Golden Game

by David Starr

  Abbas grinned. “We’ll see about that.”

  He looked around the stadium. It was standing room only as far as he could tell. “I wish my mom could see this,” Abbas said.

  “She will,” Coach T replied. “The organizers are broadcasting the games online. I sent the link to Ms. Bhullar and she is showing the game in the Grandview gym. The entire school is going to watch it. So are your parents.”

  The boys broke out into huge smiles.

  “Hear that, guys?” Claude said. “We’re playing soccer on TV, just like Manchester United!”

  “They’re good,” said Dylan as the girls’ final got underway.

  The crowd cheered as Bloor United scored on a great corner kick.

  “She has a better kick than you, Claude!” laughed Jun.

  ***

  “Time to get warmed up,” said Coach T when the half-time whistle blew.

  Hall United’s coach started leading his team to the change rooms under the stadium.

  “See you on the field, Abbas,” Victor said as Abbas waved and entered the Grandview change room.

  “I couldn’t be prouder of you all than I am right now,” said Coach T as Claude led them in their warmup stretches. “Win or lose, you have done an amazing job. I am proud to have been your coach.”

  Grandview walked out of the change room. They could hear the cheering in the stadium.

  “Who won the girl’s game?” Coach T asked.

  “Bloor 2–1,” the tournament marshal said.

  “That’s a good sign,” said Claude. “West Division girls are champs. Now it’s up to us. After all, we are the most western team they’ve ever had!”

  Grandview lined up with Hall United by the tunnel exit.

  “You ready?” Victor asked.

  “As ready as I’m going to be,” Abbas replied.

  The crowd cheered as the marshal marched them out onto the field. Abbas thought the support seemed almost equal between Grandview and Hall United.

  With Victor leading them, Hall United came over to shake hands. Beside Victor was a boy with his right arm in a sling.

  “Abbas, I want you to meet Ozzie,” Victor said. “He’s our other goalie but he can’t play right now.”

  “Sprained my wrist warming up for the tournament,” Ozzie said. “Lucky for you guys. I’m a much better goalie than Victor!”

  Abbas could tell by the laughter they shared what close friends Victor and Ozzie were.

  While Grandview had players from half a dozen countries, Abbas could see that the players on Hall United were either Syrian like Victor or Nigerian like Ozzie. The only other players were a blond boy named Dylan and a Welsh kid named Owen.

  “What are the odds of this?” the two Dylans laughed as they shook hands.

  One by one the Hall United players introduced themselves: Ade, Muhammad, Hassan, Tarek, Sunny, Sam, Peter and Riad. Abbas was happy to meet Victor’s school team. He could tell that, just like Abbas, Victor loved playing with his best friends, the guys he saw every day. And both of them would really love to win playing for these teams.

  Then both teams turned to the ref as he said, “Captains, may I see you for the coin toss, please?”

  Claude started to walk toward the ref. Then he stopped. He slipped off his captain’s armband and gave it to Abbas. “Your friend is captain of Hall United,” Claude said. “You should be captain of Grandview.”

  “Are you sure?” Abbas asked. Being captain was a big honour.

  “Yes, I have a feeling. But only if you win the coin toss!”

  Abbas hurried over the ref standing with Victor. They were both waiting for him.

  “Congratulations,” the ref said. “You both deserve to be here. Hall, clearly you are home team. Heads or tails?”

  “Heads,” Victor said as the ref flipped the coin.

  “Heads it is. Hall United will kick off.”

  “I thought I told you to win the coin toss!” said Claude to Abbas.

  “Let’s win the game instead,” Abbas replied as the team came in for a cheer.

  “Let’s go Eagles! Play hard! Play safe! Play fair!”

  With a sharp blast of the whistle the final game began. Sam sent the ball quickly back to Hassan, one of Hall United’s midfielders.

  Grandview formed up their defence. Like the Eagles, Hall United played a 4-4-2 formation. Each team had two strikers, four midfielders, and a wall of four defenders protecting the goalkeeper.

  “Watch out!” shouted Claude.

  Hall United’s Dylan was making a run down the sideline toward the Eagle’s goal. Mo moved to cover.

  Their plan ruined for now, Hassan passed the ball back to Riad. Riad was a Syrian boy and the tallest fullback on Hall United. He slowly dribbled up the field, looking, waiting for one of his midfielders or strikers to get open.

