AN aspiring young journalist was given the chance to put her writing skills to the test during one of the football season’s crunch final matches.

Rachel Selwood travelled to Old Trafford, home of Premier League champions Manchester United, to cover the nPower League Two Play-Off Final between Stevenage and Torquay, after winning a chance to be a print journalist for the day through nPower’s What’s Your Goal competition.

As a winner, 15-year-old Rachel was one of 11 youngsters to be given an exclusive work experience placement alongside a professional mentor – whose ranks included Kevin Keegan and QPR manager Neil Warnock – to get a taste of what it’s really like to be working in their dream career.

Rachel, from Fordwich Road, WGC, met up with her mentor Ian Eddy, a journalist with First News, a national newspaper aimed at children.

The pair sat in the Old Trafford press box and watched the match, which Stevenage won 1-0.

Rachel then attended a post-match press conference, before submitting a report on the game for inclusion in the newspaper’s next edition.

This week, the Stanborough School student said: “It was really interesting, we were sitting in the press box with little TVs so we could watch all the replays. It was really good.

“Ian Eddy said the most important thing I can do is start asking for work experience, so I’ve tried looking for a bit of that.”

What’s Your Goal encourages young people aged 11 to 16 to start thinking about future careers, by showcasing the various jobs in football that don’t involve playing.

Entrants filled out an online form, detailing their chosen career path and why they thought they would be perfect for the role.

Clare McDougall, npower’s head of education and community, said: “Young people across the UK have been demonstrating that they have what it takes to work with their idols and have been showing some extraordinary determination and talents.

“We’re very impressed.”