The ball soared. A pack of boys gave chase, pushing and shoving across the field. One stumbled open-mouthed and fell down with a thud.
Matthew Olsen was dribbling the ball towards the goal. The opposing defenders were now breathing down his neck. He knew he had to pass to someone. He looked around and saw Harry Jackson to his left. Instinctively, he passed the ball to Harry Jackson. Skillfully, Harry flicked the ball back to Matthew. The opponents were caught off guard. Seizing his chance, Matthew charged towards the goal and gave a mighty shot to the bottom right of the goalpost. The sudden strike saw the goalie dived the wrong way and the ball almost tore the net.
“Goal!” roared Matthew as he ran towards Harry Jackson to hug him.
Haggleton United was winning the match against Lickstown FC thanks to Matthew Olsen’s hat-trick. Just then, the referee blew the final whistle. It was music to the players of Haggleton United. Their manager, trainers, team reserves and other team members rush to the field. It was absolute pandemonium. Hugs were aplenty.
In the dressing room, Duncan MacB, the manager of Haggleton United, filling up the players on the upcoming matches. There was no room for premature celebration.
“Now that we have made it through the group stage, we will be facing tougher opponents. For now we will have to wait for the draw of the quarter-finals matches. Hopefully, we won’t play Gafer City.”
Gafer City was Haggleton United’s fiercest rivals just like Liverpool and Manchester United. So far, the managers from both teams were not on good terms.
“Hey, wait up!”
Matthew turned around and saw Harry running towards him. His face was filled with joy.
“You played well,” said Harry.
“Thanks! You didn’t do too badly yourself,” Matthew smiled and gave him the thumbs up.
“Me? I don’t score as much goals as you.”
“Never mind that. You played excellently. In fact, we both did. As long as we play like that, we are bound to have a place in the starting line-up.”
“Yeah! As long as we play as paired strikers, Haggleton United will never lose!” boasted Harry triumphantly.
The next day, at Haggleton United’s training ground, Matthew and Harry were putting to test their skills on the ball just before Haggle United started their practice.
“Watch this!” exclaimed Matthew.
Flicking the ball up, Matthew tapped it sideways. Harry caught it on his chest, let it roll down his body to his foot and flicked it back.
Matthew headed the ball, and then dropped it to his instep, a dead ball. He paused for a moment, the ball frozen to his foot, before flicking it up and heading it back to Harry.
Harry controlled the ball with his thigh and bounced it from one leg to the other.
This was the result of long hours working on moves and polishing them. Matthew and Harry always trade tricks and techniques. They had developed set pieces and practicing them.
Just then, Mr MacB called for everyone to gather.
“Alright, now I will name the players for the quarter-final match. We’re going to play Leferdon Rovers. Max will play as goalie. Ken right back and Dexter left back. Calvin and Cody centre backs. Paul and Steven centre midfields. Jason right wing and Gordon left wing. And finally Matthew and Harry forwards. The subs are Fuller, Zack, Robert, Frank and Wayne.”
There were groans and cheers from the team as Mr MacB announced the starting lineup. Not many of them got to play many games. Mr MacB was serious about winning the Sunday League Cup. Haggleton United have won the trophy eight times but Mr MacB is still hungry for more.
That day, the team trained intensively starting with a jog round the stadium and followed by some training matches. At the end of all the training, all the players were dead tired but still they knew it was a good preparation for the quarter-finals.
Right after training, twins Calvin and Cody approached Matthew.
“Hopefully, you can score as many goals against Leferdon Rovers,” said Calvin.
“Yeah! I can do that,” replied Matthew confidently.
On the match day, Mr MacB was busy going through the game plan and tactics with the team.
“Alright now boys, do your best and show them who’s the boss!” reminded Mr. MacB.
The atmosphere was intense. The stadium was full to the bream. Supporters from Leferdon Rovers and Haggleton United were seated separately. The supporters from Haggleton United gave an outstanding ovation when the team and especially Matthew Olson stepped onto the pitch. Matthew was not intimidated by the size of his opponents.
The match began with both teams defending and attacking well. Matthew, Harry and Jason missed several chances. The best chance came when Matthew headed a cross from Gordon just wide off the post. Haggleton United also had to thanked their goalkeeper for putting up a superb performance. Mr MacB was screaming instructions to the team to go forward. At half-time it was goalless.
In the dressing room, Mr MacB was going through the team’s shortcomings in the first half as the players quenched their thirst while listening. Matthew looked at his boots. He knew he can score the winning goal.
