From the Daily Prophet of 17 September, 2000
Diop saves the day
Puddlemere Seeker shakes off injury to shock Arrows
By Paul Bacon
APPLEBY, England -- Harry Potter provided a brief thrill for the spectators at Orchard Park on Saturday. The Appleby Arrows gave them a dominating show. Then Samuel Diop sent them home doubly disappointed.
On a day when his team was completely outclassed, Diop responded with one of the most heroic efforts of his three seasons as Puddlemere's Seeker. Shaking off a rib injury that appeared to have him headed for the bench -- and the Boy Who Lived headed for his first senior appearance -- the Senegalese international doggedly tracked down the Golden Snitch, allowing United to snatch a 230-190 victory from the previously unbeaten Arrows.
"That was as gritty a performance as you're likely to see. Samuel absolutely stole a result for us," said Puddlemere manger Glenn Watson. "Without his toughness we couldn't have possibly won this match."
Even Potter, the heroic newcomer whose early season relegation to the bench continued when Diop stayed in the match, had high praise for his fellow Seeker.
"Today was just another example of why Sam's the best," he said. "He always finds a way to win us the match."
Diop tried to brush off the acclaim, saying, "I just did what my team needed me to do."
But, on this day, what United needed to attain a result bordered on the miraculous.
Riding the momentum from a pair of easy road victories to start the season, Appleby set a blistering pace in its first Orchard Park fixture. The Arrows' physical, coordinated play left Puddlemere scrambling right from the off and it took only 14 minutes for the home side to build a 50-0 advantage.
United's troubles were only beginning. Just seven minutes later, Appleby Beater Gilles Van der Meir's powerful, close-range Bludger hit caught an unsuspecting Diop hard in the right side.
"I struck (the Bludger) well," Van der Meir said. "It was heavy and on target, and I thought it had given my team a big advantage. I was sure he was out of the match."
Diop barely stayed on his broom after the iron ball made impact and the lanky African made no pretence about an immediate return to the action. When he regained his balance, he flew slowly to the ground, clutching his chest in obvious pain.
"It hurt," the Puddlemere Seeker admitted after the match. "I have never been hit so hard by a Bludger before and I hope I will not be hit that hard again."
United captain Siobhan Moran quickly called timeout and mediwizards rushed to treat Diop, sparking five minutes of bizarre contrast.
The Puddlemere starters gathered supportively around their injured team-mate -- who was diagnosed to have bruised ribs -- as the Healers provided what assistance they could within the league's restrictions on restorative magic. At the same time, the Arrows casually tossed Quaffles in an attempt to stay loose. And the crowd cheered ceaselessly for Potter.
Almost as soon as Diop reached the ground, Watson ordered the Boy Who Lived, Puddlemere's reserve Seeker, to warm up for a potential relief appearance. After briefly stretching out, Potter flew back and forth above the United bench to the increasing delight of an audience of 7,498 clearly keen to see the young hero play first-team Quidditch for the first time.
"It certainly looked like we were going to need him," Watson said of his 100,000-Galleon summer acquisition.
But Diop's spirit made sure the Boy Who Lived stayed on the sideline.
"I told myself, 'We cannot lose this match; we need to get the Snitch,'" the Senegalese Seeker said. "I know the Snitch is my job, so I made myself keep playing because it was important for the team."
"I was a bit surprised when Samuel asked to keep going," Watson said. "After the knock he took no one could have complained if he'd come off. Merlin knows, he probably should have. But instead he toughed it out and that shows you the kind of determination he has. I had to let him go for it."
It took most of an hour, but that determination eventually made Puddlemere a winner.
As the Arrows pressed their advantage in hopes of clinching the victory, Diop finally eluded their seemingly constant Bludger attack long enough to spot the Golden Snitch in the 82nd minute. Appleby Seeker Melinda Maddox proved more difficult to escape, however, and Diop needed to withstand a fierce Cobbing foul to the shoulder before he could come clear enough to bring his Velocity C to pace.
Maddox was also called for Blagging as she desperately tried to stay close, but the larger, stronger Puddlemere Seeker fought through the challenge for a free run at the golden ball. Even then, the capture didn't come easily -- Diop had to loop awkwardly around team-mate Gareth Weston before he could pick the Snitch out of the Beater's robes. But with Weston deflecting away a last-gasp Bludger off Van der Meir's bat, the United Seeker finally used a Plumpton Pass to scoop up the Snitch and the stunning victory.
"I had to fly very hard to find the Snitch, but once I saw it, I knew I would get it," Diop said. "(Maddox) tried very hard to stop me, but I knew the fouls could only slow me down. Getting the Snitch away from Gareth was more trouble, but I will do anything I need to do to win -- even use my sleeve."
"It's fitting he caught the Snitch in his robes because he used everything he had to get us this result," Watson said.
Not surprisingly, Arrows boss Morley Barnett had a much different take on the deciding moment.
"It was just beastly watching one play undo 80 minutes of our brilliant work," he said. "To lose on our home pitch when we had such a dominant side, when given a few more minutes we would have had enough points to win even without the Snitch -- it's simply crushing."
Indeed, Appleby came close to earning the victory despite Diop's heroics.
Though the pace of the Arrows' starting surge faded after the injury to the Puddlemere Seeker, the strength of their coordinated attacks did not. Beaters Van der Meir and Niles Ripley overwhelmed their Puddlemere counterparts, Weston and Gerald Eddington, and regularly disrupted the United Chasers' formations. That allowed the Arrows to press forward ruthlessly with the Quaffle, and though Moran did noble work guarding the middle of the park, cutting runs off the wings repeatedly brought Appleby Chasers Darren Sherwood and Sade Ogbeche into the Puddle U scoring area for excellent chances.
Ogbeche converted eight of them and Sherwood added seven goals for the Arrows, who steadily increased their 50-0 lead to 80-10 and 120-30 in the first hour. The advantage might have been even greater had the home side's physical play not led to eight fouls that slowed the match and allowed Puddlemere's Corinne Kiely to score five easy goals.
As it was, Appleby's edge grew as large as 120 points -- 190-70 -- before Kiely converted her final penalty attempt and Diop found the Snitch.
"We did everything we could to take control of the match except hold their Seeker in check," Van der Meir said. "And that was obviously the one thing we needed to do most."
Puddlemere does not play next weekend, giving Diop a fortnight to heal ahead of United's 1 Oct. clash with reigning league champion Montrose. According to Watson, the Seeker should be fully fit in time for the key match at Nimbus Arena.
For Potter, that's likely to mean even more time on the bench, though the distinguished new boy hardly seemed put out that his Saturday flirt with a first-team debut went awry.
"Actually, I'm quite glad I didn't have to play today," the Boy Who Lived said. "That would have meant Sam was too badly hurt to continue and nobody wants to step in that way, especially for such a great player. I know this is Sam's team and I'm pleased just to be along for the ride."
Potter is expected to be in action Wednesday night as the Puddlemere reserves play host to the Arrows' backups.
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Paul Bacon covers Appleby for the Daily Prophet. Owl him at thedpreporting(at)yahoo(dot)com
A/N: I'm toying with you again? Who, me? No, never! Okay, perhaps a little. Sorry. But, barring unforeseen circumstances, you can look for one more chapter before our little 16 July reading fest.
This week's thank yous go to Jeconais for posting with the Quidditch league tables on PS (www(dot)phoenixsong(dot)net/symphony/story/2806/) my betas -- Promethean Alchemist, LadyChi and Nancy -- and everyone who's encouraged me to keep plugging away on this. I've needed it.