My poor dad was speechless after I made Aussie debut.. so was I when legend Tim made a speech for me
MARTIN BOYLE had never seen his dad Graeme lost for words. But the Hibs star has revealed his exploits for Australia left his old man speechless. Graeme Boyle, who now lives in Aberdeen but hails from Sydney, was an emotional wreck this month as Martin travelled Down Under to make his first competitive outings for the Socceroos in friendlies against South Korea and Lebanon. Watching TV in the early hours of the morning he was beaming with pride as the 25-year-old came off the bench to notch an assist in the 1-1 draw against the Asian nation, before scoring a double in the 3-0 defeat of Lebanon. The golden jersey that Boyle sported in the latter – his maiden start for his adopted country – will soon have pride of place in Graeme’s home and Martin admits the experience has been an emotional rollercoaster. With a smile the Hibs striker said: “When I left for the matches in Australia my dad almost shed a tear. He was staying up all night to watch the games.
“When I phoned him after the games it was a new experience. I’ve never heard him speechless before in his life!
“He’s damn proud. When I came home last week he came down to visit and I gave him the shirt. He’s going to get it framed. I got a few shirts to take home so they’ll all be up on the wall.
“I was very nervous going into the week. It felt surreal. It was just about making that first impression.
“I was being talked about a lot and the closer the game came it was being built up. You just think to yourself. ‘Don’t have a nuke!’”
Boyle needn’t have worried. His all-action displays have seen
He’s damn proud. When I came home last week I gave him the shirt MARTIN BOYLE