In the far corner of Park View Road, as the rain swirled and the mud squelched, as Erith and Belvedere – a semi-pro side from England’s ninth tier – were on course for the London Senior Cup third round, a father snuck in to catch a glimpse of his son. 

The face of David Beckham was hidden under a hood and a hat. The slight frame of Romeo, 20, was exposed to the elements and all the attention as he stepped out for his debut with Brentford B to begin the next chapter in the tale one of English football’s most famous families.

They usually attract 160-odd fans in this corner of south east London. For this tie, a record-breaking 553 paid £5 for their slice of history. Well, 554 with the late arrival.

Nearly an hour had gone and Brentford B trailed 2-1 when Beckham Jr came on for his first competitive game since September.

He has been training with the Bees for several months. Last week, he signed on loan from Inter Miami II – reserves of the MLS club co-owned by his father – until the end of the season.

The path from here to Thomas Frank’s first team has been trod before. This represented Beckham’s first step.

So he set up camp on the right flank – where else? – wearing No 21 and bright orange boots.

But before long, dozens were too busy to care. David had been rumbled.

On the pitch, Romeo was neat and tidy. He put in one sumptuous cross that just evaded everyone and sent a header bouncing along the bar – only to be flagged offside.

He whipped in a couple of late corners right in front of dad, too, which drew inevitable cheers and cries about just how to bend it.

From the debris of the second, a few minutes from time, Brentford found an equaliser.

Add then, in the dying moments, they forced home a winner. Fergie Time.

‘His father was an unbelievable player, with an unbelievable character, who had an unbelievable career. We push the players like they have never been pushed before and he (Romeo) has been incredible and bought into the culture and he should be proud of his debut,’ said Brentford B boss Neil MacFarlane.

Until recently, home had been Inter Miami’s glistening training complex, which sits next to an executive airport and stretches over 50,000-sq foot of Florida greenery.

On Tuesday night, the scene was rather less refined. All that separated one goal and the park next door? A wall of red corrugated iron. At the other end, those on the terraces were sheltered by scaffolding and a plastic sheet.

On the Brentford bench, however, stardust everywhere. Alongside Romeo was Kyreece Lisbie (son of Kevin) and Max Dickov (son of Paul). Alas, only one name drew a solitary, high-pitched cheer when the teams were read out. And only one youngster has grown up in a world of superyachts, supermodels and superstars.

None of that was much use on Tuesday afternoon, when this debut remained in limbo until a few hours before kick-off, when international clearance finally arrived. 

But all’s well that ends well. And so by the time Romeo re-emerged for his warm-down and more autograph hunters swarmed, dad had hopped a fence on his way out of the side door.