REAL MADRID were given an almighty pre-season scare by a former Norwich and King’s Lynn youth reject – but eventually prevailed on penalties against MLS All Stars.
The All Stars earned their stripes after holding the 12-time European champions to a 1-1 draw in normal time, after Dom Dwyer netted in the 87th minute.
Orlando City forward Dwyer – who was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex – played his youth career at Norwich, Staines Town and King’s Lynn, before moving to the US for further education and the MLS draft.
And to net against Zinedine Zidane‘s all-conquering side is quite a story – even if he did miss his penalty.
Borja Mayoral had given Real the lead, after finding a yard of space in the box.
His deflected shot curled in past Stefan Frei after good work from Dani Ceballos.
Real had started with an inexperienced team, but more familiar faces including Gareth Bale, Karin Benzema and Toni Kroos were brought on in the second half.
But after Dwyer’s equaliser, penalties ensued and it was Dwyer, as well as Giovanni dos Santos who fluffed their lines for the All Stars as Real netted all four.
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Despite missing his spot kick, Dwyer, 27, was still over the moon with his contribution, as he played alongside Orlando team-mate Kaka, who used to play for Real.
He said: “It was a fun night. Obviously very excited to get the goal. It was just a real pleasure to be here, we have some real world-class players.
“I just blacked out. I think Dax headed, hit the post, it bounced around and I was just there at the right place, right time, to head it in.”
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