Chapter Five: The Goalkeeper No Giant Wanted

In the nineteenth minute, Ndiaye scored on the counterattack. Northcastle then attacked for seventy minutes, and Bell made eleven saves. In stoppage time, the referee awarded Northcastle a penalty. Their captain placed the ball. Bell's black notebook said: in decisive moments, he favors the goalkeeper's left; if he repeatedly looks left before the kick, he will reverse the deception and still shoot there. The captain looked left twice. Bell was not fooled. He dived left and pushed the ball around the post with one hand. At the final whistle, Harborbridge had eliminated Northcastle one-nil. Bell dropped to his knees. He did not celebrate. He simply held the black notebook toward the cameras.