  Dylan rushed toward him. Riad was not expecting the sudden attack and quickly passed the ball toward Tarek. His kick was not quite on target and Abdul intercepted it. Grandview had control of the ball.

  Both teams were fighting their nerves. Abdul sent the ball to Claude who quickly passed it along to Abbas, halfway between the centre line and the Hall United crease. Excited or nervous or both, Abbas took a shot from almost thirty metres out.

  The ball sailed through the air, bouncing on the turf five metres away from Victor. Victor caught it easily on the first bounce.

  “You’re going to have to do better than that, Abbas,” he called. He rolled the ball quickly on the ground to Owen, Hall’s fullback.

  “Plenty of time,” Abbas replied. “You’ll be seeing me again soon.”

  But Abbas couldn’t take another shot on Victor for the rest of the first half. Most of the play was in the middle of the field. The defenders on both teams played very well, like a tall wall protecting their goalkeepers.

  Dylan would come the closest to scoring for the Eagles. Michael booted the ball high and hard into the air. Sunny, a Hall United midfielder, misjudged where it would land. He watched helplessly as the ball bounced over his head. Dylan took advantage of the mistake and shot downfield toward the goal.

  A defender came forward, but before he could challenge for the ball, Dylan blasted it toward Victor.

  It was a beautiful shot, one of the best Dylan had ever made. The ball flew toward the net, curving to the left corner. Almost any other time on any other goalie it would have been a goal.

  But Victor was no ordinary goalkeeper. He saw the path of the curving ball and adjusted quickly. He leaped into the air, catching it in his sure hands.

  Dylan groaned as he watched Victor make the save. The half was nearly over and his shot had been the closest either team had come to scoring.

  Just two minutes later, Tarek picked up the ball from a pass from Riad and quickly sent it over to Sunny. He didn’t misjudge the ball this time. He sent it up to Sam, Hall United’s other striker, with a beautiful header.

  It was Grandview’s turn to make a mistake, and they would pay for it. Sam charged toward Michael, the Eagles goalie. Alvin and Steven raced toward him, certain that he would shoot.

  Sam didn’t shoot. Instead he made a quick deke, faked out both Eagles defenders and chipped the ball to Hall United’s Dylan. That Dylan sent the ball hard and fast across the turf toward the right corner. Michael read the play correctly but the ball was too fast for him to reach. Abbas watched in horror as it rolled over the goal line.

  Hall United: 1, Grandview: 0.

  Thirty seconds later the referee blew his whistle. The first half was over.

  21

  Top Flight

  The Eagles felt deflated as they walked off the pitch. The game had been so close. Having Hall United score like that with almost no time left in the half made them feel terrible. Even Claude, always so upbeat, looked upset. He knew that as team captain
it was his job to rally them.

  Then Abbas remembered that for this game at least, he was the captain. His friends had helped him get to the tournament. He could help them play their best.

  “Shake it off, Eagles,” he said. “They got lucky. We have thirty minutes left. We can do it. We didn’t come all this way to get down on ourselves now. I may not be Claude but I have a feeling we are going to get an equalizer very quickly!”

  “Abbas is right,” said Coach T. “One goal is nothing, even against these guys. Have some water, take a breath and refocus.”

  “Thanks, Abbas,” Claude said, his grin returning. “You’re right. We have plenty of time left.” He turned to the rest of the team. “You heard our mighty captain!” he announced. “Let’s get back out there and do this!”

  ***

  Five minutes into the second half, Abbas’s feeling came true. Junior took a beautiful lob from Claude on the centre line and quickly flicked it up to Dylan. Dylan took the ball in his feet and sprinted toward Victor.

  Riad and Owen were caught flat-footed. There was a gap between them. It wasn’t more than three metres, but Dylan saw it and slipped through.

  Victor squared up to face the shot. Dylan faked right. Victor bent his knees and moved ever so slightly in the same direction. It was enough. Quickly Dylan pulled the ball to the left, blasting it waist high. Victor tried to adjust, quickly diving to the left.

  The shot was hard. It hit Victor’s fingertips. But his fingertips didn’t stop it. The ball flew into the mesh at the back of the net. Victor lay on the turf, watching in disbelief.

  Hall United: 1, Grandview: 1.

  “What did I tell you?” Abbas said as the Eagles lined up at centre field.

  The rest of the second half played out like a chess match. Neither team took chances on offence or defence. They were so evenly matched that both teams knew one simple mistake could quickly lead to a goal. As the minutes dragged by there was little doubt the next goal would be a golden goal, regulation time or not.

