Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest stars praised for classy gesture after young fan plays The Last Post
ASTON VILLA and Nottingham Forest stars rallied around a young fan in a heartwarming moment.
A 16-year-old Forest season-ticket holder was chosen to play The Last Post on the pitch at The City Ground as part of the club’s Remembrance Day tribute.
The youngster executed the military bugle call superbly but just struggled to hit the correct notes at the end.
That prompted a brief second of confusion inside the stadium but then the entire ground – including both sets of players, coaches and fans – burst out into spontaneous applause.
The lad appeared visibly upset following his unfortunate mishap.
But before walking off the pitch holding his trumpet, he was consoled by a few of the players from both teams.
Villa trio Ollie Watkins, Nicolo Zaniolo and Lucas Digne as well as Forest’s Orel Mangala were among those who gathered around the fan with classy gestures of support, including hugs and handshakes.
And viewers at home praised both the bugler and the footballers for the wholesome moment.
One said: “Absolute class from fans and players alike. Great to see.”
Another wrote: “Can we just say a massive well done to that 16yr who did their best with the Last Post pre-match. So brave. Lovely of the NFFC and AVFC players going over afterwards.”
A third added: “All the Forest and Villa players coming up to the bugler after the Last Post was so wholesome.”
A fourth commented: “Fair play to the lad… I know I couldn’t do that in front of 30,000 people.”
And a final user typed: “Absolutely top effort and brave of that young man playing The Last Post. Also great that both sets of players acknowledged him after.”
Once the match got underway, Ola Aina fired Forest into the lead after just five minutes, drilling low into the bottom corner.
And Forest made it 2-0 to wrap up the three points just 68 seconds into the second half.
Mangala let fly from range and Emi Martinez made a meal of the save, pushing the ball up into the air before it spun back over the line.