Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa players console distraught fan after Remembrance tribute ends early

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa players came together to console a young season ticket-holder who was distraught after his Last Post performance on Remembrance Day finished slightly earlier than anticipated.

Caiden Storry, 16, took to the City Ground pitch ahead of kick-off on November 5th to perform the Last Post.

For the most part, Storry delivered a near-perfect rendition of the bugle call that was traditionally used by the British army to mark the end of the day in a military camp.

But towards the end of Sunday's tribute, the youngster became visibly upset after he struggled to hit the correct notes in the final section.

Moments later, a number of players, including Ollie Watkins and Orel Mangala, rallied round Storry as thousands inside the 30,000-capacity stadium applauded his efforts.

Poor kid. Nice touch from players both sides. #forestvilla pic.twitter.com/mjI663kBly

— South Coast Bantam (@CraigAndrew3) November 5, 2023

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper, who gave Storry a hug as he made his way off the City Ground pitch, praised the teenager's rendition of the Last Post.

“First of all, I’m not sure of Caiden's age but I’ve got a 15-year-old boy and I love it when he shows confidence to do things because it isn't always easy in this era we live in,” he said in his post-match interview.

“For a 16-year-old boy who’s a fan to stand in the middle and do that and do it brilliantly as well, he should be really proud and we are proud.

“To see how both sets of players responded, because they have to perform and they know what it’s like... It was a really important moment and I thought everyone came together in what is always a poignant moment anyway."

Cooper has also invited Storry to meet the Forest squad at their Wilford Lane training ground.

He added: “I managed to have a word with him and we will try to reach out to him and bring him to the training ground. I want him to meet the players so he knows how good he was.

“I told him I was proud of him. He said 'I'm sorry about that', and I said, 'What for, everyone is really proud of you'.

“The Villa boys were excellent and the City Ground was what it was, what we have got, which is unique. We have to keep it going because when things don't go quite right, let's look to support each other.

"The fans and players did a brilliant job, Caiden did a brilliant job today and I am really proud he delivered that for us.”

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.