Goal is a 1969 children's novel

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

 by prolific British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 author Michael Hardcastle

Michael Hardcastle

Michael Hardcastle is a British author of sports fiction for children. He has written more than one hundred and forty books on a range of sporting subjects but is probably best known for his books about Association Football...

. It is the third in a series of books focusing on the fortunes of fictitious English football team Scorton Rovers.

Plot summary

The story charts the rapid rise of talented teenage footballer Barry Dillon. At the start of the book his ambition is simply to make it into the school First XI and by the end he has become the youngest player ever to play for his local professional team, Scorton Rovers. Along the way he has to cope with sceptical parents, some nasty injuries and the jealousy of some of his peers, but his skill and determination, along with the unflinching support of his sister Jane, see him through. Goal is the first Hardcastle book about Scorton Rovers not to feature team captain Andy Blair who is injured when Barry makes his debut against Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

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