Easy As Falling Off a Bike pt 3121

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 3121
by Angharad

Copyright© 2017 Angharad

  
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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.

The teams were led out to much cheering, although the crowd was only a fraction of what it would be for a men’s match. Those who weren’t here didn’t know what they were missing.

The teams were led out and I spotted Danielle at once, she wasn’t quite the smallest but nearly. My heart got stuck in my throat and I felt so proud of her. The girls were screaming to her and she looked up and waved at us, though I wasn’t sure she’d have actually seen us as the adrenaline would have been flowing.

Goodness, the Russian women seemed so big compared to some of ours, I almost shouted to check to see if they were really men, then realised my folly. Except I no longer thought of Danni as anything but a girl or young woman. The anthems were played and dignitaries introduced to both teams then as the pitch was cleared of all but the players and officials both teams removed their tracksuit tops and we saw she’d been picked to start, number 7, Cameron. I felt my eyes start to well up and it took lots of control to avoid the diluvium happening.

Russia kicked off and the teams spread about the pitch the ball being passed to and fro, changing sides after tackles or missed passes with touch throws and nothing much happening in terms of attacks on goal. It settled down and most of the pressure seemed to come from Russia as they attacked down the flanks and then the centre of the field but the English defence held out, the shot was well wide and the goal keeper threw the ball out to our Danni, who as it was almost her first touch, tried to do her best with it. Racing down the right wing, she slipped the ball past two defenders and curled it low across the goal mouth, the England number nine was pushed off the ball and just missed contact right in front of the goal. We all sighed in disappointment.

When a repeat happened, Danielle flying up the wing again, we all yelled in protest as she was flattened by one of the large Russian fullbacks. The whistle was blown and the referee and the physio went to tend to her, she was still lying on the grass not moving. Then she bent her leg and they sat her up some cold water round her neck and she got up. She spoke with the captain Susie Wickham and elected to take the kick, a direct free kick. To my eyes she still seemed a bit wobbly but I knew she’d stay on if she could. The wall formed ten metres away and twice the referee had to move them back. I was sending healing to Danni the whole time, so was Trish, I noticed.

She ran up to take the kick and I have never seen anything like it, it swerved in one direction and then cut back across in the other before dropping into the corner of the goal. England one, Russia nil. She was congratulated by the rest of her team and they went back for the restart.

If the Russians had attacked before, then that was like a tea party as they spent the rest of the first half under total siege, when just moments before half time an English defender booted the ball upfield away from danger and waiting on the halfway line was our heroine. She must have noticed that the Russian goalie was well off her line and as the ball thumped in front of Danni, she whacked it up towards the Russian goal where it bounced, went over the head of the goal keeper and took the score line up to two nil. The girls were dancing about on the veranda and even Henry and Simon hugged each other.

The referee blew her whistle for half time and the two teams trotted off the field. I felt so proud of my little girl. Henry hadn’t seen her play for some little while and was most impressed. Then he looked a little circumspect and said quietly to Simon, “I told her I’d give her a hundred for every goal she scored.” Simon absolutely roared with laughter, shouting for her to score a few more.

I drank a cup of tea to calm my nerves and Simon and Henry had something a bit stronger. The girls were so excited that Trish and Livvie had to run off twice to the toilet during the half. I went after my tea and settled down for another forty five minutes of total stress. The girls had draped their Union Jack banner with ‘Cameron’ written on it in duct tape cut to shape and stuck on it. When they spotted they were on the big screen above the tunnel, they danced and shouted even more shaking the flag.

The second half got underway and now Danielle had shown how dangerous she was, wherever she went in the Russian half she was marked by two huge women who towered over her. So they could block her and stop her heading the ball but being smaller, she was quicker and more agile and turned past them twice before they flattened her again. She limped about for a few minutes and didn’t take the place kick, this time the score remained the same.

Mid way through the half, in one of the few England attacks the ball flew across the Russian goal and was headed away by a defender, when I saw her turn and knew what was coming next—it would be glorious or a disaster. Trish gasped and shouted ‘bicycle’, we thought the same.

It’s probably the hardest way to score a goal in soccer, the overhead bicycle kick. Facing away from the goal, the ball bounced in front of her and the next instant she flung her legs and feet in the air and kicked the ball over her head towards the goal, everyone gasped--this after all is women’s soccer—then the roar told her the ball had crossed the goal line. Danielle Cameron three, Russia nil.

With twenty minutes to go, one of the Russians played her off the ball. The way she went down showed she was out for the count before she hit the deck, the offender’s elbow catching her in the face. The flag went up, the linesman and referee conferred and the Russian team were down to ten players as the red card was produced.

Danni was still receiving treatment and although they managed to get her standing, she was very wobbly and taken off, walking across the pitch in a sort of daze. I lost interest after that, I just wanted to see my daughter even though I knew she’d be in very capable hands. She’d gone off to a standing ovation though I’m not sure she’d have noticed.

I sat fretting until after the end of the match. Russia had scored a consolation goal but England won through the genius of my daughter and all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms and take away any hurt she had.

Henry used his influence and we were told we could go and see her soon. Normally my days fly by, today it dragged so slowly.

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Comments

It pays to increase your word power

persephone's picture

Trust Ang to deliver a stunningly good episode whilst increasing our vocabulary.

Diluvium - inundation or flood.

Wonderful as always, and worth staying up late for. Thank you.

Persephone

Non sum qualis eram

i'll

Maddy Bell's picture

'ave to get wun of then dickshunairees wun of thees dayz!


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Madeline Anafrid Bell

Roy of the Rovers stuff-

but still a thumping good read!

Still lovin' it and I found out the answer to my question. Dhoh! Sometimes I can be thick!

xx
Bev

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And then there are people who

And then there are people who claim that Football (Soccer to us Colonials) and Basketball are not contact sports. Yeah, Right.. Tell that to Danni and her mum.

Suprised...

...they sent her out the second half. After getting badly rattled, nearly crushed by the large defenders, it was not very nice for the coach to keep a small girl her age in the whole game. Especially after scoring two goals, she deserved an honored role as heroine on the bench, not to stay in as raw meat for the defender goons.

Great sports description.

Great sports description. Agharad makes you feel you are there.
Janice, who says basketball isn't a contact sport, more blood spilled than hockey.

Karen