The Sparrows

Their ground lies between the canal and the dye works, with a tall iron ring at each end and a low wall from which neighbours watch. Market day fills that wall, and a winning side gives the surrounding street something to celebrate until the next occasion.

In the chapter's match, the Sparrows spend the afternoon trying to recover against Cart Road. A header misses, another attempt is stopped low, and their opponents protect a one goal lead by retaining possession as the remaining minutes pass. Goro's final shot touches the keeper's fingers and rebounds from the ring as the game ends. The Sparrows remain standing while their opponents celebrate, and their neighbours leave with the quiet kindness that follows a losing market day.

Ferro is a former player for Low Quilt from before Goro's birth and now watches with the older people on the benches. After this loss, he tells Goro about an unbeaten side elsewhere across the Quarter.