Chapter 5: Chapter 5

“Sure they will!” said Marissa excitedly with full of confidence.

The college scout from Manchester University was present in the stands with everyone aware of his presence.

“And it looks like Aberdeen High will kick off first Ladies and Gentlemen! Their goalkeeper Shane Foster who starts ahead of their injured keeper Marcus, will be sure to have his hands full tonight after having to defend for his team between the sticks for tonight’s match!” said the commentator just as kick-off was about to begin.

Kick-off had started, and Shane did not dare let his eyes off the ball for even a split-second as he observed through-out where the ball was going and where it went.

The match started slowly with Aberdeen High maintaining secure possession against Riverside High.

The tempo of the game was slow initially, with the Riverside High players deciding not to charge towards goal immediately.

“I wonder why they’re not coming forward!” said Oliver to his teammates as they were passing to each other within their own-half, hoping the Riverside High players would come forward so they would go on the counter-attack instead.

“Beats me!” said the right-back of Aberdeen High Shawn Shawcross.

Aberdeen High was continuing to pass within their own-half to each other.

“They’re not going forward…this is boring!” wailed Marissa impatiently.

“Just wait and see, something will happen!” said Sam consoling.

Sam was right, for only a few minutes later, the deadlock was broken, but not in Aberdeen High’s favor!

A few minutes later, the Riverside High captain Peter Crown had taken the ball from Jerome Castle and charged forward with his teammates towards goal. They were patiently letting Aberdeen High tire themselves out so they could go on a sneak attack of their own! When Aberdeen High least suspected it, Riverside High had charged forward and gone into an attack.

After Peter had stolen the ball from Shawn, he quickly made his way forward with his teammates right beside him. They passed to each other, playing quick one-touch football. After making their way into the box, their striker Sergio Munez had sent a cross towards Peter Crown. Peter was left entirely unmarked after his team had gone for a surprise attack. Peter after having ample space near him, unleashed a powerful header that went rocketing into the bottom-right corner leaving Shane helpless to try and stop it, only for him to watch it going into his bottom-right corner as he couldn’t reach for the ball in time after trying to dive and clear it.

“Way to go team!” said Peter, high-fiving his teammates after grabbing the ball from the back of the net after having just scored.

The supporters of Riverside High were ecstatic as they cheered their High School to a ferocious level.

Their cheerleaders were also continuously cheering them on.

“And the score is one-nil to Riverside High’s favor folks with Riverside High having gone into a fast sneak attack of their own having completely taken the Aberdeen High team by surprise! Peter Crown unleashes a powerful header that goes rocketing into the bottom-right corner leaving Shane Foster helpless to try and save that one! The score is one-nil to Riverside High folks!” said the commentator after the ball had just gone into the back of the net.

“Aww man!” said Shane disappointed after he had just let this one go in.

“No sweat, bro! We’ll get them!” said Oliver comforting Shane.

“Oh man Shane!” said Kevin looking on from the substitute bench.

“Oh no!” said Marissa as she looked on in horror and shock as to what had just happened.

“I told you it would be difficult! Let’s just hope these guys can progress to the next round!” said Sam reminding.

“Hmpf! You’d be more concerned if Kevin were on the pitch!” said Marissa, aggravated by Sam’s lack of sympathy for their team.

“Oh, boy!” wailed Sam.

Afterward, Aberdeen High was struggling to get themselves back in this one as it seemed that just after scoring, Riverside High had gained the confidence they needed to dominate the game in their favor completely.

“And Aberdeen High just cannot seem to get themselves back in this one folk!” said the commentator noticing.

Oliver was struggling on the pitch with his teammates as they couldn’t get the ball from Riverside High in an attempt to counter-attack.

“Our team’s not playing so well!” observed Sam.

“Hey, I know just the thing!” said Marissa as she suddenly had an idea.

“What?” asked Sam

“Let’s give Aberdeen High a special cheer to cheer them into equalizing!” answered Marissa explaining.

“That does sound like a good idea!” agreed Sam.

So Marissa led the special cheer for Aberdeen High.

“Give me a G

Give me an O

Give me an A

Give me a B

Give me an E

Give me an R

Give me a D

Give me an E

Give me another E

Give me an N

If no one can do it, you can! GO Aberdeen High!” said Marissa leading the cheer for her cheerleading team.

“And it looks like these ladies firmly believe their team can equalize. The way they’re cheering them on, they sure do believe in their team!” said the commentator taking notice of their special cheer.

“We can’t let those girls down now!” said Oliver, who felt mainly responsible for his team’s performance.

