Rob hit it back to Tommy.
Parkview tried to attack, but Swinburne worked hard and every time a Parkview player received the ball they had no time at all because a Swinburne player was snapping at their heels.
‘I thought Rob was going to take them apart,’ Tulsi muttered to TJ. ‘He just keeps passing it to Tommy or Rodrigo. We’d be better off with Leila.’
‘No, we wouldn’t,’ said TJ, and the next time the ball ran out of play he trotted back to talk to Rob. He spoke quickly. ‘Listen, Rob. Just imagine we’re in the park. Imagine all those defenders are lampposts and bins. You know there’s no point passing it backwards. We have to score goals.’
Rob looked at him. ‘It’s not that easy,’ he said. ‘I see them coming towards me and I just don’t want to make a mistake. My legs feel like jelly. It was different when Mr Wood was here.’
‘Well, he’s not here right now,’ said TJ. ‘But he knew you were good enough, didn’t he? I bet he would have put you in the team. And remember Dexter Gordon in that Champions League game against Inter Milan? He was as nervous as you are, but he still scored that goal.’
TJ ran back into position. On the way he passed Leroy. ‘Who’s your mate?’ asked Leroy. ‘Why’s he playing. He’s not very good.’
‘You’ll see,’ replied TJ. He looked back and was glad to see a determined expression on Rob’s face. It was a Parkview goal kick and Jamie belted the ball up the field. Tulsi controlled it on her chest and played it back to Rodrigo.
‘Yes!’ called Rob, darting forward and gaining half a metre on the Swinburne player who was marking him. ‘To me!’
Rodrigo played the ball to Rob’s feet on the edge of the centre circle. Every Parkview player was closely marked, but TJ knew that he had to gamble on what he thought Rob was going to do. He sprinted towards Rob and his marker followed him closely. Rob hit a pass to TJ’s feet and TJ instantly returned the ball to Rob, turned sharply outside the defender and raced into the space beyond him. Rob moved away from TJ, back towards his own goal, and TJ heard Tulsi begin to say, ‘Not again!’ but Rob fooled everyone by drilling a cleverly angled pass in a direction no one could have predicted. And TJ was ready. The last, despairing Swinburne defender stretched out a foot to try and stop him, but TJ was through on goal. The keeper came out, diving at his feet, but TJ took the ball round him and blasted it into the net.
‘Magnificent work, Parkview!’ called Mr Burrows from the touchline. The Parkview substitutes were all punching the air. ‘Nice one, Rob!’ called Jamie from his goal.
‘Two–one,’ said TJ to Tulsi. ‘One more and we’re level. We can do it.’
‘I don’t believe it,’ muttered Leroy, looking at Rob as he prepared to kick off again. ‘How did he do that?’
Swinburne pushed forward, but at last Parkview were a team again, and as they chased and tackled and began to pass the ball with confidence, Rob was at the heart of everything. The only trouble was that Swinburne were famously good at defending. Several times Rob squeezed impossible-looking passes through to TJ or Tulsi, but each time a Swinburne defender was there to make the tackle. The end of the match drew closer, and still the score remained 2–1 to Swinburne.
�
�Only two minutes to go,’ called Miss Berry from the touchline. ‘You have to do it now, Parkview!’
‘She’s right,’ Rob said to the others, as the Swinburne keeper retrieved the ball after a shot from Tulsi had ballooned over the bar.
‘I think we should surprise them. We can push Tommy forward, and Rodrigo too. I’ll try and get the ball through to you and Tulsi, TJ, and then Tommy and Rodrigo can burst into the penalty area.’
‘But what if it doesn’t work?’ said Tulsi. ‘They’ll probably score a breakaway goal.’
‘If we don’t try it, we’ll lose anyway,’ Rob said. TJ was amazed by his sudden confidence. But then, he thought, Rob had always been full of surprises. The Swinburne goalie kicked the ball out, and Rodrigo jumped with Leroy and won the header. The ball bounced forward towards Tulsi and she tapped it back to Rob. TJ was sprinting down the right wing, but Rob twisted to his left and fed the ball to Tommy, who was running past him at top speed. Tommy moved forward, and he was about to pass out to TJ when he heard Rob’s voice again. ‘Inside! I’m with you.’
