Read Online Shoot to Win by Dan Freedman - Free Book Online

midgets! We want a proper game!”
    Some of the Breswell players were getting wound up but their coach quickly ushered them into their dressing room. “Give your answers on the pitch,” he told them as they filed past him.
    *
    â€œOK,” said Hansard, clapping his hands together as he got ready to send his team out for the big match.
    â€œToday is your opportunity to win a Cup Final,” he announced. “You will never get a better opportunity than this . . . But I only want winners out there, so if you don’t think you’re going to win, don’t bother leaving this dressing room.”
    He let the silence hang for a couple of seconds.
    â€œGood,” he said. “Now get out there and win this game!”
    â€œCome on!” the Kingfield boys shouted, banging their fists against the wall as they grabbed their shirts from the kitbag. The school had had new ones made especially for the Final.
    Jamie couldn’t help but let the excitement in the dressing room envelop him too.
    Jamie picked up his shirt and felt its soft material.
    Â 

    Â 
    â€œI’ll be here all afternoon, lads,” said the photographer from the Advertiser , snapping away furiously as the Kingfield boys came out of the tunnel and ran towards the pitch.
    â€œIf you want to buy any stills, get your dads to call the office.”
    Jamie’s heart shuddered. His dad – Jamie had invited him to come and watch the match! What would he think if he turned up and saw Jamie was only a sub?
    He’d think his son was rubbish. He’d forget trying to get Jamie a deal with a professional club. He might even take off again.
    Jamie couldn’t allow that to happen. It was only now, with his dad back in his life, that he’d realized how much he’d missed him all these years . . . how much he needed him.
    Jamie understood that there was no alternative; he had to get himself on to that pitch today. Now he just needed to work out how.

 
    Â 
    â€œAnd welcome to Kingfield School!” boomed the PA announcer as Kingfield took to the Phoenix Park pitch.
    â€œYeah! Go on Kingfield!” responded the crowd.
    Jamie turned around to see there were about three hundred people in the stands to watch the game. It was by far the biggest crowd he’d ever played – or rather been a substitute – in front of.
    He looked to see if he could spot his dad or his mum and Jeremy but, with everyone jumping up and down, it was impossible.
    Now both sides were on the pitch, warming up. If Jamie were out there, he and Ollie would be spraying long passes to each other.
    The tension was mounting as the referee called both captains to the centre circle to toss the coin.
    On the sidelines, Jamie bent down to touch the pitch. It felt perfect. He picked up a couple of blades of grass and rolled them between his thumb and his fingers. Then he stood up and released them.
    As he watched the blades flutter to the ground in the hot, windless summer air, Jamie made a wish inside his head. He hadn’t done that for a very long time.
    Â 
    â€œOver here, Jamie!”
    Mike had somehow managed to get himself down to the side of the pitch. He was standing next to the corner flag.
    As Jamie wandered towards him, the referee put his whistle to his mouth and blew to get the game under way.
    Mike must have seen Jamie’s face drop because he put his arm around his grandson and said: “Don’t worry, JJ. You’ll get on and, when you do, you’ll be the best player on that pitch.”

 

    Â 
    Jamie looked on from the sidelines as Ollie slid in and won the first tackle. The midfielder instinctively launched a long ball into the channel for Ashish Khan to chase.
    Hansard had drilled the tactic into them over and over again. It had worked against Oak Hall in the Semi-Final but, as soon as Ash and the Breswell defenders got into a race, it was clear the Breswell players were just as quick as him.