Raheem Sterling pays tribute to Crystal Palace player Damary Dawkins and reveals tragic story of his death

Damary Dawkins passed away last Sunday after suffering from leukaemia, and Sterling revealed that he had been trying to help the family find a donor to help cure the Palace youth player

Raheem Sterling revealed the tragic story behind the death of Crystal Palace youth-team player Damary Dawkins after paying tribute to the teenager following his second goal in England’s 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic.

The Manchester City forward registered his first ever international hat-trick to continue his incredible run of form this season for club and country, getting England off to the dream start in their Euro 2020 qualification bid in the process.

But there was sadness overhanging the result for the 24-year-old following Dawkins’ passing last Sunday, with the 13-year-old losing his fight against leukaemia.

Sterling was keen to honour the youngster and revealed a picture of the two together with a tribute written on a T-shirt underneath his England kit in celebration of England’s third goal, and he spoke openly afterwards of the tragedy that unfolded just a few days before.

"Damary was a kid that I was trying to help and we thought that we found a donor,” Sterling told ITV. “Sadly it didn't match and he sadly passed away.

"I thought I had to do something to try to give his family something to smile about."

He added on Twitter: "Special night in so many ways RIP Damary, gone but (you) will never be forgotten."

Crystal Palace posted a tweet to recognise Sterling’s touching gesture on Friday night, and earlier in the day put out a picture of Dawkins alongside manager Roy Hodgson. The tweet was accompanied by the message: “Everyone at #CPFC would like to send our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Damary Dawkins, who sadly passed away on Sunday.

“Damary was a huge football fan and an incredibly brave young man.”

Sterling grew up in a house near to England's national stadium so he was understandably delighted with his contribution towards a comprehensive victory.

Standing by the Wembley pitch, the 24-year-old said on England's Twitter channel: "It was a great feeling, the most important was the first (goal) to carry on from the game I had against Spain. That was the best moment for me.

"I'm excited. I'm in my hometown, this is what dreams are made of, so I'm really happy to see it come true. We carry on, we've got a game on Monday (against Montenegro) and we need to follow up."

While his excellent performance will garner headlines, Sterling was eager to pay tribute to young trio Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Declan Rice.

Sancho was handed his first competitive start by Gareth Southgate and teed up Sterling for his opener, while Rice and Hudson-Odoi had impressive cameos as they came off the bench in the second half for their England debuts.

Raheem Sterling paid tribute to young Crystal Palace player Damary Dawkins after his death, aged 13 (Reuters)

Sterling added: "They're playing for their clubs and they're special talents, every single one of them. Jadon, I've seen numerous times and every time I've seen him I get excited.

"Callum has probably had a limited amount of games at Chelsea but he's the same again, every time I've seen him I've been really excited.

"And also, Declan as well, he's really mature and for a holding midfielder, he's using the ball well. I'm just happy that they're English to be honest with you."

Additional reporting by PA