"Surreal" - Ryan Allsop opens up on heartwarming Birmingham City moment v Lincoln City | OneFootball

The goalkeeper got to live out a childhood dream on Saturday.

Ryan Allsop has claimed that he is "really proud" of himself after saving a crucial penalty for his boyhood team Birmingham City, against Lincoln City, in front of his family and the side's adoring supporters.

After taking their first loss of the season before the October international break, Birmingham didn't have a nice easy game to get themselves back into the flow of the League One season. They had a trip to the LNER Stadium to face Michael Skubala's Imps - a side who, like them, are hoping for a promotion this season.

Lincoln had won five of their opening nine games to start the season, and City were going into the game without their main man: Jay Stansfield.

They managed to come out on top with a 3-1 away win, keeping them at the top of the League One table.

That was despite conceding a first-minute goal from a long throw-in which eventually landed at the feet of Sheffield Wednesday loanee Bailey Cadamarteri, who finished well.

That's the second time in as many games that Birmingham have conceded from throw-in scenarios, something that Allsop has admitted that City need to get better at.

The game would have been much tighter had it not been for the City goalkeeper, though, who produced a penalty save when the game was at 2-1 to the visitors.

This save led to the travelling Blues supporters singing the name of the shot-stopper; a moment that he was very happy about.

Ryan Allsop's "proud" Birmingham City moment

The boyhood Blue said that it was great to hear the nearly 1800 Birmingham fans signing his name after he stopped Reeco Hackett's spot-kick, which came from a Paik-Seung ho foul on Conor McGrandle inside the box.

He said, via Birmingham Live: "I’m really proud. It’s obviously a club I grew up supporting, my dad used to bring me to the games, so it’s a huge honour and privilege to put on the shirt.

"It’s a bit surreal. I used to be the one in there singing, to have them sing my name makes me proud. I’m really proud of myself.

"My mom and dad were here, and my auntie, they come to every game. I’m sure my wife was watching at home with my kids. It’s a proud moment for me but we look to the next game back at our place and hopefully we can get the three points again."

The penalty-taker came on as a substitute just a couple of minutes before he stepped up to try and beat Allsop. Even though he wasn't part of the starting XI, the Blues keeper said he'd done his homework on Hackett and his penalties.

"Me and Maik [Taylor - Blues' goalkeeping coach] looked at them on the coach on the way here, as we do every game. We write the potential takers down and decide which way they are likely to go, then decide in the moment. It was well done between me and Maik today."

Ryan Allsop will have dreamed of penalty-save moment

Any supporter of any team has more likely than not fantasised about being the one who makes a big impact on a game for their team.

A very small number of those people actually end up being good enough to play football professionally, and even fewer get to do it for the club that they supported when they were younger. But that's exactly what 32-year-old Allsop is doing: living his childhood dream.

As a young keeper, he would have dreamed of being able to save a penalty or make a last minute stop to help his Blues win a game.