On the Spot (3 page)

“That would show Jack,” said Geno with a grin. “I'd
love
to do something to wipe the smug expression off his face.”

“Unfortunately, Roddy, you have to be a first year to play in a first-year team,” laughed Sam. “But that's the spirit. Don't let this problem get you down. We'll find a solution if we put our minds to it. Now, let's find our new goalie!”

“Any volunteers?” said Sam.

There was plenty of muttering, but nobody put themselves forward.

“OK, then. We'll start with a penalty shootout,” said Sam. “I'll take five shots against each of you, and everyone who saves one will go on to the next test.”

Keira went first, but she had no chance. Sam had a fierce left foot, and she wasn't going to make things easy.

“I'm just not cut out for the job,” Keira said, as she picked the fifth ball out of the net. “You next, Roddy.”

Roddy tried his best, but he was just as bad as Keira. He was too short to be a keeper.
Every shot was too far away for him to reach. Jess surprised herself by getting a hand to one shot, and Stephen Mbeki managed to pull off a save, too. Eboni and Ashanti didn't make any real effort, and it was obvious that they didn't want the job. Finally, Marek was the only one left. He'd been avoiding the goalie gloves as if they had some horrible disease, but Sam insisted that everyone had to try.

Reluctantly, Marek went to stand between the posts.

And the pressure is really on the rookie goalkeeper today. Green, an experienced and composed taker of penalties, will be looking to get all five of these past Dvorski, who is only in goal today as an emergency measure. She begins her run-up, and cracks the ball firmly into the back of the net. Dvorski didn't even come close to that one, and wordlessly
rolls the ball back to Green. She steps back, and sends the ball skidding across the wet grass towards the bottom corner. Dvorski guesses right, and manages to get his fingertips to the ball. But it's not enough, and the ball squirms past him into the goal. Two from two so far for Green.

“Unlucky, Marek, you nearly had that one!” said Sam encouragingly.

Marek just nodded, but it seemed to Roddy that he was now standing more purposefully in the goal. Crouched down with his gloves out ready to stop the ball, he cut an imposing figure, and Roddy fancied his chances.

Third penalty now, and Dvorski is growing in confidence. Green halts her run-up before the ball this time, trying to con the keeper into diving early, but he sees through her trick. Put off by her own gambit, she knocks
a tame shot at waist height and Dvorski pulls off an easy save. His team applaud; the stand-in goalie could be a hero today.

Sam looked disgusted at her own effort, but congratulated Marek. Again, he took her comments silently and just waited for the next shot. He still had two chances to save another shot, a feat no one else had accomplished.

Dvorski must be buzzing after that last save, and Green knows that she can't play games. She hits her fourth shot straight into the top-right corner, leaving the keeper no chance. Nobody could have saved that, and Dvorski knows it. He returns the ball for the final time, and begins to try some mind games with the striker. He stands slightly off-centre in the goalmouth, leaving one side of the goal wider than the other and giving Green a dilemma. Dvorski will be expecting
her to shoot for the space, so she should aim for where he is standing. On the other hand, it could be a double bluff. She takes a deep breath, runs up to the ball and hammers it straight at where Dvorski is standing. The keeper has begun to dive to his right, but realises his mistake and trails his legs through the air. The ball thuds into his shins and bounces clear of the goal. What a save!

Sam shook off the disappointment of missing two penalties.

“Well done, Marek, that was a brilliant, instinctive save. You looked like a natural-born goalie. Well done to everyone else, too, you mostly gave it your best, and that's what the Charlton spirit is all about. Now, Marek, Stephen and Jess, can you three stay a little longer, please. Everyone else is free to go.”

As Roddy, Geno and Jimmy wandered back to the boarding house, the talk was all
about Marek's goalkeeping talents. “Do you think he's the best?” asked Geno.

“None of the others are really tall enough,” replied Roddy. “I mean, they're a normal height, but Marek is a giant. It's a massive advantage.”

“And he did save two penalties.” Geno pointed out. “Nearly three.”

“Remember when we first met him, though,” said Jimmy. “I said he should be a goalie and he almost bit my head off. I hope he can deal with the decision if he really is our best chance.”

“I guess we'll just have to wait and see,” said Roddy.

It was almost dark by the time Marek crashed into the common room and flopped on to a sofa, still wearing his muddy kit. He was immediately surrounded by Charlton juniors
asking questions, but he just shut his eyes and waved them away.

Only Geno persisted. “Just tell us if you got it.”

Marek sighed. “I'm very tired. Sam kept me there for hours, teaching me how to be a goalkeeper. She thinks I'm the answer to our problem for now.
That's it,”
he said loudly, before he could be interrupted. “And now I'm going for a shower.”

The match against Stiles came round quickly and Marek had little time to practise in goal. Sam had done her best to get Marek up to speed, but today was going to require mostly natural skill and a big dollop of luck.

“This is going to be much tougher than last time you played Stiles,” she said, as the team prepared to take the field. “They were without Jack then. He'll have told his players to get plenty of attempts at goal. Marek, look out for them trying long shots all the time. Just stay alert. If they get in close, remember what I taught you about closing down the angles. With your height, they shouldn't be able to chip you, so they'll have
to go round. Everyone else, just try and hang on to possession if you possibly can. There's nothing wrong with passing backwards if it means we keep the ball. It may sound obvious, but if they haven't got the ball, they can't score. So, good luck. But I hope you won't need it. After all, we're a stronger team.”

Keira added her own quick words of encouragement, and then spent an extra minute talking to Marek. He looked different in the goalie's kit, uncomfortable in some ways, but he certainly had the build to fill the multi-coloured shirt.