He got his teammates behind him as they all marched forward to try and steal the ball from Riverside High.

But just as they had moved forward, Riverside High with the ball beneath their feet charged in the opposite direction with them heading towards the Aberdeen High goal! They played quick one-touch football and dribbled past the Aberdeen High defense. Their left-back Mario Gonzalez led a through-ball, which was found by Peter Crown. Peter charged forward with the ball and in a one on one situation with Shane managed to shoot from close-range. He pulled a powerful shot, but Shane was there to quickly save the chance with his hands sending it for a corner-kick.

“And Shane Foster saves his team from having conceded another goal, ladies and gentlemen! He had big gloves to fill in the absence of their usual first-choice goalkeeper Marcus, but Shane Foster manages to fill them by saving that crucial shot to keep Aberdeen High trailing by one-nil. This one truly is a thrilling encounter!” said the commentator watching from the stands.

“Way to go, Shane!” said Kevin looking on.

“Yay, Shane did it, he saved for Aberdeen High!” said Marissa overjoyed.

“That was impressive and to have done it with so much pressure on his shoulders!” admitted Sam.

“Good job, bro!” said Oliver patting Shane on the back after coming behind to try and defend the corner.

“Thanks!” said Shane, not relaxing and keeping focused as they tried to save the corner.

As soon as the corner-kick was taken, it came rising high. Fortunately for Shane, he managed to clear the ball away in the air with his fists. The ball went back to Mario Gonzalez, who fancied a shot for himself from outside the box. Mario struck a powerful shot through all the bodies that stood in front of him in the box. The ball managed to be heading straight for goal, but Shane quickly dove subsequently catching the ball. As soon as catching the ball, he quickly got back to his feet and threw the ball to Oliver’s way, who had Jerome Castle and Benjamin Cross by his side. They teed up together to charge forward towards the Riverside goal. As soon as having made their way inside the box, Oliver, who was in the middle, charged further forward, bringing the Riverside High goalkeeper towards him as he tried to take the ball from Oliver.

Oliver, as soon as realizing the goalie had come far enough ahead, quickly passed left to Benjamin, who shot towards an empty goal. The score was all square at one-all with Aberdeen High having equalized.

The Aberdeen High players congratulated each other for their excellent performance.

“Yesss!” said Shane relieved as he watched from his goal.

“Way to go team!” thought Kevin after watching Aberdeen High equalize.

“And it looks like the score is all square now folks with Aberdeen High just having scored an emphatic equalizing goal! Their goalie Shane Foster quickly threw the ball to their captain Oliver Peabody who teed up with his teammates and cleverly passed the ball to his teammate Benjamin Cross after realizing the Riverside High Keeper Joe Cross had come far enough ahead! Truly a remarkable team performance and a well deserved, well-taken goal!” said the commentator who was excitedly watching this match.

“Yay, our team equalized, and Shane was a part of it! And our cheering worked!” said Marissa feeling triumphant after her team had equalized.

“Looks like our special cheer helped motivate the team, and the hard work put in by Shane and the rest of the team seemed to have done the trick!” said Sam looking on.

The match’s tempo slowed down after that as Aberdeen High maintained possession, and Riverside High did not further attack or even made an attempt to further attack as they chose to rest themselves and run down the clock for half-time. Aberdeen High players had kept possession with them and did not dare lose it. They, too, decided to attack for goal in the second half.

The referee blew his whistle for half-time, and both teams headed into the dressing rooms at the interval with the score all square as both teams needed to score at least one goal and not concede one more to progress to the semi-final stage of this competition.

“And the referee blows his whistle for half-time folks! Both sides have worked hard and deserve credit for their efforts. Both sides will be heading to the dressing rooms hoping to implement a strategy to score a goal in the second half. Till then, it’s one-all!” said the commentator drawing the match to the half-time interval.

As the players from both teams were making their way to the tunnel, they were met with immense cheer and support from their supporters.

“Well, it’s one-all, looks like we’ll have to cheer even harder in the second half!” said Marissa determined.

“Oh, boy! And she’ll make us do it as well!” said Sam, who looked on at Marissa with the rest of the cheerleading squad in wonder as to how much energy she was able to conjure within herself.

“Phew! At least we’re still in this!” said Shane meeting up with Kevin. He was feeling nervous after how he saw Riverside High play.

“Don’t sweat it, bro, I saw you out there, and you were great!” said Kevin consoling Shane trying to ease his burden.

“You’ve got to understand… I’m not an outfield player, I have to remain on my guard the entire match, and if I make even the slightest mistake, then my entire team suffers because of me!” said Shane explaining why he was feeling so much pressure and nervousness.

