Standing alone and visibly dejected in the torrential Merseyside rain, spectators seated in Anfield's famous Kop grandstand trudged towards the exits as Nathan Eccleston's fourteen years' worth of dedication began to unravel.
"I thought my world was over because no matter your age, you have to take accountability as a professional footballer," he tells the ECHO in an exclusive interview.
The then 19-year-old forward had been assigned the simple task of converting a penalty from 12 yards. For Eccleston, this had been his livelihood for three-quarters of his life, in a journey that had taken him from a council estate in north Manchester to rubbing shoulders with legendary figures Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
