The clock strikes eight. I arrive at Wilson’s School, shivering, drowsy and sluggish on the coldest of Saturday mornings. Half an hour later, still shivering, still drowsy, still outside Wilson’s School’s gates, the U15 football B-Team faces a dilemma. Anticipating a full 13-man squad, only 9 were standing and at this point it seems only 9 would grace the field. Two less men would inevitably pose a significant challenge, irrespective of the resilience we exhibit in the struggle. At this point, all of us have our phones out, calling anyone and everyone, desperate for someone to step in at the latest of moments. But our hope was dwindling and confidence even more so as the monotonous drone of messaging services echo call after call, the robotic voice resounding in our heads, almost spelling out our ruin - very few Year 10 students would be awake at 8:30 on a Saturday and even fewer would be willing to come play football in sub-zero temperatures without any prior notice. That is, most students; but Pratham is not any student.
Seemingly without much hesitation, Pratham accepts and half-way through a wearisome 40 minute coach journey, half-asleep, silent, and almost in a zombie-like state, Pratham boards the bus, amongst the acknowledging cascade of applause. Yet little did we know, Pratham would prove to play a vital role in our success against Lingfield College.
20 minutes later, we arrive at the grounds, the piercing wind cutting through the seemingly ineffectual jackets we all wore, whilst the raw gusts of wind slam against us like a bully tormenting his victim. After a few minutes of lacklustre training, the 10 players traipse on to the icy battlefield, feet still numb from the blistering cold and in fear of the possible exploitation of our disadvantage.
However, in the first few minutes of the match, it is clear Wilson’s is on top, creating chance upon chance as we pressure the opposition’s defence. And our hard work pays off as Pratham finds Sam who rifles a shot into the top-right corner at the edge of the box. Wilson’s are one nil up, despite being one man down. Not long after, Yuchen delivers a delightful cross into the box and Lingfield scrambles frantically in the box before Joe puts us 2-0 up with a tap-in. We head into half time warm and confident, feeling as if we are the team with the extra player. The second half is a dull one and our tiredness is evident as Lingfield finally forces a big save out of Tim. In the last second, Pratham is just past the halfway line and fires a shot which ends up inches wide of the post. The full time whistle shortly follows and Pratham, given his heroics and an emphatic performance, is named Man of the Match.
After the match, I found an opportunity to speak to B-Team hero: Pratham about the match on Saturday and managed to ask him a few questions.
Me: “Hey Pratham. How did you initially react when we called you, asking if you could play for the B-Team?”
Pratham: “It was surprising to be honest and I didn’t really expect it because I was half-asleep… But I was thinking about how much fun it would be because I really enjoy playing football.”
Me: “How did you feel during the match itself?”
Pratham: “I felt a bit nervous at first but as soon as the match started it was just quite a lot of fun (smiles)… I just kept on thinking about how it was an opportunity to play another sport with genuine enjoyment… I don't really enjoy playing tennis and cricket because I always feel nervous due to the pressure to stay in the team and perform.”
Me: “How did the cold affect your mentality?”
Pratham: “I definitely had cold toes to say the least… It felt like it was gonna be another factor on top of having 10 men that were against us… They [Lingfield] had already been warming up while we were shivering.”
Me: “Did you see having 10 men as a disadvantage?”
Pratham: “I thought it might be at first but I realised it is just a good way of displaying our ability and maybe a bit of a challenge for my first B team game… Nonetheless, it meant it would be a great uphill battle to win and we did (smiles).”
Me: “How do you think we performed as a team?”
Pratham: “Really well… [The] first half was crazy because we settled in straight away and started strong with some chances… From then on it didn't feel like we were a man down”
Evidently, despite the many challenges and disadvantages which all seemed to try to hinder our performance, we persevered and, if nothing else, proved that anything is possible with determination and desire.
