Keeper, p.3
Keeper, page 3
“Bad news how?” I asked.
Shane shrugged. “You’ve seen the way Mick is at football. Just imagine what he’s like at home. He’s scary. I was watching TV once and he stamped on the remote control and broke it.”
Danny gave Shane a sideways look. “You can be pretty scary yourself,” he said.
“Really?” Shane asked.
“Really.”
After that, we all laughed.
“So why did Mick smash the window?” Danny asked.
Shane closed his eyes, as if he was reliving it. “When we got home, Mick was still yelling at me. He pushed me into the house and told me to go to my room.”
“Did you go?” I asked.
“No way,” Shane said. “Who’s Mick to tell me what to do?”
“Because he isn’t your dad,” Danny said.
Shane clapped his hands together. “Exactly. Anyway, he tried to make me go upstairs and I wouldn’t do it.”
I leaned forward. “What happened next?” I asked.
“My mum stuck up for me,” Shane said. “That made Mick even angrier. He always wants to be the boss. What he says goes. Mum said I was her son, not his. I stuck up for her. Then Mick threw a chair at the window.”
“He never!” I said.
Shane nodded. “He did. The police came and took him away.”
Danny whistled.
“Weren’t you scared?” I asked.
“Of course,” Shane said, “but I’ve got to stick up for my mum.”
I looked at Danny. Was Shane crying? I squeezed his arm.
“Gary says you can play on Sunday,” I said.
Shane rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. “You’re kidding?” he said.
I told him it was true. “Cross my heart,” I said.
Shane still couldn’t believe it. “I thought I was finished with North Park,” he said. “I made a fool of myself yesterday.”
Danny butted in. “You’re the best keeper we’ve ever had,” he said.
Shane blew his nose. “How many keepers have you had?” he asked.
Danny thought. “Well, just Jack, but you’re still the best. Jack’s a good full-back but a rubbish keeper. He flaps at crosses.”
“You’re the best, Shane,” I agreed. “You make the team solid at the back.”
“So, who are we playing next?” Shane asked, his face lighting up.
“It’s the big one,” Danny said. “We’re playing Delta Boys. It’s first against second in the league. If we win, we go top instead of them. I know it’s early in the season, but it would be a good place to be.”
“And Gary trusts me to be in goal after yesterday?” Shane asked.
“Yes, Gary said he’ll give you another chance,” I said.
“But for how long?” Shane said. “What if I mess up again?”
“That’s down to you, isn’t it?” Danny said. “No one can control your temper but you.”
Shane nudged him in the ribs and said, “That’s deep, that is.”
“Not really,” I said. “Danny doesn’t do deep.”
Danny was laughing. “What a cheek!” he said.
But it was true.
GOALIES’ GOALS
Have you ever seen the keeper racing down the field to try to score at the other end? It normally happens near the end of matches when there is nothing to lose. Some keepers love to have a go at being the striker.
Spotting an opportunity
In 1996, José Luis Chilavert was playing for Velez Sarsfield against River Plate. He said he saw the other goalie watching birds instead of the game, so Chilavert kicked the ball 60 metres into the opposition net. Chilavert has an amazing record of goals for a keeper – he scored 59 club goals and 8 goals for his national team.
The winning goal
On the last day of the 1998–99 season, Carlisle needed a win against Plymouth to stay in the Football League. With ten seconds to go, they were drawing 1–1. It looked like the end of Carlisle’s time in the League. But then their keeper Jimmy Glass went to help his team with a late corner. The ball came out to him and Glass volleyed it home. Fans poured onto the pitch. Carlisle stayed in the League thanks to Glass.
A last-minute save
Oscarine Masuluke scored a fantastic goal in the South African Premier League against Orlando Pirates in 2016. His team, Baroka, were losing, and Masuluke went up for a last-minute corner. The ball spun into the air at the edge of the penalty area. Masuluke threw himself upwards and did a brilliant overhead kick. The ball flew into the top corner of the net, and his team drew the match.
Scoring from the halfway line!
Egyptian keeper Essam El Hadary was playing in the 2002 CAF Super Cup, with his Al Ahly side 2–1 up over Kaizer Chiefs. Al Ahly got a free kick close to the halfway line and El Hadary saw that the other keeper, Brian Baloyi, was off his line. He hit the ball over Baloyi’s head and into the net.
Chapter 6
Keeper for keeps
Mick wasn’t on the touchline the next Sunday morning. Shane’s mum was there instead.
“Where did the police take Mick?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Shane said, “and I don’t care. His stuff’s gone from our house. Good riddance!”
Shane pulled on his goalie gloves. His hands looked like spades in them.
“So this is the big one?” he said.
“Yes,” I told him. “We played Delta in the first game of the season. They hammered us 5–0.”
Danny chuckled. “Yes, but we had Jack in goal,” he said, “so it doesn’t count.”
Jack was nearby. “Hey, I heard that,” he said.
“Yes, but you really are rubbish in goal,” Danny said.
Jack nodded. “It’s funny because it’s true.”
He jogged into the full-back position. Danny and I took our places in midfield. It was the first cold day of the autumn. We were in our long-sleeved shirts and we were still freezing. The wind was howling across the pitch and there was rain in the air.
