BRYN MORRIS gave away not one but TWO Manchester United shirts after his FA Cup goalscoring exploits against them.
And the non-sentimental Harrogate Town midfielder, 28, is not interested in getting any other mementos at Leeds.
All the former England youth captain wants is a place in the fourth round and another chapter to add to his long FA Cup story.
Morris’ relationship with the famous old knockout competition started 12 years ago when he made his senior debut aged 16 for Middlesbrough in a 4-1 win over non-league Hastings.
Following four loan spells, he left the Riverside in 2017 and has since played for numerous clubs across the country from the Championship down to League Two.
But the FA Cup has still remained a key part of his journey and in the 2022/23 campaign he helped Grimsby become the first team in history to beat five teams from higher divisions as they reached the quarters.
Then last season he tasted cup magic again, scoring from long-range to inspire a Newport comeback in the fourth round against 13-time winners Man Utd.
The Red Devils blew a two-goal lead in that match but eventually got through after a late flurry and ended up winning the whole thing.
Ahead of Saturday’s short trip for the Yorkshire derby at Elland Road, Morris told Sun Sport: “I’ve had a really good history in the FA Cup over the years.
“Last year against Man Utd and then the season before that when I was at Grimsby we got to the quarter finals before Brighton eventually knocked us out.
“Then the season before that I signed for my hometown team Hartlepool in January and my debut was at Crystal Palace in the third round.”
The highlight was that strike against United – something the ace admits very nearly never happened.
And despite it being one of the best days in his career, Morris opted to give two treasured items from that game away.
He said: “I was really ill before the game but I had all my family and my girlfriends coming to the game so I couldn’t miss it.
“Then when you’re on the pitch I always just treat it like any other game, it is only afterwards when you think ‘that was decent’.
“I asked Bruno Fernandes for his shirt at the end and he asked for mine back, and I just started laughing, but he was like, ‘well can I have it?’ So we swapped but I gave that to my partner’s little brother.
“Then I saw Christian Eriksen walking out of the dressing-room later and asked if I could have that. I give that one to my brother, so I’ve got neither.”
Morris knows Leeds striker Patrick Bamford from his Middlesbrough days but it will be another former team-mate’s shirt he’s after… although it won’t be for him of course.
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“I know Dan James from playing with him at Shrewsbury,” he said. “I bumped into him at the airport recently. I’ll probably ask him for his shirt but I’ll be giving that to a family member.”
Morris only signed for Harrogate on January 1 from Newport, and he bowed out from Rodney Parade in stunning fashion.
He scored a first career hat-trick on December 21 in the 6-3 victory over MK Dons, but he didn’t even bother to take home the match ball.
“That was mad,” he said. “I probably could have had more goals. It was one of those days when I was in the groove.
“Two of us got hat-tricks that game but I’m not bothered about stuff like getting the ball so I just let him [Bobby Kamwa] keep it.
“My brother and mates were fuming. It was my first hat-trick but I’m not bothered.”
One thing he does care about is putting on a performance in what he hopes will be his second outing for Harrogate.
And he and his new team-mates will have over 4,000 supporters cheering them on.
Morris added: “It’s a free hit for us. The gaffer will tell us to go out there, give a good account of ourselves, and enjoy it and see what happens.
“You go there to win but the odds will be stacked against us, but it’s just XI vs XI.
“Everybody knows anything can happen in the FA Cup and I’ve seen that firsthand.”
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