Man of the Match by Dan Freedman Page A

enough.
    Then, finally, he spoke.
    â€œHow dare you drop your heads?” he began. He wasn’t shouting, though. He didn’t have to. The fact that his voice was so calm and measured somehow made him even more scary than if he had been hollering wildly.
    â€œHow dare you give me that look like this title race is over? You . . . every single one of you . . . have the chance to make history today. This football club has never won the league, and here you lot are, potentially forty-five minutes away from achieving it, and you look like you’ve already been beaten.
    â€œI want you to imagine for just a second what it will be like if we do this today. If we really make this happen. Have you any idea what it will mean to those fans? And to you lot? They won’t just be talking about this team for the next week or couple of months . . . they will remember you for decades. . .
    â€œIn sixty years’ time, kids who are up there in the stands today will be grandparents, and they will be telling their grandkids about the day that Hawkstone United won the Premier League for the first time. Now, do you lot want to sit here accepting defeat before it’s happened, or shall we go out there and make history?”
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    â€œBoss,” said Jamie as the players were heading out for the second half. “Have you thought about swapping me over to the right side? It’s where I played at Seaport and it worked really we—”
    â€œArchie!” called Harry Armstrong, cutting Jamie off in mid-flow. “Have a word with your mate, will you . . . dispense some wisdom for me – we’ve got a match to win.”
    Archie Fairclough strode over and put his arm around Jamie.
    â€œLet me tell you something very quickly, Jamie,” he said. “When you go out there on to that pitch, it’s not about you versus Ashley Blake. Got nothing to do with that. You’ve got enough talent in your little finger to beat any defender. It’s about you understanding how good you are. Once you do that, everything else will fall into place, trust me.”
    â€œThanks, Archie,” said Jamie. Sometimes Archie reminded Jamie of his granddad, Mike. They both believed in him. No matter what.
    â€œJust take your time, Jamie,” smiled Archie. “You’ll work out it . . . you always do.”
    Then Archie put his hand behind Jamie’s back and gave him an almighty shove, practically throwing him back out on to the pitch!
    â€œNow go out there and make yourself a bloomin’ legend!”

 
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    â€œAnd we cross over immediately to The Lair, where Foxborough are taking on Liverton. There’s been a very early goal in the second half . . . Hawkstone fans, listen up!”
    â€œYes . . . thanks, Gary, you join us here where Foxborough have just conceded! It’s now one to one!”
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    Projected Premier League Table
(if scores stay the same)

    â€œHugo Rodinaldo could have just done Hawkstone United a huge favour! So, with this game all even, it’s now back in Hawkstone’s hands! If they can find a way to come back and beat Brockburn, they win the leag – but hang on! Stay with us here, as now Foxborough are back on the attack! They’ve got a two against one . . . surely . . . it must be . . . it ISSSSSSSSSS!
    â€œFoxborough go back into the lead! That’s what champions are made of!”
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    Projected Premier League Table
(if scores stay the same)

    As the drama of the events at Foxborough filtered through, the Hawkstone fans were glued to their radios, jumping up and down, screaming and booing. One fan even fainted. And if they were feeling the heat, so too were the players.
    Sweat was running down Jamie’s forehead. His heart was beating a thousand times a minute. And he was still getting no change whatsoever out of Ashley Blake.
    His mind was a blur of questions. What could he do? How could he turn things around? He would