“Was that your girlfriend sitting next to you on the sidelines?” Brandon asked. Calum ignored him. It was surprisingly easy to do so.
The ref dropped the ball.
Calum was first to react and thumped it to Leo. He sprung forward and barrelled past Brandon, pointing to where he wanted Leo to put the ball. Leo smiled and chipped a lovely pass in behind Castle Rock’s defence.
Calum, with Brandon in pursuit, flew past Castle Rock’s last defender like a racing car past a grandstand. But as he got ready to shoot he felt Brandon’s studs rake right down the back of his leg, trap his boot-heel and pull his old boot clean off.
Not this time, Calum thought. He kept his balance and smashed the ball past the Castle Rock keeper with nothing but a sock on his foot.
A huge cheer went up around the pitch.
Calum didn’t celebrate his equaliser, or rub his stinging foot. Instead, he picked up his boot and strolled past Brandon, who just stood, staring at the ball in the back of the net. 1–1.
***
Castle Rock could win the tournament with a draw in this match, and they made sure they kept possession in Caleytown’s half to wind the clock down. Leo hopped up and down on his toes in frustration.
“Be ready!” Leo shouted to Calum over his shoulder.
Calum didn’t even have time to shout back “For what?” before his friend disappeared into a group of blue strips.
Moments later, he reappeared with the ball like a high-speed train out of a tunnel.
Calum’s feet started moving before his brain had time to figure out what was happening. On the wing, Leo jinked past a challenge and took off up the pitch.
Brandon Cramond arrived right on cue to keep Calum company, but Caleytown’s gifted number nine was full of confidence. Calum dummied Leo’s pass and let the ball roll through his – and Brandon’s – legs. He spun round his confused opponent and met the ball on the other side.
The crowd cheered.
Calum was in full flow now. To beat the last defender, he scissored his left leg over the ball but went right. This was it. This was the big chance.
Calum drew his leg back to shoot and…
OOFT!
He felt a knee smash into the back of his left leg.
Calum collapsed to the ground. He could hear the crowd jeering. Brandon was standing over him and smirking.
