Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

EXCLUSIVE: Owen Stirton reveals Dundee United heroes and current mentor as Tannadice teen laps up ‘fairytale’ rise

Stirton rattled the bar during an impactful cameo against Stenhousemuir – and boss Jim Goodwin is clearly an admirer.

Dundee United's Owen Stirton hard at work during training.
Owen Stirton hard at work during training. Image: Dundee United FC.

Owen Stirton is reliving the moment.

Glenn Middelton scampers down the right flank and delivers a fine cut-back for the Tannadice teenager. One touch to kill the bounce. With his next, a thunderous drive that leaves Stenhousemuir goalkeeper Darren Jamieson stranded.

However, it strikes the underside of the bar. A lick of paint away from a boyhood dream being realised for the die-hard Arab.

“I couldn’t believe it when it came back off the bar – I was devastated,” Stirton tells Courier Sport. “I just wish it had gone in.”

Dundee United's Owen Stirton gets ahead of Gregor Buchanan to rattle the bar.
Stirton gets ahead of Gregor Buchanan to rattle the bar. Image: Richard Wiseman / Dundee United FC

More maddeningly, Stirton collected the follow-up after that shot struck the woodwork and fizzed another effort towards the target, only for that to be blocked. 

But when the dust settles and frustration assuages, the 17-year-old has every reason to be proud of a lively cameo in just his sixth senior outing for United.

Entering the fray alongside experienced campaigners such as Middleton, Tony Watt and Kevin Holt, it was Stirton who made the most notable impact – holding the ball up, bringing others into the play and getting a couple of shots away.

“I managed to put myself about a bit and got on the end of a few chances – on another day one of those goes in and I’m up and running,” he added.

From Tannadice stands to the turf

The mere sight of Stirton leading the line is enough to be described as “a fairytale” by boss Jim Goodwin, who promoted the precocious forward to the United senior training group last summer.

The first graduate of United’s Baldragon Academy partnership to make a senior appearance for the Tangerines, Stirton was a Tannadice season ticket holder as recently as 2014.

Having idolised the likes of Ryan Gauld and Stuart Armstrong, he is now seeking to following in the footsteps of those same United youth products.

Ryan Gauld celebrates one of his nine goals this season
Ryan Gauld is now a Vancouver Whitecaps talisman. Image: Shutterstock.

“When I came into the club last year, I never thought I would be anywhere near the first team,” continued Stirton. “But in the second week of pre-season last year, the gaffer invited me to first-team training. I’ve been working with them ever since.

“I’ve been a United fan all my life and had a season ticket for eight years, so it’s all a dream come true. I loved watching Gary Mackay-Steven, (Nadir) Cifcti, Ryan Gauld and Stuart Armstrong.

“To this day, I watch Ryan Gauld doing amazing things and scoring every week in the MLS!”

“My dad, Dean, was in the stands on Tuesday to watch me. My whole family are United fans and followed them home and away, going all the way back to the 1980s and all the European trips – so it’s great for them.”

On the prospect of his United-daft family seeing Stirton’s name in the matchday squad for the Premiership opener against fierce rivals Dundee, he smiled: “You can only hope and dream!”

Stirton: Tony Watt has taken me under his wing

While it is the faith of Goodwin that has afforded Stirton the platform to shine, he expresses his gratitude to coach Dave Bowman, who is known to put in extra hours on the training pitch with the United youngsters.

Stirton is matching that with his own additional graft, noting: “I go to the gym most days after training – sometimes twice a day. I want to keep getting stronger.”

He is also fulsome in his praise for Tannadice vice-captain Tony Watt.

Tony Watt is congratulated by youngster Owen Stirton
Tony Watt is congratulated by Stirton following a goal against Brechin. Image: SNS

“Tony has helped me a lot since I came in,” Stirton added. “He gives me tips for my game every day and has taken me under his wing from the start.

The information an experienced player like that can pass on is invaluable – how to use my body, how to protect the ball. And I think he really believes in me, which is something that gives me a lot of confidence.”

Goodwin: Stirton rise is already a fairytale

Discussing the progress made by Stirton, who scored FOUR goals in a U/18s bounce game last weekend, Goodwin said: “Stirts’ story from 12 months ago when he came into the club as a 16-year-old from Baldragon has been a fairytale.

All smiles: Jim Goodwin is relishing the start of the season
All smiles: Jim Goodwin has lauded the swift progress made by Stirton. Image: SNS

“He was coming in to play with the U/18s. The intention was to leave him there for at least 12 months to have a look at him and get him up to speed.

“But he has progressed a lot quicker. In 12 months, he must have put on five or six kilos in muscle. Technically, I think he is understanding what we are asking of him, as well.

“We are not putting too much pressure on him. He is still not fully developed – but is a very exciting one for the academy.”

Conversation