Team Player by Cindy Jefferies Page A

Even if she
was
team captain, and his friend, that didn’t give herthe right to boss him around. Roddy watched the action from a distance, imagining the match, as he always did, with added commentary.
    And the ball is back in the Charlton half, which is not what they want at this stage of the game. Moore’s victory against Banks yesterday has put Charlton’s lead in the first-year cup under threat, and they can’t afford any slip-ups.
    Jimmy Piper puts in another fantastic tackle to knock the ball away from the Stiles attacker, but it’s picked up by another Stiles player, worked wide to the wing and crossed in. Marek Dvorski in the Charlton goal cuts out the floated cross with ease, and yells at his defence. The towering goalkeeper has been instrumental in his side’s refusal to concede; Stiles must feel like they’re playing against a brick wall in goal today. Dvorskimotions for his team-mates to push up, then hammers the ball away downfield. Jones gives chase, and reaches it a fraction of a second before Carr, who’s done a great job of keeping Jones quiet today. Jones spins on the ball, giving himself space to run into, and now Geno Perotti is screaming for it to be played ahead of him. Jones must surely pass, but no, he’s decided to go it alone. Jones is driving forward towards the Stiles goal, but he’s caught by Carr and another attack is closed down. That could be the last chance of the match and, yes, there’s the whistle. Disappointment for Charlton in a match they would have expected to win, and it’s not yet too late for them to give the first-year title away.
    The Charlton players trooped into the team-talk room in a foul mood. Marek was already giving his opinion on what he saw asa lack of effort put in by his defence, loudly and at great length. The defenders were shifting the blame onto Roddy and Keira in midfield for not helping out, and Geno was sitting on his own, as isolated in the changing room as he’d been up front all game.
    â€œEveryone, just be quiet!” shouted Sam Green, their coach. Sam was in her final year at Stadium School, and was managing the first-year Charlton team while she studied for her FA coaching badges. “We didn’t play well today, but we’ve come away with a draw, and that’s better than nothing. The first-year cup is still within our reach, we’ve just got to get through the next two games. One win should do it, but let’s try to finish the season in style. If the other years do their bit, we’ve got a good shot at the House Cup, too, and it’ll be us sitting on those lucky seats instead of Moore.”
    Stadium School was built on the site of an old Premier League football ground, and the few remaining original seats were considered lucky by most of the students. Only the cup winners were allowed the privilege of sitting on the coveted seats at the Stadium pitch, which was another reason why winning the overall competition was so important.
    â€œBut we
won’t
win either of the next two games if we can’t put the ball in the net,” said Jimmy, looking at Geno as he spoke. “We can’t keep clean sheets every game. You need to score a goal now and again to help us out.”
    â€œI would, if I ever saw the ball,” replied Geno hotly. “How am I meant to do anything if you lot don’t pass it?”
    â€œDon’t blame me,” said Keira. “I wasn’t seeing much of the ball today, either.” She glared at Roddy, and then included the restof the team in her look. “I mean, Stiles were all over us. We need to buck up our ideas. People must stop being selfish, and increase their work rate, too.”
    â€œYou’re wrong, Keira,” interrupted Roddy. “It’s not lack of effort that’s the problem. Everyone’s trying as hard as ever. When things go badly, you need to bring us together as a team, not just criticise