A/N: Sorry for yet another delay in posting. With HBP due out so soon, it's been really hard for me to focus on writing. I know, excuses, excuses. … Anyway, thanks for sticking with me, and kudos to my betas, Chi, Nancy and R.G., for the usual efforts.
And for those of you interested, thanks to Jeconais' help, a version of this chapter with the league tables can be found at www(dot)phoenixsong(dot)net/symphony/story/2544/
From the Daily Prophet of 10 September, 2000
Diop captures Snitch, starting job
Potter officially relegated to reserve role
By Mike Thalia
PUDDLEMERE, England -- Samuel Diop added another quick capture to his growing record of Quidditch League of Great Britain and Ireland successes Saturday.
And it wasn't even his biggest victory of the day.
The Puddlemere United Seeker caught the Golden Snitch less than an hour into his team's home opener, a stirring 270-60 victory over the Caerphilly Catapults at Nimbus Arena. Then he caught himself the most talked-about job in professional Quidditch.
At the news conference following the match, Puddlemere manager Glenn Watson officially named Diop his first-choice Seeker. The announcement brings an end to the Senegalese international's six-week battle with Harry Potter over the chance to start for the navy and gold.
"We've played two matches now and Samuel's got the Snitch in both of them," Watson said. "So, there's no point in denying it any longer -- he's our first Seeker. He's performed exactly as we've all come to expect and I'm sure he's going to have another excellent season."
The news did not come as a surprise or a disappointment to Potter, the legendary war hero and highly regarded Puddlemere newcomer.
"It may not have been set out as specifically, but I definitely knew the situation," he said. "I'm glad everyone else does now too. Perhaps it'll put an end to all the speculation so we can focus on winning matches and, hopefully, a trophy. …
"Sam's a great Seeker; he really deserves the job. I consider myself lucky that I'm in a position to watch him and learn from him."
According to Watson, Potter's role in the immediate future will likely remain the same as it's been in the first eight days of the new season. The Boy Who Lived will continue to serve as Diop's backup during first-team matches and he'll start for the Puddlemere reserves.
"This decision isn't meant to reflect badly on Harry in any way," the Puddlemere boss said. "He's a very skilled Seeker and he's getting better day after day. But Samuel's played a huge part in turning this team into a winner and I can't ignore that kind of experience. I think this decision gives the team the best chance at success and Harry a real opportunity to refine his game without an overwhelming amount of pressure. It should be good for him in the long run."
"I know how fortunate I am just to be here," said Potter, who will next be in action as the United reserves travel to Caerphilly on Tuesday. "I'm happy with any role Glenn wants to give me."
Diop seemed mostly relieved at the reaffirmation of his role. Though the third-year Seeker has 50 straight first-team starts -- and 34 victories -- on his Puddlemere C.V., he had to overcome a fierce challenge from the Boy Who Lived to keep his accustomed position.
"I am glad I've had a good start this season," the 28-year-old said. "If I hadn't, I might have been on the bench today. I want to help my team win. To do that, I must be able to play."
Watson would not provide specifics about how he came to his decision, but he did say he had chosen Diop as his primary Seeker before his team's season-opening victory at Portree last week.
"… Reporters were talking all summer about how it could be Potter or it could be Diop," the manager explained. "I knew that could be to our advantage because, as long as I didn't make an announcement, our first opponents had two first-class Seekers to prepare for instead of one. But now that Samuel has played twice in a row, we've gained about all we can from the charade. It's time we let our fans know where things stand."
If the reaction to Saturday's match is any indication, not all of United's supporters will be pleased.
As was the case during Puddlemere's opening exhibition match, Diop's introduction was greeted by a mix of cheers, boos and surprised murmurs from the announced capacity crowd of 8,197. Several hundred fans -- including about 50 witches and wizards who wore "Potter United" T-shirts and filled an entire section of the south bleachers -- even got up and left when it became clear the Boy Who Lived would not be in the line-up.
