Billy Sharp

[Montse]

Brought tears to my eyes this

 

 

Billy Sharp opened the scoring for Doncaster on an emotional night at the Keepmoat Stadium, but Middlesbrough came from behind to win with a clinical display.

 

Hours before kick-off, Doncaster had announced that Sharp's two-day-old son had died on Saturday, and it had been expected that the club captain would be unable to play.

 

However, the Rovers manager, Dean Saunders, included Sharp in his starting lineup, alongside the club's new signing El-Hadji Diouf. A minute's applause celebrated the tragically short life of Sharp's child before kick-off and Sharp sent the Keepmoat Stadium into raptures when he scored with a stunning volley inside the first 15 minutes.

 

Sharp revealed a message on a T-shirt as he ran towards the home fans in celebration. The referee, Darren Deadman, did not issue a caution.

 

"I knew what was going on all week and I also know the finer details of what happened, which is worse than you think," said Saunders of Sharp's situation. "He rung me last night and asked me if he could play – he wanted to play.

 

"He wanted to play to score a goal for his son and his family and he was ready to go. When he said that to me I couldn't really refuse.

 

"You won't score a better goal than that – it's incredible. I thought: 'The story's already been written. He's going to end up with a hat-trick here and we're going to win 3-0.' It didn't turn out that way but I'm really proud that he wanted to play and it tells you a bit about him as a man. There's not many people who would have done that.

 

His Middlesbrough counterpart, Tony Mowbray, added: "Taking the professionalism out of it, I'm delighted for the boy that he's scored such a fantastic goal on such an occasion for him.

 

"It's amazing to think for anyone who's had children the emotional drain that must have been with him – I couldn't put it into words. For him to score a wonder-goal, your headlines should be there really – a goal from heaven."

 

However, Barry Robson's double either side of Marvin Emnes's effort in first-half stoppage time, courtesy of a dreadful error from the Rovers goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, gave Middlesbrough victory and sent their opponents to the foot of the Championship table.

 

The sponsor's man of the match award, though, went to Sharp, much to the delight of the remaining home fans.

ere

 

RIP to his son very sad

[The Hitman]

Good goal too.

[Ostrich Man]

The referee, Darren Deadman, did not issue a caution

 

would like to think so......cause he wouldve been had he done so.

[ManxRed]

The referee, Darren Deadman, did not issue a caution

 

A referee with common sense? We can't be having that.

 

He won't go far in this game.