by Robert Mann
Even Deborah had almost lost touch with Oliver the love of her life! After their weekend away in Lincoln he had grown more distant and cold towards her and stopped returning her phone calls. She didn’t really know what she had done wrong and at times she yearned for the old Oliver back before he told her about his involvement with The Country Firm. Slowly the understanding was gleaming through that he had used her for his own pleasure and anger was starting to replace love although the physical desire was still there. One day she hoped to be able to get her revenge but for the time being she threw herself into her work and helping organize Xmas for her parents and younger sister.
From mid morning on Boxing Day there was thus an unwelcome but necessary police presence in the surrounding area to the ground and at Whaddon Road as fans shaking off their Xmas Day festivities starting turning up for this early kick off. Redbourne had had a light training session on Xmas Day morning and Terrance Fletcher had been really pleased with the sharpness and attitude of his squad at the start of this busy period!
The only Xmas wishes available from The Countrymen were before the game! Desperate to improve his club’s image Miles had paid all the turnstile operators in the away end extra to dress as Santas and to offer each Bristol Rover’s fan as they came into the ground a complementary mince pie! Redbourne kicked off towards a full Carlsberg Stand, support for The Pirates keeping up despite the terrible slump in form since their star striker Junior Agogo was sold to Nottingham Forest just before the closure of the transfer window!
They went off like an express train with no hangovers showing for sure in the Redbourne side. Redbourne took the lead in the 5th minute when Angelo Mizuel recalled to the side at the expense of Hargreaves ghosted through on the left side of The Pirate’s defence after a great ball from Terry Pauls who was back in his normal position playing in the hole behind the strikers. He finished with great skill, Phillips in the Pirate’s goal beaten comprehensively!
The home crowd was in superb voice and the chant of
“Terrance Fletcher’s red and black army”
began echoing round Whaddon Road. It was all red and black on the pitch, Jock Mcleish and Terry Pauls running things from midfield. The pressure was irresistible and a second goal had to come. Shortly before half time it did. This time it was the old pro Jock Mcleish showing the up and coming young master Terry Pauls how to finish. A loose ball broke to Terry Pauls in the centre circle. Terry found Jock breaking in front of him, he laid the ball perfectly into his path and Jock sent an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner of the net from all of thirty yards, a definite contender for goal of the season! The half time whistle saw Redbourne Rovers leave the field to a standing ovation from the home fans.
A third goal half way through the second half put the game to bed for The Countrymen. This time it was Terry Pauls who was the recipient breaking into the area and superbly set up by a deft lay off from Dwight Edwards. He lashed the shot past the frustrated Bristol Rovers keeper and saluted the home end with a flourish revealing a tee-shirt under his shirt with the words
“Redbourne I love you”
The home end went mad as the chant echoed round the ground
“One Terry Pauls there one Terry Pauls”
For a lot of the Bristol Rovers fans the thought going through their heads now was that it had been a long way to come for a free mince pie!
Being an early kick off the 3-0 victory put Redbourne up to 4th. Watching from the home end with her younger sister had been Deborah. Football wise things couldn’t have been better for her, though inside of her there was a slow burning anger against Oliver for using her and trying to corrupt her, when she thought what she had felt from him had been love. She didn’t know how but she knew he would pay!
Redbourne’s next game was at home to Bury another seemingly perennial occupant of the lower divisions, again a new team for The Countrymen. The other Boxing Day fixtures had knocked them down a place to 5th but they were still very well placed considering their relative inexperience.
The day before the Bury game Deborah’s mobile rang, it was Oliver! She hadn’t decided on her reaction until the phone actually rang but decided there and then she would play along with him for the time being but as soon as she heard of any more trouble being organized at Redbourne games she would go to the club chairman. Miles would know what to do and who to contact! It was thus a slightly self conscious Deborah who found herself on Oliver’s arm walking into the home end just before kick off for the game against Chris Casper’s Bury. The police presence was far lower than the previous game with Bury deemed a low risk category in terms of trouble. However Oliver’s face was known as a potential hooligan and the news that he was in the ground was relayed to a shocked Inspector Morrison.
“Watch his every move”
was the instruction that went out.
Redbourne’s last game of 2006 was drab compared to the superb performance against Bristol Rovers. Terrance looking at his team struggling to break down an organized Shakers defence, felt there was a bit of tiredness creeping in and resolved to go to his Chairman for a transfer kitty with the January transfer window fast approaching. It took a moment of brilliance though to seal the three points for Redbourne. Ian Hargreaves on as second half substitute for an unusually subdued Terry Pauls scoring with quite a superb volley from about twenty yards out when the ball broke to him after yet another home corner had been booted clear!
Redbourne’s last game of the festive season was away to Barnet on New Year’s Day. It had been a joint decision between the team and the management not to travel until the day of the game because whatever hotel they stayed there was a high chance of disturbance from New Year’s Eve celebrations! So it was from an eerily deserted Redbourne at just after 8.00am on New Years Day that “The Beast” set out on its first journey of 2007! Being a public holiday there was more demand for coach travel than normal and a convoy of nine supporters coaches set off just after 9.30am for the trip to North London.
