T.J. and the Cup Run (12 page)

‘I’ve been practising in the back garden,’ Rob said with a grin. ‘I never thought I’d do it in a match.’

‘Concentrate, Parkview,’ called Mr Wood.
‘You’re
still a goal down. You haven’t won it yet.’

‘But we will,’ muttered Rob, with a fierce expression on his face.

Mr Wood chose that moment to make two substitutions. Danny replaced Tommy in defence, and Rafi took Leila’s place in midfield. ‘You’ve done a terrific job, you two,’ Mr Wood said, ‘but I think we’re going to need some fresh legs out there. It looks as if the Hillside coach, Mrs Singh, is doing the same thing.’

Sure enough, further along the touchline the Hillside teacher was sending on a fresh defender to replace the one who had been chasing TJ backwards and forwards. TJ eyed the replacement nervously. He looked fast. Hillside kicked off and the new Parkview players slotted easily into the team. Rafi chased every ball like an excited dog, and he very often won it. It made TJ smile to see
him
. Rafi had the ball now, but he wasn’t running in circles the way he used to. He had been too well trained by Mr Wood. He had his head up and he saw Rob calling for the ball. Rob took the pass with the inside of his right foot, dragging it away from Deng as he controlled it, shielding the ball from the Hillside player. Then, in a sudden blur of movement, he stopped, reversed direction, and squirted a left-foot pass between Deng’s legs as he struggled to turn.

No one had expected the pass – certainly not Tulsi. The ball flashed towards her and she controlled it instinctively with her back to goal. She had only one thought in her mind, even as TJ raced forward beside her, calling for the ball. She flicked it past the blond defender and bore down on the goal. The defender was right beside her. She could hear him panting. As she pulled back her foot to strike the ball she felt pain streak
down
the back of her leg and felt herself falling to the ground. The ball rolled harmlessly to the goalkeeper, but as he picked it up the whistle blew.

‘Free kick,’ said the referee. ‘You were lucky, young man,’ he said to the blond defender. ‘Another metre and that would have been a penalty.’

‘Are you, OK?’ TJ asked Tulsi as she got to her feet.

‘You bet,’ she said. ‘And I’m going to take this free kick too.’

‘No, wait,’ said TJ as she placed the ball. ‘Me and Rob worked something out. Let Rob take it.’

Tulsi looked from TJ to Rob. ‘OK, then,’ she said. ‘But this had better work.’

C
HAPTER
20

TJ TOOK UP
a position on the edge of the penalty area. Rodrigo had joined Tulsi and Rafi in the box, and two of the Hillside defenders had made a mini-wall in front of the goal. The penalty area was crowded with players, and TJ knew that he had to time his run perfectly. He pulled back a little way as Rob picked up the ball fussily and turned it around in his hands as if he was looking for the perfect way to place it on the ground. TJ knew that Rob was just giving him time to prepare. Rob placed the ball and took three steps back. As he brought his feet together,
TJ
set off. He ran straight as an arrow, aiming himself for the empty space beyond the far post.

The free kick from Rob came fast, skimming over the surface. The goalkeeper who had been crouching, ready to leap, stood up, smiling. He thought that it was a weak shot and it was going to miss by a mile. As TJ raced past the last defender he heard the keeper laugh. But Rob’s free kick had never been meant as a shot. It was an unbelievably accurate pass. Just as the ball was crossing the dead-ball line, TJ hooked it back across goal with his right foot and there was Rob, who had never stopped running after he had taken the free kick. He side-footed the ball into the net – and the scores were level.

Tulsi was the first to reach the goal-scorer. She ruffled his curly hair. ‘You did it, Rob!’ she said. ‘Mind you, I would probably have
scored
if I’d taken it. And you should have a proper celebration, you know, if you’re planning to keep scoring goals.’

‘Nice one, Rob,’ said Rafi. ‘Now we only need one more to win the Cup! I don’t fancy penalties again, do you?’

Back in the Parkview penalty area Jamie was leaping and jumping and yelling, and on the other side of the fence the Parkview supporters were crowded around Rob’s dad, slapping him on the back. The Hillside players looked stunned. A few minutes before, they had been 2–0 up and coasting towards victory, and now their rivals were level.

From the kickoff Hillside attacked in force, determined to take back their lead. The whippy little defender who had come on to mark TJ sprinted down the wing and TJ tracked back with him. Even the blond defender pushed forward to the halfway line. But Tulsi stayed where she was.

TJ couldn’t believe it.

‘Get back and mark him,’ he yelled, pointing at the defender.

Tulsi jogged back slowly. Deng played the ball back to the blond defender, who glanced around and saw that Tulsi was nowhere near him. The defender picked out Kelvin on the wing with an accurate pass but Danny tackled Kelvin and came away with the ball. He passed to Rafi, who laid it back to Rob.

Rob was hovering on the edge of the Parkview penalty area. He had been expecting a cross from Kelvin and he was ready to cut off the runs of the Hillside midfielders, and of Deng especially. He knew exactly what was happening all over the pitch. Right now he knew that Tulsi was still running half-heartedly in his direction, and that the blond defender was way out of position.

