Dare to dream

Is there a small child out there who hasn't dreamed of running out at Wembley? Scoring a goal for England. Thousands of fans cheering out their name. I know I did when I was younger. The realisation that I was never was going to be good enough to be a professional footballer soon materialised. I knew quickly I wasn't even going to be a decent amateur footballer for that matter. But it doesn't stop the dream of winning a trophy, no matter how small time it is, remain bright.

In fact, I had that feeling just a couple of weeks ago. My rugby 7s team, the Waunfawr Warriors, reached the final of the Plate competition at the Aberystwyth 7s after a brilliant semi-final display. We believed we could win silverware. We dared to dream. But as we arrived for the advertised kick-off time of 6pm for the final, we were informed the final had been moved forward and we'd conceded as a result.

As painful as that experience was, it's to the players and fans of Lille and Mallorca where my heart really goes out, after having Champions League football snatched out of their hands in dramatic style last night. Auxerre scored a stoppage time winner to nick third place in the French League, but the story of the night came at Mallorca.

Having beat Espanyol, Mallorca had moved into fourth spot in La Liga. Only Sevilla could catch them. Mallorca's players watched the conclusion of Almeria v Sevilla on the big screen at their stadium. Just two minutes to go. As the game entered the fourth minute of added time, Rodri scored for Sevilla, destroying Mallorca's dreams and their players sunk to their knees in disappointment. Their season ended by what coach Gregorio Manzano described as "two cursed minutes". Sport hurts.