Strikers Instinct (30 page)

The players walked out of the tunnel and into a sea of noise that few, if any of them would ever face again in their lifetime. Almost 90,000 people screaming, chanting, and singing – the stadium awash with banners and the colours of both teams. The starting eleven of both teams were presented to the Guest of Honour and then the crowd prepared for the first of the two communal offerings. First up was the FA Cup Final Hymn – Abide With Me. This seemed to have been adopted also for the Championship play-off final as well and as the band of the Coldstream Guards began to play – the crowd began to stir. Almost 90,000 northern voices raised in unison.

“Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.”

Luke felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise – looking around the touchline he could see grown men with tears in their eyes as the powerful words resonated around the stadium. Then it was time for the National Anthem which was respectfully observed but perhaps not as powerfully sung as the previous hymn. The referee called the two captains together and then – within seconds – the biggest game in world domestic football was underway. The winners could expect a multi-million pound windfall, the losers, well they would just be forgotten.

The first half ebbed and flowed with neither side getting on top. Wishton probably had the better chances but Rae had put both of his efforts wide and Luke was hoping that the youngster wasn't letting his nerves get the better of him. It seemed they had only been playing for a few minutes when the referee blew the whistle for half-time and the players ran down the tunnel towards the changing rooms.

Sandy was waiting to address his team.

“Not bad lads, not bad.” he began. “I think we've taken all they can throw at us so that's a good sign. However, we need to start creating more chances – and when we get those chances we need to start taking them. Now I'm not just looking at Rae here – he's doing as good a job as anyone but he needs support. You attacking midfield players need to move forward and shoot whenever you get the chance.”

Sandy finished his pep talk and wandered among the players, offering individual words of comfort. Luke took the opportunity to talk to Rae.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“A bit better now.” Rae grinned. “I was a touch nervous to start with but it's not as bad now.”

Luke laughed. “Not as bad? You shouldn't be looking at it that way. You need to enjoy this – hopefully it's the first of many big games for you but you can't take that for granted – it could also be the last big game you play in! You need to focus!”

Rae nodded. Luke continued.

“Plus – there's an even bigger reason that you need to score!”

“What's that?” Rae asked anxiously.

“If you don't score the gaffer has said that I may have to come on and help – and there's no way I want to have to stand in front of that crowd – they're all mad!” Luke pretended to shake, “I want to stay on the bench where it's nice and safe!”

Rae laughed heartily and Luke hoped that the tension had been broken. Within seconds the referee's assistant was calling them back outside for the second half.

“Good luck son.” Luke smiled.

“Thanks.” Rae whispered.

The second half seemed to start with a bit more urgency from Wishton – it seemed that Sandy's comments had sunk in. Slowly they began to increase pressure until they seemed to be virtually camped in the Wanderers half. Finally the pressure told and Rae rounded off a great move with a fantastic volley that gave the goalkeeper no chance. It seemed that would be the turning point and Wishton continued to press forward for another goal. Sandy began to worry – they were in total control but they only had a slim lead and he knew that anything could still happen.

Unfortunately his worries came back to haunt him. Bolton were now smashing the ball anywhere to relieve the pressure and once again their beleaguered defence hoofed a speculative ball high into the air toward the Wishton goal. Andy and his defensive partner were covering the Bolton centre forward and both Andy and the Wishton goalkeeper left the ball to Jez. He jumped high with the centre forward, won the ball and then both players fell to a heap on the ground. Andy cleared the loose ball as both players were rising – then the referee blew his whistle. Andy threw the ball back to the goalkeeper – assuming that the referee had given a soft free kick to Wishton. He was amazed to see the referee pointing to the spot – he had awarded a penalty kick against Jez. Then things got even worse – the referee adjudged Jez to be the last line of defence so he produced a red card and ordered Jez off the pitch!

Jez was distraught – almost in tears as he trudged from the pitch – he hadn't touched the other player! This was just like the Fulham game all over again! Sandy put a comforting arm around him and then turned to shout and curse towards the referee. On the pitch Andy led a chorus of appeals to the referee – how could that have been a penalty? No-one else on the ground had spotted a thing. The Wishton fans were enraged and the Bolton fans were ecstatic – they couldn't believe their luck.

The referee's attention was drawn to the touchline where a furious Sandy was arguing with the fourth official. The referee raced across the pitch – straight into a torrent of abuse from a very upset Wishton manager. The official listened for only a few seconds before he had heard enough. He produced another red card and ordered Sandy to be removed to the stands!

It took another few minutes before things calmed down enough that the Bolton player could place the ball on the penalty spot. 90,000 held their breath as he strode up to the ball – seconds later the ball nestled in the corner of the net and the Bolton half of the ground was celebrating in style.

Sandy relayed messages from the stand to the Wishton bench and he urged the team to hold on for a few more minutes until the end of the game. If the score remained 1-1 then there would be two periods of 15 minutes of extra time. Andy marshalled his forces and despite a spirited response from Bolton the score remained 1-1 after 90 minutes.

The players remained on the pitch – they were allowed just a couple of minutes to have a drink and change ends. Sandy wasn't allowed back out onto the pitch so Craig had to relay his messages. Sandy had taken the decision to take off a midfield player and to bring on Luke alongside Andy in the heart of defence. As the game had slipped into the last couple of minutes, Luke had rushed into the tunnel to speak with Sandy.

“You've got to go on lad.” he said. “It's more for a calming influence than anything – I need you to help Andy. We have to stop them scoring again and then we have a chance with penalties.”

If the game was still a draw after a further 30 minutes then both sides would take five penalties to decide the winner.

