On the Spot Read Online Free

you possibly can. There’s nothing wrong with passing backwards if it means we keep the ball. It may sound obvious, but if they haven’t got the ball, they can’t score. So, good luck. But I hope you won’t need it. After all, we’re a stronger team.”
    Keira added her own quick words of encouragement, and then spent an extra minute talking to Marek. He looked different in the goalie’s kit, uncomfortable in some ways, but he certainly had the build to fill the multi-coloured shirt.
    It’s Charlton versus Stiles here today, and the big news is that the Polish striker, Marek Dvorski, is playing in goal for Charlton. Charlton will play one up front today, and four in defence instead of their customary three. They’ll be trying to stifle Stiles’ creative players with a 4–5–1 formation, and
looking to give Dvorski as little work to do as possible. Perotti is going to have a tough time of it as a lone striker, so Jones and Sanders will need to support him as much as they can.
    The whistle blows, and Stiles kick off. The Charlton midfield gets to work straight away, trying to break up any attempt to play the ball forward. Stiles find a way up the pitch, though, and take a long shot at goal. It’s on target but tame, and Dvorski collects it with relative ease. He’s passed the first test, but he’ll have a lot more to worry about as the game goes on.
    â€œWell done, Marek. Keep it up,” said Roddy as he got within earshot of the keeper. Marek raised a glove in acknowledgement, then returned to watching the ball intently. If he did let in any goals today, it wouldn’t be from lack of concentration.
    Charlton have the ball now, but it seems that they’re more worried about keeping possession than scoring a goal themselves. Sanders, Jones and Mbeki are playing neat triangles in the middle of the pitch, just letting the clock tick. The Nagel twins are on the wings, looking for an opportunity to break… and now it looks like they’ve found one! Jones launches a long pass up the left-hand side, and Eboni Nagel gives chase. She reaches the ball a split second before the Stiles full-back, and hits a cross into the box without having time to aim properly. The ball flies over Perotti’s head and is easily cleared by the centre back. Dvorski would have got to that cross, but Charlton will just have to learn to cope without his size up front.
    The loose ball is picked up by Carr in midfield, and the Stiles captain lopes forward into the Charlton half. He passes the ball
away but is immediately calling for the return pass. He gets it, and unleashes a piledriver from outside the area. Dvorski gets behind the ball, but spills it into the path of the Stiles striker, who slots it home. 1–0 to Stiles, and Dvorski won’t want to dwell on that mistake. A more experienced keeper might have pushed it clear. Carr is celebrating right in the face of the Charlton keeper, and the ref’s not too pleased. He takes Carr to one side, then shows him a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
    Jack trudged back to the halfway line, grumbling to himself as he walked. Roddy was glad to see him carded, but they were still a goal down. Sam was behind the goalposts, quickly giving Marek a bit more advice, but half-time was approaching. If they could keep the Stiles lead to one goal, they’d still have a chance in the second half.
    Stiles have a free kick in a dangerous area, and you’d put money on them shooting from there. Dvorski arranges his defensive wall, then crouches in anticipation.
    Roddy could see the concentration on Marek’s face. Matt Barker, the Stiles player taking the free kick, began his run-up, and Roddy crossed his fingers.
    It’s a scorching shot from Barker, but Dvorski makes a great save! He got down well to his left and held on to the ball.
    Roddy grinned widely as the whistle blew. He joined Jimmy and Marek as they came off the field