IN his family home in Point Fortin, Trinidad & Tobago, Kenwyne Jones has a box containing some of his most treasured footballing memories.

In it are caps from his time with the Soca Warriors national side and shirts from his days with St Anthony's College and local club, West Connection.

Pride of place, though, goes to a photograph that was taken when Jones travelled to England in 2002 for trials with West Ham, Middlesbrough and Manchester United.

On the left-hand side stands a nervous 17-year-old, desperate to make his way in the professional game. On the right, stands Manchester United skipper Roy Keane.

A meeting that seemed utterly unremarkable at the time has proved particularly prescient. Five years on, and the pair are standing side-by-side once more.

"It's funny how your life goes in circles," said Jones, whose first Sunderland goal capped a match-winning display in Saturday's 2-1 win over Reading. "That picture was taken back in 2002 and I suppose I didn't really think I would see too much of him again.

"It was typical Roy Keane, he was composed for the picture, then he moved on. I don't think he even knows it exists. That was the first time I met him, and it was also the first time I met Dwight Yorke. I don't think he remembers it either because I've never told him that I saw him back then.

"It didn't work out for me to spend more time with them five years ago, but we've all been able to link up at Sunderland in the future. It's strange the way that's happened."

While Keane might not remember the first time he saw Jones, he was rather slower to forget the striker's appearance for Southampton in last season's 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Having spotted the pace and power that Sunderland were lacking, he made repeated approaches to sign the 22-year-old this summer, a pursuit that finally came to an end last month when the Saints accepted a £6m bid for Jones' services.

Saturday's impressive display confirmed the value of Keane's persistence, although the enduring image of Jones' home debut will not be the 20-yard shot that fizzed past Marcus Hahnemann in the 29th minute. Instead, it will be the hand-spring and somersault that followed.

"I've been doing that for 15 years now, so it's become natural to me," said Jones, who began his Southampton career as a defender before four goals in a practice game persuaded Paul Sturrock to push him further upfield. "It started out as horseplay with a few friends, but it's something I've continued doing.

"We used to do somersaults in the front yard. Everyone would come out and try all sorts of things. You start with a basic back-flip, and then you become more and more like a gymnast as you get better at it.

"You have to stop trying to outdo each other eventually, though, because you might end up breaking your neck. It's not going to get any better than that. It's all about knowing your limits and sticking to them!"

Jones' display at the weekend provided a fitting tribute to Ian Porterfield, Sunderland's most celebrated goalscorer of them all. Jones knew little of the Scotsman's Wembley heroics before he moved to the Stadium of Light this summer, but remained one of his biggest fans.

Porterfield spent more than two years as manager of Trinidad & Tobago in the late 1990s, embarking on a lengthy winning run that earned him hero status on the islands Jones calls home.

"That meant I knew a lot about Ian Porterfield and it was sad to hear that he had succumbed to his illness," said the striker.

"I was looking in from the outside when he was our national boss because I was involved in the younger age groups, but everyone knows about Ian because we had a brilliant run when he was the manager. Carlos Edwards played under him and he always spoke about him being such a great guy."