T.J. and the Cup Run (11 page)

There was no room for the spectators by the side of the pitch so they were crowded together on the other side of the high wire fence that divided the Astroturf from a wide concrete path. Cheers for Hillside and Parkview rang out in the cold winter air as Kelvin tapped the ball to Krissy and she turned to play it back to Deng.

Rafi sprinted forward to challenge Deng, but before he reached him Deng had already released the ball to the tall blond defender who had stepped forward away from Tulsi. The defender chipped it into the Parkview half and Krissy chested it down for Kelvin, who back-heeled it cheekily to Deng.

Deng controlled the ball quickly, but Rafi was even faster. He stuck out his foot and just managed to deflect the ball into Rob’s path. TJ accelerated like a sprinter coming out of the blocks, taking the defender who was marking him by surprise. All that was needed now was a pass from Rob – but the pass never arrived.

TJ skidded to a halt, turned, and saw that Rob had played the ball straight back to Rafi,
who
was trapped in a sandwich between Deng and Krissy. Krissy put her foot behind the ball as Rafi tried to beat her and he went crashing to the ground. Then she gave the ball to Deng who curved an elegant pass out to Kelvin on the wing.

Kelvin took a touch, looking up to judge his cross perfectly, but that touch gave Rodrigo the chance he needed. He slid in and put the ball out for a throw to Hillside. His perfect tackle was greeted by loud applause from the Parkview fans.

‘That’s great, Parkview!’ called Jamie. ‘Keep at them!’

Kelvin took the throw-in. Deng controlled it, but once again Rafi was too quick for him, and once again he slid the ball to Rob.

‘Yes!’ called Tulsi, waving her arms in the air. ‘To me!’

‘Go on, Rob,’ called Jamie. ‘You can do it!’

But Rob hesitated, and Deng struck like
lightning
, sprinting five metres and whipping the ball away from Rob’s feet. He touched it forward and looked up. Players were running to right and left, but Deng hit a left-footed shot. TJ was right behind it, and at first he was sure that Deng had missed by miles, but then the ball started to curl. Deng had judged his shot perfectly. Jamie took off, but even he couldn’t reach it as it floated into the top corner of the goal and Hillside took the lead.

As Jamie took the ball from the net the referee blew his whistle again and pointed to the touchline. Leila had taken off her top and was standing beside Mr Wood. He was beckoning to Rob. ‘Sorry, Rob,’ he said. ‘I can see that the nerves have got to you. You’d better take a break.’

Rob walked miserably off the pitch and Leila ran on to take his place.

C
HAPTER
18

‘COME AND STAND
here with me,’ Mr Wood said to Rob, as he pulled on his training top and his hat and gloves. ‘Watch the game and you’ll see why we need your passing.’

‘It’s no good,’ said Rob. ‘I can’t do it with all these people watching. Everything happens too fast out there.’

‘Rubbish,’ said Mr Wood. ‘I’ve seen what you can do, Rob, and I know from Miss Berry that your passing made the difference in the semifinal. You understand the game better than anyone. Right now, I want you to go back to being Assistant Coach.
Just
watch what’s happening.’

Out on the pitch, Parkview were fighting hard. Leila and Rafi were chasing backwards and forwards in midfield, intercepting passes and making tackles. TJ was running back whenever he could to try and win the ball, and every time Kelvin or Krissy broke through, Rodrigo and Tommy were able to tackle them. Twice, Deng tried again from long-range. The first time Leila forced him to hurry his shot, and the ball flew just wide of the post. The second time, he slipped away from Rafi’s challenge and hit a fierce drive which Jamie touched over the bar to loud applause from the crowd.

‘Well?’ Mr Wood asked Rob. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think we won’t ever score like this,’ Rob said. ‘Not unless we get very lucky. And there’s a good chance Deng will get another one. He’s awesome.’

‘So, what can we do to change it?’

‘Someone needs to get the ball to TJ. He’s hardly touched it. Neither has Tulsi.’

‘Exactly,’ replied Mr Wood. ‘Leila has turned out to be an excellent tackler. She’s a natural holding midfield player. And unfortunately that’s Rafi’s natural game too. Neither of them can pass the ball like you, Rob. That’s why we need you out there. This Hillside team is a very different proposition to the one we played in our first game together.’

‘I know what I want to do,’ Rob said. ‘But I can’t stop thinking about all the people watching me.’

‘Well, if you don’t go out there and do something,’ Mr Wood said, ‘then I think Parkview are going to lose this game. You can do the exact same job that Paco Sanchez does for Wanderers. All those amazing players can’t do a thing if they
haven
’t got Paco to get the ball to them. And besides, Rob, I know you can do it. Get out there on the pitch and try not to think so much. When the ball comes to you, control it and pass it instantly, as if it was a two-touch practice at school. Are you ready?’

Rob nodded and Mr Wood signalled to the referee. ‘There’s just two minutes to go until half time,’ he said. ‘Let’s see if we can take them by surprise. A goal just before half time would really give them something to think about.’