Tommy slipped the ball to Rob, who instantly chipped it over a defender’s head into the path of Tulsi, who was waiting in her usual position, right on the edge of the penalty area. She saw TJ waving his arms, wide on the right. There were two defenders ahead of her, so she played the ball out to him. TJ took one touch, and then pulled the ball back across the penalty area to where Tommy was waiting to slot it into the net.
The Parkview players celebrated as if they had won the match. TJ had laid on the pass, and Tommy had scored the goal, but they all knew that it was Rob who had made the difference. Swinburne launched a fierce attack from the kick off, but somehow Parkview held out until the final whistle.
The score was 2–2. Now they faced extra time. And maybe penalties.
CHAPTER 14
‘WELL DONE, PARKVIEW,’ said Miss Berry as the tired players gathered on the touchline. ‘I think we need to make some changes for extra time. Tommy, that was a great goal, but you look shattered. Leila, do you think you can do his job.’
‘Of course she can,’ said Jamie, and Leila grinned.
‘Then I think we should put Rafi on for Rodrigo,’ Miss Berry continued. ‘You’ve had to do a lot of running too, Rodrigo, and you’ve played in that position before, haven’t you, Rafi?’
Rafi nodded. ‘How about you, Rob?’ Miss Berry asked. ‘Do you need a break?’
‘I am a bit tired . . .’ Rob began, but TJ interrupted him.
‘You can’t take Rob off,’ he exclaimed. ‘We’d still be losing if it wasn’t for him.’
All the others agreed. ‘If you keep making passes like that, we’ll beat them for sure,’ said Tulsi.
Miss Berry still looked doubtful. ‘What would Mr Wood have done?’ she said. Then she decided. ‘OK then, Rob. You stay on. Get ready, everyone.’
Extra time was like a battle. Neither team could get on top, and neither goalkeeper had to make a save. Both teams were so worried about giving a goal away that neither team dared to send many players forward to attack. It was no surprise when the final whistle blew and the referee told them they were going to decide the match on penalties.
‘Only the players who were on the pitch at the end of the game will take part,’ he said. ‘All six outfield players will take a penalty each.’
‘I’ll go last,’ Rob said. ‘I haven’t really practised penalties.’
‘OK,’ said Tulsi. ‘I’ll go first. I take them for Canby Girls.’
Leroy took the first penalty for Swinburne. Jamie got his fingers to it, but he couldn’t prevent Leroy from scoring. Then Tulsi stepped up. She shot hard and low, but the ball flashed past the post. ‘Don’t worry,’ said Jamie, as she hung her head. ‘I’m bound to stop one of them.’
But for the next three rounds nobody missed. TJ, Rafi and Danny all scored for Parkview, and Jamie had no chance with any of the Swinburne penalties. Then the bandy-legged Swinburne captain stepped up with the score 6–5 to Swinburne. TJ could see that he was nervous. He looked to Jamie’s left as he ran up to strike the ball, but Jamie wasn’t fooled. He dived to his right and made an easy save as the Parkview team celebrated. Leila and Rob looked at each other. Neither of them could afford to miss, and now it was Leila’s turn. Jamie gave her a thumbs-up. She placed the ball, took three steps back, then smashed the ball confidently into the net.
Six–six.
‘I wish I hadn’t said I’d go last,’ Rob said to TJ. ‘I was hoping we would have won by now. This is worse than going first. If Swinburne score now, then I’m going to have to score to keep us in the match.’
‘Do what you did in the game,’ TJ replied. ‘There’s the keeper, and the goalpost. Pretend they’re a bin and a tree and you’ll be fine.’
‘Trees don’t move,’ said Rob.
‘But if you put it right inside the post he’ll never get there.’
‘That’s what Tulsi tried to do, and look what happened.’
The last Swinburne player was ready. As he ran up, Jamie made his decision. He dived to his left, and the Parkview team gasped as they saw that the Swinburne player had struck his penalty at the middle of the goal. Somehow Jamie managed to flick out a leg as he dived. The ball ricocheted onto the bar and flew up into the air.
‘Yes!’ yelled TJ. ‘Brilliant, Jamie.’ The rest of the squad were leaping around, yelling and cheering. It was a crucial save. If Rob scored, then Parkview would be in the final.
