WSL Imagines

A love that burns •Alessia Russo•

Y/N POV

"Shoot Y/n, SHOOT!" The words echoed through my ears as I ran towards the box with the ball at my feet. I was on track to shoot on target, but a white shirt of the London city Lionesses had flashed in the corner of my eyes. I tried to speed up to avoid being intercepted, but I quickly realized my mistake, as my legs were taken out from underneath me. I was on the floor, as the whistle blew indicating a foul as the player had clearly went for my ankles rather than the ball. 

But as I looked at where I was laying, I let out a breath of relief. She had fouled me inside their box - that meant it was a penalty rather than a free kick. The referee, blew her whistle and raised a yellow card to the number 6 and I stepped up to take the penalty.

The goalies tried jumping from side to side to throw me off, but all i was focusing on was the are of the net, that I knew I wanted the ball to go. I placed the ball on the penalty line, making sure the valve was facing me as I took my three large steps back. I took one last glance at the goalie, keeping my eyes void of emotion so that she couldn't read my eyes on where I was shooting. With a deep breath, I took my run up; kicking the ball just below the valve, sending it slightly towards the left, and then with the wind it curved to the right, gliding past the goalie as she dived the opposite way. The ball had landed in the top right bin. Another successful penalty. I jumped into the air, throwing my arm into the air as I felt the rest of the girls jump on my back, screaming in my ear. I had given us the lead on the game.

We had continued with the rest of the second half, trying to create more opportunities and trying to get more goals, but although we were on target, they were all saved - unfortunately. However, we were able to maintain a clean sheet for the game; when the final whistle was blown, we cheered at the win, successfully gaining 3 points in the FA women's championship, sending Blackburn Rovers up the table.

Heading back towards the changing room, Ellie threw her arm over my shoulder, shaking me slightly as we skipped towards the door.

"Y/n" She dragged out the vowels of my name, clearly wanting something.

"Elllllieeee" I mimicked her, laughing in reply.

"We're all going out for drinks tonight, are you coming?" She had some hope in her voice, as it was very rare I would join them on nights out or bonding days, it wasn't ideal but I was always too busy; it's one of the reasons i turned down the offer to be captain for this team. I couldn't dedicate to it, the way a captain should.

"I'm sorry El, I can't. I'm working the night shift." She looked deflated as I answered her, clearly hoping that this time would be different and that I'd be able to join them.

"If you weren't such a nice person and a necessity to society, I'd be angry at you. But you're too cute, so I'll let you off." I wrapped my arm around her waist before thanking her for her generous it's, clearly being sarcastic; she just giggled along with me. We made it to the changing room, as some of the girls were already changed; wanting to get home quickly to begin getting ready for their bi-weekly night out.

I made my way to my areas of the room, before kicking off my boots and removing the shin pads from my socks. I sat down on the bench and just took a moment to breath. I always found it important to take a moment after each game, whether that be so embrace the success, or to understand the loss; taking moments for some mental cool down, made me feel lighter - not carrying the burden or weight of a physically challenging day.

When I had finally decided that I was relaxed enough, only then did I start getting changed into my grey tracksuit bottoms and throwing a black hoody over my sports bra. By then, a majority of the girls had left, only a few stragglers and some of the coaching team remained. Throwing my backpack across my shoulders, I waved goodbye to the remaining people in the room, before heading to the door, all of them answering with a bye or stay safe. It was always nice knowing that they cared. But before I could step a foot out the door, the voice of the manager, Gemma Donnelly, rang out.