Only Friends

Chapter 24 - Injuries

Going into the game against Ireland, I wasn't confident. Not only were we missing Caitlin and Hayley to injury, Emily, Ellie and Kyah also weren't available. Most of our big names were out - besides Sam and myself. And on the other hand, Katie and the Irish team have been growing immensely and meshing with each other seamlessly.

The game didn't go as expected. We always were in chase mode. When Ireland got the first goal, we then had to get the second. When they got their second, we had to get ours. By half time it was 2-2, and we were feeling the pressure. It wasn't that our defence was bad, I felt as if I was doing my role correctly, we just had no connections between the midfielders and Sam. Without Caitlin or Kyah or Hayley, the feeds into Sam were not good enough to be turned into goals. Mary got our two goals, which if I am being honest, were slightly lucky shots. We did fairly well to get two goals with the way we were playing.

At the start of the second half, I went down. I was trampled by one of the Irish forwards, who was trying to get the ball from underneath me. She tripped me over, and made my knee smash into the ground. It was agony. Although I usually hate when players roll around on the grass, vying for a free kick, this was no joke.

Sam rushed over, and cradled my knee in her hands, hoping desperately it was not a serious injury. The medical crew came running onto the field, and started to assess it. I knew it wasn't my ACL. It was a manageable pain. Most tell me the ACL is horrible and excruciating. I had an inkling that my knee was out of its socket.

The medical team confirmed it was dislocated - thankfully not too serious. I was limped off, with the help of the medical crew and was taken underground to the change room. They popped it back into its socket, which hurt like hell.

"Number 13, India Harrison, is coming off the field," I heard the commentator say over the big mic.

I went to sit on the bench, knowing I wouldn't play again, to watch the final half of the game. As I was in the change room, Ireland had scored again. We never recovered from their 3rd goal, and ended up falling short with a score of 2-3.

It is always disappointing when you lose, and especially as we are meant to be ranked considerably higher than Ireland. But, when you play with no cohesion, and they play flawlessly, it is hard to take that away from them. Additionally, being riddled with injuries is never nice.

A couple days earlier, Jill played Czech Republic with the Dutch team. They scraped by to get a draw, so not two very good games for our household. However, they redeemed themselves a couple days later against Iceland, snatching a 2-0 win.                                   

I went over to Sam after the match to just comfort her. Even though it was only a friendly, it was Sam's 100th match for the Matildas. I posted an instagram story for her earlier. It was a picture of us in Tokyo, laying on the grass in the boiling heat smiling at the camera. I wrote:

100 games? Not bad, not bad! Show us some skillz, GOAT <3

Although Sammi hates being called the GOAT, she deserves it. She is a threat, when surrounded by equally threatening players. Her game was as good as it could be with the average balls she was getting from the midfield. I felt awful for her, knowing that she wanted her 100th to be a win.

"It's ok," I said to her, as I hugged her from behind, "we win some, we lose some." She nodded, and wiped some tiny tears from her eyes. She went over to Katie and shook her hand, congratulating her on the win and wishing her a happy birthday. I too limped over to Katie.

"Great game girlie. You're a killer!" I said to her, giving her a hug.

"Hope you are okay by the weekend," she said, in reference to my knee.

"I don't know," I started to say, "It's only dislocated so I won't be out for long hopefully!" I left her to celebrate with her teammates, and Sammi and I went into the change rooms to grab our things and head back to the hotel.

How Ireland beat the Matilda's in their shock win in Dublin

The Irish women's national team beat the Matilda's 3-2 in a shocking win in Dublin. The Matilda's, who were without the likes of Caitlin Foord, Ellie Carpenter, Hayley Raso and Emily Van Egmond, competed against Ireland in Sam Kerr's 100th match. As Ireland opened the scoring, Australia soon responded through Mary Fowler, who scored the Matilda's only two goals. Sam Kerr, who aimed to make a statement, was restricted, obtaining limited time on the ball. At the start of the second half, Australia's lead defensive player, India Harrison, went down with a dislocated knee, leaving her out for the rest of the match. Without Harrison, Australia's defence collapsed. This shock defeat came after Australia's best ever finish at the Olympics, placing 4th, falling short to the USA. Unfortunately for Matilda's captain, Kerr, her 100th game did not go to plan. So, what happened with the Matilda's? Is their bench not as deep as we presumed?

When I arrived back in England, I went into an intense couple of days of physical therapy, trying to see if there was any way I could be fit and ready by the weekend. Supposedly, it is supposed to take a dislocated knee six weeks to heal. I could not wait that long. I tried my best to make sure I was fit by the weekend - I was first in the gym in the morning and last in the afternoon. Although, I knew, deep down, I would be watching the Arsenal game from the sideline.

We were playing Manchester City at home, so that does give us the advantage, in a sense.

"So how long are you meant to be out for?" Jill asked me, as we were getting ready to head to the game.

"Couple of weeks," I replied in a frustrated tone. She came up behind me, and hugged my waist, placing her head on my shoulder.

"You'll come back better," she started to say, "you can only see the bright side of this. At least it isn't a long term injury." As she said this, I recognised a tiny hint of an Australian accent in her voice.

"You sound a little Australian," I said to her, kissing her cheek.

"Like how Viv sounds insanely Scottish," she replied. I nodded. Viv, after being with Lisa for seven years, has developed a Scottish tang to her accent when she speaks english.

"I like it, you sound cute!" I said to her, squeezing her hand, then continuing to get ready for the game.

I wore lots of layers as I wouldn't be playing, and would most likely get cold. Jill and I got into the car, and headed to the game.

"Can you drive?" I asked her, when getting into the car. "My hand kind of hurts." Although I can drive, and drive quite well, sometimes I have sudden bursts of pain in my wrist that makes simple activities even harder than usual.

Ever since I briefly talked to Jill, about what she saw, she has been a lot less distant. I think she knows what happened when I was younger, so she is able to work around that. I am glad she kind of knows but I didn't have to tell her.

We won the game against Manchester City by five goals. It was an unexpected thrashing but Manchester did have a lot of injuries. Jill had an assist, which always makes me smile. I love seeing her contribute and play her best football. Beth had a fantastic shot from outside the box - it was hard and fast, and there was never a doubt that it wasn't going to go in.

After the game, Jill had her celebratory pizza, and I stole a slice. She loves to eat pizza after a game - it's become a tradition now.

So far this season, we have three wins from three games, which feels good. After the loss to Ireland, it is always nice to be on the winners sheet again even if I am not playing.