It was an impossible pass, a risky pass, a crazy pass, because if Rob made the tiniest mistake the Hillside attackers would pounce on the ball. But he knew he could do it. He could see the space and he knew just how he needed to strike the ball. In the fraction of a second before Rafi’s pass reached him, Rob made up his mind. He shaped his foot around the ball and his pass flew between Deng and Krissy. It curved behind Leila and brushed the shorts of a Hillside defender.

‘Go, Tulsi!’ Rob yelled, and Tulsi saw the ball flying towards her through the crowd of players. The blond defender saw it too, and his mouth fell open in astonishment, as Rob’s incredible pass skimmed over the surface, just out of his reach and then seemed to slow just enough for Tulsi to catch it. She moved towards the goal with the ball at her feet and all of the players on
the
pitch, and all of the supporters and the coaches and the substitutes held their breath as she closed in on the Hillside goal. The keeper came out. He dived, but Tulsi stayed cool. She slotted the ball under the keeper’s body and into the net. Then she turned and stood very still, with her arms in the air, in her trademark celebration.

The supporters erupted into joyful cheering behind the fence, and every Parkview player ran to Rob.

‘You’re a genius!’ said Jamie.

‘No one else could have done that,’ said TJ.

‘Tulsi still had to score it,’ Rob said, running to meet her and exchanging high-fives. ‘Great finish, Tulsi. I knew you’d do it.’

Hillside kicked off again, but they had no time to come back. Sixty seconds later the ref blew his whistle and Parkview had won the Cup.

Every player on the Parkview team ran to Rob. Jamie grabbed him and lifted him high in the air, as everyone laughed and shouted.

The subs raced onto the pitch to join them and the crowd on the touchline went wild.

‘Well done, all of you,’ said Mr Wood when he reached the celebrating players. ‘But don’t forget the other team. They made it into a great match, you know.’

They all went to shake hands with the Hillside players. TJ went up to Deng. Unbelievably, he was still smiling. ‘I was worried about your secret weapon,’ he said. ‘And I was right!’

The Hillside players went forward to receive their medals, and then it was Parkview’s turn. ‘You’re captain, Jamie,’ said Mr Wood. ‘You go last and collect the cup.’

‘Not me,’ said Jamie. ‘Rob was the real captain today. He’s the one who made it happen.’

‘He’s right,’ said Tulsi. ‘It has to be you, Rob.’

There was no time for Rob to argue. Jamie led the others forward, and the crowd cheered every player. Then Rob stepped up and lifted the trophy into the air. ‘Thanks, everyone,’ he said, as the applause rang out again. ‘I never thought I’d do something like this. I can’t believe it’s happening.’

And then, just as TJ thought it was all over, he saw his dad step out of the crowd, and hold his hand up for silence. ‘Well done, Rob,’ he said. ‘Well done, Hillside, well done all of you. But there’s one person we want to thank specially, and that’s Mr Wood. Come on, Mr Wood, come out here.’

There was huge applause as Mr Wood stepped forward, looking embarrassed and holding his old blue baseball cap in his hands. ‘We’ve got a surprise for you,’ said TJ’s dad. ‘And it’s a message for Mr Burrows too,’ he added. ‘Go ahead, everyone.’

Every single Parkview supporter held up a banner or a poster, even the smallest kids.

DON’T GO, MR WOOD, said one. WE NEED YOU, MR WOOD, said another. The dinner ladies held up a long banner that said MR WOOD IS THE GREATEST, and Jamie’s little brother Cody had drawn a big picture of Mr Wood with an extra big baseball cap.

‘Well?’ asked TJ’s dad.

Mr Wood just stared at all the posters. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. ‘This is amazing,’ he said, and his voice sounded a little shaky. ‘I suppose you’ve all heard that Wanderers have asked me to go and coach at their Academy.’ He paused. The crowd nodded and murmured agreement. ‘But yesterday,’ Mr Wood continued, ‘Mr Burrows came to see me. He offered me a job at Parkview School.’

Mr Wood paused again, looking round at all the parents and friends and children. There was a long, anxious silence. Then Mr Wood’s face broke into a smile. ‘There was only one thing I could do,’ he said. ‘I’m staying here at Parkview.’

There was wild applause, but Mr Wood held up a hand.

‘After all,’ he continued, ‘this amazing
team
is going to be playing in the Regional Tournament after Christmas. And now that we’ve found a midfield magician, I think we might just have one of the best teams in the whole country. How could I possibly leave?’

Rob went bright red. TJ looked around at his friends. Jamie, Rafi, Rodrigo, Tommy, Leila, Tulsi, and all the others who’d been part of the team’s success. He hadn’t known them long but it seemed as if they’d been together for ever. Were they really as good as Mr Wood thought they were?

Maybe it was true. With Mr Wood in charge and Rob running the midfield maybe they could beat absolutely anyone.

And even if they couldn’t, TJ told himself, they were certainly going to try.

A
N
OTE
FROM
T
HEO

Mr Potter in this story is right about one thing: football should be a lot of fun. You want to win, but you also want to enjoy it. And sometimes, just like TJ and his mates, having a kickabout in the local park is as good as playing in a big game. I’ve always enjoyed playing, no matter what the occasion, and some of the best games have been impromptu ones with mates.

So keep on practising – but make sure you have fun with your football too!