Fan who flew 10,000 miles for derby meets team

An Australian teen who flew 10,000 miles to ticker his beloved Everton successful the Merseyside derby lone for it to beryllium called disconnected has been to the grooming crushed to conscionable the players.

Mackenzie lives successful Sydney but was determined to marque it to the Blues' last clash with Liverpool astatine Goodison Park earlier the determination to their caller stadium astatine Bramley Moore Dock.

The match, slated for an aboriginal kick-off connected Saturday, was called disconnected implicit information fears arsenic Storm Darragh battered Merseyside.

However the15-year-old said helium was "over the moon" aft Everton invited him to the club's Finch Farm.

Mackenzie, whose parent Rita was calved successful Liverpool and whose Everton-supporting household inactive unrecorded successful the city, turned down wealth for driving lessons to marque the journey, hopeless "to beryllium portion of history".

After the crippled was cancelled, nine skipper Seamus Coleman sent Mackenzie a video connection successful which helium said helium was "disappointed arsenic well".

But the fullback told Mackenzie helium "would emotion to spot you down the grooming ground".

The Toffee from down-under was capable to chat with the archetypal squad squad and manager Sean Dyche, and got progressive successful a grooming session.

Speaking astatine Finch Farm, helium said: "It's genuinely an honour to beryllium present and it's benignant of surreal however adjacent I americium to everyone.

"These are the guys who are going to spell retired connected Saturday and bushed Arsenal. It's truthful brainsick that I'm conscionable this adjacent to them."

Things got amended for Mackenzie erstwhile centre-back James Tarkowski offered to benignant the teen a summons for the distant clash against Arsenal astatine the weekend.

"This nine goes planetary and to spot idiosyncratic whose travelled half-way astir the satellite conscionable to travel and ticker a crippled it's amazing," Tarkowski said.

"I'm gutted for him, I was gutted for myself that the crippled wasn't on, but a small a motion from the nine to travel and conscionable the lads today."

Mackenzie added: "I didn't deliberation they would attraction this overmuch to beryllium honest.

"All I truly did was travel from Australia, I'm conscionable a instrumentality truly conscionable similar everyone other who came for the derby.

"I'm truly amazed I've gotten this overmuch attraction for that."

Asked if helium could marque it to the re-arranged derby, the schoolboy said: "I'll fig it out, I'll find a way."