“Dude! What are you talking about? Except for that goal you let in, you were playing well for the rest of the match!”

“That’s because I remained alert throughout to make sure I wouldn’t concede or be caught in a state of absent-mindedness!” explained Shane.

“I know for a fact that you should chill in this half-time break because you deserve it! And ease up on yourself, you are giving it. You’re all out there!” comforted Kevin.

“I wish it were that simple!” said Shane as they headed into their dressing room for half-time.

In the dressing room, everyone was busy drinking water and other fluids like juices.

“They're very unpredictable…they surprise us when we least expect it. It’s crucial not to let our guard down for even one second!” said Oliver warning his teammates.

“Oliver’s right! We do have to be at our very best if we want to stand any chance of beating them!” said Benjamin Cross, siding with Oliver.

“Let’s go out there and show them why we came this far!” said Oliver raising his tone, rallying his teammates to go out there like warriors and perform as a warrior should once the half-time interval was over.

“Oh, boy!” thought Shane as he knew what was at stake and the responsibility which he was shouldering on himself.

As soon as the half-time interval was over, both teams made their way on the pitch, looking focused, hoping to give it their all and progress to the next round.

“Don’t feel so much pressure, just relax and enjoy yourself out there!” said Kevin advising Shane to reduce the pressure.

“I’ll try!” murmured Shane nervously.

“I hope our team has an easier run in the second half!” said Marissa wishfully thinking as she saw Aberdeen High stepping onto the pitch.

“I hope so, too!” said Sam.

“Both teams have made their way on the pitch for the second period of this game folks, with the score tied at one-all! It should be a thrilling encounter this second-half!” said the commentator as kick-off was just about to begin.

As soon as kick-off had begun, Riverside High had sprung into the attack and charged towards the Aberdeen High goal. They dribbled past the defense and passed the ball to their captain Peter Crown who fancied a shot at goal for himself. He shot a powerful strike from thirty yards out to test Shane. Fortunately for Shane, he managed to parry the ball away with his fists, sending it for a corner.

“And Shane Foster makes another wonderful save Ladies and Gentlemen, this time so early in the second half!” said the commentator from the stands above.

“Yay! Shane made a terrific save!” said Marissa giddily.

“Yeah, but now he’s got to save from the corner!” reminded Sam.

“Guys, over here, no down here….a little more to the right!” said Shane instructing his team as to how he wanted them to spread out and save during the corner.

The corner kick was taken quickly with two players from Riverside High passing to each other and sending a low cross to Peter Crown. Peter volleyed the shot goalwards, making Shane active again as he dove back to parry the ball away.

This time the corner kick by Riverside High was struck high and into the middle of the box. Oliver Peabody jumped high and made the clearance for his team. Shawn Shawcross got hold of the ball from outside of the box and unleashed a powerful shot straight for the roof of the net. Shane had to jump and save this one with everything he had in him. The ball was sent for yet another corner.

“And it looks like Shane Foster is being kept busy here tonight! He pulls one stunning save after another for his team! He really is turning into the star of the show for tonight’s game!” said the commentator acknowledging Shane’s brilliant performance.

“Way to go, Shane! I knew you’d be awesome!” said Kevin proudly looking on, clenching his fists.

“Woo hoo….Shane’s playing awesomely!” said Marissa thrilled watching Shane make a save after save.

“Yeah, he is doing a great job!” acknowledged Sam.

“Way to go, bro!” said Oliver as he and Benjamin Cross gave Shane high-fives.

The corner was taken, and this time the ball was caught by Shane in mid-air, and he sent it towards his outfield players to quickly counter-attack with.

“Phew! So far, so good!” thought Shane, who was feeling grateful for his alert performances so far.

The Aberdeen High attack did well to test the Riverside High defense after that, but they just couldn’t beat the Riverside High goalkeeper Joe Cross who continued to make one excellent save after another to deny Aberdeen High from taking the lead. Oliver, Benjamin, and the rest of the team were doing their very best to make it two-one in their favor but were unsuccessfully kept out by Joe Cross’s excellent display in front of the goal.

“And it looks like Joe Cross like his counterpart Shane Foster on the other side of the field is performing marvelously for his team here, ladies and gentlemen. Both keepers tonight deserve recognition for their alert and hard work on the pitch tonight!” said the commentator, who was remarking Joe’s exceptional performance.

“Wow, that goalkeeper Joe Cross is performing just as well as Shane is!” noticed Marissa looking on.

“Yeah, he’s done everything he can for his team as well!” said Sam in agreement.

