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Moville teen plays Old Trafford
12.11.10
by Caoimhinn Barr
A MOVILLE teenager was the envy of his classmates
after hooking up with Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson and
star striker Wayne Rooney before donning the famous
red jersey and running onto the hallowed turf of Old
Trafford.
United-mad Shaun Doherty was one of eight finalists
to perform at half-time during a match against West
Brom last month after winning a Soccer Skills
challenge in Manchester in the summer.
Travelling over to England with father, Sean,
mother, Joanne and brother, Ben, Shaun (16) trained
at Man Utd’s state-of-the-art Carrington facility
with former Old Trafford legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
before meeting many of the current crop of Red
Devils stars.
Recalling a memorable weekend Shaun said it was a
dream come true.
“I met all the United players and got my picture
taken with them when I was standing right beside
Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic. I got autographs
from Berbatov, Rooney, O’Shea, Fletcher and Gibson,”
he said.
“Alex Ferguson signed his autograph for me and he
also came over and spoke to us for five minutes or
so. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then took a training
session with our group and he was really
inspirational; he is a really nice man.” |
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Shaun Doherty during the training
session at Old Trafford. |
“It was amazing to play
at Old Trafford; a dream come true for me. The pitch
was like a carpet. It was very wet so the ball moved
around the surface much quicker than I was used to.
It was unbelievable to stop for a second and look at
all the people watching. It was also a highlight to
be clapped onto the field by the fans,” Shaun added.
Proud parents, Sean and Joanne, said their son
deserved his moment of glory.
“He has been playing football since he could walk
and we are really proud of him,” Joanne said.
Part of a football-mad family, Shaun’s uncles Joe
and Seamus (Storky) are current and former Moville
Celtic players respectively while his great uncle
Billy was a member of the infamous Moville Rejects
team, which won back-to-back Eamon Gillen Cups in
the 1970s. His father, Sean (Fagan), has
successfully played and managed in the Inishowen
League for more than two decades. |
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