As the new Junior Premier League (Saturdays) and Sheffield & District Junior Sunday League made a welcome return, so did last season’s not so friendly visitor.
I don’t know if it’s the way the SDJSL usually arranges the u16’s league but to say they’re optimistic is an understatement. The A division has been increased from 10 to 12 teams and also there’s the League Cup. A successful run to the final in the League Cup would mean 4 games, plus the 22 in the league.
Add to that the County Cup (only played at u13’s and u16’s) which is a straight knockout competition, played over seven rounds.
This means the potential, if successful in both cups, of playing 33 games. Last season, our team managed to play a grand total of 10. Pat also had to miss two of those because we had to isolate, so only played 8.
Fast forward to this season and the first SDJSL game was postponed as the opposition had a combination of Covid and injuries. Pat had played for his new Saturday team, Evo Soccer the day before in a 4-0 defeat but now found himself at a loose end the following day.
Not long after Saturday’s game had finished, I got a text from Pat’s Sunday team assistant manager, saying that Sheffield FC Development Team were looking for a keeper for their u18’s game the following Friday and he’d suggested to them that Pat “could easily play u18’s”. So could Pat go training with them on Wednesday?
A very big compliment to be paid but once the initial surprise wore off, as usual, my brain started working overtime. Also as usual, it wasn’t all positive.
Plenty of stuff went through my head straight away. Things like…
- what standard were the u18’s?
- what standard (and who) would the opposition be?
- would he be out of his depth if he was picked?
- would he be big enough
I texted Pat.
I needed to find out more information to put my mind at rest – even if Pat was keen to go, without asking a single question. I replied to the text and found out that one of the u18’s player’s dad, John, who I know, had actually started the ball rolling. So I texted him to try and find out the full story.
It turned out that the team in question was made up of lads from the local u18’s scholarship programme as well as the u18’s Sunday league team. The team don’t play in a league but were entered into the FA Youth Cup. They had got through the Preliminary Qualifying Round on penalties and the next game was the 1st Qualifying Round at home to Frickley Athletic, on the following Friday night at the Coach and Horses ground in Dronfield.
It also came into the conversation that there were already the two u18 keepers that had been involved in the previous round. He expected them both to be at training, along with any others who had been asked to go along.
The coach of Sheffield FC u18’s/reserves, Jon, messaged me the following day to find out if Pat was interested and if so, could he come to meet some of the lads and take part in a training game on Wednesday at the Coach and Horses. So it was all set.
Wednesday evening came round and we made our way to the ground.
Pat’s sister, Ailish, came along to see what all the fuss was about. Over the last few years she’s taken quite a lot of interest in his football and watches most of his games. The majority of the time it’s the usual brother/sister relationship where they want to strangle each other but when it comes to his football, she supports him and deep down, I think he really appreciates it.
On the way there, he was very quiet. I asked if he was alright. He just said he was nervous because of the age difference and not knowing anybody. He hadn’t met any of the lads or Jon before. The only familiar face as it turned out, was Bully, one of the other coaches who manages the u18’s Sheffield FC Sunday league team.
I just said something along the lines of: go and enjoy it, you might not get chance to play on the pitch of the World’s oldest club again. You’re two years younger than them, so you’ve nothing to lose.
I also put an emphasis on him shouting and instructing during the training game. Difficult if you don’t know lad’s names but when he first played for Evo, it was the same. So instead of names, it becomes positions or areas of the pitch. That way, he’s still instructing and being vocal.
When we got there, he got out of the car and walked to the changing rooms. Not really knowing where he was going but he saw Bully, so I’m sure that made him feel a little bit at ease. Ailish and me walked round to the corner of the ground. I wanted to watch Pat but only from a distance. I wanted him to feel part of the group, without feeling like I was on his shoulder. But I was also interested to see how many other keepers were there. Pat and three others by the looks of things.
The training session started with a warm up, then the four keepers moved away from the outfield lads. There didn’t look much of a height difference (if any) between Pat and two of them but the other lad was much taller. Pat’s handling and serving was all up to his usual standard, so I was happy. As long as he gave a good account of his ability, I’d be happy. Even if that turned out to be below the standard the coaches wanted.
What else can you ask for?
It became clear that the taller lad was there in a coaching capacity. He was leading the keeping session and giving the lads pointers along the way. That was one of my questions answered anyway – Pat was tall enough – compared with the other two lads.
After the handling and footwork was complete, the lads all jogged over to the coaches and then a few minutes later, came back onto the pitch, split into two teams. Pat came over to the goal closest to us. I guessed they’d want to see plenty of him in the training game because they’d have already seen the other two keepers play previously.
He did really well, helped by the fact that he was far busier than the lad in the other goal. There’s nothing worse than wanting to show what you’re capable of but not getting the chance to. Apart from one goal, he made save after save. A couple of the saves were low shots that he just got fingertips to. As he made the saves, I looked past him towards the coaches. They looked – and sounded – happy with what they were seeing. Pat played the whole of the first half and part of the second, before he was replaced.