After a few more strings of excellent saves by Joe Cross, the tempo of the match slowed down with Riverside High getting possession of the ball and choosing to pass the ball within their defense. They slowed down the pace of the game this way.

Both teams weren’t going into attack as they had been left exhausted due to the constant running and exertion they carried out. Riverside High chose to pass the ball within their half of the field with Aberdeen High allowing them to continue doing so.

It was the seventy-fifth minute of the match, and things stayed the way they were with Riverside High continuing to pass to each other within their half and Aberdeen High allowing them to do so.

The supporters were getting restless and shouted from their seats for their High School teams to go forward and make things a little more interesting.

“Well folks, things have slowed down here in this match with neither side going forward to try and score the winning goal. It looks like these kids here are wanting to rest more than going forward and try to win this one!” said the commentator remarking on the situation at hand.

“I wish they’d pick up the pace a little bit, I’m getting bored!” said Marissa wailing impatiently.

“Me too, I wish things were to get a little more exciting!” agreed Sam.

But it was only three minutes later that in the seventy-eighth minute that things grew very exciting for everyone present in the stadium.

Peter Crown suddenly gave a signal to his teammates and, in a surprise attempt, charged forward with the ball finding his teammates to both his sides. They charged forward with him and caught Aberdeen High off guard who was not expecting a surprise march ahead towards goal considering the previous tempo of the game.

Peter Crown played fast one-touch football with his teammates who raced forward. They eventually made it to the penalty area where Sergio Munez passed to Peter Crown. Shane had come forward trying to snatch the ball from Peter. Peter, as soon as realizing that Shane had come far ahead enough, passed to his right from where Sergio Munez had initially given him the pass. All Sergio had to do after that was pass the ball into an empty goal, and he subsequently made it two-one to Riverside High’s favor!

“Oh no!” said Shane after watching the ball go into the back of the net.

The supporters of Riverside High were ecstatic after that and cheered their team on with everything they had in them.

“And Riverside High make it two-one ladies and gentlemen! After slowing down the game, they have sneakily charged forward and struck for the goal! They caught Aberdeen High off guard, and the partnership between Peter Crown and Sergio Munez is phenomenal! They each have a goal and an assist to their names in this match! Both of them deserve the man of the match accolade for this one!” said the commentator remarking from the stands above.

“No, no, no, no!” said Marissa in disbelief as to what had just happened.

“How could something like this happen! How could Shane concede like this…how could we concede like this!! How?”

“Because we let our guard down, that’s why! They’re very unpredictable, you know!” answered Sam.

“Oh man Shane!” said Kevin as he looked on.

The college scout from Manchester University looked on impressed at the performances of the Riverside High team.

“Sigh, you did your best, and we let our guard down; we’ll do our level best to score and equalize let me assure you that!” said Oliver earnestly, picking up Shane from the patch of grass where he was sitting after having just conceded.

“Please do!” said Shane in a calm, low voice.

“Hey, I know!” blurted Marissa having an idea.

“What?” asked Sam as she and her fellow cheerleaders behind her were curious as to what plan Marissa suddenly had.

“Let’s give Aberdeen High a special cheer as we did before in the first half!” said Marissa thinking positively.

“Okay, whatever you say!” said Sam agreeing to her friend’s plan.

So Marissa led the cheer for her team.

“Give me a G

Give me an O

Give me an A

Give me a B

Give me an E

Give me an R

Give me a D

Give me an E

Give me another E

Give me an N

If no one can do it, you can Aberdeen High! GO Aberdeen High!” said Marissa leading the cheer for her cheerleading squad.

“And it looks like these girls have not given up on their team just yet! Even this late in the game, they think their team can get right back in this one!” said the commentator taking notice of their efforts to do everything they could to get the boys football team to equalize.

“Wow, Marissa does believe in us, it would be such a shame if we were to disappoint her and the rest of the cheerleading team! Come on, guys, just equalize!” thought Shane, desperately.

Benjamin, Jerome, Oliver, and the rest of the team looked on and thought, “We just can’t disappoint them!”

They played with renewed vigor and determination after that doing everything they could to go into the attack and play more aggressively. However, after their second goal of the evening, Riverside High was brimming with confidence and kept on going towards the Aberdeen High goal to extend their lead to three-one!

Their team kept on striking forward, some from outside the box, some from inside the penalty area and some from the edge of the box. Shane, having continuously kept himself alert, pulled off some remarkable saves that tested his reflexes. He made a total of five saves in that short time! Giving Riverside High five corners in the process and saving from every single one of them! He was performing at another level for his team, who needed him most at that time!