Jamie ran over to Rob. ‘You can do it,’ he said. ‘I know you can.’
Rob didn’t reply. Looking very serious, he placed the ball on the spot. He looked up at the goalie, who was spreading his arms, trying to look big. Rob stepped back, took a deep breath, then ran up and hit his penalty.
The keeper dived the right way . . . but Rob’s shot was inch-perfect, right inside the post.
The rest of the Parkside team ran over to him. Jamie reached him first and hurled him to the ground as the rest of the squad piled on top, laughing and shouting. When they finally rolled away, Rob got shakily to his feet. ‘I think I need to sit down,’ he said. ‘And I’ve got the match stats to do.’
‘You can leave it for a minute,’ TJ told him. ‘We’re in the Cup Final. And anyway, you have to shake hands with this lot.’
‘Well done,’ said Leroy ruefully, as he shook Rob’s hand. ‘Looks like TJ was right about you after all.’
‘I was,’ said TJ. ‘It’s lucky for us that Mr Potter put Rob in the team.’
‘He didn’t expect it to turn out like that though,’ said Jamie. ‘If he’d seen Rob take that penalty, he probably wouldn’t have believed it!’
‘I’m not sure I do,’ said Rob with a grin.
CHAPTER 15
THE FOLLOWING MONDAY morning Year Six were faced with their deputy head teacher again.
‘Mr Potter is off sick,’ Mrs Logan told them. ‘Your supply teacher should be here any minute. ‘Ah, here she is. Mrs Cleary.’
A very big woman with a huge shock of curly black hair and a long, flowery dress wafted into the classroom. ‘Good morning, children,’ she cooed. ‘I’m sure we’re all going to have a simply lovely time together.’
Mrs Logan gave her a piercing look as she left the room, but Mrs Cleary didn’t notice.
‘I’d like you all to write me a story,’ she said. ‘The title is “The Most Beautiful Thing.” Make your stories full of love and laughter.’
She sat down with a sigh, took out a book with a picture of two people kissing on the cover, and began to read.
There were two fights in the classroom during the morning and at lunch time Mrs Cleary locked herself in the toilet and refused to come out.
Each day that week a different supply teacher took charge: Mr Cooper went on and on about his holiday in America; Mrs Ravenstone showed them photos of her seven cats and three dogs; and Mr Jennings told them football was a waste of time and they should all be playing rugby.
And then, on Friday mo
rning, Mrs Logan was waiting for them again. ‘I’m sorry, children,’ she said. ‘I’m afraid you have a supply teacher again today.’
TJ heard something odd in her voice and he looked up to see that she was smiling. Mrs Logan almost never smiled. She was looking towards the doorway. Everyone turned, and there was a huge cheer as Mr Wood came into the classroom.
‘What did Mrs Logan mean, “supply teacher”?’ asked Tulsi, when the deputy head had departed. ‘It means I’m here today, but I might not be here tomorrow,’ Mr Wood told them, and everyone groaned.
‘We don’t want any of those others back,’ said Jamie. ‘And we especially don’t want Mr—’ He stopped as he saw the look on Mr Wood’s face.
‘I thought I’d taught you better than that,’ Mr Wood said. ‘You’re being disrespectful, Jamie.’
‘Sorry, Mr Wood,’ said Jamie.
‘Good.’ Mr Wood smiled. ‘It’s great to be back,’ he said. ‘But I’m a bit worried about the team’s performances lately. I know there were special reasons for your nine–one defeat, and I know you improved in the semifinal at the weekend, but I still think you need extra training. We’ll get out on the field this afternoon and see if we can get things moving again.’
‘Mr Wood?’ said Tulsi. ‘Why can’t you stay and be our teacher for good?’ There was a chorus of agreement from the class.
‘Listen,’ said Mr Wood. ‘You’ll all have lots of different teachers in your time at school and maybe you won’t get on with some of them. But you’re a great bunch of kids. I’m sure you’ll do well whoever’s teaching you.’
He smiled again. ‘So stop fussing and get on with your work.’
‘It’s so unfair,’ said Tulsi at break time.
‘Mr Burrows should make sure Mr Wood stays. That’s what I think.’
‘You heard what he said,’ replied Jamie glumly. ‘He might only be here for one day. So we’d better make the most of it.’