Football Spirit, page 10
As the Detective left, she stopped in the doorway and turned back. ‘And by the way,’ she started. ‘Apologies for the interruption. And the very best of luck to you in the rest of your match.’
The referee arrived just as she was leaving, telling the teams it was time to get back out on the field.
The shocked Ballsbridge players trudged back out with their manager desperately trying to reorganise the team formation and selecting which two substitutes to bring on to fill the gaps.
‘Thank you, Eoin,’ said the Detective when they met up outside. ‘I’ll need you to come back up to the station shortly to give us a full statement – and get your friends to come along too.’
She paused as a roar went up in the stadium behind her. ‘But for now, young man, you need to get back upstairs and cheer on your team.’
Chapter 42
Eoin rejoined his pals just as Bohs won a corner at the Anglesea Road end. He quickly filled them in on what happened downstairs.
‘So they’re now missing their two toughest defenders,’ chuckled Alan as the ball sailed into the goalmouth.
‘Yeah, they look like they’re in a bit of a mess,’ Eoin replied.
The Rangers keeper punched the ball clear and the ball was hacked upfield.
Eoin spotted Detective Sweeney had returned to the arena and was making her way on to the touchline. She approached the Bohemians bench and said something to the manager, shook his hand, and left once again.
‘I bet you we’ll see Seb warming up very soon,’ he told his pals.
And sure enough, within seconds the young Bohs striker was taking off his tracksuit and getting ready to take the field.
When the stadium announcer called out his name, the black-and-red-wearing members of the crowd erupted in delight. Joyce ran on to the field and took up his position at the front of the attack.
‘Go on, Seb, let’s see what you can do,’ shouted Alan, much to the embarrassment of his companions.
Maybe it was Alan’s shout of encouragement, or maybe it was the forty-five minutes he had spent kicking his heels, but Joyce was playing with even more energy and commitment.
And when the ball next came to him in space, two metres outside the penalty area, he looked up briefly to check the goalkeeper’s position and curled the ball over and around him and into the net.
The roar could have been heard on the other side of the city as Joyce stood and waited for his team-mates to swamp him.
‘That was a fine goal,’ nodded Mr Finn. ‘I once saw a lad called Liam Whelan score a goal like that when I was very, very young.’
His three young companions stared at him: ‘Really? You saw Liam Whelan play?’ asked Alan.
Mr Finn nodded and urged them to watch the play as Bohemians were on the attack once more.
Bohs tiny winger was racing down the wing in front of where the boys were seated. As he reached the corner he swung his boot and lifted the ball into the penalty area. The cross was met by the Rangers tall central defender, but he only succeeded in heading it out to Bohs midfielder Samuel Kealy Farren who let fly with a fierce volley, which went in off the post.
The four boys jumped out of their seats and hugged each other – at least until Dylan remembered that he was still a Limerick supporter.
‘This is a rout,’ said Mr Finn. ‘Ballsbridge almost seem to have given up.’
‘I think they’re just a bit shocked about what happened down below,’ said Eoin.
‘And so they should be,’ said Alan. ‘I’d say the league might even relegate them for this.’
Seb scored another and Bohs eventually ran out winners by four goals to one, securing them a place in the final against their biggest rivals Shamrock Rovers.
‘We’ll have to see about getting tickets for that,’ said Mr Finn. ‘They usually have it in Lansdowne Road but since Eoin wrecked that ground they’ll have to find somewhere else. Maybe Bohs will give you some free tickets after you saved their star player.’
Chapter 43
The newspaper front pages were full of the story of the foiled plot, but Eoin was happy that no one reported on his role in the affair.
‘I got enough attention over the Aviva collapse,’ he told Alan next day as they went for a run around the grounds. ‘The last thing I need is Flanagan’s mates calling around to make me change my story.’
‘I think you’ve been watching too many television cop shows,’ laughed Alan.
They arrived at the Rock and took a breather.
