A FOOTBALL-mad Bromsgrove nine-year-old witnessed one of the most memorable nights in football history close up after winning a competition to be a mascot for Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final comeback against Barcelona.

Orlando Boyce went from Fairfield to Anfield on Tuesday night thanks to a Mastercard contest entered by his mum Karen.

Liverpool, trailing 3-0 from the first leg to the Spanish giants, produced a fightback for the ages to win the second leg 4-0 and set up a final against fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur next month.

And it was just as memorable a night for Orlando, who was paired up as the mascot for Barcelona’s former Liverpool player and Brazil midfielder Phillipe Coutinho, and managed to get a cheeky autograph from another ex-Reds superstar, Uruguay striker Luis Suarez.

Orlando said: “It was incredible, it was such a good feeling when we went out of the tunnel on to the pitch with all the fans screaming. And it was incredible how Liverpool pulled it back.

“Coutinho spoke to me a bit but I had more of a talk with Suarez and got his autograph – my dad gave me a Sharpie (pen) and I put it in my sock and he signed the Liverpool top I had on under my shirt.”

His dad, Gary, an Aston Villa fan, added: “I was a fully-fledged Liverpool supporter for the night! The atmosphere just got you that hooked into it and I was screaming and shouting.”

Mum Karen revealed the dream trip nearly slipped through their fingers.

She explained: "I was supposed to have been sent an email about the competition which required us to respond by 12 noon the following day, otherwise they would assume we wouldn't be interested.

"I never received that email, but luckily for us, they rang me up at the 11th hour.

"There was another scare when they asked for Orlando's height.

"We measured him at 134 centimetres and then discovered that he had to be under 135 - so we just scraped in!

Karen added: "Orlando lives and breathes football. He plays in goal for Catshill under-9s and sometimes it can take over your life, going to games and training.

"He was so excited that when he went into Fairfield First School on Friday, he couldn't wait to go and tell the head.

"He doesn't really have a favourite team although David De Gea is his favourite player being a goalkeeper.

"But he has been to watch Bromsgrove Sporting a few times with some of his teammates from Catshill.”