 Amos was born in Macclesfield , Cheshire and was a member of the Crewe Alexandra academy until he was released at the age of 10 . While at Crewe , he also played for another local team , Bollington United , as a centre midfielder . One year later , Amos was playing for his local team against the team at the top of the table , and they needed to win the match to win the league . Amos ' team 's goalkeeper was injured during the game , and as the tallest on the team , Amos was put in goal ; however , he had also been the team 's regular penalty taker all season , so when they were awarded a penalty , he went all the way up the pitch to take the kick . He scored , and his team went on to win the game 3 – 2 , together with the league title . After the game , his parents told him that a Manchester United scout had been watching him and that he had been invited for trials . Amos joined Manchester United at the age of 11 . 
