Liam lives dream (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Liam lives dream

11:00am Saturday 1st December 2012 in Local

KIDDERMINSTER footballer Liam Williams took a step closer to earning a contract with a Football League club after progressing to the semi-finals of a national competition.

The Worcester Road-based player, 18, has seen off thousands of other footballers who entered Samsung’s Win A Pro Contract competition to reach the penultimate stages.

Up for grabs is a deal with Leyton Orient or Swindon Town.

The right-back is one of 22 players left after impressing scouts of both clubs during a quarter-final trial, which was an 11-a-side match against Hyde FC on November 11.

He said: “I was pretty nervous heading into the quarter-finals but I felt I did enough to get through.

“There were some really talented players on show. I could see how much everyone wants to win a contract. They all deserved to be there.

“I spent six weeks on trial with West Bromwich Albion when I was 10 but I was released for being too small. It would be nice to prove them wrong.

“Playing football is all I’ve wanted to do since I was a little boy. Winning this competition would be a dream come true.”

The teenage hopeful will now play in front of Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio and Orient boss Russell Slade at Swindon Town’s County Ground on Sunday, December 16, kick-off 1pm.

The 22 players are battling it out to be among 11 selected for the final against an Leyton Orient XI at the Matchroom Stadium in January.

Di Canio and Slade will then invite a select group of players to train with their respective first-team squads and willl pick one player each to offer them a year-long professional playing contract.