  Hall United came closest to scoring with just a few minutes to go.

  “Pass!” shouted their striker, Sam. He’d found a hole between Jun and Claude and streaked through it. Tarek saw him and sent a beautiful ball toward him.

  Abbas could hardly breathe as he watched Sam, ball on his boots, head toward Michael. Hall United had scored on a play just like this at the end of the first half. To have them do it again would be heartbreaking.

  Sam shot, a strong blast that went high, clearing the top bar of the net by a good three metres. Sam hung his head in his hands, shocked that he missed such a chance.

  “You’ll get it next time!” cheered Victor from the other end of the field. But there was no next time, at least not in regulation.

  Soon after Michael kicked the ball downfield to resume play, the referee blew his whistle.

  “Looks like it’s golden goal in extra time to win again,” said Coach T as the players came off the pitch. “Any feelings about the outcome this time, Claude? Last time we needed a golden goal, you said Abbas would score it against Regent Heights. And you were right.”

  “Nothing,” panted Claude. He’d been running up and down the field non-stop for an hour. “No feelings. All I know is that whoever scores a goal in the next five minutes will win the game.”

  “And that will be us,” said Dylan. “One more goal and Top Flight is ours!”

  But Dylan’s prediction didn’t come true. The five minutes of extra time did not settle the game. Both teams were tired and so nervous they could hardly breathe. They played safe, avoiding risky passes, not doing anything that could cost them the championship.

  Tweet! The ref blew his whistle to end extra time.

  Varsity Stadium was buzzing with excitement. Both teams had played each other to a draw. Love it or hate it, they were moving on to penalty kicks. Nothing in soccer was more exciting.

  “Captains!” called the referee. It was time for one last coin toss, to see who would try to score first.

  “Somehow I knew it would come to this,” said Victor, shaking Abbas’s hand. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you got on that plane.”

  “Me too,” Abbas said. “You beat me in my hometown. Now it’s my turn to repay the favour.”

  “Grandview, you make the call this time,” said the ref, taking out his loonie.

  “Heads,” Abbas called. He watched as the golden coin flipped through the air and landed on the turf.

  “Heads it is. What do you want to do, Grandview?”

  “We’ll kick first,” Abbas said. It was what Coach T had told him to say if he won the toss.

  Coach T set the kicking order. Dylan would go first, followed by Claude and then Abbas. If they won the shootout, odds were good that it would be on Abbas’s turn.

  “All right then,” the referee said. “Good luck to both of you. And may the best team win.”

  Abbas realized he wasn’t nervous at all. And all his fears were gone. No matter what happened, he and his team were strong. He and Victor were true friends. It was the best feeling in the world.

  “Don’t worry,” said Abbas and Victor at the same time. “We will!”

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Kat Mototsune for her incredible editing skills. I would also like to thank James Lorimer for supporting refugee learners and readers. Additionally I owe a deep debt of gratitude to the ELL teaching staff, settlement workers and community coordinators of Edmonds Community School and Byrne Creek Community School. As always, thanks to my wife Sharon for her love and support.

  About the Author

  DAVID STARR is a principal in Burnaby, B.C. who has spoken nationally and internationally on community and refugee education. He is the author of Golden Goal, in the same series.

  Copyright © 2017 by David Starr

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  James Lorimer and Company Ltd., Publishers acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), an agency of the Government of Ontario, which in 2015-16 funded 1,676 individual artists and 1,125 organizations in 209 communities across Ontario for a total of $50.5 million. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada and with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

  We acknowledge the [financial] support of the Government of Canada.

  Nous reconnaissons l’appui [financier] du gouvernement du Canada.

  Cover design: Shabnam Safari

  Cover image: Shutterstock

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Starr, David, author

  Golden game / David Starr.

  Issued in print and electronic formats.

  ISBN 978-1-4594-1231-6 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-4594-1233-0 (EPUB)

  I. Title.

  PS8637.T365G63 2017 jC813’.6 C2017-903303-4

  C2017-903304-2

  This digital edition first published in 2017 as 978-1-4594-1233-0

  Originally published in 2017 as 978-1-4594-1231-6

  James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers

  117 Peter Street, Suite 304

  Toronto, Ontario

  M5V 0m3

  www.lorimer.ca

 

 

 
: grayscale(100%); -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share