A win for Redbourne would most likely see them go 3rd with the top of the table really tightening up Hartlepool and Yeovil both having had some what below par Xmas campaigns so far!
Deborah had dragged a somewhat reluctant Oliver along to the game. He didn’t really enjoy the proper supporting role that most fans did, seeing it more of a tribal thing where you fought for your town or city! In bed with him on New Year’s Eve she tentatively brought up the subject of The Country Firm asking
“Any of them going tomorrow”
Oliver’s reply had been contemptuous
“They will all be too hung over and Barnet haven’t got anyone worth fighting! The return games against Yeovil and Hartlepool in the spring well lets say we have unfinished business! ”
Redbourne and Barnet now doing much better than when they were thrashed 5-0 at Whaddon Road earlier in the season both named unchanged sides. By kick off there must have been some 800 Redbourne fans inside the small Underhill stadium situated in the open air in the temporary south stand. Redbourne were again playing in all yellow since it had been decided that there was too much of a clash with the Bees home kit of black and amber.
Underhill is the one sloping pitch left in the Nationwide League. Redbourne had been aware of this in their preparations but playing on it was a different thing all together! In the first half defending the end where their fans were situated The Countrymen were playing up the slope. Redbourne were put under an onslaught from the kick off the home side determined that they should avenge the score line from earlier in the season. On the twenty minute mark the inevitable happened Barnet scored. It was a mix up between Chopper and Dave Francis from a corner which left Ian Hendon the Barnet captain unmarked to lash the ball high into the Redbourne net. On the stroke of half time things got even worse for Redbourne. A clumsy challenge by Chopper having a torrid time of things saw a free kick conceded on the edge of the area. Barry Cogan stepped up and lashed the ball beyond the despairing dive of Francis.
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br /> It was a stunned away dressing room during the half time interval. Terrance Fletcher decided to gamble, he couldn’t see any other way to go. Off came Chopper who just didn’t know where that nightmare of half had come from as The Countrymen switched to three at the back. On came Ian Hargreaves to bolster the attack which hadn’t threatened the Barnet goal at all in the first half. Up in the away end Deborah was bitterly disappointed with the first half showing from her team and was trying to ignore the fact that Oliver was trying to stare out opposing fans with no success rather than console her!
Redbourne did eventually start playing in the second half! They couldn’t have got any worse. Jock and Terry eventually started to get some kind of control in midfield but they still had a two goal deficit to pull back. At last the away support had something to shout about although the atmosphere that they could generate was almost non existent being in an open air stand. But with ten minutes to play Redbourne still trailed by two goals to nil. All the play had been in the Barnet half but they could not find a way through.
With time running out at last a moment of pure inspiration from Angelo Mizuel pulled a goal back. He spotted the Barnet keeper off the line from a cleared corner and lobbed a quite superb goal from around twenty five yards. The away fans went absolutely mad – even Oliver, much to his own surprise was caught up in the moment! With time rapidly running out Terrance went for broke 2-1 or 3-1 both were a defeat. He motioned Terry Pauls forward into attack. Redbourne were now playing four up front! Barnet fell for the sucker punch going for the knock out blow on the counter attack. Jock Mcleish breaking up yet another attack in time added on set Jermaine Douglas free on the wing for Redbourne. His cross was inch perfect for Dwight Edwards to square the game up at 2-2 with a towering header. The pitch invasion that followed although rowdy was totally innocent, genuine joy at getting something out of a game where all seemed lost! Redbourne stayed 4th after all the other results came in.
A couple of days latter into the New Year Miles Grimley received the shock of his life in his regular monthly meeting with Inspector Morrison. The Inspector had produced a blown up photo of Oliver at the Bury game spouting hate at the small group of away fans that had made the journey south. Next to him, the pair clearly a couple was the club’s ticket office manageress Deborah. He rubbed his forehead pensively as the Inspector remarked
“What do such good looking women like her see in animals like him?”
Deborah had two very surprising visitors in her office over the next twenty four hours. Both totally shocked her. The first was a clearly embarrassed Terry Pauls obviously just having finished training. Before she knew it he was telling her that he had liked her from the first moment he came to Redbourne and would she please do him the honour of coming out to dinner with him. He had been holding something behind his back as he came in, now she realized what it was as with a flourish he produced a bouquet of roses.
“These are for you”
Much to her surprise she heard herself replying
“Thanks Terry I would love to”
The second visitor latter that afternoon, as she was fielding a string of enquiries about tickets for the fast approaching area semi final against Wycombe Wanderers with same reply to each caller
“I am very sorry it is a sell-out”
was the club chairman Miles Grimley. He smiled warmly at Deborah and suggested that her assistant take over on the phones as he needed a word. Miles didn’t beat around the bush he wasn’t that sort of man! In the privacy of her back office he produced a copy of the blown up photo of Oliver and Deborah taken at Whaddon Road at the Bury game.
“He’s trouble my dear”
said Miles very kindly.
