T.J. and the Winning Goal Read online

  ‘Great pass, Ebony!’ said TJ. ‘Just like in training. And a brilliant run too.’

  Ebony grinned, but when TJ glanced again at the supporters he saw a grim look on Tulsi’s face, and he wondered what she was thinking. Did she still want to be in the team? And if Ebony could play like that, how would Tulsi get her place back anyway?

  Parkview played better than they had ever played before. Confidence surged through the team and the Wasps players hardly touched the ball. Rob and Rafi ran the match from midfield, intercepting every pass that Wasps played forward and then making probing passes of their own into the Wasps half. TJ scored with a header when Ebony chipped the ball back across the six-yard-box after Rob had put her through. Then TJ laid on a goal for Ebony when she created space for herself with a clever, twisting run. Ebony grabbed a second goal when the keeper dropped a cross from Rafi and she pounced quickly to bundle the ball into the net.

  And with the final kick of the first half TJ scored his second. Rob hit the ball towards Ebony, as TJ was running behind her. She stepped over it, taking two defenders out of the game and wrong-footing the keeper, as the ball ran through to TJ. He had never scored an easier goal.

  The whole team surrounded Ebony and TJ, as they walked off the pitch. They were all buzzing with excitement, and even Mr Wood didn’t try to hide how pleased he was. ‘You were terrific,’ he said. ‘And, Ebony, you fitted in as if you’ve been playing in the team all your life. Well done, everyone. Five great goals!’

  TJ looked over at the far side and saw the TV cameraman filming the dinner ladies going through their routine. Over by the dressing rooms the reporter was talking to Marshall, surrounded by a small group of Marshall’s fans. He couldn’t see Tulsi and her gran anywhere. ‘Hey, TJ,’ said Mr Wood. ‘Did you hear what I said?’

  ‘Sorry, Mr Wood.’

  ‘This is a perfect chance to give our subs a proper run-out. So you’re coming off, TJ, and Ariyan will play up front with Ebony. Leila, you can take Rob’s place, and Danny, you’ll come on for Tommy. Everyone happy? Let’s see if we can score another five this half!’

  ‘Did you see where Tulsi went?’ TJ asked Rob. They were watching from the touchline, as the rearranged Parkview team ran out for the second half.

  ‘There,’ said Rob. ‘Over in the car park.’

  Even from this far away TJ could see that Tulsi and her gran were arguing. ‘I bet she feels terrible,’ Rob said. ‘Ebony’s doing really well.’

  There was a roar from the crowd. Rob and TJ turned back to the pitch in time to see Ebony celebrating yet another goal. ‘It’s her hat-trick,’ said TJ, clapping as hard as anyone.

  Parkview were still on top, but in the second half the defence had some real work to do at last. With Rob no longer running the midfield Parkview couldn’t manage to keep hold of the ball quite so well, and Leroy began to create some dangerous attacks. But when he did, Danny and Rodrigo snuffed out all of them except one, when Jamie tipped the ball over the bar after Leroy’s fierce drive.

  ‘Danny’s good,’ Rob said grudgingly, as Parkview walked off the field at the final whistle having won 6–0. ‘You were right. In the tournament we’re going to need him. But you know what? I still think we need Tulsi too. We can’t let her stop playing football.’

  ‘But she might not even get in the squad,’ TJ said. ‘You saw how well we played. Mr Wood is bound to pick the same squad again, isn’t he?’

  ‘Ebony is small,’ Rob said. ‘And so are you and Ariyan. What if we’re up against a team with really big defenders? We’ll need a big strong striker like Tulsi.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said TJ thoughtfully. ‘And she isn’t always selfish with the ball. Remember those runs she made in the last game against Hillside? They were brilliant. If she’d just do more of that . . .’

  ‘I know,’ replied Rob. ‘But getting her to do it, that’s the problem.’

  CHAPTER 13

  TJ AND ROB walked over to join the rest of the team. Marshall was shaking hands with everyone. ‘You’ve got a fantastic squad here, Johnny,’ he said to Mr Wood. ‘That’s the best I’ve seen you play,’ he said to everyone. ‘And that’s even with your star striker missing. Where is she?’

  ‘You mean Tulsi?’ said Mr Wood. ‘Well . . .’

  ‘Excuse me, Mr Wood.’ Maggie Burnside, the TV presenter, pushed through the Parkview squad with the cameraman and sound man behind her. ‘You said we could talk to one of the children after the game? And if it would be great if we could have you at the same time, Marshall,’ she simpered.