Mr Wood called Rafi over. ‘Great work, Rafi,’ he said. ‘Take a rest now. Leila can handle the tackling.’

Rob took up his position as the Hillside goalkeeper rolled the ball out to the blond defender. The defender’s long pass found Kelvin running down the left wing, but Rodrigo watched the ball carefully and when Kelvin tried to go past him he made a neat
tackle
and came away with the ball. With Kelvin snapping at his heels trying to win it back he passed hurriedly to Leila. She stopped the ball, and turned cleverly away from the onrushing Deng.

‘Yes!’ called Rob. ‘Give it to me!’

Out on the wing, with a defender close behind him, TJ saw Rob receive the ball from Leila and he knew what Rob was going to do. He took off, sprinting at top speed, diagonally across the pitch. And then he hesitated. What if Rob didn’t make the pass?

He only paused for a millisecond, no more than a brief stutter in his run, but that was enough to do the damage, because Rob did play the pass TJ had been anticipating. The pass fooled Deng completely. It fooled the entire Hillside team as it split their defence in two, but TJ arrived too late. The ball slid past him and the goalkeeper raced to the edge of his area and rolled it out to the
defender
who had been marking TJ and was now completely free.

The defender moved forward. TJ skidded to a halt, turned, and raced after him. But before TJ could catch him the defender hit a low, hard pass to Deng who was running towards the Parkview goal. Deng let the ball hit the outside of his right boot. It was only the slightest of touches, but it lifted the ball over Tommy’s head and, as it bounced, it sat up perfectly for Krissy to slam it into the net.

Hillside were now two goals ahead! A few moments later a disheartened Parkview side walked slowly off the pitch for half time.

‘I suppose we were bound to lose a game sooner or later,’ Jamie said.

‘Deng’s just too good,’ agreed Tulsi.

The others all began to nod agreement as they drank from their water bottles, and then they heard Rob’s voice.

‘What are you talking about?’ he said.
‘We’ve
been two–nil down before, haven’t we? And we still won. We should have scored just then, but I hit the pass a bit too hard. I’ll get it right next time.’

They all stared at Rob. He no longer looked sick, and he seemed to be a few centimetres taller. There was a determined expression on his face that TJ was very glad to see.

‘There was nothing wrong with your pass,’ he said. ‘It was me. I stopped for a second because I thought . . .’

‘You thought I wouldn’t make it?’ Rob said. ‘Well, you don’t have to worry any more. I don’t know why, but I feel a million times better. Let’s go and show them what we can do.’

C
HAPTER
19

THE HILLSIDE TEAM
ran back onto the pitch to loud applause from their supporters on the other side of the fence. ‘Don’t expect Hillside to get over-confident,’ Mr Wood warned the Parkview players. ‘They badly want to beat you. You’re going to have to be very good indeed.’

‘We will be,’ said Jamie, slapping Rob on the back. ‘Now we’ve got Rob back.’

Tulsi was the only one who didn’t seem so sure about Rob. ‘Was it really your fault that pass went wrong?’ she muttered to TJ, as they prepared to kick off.

TJ nodded. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘it’s not all down to Rob. We both have to make good runs so that he can find the passes.’

‘What do you mean?’ demanded Tulsi. ‘Just give me the ball and I’ll . . .’

‘Put it in the net. Yeah, I know that,’ said TJ. ‘But we’ve all got to find space for Rob to make those passes. Me, you, everyone.’

The referee blew his whistle and the second half began.

At first Hillside pressed forward, making crunching tackles and penning Parkview into their own half. Jamie had to make two more excellent saves before Parkview finally managed to mount an attack on the Hillside goal.

Krissy had the ball, deep inside the Parkview half. Deng sprinted past her, calling for it, and Krissy’s pass was inch-perfect. But Rob was tracking Deng and he spotted where the ball was heading. He
managed
to place himself between Deng and the ball, and then, somehow, he dragged it back between his legs, fooling the Hillside midfielder completely.

All the other Parkview players were closely marked, so TJ ran back towards Rob, offering himself for the pass. Rob played the ball to TJ’s feet and then ran directly towards TJ, following his own pass. TJ pretended to turn past the defender who was marking him, but he left the ball behind! And he also left an open space for Rob to run into.

Rob took one touch and then hit a pass with the outside of his left foot that curled into the space between the last defender and the goalkeeper. There was a groan from the Parkview supporters. Looking through the crowd of players, they saw only a wasted opportunity. They hadn’t been able to see the run that TJ had made after leaving the ball for Rob. Now TJ was clear of everyone, with only
the
goalkeeper to beat. As the keeper rushed towards him he feinted to strike a shot and then, as the keeper dived, he swerved around him and smashed the ball home. Goal!

Now it was the turn of the Parkview fans to cheer. TJ punched the air and ran round and round in circles until Rob caught up with him.

‘Fantastic!’ TJ shouted to Rob. ‘I knew you’d do it. But where did that trick come from?’