T.J. and the Winning Goal Read Online Free PDF

amazing stroke of luck the Wanderers manager had got to hear about it. Even more amazingly he had put Rob’s plan into action, and Wanderers had won the match. Now Wanderers were in the knockout stage of the Champions League and they had given Rob four tickets for every match they played, as a way of saying thank you.
    The following Wednesday night Rob, Jamie, Tulsi and TJ all squashed into Rob’s dad’s car. When they reached the ground they were astonished to see Mr Wood waiting for them. ‘I’m doing a few little jobs for the club on match days,’ grinned Mr Wood, who was wearing his smartest suit again. ‘And one of the first is to look after you lot. I thought I’d keep it a surprise.’
    Mr Wood had been a promising young footballer at Wanderers when his career had been cut short by injury, and he had decided to become a teacher. But he was also a talented football coach, and Wanderers had recently offered him a job on the coaching staff. Luckily for TJ and his friends, Mr Wood had decided to stay at Parkview School. ‘You’re going to like your seats,’ Mr Wood told them. He led them up a flight of steps and TJ saw that they were right above the directors’ box. ‘Look!’ said TJ. ‘Isn’t that . . . ?’
    ‘It’s the England manager,’ breathed Rob.
    ‘He’s sitting three seats along from you,’ said Mr Wood. ‘Maybe you can give him some advice about tactics, Rob.’
    ‘Well . . .’ began Rob.
    ‘I’m joking,’ said Mr Wood quickly. ‘These are your seats. And Phil here will sit with you. I’ve got other things I need to do. Have fun.’
    They all knew Phil. He was a coach from the Wanderers Academy who had been to watch several of their matches. ‘Any thoughts about tonight’s game, Rob?’ he asked, laughing, as they took their seats.
    ‘I just hope we win,’ Rob said. All around them people rose to their feet and applauded , as the teams walked out onto the field and the Champions League anthem rang out around the ground. Rob turned to Tulsi next to him. ‘You should watch Dwight Fanshawe,’ he said. ‘It’s what I do sometimes. I just follow one player and do all their stats. Runs off the ball, passes received, passes made – all that stuff. It’s really interesting.’
    TJ, sitting the other side of Tulsi, waited for her to snap Rob’s head off. She’d been very quiet on the journey to the ground.
    ‘You watch him if you like,’ she said. ‘I’m not interested in stats, Rob. I came here for the football. I like Paco Sanchez and Marshall Jones. And there’s great players in the Roma team too.’
    ‘I just thought . . .’
    ‘I know what you’re trying to do, Rob,’ said Tulsi. ‘And it won’t work, OK?’
    The match kicked off, and Wanderers went straight on to the attack. They had a 1–0 lead from the first leg in Rome, and it looked as if they were determined to score more goals. TJ decided to do what Rob had suggested, and he followed every move that Fanshawe made. It was a completely new way of watching a football match. When Roma had the ball Fanshawe retreated, harassing the Roma midfield players and making them pass more quickly, forcing them into mistakes. Then, whenever Wanderers regained possession, he began to move forward – and TJ could see that his movement always had a purpose.
    A Wanderers defender won the ball and was quickly put under pressure by two Roma forwards, but he looked up and saw Fanshawe on the move and hit a long, high clearance. Fanshawe took the ball on his chest and shielded it from the defender who was marking him, then laid it neatly back to Paco Sanchez.
    Sanchez played a pass to the other side of the field, but TJ kept watching Fanshawe. He moved forward towards the penalty area and the defender followed him closely. Just for a second the defender looked over to the left wing, where Marshall Jones was dribbling past a defender. Fanshawe checked his run and drifted away to his right. As Marshall’s cross curled