IT may have ended in penalty shoot-out heartbreak, but a young Warrington footballer enjoyed “an unforgettable experience” at an international tournament.

Centre-back Jack Holbrook, a student at Bridgewater High School, featured in the North England elite boy’s side that contested the Helsinki Cup youth tournament in Finland.

The 14-year-old played every game as they progressed all the way to the final, where they lost on spot-kicks to Brazil.

“It was an incredible experience for Jack. It really was fantastic,” said dad Ian, who himself played professional football as a goalkeeper for Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County.

“They beat some pretty good teams like Argentina and the USA on the way to the final but just fell short.

“Jack never put a foot wrong. It says a lot that the team only conceded two goals in the entire tournament with him playing centre-back.

“There must have been six or seven thousand people in the arena watching the final. The whole thing was just unforgettable.

“They’ve been invited to play in a tournament in Spain next year and they are trying to organise a friendly with one of Barcelona’s youth teams.”

This is the latest step on the road to following his father into the professional game for the former Appleton Boys junior.

He is currently in his fourth season on the books of League One side Rochdale, who have a fast-growing reputation for giving academy graduates a chance in the first team.

When the latest Elite Player Performance Plan figures were released, ‘Dale were found to have propelled more youth products into first-team football than all but two clubs in English professional football.

With that in mind, Holbrook is confident Jack is in the best place to realise his dreams.

“There is a lot of luck involved to get through to first-team level these days, but Jack is being developed very well at Rochdale,” he said.

“Tony Ellis (academy manager) and Keith Hill (first-team manager) have a clear philosophy when it comes to developing young players.

“They’ve just taken a 15-year-old player on tour to Tenerife with the first team and he’s played in a couple of their pre-season friendlies.

“Jack played with him a few times so it shows where he can get to if he does the right things.

“He’s doing really well at Rochdale and he’s giving himself every chance.

“I signed professional forms at Bolton when I was 17, so he could do it even earlier!”