How a little Keane kindness went a long way

IT is 1998, the summer is on its way, and Mickey Ward is about to play for Mid-Ulster in the opening game of the Milk Cup.

It’s a Monday night and the match is at Castlerock. The opposition is Manchester United. Ward, a 14-year-old grammar school pupil at Omagh CBS, will score a hat-trick. Those three strikes will instantly alter the course of his life. By the end of the week 14 clubs will make telephone calls to his parents’ home in Beragh. Spurs, Everton and Celtic are among the institutions seeking his signature. Ward signs a five-year deal with Leeds United.

After sitting his GCSEs, he moves to Leeds in 2000.