Missing! (7 page)

I looked up in shock. What did he mean by saying I was the final change? Wasn't I in the team today?

‘We're going to give Emma a run-out today so, Jason, you're a sub, OK?' he told me.

He must have read my face because he continued, ‘It's nothing personal, son. We just think it's fair if we give some of the other players a chance. And you will come on at some point, OK?'

I nodded. I was really disappointed, but I didn't want to act like a baby. Ian was right about giving everyone a chance. I just wished it wasn't me that was being replaced. Was it because I'd turned up late . . . ?

‘Right, Rushton – get out there and show them what you're made of!' shouted Steve. ‘And remember the weekend. We are TEAM!'

‘YEAH!' shouted Byron and Leon.

‘Let's go!' added Dal.

I walked to the sideline as the team took up their positions. That was when I saw the camera crew for the first time. I'd forgotten what the Rangers players had said in the changing room because of hearing that I
wasn't playing. Now the camera was only fifteen metres up the line from where I was standing.

Wendy came up to me just as I wanted to ask her about the filming.

‘Are you OK, Jason?' she asked me.

I nodded.

‘It's not because you did badly or anything,' she said. ‘You're one of our star players. It's just that . . .'

‘'S OK, miss,' I replied.

She grinned. ‘Wendy . . .' she reminded me again.

‘Oh, yeah,' I said, before nodding at the film crew. ‘Are they your mates then?' I asked her.

She nodded. There were two men and a woman in the crew. One man held a camera with a built-in microphone and the other one had a clipboard. Next to them was a lady with long blonde hair wearing
posh-looking clothes.

‘They're going to watch the game and ask some questions,' Wendy told me. ‘They are really excited by our mixed team and they are thinking of making a documentary if they like what they see today.'

‘Really?' I asked, getting a little excited.

‘Yes. I think they'll be chatting to the subs soon so you might even get on the telly if they end up using any of today's footage.'

‘Cool!' I replied.

THE GAME KICKED
off five minutes later and immediately Rockwell Rangers were on the attack. They were passing the ball really well but at one point, just as he was about to intercept, Byron slipped, missed his challenge and they were bearing down on our defence.

But then Emma came flying in from her position and took the ball away from one of their players. The lad went flying as Emma took him out too, but the ref saw it as a foul
and gave Rangers a direct free kick just outside our box.

‘REF!' shouted Dal's dad from the sidelines. ‘That was a clean tackle.'

The ref shook his head and walked up to Emma. He had a few words with her and then the Rangers' captain, who was called Michael, placed the ball. He took three steps back and then tried to curl the ball over our wall into the top corner of the goal. But Gem was equal to it and she sprang into action, palming the ball away for a corner.

Steven and Dal congratulated her a Rangers lined up for the corner kick. The ball was soon back in our box but this time Emma won it fairly and ran with it, out of the box and across to the left, where she played it to Ant.

Inside Ant was Abs, who screamed for a pass – which he got. He twisted to his right and then he was away. Two Rangers players
tried to keep up with him but Abs is quite fast and he just outran them. Lily was making a darting run inside the Rangers' left back and Abs saw her.

He played a lovely ball through to her which she took in her stride. She stepped across it twice and then pushed it into a space inside the Rangers' box. I strained to see who was there as I hadn't noticed anyone making a run for her. But then Leon popped up, even though he's our right back, and he smashed the ball towards goal. But the shot was off target and the game restarted with a goal kick for Rangers.

Ten more minutes went by as the game reached a high tempo, with either us or Rangers on the attack. It was what football commentators call an ‘open game', and on the sidelines Ian was going mental, shouting at our midfield to stop Rangers passing the ball.

‘Get tight to them!' he called out. ‘Get your foot in!'

I was urging the team on and didn't notice that the camera crew had walked up to my side. It was only when the lady tapped me on the shoulder that I realized. I turned to find the camera in my face and the lady smiling at me in a weird way.