“Come on, ref,” Hamad said. “Blow the whistle.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” I told him. “Delta battered us last time we met.”
It soon looked like it was going to go the same way this time. The Delta players swept forward in numbers. They tried two long shots from outside the penalty area. Shane caught the first shot, but the second one stung his hands and rebounded. Shane had to throw himself to the ground to grab the follow-up shot. The nearest Delta player tapped Shane’s head with his boot when the ref wasn’t looking.
“See that, ref?” Danny cried.
The ref hadn’t seen it. I expected Shane to start yelling, but he just got to his feet and rolled the ball out to Hamad.
Shane glanced at his mum. She smiled and gave the thumbs up. He was a different player when Mick wasn’t there and nobody was telling us to push up.
Delta were still on the attack. Their striker burst into the penalty area, but Shane pounced on the ball before he could shoot. This time Shane got a knee in the face and the ref saw it. He sent the Delta striker off. I stared at Shane.
“What’s got into you?” I said. “You didn’t even get angry with that player.”
Shane shrugged. “Let’s get on with the game, eh?” he said.
Even with ten men, the Delta midfield didn’t give us a moment to breathe. They snapped into tackles. They got so close you could feel their breath on your neck.
Danny was making mistakes. So was I. I tried to turn with the ball and ended up putting it in the path of their winger. He left me stranded on the floor and raced towards the goal. Danny charged in to stop him and mishit the ball, sending it flying towards our goal. I groaned. It was going to be an own goal. The winger was already running away to celebrate.
But he hadn’t counted on Shane. For a big guy, he was as quick as lightning. Shane had to jump to his right and twist backwards at the same time. But he did it. He pushed the ball wide with his fingertips.
The winger stared. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The ball was in play, so he chased it and sent it back across the goalmouth. Shane reached out and palmed the ball over the bar. I went to pat Shane on the back, but he shoved me away. He tapped his head.
“Stay alert,” he yelled.
This was more like the old Shane, bossing his box.
“Danny, mark your man,” he added.
The ball from the corner looped over my head, but Shane grabbed it, hugging it to his belly. He spotted Hamad and bowled it downfield.
Now the Delta players were caught at the wrong end of the pitch. Hamad took the ball on his chest, raced into the box and hit it with the top of his boot. It flew into the roof of the Delta net.
One attack.
1–0 up.
“Goal!” Shane yelled, dancing on his line and punching the air with his fists. “Keep it tight,” he shouted. “Five minutes to half-time.”
Delta were still coming forward and we were defending deep.
“Push up!” Shane yelled. He sounded just like Mick.
We all looked at him and burst out laughing.
“OK,” Shane said, “you’ve had your fun. Keep your eyes on the ball.”
Delta had one more attack before half-time. Their shot took a deflection and Shane had to shift his weight. He just managed to get a hand to the ball, pushing it onto the post and out of play. The whistle went for half-time.
“Well, I have never seen a team get such a hammering and come in 1–0 up,” Gary said in his team talk. “Try to squeeze the play a bit in the second half.”
Danny nudged me, whispering, “He means push up.”
The second half started the same way as the first. Even with ten against eleven, the Delta forwards were all over us and we had every player in defence except Hamad. Shane was amazing, plucking the ball out of the air, pushing it onto the crossbar, gathering it at his feet. The Delta captain shook his head.
“If it wasn’t for your keeper,” he said, “you’d be 5–0 down.”
It was true, but even the best keeper can’t do it all. Something had to give. The Delta striker hit the ball from the edge of the penalty area. He scuffed it, but the ball hit me on the ankle and Shane was going the wrong way, unable to change his footing in time.
1–1.
Delta pushed forward, wanting the winner, but Shane was at the top of his game. Nothing got past him. He roared and shouted. He waved and pointed. I don’t know if we did anything he said, but it showed Shane was the boss. I even forgot I was the captain.
But that wasn’t the end. Hamad came back to defend a corner and threw out his arm to stop a shot.
“Hand ball!” yelled the Delta captain.
The ref gave them a penalty. I thought Shane was going to yell at Hamad, but he didn’t say a word. Shane put on a show instead. He did a weird dance in front of the Delta penalty-taker.
“Get on your line, keeper,” the ref said.
Shane tilted his head. Then he moonwalked to the line. Everybody laughed. The Delta captain stood over the ball.
“Keeper, knock off the play-acting,” the ref warned again.
Shane gave an army salute. “Yes, sir.”
The Delta captain sighed and did his run-up. The ball flew over the bar and the Delta captain sank to his knees, holding his head. Shane’s tricks had worked. He put the ball down for a goal kick and spotted Hamad moving away from his marker.
“Hamad,” Shane yelled. “Go left!”
The Delta centre-half saw the danger too late. Finally, having eleven players against ten was making a difference. Nobody was marking Hamad and he was away. The long ball from Shane floated towards Hamad, who got his head to it.
“Goal!” Shane shouted.
After that, Delta ran out of steam. We were 2–1 winners.
“Top of the table, lads,” Danny said.
“Thanks to Shane,” I reminded him.
“So do I get to keep my place between the posts?” Shane asked.
“Of course,” Gary said. “You’re our keeper for keeps.”
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Alan Gibbons, Keeper
