England hero Raheem Sterling pays tribute to tragic Palace teen Damary Dawkins who died from Leukaemia on Sunday aged 13

The Manchester City star lifted up his shirt to reveal a commemorative shirt for the schoolboy after his second goal

Posted Saturday, March 23, 2019 by Thesun.co.uk

RAHEEM STERLING paid tribute to tragic Crystal Palace youngster Damary Dawkins by dedicating his second goal against Czech Republic to the late schoolboy.

The 13-year-old was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2014 and passed away on Sunday despite undergoing a stem cell transplant in the new year.

England hero Raheem Sterling pays tribute to tragic Palace teen Damary Dawkins who died from Leukaemia on Sunday aged 13
Raheem Sterling dedicated his second goal against Czech Republic to Damary Dawkins

Sterling had made a huge effort on social media to appeal for stem cell donors to help and paid a touching tribute to Dawkins after he put England 3-0 up at Wembley.

The Manchester City star lifted up his shirt to reveal a commemorative shirt for the schoolboy with the words: "May your soul rest in peace."

The England winger delivered a man-of-the-match performance in the Three Lions' opening Euro 2020 qualifying match with an outstanding hat-trick, and dedicated it to Dawkins' family during a torrid week for them.

Speaking after the match, Sterling said: "He was a kid I was trying to help.

"We thought we found a donor and unfortunately it didn't match and he sadly passed away.

"So I thought I had to do something for the family, give them something to smile about."

The 24-year-old opened the scoring after a driven cross from Jadon Sancho before winning the penalty for Harry Kane to double England's lead.

Sterling continued his electric form after the break to bag his hat-trick- his first at international level - in a resounding 5-0 win for Gareth Southgate's men.

Damari was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was nine-years-old and when he relapsed in 2018, a stem cell donor became his only chance of survival.
They then succeeded after an appeal from the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson and Sterling.

But after a successful transplant, Dawkins, who was a member of Palace's elite development squad, r relapsed two more times before passing away in March 2019.

England hero Raheem Sterling pays tribute to tragic Palace teen Damary Dawkins who died from Leukaemia on Sunday aged 13
Sterling helped Dawkins find a stem cell donor before his passing