‘I understand you had to make way for one of the girls today?' she asked me, in the same way that TV reporters ask questions.

I nodded, worried about the camera. What was I going to say and who was going to see it? And then my mum suddenly appeared at my side, smoothing down my hair with her palm.

‘Mum!'
I complained.

Never mind, poppet,' she said annoyingly. ‘You need to look your best for the camera.'

And then she pretty much shoved me
out of the way and started answering the question for me.

‘Of course, my son Jason is one of the star players,' she told the woman, ‘but he's been playing ever so regularly and he needed a rest so the coaches went for squad rotation and . . .'

My mum sounded like she was presenting
Match of the Day.
I couldn't believe what she was saying. She didn't have a clue what she was talking about. I remember once trying to explain the offside rule to her during a Chelsea versus Liverpool game, and she actually fell asleep and started snoring.

‘And is that how you see it, Jason?' asked the lady with the camera crew.

‘Er . . . well, I don't mind,' I told her. ‘Emma – that's the girl who's playing for me – she's really good, and besides, we are a team,' I said.

That's when the Rangers team erupted
with joy. I'd been so busy with the camera crew that I'd stopped watching the game and now Rangers had scored.

It was 1-0!

‘MUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'I moaned.

‘What is it, poppet?'

‘Oh – don't call me that!' I added. Walking off up the touchline, I wished I could walk into where she worked and embarrass her too, just like she did with me. Parents!

WE WERE STILL
1-0 down at half-time and as the second half started, Steve and Wendy told me and Penny to get warmed up. Penny was an attacker and I wondered whether that meant that one of my friends, Abs or Chris, would be coming off. I knew that neither of them would be pleased if they did.

As I was thinking this, Rangers scored again.

‘OH, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' shouted Wendy.

‘Come on,
Reds
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' complained Ian. ‘That was silly!'

The team were all looking at each other and complaining – all blaming the other players. Something was wrong, and if we didn't fix it soon we would end up getting thrashed.

‘Are you both ready to come on?' Wendy asked me and Penny.

As we'd both been warming up during half-time anyway, both of us nodded. I didn't need to be any warmer. I was just itching to get onto the pitch.

‘Right then,' said Ian. ‘You're on!'

Ian shouted to Steven and called him over.

‘We're going four-three-three,' he told him once he'd jogged across. ‘And I want Leon and Parvy to push on too. Squeeze the middle of the park and get in their faces!'

‘Yes, coach,' Steven nodded.

I waited for Wendy to tell the ref about the substitutions as Steve and Ian spoke to each other. They were pointing at the pitch and gesturing with their hands. Steve looked like he was conducting an orchestra. Then he came up to me and Penny.

‘Bill Shankly . . .'he began.

‘Who?' both of us asked in confusion.

‘Famous old manager . . . never mind who he is – just listen. He used to tell his players to take the ball into the opposition's half and dare them to take it away. That's what I want. Take the game to Rangers. Don't give them time to think. Pass, move, pass, move!!'

‘OK,' I replied.

The players being replaced were Ant and Emma. Penny went on and joined Chris and Abs up front and I went on into midfield. It was a risk because we only had three players in midfield now – me, Lily and Byron – t
Rangers' four. But with our full backs, Leon and Parvy, pushing up, it started to work in our favour.

As soon as the game restarted we were better as a team. Byron was playing in front of Dal and Steven – our central defenders – and Leon and Parvy were like extra midfielders. Lily was doing her thing out on the wing and I played on the other side. Rangers didn't know what had hit them.

The ball was at Byron's feet and he squared it to Lily, who went on one of her jinking runs towards the Rangers defence. Just as she was about to get tackled she did her little
ninja
trick, as she called it. In one movement, she lifted the ball and knocked it on, leaving the defender stranded and looking sheepish. I have no idea how she did the move – I couldn't do it – but it didn't matter. Lily was bearing down on the Rangers goal with Chris and Penny in great positions. She waited though, and instead of passing to Chris or Penny, she played the ball behind them to Abs.