"That was a shame," Watson said. "It took away from the opening-day atmosphere."
But it didn't take away from the home side's performance. Those who stayed were treated to an exciting display of aggressive, attacking Quidditch, and fittingly, Diop capped off Puddlemere's victory.
As both sides focused their defensive efforts on the field play, the United Seeker and his lauded Catapults counterpart, Carlos Costa, were given almost total liberty to hunt for the Golden Snitch amid the chaos of the wide-open contest. A series of moves and countermoves followed as the rivals, both considered among the league's best, tried to spot the Snitch without losing track of each other.
The high-speed deadlock -- which included several runs that topped 160 mph and circled the entire pitch -- didn't last long, however.
As they raced above the southeast edge of the stadium in the 52nd minute, Diop and Costa forced the Snitch out from behind the left Puddlemere goal hoop. They saw the golden ball at almost the same time and were quickly racing almost side by side behind it as the Caerphilly Seeker's higher speed at the start of the chase counteracted Diop's superior position. Costa tried to press his advantage and surge ahead as they closed to within a few yards of their quarry, but Diop read the move perfectly and threw his elbow out, causing the Portuguese international to swerve almost 90 degrees to the left to avoid the blow. That left Puddlemere's Seeker unchallenged as he ran down the Snitch.
"(Costa) is a very good Seeker," said Diop, who recorded his 38th career league capture and his third in five matches against the Caerphilly Seeker. "I knew he would get the Snitch if he got past me, so I tried to slow him down. I could not see exactly what happened, but I got the Snitch so I think it worked."
"I thought I had it," Costa said. "I was about to move clear, and suddenly, (Diop's) arm was right in front of my face. I didn't think, I just turned. It was a dumb thing to do; it cost us the match."
"It doesn't matter what the situation is, Samuel figures out what he needs to do to get the Snitch," Watson said. "He can outmanoeuvre you, he can outrun you and -- as you saw today -- he can even play physically if he needs to. That was tough flying and it was especially important because the rest of the side played so well. This would have been a very disappointing match to lose on a quick capture."
Caerphilly's hopes rested almost entirely on an early capture because of a stunning reversal of fortune for the United Chasers. A week after their lacklustre showing at Portree, the Puddlemere attackers scored nearly at will in a dominating, coordinated performance.
The key to the turnaround was a shock change in personnel that saw Watson leave captain Siobhan Moran on the sidelines and start new boy Alessandro Albertini. The former Lazio man's manoeuvring and precision passing perfectly complemented the pace of Hernando Chavez and the finishing of Corinne Kiely in the kind of three-person attacking formation that Puddlemere has rarely used in Watson's tenure.
"We're not usually thought of as an attacking side but some of the new players we've brought in are definitely suited to that style of play," the United manager said. "Today seemed like the right day to show that."
The strategy befuddled the usually offensive-minded Catapults, and United scored on its first four possessions for a 40-10 lead in the first five minutes.
"Give them credit," Catapults manager Tim Jeffers said. "They caught us completely by surprise."
The pace settled down somewhat as Caerphilly shifted to a more defensive posture but the speed with which Puddlemere moved forward often left the Catapults disorganized. That made Chavez's sweeping attacks off the flanks particularly dangerous.
"They're usually the team that's pressing forward," said the Peruvian Chaser, who scored six times. "It was nice to turn the tables on them."
Caerphilly's speedy Chasers -- Margot Mezague, Radim Svoboda and Bronwyn Romney -- had plenty of room to work with when they managed to shift to the attack. But Puddlemere Keeper Oliver Wood, who wore the captain's armband with Moran out, turned in a spirited effort that kept all but Mezague (five goals) in check. After the 15-minute mark, United's lead was never less than 40 points.
"We played extremely well," Watson said. "All aspects of our game really came together. I hope we can play like that a few more times in the next few weeks and really improve our position ahead of the middle of the season."
Mike Thalia covers Puddlemere United for the Daily Prophet. Owl him at thedpreporting(at)yahoo(dot)com