It’s not quite the boyhood dream of being spotted in the crowd and being asked to kit up for a game of football, but Harrison Allen’s Easter weekend story is no less amazing.
Harrison, a 18-year-old youth prospect for non-league Sleaford Town was dutifully covering his side’s game against Boston Town FC via their Twitter account.
At 3-0, the understaffed club decided to bring on some substitutes… one of them being the young midfielder.
Presenting “A Tale in Three Tweets – Why We Love Non-League Football”.
Second half underway. No changes for Sleaford one change for @bostontownfc
— Sleaford Town FC 1923 (@SleafordTownFC) March 28, 2016
Goal for Boston. Through ball from the midfield and the number 10 slots past McGann. 3-1
— Sleaford Town FC 1923 (@SleafordTownFC) March 28, 2016
Sorry for break in tweets. I came on as a sub for Millard. Other subs were Anderson for Millington and Hollingsworth for Wright
— Sleaford Town FC 1923 (@SleafordTownFC) March 28, 2016
Needless to say, the break in live coverage caused a bit of stir over the weekend, with Sleaford Town seeing a massive uptick in their Twitter followers and fandom.
In amongst all of this, JOE caught up with young Harrison for a quick chat over just what happened.
First things first, what was your reaction when you had to go on? Were you dragged from an office or were you already on the bench on your phone?
“I’m actually am a player, I just volunteered to do the Twitter feed as the usual tweeter was at work on the day. So I was prepared to go on.”
How’s the club getting on? How’s your season been outside the game (which, strangely enough ended 3-3) could you give us a bit more detail about how your season is getting on?
“This is my first full season with the Sleaford First team and it’s been great. We are currently 7th in the United Counties League and only 3 points from matching Sleaford’s best ever points total in the league. To add to this we also reached the last 32 of the FA Vase which is a club best.”
How has the reaction been?
“It’s been crazy. I know the club account has gained around 250 new followers, I’ve gained 50 and that tweet now has over 3400 retweets. Massive shoutout to Jamie Shaw who had to deal with the huge number of notifications on his phone!”
Also, tell us more about your football skills, you’ve come up through the junior ranks as captain, as a midfielder, do you mind describing what position/players you think you play like?
“Well in the first team this year I’ve been a bit of a utility player and played in a number of positions. So I guess you could say that’s similar to someone like James Milner? But for the under 18s and 21s I’ve played central midfield and would love to liken myself to Frank Lampard as I’ve scored a few goals this season. Think the lads may have something to say about that though!”
What makes a Sleaford Town match a decent day out for you? What would you say to anyone coming down?
“Sleaford Town has  good standard of football which is always competitive and exciting to watch. There’s a real friendly atmosphere around the club and a great youth set up. Also the players will stick around after the game for a drink and chat in the bar with the fans after.”
Finally, what would be your starting line-up for England at the Euros?
“My England lineup would be 4-3-3: Hart, Clyne Stones Smalling Rose, Barkley, Dier, Alli, Vardy Kane and Sterling.”
Good luck for the rest of the season Harrison. Go on Sleaford!
When your tweet gets 1000+ retweets 😳 pic.twitter.com/XRtOZ0dNmd
— Harrison Allen (@7HCA) March 28, 2016