  Marshall held up a hand. ‘This is all about the kids,’ he said. ‘And their outstanding coach, of course. I’d rather not, thanks.’

  The presenter’s face wrinkled with disappointment. Her make-up was like an orange mask and her hair was impossibly perfect. ‘Well, then,’ she said. ‘We’d like to interview the star of the match. The hat-trick heroine we’re calling her.’ She pointed her finger at Ebony. ‘We’ve got some terrific footage of your goals, so come and tell us how you did it.’

  They all watched, as Maggie Burnside took a nervous Ebony to one side. ‘How does it feel to be the star of such a successful team?’ she asked.

  Ebony blushed. ‘Oh, well, I’m not the star,’ she said. ‘Honestly.’

  ‘You looked like a star to me. You scored a hat-trick.’

  ‘I mean . . . it wasn’t just me . . . it was everyone . . .’

  ‘You’re too modest. You’re the one who scored the goals. And you’re playing in a big tournament soon, I hear. I expect you’ll score lots of goals there too.’

  Ebony shuffled her feet and looked embarrassed. ‘I hope so,’ she said. ‘But I might not be in the team. There’s lots of really good players at our school.’

  But the TV presenter wasn’t really listening.

  ‘I’m sorry, everyone,’ Ebony said, as the TV crew walked away. ‘I didn’t know what to say.’

  ‘You did fine,’ said Mr Wood. ‘Couldn’t have been better. Hello, Phil. I didn’t see you arrive.’

  They all turned to look at the newcomer. Phil, the Wanderers Academy coach, often watched youth football matches, looking for talented young players. ‘Terrific performance, everyone,’ he said. ‘As good as I’ve seen. You keep discovering new players, Johnny,’ he continued, with a glance at Rob. ‘I knew this lad was a tactical genius, but I didn’t know he actually played football.’

  ‘I didn’t before,’ said Rob. ‘I mean, before Mr Wood came back.’

  Phil nodded. ‘Well, that was a really great team performance,’ he said. ‘It was a pleasure to watch.’

  On the minibus on the way back to school the team discussed Phil’s comments excitedly. ‘Maybe we’ll all play for Wanderers one day,’ said Rafi.

  ‘I won’t,’ said Ebony.

  ‘Me neither,’ said Leila, ‘and Tulsi won’t either.’

  ‘Don’t be so sure,’ Mr Wood called from the front seat. ‘Marshall tells me that Wanderers are thinking about a Ladies Team, and they’re planning a Girls’ Academy too. So don’t give up hope just yet.’

  TJ had only just finished his lunch that same afternoon when there was a knock on the door. His sister Lou answered it and came back into the room with Jamie, Rafi and Rob behind her. ‘Any more coming in?’ asked TJ’s dad, peering round Jamie to see.

  ‘We just wanted to talk to TJ,’ Jamie said, with an envious look at the bowl of tropical fruit salad in the middle of the table. TJ’s mum saw where he was looking. ‘You still have an appetite then, Jamie,’ she laughed. ‘Go on, boys. Have some if you like. We’ve finished.’

  The boys tucked in gratefully. ‘What’s all this about then?’ asked TJ’s dad.

  ‘It’s Tulsi,’ said Jamie. ‘We have to get her back in the team but it seems almost like she’s not interested any more. She’s even started talking about giving up football.’

  ‘So we’re going to tell her about the Girls’ Academy,’ Rob said. ‘They might be starting one at Wanderer
s.’

  ‘I can’t believe Tulsi would want to give up football,’ said TJ’s mum. ‘She was the keenest of all of you.’

  ‘But it’s true,’ said TJ. ‘And it must be strange if you’re a girl and you love playing football but you know you won’t ever be able to play in the Champions League like Marshall does. Like we might one day.’

  ‘Hey,’ said TJ’s mum. ‘That’s a very long speech, TJ. But you’re right. It must be tough for Tulsi.’

  ‘There is a women’s World Cup,’ said Lou. ‘And there’s the Olympics. And quite a lot of Premier League sides have ladies’ teams, don’t they?’

  ‘You’re right,’ said TJ. ‘Thanks, Lou. We’ll tell her that too. We’re going to try to get her to come to the park with her gran this afternoon. We can have a kickabout for fun like we used to. She can’t say no to that. And then we can tell her about the Academy.’

