JADEN, 10, HAILS BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT
AGROUP of local women finished their mochas and lattes in Bristol City’s coffee shop just before lunchtime, then one turned to the rest. The new local celebrity was firmly on her agenda. ‘Have you seen Jaden this morning?’ she asked. ‘The boy happened to be in the right place at the right time, didn’t he?’ Well, not exactly. An unlikely star of Manchester United’s humbling at Ashton Gate, ten-year-old ballboy Jaden Neale, was not merely in the right place when Lee Johnson hurtled down the touchline in jubilant celebration of Korey Smith’s historic stoppage-time winner. ‘The manager was running down, so I ran towards him as well,’ Jaden told Sportsmail. Johnson picked up the child and swung him around in a moment of unbridled joy. It has provided the internet with a feelgood video clip right before Christmas. Not that Jaden is too fussed about the big day now. His Christmases all came at once on Wednesday, when the club he has watched for six years — and whose academy he plays for — toppled a giant.
Jaden’s excitement lit up television screens across the country. ‘That’s my best Christmas present — nothing can beat that,’ he said, drawing smiles from parents Laura and Mike.
‘I was really excited! I’ve met the manager a couple of times and he’s nice. It’s the best game I’ve ever seen Bristol City play.
‘The atmosphere was really loud. It’s not normally that loud! I just couldn’t believe what I’d seen in the last minute. My favourite player is Joe Bryan. I look up to him. I am a winger or a striker. I reckon they’ll go up this season — 100 per cent!’ JOSE MOURINHO had his Manchester United squad training at lunchtime yesterday — even after travel chaos saw them arrive back from Bristol City at 5am.
United’s private flight was cancelled due to fog after their humbling at Ashton Gate, leaving them having to take the 174-mile trip up to Manchester by coach after a frustrating wait at Bristol airport.
They reported to Carrington ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to Leicester City at around midday, under seven hours after landing back. That compounded a nightmare 24 hours, given their plane travelling earlier on Wednesday had to be redirected to Cardiff because of the weather.
Chris Smalling gave an honest assessment of United’s dire display. ‘It was a shock,’ he said. ‘It was one where we need to regroup in time and recover for this weekend. We need a reaction to make sure we get the three points.
‘Everyone was devastated after the game and it feels like a big missed opportunity for us.’