‘Come on, Brian, show yourself,’ joked Eoin, disappointed not to see his friend at his usual spot.
‘Give me a minute, you’re very impatient,’ came a voice from behind the bushes.
Eoin grinned when Brian came into the glade.
‘I was only joking, Brian,’ he told him. ‘But it is good to see you.’
The boys told Brian about their exciting day in Ballsbridge, which the ghost listened to with ever-widening eyes.
‘This must be what Liam and his friend were talking about,’ Brian replied. ‘They’ll be delighted to hear that you were able to help.’
The trio chatted for several minutes more before Eoin checked the time.
‘We had better go Brian, we’ve got to get to training – it’s the last one before the Gillespie Cup final.’
The training session went well, but Dylan seemed in a distracted mood when they sat down to eat in the dining hall afterwards.
‘What’s bugging you, Dyl,’ asked Charlie. ‘Pre-match nerves?’
‘Yeah, a bit like that,’ sighed Dylan.
‘What’s the problem,’ asked Eoin, ‘anything we can help with?’
Dylan frowned. ‘I don’t think so, unless you know how to defy the laws of mathematics.’
Alan looked at him with a puzzled expression.
‘The problem is the team for the final,’ replied Dylan.
‘I thought it picked itself,’ said Charlie.
‘I wish you were right,’ said Dylan. ‘The last game we finished up with Charlie in goal, a back four of Alan, Paddy, Cillian and Theo, the midfield is Figo, Richie and Ferdia, with Dylan, James and Ernesto in attack. But with Eoin coming back I have a bit of a headache now because you can’t get twelve into eleven slots.’
‘What’s the problem?’ asked Eoin. ‘I haven’t played at all in this competition. It would be really unfair to drop Cillian, he hasn’t missed a training session and he’s played really well. I’m fit to play, but I’m not going to take someone else’s place who deserves it more.’
Dylan’s face brightened. ‘Ah, Eoin, are you sure? That’s really sound. You’ll be first to come on if we need a sub.’
Eoin laughed. ‘No, I’ll be first on if you need a defender or midfielder. I’m not looking for any favours.’
‘OK,’ said a relieved Dylan. ‘So then we have you, Sam, Jin Chen, Ronan and Andrew on the bench and that’s our full squad sorted. I have to email it to the FAI tonight – for the programme – and McCaffrey wants the names of the starting eleven and subs too – he says he wants to let the past pupils know who is playing.’
Chapter 44
The final was set for Wednesday afternoon and for two days before it was all the boys could talk about. The first years were busy collecting autographs of the players and the junior dorms all had Rockets posters hanging out the windows.
‘I wonder would Alan be able to do me up like a Panini sticker?’ asked Dylan, in all seriousness, over breakfast on the morning of the game.
Eoin laughed. ‘Don’t forget, this is the last game the Red Rockets will ever play,’ he told him. ‘And it’s back to rugby for me as soon as this is over.’
‘Even the senior cup lads are talking about this game,’ said Mikey.
‘This is going to be huge,’ said Dylan, ‘Did you hear the games master’s coach is already booked out? He says he’s going to have to hire a second bus.’
‘I hope Alan and a few of the others don’t get overcome by the occasion,’ said Eoin. ‘We’ve played big games, finals, interpros, internationals. But Ferdia, Alan, James, they’re all new to this sort of game. It can be a bit hard at first.’
‘Yeah, do you remember that Fr Geoghegan Cup final in our first year in Castlerock?’ asked Mikey. ‘The crowd for the Leinster game kept coming in during our match – there must have been nearly thirty thousand watching the end of our game.’
‘Yeah,’ laughed Eoin, ‘And they were all watching me taking the conversion for Shane’s try!’
‘Well that worked out well,’ replied Dylan. ‘And anyway, there won’t be any Leinster – or Bohs – fans watching this time.’
The headmaster had given the football squad the morning off lessons so they spent the time relaxing and doing some light exercises. They had lunch at noon and after it was over they collected their kit bags and met outside the front of the school.
