Young Man City fan's dream comes true with unforgettable trip to the Etihad to lead out the team with Erling Haaland
Louise Walsh
A young Meath soccer fanatic's dream was made come true when he accompanied his Manchester City idol onto the pitch ahead of a Premier League match at the weekend.
Eleven-year-old Tom Lynch who suffers from a very rare genetic condition, was elated to meet Erling Haaland and the rest of the players at the Etihad on Saturday.
The club took on Brentford FC to win by a goal.
Tom was named Fan of the Match at the game and even got a kiss and a hug from team manager Pep Guardiola.
Although he is a wheelchair user because of the Dejerine Sottas Syndrome condition, it has never stopped his love for both soccer and GAA.
The young man from Kilskyre even came home with ten more Premiership jerseys to add to his existing collection of sports tops from soccer and GAA clubs and even American Football clubs across the world.
Speaking after the match, mum Nikki said that Tom was 'over the moon'.
"He is just elated and can't wait to show all his friends the pictures and tell them about his experience," she said.
"He has always loved Manchester City, especially in the last few years but never got to a match before now. We knew someone who was able to get in touch with Manchester City and they kindly invited Tom and his family over for the weekend.
"There are normally about eleven mascots at a match but Tom was named as fan of the match so he was the only person who got to welcome the team into the dressing room ahead of the game.
"Jack Grealish stopped for a chat and all the players were so lovely to him, despite being under time pressures. Erling asked him was he ok before escorting him onto the pitch and Tom said the atmosphere was just pure gold. He won't forget this in a hurry.
"And I think to get a kiss and hug from Pep Guardiola just capped it all off."
Tom is a local legend as he has rarely missed a training session or match for any of his local Ballinlough GAA teams since he was a toddler.
The club even honoured him as the 16th man when the U14 team won a county championship in recent years.