Cliftonville striker Joe Gormley was both surprised and touched to receive a hero’s welcome when he returned to his place of work on Monday morning.
Gormley is a classroom assistant at Holy Cross Boys Primary in North Belfast and the pupils were out in force to cheer the Reds talisman through the school.
Less than 24 hours before, the 32-year-old had scored twice in a thrilling 4-3 win over Coleraine in the final of the BetMcLean League Cup.
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On a video posted by Holy Cross Boys on social media, hundreds of excited pupils are seen giving Gormley a rapturous reception.
In the heartwarming clip, which lasts more than two minutes and has been viewed 75,000 times, cheers and shouts of ‘Red Army’ ring out through the corridors.
At one point red and white ticker tape is thrown into the air and on one corridor pupils greet Gormley with chants of ‘Joe the Goal! Joe the Goal!”
After being enveloped in a group hug by younger pupils, one work colleague can be heard quipping at Cliftonville’s all-time record goalscorer: “You’re being well marked, Joe.”
Gormley, who has worked at Holy Cross Boys for the past year, said: "I was told to report to the principal's office and was greeted by all the pupils and staff.
“It was a massive surprise to get the reception I did and it was a lovely touch. I'm a past pupil of the school, so it meant a lot."
You can watch Joe's rapturous reception here...
Coleraine led 2-0 in Sunday's final at Windsor Park only for Gormley to pull one back before Paul O’Neill forced extra-time with a close range finish in the 91st minute.
O’Neill made it 3-2 after Coleraine were reduced to 10-men following James McLaughlin's red card for an off-the-ball incident with Cliftonville captain Chris Curran.
And Gormley added a fourth with a tap-in from a Ryan Curran cross to help the Reds secure the Solitude club’s sixth League Cup title.
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