EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD ANDY HAWKE WAS A YOUNG LAD WHO WAS GIFTED WITH CONSIDERABLE FOOTBALL TALENT. HE HAD ALWAYS HAD THE GIFT, EVEN AS A YOUNGSTER. NOW HE WAS LOOKING FOR A FOOTBALL CLUB TO GIVE HIM A FUTURE.
REDSTOKE OF DIVISION ONE HAD REACHED THE SECOND ROUND OF THE CARLTON CUP. THEY HAD BEEN DRAWN AWAY AGAINST HIGHWOOD ATHLETIC OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP. ANDY WAS PLEASED TO SEE THAT HE HAD BEEN SELECTED FOR THE START OF THE GAME.
The rain had poured down all day, and Highwood’s small ground did nothing to keep the downpours from blowing across the pitch straight into the Redstoke players’ faces. Midfielder Jamie Greenacre slid in to tackle a Highwood player, and missed entirely. He continued to slide a good ten yards past his opponent, and Andy had to chase after the opponent to cover. Andy successfully got a tackle in just as the Highwood player reached the eighteen yard box. The player tumbled over into the box, and the referee blew his whistle.
Andy got to his feet, and was astonished to see the referee pointing at the penalty spot! The tackle had clearly happened outside the box, and the Highwood player had fallen inside. Only a minute gone, and the referee had awarded a penalty to the home team.
All Andy could do was stand at the edge of the penalty area as the Highwood Number 9 stepped up. He placed the ball firmly into the far right corner. The small crowd who had bothered to attend were joyous. Andy felt wretched, but first teamer Mike Brazil came over.
“Don’t worry Andy. We know it was outside the box, but with this new Respect law that the referees are sticking to this season, none of us dare go and talk to the ref. We’ll get it back”.
Highwood’s white shirts soon turned to dirty grey as they soaked up the falling rain. Trying to control the ball was extremely difficult in the poor conditions. Andy picked up a loose ball halfway inside the Redstoke half, and chipped the ball up to Mike Brazil. He controlled the ball with his chest and quickly switched the ball out to Ben Farish on the right wing. However, the ball didn’t reach Farish, but stopped dead in the mud.
Andy thought that this was a farce. How on earth could anybody play a proper game of football in this weather. It was all he could think of. He realised he was concentrating totally on the weather, and not on his football at all.
He chased back, and this time his tackle was a good one. The ball stopped dead, and Andy headed upfield, this time through the centre of the pitch. He evaded one challenge, and then another. One player came charging in and tackled Andy with both feet. Andy went down painfully, clutching his shin.
The referee awarded only a yellow card to the Highwood Number 6. Andy thought he should have got a red card, but said nothing. A bit of treatment with the magic sponge, and he was back on his feet again. He got into position.
Claude Silvara, the left back lofted a ball into the area, and Highwood managed to head it clear. However, Andy was lurking on the edge of the penalty area. He controlled the ball on his chest, let it hit the ground once, and then lobbed the ball back into the area. It cannoned off the crossbar, and bounced down to Mike Brazil, who had the simplest of tasks of sidefooting the ball past the prone goalkeeper.
So it was 1-1 at half time. Andy was glad to get in out of the rain, and the Redstoke team looked shattered. The kit man had put out clean kit for them all, and Andy quickly changed into dry shirt, shorts and socks. Then he had a cup of tea to warm himself up. Mr McKay seemed quite happy with the performance, and was smiling. He offered a word of encouragement to all the players, before the bell went for the teams to reappear. As Andy stood up, he felt a really sharp pain in his shin. He sat back down again.
Mr McKay asked him what was wrong.
“Nothing Mr McKay, I just got a blood rush to my head when I stood up. I’m fine, really”.
Andy rejoined his team mates, and did his best to hide the pain in his leg. The players took to the pitch, and Redstoke kicked off the second half.
Andy quickly took control of the ball, and went charging off down the wing. Claude Silvara went on the overlap, and Andy passed the ball wide to him. Claude got to the touchline, and put in a superb cross. Mike Brazil was there again with his head, and powerfully put the ball into the back of the net. Redstoke had taken the lead against the Championship side.
Highwood came back strongly. They forced a corner after 71 minutes. Andy dropped back and covered the far post. It was a good job that he did, since he was able to clear the shot from Highwood off the line. As he struck the ball, he felt excrutiating pain in his shin, and fell down.
The trainer came on when the ball went out of play. He took one look, and said
“You’ve got some bad bruising there Son. I think we’ll take you off, just to be on the safe side”.
Andy was substituted, and was pleased to pull on a warm jumper over his wet shirt. He was given an ice pack to place on his shin, and sure enough, when Andy looked down, his lower leg was starting to look discoloured, even through the mud on his legs.
Highwood attacked again, and were able to force another corner. It was an excellent delivery when it came in, and even though the ball was scrambling all over the place, it finished up in the Redstoke net.
It was still 2-2 at Full time. Mr McKay had brought on two substitutes just before the end, to try and get a winner, but it had remained at 2-2. The first half of extra time was without much incident. By now, both teams looked exhausted. The rain had not let up at all. In the second half, it was all about defending by both sides. The match was finally decided in a bizarre fashion. Highwood were awarded a throw in close to their own 18 yard box. The right back threw it to his centre back, who decided to pass it back to the keeper for a clearance. However, he misjudged his kick on the boggy pitch, and hit it far too hard. The ball hit the keeper on the shin, and bounced off, finishing up behind him in the net.
Highwood were deflated, and Redstoke rejoiced when the final whistle finally shrilled. Andy’s shin was extremely painful, but he was overjoyed that Redstoke of Division One, had put out Highwood Athletic of the Championship. Bring on the third round!
