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T.H · 11-03-08, 06:32 AM

Crunchtime

Chapter 1: Success

I pulled my beloved Green and white hooped shirt over my head, and laced up my boots, as I prepared to face the threat of 17th placed Tornby. I followed my teammates as we walked into the tunnel, taking in the breath of fresh grass on my way. This was it; 90 minutes separated us between victory and defeat.

My name is Tom Hooper, I am 15 years old and currently coming to the end of my GCSE year, with my exams in just two months. Talk about pressure eh?
Football keeps me occupied in my spare time. I currently play for the Knaresborough Town Youth Team, Knaresborough Celtic. Knaresborough Town is a pretty small club, who play their home games at Manse Lane in the West Yorkshire Premier, however the youth team play in the national league, and we currently lie 5th in an exciting table.

I live on the outskirts of Knaresborough, in a residential part of a small village, and the place has a footballing background, with Danny Mills and Leeds Reserve Tom Lees both my former neighbours and Yakubu of Everton owns a property just down the road from me. Manse Lane is situated in Knaresborough itself, a 15 minute drive from my house.

I was born, bred and grew up in Stevenage, but moved up North when I was just 20 months old. I hope to push on to play for the first team when I’m a little older, and maybe even push on towards professional level, but I am keeping my options wide open, and I am capable of so much academically at school, predicted 10 A Stars and 1 A for my GCSE’s. However, I need to be working to the best of my ability to achieve these high goals, after screwing up quite a bit, after stupid incident after stupid incident.

Football is my true passion in life, along with my family, my friends and my two cats, Louis and Molly, who are both 5. My sisters, Sophie and Emily are 18 and 12 respectively, meaning that both are currently at my school, with Sophie moving onto university in October.

My football is at a high at the moment though, we lie comfortably towards the top of the league, and I have managed 8 goals in 28 league games with 10 games to go. We are into the Quarter Finals of the cup, and things look good for us to push for promotion this year.

We walked out of the tunnel, with the croaky announcer’s voice ringing in our ears as we approached the muddy turf that awaited us. I took up my usual position on the left flank, following in the footsteps of my idol, and waited anxiously as our captain went up for the toss. We won it, and Andy Cowie opted to play into the wind first half, giving the opposition a tougher challenge in the second half. I looked at my opposite number, a big lad, with dark brown hair, knowing he had all the credentials to beat my physically. Guess I would have to let my feet do the talking!

The game kicked off at a steady pace, with neither side taking an early advantage. Around seven minutes into the game, their right back beat me for pace and I let him get the wrong side of me. I panicked and ran back to cover, but he was away from me in a flash. He took the ball outside and prepared to whip in a cross. Will Merrin slid in and knocked the ball out for a corner, and I got a lecture for losing my concentration. I took up my place on the near post for the corner, and ran forward to head away the threatening ball. Our right back Andy Hewitt jumped to head the loose ball away, but it fell to the feet of a lurking midfielder on the edge of the box. He drove the ball in low and hard, and it bobbled around like a pinball machine. Next thing I knew, our keeper Ed Leigh was lying in the mud, with the ball sweetly nestled in the left hand corner of the net. After a slow start to the game, we had paid the price!

Cowie urged us on, and we fought our way back into the game, creating numerous chances over and over again. Seb Crawford went close on two occasions, and Andy Reid hit the post with a thumping header. We couldn’t break through the resilient Tornby defence. I looked up at the scoreboard, as half time approached. I knew we needed a moment of brilliance to crack this tough defence and taking the bull by the horns, I drove towards the edge of the box. I dodged a couple of tackles, before unleashing a low drive towards the bottom corner of the net. I punched the air as I heard the roar from the crowd, and the half time whistle. I trudged towards the dressing room, head down, relieved, because we had got what we deserved after a frustrating 45 minutes.

Inside the dressing room, we received some reassuring words from manager Dave Cowie, and I headed back out for the second half, knowing I had a huge job on my hands. The half started slowly once again, but we gradually turned possession into chances, and I could see that it wasn’t long before we took the lead. I received a crossfield pass from Andy Hewitt on the left, and took it down precisely on my thigh, I knocked it past a defender, and whipped in a delightful ball, which landed on the head of Greg Archer, who finished off brilliantly, knocking the ball firmly past the Tornby keeper.
We persisted and persisted, eager to add to our lead. A dirty challenge brought us a free kick around the halfway line, and Hewitt played in a fantastic ball, which was brought down well by Merrin. He knocked the ball into the feet of Liam Finnerty, who slotted home from 12 yards.
The chances kept flowing, and substitutions were made to bolster our midfield, and to replace tired legs. With just 12 minutes to go Archer found himself one on one with the keeper, and he sent a delicious chip floating over his head to make it 4-1. This was Greg’s last action, as he was subbed for fellow striker Alex Elsworth.

The closing minutes flew by, and deep into injury time we received a penalty for a handball from a corner. Since our usual taker had been substituted, I took on the daunting responsibility, knowing that if I managed to slot it home, I would score my 9th goal of the season. I steadily took my run up and plotted an angle in the top right corner of the goal. I hit the ball sweetly, and watched it crash towards the corner, beating the keeper’s outstretched arms, and smashing against the crossbar. The ball was cleared and the final whistle went, bringing a fantastic performance to a close, which had moved us up to 4th in the table, 6 points off the top. I took off my shirt and put it over my shoulder, shaking my opponents’ hands, as I celebrated the victory with my mates. Another hard day at the office over, and the prospect of school beckoning in the distance!