Football Stories

Folk drawing

TEAMWORK By Pat Townsend
Reprinted here by the kind permission of Pat Townsend, daughter of Reg Wilks

Thud of the ball. Smell of the turf.
Excited cheers of the crowd.
Gramp and Dad on the touchline
Their beaming faces proud.
I wave to them so gaily
As we line up ready to play
But my stomach cramps in panic
And my heart is thudding away.
For this has always been my dream
Since my first wild kick at a ball
To play for the Flackwell First Team
And score a winning goal.
Gramp he played in the twenties
And Dad just after the war
And here I am in the seventies
Listening to the fans loyal roar.
Watch me racing down the wing
And hear the fans all cheer!
"Up the Heathens. Good old Frackell"
I beat two men in the tackle
But the third has a confident leer.
I'll wipe that grin from his face
I'll pass him and score a goal.
But then I remember Dad's pep-talk
"Eleven parts make one-whole
They don't want stars in a team, lad
You mustn't hog the ball."
So I pass the ball to the skipper
His way is clear to the goal.
So I didn't score for Flackwell
My dream didn't quite come true
But I've earned my place in the eleven
And I've learned about teamwork too!

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