CHAPTER 6

AS SOON AS the match started TJ knew that this was the best Parkview had ever played. When Krissy Barton, the Hillside captain, passed the ball back to Deng in midfield Rafi was onto him at once, giving Deng no time at all, and when Deng turned away from Rafi, Rob was waiting. He stole the ball from Deng’s feet and before anyone could challenge him he’d played it all the way across the field to Tommy, who was moving forward on the right wing.

Tommy clipped a pass back to Rafi, who slid the ball over to Rodrigo, who hit it first time to TJ. The Hillside players chased and harried, but hard as they tried, they couldn’t even touch the ball. Mr Coggins noted down every pass in his notebook and the little kids from Reception who had come out to watch the game started counting out loud with a bit of help from their teacher.

The ball was back with Rob. He looked up and saw Tulsi making a diagonal run towards the far corner flag. Billy Martin, Hillside’s tall blond defender, ran with her. TJ saw the space opening up in the centre of the pitch where Tulsi usually waited, and he took off at top speed. Rob saw his run and slotted the ball neatly through the crowded centre of the pitch into TJ’s path. TJ didn’t need to take a touch. As the goalkeeper raced out towards him he side-footed the ball past him into the net.

TJ flung his arms in the air, then ran to congratulate Rob on the pass. The Reception children on the touchline were shouting and cheering and running round in circles. ‘We need to watch out,’ Rob said, grinning. ‘There might be a pitch invasion.’

‘Nice run, Tulsi,’ TJ said, as they waited for Hillside to restart the game. ‘You’ve never done that before.’

‘I thought Rob would play the ball into the corner,’ Tulsi said.

‘Yeah, and that’s what their defenders thought too,’ replied TJ. ‘We wouldn’t have scored if you hadn’t done that.’

‘You wouldn’t have scored, that’s what you mean,’ said Tulsi. ‘If Rob had passed to me then I might have scored.’

TJ shook his head. There was no doubt about it, Tulsi was really very fed up.

From their kick off Hillside now mounted their first attack of the game. Deng burst forward, swerving and side-stepping his way past both Rafi and Rob. Deng was an exceptionally talented footballer and TJ and Jamie both thought he would be the first of their friends at the Player Development Centre to be offered a trial at the Wanderers Academy. And he was unselfish too. He could easily have taken a shot himself, but having taken the Parkview midfield out of the game he now laid on a perfectly weighted pass for Krissy to smash the ball at Jamie’s goal.

Jamie leaped and twisted in the air like a cat, and flung out an arm to punch the ball away. The punch was so strong that the ball rebounded all the way out to TJ, who had been running back to try and help out in the defence. He controlled it and played it infield to Rob, who had seen the chance of a quick counter-attack and was moving rapidly forward. TJ sprinted down the wing, and he saw to his surprise that Tulsi had made yet another run, this time back towards the centre circle and once again the defender had gone with her. Her runs were pulling the Hillside defence all over the place, creating space for her team-mates. TJ moved in from the wing, calling for the ball, and Rob responded with another beautiful pass.

The counter-attack had happened so fast that the Hillside goalkeeper was still on the edge of his penalty area, as TJ received the ball from Rob. Tulsi had turned her defender again and was now racing towards the area herself, but the opportunity was too good to miss. TJ chipped the ball, not into Tulsi’s path, but way over her head, and over the head of the defender, and over the wildly waving outstretched arms of the back-pedalling goalkeeper.

Goal!

TJ had chipped the keeper and scored! It was something he’d always wanted to do, and now he’d done it. He punched the air and ran round and round in circles until Rafi grabbed him. ‘Great goal, TJ!’ laughed Rafi.

On the touchline even Mr Wood was applauding. ‘Great running, Tulsi,’ he called. ‘Good work, everyone. Keep it up.’

It was 2–0 to Parkview, but Tulsi wasn’t happy. ‘I would have scored that time too,’ she said to TJ. ‘You know what? If no one’s going to pass to me, then I’m not going to do all that running around. It was Mr Wood’s idea but he was wrong. It’s a waste of time.’

‘No, it’s not,’ said Rob. ‘It gives us more options, that’s all.’

‘I’ll tell you what I’m going to do,’ Tulsi said crossly. ‘I’m going back where you can always find me. Near their goal. You pass to me and I score. How about that?’

Tulsi was as good as her word. As soon as Hillside kicked off again she trotted forward to the edge of the penalty area and waited. For the rest of the first half she hardly moved from her position while the rest of the team continued to pass the ball confidently. But now it was far more difficult for Rob to find telling passes. Whenever he played the ball forward to Tulsi, Deng was able to drop back and help out the defender who was marking her. She didn’t manage a single shot on goal.

Just before half time Rob hit a pass to TJ on the wing. TJ beat his defender and took the ball forward at top speed. As he reached the goal line he hit a low cross back through the penalty area towards Tulsi. She was preparing to hit a volley when Deng reached out a long leg and hooked the ball out of the air. TJ couldn’t believe he’d done it, and Tulsi groaned. Deng looked up and hit a pass that flew like a rocket towards Kelvin, the stocky Hillside striker. Kelvin took it on his chest and played a quick one-two with Krissy. Now he only had Jamie to beat, and Kelvin gave the Parkview keeper no chance with his low, hard shot. Hillside had pulled a goal back and now the score was 2–1 to Parkview. As the Hillside players celebrated, Mrs Singh blew the whistle for half time.