Middlesbrough-based Marton Boys, Sporting 77 Girls of Braintree, Seahaven Harriers from East Sussex and Wiltshire’s Blunsdon Colts all warmed up the crowd before Manchester United and Portsmouth took to the pitch for the curtain raiser to the brand new 2008-09 season.

The four teams took part in a series of Level One coaching drills before kick off with over 25,000 fans watching sessions that included specialised warms up and football games such as Traffic Lights, Robin Hood and Round the Clock.

It was certainly a day to remember for Marton Boys’ U11s as Head Coach, Wayne Rayner, explained: “We took 15 lads onto the pitch for the coaching and they had a fantastic time.

“We had a quick look around the stadium beforehand and were given the brand new Respect shirts to wear as well which was great for the lads because they got to feel like proper professional players.”

Marton Boys, who boast Jonathan Woodgate and Stewart Downing as former players, had over 80 parents and volunteers watching from the stands and the team even got a standing ovation from the Manchester United faithful: “We had to walk around the pitch to get back to our seats for the kick off and the Manchester United supporters gave all the kids a round of applause as they walked past which was wonderful,” said Wayne who was on the pitch with his coaches, Mark Salmon and Mark Lawrence.

The club’s trip to Wembley has been the talk of the town back in Marton with coverage in the Middlesbrough Evening Gazette and on BBC Tees radio. 

As well as the successful coaching event, Wayne had another highlight to take back from the home of football: “There was a stray ball just sitting around the penalty area during the coaching sessions and I just couldn’t resist a dig so it’s now official – I’ve scored the first Middlesbrough goal at Wembley!”