  But . . .

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Tulsi’s mum, when they arrived at her house. ‘She’s not feeling well. She’s lying down in her room.’

  ‘No, she’s not,’ said Tulsi’s gran, peering over her daughter’s shoulder at Tulsi’s friends. ‘She’s sulking, that’s what she’s doing.’

  ‘We thought she might want to come to the park,’ Rob said. ‘Just to kick a ball around.’

  ‘And we’ve got some news,’ added TJ. ‘Wanderers are going to have an Academy for girls. Can you tell her?’

  A few minutes later Mrs Patel came downstairs with Tulsi. Anyone could see Tulsi had been crying.

  ‘We’re both coming,’ said Tulsi’s gran. ‘I’ll just change into my tracksuit and trainers.’

  ‘Well?’ asked Tulsi, as they walked to the park. ‘Is it true? Wanderers are really going to have an Academy for girls?’

  ‘Mr Wood only said they’re talking about it,’ replied TJ. ‘But he made it sound as if they’re serious. Hey, look. There’s six of us. We can play three against three with rush goalies. You’ll play, Mrs Patel, won’t you?’

  ‘You think I came along to watch?’ said Tulsi’s gran. ‘No fear! How about me, Tulsi and Rob against the rest of you?’

  ‘OK,’ said TJ. ‘This should be good!’

  CHAPTER 14

  ‘I’LL GO UP front, then,’ said Tulsi.

  ‘Are you mad?’ said her gran. ‘It’s three against three with rush goalies. I’m not as young as I was. I can’t be running up and down all the time. No, we can’t have set positions. We have to play total football, like the famous Dutch team did in the nineteenseventies. Everyone plays everywhere. We move around and fool the opposition.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gran. And we’d better decide who’s going in goal, because here they come.’

  ‘You go in,’ yelled Mrs Patel. ‘Go on! Get back!’

  Tulsi sprinted back to guard the bench that was acting as their goal. She was just in time to put out a foot and stop TJ’s shot.

  ‘Great!’ shouted her gran, darting forward suddenly. ‘Now give it to me! Come on!’

  TJ couldn’t help laughing. Mrs Patel was taking the whole thing very seriously. But when she took the ball out of the air easily with her left foot and then turned and hit an instant pass to Rob, TJ’s jaw dropped. He hadn’t expected Tulsi’s gran to be able to do something like that, even though he’d seen her make some great saves when she’d played in goal during the Parkview mini-World Cup. ‘Get to Rob,’ he called to Rafi. ‘I’ll mark Mrs Patel.’

  TJ positioned himself to stop Mrs Patel passing. She looked up and saw Tulsi hanging back, guarding the goal. ‘Tulsi,’ she said. ‘You have to move, girl. Just like you would in a match. You make the run and I lay it on for you to shoot. Or you make a run so that Rafi has to leave Rob and mark you, and then I pass to Rob.’

  For a moment TJ thought that Tulsi was going to lose her temper. But then she jogged forward. ‘Come on then, Gran. Give it here.’

  Mrs Patel passed to Tulsi, who saw Rob sprint a few paces forward, then turn and check back, fooling Rafi for a second. Tulsi hit the ball towards him and Rob instantly played it into empty space. The space didn’t stay empty for long. Mrs Patel had continued her run after passing to Tulsi. She latched onto Rob’s pass and hit a low shot at the goal. Jamie dived and saved it.

  ‘You could be in our school team, Mrs Patel,’ he said with a grin, as he stood up. ‘That was a fantastic run!’

  Tulsi was staring at her gran. ‘That was awesome, Gran,’ she said.

  ‘It was nothing,’ Mrs Patel replied. ‘You can do the same thing. I’ve seen you do it.’

  ‘When?’ demanded Tulsi.

  ‘When you were a little girl. When you used to come and stay with me. We used to play with the other children in the park and you were a natural footballer. You knew just where to move and what to do.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ asked Tulsi. ‘Really?’

  ‘Really,’ said her gran. ‘And you can still do it, I bet. All you need is a little more confidence. And forget about all this goal-hanging nonsense!’

  Jamie dribbled the ball forward. He passed to TJ who was wondering whether Tulsi was going to get sulky again. She hated being called a goalhanger. But now, suddenly she began to play. She ran to TJ, trying to block his pass. TJ dragged the ball back and somehow squeezed it out to Rafi, but Mrs Patel tackled Rafi quickly and efficiently and then tapped the ball to Rob, who played a clever chip forward for Tulsi to chase.

