Player scores emotional goal after son's death

(CBS/AP) Billy Sharp called it the "most important goal of my career." It was certainly the most emotional.

Just three days after the death of his baby son, the Doncaster striker scored the opening goal in his team's 3-1 loss to Middlesbrough in a second-tier Championship game.

After firing a left-footed volley over Middlesbrough goalkeeper Jasen Steele in the 14th minute Tuesday night, Sharp lifted his Doncaster shirt to reveal a red T-shirt with the message "That's For You Son." He spread his arms wide and looked to the sky.

Sharp's son, Luey Jacob, died on Saturday just 2 days old.

Before kickoff, the home crowd commemorated the infant's life with a minute's applause.

After the match, Sharp used his Twitter account to thank fans of both teams for the tribute.

"My goal tonight was the most important goal of my career dedicated to my brave boy luey jacob sharp I love u son sleep tight.thatsforyouson," he tweeted.

Sharp added: "My goal had to be something special tonight for my special boy. I'm so proud of him, and his mum."

Doncaster manager Dean Saunders praised Sharp's attitude.

"I knew what was going on all week and I also know the finer details of what happened, which is worse than you think," Saunders said, according to the Guardian. "He rung me last night and asked me if he could play - he wanted to play.

"He wanted to play to score a goal for his son and his family and he was ready to go. When he said that to me I couldn't really refuse.

"You won't score a better goal than that - it's incredible. I thought: 'The story's already been written. He's going to end up with a hat-trick here and we're going to win 3-0.' It didn't turn out that way but I'm really proud that he wanted to play and it tells you a bit about him as a man. There's not many people who would have done that."

Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray called Sharp's volley a "goal from heaven."