Tale 51 - My Perfect Moment

 The Prince of Tales was very happy last Thursday.

“Dad, I have won star of the week again! The third time. I think this is my greatest moment!” He told me.

It is heart warming when you see a child flourish. The Prince of Tales really struggled with his autism. He needed routine, and this was impossible due to having two parents in the mad world of teaching! 

Stepping down from my Deputy Headteacher role to become a House Husband has been a massive success.

The Prince of Tales turned to me.

“What is your greatest moment dad?”

I started talking about births of children and he stopped me.

“No dad, your individual biggest achievement?”

In Tale 10, The Greatest Love of All, I explained how I had a devastating leg injury when I was 19. This led to me losing the full use of my left foot, and needing to wear a calliper for the rest of my life. I was told to rethink my future as a PE teacher and that I would not play football again. 

I refused give up on my dreams;

I wanted to become a PE teacher, I did. 

I wanted to play football again. I did. 

I wanted to play in the FA Cup again. I did.

However, in March 2000, I went beyond my wildest dreams.

My Sunday football team Albion Sports entered the National FA Sunday Cup. 

There are five National FA Finals;

1 The Mens FA Cup 

2 The Womens FA Cup.

3 The FA Trophy.

4 The FA Vase.

5 The FA Sunday Cup.

The FA Sunday Cup was a very high standard and there was a substantial entry fee. We entered many times, but very rarely got beyond the first round. 

It did show us though the standard needed to challenge the very best.

In the 1999/2000 season, we defied all odds and got to the Semi Finals.

We had been drawn against a team called Grosvenor Park from the Midlands. We were drawn at home, and the ground selected was The Shay, home of Halifax Town. I lived in Halifax and worked in Halifax, so this was going to be a very special occasion.

The night before the game I was very very nervous. I don’t know what my team mates did (except for Nigel Beck who was playing snooker according the the local newspaper!!) 

If we won tomorrow, I would play in the FA Sunday Cup Final at Nottingham Forest. I’d played at Celtic Park only months earlier, so to play at another Champions League ground was amazing! My grandad supported Nottingham Forest and loved Brian Clough, which give it an added meaning.

More important than all that though, I would get an FA Cup Final medal! All five competitions rewarded winners and runners up with the same medal just different engraving. I would actually get an FA Cup medal- the kid with a plastic leg who loved the FA Cup! 

We travelled to the Shay in a coach (better one than the ‘Shop Hopper’ for Celtic Park) and arrived in good time. We had a pre match walk on the pitch before getting changed for the warm up. 

We returned to the changing rooms for the team talk. The opposition (Grosvenor Park) were playing music as loudly as possible which made it difficult to hear.

I walked out into the tunnel at the front as captain and lined up. 

The Grosvenor team came out noisily.

“This lot are sh***** themselves!” Their captain shouted. “Look at their faces, scared man, scared!”

Psychology may have worked when I was 18. But I had played in much more intimidating places than this. During one game in Liverpool a spectator threatened to shoot me! The opposition centre forward turned to me and said “Leave it mate, he is a shooter and carries a gun!” so the Grosvenor Park captain’s mind games were not going to affect me!

When we walked on the pitch the noise was what first hit me. The stand was packed, and I could see so many friends and even schoolchildren I taught in the crowd. It was not a day to have a nightmare performance!  As usual, the Bhangra drummer, who came to all Albion’s big games, was playing in the crowd.

I loved the beat. It certainly helped with the motivation.

The game kicked off. 

The nerves disappeared.

The match was very tight with few chances. Grosvenor Park had a centre back who stood out a mile. He could jump higher than anyone I had ever seen in my life. He was going to be difficult to get past. That proved the case, as the first 45 minutes drew a blank.

Half time - Albion Sports 0-0 Grosvenor Park 

The second half was much like the first. The Grosvenor Park centre half was dominating, and our defence was holding tight. As the game drifted to its conclusion, it was obvious one goal could settle it.

Then came the 86th minute.

We won a corner. 

As one of the taller players who was decent in the air, so I went up for corners with a midfielder dropping back to cover for me.

As I jogged forward, a song started playing in my head. Sounds corny, and unbelievable but I promise you it did!

‘This is my moment

This is my perfect moment with you

This is what God meant

This is my perfect moment with you

I wish I could freeze this space in time

The way I feel for you inside

This is my moment

This is my perfect moment with you’

I was not a Martine McCutcheon fan and the song had long since disappeared from the charts. It was playing in my head though when I reached the penalty box.

To my dismay, the brilliant Grosvenor Park centre back chose to mark me! Gutted! The music stopped!

The corner swung over to our Centre Forward standing at the front post to flick to the back post, usually to me. I had taken a central position however so the amazing opposition centre half was out of the way to give us more of a chance! The thing is, Taj left it, and it fooled a lot of the defenders. It bounced and travelled towards the centre of the six yard box.

As it bounced, it felt like everything went into slow motion. 

The ball was heading into the space in front of me. If I threw myself at it, I could head it. The amazing centre half made his first mistake of the game. He expected the flick on and had not got tight enough to me. He would not be able to stop me if I could reach the ball.

I threw myself at the ball. 

I headed it, and it flew past the keeper.

When it hit the back of the net, the feeling was unbelievable. If I could bottle how I felt, I would make a fortune!

The years of hurt and pain, the climb from written off to success, were all released in one beautiful moment.  I had won!

My celebration though got a mixed reaction!

In 1983, Luton manager David Pleat did a celebration running onto the pitch when his team saved themselves from relegation. When I watch it, it shows a man showing absolute unbridled joy! That is exactly how I felt, so I’ll take the David Pleat comparison. I love it! 

My heart was racing. I ran towards the crowd and was mobbed by team mates. I loved Albion Sports, the players, management and spectators. As well as my personal happiness, I was also glad I had repaid an amazing bunch of people. I am a big fan of loyalty, and many teams would have discarded a player with a plastic calliper on his leg. They never did.  We were not the best eleven players in the National Sunday League, but as a team, we were pretty close to it!

When we got back in our own half after the celebration, it suddenly hit me! 

There was still three minutes plus injury time left!

I was currently going to an FA Cup Final as an hero and getting my medal! 

But an equaliser and all that would change!

I had worked too hard to have it all taken away from me!

Every time the ball came near me I whacked it 100 yards away. They could not score from their own half! 

The final whistle went!

All the defence came together and hugged! Lads I had played with for years who deserved this success just as much as me.

The tannoy came on

“Ladies and gentlemen, today’s Man of the Match is………………Richard Clarke!”

I don’t think the day could go have gone any better!

In May, we played at the City Ground Nottingham Forest and lost 1-0.

Losing was gutting, but I was very very happy to be a Runner Up! Some people say you get nothing for coming second. I got everything.  I could only dream of a day like this and scoring the winning goal in a national semi final when I was in an hospital ward in 1988.

On that magical day in April 2000;

• I became the first person to lead a Bradford team out in a national football final since 1911 (I imagine the first and last with a plastic calliper on his leg !)
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• I was interviewed as captain of Albion Sports by Sky Sports News.

• I got my FA Cup medal.

• I believed, never gave up and overcame my impairment and the doubters! I won! 

I turned to the Prince of Tales.

“So what do you think of my perfect moment?” I asked.

He looked at me.

“Not much. Football’s crap!”

Ego battered! 

What was your Martine McCutcheon moment? Let me know!