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
‘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
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