“I wouldn’t dream normally of interfering in employee’s private lives but he is mixed up with that accursed bunch of hooligans that keep ruining the reputation of our club”
Deborah’s resolve broke and so did the tears which came out in floods. When she had finally got herself together she told Miles the whole story including her part in him escaping the police trap at Michael Wood services! Her final words were
“I loved him at the time and thought that I could change him and more importantly that he loved me. Now I just want him out of my life and some revenge for using me!”
Miles looked at his ticket office manageress and his shrewd brain was ticking over.
“Deborah I think we both want the same thing here! Would you mind putting up with him for a bit longer? I have a plan!”
19
The Night Of Frayed Nerves
Redbourne should have had one more game before the area semi final against Wycombe Wanderers, away to Darlington on the Saturday before. However the vagaries of the English winter took control again. Come Friday morning the northeast corner of the country was swathed in a deep blanket of snow. Just prior to the game being called off by a local referee Terrance received a picture on his mobile phone from his opposite number at The Quakers David Hodgson. It was of one of the goals at their new stadium almost totally buried under a snowdrift and was accompanied by a text message reading
"Bet you are glad you are not here!"
Terrance had to laugh although now in reality The Countrymen were looking at a horrendous fixture pile up later in the season especially should they progress further in The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy!
The Redbourne Gazette starved of any football started the build up to the semi final in their Saturday edition. Come the Monday the town was in a state of nervous excitement and some businesses had decorated their windows in red and black with good luck messages to the team. At the team's final training session before the game on the Monday morning Terrance detected a real hunger within the team. He genuinely felt that he had them spot on for this game.
Come Tuesday evening Whaddon Road was full an hour before kick off. Wycombe had been allocated 1100 tickets, which they had sold with ease. The ground was crackling with nervous tension from all four sides as the teams came out to warm up. Back in Redbourne live feed was about to start from the ground, a brainchild of Miles. Tickets had been sold for the local cinema and three of the biggest pubs in the town with all profits going to charity but essentially allowing another thousand fans to see the game!
Redbourne and Wycombe took to the field to a tickertape welcome from the two sets of fans. The ground and the pitch was a cacophony of colours as the two teams broke away to opposite ends of the pitch, flashes from camera phones going off around the ground.
Wycombe playing in their away colours of white with a blue trim won the toss and elected to defend the Carlsberg Stand where their fans were situated. Straight from the kick off they were on the attack Kevin Betsy forcing a fine save out of Francis in the Redbourne goal. Jock Mcleish was furiously berating his defence for giving the Wycombe striker the space to get his shot away. Redbourne were tense and nervous on and off the field there was no getting away from it. The occasion seemed to have got to the team with passes going astray and harsh words being exchanged between players! As for the supporters, it was the Wycombe fans making all the noise roaring their team on. In the home dugout Terrance sensed that all was not right on the pitch and was out to his technical area desperately trying to get through to his players. It was all Wycombe on the field and it was no surprise when half way through the half they took the lead. A quite superb pass by Anthony Grant put through Jermaine Easter. A sudden hush came over Whaddon Road as he drew Dave Francis and steered the ball into the empty net. The Carlsberg Stand erupted into a sea of blue as the Chairboys celebrated!
Up in the C and G Stand tears were starting to come into Deborah's eyes. She looked at her younger sister forlornly; this was not supposed to be happening. The home support had been stunned by the goal and the only noise that could be heard from inside the stadium came from the jubilant Wycombe fans. She looked down fondly at Terry Pauls who was doing his best to get The Countrymen going and remembered how confident he had been about tonight's game as they chatted o
ver a candlelit dinner on the Saturday evening just gone.
Slowly, oh so slowly Redbourne started to get a foothold in the game. Up in the Director's box Miles clenched his fists silently willing his team on, the tension of the occasion really getting to him. The calmest person inside the stadium was Paul Lambert the Wycombe manager. He hadn't moved out of the away dugout all half and sat there watching the match intently occasionally scribbling some notes for his half time team talk. Terrance had been the total opposite, chattering away to Steve Hayter and screaming at times at his players when someone displeased him or gave the ball away!
Just before the half time interval in their best move of the match Redbourne at last threatened the Wycombe goal. Integral to the move was Terry Pauls who finally lost his marker and put Angelo Mizuel clean through with a delightfully weighted ball. Batista in the Wycombe goal was beaten all ends up and the ball crashed against the Wycombe crossbar rebounding back to Terry Pauls who was following up. It looked easier to score but he blazed over the bar from about ten yards out. The home supporters groaned in disappointment. Terry Pauls couldn't quite believe it and stood there, hands on hips looking in astonishment to where the ball had gone!
The half time whistle went with the home fans still buzzing from the double near miss by The Countrymen. Down in the home dressing room Terry Pauls was distraught with himself and couldn't stop apologising to the rest of the team for his miss! Terrance had to take him aside and say a few quiet words to calm him down. Terrance didn't say too much to the rest of the team. He could see that their nerves had now settled after their indifferent start to the game and standing on a bench in the centre of the dressing room he spoke just the following words
“Come on lads. Ashleyne will kill me if we don't get to Cardiff. She has got her heart set on a weekend of retail therapy!"
His wife's expensive tastes were well known to the team and they roared with laughter lightening the mood before they went out for the start of the second half.