Young Blue Surprised By Goalscoring Hero Barry

A young Evertonian whose passion for the Blues was broadcast to the world has been to Finch Farm to meet his goalscoring hero.

Lucas, 5, showed raw emotion when cameras caught him wildly celebrating Thierno Barry’s decisive second-half strike in the opening day 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The heartwarming footage was shared widely on social media, prompting Barry to issue a special invite to Lucas and his family to visit the Club's training ground.

Dan, Lucas' father, said: “We can’t believe how it’s all escalated. At the match, I was inundated with texts from friends and family, and I thought it was just the lads commenting on the goal, but no; it was mum, dad, uncles, friends, friends of friends – and it carried on for the full week, with constant text messages and comments from as far away as Australia and America.

“It was only when we got home from the game that we saw the pictures and it was amazing.

“Everyone says that’s how it should be as a football fan, and the fact it was so raw.

“The passion was just unbelievable. You could see it in his face.”

On Friday morning, mum Hannah and dad Dan accompanied their starstruck superstar to Finch Farm as Lucas enjoyed a kick-about before being given a tour of the team facilities. 

But the highlight was a surprise meeting with Barry, who presented the young Toffee with a signed Everton third shirt.

“It's just been brilliant,” added Dan. “The Club got in touch while we were in Ireland to say we'd been invited in and we knew Lucas would be absolutely made up.

“We decided not to tell him just to keep it a surprise, and it’s just been the best day - a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The fact he's been in to see everyone and getting to see all the players coming in has been incredible.

“Not everyone gets to do it, so he's the luckiest little boy!”