"Team, congratulations to us, we are in the semi-final", said coach Bello with a broad smile. "The match is scheduled for next Friday, don't be late, and the days for training will be communicated", he said.
source
The team was happy that they won their last game, though it was one-nil, at least that qualified them for the semi-final. They resumed training and prepared rigorously for the semi-final match, even though it was a local intra-state match. On the day of the match, they all gathered at the agreed destination for departure, but Dapo was absent.
Coach Bello paced up and down, looking at the entrance gate after waiting for more than 30minutes, and he refused to show up; they left for the stadium. The other team members were already warming up yet no sign of Dapo. Coach Bello called his number but it was not reachable. Everyone became worried because Dapo is the midfielder and his absence would cause a great setback to the team.
"Coachy(coach), a ma ri lightning(we can't see lightning). I've been calling his number, it's not reachable", Goke, one of the players, said.
Dapo was nicknamed lightning because of how fast he moves on the pitch and his great skill in scoring goals.
"I can't get through to him, either. Let's just begin. I hope everything is well with him but this is really bad. What could have happened to him?", Coach Bello said, looking worried.
Dapo, the 17-year-old midfielder is the team's secret weapon and star player. He is sharp with his passes and a dangerous boy in scoring goals. He took his team to the semi-final with a hat-trick, which gave them a one-nil goal to nil in the quarter final, and in 15minutes before the kickoff of the semi-final match, he was nowhere to be found.
Across town, Dapo was in a danfo bus(a common bus in Lagos State, Nigeria) stuck in traffic. His phone was dead, his boots hanging round his neck with his jersey rumpled in his backpack. He was impatient and nervous, peeping out of the window waiting for a miracle that could carry him from that spot to the field. As he was grinning his teeth, he was stomping his feet, and everyone was looking at him in the bus like an insane person. The more the delay, the more he feels tense, as if a dagger were put through his throat.
He had spent the entire morning in the general hospital, staying with his mother, who had fallen ill the night before. His mother had begged him to leave for the match earlier, but Dapo refused because to him, family comes first. After his mother was stabilised and she whispered, "Go and win for me", it was only then that he was convinced that he could leave.
Back at the stadium, the whistle blew, and the match had begun. Dapo Lightning group was already down by 1-0 by halftime. The opposing team, which was the defending champions, showed no mercy as they were trying to retain their championship streak. Without Dapo, the midfield collapsed, and their defence was weak. Right inside the bus, Dapo put on his jersey and his boots, thinking and wishing he would make it.
At exactly 57th minutes, Dapo got to the stadium, breathing heavily with determination in his eyes. The players were happy to see him including Coach Bello.
Coach Bello didn't bother to ask questions, "warm up you're going in", he said sharply.
Dapo nodded in agreement.
The crowd began to murmur, those who knew Dapo had been wondering why he wasn't on the field playing. In the 65th minute, the crowd came alive.
Dapo danced past two defenders like a flash and curled a shot into the top corner, which changed the game. Dapo "lightning" scored a goal for his team, making the score 1-1. His teammates rallied, and the energy shifted. In the dying minutes of the game, Dapo weaved through the opposition, drew out the keeper, and passed to Tunde, who tapped into an empty net. And it's full time 2-1, Dapo team won.
The crowd chanted his name, his teammates lifted him up, but when reporters asked Dapo what pushed him, he said, "Some games start even before the whistle blows. And some victories begin at home".
After the game, he explained what had happened to his coach and the rest of the team then apologised for the delay.
Thanks for your time and your comments will be appreciated.
Posted Using INLEO