It's Charlton versus Stiles here today, and the big news is that the Polish striker, Marek Dvorski, is playing in goal for Charlton. Charlton will play one up front today, and four in defence instead of their customary three. They'll be trying to stifle Stiles' creative players with a 4–5–1 formation, and
looking to give Dvorski as little work to do as possible. Perotti is going to have a tough time of it as a lone striker, so Jones and Sanders will need to support him as much as they can.

The whistle blows, and Stiles kick off. The Charlton midfield gets to work straight away, trying to break up any attempt to play the ball forward. Stiles find a way up the pitch, though, and take a long shot at goal. It's on target but tame, and Dvorski collects it with relative ease. He's passed the first test, but he'll have a lot more to worry about as the game goes on.

“Well done, Marek. Keep it up,” said Roddy as he got within earshot of the keeper. Marek raised a glove in acknowledgement, then returned to watching the ball intently. If he did let in any goals today, it wouldn't be from lack of concentration.

Charlton have the ball now, but it seems that they're more worried about keeping possession than scoring a goal themselves. Sanders, Jones and Mbeki are playing neat triangles in the middle of the pitch, just letting the clock tick. The Nagel twins are on the wings, looking for an opportunity to break… and now it looks like they've found one! Jones launches a long pass up the left-hand side, and Eboni Nagel gives chase. She reaches the ball a split second before the Stiles full-back, and hits a cross into the box without having time to aim properly. The ball flies over Perotti's head and is easily cleared by the centre back. Dvorski would have got to that cross, but Charlton will just have to learn to cope without his size up front.

The loose ball is picked up by Carr in midfield, and the Stiles captain lopes forward into the Charlton half. He passes the ball
away but is immediately calling for the return pass. He gets it, and unleashes a piledriver from outside the area. Dvorski gets behind the ball, but spills it into the path of the Stiles striker, who slots it home. 1–0 to Stiles, and Dvorski won't want to dwell on that mistake. A more experienced keeper might have pushed it clear. Carr is celebrating right in the face of the Charlton keeper, and the ref's not too pleased. He takes Carr to one side, then shows him a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.

Jack trudged back to the halfway line, grumbling to himself as he walked. Roddy was glad to see him carded, but they were still a goal down. Sam was behind the goalposts, quickly giving Marek a bit more advice, but half-time was approaching. If they could keep the Stiles lead to one goal, they'd still have a chance in the second half.

Stiles have a free kick in a dangerous area, and you'd put money on them shooting from there. Dvorski arranges his defensive wall, then crouches in anticipation.

Roddy could see the concentration on Marek's face. Matt Barker, the Stiles player taking the free kick, began his run-up, and Roddy crossed his fingers.

It's a scorching shot from Barker, but Dvorski makes a great save! He got down well to his left and held on to the ball.

Roddy grinned widely as the whistle blew. He joined Jimmy and Marek as they came off the field and added his congratulations to the rookie keeper as they went into the team-talk room.

“We're a goal down, but you're doing a great job, Marek,” Sam began. “We were unlucky to concede the first one, but that save just now was fantastic!” Marek looked
pleased. “It's been tight so far defensively,” she went on. “But we're struggling going forward. Geno doesn't have Marek's height, so we can't cross the ball in like we used to. We need to keep it on the ground and use his pace. Eboni and Ashanti, swap sides in the second half. I want you both cutting in and shooting rather than crossing. Got that?”

“Yes, Sam,” the twins chorused.

“Good. Roddy and Keira, you two should be pushing up whenever we've got the ball. Three people in the box will worry them a lot more than just Geno on his own. Four defenders plus Stephen should be able to cope with the Stiles attack, so let's get up their end and make a game of it!”

The Charlton team have come on to the pitch looking fired up. From the kickoff, they're looking to get the ball forward. Sanders passes the ball out right to Ashanti…
no, it's Eboni Nagel, they've swapped sides. Nagel runs at the full-back, who is expecting her to make for the by-line, but instead she cuts inside leaving him completely wrong-footed. She bursts into the penalty area, drawing the keeper towards her, then plays a simple ball square to Perotti, who calmly pushes it into an open goal. Game on.

Sam cheered from the touchline. Her plan had paid dividends right away. “Brilliant,” she said. “Let's have another one of those!”

Stiles kick off, and their captain is raging at his players. It certainly seems to be motivating them, as Charlton are being held in their own half again, and their goal is peppered with long-range shots. Dvorski is coping well so far, but the pressure is unrelenting. He makes another excellent save, tipping the ball over the bar for a corner.

Roddy had seen Mr Jenkins arrive soon after the second half began, accompanied by the senior captains. He knew that it was vital to be seen playing well, in order to secure a place in the starting eleven for the first team's match against Leeds. It was still almost four weeks until the game, and Roddy didn't want to be left on the bench.

Piper heads the corner clear, and the ball is picked up by Jones. With so many players forward, Stiles have left big gaps in defence, and that's exactly what the young Welsh-Brazilian thrives on. He pushes the ball forward, and leaves everyone else for dead with his pace. Carr is there ahead of him and, as Jones tries to get past, his shirt is tugged by the Stiles captain. Jones tries to play on, but the ref has blown for a free kick. He's summoned Carr over to him, and it's his second yellow card! Jack Carr has been sent
off, and Stiles will play the rest of the game with ten men. It's an early bath for the Stiles captain!

Roddy was relieved to see Jack leaving the pitch. He'd been getting more and more angry, and Roddy counted himself lucky that he'd only had his shirt pulled. It could have been much worse. Now, Charlton had the advantage.