The Amazing Lebo

“We need to really show Junior Eagles what we got today,” T-Touch told Lebo. They were walking to the soccer ground. They had a game today against the team, from Section C.

“Why? Is it strong?” Lebo asked.

“Yeah, yho! Their defence especially is hard to penetrate. And the last time we played with them, they beat us 4-nil; imagine that!”

“Four-zero?” Lebo was finished with laughter.

“You think it is funny, heh?” T-Touch joined in with the laughter.

“No, I don’t think it is funny, I think it is embarrassing.”

“Well, let’s hope today luck will be on our side.”

“I hope I get to play today,” Lebo said, in a low tone, after laughing. “It’s been a month training with you, but I haven’t played.”

“Don’t stress, you will play. I have a feeling Small will embarrass us today.”

“Yeah, hey. The good thing is that it has been more than a week, and Coach hasn’t yet thrown me out. That’s a good sign, I guess.”

“Yeah, neh. Let’s hurry before we get there late, and Coach ends up benching the two of us.” T-Touch upped the paced and they walked faster.

Coach selected his starting line-up, and unfortunately, Lebo was again on the bench. Although she felt bad, she trusted Coach. He knew what he was doing. She just had to be patient.

The game got underway, and Junior Eagles quickly dominated the first 15 minutes. Small got into his silly tricks once again – but this time Junior Eagles took the ball, and executed a splendid counter-attack that resulted in a goal.

From the side-line, Lebo saw how furious this made Coach. He paced around in frustration.

At half time, Coach tongue-lashed everyone. Then he surprised the team by calling Small off, and turning to Lebo, gesturing her to go on.

Small was livid, giving Lebo a menacing look.

But Lebo was confident on the field. This was her opportunity, and she was planning on making good use of it! She handled the ball like a pro; did her job well. She created chances that resulted in much applause from Coach. She supplied T-Touch with multiple killer passes, and one resulted in him getting foul tackled by the big defender of Junior Eagles.

The referee awarded the penalty to Benny FC. Lebo wanted to take it, but Scara insisted. He missed! This angered Lebo. Exactly like Thando! she cursed inside.

Minutes later, she received the ball and was bold enough to pace with it, facing the defenders. She dribbled past one. And another. And another. She was on a roll. She pretended to pass to T-Touch, and when all defenders ran up to him, Lebo just paced in the opposite direction. Still running with it, she was all alone, unmarked. She made it inside the 18 area. She took a shot. The ball went into the net. Goal!

The crowd went crazy!

When only five minutes remained, with the match likely to end in a draw, T-Touch got fouled again by the same defender, just a few centimetres outside the 18 area. A free kick was awarded to Benny FC, and that defender got a yellow card.

Lebo gathered all her courage and asked to take it. Scara didn’t argue, as he was still embarrassed.

‘Calm down. Pick the spot. Be confident and take a shot.’ The words were the mantra she needed. She took a few steps back, and waited for the referee to give the green light.

Prrr! She ran to the ball, and instead of lobbing it over the wall of players in front of her, she blasted it below and to the side of them. The goalkeeper didn’t see it coming; he was glued to the spot while the ball hit the back of the net, home free. Goal!

A 2–1 victory! Her first match and she had scored not one, but two, goals! This was unbelievable. Amazing. The fans went berserk. People murmured her name throughout the ground. Her team members hugged her, patted her back, and even lifted her up to the sky. She was the ‘man’ of the match. They were chanting, “Khabo yellow! Haya-ya khabo yellow.” It was a joyous moment for Benny FC.

Lebo stole a look at Small. He was unhappy. He wasn’t singing with the rest of the team. She decided not to pay him any further attention.

This was her moment. She owned it.

***

Tell us: Should Lebo be worried about Small? What could he do?