As the training session ended, Ailish and me began to walk towards the exit. Pat was walking over, talking to Jon. Pat half waved to me, to get my attention. Jon introduced himself and said that Pat had done well.
He added that he would need to speak to the other coaches but he was pleased with how Pat had done.
Later on, I got a message from Jon.
To me, ‘involved’ simply meant to be part of the squad. No problem at all. Being in the squad, the build up and it being the FA Youth Cup would all be brilliant experience for him. The following morning I got another message just to advise that him being involved would be reliant on getting him registered in time.
I also got a message from John, who had initially put Pat’s name into the mix. His lad Mackenzie hadn’t been able to go to the training session.
I was blown away.
By 11.00 on Thursday morning, Pat was registered. I was asked to get him to the ground for 6.15pm on Friday, for a 7.30pm kick off. The team would be announced about an hour before kick off.
Pat’s manager at Sheffield FC u16’s had put a message on the team’s Facebook page, saying Pat would be involved if any of them wanted to go and watch the game. His manager at Evo Soccer had also mentioned it to the Evo players, so whether he was playing or not, it looked like some of his mates would be there to support him.
On Friday, I took him to the ground but left plenty of time to get there. We arrived at the ground about 6.00pm. More than happy to be there early, for Pat’s sake but it meant I’d have half an hour to wait to see if he was playing. That ended up being an hour, as the team was announced on the club’s Twitter feed a few minutes before 7.00pm.
He was in the starting 11. I felt nervous but could only imagine how he felt when he was told.
I watched his warm up with the other keeper and Bully. He looked ok but also a bit tense, as if he was maybe trying too hard. I hoped he’d get an early touch in the game that would calm him down.
As kick off approached, some familiar faces came through the turnstile. Mainly his Sheffield FC team mates but also both his managers. I had no idea if Pat had seen any of them but I think he’ll have had a look into the stands when the teams came out onto the pitch. He knew that me, Ailish and my dad were all there rooting for him.
As the teams lined up, you could tell there was an age gap, looking at Pat and some of the other players. Not just the physicality but also in their faces – some of them looked like men – and there was Pat, still a couple of weeks short of his 16th birthday.
When the game got underway, Frickley were quickest to settle, whereas Sheffield struggled to compose themselves. With it still at 0-0, the ball fell to a Frickley player and he took his shot early. Pat was about 10 yards off his line but dived high and to his left and stretched out his right arm. He got his (wrong) hand to the ball and turned it round his left post. If that didn’t make him feel more confident, I don’t know what would.
Not long after, a ball crossed from the left was met with a half volley by the same player. Pat dived and made a save but he couldn’t hold it and the ball squirmed away from him. He scrambled and dived towards the ball. It looked as though he had it in two hands as the Frickley played followed up his shot. The ball ended up in the goal. Pat and the Sheffield defenders were shouting at the referee that he’d had it in two hands. But the ref wasn’t going to have his mind changed.
1-0 to Frickley.
A few minutes later, Sheffield equalised. It stayed that way until half time.
More or less straight after half time, Sheffield scored again to make it 2-1. For the first time since I saw the team sheet, I actually felt a bit of relief from my nerves. It lasted just over 10 minutes. Another low cross. Pat dived out towards the ball but the striker got there at the same time. The ball bobbled free and at the second attempt, the striker scored to make it 2-2.
3 minutes later, the nerves were a bit more subdued again. Mackenzie scored a goal that looked like something off FIFA. He picked the ball up and ran at the Frickley defence. He went one way, then the other, drifting past defender after defender before smashing a shot, hard and low beyond the keeper.
3-2 with about 20 minutes to play.
From that point on, it was very one sided. Frickley were pushing extra bodies forward, trying to grab an equaliser. Their attacks were much more direct and a lot more frequent. Sheffield were limited to counter attacks.
With about 5 minutes left to play, the ball broke free to one of the Frickley midfielders, who hit it first time. I was stood level with the edge of Pat’s 18 yard box. He’d hit it well. As soon as it left his boot, I looked at Pat. He was moving across to his right. Quickly. As the ball got closer to goal, he pushed off. He extended his left arm, arching it over his head and got a strong hand to the ball.
The ball whistled past his right hand post and out for a corner. It was a real heart in mouth moment but a smashing save. The home team defended the corner and saw the game out without too many more attacks to worry about.
After the final whistle had gone, the smile on Pat’s face as he made his way off the pitch was huge. Literally from ear to ear.
For me, the whistle brought a mixture of relief and exhaustion. I was absolutely worn out just watching him play.
I’ve no idea how long he’ll play for, or at what level but I don’t think I’ll ever ‘enjoy’ watching him. All this game did, was show me that the bigger the game, the more anxious I’ll feel. The life of a keeper – and his dad.
No matter what, you just have to keep the faith.
Keeper of the faith 