Everywhere Udo turned, there he was. How did he do that?
Brockton tried on both wings to force their way into the enemy’s half. They’d had far more possession of the ball than Winterbourne.
It’s only a matter of time.
With laser focus, Udo tracked the ball.
From Shaun. To Colin. Now to Adam, who made a run up the left wing.
Udo needed to do something unexpected to throw Noah off his tail. A large gap had opened up before Adam. Udo glanced behind him. Only one lone defender waited in the penalty area.
In a split second, he feinted toward the open space then launched toward Winterbourne’s goal. Noah took the bait and ran in the first direction. Adam instantly saw what Udo intended and passed the ball beautifully.
Don’t think.
Udo looked down at the ball.
Don’t think.
Thundering steps behind him meant Noah was on his tail.
Don’t think.
In the corner of his eye, he saw Steven in the dugout. He tapped his chin furiously.
Udo raised his head and focused on the top left corner of the net. Just as Harman was on him, Udo kicked the ball with all his might. The spin he put on it sent it sailing over the goalie’s hands and into the back of the net.
All Udo heard was his heart hammering in his ears. Then the stadium erupted. Adam slammed into him. His strong arms wrapped around Udo’s body. Then Colin joined them.
Under this ever-increasing mob of men, Udo wept. He’d scored plenty of times in his career. Firsts for new clubs were always special. Never more so than today.
They broke apart.
“You did it,” Adam said, ruffling his hair. “You fucking did it.”
Udo jogged to his position. Once again he glanced over at Steven, who simply stuck his thumb up. Pride swelled in Udo’s chest.
As soon as the ball came into play once more, the referee blew his whistle for halftime. With a spring in his step, Udo retreated to the tunnel. He glanced up at the crowd. One man waved his Brockton FC scarf at him, his eyes shining with joy. A kid next to him was jumping up and down. Then another was smiling. And another.
He waved. To his joy, they returned the gesture. When it all came down to it, goals were the only important thing on this grass.
Once inside the locker room, Colin hugged him.
“That was a bloody brilliant goal,” he exclaimed.
Ewen, the other star striker at Brockton, ruffled Udo’s hair. “Nice work, Holtmann.”
One of the most handsome players in the league, he had graced many a magazine cover. Shorter than the others, he moved like lightning across the pitch. Udo had been especially looking forward to playing with him when moving to Brockton.
Once Colin released Udo, Adam stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder.
“That’s more like it,” he said with a warm smile.
Udo sat on his part of the bench. His body felt like it had gone through fifty rounds with a prizefighter. And they still had the second half to go.
He scrubbed his face with a towel. When he lowered it, Shaun stood in front of him.
“Shaun?”
