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From KW Record

http://www.therecord.com/home_page_main_story/home_page_main_story_930245.html

Tuesday, January 02, 2007 | Updated at 9:09 AM EST

Dream come true

Kitchener native scores first goal for Newcastle in front of 52,000 soccer fans

BRENT DAVIS

REUTERS

Newcastle United's David Edgar, a Kitchener native, celebrates his goal against Manchester United with teammate Steven Taylor yesterday during an English Premier League soccer match in Newcastle, northern England. It was his second Premier League match.

(Jan 2, 2007)

At age 19, David Edgar has written another remarkable chapter in an already stellar soccer career.

One week after making his English Premier League debut with Newcastle United, the Kitchener native got the start yesterday before a home crowd of 52,000 -- and scored the tying goal against league-leading Manchester United.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

"To do it on that stage, at that particular time . . . you couldn't write a script like that," his father, Eddie, said by telephone last night from England.

Eddie, himself a Newcastle alumnus, was still celebrating late in the night after witnessing his son's goal in person.

"He played very, very well," Eddie said. "He was very confident."

David didn't even think he was going to get the start at left-back, the first time he's ever played that position. Normally, he plays centre half.

But 90 minutes before kickoff at St. James' Park, the word came that he'd take the field in place of the injured Nicky Butt.

"I was expecting to be on the bench," Edgar told the BBC after the win.

"And to start against Man United is a dream come true. And to score . . ."

In the 73rd minute of play, with Manchester ahead 2-1, Edgar blasted the ball from about 30 metres out. The ball took a slight deflection off of Manchester's Paul Scholes before going inside the far post past keeper Edwin Van der Sar.

Back across the pond, the Edgar family home in Kitchener was in an "uproar," said David's uncle, Kevin Edgar.

"It was very emotional," he said last night. "I know how hard the kid's worked to get where he is."

Soccer has always been in the Edgar family's blood. Kevin Edgar played in the amateur ranks in the Newcastle area, while his brother, Eddie, played one game as 'keeper for Newcastle in a 1976 FA Cup quarter-final.

David played soccer as a youngster in Canada -- but here, in a hockey hotbed, it was felt he might not have the ideal opportunity to improve.

So when he was 14, David's family made the tough decision to let him go overseas to live with his grandmother, Nancy, in Newcastle. He's never looked back.

He joined Manchester's academy and rose through the ranks in youth teams in the area, eventually securing stints with Newcastle's reserve squad.

He had his first chance to play with the senior team in a friendly match against a Spanish team in September 2005. Shortly after, he was offered a pro contract with Newcastle, and his competitive debut with the top squad came last week on Boxing Day against Bolton.

Playing for Canada's under-20 team last May, Edgar marked his 19th birthday in style as he became the first Canadian to score against storied Brazil at the under-20 level during a game in Edmonton.

That goal helped Canada to its first-ever under-20 men's win over Brazil.

Watching yesterday's game with a house full of family and friends, David's mother, Christine, said she never expected her son to score.

"All I wanted was for him not to mess up," she said, laughing. "We were ecstatic about the goal."

Eddie Edgar has been in England for a few weeks and got to see David make his professional debut against Bolton last week.

Yesterday's start, before a stadium full of screaming Geordies, as the Newcastle fans are known, was "fantastic," Eddie said.

"It was totally unexpected. The goal was a bonus."

Watching from Vancouver, Canada's under-20 coach Dale Mitchell said he was impressed.

"David handled his home debut very well considering he was at times matched up against Ronaldo, (Ryan) Giggs and (Ji-sung) Park," Mitchell said.

"I didn't think you could beat scoring against Brazil on your 19th birthday, but possibly getting the equalizer on New Year's Day versus Manchester United has done it for him," he said. "Everyone involved in Canadian soccer should be really pleased for the boy."

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It's sort of gratifying when you realize that Kitchener was the city for the development of soccer in Canada. Going back to the old days it was at that time Berlin(Kitchener) that ruled the Canadian soccer world. It

was even a team made up of mostly players from Kitchener that went to England and really made a name for themselves.The father of Canadian Soccer is from Kitchener and his legacy is second to none. So good stuff Kitchener you did it again!

And here we go the best young soccer player in Holland is a Canadian, the best soccer player on the English team is a Canadian, one of the best in the MLS is a Canadian and than we have Edgar following in their footsteps.

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Guest Jeffery S.
quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

Holy crap! Rhian Dodds got on the pitch-heck, he started! Played 71 as Kilmarnock lost to Celtic 2-0

Was just going to post the same. Seems he also took a yellow card in the 2nd half.

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quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

Was just going to post the same. Seems he also took a yellow card in the 2nd half.

Damn it...that game was televised live here in Japan (becuase of Nakamura) but hadn't imagined Dodds playing so didn't even catch a minute of it.

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