Haggleton United played a passing game to keep possession. As minutes ticked by, Max made save after save to keep Haggleton United in the game as the opposing strikers keep on pressing towards Haggleton United’s goal. However at the other end, there was less success. Paul was subbed off for Wayne and Jason off for Frank as Mr MacB tried to find the winning goal. Fresh legs didn’t seem to be able to do it, and the clock was running down.
The ref had just signaled for two minutes of injury time when Matthew received the ball and saw the opponents’ defense open up. Seizing the chance, he made a surging run into the box. Just as he was about to kick the ball, he was brought down. Haggleton United’s players surrounded the ref. Looking doubtful, the ref pointed to the spot and showed the Leferdon Rovers’ defender a red card.
Harry was the regular penalty taker but he was rooted to the spot, fear frozen on his face. Matthew reacted instantly. He ran up to Harry and took the ball from him. “Let me take it,” he said.
Matthew knelt down and placed the ball carefully on the penalty spot. Matthew began his run. He made an excellent contact with the ball. It rose and crashed straight towards the top corner. The keeper had dived the wrong way.
Matthew was smothered by his teammates. Leferdon Rovers’ players looked down in dismay as the ref blew the whistle for full time. Mr MacB punched the air in joy. He joined his players in celebration as they skipped down the tunnel towards the dressing room. Matthew kissed his boots and silently thanked it for presenting him with an opportunity.
“All right, guys,” said Mr MacB. “I’ve got some good news for you. Our semi-final opponents, Morrison Gunners, have dropped out of the competition due to financial problems. Therefore, we are given a lee way. We are through to the finals!”
The whole dressing room roared in enthusiasm. Now all they have to do is wait for the result of the other match, Gafer City versus Woodvale Warriors.
The day of the final arrived. Haggleton United were to play arch-rivals, Gafer City. Haggleton United arrived first at the Wembley Stadium. The players all looked focused as they walked towards the dressing room. As Matthew put on his lucky boots, he felt a surge of adrenalin rushing through his body. Mr MacB called for everyone’s attention as he went through their formation and tactical plays. He patted his boys on the back as the team jogged out to the pitch.
The whole stadium erupted into cheers as the two teams walked out of the tunnel. Haggleton supporters cried out Matthew’s name and Matthew acknowledged this by saluting to the fans. Soon a historic final began.
Gafer City quickly attacked the Haggleton defence. They sprayed passes from side to side. With a lightning movement, Gafer City”s midfielder punted a long ball towards their striker who was unmarked. The striker controlled the ball with his chest before letting fly a shot way past Max and into the goal. Haggleton fans were disheartened and it looked as if their team would be beaten by the powerful City squad.
The Haggleton players trooped dispiritedly back to the dressing room at half-time. They had played their best but still found themselves a goal down.
Mr. MacB tried to lift their spirits. “It’s all right!” he bellowed. “There’s no shame in being behind but I want you to fight hard in the second half! Go out there and show them what you are made of!”
The match was turning out to be a thriller with non-stop action from end to end. As luck and hard work would have it, Haggleton finally made a breakthrough in the 60th minute. Jason curled in a wicked free-kick into the penalty area. Matthew had timed his run into the box and soared majestically to head it past the goalkeeper for the elusive equaliser.
Immediately after the restart, Haggleton pressed the opposition in search of the winner. Fresh legs were sent on by both coaches as they looked for the right formula to get that winner. Most of the actions were taking place in both penalty areas. Just then, tragedy struck. Harry received the ball from the centre line and made a darting run down the left. Just as he was about to whip in a cross, he was tackled from behind. Harry groaned in pain as the medics carried him off the pitch. He was immediately replaced by Wayne.
This spurred the team to do better. Only one minute to full time. Haggleton looked to be finding a winner from this free-kick and they seemed to have pushed a lot of players forward. Even the goalkeeper was standing near the penalty area. Jack swerved in a cross. It was too deep for Calvin and too high for Wayne. The ball flew destined for the edge of the penalty area where Matthew was lurking. He made excellent contact with the ball and volleyed it into the top corner for the winner.
Everyone swarmed around Matthew as the ref blew the final whistle. Pushing everyone out of the way, Matthew ran quickly to the bench. Harry chuckled as Matthew approached him. Before Matthew could say anything, Harry pulled him along and they both went straight to the podium.
This was the greatest moment ever for Matthew as he lifted the Champions League trophy. The whole stadium was singing his name. They had just seen a young football talent work his magic on the pitch.
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Today: 2010-09-05, 13:16PM (All times are GMT +08:00)
Topic: Matthew Olsen