“Don't worry boss,” Luke had replied, “leave it with me!”

As the players prepared for the first period of extra time, the Wishton substitution was made and Luke ran to take his place at the side of Andy in the centre of the defence. His appearance seemed to lift the fans who in turn did their best to raise their team. Chants of “Lucky, Lucky Linden” boomed around the ground. Luke pushed the noise out of his mind as he tried to concentrate on the next 30 minutes.

The first half was like a chess game – Bolton had superior numbers and prodded and poked at the Wishton defence. Andy marshalled his forces superbly and Rae worked like a Trojan running up and downfield to help relieve pressure. Half time arrived and the score was still 1-1. Most people on the ground were mentally preparing for the penalties. The second fifteen minute period seemed to be going the same way as the first half – Bolton were on top but couldn't pry open the Wishton defence. Finally, with only five minutes remaining, Bolton managed to win a corner – it looked like this could be the last chance for either team to achieve an outright win. The ball was crossed into the box and the Wishton supporters breathed a sigh of relief as the keeper punched the ball to comparative safety – most of the players surged out of the box but for some reason Luke stayed on the goal line. The ball dropped to a Bolton player standing fully 35 yards away from goal – he suddenly hit the ball as sweetly as anyone had hit it all day. The ball flew like an arrow past the goalkeeper towards the Wishton goal and the Bolton fans were already rising to their feet as a tall figure threw himself across the goal. Luke headed the ball clear with inches to spare and even some of the Bolton fans applauded his amazing effort. The ball went out of play for a Bolton throw-in but no-one hurried to take it – that had been the big chance of the game and now everyone seemed resigned to penalties.

The ball stayed in the middle of the pitch for the last few minutes then the referee blew for full time. The players sank to the turf – most of them were exhausted but a small number were also dreading what was to come next. The referee met with the captains and officials from both teams – they tossed a coin to decide which end of the ground the penalties would be taken and then each team handed a list of five names to the referee. Wishton lost the toss so the Bolton captain decided that the penalties would be taken in front of the Bolton fans – giving them a psychological advantage. Because Bolton had the choice of ends then Wishton would take the first penalty. Before Craig handed the names in to the referee, Luke took him aside and had an urgent discussion.

Finally the referee called the players forward to explain how the penalties would be taken. He then called out the first name.

“Linden”

Luke strode forward, whistling and smiling. Players from both sides were amazed. He made the long walk from the centre circle to the goal waving to the fans as if he hadn't got a care in the world. In the stand Sue watched nervously – she knew that Luke was trying to bolster his team mates and if he managed to score then his gamble would have worked – but if he missed…..

Sue had nothing to worry about. Luke placed the ball on the penalty spot, shared a quick joke with the referee, then coolly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, placing the ball perfectly in the corner of the goal. It was as if he knew which way the goalkeeper was going to go. Luke turned in triumph and spent the long walk back to the centre circle waving his arms and encouraging the Wishton fans to keep shouting for their team. Back in the centre circle the players crowded around him and he spoke urgently .

“He'll dive a different way each time,” he whispered urgently, “so whoever follows me needs to hit the ball to his right – trust me!”

Luke's instructions were exactly right – each of the Wishton penalty-takers remained cool and hit the ball smoothly into the net. Unfortunately – so did the Bolton team. Their penalties had an element of luck – one hit the post and bounced in – but at the end of the day they all counted. During the fourth round of penalties the Wishton player stroked the ball into the net to make the score 4-3 with the Bolton player still to walk forward. A few seconds later it was the turn of the opposition but as soon as he kicked the ball, the Bolton player knew he hadn't hit it hard enough and the Wishton goalkeeper sniffed a chance to be a hero – he flung himself full length but was a fraction slow. He managed to get one hand to the ball but couldn't keep it out – instead he slammed into the goalpost with his outstretched hand.

The Wishton goalkeeper needed medical attention as Rae strode forward to take the last penalty. Showing not a hint of nerves he calmly tucked the ball past the Bolton goalkeeper to make the score 5-4 with one penalty left to take. The Wishton players looked for their goalkeeper to step forward to face the final penalty. If he could save it then Wishton would be in the Premier League next year. If Bolton scored then the penalties would continue – sudden death until one side missed.

Suddenly the players realised that the goalkeeper wasn't moving and that Harry and the Wishton officials were arguing furiously with the referee.

“He's broken his hand.” Harry shouted. “We need to bring the substitute goalkeeper on.”

“No substitutions allowed once extra time has finished.” The referee announced. “He either goes in goal with one hand or you find a goalkeeper from the players you still have out here.”

The Wishton players looked around in dismay – what the hell was going to go wrong next! No-one wanted to volunteer for the job and the players avoided eye contact with everyone – so no-one noticed Luke stripping off his shirt as he walked to Harry. Seconds later he was wearing a spare goalie's shirt and was ramming some spare gloves on his hands. His team mates were silent as Luke strode towards the goal. The crowd began to chant one word, over and over again.

“Linden, Linden, Linden, Linden!”

The last Bolton player walked forward – he looked nervous and the noise from the crowd seemed to be making things worse. He placed the ball on the spot and was alarmed to see that Luke seemed totally oblivious to all that was going on around him. Instead Luke was smiling and seemed totally focused on watching the ball.

The referee blew his whistle and the Bolton player moved forward with more confidence than he felt. Luke watched him like a hawk – convinced that he knew which way the ball was going. He began to dive as soon as the ball was struck but then he realised with a sickening feeling that he was diving the wrong way……….