by Andrew Gidley

Luke Rooney says scoring on his league debut for Gillingham will stay with him for the rest of his life.

The 18-year-old with the famous footballing name, has almost certainly written himself into the record books.

Rooney scored the third goal in Gillingham's 3-0 League 1 win over Exeter at Priestfield on Saturday.

Club statisticians are hard pressed to remember anybody younger achieving the feat, and he also joined a select band of goalscoring substitutes.

Rooney (pictured) said: "It doesn’t get any better than that, and it will stay with me for ever.

"The ball came through everybody and I caught it sweetly. Scoring on your debut doesn’t happen every day, but I am loving every minute of it.

"To play (from the start) against Colchester last Tuesday was brilliant, before that I had only come on as a substitute against Plymouth in the Carling Cup.

"To start a game in professional football is something I have dreamed about since I was eight years old."

Rooney’s journey to Priestfield hasn’t been an easy one.

The Bermondsey-born player was rejected by Charlton and Crystal Palace, before being spotted playing for Bromley’s youth team by former Gills youth team manager Scott Fitzgerald.