"But how did you hurt yourself, Jake?" Thomas anxiously asked his friend over the phone. "I slipped in my bathroom," Jake replied" "How could you be so careless? We have our final football match tomorrow," Thomas retorted. "I know, I know... but I really won't be able to play, my mom won't allow me," said Jake. "Okay, I need to find a substitute as soon as possible for tomorrow. I will call you later, Jake," said Thomas and kept the phone down. Thomas then called up his other teammates and said, "Guys, it is urgent; meet me at the Square Park in half an hour." "We are coming,. they replied.

"Mom, there is a hole in my shoe. I can't wear it anymore," complained Daniel. "Please try to manage for a few more days, son,. said his mom. "But, this is a large hole, I really can.t wear these anymore...." said Daniel. "Manage it, Daniel," replied his mother stoically.

Daniel was a good player and was earlier part of a football club. But, with the untimely death of his father, there was a financial crisis in his family and so he stopped going to the club. With a heavy heart, he wore his old shoes and headed to the Square Park.

David, Oliver, Jacob, George, among others, were standing under the shade of a big banyan tree, waiting for Thomas to arrive. After some time, Thomas did so, with a hoard of youngsters behind him. "Thomas, you are late, and who are they?" George asked.

Thomas explained, "We need a new goalkeeper because Jake has injured his leg and he won't be able to play tomorrow. Perhaps, we can select one from among them."

"Oh God! We will lose the match against Greyfrair tomorrow," cried Oliver. "Be an optimist, Oliver," said George. "Alright, let.s start with the recruitment process. Come on," encouraged Thomas.

All the youngsters who tried their hand at goalkeeping were just not good enough to make it to the team. Daniel was gloomily sitting on a bench at Square Park. Suddenly, a ball landed near his feet. "Hey, excuse me, can you pass that ball?" George asked. Daniel kicked the ball towards him. He got up from his seat and followed George.

"This is really bad; none of them are any good. What are we going to do now, Captain Thomas?" asked Oliver. "Can I try?" Daniel asked Thomas. "Do you know to play football?" asked Thomas in return. "I do," said Daniel. "Then you can give it a shot," said Thomas.

Daniel was successful in his trials. Thomas was quite impressed with him. "Alright, are you in for the game?" asked Thomas, adding, .By the way, what is your name?. "Daniel," replied the boy. "Okay, Team, listen, Daniel is our new goalkeeper for this season," announced Thomas. Daniel was overwhelmed to hear this, but he thought about his shoes. "But my shoes are torn," he pointed out. "Oh, don't worry about the shoes and the jersey; you can use Jake's old shoes and jersey," offered Oliver. "They are still lying in the closet," he added. "We have our match against Greyfrair FC tomorrow at the Abbey Mount Stadium. Reach there by 8 a.m. The match starts from 10," said Captain Thomas.

The next day, the Mount Abbey Stadium was filled with hundreds of football fans, who had gathered to watch the match between Greyfrair FC and Brookfield United. Thomas scored the first goal of the match. Although Greyfrair tried their level best to score, but couldn't do so. All credit to Daniel, who didn't let the ball in. The match ended with Brookfield at 1 and Greyfrair at 0.

"... and its victory for Brookfield United!" announced the anchor, Sophia. There were shouts from the crowd. "Congratulations to the Coach, Captain, and the whole team. It was an excellent power-packed performance from both the sides."

"We won!" Oliver screamed. "Yes, we did it!" George replied. Later on, Thomas met Daniel in the dressing room and said, "Thanks a lot" If it weren't for you, they would have scored and we would have lost." Daniel smiled at him. This was the end of an amazing football match and the beginning of a new friendship.

THANK YOU