As they waited for Mr Finn and Mr Carey to arrive with the mini-bus, Mr McCaffrey came out of his office to talk to them. In his hand he was carrying a black plastic sack.
‘Boys, I must confess I wasn’t convinced of the merits of having an association football team in Castlerock College, where rugby has been our sporting choice for more than a hundred years,’ the headmaster told them.
‘However I have seen how you brought this squad together and shaped it into a unit and have been very impressed in the way you stuck to your task. To win two games in the competition from a standing start is an excellent performance and I am happy to admit I was wrong to place obstacles in your way.
‘As a sign of how proud the school is of your achievements we would like to make a presentation to each of you.’
The headmaster lifted the black sack up onto the bench and produced a red shirt from the bag.
‘Dylan Coonan,’ he called out, and beckoned the captain to him.
‘Here is the shirt you will wear today,’ the head told him, ‘It will look a lot better than that ragtag assortment of Arsenal and Liverpool shirts. I hope it brings you luck.’
Dylan took the bright red shirt off him and held it up to his team-mates. His name was across the back, and in the middle of the chest was the crest Alan had designed. Printed across the front in large letters was the name ‘Castlerock Red Rockets.’
The boys each stepped up to receive their kit.
‘Wow,’ said Alan, as he collected his own shirt, ‘just wow.’
Once the first eleven had received their tops, Mr McCaffrey reached into the bag and lifted out five more.
‘And of course we have shirts for the substitutes,’ he said, calling them up one by one as he read their names off the back.
‘And finally we have…’ he paused, looking puzzled. ‘Madden. Eoin Madden? I thought he was injured.’
Eoin stepped forward. ‘No sir, I was out for a few weeks, but I’m back training – I wouldn’t be able to play a full game, but they might need me at some stage.’
Mr McCaffrey harrumphed. ‘Well, make sure you’re back for rugby anyway,’ he told him.
Eoin thanked him, but he was irritated by the head-master’s attitude.
‘That’s so petty,’ he told Alan, under his breath. ‘Gives with one hand and takes with the other.’
But Eoin soon forgot the slight when he joined the boys on the bus. And any fears about nerves were lost as Dylan led them all in a sing-song which won them plenty of attention when the bus stopped at traffic lights on its journey north towards Dalymount Park.
Chapter 45
They arrived at the historic venue more than ninety minutes before kick-off. The boys who hadn’t visited before were excited to be in the same dressing room as some of the greatest players of the past that they had heard their fathers talk about.
‘I wonder where Seb Joyce sits?’ wondered Alan.
The boys settled in and quickly put on their brand new shirts.
‘They spelt my name wrong,’ complained Charlie – ‘It’s Bermingham with an E, not Birmingham like the city in England.’
Dylan produced a marker pen and offered to make the necessary change but Charlie waved him away.
A knock came at the door and a man popped his head around the door. ‘Welcome to Dalymount,’ he said. ‘I’m Luke, and here’s a copy of the programme for each of you. Keep it safe, you’ll want to remember this day seventy years from now.’
He went around the squad, giving each one of the players a programme and explaining where everything was in the ground and the timings they would have to follow. ‘You can head out for a kickabout first, if you like,’ he suggested.
The boys followed Luke out of the dressing room, up the tunnel, and out onto the beautiful green pitch.
‘This is even better than one of Billy’s surfaces’ said Ferdia as he bent to touch the smooth grass.
‘You’ve no chance of going over on your ankle like in my old school,’ said Sam.
The boys did their stretches before heading off on a gently-paced lap of the pitch. Eoin spotted some of his team-mates looking up at the enormous terraces, perhaps wondering what they looked like when they were packed with supporters.
They came around the finishing straight in front of the stand and Eoin smiled as he remembered the photo hanging on the wall inside of dozens of fans standing on the roof trying to get a free view of an Ireland game against Italy. It reminded him of when they met Phil and Liam at the ground and he decided he would try to find the photo of the Manchester United team.