  TJ refused to let her get away from him. He gained half a metre on her. Enough to stop her shooting, but not enough to stop her taking him completely by surprise. She back-heeled the ball and Rob ran onto it and slammed a shot at Jamie’s goal. This time Jamie had no chance and the ball flashed between the two trees and ran away into the distance. ‘I told you,’ said Tulsi’s gran, exchanging high-fives with her. ‘You’re as good as anyone when you try. I bet when they open that Academy for girls you’ll be the first one through the door.’

  ‘Hey!’ called a voice from the park gates. ‘They’re here!’

  Krissy Barton swooped down the path towards them on her bike, followed by Kelvin and Deng. ‘Great!’ she said, dumping her bike on the ground. ‘We’ll give you a game.’

  ‘It’s not fair sides,’ said Tulsi. ‘You’d better have my gran.’

  ‘And Rafi too,’ said TJ, seeing the doubtful look in Krissy’s eyes. ‘Go on. Five against four. You can’t say that’s not fair. But your goalie has to stay in goal.’

  Rafi went in goal for the Hillsiders. ‘But you’d better try properly,’ Krissy warned him. ‘No letting shots in to help your mates.’

  It was a very even match. Mrs Patel and Deng understood each other right from the start, playing clever passes that forced Rob, Tulsi, TJ and Jamie to tear around trying to intercept the ball. And all the time the Hillsiders were looking for a chance to catch Jamie out of his goal and hit a long-range shot.

  Then Jamie tackled Kelvin and his pass found Rob. Rob turned away from Deng and both TJ and Tulsi were calling for it. Rob slid a pass to Tulsi and ran for the return. When it came, he flicked the ball on to TJ, who drilled it, first time, back to Tulsi. She could see the goal, and she could see Rafi bouncing up and down, waiting for her shot. But her head was up and she could see everything that was happening around her. TJ was making a darting run towards the goal. Rob had checked his own run and made himself some space. And there was Jamie thundering up from the back. She laid the ball sideways, right into Jamie’s path, and he slammed it into the goal.

  ‘Oh, very good, Tulsi!’ said her gran. ‘You see how easy it is?’

  ‘Hey!’ said Krissy. ‘Whose side are you on, Mrs Patel?’

  ‘Our side of course,’ said Mrs Patel. ‘Come on. It’s only one–nil.’

  They played on until the sun began to go down behind the houses on the far side of the park. TJ thought that he had never enjoyed playing football so much. ‘Good luck in the tournament,’ Krissy said to Tulsi, as they walked out of the park together.

&nb
sp; ‘Thanks,’ replied Tulsi. ‘But I might not even be playing. I have to get back in the team first, and it’s not going to be easy.’

  CHAPTER 15

  ON MONDAY NIGHT TJ’s family gathered in the living room to watch the local news on TV.

  ‘This should be good,’ said TJ’s dad. ‘You were all amazing yesterday. Your first time on TV, TJ!’

  ‘Don’t, Dad,’ said Lou. ‘He’s big-headed enough already.’

  ‘I’m not,’ said TJ. ‘Just because you’ve never been on TV.’

  ‘Be quiet, all of you,’ said TJ’s mum. ‘It’s starting.’

  Maggie Burnside’s orange face filled the screen. She was standing outside Parkview School and Mr Burrows was beside her with a huge smile on his face. ‘Inspectors say that this is an outstanding school,’ Maggie Burnside said. ‘And the most outstanding thing about it is its under-eleven football team. Tell us about the team, Mr Burrows.’

  ‘Er, well . . . It all began with Mr Wood,’ Mr Burrows said. ‘He came to our school as a temporary teacher at the start of the year, and it turns out he’s a bit of a whiz at football coaching.’

  ‘Which isn’t surprising when you realize that he was a promising young footballer at Wanderers,’ Maggie Burnside said. ‘We have some footage of Johnny Wood in action playing for England’s under-eighteen side. If you look closely you might also spot current Wanderers star, Marshall Jones.’

  ‘There!’ exclaimed TJ. ‘That’s Mr Wood!’

  A tall, skinny boy controlled the ball on the screen and played a pass elegantly out to the right wing. ‘And that’s Marshall,’ said Lou. ‘He looks great!’

  ‘They’re just kids,’ said TJ’s mum. ‘Look at them, TJ. They’re not much older than you.’