Matt's living the dream of European football

When he walks out in front of 20,000 fans at FC Copenhagen's Parken Stadium tomorrow night, the 24-year-old might be forgiven for pinching himself.

Hearsey is part of the Newtown side looking to spring a surprise in the Europa League second qualifying round. His pathway to the occasion has been long and often far from easy.

Like many boys, Hearsey has aspirations of becoming a professional footballer and for a while he looked on course, a highly-rated young prospect at Walsall, his hometown club.

But his hopes were dealt a severe blow when, aged just 13, he underwent major heart surgery.

"I was born with a hole in my heart and so we knew at some stage I was going to need surgery," explains Hearsey. "I'd had a scan and it was clear it needed to be done as soon as possible.

"In terms of football, the timing was all wrong. The recovery from the operation meant I missed a year and I was let go.

"I don't want to big myself up but I had been tipped to make it in the game. When something like that happens at a young age and it is out of your control, it's very tough."

Disillusioned, Hearsey admits he "gave up" on football for a few years and only began playing again on a social level in his late teens.

The turning point came with an invite to play for Dudley Sports in the West Midlands League, where blistering form quickly saw him coveted by the likes of Kidderminster Harriers and Stourbridge.

But Hearsey opted for neither and in January 2013 sprang something of a surprise when he moved to the Welsh Premier League and Newtown.

It was, he is prepared to admit, something of a shot in the dark.

"I'm going to be honest and say when I heard Newtown were in for me I'd never heard of them or the Welsh League," he says.

"But their manager back then, Bernie McNally, was really enthusiastic and that is what persuaded me more than anything else.

"I'd had trials with Stourbridge and Kidderminster but sensed if I went to either, I wasn't going to play. It wasn't like I had anything to lose. Looking back, I made the right decision."

Hearsey, who works in customer services at Willenhall haulage firm DX Freight, is still based in the Black Country and makes the trip across the border up to three times a week for training and matches.

He set the ball rolling on Newtown's European adventure when he scored the goal which beat Port Talbot last season to secure qualification. To this point, it is a strike worth 420,000 euros and counting.

The run, Hearsey concedes, is likely to end next week when Copenhagen, managed by former Wolves boss Stale Solbakken, head to Wales for the second leg.

But he and his team-mates have already exceeded all expectations and made history after recording arguably the biggest result in club history.

They beat Maltese champions Valletta 4-2 over two legs in the first qualifying round. "I don't think anybody in their wildest dreams thought we would win," admits Hearsey.

"Even though we'd managed to win the first leg 2-1, we went over there very much the underdogs and it their fans made it a very intimidating atmosphere, something none of us had really experienced before.

"But I always had a feeling in the back of my mind we could do it. The feeling afterward was just incredible."

Copenhagen, regulars in the Champions League, are another few levels up the difficulty scale but Hearsey sees no reason to approach the tie with fear.

"We've been looking at who they played a couple of years ago in the Champions League, Juventus and Real Madrid," he said.

"But we're excited and the pressure is off. No-one is expecting us to win. For us to be facing a team like this, as part-time footballers, it really is a dream."