As soon as the warm-up was over, Eoin excused himself and went for a wander around the corridors, and quickly found the photograph he was looking for.
He gazed at the group of young men, soon to be lost in a terrible plane crash. He found ‘W. Whelan’ in the back row and tapped the glass in front of his face.
‘Hey, mind my nose,’ came a voice from over Eoin’s shoulder. He turned to find Liam grinning back at him.
‘Hi, Liam,’ replied Eoin. ‘I was hoping we might see you today. We’re playing a match here, it’s a cup final with the school team.’
‘Ah that’s wonderful,’ replied Liam. ‘I’ll let Phil know too – is his grandson playing?’
Eoin nodded, and quickly filled Liam in on the drama at the RDS.
‘Those blaggards from Ballsbridge!’ he said. ‘They were only a junior club when I was playing, but they had a bad reputation. I see nothing has changed.’
‘We’re kicking off at half-past four so I better get back to the lads,’ Eoin told him. ‘It would be great if Phil was here – Alan’s dad will be coming along too so it would great for them all to meet up.’
Eoin returned to the dressing room and sat down beside Alan, letting him know in a whisper about his encounter with Liam.
As Eoin had feared, Alan was starting to look very nervous as kick-off time got closer. He tried to distract him by talking about a film they had seen over the summer, but it didn’t work for very long.
‘So dad and grandad are here watching. No pressure so,’ he sighed.
‘But you’re wearing Phil’s socks, so you will be fine,’ replied Eoin.
Alan did relax a bit once he realised he had his lucky footwear, and by the time Dylan had a lengthy discussion about tactics it was soon time to go out to the pitch.
Luke knocked on the door again and told them the referee was waiting in the tunnel. The boys trooped out, Eoin nodding at the Ligouri boys who were also itching to get out to play.
‘Ah, it’s the “rebel soccer club”,’ said the Ligouri coach. ‘Congratulations on your great run. I always knew you had a lot of talent. Good luck today.’
Dylan thanked him and after the linesmen checked the length of their studs, they trotted out onto the field.
Chapter 46
All Eoin’s efforts to calm Alan’s nerves collapsed when they heard an enormous roar from all around the stand. Both schools had brought a large number of supporters and almost all were on their feet, stamping and chanting about how great their team was.
Eoin looked up into the VIP box and spotted Mr Finn and Mr McCaffrey clapping them. He caught Mr Finn’s eye and gave him a wave.
The team went about their pre-match routines, stretching muscles and warming up their kicking legs. Charlie threw himself about the goalmouth to give himself a feel of the football before the referee blew a long whistle and called the teams into the middle of the field.
The stadium PA crackled and Luke came on the microphone.
‘Welcome everyone to Dalymount Park for the Gillespie Cup final. Congratulations to both sides on qualifying for the final and we hope you have a memorable and enjoyable day here in the home of Irish football, no matter the result.
‘We usually have a special guest along from the FAI to meet the teams, but today we have an extra special one. Once he heard that Castlerock Red Rockets were in the final he asked could he come along and meet the teams, and could he present the trophy.
‘We couldn’t say no to one of our greatest local heroes, even if he probably won’t be here for very much longer. I’d like you to put your hands together and give a warm welcome to… Sebastian Joyce!’
The crowd gave a huge cheer. Almost everyone in the country now knew his name after hearing it many times in recent weeks discussed on TV and radio in the same breath as the great teams from Manchester, Liverpool, London and all over Europe.
Seb walked out onto the pitch, waving as the supporters cheered him all the way to the middle.
He shook hands with the Ligouri College team, and Dylan led him along the line, introducing the Red Rockets squad as he went. Eoin was at the very end of the line, and Seb perked up when he heard his name.
‘Ah, Eoin Madden,’ he said, with a large grin. ‘I certainly owe you a debt of gratitude, lad. Good luck today, and I hope we can meet up for a chat after the game.’