“And the Aberdeen High keeper Shane Foster seems to be giving it his all here tonight, ladies and gentlemen! He’s proving to be the heart of his team tonight after making one fantastical save after another! Goodness Gracious Me, where would his team be here tonight without him!” said the commentator remarking on Shane’s impressive performance that evening!

The Aberdeen High supporters were showing their support to Shane by always cheering “Good Keeper” towards him.

“Way to go, Shane!” said Kevin proudly, observing from his seat.

“Shane’s playing excellently!” said Marissa thrilled with joy.

“Yeah, but Aberdeen High’s not equalizing either!” said Sam, who wasn’t getting carried away with the positive defensive displays at hand.

“They will! I just hope they will!” said Marissa, hopeful as she watched on.

The corner kick was struck high, but Shane rose and caught it with his hands.

“Guys run forward already!” he screamed, throwing the ball to the feet of Benjamin Cross, who charged forward with the ball.

The Aberdeen High team desperately gave it all they had within them in the dying moments of the game. They just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net, no matter how hard they tried.

An official had confirmed from the switchboard that there would be four minutes of time added on in stoppage time.

“Aww man, there goes my scholarship!” thought Shane helplessly as he looked on at the clock in front of him.

Suddenly Oliver Peabody charged forward with a through ball sent towards him from Benjamin Cross. Oliver struck a powerful shot that Sergio Munez managed to deflect after the ball came his way. The result was a corner kick from the right-hand side of the post for Aberdeen High. It was being taken in the ninety-third minute for Aberdeen High.

Oliver suddenly realized while calling his entire team forward for the corner kick, “Shane’s been practicing corner kicks as well! I should bring him forward too. After all, what do we have to lose now!”

“Shane get here right now!” instructed Oliver as he waved his hand, calling him to try and score from the corner kick as well.

“What’s this? It looks like Oliver Peabody captain of Aberdeen High has signaled for their keeper Shane Foster to come forward and score from the corner kick! After the sensational night, he’s had, what a story it would be if he were to equalize for his team and send the match to extra time!” remarked the commentator as Shane hurried up the field for the corner.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Shane’s going for the corner kick! How wonderful it would be if he were to score from this one!” said Marissa in thrill and excitement with the spectacle at hand.

“I just hope things don’t go from bad to worse for Aberdeen High!” said Sam hopeful after the Aberdeen High goal was left exposed due to no one being there anymore.

“You worry way too much!” snapped Marissa, who was getting behind Shane for this dramatic final moment of the game.

“Dude, whatever you do, keep your nerves and feel no pressure, and just don’t screw this up!” thought Kevin, who looked on concerned for his friend.

The entire stadium had their eyes on Shane, whom they saw a race to the Riverside High goal.

“Oh man, everything’s at stake here, my scholarship, my life, someone up there, please help me!” thought Shane nervously as he assembled himself with his teammates in the box to try and score from the corner.

It was ninety-three and a half minutes when the corner was to be struck. The entire stadium and all the supporters silenced themselves to see how this would end up.

As fate would have it, the corner was struck high by Benjamin, and the players from both sides were pushing and shoving each other to get the ball and the moment of glory from this match.

Before having taken the corner, Benjamin cleverly saw that Shane was unmarked because no Riverside High player thought that He of all people could ever possibly score! Benjamin skillfully and tactfully launched the ball high and into the path of Shane, who saw the ball coming precisely towards him.

“Oh man, this is it!” he thought nervously taking a deep breath, then with everything he had in him, quickly launched himself up and hit a powerful header that went into the bottom left corner leaving Joe Cross helpless but only to see that one go into the back of the net! The score was two-all in the dying seconds of the game, and Shane Foster had just leveled matters for his team!

After that moment, Shane couldn’t believe where he was or what he had done after the sea of teammates that surrounded him and congratulated him after that spectacular achievement!

“Unbelievable, folks! Shane Foster has leveled matters for his team! One of the most spectacular moments from this entire Inter-State High School Tournament folks! Truly this will be a moment and an evening that Shane Foster will never, ever forget in his life!” screamed the commentator in thrill and excitement after witnessing that extra special moment in the match.

The supporters of Aberdeen High were thrilled and in a world of their own as they just couldn’t believe what their eyes had just witnessed. They equalized in the closing moments of the game, and their goalkeeper did it for them of all people! They were pleasantly surprised, to say the very least!

The college scout got up from his seat astonished and was impressed by Shane after that.

“Yesss, yessss, Shane equalizes, he does, he does! I knew he would!” shouted Marissa in joy and excitement after she couldn’t believe her eyes as to what she had just witnessed.