Jimmy, and you can fill out your bit and then put it in an addressed envelope for J, and he can send it straight away, because I’m not going to be back at my house until Thursday.’
Jimmy, being Jimmy, thought that was a super idea and did exactly what Danny had suggested, and so that was the paperwork taken care of.
Chapter 14
The Match Against Castle Village
J onathon continued to impress everyone at training on Thursday, as Danny seized every opportunity to coach him when Uncle Larry and Aunt Regina weren’t around. He wasn’t going to be playing in Saturday’s match away against Castle Village, though, as his registration hadn’t gone through yet.
Jonathon sat and watched as all the other players togged out for the game before Danny gave Jimmy the nod for the pre-match talk.
‘Right lads! Listen in,’ announced Jimmy, trying his best to sound like Mick. ‘OK, boys! Em, well, as you all know, it’s the first gamesince Danny’s dad took ill, and I know you’re all missing your manager, but I’m sure he’s sitting up in his bed now, willing us to win.’
Not bad, thought Danny, but it needs a bit more bite to get them going.
‘Nice one, Jimmy,’ said Danny. ‘We have to go out there, lads, and give it everything for my dad! Jimmy’s right, he probably is sitting in his bed, willing us to win, but we don’t stand a chance if we don’t will ourselves to win!’
The team let out a big roar!
He’s good, thought Jimmy, nodding his head. Yeah! A real chip off the old block.
‘Then let’s get out there and bring the points home!’ yelled Danny, and on that note, Mick Wilde’s team marched out of the away dressing rooms and into battle for their absent general.
Under Danny’s watchful eye, Jimmy had selected the same team layout that had beaten St Agnes’ boys. The only change he made was to bring in Anto Farrell to replace Sean Dempsey, the player that Mick had kicked off the team.
Anto would have preferred to slot back into his left corner full back position that Kevin Kinsella now had, but Jimmy thought that if Mick was present he would probably have left Kevin there as he had played really well in the last game.
Littlestown Crokes must have been inspired by Danny’s words as straight from the throw-in they absolutely bombarded the home team’s defence, knocking over point after point. After twenty minutes, Danny’s team was winning by five points to nil, of which Danny had scored two points.
Jimmy was thrilled with himself. Here he was, all on his own, holding the fort while Mick was away, and everything was running smoothly.
Jonathon thought that Jimmy was dead funny, running up the line and cheering his boys on when the Crokes burst forward and then running back down the line, chewing his fingers, when Castle Village got the ball back down the pitch!
The referee blew his whistle for half time and the Crokes were still winning, but only by three points now as towards the end of the first half, Castle Village had made a bit of a comeback; the score was seven points to four points in the Crokes’ favour.
As all the players eagerly ate their oranges, Danny noticed that Jimmy was very quiet.
‘Any half-time words, Jimmy?’ he whispered.
Jimmy took a big breath. It was obvious now to everyone that poor Jimmy had a dose of the jitters and his nerves were beginning to let him down.
‘Right lads!’ trembled Jimmy. That didn’t do the trick as only a few players even heard him speak.
‘Will yiz shut up!’ roared Danny with more than a hint of Mick Wilde’s tone in his voice.
Now everyone tuned in.
‘Thanks, Danny,’ smiled Jimmy. ‘Just keep going at them, lads. You started great, you let them come back at you a bit easy towards the end of that half.’
‘It’s Anto!’ shouted Alan Whelan, the centre half back. ‘He’s losing everything in midfield and Danny’s having to cover for him all the time!’
‘Shut up, Wheelo!’ retaliated Anto.
‘Will yiz give it
Jimmy, being Jimmy, thought that was a super idea and did exactly what Danny had suggested, and so that was the paperwork taken care of.
Chapter 14
The Match Against Castle Village
J onathon continued to impress everyone at training on Thursday, as Danny seized every opportunity to coach him when Uncle Larry and Aunt Regina weren’t around. He wasn’t going to be playing in Saturday’s match away against Castle Village, though, as his registration hadn’t gone through yet.
Jonathon sat and watched as all the other players togged out for the game before Danny gave Jimmy the nod for the pre-match talk.
‘Right lads! Listen in,’ announced Jimmy, trying his best to sound like Mick. ‘OK, boys! Em, well, as you all know, it’s the first gamesince Danny’s dad took ill, and I know you’re all missing your manager, but I’m sure he’s sitting up in his bed now, willing us to win.’
Not bad, thought Danny, but it needs a bit more bite to get them going.
‘Nice one, Jimmy,’ said Danny. ‘We have to go out there, lads, and give it everything for my dad! Jimmy’s right, he probably is sitting in his bed, willing us to win, but we don’t stand a chance if we don’t will ourselves to win!’
The team let out a big roar!
He’s good, thought Jimmy, nodding his head. Yeah! A real chip off the old block.
‘Then let’s get out there and bring the points home!’ yelled Danny, and on that note, Mick Wilde’s team marched out of the away dressing rooms and into battle for their absent general.
Under Danny’s watchful eye, Jimmy had selected the same team layout that had beaten St Agnes’ boys. The only change he made was to bring in Anto Farrell to replace Sean Dempsey, the player that Mick had kicked off the team.
Anto would have preferred to slot back into his left corner full back position that Kevin Kinsella now had, but Jimmy thought that if Mick was present he would probably have left Kevin there as he had played really well in the last game.
Littlestown Crokes must have been inspired by Danny’s words as straight from the throw-in they absolutely bombarded the home team’s defence, knocking over point after point. After twenty minutes, Danny’s team was winning by five points to nil, of which Danny had scored two points.
Jimmy was thrilled with himself. Here he was, all on his own, holding the fort while Mick was away, and everything was running smoothly.
Jonathon thought that Jimmy was dead funny, running up the line and cheering his boys on when the Crokes burst forward and then running back down the line, chewing his fingers, when Castle Village got the ball back down the pitch!
The referee blew his whistle for half time and the Crokes were still winning, but only by three points now as towards the end of the first half, Castle Village had made a bit of a comeback; the score was seven points to four points in the Crokes’ favour.
As all the players eagerly ate their oranges, Danny noticed that Jimmy was very quiet.
‘Any half-time words, Jimmy?’ he whispered.
Jimmy took a big breath. It was obvious now to everyone that poor Jimmy had a dose of the jitters and his nerves were beginning to let him down.
‘Right lads!’ trembled Jimmy. That didn’t do the trick as only a few players even heard him speak.
‘Will yiz shut up!’ roared Danny with more than a hint of Mick Wilde’s tone in his voice.
Now everyone tuned in.
‘Thanks, Danny,’ smiled Jimmy. ‘Just keep going at them, lads. You started great, you let them come back at you a bit easy towards the end of that half.’
‘It’s Anto!’ shouted Alan Whelan, the centre half back. ‘He’s losing everything in midfield and Danny’s having to cover for him all the time!’
‘Shut up, Wheelo!’ retaliated Anto.
‘Will yiz give it
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